...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 62406

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015**

Mr & Mrs

COLUMNISTS:

•P.19 •P.20 •P.14

Obasanjo'development'committee— again?

Sapped ofpower andenergy

•Says his wrong actions were not deliberate•I passed through 12 operations in one month— Patience•Reveals her sojourn in German hospital during election campaigns•Says she was miraculously healed after husband lost election

Continues on Page 5

Jonathan begsfor forgiveness By Ben Agande

OFFICIAL PORTRAITS OF BUHARI, OSINBAJO

•Muhammadu Buhari •Prof. Yemi Osinbajo See Page 9.

FUEL CRISIS: Why we createscarcity— MarketersAT FAREWELL SERVICE:

8

9

Banks at risk overprice slump,energy firms'indebtedness

16

Leadpoisoning:28childrenkilled inNigerState

A B U J A —PRESIDENT

Goodluck Jonathan,yesterday, pleaded withNigerians to forgive himand members of of hisadministration ofanything he might havedone wrong during theperiod that he pilotedthe affairs of the country.

He made the plea at aspecial thanksgivingservice organised by theAso Villa Chapel to bidhim and his immediatefamily farewell afterlosing the March 28presidential election to

MADE IN OSUN—From left: Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya; OsunState Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola; CEO RLGGlobal, Mr. Alex Lu; Regional Director, RLG WestAfrica, Tosin Ilesanmi; and SSG of Osun, Mr.Moshood Adeoti, during the media launch ofPhones manufactured in Ilesha, Osun State.

Buhari has noplans tocancelcontracts toex-militants,OPC— APC

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2 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

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Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 — 3

4 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

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POCKET CARTOONVanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 —5

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

Picture the abundance you desire freely flowingdirectly to you. Refuse to do anything or have anythought that compromises your alignment with thesource— Wayne Dyer

A LESSON from a course in miracle reveals thatinfinite patience produces immediate results.

To be infinitely patient means to have an absoluteknowing within you that you are in vibrationalharmony with the all -creating force that intendedyou here. You are in fact a co-creator of your life.You know that the right people will show up ondivinely ordained schedule.

According to Wayne Dyer, attempting to rush theschedule based on your own timetable is akin togetting down on your knees and tugging atemerging tulips shoot, insisting that you need theflower now. Remember, it is a law of life that creationreveals its secrets by and by not according to youragenda.

Know this too, the immediate gain you’ll receivefrom your infinite patience is a deep sense of peace.When you experience inner peace, it bringscontentment and this means you’ll stop makingincessant demands and you’ll start being on thelookout for the right person to connect the missingdots in your life.

Continues from Page 1

Jonathan begs for forgivenessthe candidate of the All

Progressives Congress,APC, Major-GeneralMuhammadu Buhari.He said that no man isborn perfect.

His wife, Patience, whospoke in a similar veindisclosed that she was inand out of a Germanhospital for undisclosedailment during thee l e c t i o n e e r i n gcampaigns and how shewas miraculously healedafter her husband lostthe presidential elecion.

According to PresidentJonathan, he may have

done things in particularways that may haveoffended some people butpleaded that suchactions were notdeliberate.

His words: “No systemis perfect. Every humansystem must have anelement of imperfection.For the past eight years,we have been herebecause, my transitionfrom Vice President toPresident was gradualand complicated.

“When the President(late President UmaruYar’Adua) had a majorhealth challenge, I ran the

affairs of the country forsometime. That was evenbefore the doctrine ofnecessity made me actingpresident. Then I tookover at first andconducted the 2011election which I won andI had to run my full fouryears as an electedpresident. So, for the eightyears that one has beenhere, definitely one is notperfect.

“We have certainly donethings we probablyshouldn't, but we didn’tdo those thingsdeliberately. So for thosewho we have offended, itwas not deliberate, it wascircumstances of the office.We also plead that thosepeople should forgive. Wethink we have done ourbest.

“You can do your bestand your friends maymisunderstand you. Todaywe are talking aboutleaving. It is only God thatknows why things go theway they do”, thepresident said.

Also speaking at theservice, the First LadyDame Patience Jonathancommended Nigerians forthe support they gave toher husband in the lasteight years.

She said their elevationto the present positionwas the work of God.

“I never thought in mylife that I will be first lady.I never dreamt of beingwife of a deputy governorbecause my husband wasnot a politician. But Godmade it possible and Godlifted us up from deputygovernor and here weare”, the First Lady noted.

She later revealed thatan ailment she wassuffering from that wouldhave required a majoroperation disappearedafter her husband lost theMarch 28 presidentialelection.

My Healthchallenges

—First LADYHer words: “Just two

years ago, I wentthrough operations uponoperations. Within onemonth, I passed through12 operations. It iswonderful. Some peoplesaid I was dead but Godresurrected me.

“During the campaignperiod, the devil struckagain. In pains, I wasrushed to a hospital inGermany and the doctorssaid I had to undergo amajor operation.

“I said, again? Theelectioneering campaignwas still going on and Iwondered how we weregoing to explain it toNigerians. You know,even when you go for acheck-up, they will bewriting all sorts of thingsin the papers.

“I said I and my familyhave to handle this. Myhusband will continuewith his campaign untilthe last day. That washow I went in for the firstmajor operation inJanuary.

“And by God’s grace Iwent for the operation andcame out. It was from thatoperation that I went tothe campaign ground.Then they said I had to gofor another majoroperation in a biggerhospital. I told them Iwould go. I said I havefaith in God and my Godwill see me through. Hehas brought me out for apurpose. I called mypastor to continue prayingfor me.

