presidency, apc bicker over n21bn

...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 62303

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

MONDAY, DECEMBER 22 , 2014**

Presidency, APCbicker over N21bn

Mr & Mrs

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COLUMNISTS:

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•The money should be used to save power sector — APC•APC not focused, says Presidency as Ikokwu, Sagay, Tsav, react

Is de-industrialisationimminent?

CHRISTMAS TRAVELLERS—Christmas travellers waiting to board vehicles at Wazobia Park in Gwagwalada, Abuja,yesterday. Photo: NAN.

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CBN introduces addi-tional measure to curbforex speculation

Those hawkscircling Buhari

2015 ELECTIONS:Danger looms — AKINYEMI•Writes Jonathan, Buhari; tasksSultan, Ooni, Adeboye, Anyaoku >8

80 Boko Harammembers, 2 soldierskilled in Borno >9

Bulet Constructionslams N100bn libelsuit against Unity Bank

>15

PDP PRESIDENTIAL FUND-RAISING: By CliffordNdujihe, HenryUmoru, Dapo

Akinrefon & LevinusNwabughiogu

A B U J A — T H EPresidency and

groups backing thepresidential aspiration ofMajor GeneralMuhammadu Buhari(rtd) were at each other’sthroats, yesterday, overthe sum of N21.27bnraised at the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP)presidential campaignfund-raising dinner.

The Buhari SupportOrganizations, BSO, theumbrella body of allsupport groups for thePresidential candidateof All ProgressivesCongress, APC in 2015election, said that the

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POCKET CARTOONVanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014—5

Presidency, APC bicker over N21bn

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

Continues from Page 1

When you say yes to life, you attract divineguidance. When you’re inspired, you’recollaborating with fate. Everything starts workingfor you —Wayne Dyer

EGO is the part of us that believes: I am what Ihave, I am what I do. I am what others think

of me. All this is just an illusion. The problem? Ifyou are what you do, then who are you when youdon’t do it any longer? If you are what you have—then when you no longer have it, you no longerhave any value!

The truth is that we are all spiritual beings. Andwhen you see yourself as a piece of God, then yousee yourself as connected to everything andeveryone. Will is not the same as intent, which isinspirational. Will is the work of the ego—believingthat we are controlling everything, rather thansurrendering to the source of energy that is greaterthan any of us.

CHRISTMAS CONCERT—Members of the Choir and Orchestra ofthe Apostolic Faith Church performing during the 2014 Christmas concert inLagos, yesterday.

power sector in Nigeriahas turned worse underPresident GoodluckJonathan, adding thatPDP fund-raisinggathering should havedevoted itself to findinga solution to the problem.

Countering, thePresidency said thesuggestion that themoney raised at the PDPfund-raising dinner beused to fund nationalpower projects portraysthe APC party as anunserious, unfocusedand defectiveorganisation with noreasonable alternativesolutions to the nation’sproblems.

The exchanges came assome eminent Nigeriansflayed the fund-raising,saying that it wasinsensitive, given theprevailing austerity inthe country.

PDP has failedNigerians—APC

Commenting on thefund raising, the LagosState chapter of the All

Progressives Congress(APC), said the PDP hasfailed Nigerians.

Its Publicity Secretary,Mr Joe Igbokwe said:“How much did theyraise to fight BokoHaram? How muchmoney did they raise tofight unemployment?How much money didthose people raise tobuild securityarchitecture in Nigeria?How much money didthey raise to build ourschools and hospitals?How much money didthey raise to build ourroads? I can ask you 20questions about thismoney; they are justbringing out the missing$20 billion about whichthe Emir of Kanocomplained as formerGovernor of Central Bankof Nigeria, CBN. Wherewill someone get N5billion from? If you giveNigerians all the moneyin the world, we will notget to the moon becauseit takes expertise. In thesame vein, give PDP allthe money in the world,it cannot win the 2015general elections.

APC, Buhari’scomments,display ofignorance– Presidency

However, thePresidency described thecomment as a display ofignorance. Senior SpecialAssistant to the Presidenton Public Affairs, Dr.Doyin Okupe, in astatement yesterday, said:“Even though we havealways known them to bea party with no cleardirection, we neverthought they coulddescend so low inexhibiting clear mischiefand folly on a criticalnational issue.

“We wish to reiterate thatthis government and thePDP will not engage in adubious practice ofcollecting money fromprivate individuals andcorporate organisationsfor a purpose only to divertsuch money to otherpurposes.

“For the avoidance ofdoubt, the power reformprogramme initiated byPresident Jonathan is notrun on a knee-jerk financearrangement. It is aproperly envisioned roadmap which is beingdiligently executed inline with best globalpractices. The powerreform programme isbeing funded throughour national budgets andforeign direct

investments running intoseveral billions ofdollars.

“Reputable globalplayers such as theGeneral Electric isinvesting over a billiondollars into thegeneration component ofthe sector. Nigeria is nota beggar nation and itwill not be one under theJonathan presidency.

“The suggestion thatthe N21 billion (105million dollars) raised atthe party fund raisingdinner be used for thepower projectunderscores theperplexing ignorance ofGeneral MuhammaduBuhari and his team ofparty voyagers who haveshown that they haveabsolutely no clue aboutwhat it requires toimplement a modernrevolutionary programmein a capital intensivesector such as power.

“Finally,the accusationthat the PDP governorswho donated money atthe event have not paidcivil servants salaries intheir states is largelyuntrue and mischievous.

“We want to believe thatthe APC probably hasone of its governors inmind when it made thisaccusation because it ison record that despitebeing the major financierof the Buhari campaign,this is the governor whohas not paid 13,000teachers their salaries inthe last eight months!”

Nigerian powerworse off underJonathan –Buhari

The BSO in astatement by its Head,Media and PublicityUnit, Dr. ChidiaMaduekwe said: “Thepower sector featuredproudly two days ago incontributing towardsPresident GoodluckJonathan's re-electioncampaign fund raising. Iwould have thought suchfunds should have beenbetter deployed in givingNigerians better lightsupply this Christmasseason.

“The ordinary Nigerianon the street knows thathe or she is not better offtoday with stableelectricity as against fouryears ago when Jonathanmounted the saddle.

“Most people willadmit that they hadbetter stable supply ofelectricity four years ago.

The Jonathan adminis-tration had projectedthat 10,000MW should begenerated before now.

“General MuhammaduBuhari and indeed theNigeria public is right toquestion why we are stillin this epileptic mess ofelectricity supply aftersinking well over $20billion into the powersector over the period inquestion. The corruption-infested administrationof Jonathan makes rightthinking Nigerians tobury their heads inshame when comparedto South Africa of just 50million people and has anestimated supply of over50,000 MW.”

It’s more ofcamouflage —Sagay

Constitutional lawyer,Professor Itse Sagay(SAN) described the fundraising campaign as moreof a camouflage. Sagay,who lamented thedevelopment said it is aset back for the country.

His words: “You knowmembers of the PDP haveall our resources undertheir control, they can gofor any fund raising. Butfor me, it is all more of acamouflage because theyalready have the statemoney at their disposal.We have a very seriousproblem in this countrywhere the government inpower tries to plough intothe state’s resources forparty campaigns. Legallythere is a law but it isneither observed norenforced; these arereforms that affectconduct and culturewhich will have to beenforced in future if wehave to develop. For me,the N21 billion is notactually what they aregoing to spend. I see it asa public show, that is notthe real thing.”

PDP is desperateabout winning—Tsav

Also speaking, a formerLagos StateCommissioner of Police,Alhaji Abubakar Tsav,said: ‘’There are so manystates that have not paidsalaries to their workers,yet these governors are

donating money toJonathan’s re-electioncampaign. It is a very saddevelopment and it showsthe desperation of the PDPtowards wining thepresidential elections.That is the mentality ofthose who want to win atall costs.”

The former Police bosslamented that “our peopleare suffering, thehealthcare system acrossthe states is not in a goodstate, people don’t havemoney to pay medicalbills, yet the governors arewasting money. For thebusinessmen whodonated to that cause, thefear of Buhari might haveinformed their decisionbecause with Buhari asPresident, it would not bebusiness as usual.Jonathan has completelyfailed and people areshamelessly encouraginghim to continue in 2015.If he is eventually re-elected, he will do theworse."

Our elections ‘rebecoming tooexpensive–Ikokwu

Reacting to the issue,Second RepublicPolitician and a chieftainof the defunct NationalDemocratic Coalition,Chief Guy Ikokwu, whosaid that the amountraised was huge,lamented that electionswere becomingincreasingly expensive inthe country.

His words: "It is veryclear today that electionsin Nigeria are becomingmore expensive. The PDPand APC are alreadyraising billions of naira forthe election at a time theeconomy is strugglingand facing diminishingreturns because of thepetroleum price crisis.

"Now, the parties,politicians and candidatesshould base theircampaigns for the 2015elections on issuesinstead of personalities.Systemic failure is theproblem of the country.The presidential system isbased on autocracy. Mostof our governors areautocratic. The presentpresidential system willnot take Nigeria far."

Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014—7

Carsnatcherarrested inBenin

Hoodlums attack church service, flogPastor, members

By Dayo Johnson

AKURE — HOODLUMS,weekend, invaded a

church in Akure, Ondo State,during service andreportedly flogged thepresiding Pastor andmembers of the church.

Meanwhile, the police inthe state have arrested someof the hoodlums but theywere later rescued by a mob,during which a policemanwas stabbed with brokenbottle on the neck.

Also, property of the churchwere destroyed by thehoodlums, who arrived thechurch in a motorcycle.

Property said to have beendestroyed include plasticchairs, wall clock, windowglasses and electricalappliances.

They reportedly inflictedinjuries on the Pastor andmembers who were at theservice.

Vanguard gathered that thehoodlums arrived the CAC,Pillar of Fire located aroundLA Primary School, Akureand dealt with the Pastorknown as Pastor Arije.

Police sources said theywere still investigating theincident, but Vanguardlearned that a rival Pastor ofone of the churches withinthe area might havesponsored the attack.

The hoodlums reportedlycarted away the offerings forthe day.

It was gathered that by thetime the Policemen arrivedthe scene, the hoodlums hadwreaked havoc on thechurch, but were chased toOdopetu in Oke Aro, wheresome of them were

apprehended.However, the hoodlums

reportedly regrouped andrescued their colleague from the

custody of the police. It wasduring their rescue missionthat a policeman wasreportedly stabbed by thehoodlums.

Contacted, the police

spokesperson, Mr WoleOgodo confirmed theincident, saying the Pastorreported the incident at theDivisional Police Station,Akure.

A cross section of Oron indigenes in Lagos during a protest at the Akwa Ibom State LiaisonOffice, Lagos, calling on the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, national leadership to cancelAkwa Ibom State PDP governorship primaries held recently.

Pastor on the run over death of twobrothers during spiritual bath

By Evelyn Usman

LAGOS — The Police inLagos have arrested a

member of New Cherubim andSeraphim Church in Ajah areaof the state over the allegeddeath of two men during aspiritual bath, weekend.

The deceased identified asAbiodun and Ayinde Oniru, ofsame parents and one of theirstep-brothers were alleged tohave been taken to the churchby their father and step-motherlast Thursday for spiritualcleansing.

However, after three days, it

was reportedly suggested thatthey should complete thecleansing with a spiritualbath. But their step-brotherreportedly refused and left thestream located in Ogomboarea of Ajah, leaving Abiodunand Ayinde of ages 23 and 20respectively behind with theirstep-mother and Pastor of thechurch identified as PastorSamuel Olusoji.

Things reportedly took atragic dimension, followingreport that Abiodun and Ayindedrowned during the spiritualbath. The case was said to havebeen reported at Ogombo police

division, consequent uponwhich a team of policemenstormed the church.

Police sources said onsighting the policemen,Saturday, some members of thechurch located on 739, Ori-OkeIbulun Ilasan Street, JakandeAjah, including the Pastor, tookto their heels.

Unfortunately for the church’ssecretary, he was arrested andwhisked into the police waitingvan.

Police sources hinted that thecorpses had been deposited atMainland Hospital mortuary,Yaba, where autopsy would bedone.

A police source said: “We arestill on the trail of the seniorPastor of the church. He iscurrently on the run. He hasquestions to answer.

"Meanwhile, the autopsyreport will form basis for ourinvestigation. It is only thenthat we can be able to establishthe cause of their death.”

Remnants of a barge seized for involvement in oil theft set ablaze by the Task Force inOkirika waterways in Rivers State, yesterday. Photo: NAN

By Francis Igata

ENUGU — A 27-year-old graduate of

Agric-Economics fromthe Abia State University,Uturu, who hails fromObollo in Isiala, MbanoLocal Government Areaof Imo State, has beenarrested by operatives ofthe anti-kidnap unit ofEnugu Police commandfor allegedly snatching aToyota Camry car at gunpoint.

The suspect hadallegedly snatched thecar on Pioneer Street,Independence Layout,Enugu, at the gate of theowner ’s house as hemade his way into thecompound on November29.

The Command's PolicePublic Relations Officer,Mr. Ebere Amaraizu,confirmed the incident ina statement, saying:“The suspect snatchedthe car as the ownermade his way into hiscompound. The ownerparked the car before thegate, came down to openthe gate to enable himdrive in.

“The suspect had laidambush waiting for him.The key was left in theignition while the ownerwas opening the gate.The suspect sprang upand drove off with thevehicle at gun point.

“He drove the car toOwerri, Imo State andparked it in a car standwhere he sold it forN700,000. Having soldthe car, he moved toBenin, Edo State toenjoy his loot. It was inBenin that the operativestracked him down in arestaurant.

“He has, however,confessed to the crimecalling on youths to stayaway from crime andcriminality.”

Crowd queues behind crashedtruck, beg for dead birds

By Gabriel Enogholase

BENIN—IT was bizarreand unbelieving as

people queued behind a truckthat crashed, weekend, inBenin, Edo State with over1200 poultry birds, beggingfor dead birds to be given tothem.

The driver of the vehiclewho was said to havesustained injuries, was taken

to an unknown hospital whennewsmen visited the scene atAdolor Juncture in Egor LocalGovernment Area of Edo State.

The truck driver, who wassaid to have driven throughoutthe night on Benin-Ore-LagosExpressway, it was suggested,may have dozed off and lostcontrol of the truck, said Ms.Amenze, a trader.

“I pity the driver, so manybirds died,” she said.

8—Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014

2015: Danger looms, warns Bolaji Akinyemi

AWARD: From left, Chairman, House of Representatives on Education Hon AminuSuleiman; Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Dr. Macjohn Nwabiola;Chairman, Board of Trustees, Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFUND, Dr. Musa Babayoand his Executive Secretary, Professor Suleiman Bogoro during TETFUND long serviceaward and end of the year dinner in Abuja, weekend. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan

Writes Jonathan, BuhariCalls on Sultan, Ooni, Adeboye, Anyaoku to interveneSays some politicians don’t care if Nigeria collapses

By Jide Ajani

LAGOS — FORMERForeign Minister and

Deputy Chairman, 2014National Conference,Professor Bolaji Akinyemi,has alerted Nigerians tograve dangers ahead of theFebruary 2015 generalelections, insisting that someNigerians are bent ondragging the country downthe path of disintegration.

Indeed, Akinyemi, who senta letter dated December 16,2014, to the two presidentialcandidates for next year ’selection (President GoodluckJonathan of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP; andGeneral Muhammadu Buhari(rtd) of the All ProgressivesCongress, APC), went downmemory lane, pointing outthat the conditions precedentbefore the post electionviolence of 2011 appear to bechild’s play when comparedwith the already over-chargedpolitical atmosphere of thepresent times.

Whereas Akinyemisuggested a way out of thelooming doom, the eruditeprofessor was quick to notethat he had observedsomething similar just beforethe 2011 election and theviolence to follow, but alsolamented that his nobleintervention was totallyignored, many Nigerians wereto be killed in the violencethat followed the presidentialelection.

Akinyemi’s letter reads:

“YourExcellencies,“Shortly after his

appointment as NationalSecurity Adviser, GeneralAndrew Azazi, at his ownrequest, met with me in myoffice in Lagos to discuss thestate of the nation. It was onthe eve of the 2011 elections.I told the General that I wasnot worried about the conductof the elections or about theoutcome which I expectedPresident Jonathan to win.

"What really worried me, Itold the General, was themanagement of the violencethat would ensue after theelections. I was sure thatthere would be violence on amassive scale and I madesome suggestions to himabout how I thought theviolence could be contained.

"My suggestions were notacted upon. The electionsoccurred, President Jonathanwon and all hell broke loose.Missing were the conflict-controlled measures which I

had discussed with GeneralAzazi.

“Now we are back at the samecrossroads again, except thistime is more precarious anddangerous than the last time.

"Firstly, we have this verynotorious prediction fromUnited States semi-officialsources that the world isexpecting a cataclysmicmeltdown of the Nigeriannation come 2015. Of course,most Nigerians have takenumbrage at this prediction fortheir country. But there areNigerians who are indifferentto the outcome of thisprediction.

"One of my low momentsduring the just concluded 2014National Conference was whenin an attempt to break animpasse, I painted a grim pictureof devastation which wouldfollow a breakdown of theNigerian state, to which adelegate between 45 and 55years old replied: 'So what?'

"I thought to myself, here is aman who would probably runaway to a neighbouring countryat the boom of the first gun butwas callously indifferent to thefate of the youths, women andchildren who would be caught inthe middle.

“Secondly, the certainty ofviolence after the 2015 electionsis higher than it was in 2011. IfPresident Jonathan wins, theNorth would erupt into violenceas it did in 2011. If GeneralBuhari wins, the Niger Delta willerupt into violence. I don’tbelieve that we need rocketscience to make this prediction.

“The violence of 2015 is goingto be horrendous and worsethan the one of 2011 for thesimple reason that the illegal,massive importation of weaponsinto the country has reachedsuch alarming proportions thatI really wonder which is betterarmed, the militias on one handor the official armed forces onthe other hand.

"For the avoidance of doubt, Iam not imputing the illegalimportation of arms to anyparticular zone. Some yearsago, some Iranians werearrested for bringing in ashipload of weapons into Lagosharbour. They were tried andjailed and then smuggled out ofthe country.

"Some months ago,sophisticated weapons werediscovered buried in thebasement of a Kano house. Allthese have now fallen below theradar. These are the ones weknow about. How many do wenot know about?

“There are states andmovements out there, Africanand non-African, which do notmean well for the Nigerian state,which wish Nigeria to dissolveinto a theatre of bloodshed, goreand instability.

"They will succeed if wecontinue the politics of makingenemies of ourselves andfriends of our enemies.

Way forward“The first step forward is for

the two Presidentialcandidates to meet and sign aMemorandum of Undertakingthat will commit both to:

A civil and peacefulcampaign, devoid of threats.

A commitment to preachpeaceful elections to theirsupporters.

A commitment to controltheir supporters after theelections. Supporters ofwhoever loses should beentitled to peaceful protestsbut not to violent protests.

“I also appeal to thefollowing:

The Sultan, AlhajiMuhammad Sa’ad AbubakarIII

The Emir of Kano, AlhajiMuhammad Sanusi II

The Lamido of Adamawa,Alhaji Muhammadu BarkindoMustapha

The Ooni of Ife, ObaOkunade Sijuwade

The Oba of Benin,OmoN’oba Erediauwa

Chief Emeka AnyaokuPastor Ayo OritsejaforPastor Enoch AdeboyeHis Excellency, General

Yakubu GowonHis Excellency General

Abubakar Abdulsalami tofacilitate the pre-electionmeeting between thecandidates, the preparation ofthe Memorandum ofUndertaking and as a Councilof Wisemen to assist inmanaging the post-electionconflicts.

“Yours sincerely.

Former Nigerian ForeignMinister and DeputyChairman, 2014 NationalConference.”

Buhari’schoice fuelsanti-Jonathansentimentsin North

President’sbillboardsmissing in radicalareas

By Soni Daniel,Regional Editor, North

ABUJA — WITH lessthan two months to the

general election, thecampaign posters ofPresident GoodluckJonathan are yet to bemounted in many northernstates considered crucial forhis re-election victory,concerned loyalists of thepresident have revealed toVanguard.

The situation is in contrastto the pre-2011 seasonwhere the promotionalmaterials for Jonathan hadsprung up in virtually all thenorthern states many monthsto the presidential race.

Unlike the situation whichpresided the lastpresidential poll, many statesappear cautious in openlycanvassing support forJonathan given thepreponderance of most oftheir leaders to throw theirweight behind Buhari.

The fear in openlyidentifying with Jonathan,according to competentsources, stems from the factthat some radical elements,who feel disappointed by thepresent administration’shandling of securitychallenges in the North-Eastare on the prowl waiting tounleash violence onsuspected backers of thePeoples Democratic Party,PDP.

It was learnt that thehoisting of PDP andJonathan’s posters wasbeing taken with caution insome of the PDP and AllProgressives Congress,APC, states in the northbecause of those radicalelements opposed toJonathan’s return in 2015.

A top PDP sourceexplained to ourcorrespondent that it wasdifficult to see many postersof the President even instates controlled by PDP.

A Northern governorconfirmed to Vanguard,yesterday, that most of thepeople were not keen on re-electing Jonathan and hadsince switched on theirsupport to Buhari, whomthey see as their only hopeof returning to thePresidency after many yearsof remaining at the politicalperiphery.


80 insurgents, 2 soldiers killed in Borno gunbattle As Boko Haram's new video shows terrorists killing captives

Killings, bombings, destructions now our religious duty —Sect leader

By Kingsley Omonobi &Ndahi Marama

MAIDUGURI — NO fewerthan 80 Boko Haram

insurgents and two soldierslost their lives when suspectedmembers of dreaded BokoHaram sect laid ambush alongthe troubled Maiduguri-Damboa road which was closeddown for motorists since Julythis year.

The clash, according toreliable sources, occurredweekend when some militarypersonnel attached to 7Division, Nigerian Army wereon their way to Damboa, theheadquarters of Damboa LocalGovernment Area of BornoState.

This came barely 48 hoursafter the troops succeeded inkilling 75 insurgents in a failedattempt to attack engineersand electricians who wererepairing transmission linesvandalised by terrorists, in theremote village of Komala alongthe 185 kilometre Maiduguri-Damboa-Biu road since Julythis year and the latest killingof over 110 terrorists whoattacked Damboa at theweekend.

The whole of Maiduguri andits environs had remained intotal blackout following thevandalised power lines andthis was the third attempt bysecurity forces and the staff ofPower Holding Company ofNigeria, PHCN, to restorepower to the city of Maiduguri,to no avail.

The source said: “Militarypersonnel were on their way toDamboa to give security coverto the staff of TransmissionCompany of Nigeria (TCN)who were in Damboa to repairsome destroyed electric cablesalong Maiduguri-Damboaroad but they were ambushedby insurgents, leaving twosoldiers and over 80 terroristsdead over the weekend.

A security source who doesnot want his name in print toldour correspondent that “as thetroops were moving towardsDamboa, one Boko Haramterrorist suddenly appearedfrom the bush with a femaleby his side both armed with A-47 rifles and confronted thetroops who immediately killedboth of them. But unknown tothe troops, many of theterrorists were hiding by theroad side.

According to the source, “asthe troops approached, theinsurgents fired a RocketPropelled Grenade, RPG, atone of the troops’ vehicleskilling two soldiers.

“The troops immediatelyresponded and engaged theterrorists in a gun battle, and

when they realised that theywere overwhelmed by thetroops, the terrorists startedrunning into the bushbefore they were pursued bythe troops who killed almostall of them.”

The source further said thathe personally counted 80corpses of the insurgents,adding that the troops alsodestroyed three Hiluxvehicles mounted with antiaircraft gun and another onebelonging to Yobe Stategovernment believed tohave been snatched in arecent attack on Damaturuloaded with ImprovisedExplosive Devices, IEDs, aswell as many motorcycles.

Video shows BokoHaram killingcaptives

Meanwhile, a new videofrom Boko Haram extremistsshowed gunmen killingcivilians lying face down ina school dormitory, and aleader saying they werebeing killed because theywere “infidels” or non-believers.

In the video released tojournalists late Saturdayand sighted by AssociatedPress, AP, the group leadersaid in a message: “We havemade sure the floor of thishall is turned red with blood,and this is how it is goingto be in all future attacksand arrests of infidels.

"From now, killing,slaughtering, destructionsand bombing will be ourreligious duty anywhere weinvade.”

The video is coming twodays after fleeing villagersreported that the extremists

are rounding up elderlypeople and killing them in twoschools in Gwoza, Borno State

The setting of the latestvideo appears to be a school,a long dormitory furnishedwith bunk beds which theleader says is in Bama, a town60 kilometres north of Gwoza

In the video, the leadernoted that the prophetMohammed advisedprisoners should be held, notkilled, but said “we felt this isnot the right time for us to keepprisoners; that is why we willcontinue to see that thegrounds are crimsoned withthe flowing blood ofprisoners.”

He said some of those killedmay call themselves Muslims,but are considered infidels byBoko Haram.

Amosu lamentsloss of colleagues

Meantime, the Chief of AirStaff, Air Marshal AdesolaAmosu, has said that theNigerian Air Force, NAF, hadlost some of its brave officersand men in the fight againstinsurgency.

Speaking at the NAF’s endof year party and awards inAbuja, Amosu also disclosedthat Air Force fighter aircrafthad carried out about 6,000sorties, the highest in itshistory as it seeks to eliminatethe murderous activities ofBoko Haram since 2009.

He said officers and airmenof the force working inconjunction with sistersecurity services will not reston their oars until theterrorists, are flushed out andpeace and security returns toour nation.

According to him, “in

fighting for the nation, the AirForce stands out and weintend to continue. Ourheroes had demonstratedcourage and commitment tothe nation, they deserve to berecognised."

He told the officers thatwhatever effort the Air Forcewas currently putting in placeto end insurgency will bedoubled in 2015.

He said even after the fightis ended, the Air Forcepersonnel were expected toremain in the North-East tomop up.

In is address, Minister ofDefence, General AliyuGusau called on the NigerianAir Force to domicile theirtechnology for effectiveperformance.

Gusau, represented byPermanent Secretary,Ministry of Defence, AlhajiIsmaila Aliyu said:“Concerning our quest toenhance operationalcapability in the 21st century,no military can afford to standby and depend on borrowedtechnology because everytime, a new platform wasacquired, it also means adetection of borrowed andsometimes circumventtechnology.

“Therefore, you must thriveto domicile yourtechnological effort andequipment maintenance inpursuit of self reliance.

"Current events hadbrought to the fore, the lackof cooperation exhibited bysome of our internationalpartners in our efforts toascertain the needs of oursecurity and defence; hencewe are complied to lookinwards."

No rightthinkingNigerian'll voteJonathan backto power—Buhari

By Emmanuel Aziken,Political Editor

LAGOS — ALLProgressives Congress,

APC, presidential candidate,General Muhammadu Buhari(rtd) has said that no rightthinking Nigerian would votePresident Goodluck Jonathanagain to power, affirming itwould mean a sustenance ofall that is presently wrong withthe country.

The APC presidentialcandidate in a statementposted on his facebook pagelast night flayed supporters ofthe present administration ofspreading a message of fearwhich he said was onlybecause of their support of thevery things that degrade thecountry.

The assertion came as theBuhari CampaignOrganisation, BCO, yesterdaypledged to present strongarguments why Buhari shouldbecome the country’s nextpresident.

A statement by the newlyappointed Director of Media,Dele Alake, said thecombination of Buhari’ssterling military career andProf. Yemi Osinbajo’s legalexpertise would serve as anantidote to the insecurity anddisorder now confronting thepolity.

Gen. Buhari in his commenton facebook said:

“Those who are afraid of thechange we seek are the peopledestroying our country andstunting its progress. They arethe same people who spentfour years in power withoutimproving our electricity by asingle megawatt, the samepeople who spent four yearsdowngrading high-levelcorruption to common stealing,the same people who spentfour years watching overterrorists desecrating ourterritorial sovereignty, the samepeople who spent four yearswithout laying the criticalinfrastructure for sustainablegrowth and job creation; thosesame people are now askingyou for four more years.”

“No right thinking Nigerianwould wish that our next fouryears look like the last four.Change has to come, and itbegins with you gettingregistered and spreading ourmessage of change and hope,from sibling to sibling, familyto family, neighbourhood toneighbourhood; in ourschools, in our market places,in every community, and inevery gathering.”

CAROL NIGHT: From left: Archbishop of Abuja Catholic Diocese, Cardinal JohnOnaiyekan; Deputy Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Asim Martins and GovernorGodswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State at the 2014 Akwa Ibom State Christmas Carol Night,Saturday.


LUTH denies responsibility forpatient Oduyoye’s death

PDP RALLY: From left: Archbishop Samson Mustapha Benjamin; Mr Jimi Agbaje, Lagos State PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate; Capt. Tunji Shelle (retd) Chairman, PDP Lagos stateand Oghene Egoh, Federal House of Representative candidate, Amuwo Odofin Federal Constituency,during the Lagos State PDP rally and stakeholders’ forum, at the Lagos International Trade FairComplex, Lagos - Badagry Expressway, Lagos, on Saturday. Photo by Kehinde Gbadamosi.

NAFDAC labgets intlaccreditation

By Chioma Obinna

Eko DiscoprocuresN200mtransformers

L A G O S — T H Emanagement of the Lagos

University Teaching Hospital(LUTH), Idi-Araba, has describedas unfounded, the accusation thatone of its patients, Mrs FolakeOduyoye died because of thehospital’s negligence.

The Acting Chief MedicalDirector of LUTH, Prof. Chris Bode,made the assertion weekend inLagos .

The Women Advocates Researchand Documentation Centre(WARDC) had on Friday,petitioned the management ofLUTH over the death of Oduyoye.

The deceased's husband, MrAdeyemi Oduyoye, had in thepetition, claimed that the hospitaldetained and abandoned his wifewithout adequate medical carebecause of his indebtedness to thehospital.

Bode said the woman wasadmitted unconscious on Sept. 17as an emergency case, followingcomplications from a caesarianoperation earlier performed in aprivate hospital.

He said examinations showedthat the patient was in shock withpossibility of intra-abdominalcollection confirmed to be abscess.

‘’This lady came into LUTH incritical condition, unconscious andinfected from caesarian operationperformed in another hospital.

“She underwent a majoroperation at which plenty of puswas evacuated from her abdomen.

‘’She underwent a tracheotomy,creating a hole on her neck to

enable her breath and stay alive.‘’She was admitted into the

Intensive Care Unit, with multipleorgan failure, for one month shewas on ventilator, a machine whichwas breathing for her.

‘’She also developed twoepisodes of cardiac arrest fromwhich she was rescued.

“She also developed renalfailure for which she underwentfour sessions of haemodialysis, ”Bode stated.

The acting medical director saidthat contrary to other opinions, thehealthcare team efforts kept the

woman alive, in spite of the strikeembarked on by health workers.

He said that numeroussurgeries, specialised tests,interventions, dialysis, drugs andother consumables committed intreating the deceased amountedto N1.5 million.

According to him, the familyonly paid N300,000 andrequested for a waiver of N1.2million.

‘’She was discharged on Nov.9 when she was deemed fit to gowhile the husband was sourcingfor money to defray the bill.

‘’Her relations, who wanted thehospital to let them walk awaywithout paying for the services shereceived, abandoned her.

‘’The husband requested to payin installments of N15, 000 permonth and this was accepted, buthe could not bring anyone to standas guarantor.

‘’However, the condition ofOduyoye became suddenly poorand she died of pulmoniccomplications on December 13.

A post-mortem examination is tobe performed to ascertain cause ofdeath,” he said.THE Eko Electricity

D i s t r i b u t i o nCompany (EKEDC), saysit has acquired 40 newdistribution transformers aspart of efforts to boost thecompany’s operationsduring the yuletide.

Mr Ademola Adegoke,Principal Manager, PublicAffairs Division of theEKEDC made theannouncement instatement in Lagos onSaturday.

The statement also quotesthe EKEDC ManagingDirector, Mr OladeleAmoda, as pegging thecost of acquisition andinstallation of thetransformers at N200million.

It said the motive behindthe acquisition of newtransformers was to ensurethat customers did notexperience prolongedoutages as a result of faultyequipment, especially asthe Christmas and NewYear celebrations approach.

It attributed the move tothe company’s policy of thecontinuously investing inthe upgrade andreinforcement of its networkto meet customers’demands at all times.

THE Regional DrugLaboratory of the

National Agency for Foodand Drug Administrationand Control, NAFDAC, inLagos yesterday recorded amajor feat with itsinternational accreditationby the National Board ofAmerican Society for Quality.

The drug laboratory wasaccredited after a thoroughaudit and assessment of thequality ManagementSystem, QMS, of the entireLaboratory by officials of theAmerican Society for Qualitytechnically known as ASQ-ANSI.

Announcing this whileaddressing RegulatoryOfficers of the agency at theAnnual Budget Retreat inLagos, Director-General ofNAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhiisaid the Yaba Laboratory hasnow joined four otherNAFDAC laboratories thathave been internationallyaccredited since last year.

