BLOODY WEEKEND IN BORNO: 60 killed in fresh Boko Haram attacks

...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 62121

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014**

Mr & Mrs

Continues on Page 5

•Set houses, shops, telecom masts ablaze•Military recover cache of arms in Kaduna, Plateau

BLOODY WEEKEND IN BORNO :

60 killed in freshBoko Haram attacks

PALM SUNDAY—Christians marked the Palm Sunday nationwide, yesterday. Top from left: Procession in Ibadan and blessing of palmfronts in Kaduna. Below from left: Processions in Abuja and Lagos. Photos: Biodun Ogunleye, Abayomi Adeshida and Olu Ajayi.

POWER SECTOR COLLAPSE: Bankscry out over fate of investments

BY KINGSLEYOMONOBI & NDAHI

MARAMA WITHAGENCY REPORTS

MAIDUGURI—BARELY 48

hours after suspectedBoko Haram terroristsmassacred more than200 persons includingstudents who were writ

Who's who atJonathan'sdaughter'swedding 14

Tank farmownersbackDiezani

41

5

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The hype of GDP re-valuation and mat-ters arising

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VANGUARD,VANGUARD,VANGUARD,VANGUARD,VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014 MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014 MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014 MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014 MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014 — 3 — 3 — 3 — 3 — 3

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POCKET CARTOONVanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014—5

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

Continues from page 1

LIFEWORDSBY PASTOR ITUAH

A dreamer is one who can only find his way bymoonlight and his punishment is that he sees thedawn before the rest of the world—Oscar Wilde.

Always have a way to look ahead.

We all have potential and, whether you realize itor not, your desire to do or be more than you areis your best indicator of future success —SteveGoodier.

Did you know that Albert Einstein could not speakuntil he was four years old and did not read untilhe was seven? His parents and teachers worriedabout his mental ability. Or that Beethoven’s mu-sic teacher said about him: “As a composer he ishopeless?" What if young Ludwig believed it?

When Thomas Edison was a young boy, his teach-ers said he was so stupid he could never learn any-thing. He once said: “I remember I used to neverbe able to get along at school. I was always at thefoot of my class...my father thought I was stupid,and I almost decided that I was a dunce.” What ifyoung Thomas believed what they said about him?

When F. W. Woolworth was 21, he got a job in astore, but was not allowed to wait on customers be-cause, according to his boss, he “didn’t haveenough sense.” I wonder if the boss was aroundwhen Woolworth became one of the most success-ful retailers of his day.

60 killed in fresh BokoHaram attacks

JNI—From left: Gov. Mukhtar Yero of Kaduna State; Speaker, House of Representatives, Alhaji AminuTambuwal; Vice President Namadi Sambo and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar 111, at thelaunch of Jama'atu Nasril Islam (JNI) Almanac to mark the JNI Golden Jubilee in Kaduna, yesterday.Photo: NAN.

ing their Unified Terti-ary Matriculation Ex-amination, UTME, inBorno, the insurgents,yesterday, continuedtheir killing spree asthey killed no fewer than60 persons in Ngosheand Kaigamari villagesof Borno close to the bor-der with Cameroon. Theterrorists also set ablazemany houses, shops, tel-ecommunication mastsand other property worthmillions of naira. Thiscame as the troops de-ployed to the North Cen-tral zone of the countryto checkmate herdsmen/farmers' clashes as wellas cattle rustling that hasclaimed hundreds oflives have recovered acache of arms from mili-tia men in Kaduna and

Plateau states.Speaking with AFP in

Maiduguri, the statecapital, the chairman ofBama Local GovernmentArea, Mallam BabaShehu Gulumba, said:“The attackers, whowere no doubt BokoHaram insurgents, at-tacked Amchaka andnearby villages thismorning, hurling IEDs(Improvised ExplosiveDevices) into homes andsetting them on fire.They then went on ashooting spree, openingfire on confused resi-dents as they tried toflee, killing 60 peopleand injuring several oth-ers”.

An eye witness whoescaped the attack inNgoshe, Mallam UsmanJidda told Vanguard

that the gunmen whowere sighted some fewdays back in betweenthe mountainous areas ofNgoshe and Limankaravillages carried out theattack without any chal-lenge from the securityoperatives in the area.

“I thank God for spar-ing my life and membersof my family as we wereable to escape thedeadly attack. We arenow settling with one ofmy relatives in Gwozacouncil area. I can con-firm to you that morethan 30 people werekilled by the insurgentsin Ngoshe, apart fromthe destruction of prop-erty worth millions ofnaira”, Jidda stated.

The attack inKaigamari village ofKonduga near the statecapital according tosources have forced sur-viving residents to fleethe area to Maiduguri onSunday for safety.

All effort to reach theDivisional Police Offic-ers of Gwoza andKonduga to confirm theseparate incidentsproved abortive as therewas no GSM networkservice in the two coun-cil areas.

The insurgents had onFriday laid ambush forthe students who wereon their way to Biu fromMaiduguri in eight ve-hicles to write their ex-ams.

The senator represent-ing Borno Central,Zannah Ahmed toldnewsmen that at least210 people were killedin attacks that lastedfrom Thursday till Fridaymorning. He said theattackers stormed thecommunities in two ar-moured personnel carsand seven double cabinpick ups and descendedon a Teachers' Collegein Dikwa, killing sevenpeople before burningdown the school library

L A G O S — N I G ERIAN banks have

expressed concern overthe possibility of losingabout N1 trillion theyinvested in the acquisi-tion of the privatizedassets of the PowerHolding Company ofNigeria, PHCN.

The banks are express-ing fears that they maybe unable to recouptheir investment follow-ing the myriad of prob-lems facing the sector.

Group Managing Di-

POWER SECTOR COLLAPSE: Bankscry out over fate of investments

rector/Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Diamond BankPlc, Dr. Alex Otti, had ata power investors’ forumin Abuja, said that as at2013, the banking in-dustry has invested wellover N750 billion in thepower sector and areready to do more.

To this end, the banksare calling for an in-crease in electricity tar-iff and in the price ofgas, saying this willhelp boost the revenue

profile of the power com-panies and their abilityto repay their debts.

Some of the chief ex-ecutives of banks, whospoke at the just con-cluded Seventh LagosEconomic Summit,tagged Ehingbeti 2014,complained of the rev-enue profile of the re-cently privatised powercompanies, saying it isnot meeting the expec-tation of investors.

See more in FinancialVanguard

and administrativeblock. This account has,however been refuted bysome authorities inBorno, who claimed thatno student was killed inthe attacks.

Military recoverarms inKaduna, Plateau

Aside the arms recov-ered in Kaduna and Pla-teau states, a hugenumber of stolen cowsand sheep believed tohave been rustled werealso recovered from thearmed gangs.

The arms included sixrifles, 25 dane guns,four revolvers and 10 lo-cally fabricated pistolswhile over 90 cows and45 sheep that were rus-tled were also recov-ered. Another 50 cowshave also been recov-ered from rustlers whoattacked herdsmen inanother location.

Making the disclosurein a statement, Directorof Defence Information,Major General ChrisOlukolade said: “Themilitary assault oncamps of armed militiamen in Kaduna and Pla-teau states has led to therecovery of arms andsome stolen livestock.

“The operations inDahia Luka, Makeraand some communitiesin Plateau and Kadunastates, resulted in thearrest of three woundedarmed men after the en-counter in which some ofthem died.

“Over 90 cows and 45sheep believed to havebeen rustled were alsorecovered in addition toweapons. Another 50cows have also been re-covered from rustlerswho attacked herdsmenin another location.

“The recovered cowshave been handed overto the traditional rulersin the area while the ar-rested armed men arestill being interrogated.The herdsmen who werewounded by the rustlersare also being treated.

“Meanwhile, tradi-tional rulers in the areashave been cautionedagainst shielding or har-bouring armed gangs inthe precinct of their do-main in view of the se-curity implications totheir communities andthe nation at large.

“Armed gangs havebeen engaging troops ingun battle as the forestsare being combed forremnant of criminal ele-ments that have beenwreaking havoc in vari-ous communities of theNorth Central”.

“Cordon and search ofidentified locations havealso continued.

“In the process, vari-

ous rifle parts as well asempty ammunitionboxes were recovered inShendam, Yelwa and thehouse of a suspectedarms dealer at the bor-der between Plateau andTaraba States.

“The arrested suspectsare among those beinginterrogated by the Spe-cial Task Force.

“Also, one of the mili-tiamen arrested in theoutskirts of Jos is al-ready helping with infor-mation on his links withterrorists operating inother parts of the coun-try.

“In the meantime, thecounter terrorists’ cam-paign in the North Easthas continued amidstseries of encounters asidentified make-shiftcamps of the terroristsare being dislodged inthe ongoing air and landraids in forest and moun-tain locations.

“The presence of fam-ished and unarmedmembers of the terroristsgroups wanderingaround has been notedin some villages.

“Armed terrorists havehowever continued tocarry out snap attacks ontravellers on highwaysespecially betweenMaiduguri- Damboa aswell as Gwoza-Bamahighways while othersmake occasional attackson surrounding vil-lages, looting especiallyfood items."

6—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014

70-yr-old HIV patient rapes girl, 13JOS— A 70-year-old man

has been arrested for rap-ing a 13-year-old girl inBarkin Ladi Local Govern-ment of Plateau State.

The man whose name hasbeen withheld was said tohave raped the girl last

Thursday.The suspect said to be in

police net is infected with HIVand is on anti-retroviral drugs.

The old man was said tohave been caught in the actby the son of the landlord,who immediately reported the

matter to the police.It was also gathered that

the old man had confessedcommitting the crime, butlater denied after some of hiskinsmen told him to denyraping the minor.

The Plateau State Commis-

sioner of Police, Mr ChrisOlakpe confirmed that the 70-year-old man is in police cus-tody in Barkin Ladi, for alleg-edly raping a 13-year-old girlbut said he would be trans-ferred to the headquarters inJos.

Three suspects arrested by the Ebonyi State command of the Nigeria Security and CivilDefence Corps, NSCDC, weekend, with a tanker loaded with 15000 litres of petroleumproduct, AGO, suspected to be adulterated product brought into the state.

NYSCmembermurderedin Edo

BY GABRIELENOGHOLASE

BENIN — A NationalYouth Service Corps

member in Asaba, DeltaState, Mr. OsaroEdeghonghon, was week-end murdered by unknownassailants at Ekpoma, theadministrative headquar-ters of Esan West LocalGovernment Area of EdoState.

He was allegedly mur-dered at a drinking spotalong the Benin-Auchi roadat about 9.00 am.

The killing ofEdeghonghon came on theheels of the murder of anaide to the Chairman ofEsan-West Local Govern-ment Area by a woman twoweeks ago at the samedrinking spot.

Vanguard learnt that thelate NYSC member wasaccosted by his assailantswhile making his exit fromthe beer parlour and sens-ing dangers, he took to hisheels, but was pursued byhis assailants who caughtup with him before rainingbullets on him.

He was thereafter left todie in the pool of his blood.

However, his father, Mr.Patrick Edeghonghon hadaccused the police of han-dling the case in a shoddyway and alleged that hewas prevented from seeinga suspect arrested in con-nection with the murder.

He, therefore, appealed tothe state Commissioner ofPolice, Mr. FolushoAdebanjo, to intervene inthe matter to ensure thatjustice was done.

CourtrestrainsCustoms, IGfrom arrestof bizman,auction ofgoods

BY INNOCENTANABA

LAGOS — A Lagos HighCourt has ordered the

Nigeria Customs ServiceBoard and the InspectorGeneral of Police, Mr Mo-hammed Abubakar, to stayaction on plans to arrest abusinessman, Jude ObioraIloka and his partner, MrsNneka Egbe.

Trial judge, JusticeKazeem Alogba, also re-strained officers of the Ni-geria Customs from sellingthe goods contained ineight 40-feet containers be-longing to the applicants.

The applicants had filedthe suit following threat ofarrest and illegal sale of thegoods in their containers bythe Nigeria Customs Serv-ice.

According to him, thecontainer exit attestationnotes for the said contain-ers, which were under auc-tion, were duly signed bythe Customs Resident Of-ficial, National Agency forFood and Drug Administra-tion and Control,NAFDAC, National DrugLaw Enforcement Agency,NDLEA, Police, Depart-ment of State Service, DSSand Musa Tahir, who dou-bled as the Chairman ofJoint Allocation Committee.

After entertaining argu-ments, Justice Alogba re-strained the Nigeria Cus-toms and Police from arrest-ing or attempting to disposethe goods contained in thecontainers.

The court, which orderedthat hearing notice shouldbe served on the defend-ants, however, directed theapplicant to file an under-taking to pay damages tothe defendants if it turns outthat the order ought not tohave been made.

Further hearing was ad-journed till April 16.

Driver stabbed to death by loverBY DAYO JOHNSON

AKURE— A 32-year-olddriver simply identified

as Felix has been allegedlystabbed to death by his lover,Fasilat, in Ikare Akoko areaof Ondo State.

Unconfirmed report saidthe deceased was until hisdeath the Deputy Chairmanof the Abuja unit of the Na-tional Union of Road Trans-port Workers, NURTW, Ikare

branch.Sources said the deceased

had taken the woman to aguest house only for them todisagree on an undisclosedmatter.

Felix, according to reliablesource, was stabbed with abroken bottle and had bitesall over his body.

Vanguard gathered that be-fore the ugly incident, thedeceased had been warnedof an impending danger by aprophet through his wife.

But the deceased was saidto have visited the churchwhere the prophecy ema-nated in anger to warn theprophet to steer clear of hisaffairs.

The prophet reportedly alsowarned him to desist from il-licit love affairs.

Vanguard, however, gath-ered that when Felix discov-ered that his lover was get-ting violent during the argu-ment, he put a call to one ofhis friends that he has beenstabbed and was on his wayto the hospital.

By the time his friend gotto the hospital he met himdead.

The police later arrested thesuspect following informa-tion given by the deceased'sfriend.

Police source said the sus-pect was discovered to be un-

der the influence of drugsas some drugs were recov-ered from her bag.

But police source alsohinted that the suspect al-leged that the deceasedwanted to rape her and inself defence the unex-pected occurred.

The corpse of the de-ceased has been depositedat the General Hospital,Ikare for autopsy.

Police image maker, WoleOgodo, could not bereached for comment, but acompetent police officerconfirmed the incident butsaid the DPO in Ikare wasyet to brief the state com-mand.

NDLEA seizes drugs worthN240m in 3 months

BY EVELYN USMAN

LAGOS — THE National DrugLaw Enforcement Agency,

NDLEA, weekend, said it hadseized illicit drugs valued at N240million at the MurtalaMuhammed International Airport(MMIA), Lagos, between Janu-ary and March 2014.

A total of 19 suspected drug traf-fickers, among whom were 16males and three females, accord-ing to the agency, were arrestedwithin the period under review.

The breakdown of the seizeddrugs which reportedly weighed95.93kg, according to the agency'scommander in charge of the La-gos Airport, Mr. Hamza Umar,showed that cannabis was the mostseized with 27.235kg, followed by

morphine which weighed14.96kg.

Other seized drugs includedcocaine 9.060kg, heroin16.950kg, methamphetamine3.4kg, ephedrine 2kg,,apresoline 3.505kg, pethidine10.82kg and diazepam 8kg.

The seizure as observed by theagency's head, Public Affairs,Ofoyeju Mitchell, revealed a re-duction in the quantity of drugsseized in the first quarter of 2014when compared to 2013.

He said: "This is so because inthe first quarter of 2013, totaldrugs seized at the Lagos air-port was 172.145kg. While thequantity of drugs reduced by76.215kg in the period underreview, the number of personsarrested also reduced by one."

CORRIGENDUM

YESTERDAY, we pub-lished a story entitled:

"INEC: 2015 ENDAN-GERED (Ignorance on ster-oids)" on pages 30 and 31.Unfortunately, a technical-cum printer’s error causeda muddle.

We shall re-publish the fullstory next Sunday, April 20,2014.

The mix-up is regretted.Watch out for the re-run onSunday— Editor.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014—7

COMMISSIONING: From left, Emir of Lapai, Engr. Umar Tafida, Sarkin Sudan of Kon-tagora, Alhaji Sa'idu Namaska; Speaker of Niger State Assembly, Adamu Usman, and stategovernor, Dr. Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu, during the official commissioning of Kontagoratownship roads and street lights, in Kontagora, weekend.

Ibori: Judge, lawyer disagreeover procedure

FG cries out over $50bn annual illicitoutflows from Africa---Nigeria's GDP rebase excites participants

BY OMOH GABRIEL, inWashington

NIGERIA AND other Afri-can Ministers of Finance

at the just concluded IMF/World

Bank Group Meetings haveurged the multilateral institutionsto help Africa put a stop to theover $50 billion that leaves thecontinent annually.

Briefing newsmen at the end ofthe meetings, yesterday, Nigeri-an Minister of Finance, Dr. Okon-jo-Iweala said, "We, the Groupof African Finance Ministers, re-quest that the Bank and the Fundshould look into the issue of illicitfinancial outflows from the conti-nent."

She also said that Nigeria's newGDP elicited a lot of interestamong participants and evensome private sector operators,who were coming to say they areinterested in investing and oneof them, Blumberg Green, has al-ready sent a team to Nigeria thatare working with the minister ofAgriculture to make Nigeria thehub for grain and cold storage.

She said: "We have persisted inthis demand and Africa FinanceMinisters are saying based on afinding of a panel chaired byformer South Africa PresidentThambo Mbeki that about $50 bil-lion a year is disappearing fromthe continent, we asked the WorldBank and the IMF to talk to thereceiving countries, assistthrough capacity building and in-formation flow in arresting theugly development.

"How is the money going? Itgoes through those companiesthat should be paying taxes andare finding good ways to avoidtaxes, something called transferpricing.

Their profits are exported to ju-risdiction where they pay less taxand we can not tax them. Pric-ing; over invoicing and under in-voicing of goods and services thatthey bring into our countries andproceeds of corruption of officialsin the continent especially as itrelates to natural resources.

Almost every country in the con-tinent has one mining or the oth-er and the contracts are not favour-able to us. The World Bank andIMF will help in two ways, one iscapacity building.

"You need specialised skills to beable to deal with transfer pricing,over invoicing, and missed pric-ing. They will also help throughinformation sharing. Developedcountries now have automatic taxinformation exchange, they get taxinformation automatically on re-quest, for people operating with-in their jurisdiction.

"Developing countries are notincluded at the moment in the in-formation exchange programme.We are asking that developingcountries be included so that wecan also get this information.

"And they should also help uswith their authorities to repatri-ate any illicit financial flow intotheir countries." she said.

Explaining further the actingCBN Governor, Mrs. Sara Aladesaid: "When companies do trans-fer pricing, it means that whenthey import, they import at ahigher price than they shouldhave and when they are send-ing the money back, they sendback more than they should havesent. So, it is across the continent,it is not only peculiar to Nigeria.

"So, the $50billion identified isfor the entire African continent.What we have requested for isthe World Bank's cooperation instopping it and our own capacitytoo to stop it when we know whatis happening."

BY SONI DANIEl, RegionalEditor, North, & HENRY

UMORU

IN A bid to prevent any ten-sion that may arise over the

sharing of committees to dele-gates at the on-going NationalConference, President GoodluckJonathan, weekend, summonedthe Chairman and members of theconfab secretariat to his office fora crucial meeting.

The meeting, according to aPresidency top source, was basi-cally to enable Jonathan brief themon the importance, which the ad-ministration attaches to the con-fab and the need to ensure thatthe overall wish of the majority ofNigerians at the confab prevails.

It was learnt that the Presidenttold the chairman and his officials

National confab: Presidency summonsKutigi, as c'ttee chairmen emerge today

that he had no pre-conceived po-sition on any issue being dis-cussed at the confab and wasready to abide by whatever theoutcome of the conference wouldbe.

The Presidency source said:"The main issue was to assure thechairman and his members thatthis administration was deter-mined to ensure the success ofthe on-going conference and tomake the point that the Presidentdoes not have any pre-deter-mined position on any of the is-sues being discussed by the del-egates.

"The President made it clear thateven the address he presented tothe delegates on the inaugura-tion of the confab on March 17,2014 did not amount to his ownposition but his thoughts andthose of many other Nigerians

who had been reflecting on thesame issues over the years."

Kutigi was said to have assuredthe President that he and his teamwere determined to use the con-fab to make history for Nigeria andwould not do anything that couldjeopardise its success.

Apparently in a bid to dousepotential tension over the list ofcommittees and their chairmandue to be unveiled today, theChairman and the other officialsof the confab had been brain-storming on the matter since lastThursday.

They were said to have beenholding what a source describedas strategic brainstorming ses-sions in the last few days in orderto get everything right about thecomposition of the 20 committeesand their chairmen to be an-nounced at plenary today.

JUST OF a sudden, the London confiscation case against

Delta State’s former governor,Chief James Ibori has turned intoa face-off between Ibori’s leadcounsel, Mr. Ivan Krolic (QC) andthe trial judge, Mr. Anthony Pitts.

The judge and the Crown Pros-ecution had wanted the case tostart afresh, so that new materialscould be brought up against Ibori,even after both sides had cross-examined witnesses and almostclosed their cases.

At the last hearing of the matteron Friday, the case appeared tobe between the judge and thedefence counsel instead of be-tween the prosecution, who saidlittle, and the defence, as the courtcontinued to discuss the bone ofcontention that was not conclud-ed on Wednesday.

As the exchange heated up inopen court, over the procedureto be adopted, defence counselinsisted that nothing in law jus-tified the decision to start afresha case that was due for judgment.

On points of law, Krolic saidthat the decision has “no prece-dent in law.”

The judge, Anthony Pitts, askedMr. Krolic: “Are you saying if inthe course of a case and as thecase unfolds, I noticed that I havemade some decisions, are yousaying I cannot revisit them?”

Krolic: “Your Honour has nopower to do so.”

The judge not satisfied, askedKrolic again: “Are you saying ajudge can’t revisit a discretionapplied, having realised someconfusion as the case develops?”

Krolic insisted: “Once a deci-sion is made by the court, youcan’t undo it, you can’t retracethe past.”

The judge said: “But the casecould be reopened.”

Krolic: “If the case is re-opened,it will be a different case entirely.

Judge: “Why is it a differentcase?”

Krolic: “The real problem is thatthe defence would now have tosatisfy the burden of proof, tak-ing it away from the prosecution.

"It will be a waste of money,waste of time and it will take theburden of proof from the prose-cution to the defendant, whichwill be difficult to do as it willmean that the defendant will haveto travel to everywhere the pros-ecution claimed he transferredmoney to and has property eitherin America, Nigeria, England,everywhere.”

As though Krolic had not giv-en the judge enough to chew al-ready, he maintained that Iboridid not receive a penny from V-Mobile account and many othercharges as alleged by the prose-cuting team.

Fashola praisesAdenuga’s selflessservice in Nigeria

LAGOS STATE Governor,Babatunde Raji Fashola

has described Dr. Mike AdenugaJr (GCON) as one of the key Ni-gerians offering selfless servicesin the country through his com-munication company, Globacom.

Speaking at the ChampionNewspapers Awards in Lagos lastFriday where Globacom won theBrand of the Year Award, Gover-nor Fashola, who was the ChiefHost at the event, noted that itwas an honour "to host this eventmeant to celebrate some of ourcountry's best and finest.”

He noted that the kind of ser-vices and selflessness the award-ees including Dr. MikeAdenuga's Globacom, Chief Sun-ny Odogwu and many others“have continued to render to ourcountry make them deserving ofthe honour."

The Champion’s award was oneof the two high profile awardsbestowed on the national telecom-munications operator, Globacomat two different ceremonies inLagos, weekend.

The first honour came at theChampion Newspapers 2013Awards at which the companypicked the Brand of the YearAward, while the second awardwas at the Marketing EdgeBrands Summit and AwardsNight at Federal Palace Hotelwhere Globacom was recognisedas the Outstanding TelecomsBrand of the Decade.

8 — VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014


Power: Lagosto establishenergyacademy

PALM SUNDAY: Clerics sue for peace, loveBY OLAYINKA LATONA

LAGOS — AS Christians inNigeria, yesterday, joined

the rest of the world to mark PalmSunday, some clerics in Lagoshave appealed to Nigerians tolive in peace with their neigh-bours.

They equally advised Chris-tians to cultivate the habit of for-giving and praying in line withthe teachings of Jesus Christ.

Speaking while delivering ahomily at Our Lady Star of theSea Catholic Church, Lekki, Di-rector of Social Communications,Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos,Monsignor Gabriel Osu urgedChristians to live peacefully, beof good conduct as taught byJesus Christ's symbolic entry intoJerusalem.

He said Jesus Christ enteredJerusalem as a Prince of Peaceand not a war-waging king.

He said: "Jesus’ triumphantentry into Jerusalem on a don-key is depicted on an early1900’s Bible card illustration.The church re-enacts or cel-ebrates Christ's entrance into Je-rusalem to accomplish His pas-chal mystery. Jesus' triumphantentry into Jerusalem was re-corded in the four gospels."

Special Assistant to the Gen-eral Overseer of RedeemedChristian Church of God on Ad-ministration and Personnel, Pas-tor Johnson Odesola, in his ser-mon tagged: "Moving Forward"advised Nigerians not to allowthe present situation to preventthem from moving forward, not-ing that better days were stillahead in the country.

Odesola said RCCG markedPalm Sunday as remembrance

without carrying palm leaves.His words: "Just like one marks

his birthday without carrying abirth certificate around, that is howwe celebrate the day without car-rying palm leaves around."

Also speaking on the signifi-cance of Palm Sunday, Rev.Charles Alabi of Cathedral Churchof Christ, Marina, Lagos ex-plained that the triumphant entryof Jesus into Jerusalem signifiedvictory for mankind and humblenature of Christ.

In his words: "The need forChrist to enter triumphantly intothe Jerusalem showcased the hum-ble nature of Jesus Christ, totalsubmission and openness to God

to the extent that he agreed tosave mankind."

Peace and religiousharmony

He urged Nigerians to makepeace and religious harmonythe cornerstone of their relation-ship with one another.

Rev. Alabi advised Christiansto use the celebration to recon-cile themselves with God andfellow human beings, noting:"We should seek God earnestly,preach the gospel of Christ, sur-render our totality to Him, studyGod's words, deliberate and acton them. Christians should livegenuine Christian life and ap-

preciate the work of salvation."Bishop Solomon Adegbite, the

Proto Presbyter of MethodistChurch of The Trinity, Tinubu,Lagos said the event must bringchanges in character, in thoughtand in the expressions of Chris-tians, saying Christians ought tolive in peace and harmony withall men.

Adegbite explained that PalmSunday played an important rolein the crucifixion and resurrec-tion of Jesus Christ.

The cleric said the triumphantentry of Christ into Jerusalem,which led to the festival of Easter,indicated that when Nigeriansbelieved in Him, they would bevictorious no matter the obstacles.

MAN OF THE YEAR AWARD: From left: Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State,chief host; Mr. Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra State and Outstanding Igbo Per-sonality of the Decade; Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Champion Governor of the 2013and his wife, Erelu Bisi, during the 2013 Champion Newspaper Man of the Year Awards, inLagos. Photo: Bunmi Azeez.

BY MONSURUOLOWOOPEJO

LAGOS —THE LagosState government plans

to establish an energyacademy to bridge thehuge skill gap lacking inthe country's energy sector,even as it urged residentsto desist from erecting struc-tures under high tensioncables across the state.

Commissioner for Energyand Mineral Resources De-velopment, Mr. TaofiqTijani, who disclosed this,weekend, lamented thatthere was an enormous skillgap in the sector which wasyet to be filled.

Tijani explained that thestate government had real-ised that power was key ifit intended to sustain itsgrowing mega city status.

2,000 benefitfrom NAF'sfree medicalservices

BY EVELYN USMAN

LAGOS — AS part ofactivities marking the

50th anniversary of theNigerian Air Force, theLogistic Command head-quarters, Ikeja, week-end, rendered free medi-cal services to over 2,000residents under theOshodi/Isolo Local gov-ernment Area.

Aside the free medicalservice, personnel of theLogistics Command alsocarried out an environmen-tal sanitation in the commu-nity by clearing bushes onboth sides of the bridgelinking Oshodi and Ajaowhich had hitherto hin-dered the vision of motor-ists plying the route

The gesture, according tothe Air Officer Command-ing the Logistics Com-mand, Air Vice MarshalMike Iloenyosi, was part ofthe peace time function ofthe Force.