“I said again, theywanted me to be asacrifice, but I will neverbe. I went to the biggerhospital. I booked for theoperation and I was askedto go for the campaign.They gave me a new date.

“I had paid foreverything and whatremained was for me toenter the theatre. Thensomething happened.The doctors said, let’scheck her again. By then,my husband had lost theelection. I had startedpacking out of the Villa.

“Behold! I went to four

hospitals again and thething vanished. Mydoctors were surprised.They never thought thatcould happen.”

The First Lady thenurged the president'ssupporters to take whathas happened as an act ofGod.

“We should be gratefulto God for what he hasdone. To our followers,today it might not be toogood but I want them tobe grateful to God becauseyou have followed us fora long time. You know thisposition is not a life-longthing.

“There is no permanentthing. I want you to takeit in good faith. That it isthe will of God and youshould be praising God.God is really wonderful.”

Meanwhile VicePresident-elect, ProfessorYemi Osinbajo was absentat the occasion. He wasinvited by PresidentJonathan to officially takeover the Aso Villa chapelwhich is the worship placefor christians in thepresidential Villa.

Chaplain of the AsoChapel, VenerableObioma Onwuzurumbatold reporters thatalthough the VicePresident elect wasinvited to the event, hecould not attend.

Present at the eventwere former Minister ofInformation ProfessorJerry Gana; formerGovernor of Bayelsa State,Chief DiepreyeAlamieyeseigha and somecabinet members.

PRESENTATION—From left: President Goodluck Jonathan with the First Lady, Dame PatienceJonathan receiving a souvenir from the Chaplain Aso Villa Chapel, Ven. Obioma Onwuzurumba andhis Wife, Mrs. Martha Onwuzurumba during the Special Thanksgiving Church Service for the Firstfamily, at Aso Villa Chapel, State House, Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida.

Former Kogi Gov, Idris In road mishap

By BoluwajiObahopo

L O K O J A — T H Eimmediate past

Governor of Kogi State,Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, wasinvolved in an auto crashthat left him and histhree aides hospitalisedon Saturday.

According to aneyewitness, the ex-governor was said to bereturning from amarriage ceremony of theState Commissioner for

Budget and Planning,Ali Ajuh held at Idrisu inOmala LocalGovernment Area of theState when the incidentoccurred.

The former governor,who narrowly escapeddeath was riding in anSUV that when the frontwheel pulled out, andrammed into a stationaryvehicle at Ochadamujunction in Ofu LocalGovernment Area of thestate. The Hilux vanconveying his security

aides also crashed intothe vehicle, injuring alloccupants in the process.

The eye witnessaccount said the threesecurity men, whosustained variousdegrees of injuries wererushed to an undisclosedhospital at Ochadamuwhile the formergovernor was transferredto an undisclosedhospital in Lokoja wherehe is presentlyrecuperating.

CMYK

6—Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

5 monthsafterrobberies,Ondo banksrefuse to open

By Dayo Johnson LAGOS—A 29-year-oldmechanic, Bode David, is

yet to recover from being madeto spend a night with the corpseof his friend, late Ganiyu, anddrink the water used to wash it,to prove he was not responsiblefor his death.

It was gathered that theincident, which happened atIsheri Magodo, a suburb ofLagos, was executed becausebefore Ganiyu gave up the ghostin the hospital, he kept callingBode’s name.

Recounting his ordeal, Bode,an indigene of Ekiti State, amechanic, who specialized infixing Japanese vehicles, said:“I knew the late Ganiyu andWasiu in January, when I waslooking for someone to fix myfaulty Honda car.

“That was when Ganiyuintroduced me to Wasiu to fixmy car. After he fixed my car, Ipaid him N35,000. Since then,we have had no business exceptwhen our paths occasionallycrossed and we exchangepleasantries.

“On Tuesday, Wasiu called meat about 6p.m., saying theyneed my help urgently. He saidGaniyu was in the hospital andthat they needed money topurchase pints of blood anddrips, which was about N19,000.

“He pleaded with me to come.At about 7pm, without any ideathat Ganiyu was dead, I drovemy car to the junction of theirstreet, called him on phone thathe should come and collectN5,000, which was all that I hadto assist Ganiyu’s treatment atthat time.

“When he came to where Iparked my vehicle, he said thehospital was nearby, so wewalked towards where he saidthe hospital is located.

Deceived, beaten“As we walked, I began to

notice some strange movementin the vicinity as bad boys filledthe area, so I asked whereexactly the hospital was. Hesaid we are taking a short cutto the hospital.

‘’Eventually, the short cut ledto a compound. Immediately weentered the compound, peoplebegan to ask me what I knewabout Ganiyu’s death. I toldthem I knew nothing, but theydid not believe me, and theybegan to beat me.

‘’When they were beating me,a Baale in the area interrogatedme, told them to stop beatingme and to hand me over to thepolice, or they might beat me todeath and then have twocorpses on their hands. Butthey refused.

“After beating me, they forcedme to sleep on the floor in the

Bode. Wasiu.

‘I was forced to lie with a corpse,drink water used to wash it’

By Esther Onyegbula

same room where Ganiyu’scorpse was laid to prove that Ihad nothing to do with hisdeath. While they were beatingme, my phone and the moneyin my pocket got missing.

“When they discovered that Iwas still alive, they washed hiscorpse and forced me to drinkthe water. I refused but theyalmost killed me with anotherround of beating. When it wasobvious that I had no option, Idrank it.