THE Managing Director ofthe Lagos Metropolitan Area

Transport Authority (LAMATA), Dr.Dayo Mobereola, has disclosedthat Lagos would offer free rideon BRT, BFS buses during theholidays. According to him, thisenable Lagosians move around

the city unhindered.Mobereola explained: “The free

bus service which began in 2008had assisted in reducingcongestion and accident on theroads during festive periods. The free bus services to beprovided by the First BRT

Cooperative on the Mile 12 toCMS Bus Rapid Transit systemcorridor and the Ikotun-Igando-Iyana-Ipaja-Maryland BusFranchise Scheme corridor wouldrun between 7.00am and 10.00pm.

“The First BRT Cooperative,operator of the BRT will offer freeservices on Mile 12 – CMS, Mile12 – Obalende, Ajah to NationalStadium, Ajah – Obalende, Mile12 – National Stadium, Mile 2 –National Stadium, Oshodi –Obalende and Oshodi – NationalStadium routes.

“On the Bus FranchiseScheme (BFS) corridor, freeservices will be offered on theIkotun – Ikeja – Maryland,Iyana Ipaja – Maryland, Ikotun– Iyana Ipaja, Igando – IyanaIpaja, Igando – Ikeja, andIgando –Maryland routes.”

Lagos offers free ride on BRT, BFS buses

LAGOS State PoliceCommand, has warned

owners of vehicles abandonedwithin various police stationsacross the state to remove or forfeitthem.

Vanguard gathered that some ofthe vehicles, Toyota Corolla, withReg number AU876AGL, PassatWagon, Reg, CX341SMK, Mazda

Salon car Reg EPE382AV, HondaCivic Salon car Reg, BC952JJNand a Nissan Wagon,Reg,CG789GGE, are currentlybeing parked at Oko Oba PoliceStation.

Police sources disclosed that thevehicles, which were recoveredfrom armed robbers or thoseinvolved in accidents, could beauctioned if their owners do notcome for them within two weeks.

Police warn owners of abandoned vehiclesBy Ifeanyi Okolie

NSCDC to secure Lagos during festive period

LAGOS—THE Lagos StateCommand of the Nigeria

Security and Civil DefenceCorps (NSCDC), said yesterday,that it is to deploy 2, 000 officersto curtail insecurity during theyuletide.

The Public Relations Officer(PRO) of the corps in Lagos,Mr Chibuzo Mefor, said in aninterview that measures hadbeen put in place to map outthe black spots, wheremiscreants usually used ashideouts.

Mefor said that the commandwould organise seminars andworkshops for theneighbourhood watch and thevigilance groups across thestate, on how to gatherinformation on the activities ofcriminals and generalintelligence gathering.

“The black spots aredangerous spots wheremiscreants use as hideout toperpetrate their evil acts and areable to escape easily becausethey are familiar with theneighbourhood.

“Two thousand officers of theagency are on ground and most

of them will not be in uniform,so that they can not be easilyidentified.

“With collaboration from allsecurity agencies and support

from the public, arm robbery,pipeline vandalism and oil theftin the country will soon be athing of the past,” Mefor said.

Mefor, however, said that the

country had lost billions of reve-nue resulting to billions of dol-lars due to the activities of thecriminals through oil theft andpipeline vandalism.


Ekiti PDP raps APC legislators,says they’re deceiving the people

By Gbenga Ariyibi

Ogun assures workers onpayment of delayed salary

CONVOCATION: From right; Dr Modupe Ajayi, Registrar, Federal University of TechnologyAkure; HRM (Dr.) Isa Mustapha, Chancellor; Alhaji Bashari Aminu; Aare Afe Babalola; GovernorRamalan Yero of Kaduna State; Dr Mohammed Shata, Chancellor and Professor Adebiyi Daramola,Vice Chancellor, shortly after the conferment of Honorary Doctorate Degrees on Babalola andAlhaji Bashari at the 25th and 26th Convocation Ceremonies of the school on Saturday.

Yuletide:South-Westhighwaysmotorable,safe—Director

ADO-EKITI – The People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in

Ekiti State has condemned the 19 All Progressive Congress, APC,lawmakers in the state House ofAssembly for claiming they helda legislative session in an undis-closed location in the state lastweek. The party challenged themto explain the purpose of the mon-ey they confessed to have collect-ed from governor Ayo Fayose and justify the rationale and mo-tive behind collecting suchhuge amount of money in thisperiod when the finances of thestate is in coma

In a statement issued by thePDP and signed by the party’schairman, Chief Idowu Faleye inAdo Ekiti yesterday, the party not-ed that the ‘former speaker’, HonAdewale Omirin and his col-leagues are only dishing out liesand falsehood to the people ofthe state. The PDP chairman saidinvestigation conducted by himhas proved that nowhere in thestate did such a legislative meet-ing take place

He equally lambasted Omirinfor owing up that the only finan-cial transaction between the law-makers and Fayose was meant forthe fuelling of their vehicles

Faleye described the action ofthe speaker as corruption and in-decency, saying that any reason-able person would know that onlypeople of shady deals will be col-lecting such money from the gov-ernor each time they paid him avisit. The PDP boss condemnedthe decision by Dr Omirin and hisAPC colleagues for running frompillar to post from Lagos to Os-hogbo without coming to EkitiState House of Assembly to per-form the functions they were elect-ed for.

Faleye noted that; ‘’The formerspeaker and his co-travellersshould bury their heads in shamefor denying their state good androbust legislation rather turnthemselves into opposition ofEkiti renascence.’’

He equally frowned at the state-ment credited to Omirin that heand his colleagues sat and carriedout some legislative duties whenin actual fact there was nothing ofsuch. Faleye urged Omirin to dis-played some level of maturity bynaming the exact location andtime of the sitting either withinEkiti or outside the state.

THE newly redeployed Customs

Area Controller (CAC) ofSeme Area Command,Comptroller Ndalati Mo-hammed has promised toleave no stone unturned inthe drive to collect all rev-enue due to the govern-ment while working to sur-mount the challenges ofmanning a border area.

Ndalati who also reiter-ated the service zero tol-erance policy for smug-gling, said he will harnessall available human andmaterials resources for cus-toms operations whilebracing up to the realitiesof the peculiar nature ofSeme Command.

SemeCustomsreads riot actto smugglers

By Godwin Oritse

THE Director, Federal Highways, South

West Zone, Mr John Ibe,yesterday said adequatemeasures had been put inplace to ensure roadswere smooth and safeduring the Yuletide.

Ibe said that bad roadswere being rehabilitatedand that security had beenbeefed up in the SouthWest.

He explained that theFederal Roads Committeeon Surveillance and Ac-tion against Road Abuse(FERCSARA) had beenbriefed to ensure the safe-ty of road users.

Ibe added that they hadalready swung into action.

He said that the Feder-al Roads Safety Corps(FRSC), as well as thePolice, who are membersof the FERCSARA team,had been deployed towork 24 hours on themajor highways.

ABEOKUTA—WIFE of the Chief of Army Staff, Mrs.

Felly Minimah has urged wives ofmen and officers of the NigerianArmy to pray fervently against theactivities of the Boko Haram sect.

Minimah, who is the Presidentof Nigerian Army OfficersWives Association stated thisweekend, at 32 brigade, AlamalaBaracks in Abeokuta during thecommissioning of an acquisitioncentre and donation of reliefmaterials to the wives of officerswho lost their lives in active service

According to her, the objective ofthe prayer is to seek a divineintervention to end the insurgencyin the north-Eastern part of thecountry and elsewhere.

“We should all pray for ourhusbands everyday so that theseproblems of Boko Haram will end.''All these problems should stop sothat we don’t lose our husbands.

which has adversely affected allthe states in the federation, OgunState has kept faith with workersthrough prompt and regular pay-ment of salaries, pensions andgratuities.

“We are proud to say that sincethe last 42 months that this ad-ministration has been in office, wehave not defaulted on the pay-ment of workers salaries. The de-lay in the payment of November2014 salaries to certain categoriesof workers is definitely unusualand will soon be sorted out. Wehereby assure all the workers andtheir unions that efforts are beingmade to ensure that they all havea good Christmas and New Yearcelebration”, the government stat-ed.

THE Speaker of Ekiti StateHouse of Assembly, Dr

Adewale Omirin, has reacted tothe directive by Governor AyodeleFayose urging the Ministry ofJustice to write a memoauthorising the Commissioner ofPolice to arrest the 19 APClawmakers that sat in a plenarylast Thursday in the state capital.

Speaking through his SpecialAdviser on Media to the Speaker,Wole Olujobi, Omirin said APClawmakers acted within the lawto conduct its sitting in a publicbuilding in the state capital.

“The governor or the policecannot arrest us for performing ourconstitutional duty. Section 101 ofthe Constitution of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria makes itexplicit that the House can

regulate its activities, includingconducting its sittings in publicbuildings in the state capital. TheSupreme Court had also ruledthat the House can conduct itssittings in public places in the statecapital if conditions exist thatendanger members in the conductof their sittings.

“Governor Fayose has keptarmed thugs permanently in theHouse of Assembly to attack us.We can’t put ourselves in harm’sway, yet we have a responsibilityto our constituents to make lawsfor good governance. The is whywe followed the law to sit toconsider issues on the ongoingconstitutional amendment, “Omirin explained, stressing thatthe House had a responsibility torespond to the National Assembly

demand to send Ekiti Statecontributions to the constitutionalamendment process.

He added: “Ekiti State has justone House of Assembly. That iswhy the National Assemblyacknowledged the receipt of ourresolutions on the constitutionalamendment. If they are sure oftheir status, let them approach theNational Assembly or theJudiciary for recognition.”

The speaker said it is regrettablethat the governor has not learnt alesson from his past experiencewhen he instigated aconstitutional crisis that led to thedeclaration of state of emergencythat culminated in the dismissalof his government in 2006.

You can’t arrest us, Omirin tells Fayose

ABEOKUTA—THE Ogun State government has

expressed its empathy, sympa-thy and understanding with theentire workforce and labourleaders in the state, who havebeen agitated by the delayedpayment of November salary to

some of theworkers,, par-ticularly thosein the very sen-ior category.

The govern-ment remindedthe workersthat despite thedwindling reve-nue allocationfrom the Feder-al Government,

COAS’ wife callsfor prayer againstBoko Haram


2015: Only a God-fearing man can tacklepoverty in Rivers —AMAECHI

By Jimitota Onoyume

Edo Northsenatorialcandidateunveilsagenda

Delta 2015: Isoko leaders insist on deputy gov

PORT HARCOURT—GOVERNOR Rotimi

Amaechi of Rivers State hascalled on Rivers people to voteMr. Dakuku Peterside, the AllProgressives Congress, APC,governorship candidate in thestate, describing him as aGod-fearing man.

Amaechi, who spokeweekend, in Port Harcourt, atthe close of his annual Carnirivprogramme, said that thepeople should not vote anemperor, adding that only aGod-fearing man can tacklethe challenges of poverty inthe state.

“It is only a leader whounderstands what theproblems of the people are andhas taken time to think andexplore ways to find solutionto their problems that cangovern them well. I believethat the APC will win thegovernorship election and theAPC governor that willemerge from the election willnot allow what happened tothe previous Carniriv tohappen. I believe that he willsustain Carniriv. And the

governor that will take overfrom my successor will also beAPC. So, our yearly Christmascarnival parade will besustained.

“I am very confident thatincoming APC governors will

sustain Carniriv because I donot see APC producingemperors as governors. Listen,APC must field statesmen,people who know andappreciate the pain of poverty;those who understand that

poverty has filled everywhere.“My honest advice to the

people of Rivers State is to votefor a God-fearing man and notan emperor. It is my convictionthat only a God-fearing mancan wipe out poverty from thestate."

THE AllP r o g r e s s i v e s

Congress, APC, senatorialcandidate for Edo North,Mr. Francis Alimikhena,has assured the people ofthe area of qualityrepresentation with apromise to bargain forbenefits for his senatorialzone if voted for.

The APC senatorialcandidate who spoke at hisAgenebode country homein Etsako East LocalGovernment Area, said: "Iwill pursue the interests ofthe people. I will participateeffectively in law-making. Iwill help Edo North youthsto acquire life skills, addressecological problems andensure federal presence inEdo North.”

He thanked theleadership of APC in EdoState and party delegates,saying: “I consider yourtrust in me as sacred and Iwill justify your faith. "

By EmmanOvuakporie

....As Ijaw leaders back Timinimias Okowa’s running mate

ABUJA—LEADERSand stakeholders of

Isokoland in Delta Southsenatorial district, DeltaState, have decried whatthey claimed, weekend,was an attempt to denythe area the office ofdeputy governor of thestate in 2015.

Deputy President ofIsoko DevelopmentUnion, IDU, Mr. FelixOgbaudu, led otherstakeholders, includingpoliticians, in pushingthe case of the area.

Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, governorshipcandidate in the state,Senator Ifeanyi Okowa,from Delta North, is saidto be in dilemma betweenchoosing a running matefrom Ijaw or Isokospeaking area of DeltaSouth senatorial district.

A quiet understandingfor him to pick hisrunning mate fromIsokoland is said to bethreatened by the veryactive support hereceived from Ijawpoliticians during thegovernorship primaries.

Ogbaudu, in a chat withVanguard, described thepolitical permutation inthe state as that whichhas perpetually madeIsoko people fourth class

citizens since the statewas created.

Saying that the peoplewere determined to takethe bull by the horn byinsisting on producingthe deputy governor, henoted: “As regards the

governorship issue, Iwas privy to the IDUstatement and that’s myposition. Isokomarginalisation in Deltapolitics must stop. Whatcomes round must goround.”

THE IjawTransparency and

Development Group,ITDG, has suggested thepresentation of MrGeorge Timinimi as therunning mate to Dr.Ifeanyi Okowa, PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,governorship candidatein Delta State for the2015 general elections.

In a statementyesterday, ITDG saidTiminimi remains themost qualified andtrustworthy Ijaw son tobe the running mate toOkowa, considering hispolitical experience andcontributions to thedevelopment of Ijawnation.

“Timinimi was formerVice Chairman of WarriSouth West LocalGovernment Area,Special Assistant onCommunity Matters to

Chief James Ibori,former governor of DeltaState, Chairman,G b a r a m a t uD e v e l o p m e n tCommittee GDC,member of Delta StateTransition Committee in2007, Chairman ofDelta WaterwaysSecurity Committee, andCommissioner for WaterResources andDevelopment.

“Timinimi wasappointed Chairmanand member of thePresidential Committeeon Peace and ConflictResolution in NigerDelta by PresidentGoodluck Jonathanwhen he was VicePresident. Timinimi is aleader to severalorganisations includingGbaramatu-Egbema-Ogulagha CoastalCommunities Front," thegroup said.

CAROL NIGHT: From left: Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State; Rev. JesseJackson and Mrs Ekaete Unoma Akpabio, during the 9,999-man Annual Christmas carol,organized by the Akwa Ibom State Government at the main bowl of the Ibom InternationalStadium, Uyo, weekend.


Make choice of Okowa’s running matecollective responsibility —SMOOTH

Amaechi, Wike playing out Ikwerre agenda,Princewill alleges

By Henry Umoru

DELTA DEPUTY GOV: Be civil in youragitation, Macaulay urges Isoko

Tinubucommissions60-bedhospital inEdo

A B U J A — T H Eg o v e r n o r s h i p

candidate of Labour Party, LP,for the 2015 general electionsin Rivers State, Prince TonyePrincewill, said yesterday, thatthere was no rift betweenGovernor Rotimi Amaechi andthe governorship candidate ofthe Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, Chief Nyesom Wike,noting that both of them wereplaying out an Ikwere agenda.

Princewill alleged that theirsoured relationship was fakeand aimed at advancing aserious case for Ikwerepeople to enable them winnext year’s election.

Prince Princewill said thateven though he would notwant to say all that he knewabout the political quagmirebetween the governor and hiserstwhile Chief of Staff, hequestioned Amaechi’s quarrelwith President GoodluckJonathan, which he observedwas misplaced.

Speaking with journalists,weekend, in Abuja, Princewill,who was one of the PDPgovernorship aspirants,stressed that Nigerians must

not be deceived into believingthat Wike was fighting withhis former boss, but pursuingsame objective for theirpeople.

The LP governorshipcandidate who said that thepeople of the state will vote forPresident Jonathan nextFebruary, noted that the PDPwill lose the state because of

its candidate and what hedescribed as the disorganisedstate of the party, consideringthe way the primary electionwhich produced Wike wasconducted without otheraspirants.

He said: “On the ground,Jonathan will win in RiversState but with what hashappened, PDP will lose some

votes and he will find thatmany people in Rivers Statewill blame him for it.”

According to him, his choiceof Labour Party affords him theopportunity to express supportfor President Jonathan, notingthat his new platform will helpto stem the haemorragingfrom PDP to All ProgressivesCongress, APC in Rivers State.

By Festus Ahon

ASABA—AS the jostlingfor the Delta State

deputy governorship positiongathers momentum, Secretaryto the State Government, MrOvuozorie Macaulay,yesterday, appealed to theIsoko ethnic nationality toadopt civilised method in theiragitation for the position.

Addressing Isoko peoplewho are members of thePeoples Democratic Party, PDP,in his Owhelogbo countryhome, Macaulay said that theIsokos with over 250,000 votescould not be toyed with.

Insisting that with the Ijawshaving the senatorial positionand the Itsekiris holding thegovernorship now, it waslogical for the Isokos to begiven the deputygovernorship position in 2015.

He said that it was notenough to spill blood or toembark on public protest,adding that necessarymachinery had been put inplace to address the issue.

Noting that the agitation for

the Isokos to produce thedeputy governor was notpersonal but a collectiveinterest of the Isoko people,Macaulay commended Isokodelegates to the PDPgovernorship primary election

for their peaceful conduct.Noting that primary election

was not a “winner takes it all,”he stressed the need for thepeople to be united to be ableto deliver the PDPgovernorship candidate.

By Simon Ebegbulem& Gabriel Enogholase

BENIN—ASIWAJUBola Tinubu, former

governor of Lagos State,has commissioned a new60-bed SpecialistHospital, built by theGovernor AdamsOshiomhole government,in Ewohinmi, Esan SouthEast Local GovernmentArea of Edo State,complete with state-of-the-art equipment, three-bedroom doctors’ quartersand two-bedroom nurses’quarters.

Speaking at thecommissioning of thehospital project which wasfirst conceptualized butabandoned over 25 yearsago, Tinubu, who is alsoa national leader of AllProgressives Congress,APC, said that with thecommissioning of thehospital and other projectsin the state, GovernorOshiomhole hasintroduced infrastructuraldevelopment revolution toEdo State.

COMMISSIONING: From left: Mr. Osarodion Ogie, Commissioner for Works, Edo State;Governor Adams Oshiomhole; Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Mr. Wale Edun, former Commissionerfor Finance, Lagos State, at the commissioning of the 6-lane New Lagos Road with walkwaysand street lights, in Benin City.

THE Bolou-Owei of NigerDelta, Chief Tunde

Smooth, has said that sincethe Delta State PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, deputygovernorship slot had beenceded to the Ijaws, the choiceof who becomes the runningmate to Senator InfeanyiOkowa should be a collectiveresponsibility and not that ofa few persons.

He thanked the stategovernor, Dr. EmmanualUduaghan, for the peacefulprimaries that were conductedin the state, saying that thegovernor ’s commitment topeaceful co-existence wasonce again demonstratedduring the various primaries.

Smooth, who addressednewsmen, said that Deltansshould encourage thegovernor in ensuring thatpeace and love continue toreign in every part of the state.

He also congratulatedOkowa on his emergence asthe governorship candidate ofthe PDP in the state.

Chief Smooth appealed tothe Ijaws that the choice of whoto become the running mate toOkowa should be a collectiveresponsibility, noting thatthere should be a meeting ofall leaders and elders of Ijawto decide who among theirsons and daughters should begiven the position.

PDP urged tocancelgovernorshipprimaries inA-Ibom

By Etop Ekanem

THE people of Oronin Akwa Ibom State

have called on the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,national leadership tocancel the party’s recentgovernorship primaries inthe state and reconstitute anew panel to repeat theexercise with all aspirantsgiven a level playing field.

The Oron ethnicnationality made the call inLagos, weekend, during apeaceful protest to the AkwaIbom State Liaison Office inLagos following theoutcome of the partyprimaries to submit aprotest letter to betransmitted to GovernorGodswill Akpabio of thestate.

The protesters, whomarched through somestreets in Victoria Island,Lagos, carried placards withinscriptions such as:“Akpabio remember Oronation gave you 100 %support,” “Oro Nation hassuffered undueoppression,” Oro Nationwants 2015 governorship,”“Akpobio please stop theethnic crisis in Akwa IbomState,” “ We say no toimposition,” among others.

In the protest letter by thePresident, Oron Union,Lagos Branch, Mrs FeliciaEssang-Oludare, thepeople of Oron, said:“There are verifiablereasons to state that the Oropeople have enduredextreme marginalisation onthe basis of their ethnicityand have suffered extensivedeprivation under thepresent Akwa Ibom StateGovernment asconstituted.”

They called on the“national leadership tocancel the recently flawedPDP governorshipprimaries in the state andreconstitute a new panelmade up of men andwomen of integrity who canbe trusted to act accordingto the law to repeat theexercise with all aspirantsgiven a level playing field.

“In the alternative andconsidering the limitation intime imposed by theIndependent NationalElectoral Commission,INEC, election timetable, aconsensus candidateshould be sourced from thelist of Akwa Ibom Stateaspirants, with specialattention to aspirants of Oroextraction.”


2015: Elechi's sabotaging PDP bysupporting Labour Party — PDP candidates

By Peter Okutu

ABAKALIKI — THECoalition of Ebonyi State

Peoples Democratic Party, PDPcandidates for the 2015 general

elections, weekend, alleged thatGovernor Martin Elechi’s supportfor the decampment of PDP faithfulto Labour Party was an attempt toreverse the gains of the PDP inthe state since 1999.

The group described the

governor’s decision and presentpolitical status as an act of sabotageand unbridled ingratitude, havingserved two terms as governor on theplatform of PDP.

But reacting, Chief Press Secretaryto the Governor, Dr. Onyekachi Eni

THE GENERALSuperintendent of Deeper

Christian Life Ministry, PastorWilliam Folorunsho Kumuyi hasdeclared that 2015 is the year ofGod’s visitation. He said Godwill give His people a cause tocelebrate in the New Year.

Pastor Kumuyi, who made thedeclaration during the church’s2014 National December retreatat the Deeper Life ConferenceCentre, DLCC, Km 42 Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, weekend,said: “Things will turn aroundin your life. It is not what yousaw yesterday, it is not what yousee today, a brighter day iscoming; the coming days for youwill be better than the good olddays. The things of the past maybe wonderful, the things of todayday will more wonderful.”

He urged all not to be like thecomplaining, critical and

murmuring Israelites in the Bible.Instead, they must know“something better is awaitingthem in the present day. Thingsare going to be better at this time,”he said, quoting copiously fromthe scriptures.

He further urged all not tomeditate on the past, but “lookforward for a new day, with newpromises from the Lord.”

The pastor also urged Nigeriansnot to magnify present and past

crises, but rather magnify thepromises and plan of God.

“For you to know that God hascome to visit His people…nothing will stop your onwardjourney,” he said.

“God has not written you off.God has not forgotten you. Thereis a glorious day awaiting you;things will turn around… thebright future is starting today.”

Kumuyi also stronglyadmonished his teeming

adherents and other sincereseekers across the world to takeinsightful look into their lives andprepare for life beyond now;according to him, the return of theLord is imminent.

He advised Nigerians not toseek powers outside the confinesof the word of God, saying that"we do not need to kill ourselvesto have worldly and ephemeralpowers.The word of God shouldmoderate our conducts on earth."

Gov Orji canvasses votes for Ikpeazu, sayshe'll shun money-bags

By Anayo OkolI

UMUAHIA — GovernorTheodore Orji of Abia

State, has called on Abia peoplework for the success of thePeoples Democratic Party, PDP,in 2015 general electios byvoting into office as hissuccessor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu,with an assurance that he willnot disappoint them.

According to the governor,Ikpeazu will shun money bags

and listen to what the peoplewant him to do to better their lots.

Orji who spoke, weekend, inUmuahia, when he met withUmuahia South stakeholders,who paid him a solidarity visit,urged the people to elect a goodman who will have listeningears and shun money-bags

According to Governor Orji,money-bag politicians would nothave respect for Abians butwould rather strive to recoup themoney they spent on elections

if elected as was the case in thepast.

He said that Ikpeazu, who isnot so affluent but comfortable willnot forget the people who helpedhim emerge as governor.

Orji who said that he hadbrought unity to the state,commended Abians for ensuringfree and fair primaries andadvised losers and winners to seethemselves as brothers and putbehind them the results of thepolls.

2015: APC candidate raises alarm over plan tosubstitute him

By Peter Okutu

ABAKALIKI — THEwinner of the last House

of Assembly primary election forEzza North West state

constituency conducted by theAll Progressives Congress, APCin the state,Unigwe Arinze,weekend, raised alarm over plotby some executive of the party tosubstitute his name with that of

a serving House of Assembly.In a petition to the Chairman,

APC Primaries AppealCommittee, Arinze accused theMinority Leader of the stateHouse of Assembly, Enyi C. Enyiof plotting with the nationalsecretariat of the party to replacehis name (Arinze) with his own.

Enyi, who is the incumbentHouse member representingEzza North West stateconstituency, failed to emerge theHouse of Representativescandidate of the party for EzzaNorth/Ishielu federalconstituency of the state duringthe last primary electionconducted by the party.

But reacting to the allegation,Enyi, who denied the allegation,said he was standing on thedecision of the party that all APClegislators be returned to contestthe 2015 general elections.

Anglicanbishopdecriesneglect ofOkigwe

OWERRI — THEAnglican Bishop of

Okigwe Diocese, Rt. Rev.Edward Osuegbu, hascried out over what hecalled “the neglect ofOkigwe town by successiveadministrations in ImoState.”

Bishop Osuegbu, in achat with Vanguard,lamented that heaps ofuncleared refuse had takenover the town.

“Okigwe has been, if youlike, an abandoned area,administratively. It isunfortunate. The music,which we heard when wewere very young was thatall towns have developedexcept Okigwe and Orlubut today, Orlu hasovertaken Okigwe. It isonly Okigwe remaining.

"As you look round, youwill see things for yourselfthat Okigwe does not getthe attention it deserves andought to get.”

Enugu-PHmass transittrain servicesfor launchtomorrow

E N U G U — T H ENigeria Railway

Corporation, NRC, willlaunch the passengerinter-city mass transit trainservices from Enugu-PortHarcourt tomorrow at therailway station, Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.

The passenger train willshuttle between Enuguand Port Harcourt thriceweekly.

The launch is to beperformed by the VicePresident, Arc. NamadiSambo, assisted by theNRC Chairman, AlhajiBamanga Tukur and theManaging Director,Adeseyi Sijuade.

Rehabilitation contract forthe South East- South-South rail lines wasawarded to ESER WestAfrica in 2010 with acompletion time of 10months.

Although the contractorhad alleged delay inrelease of funds andvandalism as reasons forthe delay in completion ofthe project, a cross sectionof NRC staff and Enuguresidents are excited at thelaunch.

By Francis Igata

By Chidi Nkwopara

INAUGURATION: Abia State Governor, Theodore Orji, in a handshakewith Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, former National Chairman, PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, after the inauguration of Abia State PDPReconciliation committee, in Umahia.

denied the claim that thegovernor was sabotagingthe PDP, noting thatGovernor Elechi hadensured that Ebonyiremained a PDP state as theparty had stabilised in thestate.

Meanwhile, according tothem, Governor Elechi’ssupport for his in-law, ChiefEdward Nkwegu fromEbonyi North senatorialdistrict to run as the LPgubernatorial candidate wasa reflection of his insincerityto zone the governorshipposition to the South whereProfessor OnyebuchiChukwu hailed from.

In a statement by 33candidates of the PDP,including former governorSam Egwu, Senator SonniOgbuoji, the Speaker of thestate House of Assembly,Chukwuma Nwazunku,Sylvester Ogbaga, amongothers, the candidates

recalled that underGovernor Elechi’s watchmany PDP faithful had leftthe party to join theopposition because of hisself-imposing leadershipstyle.

“Although, it smacks ofunbridled ingratitude for atwo term governor whocame into office on theplatform of PDP to turnround to sabotage that veryplatform, the truth of thematter is that sinceGovernor Elechi wasdrafted into the PDP fromANPP in 2007 to contest thegovernorship election, theparty has not known peace,and its fortunes havecontinued to dwindle."

“However, the out-goinggovernor has chosen to beon the wrong side ofhistory.

“What is most surprisingis that the same GovernorElechi, who a few weeksago was singing to thewhole world that thegovernorship positionshould be zoned to theSouth, has suddenly eatenhis own words.

2015, year of God’s visitation — Kumuyi


Bulet Construction slams N100bn libel suitagainst Unity Bank

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA — AN internationallyacclaimed building and civil

engineering construction company, BuletInternational (Nig) Ltd and its ChiefExecutive, Alhaji Ismaila Isa, haveinstituted a N100 billion libel suit againstUnity Bank Plc.

In the suit which was entered before ahigh court of the Federal Capital Territory,Unity Bank was said to have tarnished thepublic image of both the company and itsChief Executive by falsely claiming thatthe construction company was indebted toit to the tune of N6.856 billion.

Whereas the company sued as the 1stplaintiff, Alhaji Isa who was a formerMinister of Water Resources and erstwhilePresident of the Newspaper ProprietorsAssociation of Nigeria, is the 2nd plaintiffin the matter.

In a 17-paragraph statement of claimsentered before the court, the plaintiffsmaintained that the bank, through its“defamatory and malicious publication,"portrayed the construction firm as a roguecompany and a failed enterprise.

The plaintiffs told the court that UnityBank never granted them any N6.8 billioncredit facility as it claimed.

It averred that trouble started when in2013 Unity Bank commenced debt recoveryactions against Bulet at the FCT HighCourt and the case was dismissed on

February 24, 2014 for lack of reasonablecause of action.

While the said suit was pending, UnityBank through its Lawyer I. H. Yamah wrotefalse and malicious letters to Bulets' tenantsand clients, including the Federal Ministryof Finance, CBN, Australian andAmerican Embassies as well as the Ministryof Foreign Affairs, conveying an auctionsale notice (threatening to sell the property

ALLEGED MUTINY: Hon flayssecret trial, conviction ofsoldiers

being occupied by the tenants).The plaintiffs said that the defamatory

publications were false, malicious andbaseless and calculated to mislead thepublic.

In the said offensive letters, Unity Bankalleged that it loaned the plaintiff N6.856billion, adding that the bank was inpossession of perfected legal mortgage overthe landed property occupied by the

tenants, warning them not to have anycommitments to their landlord.

The bank, this year, also institutedanother suit which is still pending in courtand is being challenged by Bulet for non-disclosure of reasonable cause of action,in which ruling has been fixed for February2015.

The plaintiffs said that while awaitingthe ruling, the bank went ahead again to

publish public notices andarticles in numerous newspapersas well as on its internet outlets,specifically addressed to theCBN, containing list of allegeddebtors of which plaintiff’s nameswere falsely and maliciouslyadded. According to the plaintiffs,the letters, newspaper reportsand public notices by the bankmeant that the plaintiffs arebankrupt and irresponsible andtook bank credit with intent todefraud the bank.

The plaintiffs said that the lettersand public notices wereunderstood by the public thatUnity Bank gave N6.8 billioncredit facilities and was in custodyof perfected mortgageinstruments which exposed theplaintiffs’s tenants to auction saleof their home and offices.

ABUJA — A Senior Advocate ofNigeria and constitutional lawyer,

Mr. Sebastian Hon, SAN, has describedthe recent secret trial and eventual deathsentence that was passed on 54 soldiersby the military tribunal as unconstitutional,null and void.

He maintained that the trial andconviction should be assumed not to havetaken place.

Hon, in a statement issued in Abujayesterday, argued that "section 36(3) of the1999 Constitution mandatorily requires allcriminal trials to be conducted in publicand not in secret."

According to him: “The secret trial ofthese suspects, therefore, amounts to agross violation of this mandatoryconstitutional provision.

“Let it be sounded out in crystal clearterms that section 36(3) of the Constitutionfalls under Chapter IV of the saidConstitution, which in turn has guaranteedcertain inalienable rights termedfundamental rights.

“Superior courts of record in Nigeria,including the Supreme Court, have heldthat these rights are above the ordinarylaws of the land, in this case, includingmilitary laws and rules. See Randome-Kutivs. Attorney-General of the Federation(1985) 2 NWLR (Pt. 6) 211 SC; WAEC vs.Adeyanju (2008) 9 NWLR (Pt. 1092) 270at 304 SC and Essien vs. Inyang (2012)All FWLR (Pt. 628) 951 at 967 CA, etc.

“More important, the Supreme Court inthe fairly recent case of Nigerian Army vs.

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri Aminun-Kano (2010) All FWLR (Pt. 528)1805 at 1832 SC held in emphatic termsthat the fundamental rights provisions ofthe Constitution apply to all Nigerians,including members of the armed forces,who are also entitled to the protection ofthe guaranteed rights!