Said he: "What we arecommemorating is the 50thanniversary of the NigerianAir Force coming into be-ing as a fighting force. It'sall about interacting withthe community. We felt thatthis environment shouldbenefit being close to ourbase. We interact andrender services to showsome level of advocacy tothe community because wealso came from the commu-nity."

Goitre: Lagos investigates Badagry's high prevalenceBY CHIOMA OBINNA

LAGOS — A TEAM ofmedical experts deployed

by the Lagos State governmentto Badagry area of the state willtoday begin investigation intothe causes of high prevalenceof goitre in the area even as itwill commence the free surgi-cal operation of 48 residentswith the disorder.

Goitre is an enlarged thyroidgland and may cause difficultywith swallowing, strenuous ornoisy breathing even changein voice of sufferer.

Announcing this, weekend,in Lagos, Commissioner forHealth, Dr. Jide Idris, ex-plained that the team, com-prising surgeons and othermedical experts, would imme-diately commence scientificsurvey with a view to findingthe root causes of theneck-swelling disorder.

Idris hinted that before now,many of the affected residentserroneously thought they con-tracted the diseases becausethey did not use cup to drink,

hence, majority of them withinthe age bracket of 30-59 yearshad been infected from the ageof five.

The commissioner, who de-cried the alarming rate of thedisorder in the area, pledgedgovernment’s determination tocheck the scourge.

He said: “It was unfortunatethat many residents are igno-rant about the diseases, major-ity of the affected patients havebeen battling with the diseasefor more than two decades.”

He explained that the stategovernment discovered the 48sufferers during its free healthmission in Badagry recently.

He said: “Investigation wasnecessary for the state govern-ment to know the cause to fore-stall occurrence on the new gen-eration in the area.

“The occurrence of this alarm-ing number of neck swelling inan isolated region and becauseof the physical and financialburden to the local residents ofreferring these patients to itssecondary and tertiary healthcare facilities, it became neces-

sary to develop a comprehen-sive strategy that will offer aneffective and holistic ap-proach.”

On his part, the leader ofthe medical team, ProfessorMobolaji Oludara, a consult-ant surgeon, lamented thatmost of the residents were ig-norant who believed that suf-

ferers contracted the diseaseknown as Kojiji only when theydid not use cup to drink.

Oludara added that prelimi-nary findings by the experts re-vealed that most of the victimshad iodine deficiency, assuringthat surgeries on the affectedresidents would end the prob-lem in the area.

Climate change: MDAs set newplatform

BY OLASUNKANMIAKONI

LAGOS — As part of measures to mitigate effects of cli-

mate change as well as harnesssolutions for a cleaner, healthierand sustainable environment,the Lagos State Ministry of theEnvironment has developedfresh platform to tackle variousenvironmental challenges.

According to the ministry, themeasure is also to further for-tify existing platforms with aview towards achieving maxi-mum result for the general

well-being of the state.Commissioner for the Environ-

ment, Mr. Tunji Bello, spoke inLekki at the end of a three-dayretreat for the management andheads of Ministries, Departmentsand Agencies, MDAs, in the en-vironment sector.

Bello noted that due to the dy-namic nature of the global envi-ronment, there was need for theenvironment sector to rise, sus-tain, strengthen existing capaci-ties of its managers as well asbuild institutions to drive the en-vironment sector.


Why Boko Haram insurgencypersists —AIG

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

CallAregbesola toorder,Omisore tellssecurityagencies

BY GBENGAOLARINOYE

Gracevillemen holdconfab

Ogun APC faction drags party,INEC to court

BY DAUDOLATUNJI

Ogunmonarchstask FG ondevt ofTongeji Island

G R A C E V I L L EChapel, a Lagos-

based church, has an-nounced its men’s con-vention for 2014. A re-lease by the presidingminister of the church,Rev (Mrs) Tope Ogun-noiki, stated that the con-vention, which falls with-in the Easter celebra-tions, would kick off onApril 17, with a vigil inthe church auditorium,Ikeja.

The convention will berounded off with athanksgiving service onEaster Sunday, at thesame venue.

The theme of thisyear’s men’s conferenceis, Ye shall be the head(Deut. 28:13). The offici-ating pastor for bothdays will be the presid-ing minister ofGraceville Chapel, RevOgunnoiki.

ABEOKUTA—THE Assist-ant Inspector-General of

Police in charge of Zone 2, Mam-man Tsafe, weekend, claimedthat the refusal of governors toprovide required support for se-curity agencies, was responsiblefor the continued mayhem bythe Boko Haram insurgents inparts of the country.

The AIG spoke in Abeokuta,Ogun State, during the inaugu-ration of an ultra-modern secre-tariat built by the Police Offic-ers’ Wives Association, POWA,Ogun State Command.

Tsafe, who spoke in the pres-ence of the State Commissionerof Police, Ikemefuna Okoye, hiswife, Amaka, the Alake of Egba-land, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo,represented by the Onijaiye ofIjaiye, Oba Nafiu Adeyemi, andPOWA National President rep-resented by Mrs. Toyin Akano,however, implored Nigerians toimprove their level of security

consciousness to curb violentcrimes in the country.

He urged state governors toplace premium on providinglogistics support for the Niger-ia Police to combat security chal-lenges in the country and com-mended Governor IbikunleAmosun of Ogun State and hisLagos State counterpart, Baba-tunde Fashola, for providingpatrol vehicles and other logis-tics to enhance effective polic-ing in both states.

He said: “I call on other gov-ernors to give the police the re-quired support so that they canhave the peace we are havingin these states. In fact, if all gov-ernors are committed, all theseinsurgent situations will be tak-en care of. I commend their lev-el of security consciousness butthey only need to improve on itand that would make theirabodes safer.”

Commenting on the recentkilling of seven persons by apoliceman in Abeokuta, the AIG

said the killer-cop might besuffering from psychiatric im-balance.

He said: “I am not ruling outthe psychiatric situation. It isvery unfortunate, the man isdead, we cannot get evidencefrom him, but, investigation isstill going on. We cannot ruleout some other explanationsthat may likely come up. Youcan imagine killing others andthen at the end you decide tokill yourself. Investigationwill unfold what really hap-pened, but, I am not ruling outpsychiatric imbalance.”

A B E O K U TA — AFACTION of All

Progressives Congressin Ogun State, believedto be loyal to a formergovernor of the state,Aremo OlusegunOsoba, has dragged theother faction and the In-dependent NationalElectoral Commission,INEC, to court over wardcongresses.

This came as the fac-tion held its own sepa-rate wards and local gov-

ernments congressesacross the state to protestwhat it described as lop-sided arrangement bythe state congress com-mittee.

The internal wranglingrocking the APC in OgunState, yesterday, wors-ened as two factions ofthe party in the 20 localgovernment areas of thestate conducted parallelcongresses.

Vanguard gatheredthat the party, the stateCongresses Committeeand five others, were partof the defendants in the

suit at the Federal HighCourt, Abuja and theFederal High Court,Abeokuta, over the con-duct of the ward con-gresses.

Addressing newsmenin Abeokuta, a memberof the National Assemblyrepresenting Ogun Cen-tral Senatorial District,Senator Gbenga Oba-dara, said his group, loy-al to Osoba, had reject-ed last Saturday’s wardCongresses "becausetheir conduct did not fol-low party guidelines."

O S O G B O — T H Eg o v e r n o r s h i p

candidate of PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,in Osun State for theAugust 9 election, Sena-tor Iyiola Omisore, hascalled on security agen-cies in the country tomonitor Governor RaufAregbesola’s activitiesahead of the forthcomingelection.

Speaking through hiscampaign organization,Senator Omisore, in astatement by the party'sDirector of Publicity andResearch, Prince DiranOdeyemi, in Osogbo,yesterday, claimed theparty had uncoveredplans by Aregbesola toimport Boko Harrammembers to unleash ter-ror during the election.

But the Director of Pub-licity, Research andStrategy of All Progres-sives Congress, APC, inthe state, Mr. Kunle Oy-atomi, in a response,said the people of thestate and Nigeria gener-ally knew who, betweenAregbesola and Omi-sore, had a history of vi-olence.

BY DAUDOLATUNJI

ABEOKUTA—TRA-DITIONAL rulers

in Ogun West senatorialdistrict in Ogun Statehave tasked the FederalGovernment on speedyand effective developmentof the oil-rich Tongeji Is-land, for oil explorationand refining.

The monarchs in Yewa-land also asked the gov-ernment to prioritise de-velopment of oil-richTongeji Island located inIpokia Local Governmentof the state in order not tolose the island to a neigh-bouring country and un-wanted intruders.

Speaking at a news con-ference heralding 2014Yewa Festival at the YewaHeadquarters, Ilaro, inYewa South Local Gov-ernment, Chairman, or-ganising committee of2014 Yewa Festival, Mr.Akeem Adigun, notedthat the neglect of the oil-rich island made the areavulnerable to militancyand displacement of Ni-gerian residents by insur-gents.

They also urged the gov-ernment to pay more at-tention to the area interms of security and de-velopment to boost theeconomy.

Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State (2nd left) displaying his Certificate of Return, after his emer-gence as governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) through the Party's PrimariesElection, at Nelson Mandela Freedom Park, Osogbo, Osun State, on Saturday. With him are, Chairman,Osun State APC Primaries Nomination Committee, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai (left); Secretary of the Com-mittee, Sir Emeka Akamukali (2nd right); Member, Hajiya Ramatu Aliyu (right) and others.


BY GABRIELENOGHOLASE

Lawyers blast Oshiomhole for calling courtorder black market injunction

BY JIMTOTA ONOYUME

Constitution'll resolve crisis in Rivers judiciary—Ex-NBA Scribe

PORT HARCOURT—FORMER General Secre-

tary of the Nigerian Bar Associa-tion, NBA, Mr. Nimi Walson-Jack, has expressed hope thatthe country’s constitution willresolve the ongoing crisis in Riv-ers State judiciary over the ap-pointment of the Chief Judge ofthe state.

Fielding questions from news-

men in Port Harcourt shortly afterannouncing his bid to contest the2015 governorship election in thestate, Mr. Walson-Jack said if theNational Judicial Council, NJC,fails to address the crisis in thestate's judiciary, the judicial arm ofgovernment will be in for trouble.

On the debate over which areashould produce the next governorof the state, Walson-Jack said pow-er had always rotated between thenatural divisions of upland and

riverine dichotomy. Accordingto him, it explained why everygovernor from the upland areahad picked a deputy from theriverine and vice versa.

He said: “You cannot changeour upland and riverine dichot-omy. This is why governorsfrom upland have alwayspicked deputies from riverine.So, I prefer rotation betweenupland and riverine parts of thestate. The senatorial districts wehave today are not the same as

what we had years back. Sena-torial districts were amended,but it is not so with the naturaldichotomy of upland and river-ine.”

Calling for the decentralisa-tion of activities and pro-grammes of government in Riv-ers State, he noted that govern-ance had been heavily concen-trated in Port Harcourt andObio-Akpo Local GovernmentAreas of the state. “We needan integrated development forthe state,” he said.

BENIN—TWO legal practi-tioners in Edo State, Mr.

Olayiwola Afolabi and formerChairman of the Nigerian BarAssociation in the state, Mr. Ra-zaq Esenalumhe, have de-scribed the statement creditedto Governor Adams Oshiom-hole, in which he said that theinjunction granted by the Na-tional Industrial Court, NIC,restraining the governmentfrom conducting the competen-cy test for teachers in publicprimary and secondary schoolsin the state, was a black mar-ket injunction, as unguardedand unfortunate.

It will be recalled that Jus-tice A. Adejumo of the NIC sit-ting in Abuja had on March 22,2014, restrained the state gov-ernment from going aheadwith the conduct of the test,which was slated for the nextday.

However, Governor Oshiom-hole, in an interview with anational newspaper, weekend,said: “Another thing was thisblack market injunction whichwas issued by the President ofthe Industrial Court. I use mywords carefully; a black marketinjunction purportedly by Jus-tice Adejumo, because the courtis a creation of the law, it can-not do violence to the law.”

He had added that “the Ni-gerian Union of Teachers, NUT,I understand, had applied for

injunction at the Akure Divisionof the court which covers EdoState. The judge, in his wisdom,asked that the government beplaced on a notice and fixed datefor hearing, only for Justice Ade-jumo, in Abuja, another divisionof the same court, to issue injunc-tion restraining Edo State Gov-ernment from assessing itsteachers. It is so ridiculous.”

The governor had said that hehad written a petition to the NJCon the purported injunction, add-ing that Justice Adejumo cannotturn the NIC to his instrumentthat he can use according to hiswhims and caprices.

But counsel to Academic StaffUnion of Secondary Schools,

ASSUS, Olayiwola Afolabi,while reacting to the gover-nor’s comment in a telephoneinterview, advised the NJCto ignore the petition fromEdo State Government andaccused the government ofhaving no respect for courtorders.

“I want to state in clearterms that the governmenthas no respect for court or-ders. They only obey courtorders that favour them. Ex-amples abound of the govern-ment’s disobedience to courtorders as in the case of Ben-del Brewery, which sent thestate's former Attorney Gen-eral to prisons and the orders

given by late Justice Eromon-sele preventing the govern-ment from interfering with thePrivate Refuse Collectors.

“For the governor to call Jus-tice Adejumo’s order ‘blackmarket injunction’ is very un-fortunate and a contempt ofcourt. I advise the AttorneyGeneral of the state to resignhis appointment if his adviceis no longer needed by thegovernor in order to save hislegal career.”

On his part, former Chair-man of Benin branch of NBA,Mr. Rasaq Esenalumhe, said:“It is an unguarded statement.If there is no rule of law, therewill be anarchy and he wouldnot have been the governor ofEdo State if there was no ruleof law."

Results ofDelta APCWardcongress stillpending,three daysafter

BY GODWINOGHRE

SAPELE—THREEdays after the Del-

ta State All ProgressivesCongress, APC, wardcongresses were heldacross the 25 local gov-ernment areas of statewith a large turn-out ofparty faithful in most ofthe councils, results ofthe exercise are still be-ing awaited.

Despite the large turn-out of party membersacross the state, a fewhitches were noticed inthe early hours of theaccreditation exercise,particularly in parts ofDelta South senatorialdistrict, following the latearrival of ballot materi-als. The hitches were re-solved by party officials,when ballot materialswere later received bythe election committee,thus restoring normalaccreditation and subse-quent voting.

A stalwart of the partyOlorogun O’tega Emer-hor, told Vanguard that“the congress was suc-cessful. A few hitcheswere noticed, but wequickly resolved them.We appreciate the effortsof everyone.”

Another party stalwart,Major Isaac Tobore,(rtd), said: “There can beno congress more suc-cessful than this. It wasa successful congress. Itwas conducted in a cred-ible manner. Everyone ishappy and the party hasgained enormousground in the state.”

NIGERIA INNOVATION FORUM: From left: Uwem Asomugha, Deputy Director, (ICT), Fed-eral Ministry of Education; Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State; Kabelo Makwane,General Manager, Microsoft Nigeria and Mrs. Moni Udoh, Director, Federal Ministry of Com-munication Technology, during the Nigeria Innovation forum 2014, organized by Dalberg, Mi-crosoft and Nokia and hosted by the Cross River State Government. Photo by Emeka Aginam.


Okerenkoko:Youth leaderscommendcourt overbail

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

Killing of Edo APC member: Army officials,community leaders in war of words

Delta Education Commissioner denies bursaryfraud allegation

DELTA State Commis-sioner for Higher Edu-

cation, Prof. Hope Eghagha,has denied allegation by anon-line publication that hewas involved in a bursaryfraud.

Eghagha, in a statement,yesterday, said: “My attentionhas been drawn to a publica-tion by an on-line publication,which reported an allegeddemonstration by some stu-dents of University of Lagos,during which some libelousstatements were credited toone Ambrose Ezenwani, aformer student of the Univer-sity of Lagos.

“Ordinarily, I would haveignored the report. But be-cause my name and reputa-tion, which I have built overthree decades, are being im-pugned by Ezenwani, I havedecided to issue a rebuttal. Ihave also briefed my counselto initiate action against theslanderer.

“I was never detained byany security organisation inthe country or elsewhere asalleged by Ambrose. We livein a country in which once anallegation is made againstgovernment officials, the onusis on the official to prove guilt-lessness.

“A detailed account of howpayments were made is avail-able at the Delta State Schol-arship Board. For two yearsrunning, we have publishednames of beneficiaries insome national newspapers.The response has been en-

LEADERS of Oker-enkoko community,

in Gbaramau Kingdom,Warri South-West LocalGovernment Area, DeltaState, have commendedthe state High Court, War-ri, for the bail granted toChief Mosco Johnny,Michael Johnny, AlexGovernor, Imole Johnny,Bullet Otuaro, MessioGerman and Tony Ipke-san.

Mr. Timi Oluba, whomade the commendation,yesterday, on behalf ofOkerenkoko leaders, add-ed that the court grantedthe seven detainees baillast Wednesday, and theywill be released from cus-tody today.

He expressed gratitudeto God for peace in Gbar-amatu Kingdom, whichhe assured would be sus-tained by every son anddaughter of the kingdom.

“I believed that God hasintervened in the disputebetween Chief Govern-ment Ekpemupolo andChief Johnny and others.The reconciliation processinitiated by our leaders isongoing and by the graceof God both parties wouldeventually reconcile andsort out whatever differ-ences amicably”

couraging.“I have been in government,

trying to practice what Ipreached as a critic, by ensur-ing judicious use of publicfunds. I have never been in-volved in fraud and will neverget into fraudulent actions. Ihave, working in concert withothers, and with the approvalof our prudent governor, Dr.Emmanuel Uduaghan, savedDelta State Government mil-lions of naira by plugging leak-ages. What is being spearhead-ed by Ambrose and his cohorts

is a backlash against us forbeing the driving forceagainst years of bursaryscam.

“The first point to be madeis that on assumption of of-fice as Commissioner forHigher Education in 2009, Iwas confronted with one sadreality: some funds meant forstudents never got to them.A cabal within the institu-tions and others corneredfunds meant for students.Along with members of theScholarship Board headed

by Monsignor Buchi Aninye,we took steps to sanitise theprocess. All staff were trans-ferred and new persons post-ed to the board from the civ-il service. A new ExecutiveSecretary was also appoint-ed by the governor.

"We introduced online reg-istration so that potentialbeneficiaries could deal di-rectly with the scholarshipboard. This yielded fruits as23,000 fake names were dis-covered and expunged fromthe list."

VISIT: From right: Mr. Michael Ikeogwu, Chairman, NUJ Warri Correspondents Chapel; Mr. SolomonOgoron, NANS Chairman, Delta State; Onos Onohwokpite, NANS Delta State Secretary; Prince Taiga EzeOsite and Ogunyemi Kayode, during a visit by NANS officials to NUJ Press Centre, Warri. Photo: AkpokonaOmafuaire.

I was beaten, maltreated by kidnappers —Ebikeme Clark

BENIN—OFFICIALS ofthe 4 Brigade of the Nigerian Army,

Benin City and the community membersof one Mathew Adams, who was shotdead during Saturday’s ward congressof the All Progressives Congress, APC,in Edo State, have engaged in a war ofwords, following denial of the killing byArmy authorities.

Spokesman of the Brigade, CaptainAbubakar Abdulahi, told journalists ontelephone that, “We heard of the inci-dent and the allegation that a soldier shotthe person, but we have checked the per-sonnel that we deployed to the state’s

Operation Thunderstorm. We havechecked all the ammunition withtheir serial numbers and found all ofthem complete.

“So, the allegation is not true thatour men shot and killed the personand we have not also received anyreport of engagement from our men."

But narrating their side of the story,the Okao of Isiwa, Dr. SamuelAibueku, said: “One Prince called sol-diers, who came in a Hilux Van 028to the venue and started scaring peo-ple away and shooting. Before weknew it, somebody was on the groundand the boy is from Uniaro village."

BY HENRY UMORU

ABUJA—BARELY oneweek after his release by

his abductors in Delta State, Mr.Ebikeme Clark, son of Ijaw lead-er, Chief Edwin Clark, yesterday,recounted his sad and dehuman-ising experience, saying that forthree days, he was beaten andmaltreated.

Narrating his ordeal when theSouth-South community inAbuja, led by its Interim Chair-

man, Chief Charles Okosun, paidhis father, Chief Clark, a visit athis Asokoro residence, followingthe release of his kidnapped son,Ebikeme said that he pleaded withthe kidnappers to spare his life forthe sake of his family and little chil-dren, adding that the kidnappersthreatened to kill him when theyput a call to his father and demand-ed for N50 million and his fathersaid he had no such amount.

Ebikeme said that while theyhad demanded for N50 millionfrom his father, they also askedhim to raise N10 million fromhis wife.

Meanwhile, Chief Clark, whothanked the South-South com-munity for the visit, said thatwhen the kidnappers calledhim on Thursday of that week,a day after the kidnap, they de-manded for N50 million, but he

told them that as an old man, hewould be able to raise N5 million,adding that he did not hear fromthem until Saturday when theysaid he should bring the N5 mil-loion. “I told them I could not getmoney on Saturday, but could onlyraise N2 million that day. Theygave me until 12 noon to raise themoney, but the Security Adviserand Tompolo said I should not givethem any money.”

Technologyinnovationkey toNigeria’svision20:2020—Microsoft

GENERAL Manag-er, Microsoft Niger-

ia, Kabelo Makwane,weekend, has said thattechnology innovation wasessential for the country torealise her vision 20:2020.

Kabelo, in his welcomeaddress at the 2nd editionof the Innovation Forum atthe Tinapa, Calabar, CrossRiver State, told the gath-ering that Microsoft wascommitted to growing theAfrican market, especiallyNigeria which is now thefastest growing economy inthe continent.

The Nigerian InnovationForum 2014 was focusedon creating a cross-indus-try business alliance to sup-port and harness innova-tions in Africa.

BY EMEKAAGINAM


Over 4,000participantsfor LASAAexhibition

Jonathan desperate for 2015— APC South East

BY TONY EDIKE

ENUGU — THE All Progres-sives Congress, APC,

South East zone, has describedPresident Goodluck Jonathan asa man desperate to get re-elect-ed in 2015 general elections byhook or crook.

The party said that Jonathan’sdesperation was for the secondtime was unveiled during the Peo-ples Democratic Party,, PDP, zon-al South East rally in Enugu,weekend.

APC stated that PresidentJonathan’s verbal attack on theirparty in Enugu gave him out asa man obsessed with do-or-diepolitics in his bid for a secondterm.

Jonathan said the APC was pro-gressing to nowhere in particu-lar but to hell, adding that hisparty was the only true democraticparty in Nigeria.

The APC South East spokes-man, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, not-ed that President Jonathan’sspeech was uncouth, unpresi-dential and show-cased a des-perate President in his quest fora second term.

“How can a president throwcaution to the winds, mount therostrum only to cast aspersions onour great party, the APC? It meanshe has not found time to read themanifesto of APC, which has WarAgainst Corruption as the first car-

dinal programme, a war Jonathandetests,” he said.

Okechukwu reminded his par-ty members that penultimateweek, during the North East zon-al rally in Bauchi State, the Pres-ident, instead of narrating his ef-forts in combating Boko Haraminsurgency, resorted to blamegames, insults and invectives,which was unbecoming of a Pres-ident.

Okechukwu called on Ndigboto distance themselves from Pres-

ident Jonathan, insisting that avote for Jonathan in 2015 wouldbe a wasted vote.

He noted that Niger Deltanswere even disappointed with hispoor performance since he failedin four years to complete the East-West road which cut across thelength and breadth of the region.

He said: “Will it not be foolhar-dy to expect anything good fromthe same President with the sameinchoate, nebulous and anti-peo-ple economic policy, bedeviled

by pervasive and monumentalcorruption?

"For you cannot vote the samePresident with the same inept andclueless leadership qualities andexpect different result.

”On Enugu International Air-port, he said in spite of the hype,it cannot attract major interna-tional airlines like British Airways,Lufthansa unless the coal indus-try is reactivated and it is onlythe APC that can do this."

CONFAB: Recognise Umeh, Shinkafi as APGA reps — Lagos APGA

LAGOS — STATEchapter of All Pro-

gressives Grand Alliance,APGA, has called on theFederal Government torecognise Chief VictorUmeh and Alhaji SaniShinkafi as representativesof the party at the NationalConference, describing theduo as legally qualified to

BY CHARLES KUMOLU represent APGA.It said the party was

ready to challenge All Pro-gressives Congress, APC,in subsequent elections inthe state, adding that La-gos was strategically im-portant to the South Eastand Nigeria.

This was disclosed inLagos during a courtesyvisit to Vanguard corporateheadquarters by APGA

executives, who were ledby its acting Chairman inthe state, Mr. Iheanyi Aka-ta.

The party said: ‘’We ex-press our reservations on

the nomination of the agedto participate in the nation-al conference. It stated thatmost of them have in oneway or the other caused thecurrent challenges in the

country except they arenow born again.

"The youths that make upat least 70 per cent of thepopulation are not given amajor role in the confab.

"We also advise the Fed-eral Government to nomi-nate Chief Victor Umehand Alhaji Sani Shinkafi torepresent the party at theNational Conference.

....Enugu elders faultselection of state’s delegates

ELDERS IN EnuguState have strongly

condemned the mannerstate delegates to the Na-tional Conference in Abujawere selected, saying theywere merely hand-pickedby some powerful forceswithout any consultationwith the interest groups.

The elders, under the ae-gis of Enugu State Devel-opment Association, ESDA,at a briefing in Enugu,weekend, leader of thegroup, Chief Enechi Ony-ia, SAN, described Enugurepresentation as unaccept-able and unfortunate.

BY TONY EDIKE ESDA is made up ofprominent Enugu Statesons and daughters withlike minds, including itsfounding fathers, whofought tirelessly for the cre-ation of the state.

Onyia, who also spoke onplans for the burial pro-gramme of one of its re-spected leaders and tradi-tional ruler of Nara Un-ateze Kingdom, late IgweNathan Ogbu, regrettedthat such sensitive list ofdelegates was compiled bya clique without any con-sultation or recourse to howthe people felt about theirrepresentation at the con-ference.

ANNIVERSARY: From left, Publisher, Marketing Edge magazine, John Ajayi; Chairman,Troyka Holdings, Biodun Shobanjo, and Chairman, Market Space, George Thorpe, at theMarketing Edge Stakeholders Marketing Summit, in commemoration of the magazine's 10thyear anniversary, in Lagos.

BY OLASUNKANMIAKONI

THE FORTH-COM-ING Africa’s biggest

outdoor conference and ex-hibition has received a boostas world’s biggest outdooragency, JCDecaux, hassignified its intention toparticipate with over 4,000participants expected fromover 30 countries drawnfrom Europe, Asia, Ameri-ca, Africa and Nigeria.

The African Outdoor Ad-vertising Conference andExhibition (Africa SignExpo) is scheduled to holdin Lagos from June 25 – 27,2014 at the Eko Hotel Con-vention Centre, Victoria Is-land.

The Chief Executive Of-ficer of JCDecaux SouthernEurope, Mr. Jean-Sébas-tien Decaux, indicated hiswillingness to share hiswealth of experience withother international speak-ers and delegates.

Managing Director ofLagos State Signage andAdvertisement Agency,LASAA, Mr. George Noah,who disclosed this, said itwould augment the level ofdebate at the much antici-pated event.


JONATHAN'S DAUGHTER WEDS

President Jonathan walking the bride in.

From left: Groom, Prince Godswill Edward; bride, former Miss Faith Elizabeth Sakwe; PresidentGoodluck Jonathan and Most Revd. Nicholas Okoh, officiating Minister and Primate, Church of Nigeria,Anglican Communion.

Signing the marriage register.

From left: President Jonathan; Mrs Edna Edward, groom's mother; thecouple; HRH Solomon Edward, groom's father; First Lady, Dame PatienceJonathan and officiating ministers.

First Lady and other guests dancing with the couple.

From left: Chief Tony Anenih, Chief Edwin Clark and Chief OlusegunObasanjo.

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group (3rd left); former Chiefof Staff to the President, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe (left); Mr. Femi Otedola(4th right); Mr. Wale Tinubu (2nd right) and other dignitaries.

The wedding of Prince Godswill Edward and former Miss Faith Elizabeth Sakwe, President Goodluck Jonathan'sdaughter, held at the International Christian Centre, Abuja, on Saturday, followed by thanksgiving during the Palm

Sunday service at the Aso Villa Chapel, yesterday. PHOTOS: Abayomi Adeshida, STATE HOUSE.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014 —15

JONATHAN'S DAUGHTER WEDS

Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State (right),Governor Idris Wada of Kogi State (2nd left) and other guests atthe wedding.