“After I drank the water,someone who claimed that heknew me called the police. Thepolice took me to divisionalpolice station at Awoshika,before the case was transferredto Area F Command.

“I have nothing to do withGaniyu’s death. How would Ibe responsible for his deathwhen I had no problem withhim? All I want is forgovernment and Nigerians tocome to my aid, and bring thosewho meted this inhumanetreatment to me to justice.’’

My story—WASIUIn his defence, 33-year-old

Wasiu Fadairo, the mechanicwho lured Bode with the call thatbrought him to the house, said:“I am from Kwara State. Thelate Ganiyu is from my hometown.

“On May 12, Ganiyu wasstooling and vomiting blood, sowe rushed him to a hospitallocated along Oluwora Road,Isheri in Magodo. He laterdied, calling a particularname— Bode.

“After he died, we took him

home because none of hisimmediate family members orrelatives was available. Whenwe called them, they said theywere coming, so we kept hiscorpse inside his room.

“That same day, neighboursand people living around wereangry, alleging that the nameBode, which Ganiyu keptcalling before he died, wasresponsible for his death. Sothey began to call Bode’s phonenumber.

“When Bode did not come, Icalled him with my phone andtold him that Ganiyu was lyingcritically ill and needed bloodand drips, and that we need hisassistance.

“When he came, peoplebegan to question himconcerning what he knew aboutGaniyu’s death. Before he couldsay a word, they pounced onhim and began to beat him. SoI ran to call the police to comeand rescue him.

“After police rescued him, theylater went to where he parkedhis car and vandalized it. I was

there when they were beatinghim, but I was not there whenthey forced him to lie beside thecorpse and drink the water usedto wash it.”

Police storyConfirming the incident,

Lagos State Police PublicRelations Officer, DSP KennethNwosu, said: “Two friends wentout for a drink and one of them,Ganiyu, took ill after the outingand started stooling.

“He was rushed to thehospital for medical attention,but died in the process. Angryfriends and neighbours,suspecting the complicity ofBode David, descended on himand attempted to lynch him.

“He was, however, rescued byour policemen andinvestigations into thecircumstances surrounding thedeath of Ganiyu commenced atIsheri Division. But the case hasbeen transferred to theDepartment of Criminalinvestigation, DCI, Yaba, forfurther investigation.”

AKURE—BANKS inIkare towns in Ondo

State have refused to opentheir doors to customers inthe last five months afterrobbery attacks whichclaimed no fewer than 23lives.

Also in Owo town, bankshave closed shop sinceApril when another groupof armed robbers attackedfour banks, killing over 15persons, including sevenpolicemen.

Bandits, numbering over30, invaded Ikare town inDecember last year androbbed five banks in quicksuccession.

Scores of persons,including policemen,school pupils and innocentpeople, who were not in thevicinity of the banks, werekilled.

Among those killed was71-year-old Pa GabrielOgundipe, who justrelocated from abroad to hishome town after 25 yearsabroad.

The police stations in thetwo towns were the first portof call for the robbers, whodestroyed them beforeheading for the banks.

Similarities in the modeof operation of the robbersin the two towns swelledinsinuations that it was thesame set of robbers thatcarried out both robberies.

In the two operations,only seven of the robberswere gunned down duringthe Owo robberies and onecaptured alive.

N9.3 million wasrecovered in the Oworobbery, while none wasrecovered in the Ikarerobbery.

Vanguard gathered thatpeople in the affectedtowns travel to Akure, thestate capital, for bankingactivities.

A statement by the statePolice image maker, DSPWole Ogodo in Akure, said:“The banks recentlyattacked at Ikare and Owotowns have not been ableto open to customersbecause of their inability torenovate.

“Ondo State PoliceCommand, under the ableand competent leadershipof CP Isaac Eke, has sinceput in place all necessarysecurity arrangement toensure residents and banksacross the state go abouttheir lawful businesseswithout fear of threat fromany quarter.”

ILORIN—IT was tears andgnashing of teeth, Saturday

morning, at Owode market inOffa, Offa Local GovernmentArea of Kwara State, as traderssaw the ruins of their propertyworth several million of nairadestroyed by an early morningfire.

Vanguard gathered that the

fire, said to have startedaround 1:30 a.m., reportedlyrazed over 50 percent of themarket.

The inferno, according tosources, was caused by powersurge from an electric pole,which the traders were said tohave complained about toelectricity officials. But theyfailed to rectify it.

However, the spark occurred

Kwara traders mourn as fire razes

By Demola Akinyemi

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Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015—7

3 suffer acidbath as DSCtown,Orhuwhoruncrisisescalates

By Egufe Yafugborhi

again in the midnight,which started the fire thatburnt shops and items inthem to ashes.

Vanguard also gatheredthat fire service officialsbattled hard to extinguishthe raging fire.

It was learned that theyfailed because they couldnot go inside the market dueto lack of access road.

Offa market

CULTURE FOR NOUN: Gunjang dancers performing at the inauguration of National Open University of Nigeria,NOUN, in Bogoro Local Government Area, Bauchi State. NAN PHOTO.

3-yr-old boy kidnapped in Lagos church

IT was a bloody Sunday inSagamu area of Ogun State

as an operative of GlobalConcept Limited, one of thecompanies licensed by theFederal Government toprotect Nigeria NationalPetroleum Coporation,NNPC, pipelines, was shotdead, while one other wasinjured during a clash withpolicemen.

Four policemen have,however, been arrested inconnection with the allegedkilling of the operative,identified as Mufutau Jimoh.