“It is in the light of the above that I submiton most firm grounds that the secret trialand conviction of 54 soldiers by a militarytribunal is null and void on the groundthat it infringes on section 36(3) of theConstitution. Be it noted that thissubsection has specifically outlawed secretcriminal trials by a “court or tribunal.

“A military tribunal, without any iota ofdoubt, is covered by these provisions.

“Finally, it will be idle to argue thatfailure by defence counsel to raise timelyobjection against the said trial will rob himof the opportunity to do so on appeal. Inthe first place, the right guaranteed undersection 36(3) being fundamental, cannotbe waived.

“Secondly, superior appellate courts ofrecord in Nigeria have been consistent inannuling trials which offend thesubsection, objection or no objection. Seelavishly on this: Edibo vs. State (2007) AllFWLR (Pt. 384) 192 SC, Onwubuya vs.Statw (2014) All FWLR (Pt. 742) 1700 CAand Okoro vs. State (2012) 1 SC (Pt. 1) 1at 50.

“Head or tail, therefore, the trial,conviction and sentence to death of 54soldiers by a military tribunal, in so far asit was done in secret, remainsunconstitutional, null and void. I stronglybelieve the Court of Appeal will void theconvictions.”

GRADUATION: From left, Director General, Department of State Service, Mr.Ekpenyong Ita, chatting with former Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola SaadIbrahim, and Representative of Ooni of Ife, Oba Kole Ojutalayo, during graduationceremony of the Executive Intelligence Management Course, in Abuja, weekend.Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan


Adeboye off-sets medicalbill of injured prisoner....pledges intervention on behalf of another

By Sam Eyoboka

GENERAL OVERSEER of TheRedeemed Christian Church of God,

RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye,yesterday, pledged to off-set the medicalbill of an inmate of Maximum SecurityPrisons, Kirikiri, Lagos, Ighalo Joel whofractured his leg while playing footballin the prison field.

Adeboye, on a scheduled bi-annualvisit/end-of-the-year-service to theMaximum Security Prison, also accededto the request to renovate and equip thetailoring, shoe making and carpentryworkshops in the prison just as hecommissioned 40 solar street lights forthe use of prison community.

Responding to a table of requestspresented by the chaplain of LibertyChapel in the prisons, Pastor Tunwashe

Kabiru in his welcome address, PastorAdeboye said: “I have glancedthrough your requests, by the graceof Jesus they are all granted,” he said,pledging also to involve the church’slegal department to study the case ofan inmate who was convicted threeyears a few days ago, after four yearsof awaiting trial.

“I thought that after four years ofawaiting trial for an offence thatattracts three years sentence, they willjust say, 'go.' Our legal departmentwill look into this. If there is anythingat all that can be done, we will do it,”Adeboye said, explaining that therewas a similar case that he had toinvolve himself in during PresidentObasanjo’s regime.

“I remember I met a man here whohad been on death role for 27 years.What he told me then tore my heart

into two; he saidexecution is done veryearly in the morning, hewaited to 4.00 a.m. beforehe could sleep; that if hedidn’t hear any footstepsbefore 4.00 a.m., heknows he was not dyingthat day. For 27 yearsyears he had sufferedthat,” he said.

Continuing, PastorAdeboye said when heleft the prison that day, hecontacted the thenPresident OlusegunObasanjo, and “I told himno matter what this mandid suffering for 27 yearsis enough punishmentand he directed me to thethen governor of LagosState, Asiwaju BolaTinubu. I talked toTinubu and Tinubu said Ishould talk to the chiefjudge and I thank Godsomething was done.”

According to PastorKabiru, the inmate that gothis leg fractured in thecourse of exercising whenplaying football on thefield, now requires asurgical operation that willcost N300,000.

Nsukka people in UK commend Chime overchoice of senatorial candidate

EOPLE FROM Nsukka geo-political zone living in the United

Kingdom, have applauded GovernorSullivan Chime of Enugu State overwhat they called, ‘his consistency indelivering gains of democracy”

Speaking under the aegis of NsukkaWelfare Association UK, President ofthe group, David Anie Okoro stated thatthe governor has assuaged the wishesof his people by his choice of peoplethat will handle the mantle ofleadership in the state after his tenure.

Specifically, the group commendedthe backing he gave the newly electedsenatorial candidate for the rulingPeoples Democratic Party, PDP, inEnugu North senatorial zone, Hon.

Chukwuka Utazi whom they described as“a great and humble leader.”

According to Okoro: “Hon. Utazi is a greatand humble leader that would be used byGod to lead our senatorial area into greaterdevelopments in all areas and we wish himGod’s grace and protection as he builds anEnugu North that will serve and last.

“Hon. Chukwuka Utazi has achievedgreatness. He did not stumble into greatnessand the reason he has the mandate of thePDP for Enugu North senatorial zone isbecause the party under the leadership ofBarrister Sullivan Chime in Enugu Statehas seen in Hon. Utazi, a leader that loveshis people and would do all that is requiredto ensure that Nsukka senatorial zonemaximises its potential.”

TAN launches unity,humanitarian outreachnationwide

TRANSFORMATIONAMBASSADORS of

Nigeria, TAN, hasdeclared that the sustainedachievements of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan andthe continuity of hisadministration willguarantee peace, unityand progressivedevelopment of Nigeria.

TAN in a statement,yesterday, signed by itsDirector of Media andPublicity, ChristianUdechukwu, said it willsoon commence anationwide peace, unityand humanitarianoutreach to ease thesuffering of internallydisplaced persons, victimsof communal strife,sectarian and politicalviolence, terrorism andinsurgency in its efforts tosupport PresidentJonathan.

According to the

statement, “thecommencement of thisnational peace and unityprogramme will alsopresent TAN with ahumanitarian opportunityto reach out to militaryhospitals to boost themorale of the securityagencies as well asorphanages, widows,youth groups, womengroups, communityleaders, religious leadersand other organisedJonathan support groupsnationally.

“TAN, in addition, willopen opportunities forNigerians to sign up andrecruit Peace and UnityVolunteers in support ofGoodluck Jonathan andNamadi Sambo for theiroutstanding leadership inpiloting the affairs of ournation as Africa’s numberone economy.


CMYK

OPINION

18 — Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014

By Bobson Gbinije

OPINIONPoliticians, voodoo and power

*Mr. Gbinije, a social critic,wrote fromWarri, Delta State.

“Man supposes that he directs his life andgoverns his actions, when his existence isirretrievably under the control of destiny.”

-Goethe (1749-1832)

THE ruthless apotheosization of money,wealth, success, fame, greatness and

power etc has stimulated the passion formultidimensional strategies for achievingthem. The deification of money and powerhas ascended the dangerous crescendowhere human spare parts, diabolical rivalry,spiritual poisoning, family feud, voodooisticproclivities and cultic magic have becomethe major ritualistic paraphernalia and intheir wake leaving many people mad, dead,poor, deformed and some as mobile corpses.

The voodooistic ritualist and ritualismhave continued to maintain a banal presencein the Nigerian society. Within the context ofusage, a ritualist is anybody who performsthe rites, mystery, ceremony and liturgy oflife, using demonic mediums like sexualdefilement of women lunatics, child virgins,human spare parts, incestuous orgies andadulterous escapades.

But the concern of this writer in thissubmission is the rampageous prevalenceof sexual assault on women lunatics inNigeria. The ritualists say making love withor having carnal knowledge of womenlunatics remains the most potent antidoteto most problems. What a shame! We knowwhy most ritualists and their patronizersare never tried in Nigeria. It is because theyare the partners in crime with those at thehelm of affairs, politicians and the rich.

On the 5th November 2014, this writer wasdriving from Warri Club at about 10:15pmwhen four men alighted from a Prado Jeepand a Mercedes Benz 230 V-Boot. Theypounced on a popular woman lunatic wholoiters around Enerhen junction and tookher into Igbudu Primary School and sexuallyabused her. I slowed down to observe part ofthis show of shame.

On the 19th of February 2014 this writerwas also driving into Warri from Sapele atabout 10:30pm when three men accosted awoman lunatic at the Effurun/WarriRoundabout and took her into the Navalopen field and made love to her in turns. Idrove to Ekpan junction and told the policewhat was going on, they simply laughed andsaid, “Mind your business”. I have seen thissame scenario being played out in PortHarcourt, Lagos, Jos, Abuja and Benin City.What a shame!

Some of our societal and traditional valuesare so disparagingly skewed against ourwomen that when things happen to them theyare sheepishly waved away. Why will a so-called normal human descend to thedesperately depredatory level of makinglove to a woman lunatic? It is also anunquestionable truism that beliefs, practicesand customs in Nigeria are fundamentallyredolent in religious archetypal andparadigms. The prevalence of genderprejudices allows for female genitalmutilations (FGM), sexual harassments,rape, inheritance taboos and widow tortureagainst our women.

The woman is seen as an infrading andbovine dunderheaded noodlenotwithstanding her education and statusin society. Hence ritualists have also cometo see the woman as the most activeingredient in their pot-pourri of demonicconcoction. It is also a basic fact that somewomen are part of this luciferous syndicatethat are out to completely and eternallydebase womanhood by their shamelessinvolvement in women, child and girlstrafficking and human rituals. If green leavesshould burn, what will dry leaves do?

We call on the National Assembly to enacta law that will checkmate the impurity ofritualists in our society. We call on stateCommissioners of Women Affairs toimmediately fine-tune logistics andorchestrate actions that will forestall theloitering of women lunatics on our streets,because it exposes them to ritualists andsexual harassments. We call on the familiesof women lunatics to show some remorseby attending to their own by taking them toLunatic Psychiatric Centres or MentalHomes and we beseech all Nigerians,thatwe all belong to a common humanity andhence must learn to be our brother’s keepers.When one lunatic patient is maltreated, it isour responsibility to rise to salvage him orher.

We sometimes come across pregnantlunatics undergoing the trauma of childbirthand members of the society walk past andgo about their business without any qualmsof conscience. Sometimes, we also see mad

women carrying their own babies on thestreets. This, no doubt, exposes the baby andthe mother to ritualists and othermiscreants. We call on the local GovernmentAuthorities, State Governments, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) andother statutory bodies to please rise to saveour women lunatics and their children.

As the 2015 elections approaches,politicians and their ilk are preparing toacquire power by all means. They are muchmore prone to getting to their hierarchicalechelon by voodooistic acrobatics anddiabolical manipulations. Politicians areadviced in their own political and spiritualinterest to steer clear of human and bloodshedding. The essayist John Webster (1580-1625) said in his book ‘The Duchess of Malfi’that “Heaven-gates are not so highly arch’das princes palaces,. They that enter theremust go upon their knees”.

Finally, our world is drifting towards thetaratoid epicenter of horrific promiscuityand awesome materialism, where money,fame and power have become our God. Wenow pharisaically and hypocritically call thename of the true “GOD ALMIGHTY” indeceit. Hence, William Somerville said “Letall the learned say what they can, it is readymoney that makes the man”. But money andpower are transient. Let us seek integrity,instead of voodooistic ascension to power,wealth and fame. Politicians must fear God,before, during and after the 2015 electionsfor Nigeria to move forward.

FOCUS has been on the terrorists thathave been attacking the North East, but anew set of terrorists have emerged, thoughignored, they are cutting off whateverameliorations are planned for victims ofterror. The new terrorists disrupt aids meantfor victims of terror. They are not new totheir game, they only change garbs.When the President launched the Terror

Victims’ Fund, last August, perennialpresidential friends and newer arrivalsshelled out over N58 billion in one nightfor the fund. The performance exceeded thePresident’s expectations by N8 billion.How has the money been used? How manyredeemed their pledges? How can so-calledphilanthropists be benefitting from theplights of victims of terror throughunearned publicity?On 8 November 2012, a similar gathering

raised N11.35 billion for victims ofNigeria’s worst flooding in 50 years. Morethan two years after, most donors have notpaid. Last year, the Presidential FloodRelief and Rehabilitation Committeethreatened to name them after a June 30deadline. The committee asked them to“respect themselves and maintain their

TTTTTerroriserroriserroriserroriserrorists In Nets In Nets In Nets In Nets In NewwwwwGarbsGarbsGarbsGarbsGarbs

honour and integrity”, by redeeming theirpledges. The committee failed to namethem, covering their crime.Some of the fraudsters, who masqueraded

as philanthropists at the November 2012fund raising, turned up at the Augustdinner and promised money they have noplans to pay. President Goodluck Jonathaneffusively praised the latest“philanthropists”. It was a replay of hisebullience at the 2012 event. He made nomention of the botched relief fund for floodvictims, though those who should accountfor its failure were present.What did the President promise the August

diners? He promised tax incentives to the

November 2012 “philanthropists”. Theflood fund committee made a publiccomplaint that without contributing theirpledges, some of the pretenders cashed thepresidential incentives, a criminal offencethat should have been punished underappropriate laws. They were not punished.Unfortunately, the matter appears rested.Already there are complaints that relief

materials meant for victims of terror attackswere being diverted, meaning that inaddition to unredeemed pledges, reliefmaterials may not get to victims, as wasthe case during the 2012 flooding.It is time we started treating criminals,

whether in low or high places, with theignominy they deserve. It would not beadequate to receive their pledges wheneverthey pay. Why the silence over the fraud?Is the President unaware of the crime?Without fraudsters in 2012 being

punished, it is not surprising pledges forthe Terror Victims’ Fund in suffering thesame fate, in addition to relief materialsbeing diverted. Stringent measures,including sanctions, are necessary to detershameless fraudsters wherever they arefound.

Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014—————1919191919

CMYK

By Ikenna Anyanwu

•Mr. Ogunbiyi is a staff of the FeaturesUnit of the Ministry of Information Star-tegy, Alausa, Lagos.

By Tayo Ogunbiyi

NASS crisis: In defence of IGP Abba NASS crisis: In defence of IGP Abba NASS crisis: In defence of IGP Abba NASS crisis: In defence of IGP Abba NASS crisis: In defence of IGP Abba

THE Informal sector is an economicactivity that is neither taxed nor

monitored by a government; and is notincluded in that government's GrossNational Product (GNP); as opposed to aformal economy. It refers to very small-scaleunits producing and distributing goods andservices, and consisting largely independent,self employed producers in urban areas ofdeveloping countries. Opinion vary widelyon what should be the appropriate attitudetowards the informal sector. While sometend to see it in terms of populardevelopment, a vital source of employmentand income for the poor, the seedbed of localentrepreneurship and a potent instrumentin the campaign to tackle poverty; otherssimply dismiss it as an anomaly, a source ofdisorder, and an obstacle to thedevelopment of a modern economy.

Whatever the standpoint, there is no doubtthat the informal sector, particularly indeveloping economies, remains a soldbedrock for economic emancipation of thedowntrodden. In Nigeria, the Lagosexample amply reinforces the fact that, ifproperly regulated and harnessed, theinformal sector possesses enormous wealthcreation potential. Subsequently, in today’sLagos, it is difficult to ignore the sector as ithas become a veritable source of prosperityand employment for many. Thetransporters, vulcanisers, mechanics, batterychargers, fashion designers, hair dressers,barbers, traders, painters, welders,carpenters, bricklayers, farmers, etc haveso much become an integral part of ourdaily life that the formal sector cannot dowithout them.

Hence, any government that refuses torecognise the potentials of the sector as acatalyst for growth does so at its own peril.Consequently, the administration of Mr.

TTTTTransfransfransfransfransforming the informing the informing the informing the informing the informal sectormal sectormal sectormal sectormal sector: The Lagos eor: The Lagos eor: The Lagos eor: The Lagos eor: The Lagos exxxxxampleampleampleampleampleBabatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), in Lagos,evolved several policies and programmesthat have accommodated and integrated thesector into the development process in theState. Some of the policies have helped toregulate the activities of the sector therebyensuring orderliness and enhancedproductivity.

In order to monitor and standardise theactivities of the Tradesmen and Artisans, the

(LASDRI) on 13th May, 2009. Also,members of the Lagos State Cab DriversAssociation were assisted to secure loans topurchase brand new Nissan cars to enhancethe quality and scope of their operation inthe state. It should equally be stressed thatall the buses being used in the BRT operationare strictly owned by informal sectoroperators who only enjoy the conduciveoperational environ provided by the State

To ensure the active involvement of butchersin the project, government introduced theButchers Association to some commercialbanks for the purpose of securing loans forthe procurement of over 50 meat vans. Insame vein, modern equipments have beeninstalled into some of the state’s abattoirsto ensure that they strictly comply withglobal best practice.

Similarly, in order to boost foodproduction in the state, governmentconceived the rice for job scheme which ismeant to assist local rice farmers to accessfund and embrace modern technologywhich will enable them produce on a largescale. Also, government has put in place anagrinet project for farmers in the state tofast-track the dissemination of agriculturaland natural resources information andtechnologies to farmers, upland dwellers,and rural entrepreneurs. Through this,government now makes information on allagro products in the state availableelectronically to provide strategicinformation for farmers, governmentauthorities, and other stakeholders at stateand local government levels. Governmentis also developing and promoting ICT skillsamong agricultural extension workers andfarmers.

In the area of empowerment, through itsmany skill acquisition and vocationaltraining centres, government has trainedover 100,000 people across the state whilemany of the centres were recently upgradedinto core entrepreneurship hubs. Similarly,over 24,000 entrepreneurs have beenempowered with micro-credit facilitiessecured from the state’s EKO Micro-Finance schemes. Periodically, governmentdoles out equipment such as pepper grindingmachines, sewing machines, cameras, deepfreezers, power generating sets amongothers to beneficiaries as a way of enhancingtheir socio-economic status.

State Government through theEnterprise identification Lawengaged in the identificationand registration of variousTrade Associations in order tohave a comprehensive databank of the practitioners forplanning purposes and toenable the Governmentdetermine the infrastructuralneeds of this sub-sector so asto reduce the cost of doingbusiness. The long term planof government in respect of theproject, which was launched onFriday 24th August, 2007, is toadd value to informationcollected and collated by usingit to produce a comprehensivebusiness directory to be called‘Lagos Pages’ to expose all thelegitimate businesses in thestate to the internationalinvestors. With the Lawpromulgated in 1989 as anEdict and reviewed in 2003 asan Act, the State Governmenthas identified and registeredvarious Trade and ArtisanAssociations.

In order to improve thedriving skills of commercialdrivers in the state,government established theLagos State Drivers’ Institute

Government through roadsegregation and upgrading ofother road infrastructure. TheNigeria Union of RoadTransport Workers (NURTW),for instance, owns some of thebuses with funds secured fromEcobank Nigeria Ltd whileanother batch of the buses isowned by LAGBUS AssetsManagement Nigeria Limited.Buoyed by the widespreadacceptance of the BRT scheme,the State Government hasexpanded the scope of itsoperation to other routes suchas Yaba-Oyingbo , Ipaja-Egbeda-Igando, Oshodi-SangoOtta, Ojodu-Berger/Ikejaamong others.

Another core area of theinformal sector in which theFashola Administration hasachieved remarkable success isfood security. In terms of meatproduction and distribution, theEko Meat Vans wereintroduced into the state’s meatcirculation process to put anend to the health hazardassociated with the crude styleof distributing meat in the pastas well as ensuring food securitythrough modern and hygienicmode of meat transportation.

IN the course of Suleiman Abba'sthree decades of service to the

nation and the Police Force, he hascriss-crossed the entire landscapeof Nigeria. Following hisappointment as the 17thIndigenous Inspector-General ofPolice by President GoodluckJonathan, the Police IG wasn't indoubt about the immensity of thetask ahead of him.

So far, IGP Abba has kept hisword as the Nigeria Police Forceunder his watch has experienced anew lease of life. Officers areundergoing more professionaltraining and retraining, bothwithin and outside Nigeria.

Since he assumed office, cases ofaccidental discharge have becomea thing of the past.

He effectively supervised theconduct of Ekiti and Osunelections security-wise, a feat thatwas preceded by a nationallytelevised interface with all thestakeholders to drum the need fora hitch free election. This has beencommended even internationally.He demonstrated readiness for the2015 general election with thesterling performance of the Forcein the Ekiti and Osun elections.

The inhuman and ugly babyfactory business in the country hasbeen routed following a directiveby the IGP. Cattle rustlers are onthe run as the IGP has declaredtotal war on them and other anti-social elements.

In the fight against the BokoHaram insurgency, IGP Abba hasnot been found wanting.

Be that as it may, IGP Abba hasbeen confronted with somechallenges which he has beendealing with in a most professionalmanner.

•Mr. Anyanwu, a security expert,,wrote from Lagos.

The one in the front burner is theraging controversy over theincident of Thursday, November20, 2014, when the Police, actingon intelligence report that theRivers State Governor, RotimiAmaechi, and APC supporterswere going to attack the legislatureand other public offices , movedin to forestal any uglydevelopment that could lead to abreakdown of law and order.

The procedure was orderly untilthe arrival of the embattledSpeaker, Honourable AminuTambuwal,his men and otherhandlers on suspected to be thugsto disrupt security and peace withthe legislative environment.

They broke the security cordonand forcefully entered theNational Assembly Complex;while some honourable members,scaled the fence to gain access tothe Assembly Complex.

Interestingly, the Police inkeeping with the policy of the IGwhich discourages excesses wererestrained in the face of the brazenprovocations, including physicalassault.

No legislator was arrested; nolegislator was prevented fromentering the National Assembly asthe police only prevented thugsfrom entering the NationalAssembly on that fateful day.

Not surprising though, muchhave been written and said aboutthe incident. Equally, the PoliceInspector-General has appearedbefore a House Committee toexplain why the Police had to shutthe gates of the National Assemblywhere he was said to have refusedto recognize Honourable AminuTambuwal as Speaker of theHouse of Representatives. That is

not the true story. I watched the IGsay that since the issue is in court,he would not comment on it –because it is subjudice, what iswrong with that? Is it safe for acitizen to comment on an issuebefore a court;would it not amountto contempt? And IG Abba is aseasoned lawyer.

It will be recalled that onThursday, October 30, IGP Abbaordered the redeployment of all thesecurity aides attached to theformer Speaker. The directive washinged on Section 68(1) (g) of the1999 Constitution, whichstipulates that, “a member of theSenate or House ofRepresentatives shall vacate hisseat in the House of which he is amember if being a person whoseelection to the House wassponsored by a political party, hebecomes a member of anotherpolitical party before theexpiration of the period for whichthat House was elected.”

In view of the recent defection byRight Hon. Tambuwal, the Speakerof the House of Representatives ofthe Federal Republic of Nigeriafrom the People’s Democratic Partyto the All Progressives Congressand having regard to the clearprovision of section 68(1) (g) of the1999 Constitution of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria as amended,the Nigeria Police Forceredeployed its personnel attachedto his office. The Police isdemanded by law to enforce thatlaw. The Police should not fold itsarms and watch illegality.

Tambuwal, in response to thismove, filed a suit at the FederalHigh Court, Abuja, urging thecourt to reinstate his security detailon the basis that the IGP had noright to withdraw them without theorder of a competent court.

The suit was struck out onNovember 17, after the lawyer whofiled it on behalf of Tambuwal,Tunji Abayomi, applied towithdraw it. Did the IGP err on theside of caution?

For those suggesting that the IGshould wait for the courts tointerpret a section of theconstitution that is quite glaringare obviously out of touch withreality.

In the first place, AlhajiTambuwal did not wait for thecourt before his hasty defection. Ifhe is not a man who wants to eathis cake and still have it, he wouldhave known the consequences ofhis action and done thehonourable thing which is toresign his position as Speaker. Butthat was not the case as he was tornbetween joining the presidentialrace and gubernatorial race ofSokoto State while still basking asthe Speaker having discarded the

party that put him in the limelight.Talk of vaulting ambition! It is onlyin Nigeria that this kind ofshameful (macabre) dance cantake place.

Perhaps, President Jonathan ispartly to blame for not spottingrebellious'' Tambuwal on timewhich should have necessitatedimpeachment moves against him.This would have effectively putTambuwal in his place and savedthe nation all the embarrassment.

Some have called for theresignation of the IGP, while AlhajiAtiku Abubakar went ahead toaccuse him of endangeringdemocracy by enforcing aConstitutional provision.

The pertinent question howeveris who amongst the lot hasendangered democracy? AlhajiTambuwal and his cohorts in theAPC who are hell-bent onoverheating the polity andsubverting the Constitution to suittheir selfish ambitions or the PoliceIG who followed the relevantprovisions of the Constitutionthereby ensuring that there is nobreakdown of law and order?

The Police in the presentimbroglio have been circumspect,fair and just.

That is why the reactions of theAPC is infantile and untenable.APC stalwarts most often than notare unable to view issuesdispassionately.

It does not matter whether theIGP was appointed or not, (afterall, at some point we are allappointed), what matters iswhether he is competent on the joband this he has proven beyondreasonable doubts. Certainly, theAPC will not achieve much bybeing so peevish and unnecessarilycombative.

Reactions of theAPC is infantileand untenable.APC stalwartsmost often thannot are unable toview issuesdispassionately

Anygovernmentthat refusesto recognisethepotentials ofthe sector asa catalyst forgrowth doesso at its ownperil


OPINIONOBJ: The man, the Book and the law

By Alex Akpodiete

IN the Nigerian political landscape, there is anindividual that some believe to be larger than life.

Whether he is a septuagenarian or octogenarian, is asubject for debate amongst many people. Nonetheless,he still maintains the record of being the only person tohave been both a military Head of State and a democraticPresident. The jury is still out as to whether or not heshould be considered a statesman. This may be becauseof his penchant for making statements when a truestatesman may have chosen to remain silent or restrictedhis statement to a closed-door meeting.

I am of course referring to Chief Gen. OlusegunObasanjo (rtd.), the one-time Board of Trustee memberof the Peoples Democratic Party. Some of his antics havemade some pundits to wonder if he was a closetopposition party member.

Don’t forget that OBJ had stated that he was stayingaway from active politics but also recently met withmembers of the opposition party, All ProgressivesCongress (APC). The delegation included recentlydefected Speaker of the House of representatives andAPC Sokoto State Governorship candidate, Hon. AminuWaziri Tambuwal. Tambuwal is the one who joinedObasanjo in 2013 to throw two salvos on the President -one concerning the executive shielding of oil thieves anda second about the State of corruption in the country.

*Rev. Akpodiete, a public affairs analyst, wrote fromAsaba, Delta State.

Those hawks circling Buhari

Please see my article titled Obasanjo & Tambuwal's salvoson Jonathan. In that article, I commented on OBJ’spolitically motivated wherein he warned the President toact “before it is too late.” Obasanjo in that 18-page letterstated that “Allegation of keeping over 1000 people onpolitical watch list rather than criminal or security watchlist and training snipers and other armed personnelsecretly and clandestinely acquiring weapons to matchfor political purposes like Abacha and training them whereAbacha trained his own killers, if it is true, it cannot augurwell for the initiator, the government and the people ofNigeria.”

Pursuant to The Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution,Part 1, Subsection B (5), OBJ is a member of The Councilof State which comprises: “(a) the President, who shallbe the Chairman; (b) the Vice-President, who shall bethe Deputy Chairman; (c) all former Presidents of theFederation and all former Heads of the Government ofthe Federation; (d) all former Chief Justices of Nigeria;(e) the President of the Senate; (f) the Speaker of theHouse of Representatives; (g) all the Governors of thestates of the Federation; and (h) the Attorney-General ofthe Federation”. They are supposed to be patriotic andadvise the president privately, instead of issuinginflammatory and self-serving statements.

We have always wondered whether OBJ is workingagainst the president. In a piece titled Obasanjo vsJonathan, I raised this issue and wondered if GEJ and

OBJ were on a collision course. It should be recalled thatGEJ provoked OBJ by stating at a press briefing onSunday, November 25, 2012 that the method employedby OBJ in handling the infamous 1999 Odi problem wasnot effective.

OBJ who is famous for laughing, especially at his formerVP, Atiku Abubakar, chose to ignore a court order andpublish his book called “My Watch.” As expected, thebook made scatting allegations against President GoodluckJonathan and the members of National Assembly. Theaim in this analysis is not to comment on the veracity ofthe contents of the book, but to ask why the book wasreleased in contravention of a subsisting court order andwhy the book had to be launched at this heightenedpolitical period. Was it a marketing strategy or a movemeant to aid the opposition?

The contents of the book are not that different from OBJ’sstatements almost in 2012 that “today rogues and armedrobbers are in the States Houses of Assembly and theNational Assembly.” Additionally, he quipped added thatthe judiciary was overwrought with corruption. I guesshe should know because some of these people were putin their positions during his “watch.”

Now that a Court has issued an interlocutory contemptorder that OBJ must answer within 21 days, I wonder ifBaba is still laughing.

WE are still discussingmatters arising from the

emergence of the presidentialcandidates of the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) and theAll Progressives Congress (APC)as we get set for the frenzy ofpresidential campaigns. Thesearchlight is more on the APCbecause it is the new kid on theblock. The party is beset with anumber of post-natal problems.

Some of its leading lights havealmost made a vocation of failingin their bids to take over powerfrom the ruling PDP. Quite apartfrom the much touted incumbencyfactors which naturally play in thePDP’s favour, a close examinationof why presidential also-rans,such as Alhaji Atiku Abubakarand Major GeneralMuhammadu Buhari failed in thepast will reveal fatal flaws which,if not quickly fixed on this newplatform, will still become themajor reasons they may fail, yetagain. Unfortunately for the party,these are mentality problemswhich relate to the twin demonsof religion and regionalism;problems that their opponent, PDPdoes not have; has never had.

The major leg of the religiousfactor assailing the APC is linkedto the original calculations behindthe mergers that became the APC.It was reasoned that if the NorthWest, with its real or boguspopulation and number ofregistered voters combines withthe large population and votersof the South West, they canproduce a president of Nigeria.Let us put it in figures for greaterclarity. In 2011, the IndependentNational Electoral Commission(INEC) published the followingfigures as the final number ofvoters by geopolitical zones:South-West: 14,269,163 voters outof official (2006) population of27,722,432; South East: 7,577,212out of 16,395,555; South-South:9,474,427 out of 21,044,081; NorthWest: 19,803,689 out of35,915,467; North East:10,949,689 out of 18,984,299 and

North Central: 10,684,017 out of18,968,717.

It is a historical fact that the APCwas originally formed by mergersof regional parties of Arewa Northand South West, such as the AllNigerian Political Party (ANPP),Congress for Progressive Change(CPC) for Arewa North and theAction Congress of Nigeria forSouth West. The main motivatingreason for the birth of APC was toremove power from PresidentJonathan and give it to back toArewa. The calculation andpermutation was that if ArewaMuslim North-based parties(where the reactionary elementshave been clamouring for theNorth to snatch back politicalpower, which they regard as their

birthright) combine theirperceived voting strength withthat of the South West, they willwin the presidency with or withoutthe support of the rest three zones.This is because their numbers,based on the 2011 INEC figures,will come to a voting strength of44,848,911 compared to the shareof other three regions (SE, SS andNC: 27,735,656) where the PDP(and by extension PresidentGoodluck Jonathan) seems toderive virtually unwaveringsupport.

This calculation failed woefullyin 2011 because the eventualnumber of voters came to justabout 37 million votes, and thevoting pattern did not follow thisprediction. Besides, it is not easyto use religion and region as baitsto persuade political leaders fromArewa who are big stakeholdersin the PDP federal governmentto transfer their loyalty from theirruling party to a new one that ismerely aspiring to take over.

This pattern of merger createda big problem for the APC.Because the North East andNorth West are Muslim-dominated and the South West isnot only made up of about fiftyper cent Muslims but also has aleadership that are mostlyMuslims, it became difficult tobalance the leadership of theparty with Christian elements.This gave PDP supporters roomto slam unsavoury tags on theparty, such as “Janjaweed”,“Muslim Brotherhood” and whathave you. However, the APC

received major lifelines with thecontinued presence of SenatorChris Ngige and GovernorRochas Okorocha from the SouthEast and Edo State’s GovernorAdams Oshiomhole. This wasbuoyed by Rivers State’s RotimiAmaechi, who decamped fromPDP.

It was a lifeline, but it has notcured the fundamental problem.The difficulty that APC’spresidential candidate had inpicking his running mate owedto the faulty foundation of theparty. Only Muslims have cloutamong the South West leaders ofthe party. There is no visibleelectoral asset from the SouthWest who is a Christian in the APCleadership. Therefore, only aMuslim/Muslim ticket would bestrong, but not strong enough towin a presidential election.

Southernpartner

The Christians will feel left out,and obviously, the bid is boundto fail – again. But if they gavethe VP to Yoruba Christian whocannot get votes it will becomeBuhari/Pastor Tunde Bakare allover again. And if they take it tothe South-South, which has beena major financier throughAmaechi, the main southernpartner of Arewa in this merger –The South West – will havenothing to show for theirsacrifices. It is really a bone inAPC’s throat!