From left: First Lady, Dame Jonathan; the couple, Mr. and Mrs. Godswill Edward;Mama Eunice Jonathan, the President's mother, and President Jonathan at thethanksgiving service.

Guest Preacher and Minister of Power, Ven. Chinedu Nebo (right) praying at thethanksgiving service.

From left: Vice President Namadi Sambo; his wife, HajiyaAminat; Mama Eunice Jonathan; former Head of State, Gen.Yakubu Gowon (rtd.); his wife Victoria; and Justice Fati Abubakarat the reception.

Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji MohammedAbubakar and his wife, Hajia Abubakar.

From left: Eze Cletus Ilomuanya; Deputy Speaker, House ofRepresentatives, Emeka Ihedioha; Nollywood actor, Kanayo O. Kanayo, andSpeaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal at the wedding.

Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State(right), his wife, Obioma and other dignitaries atthe thanksgiving service.

From left: Chaplain, Aso Villa Chapel, Ven. Obioma Onwuzurumba;Executive Secretary, Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission, Mr.Johnkennedy Opara; Chief of Staff, Col. Jones Arogbofa (rtd); PresidentJonathan; Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo, and Special Adviser to thePresident on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, at the thanksgiving service.

From left— Dr.Okwesilieze Nwodo; Dr.Sam Egwu and ChiefD i e p r e y eAlamieyeseigha at thewedding.

Managing Director,News Agency ofNIgeria, NAN, Mr. ImaNiboro (right) andother dignitaries at thethanksgiving.

OPINION

16 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014

BY HAMISU ABUBAKAR

*Mr. Abubakar, a public affairscommentator, wrote from Abuja.

Of big country, economy and cynics!HOW does this affect the price of

fish?” was the cynical rider to anewspaper report early in the weekthat Nigeria has overtaken South Africaas Africa’s leading economy. Thisfollowed the cheery news coming fromthe National Bureau of Statistics, whichconfirmed, of course, what many hadlong believed- that the Nigerianeconomy has been understated.From the rebased Gross DomesticProduct, GDP, figures, our country’s GDPhas catapulted from $262 billion to $510billion representing an increase of 94.6%.The new figures firmly put Nigeria aheadof South Africa with a GDP of $370.3, asthe king of African economy.Not only that, the newly rebased figuresconfirm Nigeria as the 26th largesteconomy in the world. By rebasing thecountry’s GDP figures, what NBS hasjust done is to recalculate our GDP tomore accurately reflect the nation’schanging economic configuration overthe last 24 years. To be sure, the last timethis rebasing took place was in 1990.What the newly rebased GDP figuressimply do is to present the truest pictureof the size of the Nigerian economy byincluding sectors like the film and videoindustries, telecoms as well asinformation technology, hitherto notconsidered in the last rebasing exercise.Given some of the knee-jerk and overlyjaundiced criticism of the rebasingcoming from some quarters, especiallythe opposition politicians, one is temptedto ask the following questions: Was rebasing

the GDP figures necessary? Is the outcomecorrect and dependable? Are there benefitsderivable from the rebasing?From the different accounts coming fromexperts and economy watchers the worldover, there is nothing controversial aboutthe rebasing of the GDP figures, whichthe government has just done. If anything,the exercise ought to have been carried outmany years ago and even on a moreregular basis. Rebasing the GDP figuresis a global best practice that affordscountries the opportunity to update theirtemplates for measuring growth in theeconomy more accurately.For instance, the newly rebased NigerianGDP captures the activities in theemergent economic centres likeNollywood (the Nigerianentertainment industry),which hasgrown exponentially in the past ten years,creating incomes, providing jobs,happiness and shared prosperity in theland. It is on record that no otherentertainment industry anywhere inthe world can match Nollywood’srapidity in growth even as unorganisedas it still remains.It is interesting to note that cynics arenot quarrelling with the newly rebasedGDP figures for Nigeria. Instead, theyare raising the issue of its utility. Yet,there are many who still believe thatthe size of the Nigerian economy is largerthan the picture painted by the newfigures. And this group points to thefact that the value of the volume of

trade and transactions that goes ondaily in the effervescent informal sectoris never tracked and consequently notcaptured by the rebased GDP figures.The daily activities of that seeminglypoor food vendor at every motor park,street corners and even beside publicbuildings are never taken intoconsiderations. The value of goods inthe spare parts markets at Ladipo andother markets in Lagos did notcontribute to the rebased figures. Whatabout the roadside mechanics,carpenters and other artisans?There is no doubt that if an accuratetab is kept on the value of the volume ofgoods and services in the informalsector, the newly rebased Nigerian GDPwill outstrip that of South Africa bymiles. Those cynics who rubbish therebasing by suggesting that it meansnothing and adds no value to theeconomy miss that point badly. Sincerebasing illuminates the picture of thesize of the economy, it is thereforeaxiomatic that it provides the accurateindicators for investors and economyminders. It vividly speaks to investorsof sectors in an economy that aregrowing and attractive. In the sameway, it provides policy makers the dataon the sectors that need to be cultivated.A ready example of this is what has beenhappening in the telecoms sector in thecountry. With the advantage ofhindsight, it is now obvious that thetelecoms sector was undervalued prior

to its liberalisation and this explains whythe sector has grown in our country fasterthan anywhere else in the world withabout 120 million telephone lines sold byoperators just in a decade! As an analysthas pointed out, the result of therebasing has shown also that the nationis not taking full advantage of the sizeof its economy, especially in the area oftax revenue.Yes, the rebasing does not automaticallytranslate to increased purchasingpower for citizens, yet it carries thepotential of attracting moreinvestments into the country which willeventually improve living standards. Andthis is the challenge that rebasing posesto the government.Yet, it is baffling that some of ourpoliticians are ever willing to play politicswith everything. Their off-hand dismissalof the new status of Nigeria as the largesteconomy in Africa simply because ithappened under the watch of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan is petty and notstatesmanlike. Why is it difficult for somepeople to see the good others see in us asa nation? Big country, big economy, bigcynics!

“

IS there something so unAfrican aboutcorruption that we do not understand, yetwe can accuse others of corruption withoutnoticing it seeping through our systems?Brother Robert Gabriel Mugabe, ruler of

Zimbabwe since independence on 18 April1980, during his 90th birthday lunchaccused Nigerians of corruption. “Are wenow like Nigeria where you have to reachyour pocket to get anything done? We usedto go to Nigeria and everytime we had tocarry extra cash to corruptly pay foreverything. You get into a plane in Nigeriaand you sit there and the crew keeps dillydulling without taking off as they wait foryou to pay them to fly,” said Mugabe, torapturous laughter from his guests.Why did Mugabe choose Nigeria for his

point on corruption? When was Mugabe inNigeria that he paid for anything,everytime? Which plane did he bribe thecrew to fly?Some Nigerians have applauded

Mugabe’s diatribe. They say it reflectscorruption in Nigeria. Mugabe was nottalking about Nigerian leaders, whichagain would have been wrong. He wassaying all Nigerians were corrupt. He had

Mugabe: FightingMugabe: FightingMugabe: FightingMugabe: FightingMugabe: FightingNigeria @ 90Nigeria @ 90Nigeria @ 90Nigeria @ 90Nigeria @ 90

to bribe Nigerians for “everything”,“everytime” for “anything” to be done.Mugabe’s remarks were incompatible with

his office. He never paid for anything inNigeria. We paid Zimbabwean freedomfighters to snatch their country, the thenSouthern Rhodesia from Ian Smith’s illegalgovernment (Smith unilaterally declaredindependence from Britain and imposed anapartheid type government). Nigeriansmobilised international opinion in favourof Zimbabwean guerillas who operatedfrom Mozambique; we grantedZimbabweans scholarships, paid theirleaders allowances, and availed ourairplanes for their use.President Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari was

among the 100,000 at the Rufaro Stadium in

Harare to celebrate Zimbabwe’s freedom.He donated $15 million to Zimbabwe totrain its students in Nigeria, its workers atthe Administrative Staff College of Nigeriain Badagry, and its soldiers at the NigerianDefence Academy in Kaduna.We are witnessing Mugabe’s gratitude.“Democracy in Zimbabwe is in intensive

care and the leadership has decayed.Leaders around Mugabe are stashing cashinto Swiss accounts just like the mafia,” saidEdgar Zivanai Tekere, first ZANU-PFSecretary-General, Mugabe’s mercurialmate, who joined the struggle at 19. Tekeredied in 2011 at 74. His disagreements withMugabe began barely a year afterindependence, when he accused Mugabe ofcorruption.Dictatorship, unknown to Mugabe, who is

wired to numerous corruption scandals, isalso corruption. At 90, it is unfortunate thatMugabe has riveted his attention toattacking Nigeria. He has wastedZimbabwe, ruined its future, but he fails tonotice the corruption he has installed over33 years. Nigeria should protest the Mugabe affront

more vehemently.

CMYK

APRIL 14, 2014

THERE are strong indicationsthat banks and other financialinstitutions are worried over

the possibility of not being able to re-coup their investment in the powersector.

Indications to this emerged at thejust-concluded Seventh Lagos Eco-nomic Summit, tagged Ehingbeti2014, where some chief executives offinancial institutions expressed con-cern over the revenue profile of thepower companies, especially the re-cently privatized electricity distribu-tion companies (DISCOs). Conse-quently, they called for an increase inthe electricity tariff and price of gasto boost the income generating capac-ity of the companies.

Speaking at a session tagged, ‘Fund-ing the power sector - creating bank-ing projects/companies,’ the execu-tives explained that increasing elec-tricity tariff, as well as the price of gas,will improve the fortunes of the pow-er companies and make it possible formore investors to stake their funds inthe sector.

Members of the panel included Mr.Rossie Turman, Partner, Skadden,Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP;Mr. Idris Mohammed, Partner, Devel-opment Partners International; Mrs.Sola David-Borha, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Stanbic Holdings, Mr. AyoGbeleyi, Commissioner for Finance,Lagos State and Mr. Akin Ogunranti,General Manager, Power and Infra-structure, Zenith Bank Plc. Mr. BatchiBaldeh, Senior Vice President, Pow-er, African Finance Corporation wasthe lead speaker, while Mr. SolomonAdegbie-Quaynor, Country Manager,International Finance Corporation,IFC, was session chair.

David-Borha explained that theproblems bedevilling the power sec-tor will be addressed with appropri-ate pricing and tariffs. She noted thatthe distribution companies’ ability topay back their indebtedness will im-prove as their ability to generate morecash improves.

She maintained that pricing is keyin the power sector as it will help en-sure that the numbers add up. Sheadded that if the pricing issue is ad-dressed, everything else will fall inplace. “If we really want more inves-tors to come and invest in the powersector, it is necessary that they should

be given the right incentives and op-portunities. We have to encourage in-vestors by putting more money on thetable; by ensuring the right tariffs arein place,” she said.

Also speaking, Ogunranti called foran increase in the tariffs, noting thata number of investors are waiting onthe sidelines and will not hesitate tocome in and invest in the sector oncethe pricing issue is tackled. He said,“Increasing the tariff will encouragemore investors to put in more mon-ey. If we did do not get the tariff is-sue right, we will not see the rapidimprovement we desire in the powersector.

Adegbie-Quaynor pointed to thefact that what the masses are paying

via the use generators is very high. Hesaid the fact is that the masses are pay-ing life cycle power costs of US$0.40(N64) to $0.50 (N80) per kilo watt hour,with small petrol or diesel generators.He said that this makes it critical forprivate investors, regulators and thegovernment to come together and dis-cuss key issues that can make the powerreforms successful so that the ordinaryman and woman do not have to paysuch large amounts for power.

The key issues, he noted, includereliability and availability of gas, whichwill require investment in gas supplyand a pipeline network; strengtheningand expansion of the power transmis-

Banks, others jittery overinvestments in powersector

Continues on page 18

PARTNERSHIP: From left ; Group Managing Director/CEO, BGL Plc, Mr Albert Okumagba; Group Deputy Man-aging Director, BGL, Mr Chibundu Edozie; and Managing Director, Vunani Limited, Mr Butana Khoza, during thesigning of the strategic partnership agreement between BGL and Vunani in Lagos on Tuesday.

PHOTO: Kehinde Gbadamosi

CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL SELLING

CBN Exchange rate as at 11/04/2014

107.72 +0.50

104.07 +0.26

200.10 -6.00

2,982.00 +12.00

16.82 -0.26

DOLLAR 154.74 155.24 155.74POUNDS 258.895 259.732 260.5686EURO 214.7636 215.4576 216.1515FRANC 176.5247 177.0933 177.6637YEN 1.5247 1.5296 1.5345CFA 0.3082 0.3182 0.3282WAUA 239.3962 240.1698 240.9433RENMINBI 24.9106 24.9915 25.0724RIYA 41.2607 41.394 41.5273KRONA 28.7573 28.8502 28.9431SDR 240.2493 241.0256 241.8019

Worry over low rates of return, seekhigher power, gas tariffs

BY MICHAEL EBOH

Cover Story

CMYK


,

,

Continues on page 19

sion network; investment inthe power discos to reduce theAggregate Technical, Com-mercial and Collection(ATC&C) losses, that may beas high as 60 per cent insome discos; and rehabilitateand expand the generationcompanies (GENCOs) andthe Independent PowerProjects (IPPs)”.

He noted that resolution ofthese key issues requires sig-nificant investment, manage-ment and technical skills, add-ing that government, regula-tors and the private sectorneed to come together andreach a solution that will leadto the necessary investments,and at the same time not beadversely impactful on thecommon man or woman.

Continuing, he said, “TheWorld Bank’s position is thatgovernment, regulators andthe private sector owners ofpower assets should come to-gether, deliberate, and find afair and balanced solution sothat Nigeria has reliable andaffordable power to fuel inclu-sive growth and economicdevelopment.

“IFC, World Bank and Mul-tilateral Investment Guaran-tee Agency (MIGA) are com-mitted to supporting govern-ment, regulators and the pri-vate sector in making thepower reforms successfulthrough the World BankGroup’s Energy BusinessPlan which aims to supportfinancing and risk mitigationfor the addition of at least1,500MW of additional gen-erating capacity in the next 12to 18 months.

We would also, “Supportcapital expenditure financingin two to four distributioncompanies; support develop-ment, investment and financ-

Banks, others jittery overinvestments in power sector

ing of Public-Private Partner-ships (PPPs) in both powertransmission and gas pipelinenetworks; support develop-ment and financing of afford-able renewable energy solu-tions through solar lanternsand cook stoves, amongst oth-er products, to the commonman and woman, and also off-grid solar solutions to Smalland Medium Scale Enterpris-es and critical centres likehospitals and schools usingphotovoltaic technology.

However, in a separate ses-sion at the summit, NigerianLabour Congress, NLC rep-resented by its General Sec-retary, Mr. Issa Aremu,warned that until the prob-lems in the sector are re-solved, any attempt to bringabout increase in electricitytariffs will be seen as crimi-nal and will be sternly resist-ed.

He said that tariffs shouldbe commensurate with serv-ice delivery. “It is stealing ifyou increase tariffs withoutimproved service”, he said.

He said Nigerians are ac-tually looking for improvedservice delivery as regardspower supply and will actu-ally like to see what they arepaying for before tariff in-crease is considered.

He noted that the nature ofthe power sector reforms andhow they are carried out arecritical, and also wonderedwhy the reform process is be-ing rushed, especially whenthe operators are of the viewthat a lot still have to be putin place to drive the process.

In other panel sessions atthe three-day summit, the is-sue of revamping the powersector in the country took thecentre stage, while improvingelectricity supply to Lagoswas also given adequate at-

tention.For instance, Mr. Charles

Momoh, Chairman, WestPower and Gas, owner of theEko Distribution Company,emphasized the need to re-vamp the country’s powerinfrastructure, saying thatthe country is still usingpower infrastructure in op-eration since 1896.

He blamed the epilepticpower situation across thecountry on the non-availa-bility of gas and the reduc-tion of power supply to thedistribution companies.

Specifically, he said thatthe total gas available forLagos State, cannot powermore than 500 mega wattsof electricity, adding thatthe company is currentlyreceiving less than 200mega watts, down from the400 mega watts promisedwhen it took over the assets.

Momoh further blamed theTransmission Company ofNigeria, TCN, for the“blinking” power situation,saying, “The TCN intro-duced frequency relays toprotect their equipment,which is at the expense ofconsumers’ appliances, be-cause this relay is respon-sible for the two minutes onand off power situation inLagos.”

He noted that Eko Distri-bution Company currentlyhave the capacity to deliver700 mega watts of electrici-ty, but it is currently receiv-ing only about 240 megawatts.

He however noted thatEko Distribution Companyhas commenced the processof increasing power supplyby about 500 mega watts,adding that it is talking to45 companies interested in

Continued from page 17

UNVEILING: From left, Executive Secretary, Lagos State Water Regulatory Commis-sion, Mrs Tanwa Koya; a board member, Professor Lanre Fagbohun; chairman, Mr TaiwoShebioba; member, Mr Doyin Owolabi and President of Consumer Advocacy Foundationof Nigeria, Ms. Sola Salako, at the unveiling of the commission's website, toll free lines,and complaints boxes for better public access in Lagos.

Breaking the Nigerian povertycycle through entrepreneurialrevolution (1)

Nigeria is a country ofabsurd economic

realities. The 13th largest crudeoil producer in the world andthe second largest economy inAfrica earn an estimated $2.2million a day in oil revenue. Yet,its GDP per capita, at just over$1,400, is among the lowest forthe continent and 54 per centof its 148 million people live onless than $1 per day. Thefigures are especially shockingbecause of the abundance ofnatural resources primarily oiland natural gas, and massiveagricultural potential based onits climate and significant ruralpopulation.

Human development data forNigeria has remainedpersistently bleak despite aconsiderable upturn in thecountry’s economic fortunessince 2000. The UNDP ranked

the country 80th in a povertysurvey of 108 developingnations that focussed onsevere deprivation. Theagency gave Nigeria aHuman Poverty Index of 37.3,placing it below moreimpoverished Africanneighbours with far smallereconomies like Rwanda andMalawi. Significantly, thestudy looked not just atincome destitution, but also atsecondary aspects includingeducation, access to healthcare, standard of living andlife-expectancy. More than 67million Nigerians aredocketed as poor according tostandard definitions, while 35per cent of the total populationlive in extreme poverty.

These recent trends areespecially worrying becausethey parallel a significant butcontradictory improvement inNigeria’s macro-economic

performance. Before thecurrent global financial crisisset in, Abuja had beensuccessful in wieldingsubstantial positive change inits overall balance sheetsthrough a process of re-prioritisation and economicreform since 1999. A slew ofmeasures, includingprivatisation of several steel,petrochemical, mining andport entities helped developthe non-oil sector, bring downinflation and boostinternational currencyreserves. Nigeria alsosuccessfully negotiated withthe London and Paris clubs todo away with a large part ofits foreign debt.

However, World Bankresearch confirms that evenduring periods of relativeprosperity, poverty levelsremained unabated in thebroadest sense, and actuallyworsened during successivepositive growth periods.

Between 1972 and 1980,for instance, the

Nigerian per capita incomeshot up from $1,300 to $2,900based on rapidly escalatingoil prices. A subsequentdecline in global oil revenuesdragged down per capitaincome, consumption andexpenditure to critical levels.However, Nigeria neglectedinvestment in humandevelopment projects andcontinued to pump borrowedfinances into capital-intensiveenterprises. The fallout wasthat the dramatic rise innational fortunes bypassedthe majority of Nigerians, asevident from the negligiblerise in per capita consumptionfigures for the same period.

The differential effect onpoverty levels in rural andurban areas for the coincidingperiod is equally startling.Because of a simultaneousworsening of incomedistribution, rural povertydeclined slightly while thenumber of urban poor gained.However, the worst-off werealso the worst losers, as thepopulation living in extremepoverty across Nigeriaswelled up from 10 million to14 million. The obviousexplanation behind this is thatpolicy makers sorely failed toshare the increase in wealthequitably.

The obviousexplanation

behind this isthat policy

makers sorelyfailed to sharethe increase in

wealthequitably

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014 — 19

,,

Continued from page 18

Cover story

embedded generation and twoother companies for captivepower.

On his own part, Mr. SolaAdeshina, Managing Director,Sahara Power, owner of theIkeja Distribution Company,also noted that unavailabilityof gas and a non-cost reflec-tive tariff structure is hamper-ing the effective delivery ofpower to consumers.

In addition, Mrs. Funke Os-ibodu, Chief Executive Offic-er, Benin Electricity Distribu-tion Company, said that oper-ators are aware that Nigeriansare fed up with the power sit-uation and want a change.

She however noted thatwhat is lacking is the fact thata vast majority of Nigerians do

not have the information thatthe change that is expectedwill require more from everyone.

According to her, fixing theproblems in the power sectoris a long haul and it will takea long time for operators toachieve their goals.

“Nigerians should be awarethat infrastructure is not pow-er. The government and somepoliticians will donate trans-formers to a community andthey will think their powerproblems are over.

“We should know that trans-former is not power. Power hasto be generated first before thetransformer and other equip-ment can distribute.”

In his own view, Mr. AnilSardana, Managing Director,

Tata Power, who spoke via livewebcast from India, said thereforms in the Nigerian pow-er sector will not succeed un-less there is direct support andoversight from the govern-ment.

Banks, others jittery over investments in power sector

Bajaj Auto Limited,manufacturers of Bajaj

tricycle, Bajaj RE, said it hasimproved the performance itstricycle. The company said ithas added 20 more advancedfeatures to the cycle.

The company stated that foradvanced performance of thetricycle it has added eightperformance advancement inthe redesigned gear box,increased the slot width for

Bajaj raises stakes on tricycle with 20 new features

When in August 2009 Sanusi Lamido Sanusi intervened in five troubledbanks in the country; many saw it as a rescue mission. But I saw itdifferently. I whole-heartedly supported Sanusi cleaning up the toxic

assets in the industry. Beyond that, I disapproved of his taking over of somebanks that were still liquid at the time of the intervention. Sanusi did not separatethe individuals from the institutions. If some of the bank executives contravenedthe banking rules, the CBN or the law enforcement agencies are at liberty to dealwith such individuals. As it happens so often in developed democracies,

Revisiting rescued banks’ grant of waiversto billionaires: What redress is possible?

companies that infringe onregulatory guidelines arefined heavily and in somecases, their chief executivesare prosecuted and jailed.

If Sanusi at the time hadrelieved the chief executivesof those banks of their jobs andmade them to face the law, hewould have been a hero. Buthe did not stop at removingthe chief executives, he wentahead and took over the banks.That was what many did notsee that behind the scene,there were unseen handsguiding some of the well-targeted decisions. Whensome of us saw through whatwas happening and said so,the country never took ourwords for certain. One of thevery sad things that happenedthen was waivers granted tobillionaires. At the time, thelink between Sanusi, Lai Alabiand Bukola Saraki was not soclear to Nigerians. Now thatSanusi Lamido Sanusi hasopenly acknowledged thatSaraki was his classmate, thepicture of what happened tothe rescued banks is becomingclearer. Now, if Saraki isSanusi’s close friend and LaiAlabi worked for Saraki, thenthe connection and thesubsequent chain of actionsthat led to the liquidation ofsome of the banks is emergingin very clear terms.

For those of us who reportedthe crisis recall with nostalgiathat Intercontinental Bank’sinterim management thenheaded by Lai Alabi hadgranted waivers to the tune ofseveral billions to somecompanies alleged to beassociated with Saraki. Thesedebtors were close to the theninterim management put inplace by the CBN Governor.The explanation then was thatin order to recover fully the

principal of their non-performing loans, themanagement of some of thetroubled banks startednegotiations with key debtorswho applied for forbearance.

In the madness of the time,Intercontinental Bank grantedwaivers to a debtor who owedthe bank N11 billion andapplied for 70 per cent waiver.Also, another customer whoowed the bank N1.5 billionapplied for forbearance andgot about N500 million waiver.The debtor was billed to payN1billion but what was said tohave reached the bank’s vaultwas N800 million. The balanceof N700 million was given aswaiver to the debtor.

In another instance, acustomer who owed N7.5billion was said to have hadhis entire indebtedness writtenoff.

The suspended CBNGovernor, Mallam LamidoSanusi, when questioned byreporters at the 2009 IMF/World Bank meeting inIstanbul, Turkey, said that theCentral Bank will not getinvolved in the day-to-dayrunning of the troubled banks.He said that the onus ofrunning the banks was in thehands of the managementsand the boards.

It was clear from thebeginning that what washappening in the industry atthe time was not normal asbankers were worried thatthough it is normal for a long-standing non-performing loan

considered lost written offthe books of a bank to be sotreated, most of the banksbailed out by CBN had nofunctional boards to grantsuch waivers, leaving thedecision to the ManagingDirectors, some of whom wereacting as sole administrators.

The discretion applied bythose chief executives was notin the interest of reviving theailing banks but to pander tothe interest of those whoappointed them. In normalcircumstances, it is only theaccumulated interest andpenalty that are built into aloan term that can be grantedas waivers, not the principal.

It was abnormal that at a timewhen the Economic &Financial Crimes Commission,EFCC, was busy recoveringdebts from chronic debtors, themanagement of the troubledbanks started to give waiverswithout the approval of anylegally constituted board byshareholders. In the ordinarycourse of doing business,money fully provided for asloan loss when recovered goesto beef-up the capital orshareholders’ funds which thenon-performing loan hasgrossly eroded. What onefound disturbing at the timewas the fact that the caretakermanagement ofIntercontinental Bank haddisclosed that the bankrecovered over N78 billion outof the N142.644 billionprovisions for loans and otherknown losses, stating that thewaivers the bank granted to

debtors was in line with theexisting policy in the bank toencourage debtors to pay.Explaining the situation, LaiAlabi had said: “When loanshave become bad as they are,when the underlyingsecurities have virtually beentotally eroded as we havenow, then there is a need to

give someconcessionsin order toe n c o u r a g esuch debtorsto pay, thatis exactlywhat we didand this is thepractice in allbanks - bothin Nigeriaa n dworldwide.” T h e r eexisted suchpolicy onw a i v e r sbefore thep r e s e n tmanagementa s s u m e doffice, thiswas thenpresented tothe creditc o m m i t t e ew h i c hrefined ita n dpresented itto the boardw h i c happroved it.But we arecontesting

with serious issue of molesin the bank, what these peopleintended to achieve was tomalign the bank, frustrate theprogress we have made for thepurpose of serving certaininterest.

”Most of the figures givenout are distorted. For instance,in some cases the

amounts theyare asked to payexclude thevalues of sharethe loans wereused topurchase. Also inmost cases, thewaivers took intoconsideration,wrong debits,penalty chargesand other entriesin dispute; weneed to have inmind that oureffort has so faryielded a rewardof about N80billion since theintervention.”

Now that it is inthe publicdomain thatsome of theactions werepremeditated tohelp a friend getwhat he hadcraved for butcould not get inthe ordinary runof business, whatredress ispossible for thoselost five banks?

The very sadthing thathappened thenwas waiversgranted tobillionaires. Atthe time, thelink betweenSanusi, LaiAlabi andBukola Sarakiwas not so clearto Nigerians.Now that SanusiLamido Sanusihas openlyacknowledgedthat Saraki washis classmate,the picture ofwhat happenedto the rescuedbanks isbecomingclearer

smoother gear shifting,improved on the enginecooling mechanism, thedigital ignition with TPS andexhaust TEC.

Speaking, Head, Marketingand Sales for DAGMotorcycles IndustriesLimited, marketers of thetricycle, Mr. Firdous Ahmad,who gave the brandperspective of the tricycle, saidthat the anti judder clutch has

been improved upon, the hoodpipe heightened, improved onthe cabin ergonomics,redesigned the driver cabinfloor and the water splashguard improved upon.

For durability of the tricycle,he said the product now hasbigger screw– on type oil;strainer which is a dual oilfiltration process.

He noted that financial pru-dence in the transition proc-ess is key, adding that empha-sis should be placed on thechange management process,as well as in the valuation ofthe business.

He said customer satisfac-tion should be the key goal forthe reforms process, addingthat the reforms should alsofocus on working to reduce thecost of distribution.