It was gathered that theNNPC surveillance team wastaking impounded vehiclesfrom vandals to Mosinmideport when the team ofpolicemen intercepted them.

How it startedThere were, however,

different accounts as to howtrouble started.

A version said thepolicemen ordered therelease of the arrestedvandals and impoundedvehicle, thereby leading to anargument.

Another version saidofficials of the surveillanceteam allegedly attempted todisarm the policemen duringthe argument.

‘Policemen shot at us’The commandant of the

surveillance team, Mr. SeyiOduyoye, said: “We were takingthe vehicles we impounded fromthe vandals and the petroleumproduct to NNPC depot whensuddenly the police monitoringteam blocked us and opened fireon our members, killing one andinjuring another.

“When they were stopped by thepolicemen, they came out andshowed the policeman theiridentity cards, which werecollected by the policemen and anargument ensued.

“As we were trying to pacify thepolicemen, one of them broughtout his gun angrily and shot atthe driver at close range, whilethe other occupant in the vehiclewas also injured.”

One of the leaders of thesurveillance team, Mr. RasaqAdebisi, said: “On Saturday, weheard that the vandals wereplanning to carry out anotheroperation at Arepo. Then wedecided to lay ambush, instead ofattacking them.

“We succeeded in arresting twoof the vandals and recoveredabout seven vehicles fully loaded

with 50 litres jerry cans ofpetroleum product from thevandals.

“We are guided by law as asecurity surveillance team andwas taking the apprehendedvehicles and products to theNNPC depot at Mosinmi, whenwe were intercepted bypolicemen who opened fire ontwo of our men at Sagamuround about.

“I was surprised when one ofthe vehicle drivers was shotdead by the policemen. Ibelieve we are all fighting thesame cause.

”Immediately they shot andinjured our members, they allescaped from the scene andone of the victims, who wasseriously injured, is receivingtreatment at a private hospitalin Sagamu. “

Contracted policemenVanguard gathered that a

businesswoman (nameswithheld), who deals in oilbusiness at Arepo, was the onethat contracted the policemen tohelp her recover the vehiclesand the products from thesecurity surveillance team.

It was also gathered thatwhen the team impounded thevehicles and the product, thewoman bribed the security mento release the vehicles and thepetroleum product but theydeclined.

She was said to have thencontacted the policemen to helpher.

Officers arrestedMeanwhile, four policemen

have been arrested inconnection with the killing.

Police sources said officials ofthe private security firmattempted to disarm their men,who were on a patrol aroundthe area and in the process,the gun went off and the bullethit the deceased.

A senior police officer, whospoke on condition ofanonymity, said the policewould not condone any act ofindiscipline, explaining thatimmediately report reachedthe Police, the policemen whowere involved were arrested.

Efforts to reach Ogun StatePolice imagemaker, OlumuyiwaAdejobi, failed as he did not takecalls to his phone.

One dead as policemenclash with OPC in Ogun

By Evelyn Usman& Esther Onyegbula

W A R R I — T H Elingering territorial

dispute between residentsof Delta Steel TownHousing Estate of DeltaSteel Company, DSC, andhost Orhuwhorun in UduLocal Government Area ofDelta State, escalated overthe weekend with threepersons bathed with acid.

The victims, Mr. & Mrs.D. S. Afam, 79 and 68years, respectively, and anunidentified woman,allegedly suffered theacid bath, while severalproperty were alsodestroyed in reprisalattack, following amachete attack on anOrhuwhorun native bysuspected DSC Townshipyouths.

In the weekend’sreprisal, vehicles,tricycles, motorcycles,power generating setsand residential buildingswere damaged.

Relations betweentownship and hostOrhuwhorun have beentense since the blocks offlats belonging to DSCEstate were sold topensioners and workers ofthe moribund steelcompany.

Dr. Oputu Sherick,Public Relations Officer,National Task Force,whose official car wasdestroyed in the mayhem,said trouble started whena DSC Township gangchopped off one arm of anOrhuwhorun youth.

He appealed toOrhuwhorun traditionalauthorities to amicablyresolve the crisis before itgot bloodier, arguing thatthe desire of DSC Townshipto be autonomous of thecontrol of Orhuwhorun wasthe root of the dispute.

LAGOS—A three-year-old boy,identified as Emmanuel

Chibuike Ejiogu, was yesterdaykidnapped from the WatchmanCatholic Charismatic RenewalMovement in Palm Grove area ofLagos.

The toddler, it was gathered,

By Esther Onyegbula was discovered missing afterthe close of service.

Information at Vanguard’sdisposal revealed that hisabductors later put a call to thedevastated parents, demandingfor N700,000. A family sourcesaid after much plea, theyreportedly settled forN130,000.

As at 8.15p.m, frantic effortswere still on to rescue him.

A family source said: “Theparents have been able togather N120,000 out of theN130,000 demanded. Themoney was borrowed fromrelatives and friends.

“The kidnappers agreed forN130,000 after much plea.

They have told them where tokeep the money, assuring thatthey would see their child.”

Efforts to reach the Ejiogusfailed. A member of thechurch, who spoke oncondition of anonymity, saidthey were warned not to involvethe police or the press if theywanted to see their child alive.

CMYK

8—Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

Fuel crisis: Why we create scarcity—Marketers Railway yet to begin oil lifting

By Sebastine Obasi &Jonah Nwokpoku

LAGOS — THE lingering fuelcrisis may continue till the

May 29 handover date to Gen.Muhammadu Buharigovernment, as oil marketershave resorted to hoarding theproduct to force government topay the outstanding debts asclaimed, Vanguard learnt.