Another, more insidious problemthe APC presidential candidateis already facing is what I call thecircling of hawks. Northernregional hawks, who tried tosnatch power from PresidentJonathan inside the PDP butrepeatedly failed, have nowmoved over to the APC. Theseinclude Professor AngoAbdullahi, Alhaji Lawal Kaita,Alhaji Ibrahim Coommassie andDr. Junaidu Mohammed, amongthe rest. They have alreadyformed a cabal around Buhari.These are the unabashed “born-

to-rule” elements who believethat Nigeria is a colony of Arewa,and it is anathema to them thatanyone who is not a privileged,anointed Hausa-Fulani Muslimshould lead them. These are thepeople who have made it clearthat the war on the Boko Haraminsurgency is a “war against theNorth”. Coomassie andAbdullahi have alreadyannounced that Buhari is a“candidate of the North”.

What will happen if Buhariwins the 2015 election? It isobvious these hawks will movein and resume their old Arewaagenda that caters for theprivileged aristocrats whileimpoverishing the masses. Thesewere the people who pioneeredthe seizure of mission schools totruncate the educationaladvantage of the South andChristians, who promote thequota system, convert the federalministries, parastatals andagencies to honeypots for theirkinsmen and women; people whoregard the oil wells of the NigerDelta as their booty. These peopleare actually de-marketing theBuhari candidacy further. But thefunny thing is that these hawksare mere opportunists. They haveno electoral value for Buhari andthe APC, but they are waiting andhoping for the buffet to be ready.Then, they will crowd out thenon-Arewa merger partners.After all, they have their powerback.

The APC must reform thesefoundational negatives andbalance the leadership andstructure of their party if theyhope to last the distance in thisrace. They must tone downsectionalism and tell the hawksto take the back seat or actuallyjump off the bus. These are issuesthat can turn voters against evencandidates that are otherwisehighly rated. The problem withNigerian politicians is that theycarry these heavy loads intopolitical contests and when theylose, they say they have beenrigged out.

The problem withNigerianpoliticians is thatthey carry theseheavy loads intopolitical contestsand when theylose, they say theyhave been riggedout

CMYK

CMYK

Continues on page 22

By GODFREY BIVBERE &ANGES OBIABO

DECEMBER 22, 2014

TTTTTerminal charerminal charerminal charerminal charerminal charges: Ages: Ages: Ages: Ages: Agents,gents,gents,gents,gents,terminal operterminal operterminal operterminal operterminal operatatatatatororororors set fs set fs set fs set fs set forororororanother showdownanother showdownanother showdownanother showdownanother showdown

Freight forwarders and terminaloperators are set for anothershowdown over disagreement

on terminal charges.This follows the failure of the

management of APM Terminal tohonour the agreement reached withthe agents to end the strike actionwhich grounded port operations atAPM terminal few weeks ago, as wellas the judgment of the High Court onWednesday, which directed terminaloperators to comply with the directiveof the Nigeria Shippers Council toreduce terminal charges.

Last month, freight forwardinggroups went on strike for ten days toprotest high and unapproved chargesimposed by AP Terminal. The freightforwarding groups include theAssociation of Nigeria LicensedCustoms Agents, ANLCA, NationalAssociation of Government ApprovedFreight Forwarders, NAGAFF andNational Council of ManagingDirectors of Licensed CustomsAgents, NCMDLC.

The groups demanded among otherthings that, “Booking for containerexamination/scanning to start at 8amand to end at 2pm. All containersbooked must be dropped/scanned atonce. Examination should start at 9amand continue till 6pm.

“After the entrance of a truck into themain gate of the port with “TerminalDelivery Order, TDO”, failure by APMTerminal to load, the TDO will remainvalid without further rating or paymenttill whenever the container will beloaded.

“APM Terminal and shippingcompanies have turned our trucks androads to the empty container bay,exposing our drivers and motoristswho must be on their trucks for 24hours basis to untold hardship andsecurity risks, while agents continueto lose their shipping companies aslong as the containers are on thetruck. We call for an urgent agreementon how to drop empty containers at aholding bay outside the terminal.

“Free period before storage chargesto be extended to 10 days from theday of discharge of containers fromthe ship.

“Terminal storage and shippingcompany demurrage charges must bewaived throughout the period of thisservice withdrawal. Public holidaysnot to be charged and TDO should bewritten on Saturdays and Sundays.”

The strike action was howeversuspended following agreementbetween the agents and themanagement of APM Terminal.Vanguard however gathered that thecompany has reneged on three of theagreements and the agents arethreatening to resume the strike

action.Vanguard gathered that several

meetings have been held over theimpending strike between themanagement of APM Terminal andrepresentatives of some of the freightforwarding group but no agreementhas so far been reached.

Confirming this development toVanguard, Chairman of ApapaChapter of the Association of NigeriaLicensed Customs Agents, ANLCA,

Olumide Fakanlu, said that arepresentative of APM Terminalsigned the agreement promising toabide and comply with the above butstressed that they have reneged on allbut one.

According to him, “They are notabiding with point one to three of theagreement, the level of discussion is

FORUM - From left:, Mr. Radwan Akar, Chairman, Provita Vitaforce Foods, Amb. Moses Essien, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Institute for Government Research Leadership Technology, and Mr. Kassem Tay,the Company Marketing Manager,during the African product forum held in Abuja.

CMYK


Cover Story

Continues from page 21

As the RomanHistorian, Plutarch

(AD 46-120?) had noted“The mind is not a vesselto be filled but a fire to bekindled.” Given theircorrupt and greedylifestyles Nigeria’s leadersdo not seem to care aboutintegrity or moral values.They are good at predictingthe future without creatingit. As Peter Drucker hasobserved “If you want topredict the future, createit.”

In Nigeria, the growingproblem of unemploymentin the country hascontributed largely to theworsening problem ofpoverty among thepopulace. Unemploymentaccording to Olaitan (1996)leads to frustration anddisillusionment which mayresult in crime or drug abusein a futile attempt to escapefrom and forget the painsand humiliation of povertyand lack. The problem ofunemployment, he furtherstated, has worsened asmillions of school leaversand graduates of tertiaryinstitutions have notsecured gainfulemployment over the years.Unemployment has posed aserious problem not only tothe welfare of individualsbut also to that of theirfamilies. Many able bodiedand highly qualifiedpersons who could notsecure gainful employmenthave remainedeconomically dependent ontheir parents. This isbecause they lack thenecessary occupationalskills to be self employedand to effectively function intoday ’s world of work.These occupational skillscan be provided by technicaland vocational education.According to Abdulahi(1994) technical educationis that aspect of educationthat involves the acquisitionof techniques andapplication of theknowledge of the sciencefor the improvement ofman’s surrounding.

Technical and vocationaleducation prepares one forthe world of work withwhich the individual

Vocation and technical education– a key to improving Nigeria’sdevelopment. Part 2

become reliant and canmake contributions to thedevelopment of the society.As employers look for newtalents every year from newgraduates, it is important tonot only have a solideducation but graduates thathave features that stand outfrom the rest of thegraduating students. Withthe economy being moreglobalized than ever, it isimportant to have abackground and a skill setthat allows graduates tobecome immersed in theglobal economy right fromgraduation (Cote, 2007). Itis important for thesestudents or graduates tohave skills in innovation intechnology education andentrepreneurship to beready to fit into the globalmarket place on whichtoday’s economy dependson. Entrepreneurial SkillsNeeded by Technical andVocational Education.

Leadership is not a majorcause of Nigeria’s under-developed status. Nigeriacan become an economicpower-house (and realizeits visions) only if properattention is given toeducation and technologicaldevelopment and promotesand rewards creativity, andchannel its material andhuman resources toproductive use. The leadersmust recognize therelevance of technical andvocational education innational development andadopt and adapt what worksin developed nations. Theresources being wasted inthe on-going false re-branding campaign shouldhave been used to re-brandthe nation’s educationsector. No amount ofrhetoric (or fanciful slogan)would solve Nigeria’s socio-political and economicproblems. The leaders couldsalvage Nigeria’s image byre-branding their mentalityand doing the right thing:tackle corruption, reform theelectoral system and fix thedilapidated institutions.Thus, without afundamental shift in values,beliefs and thinking, andwithout technologicalcapability, Nigeria willcontinue to dream ofbecoming a ‘Great Nation’.

that we want to assist them toabide because it looks like itis a very difficult task forthem. We gave them sevendays but they came to appeal.We held a meeting where wesaid ok, if you think it isdifficult for you to do yourwork, then for the interest ofNigeria as a whole we willassist you.

“If one company can begiven 50 percent of the wholeimport and export traffic inand out of Nigeria, you canthen understand what ishappening now. AP Molarhas been given 47 percent ofall the import into Nigeria, sowe just have to consider that.It is a matter of moving fromgovernment monopoly toprivate monopoly, the portionthey took is too much forthem. We realized that, thatis why we said that we willcollaborate with them to makethem comply but it won’t beby force but they are draftingour operatives to work withthem.

“That is what they have beensaying for the past six years,no capacity (no space). Thatthey cannot handle more than200 containers per day andthat would not be enough forNigerians. There are a lot ofspace at the terminal that theyare wasting, so it is just amatter of interest probably,may be they have a hiddenagenda, that is as perrevenue (What they want toget from the presentsituation).

Vanguard also gathered thatthe decision to resume thestrike action may havesuffered a setback, as one ofthe groups, NationalAssociation of GovernmentApproved FreightForwarders, NAGAFF, havedecided not to participate inthe strike.

Commenting on this, theANLCA Apapa boss said, “Ifthey pull out we won’t blamethem because we are notunaware that some operatorsin the industry may havecompromised their stand andit is not our business anyway.Whatever compromise thatthey may have put themselvesinto is their cross but as forANLCA, we do have astandard and ANLCA isknown is an internationalorganization with high moralstandard."

On his part, Mr. BonifaceAniebonam, Founder of the National Association ofGovernment ApprovedFreight Forwarders(NAGAFF), said that hisassociation decided to pullout of the ongoing industrialaction in order to save theNigerian economy fromfurther hardship.

“The economy is losing atleast N5 billion daily. Customsis losing N1.4 billion daily.Government’s externalreserve is dropping daily, yetgovernment needs money tofight insurgency,” theNAGAFF Founder stated.

He said NAGAFF pullingout of the strike is withoutprejudice to ongoing

negotiations by all parties inthe matter.

When contacted, MediaConsultant of APM Terminal,Bolaji Akinola, who is alsoMedia Consultant of STOAN,said that all the issues havebeen settled as at Thursday,December 18th after ameeting with the freightforwarders.

According to him, “Thematter has been resolved.Why are you trying to whip itup? Is it only APMT thatoperates in this industry? Wehave a cordial relationship,we had a meeting after theinitial problem and weagreed amongst ourselves(both APNT and the agents),we have agreed amicably onthe issues and we havemoved past that stage.”

Meanwhile, attempt by theterminal operators to resist theefforts of the NigeriaShippers Council (NSC) toreduce terminal chargesincluding the controversialstorage charge, have suffereda legal setback.

The Council had directedshipping companies to reducetheir shipping line agencycharges from N26, 500 toN23, 850 per TEU and fromN48, 000 to N40, and 000 perFEU and directed shippingagencies to refund containerdeposits to importers andagents within 10 workingdays after the return of theempty containers.

But not satisfied with thedirective of the NSC, terminal

TTTTTerminal charerminal charerminal charerminal charerminal charges: Ages: Ages: Ages: Ages: Agents, terminalgents, terminalgents, terminalgents, terminalgents, terminaloperoperoperoperoperatatatatatororororors set fs set fs set fs set fs set for another showdownor another showdownor another showdownor another showdownor another showdown

CONFERENCE - from left Managing Director/CEO Rodot Nigeria Limited, Remi Adeseunpresenting Life-Time achievement award to Managing Director/CEO Merit HealthcareLimited, Dr Lolu Ojo which he received on behalf of Prince Julius Adelusi Adeluyi; andFounder/CEO Healthplus, Bukkie George at the 7th HealthPlus annual conference,Thanksgiving dinner and award HELD in Lagos.



Business & Economy

The Consumer Protection agency is now embroiled in a controversythat is leading no where. It has drawn the Council and Coca Colainto a legal battle. The issue in the matter leaves a very sour taste in

the mouth. The Director-General, Consumer Protection Council (CPC), MrsDupe Atoki has told Nigerians that in the exercise of the mandate of theCouncil, following complaints of defective products of Coca Cola bottled bythe Nigeria Bottling Company, the CPC investigated one of such complaints

Of CPC, Coca Cola and theinvincible hand of presidency

in respect of two half-filledcans of sprite andsubstantiated the allegation ofproduct defect and violation ofCPC Act, based on whichseveral recommendationswere made “and ordersthereto issued to Coca Cola.”

The orders are that: the twocompanies subject theirmanufacturing process to theCouncil over a period of 12months, formulate a shelf lifepolicy to facilitate removal oftheir expired products fromthe market, review theirtraceability policy to make iteasier for the companies totrack their products andpayment of cost ofinvestigation andcompensation to theaggrieved party. Noindividual or corporate canfault the right of the CPC tocarry out such inspection.

It would be wrong by allstandard for anyone toattempt to make a defense forCoca-Cola and NBC becausethere can be no justificationfor defective products. But, itis equally wrong to deny thatmanufacturing error is a factof life in every industry andevery country, including themost technologicallyadvanced ones. What isimportant in such situation isto ensure that such industryis not deliberatelyendangering consumers andsociety by condoningfrequency of such errors.What is curious in the CPC vsCoca-Cola and NBC case isthe whopping fine ofN100million for an offencethat was described as ‘twohalf-filled cans of Sprite’ andalso the regulator’s apparent

preference to fight the courtcase in the media.

Perhaps CPC has set a newrecord on orchestrating legalbattles in the media. It is hardto recall a court case soorchestrated by an interestedparty in Nigeria’s mediaspace. Probably this is CPC’sdemonstration of faith in thecourt of public opinion ratherthan the conventional courtsas the case sounds rathercurious and judiciary watchersexpect the court to throw it outas the companies in questionhad filed, and the law allowsfor a judicial review of thedecisions of the CPC on theconsumer complaints inquestion.

As of today,CPC has notreleased thetwo cans to thecompany tocross check ifthe productwas actuallyadulterated orjust half filled.

CPC isclaiming ahuge N60million cost ofinvestigation.It has notexplained toN i g e r i a n swhere theinvestigationtook place. Ithas not also

explained the experts thatconducted an investigationthat would cost N60 millionon two half filled cans. Wasthe investigation internal,which agency in or out ofNigeria conducted theinvestigation? There seems tobe no record of theinvolvement of its sisteragency NAFDAC that haslaboratory to test products. IsCPC a revenue generatingagency of government thatwould pass its surplus to thefederation account? If not,why is it asking the twocompanies to pay N40 millionto its coffer?

The real substance of thiscase is “two short-filled cans ofSprite”, i.e. twocans that were notfilled to the normalcapacity which isan extremely rarebut not impossibleoccurrence in them a n u f a c t u r i n gprocess. Is it thehalf filled can thatconstituted healthhazard to theconsumer?

Certainly thiscase is not aboutproduct quality orsafety as there wasno contaminationor foreign matter inthe said two cans ofSprite. It is about

the cans not being full tocapacity; it is a very rareoccurrence and thereforecannot be a deliberate attemptby two companies toshortchange or exploit theconsumer. From availablerecord the CPC has notclaimed or show any evidencethat it conducted a laboratorytest or to prove that the contentof those two short-filled canspresented any form of healthrisk to a consumer.

From previous experience,the expectation is that as amatter of due diligence, CPCwould have sought tocollaborate with sisteragencies that are fullyequipped to deal with issuesof product quality and safetysuch as NAFDAC and SON incarrying out the saidinvestigation, especially as itrelates to the level of risk thatthe two cans pose to aconsumer. But there was nosuch collaboration.

Due to CPC’s refusal torelease the two short-filledcans, the companies seem notto be be able to carry out alaboratory test to determine theexact cause of the short-fill. Ona general note, short-filling inbeverage cans may result froma number of factors includingmanufacturing error orunidentified leakage due toinappropriate storage orhandling in trade.

The question many

Nigerians are asking is, is ittrue that the originalcomplainant (consumer) inthe case of the two short-filledcans of Sprite is theimmediate past Chief of Staffto the President? Is it also truethat the incident took place inAugust 2013 while he was stillin office? Is it also true thathe forwarded the cans to theHonourable Minister ofIndustries, Trade &Investments who, in turn,forwarded them to the CPCwith a directive to investigatethe matter? Is it because of thepersonality involved that theCPC is doing what it is doing?As it stands, Nigerians arefeeling that there seems to bea correlation between theprofile of this complainantand the “passion” with whichCPC is handling the matteramounting to the usual abuseof power and position inNigeria. From the look ofthings, this matter haddragged to an irreversiblepoint at the time thecomplainant left office inFebruary 2014.

CPC’s apparent focus on thetwo short-filled cans of Spriteis not a new norm but anisolated case obviouslyinfluenced by the profile of thecomplainant. The council hasneither found nor taken upany other consumer case withequal passion since August2013 when the case begun,despite the plethora ofconsumer complaints itreceives involving othercompanies and productsacross sectors. What ishappening CPC? It is a goodthing that the matter has goneto court, let the court make itspronouncement on it.

It would bewrong by allstandard foranyone toattempt tomake adefense forCoca-Cola andNBC becausethere can benojustificationfor defectiveproducts

TTTTTerminal charerminal charerminal charerminal charerminal charges: Ages: Ages: Ages: Ages: Agents, terminalgents, terminalgents, terminalgents, terminalgents, terminaloperators set for another showdownoperators set for another showdownoperators set for another showdownoperators set for another showdownoperators set for another showdownoperators under the aegis ofSeaport Terminal OperatorsAssociation of Nigeria,STOAN and Association ofShipping Lines Agency(ALSA) dragged the Councilbefore the Federal High Court,challenging its powers toreduce their charges.

But the Federal High Courtsitting in Lagos Wednesday,17th of December, 2014 ruledthat the Seaport TerminalOperators Association ofNigeria, STOAN, andAssociation of Shipping LinesAgency (ALSA) should returnto status quo over shippingand terminal storage charges.

The trial judge, JusticeIbrahim Buba, upheldthe appointment of theNigerian Shippers’Council (NSC) as porteconomic regulator andtherefore dismissed acase filed by members ofthe ALSA against theNSC over a directive tothe agencies to reducetheir shipping lineagency charges (SLAC)and refund containerdeposits within 10 days.

It also ruled thatSTAON should revert towhat they were chargingbefore the increase in2009.

AWARD - from left; Prince Gbolahan Lawal, Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture andCooperatives; Mr Adelaja Adeleye, President Ultimate Circle of Nigeria and Mr Niyi Oyeyipo,member ultimate circle at the ultimate night held at Eagle Club on Saturday during which MrOyeyipo received the club's Landmark Achievement Award.

Continues from page 22


CMYK

Business & Economy

Africa FinanceCorporation has

announced theclose of a $300 million dualtranche, two-year andthree-year club facility.

The facility, according toa statement by the AFC,was arranged by sixinitial mandated leadarrangers (IMLA) andBookrunners: Bank ofTokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ,Limited; Citibank N.A;Deutsche Bank AG;FirstRand Bank Limited;Standard Bank of SouthAfrica Limited; StandardChartered Bank.

The AFC disclosed thateach of the IMLAs andBookrunners committedfunding of US$50 millionto the facility, adding thatit intends to utiliseproceeds of the facility forgeneral corporatepurposes including thefacilitation of trade.

Subsequent to the initialfunding, the AFC statedthat the secondary marketsyndication of the facilitywas arranged.

“The secondary marketsyndication witnessed astrong demand for thecredit, with newcommitments of US$336.5million obtained from 16lenders across variousgeographies such as Asia,Europe and the MiddleEast, including:-Industrial andCommercial Bank of ChinaLimited, Commercial Bankof Kuwait K.P.S.C.

“Others are: the Korea

AFC raises $300m for tradefacilitation

PROMO - From left: Brand Manager, StarTimes, Somoye Tunde; Deputy Director, Regulatoryand Monitoring, National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Baba Adamu and Public RelationManager, StarTimes, Israel Bolaji during the StarTimes Season's Jolly Promo draw in Abuja.

Development Bank, KDBBank Europe Limited,Burgan Bank S.A.K, TunisInternational Bank, First GulfBank PJSC, Bank of ChinaLimited, State Bank Of India,Banque des MascareignesLtée, Commercial Bank ofQatar Q.S.C, The Export-Import Bank of the Republicof China, Korea ExchangeBank, Al Ahli Bank ofKuwait K.S.C.P, FirstCommercial Bank Limited,Mega InternationalCommercial Bank Co, United

Taiwan Bank S.A,” the AFCnoted.

The AFC further explainedthat the facility was more thantwo times over-subscribedduring the primary andsecondary market process,with AFC receiving totalcommitment of US$636.5million from a total of 22lenders.

Banji Fehintola, Senior VicePresident & Treasurer, AfricaFinance Corporationcommented, “AFC’s longterm vision is to help address

Africa’s infrastructure deficitand ensure sustainableeconomic growth for thecontinent. We areencouraged by the confidence that ourlenders have placed in us.

“We believe that the well documented need for bridging theinfrastructure investment divide across Africa willprovide the opportunity to apply AFCs differentiated model of providing long-terminfrastructure financing andvalue added infrastructure asset project developmentexpertise, to generate real value for our investors and stakeholders”.

AFC, a multilateral financeinstitution, was established in2007 with a capital base ofUS$1 billion, to be the catalystfor private sector infrastructureinvestment across Africa.

AFC’s investment approach combines specialist industry expertise with a focus on financial and technicaladvisory, project structuring,project development and riskcapital to address Africa’sinfrastructure developmentneeds and drive sustainableeconomic growth.

AFC invests in high quality infrastructure assets that provide essential services in the core infrastructure sectors ofpower, natural resources,heavy industry, transport, andtelecommunications. AFChas become the benchmarkinstitution for private sectorinvestment in Africa.

Zero duty on palm oil productsthreatens local industry —NACCIMA

By FRANKLIN ALLI

The NigerianAssociation of

Chambers of Commerce,Industry, Mines andA g r i c u l t u r e(NACCIMA), weekend,called on the FederalGovernment toreconsider the ECOWASCET document andrevise the tariff on otherpalm oil products in linewith others whose tariffare clearly stated.

NACCIMA made thecall during thepresentation of itscommuniqué on‘Agricultural ValueChain’ to the Minister ofAgriculture and RuralD e v e l o p m e n t ,Akinwunmi Adesina, forhis consideration and

implementation.The delegation was received

by the Minister of State, HajiaAsabe Ahmed and DirectorAgro Processing andMarketing Department, Engr.O.B. Jatto.

Alhaji Mohammed BadaruAbubakar, National Presidentof NACCIMA, who led thedelegation, said:“Honourable Minister it ispertinent to draw yourattention to the urgent needfor this is essential in othernot to jeopardize theTransformation agenda of theFederal Government on thePalm revitalization in theAgricultural sector.

“The implication of notindicating the duty payablefor this product implies zeroduty, consequently if thisomission is allowed to stand,it would lead to flooding ofthe market with these

products through ourneighboring countries ofIvory Coast, Ghana, Kotonouand Togo where we are allaware they are mostlydumped, thereby killing themarket for locally producedpalm oil products.”

“Finally, We wish toreemphasised ourAssociation’s readiness tocontinue to partner with theFederal Government towardsthe revitalisation/rejuvenationof our Agricultural Sector,with all of us working aspartners in progress, we willbe able to achieve foodsufficiency for consumption,raw materials for industrialgrowth and boost our exportspotentials in a manner thatwill make the country achievethe target of being among thefirst 20 agriculturallydeveloped nations by the year2020.”

WavecrestCollege, IHGsign MoU ontraining

By CHRISONUOHA

CSI receivesbusiness plancompetitionaward

Nigeria’s fast growingIn Store advertising

solutions provider ConsumerScores International Limitedhas received the Top Tenbusiness plan competitionaward for sub Saharan Africanentrepreneurs. The award wasgiven by the IslamicDevelopment Bank Groupfollowing a rigorous selectionand mentoring processinvolving over six hundredapplications received from 22countries in sub SaharanAfrica.

The business plancompetition was instituted bythe Islamic Development BankGroup, Saudi Arabia for subSaharan Africanentrepreneurs at the idea andgrowing business stages. Theobjective of the competitionwas to identify high growthentrepreneurs in sub SaharanAfrica so as to provide thesupport and enablers forsustained growth anddevelopment.

In a bid to enhance andprovide technical

competence and skilledpersonnel that will meet thedemands of the hospitalityindustry, a Memorandum ofUnderstanding between theIntercontinental HotelsGroup, (IHG) owners ofIntercontinental Hotel andWavecrest College ofHospitality was signed lastTuesday at the Hotel’sMilano Hall, Victoria Island,Lagos to actualize thiseducation and skillacquisition partnershipinitiative.Rosana Forsuelo, The provostof WestCrest College, whowas very glad on the outcomeof the ceremony said, “Onbehalf of the Women’s BoardEducational Society, theManagement Team, the Staff,students and alumni of theCollege, I would like to thankthe Intercontinental Lagos, forinitiating with us the MOU onEducation and Industrypartnership.Speaking further, she notedthat, “This Collaboration is inline with what the collegestands for which entailstraining women to becompetent professionals.


Business & Economy

‘Over $100 million flow into Chinafrom Nigerians’

By VERA SAMUELANYAGAFU

Nigerian businessmenin China haveexpressed the need

to have both visiting andresident Nigerians in Chinaprocess travelling documentsto China without muchhassles, stressing thatNigerian businessmen alone,flow about $100 million into thecity of Guangzhou, China, ona daily basis.

Also concerned about thenew development, NigerianChina-based ShanghaiEngineering ConstructionCompany (SECC) boss, Mr.Fetus Mbisiogu, toldVanguard that Nigerianbusinessmen contributeenormously to thedevelopment of both Chinaand Nigeria economies,saying that, Nigerians haveadded value to Small andMedium Enterprise (SME)operations in every facet ofChina and have createdemployment even for thelocals.

He said that Nigeriansmaintain the most active andindustrious African communityin Guangzhou, adding that,while Nigerian businessmenin China own legitimate andreputable companies inChina, many Chinesenationals are still registeringbusinesses in Nigeria.

“As a matter of integrity, theFederal government ofNigeria should consider acloser look at the situation andensure that the new visaapplication rule by the

CEREMONY - Mr Muda Yusuf, Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry LCCI, (4th left) withgraduands of LCCI Business Education Services and Training Programme Scheme 2 during the graduation ceremonyheld at LCCI building Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

Chinese mission in Nigeria ismade simpler. The new visaapplication order by theGuangdong Province(Guangzhou) requiring thatNigeria passport holders,should not be given residentvisa, irrespective of theirbusiness inclination does notrepresent the campaigned on-going healthy bi-traderelationship. In myobservation, this not abalanced diplomacy and doesnot portray a win-wincooperation envisaged by bothparties,

“Therefore, on behalf of allNigerian businessmen who

own legitimate businesses thatare bringing development toChina and Nigeria, we wantthis imbalanced situationaddressed with utmostconcern to the plight of manyNigerians”, Mbisiogu added.

He further stated thatdiplomacy is a give and takeaffair, adding that “Nigeriansconstitute the bulk of Africa-China business transactionsand statistics show that out of70 per cent of businessconducted in Guangzhou,China, 50 per cent areundertaken by Nigerianvisiting businessmen,

“Nigerians add value to

the SME operations inevery facet of the city andhave created employmenteven for the locals. On adaily basis, about $100Million flow into Chinafrom Nigerianbusinessmen. Anddespite the immensecontribution Nigeriansmade to the businessdevelopment of Sino-Nigeria Cooperation inthe province ofGuangdong, one wonderswhy prospective Nigerianvisa applicants to Chinawould not be allowed tohave resident visa.

UPS overcomes challenges, rewardscustomersBy CHIOMA OBINNA

In line with its annualcommitment tocustomers, United

Parcel Service Lagos, one ofthe global leading courierand logistics firm hasovercome some of thechallenges facing theindustry, just as it thrilledits outstanding customerswith different categories ofawards and gift items allover the country, wherethey are present.

The event whichwitnessed a free raffle drawalso rewarded customerswith top quality phones,wall clocks, movie tickets atSilverbird Cinema forhusband and wife, buffet

ticket to Sheraton hotels forhusband and wife, goldenpens, flash drives andumbrellas among others.

However, the highpoint ofthe event were recognitionawards of varying degree toUPS esteemed customers.Some of the wards are SilverAward to Alcatel and AirtelSpares in recognition of theircompliance with andutilisation of UPS’sWorldShip,a time-saving IT platform thatuploads customers’information, providesshipping alert, tracking andexporting of shipment data,error free.

This was followed by thegold level category awards toFirst Bank Nigeria, Diamondbank, Unilever, World-WideCommercial Ventures(WWCV) and Union Bankwith almost 100 percent

Worldship technologycompliance.

Speaking at the 2014customers’ appreciationand award giving day,the BusinessDevelopment Managerfor UPS Nigeria, EmekaNwangwu whoapplauded thecommitment of therecipient companies fortheir tech savvy, said theoccasion not onlyprovides an avenue forthe company to interfacewith her customers in anon-business andrelaxed environment butalso to intimate themwith newer services, newtechnologies innovationsand their benefits to thecustomers, especially theUPS WorldShip support.

By PRINCEWILLEKWUJURU

Cherie noodlesreward winners inpromo

In keeping with its promiseof rewarding andempowering its consumers

this season, one of the leadingnoodles brands in Nigeria,Cherie Noodles on FridayDecember 12 rewarded severalnew lucky winners of itsrecently launched consumerpromotion tagged ‘NairaHunt-Free Money‘ Promo.The prize presentation whichtook place at the popularIkotun market, saw numerousCherie noodle consumers gohome with various cash prizesranging from N5,000 toN50,000. So far, over 50,000winners have emerged acrossthe Country since thecommencement of the promoin November, with theirwinnings ranging from N50 toN50,000 being presented tothem at various CherieNoodle retail outlets aroundthe country. The Lagos eventwas overseen by theConsumer Protection Council,represented by the Head,Lagos Office, Mr. TamTamunokonbia.Speaking at the event,Marketing Manager, OlamSanyo Foods Limited, makersof the Cherie brand ofnoodles, Mrs. Bola Adenijisaid that the promo was justone of the ways the companyis saying ‘thank you’ to itsconsumers during thisYuletide, and restated thebrand’s commitment tocontinue to delight and enrichthe lives of its consumers.“We have carefully timed theNaira Hunt Promo to coincidewith the Yuletide period whenpeople need money to spendon gifts for their families andloved ones, and since thepromo was launched, winnershave continued to emergedaily across the country andhave been redeeming theircash prizes of N50, N100,N500, N1,000, N2,000,N5,000, N10,000 andN50,000,” she said.Explaining the mechanics ofthe promo, Adeniji said thatwhat a consumer needs to dois to buy a pack or carton ofCherie Noodles, look insidefor the seasoning sachet withthe winning amount written onit, and what you see, is whatyou get! “With the seasoningsachet, the consumer shouldgo to their nearest Cherieretailer and collect their cashinstantly. It is that easy andsimple!” she furtherexplained.


Banking & Finance

By BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE

Electronic payment experts haveidentified smart regulation andincreased innovation as critical factors to achieving

the objectives of the nation’s Payment System Vision 2020Speaking at the 2014 annual retreat of the Committee of e-

Banking Industry Heads (CeBIH), held in Abuja, epaymentexperts including officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN), Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS)emphasised the need for review of the policy regulatoryenvironment of the country’s payment system, so as to improveon the progress recorded in the adoption of electronic paymentin the country.

Making a case for smart regulation of the payment systemin Nigeria, John Chaplin, a global retail payment expert,noted that though banks desire less regulation, regulation iscritical to sustainable competition which is necessary for thegrowth of the payment industry. He said banks however havea right to better and smarter regulation.

“Frequent rule changes are a sign of bad regulation anddeter investment, industry must actively work with regulatorsto achieve a good outcome. Clear, consistent, even handedand risk-based regulation is the goal”, he said.

Speaking further, he said that, “Leaving the market to marketforces will lead to higher cost, which would drive outeverybody. Hence the aim of regulation should be to drivedown cost”.

In a presentation titled, “Towards smart paymentsregulation: Global best practice in balancing growth, profit,innovation and fairness in retail payments”, Chaplin calledthe attention of participants at the retreat to the outcome of a2012/13 project which reviewed the role of domesticapproaches to card payments in global world: Input from 17schemes. He said among other things, the study reveals aconsensus among epayment operators on the need forregulation that encourages level playing field and promotesustainable competition.

On his part, Akeem Lawal, Divisional Chief Executive,

PSV 2020: EpaymentExperts push for smartregulation and innovation

Leaving themarket tomarket forceswill lead tohigher cost,which woulddrive outeverybody.

Interswich, called for a reviewof some aspects of regulationof epayment in Nigeria. Hesaid for example, theregulation of pricing is notencouraging to investment,adding, the CBN shouldallow flexibility in pricing ofservices in the industry. Hesaid that though the CBN canregulate interchange, itshould allow banks todetermine incentives offeredto merchants and customers.