CMYK


CMY

Business & Economy

The digital world ishere. We are all usingvarious digital

devices – smartphones,laptops, tabletops,tablets,phamblets, etc andconsuming data,which is thecurrency of the digital world.Manufacturers and techiesare pushing out new gadgetsand appon on a daily basistofurther drive us down thedigital lane. At the heart of allthese are the telecommuni-cations networks whichprovide the high capacitytransport infrastructure thatservices ride on. It is oftenacknowledged thattelecommunications is to thedigital era what electricitywas to the industrial era.Across various spheres ofendeavours – education(distance learning),traditional and social media,travel and tours, shopping,entertainment, etc, Nigeriansare actively harnessing digitalopportunities and ways oflife, courtesy of theenablement accorded by thet e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n snetworks.From growingtelephone penetration fromless than one percent in 2001to more than 86 percent in2013, the telecommunicationssector now comes second onlyto the oil and gas sector interms of attracting ForeignDirect Investment (FDI) andcontribution to GrossDomestic Product (GDP) inNigeria. According to PyramidResearch, the sectorcontributed about 35 percentof FDI(aroundUS$45bn)between 2001 and2011 and its GDP input grewfrom below one percent to8.54 percent between 2001and 2013. The sector has alsobeen responsible for creatingaround three million directand indirect jobs and a valuechain that impacts millions ofNigerians across variousspheres of life. It has alsobeen pivotal in promotingwide public access toinformation which is animportant element for thedevelopment of democracy.As a social overhead capital,that is, a basic service withoutwhich primary, secondary andtertiary productive activitiescannot function effectively,telecommunications thereforeneeds to be accorded dueattention by relevantstakeholders in order toensure that Nigeria’s visionof digital inclusion is realized.

With the announcement ofthe National Broadband Plan(NBP) by the FederalGovernment last year, thetelecommunications sector isset to play an even greaterrole in the socio-economicdevelopment of the country.A critical success factor for theNBP was aptly outlined in the

The Lagos initiative:Another first by the telecomsindustry

BY OSONDU C.NWOKORO

following statement“implementation of a nationalbroadband plan requireslong-term commitment andsignificant action by theFederal, States and LocalGovernments, as well as, theexecutive and legislativebranches of government –alongside strong privatesector participation.”Ridingon this, theFederalGovernment through theMinistry of CommunicationTechnology is partnering withIBM, a global ICT player, toprovide technology-drivensolutions to resolvechallenges in key sectors ofthe Nigerian economy and tothat end has convened aministerial roundtable todevelop appropriateimplementation plans.

At state level,Lagos andOsun have declared ICTadoption as an important partof their strategic developmentefforts and are activelycollaborating with the privatesector to this end. OgbeniRauf Aregbesola,Governor ofOsun State who had earlierchampioned the State’smultiple award-winningcomputer tablet innovation,“Opon Imo” (Tablet ofKnowledge), recentlyreaffirmed his determinationto make his state the ICT hubin Nigeria at a ceremonymarking the take-off of themulti-million dollar RLG-Adulawo Technology City inIleshathat that was set-up byRLG Communications, aphone manufacturingcompany, with support fromOsun State Government.According to the GroupChairman of RLGCommunications, thetechnology city will play amajor role in the technologyrevolution that is imminent inNigeria.The centre will beinvolved in the training ofyouths in the assembly, repairand manufacture of variouselectronic devices and isexpected to create over 10,000jobs, both directly andindirectly. Aside from being astrategic tool, Osun Statehaskeenly applied ICT intransactional activities asOgbeni Aregbesola hadindicated that the deploymentof ICT in governmentoperationshad blocked

financial leakages andbrought about an increase ininternally generated revenueby 100 per cent, from N300million to N600 million withinone year and to N1.6 billionpresently. Lagos State hasalso adopted e-paymentssolutions for governmenttransactions. The Eko Atlanticcityproject which will beAfrica’s first “Smart City” isundoubtedly the mostambitious ICT project of theState to date.

While not detracting fromthese initiatives, the recentagreement between theLagos State Government andthe telecommu-nications operators whichstreamlines the approvalprocesses and fees fortelecommunications facilitiesdeployment is an even moremomentous development interms of scope of impact anddemonstrated alignment withthe spirit and letters of theNBP’s vision on public-private sector collabora-tion.TheLagos StateGovernment was interested inprotecting the sanctity ofextant planning and relatedregulations while the

telecommunications operators’concerns were around speed ofi n f r a s t r u c t u r edeployment,discriminatoryfees and multiple taxation/regulation, as well as theprotection of their facilities fromillegal lock-outs by over-zealous government officials.In discussions leading to thelandmark agreement, theparties were able to reachreasonable and legitimatecompromises as partners-in-development to streamlineprocesses leading to reductionin approval timelines for thegrant of site build permits to 30days and reduction ofapplicable fees by around 60percent. This landmarkagreement will certainlyfacilitate the expansion oft e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n sinfrastructure across LagosState to enhance the provisionof services currently on offerand facilitate the deploymentof “future” services such as 4GLTE. The CEO of Airtel, SegunOgunsanya, certainly had thisin mind when he recentlyexpressed gratitude to theLagos State Government andannounced thattelecommunications operatorswould reciprocate the goodwillby providing state-of-the-artservices in the state.

Telecommunication has beenplaying a leading role innational development since theliberalization of the sectorabout thirteen years ago. Inaddition to facilitating tele-access for over 120million

Nigerians presently andmaking significantcontributions to GDP and FDI,the sector is now pioneering adevelopmental partnershipmodel that will prove useful inthe consolidation and growthof all infrastructure-basedindustries in Nigeria, therebyreaffirming its status as ‘thegoose that lays the golden egg.'Such a specially innovativeindustry should be widelycelebrated rather than vilifiedas unfortunately seems to bethe case currently.

Osondu is Director, Legal& Regulatory Affairs at AirtelNigeria.

,

,

Omobolaji Johnson, Minister for Information andCommunication Technology

It has alsobeen pivotal inpromoting widepublic access toinformationwhich is animportantelement for thedevelopment ofdemocracy

MTN providesdata roamingservices BY ETOP EKANEM

MTN, has taken thebull by the hornsby providing data

roaming services for itscustomers , even as manyoperators are shying awayfrom resolving the high ratesof data roaming charges orcoming up with a betteralternative,.

Only few operators aretrying to ensure that theirmedium and high valuecustomers still have access tothe internet through theirmobile phones while roaming.

Recently, MTN launched aproduct termed “Browse likeHome when you Roam withMTN One World”.

The MTN One World is anew data roaming tariff whereMTN prepaid and post-paidsubscribers, who travel out ofthe country, have access tothe internet on their mobilephones and send textmessages, paying a standardhome rate of 5kobo perkilobyte and N4 per SMS, asif they were in Nigeria. Thisservice is available in any of19 MTN operating countriesnamely: Benin, Cameroon,Ghana, South Africa, Liberia,Cote D’Ivoire, Uganda,Congo, Rwanda, GuineaConakry, Zambia, Iran,Sudan, Guinea Bissau,Cyprus, Swaziland, Yemen,Afghanistan and Botswana.

The Chief MarketingOfficer, MTN Nigeria, LarryAnnetts, explained that, thekey strategic focus for the newtariff plan is to ensure datacommunication at the mostaffordable and friendly rate onthe go. “We are alwayscommitted to deliver a newworld of digital experience toour customers and the thrustof this initiative is to ensurefriendly roaming tariff , whereour customers who travel toany of our 19 operatingcountries can still feel athome, browsing at a standardhome rate of 5kobo perkilobyte.


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Corporate Finance

LECTURE: - From left, Vice Chancellor, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology,Ogbomoso, Prof.Gbadegesin Adeniyi; Former National President, Nigeria Associationof Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Chief John Odeyemi; ViceChancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, (OAU), Ile Ife, Prof. Bamitale Omole; andChairman, GlaxoSmithKline Nigeria Plc, Chief Olusegun Oshunkeye, at the first yearlylecture organised in honour of Odeyemi by the Natural History Museum, OAU.

Seplat listing may spur return of publicofferings — NSE boss Skye Bank Plc has

announced a profitbefore tax of N17.136 billionfor the financial year endedDecember 31, 2013,representing an increase of3.79 per cent over theN16.510 billion recordedduring the correspondingperiod in 2012.

According to theInternational FinancialReporting System’s (IFRS)compliant result submittedto the Nigeria StockExchange last week, theBank’s profit after tax rosesignificantly to N16.023billion compared withN12.644 billion posted inthe previous year showingan improvement of 26.7 percent.

Other highlights of theresult include growth intotal assets from N1,073trillion to N1.116 trillion,while its deposit liabilitiesalso increased from N966billion to N996 billionduring the period underreview, reflecting a growthof three per cent.

IMF urgesnations to cutbudget deficit

The InternationalMonetary Fund, IMF

urged has nations to cutbudget deficits, sayingdeflationary concerns, weakgrowth prospects and risingborrowing costs threaten toundermine fiscal balances.While Europe is mostexposed to the risk of asustained period of ultra-lowinflation, the U.S. FederalReserve also saw itspreferred gauge of pricechanges remaining below its2 percent target for almosttwo years. The IMF hastermed such developments“low-flation” and is callingon countries to take action toprevent it from hurtingoutput and reducinggovernments’ ability to repaydebts.

“In most countries,persistently high debt ratioscontinue to cast shadows overthe medium term,” theWashington-based IMF saidin its Fiscal Monitor reportreleased today. “Risks tofiscal forecasts remain mostlyon the downside, reflectingweak growth prospects,medium-term policyuncertainty, and persistentdeflationary concerns withpotentially deleteriousimpacts on debt dynamics”and budget results, it said.

Skye Bankposts N17bnprofit for2013

Diamond Bank posts N8.2bn profit infirst quarter

D iamond Bank Plchas recorded a Profit

After Tax (PAT) of N8.2 billionfor the first quarter of 2014,representing a growth of 37per cent Year on Year.

According to informationfrom the Nigerian StockExchange, NSE, the Bankalso recorded a profit beforeminority interest of N8.446billion for the year underreview, while interest incomestood at N38,245 billion.Analyzing the DiamondBank’s first quarter results,FBN Capital stated that thegrowth in PAT was driven byvisible improvements inDiamond’s underlyingresults and a reduction intaxes.

According to its analysis“Both funding income andnon-interest income postedhealthy growth during theperiod. Diamond Fundingincome was up 12 per centy/y to N27.5billion whilenon-interest income grew 65per cent y/y to N10.0billionto support a 23 per cent y/ygrowth in PBT beforeprovisions.”

Continuing, the FBNCapital stated “Loan growthof 3 per cent Quarter onQuarter, q/q in first quarter,Q1 was slightly ahead of the

2 per cent q/q deposit growthduring the period. Similar tothe fourth quarter, Q4numbers, these results morethan offset a 25 per cent y/yincrease in OperatingExpenses ,opex and N5.0billion in loan loss provisions(up 54 per cent y/y).Sequentially, PBT was up 42per cent q/q because fundingincome growth of 7 per cent

q/q and a 24 per cent q/qdecline in provisions wereenough to offset a decline of11 per cent q/q in non-interestincome.

“ However a N2.0bn taxgain in Q4 2013 and to alesser extent N250million losson the other income linecompared with N764millionin Q4 2013 resulted in PATdeclining 11 per cent q/q.

Compared with ourunrevised estimates (priorto Q4 results beingpublished), Diamond’s Q12013 results are betterthan we were expecting.Although funding incomewas close to our forecastof N28.5bn forecast, non-interest income came inahead of our forecast by 48per cent.

A stock market debut byoil and gas firm Seplat

in Lagos and London is likelyto unleash a round of InitialPublic Offerings (IPOs) inNigeria , the Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Nigerian StockExchange, NSE, Mr. OscarOnyema has said.

Onyema told the ReutersAfrica Investment Summitthat he expects more oil andgas listings to follow Seplat’s.He said this would help tacklethe sector ’s under-representation on theNigerian Stock Exchange.

The sector currently makesup just 2.6 percent of marketcapitalization versus 14percent of Nigeria’s newlyrebased GDP. After Seplat, thesector will make up 5.9percent of the exchange.

Seplat said it had raised$500 million in its IPO andplans to list its shares in Lagosand London on April 14. Theoffering gives Seplat a market

capitalization of $1.9 billion.None of the foreign oil

majors such as Shell andExxon Mobil that have beenoperating in Nigeria fordecades are listed. Only localfirms; Oando, Forte Oil,Conoil and now Seplat arelisted.

Heavyweight cementproducer Dangote Cementaccounts for a third of the NSE, followed by the bankingsector .”It will be the first yetto resume.

The market is down 6 percentin the first quarter, whichOnyema attributed to thetapering of quantitativeeasing in the United States,volatile emerging marketcurrencies and Nigeria’sforthcoming elections, whichhad led to some pullback fromforeign investors.

Nigeria revalued its grossdomestic product (GDP) onSunday to more than $500billion, surpassing South

Africa as the continent’s topeconomy and shrinking theratio of stock marketcapitalization to GDP to 15percent, compared with morethan 100 percent in most

developed stock markets.“It positions us better tobecome a gateway toAfrica for foreign direct orportfolio investments,”Onyema said of therebasing.

GTBank to reward credit cardholders

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc has announced the launch ofits new loyalty scheme exclusively for GTBank credit

card holders. The loyalty scheme is in partnership withAvios, the leading global travel rewards company.

This initiative is part of GTBank’s overall strategy to bringthe best in card products to its customers. It will rewardinternational GTBank credit card holders, who are alsomembers of the British Airways Executive Club Programme,for using their cards to pay for purchases using Point ofSale terminals. Avios is the global currency of the BritishAirways Executive Club. Members can collect Avios whenthey book a flight or shop with its partners and now whenthey spend with their GTBank credit card. With the newGTBank credit card loyalty scheme, every card holder willcollect one Avios for every $2 USD on qualified spend onthe card.

By PETER EGWUATU

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Sim Capital Alliance Plc 103.50 103.50 103.50 103.50 10.56 9.71Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc 20.45 20.45 100,882 15.69 10.64 0.87 18.03UBA Capital Plc 2.60 2.60 7,781,504 1.41 0.03 0.21 6.71

HEALTHCAREMedical SuppliesMorison Industries Plc 1.91 2.23 785 10.54 9.52 0.00 0.00Healthcare ProvidersUnion Diagnostics & Clinicals Services 0.50 0.50 60,250 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00

PharmaceuticalsEkocorp Plc 3.72 3.72 162 5.31 5.31 88.50Evans Medical Plc 2.12 2.12 2,500 1.45 0.70 0.19 0.00Fidson Healthcare Plc 2.92 2.92 9,498 3.20 0.83 0.44 3.07Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nig 70.00 70.00 239,074 23.11 2.58 2.62May & Baker Nigeria Plc 1.81 1.81 49,500 5.61 3.61 0.20 9.05Neimeth International Pharm 1.45 1.45 3,000 1.96 0.95 0.09 14.13Nigeria-German Chemicals Plc 7.36 7.36 2,150 12.91 0.95 0.00 0.00Pharma-Deko Plc 1.57 1.57 100 200 4.28 0.00 0.00

ICTComputer Based SystemsCourteville Investment Plc 0.57 0.57 5,201,000 0.52 0.50 0.10 10.00

Computers and PeripheralsOmatek Ventures Plc 0.50 0.50 2,600 0.50 0.50 0.00 12.50

IT ServicesNCR (Nig) Plc 15.99 16.83 5,098 9.31 3.25 0.00 1.43Tripple Gee and Company Plc 1.97 2.07 360 3.59 3.25 0.01 0.00Processing SystemsChams Plc 0.50 0.50 1,360,450 50,000

ICTTelecommunicationsStarcomms Plc 0.50 0.50 4,000 1.47 0.50 0.00 0.00

INDUSTRIAL GOODSBuilding MaterialsAshaka Cement Plc 16.62 16.62 795,608 30.00 12.00 2.14 7.86Berger Paints Plc 8.76 8.76 49,116 12.57 8.10 1.09 4.97CAP Plc 37.75 37.75 89,657 43.98 15.16 2.28 8.88Cement Co. of Northern Nig. Plc 9.48 9.48 264,827 15.49 4.16 1.47 2.31Dangote Cement Plc 235.00 234.70 737,148 132.51 95.00 7.56 13.17First Aluminium Nigeria Plc 0.50 0.50 150 0.75 0.50 0.00 0.00DN Meyer Plc 1.16 1.34 62,984 3.51 1.02 0.00 0.00Lafarge WAPCO Plc 108.00 108.00 958,957 48.05 36.58 4.10 42.86Portland Paints & Products Nig Plc 4.10 4.10 20 5.28 5.11 0.44 14.19Paints & Coatings Manufacturers 1.64 1.90 10,000 3.36 0.51 0.23 2.89Premier Paints Plc 10.00 11.00 123,564 13.40 10.93 0.00 0.00

Packaging/ContainersAvon Crowncaps & Container 1.41 1.41 3,125 6.91 5.94 0.5 39.60Nigerian Bags Manufacturing Company 2.74 2.70 2,717,101 3.60 1.47 0.25 9.16

Tools and MachineryNigerian Ropes Plc 7.46 7.85 40 8.69 8.26 0.00 0.00

NATURAL RESOURCESChemicalsBOC Gases Plc 6.66 6.66 1,000 9.20 6.80 0.78 7.37

MetalsAluminium Extrusion Ind Plc 7.75 10.50 500 12.39 10.70 0.13 85.77

Non-Metalic Mineral MiningMultiverse Plc 0.50 0.50 33,333,333 0.50 0.50 0.01 0.00

Paper/Forest ProductsThomas Wyatt Nig. Plc 0.79 0.79 1,000 1.38 1.38 0.00 0.00

Electronic and Electrical ProductsCutix Plc 1.94 1.94 200,200 2.50 1.62 0.11 13.15Nigerian Wire & Cable Plc 0.50 0.50 10,000 2.58 2.58 0.00 0.00

Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and SeAbbey Building Society Plc 1.44 1.44 2,000 1.51 1.33 0.03 28.80INDUSTRIAL GOODSPackaging/ContainersAbplast Products Plc 3.98 3.98 6,888 3.98 3.98 0.00 0.00Beta Glass Co. Plc 19.95 19.95 119,520 15.58 12.71 3.90 3.26Greif Nigeria Plc 12.68 12.68 10 15.03 13.97 0.90 0.00Nampak Nigeria Plc 4.30 4.30 29,198 4.30 3.60 1.22 3.52Poly Products (Nig) Plc 1.05 1.05 200 1.86 1.05 0.30 6.18Studio Press (Nig) Plc 2.92 2.78 84,311 2.92 2.92 0.07 41.71W.A. Glass Ind. Plc 0.63 0.66 2,749,340 0.63 0.63 0.00 0.00

OIL AND GASEnergy Equipment and ServicesJapaul Oil & Maritime Service 0.50 0.50 531,000 0.97 0.87 0.19 6.06

Intergrated Oil and Gas ServicesOando Plc 16.04 16.04 3,625,073 78.97 27.99 1.73 4.17

Petroleum and Petroleum ProductsAfrican Petroleum Plc 20.50 20.50 82,191 37.10 0.50 4.93 7.40Beco Petroleum Plc 0.50 0.50 2,000 0.70 0.50 0.00 0.00Conoil 51.90 51.90 16,044 5.59 3.89 0.61 6.99Forte Oil Nig Plc 122.70 122.70 507,146Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc 120.05 120.05 36,576 163.50 141.00 6.11 11.11MRS Oil Nigeria Plc 54.44 54.44 156 2,100 63.86 2.98 19.23Total Nigeria Plc 172.38 172.38 32,566 240.00 195.50 14.63 17.07

HospitalityTantalisers Plc 0.50 0.50 200 200 0.01

SERVICESAfromedia Plc 0.50 0.50 30 0.72 0.51 0.00 12.75Automobile/Auto Part RetailersRT Briscoe Plc 1.15 1.15 118,531 3.65 1.30 0.21 8.19

Courier/Freight/DeliveryRed Star Express Plc 4.39 4.39 116,700 3.67 2.65 0.60 4.91Trans-National 2.47 2.47 62 0.25 11.12Employment SolutionsC & I LEASING PLC 0.50 0.50 9,000 1.64 0.90 0.04 11.25

Hotels/LodgingCapital Hotel 4.55 4.55 1,000 400 3.00 0.34 34.09Ikeja Hotel Plc 0.57 0.57 72,000 2.07 1.33 0.92 2.12

Media/EntertainmentDaar Communications Plc 0.50 0.50 10,000 0.50 0.48 0.00 0.00

Printing & Publishing.Academy Press Plc 1.80 1.80 1,000 3.68 3.17 0.25 12.19Learn Africa Plc 1.78 1.78 152,048 0.30Studio Press Nig. Plc 2.40 2.40 1,080 0.00 0.00University Press 3.67 3.67 1,232,211 6.82 3.60 0.54 27.69

Road TransportationAssociated Bus Company Plc 0.89 0.89 688,485 0.80 0.50 0.00 0.00

SpecialityInterlinked Technologies Plc 4.90 4.90 1,995 5.15 4.90 0.00 0.00

Transport-Related ServicesAirline Services and Logistics Plc 2.46 2.46 55.669 2.78 1.57 0.60 4.22Nigerian Aviation Handling Company 5.09 5.09 811,742 11.75 6.50 12.53 8.75

Opening Closing Quantity Year Year P.EPrice N Price N Traded High Low E.P.S Ratio

Oil and Gas and ProductsPetroleum Prod ucts

Capital Oil Plc 0.50 0.50 100 0.50 0.50 0.09

1st fTier SecuritiesAGRICULTURECrop ProductionFTN Cocoa Processors Plc 0.50 0.50 3,000 0.50 0.50 0.10 50.00Okomu Oil Palm Plc 42.00 42.00 23,980 24.58 14.53 7.33 2.77Presco Plc 42.00 42.00 78,339 8.30 6.40 2.75 4.37

Livestock/Animal SpecialitiesLivestock Feeds Plc 3.09 3.09 813,170 0.66 0.48 0.11 15.00

CONGLOMERATESDiversified IndustriesA.G. Levents Nigeria Plc 1.43 1.43 2,503 2.54 1.45 0.16 5.18Chellarams Plc 3.95 3.95 4,500 7.60 6.43 0.31 20.74John Holt Plc 1.21 1.27 1,500 8.82 5.89 0.00 0.00SCOA Nigeria Plc 5.06 5.06 20,454 8.28 5.52 0.35 15.77Transnational Corporation 3.55 3.55 13,701,241 1.82 0.50 0.24 3.64UACN Plc 59.00 59.00 1,151,038 42.50 28.70 6.89 4.14

CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATEBuilding Construction/StructureARBICO Plc 5.30 5.30 31,443 4 20Constain (WA) Plc 1.29 1.29 671,961 2,720,390.38

CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATENon-Building/Heavy ConstructionJulius Berger Nig Plc 68.50 68.50 69,970 62.26 32.96 4.11 10.11Roads Nigeria Plc 8.46 8.46 4,750 8.28 3.01 4.73 2.26

Real Estate DevelopmentUACN Property Development 25.00 25.00 950,719 20.15 11.59 1.69 7.33

Real Estate Investment TrustsSkye Shelter Funds 100.00 100.00 200 100.00 97.00 11.75 8.51Union Homes Real Estate Investment 47.59 47.59 70 - - - -

CONSUMER GOODSAutomobile/Auto PartsDN Tyres & Rubber Plc 0.50 0.50 14,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00

Beverages-Brewers/DistillersChampion Breweries Plc 13.79 13.79 20 4.63 2.23 0.00 0.00Guinness Nigeria Plc 190.00 190.00 84,301 255.00 186.00 9.95 19.98International Breweries Plc 26.41 26.41 121,875 7.10 5.23 0.41 16.29Nigerian Brew Plc 150.85 150.85 3,378,679 100.00 72.50 5.08 22.22Premier Breweries Plc 0.77 0.77 10,000 1.01 0.93 0.00 0.00

Beverages-Non-Alcoholic7-UP Bottling Company Plc 90.00 90.00 8,097 51.49 ,39.00 2.69 13.92

Food ProductsDangote Flour Mills Plc 8.18 8.18 200,400 19.90 4.31 0.00 16.91Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc 9.85 9.85 1,131,777 16.20 4.02 0.91 14.38Flour Mills Nigeria Plc 68.49 68.49 1,098,837 95.00 57.00 4.09 16.89Honeywell Flour Mill Plc 3.70 3.70 574,785 6.60 2.31 0.39 16.92National Salt Co. Nig Plc 11.90 11.90 274,862 6.70 3.80 1.01 5.75UTC Nigeria Plc 0.53 0.53 38,647 0.88 0.50 1.13 8.83

Food Products-- DiversifiedCadbury Nigeria Plc 77.00 77.00 2,974,266 37.27 8.33 1.35 27.61Nestle Nigeria Plc 1,185.00 1,185.00 211,173 840.10 400.00 25.43 32.84

Household DurablesNigerian Enamelware Plc 32.27 32.27 60 36.19 33.96 13.89 2.44Vitafoam Nig. Plc 4.03 4.03 54,800 5.54 2.91 0.61 7.07Vono Products Plc 1.66 1.66 11,000 2.88 2.88 0.00 0.00

Personal/Household ProductsPZ Cussons Nigeria Plc 32.00 32.00 205,019 41.02 21.02 0.82 4.39Unilever Nigeria Plc 46.00 46.00 240,223 47.39 27.60 1.44 32.91

FINANCIAL SERVICESBankingAccess Bank Plc 7.41 7.41 5,568,797 12.39 4.70 1.42 8.73Diamond Bank Nigeria Plc 6.03 6.03 19,591,452 7.51 1.92 0.90 8.34Ecobank Transnational Incorporated 13.10 13.10 31,605,010 14.04 9.90 2.81 5.00Fidelity Bank Plc 2.11 2.11 6,124,714 3.47 1.13 0.43 7.93First City Monument Bank Plc 4.75 4.75 865,336 5.70 2.90 0.00 0.00Guaranty Trust Bank Plc 27.20 27.20 13,759,127 26.09 13.02 2.10 12.39Skye Bank Plc 3.49 3.49 22,361,420 6.50 2.65 0.71 9.15Sterling Bank Plc 2.62 2.62 11,771,597 3.05 0.80 0.54 5.43UBA Plc 7.20 7.20 9,593,981 7.69 1.64 0.67 11.19Union Bank Nig. Plc 10.35 10.35 504,983 10.60 2.34 0.00 0.00Unity Bank Plc 0.50 0.50 2,103,763 1.22 0.50 0.00 0.00Wema Bank Plc 0.99 0.99 2,525,595 1.75 0.52 1.34 0.43Zenith Bank Plc 21.25 21.25 29,699,488 21.49 11.96 2.09 10.24

Insurance Carriers, Brokers and SectorAfrican Alliance Insurance 0.50 0.50 100 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00AIICO Insurance Plc 0.76 0.76 1,207,472 1.11 0.50 0.50 22.20Continental Reinsurance Plc 0.97 0.97 245,313 1.03 0.58 0.14 6.79Cornerstone Insurance Company 0.50 0.50 4,410,491 0.54 0.50 0.02 27.30Consolidated Hallmark Insurance 0.50 0.50 150 0.50 0.50 0.50 10.00Custodian and Allied Insurance Plc 2.00 2.06 9,054,578 2.44 1.08 0.28 7.43Equity Assurance Plc 0.50 0.50 1,500 0.50 0.50 0.01 50.00Goldlink Insurance Plc 0.50 0.50 93,000 0.68 0.50 0.00 0.00Great (Nig) Insurance Plc 0.50 0.50 2,750 0.50 0.50 0.03 16.67Guinea Insurance Plc 0.50 0.50 2,200 0.50 0.50 0.01 50.00International Energy Insurance Plc 0.63 0.63 74,400 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00Investment and Allied Assurance 0.50 0.50 1,670,890 0.50 0.50 0.02 25.00LASACO Assurance Plc 0.50 0.50 10,500 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00Law Union & Rock Insurance Plc 0.50 0.50 3,200 0.60 0.50 0.00 0.00Linkage Assurance Plc 0.50 0.50 151,500 0.50 0.50 0.03 16.67Mansard Insurance Plc 2.32 2.32 5,098,821 2.59 1.06 0.16 16.19Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc 0.50 0.50 1,000 0.54 0.50 0.00 0.00NEM Insurance Co. (Nig) Ltd 0.77 0.77 5,074,189 0.81 0.50 0.37 2.19Niger Insurance Co. Plc 0.50 0.50 10,000 0.61 0.50 0.02 26.00OASIS Insurance Plc. 0.59 0.59 204,700 0.50 0.50 0.03 16.67Prestige Assurance Co. Plc 0.63 0.63 418,000 1.01 0.50 0.06 15.50Regency Alliance Insurance 0.50 0.50 200 0.50 0.50 0.04 12.50Sovereign Trust Insurance 0.50 0.50 1,000 0.56 0.50 0.09 5.65Staco Insurance Plc 0.50 0.50 1,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00Standard Alliance Insurance 0.50 0.50 30,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00UNIC Insurance Plc 0.50 0.50 1,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00Unity Kapital Plc 0.50 0.50 1,500 0.50 0.50 0.02 25.00Universal Insurance Plc 0.50 0.50 300 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00Wapic Insurance Plc 0.69 0.69 11,342,914 1.08 0.50 0.07 15.43

Microfinance BanksFortis Micro-Finance Bank Plc 6.27 6.27 1,000 6.00 0.00 0.04 150.00

NPF Micro-Finance Bank Plc 0.97 0.97 272,000 1.18 0.92 0.92 10.56Mortgage Carrier, Broker and SectorAbbey Building SOC 1.35 1.35 500 1.57 1.37 0.19 47.6 7Aso Savings and Loans Plc 0.50 0.50 185,447 0.50 0.50 0.02 25.00Resort Savings & Loans Plc 0.50 0.50 20 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00Union Homes Savings Plc 0.50 0.50 109,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00

Other Financial InstitutionsAfrica Prudential Plc 3.04 3.04 3,031,252 0.75 0.00 0.19 9.16Crusader (Nigeria) Plc 0.50 0.50 22,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00Deap Capital Management & Trust Plc 0.99 0.99 500 2.02 2.02 0.00 0.00FBN Holdings Plc 12.35 12.35 11,354,899 20.00 8.57 2.03 9.85Nigeria Energy Sector Fund 552.20 552.20 250 552.20 12.68 43.55Royal Exchange Assurance 0.62 0.59 212,000 0.78 0.50 0.13 6.00

Opening ClosingPrice Price Quantity Year Year P.E.