This is coming on the heels ofthe fact that the NigerianRailway Corporation, NRC, isyet to fulfill its promise to beginevacuation of petroleumproducts from tank farms anddepots in Apapa area ninemonths after.

It was learnt that marketersresorted to hoarding fuel due tofears that they might not be paidtheir outstanding subsidy claimsfor imported fuel, and as a result,decided to create the scarcity asa way of forcing the governmentto speed up the process ofeffecting payment of the subsidy.

A marketer, who preferredanonymity, told Vanguard thatit is better to hoard petrol so asto force the government to agreewith their terms before thechange in government.

He said: “My friend, we arenot sure what the incominggovernment will do with us asfrom May 29. We need to forcethe present government to payus our outstanding claims now.We love this country, but weneed to be sure we haveproducts now, because we do notknow what will befall us in thenext two weeks.”

Another marketer alsocorroborated: “We are all awarehow a new government behavesin Nigeria. There is uncertainty ofwhat the incoming governmentwill do with us as regards thesubsidy. If you were in our shoes,wouldn’t you make sure you getevery kobo owed you by thepresent administration? Whatbetter way can you do that than tokeep what you have?”

Vanguard also learnt that themarketers decided to createscarcity in order to compel thegovernment to pay them the lossesthey incurred when thegovernment reduced the pumpprice of petrol from N97 per litreto N87 per litre.

Marketers'subsidy claims

At the last count, themarketers, under the aegis ofMajor Marketers Associationof Nigeria, MOMAN, andDepot Petroleum ProductsMarketers Association,DAPPMA, claimed that theFederal Government is owingthem more than N200 billion asat February this year.

Executive Secretary of

MOMAN, Mr. ObafemiOlawore, painted a grimpicture of the situation thus:“The industry is bleeding.Our suppliers are at ournecks. Our members arefinding it difficult to bringin products."

Olawore doubted thesincerity of the FederalGovernment to pay thedebts before the end ofPresident GoodluckJonathan’s administration.

“At one of the meetings wehad with the Minister ofFinance, we told her that weare being owed N200 billionbut she insisted it was N131billion. The way to resolvethat figure is the timing. Shewas using the old figure butwe were using the currentcut-off date we had at thattime. She decided to set upa committee made up ofPPPRA, DMO, CBN and heroffice to verify the claims.Our opinion was that therewas no need to re-verifywhat has been verified byPPPRA.

“We thought it was just aploy to delay payment; it isa delay tactic. As at the timewe met, they had threeweeks for the regime to endand with that time framethere is no way a committeecan work. She specificallydirected them, but there isno way a committee will notdelay and get late. That iswhy we were notcomfortable,” he said.

He insisted that the issueof verifying claims shouldnot arise as the DebtManagement Office, DMO,had transmitted the cost tothe Minister of Information.

Olawore said thatmarketers had only beenpaid N154 billion contrary tothe claim by the Minister ofFinance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-

Iweala, that N156 billion waspaid. He also said there is thelikelihood that the fuelscarcity will continue if thefederal government did notcare to pay the marketerssoon.

Over-pricing andunder-dispensing

Meanwhile, marketers arenot only sabotaging theeconomy through hoarding,but are also engaged in allmanner of sharp practices,including arbitrary pumpprice hike and under-dispensing of product to reaphuge profits.

While pump price had almostmore than doubled at betweenN120 and N170/litredepending on outlet andlocation, quantity purchasedhad also reducedproportionately. Pumppressures have been soadjusted and manipulated toalmost half a litre for a regularquantity even at very high cost.

However, industry regulator,the Department of PetroleumResources, DPR, watcheshelplessly as no marketer hasbeen brought to book, even asthe situation escalates.

Trucks nightmarein Lagos

In addition to having to paymuch more for very much less,motorists and commuters werealso subjected to dailynightmares in and out of Apapaas at last Thursday by petroleumtrucks who take over thehighways to load products fromthe depots and tank farms locatedin Lagos.

Bucks have been passed backand forth among contendingstakeholders – the FederalGovernment, owners of thehighway; the Lagos StateGovernment, which reapsbountifully from levies collected

from the truck drivers and thePetroleum Truck Drivers, PTD,who claim they are not to blamefor the blockade of the highways.

Olawore noted that about 6,000trucks come to Lagos daily toprocure petroleum products. Thelarge number of tankers gettingto Lagos could be attributed to theinability of the railway tocommence haulage of productsto the Northern parts of thecountry.

Railway yetto lift petrol

Nine months after the NigerianRailway Corporation, NRC,expressed the hope that the trafficgridlock within the ports accessroads will be a thing of the pastas the corporation would beginthe evacuation of petroleumproducts from tank farms and oildepots, the situation hasremained the same.

Last week, The NRC said theyhave begun negotiations withMOMAN as well as thePetroleum Equalisation Fund,PEF, to begin lifting of petroleumproducts by rail.

Director of Operations, NRC,Mr. Niyi Alli, told Vanguard thatthe corporation had all thecapacity to lift 1.8 million litres,an equivalent of 30 truckloads ofPMS at once through rail, addingthat once discussions wereconcluded and all safety concernsresolved, lifting will commencein earnest.

He said: “The issue here is thatwe are trying to have a meetingwith the Major Oil MarketersAssociation of Nigeria,MOMAN, to iron out majorissues concerning lifting of PMS.The major issue has been aroundloading and offloading becausewe are talking about movingpetroleum products which isquite risky because of the natureof the product.