In his opening remarks,CeBIH Chairman, Mr. TundeKuponiyi, called forregulation that wouldenhance prosperity andinnovation in the industry. Hesaid, “It is worthy to note thatfor the industry to prosperand for innovation to thrive,a sound complementaryregulatory framework is verymuch required. Such aframework should provide alevel playing field for allplayers to enable thecustomer to exercise hischoices as regards choosinga particular service provider.Other important componentsfor such a regulatoryframework would alsoencompass customerprotection issues, fraudprevention issues, securityrelated issues and fairpricing.”

In his keynote address,Deputy Governor, OperationsDirectorate, CBN, AlhajiSuleiman Barau said the apexbank is ready to adoptregulation that wouldfacilitate the achievement of

the objectives of the PaymentVision 2020, and hence calledon participants at the retreatfor ideas that can furtherstrengthen the nation’spayment system.

Represented by Mr. DipoFatokun, Director, Bankingand Payment SystemDepartment, CBN, Baraudisclosed that in line withglobal best practices, theCBN has decided to adopt amore collaborative approachto its regulation of thepayment system in thecountry as well as promoteself regulation amongepayment schemes.

He said, “ Our clearobjective is “to facilitateeconomic activities byproviding safe and efficientmechanisms for making andreceiving payments withminimum risks to the centralbank, payments serviceproviders and end users,extending the availability andusage to all sectors andgeographies, banked andunbanked, and conforming tointernationally acceptedregulatory, technical andoperational standards.

“We are not oblivious ofinternational best practicesand global standards and westrive continuously to ensurethat the Nigerian paymentssystem is at the forefront ofpayments systemdevelopment.

Having benchmarkedagainst the Principles forFinancial MarketInfrastructure issued by theCommittee on Payment andSettlement System (CPSS) ofthe Bank for InternationalSettlement, we seek to bridgeobservable gaps throughspecific recommendations.

“Let me also highlight thatthe Central Bank of Nigeriahas indicated a shift in its

payments system regulatorystance. The Bank through thePayments System Vision 2020signified a more collaborativeapproach to overseeing thenational payments systemthrough the followingrecommendation within thestrategy: The strengtheningof scheme governancestructure to reflect thesignificantly greaterresponsibility of schememanagement, covering allaspects of risk, businessmanagement and operationalresilience; The setting up ofScheme Management Boardwhich has the responsibilityto complete an annual self-assessment against the CPSS/IOSCO PFMI.

“The significance of this is thatself-regulatory principle is beingembraced by the Central Bankof Nigeria. This is intended tofoster discipline amongparticipants and enhancecompliance level to regulations.It is however, in no way anabdication of the overseer roleof the Central Bank of Nigeriafor the national paymentssystem.”


CentenarCentenarCentenarCentenarCentenary y y y y NNNNN 1 1 1 1 10000000000note goes intonote goes intonote goes intonote goes intonote goes intocirculation circulation circulation circulation circulation Central Bank of Nigeria

(CBN) hascommenced circulation of thecommemorative centenaryN100 notes.

In a statement issued lastweek, the CBN said, “Thecommemorative N100banknote unveiled recently bythe President, Dr. GoodluckEbele Jonathan, goes intocirculation on Friday,December 19, 2014. Accordingly, all branches ofthe Bank have been directedto commence issuance of thecurrency in their respectivelocations.

The commemorative notewill circulate alongside theexisting N 100 note.

The note, which isembedded with features toassist the visually impairedrecognize genuine notes, alsohas other security featureseasily identifiable throughlook, feel and tilt of thecurrency note.

It will be recalled that theCBN Governor, at theunveiling of the newbanknote, explained that thenew note was designed withenhanced security to offerrobust resistance againstcounterfeiting.

IMFIMFIMFIMFIMF, Ukr, Ukr, Ukr, Ukr, Ukraine fail taine fail taine fail taine fail taine fail toooooagree on next bailagree on next bailagree on next bailagree on next bailagree on next bailoutoutoutoutout

The InternationalMonetary Fund said

Friday it had productivediscussions with officials inUkraine this week, but failedto reach an agreement thatwould pave the way for Kievto receive its next bailouttranche next month.

“We found that the Ukrainianauthorities are preparing tomove decisively on a broadand comprehensive agenda tostabilize and reform theeconomy, while coping withthe difficult challenges thatemerged in the last year,”IMF mission chief NikolayGueorguiev said in astatement.

“In this context, weadvanced substantially ourmutual understandings ofpolicy priorities goingforward,” he said, adding theIMF mission would return toKiev in January for furthertalks.

Ukraine so far has receivedtwo tranches under the IMFprogram, worth a total of $4.6billion, under a bailoutprogram agreed in April toshore up the country’s foreigncurrency reserves and supportits economy.

•Barau •Kuponiyi

•Chaplin •Fekry


Banking & Finance

By BABAJIDEKOMOLAFE

World Bank: Sixcountries lost$35bn due toSyrian war andISIS

A World Bank study hasrevealed that six

countries sustained economiclosses amounting to $35billion due to the Syrian warand the rise of the IslamicState (ISIS).

The countries includeTurkey, Syria, Lebanon,Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. In astudy by the World Bank, acopy of which was obtainedby the Anadolu Agency, theBank reported that the overalleconomic size of thesecountries could have grownby $35 billion if the war hadnot erupted. The report alsoexplained that the total costof the war is equivalent toSyria’s GDP in 2007.

The World Bank said thelosses were not evenlydistributed as some countrieswere affected more by thewars than the others as theyfelt the brunt of the directeconomic costs. Syria andIraq’s per capita lossesamounted to 23 per cent and28 per cent respectively.

The embargo on trade withSyria is a major factor behindthe direct costs, and this wasfollowed by a decline in thelabour force, particularly inskilled labour, due tocasualties, refugees leavingthe country, destruction ofinfrastructure, and a spike inthe cost of trade activity inconflict areas.

Yen weakens onBOJ Stimulus asRuble advances

The yen fell to a one-week low against the

dollar after the Bank of Japanmaintained unprecedentedmonetary stimulus as the U.S.Federal Reserve movedtoward raising borrowingcosts for the first time since2006.

Japan’s currency slid versusall of its 16 major peers as arally in Asian stocks sappeddemand for safety. A gaugeof the dollar headed for aweekly gain on the outlook forhigher U.S. interest rates.Russia’s ruble rose as a short-term cash crunch spurreddemand. Norway ’s kronegained for a fourth dayagainst its Swedishcounterpart as Brent cruderose. A measure of foreign-exchange volatility pared afourth week of gains.

CBN introduces additional measureto curb forex speculation

The Central Bank ofNigeria (CBN) onFriday moved to

further curb speculativeactivities in the foreignexchange market as itintroduced a 48 hours limit onutilisation of dollarspurchased at the interbankmarket.

Meanwhile the nation’sexternal reserve continued itsdownward trend last week, asit fell to $35.27 billion,implying $1.53 billion declinesince the beginning of thismonth.

The limit was announced byMr. Olakanmi Gbadamosi,Director, Trade and ExchangeDepartment, CBN via acircular titled, “Utilization offunds purchased from theautonomous/interbank foreignexchange market byauthorized dealers”. He said,“Further to our circular refRef:TED/FEM/FPC/GEN/01/026 of 17th December 2014,which requires banks tomaintain zero percent of theirshareholders funds as foreignexchange trading position asat the close of each businessday, we write to inform allauthorized dealers and thegeneral public that with effectfrom the date of this circular,funds purchased from banksby their respected customersat the autonomous/interbankforeign exchange market mustbe utilized within 48 hoursfrom the date of purchase,failing which such funds mustbe returned to the CBN for re-purchase at the bank’s buyingrate.

For the avoidance of doubt,all authorized dealers are tonote that the requirement tomaintain zero percent ofbank’s shareholders funds asforeign exchange tradingposition as at close of eachbusiness day remains in force.

Any observed case ofinfraction of this circular, inany way whatsoever, willattract appropriate sanctionsboth to the bank and thecustomers, which may includesuspension from the foreignexchange market. Thiscircular supersedes our earlierwith ref: TED/FEM/FPC/GEN/01/028 of 18th December2014. Please ensure strictcompliance.”

On Thursday, the CBN hadreduced banks’ dollarholdings or Net Open Positionfrom one percent to zeropercent of shareholders funds

*Limits utilisation of interbank dollars to 48hrs*Warns banks against shutting interbank market

umpired by losses.Titled, “Foreign Exchange

Trading Position of Banks atthe closure of each businessday”, the circular was signedby Mr. Mr. Olakanmi I.Gbadamosi, Director, Tradeand Exchange Department.The circular stated, “TheCentral Bank of Nigeria hasobserved the recentdevelopment in the foreignexchange market and itsconsequences on the stabilityof the exchange rates. Inorder to preserve the stabilityof the market, the foreignexchange position ofindividual authorised dealer,which currently stands at onepercent of its shareholdersfunds (SHF) unimpaired bylosses, has been temporarilyreviewed downward to zeropercent with immediateeffect.

“Consequently, AuthorisedDealers are thereforerequired to maintain zeropercent of their shareholdersfund as foreign exchangetrading position at the closeof each business day. Anyinfraction of the requirementof this circular, in any waywhatsoever, will attractappropriate sanction, whichmay include suspension fromthe foreign exchange market.”

A retired top official of CBNwho spoke to Vanguard oncondition of anonymity saidthe implication of the circularis that banks cannot holddollar asset or create dollarliability, except for dollars inthe domiciliary accounts oftheir customers.

A market analyst who spokeon condition of anonymitysaid that the CBN introducedthe restriction because itbelieves the banks are usingtheir net open position dollarsto speculate in the foreign

exchange market. He said thismeans that banks cannotpurchase dollars in theinterbank market for tradingthe following day. They mustensure that any dollar theybuy is sold at the end of theday. He said the implicationis that for any bank topurchase dollars at theinterbank, it must ensurethere is a demand fromcustomers for that dollar,adding this has effectivelyshut down the interbankforeign exchange market.

Measures can triggerfurther nairadepreciation

In Middle Africa BriefingNote titled, “Nigeria: Will

Tighter FX MarketRegulations Work?”, analystsat Ecobank Nigeria said thatthe new restriction willincrease volatility of theexchange rate and lead tofurther depreciation of thenaira to N195 per dollar at theend of the year.

They stated, “By thisregulation, the CBN aims toremove the banks’ ability tohold FX position, andsubsequently limiting theirspeculative motive. Therevised regulation alsotighten how dollars can beused, as well as restrict accessto foreign exchange to onlylegitimate and officialdocument-backed FXtransactions, therebyclamping down on FX flows.

“Tightening the conditionsthat allow access to dollarswhile making no changes tohow foreign exchange issupplied will further heightennaira volatility, with furtherdepreciation most likely; assuch we expected naira totrade between N190 and

N195 per dollar month-endDecember 2014.”

In the immediate, the OTCFX market liquidity iseroded, thereby creating anon-competitive marketdevoid of price transparencyand discovery.

Tightening the conditionsthat allow access to USDwhile making no changes tohow FX is supplied willfurther heighten NGNvolatility, with furtherdepreciation most likely; assuch we expected NGN totrade between USD1:NGN190-195 month-endDecember 2014. ? By thisregulation, the oil companybids will be on effectivedemand basis, as the banksare not allowed to keepposition. The likelyimplication of this is that mostof the oil companies willexplore the option of sellingdirectly to CBN.

While the CBN’s reason forthe circular is to maintain thestability of the NGN, it is notclear how the CBN intends toachieve this objective, givenfollowing recent, sharp fall inBrent oil prices, anduncertainty over thenormalization of US monetarypolicy following the end ofQE III in October.

Meanwhile, overregulation of the FX market,which is underpinned by afree-float exchange ratepolicy, could be counter-productive by deterringportfolio inflows seeking tobuy high yieldinggovernment securities.

Overall, the circular willcreate more volatility that willrequire another set of CBN’scirculars to address USDsupply and demandbottlenecks.

As such, the CBN mightneed to continue to intervenein the interbank FX market.

Don’t close interbank,CBN warns banks

Meanwhile, the CBNhas warned banks

against shutting down theinterbank market. Vanguardinvestigation revealed thatfollowing the reduction inbanks NOP to zere percent onThursday, banks’ foreignexchange dealers held ameeting to brainstorm theimpact of the reduction on theforeign exchange market. Itwas gathered that, when theapex bank got wind of themeeting and the possibility ofthe meeting ending with aresolution to suspendinterbank market trading, atop official of the CBN calledsome of the banks andthreatened to withdraw theforeign exchange dealershipif they make such decision.


Corporate Finance

Banks' collaboration on mobile moneycritical to financial inclusionBy PETER EGWUATU

Operators in bothc a p i t a lmarket and

money market segment ofthe financial sector haveemphasized that mobilebanking services andcollaboration among thet e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o noperators will help achievethe financial inclusionobjective of the FederalGovernment and thus helpin improving the overallgrowth of the economy.

Latest figures from theCentral Bank of Nigeriashow that more than 68million adult Nigerians,mostly in the rural areasand the informal sector, areunbanked.

Operators in the financialmarket believe that this isexpected to reduce by 20per cent in the next fiveyears following theintroduction of the cashlesspolicy by the apex bank. Akey thinking behind thepolicy is that the difficult-to-reach locations in thecountry will be betterserved by mobile bankingservices. For this to work,collaborations with mobilet e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n sproviders become essentialbecause they have theinfrastructure and theextensive network to reachevery part of the country;MTN, for instance, has apresence in more than10,000 communities inNigeria. Its fibre optictransmission backbonespans in excess of 10,000km. Its partnership on theDiamond Y’ello Accountensures the GSMprovider’s over 58 millionsubscribers canautomatically sign on forthe Diamond Y’elloAccount. Other mobilefinancial servicespartnerships include UBAand Airtel on the one hand,and Globacom and StanbicIBTC, Ecobank, Zenith,and First Bank on the other.

These collaborationsmake sense if the magical20 per cent reduction in theunbanked population mustbe achieved; for many, theonly link they would havewith a bank in theforeseeable future isthrough the mobile moneyaccount. Unlike in someother parts of the worldmobile telephony iswidespread in Africa and asignificant number of thecontinent’s population relyon mobile telephony for

their communicationsneeds. It is thisphenomenon that thebanking industry hopesto leverage on to takebanking to theunbanked. “TheNigerian bankingindustry is over ahundred years old, butcan boast of only about40 million bankaccounts. In the 14years of mobiletelephony in Nigeria,the telcos have grown arobust subscriber baseof 120 million customersand still counting,” saiderstwhile CEO of

Diamond Bank, Alex Otti,while giving the rationale forpartnering MTN for theDiamond Y’ello Account.

Meanwhile, there is nobetter endorsement of themobile banking services drivein Nigeria than the recentacquisition of a $147 million(about N27 billion) minoritystake in Diamond Bank byCarlyle Group. Carlyle is aUS-based global alternativeasset manager with $203billion of assets undermanagement across 129funds and 141 fund of fundsvehicles. The acquisition issaid to be based on theprojection that Diamond

Bank’s new mobile bankingservice “ will help rapidlyboost the lender’s customersand profits.”

The Group’s projection isnot without basis though.Since the introduction fourmonths ago of Diamond Y’elloAccount, a mobile moneyproduct Diamond Banklaunched in partnership withmobile telecommunicationsgiant, MTN Nigeria, the bankhas grown its mobile bankingcustomer base by more than600,000. The bank projectsthat it would have five millionmobile banking customers,many times the current size,a year from now.

BoI facility boosts Swipha, May &Baker operations

By FRANKLIN ALLI

Swiss Pharma Nigeria Ltd and May andBaker Nigeria Plc say the credit

facilities they secured from the Bank ofIndustry (BoI) have boosted their operationalperformances in terms of expansion of theirproduction facilities and upgrading ofquality control systems to the internationalstandards.

The two drug firms recently obtained thecurrent Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)compliance certification from the WorldHealth Organisation, WHO, to produce andexport their products to other countries.

Colin Cummings , the chairman/chiefexecutive of Swipha, noted that as a resultof the bank’s intervention fund , thecompany has been developing new

products around the MillenniumDevelopment Goals 4, 5 and 6 of thegovernment to combat malaria, maternalhealth challenges, diarrhea and bacterialinfections.

“Bank of Industry has been crucial to usmoving ahead and without their support wewouldn’t have managed to get to where weare so quickly and also we need theirassistance in getting to the next stage

which is the pre-qualification of specificproducts,” he said.

Similarly, Nnamdi Okafor, the managingdirector/chief executive of May and Bakerdisclosed that by June 2015 the companywould have had its Anti-retroviral drugcertified, having upgraded their facility toWHO standards with an expanded capacity,that has enabled the creation of additional500 jobs and about 1000 indirect jobs withBoI’s support.

NBCCcommendsDangote onForbes AfricanPerson Award

By NAOMI UZOR

The Nigerian-BritishChamber of

Commerce, NBCC, hascommended the President ofDangote Group, AlhajiAliko Dangote, on hisaward as the Forbes AfricaPerson of the Year 2014 byForbes Magazine.

In a statement by thePresident of NBCC, PrinceAdeyemi Adefulu, he said,the Chamber agrees with theencomiums showered onAlhaji Dangote at theForbes Award ceremony, ashe is the Lion of Africa interms of businessinvestment.

“By the Award, Forbes wasonly affirming what theNBCC already knew aboutAlhaji Dangote. In selectingAlhaji Dangote as a Patronof the NBCC in 2013, theChamber had closelymonitored with satisfaction,his steady meteoric rise inbusiness and social serviceleadership by prodigioushard work, strategicbusiness planning andfocused entrepreneurialingenuity” he stated.

TranscorpHilton Abujaenticescustomers withpromo

T ranscorp HiltonAbuja has announced

a promotion for theChristmas and New Yearholidays tagged ‘FestiveCheer Hilton Style’.

The promotion offers Guests a chance to enjoy thefestive season at TranscorpHilton Abuja at speciallydiscounted rates on roomper night including buffetbreakfast and taxes.

The promotional ratesaccording to the hotel’sGeneral Manager ,EtienneGailliez, are for 2 adults and2 children sharing a roomand are valid from thisweekend till first week ofnext year.

‘This festive season offersus a unique opportunity todelight our Guests withspecial rates, leisure andculinary offerings.

CONVENTION - From left: Mr. Shi Weiliang, Vice President Huawei West Africa, Prof. ChineduNebo, Minister of Power and his entourage at the 11th Annual West African Power IndustryConvetion in Lagos recently.


CMYK


E- Commerce

Huawei has stated thatthe requirements from

new-generation customerspresent the enterprisebusiness with transformationchallenges and drive reformsin enterprise InformationTechnology, IT infrastructuresin order to meet the requisitesof the big data era.

Speaking at the HuaweiWestern EuropeCommunication InformationOfficers , CIO Forum whichbrought together over 300customers, partners andindustry professionals fromacross Western Europe toshare experiences andengage in discussion aboutthe changing nature of IT andhow to make a betterconnected, technologically-enabled future a reality,Kevin Tao, President, HuaweiWestern Europe said:Customer needs are thelifeline of any enterprises.Customers now require muchmore than traditional PCs inachieving mobility andconvenience. This tech-savvygeneration follows microblogs, maintainsinterpersonal relationshipson social networkingwebsites, favors onlineshopping, and wants to enjoya free, entertaining, sharable,and ultimate IT-enabledlifestyle.”

He stated that Big data isderived from a variety ofsources, including:Increasingly complexenterprise customerinformation data,classification data, and onlinetrading records.

According to him “Data andlogs generated by complexterminal devices such as post-PC devices, videosurveillance terminals, andInternet of Things (IOT)sensors. Various types ofsocial data arising from blogs,microblogs, photos, videos,and customer feedbackinformation; Traditional ITservers, tapes, and scale-updevices cannot implementmanagement and analysis ofZB-level data.2. The globaleconomic situation is growingtight. So, how do enterprisesmake most use of their ITbudgets? “ In his words“According to a survey,enterprises spend 73 per centof their budgets on basicservices, leaving a mere 27per cent to support businessoperations.

CONFERENCE - From left: Managing Consultant, VSL Consulting Ltd, Mr UbandigboOkonkwo; Executive Director, Small and Medium Enterprises,Bank of Industry, Mr WaheedOlagunju; Assistant Director/Head, Development Finance, Central Bank of Nigeria, MrAdebisi A Adedeji and Deputy President, NASME, (SOUTH) Prince Orimadegun at the15th MSME International Confrence and Exhibition in Lagos on Wednesday

MoboFree to leverage ad solutionfor 2015 elections

Stories byJONAH NWOKPOKU

MoboFree.com, a socialmarketplace

has introduced advertising solutions forthe upcoming 2015general elections.

Speaking on theunveiling of the adplatform, MoboFree’s

Co-Founder, Mr. CristobalAlonso, said, “Internalsurvey run on MoboFreelast month disclosed that 92percent of surveyparticipants are going tovote in upcoming 2015election. Such surveyresults and the fact thatthe MoboFree platform hasup to 60 million pageimpressions and 8 millionprivate messages monthly,

confirms that MoboFree is asignificant channel forreaching potential voters.”

“In Nigeria, we have over 2million registered users. But in contrast to otherdigital channels with highvolume of traffic, we canalso ensure effectiveness ofadvertising by very sharptargeting and extremelyengaging unique advertisingsolutions,” he added.

Sceneflix launches cinema app on Android, iOS

A frica’s premiercinema app,

SceneFlix has launched onthe Android and iOSPlatforms.

Sceneflix, in a bid to bringthe cinema closer tomovie lovers, throughtheir mobile phones, hasintroduced a mobileapplication, which willenable its users gainaccess to cinema

locations, latestblockbuster, premier andshort movies; by simplydownloading the freeapplication on Google Playand iOS App Store.

Co-Founder and Creativedirector of Sceneflix,Adenola Olateru-Olagbegi,said: “The idea is borne outof the desire to deliver top-of-the-range entertainmentto movie lovers at

exceptional and unrivalledspeed.”

According to him, “theSceneflix App is free and userfriendly showcasinglandmarked cinemas andmovie theaters based onupdated listings on the go.The app enables its users toutilize their power of choicewith movie-theater locationsand real-time up to date movieshow times within thegeographic region.”

Huawei listschallengesfacingenterprise ITinfrastructure

By PETER EGWUATU

He said that at Mobofree.com, advertiserscan target campaigns by Age,Gender, Marital status,Location, Operating systemand several other criteria.This, he noted, providesunlimited opportunities forcandidates in the upcomingelection.

“Want to reach 30-35 yearold male entrepreneursliving in Abuja? WithMoboFree it can be donewith ease and oncomparatively low budgets,as there is no need toallocate funds for reachingcitizens who are notpotential voters,” he said.

Explaining further, he saidthat, “While traditionalbanners and text ads can beused on the MoboFreeplatform for any electionrelated campaign, manymore original and muchmore engaging options existwith integrated “call foraction” features – likepolling, private messages oreven internal games whenusers are activated toexpress their opinion, makesuggestions for candidatesand share ideas on variedsocially important topics -like health, security andeducation.”

He added that such toolsas polling systems that areintegrated into the MoboFree platform can beused by politicians andpolitical observers as means of monitoring thepolitical landscape andactivities in Nigeria.

Lamudi improves website interface to simplify house-hunting

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

Lamudi.com has re-launched with acomplete revamp of itswebsite to offer amore intuitive designthat streamlines theonline house-huntingprocess for usersglobally.

The new websiteintroduces aresponsive design, withthe site adapting tomatch the user’sparticular device andscreen size. Theplatform’s appearancehas been improved todisplay properties forsale and rent in aneasier-to-read formatwith larger photos.Dedicated sections forreal estate agenciesand new space foradvertisements havealso been introduced.

Lamudi is a global realestate portal focusingexclusively on theemerging markets. Thewebsite is currentlyavailable in 28

countries in these regions.The new design has beenrolled out for all countriesin Asia, the Middle East andAfrica, with Latin America tobe re-launched in early 2015.To ensure the websiteremains highly relevant foreach of its local markets,Lamudi has introduceddifferent variations of thewebsite, including acustomised search field foreach country.

Speaking on the newwebsite, Lamudi’s Global Co-Founder, Kian Moini, said:“This redesign puts the user

at the center of our product.The responsive design isvery important because weknow an increasing numberof our users access Lamudion a mobile device inaddition to a desktopPersonal Computer. Thenew design is tailored to ourcustomers’ needs, making iteasier than ever before tofind the perfect propertyonline and to contact realestate agents via phone, SMSor email.

At the same time, we willbe introducing a variety ofnew features to cater for

our partners, particularlyagents and brokers. This iswhy we have introduceddedicated sections toshowcase real estateagencies and created morespace for listings, photosand advertisements.”

Also speaking, ManagingDirector Lamudi Nigeria, ObiEjimofo, said: “My favouritefeature is the new homepage design, it is simpler witha much more intuitive searchparadigm all designed toincrease the ease withwhich users can find a newhome."


Homes & Housing Finance

•Solar-powered model house

FG inaugurates nationwideworkers’ housing schemeBy YINKA KOLAWOLE

The Federal Governmenthas launched about10,000 units of various

types of houses under theNationwide Workers’Housing Scheme in ApoTapyi District, Abuja.President GoodluckJonathan said at occasionthat the target of hisadministration is to deliverabout 100,000 housing unitsunder the NationwideWorkers’ Housing Scheme inthe Federal Capital Territory(FCT) and the 36 states of thefederation.The development which is incontinuation efforts to reducethe housing deficit in thecountry, will bring a big reliefto federal governmentworkers across the country.

Jonathan noted that theinitiative is part of thetransformation agenda of hisadministration to provideadequate and affordablehouses to Nigeriansparticularly, the workers.“The federal government willcontinue to partner with theprivate developers to provideaffordable houses to bringdown the cost houses in the

country”, he said.The president commended theefforts and seriousness to thescheme by the developer,Good Homes DevelopmentCompany Limited.He also commended theNigeria Labour Congress(NLC) and Trade UnionCongress (TUC) forpartnering the federalgovernment in the quest to

provide shelter for workers,and urged all Nigerianworkers to key into thescheme to enable thegovernment make this housesavailable at the scheduledtime.Earlier, FCT Minister,Senator Bala Mohammedremarked that the right toshelter is an economic, socialand cultural right.

Firm set to deliver solar-powered model homesBy EBERE ORAKPO

PSC Solar UK Ltd., asolar panel/inverterm a n u f a c t u r i n g

company, is set to deliverr10,000 units of model solar-powered 1 & 2- bedroomaffordable houses spreadover several states andregions in Nigeria, Ghana,Benin, Niger, Togo andChad.Managing Director/CEO ofthe company, Dr. PatrickOwelle, disclosed this at theofficial power-up ceremonyheld at the model site atWarewa, Ogun State.“We want to provide decentand affordable housing suchthat even a security guardearning N100,000 a year canown a house just like in theUS. So if they can pay aslittle as N100,000 deposit,they will have title documentto the house.“The most important thingfor me is that this is a crosssection of people that havebeen forgotten in thiscountry and I think we areempowering them. We aredeveloping estates wherepeople can own instead ofrent houses so I think all inall, that is the way forward.Another important aspect isthat we guarantee electricitythere 24 hours a day andseven days a week. That issomething we cannot boastof anywhere else and theydo not have to pay for theelectricity, it is part of thepackage,” he said.Owelle further stated that“the double whammy” ofinadequate electricitysupply and affordablehousing precipitated theneed for the initiative. “Theywill live in a two-bedroomhome, howbeit a small homebut it is their home for the

entirety of their life. As theirfinances get better, they canthen upgrade to a biggerhouse and sell or rent outthe smaller one.”He said the typical housingproject will be located within15 – 45 meters drive of majorcities, noting that they are indiscussions with severalstate and federalgovernment in Nigeria,Ghana, Togo, Niger, Beninand Chad to build affordablesingle family housing unitspowered exclusively bysolar power located in thesuburbs of major cities in all

the six countries.He said each unit will bebuilt on a plot of 300sqm and750 units are planned for theestate with three open parksand green space. “The firstof the estates is scheduled tobe constructed on the 100-acre/600plot PSC Solar UKLtd Gardens Estate atWarewa, along Lagos/Ibadan Expressway lessthan 10 minutes drive toAlausa, Ikeja Lagos or 25minutes drive to the MurtalaMohammed InternationalAirport.This will be the first housing

estate in Nigeria wherediesel or petrol generatorwith their attendant fumesand noise pollution arebanned. Each home will sellfor between N2 million andN4.5 million depending onspace and options.Prospective owners onlyrequire 10 per cent downpayment and can pay onmonthly basis over a periodfive, 10 or 15years at singledigit interest rate makinghome ownership cheaperthan rest in the big cities,”he stated.

Mutual Benefitsc o m m i s s i o n shousing estate

By ROSEMARY ONUOHA

Poised to reduce thehousing needs ofNigerians and to

provide affordable homes toall Nigerians, MutualBenefits Assurance Plc hascommissioned and handedkeys to owners of its housingestate in Iponri, Lagos.The estate known as MutualAlpha Court is made up offour bedroom apartments ontwo floors with an additionaltwo bedroom apartment on theground floor as servicequarter or income generatorif leased to a tenant.Overall the estate has 18blocks of 54 units and twoblocks of two units and isaccessible to main arterial axisroads to the Island and thestate capital.Speaking at thec o m m i s s i o n i n g ,Commissioner for Insurance,Mr. Fola Daniel, applaudedthe effort of the company innot only taking insurance tothe grass root but also makingaffordable housing possible inNigeria.Represented by DeputyDirector, Mr. Faruna MondayAdaji, Daniel said insurancecompanies have a big role toplay in making sure that insurance play an enduringrole in the lives of customers.Group Managing Director,Mr. Akin Ogunbiyi, said thata flexible payment plan hasbeen put in place by thecompany with a mortgagefirm on 60 percent of salesprices.He added that the companyis poised to use insurance tobring enduring value to therelationship with itscustomers, adding that thecompany’s needs basedselling model makes itcompelling for the companyto provide beneficially uniquerisk management solution.According to him the riskcompany’s involvement intohousing development was tocompliment governments’initiatives at providingaffordable homes to fellowNigerians.Also speaking, Senior SpecialAssistant to Lagos StateGovernor on Housing, Mr.Micheal Akindele,representing theCommissioner of Housing,commended Mutual BenefitsAssurance for the giantstrides.

CMYK


Economy

What is good forG e n e r a lMotors, is

good for America.That was a cardinal

principle of American life ata time when General Motors,GM, was not only the largestcorporation in the UnitedStates, but the world as well.Governments literallyprostrated before GM whichwas also the largest employerof labor for several years. NoPresident of the United Statesdared to openly attack GMand any presidential aspirantwho made even the mildestnegative remark about GMwas certain to lose. GM wasAmericas second god. Thecompany could do no wrong.Or so it seemed.

The challenge andhumbling of GM came froma source totally unexpected.As a wise one had said, whenfortune plots the downfall ofany entity person,government or company itchooses a method and aninstrument totallyunexpected. That was whathappened to giant GM whena man called Ralph Nader,wrote a book titled UNSAFEAT ANY SPEED. Until thebook was launched, GM hadalways prided itself onproducing the best cars

Why Coca Cola must be held to account (1)possible in America and,perhaps, the world as well.Naders book took aim at thecore of GMs pride byclaiming that GMs cars wereanything but safe. This waseconomic sacrilege of thehighest order and GM was

instance of David versusGoliath, David beat Goliath toa pulp. GM was forced to re-appraise its productionmethods and to improve thesafety of its cars after humblyadmitting that Nader was rightafter all. But, it required thepatriotism and good sense offellow Americans to saveNader from the almighty GM.

What has that got to do withNigeria and Coca Cola, one ofthe worlds greatest brands?The worlds largest selling softdrink brand also enjoys globalsupport and clout based onits presumed quality attributes.It is quite possible that thecompany had, inadvertently,allowed complacency to creepinto its operations; just like thatwhich jolted GM in the 1970s.Coca Cola has fallen foul of theNigerian Consumer ProtectionCouncil C.P.C. Anybody whothinks that this is just adomestic dispute is ignorant ofthe impact of globalization ofbrands and competition. CocaCola cannot risk its reputationfor quality in any market,anywhere in the world especially the largest in Africa.

Global sector leaders, likeCoca Cola faced with intensecompetition from Pepsi Cola,among others, cannot afford tolose in a challenge to theirquality and safety image.

Stone-walling is their first lineof defense. That means theydeny every allegation irrespective of its validity.Facts are released to point tothe rigorous process andquality control policydesigned to ensure perfectquality. The problem with thatapproach is that it deliberatelyignores the fact that no systemdesigned by man can be error-free.

When that fails, they go afterthe complainant and/or theregulatory agency which hasthe temerity to question aglobal giant. When thatoccurs, they will stop atnothing to intimidate all thosewho challenge the companyand its brand. That isunderstandable becausetrillions of naira are at stakeworldwide and one successfulclaim against the brand couldhave serious consequences.