Company (N) (N) Traded High Low E.P.S. Ratio

Capital Market Daily Stock Market Report as at Friday, April 11, 2014

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Banking & Finance

UNVEILING: From left, Managing Director/CEO, SystemSpecs, Mr. John Obaro, Super Eaglesformer goalkeeper and Ambassador, Remita Corporate Champions’ Cup, Mr. Peter Rufai,Managing Director/CEO, Media Vision, Mr. Fela Bank-Olemoh and Executive Director,SystemSpecs, Mr. ‘Deremi Atanda during the trophy and logo-unveiling ceremony of RemitaCorporate Champions Cup in Lagos

Stanbic IBTCrelocatesOshodi branchAs part of efforts to take

banking services evencloser to customers’doorsteps, Stanbic IBTCBank, a subsidiary of StanbicIBTC Holdings, has relocatedits Oshodi branch at BrownStreet to a more accessiblelocation along the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway. The newbranch is strategically locatedclose to Oshodi bus stop tobetter serve the bankingneeds of residents of Oshodiand its environs.

Speaking on the relocation,Executive Director of Personaland Business Banking inStanbic IBTC Bank, ObinniaAbajue, said the movebecame necessary toaccommodate the growingneed to provide full financialservices in the Oshodi area.Abajue said the financialinclusion drive of the bankhas seen a rapid expansionof its operations withinOshodi and its environs,necessitating the relocation toa more conduciveenvironment for customers.

“Stanbic IBTC Bankcurrently has over 180branches nationwide withpresence in every state of thefederation. Our retailbanking business operates anetwork of over 2,500MobileMoney agents.

The rate of increase inprices of goods and

services will rise to 10 percentfrom the 7.7 percent recordedin February.

The rate, which is referredto as inflation rate has beenrelatively stable sinceOctober last year. From 7.8percent in October, it rosemarginally to 7.9 percent inNovember and 8.0 percent inDecember. Though itremained stable at 8.0 percentin January, it however fell to7.7 percent in February.

A Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) official howeverestimated that this declinewill be short-lived andreplaced by a steady rise inthe next six months. DeputyGovernor, Operations, CBN,Mr Kingsley Moghaludisclosed this in his personalstatement at the MonetaryPolicy Committee (MPC)meeting held last month. Hesaid, “While headlineinflation in February 2014fell to 7.7 percent from 8.0percent in January 2014,core inflation has inchedhigher from 6.65 percent inJanuary 2014 to 7.17percent in February 2014.Moreover, staff estimatesproject headline inflation ata range between 8 percentand 10 percent over thenext six months, based onfactors including fiscalspending and the impact ofthe planting season. Thisprojection clearly indicatesthat an inflationary threatremains real, and the beastof inflation is yet to be slaindecisively. The policyimplication is that the MPCmust maintain a tight

CBN official predicts 10%inflation by Julymonetary policy at this time.This is more so when weconsider the global conditionsnoted earlier.” Meanwhileanalysts at FinancialDerivatives Company (FDC),have predicted decline ininflation for the Month ofMarch to 7.64 percent.

The prediction wascontained in the FDC’sEconomic Bulletin publishedlast week. The companystated, “Based on ourmonthly analysis of thenational consumer price

index, we forecast amoderate decline in theheadline inflation to 7.64percent in March from 7.7percent recorded inFebruary. Our projectionreveals a slower rate ofchange in consumer priceswhen compared to the sameperiod in 2013.”

“Further to this, thecontinuous contractionarymonetary policy by the CBNis expected to keep inflationmuted in the near team. Also,the projection of a lower

inflation rate coincides withthe announced rebased GDPnumbers. Most countrieslook towards achieving ahigh GDP growth rate in a lowinflation environment. A highnominal GDP in a lowinflation environmentincreases the fiscal andmonetary policy options opento policy makers. As anattractive market, theincrease in capital flows willboost the external reserveslevel and enable the CBNbring down interest rateslater.”

President, AfricaDevelopment Bank Group(AfDB), Dr. Donald Kaberuka,will lead discussions onfinancial inclusion at theAfrica CEO Round-table &Conference on CorporateSustainability &Responsibility (AR-CSR).

The event, which is thefourth in series, will focus onFinancial Inclusion with thetheme: ‘The Intersection:Financial Inclusion, EconomicSustainability & SocialBenefit’. Scheduled to hold inJune will feature a keynoteaddress by Kaberuka.

In a statement announcingthe event, the conveners ofthe Conference, ThistlePraxisConsulting, said, “Thecorrelation between financialinclusion and economicgrowth has long been widelyrecognized. However despitebroad consensus on theimportance of access tofinance as a powerful povertyalleviation tool and

AfDB President leads discussions on financial inclusion at CEOs roundtablesubstantial financial sectorreforms in Africa, it isestimated nearly half thecontinents’ householdscontinue to be excluded fromthe formal financial sector’.

“Financial inclusion, whichadvances universal access toappropriate and affordablefinancial services, is crucial toinclusive growth. At the basiclevel, financial inclusion iseffectively a measure of theextent to which economicagents in an economy utilizethe financial servicesapparatus at their disposal toeffect the desired exchanges,and particularly, support thehighest possible activity inthe real economy.

Hence, the 2014 edition willseek to interrogate theintersection where financialinclusion fosters economicsustainability and enhancessocietal benefit. The financialindustry plays a critical rolefor society at large, serving

individuals, families,businesses, governments,civic institutions and otherstakeholders. The sectorperforms indispensablefunctions such as enablingfinancial inclusion,facilitating saving andinvestment, providingprotection from risks andsupporting the creation ofnew jobs and enterprises. Itis critical that the sectoroperates to provide thesefunctions for society in astable, sustainable way, andincreases awareness of itsactivities in this area.

In its annual tradition, theAR-CSR will again feature aseries of events such as: CEOround-table sessionsfollowed by a one-and-a-half-day conference; SustainableSolutions Showcase (anexhibition of eco-friendlyproducts and servicesolutions); Eco-Tourism,Sustainable Investment

Forum (hosted by the CrossRiver State Government);Networking cocktails & GalaDinner amongst otherinspiring and intellectuallystimulating activities.

Leaders from a variety ofsectors from far and widewithin and outside thecontinent will gather to sharetheir expertise andexperiences on an array ofbusiness and developmentsub-topics. They will also tryto identify what is missing:the pooling of the mostavailable heap of investablefunds possible from all nooksand crannies of the economy;how to channel the pooledfunds to attractive productionactivities, particularly those ofsmall-to-medium sizeenterprises which areestablished as the mainengines of economic growthand job creation acrosscountries.

Second set ofwinners emerge inEcobank’s promo

Ecobank has rewardedanother set of winners

that emerged from its Card 4Prizes promo’s secondmonthly draws that heldsimultaneously in Lagos, PortHarcourt and Abuja last week.The 15 lucky winnersemerged from a transparentelectronic draw witnessed byofficials from National LotteryRegulatory Commission(NLRC) and the ConsumerProtection Council (CPC).They went home withdifferent prizes includingsmart phones; Led TVs; airconditioners; home theatresand power generating sets.

According to Head, Cardsand e-banking, EcobankNigeria, Mr. Tunde Kuponiyi,the promo which was flaggedoff in February is graduallyachieving its objectives. Morecustomers of the bank nowutilise the alternativepayment channels thatincludes ATMs, Point of Sale(PoS) terminals and internetBanking.

By BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE

26 —Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014

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Banking & Finance

As part of its strategicinitiatives to drive

financial empowermentand boost economicdevelopment, First Bankof Nigeria Limited, isteaming up with the OyoState Government for theState Summit scheduledto hold from today.

The Summit themed“Oyo State: Right forBusiness” is organizedto highlight the variousopportunities that areabound in the state forboth local and foreigninvestors, as well asidentifying practicalsolutions to develop keystrategies that will serveas an integrated roadmap to achieving theeconomic transformationof Oyo State through aframework of privatesector partnership. Themain aim of the summitis to create an enablingenvironment that wouldattract business andinvestment opportunitiesin Oyo State fromstakeholders acrossboard, and alsostrengthen theprogressive partnershipbetween the stategovernment and theprivate sector.

His Excellency,Senator Abiola Ajimobithe Governor of OyoState will be on hand atthe opening ceremony todeclare the Summitopen. Other dignitariesand discussants expectedat the summit include;The South AfricanAmbassador to Nigeria,Mr J. N. K. Mamabolo;Nigeria’s foremostbusinessman, AlhajiAliko Dangote, GroupChairman FBN HoldingsPlc, Dr. Oba Otudeko,Dr. Oby Ezekwesili and Mr. Bismarck Rewane.

FCMB, Kano boost cashless policy with customised PoS terminalsThe cashless policy

has received amajor boost with FirstCity Monument Bank(FCMB), Limited andthe Kano StateGovernment partneringto launch customisedPoint of Sales (PoS)machines to fast-trackinternally generatedrevenue in Fagge LocalGovernment. The PoSmachines, which aresecure, easy to use andrun on customisedsoftware, have beendistributed to the taxcollection staff to ease

revenue generation inthe area.

FCMB in a statementannouncing thepartnership said,“Fagge localgovernment is taking thelead in theimplementation of thenewly passed 2014Kano State HarmonizedRates and Levies Lawthat aims at removing allambiguities hithertoexperienced by taxpayers by providingthem access to tracktheir tax records. TheFCMB PoS machines

will ensure effective andefficient tax collectionsystem therebyeliminating issues suchas multiple taxes andleakages in localcouncil’s revenuecollection system.

Handing over themachines to the localgovernment at aceremony held recentlyat Fagge town, FCMB’sZonal Head for theNorth-west Zone, Mr.Abdullahi Mainasara,explained that the Bankdeveloped the taxcollection platform as

part of its contributionsto the success of thecashless economy andfinancial inclusionpolicies of the CentralBank of Nigeria. Headded that the,deployment of the PoSmachines to motor parks,markets and othercollection points, “willhelp to reduce leakagesin tax collections, boostinternally generatedrevenue (IGR), enhanceautomation, trackingand real time reportingof revenue collection”.

He said the PoS

collections initiative forFagge LGA, ‘’is also inline with FCMB’s focuson being a strategicpartner in helping ourcustomers grow theircollections andpayments and also buildcustomised solutionswhere they may not yetexist”. According tohim, the Bank hasconducted refreshertraining for revenuecollectors and other staffinvolved in the projecton the use andoperations of the PoSmachines as part of the

capacity buildingcomponents of thepartnership.

Mr. Mainasara addedthat FCMB wouldensure that thecustomized PoS revenuecollection initiative,which is being piloted inFagge local government,is extended to all the 44local governments inKano state. Hereiterated thecommitment of the Bankto further partner withthe local and stategovernments on otherinitiatives that wouldimpact the lives ofindividuals, businessesand the society.

FirstBankpartners Oyo toboost economicdevelopment


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28 —Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014

Homes & Housing Finance

JPMorgan profitsJPMorgan profitsJPMorgan profitsJPMorgan profitsJPMorgan profitsfall as mortgagefall as mortgagefall as mortgagefall as mortgagefall as mortgagebusiness fadesbusiness fadesbusiness fadesbusiness fadesbusiness fades

US banking giantJPMorgan Chase has

reported a sharp fall in profitsat the start of 2014, which itblamed on declines in itsmortgage business.

The bank said net income inthe three months to the endof March was $5.3bn(£3.1bn) - a fall of 19 percentcompared with a year earlier.Profits from its mortgagebusiness stood at $114m,down $559m from last year.

The figures mark the secondsuccessive quarterly fall inprofits at the bank. Profitsfrom its corporate andinvestment banking divisionstood at $2bn, down from$2.6bn just three monthsearlier. The results follow a2013 marred by huge legalsettlements over JPMorgan’smortgage practices prior tothe 2008 crisis. The “Londonwhale” trading scandal andother controversiesincluding legal costs relatingto the fraudster BernieMadoff also dented earningsin 2013.

JPMorgan chief executiveJamie Dimon still describedthe bank’s first quarter resultsas “good” given the industry-wide headwinds in bothinvestment banking andmortgages.

US mortgagerate inchestowardsrecord low

Average U.S. rates onfixed mortgages

declined last week, edgingcloser to historically lowlevels as the spring home-buying season begins.

Mortgage buyer FreddieMac said that the average ratefor the 30-year loan fell to4.34 percent from 4.41percent the previous week.The average for the 15-yearmortgage eased to 3.38percent from 3.47 percent.Mortgage rates have risenabout a full percentage pointsince hitting record lowsabout a year ago.

Refinancing’s share ofmortgage applications fellfrom 53 percent to 51 percentin the week ended April 4 - thelowest level since July 2009,the Mortgage BankersAssociation reportedWednesday. The increase inmortgage rates over the yearwas driven by speculationthat the Federal Reservewould reduce its $85 billion-a-month bond purchases,which have helped keep long-term interest rates low.Indeed, the Fed hasannounced three $10 billiondeclines in its monthly bondpurchases since December.

Investigations haverevealed that majority ofhome owners in Lagos

State, and in many other statesof the federation, have noCertificate of Occupancy (C ofO). A Certificate of Occupancyis a document issued by Stategovernments in Nigeria to aland/property buyer as a proofof ownership. A parcel of landor property without anauthentic C of O or equivalentcould be likened to a vehiclewithout an authentic vehiclelicence.

Individuals or corporationsseeking to buy land in Lagoshave several options: Theycan buy straight from thegovernment in the case ofgovernment acquired land orbuy from individuals who havebought from the governmentor buy from the natives(popularly known as Omoo’nile in Lagos), afterverifying from the authoritiesthat they are not illegallyselling government acquiredland. Whoever one buys from,you need to eventuallyobtain a C of O from the stategovernment to legitimize thepurchase, if the previousowner have not already doneso.

The following are the step bystep procedures anddocuments required forobtaining a C of O in LagosState for both State land andnon-State land:

Procedures for State landApplicant purchases and

submits application pack toLand Use AllocationCommittee (LUAC) andcollects acknowledgementslip; Applicant collects letterof offer of allocation (1 day);Applicant pays for allocatedland (within 90 days);Applicant issued with letter ofconfirmation with plot andblock number (Full paymentsmust be made before Plots &Blocks are allocated); SchemeOfficer processes applicationfor C of O, signs off on the fileand forward files to ExecutiveSecretary LUAC (5 days);Surveyor General providesScheme Officer with digitizedsurvey (2 days); ES LUACapproves processing and signsletter of allocation. ES LUACsigns off on the file, send fileto the Senior Special Assistantto the Governor on Lands (2days);

SSA (Lands) vets entire fileand sends file/application witha covering memo to thePermanent Secretary LandsBureau (2 days); If file has aquery, message is relayedback by notification;

Procedures, requirements for obtainingC of O in Lagos State

By YINKA KOLAWOLE

Our journey to home ownership, by LagosHOMS winners

Eleven new home ownerswho successfully met

the requirements of theLagos Homes OwnershipMortgage Scheme (LagosHOMS) collected the keys totheir apartments from theLagos State GovernorBabatunde Fashola recently.

One of the lucky winners,Mr. Amos Kimeh Omodunni,narrated his journey tobecoming a home owner inLagos with these words:“Everything worked just likeclock. I did not have to visitany office or talk to anyone.Everything that I needed todo to complete thatapplication was done just inmy office and I did not haveto move anywhere.”

Omodunni won a three-

bedroom apartment at ShittaEstate, Surulere, one of theestates purposely built by thestate government forownership by prospectivefirst time home owners onlyunder a mortgage paymentsystem.

Other lucky new homeowners are: Mrs. RukiatAbdulmalik, Mr. AdemolaOdujoko, Mr. EjirogheneTorishedu Madedor, Mrs.Yetunde OluwaseunAwopeju, Mr. Ajayi OmotayoJubril, Mrs. Ganiyat DolapoAkanni, Mr. Gbenga Owolabi,Mr. Chukwuneta John PaulOgbatwi, Mrs. Bibian AlobaKanayo and Mr. Ikpeh DanielDarligton.

Giving testimony on behalfof other winners after they

were handed keys to theirrespective apartments,Omodunni said the journeythat changed his statusstarted a few weeks ago whenhe came across the scheme onone of the social media sites.

According to him, he sawthe photographs of one of theschemes that were uploadedwhen the Governor visited theestate. Having read moreabout the Lagos HOMSinitiative, he said he becameinterested. That was how heapplied and followed theentire process through,online.

He explained that he wasfascinated by the non-complex procedure of thescheme unlike some otherhouse ownership schemes.

Certificate of Occupancy key for housing development

PS Lands signs off on thememo and sends file toGovernor (2 days); Governorapproves file andelectronically signs the C of O(2 days); If file has a query,message is relayed back bynotification.

Upon approval and signingof C of O, the Governor signsoff and sends file to the DeputyRegistrar for furtherprocessing (2 days); DeputyRegistrar processes filefurther, signs off and sends file

to Registrar of Titles for finalregistration (2 days);Registrar of Titles registersthe C of O, signs off andrequest for printing of C of O(1 day).

The whole process adds upto 21 days

Documents required forState land

Formal Letter addressed tothe Executive Secretary – LandUse and Allocation Committee,Block 13, Room 4, LandsBureau, The Secretariat,Alausa, Ikeja; StandardAllocation Form with Receipt- Lekki Pennisula Schemes,

Abijo Commercial andIndustrial (Form for PrimeLand); other areas (Form forGeneral); Four PassportPhotographs with whitebackground; Evidence ofpayment of Income Tax;Current Development Levy(In case of company, Evidenceof payment of Income Taxo f Two Directors andDevelopment Levy); SurveyPlan; All payment receipts ofLand Charges; VitalInformation Form.

Procedures for Non-State land

Submission of Applicationand Vital Information Formfor Certificate of Occupancy(by Applicant); Compilationof applicants names forpublication, Title Search forprevious Registration and SiteInspection (21 days);Certificate of OccupancyEngrossment (by LUAC);

Recommendation forexecution of C of O (by ESLUAC, SSA Lands & PSLands); Execution of C of O(by Governor); Stamp Duty (byCommissioner for Stamp

Duties); Registration of C of O(by Land Registry); andCollection of executed andregistered C of O (byApplicant)

Documents required forNon-State land

Formal Letter addressed tothe ES LUAC, Block 13, Room4, Lands Bureau, TheSecretariat, Alausa, Ikeja;Completed Certificate ofOccupancy Form with receipt;Land Information Certificatewith receipt; Four originalSurvey Plan (2 in cloth and 2

in paper); Four PassportPhotograph with whitebackground; Sketch Map ofthe Site Location; PurchaseReceipt Duly Stamped;Evidence of payment ofIncome Tax; CurrentDevelopment Levy. (In case ofCompany, Two Directors TaxClearance and DevelopmentLevy); Publication Fee -N10,000.00; CapitalContribution Fee subject to aminimum of N30,000.00;Building Plan Approval ifdeveloped; and Copy ofTenement Rate Receipt (ifoccupied).

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Aviation

Aviation experts havethrown their weight

behind the Minister ofPetroleum, Mrs DeizaniAlison-Madueke saying sheneeds a chartered aircraft tofacilitate her movementconsidering the nature of thejob of her ministry.Theyfurther contend that going byregular scheduled flights willslow down the minister ’smovement and consequentlymake her less efficient.

Recall that the House ofRepresentatives has beenprobing the PetroleumMinister over an allegationthat she “ has expended overN10 billion on charter andmaintenance of a Challenger850 aircraft.” However, theNigerian National PetroleumCorporation,NNPC, has

Airports need separatepower projects, saysNAHCO boss

Stories ByLAWANI MIKAIRU

NAHCO MD, Mr Kayode Oluwasegun-Ojo

Nigerian AviationHandling CompanyPlc. capitalized

recently marked 35 years incargo, aircraft handling,passenger facilitation, crewtransportation and aviationtraining. Part of the activitiesmarking the Company’s 35th

anniversary, saw theManaging Director, MrKayode Oluwasegun-Ojo,personally handling thecheck-in formalities of aLondon-bound VirginAtlantic Airways passengerMr. Michael Olusesi.

He thereafter fieldedquestions from Aviationreporters. Exceprts:

NAHCO is 35 years old.What has kept the companygoing?

Good and strong corporategovernance. The companyhas maintained strongcorporate ethical standards.We are a service provider andwhatever impression youcreate with passengers stayswith them and is passed onto others. So, it is imperativeyou maintain high standardand give customers valuedservices.

NAHCO is one of the fewcompanies that has beensuccessful after privatizationand is one of the few publiclyquoted companies inaviation industry. What is therelationship withshareholders?

We have tried to keep faithwith our shareholders. We area profit oriented company. In2005, NAHCO Aviance wasprivatized and subsequentlylisted on the Nigerian StockExchange in 2006. Thecompany is now owned byover 80,000 shareholders,including two internationalairlines — Air France andLufthansa; as well as localinvestors; Sycor PrivateInvestment Limited andRosehill Group NigeriaLimited. The company’s stockexchange symbol is“Nahco”.

We have always placed theinterest of our shareholdersfirst and we try to satisfythem. We pay dividends,though the shareholders willalways ask for more . We havethe confidence of ourshareholders. Theperformance of the companyon the stock exchange isokay.

Your company has a strongglobal alliance with Aviance.How has that impacted yourbusiness ?

NACHO has developedstrategic global alliancesthrough its membership ofAviance, the global alliance of10 reputable airport serviceproviders operating from 112stations in 17 countries. We

have a cordial relationshipwith our partners and wehave abided by the MoUs wesigned with them. Thepartnership has made us aglobal player and has helpedus compare our performancewith our foreign partners andkeep international standards.

In terms of training andequipment, how much hasthe company invested inthese areas ?

We have invested morethan $50 million in equipmentand training. The benefit oftraining is what has helpedus retain our internationalclients. In the last three to fouryears, we have invested morethan N500 million on localand international training ofour staff. We are a serviceprovider and so, training iskey. We provide value andbuild value through training.

When I took over as chiefexecutive of the company,most of the company ’sequipment were more than 20to 30 years old. In the lastthree years we have investedheavily in equipment and Iam proud to say that ourequipment are now less thanthree years old.

What is your share of theground handling operationsmarket currently ?

We currently control 85 per

cent of the ground handlingoperations in Nigeria. Thecompany currently servesmore than 35 airlines at sevenairports across Nigeria, withplans to expand operations toother African countries. Ithandles about 70% ofdomestic and foreign airlinesoperating in Nigeria.

You had issues with theNigerian Customs overimproper warehouserecords. Though the issueshave been resolved, what isyour relationship with theorganization now ?

Yes, we, along withSAHCOL, had issues withNigerian Customs over whatthey called improper recordsof goods in our warehouses.The issues have beenresolved and agreementswere signed. We have abidedby these agreements. We havea cordial relation with them.

What has been the biggestchallenges so far ?

Infrastructure problems atmost of the airports. Powersupply is the biggestchallenge. It has increasedthe cost of operations. We arehowever hopeful that withprivatization of the powersector, things will improve.We are also recommending tothe government that there

should be an independentpower project strictly for theairports. This will enhancepower supply to the airports.

Also as a leader in groundhandling operations inNigeria, we are target ofattack by our competitors. Weare however not aversed tohealthy competition.

Stakeholders fault mergerof aviation parastatals

Aviation stakeholdershave reactedfuriously to the

Federal government approval of the Steve Oransanyereport and the White Paperdirecting the merger ofNigerian AirspaceManagement Agency,NAMA, Nigerian CivilAviation Authority, NCAA,and Nigerian MeteorologicalAgency, NIMET, into a bodycalled Federal Civil AviationAuthority.

Former commandant ofNigeria Airport, Capt. JohnOjikutu, is of the opinion thatgovernment cannot merge aregulator with agencies it issupposed to regulate.According to Ojikutu“Whoever advisedgovernment to merge NigeriaAirspace ManagementAuthority, NAMA, NigerianCivil AviationAuthority,NCAA, and the

Nigeria MeteorologicalAgency, NIMET, must be fromanother planet. He probablyforgot to include FAAN in theappropriation to further takeus back to the era of self-regulation.”

“Oransanye must have beenwrongly briefed by some eggheads. How do you mergeoperators of the industry withthe regulator? This mergercompletes what Oduahstarted – bring the industryunder the jackboot of thegovernment. Must thegovernment drive the policy,regulate and operate theindustry? We must be in aworld of our own and out ofthe earth.”

“When we should get theprivate operators to investmore in the industry orcommercialise government operators like FAAN andNAMA as recommended inthe privatisation andcommercialization Act of2000, government instead isappropriating the industry toitself alone. Surely,government officials andpolitical office holders can notremove their eyes, mind andsouls from the hidden orsleaze funds in theseagencies.”

Chairman, Air TransportServices Senior StaffAssociation, ATSSSA MrEkanem Ekanem believesthat whoever advisedgovernment to merge theagencies does not wish thecountry well, as the mergerwill take Nigerian aviationsector some decades back.He said NCAA is anautonomous body and cannotmerge with service providerlike NAMA.

Petroleum Minister needschartered plane for effectiveperformance —Aviation experts

denied the existence of achartered aircraft for theexclusive use of the Minister.

Speaking exclusively withVanguard , an aircraftEngineer with the defunctNigerian Airways and currentexecutive member of AviationRound Table, Engineer SheriKyari said the nature of thePetroleum Minister ‘s jobdictates that she has access toa chartered aircraft to facilitateher movement.

According to Engr Kyari “the difficult terrain were oilcompanies operate needs tobe accessed by an aircraft andbeing asupervising minister overthese companies, the ministerneeds a stand by aircraft forexigent movement.


CMYK

CMYK


Agric

CBN releases N19.9bn GESS fund toboost agricThe Central Bank of

Nigeria (CBN) hasso far released aboutN19.9 billion under theGrowth EnhancementScheme (GES)’s CreditRisk Guarantee (CRG)meant to boostagriculture financing inthe country.

The apex bank,however did notapprove any GrowthEnhancement Scheme

Nigeria‘ll soon befree from wheatimporters—ADESINA

BY GABRIEL EWEPU

AS the federal government intensify itscampaign for 20 per cent inclusion of

cassava flour in wheat flour, the Minister ofAgriculture and Rural Development, Dr.Akinwumi Adesina said Nigeria will soon befree from the shackles of wheat flourimporters.

Adesina made the declaration whilecommissioning the official headquarters,buses, guest house and website of the NigeriaCassava Growers Association of Nigeria,NCGA, in Abuja at the weekend.

Adesina commended the achievementsrecorded by the NCGA and congratulatedfarmers for making Nigeria the world’s largestcassava producing and exporting nation.

He said the government was making franticeffort to place Nigeria as number one cassavaprocessing country in the world since it hadoccupied the position of number one producerof the commodity over time.

He assured Nigerians that by 2015, Nigeriawill surpass the target of adding 20 millionmetric tons of food to the national food outputset at the time of launching the ATA in 2011.

Adesina said: “I want to say that PresidentGoodluck Jonathan is excited with what youfarmers are doing because without food therecannot be national security. President Jonathanlaunching the Agricultural Transformation,ATA, just three years ago and his goal wasvery simple is to take Nigeria from a fooddependent to a food self-sufficient country andalso making it a food exporting country.