“We, as the Nigeria RailwayCorporation, have gone ahead to

do all the sidings for the majoroil marketers and have acquiredwagons which are to be used forthe movement across the country.In terms of the issues with themajor marketers, we havescheduled a meeting betweenthe NRC management and themajor marketers this week.

“We have also engaged the PEFto ensure that the price of PMSis maintained, in terms of thePMS movement. For us, it is allabout ensuring that all safetyissues are resolved. This isbecause carrying PMS is not thesame as carrying AGO. PMS ishighly inflammable. But thegood news is that allstakeholders are sitting aroundthe table to ensure that safety isnot compromised.

“At the moment, we have thecapacity to move 900,000 litres ofPMS, an equivalent of 30 trucks,at once. In all, we have two bigtrains that can move 1.8 millionlitres of petroleum.

But the question is how manytimes can we move in a weekand how many times can wemove in a day? So once we start,we can grow gradually.

Alli explained that certainmeasures need to be taken intoconsideration before haulage ofpetrol is carried out.

NNPC petrolIt was also gathered that the

premium motor spirit, PMS, orpetrol in circulation is the supplymade by the Nigerian NationalPetroleum Corporation, NNPC,which is responsible for about 50per cent of the fuel supply in thecountry.

The NNPC and its downstreamsubsidiary, the Pipelines andProducts Marketing Company,PPMC, said it had 1.2 billionlitres of petrol in stock. The figuretranslates to 31 days sufficiencygoing by the 40 million litres dailyconsumption of the product in thecountry.

According to the ManagingDirector of PPMC, Mr. HarunaMomoh, 21 additional vesselsladen with petroleum productsare offshore Lagos waiting toberth.

He said the NNPC had madeadequate arrangements toensure energy sufficiency in thecountry and reassured motoriststhat the noticeable queues at thefilling stations would thin out inthe days ahead.

Momoh noted that the NNPCalso has 21 days sufficiency ofAutomative Gas Oil, AGO,otherwise known as diesel and18 days sufficiency of DualPurpose Kerosene, DPK,otherwise known as kerosene.

He explained that as part ofefforts to ensure petroleumproducts sufficiency anddistribution, the NNPCembarked on aggressivereception depots rehabilitation in2011, adding: “As at today, 18depots out of the 23 depots havebeen fully recovered with theexception of Makurdi, Yola, andMaiduguri due to the activitiesof pipeline vandals.”

Tankers queuing for fuel on Oshodi-Apapa expressway.

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015—9

Banks at risk over oil price slump, energyfirms’ indebtedness — CBN

By Michael Eboh

ABUJA — THE CentralBank of Nigeria, CBN, has

warned that financialinstitutions in Nigeria will be atgrave risk in 2015 due to the lowprices of crude oil in theinternational market and theirhuge exposure to oil and gasfirms.

The CBN, in its FinancialStability Report for December2014, stated that oil and gasfirms owe financial institutionsabout N3.24 trillion, adding thatlow crude oil prices will pose asignificant risk to Nigeria’sfinancial system and might leadto an increase in Non-Performing Loans, NPL.

According to the CBN,sustained low oil prices may,however, result in an increasein NPLs, given that the exposureto the oil and gas sectoraccounted for 25.70 per cent orN3.24 trillion of the total creditsof N12.63 trillion at end-December 2014.

The CBN said: “Anticipatedsources of risk in the financialsystem in the first half of 2015would include declining crudeoil prices, due to United States’shale oil and gas productionand the resultant pressure onthe naira exchange rate.

“Others include a reversal ofcapital flows, owing toimprovements in the USeconomy and the adverseimplications for the capitalmarket; a possible increase innon-performing loans; securitychallenges in parts of thecountry. There are equitymarket losses that might lingeras a result of low investorconfidence; uncertaintiesassociated with the 2015general elections; and anupward inflationary pressurefrom election spending and anexpected increase in electricitytariffs in the first half of 2015.”

The CBN, however, advisedbanks to strengthen their

contingency plans andconduct regular stress testsso as to be able to mitigate theimpact of the crash in oil priceson their balance sheets.

“In light of the above, theCBN, in collaboration withrelevant stakeholders, willcontinue to take appropriatemeasures designed to ensuresustained financial systemstability,” the apex bank stated.

Commenting on the report,

Deputy Governor, FinancialSystem Stability of the CBN, Mr.Joseph Nnanna, said the declinein the prices of crude oiltriggered a number of negativeconsequences for the Nigerianeconomy in the second half of2014.

According to him, the period -June to December 2014, wascharacterised by macroeconomicshocks in the Nigerian economyas a result of heightened political

activities and dwindlinggovernment revenue occasionedby the rapid decline in theinternational price of crude oil.

Also commenting, the CBNGovernor, Mr. GodwinEmefiele, said, “During thesecond half of 2014, which thisedition of the Financial StabilityReport covers, there wereremarkable developments inboth the domestic and globaleconomy.

INAUGURATION—From left: Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund(TETFUND), Prof. Suleiman Bogoro; Justice of High Court 9 Bauchi, Justice Yelim Suleiman;former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon and Vice Chancellor National Open Universityof Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Vincent Tenebe at the inauguration of NOUN in Bogoro LGA ofBauchi State, Saturday. Photo: NAN.