At the moment, Coca Cola,in Nigeria, is locked incombat with consumersclaiming they were solddefective Coca Cola brandsand who approached theC.P.C with evidence tosupport their claims. TheC.P.C must have consideredthe facts sufficiently credibleto warrant an investigation; asa result of which it ruled thatCoca Cola had a case to

answer. Predictably, CocaCola had reacted in the classicmanner it rejects all theevidence. That is the mildestof the reactions. Apparently,having failed to stop theclaimants and C.P.C, thecompany is now adoptingPlan B intimidation. That isprecisely where Nigerians, asa whole, must insist that theentire truth should berevealed. Two importantreasons argue for civil societyto get involved in thiscontroversy.

First, Coca Cola youngpeople constitute theconsumers of soft drinks. It isbad enough that, despite allthe evidence arguing forlower consumption, kidscontinue to drink rivers ofCoke. Second, parents andadults, who will suffercollateral damage, if anythinghappens to the kids, have aninterest in what the kidsingest. Businesses have alegitimate right to promotetheir brands; but, themarketing must be done withstrict compliance with the lawand the safety of consumersin mind at all times.

Adults have enoughproblems coping with theover-consumption of sugarycarbonated soft drinks; theyshould not have to worryabout anything else.

NEXT WEEK. The facts ofthe story.

not going to take this insultlying low. They went after theauthor. History would recordthat in what was another

At the moment,Coca Cola, inNigeria, islocked incombat withconsumersclaiming theywere solddefective CocaCola brandsand whoapproached theC.P.C withevidence tosupport theirclaims.

Nigeria’s growth to slow to 5% in 2015By JONAHNWOKPOKU

Nigeria's growth ratewill slow to about 5percent next year as

a drop in oil’s price and adepreciating currency putpressure on the economyaccording to the InternationalMonetary FundIMF said the drop in crudeprices will exert pressure onNigeria’s fiscal revenue andspending, with a depreciationof the local currency expectedto boost inflation, adding thatthe economy will expand 6.9percent this year.Recall that in response to thedeclining oil prices and itsimpact on the nation’scurrency and externalreserves, the Central Bank ofNigeria, devalued the nairalast month even as theFederal Governmentproposed spending cuts fornext year.The IMF said that Nigeria’sfiscal and external “buffers”

are low and need to be rebuilt,since the oil savings, theExcess Crude Account, hasdepleted to $3 billion from $21billion in 2008. According to IMF’s Nigeriarepresentative, GeneLeon,”Nigeria remainsvulnerable to oil pricevolatility and global financialdevelopments.” He addedthat, “There are domesticrisks including uncertaintyahead of February electionsand security.”He further noted that,“Capital outflows havecontinued and, with lower oilreceipts, have led to sustainedpressure on the naira. Despitethe outlook, Nigeria couldsurmount its challenges,especially if a national spiritof burden sharing andrebuilding together is activelyembraced.”Recall also that last month, theCoordinating Minister of the

Economy and the Minister ofFinance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala also warned thatNigerians should brace up forthe impact of the decliningprice of crude oil in the globalmarket.Speaking at the Institute forInternational Finance’s 2014Africa Financial Summit inLagos, hosted by Access BankPlc, Okonjo-Iweala, disclosedthat event unfolding over thelast couple of weeks have casta shadow over the globaleconomy, especially Nigeriaand other African countries.She reiterated the fact thatcommodity prices aredeclining globally in the lastcouple of days, with theBonny Light, Nigeria’sreference crude, trading atabout $83 per barrel.The price has nosedivedfurther to about $59 per barrelas at yesterday.This, she said, is assuming a

disturbing dimension,especially as crude oil exportaccounts for about 83 per centof Nigeria’s total export, aswell as the fact that thecountry has to grapple withfalling quantity.She said, “Without a doubt,this slowdown in globaleconomic activity, coupledwith the end in thequantitative easing in theUnited States of America, willaffect sub-Saharan Africa’seconomy, in addition to otherregions specific challengeswe face at the moment.“As we all know, manycountries on the continentdepend on commodity exportsas the main source of revenue.“Nigeria and other countriesin the African continent muststep back and learn thelessons of the ongoingeconomic transformation inthe country. The FederalGovernment has put in place

strong stabilization policy, butthe most important thing isthat we must be able tosustain it.”She stated that Nigeria, aswell as other countries mustbe prepared to adjust andmanage the economicheadwinds looming in thehorizon.To adjust, according to her,Nigeria must adopt belt-tightening measures, plugleakages, focus on increasingrevenue generation, identifyand support sectors that havethe potential to create jobs.Continuing, she ruled outplans to borrow funds, sayingthat Nigeria cannot afford togo a borrowing to plug itsdeficit, but will, instead, adoptbelt-tightening measures.She said, “As externalpressures mount in the faceof falling commodity prices,the pressure to ‘go a-borrowing’ to maintain fiscalexpansion will also increase.But we cannot afford to do this.We need to make necessaryadjustments with tighter fiscaland monetary policy.


Commodity Index

Dec. 05 - Dec. 11, 2014

Micro-Finance

AWARD - MD/CEO Accion Microfinance Bank, Ms. Bunmi Lawson (2nd right),flanked by staff displaying award as the financial service provider that hasdeepened financial inclusion for the year.

Lafarge WAPCOcement has

committed N15 billionso as to train youths inthe building sector ofNigeria, just as itintroduced ArtisanC a p a b i l i t yE n h a n c e m e n t sProgramme (ACE).

In a statement madeavailable to FV, the

Lafarge commits 15bn to trainyoung buildersStories byPROVIDENCEOBUH

Cement TechnologyInstitute of Nigeria,CTIN, comprising ofLafarge WAPCO,Dangote Cement andother cementstakeholders, signed aMemorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU)with ITF on the trainingof artisans andcraftsmen in theconstruction industry,where CTIN and ITFentered into an

agreement to jointly seeto the training of morethan 70 millionNigerians alongbuilding constructionbusiness value chain.

Managing Director,WAPCO Operations,Mrs. Adepeju Adebajo,said that Lafarge Africaembarked on vocationaltraining on blockmaking for the youths toenhance the capacity ofprofessionals andartisan groups with aview to improvingconstruction practice inNigeria.

“Block making as avocation in Nigeria islargely unregulated,existing standards arelargely unenforced andthe entry barrier into thetrade is almost nonexistence and thisplaces block makers atliberty to produce blocksin line with experience,which sometimes is atvariance withstandards,” Adebajosaid.

DG, ITF, Dr. JulietChukkas Onaeko, saidthat the collaborationbetween CTIN and ITFon such training was asignal of somethinggreat and revolutionarygeared towardsr e d u c i n gunemployment in thecountry.

She disclosed that themaiden edition of theprogramme would startin nine states within thecountry with about 3,000trainees.

To this end, sheappealed to all stategovernments to key intothe programme bymaking their citizensparticipate in thetraining.

ITF, SMEDAN, otherstrain 37,000 youthsin 2yrs

The Industrial Training Fund, (ITF) incollaboration with Small and MediumEnterprises Development Agency of Nigeria(SMEDAN) and Bank of Industry (BoI)have trained about 37,000 youths in twoyears.

The training was carried out under theNational Industrial Skills DevelopmentProgramme, (NISDP) introduced by theFederal Government in 2012.

Director General, ITF, Dr. Juliet Chukkas-Onaeko, disclosed this at an interactiveforum with the theme: ‘Moving forward andsucceeding together’ in Lagos.

“No nation develops by merely exportingraw materials without having a boomingindustrial sector,” she said.

Onaeko reiterated its four point agenda:to escalate the number of Nigerians trainedto two million annually; fully automate ITFbusiness processes; ensuring 100 per centeach of collection of training contributionsand implementation of Students IndustrialWork Experience Scheme (SIWES).

She pointed out that the four point agendais intended to ensure effective servicedelivery that will add value to the bottomline of esteemed clients’ operations andguarantee full actualization of its mandate.

“As part of our commitment to building thecapacity of middle level manpower inNigeria, the ITF in conjunction with NigeriaEmployers Consultative Association(NECA) has set up a Technical SkillsDevelopment Project (TSDP),” she said.


Tax Matters

•For certain tax types,supporting documents suchas Financial Statements canalso be registered on thetaxpayer’s file.

Tax Return Data Captured•If the tax return form

(remittance) has been fullyfilled out, data from each lineis captured into SIGTAS.

•As data is captured,SIGTAS displays the correctvalues for calculated fields, inaddition to whatever thetaxpayer has submitted(using two columns).

Line 3: 2,000 2,000

LINE 4: 500 1,000

For example, Line 3 is adeclared value and Line 4 isa calculated value (50% ofLine 3). Although thetaxpayer has recorded this onhis return as N500, SIGTASapplies the configuredformula for the assessmentcalculation for this tax type,and corrects the figure toN1000 for the purpose of theassessment.

Assessment Issued•After verification of the

data capture, the assessmentis calculated and printed.

•Assessments are then sentto taxpayers

•If there is any discrepancy,assessments are based on

SIGTAS’ calculations, not thetaxpayer’s.

•The assessment shows thetaxpayer ’s name, TIN, taxtype, tax period, summaryinformation from the lines ofthe remittance, the amount oftax payable and the due date.It also bears a uniquedocument number.

Payment•The taxpayer presents the

assessment document to theBank cashier, along with acheque or cash payment.

•The unique documentnumber identifies thetaxpayer, tax type, tax period,

amount due and due datewhen it is captured intoSIGTAS.

Overdue Payments•If the payment is not

received by the due date, theaccount is included in areport for collection action,and a reminder notice isgenerated automatically andsent to the taxpayer.

•Again, the reminder bearsa unique document number,so that it too can be used forpayment purposes.

•After double-checking toensure this informationmatches what is on the

document, thecashier accepts thepayment and posts itto the account,issuing the taxpayerwith a receiptgenerated fromSIGTAS.

Payments can onlybe made whenassociated with aSIGTAS-generateddocument – if theassessment noticeitself is not available,another paymentdocument can beprinted from SIGTASfor this purpose.

Audit•The progress and

result of an audit arerecorded in SIGTAS.

If a discrepancy is identified,a reassessment can begenerated from SIGTASbased on the new figures.

•The reassessment noticebears a unique documentnumber, so that it can be usedas a payment document bytaxpayers.

Collection•Tax debts remaining

unpaid after a final noticehas been issued can behandled by SIGTAS, throughwhich cases are managedand tracked

For cases eventuallyreferred to Tax Investigation,the SIGTAS Tax Account andthe Collection history cantogether contribute to thebackground materialrequired for litigation.

Objection•A taxpayer who disagrees

with an assessment (eitherthe original assessment, or areassessment generated asthe result of an audit), maylodge an objection.

•The objection is registeredand then processed inSIGTAS.

All requests andinformation about ITASimplementation should beforwarded to :

[email protected]

For certain taxtypes,supportingdocuments suchas FinancialStatements canalso beregistered onthe taxpayer’sfile

Standard IntegratedGovernment TaxA d m i n i s t r a t i o n

System (SIGTAS) which wascreated in Created in Canadaby CRC Sogema is in placein over 20 countries aroundthe world withimplementation currentlyunderway in several othercountries. It was ccustomizedto reflect Nigeria taxlegislation and it replaces thecurrent Web portal systemused for all taxpayers and alltax types in Nigeria.

All taxpayers will beregistered in SIGTAS. InSIGTAS, a taxpayer can be anindividual, a small business,or a legal entity, such as apartnership or a largeincorporated company. Also,small businesses(unincorporated) areregistered under theirowners. These businesses arecalled “IndividualEnterprises.” Forincorporated businesses,details of directors/partnersare recorded. These arerecognized in SIGTAS as“ N o n - I n d i v i d u a lEnterprises”.

Transfer of Taxpayers toSIGTAS

With the launching ofSIGTAS, data from Web portalwill be converted intoSIGTAS, and a new TaxpayerIdentification Number (TIN)will be automaticallyassigned to each taxpayer.Tax balances will also betransferred into SIGTAS. Anda single and unique TIN willbe issued to cover alltaxpayer’s affairs.

Registration and accountsetup for New Taxpayers onSIGTAS

•The taxpayer submits acompleted registration formto JTB/FIRS.

•The form is verified and itsdata captured into SIGTAS

•The TIN request processensures that conditions aremet for the issuance of thenew TIN.

•A single and unique TINis issued to cover alltaxpayer’s affairs.

•All required tax accountsare connected to a taxpayer’ssingle and unique TIN. Taxaccounts include: Valueadded Tax (VAT), CompanyIncome Tax (CIT),Withholding Tax (WHT),Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) etc.

In SIGTAS, all the differenttax types are configured withthe appropriate rules whichapply to them, such asschedule, tax period,formulae for assessmentcalculations, penalties, etc.

Tax Return Submission•Taxpayer submits tax

return according to schedulefor particular tax type.

•Tax return is registeredinto SIGTAS with uniquedocument number.

Taxpayers Registration, Assessment andCollection with Standard IntegratedGovernment Tax Administration System(SIGTAS)

CSR - Left: Ikhine Sunday Paul, Assistant Headmaster. Bonny Camp Nursery and Primary School, Victoria Island, receivingsets of computer and drum sets from Tony Opanachi, Deputy Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, donated by Ecobank as partof its CSR support to the school in Lagos.


CMYK

Insurance

President GoodluckJonathan has

approved thereappointment of Mr.George Onekhena asDeputy Commissionerfor Insurance (Financeand Administration) ofthe National InsuranceC o m m i s s i o n(NAICOM) for asecond and final term offive (5) years.

O n e k h e n a ’ sreappointment wasconveyed in a letterreferenced SGF. 47/S.9/11/636 dated December11, 2014 and signed bythe Secretary to theGovernment of theFederation Anyim PiusAnyim.

The SGF stated thatthe President’s action is“In line with theprovision of Section11(5) of the NationalInsurance CommissionAct 1997” and it is witheffect from November29, 2014.

Onekhena was firstappointed DeputyCommissioner forInsurance in November2009 by the Presidentfor a five year term. Hesuccessfully completedhis first five year termin November, 2014.During the period,Onekhena displayedgood knowledge of theinsurance industryleading to the immensetransformation beingwitnessed in theindustry at the moment.

He was the head of ateam that successfullysupervised thetransition to theInternational FinancialReporting Standards(IFRS) by insurers in2012. The team iscurrently moderatingthe seamless transitionby insurance brokers toIFRS.

A Fellow of theInstitute of CharteredAccountants of Nigeria(ICAN), Onekhena’scontributions to theCommission andindustry are invaluable.

From Left: Miss Insurance 2013/2014, Miss Funmilola Ogunshola and her mother Mrs.Ogunshola at miss insurance pet project for secondary school students in Lagos

SA core business continuesto yield profit —Sa’ad

Chairman of StandardA l l i a n c eInsurance Plc, Mr.

Aliyu Yahaya Sa’ad has saidthat the company continued tomake operating profit from itscore business; as such theyare determined to turn thecycle and return the companyto profitability in 2014 andbeyond.

Sa’ad who stated this at thecompany’s annual generalmeeting in Lagos said that thecompany shall continuallyand strategically build on itsreputation as a one-stopgeneral insurance serviceprovider to take advantage ofthe windows of opportunitiesto remain competitive andgenerate a profitable after taxposition going forward.

He said that in the light ofthe very challengingenvironment of 2013, thecompany recorded a grosspremium of N3.7 billion incomparison to N5.38 billion in2012, a drop of 30%.

“Much of this drop relatedto the expected impact of the‘No premium, no cover’ policyas well as the slow growth ofthe economy. Theunderwriting profit was N3.3billion as against N4.99 billionin 2012, a decrease of 37%.The company recorded a lossof N240 million as againstN1.05 billion in 2012. Theimprovement in performancein comparison to the lossmade in 2012 was a result ofcost optimisation and prudentmanagement of ‘No premium,no cover policy in the yearunder review,” he said.

Sa’ad said, “Year 2013marked a major shift in thehistory of Nigerian insuranceindustry with the fullimplementation andenforcement of ‘No premium,no cover’ rule as provided forin the insurance Act, 2003.This was initially intended totake effect in October 2012 butwas later shifted to January 1,2013. This means that onlycash production was recordedin the books of the company,thereby reducing the burdenof receivables faced by manyinsurance companies. Also,2013 saw the fullimplementation and adoptionof the International FinancialReporting Standards (IFRS)by the insurance and othermajor players in the financialsector of the economy, thoughnot without the expectedteething problems asenvisaged. NAICOMorganised and also facilitatedvarious workshops to aid inensuring smooth transition.

“Available investmentopportunities for insuranceindustry operators include thelocal content initiative of thefederal government in oil andgas sector, investment inphysical infrastructure and theconvergence of the pension

industry and the healthmanagement organisations(HMO). Government’s targetof 70% local content providessignificant opportunities forinsurance companies whosecapacity had hitherto been ahindrance to meeting earliertargets. The obviousinfrastructure need of thecountry also providesinsurance companies withalternative investment avenueand business opportunities.

On future outlook, Sa’ad saidthat the outlook for thefinancial sector in 2014 ismuch brighter. “With thecommitment of the NationalInsurance Commission(NAICOM) to micro-insuranceand insurance industrystability Nigeria is likely toevolve as a preferreddestination of choice forinvestment in the insurancesub-sector in 2014. In addition,NAICOM’s commitment to

pursuit of financial inclusionvis-à-vis ‘No premium, nocover’ is expected to broadenand boost the revenue base ofthe sub-sector. The positiveratings of Nigerian insurersby international ratingagencies are evidence of theirsoundness and will continueto enhance the inflow ofcapital into the sector,” hestated.

Capital Express assures shareholdersof improved performance

Board andManagement of

Capital Express AssuranceLimited has assuredshareholders that they willposition the company totake advantage of anybusiness opportunityavailable in the economy toensure an improvedperformance in the yearsahead.

Chairman of the company,Mr. Babatunde Adenugastated this at the company’sannual general meeting inLagos last week.

Adenuga said that thecompany achieved a grosswritten premium of N3.42billion for the year ended31st December 2013against N2.8 billionrecorded in 2012, torepresent a growth of 22per cent in generated

premium.He said that net premium

income on the other hand,dipped y 11 per cent fromN2.79 billion in 2012 to N2.49billion in 2013.

According to him,underwriting profit recorded a114 per cent growth from N344million in 2012 to N735 millionin 2013. “Despite the harshoperating space, loss for theyear was significantly broughtdown from N517 million in2012 to N109 million in 2013.

Speaking on the insuranceindustry, Adenuga said that itha been characterized bycertain weaknesses over theyears which when addressedwill position the sector torealise most of its potentials aswell as attract sufficientbusinesses both locally andinternationally.

“The industry has begun to

witness a lot of emergingopportunities on the back ofcurrent governmentlegislation which hassupported the prospects ofgrowth in the industry. Thislegislation has triggeredstrategic mergers andacquisitions, interests fromforeign investors as well asincreases in competition andstandard amongst players inthe industry.

“On the face of it, the highlevel of competition in theinsurance industry in Nigeriais expected to improve thelow patronage of insuranceproducts, improve the level ofknowledge of the public ininsurance as well as improvethe level of confidence andpoor perception of the publicof insurance among others.

FGreappointsOnekhenadeputycommissioner


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Aviation

PSV 2020: Epayment Experts push for smartregulation and innovation

On the need for innovation,Hany Fekry, ChiefCommercial Officer ofEmerging MarketsPayments, and Omar ElMoatez, Senior StrategicAccounts Director, AfricanRegional Financial SolutionsDivision, NCR, noted thatbanks and epaymentproviders in Nigeria arepursuing the same set ofcustomers, and there is needfor innovation to offer theirservices to more peopleespecially the millions ofunbanked Nigerians.In a presentation titled,“How Technology istransforming customerexperience”, Fekry notedthat credit card and mobilepayment is very low inNigeria. He also noted thatdespite the fact that Nigeriais one of the highest internetpenetrations in the world;the level of e-commerce isvery low. He called on thee-payment industry, to finda way to use the highinternet penetration in thecountry to drive e-commerce. Drawing theattention of the gathering tothe growing prominence ofmobile e-commerce, Fekry,said that to overcome thechallenges of mobilepayment in Nigeria, bankscould form a consortium thatwould establish a commonmobile payment platformthat each bank could accessand use to offer and drivemobile payment in thecountry. He noted that thisstrategy would enhanceextension of mobile paymentto the millions of unbankedpeople in the country.Also speaking on the needfor efforts to extendepayment to the unbanked inthe country, Kuponiyi said,“The benefit of modernpayment system is yet tofully percolate to allsegments of the society. Asa result, a substantial portionof the population is stilloutside the realm of theformal and modern paymentsystem.Thus the stage is set for allof us especially the banksand the Central Bank ofNigeria along with otherstakeholders in the industryto collaborate with eachother in a co-operative effortto expand the reach ofbanking sector and modernpayment systems by makingall efforts towards therealisation of the PSV 202020. In this endeavour,

educating customers on thesecurity comfort afforded bythe payment products andthe measures required to betaken by the customers forminimising fraud andmisuse should also be anintegral part.”Speaking on the need forinnovation, Barau said thatone of the aims of thePayment System Vision 2020is to encourage innovationguided by the outlinedstrategy. “Innovators in thepayments system are ourpartners in progress and weare committed to promotingcreativity and dynamism inthe national paymentssystem.” he said.John Chaplin howevernoted that global experienceshow that innovation usuallycomes from new entrants andnot established operators.He said that is why theregulatory framework mustbe designed to encourage

new entrants into theepayment industry, adding,this is the only way toguarantee constantintroduction of innovativeproducts and services, andgrowth of the epaymentindustry.The recommendations andviews expressed during theretreat was summarised in acommuniqué issued by theCommittee. Thecommuniqué stated, “Thecommittee appreciates theCentral Bank of Nigeria fordriving the cash-less policyand active engagement ofindustry players in thepayments industry.However, in order toimprove on the currentgains brought about by thepolicy, the committeerecommends as follows: Introduction of taxincentives for merchantswho adopt electronicchannels, benchmarking theSouth Korean model whichrecorded a huge successupon the implementation ofsuch a scheme;“Payment of subsidies,grants and any socialsecurity benefits (e.g. aids tovictims of violence, naturaldisasters, InternallyDisplaced Persons (IDPs),etc. through electronicchannels;“Allowing the market todetermine the price ofelectronic payments toengender innovation andhealthy competition whicheventually benefits the finalconsumer and indeed themarket. We believe that thisresonates with the CBNobjectives.

“There is a strong need to re-evaluate the concept ofshared services to promote“choice of service providers”and encourage competition.Switches and serviceproviders should be allowedto compete while servicesthat could be shared such asSettlement and Clearingservices are handled byNIBSS“There is an urgent need toreview the current model forPOS terminal deployment asthe structure is notsustainable. The committeeis worried by the issue ofinteroperability, non-uniformity of standards,number of parties inecosystem with huge impacton the cost of operations andprofitability, proliferation ofterminals at merchantlocations, weak operationalframework, imperfect pricingand revenue sharingformula, amongst otherfactors includinginfrastructural challenges,which have led to high rateof inactive POS terminals inthe market.“Given the myriad ofchallenges that havebedevilled the POSoperation, as highlightedabove, the committee herebycommits to setting up a sub-committee comprising majorstakeholders in the paymentsystem. The main objectiveis to analyse and review thefailure points of POStransactions over a periodand present to a largercommittee, including CBNwith a view to fixing all theissues as applicable.”

There is an urgentneed to review thecurrent model for

POS terminaldeployment as the

structure is notsustainable

RockefellerFoundation, IFClaunches facility tofund infrastructure

The RockefellerFoundation and IFC, a

member of the World BankGroup, are launching aproject development facilityaimed at unlocking privatesector investment forinfrastructure that helps buildresilience across emergingmarkets.Global institutional investorsare keen to invest ininfrastructure, but there aren’tenough well-structuredprojects. The major challengelies in the early stages ofproject development. Often,governments lack the capacityto structure, negotiate, andmanage complexinfrastructure transactions.This is a critical bottleneckthat delays and often stalls thedevelopment of projects. As aresult, not enough projectsare coming to market.

AfDB approves$22 million loanto develop LakeTanganyika

Board of Directors of theAfrican Development

Bank (AfDB) Group approveda S$22.49-million loan toZambia for the developmentof Lake Tanganyika.This project has beenformulated as part of the long-term vision for Zambia(“Vision 2030”) by which itintends to become “aprosperous middle-incomecountry by 2030”. Its aim,thus, is help implement theamended Sixth NationalDevelopment Plan, whichcovers 2013-2016 and aims tofacilitate and accelerate“economic growth anddevelopment in the service ofthe people”. Accordingly, itaims to stimulate job creationand rural development, inthis way boosting inclusivegrowth.The project will beimplemented over a five-yearperiod in two districts,Mpulungu and Nsama,which surround the drainagebasin of the lake and whichhave 157,830 inhabitants. Theincidence of poverty is muchhigher in these districts thanin other districts of Zambia.More specifically, the projectwill promote sustainable andequitable management anduse of the lake’s naturalresources, and it will helpimprove the livelihoods oflocal communities (in thedrainage basin of the lake).

RETREAT - From left- Dipo Fatokun, Director, Banking and Payments Dept, Central Bank ofNigeria (CBN); Tunde Kuponiyi, Chairman, Committee of e-Banking Industry Heads (CeBIH);John Chaplin, Global Retail Payment expert; Dele Adeyinka, Vice Chairman, CeBIH at the2014 annual CeBIH retreat held in Abuja

Continued from page 26

CMYK


Business & Economy

BY VERA SAMUELANYAGAFU

Citing the insatiableworldwide appetite for

chocolate, the US ConsulGeneral Jeffery Hawkins hasurged the Nigerian governmentto position itself and takeadvantage of the opportunitythat represents the increasedefforts on mechanizing growingof cocoa in the country.

Hawkins said that he wasstruck by the fact that cocoa isstill raised by hand, and notmachine in Nigeria, for fact thatit remains a very labor-intensivecommodity to produce,stressing that despite thephysical labor involved, farmersare realizing very limitedincomes from their efforts.

According to the US CG, “TheUS government has beenworking very closely with theNigerian government, as well aswith the country’s private sector,to advance Nigeria’s AgriculturalTransformation Agenda. Bringing transformation to thiscountry’s troubled cocoa sectoris quite imperative.

Hawkins pointed out that thedemand for cocoa is rising fasterthan cocoa production, andemerging economies such asChina and India have developeda taste for chocolate, and manyconsumers can now afford theluxury.

He said that Cocoaconsumption in developedeconomies is also up, withmore and more consumers nowdemanding darker chocolatewith upwards of 70 percentcocoa content recent pressreports disclosed that doctorsare finding there are even healthbenefits from eating dark chocolate.

“ With this rise in demand,international buyers arepredicting a potential cocoashortage by 2020. This hasalready contributed to cocoaprices rising 25 percent in thepast year.

But sadly, cocoa productionhere in Nigeria is diminishing.Cocoa farmers and their treesare aging, and farmers aregetting some of the lowestyields on the continent. Farmers are tending small plotsof land, often less than twohectares and are not makingthe investments needed tomaintain quality or productivity.With high interest rates, and thecost of inputs exceedingfarmers’ ability to pay, the sectoris not seen as a viable way tomake a living. Sons anddaughters of cocoa farmers areheading to the cities for otheropportunities”, Hawkins added.

A close up view of the new

We need to transform Nigeria’stroubled Cocoa sector — US govt

development in respect ofquality cocoa productivity inNigeria was clearly indicated atthe cocoa summit, whichprovided an excellentopportunity to begin adiscussion on how to againmake cocoa a significantcontributor to Nigeria’seconomic development.

Making cocoa a viableprospect for youth employmentis a real possibility and in thecontext of Nigeria, an absolute

BY PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

Nigerian BottlingCompany’s, NBC’ s

Technical Training Center, TTC,which serves as a resourcecentre for developing competenttechnical personnel in theNigerian beverage bottlingindustry recently graduated 19Engineers after successfullycompleting a 15 month GraduateEngineer Training programme.

The Company’s TechnicalTraining Center was establishedin 1996 to consistently providea pool of resourceful andcompetent engineers andtechnicians who are in tune withthe highly demanding technologyand operating environment in thebeverage industry.

Speaking at the graduationceremony, the ManagingDirector of Nigerian BottlingCompany (NBC) Ltd, Mr. BenLangat said the centre is part ofNBC’s commitment to stimulatehuman performance, improve

NBC’s technical training centregraduates 19 engineers

productivity and induce valued-added production capacity thatstimulates economic growth.

Mr Langat charged thegraduands to demonstrate hightechnical and leadershipcompetencies. “My underlyingmessage to our new engineersis that only those who are ableto consistently respond totough times excel. Your role asEngineers is very crucial inpreserving our quality heritageand ensuring that ourmanufacturing processesconform to world-classstandards in the most efficientmanner, which includes:identifying processimprovement opportunities,recognizing production costdrivers and mitigating theirimpact on our operations”.

In his remarks, Pastor TopeDada, Head, Technical Training,NBC, lauded the graduands fortheir commitment to the trainingprogramme and theirdemonstration of a high sense

of purpose throughout theduration of the programme.

According to him, NBC isproud of the new graduates andthe company is confident theywill go forth and excel in theirvarious posts. He enjoinedyoung Nigerians who aspire tobuild a career in the beveragebottling industry to takeadvantage of the NBC’sTechnical Training Centre. Hesaid over 4,500 participants havecompleted various technicalprogrammes at the centre sinceinception and many of theproducts of the Centre havegone ahead to assume higherresponsibilit ies in theorganisation.

Mr Laolu Oguntuyi, Director,Technical and VocationalServices, Lagos State Technicaland Vocational Education Board(LASTVEB), in his goodwillmessage, commended NBC forthe initiative, which has beensustained for 18 years.

need. The challenge is tocome to agreement among allthe actors government andprivate to put these piecestogether in a way that enablesNigerian agribusinesses to thriveover the long term.

“This is precisely the reasonthat the U.S. Government issupporting this summit andencouraging the coordinateddevelopment of the Nigeriancocoa industry. I wish you thebest of luck today in holding

fruitful discussions, anddeveloping a coherent plan tousher in a new era in Nigeria’scocoa sector”, Hawkinssubmitted. Present also at thesummit were leader of theCocoa Value Chain Programand Representative of theFederal Ministry of Agriculture,Dr. Peter Aikpokpodion, formerSecretary to the government ofNigeria, Chief Olu Falae andother top responsibleauthorities.

PRESENTATION - From right, Chief Marketing Officer, Smile Communications Nigeria Limited,(Smile)Mrs. Alero Ladipo, Managing Director, Smile, Mr. Michiel Buitelaar in handshakewith the best Smile Communication Indirect Channel Partner for the year 2014, ManagingDirector, Yfree Solution, Mr. Victor Inyang while General Manager, Sales and Distribution,Smile, Mr. Ken Esenwah watch during the presentation of prizes to reward the best 2014Smile Indirect Channel Partners held in Lagos.

JCI elects Raji as2015 President

JCI Oluyole has elected SakiratOlaitan Raji as 2015 Local

organisation President.She takes over from Sayo Ojowho served as President JCIOluyole for this year 2014. Raji,was presented to all members,Past presidents, corporatepartners and general public as2015 Local organisationpresident at the convention andinvestiture programme of the JCIOluwole held at the at BanquetHall Jogor centre, Ibadan, Oyostate.Speaking at the occasion, Rajipromised to sustain the valuesof JCI and deepen its commitmentto serving humanity. “The themeof the Local Organisation in theyear 2015 is Goal Achievable,Mission Attainable. I cannot doit alone, but I believe ourcollective efforts will definitelyhelp us build a better chapter andsociety. I promise to work withall members and serve withenthusiasm and collectiveresponsibility against all odds inorder to achieve a successfulyear”, she said.Chairman of the occasion, JCISenator Babajide Olatunde-Agbeja while speaking, advisedmembers to develop integrityabove all as integrity is the basisfor any form of leadership.

Dollar rises as Yellensignals interest-raterise

A gauge of the dollar rosefor the eighth time in nine

weeks after Federal ReserveChair Janet Yellen signaledthat the central bank is poisedto increase interest rates nextyear starting as early as April.The greenback headed forgains this year against allexcept one of its 31 majorpeers, a feat it hasn’taccomplished since 1997, asYellen said the impact ofRussian turmoil on the U.S.economy is small. Hungary’sforint and the Polish zloty sankon concern the economic crisisthat has driven the ruble down44 percent this year willspread. The Swiss francweakened the most in twomonths versus the euro afterthe central bank introducednegative interest rates.Yellen is “really trying to saythere’s a lot of volatility outthere, but it’s not having adramatic impact on the outlookof U.S.,” Kevin Hebner, aforeign-exchange strategist atJPMorgan Chase & Co., saidby phone yesterday in NewYork. The process of themarket adjusting to the Fed’srate-rise projections “is goingto get the dollar appreciating,


CMYK

Business & Economy

BY FRANKLIN ALLI

ANABEL Group saysF r a n c h i s eb u s i n e s s

model can propel Nigeriansmall businesses to becomeglobal conglomerates the likeof Kentucky Fried Chicken,McDonald and Pizza Hutworth trillions of dollar inassets and turnovers.

Franchise is the practice oflicensing for a prescribedperiod of time or the right touse a company’s businessname for a fixed period oftime.