Nasarawa tasksextensionworkers, youthson bumperharvest

The Nasarawa stategovernment has urged

beneficiaries of the FederalGovernment’s motorcyclesand Knapsack sprayers, toensure bumper harvest andfood sufficiency in the state.

Mr Emmanuel Yaji, thestate's Commissioner forTrade and Commerce,commended thegovernment’s gesture duringthe distribution of 22motorcycles and sprayers toextension workers andyouths in Lafia.

The largesse was infulfilment of an earlieragreement reached betweenthe state government and theFederal Ministry ofAgriculture.

Alhaji Danladi Madaki, theCommissioner forAgriculture and WaterResources, said theagreement was to ensure thetransformation of theagriculture sector and toenhance food security in thestate.

Madaki lauded thegovernment for fulfiling itsown part of the bargain,adding that the motorcycleswould enable the extensionworkers to effectively monitorthe activities of farmers in thestate.

(GES)’s Credit RiskGuarantee (CRG) in themonths of January toMarch, 2014.

The Central Bank inits DevelopmentFinance Department(DFD) report forJanuary- March 2014disclosed that the sumof N134.61million waspaid to 61 projectsunder the Nigeria

Incentive-Based RiskSharing System forAgricultural Lending(NIRSAL) in the firstquarter of this year.

The Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk SharingSystem for AgriculturalLending (NIRSAL) is amechanism designed toprovide farmers withaffordable financialproducts, reduce therisk of financialinstitutions that grantthem loans, build

capacities of banks to lend to agriculture, aswell as develop an incentive mechanism forNigerian banks based on their commitmentto agricultural financing.

The report showed that one Credit RiskGuarantee (CRG) valued N2 billion wasissued during the review period. That tookthe total value to N16.272 billion in respectof 45 CRG cover issued from inception todate.

On the other hand, seven InterestDrawback Programme (IDP) claims valuedat N57.250 million were processed and paidduring the review period under the NIRSAL.That made the total Interest DrawbackProgram (IDP) claims paid under NIRSALto N124.769 million in respect of 22 projects.

The apex bank’s Development FinanceDepartment report on the CommercialAgriculture Credit Scheme (CACS), revealedthat from inception in 2009 to March, 2014that the sum of N228.093 billion has so farbeen released to the economy under theCommercial Agriculture Credit Scheme inrespect of 299 projects.

The CACS was established to finance largeticket projects along the agriculture valuechain. The scheme is being administered ata single digit rate of nine per cent tobeneficiaries for a period of seven years.State governments, including the FCT canaccess a maximum of N1 billion each for onlending to farmers’ cooperatives or otherareas of agricultural intervention.

A breakdown of the amount showed that itcomprised N199.831 billion released from

Legend promo 3kicks off

The 2014 edition ofLegend Extra Stout’s

Real Deal NationalConsumer Promotion,officially kicked off thismonth. The promotionwhich will last for twomonths will end in June2014.

Launched in 2012, thefirst edition of the promosaw hundreds of luckyconsumers winning prizessuch as TV sets, generatorsand millions of free LegendExtra Stout drinks, amongother prizes.

Last year, Legend ExtraStout however stepped upthe ante in the annals ofconsumer promotions inNigeria by taking 25 luckyconsumers to Dubai in theUnited Arab Emirates on anall-expense paid trip. Whilein Dubai, they shopped forgift items worth one millionnaira in value. The luckyconsumers were also takenon a special tour wherethey visited fascinatingtourist sites during theirstay.


CMYK

Tax Matters

This article clarifies theFIRS’ position onwhat constitutes

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

CITA states that “any tradeor business for whateverperiod of time such trade orbusiness may have beencarried on” shall be subject toCompanies Income Tax (Sec9(1)(a)). The profits of certaininstitutions are exempt fromtax under CITA, but only inso far as such profits are notderived from ‘trade orbusiness’ (Sec. 19(1) (a, b, c,e)). This means that theprofits of any organizationthat are derived from ‘trade’shall be subject to CompaniesIncome Tax. This raises thequestion, what exactlyconstitutes ‘trade’?

A definition of the word‘trade’ cannot be found inNigerian tax legislationalthough an attempt wasmade in PITA. Theinterpretation Section of theFifth Schedule of PITAdefines “trade or business” tomean “trade or business orthat part of a trade or businessthe profits of which areassessable under this Act”.

However, the issue hasbeen addressed in severallegal cases, the rulings ofwhich provide some legalcertainty regarding how thecourts interpret the word (seeSection 2). In line with theserulings, ‘trade’ can beregarded as “the business ofbuying and selling orbartering goods or services”.Furthermore, the one-offnature of an activity in no wayinvalidates that activity asconstituting trade. Thisinterpretation matches theapproach in otherjurisdictions, namely the UKand USA (see Section 3).

Case Law in NigeriaAlthough no explicit

definition of ‘trade’ exists inthe law, the issue has beenaddressed in several legalcases, the rulings of whichprovide some legal certaintyregarding how the courtsinterpret the word. The mostimportant case is that ofArbico Ltd v. FBIR, {1996} 2All NLR 303. The plaintiff inthe dispute, Arbico, hadacquired a plot of land,erected a building, and soldthe property at a profit. Thecompany was subsequentlyassessed for tax on theproceeds of the sale ofproperty The Companyobjected to the assessment onthe basis that the transaction

,

,

What constitutes ‘Trade’ for Taxpurposes: Guidelines for the GeneralPublic

was a one-off and thereforedid not constitute ‘trade’. Thecase was ultimately settled inthe Supreme Court. In theruling the Court laid downtwo important axioms:

•Firstly, that the word‘trade’ should be interpretedin its widest sense, inaccordance with its commoneveryday meaning;

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

In line with the ruling of theSupreme Court, the followingdefinition seems to capturethe common meaning of theword ‘trade’. Trade is “thebusiness of buying andselling or barter in goods orservices”(taken from Black’sLaw Dictionary, Eighth Ed.

(2004)).Treatment in Other Tax

Jurisdictions

In considering whatconstitutes ‘trade’ for taxpurposes it is useful toconsider how the issue isaddressed in otherjurisdictions.

In the UK, as in Nigeria,there is no statutory definitionof the word ‘trade’. HerMajesty’s Revenue andCustoms (HMRC) relies oncase law to formulate aworking definition. HMRCstates that “Usually, tradinginvolves the provision ofgoods or services to customerson a commercial basis”. As inNigerian case law, “Simplybecause a venture is a one-offor occasional does not meanthat it will not be treated astrading for tax purposes”. It isinteresting to note thatalthough the HMRCdefinition employs the notionof ‘commercial basis’, HMRCexplicitly states that whetheror not the profits of an activityare ultimately used forcharitable purposes is notrelevant for the determinationof whether or not that activityconstitutes a trade.

In the USA, the InternalRevenue Service (IRS)employs a similar approach toHMRC. IRS regards ‘trade’ asincluding “any activity carriedon for the production ofincome from selling goods orperforming services”. It isinteresting to note how IRStreats the trading activities ofan organisation that alsocarries out tax exemptactivities. IRS states that “anactivity does not lose itsidentity as a trade or businessmerely because it is carried onwithin a larger group of similaractivities that may, or may not,be related to the exempt

purposes of theorganizations. In otherwords, a single organisationcan undertake both exemptactivities and tradingactivities. This implies that anorganisation cannot arguethat none of its activitiesconstitute ‘trade’ just becauseit undertakes some exemptactivities.

Badges of TradeIn 1955 in England, the

Royal Commission on theTaxation of Profits and Incomein reaction to whether astatutory definition of tradewas necessary, said that“each case must be decidedto its own circumstance (1955Cmnd.9474 para.116) andsuggested badges of trade”which they considered to bethe major relevantconsiderations that willfacilitate in determiningwhether any profit is a taxabletrading profit or not. Badgesof trade refer to certainindicators that may be usedin determining the factualquestion as whether anactivity is trade or not. Caselaw has expanded it to 9. Thebadges of trade are:

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

•The number of transaction.Systematic and repeatedtransactions will support‘trade’. An isolatedtransaction may alsoconstitute a trade.

•Existence of similartrading transactions orinterests. Transactions thatare similar to those of anexisting trade may themselvesbe trading.

•Changes to the asset. Wasthe asset repaired, modifiedor improved to make it moreeasily saleable or saleable ata greater profit?

•The way the sale wascarried out. Was the assetsold in a way that was typicalof trading organizations?Alternatively, did it have tobe sold to raise cash for anemergency?

•The source of finance. Wasmoney borrowed to buy theasset? Could the funds onlybe repaid by selling theasset?

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

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

These ‘badges’ will not bepresent in every case and ofthose that are, some maypoint one way and some theother. The presence orabsence of a particular badgeis unlikely, by itself, toprovide a conclusive answerto the question of whether ornot there is a trade. Theweight to be attached to eachbadge will depend on theprecise circumstances.

FIRS PositionA definition of the word

‘trade’ cannot be found inNigerian tax law. However,the issue has been addressedin several legal cases, therulings of which providesome legal certaintyregarding how the courtsinterpret the word. In linewith these rulings, ‘trade’can be regarded as “thebusiness of buying andselling or bartering goods orservices”. Where one or moreof the criteria on the badgesof trade apply, FIRS will treatsuch transaction as trade.Furthermore, the one-offnature of an activity in noway invalidates that activityas constituting a trade. Thisinterpretation matches theapproach in otherjurisdictions, namely the UKand USA. The followingdecided cases are relevant inthis regard:

i In the case of Marlin VsLowry (1955)3 All ER 48; 11TC 297),

a person without previousknowledge of linen tradebought a surplus stock ofaeroplane linen fromgovernment which he sold tothe public in small lots. Heengaged employees for there-packaging and embarkedon sales” promotion throughextensive adverts andcampaigns. It was held thathe was trading.

i i In Murray Vs I .R.Comrs (1951, 32 TC 238),where a timber merchant whobought standing timbers intwo plantations and could notcut them due to labour cost,sold the rights to cut thetimbers to meet hisindebtedness. He wasassessed to tax on the profitfrom the transaction. Hecontended that the sale wasa capital transaction since itwas not in the normal courseof his business but it washeld that the transaction waspart of his normal trading asa timber merchant.

Kabir Mashi, FIRS Boss

A definition of theword ‘trade’ cannotbe found inNigerian taxlegislation althoughan attempt wasmade in PITA. TheinterpretationSection of the FifthSchedule of PITAdefines “trade orbusiness” to mean“trade or businessor that part of atrade or businessthe profits of whichare assessableunder this Act


CMYK

E- Commerce

Researchers have pushedout a fix for a security

flaw that affects as many astwo-thirds of all internetservers and could let hackersintercept encrypted trafficincluding e-mail messages,banking information,usernames and passwords.

The flaw and the fix, whichresearchers disclosed lastweek, involve a two-year-oldprogramming mistake inOpenSSL. OpenSSL is open-source software that is widelyused by internet companies tosecure traffic flowing betweenservers and users’ computers.SSL refers to an encryptionprotocol known as SecureSockets Layer and its use isindicated by a closed padlockappearing on browsers nextto a website’s address.

Samsung launches app that connectssmart phones, TV, tablets, othersSTARTING in South Ko

rea and the U.S. but soonrolling out globally, consum-ers will be able to connect andcontrol appliances, TVs,

VISIT: Mr. Hassan Bello, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, NSC (middle),flanked by Bamishebi Thompson, Authority Manager, Integrated Logistics Services, Intels (r)and Ishaku Shekarau, during Intels’ courtesy visit to NSC in Lagos.

Tobeit plans ‘Hackcess’ to combat ITsecurity threats

Tobeit Consulting, aninformation technology

firm said it plans to organizea technology conference andexhibition in Lagos that willfocus on combating IT securitychallenges in Nigeria.

The event, tagged ‘Hackcessfestival’ is aimed at bringingtogether ICT experts from theWest African region to comeand discuss issues andchallenges around IT security.

According to TobechiNdubuaku, Chief OperatingOfficer of Tobeit, “Hackcesswas born out of a desire tohelp educate corporateorganizations, both large and

medium scale companies andthe public on some of thoseburning technology areas thatare most times rarelydiscussed.”

He explained that, “TheHackcess festival will discussthe ‘Hacking idea’ in such away that has not beendiscussed in this part of theworld before. The conferencesat this festival will play hoststo some of the world’s mostreputable ICT companies whohave invested a lot in ITsecurity solutions and arespending a lot of resources onresearch and development tocurb most of the IT challenges

most organizations arecurrently undergoing.

The two day event willcreate a platform for ICTtechnocrats from the financialservices, oil & gas,telecommunications andSME sector to share theirexperiences and chart a betterpath of securing informationand the growing amount ofdata generated via moderntransactions. The challengesthat affect both public andprivate cloud have beenhighlighted as some of thekey issues to be discussed.

Microsoft,University ofNairobi releasesurvey on cloudcomputing

University of Nairobi,and Microsoft

technology, has released abaseline survey on cloudcomputing and its impact inKenya.The project was tomake stakeholders in Kenyaunderstand the status ofcloud computing and itssupporting technologies withthe intention of learning moreabout the future of thetechnology in Kenya.

According to the report,there is relatively lowawareness of cloudcomputing policy frameworkin Kenya by respondents andthat government would alsoneed to fast-track theenactment of key policiesaddressing cyber security,data protection and privacy inorder to increase confidencein the adoption of cloudservices in the country.

Kunle Awosika, Microsoft'sCountry Manager in Kenyanoted that an increasingnumber of companies andgovernment organizationsare turning to cloud servicesto increase the productivity oftheir workforce.

“We are seeing widespreadadoption of cloud-based emailservices and productivitytools like Office 365, whichenables “always-on” access toemails and files from virtuallyanywhere. Businesses arealso running CRM, HR,accounting and customenterprise applications in thecloud. Cloud computing canbenefit governments in threeareas: increasing nationalcompetitiveness, enhancingcitizen services and drivingdown costs,” he said.

Website securityflaw spurringcalls forpasswordchange

Rafael Afaedo wholeft Jumia.com,

Nigeria’s online retailer thathe co-founded recently haslaunched an online grocerystore, supermartng.com.

Supermart is a three houronline grocery deliveryservice that allows customersshop for groceries fromleading supermarkets inLagos.

Afaedor teamed up withGbolahan Fagbure, Jumia’sformer Chief OperatingOfficer to build the onlinegrocery store which willallow customers to buy itemsfrom various supermarketsall from the supermartwebsite, thereby saving themtime and money.

Raphael said he wasmotivated by, “knowing thatcustomers typically go tomultiple supermarkets tocomplete their groceryshopping.”

He said, “The Supermartallows customers easily additems from the multiple storesinto one basket and pay once.For the first time in Nigeria,customers will be able toselect when their order isdelivered to their homes or

Raphael Afaedor launches supermartng.comoffices, which can be in asearly as three hours.”

Supermart, he explained,aims to use customer serviceby using personal shoppers toindividually pick customerorders, select them carefullyand then have it delivered bythe firm’s delivery drivers.

“We have worked very hardto build a service we believe

will add a great deal ofconvenience to the lives ofpeople who prefer not tospend hours driving betweenvarious supermarkets,looking for parking spacs atbusy supermarkets andwaiting on queues to pay fortheir shopping,” co-founder,Gbolahan added.

smartphones, and tablets withlittle more than an app.

Samsung first demonstratedthe system and its possibilitiesat the Consumer Electronics

Show in January, and while ithas taken the company onlythree months to go from show-case to showroom, the futureof the connected home isn’there just yet.

Although downloading andsetting up the Android smart-phone app will give consum-ers control over a host of de-vices, said devices need to becompatible; the app won’t startmagically controlling the re-frigerator that’s been standingin the kitchen for the past fiveyears.

However, if you’re preparedto upgrade to the latest Sam-sung double-door smart fridge(the T9000), then you’ll be ableto operate it while at work, shutit down remotely while on hol-iday, and adjust its tempera-ture. Likewise, if your washingmachine is the latest Samsungmodel, then you’ll be able toprogramme wash and spin cy-cles to coincide with arrivinghome from the office.

Samsung says all of its 2014model smart TVs will also workwith the app and that beforethe end of the year, functional-ity will extend to cover its newrange of smart lightbulbs andits upcoming smart oven, too.

“We are excited that thelaunch of Samsung SmartHome makes the connectedhome a reality today and allowsour customers to live a smarterlife,” said Dr. Won-Pyo Hong,president and head of theMedia Solutions Center atSamsung Electronics. “Sam-sung Smart Home lets peoplelive better, worry less, and besmarter with their devices andappliances. We also havegrand plans to enhance moreand more parts of the homeexperience, especially with aview of expanding it to areaswith high-growth potentialsuch as home safety and ener-gy management.”

However, that’s for the future.The development of the con-nected home and its support-ing technologies is still at a veryearly stage, yet, consumersappear to be excited about theprospect of the Internet ofThings and about homes filledwith smarter appliances.



CMYK


International Business NewsMicro FinanceCommodity index

NASME faultsimportation of locallyavailable machinesStories byPROVIDENCEOBUH

The significance ofentrepreneurship

and enterprise creationin economic growth anddevelopment cannot beover emphasised, saidJanni Ibrahim,Chairman, LubconInternational.

He said that thedeveloped nations of theworld did not only applythe entrepreneurshiptheories but followedthem religiously toaccomplish the status ofdevelopment andindustrialization thathave made them theenvy of the world.

Ibrahim, who is alsothe President of theAlumni Association ofthe Nigerian Institutefor Policy and StrategicStudies (NIPSS), saidthese at the occasion of12th Conferment ofFellowship awardceremony of the Instituteof CharteredAccountants of NigeriaICAN. According to him,“The consciousintroduction ofe n t r e p r e n e u r s h i peducation into thecurriculum of our

The NigerianAssociation ofSmall and

Medium Enterprises,NASME, has called onits members not top a t r o n i s eimpor ted indus t r ia lmachines that are locallyavailable.

The association madethe call during anindustrial tour of FederalInstitute of IndustrialR e s e a r c hOshodi, FIIRO.

NASME Lagos StateChairman, Ladi Jemi-Alade, noted that SMEsare spending fortunesimporting machines thatare locally available inthe country. He stressedthat , “Economies growfaster with the use oflocally fabricatedindustrial machines.

“We are here to seemachines which insteadof buying from China,our members can buyfrom FIIRO. Most ofthe equipments imported

Lubcon chair hinges economicdevt on entrepreneurship

to Nigeria can befabricated locally.”

He noted that uses oflocally fabricatedmachines would reducethe rate ofunemployment in thecountry.

“If you buy equipmentfrom China, when theequipment has fault, yougo back to China tobring experts torepair it, thereforecreating jobs in China,but if you do it locallywhen it is bad you getsomeone from here to fix

it, you will engage ourunemployed youths andsave cost,” Alade added.

FIIRO DG, Dr. GloriaElemo in her responsesaid most of thetechnologies at theinstitute are targeted atthe SME sector of thecountry.

Represented by aDirector, Dr. PatrickIrabor, Elemoe x p r e s s e d t h eInstitute’s readiness topartner with SMEoperators to boost thenation’s growth.

facing serious slowgrowth, the emergenceof these newlyindustrialized nations isalso to the credit ofenterprise creation.

Meanwhile, ICANconferred fellowshipaward to about 491 of itmembers constituting 20percent or 7,489 of itsmembership strengthenof 38, 104, where itcalled for integrity andtransparency.

Mohammed explainedthat the promotionbecame necessary as aresult of the instituteeffort to meetglobalisation processestaking place in thebusiness environment.

He said, “The use of acommon accounting andfinancial reportinglanguage appliedconsistently willfacilitate investment andother economic activitiesacross borders at a timewhen globalisation ofbusinesses and financehas inevitably called fora common set of highquality globalaccounting standards.”

educational system, asmost of our childrenspend more time inschool, should be widelysupported.

All facets of our livesare touched bye n t r e p r e n e u r s h i pactivities, hence wecannot ignore thesignificance of this allimportant factor if wemust develop as anation. “In as much aswe all cannot beentrepreneurs in thetrue sense of it, we allcan however beenterprising andinnovative to affectpositively our variousjobs and services, be itpublic or private.

The wealth of theworld is gradually

drifting into the hands ofemerging countries,although the USA is stillthe largest in terms ofGDP, China and Indiaput together havecaught up with the USAwith their show ofconsistent growth overthe decade. While theUSA and the otherdeveloped nations are

L-R: Regional Sales Manager, Lagos, Mr. OlusegunAdekeye; Mr. Adeola Isaac, N500,000 winner inthe on-going Nutricima Mega Cash Promo andArea Sales Manager, Lagos North, Nutricima Ltd.Mr Ohu Abidoye during the second prizepresentation at Ikorodu

Advertising, Media& Marketing


Theatric performance thatdelivered Legend activation

STORIES BYPRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

It takes a plethora ofmarketing activities for abrand to get to the

market, some of theseactivities consumers are notprivy to. These actions areprivileged by few who witnessthe razzmatazz and glamourthat follow the arrival of a newor repackaged brand to themarket.

Despite this, consumers donot understand the word'Activation’, and what itstands for, yet, brands followthis route to the market.

The major reason for brandactivation according toexperts is to chart a newcourse for a brand in themarket. Through activationbrands extend their power ofcommunication, buildvisibility and memorability,also reinforce keyassociations. Other things, itdoes, is to unlock the latentpotential of sports andentertainment brand (s).

Like Paul Morel, PeterPreister and Andres Nystromput it, “brand a ctivationis not a theory, but a naturalstep in the evolution ofbrands.” A good example, isthe recent Activation’ ofLegend Stout from the stableof Nigerian Breweries Plc,and the NESCAFE FlightMug by Nestle Nigeria Plc,both of the creative ingenuityof Oracle Experience, an

Activation Agency, Led byFelix Eiremiokhae.

At the Legend Activation’night, beginning from thegate of the prestigious EkoAtlantic hall , which housedover 1,200 loyal consumers ofthe brand, the Activation’smirks of the trappings of aclass experience.

With the presence of thegorgeously dressed ushersthat welcomed guests with asmile, and the gentleapproach of the securitypersonnel stationed atstrategic positions at thecentre, gives a conclusion ofthe kind of Activation that theAgency has planned for theunveiling of the latest Goldneck Stout in the market. Thechronological display andflick by the dancers, the

historical perspective of theevolution of the Legend branddepicts the reason theActivation’ team threw in alltakings to see that the branddelivers on schedule.

The drama, ‘Bodi No befirewood’ depicts of a typicalexample of the brand’sstrength to conqueradversities in life and theconcomitant protection thatcan come from a reliable ally,the unity it brings whenfriends gather to celebrate anoccasion, the sound effect ofthe movie connects the brandto the consumer, all these putto gather is an attempt tocreate a route for the brand toexplore the market.

When Femi Kuti came onstage, he did not disappoint.He provided that legendarydisplay on stage dishing outhis popular tunes. He wasenergetic on stage, fullyusing the space as he sang.

Speaking on creating rightActivation’ to suit a particularevent, Henry Bamidele, CEOof Expression Impact said, “Iwitnessed the activationcreated by Oracle Experiencefor Nigerian Breweriesdistributors’ award.

Unilever’s Knorr fetescooksThe Knorr seasoning

brand from the stable ofUnilever Nigeria Plc hasstarted giving out cash andproduct rewards to viewers ofthe Knorr Taste Quest cookingcompetition.

The competition which isorganised to search forNigeria’s best in cooking alsodecided to reward viewerswho watch the show ontelevision with cash andprizes to the tune of N10,000.

To participate, at the end ofeach episode, viewers athome were to watch out forone simple question from theprevious episode, and sendthe correct answer to the shortcode given on the screen. Thefirst 20 correct answersbecome winners for that week.Hundreds of winners haveemerged nationwide, as theprogram is showing on majorstations across Nigeria

The Champion of thecompetition will win N2million cash prize, a Ford EcoSport SUV courtesy ofCoscharis Motors, andKenwood kitchen equipment.The second place winner will

get, N1 million cash prizeand Kenwood kitchenequipment and the third placewinner will get N500,000 cashprize and Kenwood kitchenequipment.

CAP names ‘TEAL’Duluxcolour for 2014

Chemical and AlliedProducts (CAP) Plc, a

subsidiary of UACN Plc andthe technological licensee ofAkzoNobel – manufacturersof Dulux brand of paint inNigeria has named ‘TEAL’2014 Dulux colour of theyear.

‘TEAL’ which is a deepblue-green colour; a darkcyan colour was unveiled asthe 2014 Dulux colour of theyear at an event witnessed bythe company ’s variousstakeholders groupsincluding top echelon of theUACN group, Trade Partners,customers and the Media.

CAP also used the occasionto introduce the newpackaging design (New

Livery) for Dulux premiumbrand of paint. The newattractive packaging design isavailable for the differentvariants of Dulux paint;Gloss, Weathershield andEmulsion.

Speaking at the event,Group Managing Director,UAC of Nigeria Plc, Mr. LarryEttah, disclosed that thetheme of the 2014 DuluxColour of the Year,‘Unlocking Potential’ is aninteresting one thatresonates with the times.

‘’We live in a time of greatchange. By taking a look atwhat we have, we can unlockthe potentials that surroundus and by so doing, ourdestinies,” he said.

Femi kuti and his band performing at the Legend RealvolutionActivation at Eko Atlantic Hall.

Customers as Captives (1)

R.T. Briscoe (Nigeria) Plc is one of Nigeria’sforemost distributors of Toyota cars, among other

things. It also offers after-sales support at its servicecentres strategically located in major cities. The companyhas been doing business in Nigeria for nearly 60 years.And it appears to have distinguished itself in the varioussectors of the economy it has ventured into.

So when the air-conditioning system of my Toyota carbegan to malfunction, it was a no-brainer for me to takethe car to R.T. Briscoe. Interestingly, the two customerservice representatives I met at the company asked meto deposit N15,000 before anybody could look at the car.I found that strange. I thought the company wassupposed to diagnose the problem with the car first, andgive me an estimate for the repairs for approval. At least,that was what I was used to, but I was a first-timer there.

I sought the rationale for the deposit and I was told itwas “management policy.” I sought to know what wouldhappen to my deposit if I decided not to fix the car. Iwas told the deposit was refundable. But I smelt a rat. Iknow how difficult it is to get a refund from a Nigeriancompany. Moreover, I didn’t see the sense in taking adeposit in the first place if it would

be refunded in full toa customer that decidesnot to go ahead with therepairs. While I wasstill trying to challengethat method of doingbusiness, a customerservice rep pointed outthat technicians werepaid on hourly basis.That “Freudian slip”settled the matter forme. Was it possible thatpart of the depositwould be converted toa “diagnosis fee” (forthe technician’s wages)if I decided not to fixthe car?

I didn’t wait to findout. I left in a huff andR.T. Briscoe lost mebefore I could becomea customer! I drove toMetropolitan Motors inIkeja. Thankfully, theapproach wasrefreshingly different.There was no talk ofdeposit. Instead, the

company quickly diagnosed the fault with my car andgave me an official estimate of almost N26,000 forapproval. I approved willingly. At least, I knewbeforehand what I was letting myself into. Workcommenced immediately, still with no talk of deposit. Infact, while the repairs were on, I dashed to a nearbyATM to get cash for the bill. After the car was fixed, thefinal bill was N1,000 less than the estimate. Again, Iwas happy with the approach at Metropolitan. But thatwas not all. One week later, someone phoned from thecompany to find out how the car was doing and whetherI was satisfied with the work done. You can guess myresponse. If you were in my shoes, which of the twocompanies I encountered would you rather do businesswith?

Let’s get to the point of this story. Why do somecompanies make customers part with money even beforethey know exactly what they are paying for? Is it thatsuch companies are afraid of losing out completely ifcustomers change their mind? Or do they believe thatthe best way to do business is to treat customers likecaptives? If that is so, then such companies have veryweak value propositions indeed. Those organisationsthat try to hold customers captive lose in the long run.

TO BE CONTINUED

I sought therationale for thedeposit and Iwas told it was“managementpolicy.” Isought to knowwhat wouldhappen to mydeposit if Idecided not tofix the car. Iwas told thedeposit wasrefundable. ButI smelt a rat

,

,


Email:[email protected], [email protected] page:www.lesleba.com/blog2Website: www.lesleba.comTel:0805 220 1997

Business & Economy

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

In the aftermath of theannouncement that

Nigeria’s current GrossDomestic Product (GDP) hadrisen to $510bn, the question onthe street was simply, that of,whether or not food will becomereadily available on the table forthe common man, and whetheror not the teeming millions ofNigerian youths who arecurrently unemployed willquickly be provided with jobs.