House Speaker: We'll supportGbajabiamila if...— 36 N-East Reps

By EmmanOvuakporie

ABUJA —THIRTY sixmembers of the House

of Representatives from theNorth-East geo-politicalzone have pledged tosupport Rep. FemiGbajabiamila for the positionof Speaker of the House of

Representatives if the office iszoned to his South-Westgeopolitical zone.

The members in acommuniqué issued in Abuja,weekend, also pledged to, inthe same way, support TahirMonguno for the position ofDeputy Speaker of the Houseif the position is zoned toMonguno’s North-East zone.

The members-electreportedly made the pledge atthe end of a meeting in theirsecretariat at the TranscorpHilton.

The lawmakers also jointlyagreed that they will abide bywhatever decision the partytakes on zoning the office ofspeaker.

Briefing reporters after themeeting, Rep. Goni BukarLawan, APC, Yobe, who spokeon behalf of the North- EastCaucus, said their decisionwas based on the politicalreality in the country.

He said in advanceddemocracies, when theminority takes overgovernment, the MinorityLeader becomes the MajorityLeader of the party.

“We cannot look for any

leader, because even beforewe took over the governmenthe was our leader, and todaywe’re in the position ofmajority. That’s why wedecided to take our leader,Femi Gbajabiamila to be ourSpeaker, and for RepMungonu to be our DeputySpeaker by the grace of God.”

Speaking on why hejettisoned his ambition tobecome Speaker, Goni said itwas based on the advice ofhis governor who is the partyleader in his state.

He said: “We have a projectbefore Yobe State. SenatorAhmad Lawan is pursuingthe position of SenatePresident of this country, inthat respect we cannot haveone state produce twocandidates, one looking forthe post of Speaker of theHouse of Representatives andanother Senate President.

“For us that’s not in order.That’s why after theconsultations anddiscussions, we arrived atsupporting FemiGbajabiamila when the partyzones the Speakership to theSouth-West.”

Buhari to drop Generaltitle from May 29

ABUJA — EFFECTIVEMay 29, when he is

inaugurated as President ofthe country, the President-elect, General MuhammaduBuhari (retd.), will drop hismilitary rank of General fromhis official designation.

This was confirmed in astatement by his media office,yesterday which also releasedthe official portrait of thePresident-elect and that of theVice-President elect, Prof.Yemi Osinbajo.

The statement which alsogave the form of address ofthe incoming vice-presidentsaid: “From May 29, 2015 thePresident-elect and Vice-President-elect are to berespectively known andaddressed as MuhammaduBuhari, President,Commander-in-Chief of theArmed Forces, FederalRepublic of Nigeria and Prof.Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, VicePresident, Federal Republicof Nigeria.”

NGFreconciliationon shakygrounds

By Henry Umoru

ABUJA— THE prospectsof a reconciliation of the

two factions of the NigerianGovernors Forum, NGF,earlier fixed for today wereon shaky grounds last night.

Today’s plannedreconciliation which alsoenvisaged the election of anew leadership for the bodywas under fire, yesterday,from the secretariat of theJonah Jang-led faction of thebody which comprises 16 ofthe nation’s 36 governors.

The majority faction led byGovernor Rotimi Amaechihad summoned the meetingfor today with invitations tothe 19 governors alignedwith Governor Amaechi andthe 16 aligned with GovernorJang.

Confirming the meetingscheduled to take place atthe Rivers State Governor’sLodge, Asokoro, Abuja at 8pm, Director-General of NGF,Asishana Okauru toldVanguard that the governorswould be presented with anupdate of the forum by thesecretariat.

According to him, therewould be alignment,reconciliation and a newleadership to be put in place.

Meanwhile, the Jang-ledfaction has kicked againstthe meeting, saying it wasself-serving and an attemptto foist an unacceptableleadership on the body.

According to OsaroOnaiwu, the head of thesecretariat of the Jangfaction, the PDP governorswould not attend themeeting on the claim thatthose convening the meetingwere the same people thatcaused problems in the NGFleading.

Onaiwu who also rejectedthe role of the Director-General of the Amaechi-ledNGF, Asishana Okauru,stressed that he has no rightto write letters inviting thePDP governors to themeeting, adding that if suchletters were to be written, hewould have been the one towrite them in conjunctionwith Okauru.

Governor Seriake Dicksonof Bayelsa State, had earlierexpressed his opposition tothe meeting and made astrong case for the incominggovernors to be sworn in firstbefore the meeting, sayingdoing otherwise would denythe incoming governors anopportunity to partake in theselection of the leadership ofthe body.

CMYK

10 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

By DapoAkinrefon

LASRRAstartsResidents’Cardsdistribution

LP denies merger plan to challenge APC

BIRTHDAY: Mr Kanene Azinge and his wifecutting the cake during his 70th Birthday at areception in Lekki Lagos, after the thanksgivingservice at Saviour Church, Tafawa Balewa Square,TBS, Lagos, weekend. Photo by Diran Oshe.

BIRTHDAY: Mrs Abiola Titilola Tayo Oyetibo andher husband, Mr Tayo Oyetibo, SAN, cutting the caketo mark her 50th Birthday at a reception at The RedCarpet, Hall 9 ,Oniru Main Road by RCCG City ofDavid, Lekki Lagos, weekend. Photo by Shola Oyelese.

LAGOS—THELabour Party, LP,

has denied reports ofan impending mergerof the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,and other parties, suchas the All ProgressiveGrand Alliance,APGA, Hope Party,and KOWA Party toform a formidablemega oppositionparty to challenge theAll ProgressivesCongress, APC.