Mr. Nicholas Okoye, CEOAnabel Group/ FounderEmpower Nigeria, stated thisduring the Island Tea Partyfor Women Entrepreneurs,organised by the company inLagos.

In his presentation, ‘Nigeria: EntrepreneurialNation’, Okoye related howKFC, Pizza Hut, amongothers started as a smallbusiness and become global

Small firms can go globalthrough franchise – CEOAnabel Group

companies throughFranchise.

“We need to turn your smallbusiness into a mega businessusing the franchise strategy.Every business that has aproduct or service a formulaof engaging and keepingcustomers can be a franchise.We need to develop yourbusiness into franchises so wecan build national andinternational corporations,”he told the womenentrepreneurs.

According to him, Pizza Hutwas started by two brothers,Dan and Fran Carney in the50s as a small business; theyborrowed $500 from theirmother and by 1968, the grouphad grown to 310 restaurantsincluding restaurants inCanada; by 1969 the brothersset up the internationalfranchise holders associationto acquire 40 percent of thecompanies franchise whichthey added to the original 6already owned by thecompany. Before the end of1960, they prepared the

company for public listing toraise even more money forexpansion. Aggressivemarketing and innovativeadvertisements were key totheir rapid expansion. Theadvertising not only built astrong brand for Pizza Hutand its promoters but it alsoattracted the attention ofglobal conglomerate PepsiCo.PepsiCo acquired Pizza Hutfrom the brothers in 1977 in a

deal that paid $320 million instock.

Okoye also urged the localentrepreneurs to learn fromKentucky Fried Chicken,KFC, which was startedby Colonel Sanders .

“He began by selling friedchicken from his roadsiderestaurant in Corbin,Kentucky and grew to 140restaurants. At the age of 65he set up the Kentucky fried

chicken corporation and soldfranchise to entrepreneurs.By 1980, there were anestimated 6,000 KFC outletsin 48 different countries, with$2 billion of sales annually.

“Are you in business, do youhave a business that willqualify to be a franchise; doyou want to expandinternationally- Africa andbeyond?

FORUM - From left: Amb. Moses Essien; Chief Executive Officer, Institute for GovernmentResearch Leadership Technology, Amb. Angela Colley, Immediate Past Gambia Envoy toNigeria, and Prof. John Akanya, Deputy Chairman of the Institute, During the African productforum held in Abuja .


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DINNER - From Right: Chairman Governing Board of Small and Medium Enter prisesdevelopment Association of Nigeria, SMEDAN, Col Shehu Ibrahim, rtd, President, NigeriaInstitute of Public Relations, NIPR, Dr. Rotimi Oladele, and major Adebayo Shitta, rtd, Fellowof NIPR at the presidential dinner and award night in Lagos recently.

Street Toolz, an edgedigital marketing

agency, based in Lagos, haslaunched a price comparisonsite - www.zowasel.com inNigeria to ensure consumersget best prices possiblewithout surfing the netendlessly.

Zowasel.com has beendeveloped as a hub whereeverything – products, goodsand services can be comparedin terms of pricing. It is anintuitive aggregatecomparison engine designedto help shoppers comparebest prices across shopping,hotels, flights and school feesand rentage.

The Chief Marketing Officerof Street Toolz, Jerry Ochewhile explaining the reasonwhy the aggregatecomparison search enginewas introduced, said theportal was designed with the‘stressed Nigerian’ in mind.“Our vision is to makecomparison accessible andavailable to everyone in real-time via web, mobile and POSacross developingeconomies.”

A herbal based drink,is not just anyordinary alcoholic

drink. Bitters are made fromcarefully selected tropicalplant extracts which formspart of a secret recipe, and itis popular for its aphrodisiacqualities.

One of the important thingsto understand about bittersmanufacturers is that they areextremely protective abouttheir recipe.

All the mystery andprotectiveness over bitterscomes from a long history oftrying to fend off competitors,imitators, and counterfeitersin the bitters space.According to history, bittersgot its start in 1824 when aGerman, Dr. Johann Siegert,who lived in Venezuela,developed a medicinalremedy for stomach ailmentswithin Simon Bolivar’s troopsat the military hospital wherehe was the Surgeon-General.

He named these bitterssimply “Aromatic Bitters” andadministered them asmedicine. These bittersremained a well-regardedtonic with the troops andamong family and friends. Itwasn’t until 1853 when Dr.Siegert’s son, Carlos C.Siegert, returned from hiseducation in Europe anddevoted himself to the bittersbusiness that things reallytook off.

But the case of Ghana’a

Bitters: Spirited history of adrink attacked by adulteration

STORIES BY PRINCEWILLEKWUJURU

Alomo bitters from theKasapreko company ,managed by Kwabena Adjei,the founder of Kasapreko, wasa different one, it owns itshistory from the fact thatAfricans were drinking herbslocally mixed with alcohol.But his vision was to usescientific method to producethe product with clinicalauthentication.

Adjei introduced Alomo 10years after the company wasestablished as he wasproducing Kasapregin. Butthe breakthrough came whenhe introduced Alomo bitterwhich became a blazer in thebitters market.

Some people startedsmuggling Alomo Bitters intothe Nigerian market beforethe product got the NationalAgency for Food Drugs andControl, NAFDACregistration. The productreceived immediate consumeracceptance as the consumersneeded something differentfrom lager beer. When theproduct officially enteredNigeria, distributors jumpedon it and this created thevisibility and the productboomed, again on the back ofaffordability.

Predictably, between 2011and 2012, the product marketshare hovered around 80

percent of the bitters market.But this share was soonweakened as adulteration ofthe product and genuinecompetition entered to tapinto what experts describedas N32.2 billion annual bittersmarket.

In a while, both registeredand unregistered bitterproducts which faked Alomotraced it way to the marketunfettered.

He was able to find ascientific way of infusingalcohol in the the herbs thatformed the bitters. So he wasable to partner with ScientificPlant Medicine in Mapong,which is World HealthOrganisation affiliate that didthe extraction of the herbs.That helped him to make surethat the herbs and the amountof herbs and the proportion ofthe herbs are according towhat is good for humanconsumption.

The company hadpreviously promised to startproduction of Alomo Bittersand other of its products inNigeria as a result of its hugemarket which is its biggestexport but said it is beingfrustrated by the faking of thebrand which has reduced thebrand equity of Alomo Bitters.

“We wanted to make a strongfoot print in Nigeria and wehave not canceled theambition but once we are ableto get rid of those destroyingthe market and harming the

lives of the people throughfaking of our product then wecan decide to put the factoryin place”, Kwabena Adjei, thecompany’s founder and CEOtold Vanguard in Accra,Ghana recently.

Adjei however regretted thatthe faking of the product hasaffected the equity of thebrand. “Thus if we don’t fightthe fake, we are hurting thegovernment because fakersdon’t pay tax. We are harmingthe consumers because fakersdon’t use good product. Someof these fake products havebeen tested in our laboratoryand I tell you that the resultis shocking and unhealthy toconsumers”, he said.

Adjei who recognizedNigeria as a big market inAfrica said the brand’sdominance of the market hasbeen greatly touched not bygenuine competition but byfake market. He however saidthat the company which isnow exporting to Europeanand Western countries andother African countries ispresently collaborating withNigeria’s regulatory agenciesand distributors to tackle thefake market syndrome.

In order to still offer qualityproducts to Nigerians whohave accepted the productand checkmate faking whichis affecting the brand , withpotential of causing healthconsequence on consumers,Adjei and his team areintroducing security seal onthe Alomo brand.

In his response toadulteration, he stated: “twoyears ago we embarked on ajourney to protect our brandand consumers. That journeytook us to Germany where wepartnered with a hologramcompany”. According to him,the security will involve fourlevels all in an attempt toensure that the consumer getsthe right quality product. “Weknow that fakers will try toconfuse the consumers withfake holographic seal but oursis so sophisticated andconsumers will be able toidentify the original from thefake” he said.

In order to also reach thegrowing international market,Kasapreko has commissionedtwo production lines - the petbottle production that rolls out40,000 containers per hourand the glass bottle line thatproduces 30,000 bottles perhour.

Today, Kasapreko continuesto receive enquiries fromvarious countries such asAustralia, US, UK for thesupply of Alomo and otherbrands within its portfolio. Inall it has 15 variants in Gin,whiskey, wine categories.Adjei which have won severalawards since 1999 to date.

Unilagundergraduatewins Onga campuscooking contest

A 22-year old lawstudent of Universityof Lagos, Miss

Temitope Oyedija; hasemerged the overall winner inthis year ’s Onga NationalCampus CookingCompetition thereby winningthe star prize of 2014 KIA Riofull option.

With the Okro Soup andGarri she prepared at theGrand Finale of thecompetition held at the IndoorSports Hall of the university,Oyedija dazzled otherregional winners whorepresented 13 otheruniversities in the country.

Kachi Onubogu, ExecutiveDirector, Commercial,Promasidor Nigeria Limited,sponsors of the competition;who made the announcementsaid cooking is a universal artdone in every part of theworld. Based on this, he saidPromasidor ’s target is tomake the competitionpremium amongst the youthin Nigeria.

Zowasel.comdebuts, givesconsumersprice option


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Re-election and agenda

Part of the agenda is the institute’s elections. What we’vedone with the last election is to change the process ofchoosing leaders. We have made it more transparent, it

is one of the greatest achievements of the institute. Now weensure that those who are voting are properly accredited. Andno longer would the institute be using staff as instruments forelection process manipulations.

Let me tell you this, I’m only going to stay for one tenure,and will not secure a second term. The reason is that I believeI’ve contributed my own quota and others should come andcontinue. But the general opinion of my colleagues was that Ihad to see through some of these things. We had just broughttwo bodies together, and the people are just about getting usedto one another. We don’t want to start experiencing what we

My agenda for marketing Profession inNigeria —NIMN BossMr. Ganiyu Koledoye, was recently elected

president of the National Institute of Marketingof Nigeria, NIMN. In this interview withPrincewill Ekwujuru, he spoke about agendafor the profession and the future dircetion ofthe industry . Excerpts.

had in 2009 and 2010, whenno sooner people started, thatthe institute broke up again.People felt I should stay to beable to complete thereconciliation process. Whatyou have seen as reconciliationis just one part of the story.The academia are still outsidethe fray, and we intend to bringthem in. The institute issupposed to be a bird with twowings. For several years, onewing of the institute had beenso battered. That one we havemanaged to fix now. The otherwing, for the past 10 to 11years, has been excludedtotally from the activities of themarketing institute, and thatis the academia. And noprofessional institute cansurvive if we don’t have thefaculty of people who areteaching, who are going todesign the curriculum, whoare going to be part of thefactory for turning out student.If the cohesion and interplaybetween the two arms does notexist, then you can’t have aninstitute. The practitionersmay have their ownexperience, but they are nota c a d e m i c a l l y - i n c l i n e d ,because they are practitioners.The people in the academiadon’t have the practical day today knowledge but they havethe skill of understandingwhat is going on and translateit to teaching manuals andteaching process. And if thisinterplay exists, the quality ofour membership would beenhanced. So one of the thingsI intend to do is to make surethat I bring the academia onboard.

Our long term aim is thatwhatever area of specialisationstudents are moving towardsin social sciences, they shouldalso develop marketing skillsand, therefore, we are now

expecting a lot of people inschool of management to readprofessional marketing, andto do that you have to bringthe academia on board. Bothof us, the academia and thepeople in the industry, woulddecide the fate of this institutein terms of quality ofeducation which we providefor our people and how werelease people into theindustry. The second one ismaking the institute relevantin terms of national discourse.We should have an input.The truth about a society likeours is that it is being run onpurely economic model.People talk about GDP,inflation and all that, butmarketing model is differentfrom all of that. It looks at thequality of life of the citizenry,sometimes you call themconsumers or customers.Therefore, we affect every life.I think Nigeria has, for

whatever reason, missed theinput of marketing. I will notblame the government forthat. It is because essentiallywe have not put our house inorder. Now that we believewe’ve done this, we have tobe involved in advocacy.

Another area which I wantto be relevant is in theindustry itself. If you look ata lot of people who are playersin the marketing offices now,they are not necessarilymembers of our institute, andeven those who are membersdon’t come for ourprogrammes? We are not thatrelevant in people’s careers.We have to really put a checkon that. People accuse theinstitute of not reaching outto its members, but my ownexperience, as someone whograduated as professionalmarketer before going for myacademic qualification, is thatmembers also haveresponsibility on how theyproject their institute.

We shall encourage peopleto be familiar with the NIMNAct. We will not encouragepeople to be practicingmarketing if they are notmembers of the institute,members mean active player.We have started the processof codification. We are goingto engage extensively in theprocess of making sure thatdelinquent membership arenot encouraged in theinstitute. We will start fromJanuary to advise people toregularise. After six months,we will take appropriateaction to list those who are ourmembers to informorganisations, while non-members should not beoccupy seats meant forpractitioners.

What does it take for anindividual to be a charteredmarketer?

There are phases, either youhave professionalqualification, or you work inthe industry where you areassigned marketing duties.Marketing is a complexprofession, any competentand literate person can domarketing. We create valuesbut people who create ourideas into values are usuallythose of other professionssuch as engineers,pharmacists, chemists,psychologists, sociologists. Infact, most of marketingactivities is sociology, whichis people. So people mustunderstand how broad thebase is. But to be a member ofour institute, you have toconfirm your status with theinstitute. We are not sayingthat people should not comefrom other profession topractice marketing.Marketing needs everybody.But now that you are there,you should regularise yourstatus with the institute.

Capacity to enforceWe are going to use moral

suasions. I’m sure you’vecome across what is calledname and shame. When I putout the list of those who aremy members, if your name isnot there, that means you arenot a practicing marketer. I’mnot going to put out yourname as practicing marketing,when you have notregularised. That is the firststrategy, because we have alaw which says that only thosewho are recognised by theinstitute can practice theprofession.

If it is not understood byeverybody, it is our

NB unveilslargest bottletreeNigerian Breweries has

unveiled the world’slargest “Star Bottle Tree”.TheStar Bottle Tree, situated atStar Beer Village, Bar BeachStretch Victoria Island Lagos,is made with 8,000 bottlesand is the largest bottle treein the world. Attentiongrabbing and stunninglymade, it is a first of its kindin the country, symbolizinggreatness and theenterprising Nigerian spiritpersonified by Star Lager, thecountry ’s leading beerbrand.

Lagosians took part in therecord-breaking feat bysubmitting empty Starbottles, which were puttogether to build the tree.

The Star Bottle Tree aims tobreak the current WorldRecord of 1,000 beer bottlesbeing held by the Chinesecity of Shanghai.

“This is anotherachievement by NigerianBreweries Plc, which hasbecome a forerunner increativity and innovationover the years. Star Lager isan exciting brand, whichstrives to reach its consumerson enthusing platforms suchas the Star Beer Village andalso with the Star Bottle Tree.

The Chief ExecutiveOfficer,CEO of

Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. MathewWillsher has reiterated theimportance of education andinnovation to humandevelopment andimprovement of the quality ofhuman lives. He made the callduring the third edition of theEtisalat Merit Awards whichheld in Lagos on Wednesday.

In his opening remarks,Willsher stressed theimportance of education andinnovation and lamented theglobal illiteracy rate whichcurrently stands at one billion.He also congratulated all the70 participants drawn fromseven Nigerian universitiesand described them as thefuture of the country, addingthat the country’s greatness inthe area of innovation andscientific discoveries lay ontheir shoulders.

Speaking further, hecanvassed private sectorpartnership for fundingeducation in the country andargued that education iscritical to development andshould not be left exclusivelyto government to fund.

Etisalat CEOreiteratesimportance ofeducation

If you look at a lotof people who are

players in themarketing officesnow, they are not

necessarilymembers of our

institute, and eventhose who aremembers don’t

come for ourprogrammes?

Email:[email protected], [email protected] page:www.lesleba.com/blog2Website: www.lesleba.comTel:0805 220 1997

44— Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014

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. ReporterEbele Orakpo - Energy ReporterIfeyinwa Obi - Maritime ReporterRosemary Onuoha - Insurance Reporter

CONTRIBUTORSPrincewill Ekwujuru - Media/MarketingNkiruka Nnorom - Capital MarketJonah Nwokpoku - E-CommerceNaomi Uzor - IndustryProvidence Obuh - Micro FinanceLAYOUT - Graphics Department

Business & Economy

CMYK

A delegation of smalland medium-sizedbusiness concerns

comprising members of theNigerian-German BusinessAssociation (NGBA) will visitGermany in February nextyear to explore opportunitiesfor partnerships with Germanbusinesses.

Mr. André Rönne, ChiefExecutive Officer (CEO) ofNGBA and Delegate, GermanDelegation of Industry andCommerce (AHK), whodisclosed this while deliveringhis report to the 27th AnnualGeneral Meeting (AGM) of

Nigerian-German Business Associationdelegation to visit Germany next year

the association in Lagos at theweekend said the plannedvisit is a response to the five-day visit of the GermanEngineering Federation(VDMA) to Nigeria in June.

VDMA represents allmanufacturers of machinery,equipment and plant inGermany and hasapproximately 3,100 member-companies. During the visit,the VDMA delegationorganized a symposium onGerman Technology – TailorMade for Foodstuff Processingand Packaging and

participated in a workshop onDoing Business in Nigeria.

Rönne said NGBA and AHKalso organized a culturaltrade show dedicated to thecultural variety of Nigeria incollaboration with the GermanGoethe Institute andConsulate General of theFederal Republic of Germanyin October to highlightpositive aspects of Nigeria. Heannounced that the secondedition of the cultural show isalready being planned and isexpected to attract a biggeraudience.

The above title may seemout of place in the wakeof the launch of

“Nigeria’s IndustrialRevolution Plan” (NIRP) bythe Jonathan administrationin February this year. TheNIRP is clearly a recognitionof the embarrassingly modestcontribution of manufacturing(less than 7%) to our GrossDomestic Product; conversely,the contribution, for example,of the services subsector hasgrown from about 23% in 2011to a robust 52% by 2013without any significant jobcreation component!According to PresidentJonathan “the NIRP and itssister project, the NationalEnterprise DevelopmentProgramme (NEDEP) willaddress the constraints thathave consistently inhibitedthe growth of manufacturingby building industrialinfrastructures, prioritisingpower for industrial use,reducing borrowing cost andmobilising funds for the realsector to produce and reducethe drain on our reserves...”Subsequently, at theinauguration of thePresidential AdvisoryCommittee on NIRP in May2014, Mr. President tasked“the manufacturing sector towork harder to add value toNigeria’s produce rather thanjust exporting raw materials”,as “no country has everbecome prosperous, only byextracting and exporting itsraw materials.”However, the question iswhether Mr. President’snoble vision is supported bythe actual reality on ground,or could this also be another‘feel good’ propaganda in themanner of earlier failedprojects, such as Operation

Is de -industrialisation imminent?Feed the Nation, NEEDS,SEEDS, and visions 2010 and2020 programmesrespectively?It may be too early to make acall on the possible success orfailure of NIRP and NEDEP,but some observers may insist“that the morning shows theday”; consequently, suchcritics may refer to recentdevelopments that couldconscribe the NIRP andNEDEP programmes to thedust bin.Early in December 2014, theCBN Governor, GodwinEmefiele, unexpectedlyreneged on his earlierassurances to maintain Nairaexchange rate at the 5 yearrate of about N155=$1,consequently, the Naira nowtrades at between N165-N173/$1 at the official retailDutch Auction window withCBN; however, these‘premium’ rates seem onlyapplicable for governmenttransactions; thus forexample, the CBN wouldsubstitute a minimum of N165for every $1 of distributabledollar denominated revenue,before sharing to the threetiers of government, a processthat, incidentally, instigatesthe poisonous economicburden of excess liquidity!There are already allegationsby manufacturers that theirforex bid for importation of rawmaterials/inputs weredirected to the interbankwindow, where the dollarcurrently exchanges for closeto N190/$1, i.e. about 30%more than whatmanufacturers paid for theirdollar requirements barely amonth ago!Regrettably, the currentdemand pressure may likelypush the interbank Naira

exchange rate aboveN200=$1, with disastrousconsequences for the fundsrequirement of the real sector.Thus, a manufacturer whousually required N100m forimported raw materials/inputs, will now require uptoN130m to buy the same inputsif the Naira exchange rateapproaches N200=$1. Worsestill, the same manufacturerwho barely survived theburden of borrowing N100mwith 20% interest rate, mayunfortunately, now need toborrow N130m, with possiblyhigher cost of funds to remainon the same spot.Meanwhile, the Nigerianmanufacturer still carries theburden of providing his ownpower as well as provision ofaccess roads, security andother extraneousexpenditures to stay inbusiness. It is a no-brainerthat, ultimately, Made-in-Nigerian products willcertainly be more expensive,than the imported, finished orintermediate equivalent.Furthermore, the inflationravaged income of Nigeriansmay not be enough topersuade a patriot to buyMade-in-Nigeria goodsbecause of the relativelyhigher price. Instructively, allincome earners including theN18,000 minimum wageearner lose 40% of thepurchasing power of theirincomes every 5 years at thecurrent annual averageinflation rate of 8%!Some Nigerian may recall thatseveral event centres,churches and mosques thatdot our landscape were oncevibrant factories whose ‘lives’were truncated by the seriesof Naira devaluations underSAP; indeed the proliferation

of more carcasses of suchfactories is a clear indicationthat the Nigerian industriallandscape is probably still along way from where it usedto be between 1983-93. TheSAP devaluations not onlydecimated our industrial base,but also led to a disruptiveand retrogressive brain drainas Nigerian professionalsexited our shores in droves inorder to protect their lifestyleand dignity.Consequently, the latestround of devaluations may beseen as an unwelcome de javu as it portends anothercycle of social oppression andindustrial embattlement whichcertainly run counter toPresident Jonathan’s vision oftransforming Nigeria’smanufacturing sector withNIRP and NEDEP.In a related development,ECOWAS member statesratified a Common ExternalTariff (CET) Protocol in Abujaon the 15th of December2014. The CET was curiously,sponsored by the EuropeanUnion under the umbrella ofan ‘Economic PartnershipAgreement’ (EPA). Clearly,under the provisions of CET,European and other importsources of both raw materialsand finished consumer goodswill have unhindered accessto ECOWAS markets, withNigeria (with close to 200mpopulation and relativelysuperior consumer demand)as the prime destination!Under the CET, ECOWAScountries can no longerseriously protect localindustries, and indeed thehighest tariff category of 35%is for a limited range of goodsfor which ECOWAS countrieshave proven capacity toproduce. This rather lopsided

‘partnership’ has beendescribed as an EnslavementPartnership Agreement bysome observers, because,Made-in-Nigeria productswill obviously have no chanceagainst more competitiveimports from those countrieswith the established requisiteinfrastructure, such asadequate and competitivelypriced power, very low cost offunds (between 3-7%) asagainst 20-25% rate of interestto Nigeria’s real sector.In the light of the preceding,President Jonathan’s is clearlymisguided in his expectationthat with NIRP and NEDEP,Nigeria will replicate China’sindustrial revolution andbecome a credible world classeconomy. Instructively, Chinadid not carelessly throw openits borders for a pot of pottageof EU 6.5bn which waspromised 15 ECOWASmember states by theEuropean Union over the nextfive years. Indeed, China’sindustrial incubation lastedfor over 20 years, duringwhich time they quietlydeveloped their localindustries and onlysystematically opened up itsmarket as Chinese industrydeveloped sufficient skill andmuscle to compete withimports from anywhere.As it is, with the ratificationof the ECOWAS CommonExternal Tariff and theeconomic destabilisationrelated to the present Nairadevaluation, we may justhave sold the future ofNigeria’s manufacturingsector to our economicoppressors, and we mayultimately just remain acountry with a bourgeoningservices subsector withminimal jobs opportunitiesand deepening poverty.

Save the Naira, SaveNigerians!


CMYK


Udom still in troubled waters as A-Ibom seeksfresh PDP candidate

By LevinusNwabughiogu

My Papalknighthoodexceptional—Obi

Jonathan'll win Rivers by widemargin —WIKE

By VincentUjumadu

Delta PDP govprimaries: Iborinever directedme on who tovote for—Amori

By Festus Ahon

A S A B A — D E LTACentral senatorial

candidate of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP inDelta State, ChiefIghoyota Amori,yesterday, swore thatformer governor of thestate, Chief James Ibori,never directed him oranybody known to him,on who to vote for beforeor during the stategovernorship primaryelection.

Amori, in an openletter to the Urhobonation, noted that ChiefIbori made Chief DavidEdevbie what he was,from the state to thefederal level, where he(Edevbie) became “ThePrincipal Secretary to thelate President UmaruMusa Yar’Adua.”

He insisted that he didnot betray Urhobo andwill never do so.

THANKSGIVING: From left: Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State; Rivers State DeputyGovernor, Mr. Tele Ikuru and Rivers State APC governorship candidate, Mr. Dakuku Peterside,during a thanksgiving/dedication of mandate service at the Obi Wali International ConferenceCentre, Port Harcourt, yesterday. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke.

ABUJA—DESPITE thevacation of the court

injunction barring the submissionof Emmanuel Udom’s name asauthentic governorshipcandidate of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP in AkwaIbom last Friday, trouble is stillfar from over for him and hispolitical godfather, GovernorGodswill Akpabio.

Like before, the latest move toreplace him as the governorshipcandidate of the state has beensealed by the aggrieved 22aspirants in the state, who felttotally “schemed out” in theDecember 8, 2014 PDP primariesin the state.

The aspirants have vowed toappeal the vacation of theinjunction today in court.

The decision of the aspirantsstemmed from a meeting thatwas called at the instance ofGovernor Akpabio in Abuja,which later ended in fiasco in theearly hours of Saturday.

The meeting, Vanguardgathered, was held to appease theaggrieved aspirants and seektheir support and acceptance ofUdom but the meeting became ashouting bout between Akpabioand a former Attorney-General ofthe state, Chief Asam Asam, SAN,who was also an aspirant.

It was also gathered that themeeting would have held at theGovernor’s Lodge in Asokoro ora designated hotel being the

venue Akpabio had chosen butthe aspirants turned down thechoice and opted for theirsecretariat on Ontario Street inMaitama.

It was gathered that shortly afterthey started the meeting, ashouting match ensued betweenAkpabio and Asam.

A source, who attended themeeting and craved anonymitytold Vanguard that it took theintervention of the other aspirantspresent to calm frayed nerves.

At that juncture, the sourceadded, the group resorted tosinging Christian songs followedby prayers to further restore peaceamongst them.

Afterwards, the governorpleaded with them to acceptEmmanuel Udom as thegovernorship candidate of thePDP in the state but his positionwas rejected by the group.

Seeing that the people werepoised for a showdown, Akpabiocalled on Udom, who was also

present, to plead with them.It was learned that he likened

his case to that of Jesus Christ,who was initially rejected by hispeople but later turned out tobecome the saviour.

But unfortunately, the allusionto Jesus, reportedly infuriated thehouse which roundly castigatedUdom for his lack of humility.

They, however, promised towork for the reelection ofPresident Goodluck Jonathan, butvowed to do everything withintheir power to stop Udom.

AWKA—FORMERgovernor of Anambra

State, Mr. Peter Obi,yesterday, described hisinvestiture as a PapalKnight of St. Sylvester, KSS,by the Catholic Church assomething exceptionalbecause such an honour bythe Pope was usuallybestowed on people above55 years.

Obi, 53, was made KSSby Pope Francis in July thisyear, followingrecommendation by theCatholic Bishop of AwkaDiocese, Most ReverendPaulinus Ezeokafor, for hisexcellent performance asgovernor of the state.

At a well attendedinvestiture at themagnificent St. Patrick’sCathedral in Awka, duringwhich President GoodluckJonathan was representedby his Special Adviser onInter Party Affairs, SenatorNdii Obi, Mr Obi said thatthe decision by the Pope tomake him a Papal Knightcame to him as a surprise.

9,999 carol night: Rededicateyourselves to God —Akpabio

RIVERS State Peoples Democratic

Party, PDP, governor-ship candidate, Mr.Nyesom Wike, has saidthat President GoodluckJonathan will win Riv-ers State by an over-whelming margin on hisway to get a second termin 2015.

Wike, who spoke at

Apara Kingdom in Obio/Akpor Local GovernmentArea on Sunday as part ofhis thank you tour to thearea, said that no amountof state resources expend-ed by the outgoing gov-ernor, who serves as theAll Progressives Con-gress, APC, PresidentialCampaign Manager,would change the love

the people have forJonathan.

He said: “PresidentJonathan will win RiversState on February 14,2015 by a landslide. ThePDP candidates for theNational Assembly elec-tions will also win intheir respective constitu-encies, setting the stagefor our first celebration onFebruary 14.

“All Rivers peopleshould come forward onthat day to vote Jonath-an and all PDP candi-dates. After the voting,they will proceed to theSpecial Valentine cen-tres that we will set upwith their loved ones tocelebrate a presidentwho loves them and hasensured that they bene-fit from good governance.On February 28, 2015,the second stage of ourcelebrations will be heldacross Rivers State afterwe would we have de-feated the APC and theoutgoing governor.”

NIGERIANS of different religious

backgrounds have beenasked to recommit andrededicate themselvesto God by imbibing thespirit of love and peacebecause God is love.

Governor GodswillAkpabio, who made theremark during thisyear’s Akwa Ibom StateGovernment ChristmasCarol night, which fea-

tured 9,999 choristers, thebiggest in the world at thestate International Stadi-um, Uyo also known as‘The Nest of Champions’,said “Let each succeed-ing generation of AkwaIbom people use this torecommit and rededicatethemselves to God. Letthe praise from this eventbring everyone to God’sbanqueting hall, wherelove is served and right-eousness reigns.”


Anti-diabetic drug springs new hope for tuberculosis patientsA more effective treatment for

tuberculosis (TB) could soonbe available as scientists havediscovered that Metformin(MET), a drug for treatingdiabetes, can also be used to boostthe efficacy of TB medicationwithout inducing drug resistance.

The discovery was made by ateam of international scientistsled by the Singapore ImmunologyNetwork (SIgN), a researchinstitute under the Agency forScience, Technology andResearch (A*STAR), Singapore.

TB is an air-borne infectiousdisease caused by a bacterium

• TB drugs

called MycobacteriumTuberculosis (Mtb), which ofteninfects the lungs. Even thoughdrugs are available to treat thedisease, TB continues to be amajor threat to public health,killing close to 1.5 million peopleevery year.

Conventional drugs used totreat TB usually adopt apathogen-targeted strategywhich attacks and kills bacteriadirectly. This approach hascaused Mtb strains to acquiredrug resistance, making existingtreatments become increasinglyineffective and resulting in a

ON this year ’s “WorldPneumonia Day,” Seplat

Petroleum DevelopmentCompany Plc, an indigenous oiland gas exploration company inSapele, Delta state, has flaggedoff its 2014 edition of “SafeMotherhood,” at the SapeleCentral Hospital.

A health- based corporate socialInvestment Programme,launched in 2011, it is aimed atrunning and affecting the lives ofthe company’s contiguous hostand impact communities inEdoand Delta o states, where women

Seplat brings smiles to hostcommunities

Martins noted that the Nigeriaconstitution do not in any waydiscriminate against womenliving with HIV, stressing theneed for Nigerians to stop allforms of discrimination againstthem.

“Women living with HIV haveequal rights like every othercitizen and on no account mustthis right be compromised. Theyhave right to enjoy their lives,their status does not in any wayreduce their dignity, it is theirright to move around freely, rightto fair hearing, freedom ofexpression, freedom of assemblyand association with others aswell as freedom of movement.”

Martins further urgedNigerians to respect the rights ofpeople living with such conditionsas well as the provisions of thenation’s constitution.

“HIV/AIDS is neither anoffence nor a sin; it is a diseasejust like any other diseaseconditions. It is not the fault ofthe carrier. Any of us could bevictim. So let’s join handstogether to fight the virus not oursisters, wives, husbands, mothersand friends.”

“Let’s all ensure that they arenot denied their properties andother inheritances. Live withthem, HIV/AIDS is contractedthrough blood/fluid transfer andnot by mere physical contact likehandshakes, etc.

She advised the women tospeak out when they arevictimised as a result of theirstatus.

She pledged theirorganisation’s support inprotecting the right of vulnerablewomen free of charge.

HIV: Women lawyers embark on communitysensitisation campaign

By Gabriel Olawale

IN its effort to strengthen accessto justice for women and

children living with HIV/AIDS,International Federation ofWomen Lawyers, FIDA, LagosBranch with support from theUnited Nations Women hasembarked on communitysensitisation Campaign on the ofwomen to speak out against anyform of discrimination,stigmatisation, and unfairtreatment due to their HIV status.

Speaking during a communityoutreach in Ikorodu area of Lagosstate recently, the Chairperson,FIDA Lagos, Mrs. Eliana Martinssaid that it is saddening to notethat people living with or affectedby HIV cannot live their lives inthe society due to stigmatisationand other grave injustices as aresult of their HIV status.

receive prenatal care, Ebolaprevention techniques andmedical counselling. Over 3,500pregnancy kit bags andinsecticides treatment nets wereissued. Children under five yearsof age were de-wormed andtreated against pneumonia.