In the short term, the higherrevalued gross estimate of alllocally produced goods andservices will remainmeaningless to the micro-economy, as the higherrevaluation from a modestvalue of about $264bn wouldliterally not change anything. The wages of the man on thestreet will not also increase,neither will the purchasingvalue of his paltry minimumwage of N18,000/month;furthermore, quality educationand healthcare facilities willremain inaccessible to themasses, in spite of a muchhigher GDP.

On the long run, however, if the right enabling politicaland economic environment alsoexist, foreign direct investmentswill flow into the real sector,and this would ultimatelyinduce a positive trickle downimpact on micro enterprises aswell as the man on the street,and more jobs will be created,with the collateral of increasingconsumer demand, which willin turn, propel additionaleconomic growth.

In the rest of this article, wewill assess some of the othersalient questions that have been

The hype of GDP revaluation and matters arisingasked by concerned Nigerianson our newly acquired status asthe 28th-largest economy in theworld, with output that is, way-ahead of economies such asDenmark, Austria andSingapore, which arenotwithstanding, currentlypreferred destinations thanhome, for our frustrated andeconomically disenfranchisedcountrymen.

Let us first respond to thequestion of what rebasingactually means. The wordrebasing conveys a similarmeaning to the simple accountingprocess of revaluation. Thefigure of $264bn was theestimated value of all goods andservices produced within theterritory called Nigeria by 1994. However, 24 years thereafter, anew estimate of total currentoutput of goods and services hasnow been found to be above$500bn. The rise in total outputof goods and services isapparently attributable to theidentification of significantgrowth in sectors such as telecom,aviation, entertainment(particularly Nollywood), whichhitherto accounted for modest ornil values in 1994.

In addition to defining thestructure and the sectoralpotentials in each economy for thepurpose of properly guidingdevelopment, the size of acountry’s annual GDP also servesas a measure of comparison withthe relative size of the gross outputof other nations.

In the new GDP estimate,commercial services subsectornow contributes over 50% of totaloutput, while industrial andagricultural outputs have

similarly increased. Consequently, in view of thesignificant relative growth inthese sectors, it would bemisleading to continue to see thesize of Nigeria’s economy fromthe prism of the much lowerestimates of 24 years ago.

Indeed, in practice, GDPestimates are generallyreviewed around every five years,so that government plans will bepredicated on more current andaccurate estimates of theperformance of each economicsector. Some analysts mayhowever, observe that in theevent that average annualgrowth rates of 5% wereofficially reported between 1994and 2014, the rebased GDPfigure should be in excess of120% of the 1994 figure of$264bn!

Another frequently askedquestion is whether or not thehigher GDP will attract moreforeign direct investment toNigeria. Indeed, increasingforeign direct investment inthe real sector will certainlycontribute to expanding the GDPof the host country. This iswithout prejudice, of course, tothe fact that domestic investorscould similarly grow output ifthey had access to cheaper fundsand appropriate governmentsupport as their foreigncounterparts.

So, in reality, buoyant outputfigures may actually attractforeign investors, nonetheless,such investments may notnecessarily go into the realsector, if the economy is alsobedeviled by challenges such asa tortuous process of land

acquisition, extended process ofcompany registration, grant ofexpatriate quotas and multipletaxes, as well as the additionalchallenge of insecurity, wherethreats of kidnapping ofexpatriate staff also exist.

Furthermore, in spite of abuoyant GDP, popularperception of a corrupt publicservice would also create majorobstacles to the attraction offoreign direct investment intoour country.

In such event, despite theincreased GDP, foreign investorsmay decide to simply stay awayor at best decide on the less riskyinvestment of lending money toNigeria’s government at interestrates which will be considered tobe highly excessive andoppressive, for what is actuallya risk-free sovereign debt, whichshould normally attract lessthan 2% interest in successfuleconomies elsewhere. Thus, itmay be possible for a foreigninvestor to borrow from thoseinternational banks, which holdNigeria’s foreign reserves withlittle or no yield and for thissame investor to, thereafter,simply turn around to lend thesame funds to the Nigeriagovernment at over 12% interest!

Another question that has alsobeen asked, is whether or not theaverage Nigerian is now betteroff than his South Africancounterpart, and if investors willnow find Nigeria as a betterinvestment destination thanSouth Africa.

Nigeria’s reviewed GDP at$510bn is literally larger thanSouth Africa’s current GDP of$370.3bn, and this may give

those Nigerians, who have thenotion of competition betweenSouth Africa and Nigeriabragging rights, which mayinduce a psychological ‘feel-good’ sensation. Nevertheless,such ephemeral rights do notmake the average Nigerian to bebetter off than his South Africancounterpart, as the revaluedaverage annual personal incomeof the Nigerian worker is nowabout $2,700, compared toSouth Africa’s average personalincome of almost $7,000. Besides, the quality of education,as well as the facilities for healthand availability of other socialwelfare infrastructure, includingpower, remain much morereadily available in South Africathan in Nigeria.

Furthermore, foreigninvestors have previouslyperceived South Africa’seconomy as the largest in Africa;this perception as well as thepresence of other factors such assecurity and advancedinfrastructure, may still makeSouth Africa the first port of callfor foreign investors. Nonetheless, this preferencewould radically change infavour of Nigeria, if we are ableto put in place, politicalstructures that would engenderpeace and harmony, with atransparent and accountablepublic service that is committedto growing our economy, withmonetary and fiscal strategiesthat do not widen class inequityand further deepen poverty.

SAVE THE NAIRA, SAVE

NIGERIANS!!

The seasoning marketprofile penultimate

week grew with NestleNigeria Plc formallyintroducing the Chickenvariant of its Maggi range.

The Maggi Chicken brandis an extension of theMaggi family whichaccording to the company

Nestle grows seasoning market profilewas reformulated to meet thedemand of its consumers. TheChicken brand which formallyhit the market was witnessedby a cross section ofconsumers, distributors andprospective, who scrambled forthe distributorship of the brandat the unveiling ceremony inLagos.

Speaking, Guy Kellaway,Category Business Manager-culinary, said the brandcontinuously and consciouslyaims to bringing the bestproducts for consumers.

His words, “with the newmagi chicken cube added toour seasoning range, we aimto deliver the best chicken

seasoning in the market,delighting our consumers,rewarding our retail partners,whilst maintaining thehighest levels of quality thatMaggi is known for.”

Earlier, the Managing

Director of the company , Mr.Dharnesh Gordhon, had saidthat the launch of the newMaggi chicken cube will bringa renewed excitement to thecategory, to our retailers andfor all consumers.

In line with its tradition of putting smiles andhappiness on the faces of Nigerians, Maltina

- the premium non-alcoholic malt brand from thestable of Nigerian Breweries Plc - has rolled outstrategic plans to reward consumers andNigerians with freebies during the Lagos Carnivaland Black Heritage week.

Senior Brand Manager Maltina, AdewoleAdedeji, who revealed this, said most Nigeriansare aware of the fact that the brand is all aboutsharing happiness.”The Maltina story has alwaysbeen the story of sharing, friendship, togethernessand a good time with loved ones. We alwaysexplore avenues that bring people together in

Maltina Shares Happiness in Lagosan atmosphere of friendship. And whatbetter way to bring people together than byproviding them with what makes lifeenjoyable. That is the brand promise westand upon, that is why we want to makethis Easter celebration memorable for ourconsumers and Nigerians generally.”

The carnival themed ‘Lasgidi’ comes upon Monday April 21st, while the heritageweek is a weeklong event scheduled to holdfrom the 14th of April to the 21st with variousactivities designed to promote the culturaland unique heritage of Lagos State.


Nigeria pays Ghana N1.6bn for shortfall in gas supplyGHANA HAS received a

compensation of $10 mil-lion, about N1.6 billion, from Ni-geria over the failure of the latterto meet supply of gas agreementbetween the two countries.

The agreement required Nige-ria to supply Ghana with 123Million Metric British ThermalUnits (MMBtu) per day.

However, Nigeria has failed tomeet that target, supplying 30MMBtu/d and less sometimes.The Director of Planning andBusiness Development of theVolta River Authority (VRA), KofiEllis, told TV3’s Sandra Amar-quaye on Friday, April 11 thatGhana has been paid some dam-ages by Nigeria over the short-

fall as stipulated in the contract.“The contract already stipulates

some liquidated damages for re-duction in supply,” Mr. Ellis toldour reporter.

“I know that already we havebeen paid some damages for thereduction in supply.”

A recent visit of the Minister ofEnergy and Petroleum, Emman-uel Armah-Kofi Buah, to Nigeriaculminated in West Africa’s big-gest gas-supply nation promisingto supply a constant 50 MMBtu/d.

Mr. Ellis commended that in-tervention by government, admit-ting that inasmuch as Nigeriawould want to help Ghana, theyare also facing challenges.

“I guess the Nigerians alsoshare in our problems. They un-derstand. The unfortunate thingis that this is a commodity thatboth countries need for them-selves. So it is a matter of trying

to see how best you can help yourneighbor.”

He said the contract signed“many years ago” will not be ab-rogated though one party is fac-ing challenges in meeting the

Tank farm owners backDiezaniJETTY AND Petroleum Tank

Farm Owners of Nigeria(JEPTFON) has described as “ma-licious and deliberate” the mediaattacks on the Minister of Petro-leum Resources, Mrs DiezaniAlison-Madueke, by some peo-ple who rake up imaginary alle-gations of wrong doing against

her.According to the Association, in

a statement by Tolu Babaleye,Publicity Secretary, the Ministerhas sought to reduce corruptionand enthrone transparency in theindustry by continuously pushingfor the introduction of the remov-al of government subsidies on

fuel prices.“The Minister sup-

ported the discontin-uation of the subsidyon the grounds thatit poses a huge finan-cial burden on thegovernment, dispro-portionately benefitsthe wealthy, encour-ages inefficiency, cor-ruption and diver-sion of scarce publicresources away frominvestment in criticalinfrastructure,” JEPT-FON said.

JEPFTON alsostated that as keyplayers in the sector,“We are well placedto commend the Min-ister for the landmarkchanges she hasmade in the Ministryand in the oil and gassector.”

The Association de-clared its support forthe “innovative andeffective leadershipthat the Minister hasbrought to bear in thesector.”

Continuing, it said,“The achievements,such as local contentgrowth, indigenouscompanies partici-pating at par with in-ternational players,among others, cham-pioned by the minis-ter, are lost in thenoise.

“All the gains madein gas-to-power andthe attempts by theminister, to repositionthe industry with thePIB are lost in the ca-cophony of mis-placed headlines ofjet chartering.

“We therefore warnindividuals who nev-er find anythinggood in the Ministerby always bringingup all conceivable al-legations against herthat their unfoundedattacks would furtherdamage Nigeria’sperception in the in-ternational scene.”

Nigeria'sunder-goingspiritualwarfare—Nebo

terms.The recent below-expectation

supply of gas from Nigeria hasbeen cited as one of the causes ofchallenges in the energy sector.

BY BEN AGANDE

ABUJA — Minister ofPower, Prof. Chinedu

Nebo, yesterday said Nige-ria was undergoing a spir-itual warfare but assuredthat the country would tri-umph at the end.

In a sermon, titled “Jeho-vah, the omnipotent is ourrefuge and strength” whichhe delivered at Aso Villachapel during a specialthanksgiving on the wed-ding of President GoodluckJonathan’s foster daughter,Faith, and her husband,Godswill, Nebo said de-spite the challenges plagu-ing the country, it was onthe threshold of a newdawn.

He said: “We are in spir-itual warfare and many donot realise this. Our mili-tary will continue to do theirwork and God will helpthem, intelligent agencieswill continue to do theirwork and God will helpthem."

2014 Budget:APC'ssilencedcritics

BY EMMAN OVUAK-PORIE

ABUJA — DEPUTYChairman, House of

Representatives Commit-tee on Sports, Mrs AyoOmidiran, weekend, saidthe passage of the 2014budget with the active sup-port of All ProgressivesCongress, APC, membershas finally silenced criticsof the party.

Omidiran, who repre-sents Ayedaade/Irewole/Isokan Federal Constituen-cy of Osun State in theHouse, debunked allega-tions that her party instruct-ed its members in the Na-tional Assembly to unnec-essarily delay the passageof the budget.

She made the clarifica-tion while fielding ques-tions from the House PressCorps when she appearedat the forum’s “Hot Seat”on Friday.


CMYK


CMYK


OPINION

,

BY JOHN AINOFENOKHAI

,Rebased GDP, World bank and Nigeria's realities

*Mr. Ainofenokhai, a public affairs commentator, wrote fromBenin City, Edo State.

FIRST it was the World Bank Country Director, Marie-Francoise Marie-Nelly who claimed that 100 Million

Nigerians were living in destitution. Then the Bank President,Dr. Jim Yong Kim while speaking at the Council on ForeignRelations (CFR) in Washington early this month, rated Nigeriaamong the world’s extremely poor countries. Dr. Kim’sgrouping of Nigeria in the same poverty bracket with the likesof India, China, Bangladesh, DR Congo, Indonesia, Pakistan,Tanzania, Ethiopia and Kenya, was hotly disputed by Nigeria’sFinance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. This is in spite ofthe fact that the country stands to benefit from the Bank’s policyaimed at ameliorating the economic hardship in those middle-income countries -- including a $100 billion increase in lending.

For a country that has worked hard in the past few years toreposition its economic growth indices -- and makingappreciable success of it –the World Bank’s exaggeration of thenation’s poverty level was rankling. It rankled mainly becauseof the premise on which the classification was done-- premisesthat are grossly inaccurate and easily disprovable.

Since 1990 when the nations Gross Domestic product (GDP)was last recalculated, strides have been made in various sectorsof the economy, so much that relying on the previousbenchmark was like constructing policies with obsoletestatistics. In recent years, especially since the coming ofPresident Goodluck Jonathan, a new drive has been given toexpanding the economy and reducing the level of poverty inthe country. Never before had the drive- to reposition the countryeconomically, restore the productive sectors and pull themajority of the population out of deep poverty- been given theimpetus it has received in the past four years.

The administration’s efforts at reforming the agricultural

sector has vastly increased production and created many jobopportunities, especially for the poor. Also, a sizeablepercentage of the Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P) is allocated exclusively to protecting the poor through differenttypes of social safety nets. The manufacturing sector has receivedas much attention as the entertainment whose growth thePresident has done so much to stimulate. In 2011 alone,President Jonathan made a grant of N3 billion to the Nigerianfilm industry otherwise known as Nollywood. It was part ofactivities to mark the 20th anniversary of Nollywood, and hesaid part the money will be used for infrastructure developmentin the industry. It is therefore not a big surprise that it hasbecome a factor in our overall GDP calculation, with potentialsto grow even bigger in the coming years.

When added to its deliberate efforts to stimulate exponentialgrowth in several other sectors, especially the power,telecommunications and industrial sectors, the size of theNigerian population that has exited the poverty doldrums inrecent time will be better appreciated. The President was righttherefore to have stated weeks back that the economy was on asure path to recovery.

The decision by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) earlythis week to rebase Nigeria’s GDP to better reflect the country’schanging economic configuration over the years, hasultimately validated the government’s claims to being thecontinent’s biggest economy. While the recalculation of theGDP to its present size of $510 billion has boosted the size ofthe economy by over 60 percent, it has also pushed the countryto the 26th largest economy in the world.

The question that naturally comes from the rebasing exercise

is: how does it affect the well-being of the ordinary man? Thisis a valid question considering that many have celebrated therebasing exercise as a ‘turnaround’ which, in real terms, it isnot. The most significant outcome is at best, the prospect thatnew parameters will emerge on which planning and policyformulation will be based. Not only does the rebasing nowfactor in fast-rising sectors like telecommunications, theInternet and the burgeoning film industry, it adds a new fillip toPresident Jonathan’s target of focusing the country to becomeone of the world’s top twenty economies by 2020.

Nigeria may still be significantly underdeveloped in terms ofbasic infrastructure but they are being addressed with the newimpetus by President Jonathan. Indeed, Nigeria was recentlyhonoured for meeting the Millennium Development Goal(MDG) of reducing people living in absolute hunger by half,well ahead of the 2015 target set by the United Nations. Hisadministration’s recent privatisation of the power sector is agiant leap in the quest to create the right infrastructure baseand enabling environment for the country to take the reins oftheir economic destinies in their own hands.

Being Africa’s number one economy, expectations are thatNigeria’s attraction for foreign investments which have receivedglobal attention will greatly improve. Nigeria which accountsfor about $5bn of the foreign direct investment into Africa in2013 alone obviously stands as the focal point of the MINTs,an emerging economic power house in the coming years whichinclude other countires like Mexico, Indonesia and Turkey.

THE Lamido of Adamawa, Dr.Muhammadu Barkindo

Mustapha, is turning out to bequite an outstanding delegate tothe ongoing National Conference.I can imagine, by now, hiscolleagues will stop their side-talks, whisperings andmurmurings whenever the royalturban is given the microphone tospeak. In the two recordedepisodes, when he addressed issuesarising in the gathering, he hasmanaged to ruffle feathers, raisedhackles and stoked ethno-religious temperatures, includinghurling an outright direct personalinsult at a colleague, Chief AyoAdebanjo, whom he accused of“ranting”. It beats me that theChairman of the Conference,Justice Legbo Kutigi, did notcaution or ask him to apologise toAdebanjo. I shudder at a situationwhere the situation were turned theother way round and Adebanjocalls the emir ’s obvious

Lamido’s Abuja gaffe

incendiary contributions a “rant”.It would probably get Hausa/Fulanis and Yorubas stabbing ateach other all over the streets ofNorthern and Western Nigeria,heavens forbid.

This highly ranked royal fatherseems fully dressed for battle. Thatis highly uncharacteristic andunbecoming. Right from our pre-independence conferences, royaltyand traditional authorities havealways formed part and parcel ofdelegates to our conferences. Theyhave to be there because they forman important part of ourindigenous civic culture.

Traditional and politicalestablishment lords, especiallythose from the North, have alwaystended to carry themselves withdignity and nobility in the public,

in politically charged forums likethe National Conference. In thepast, what you saw was a fewhotheads taking up themicrophone to breathe ethno-religious fire and brimstone, withsome of their colleaguespretending to prevail on them tobehave themselves. Meanwhile, itwas a well-orchestrated strategy tocow the delegates from other parts.This happened during the

Constitutional Conference calledby General Sani Abacha in 1994/1995. People like Engineer BubaGaladima exuded smoke andgranted explosive mediainterviews to press home theirnorthern and Abacha agendasagainst the counter-surge ofNADECO’s June 12 agitations. Infact, at a point, when I hinted hiscolleague, retired Col. IsaKachako, a delegate from Kanothat I was going to seekGaladima’s views on the quarrelbetween delegates ChiefChukwuemeka OdumegwuOjukwu and Prof. Jibril Aminu ata plenary session (which led to therumour that Ojukwu slappedAminu), Kachako pleaded withme:

“Please, don’t interview Buba

Galadima. He is too mad!”The Lamido, Barkindo

Mustapha, indeed, goofed when hesaid as follows: ““Mr. Chairman,I have observed that some peoplehave started jumping the gun bycommenting on issues likeresource control, resourceownership, etc. In this case, let mealso jump the gun to say that stateswhich don’t have oil should allowthe states which have oil to take a100 per cent oil revenue and stateswhich don’t have oil should takeland resource. That meansownership of land should revert tothose states and anybody whowants to use the land or thestructures in the land must pay rentsto those states or the traditionalowners of the land, for example,the FCT.” The most disagreeablepart of this statement is thereference to land in the FCT.

Constitutional abomination: Inthe first place, it is aconstitutional abomination foranyone to claim “traditionalownership” of the FCT. TheTerritory belongs to the FederalGovernment of Nigeria, which isexercising the sovereignty of thepeople of Nigeria over theTerritory on their behalf, in linewith Part 1 Chapter VIII Section298 of the Constitution of theFederal Republic of Nigeria 1999.It may be in the North Centralgeopolitical zone, but it is homefor all Nigerians equally, and thecentre of the nation’s unity. EveryNigerian lays equal claim to theFCT and no Nigerian group cangrandstand over the “traditionalownership” of the FCT to the pointof regarding it as part of their landresources to “control” and extractrent from other Nigerians.

Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, father of

up the Justice Akinola Aguda Panelto explore the possibility of movingthe capital. The panel merelyfollowed Zik’s prompting andsettled for Suleija (which is nowrenamed Abuja), which measuresapproximately 8,000 squarekilometres. Even if the conferencedecides on 100% resource controlon natural resources to include oiland land, the FCT will becompletely off-limits to anykingdom, state, or region as thecase may be for the purpose of rent.Certainly, I do not see how theLamido’s Yola Emirate will be ableto collect rent in Abuja!

Geopoliticalreality

All these ethnic and regionaljingoists and “gun jumpers” oftenlose their sense of proportion andgeopolitical reality in theirdelusional rush to make spuriousclaims on the National Cake. Onlythe federal government willcontinue to decide on behalf of allNigerians how land and otherresources of the Territory will beexploited and administered in theinterest of all.

When the Lamido made hisoutburst, he obviously meant to getback at agitators for resourcecontrol from the Niger Delta. Eventhough they often hyperbolicallycall for 100% resource control ofthe oil and gas resources both onland and in the nation’s territorialwaters, I am quite confident thatthey will be mollified if the sharingformula in the 1963 constitutionis restored. That is equitable, sinceit was used when the North andWest were economic giantsthrough agriculture. But when oil

started booming and spewingbillions of dollars from theterritorial grounds of the formerEastern Region, the defeat of theIgbos in the Biafra-Nigeria warbecame an opportunity for the restof Nigeria led by the North tooverturn the sharing formula, onthe ground that the oil wealthneeded to be used for “evendevelopment” of Nigeria. Where isthe even development?

Never Again: But if Lamido’sangry reaction to this agitation isupheld, the singular group thatwill be devastated and turned intoforeigners in their land will not bethe Ijaws of the Niger Delta. It willbe the Igbos. The Ijaws are feweverywhere, don’t mind their paper10 million population. They don’treally want to travel beyond PortHarcourt or Warri. Outside thesecities and, perhaps Lagos, theyprefer to travel abroad. Theirpresence in Abuja is becauseJonathan is sitting in Aso Villa asNigeria’s president. The NigerDelta people from the South-Southwill lose virtually nothing if Abujabecomes part of Lamido’s estatefor rent collection.

It is the Igbos, who have sunkbillions of dollars into housing andestate development in Abuja thatwill become Lamido’s overnightcontrived tenants! They ownmajority of the landed property inAbuja outside governmentalholdings. It will never happen!Abandoned property will neverhappen again in Nigeria!! Igboswill never build again for othersto steal. The Port Harcourt episodeis the last, and only because of thepeculiar circumstances of the civilwar.

Those daydreaming that timewill come when other enterprisingNigerians will build mansions andcommercial estates on primefederal territory and then run awaywill expire while waiting for theirheart’s evil desires to come to pass.

Let the delegates save theirenergy from such foolish anduntenable agitations and focus onthe mission for which PresidentGoodluck Jonathan assembledthem in Abuja: creating a newNigeria that will become one ofthe greatest and most prosperousnations in the second century ofour advent as a nation.

It is the Igbos, who have sunk billions ofdollars into housing and estatedevelopment in Abuja that will becomeLamido’s overnight contrived tenants!They own majority of the landed propertyin Abuja outside governmental holdings. Itwill never happen! abandoned propertywill never happen again in Nigeria!! Igboswill never build again for others to steal

N i g e r i a ’ sindependence andf o r e m o s tnationalist, was thefirst leader to callfor the movementof the capital ofNigeria away fromcongested Lagos to“a virgin land andan area in thecentre of Nigeria”.When GeneralM u r t a l aMohammed, asHead of State, set

VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014 — 45


VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014 — 47


,

,

ON President Jonathan’s perceived reluctance to

seek re-election?I played a key role in the

election of PresidentJonathan in 2011 and I am stillplaying that key role to makehim by the grace of God, thepresident of Nigeria again,to complete his eight years. Ido not think the president isreluctant to come out again tocontest, there is always a timefor every activity and he iswaiting for the right time tocome and declare to Nigeriansas he did in 2011. Thepresident surely will contest.

That he is contesting for thepresidency of this again for re-election is non-negotiable.Even if he was not going tocontest, we will draft him tocome and complete his eightyears. This is the first timesomebody from the South-South has come on board topreside over the affairs of thiscountry and I think it is onlyreasonable to allow him tocomplete his two terms of eightyears, particularly when he isdoing very well to take Nigeriato the next level.

How is he taking Nigeria tothe next level?

From 1960 to the time he tookover, power infrastructure wascompletely dead but he hasbrought in the private sector,there is a power master plannow on how Nigeria canget power so that we can keyinto the global industrial

2015: Why Jonathan must run—Orubebe•His re-election non-negotiableFORMER Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant inDelta State, Elder Godsday Orubebe, in this interview, spoke on why President Goodluck Jonathanshould be handed a second term in 2015 and his governorship pursuit among others. Excerpts:

gave their reports, I wasmarveled that a lot is beingdone in our educationalinstitutions.

Economic empowermentprogrammes are being put inplace for our young men andwomen to keep them engagedand employed. This presidenthas done very well in manyareas; talk about aviation andagriculture, there are a lot ofprogrammes being enjoyed bygrassroots farmers and todaypeople now see farming as a

opposition from the North,hence his reluctance to declarehis re-election bid?So many people do not actuallyknow the kind of president thatthey have. If you get close tothe president the way some ofus have been close to him, youwill know that the president isnot jittery but he is a presidentthat is calculating, a presidentthat believes in the rule of lawand that as a president of thiscountry, he needs to show goodexample and that is what he isdoing. He cannot come out todeclare now considering theregulations that have been putin place by INEC.

On chances of Jonathan atthe polls

Mr. President is going to winmassively. Nigerians arebecoming more aware, it is nota situation where somebodysomewhere is coming to tellstories.

Educationalinstitutions

They are aware that ourrailways have started working,our educational institutions aregetting attention, our airportsare better and agriculture isseen as a serious business now.For the sustenance of what ison ground, Nigerians willdefinitely vote for Jonathan.

good business unlike in thosedays when farming wasconsidered as a vocation ofpoor people. PresidentJonathan has done very welland he is moving this countryforward and my appeal to therest of the country is that Mr.President should be allowed tocomplete his eight years. Forme, it is not negotiable and Mr.President must have tocomplete his eightyears to give to Nigeria whatGod has invested in him.On comments that PresidentJonathan is worried by the

On his aspiration for thegovernorship of Delta State It is on and I am waiting forthe INEC’s timetable to declareto the good people of DeltaState that I am humbly willingto come and offload what Godhas deposited in me from thecouncilor level to thepresidency level.

With the people of Delta State,we are thinking of bringing anew concept of governance,concept of love and we allworking together.

Concept ofgovernance

We will take from the pastactivities of previousgovernments and build onthem to be able to contribute ourquota towards the developmentof Delta State.

On the necessity ofGovernor EmmanuelUduaghan embarking on newprojects a year to his hand-over

The only time GovernorUduaghan should stop workingis the day he hands over andthat is May 29, 2015.Government is a continuum. Ifthat is what they are sayingnow, then immediately afterswearing in and the man knewthat after four years he wouldgo, people would have

expected him to stop from thatday. The man has to work tillthat day. Governor Uduaghanhas been a friend right fromwhen I was the chairman ofBurutu local government areaof the state. He is man that iswell calculating. He startedvery well and he is finishingvery strong.

I cherish a lot of things thathe is doing, particularly thisnew programme, ‘Delta beyondOil,’ I think that is a nobleprogramme. Here you have agovernor, who is alreadythinking about the future of hispeople, there is nothing thatcan be compared to that.

Securedfuture

By the grace of God when Itake over from him that is oneof the programmes that we aregoing to run with to be able toprovide a secured future for thepeople of Delta State.

On whether he had mendedfences with Chief Edwin Clark

I never had problem with myfather and leader, so the issueof mending fences does notarise. Chief Clark remains myfather yesterday, today andtomorrow.

On comments that he is atwar with Clark over thestructure of PDP, especially inBurutu LGA where they bothhail from

I don’t think that is true. Firstand foremost, my leader is notinvolved in local politicalactivities. I think the problemwe have was that the chairman,who won the election from dayone had some issues with someleaders in Burutu LGA, thething changed and the manwent to court.

The leader was aware whenthey went to court and whenthey won the case I told thechairman that this is a familyactivity. Whatever we do inBurutu LGA, it has always beenmy style to go to the leader toask for direction and then I goand work with his directive. Inthe same way, it has been afamily activity, no victor, novanquished. I will soon meetwith my leader and whateverhe directs is what we are goingto do and that is what it isgoing to be.

I have always work with ChiefClark and I will continue towork with him, even in thiscase whatever he directs iswhat we are going to do inmoving the party forward inBurutu and beyond.

If you get close to the president the way someof us have been close to him, you will knowthat the president is not jittery but he is apresident that is calculating, a president thatbelieves in the rule of law

revolution. Today, the trains that were

dead over the years areworking, our roads are better.The East/West Road that wasmeant not to be completed isabout to be completed now,every arrangement hadbeen put in place.

In the education sector, thereis no government in recenttime that has given concern tothe education of young menand women. The other daywhen the education ministerwas having a meeting with thevice-chancellors and when they

•Orubebe:Interested or not, we will draft Jonathan to re-contest


HOW true is it that the stategovernment denied your party

the usage of the stadium?The refusal of the Ekiti State

government to allow the PDP use thestadium for our rally is a demonstrationof high level of political intolerance,because the stadium was built with taxpayers’ money. It is not a personalproperty of the governor.

Secondly, it simply demonstrated thatthe APC is afraid of the PDP. After all,the governor used the same stadium forhis campaign.

What was the excuse given?The excuse given was that only the

governor has the power to approve theuse of the stadium. This was containedin a letter written to us as a reply toour request and signed by one Mr.Dada. But embarrassingly, theCommissioner for Information, whoreacted to our cries said that thegovernor had no hand in the matter. Hesaid the power lies with the stadiumauthorities. You can see that gameswere played. We are still exploring otheravenues but we have told them if theyrefuse eventually, we may resort tousing the available federal highwaywhich belongs to the FederalGovernment.

Allegations of violenceI want to state here that the PDP has

never resorted to any violence. On thecontrary, APC members have beenattacking us. Our members have beenattacked and matcheted, by the APC,the records are there. It happened in

GUBER FACE-OFF:

Blame APC for violence — PDP

STORIES BY DAPO AKINREFON

Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Ekiti State,Pastor Kola Oluwawole accused the All Progressives Congress, APC, ofunleashing mayhem on the PDP.

AS the June 21governorship election in Ekiti State draws near, frontline political partieshave been engaged in war of words over alleged acts of violence.

both Ilejemeje and Ilawe.But the APC has equally

accused your party of beingresponsible for the attacks onits members and office atAjilosun

That is fallacious andridiculous. When Fayose wasbeing welcomed back to Ekiti,APC members attacked anyonewearing shirts that had AyoFayose on them. I was the onethat alerted the police andcalled the attention of theDirector of the State SecurityService that our members wereattacked along Ajilosun road.That was the situation. TheAPC has a record of causingproblems and accusingopponents at the same time.

Is it true that some membersof your party were the oneswho first attacked the convoyof the governor by throwingstones?

That is ridiculous, it is the highestlevel of fabrication. On that day, therewas no programme in the campaignoffice. Everybody was at Afao, thehometown of Fayose because he waspreparing to attend a meeting at Abujacalled by the president. It was after heleft that everybody went back to theirvarious local governments.

Campaignoffice

The only people here were aides ofthe candidate and a staff of the office,they came to park three campaignvehicles in the campaign office.Suddenly, they saw the convoy of thegovernor coming from Ifaki and stoppedin front of the campaign office.

When he stopped, some aides of thegovernor came down to have a briefdiscussion with the governor. After that,the governor moved but a bus carryingsome APC supporters stopped andsome persons alighted from the bus andstarted firing into the building. That wasexactly what happened. Nobody threwany stone, there was no event here.

I was amazed and surprised when Iread in the newspapers the followingday that over a hundred people cameout of the campaign office and threwstones at the governor’s convoy.

It was a fabrication. That is why I saidAPC is known for such lies andpropaganda. They will cause troubleand will also be the one to accuse othersof causing the trouble.

THE Kayode Fayemi administrationhas been criticized for not allowing

the PDP make use of the stadium for itsflag-off rally. What do you have to say?

I will not speak for the government ofEkiti State, I may be associated by the factthat I am the Director-General of GovernorFayemi’s campaign Organisation.Did they(PDP) go to the stadium authorities withthe application letter for the use of thestadium? There would also be a formalreply by the management of the stadium.It appeals to sentiments that Fayemi’sadministration denied the PDP theopportunity to use the stadium, everybodywill want to latch on to that.

But the truth of the matter is that theyhave not also given the same quantum ofattention to the response of themanagement of the stadium. I need to findout whether there was a previous booking,whether there was a need for maintenancework or there is routine maintenancealready scheduled. We paid for the usageeven as a state government. I don’t thinkpeople should politicise things that haveprocesses and procedures. It is publicutility and nobody will be stopped fromusing it and so, Kayode Fayemi could nothave stopped anyone from using it.

But the PDP has threatened to use thehigh way for its flag-off campaign,should it be denied usage of the stadium.How do you see it?

Why should anybody be prevented from

APC is a party of peace— DaramolaMR Bimbo Daramola is the Director-Generalof the Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation.Daramola is also member of the House ofRepresentatives from Ekiti State. He countersthe allegations leveled against the Fayemiadministration.

went with the campaign buses. On ourway back, they had vandalized theirvehicles. For the fact that we hadpolicemen in front of the Kayode Fayemicampaign office, they most likely wouldhave taken a shot at the facility.

Vandalizedcampaign vehicles

They removed all our banners and theones they could not remove, theyvandalized them. They vandalizedcampaign vehicles, the pictures are thereto show. Again, on our way back from arally, right in front of the Fayose campaignoffice, they began to hurl stones andmissiles at the convoy of the governor.They shot at a coaster bus and the splinterof the glass of the coaster bus entered theskin of one Babafemi Ologuntoye.

Was that why members of your partyretaliated?

One of the things people shouldunderstand in life is that, when institutionsbegin to get wobbly and do not live up totheir responsibilities, people will likelyresort to self help. And self defence is thefirst law of nature. Upon the firstpremeditated attack on the convoy of thegovernor, I had a press conference whereI challenged the security operatives, whatdid they do? They did not do anythingand nobody was arrested.

•Daramola

•Oluwawole

using the stadium? Howdoes it add strategic valueto Fayemi or the APC?There are different venuesthey can use and then, therecourse to federal roadsis senseless. I am notsaying it with restraints. Itis even irresponsible foranybody to say I will goand use a federal road, thefederal road belongs toeverybody anyway. Havethey tried to use analternative venue?

The APC accused thePDP of attacking its partysecretariat where vehicleswere vandalized but thePDP has its own version.

We should checkFayose’s antecedents.What was the input of theAPC to the PDP primaries?Was it violence-free? It wasnot. Their secretariat hasbeen there on Ajilosunroad for God knows howlong, no arsonist wentthere. All of a sudden,when Ayo Fayose becamethe candidate of the party,people went there.

The day he came intotown, we had started ourrally and so, we went toIlemesho and Isan for ourrally. All those who camewith their cars decided topark their vehicles and



Ukraine launches operation toclear pro-Russian separatists•As NATO expresses concern over violence

UKRAINIAN securityforces launched an

operation yesterday toclear pro-Russian separat-ists from state buildings inthe eastern city of Slavi-ansk, with dead reportedon both sides as Kiev com-bats what it calls an act ofaggression by Moscow.

With East-West relationsin crisis, NATO describedthe appearance in easternUkraine of men with spe-cialized Russian weaponsand identical uniformswithout insignia - as pre-viously worn by Mos-cow’s troops when theyseized Crimea - as a“grave development”.

Ukraine faces a rash ofrebellions in the east thatit says are inspired anddirected by the Kremlin.But action to dislodge thearmed militants risks tip-ping the stand-off into anew, dangerous phase asMoscow has warned it willprotect the region’s Rus-sian-speakers if they comeunder attack.

One Ukrainian state se-curity officer was killedand five wounded on the

government side in whatinterior minister ArsenAvakov called Sunday’s“anti-terrorist” operation.

“There were dead andwounded on both sides,”Avakov said on his Face-book page, adding thatabout 1,000 people weresupporting the separat-ists.

The Russian newsagency RIA reported thatone pro-Moscow activistwas killed in Slaviansk inclashes with forces loyal tothe Kiev government. “On

our side, another two wereinjured,” RIA quoted pro-Russian militant NikolaiSolntsev as adding.

Meanwhile, NATO’ssecretary general has ex-pressed concern overeastern Ukraine, drawingparallels with aspects oflast month’s seizure ofCrimea. Men reappear-ing with Russian weaponsand identical uniformswithout insignia was a“grave development,”Anders Fogh Rasmussensaid yesterday.

Pope poses for ‘selfies’ after PalmSunday homily

Pope Francis greets cardinals at the end of thePalm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s square at the Vat-ican,, yesterday. Tens of thousands of Romans,tourists and pilgrims have joined Pope Francis ina solemn Palm Sunday service in St. Peter’s Square.

POPE Francis, markingPalm Sunday in a

packed St. Peter’s Square,ignored his preparedhomily and spoke entire-ly off-the-cuff in a remark-able departure from prac-tice.

Later, he continued tostray from the script byhopping off his popemo-bile to pose for “selfies”with young people andalso sipping tea passed tohim from the crowd.

In his homily, Franciscalled on people, himselfincluded, to look into theirown hearts to see how theyare living their lives.

“Has my life fallenasleep?” Francis asked af-ter listening to a Gospel ac-count of how Jesus’ disci-ples fell asleep shortly be-fore he was betrayed byJudas before his crucifix-ion. “Am I like Pontius Pi-late, who, when he seesthe situation is difficult,washes my hands?”

He sounded tired, fre-quently pausing to catchhis breath, as he spoke forabout 15 minutes in hishomily during Palm Sun-day Mass, which solemn-ly opens Holy Week for theRoman Catholic Church.

Trial of Gaddafi officials tobegin in Libya today

THE trial for which Libyans have waited three

years opens in Tripoli to-day , when two of Muam-mar Gaddafi’s sons andthree dozen former officialsgo to court over a litany ofalleged war crimes com-mitted during the 2011 up-rising that toppled theformer Libyan president.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi,his younger brother, Saa-di, and former intelligencechief Abdullah al-Senussiare among key figures of

the former regime facingcharges ranging from mur-der to plundering state cof-fers. Also among the 38 de-fendants are former PrimeMinisters al-Baghdadi al-Mahmudi and BouzidDorda.

For prosecutors, it is achance to finally call to ac-count key members of theGaddafi regime for allegedcrimes committed duringthe uprising and the de-cades of dictatorship thatpreceded it.

•NATO chief, Anders Fogh Rasmussen

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…That I did not writelast week ...,

, In fact in the last three

years, the Women Game hastaken an inexplicable

plunge.

YES I did not.You may want to ask, “so what?” Exactly. For

one reason or another, Columnists fail to write reg-ularly. I try as much as possible to tell my bosses(Onochie and Tony) in advance, so that they canhelp me apologise to my readers.

Last week I got entangled in travelling logisticsas I was heading for my CAF inspection assign-ment, so I could not meet my deadline. Got a cou-ple of texts and mails, especially from this thisreader, who sent a text saying “ You did not writetoday”. I replied that I did not and apologized.

“ if I knew, I would not have bought the paper”That it was after he got home that he found out

that I did not write. Again I apologized.The series of text messages took a strange twist

when Godwin Iloh went further to say that with allthe “confusion going on in our house of football, Iwas anxious to read your version of the story…..”

Dear Godwin Iloh, I would have disappointed you.If I had written last week, I would have written onthe failure of our U17 women team to go past thequarter final of the World Cup in Costa Rica.

Whatever “confusion” people believe is going onin the house of football, is the creation of the media,anxious to unearth and sell “confusion” because“confusion” sells like hot cake.

Imagine a journalist daring to blame the NFF forquerying Coach Keshi! People have been sackedfor coming late to work!

Anyway, back to the issue of the day. I feel morepained by the ouster of the girls because through-out the time they played I had to stay awake from3am to watch them. I remember the very first night,how I was busy exchanging text messages with Pres-ident Maigari, Barristers Green and Musa, till thewee hours of the morning when the match ended.

The match against Spain was like a dream. Sud-denly, I did not recognise the Nigerian girls. Theywere as purposeless as the bench, bereft of ideasand the disgrace was telling, in a competition wherecertain girls from Venezuela, played like Trojans allthe way, so much that even in defeat, you had nochoice than to commend them.

I want to go a bit back in time to 1991, when FIFAstaged the first ever Women Championship in Chi-na PR. Of course, I was there, live. Reporting forChampion Newspapers, one of the first ever jour-nalist world wide to be accredited by FIFA to coverthe women game.

Those were the days of Ann Chiejine, Omo LoveBranch, Chioma Ajunwa, Florence Omagbemi andRachael Yamaha. I remember also Nkiru Okosieme,Rita Nwadike and Mavis Ogun among others.

In a group that had Germany,Italy and ChineseTaipei, though we did not win a match nor score asingle goal, we left China with high hopes of a

brighter future for our women game. Today, morethan 23 years after, we keep on qualifying from Af-rica but with no change in sight. In fact in the lastthree years, the Women Game has taken an inex-plicable plunge.

In 2002, FIFA introduced the U20 cadre and againNigeria has qualified for all editions till date. I willalways appreciate Egan Edat for taking us to thefinal in 2010 and Edwin Okon for the semi final featof 2012, yet when you look at the manner we lostthose matches, you will wonder why.

Then came the U17 competition in 2008 and againNigeria has been in all the four editions so far withnothing to show for it. Time there was when I was aserial critic of the NFF for not affording our teamsenough preparations in terms of friendly matchesand campings. Who, can raise a finger against theMaigari Board? This is a regime that goes borrow-ing to get teams adequately prepared for major com-petitions.

The U17 team in focus is a classic example. ( Al-ready, the male U17 and U20 teams are in the thickof preparations for their up coming preparations,thanks to the NFF ) when therefore I hear thingslike “The NFF must give the team all the sup-port…….” It gets on my nerves. Let any Coach sincethe Maigari regime came into power stand up andtell me that he or she did not receive any support orcooperation from the NFF. Yet when failure knocksNFF is always the whipping boy. When coaches messup, NFF must be the scape goat.

The weeks just gone by has been very interestingin the history of the game. Barrister Green and Al-

haji Muazu, board members all, have just comeback from a high level match Commissioners coursein Cairo where Electronic Management and Clublicensing system coupled with match evolvementand organization was extensively discussed.

President Maigari, his Secretary General andDr Ikpeme were in South Africa for a high levelFIFA/CAF seminar on Current Reforms and stand-ards in football governance, Optimising the bene-fits of FIFA’s development programmes and theRole of the Technical Director.

According to FIFA General Secretary Jerome Val-cke, the ultimate aim of such high level seminarsis to see an African team soon reach The WorldCup final.

Intellectual input, information in a game that hasbecome highly scientific and ………..yet when theseinformed and highly educated officials want to sitdown and add value to a game they have beenschooled in, the man on the street shouts “inter-ference” and the echo resounds on the roof of ig-norance.

In my four years as technical committee memberof the NFF, no coach has presented us with a soundtechnical report of his programmes and plans.Worse , are post match reports. You go for a matchor competition, come back and the Technical De-partment writes to you to present a report, youdodge and before you know it, the press has beentold to preach the ….gospel of “interference” If youdo not present a post competition report, how dowe progress? How do we react and preempt futureoccurrence?

But for the Falcons Coach Okon who tried some-thing last year, I REPEAT that No Nigerian coachhas been able to give us detailed report of pre andpost match analyses. Worse are competition pro-grammes, yet those who have gone to school, whowant to help ameliorate the standard of football intheir country are told to “ back off ”.

It will not happen because they will not. theyhave the responsibility of organising football hereand so far they have succeeded immensely.

When next the Technical Committee meets theU17 women coach should be summoned to explainhow he wasted our time and money to lead us tothe altar of disgrace. All the coaches preparing forcompetitions should come and present their pro-grammes and tell us how they want to go aboutprosecuting them. We cannot allow coaches to dowhat they please, after they fail, we now step inand “sack them” No, that is defeatist. We shouldnot sit on the fence and wait for the “I told you so”declaration. We should help them to succeed.

The era of “God willing” is gone. Heavens helpthose who help themselves.

See you next week

Maigari explains partnership with Orlean

NFF President Aminu Maigari (second left),flanked by Director of Orlean Invest and Vice Pres-ident of Croatian FA, Capt.Damir Miskovic (mid-dle) and Consultant Aminu Balele (left). Right isOrlean Invest Technical Adviser Bojour Majetevicand second right is Kumbi Titiloye, Sole Adminis-trator of Abuja Football Academy.

PRESIDENT of Nigeria Football Fed-

eration, Alhaji AminuMaigari, at theweekend described as ahuge boost to Nigeriafootball, the partnershipagreement that the NFFsealed on Thursday withPort Harcourt-based oilservices company, Orle-an Invest West AfricaLimited.

”I must say that thispartnership is a brilliantone. Orlean Investwill provide so manygood things for Nigeriafootball. This is atechnical partnershipthat is a win-win situa-

tion for our country.Certainly, the partner-ship with Orlean InvestWest Africa is a water-shed in the history ofNigeria football.”

Reiterating that foot-ball is the most potentweapon for unifying thepeoples of Nigeriaacross geographical,ethnic and religious di-vides,

Maigari praised Orle-an Invest’s strong com-mitment to the project asdemonstrated in the pa-tience and understand-ing they exhibited beforethe agreement wassealed.

Warri Tennis clinic thrillsDelta government officials

THE individual skilldisplayed by

school children takingpart in the on-goingWarri tennis clinic isthrilling officials of Del-ta State Sports Commis-sion.

Over 300 childrendrawn from variousschools in Warri and en-virons are doing battle inthe clinic, a youth devel-opment exercise meantto teach children the ba-sic techniques about ten-nis. It is taking place atthe Shell Club, Ogunnu,

•Ten kids may make trip to South AfricaWarri and being organ-ized by Iso-Black Con-cept, a Logos based out-fit.

The Chairman of DeltaSports Commission, Ama-ju Pinnick, paid a surprisevisit to the venue at theweekend and wasshocked by the level ofindividual skill displayedby the kids.

Pinnick, an ardent ten-nis fan, showered praiseson the organisers, prom-ising to give them all nec-essary assistant whenev-er the need arises.


The biggest omissionfrom the list - that con-sists of 26 players fromIran’s domestic leagueand two players fromPersian Gulf leagues - isAli Karimi, highly pop-ular experienced mid-fielder dubbed “the Ma-radona of Asia”, who re-tired from internationalfootball in 2013 but re-cently changed his mindin hope for World Cupcall-up.

Two other veteranplaymakers - MojtabaJabbari and MohammadNouri - were alsodropped, as Queirozopted for fresh faces likeFoolad’s captain, Ba-khtiar Rahmani.

Several Europe-basedplayers - such as

IranContinues from BP Ashkan Dejagah and

Reza Ghoochannejhad -will join the team in Mayfor the next stage ofpreparations in Austria.

The 23-day pre-WorldCup camp will start April14 and Iran will likelyplay a friendly matchwith Mozambique in thecamp.

Iran has been pittedagainst Argentina, Ni-geria and Bosnia andHerzegovina in the 2014World Cup.

Carlos Queiroz’s menwill face Trinidad andTobago in their finalpreparation for the 2014World Cup. The matchwill be played on June 8in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

Iran will play Nigeriain Curitiba on June 16.

already monitoring theprogress of players be-longing to their GroupF rivals.

“A lot of work is goingon with regards to do-ing espionage on Bos-nia-Herzegovina, Iranand Argentina,” Amadusaid.

“It is not like anybodyis sleeping whetherfrom the technical crewor from the NigeriaFootball Federation.Everything is being

NigeriaContinues from BP

done to monitor playersof Nigeria, players ofBosnia, Iran and Ar-gentina.

“We are watching andmonitoring the playersof all the other countrieswhether they are play-ing, the players that areplaying, those that areinjured, those that arehot like (Edin) Dzekoand those that are notdoing very well. A lot ofhard work is going onas we speak.”

GerrardContinues from BPthe Hillsborough tragedywas marked before kick-off.

City had hit back from 2-0 down to level it up andGerrard admitted that hefeared the worst, butCoutinho pounced onVincent Kompany’s poorclearance to win it for thehosts.

One-club man Gerrard,who conducted a rousingpost-match huddle withhis team-mates, called forcool heads but it wasevident how much theresult - which keepsLiverpool’s destiny in theirown hands - meant to him.

“It was emotional, but weneed to keep calm,” hetold Sky Sports. “We’ve stillgot four big games to comebut that means so much.

“When they got back intothe game, you fear theworst at that point. Nothing

is won yet, but that wasprobably the biggeststatement we’ve made sofar.”

First-half strikes fromRaheem Sterling andMartin Skrtel putLiverpool in theascendancy, only for DavidSilva to reduce the deficitbefore having a hand in theleveller, with his shotdeflecting off GlenJohnson and SimonMignolet.

But, with Liverpoolhaving regained the leadin the 78th minute,Gerrard felt the gamewould never end.

“That’s the longest 90minutes I’ve ever playedin,” he added. “I keptflashing back to how longthe clock took in biggames, cup finals I’veplayed before. It seemedlike the clock was goingbackwards.”

No change in Eagles’ pre-World Cup programme — NFF

NIGERIA footballspokesman, Ad-

emola Olajire, said atthe weekend that therehas been no change towhat has been streamedto the public previouslyas the Super Eagles’schedule leading to the20th FIFA World Cup fi-nals in Brazil.

”We have heard peopletalking about cancella-tion of the friendly withthe Senior Team of USA.Sincerely, we don’t knowwhere that is comingfrom.

”For avoidance ofdoubt, the NFF and itsOfficial FIFA MatchAgent, Jairo Pachon ofEurodata Sport hereby

re-confirm that the Su-per Eagles will regroupin London on Saturday,25th May, play Scotlandat the Craven Cottageground of English Pre-miership side FulhamFC on Tuesday, 28thMay and fly to the USAon Wednesday, 29thMay.

”The African champi-ons will play the SeniorTeam of Greece at thePhiladelphia Union Sta-dium on 3rd June andthen take on Team USAat the EverBank FieldStadium in Jacksonvilleon 7th June, before fly-ing to Sao Paulo on 11thJune.”

Jairo Pachon of Euro-

data Sport added: “TheUnited States provide uswith similar climate andtime zones as we willencounter in Brazil andmore importantly, pro-vide us with world classfacilities for both train-ing and accommodation,

for our players’ comfort.”This will give us theopportunity to providethe right atmosphere forour players as well asafford them qualitytraining facilities aheadof the FIFA World Cup.”

Serie ABologna 1 Parma 1Verona 3 Fiorentina 5Livorno 2 Chievo 4Napoli 4 Lazio 2Sampdoria 0 Inter 4Torino 2 Genoa 1

La LigaBetis 0 Sevilla 2Valencia 2 Elche 1

BundesligaLeverkusen 2 Hertha Berlin 1

Ligue 1Nantes 1 Guingamp 0

RESULTS

AHEAD OF GLASGOW 2014 COMMONWEALTH:

We’re working toward a gloriousouting — Ogba

THE President of theAthletics Federa-

tion of Nigeria (AFN)Evang. Solomon Ogbaover the weekend toldathleticsnigeria.com thatAFN and the NationalSports Commission(NSC ) are working hardto ensure a glorious out-ing at the Glasgow 2014Commonwealth Games.

Speaking after the Abu-ja Golden League heldat the Abuja NationalStadium on Saturday,Evang. Ogba said withthe federation’s pro-grams for the seasongoing according toplans, track and field

will not only make podi-um appearances inGlasgow, but better whatthey did in Delhi 2010where Ajoke Odumosuand Tosin Oke won goldmedals in Women’s400m Hurdles andMen’s triple jump.

THE house namedafter the President

of the Urhobo mediapublishers association,Prince Orhomonokpaye,has emerged the winner ofthis year inter_house sportscompetition of VictorySchool of Science andCreativity Sapele DeltaState.

The house emerged

Publisher’s house wins Victory Schoolsports competition

winners with 187 points tobeat green house who cameout second (2nd) with 128points, while purple housetook the third (3rd) positionwith 118 points.

In jubilation, studentsfrom the winning housematched through the majorstreets in Sapele celebratingtheir victory and laterhanded over the trophy tothe patron in his office.

•Ogba

ITTF African Junior Championship:Nigeria finishes as second best

ALL the 11 goldmedals at stake

at the InternationalTable Tennis Federation( I T T F ) - s a n c t i o n e dAfrican JuniorChampionship weremopped by host – Egyptwith Nigeria managinga second place at theone-week tournamentheld in Cairo.

From the start of thecompetition, Egypt wasobviously the favouritewith all its playersrecording 100 per centin all their matches.

Although, there weresubtle challenges fromthe likes of Tunisia and

Congo Brazzaville butthe Egyptians ensuredthat no foreignerspicked gold medals atthe championship.

From what happenedin Cairo, it is now clearthat there are no longerminnows in the game asnations like CongoBrazzaville and Angolaare now rubbingshoulders with thecontinent’s best likeEgypt and Nigeria.

Super Eagles at Afcon 2013



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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

Sudoku

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

VANGUARD,VANGUARD,VANGUARD,VANGUARD,VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014 MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014 MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014 MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014 MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORD

Iran runs to S/Africafor Eagles •Coach names 28-man

home-based team for W/Cup

CARLOS Queiroz,manager of Iran,

Nigeria’s World Cup op-ponents has named a28-man Asia-basedsquad for the tourna-ment. They will bejoined later by playersfrom European leagues.

Queiroz selected the

roster the day after theend of the season inIran - with the leaguewon in dramatic fashionby Foolad Khuzestan.

His 28 troops will nowtake part in a trainingcamp in South Africa.

Continues on Page 53

Nigeria monitoring WorldCup rivals THE Nigeria Foot

ball Federation in-sist they are doing theirhomework on the SuperEagles’ group oppo-nents at this summer’sWorld Cup.

NFF general-secretaryMusa Amadu has toldthe media that they areContinues on Page 53•Keshi

Team GP W D L GF GA GD PTSLiverpool 34 24 5 5 93 42 51 77Chelsea 34 23 6 5 66 24 42 75Man City 32 22 4 6 86 32 54 70Everton 33 19 9 5 53 31 22 66Arsenal 33 19 7 7 56 40 16 64

EPL Top 5

EPL RESULTS

Liverpool 3 Man City 2Swansea 0 Chelsea 1

Gerrardhails win

as‘biggest

statement’

STEVEN Gerrardhailed the

“biggest statement”Liverpool have made yetin their title bid afterSunday’s 3-2 win overManchester City.

The Liverpool captainhelped his side moveseven points clear of thevisitors, with PhilippeCoutinho’s late strikesealed a remarkabletriumph on an emotionalday at Anfield, wherethe 25th anniversary ofContinues on Page 53

JUMPING FOR JOY:Coutinho leaps into theair in celebration of hiswinning strike againstMan City. Liverpoolwon 3-2 to go top ofEPL table.

No change inEagles’pre-World Cupprogramme— NFF — Pg 53

ACROSS1 Grasp (4)4 Groove (3)6 Toboggan (4)9 Through (3)10 Ate (8)11 Cheese (4)14 Conifer (3)16 Viper (5)19 Restricted (8)21 Principle (5)23 Yearning (8)24 Vision (5)27 Gain (3)31 Staunch (4)33 Last (8)34 Wrath (3)35 Provoke (4)36 And not (3)37 Throw (4)

DOWN2 Space (4)3 Mail (4)4 Stayed (8)5 Neat (4)6 Rate (5)7 Guided (3)8 Delete (5)12 Rebuke (5)13 Fish (5)14 Healthy (3)15 Renovate (5)17 Lure (5)18 Waken (5)20 Inventor (8)22 Can (3)25 Proportion (5)26 Pointed (5)28 Image (4)29 Table (4)30 Niggle (4)32 Epoch (3)

ACROSS: 1, Pallid 5, Steady 8, Corvette9, Good 10, Wed 12, Drape 15, Set 17,Ego 18, Aft 19, Don 20, Draft 21, Awe 22,Sag 23, Elm 24, Rue 26, Enter 29, Pit 33,Stir 34, Interval 35, Trance 36, Letter.

DOWN: 2, Abode 3, Live 4, Deter 5, Sleep 6,Edge 7, Drove 10, Wider 11, Dense 12, Dodge13, Apart 14, Eater 15, Stamp 16, Treat 25,Utter 27, Noise 28, Extol 30, Inane 31, Iron32, Grit.

CMYK