The company’s Base Manager,Dr Chukumah Igelenyah, saidthe engagement is in 11 centersinthe two states to eradicate worminfestation in children of the area,and provide enabling conditionfor safe delivery among pregnantwomen, as well as to reduceinfant and maternal mortality.

Emeribe re-appointed MLSCN boss

THE Governing Board of theMedical Laboratory

Science Council of Nigeria,MLSCN, has re-appointedProf. Anthony Emeribe asRegistrar/CEO for a secondterm of four years.

In a statement in Abuja, theboard said its decision waspredicated on the laudable

Emeribe’s leadership has notonly articulated and pursueda far-reaching vision, but hasgrown into a major regulatorybody with variousinternational collaborations.Some of its strategic partnersinclude Centres for DiseaseControl (CDC), AfricanSociety for LaboratoryMedicine (ASLM) and so on.Only recently, InternationalLaboratory AccreditationCooperation (ILAC) admitted

the agency into itsmembership.

Reacting to the news of hisre-appointment, Emeribethanked the board for theconfidence reposed in him,promising to redouble effortstowards the successfulrealization of the Council’smandate. He said whateverthe MLSCN achieved duringhis first term was as a result ofteamwork.

He, therefore, paid tribute tothe Management and staff ofthe agency without whosesupport and sacrifice, henoted, not much could havebeen accomplished.

Also acknowledging thepositive impact of the board aswell as Mr President’sTransformation Agenda in thehealth sector on the activitiesof the agency, he reiteratedthat the reward for hard workis more work.

“Obviously, we are gratifiedby the development andapplaud the board’s decision.

pressing need to design newtherapeutic strategies for thedisease.

The team of scientists led bySIgN began searching for drugsthat could control Mtb replicationindirectly. They screened FDA-approved drugs and identifiedMET, an old anti-diabetic drugthat could defend Mtb invasionwithout targeting the bacteriadirectly. Instead, MET targets thehost cells to trigger the productionof a chemical which thendamages Mtb and stops itsreplication. Such indirect, host-targeted approach is less likely

contributionsof theR e g i s t r a rt o w a r d stransforminga n drepositioningthe agencyduring hisfirst term andalso in linewith theprovisions ofCap M25,LFN 2004.

F r o mr e l a t i v eo b s c u r i t y,M L S C Nunder the

By Simon Adewale

• Prof. Anthony Emeribe

to engender drug resistance. Theteam also discovered that METimproves the efficacy ofconventional anti-TB drugs whenused in combination with them.

The scientists then validated thefindings with patient dataprovided by the TuberculosisClinical Unit at the Tan Tock SengHospital, and consequentlyverified that the use of MET isindeed associated with improvedTB control and decreased diseaseseverity.

This anti-diabetic drug istherefore a promising adjunctivetherapy that could enhance the

effectiveness of existing TBtreatments.

The lead scientist, Dr AmitSinghal, Project Leader and ProfGennaro De Libero, PrincipalInvestigator at SIgN said: “UsingMET as an adjunct treatment forTB is very promising since thisdrug interferes with thebiochemical pathway essential forthe bacteria’s survival and doesnot promote the development ofdrug resistance. This would likelyshorten clinical trials and we areconfident that a better andaffordable TB treatment will bemade available soon.”


IT is perceived that yourparty in Oyo State is

enmeshed in crisis and thatwould be a disadvantage toyou in the election.

I totally disagree. Can you tellme which party in this state thatis not in crisis? The APC whichis the ruling party has lost all its


senators, literally lost most of theHouse of Representativesmembers and everyone is leavingthe party but no one is talkingabout that.

Politics is a game of interestsand that is why the battle for thecontrol of the soul of the partyhas been very fierce.

Yes, some people have left, butsome people have also come into

the party. This season is like thetransfer window among footballclubs, there is a merry go round,people are going out, people arecoming in.

We are very sad to see peoplego, but they exercised theirfundamental human rights whichwe respect. Yes, we are alsomaking moves towardsreconciliation and I can tell youthat it is going very, very well. We

orderly things are done and youbegin to wonder why are thingsnot like this in my country andthat was what drove me.

I was doing well in England andI have seen successivegovernments in Oyo State andfor me, they have done nothing,because they didn’t come withplans, they don’t put people inthe heart of their policies.

We have the recipe for change.As senator I could only attractprojects to my constituency, Ididn’t have a red pen, but asgovernor you could make thingshappen and make a difference.

One of the things I feel stronglyabout is education because if youfail there, you miss the boatcompletely. The other daysomebody invited me to a partyin a high school and you wouldthink you were in a piggery. Icouldn’t believe I was in a school.

We feel very strongly also onthe issue of youth unemploymentbecause that was one theme thatresonated very strongly during mytravels across the state. We havebeen thinking what would we do?We wont waste our timetravelling the whole world lookingfor investors like previousgovernments have done.

Enablingenvironment

We would create the enablingenvironment, we would create asmall and medium enterprisesunit in one of our ministries thatwould focus on how to help smallbusinesses, help the youths. Wewould also generate a lot of jobsin the agricultural sector.

In Oyo State today, infantmortality rate is one of thehighest in the country and it isquite unacceptable. For apopulation of seven million wehave about 135 doctors. So, Ithink if you ask me, it is down tothe government.

Though you weredischarged and not foundguilty in the killing ofEleweomo, but don’t youthink the issue could hurtyour aspiration?

The issue of Eleweomo wassomething that used to make mevery angry before, but notanymore. I just feel disappointedthat we would stoop to this levelwhere we would play politics likethis.

The former governor (Akala)wasn’t inclusive, he excluded meand good people like SenatorBalogun, Chief Adejo, SenatorLadoja and he drove Ladoja outof the party.

And because of my position asthe arrowhead of the oppositionto him....and we were not askingtoo much from him, just includeus and they came up with this

The APC which isthe ruling partyhas lost all itssenators, literallylost most of theHouse ofRepresentativesmembers andeveryone isleaving the partybut no one istalking about that

OYO: Why our people areangry with Gov Ajimobi— Teslim Folarin

IMMEDIATE past Senate Leader, Senator Teslim Folarin was a two timesenator who rose to become the Senate Leader between 2007 and 2011 duringwhich time he was the highest elected office holder from the Southwest. SenatorFolarin’s drive for public office, according to him, was stimulated by the relativeefficiency of service delivery he saw during his fourteen year stint in the Britishpublic service.

In that direction, he was recently adopted as the candidate of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP for the forthcoming governorship election in his nativeOyo State. In a session with newsmen in Ibadan at the weekend, Senator Folaringave an insight into his policy, plans and the political permutations that put himin good position to win the forthcoming election. Excerpts:

•The only good thing Ajimobi did

By Emmanuel Aziken,Political Editor

•Folarin: No one left the PDP with Akala

plan to call a stakeholders’meeting next week, to carrypeople along, to let them knowthat it is a project for everyoneand that it is not a Folarin thing,but a PDP thing.

There is a perception thatwith the crisis that you nowhave to compete withRasheed Ladoja, SeyiMakinde and the governorfor Ibadan votes while Alao-Akala would be left toharvest the Ogbomosovotes. Are you worried?

Your assumption is wrong.Sometimes in politics, two plustwo doesn’t give you four.Sometimes it gives you ten,sometimes it gives you zero. Withall due respect, in Ogbomosozone who left with GovernorAkala? It is not just aboutnames, you must have followers.

There are two members of theHouse of Representatives inOgbomoso Zone, the Houseleader and Odebunmi, theydidn’t go with him. The Houseof Assembly members didn’t gowith him. The structure of theparty did not go with him.

I was with the leader of theparty in Ogbomoso, Dr. SakaBalogun, he didn’t go with him.I don’t want to talk about hismove, but I think it is amiscalculation and I really do.But you will be shocked withwhat happens in Ogbomoso. Letme also note that my deputy isfrom Ogbomoso, a two timelocal government chairman anda very popular man. No onereally went with him (Alao-Akala).

Why do you want to begovernor of Oyo State?

It is something I have alwayswanted to do to change things. Ilived in England for fourteenyears and there you see how

CMYK


plan to frame me. I thought itwas very, very unfortunatebecause I was nowhere near thescene of the incident and I ask,as Senate Leader what was mybusiness with NURTW thug? Itjust didn’t make sense, if youwant to frame somebody do itin a more tidy way. In these daysof telephone camera, not a singleperson has any evidence to saythat I did it.

Secondly, they rushed to thepress and said that I shot the guyand immediately the autopsyreport came, they said he wasstabbed. Do policemen stabpeople?

This government, you have togive it to them, when Ajimobicame to power, he called theDPP (Director of PublicProsecutions) and asked for thefile and he, the DPP said Akalaasked them to frame me up andhe asked him to go and write thecorrect report and after he wrotethe report, he (Ajimobi) sackedhim and told him we don’t wantto play this kind of politics in thisstate again.

Governmentwithout plan

I am not a violent person andeven for my orderlies I don’ttolerate it when they harassmotorists and they know it. I havenever killed a chicken in my life.It was all a set up and they lockedme up in Agodi Prisons allbecause they wanted to do theirprimaries.

Now you have cited thegood side of GovernorAjimobi could you please tellus some of his other goodachievements and then pointout his failures?

I just said what he did aboutthat unfortunate case, but I thinkthat since then he has sincecompletely missed the boat.

If you ask me, I will score him1½ out of 10 because he cameinto government without anyplan, without any clue of whathe wants to do and you can seethat all he does is travel to Lagosand when he comes back, he willnow say Fashola has built onebridge, let me go and build onetoo. He goes to Lagos again andcomes back and says, they areplanting some flowers there, letus plant followers.

That is all he does. Look at

Continues from page 54 critical areas of people’s lives, hehasn’t done anything. Go to ourhospitals, they are not fenced,our schools are not fenced. OyoState, the pacesetter state came23rd in WAEC!

Even this infrastructure they aretalking about, they got it wrong.I was the first person to raise thealarm and when I did it, it waswith all sense of responsibilitythinking that they will change andthis government is so insensitive,lacks human face and basicallythey are clueless.

Poultrywithout chicken

I said it is basically like havinga poultry that stinks and you sayyou want to get somebody tohelp you clean it up andsomebody now applies, Ajimobito be specific, and we say we willgive you four years to do it andafter two years, his supporters sayif you go to the poultry you wontbelieve how clean it is and weask what is the magic and wecheck, the poultry is clean butthe chicken are not there!

The chemicals he used havekilled all the chicken! But youcant have a poultry withoutchicken. He hasn’t paidcompensation, he hasn’tprovided alternatives and that isthe truth of the matter.

What we are saying is that they

got their balance wrong. Heforgets all the time that being ingovernment is about serving thepeople.

If you are going to plantflowers, yes, it makes everywherelook nice, but if it means that itis going to make some peopleunemployed, then don’t plant theflower.

Once you dislodge them, notonly do you cause economicdislocation, you also cause socialdislocation and that is the storyright across the state and that iswhy everybody want him out.

Transportmanagement

Even the bridge they built atMokola, you get the impressionthat they only built the bridge sothat they can say that Ajimobibuilt this bridge, but it has causedmore misery to people living inthat area when simple transportmanagement would solve the

problem. You are expanding allthe roads, but go to England,they have narrow roads, theyhave traffic lights.

The point I am making is thatyou can do the right thing thewrong way. I have given you theanalogy of the poultry.

You don’t have to use verystrong chemicals to kill thechicken. There is nothing wrongwith urban regeneration, in fact,it is something we will continue,but we will do it with a humanface.

Do you see theincumbency factor as achallenge to your aspiration?

Incumbency in Oyo State hasalways been a minus! It meansnothing in our state if you lookat our history. In other states it isa big factor but in our state ifyou say you are the incumbentit makes it much easier.

Are you worried thatAjimobi could get on thecoattails of Gen. Buhari to

•Folarin: Incumbency in Oyo State has always been a minus

I am not a violentperson and evenfor my orderlies Idon’t tolerate itwhen they harassmotorists and theyknow it. I havenever killed achicken in my life

OYO: Akala miscalulated bygoing to LP— Folarin

get to a second term? What is our business with Gen.

Buhari in the Southwest? All wecare about is Ajimobi who hasdemolished our livelihoods.People are angry that Ajimobihas deprived them of theirlivelihoods, deprived them oftheir homes. Look, they havebuilt bridges and all that but whyhaven’t they conducted localgovernment elections? It isbecause they know that they willlose.

Are you worried that youwould be confronting twoformer governors and anincumbent governor?

Let me tell you that PDP hasthe strongest platform whether weare in government or not. Thisthing you mentioned about theformer governors, that is theadvantage for me. I am going totell the people that these peoplehave done it before and theyfailed you, give me a chance.

CMYK


CMYK

58 — VANGUARD, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22 , 2014

The controversial measures extend the time police can hold “terror suspects”from 90 days to nearly a year

Kenya tells US to back offover ‘terror’ lawA senior Kenyan official

at the State House hascriticised the United Statesfor raising concerns abouta new Kenyan law aimedat fighting “terrorism”.

Munyori Buku said in astatement on thepresidential website thatKenya’s new law hadchecks and balances,unlike US security laws thathave created theGuantanamo Baydetention centre and giventhe US Federal Bureau ofInvestigation andintelligence officers “acarte blanche in the fightagainst terrorism andbiological warfare”.

On Friday, PresidentUhuru Kenyatta hadsigned the law hisgovernment says will helpfight terorism. Thepresident said the law willprotect the lives of allcitizens. But critics inKenya have said it will be

used to crush dissent bycurbing civil liberties.

US State Departmentspokeswoman Jen Psakisaid on Friday said the USwas concerned about themove.

“We’re concerned aboutprovisions that appear tolimit freedom of assemblyand media, and access toasylum for refugees.’’,Psaki said.

Kenya’s main oppositiongroup, the Coalition forReforms and Democracy.said the real target of thenew law was not terrorismbut to reintroduce the policestate and politicalhegemony, and wouldhand the presidentsweeping autocraticpowers.

The controversialmeasures extend the timepolice can hold “terrorsuspects” from the current90 days to nearly a year,

increase sentences andgive more powers to tapphones.

Journalists could face upto three years behind barsif their reports “undermine

investigations or securityoperations relating toterrorism,” or if theypublish images of “terrorvictims” withoutpermission from the police.

Pakistan arrests Talibaninvolved in school carnage

Pakistani Christians pray for the victims of the Peshawar school massacre atSt. John’s Cathedral in Peshawar yesterday.

P A K I S T A Nauthorities have

made several arrests inthe case of the Talibanschool attack that killed148 in the northwesterncity of Peshawar, onSunday, officials said.

“Quite a few suspectswho were facilitators inone way or the otherhave been taken intocustody,” InteriorMinister ChaudhryNisar Ali Khan said,adding that theinterrogations were“moving ahead in a

positive manner.” He didnot disclose theiridentities or say howmany they were.

Seven Taliban gunmenwearing explosives beltsstunned the world onTuesday by storming intothe military run schooland slaughtering 148people, including 132students. Another nearly121 students werewounded in the ensuingeight-hour siege of theschool, located in an areawhere many militaryfamilies live.

The group claims itfights to establish aruling system based onits own harsh brand ofIslam. It has killedthousands over nearly adecade.

The Taliban say theyattacked the school inrevenge for an armyoperation against themin North Waziristan,launched in mid-June.The army says it has sofar killed over 1,200militants in theoperation.

Tunisians electpresident in run-offelections

VOTERS in Tunisiahave been choosing

their first freely electedpresident in a run-offelection seen as alandmark in thecountry ’s move todemocracy.

Beji Caid Essebsi, whowon the first round with39% of the vote, ischallenging interimleader MoncefMarzouki.

Mr Essebsi represents

the secular-leaningNidaa Tounes party.

Tunisia was the firstcountry to depose itsleader in the Arab Springand inspired otheruprisings in the region.

Polls closed at 18:00local time (17:00 GMT).Voter turnout hadreached 36.8% after fourand a half hours ofvoting, Tunisia’selection authority said.

Shortly after pollsclosed, Mr Essebsi’soffice said that therewere “indications” thathe had won.

However, a spokesmanfor Mr Marzouki said theclaims were “withoutfoundation”.

‘Peaceful’ transitionMr Essebsi, who

turned 88 this week,held office under bothdeposed President Zineel-Abedine Ben Ali andTunisia’s first post-independence leader,Habib Bourguiba.

He is popular in thewealthy, coastal regions,and based his appeal tovoters on stability andexperience.

CMYK


CMYK


Ike Uche thrilled to end2014 on a high

NIGERIA international Ikechukwu

Uche has expressed hap-piness after his teamended the year with aresounding victory overDeportivo La Coruna onSunday.

The Nigeriainternational was on for46 minutes before hewas replaced by GiovaniDos Santos inVillarreal’s 3-0thrashing of DeportivoLa Coruna.

Villarreal are now fifthon the league table with30 points from 16games.

“This is the best way tofinish 2014! Thank youteammates, staff andfans!...,” Ike Uche tweet-ed.

The 30-year-old Niger-ia striker, who hasscored four goals in 14games this season, onlyrecently extended hiscontract at Villarreal till2017.

The Spanish La Ligawill resume on January3, when Villarreal willplay away at Elche.

•Uche

Wenger makes Januarypledge

ARSENAL managerArsene Wenger

insists he will onlyspend money in Januaryon the right player.

The Frenchman hasoften been criticised fora reluctance to part withbig transfer fees, com-promising the quality ofplayers they havebrought in in recent

years.But Wenger, whose

side face Liverpool onSky Sports 1HD on Sun-day afternoon, says pastreluctance to spend isbased on the club’s fi-nances and not a person-al choice.

“I’ve said that manytimes, without anydoubt, if we find theright player we will doa deal,” he said.

“There’s a huge differ-ence between the per-ceptions that peoplehave of me: I’m notscared to spend money.

“Those periods we didnot spend we did nothave the money. What Idon’t like is to spendmoney we haven’t got.

•Wenger

Klopp: I won’t quitDortmundJURGEN Klopp in

sists he will not quitas manager of BorussiaDortmund after a 2-1 de-feat to Werder Bremenleft his side second-bot-tom of the Bundesliga.

Bremen were bottom ofthe division prior thegame at Weserstadionbut moved above theiropponents after racinginto a two-goal leadthrough teenage strikerDavie Selke and mid-fielder Fins Bartel.

Germany defenderMats Hummels gaveDortmund hope with adiving header but theycould yet finish the yearbottom of the league.

Klopp told German TV:“I am totally responsibleand I am not just going

•Klopp

to throw in the towel andfollow everything from adistance.

“I can promise thatwe’re going to put rightwhat we’ve done wrongand we’re going to beangry hunters.

“It’s going to be farharder to beat us in thesecond half of the sea-son.”

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Sport moments of 2014

gut feeling, one of regret and sorrow, onethat leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

It is a feeling that sees me cursing 2014.The year for me, was one in which per-haps the only good thing to happen tosports was the Commissioning of the stateof the art Akwa Ibom International Stadi-um. It is a year in which I forget that I wasin Namibia to see the Falcons lift the Afri-can crown after escaping FIFA sanctionsby the skin of the teeth.

I woke up Friday morning to the deci-sion that my desperation to see 2014 dis-appear needed a therapy of sorts. I need-ed to see whether I was the only one whofelt this way about 2014 or whether therewere some positives about this outgoingyear that I was either oblivious of, or mymind was trying to shut out.

I picked up my phone and sent out atext message to some selected colleagues.I told them “ ……On Monday I want towrite on my Sports moments 2014. Sharemy column. Briefly text me your momentand why….. In a jiffy I got a reply fromAisha Falode. “ Watching Blessing Okag-bare at the starting blocks of the 100 me-tres final at the Glasgow CommonwealthGames. She was ready for the gold. Shelooked her best. She had her hair colouredin gold. Her make up was sun kissed gold.She looked very beautiful in green whitegreen. Her start was perfect, her pacemeasured with a consistent rhythm thatcould have been perfected with the mo-ment in mind. And when she cut throughthe pack like a natural gazelle, we knewBlessing had struck gold. That, was asporting memory to cherish…….”

Wow, poetry in motion. Well scripted.This was concurred by Toyin Ibitoye

when he replied “ Oga Paulo, my sportmoment of 2014 was Blessing Okagbare’sdouble victory in 100 and 200 metres atthe Commonwealth Games.”

The reply of Linus Mba was very inter-esting. “ At the time that some Nigerianswere busy toying with our football anddescribing FIFA ban as a farce, my sportsmoment in 2014 was when CAF withdrewmy match appointment as match commis-sioner for the nations cup qualifier be-tween Sierra Leone and Seychelles in an-ticipation of the FIFA ban on Nigeria. Thewide publicity given to the withdrawal waslike a wake up call to everyone on thereality of the ban and this galvanized thefootball family and government to sit upand work towards averting the ban…….”

For Duro Ikhazuagbe of This Day,“……My 2014 sport moment was stand-ing inside the main bowl of the new AkwaIbom International Stadium in Uyo andhaving the same feelings I had coveringthe 2010 World Cup at the Soccer CityStadium in Soweto, South Africa. I neverimagined any state capable of reinvent-ing that facility in Nigeria. NEVER”

Ade Ojeikere of the Nation Newspa-pers differed. “ My Sport moment wasthe day Nigeria crashed out of the 2015Africa Cup of Nations. It served as thewake up call for change in the way thatthe Super Eagles was been run by an allknowing coach. Nigeria’s exit from theAfrica Cup of Nations was God’s uncan-ny way of humbling Eagle’s players andcoaches. It also served as a rude awaken-ing to the can-do-no-wrong coach that thefeat in 2013 in South Africa wasn’t entire-ly from his technical savvy. Our feat inSouth Africa was God’s way of rewardingNigerians who prayed fervently for the

achievement after 19 years .otherwise mysport moment for 2014 ought to be Bless-ing Okagbare’s feats at the CommonwealthGames in Scotland.

Lekan Olaseinde of in Abuja had someregrets.”…..Sir it is very difficult and her-culean task to pin point any particularmoment as my 2014 sport moment, but onethat will remain indelible in my memorywas the sudden demise of Ramson Uge-le, a colleague and a close friend who wascommitted to mother earth on December13. His fatherly advice, constructive critis-cm and rib cracking jokes endeared himto me. I was at his sick bedside and knewthat it will take only the grace of God forhim to survive but he lost the battle to re-nal failure…….Of course missing out ofAFCON 2015 remains my biggest disap-pointment for the outgoing year”

Mitchel Obi, the AIPS Africa Presidentreferred me to an article he wrote entitled“Nigeria’s Blessing of Change” he wrote.“No doubt the Blessing Okagbare whopicked the gold Monday night to emergethe new sprint queen of the Common-wealth had a refreshing confidence thatmocked the quality of our preparations forthis 20th edition of the games which In-terestingly Nigeria would have hosted tomark her centenary were it not for the suc-cessful Glasgow bid in Colombo, Sri lan-ka seven years ago.

From her pink spikes, her adorableblonde hair and the majestic take-off fromthe blocks-a distant departure from heralmost customary lukewarm start’ , it wasapparent this Blessing had a novel anoint-ing and nobody not even the dreadedVeronica Campbell will deny her this raremoment of glory and history.

With a new games record and a flam-boyant finish Blessing finally found joy inanother British city and she takes pride inher feat within the Nigeria track chronicleof shaping the tone of tomorrow. Whendid we last make our mark in Common-wealth sprinting? And that’s why for meit is remarkable that the generation thatopened the glorious door to global acclaimin track and field is indeed the spearheadof this resurgence or is it rebirth. FromMary Onyali to Blessing Okagbare wemay not have a distinct shift but there is atransition and that is where we have tofocus on as we begin the journey to reignitethe fading glow of our once distinguishedand celebrated sprints dominance. That,was my sporting moment of the year.” Irest my case.

NFF and clubs in Africa THE decision by the Nigeria Football

Federation to help our clubs who will bedonning Continental togas in next year’sAfrica club cups is a welcome develop-ment. For some time now, our epilepticleague has not allowed for proper plan-ning. No sooner will the league start thanour clubs will be thrown into Africa battleleaving them with no pre season time toeither recruit or be in shape for the conti-nental fiesta…… You can imagine the factthat most leagues in Africa are now in theirtenth week, while we are inholidays…..the result has always beenearly exists that does not do justice to thequality of the domestic league here.

I therefore welcome and commend theNFF for planning to put together a minitournament between the clubs and someNational teams that will help to toughenup the clubs and prepare them for Africanext year. See you next week.

WHAT a year!

The outgoing year wasone in which our nation

was subjected to all mannersof battering and uppercuts, alaughing stock of the world,attracting all types of nega-tives headlines in the globalarena. Every time I get a mailfrom CAF on preparations forthe Nations Cup, I get this


tails and asked that theprivacy of Ali’s family berespected.

Ali was diagnosed withParkinson’s in 1984, threeyears after his retirementfrom boxing.

He appeared in publicat a ceremony in Septem-ber in his hometown ofLouisville for the Mu-hammad Ali Humanitar-ian Awards.

Ali•Continues from BP

2015 FIFA World Cup inChile.

“I think it is a fairgrouping not mindingthe fact that we are goingto face the host country,Niger,” Amuneke stated.“We are not going tounderrate any of theteams and as I said beforethe draw, our soleobjective in Niger is toqualify for the World Cupand after that, we canbegin to talk about otherthings.”

Indeed, GoldenEaglets have their workcut out since they aregoing to battle against thehost whom their

illustrious predecessors,white-washed 10-1 onaggregate in thequalifiers for Morocco2013 where they finishedsecond and secured aticket to the FIFA WorldCup in the UAE - andeventually earnedNigeria a record fourthtitle.

“We are aware of thetask ahead of us and whathappened between theGolden Eaglets andNiger the last time isimmaterial now,” notedAmuneke. “Our boys haveto go out there and showthat this set of Golden

Eaglets is good in theirown right and we mustfirst secure a ticket to theWorld Cup.”

Though Zambia andGuinea are making areturn to the competitionafter a break since theyfailed to qualify the lasttime in Morocco,Amuneke said they won’tbe treated with kid’sgloves:”Both Zambia andGuinea showed they area strong side during thequalifiers; so we aregoing to take all ourmatches seriously.”

•Continues from BP Amunekeonce Keshi’s boss hasvoiced his disapproval ofKeshi’s continuous stay,branding him, “a failure.”

On Onigbinde’s part,Onigbinde said, “on thevery day the Presidencyasked him to return to hisjob I personally sent hima text message to politelythank Mr President forthe offer and bow out hon-ourably and quietly, too.

“Keshi respectfully re-plied the text messagethanking me and that wasit as he went ahead withthe two remaining 2015AFCON qualifyingmatches against Congoand South Africa, I’msure the rest is history.”

Chief Onigbinde saidfurther, “I volunteered theadvice to Keshi because Iunderstand that he won’twork with the Presidencybut a different set of peo-ple as well as an entirelydifferent environment.

“Now that others havepicked up the calls I havethe privilege to have saidover two months ago Iwon’t like to engage in anexercise that will appearrepetitious so that I won’t

be accused of having in-terest in the whole mat-ter.

“I’m not used to pres-surising people to act incertain way, I’ve passedmy view directly to him, Idon’t need to pressurisehim further on samething.”

Another prominent Ni-gerian coach, KashimawoLaloko has also ex-pressed surprise at Kes-hi’s reluctance to leavethe national team. Saidhe, “Keshi has shown hedoesn’t have the tacticalability to lead the SuperEagles to success in thefuture. The manner inwhich he failed with theteam is woeful; he shouldgo.”

Continuing, Lalokosaid, “This should not beseen as a witch-hunt.Every coach that hasfailed with any team hasalways been asked toleave. Why should Kes-hi’s case be different? Weneed to have anothercoach so the team canmove on. Amodu has saidit well, so has Chukwu.

coach was recalled by theMinister of Sports andChairman of the Nation-al Sports Commission,Tammy Danagogo tooversee the first phase ofNigeria’s 2015 Afconqualifiers against Congo,Sudan and South Africa.

Keshi recorded a homeloss against Congo, anaway draw against SouthAfrica and a loss to Su-dan. It was Sudan’s firstvictory over Nigeria inover three decades.

Although he won thereturn fixture 3-1 in Abu-ja, the newly constitutedNFF board fired him,hours after that match inAbuja.

But the Presidency in-tervened and Keshi wastaken back as Eaglescoach. His attempt toqualify Nigeria for the2015 Afcon, where theEagles would have de-fended the title they wonin 2013 ended in a disas-ter as they failed to beatSouth Africa in Uyo. Thishas sparked off calls forKeshi’s sack.

The technical director ofthe NFF, Amodu Shaibu,

•Continues from BP Onigbinde

into first-half stoppagetime.

Mathieu Flamini waslucky to escape a red cardin the first half afterMichael Oliver deemedhis flailing arm on AdamLallana was not worthy ofa second booking.

And Arsenal took thelead on 64 minutes, Gir-

•Continues from BP

Liverpooloud picking up the ballafter a one-two with San-ti Cazorla to sweep homefrom six yards.

Liverpool substitute Fa-bio Borini was sent off lateon for picking up twobookings in the space offour minutes, before the10 men earned a pointwith Skrtel’s late bulletheader from a corner.


CMYK

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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.

YESTERYESTERYESTERYESTERYESTERDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSTODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLE

Vanguard, MONDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2014

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORD

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONSACROSS: 1, Steal 5, Sector 8, Beret 10,Voyage 11, Alas 14, Ration 15, Refused 18,Pet 19, Rep 21, Read 23, Rebel 24, Seam27, Dim 29, Cad 31, Tarnish 32, Foiled 34,Dine 35, Twinge 38, Layer 39, Reveal 40,Testy.

DOWN: 2, Too 3, Abacus 4, Leg 5, Star6, Crater 7, Ruined 9, Revered 12, Lap13, Site 16, Ease 17, Debit 20, Penalty22, Axis 24, Suffer 25, Acid 26, Malice28, Entire 30, Den 33, Dell 36, Wet 37,Got.

ACROSS:2 Centre (5)7 Renown (4)8 Fester (6)9 Blithe (5)11 Seed-case (3)13 Knock (3)15 Chamber (4)16 Wicked (3)18 Idol (4)19 Erased (7)20 Team (4)22 Corrosion (4)23 Exhilaration (7)25 Usual (4)27 Heated (3)28 Nothing (4)30 Plaything (3)31 Noise (3)33 Celebration (5)36 Decline (6)37 Way out (4)38 Fold (5)

DOWN:1 Forbidden (5)2 Border (3)3 Tune (3)4 Attempt (3)5 Individual (3)6 Transparent (5)10 Genuine (4)11 Gift (7)12 Tottery (7)13 Diminished (7)14 Section (7)16 Cabin (5)17 Storehouse (5)18 Girl’s (3)21 Tree (3)24 Jot (4)26 Seeped (5)29 Inflexible (5)32 Insect (3)33 Vitality (3)34 Regret (3)35 Still (3)

I warned Keshi on President’srequest — Onigbinde

•Continues on page 62

MORE prominentNigerian coach-

es are beginning tovoice out their frustra-tions over the sit-tightattitude being employedby the out-of-contractSuper Eagles headcoach, Stephen Keshiwho is bent on continu-ing as coach of the na-tional team.

A former coach of thenational team, ChiefAdegboye Onigbinde,highly respected for hiscandid opinion on foot-ball matters, has re-vealed how he advisedKeshi against assentingto President Jonathan’srequest to come backand manage the SuperEagles.

Keshi’s contract withthe Nigeria Football Fed-eration elapsed after the2014 World Cup. The

•Keshi •Onigbinde

Muhammad Ali in hospital with pneumoniaFORMER three-

time heavyweightchampion boxer Mu-hammad Ali has beentaken to hospital with amild case of pneumo-nia, his spokesman says.

Ali, who suffers fromParkinson’s disease, is

•Ali

in a stable condition,Bob Gunnell told media.

“The prognosis isgood,” Mr Gunnell add-ed, saying the 72-year-old’s stay in hospitalwas likely to be brief.

He gave no other de•Continues on page 62

E M M A N U E LA m u n e k e ,

Golden Eaglets’ Headcoach, has describedSunday’s draw of the11th African U-17Championship-Niger2015- that pitched

Amuneke: Eaglets get fair drawNigeria against Niger,Guinea and Zambia inGroup A as a fair deal,adding that his wardswould be focussed atsecuring a ticket to the


Top storiesinside

•Ike Uchethrilled toend 2014 ona high

•DivingdebateannoysMourinho

•Paul Basseywrites onSportmoments of2014

•Amuneke

A 97th-minute bullet header from

defender Martin Skrtelearned Liverpool a 2-2draw with Arsenal atAnfield.

Philippe Coutinhogave Liverpool the leadafter a quiet opening,driving in low into thecorner from 20 yards,before Debuchy’s far-post header gave Arse-nal an unlikely levellerjust a minute later deep

Skrtel earnsLiverpool

draw


Newcastle 0Sunderland 1Liverpool 2Arsenal 2

EPL Results

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