Speaking withjournalists over theweekend, theNational Secretary ofLabour Party, MrKayode Ajulo,debunked therumours as “falseand diversionary”,stating that at no timewhatsoever had theleadership of theparty entered intomerger talks withany other party.

He said “Therumoured talks of amerger between theLabour Party and otherparties such as the PDPis a figment of thefevered imagination ofsome mischievouspeoples. Such an issuehas not been raisedwithin the party excoat all, and nor hasanyone or, any partyhad any agreementon the issue with us.

“It is highlyirresponsible for anyoneto drag the esteemedname of Labour Partyinto rumours of animpending merger. If atall, anyone has enteredinto any such talks, he isdoing it strictly on hisown, not in the name ofLabour Party,” he said.

The Labour Party scribe,however, noted that“political power orrelevance for its own sakeis not the goal of theLabour Party” adding thatthe party was committedonly to the cause of theNigerian workers and themasses in general.

“Our goal is not just to

seek power or relevance;we are committed toalleviating the sufferingsof all Nigerians.

' 'We are thereforeprepared to work withanyone who will put theNigerian people first,and seek to bring succourto the homes of Nigeriansacross the nation.

''We will cooperate withany government, groupand individual thatshows with its policiesand actions that it trulyseeks to bring relief toNigerians, that is alsoour desire, so it is onlyreasonable to cooperatewith such groups, ifany,” Ajulo said.

LAGOS—THE FederalGovernment weekend

commenced the construction of theN142.6 billion Lekki deep sea portin the Ibeju Lekki area of Lagos.

Speaking at the issuance of noticeto proceed ceremony on Saturday,Managing Director of the NigerianPorts Authority, NPA, Alhaji SanusiLamido Ado Bayero said thecommencement of the port’sconstruction is government’scommitment to making the projecta reality.

Ado Bayero explained that the portwill enhance growth of the Nigerianmarket, adding that government willremain committed and continue tosupport the project.

According to him, when the portis fully operational, it will makesignificant positive macro economicimpact on Nigeria in terms ofemployment, taxes and royalties.

He said; “As a port authority,we see potential for growth inthe Nigerian market and striveto realise it at all times.

“Therefore, as we begin theconsummation of our strategicalliance with the promoters of thisproject and look towards a brightfuture, we assure you that theNPA will not waiver in itscommitment to the project.

“The occasion signifies our

resolve to tap into the highuntapped market occasioned byport capacity gap in Nigeria.”

Speaking in similar vein, theManaging Director of Lekki Port,Mr. Aswani Haresh said issuingthe notice to commenceconstruction is the beginning of

the 41-month construction periodfor the biggest maritime projectin the country.

Haresh also said the port willcommence its operation with anannual through-put capacitythat is three times the capacityof the Apapa port.

FG flags off N142.6bn Lekki deep-sea portBy Godwin Oritse

LAGOS—THE Lagos State wing of the Nigeria

Union of Teachers, NUT, says theintroduction of the Computer-Based Test, CBT, in secondaryschools examinations may notachieve the desired result.

The state NUT Chairman, MrSegun Raheem, made theassertion in Lagos yesterday.

Raheem said the situationmight be so because most of thestudents were not adequatelyprepared for CBT.

He said the students were notprepared due to the non-availability of Information

Communication Technology, ICT,facilities and human resources.

He noted that computer sciencewhich, hitherto, was an optionalsubject and suddenly made acompulsory subject would leavesome students unprepared forCBT.

“Computer Science has justbeen introduced to secondaryschools as a compulsory subjectwhich is coming rather late.

“However, only a few Lagosschools have computer scienceteachers and some schools gavetemporary appointment tocomputer science teachers.

“Others got the teachersthrough the efforts of the Parents’Forum (PF),” he said.

The unionist noted that most ofthe secondary schools in the statehad a desktop or a laptop whichthey used mostly foradministrative work.

He, however, said that onlyfew schools had an ICTlaboratory that was fullyequipped with internet facilities,noting that “With the presentsituation, in my own view, Idoubt if the use of CBT is result-oriented for students insecondary schools in the state.''

Lagos NUT criticises use of CBT in secondary schools

LAGOS—THE Lagos State Residents’

Registration Agency,LASRRA, hascommenced massdistribution of PermanentResidents’ Cards to about3 million residents whoregistered with it.

The General Managerof LASRRA, MissOlayinka Fashola, whodisclosed this at theweekend, said thedistribution, which beganwith the state civilservants is expected totake care of 14,000workers and will continuein phases.

She said, “Beforeanyone comes up tocollect his PermanentResident Card, PRC, hewould have been sent aShort Messages, SMS. Inthe message, such personwill be told where to gofor the collection. Thismarks the expiration ofthe registration life circle.

“LASRRA iscommencing thedistribution with the civilservants and that waswhy we decided toorganize it here and it isexpected to elapse at theend of May.

“Beginning from June,the cards will be transferredto the local councils. This,we believe, will bring thecard closer to their owners.”

On the reason for thedelay in time for theissuance of the card,Fashola added that theagency had to verify all theinformation collected toensure that there was no duplication.

“During our verification,we discovered that someresidents registered twiceand we had to sort them.That was why it had takenus more time thanexpected. We cannot makeany mistake and we haveto be correct.

“We are very carefulbefore sharing information.We don’t give out personalinformation. It is onlygeneral information. Wecan give the number ofpeople who live in aparticular area. But wecannot give anyone theinformation of anindividual who lives in thestate. There are privacylaws that need to beadhered to,” she said.

By Olasukanmi Akoni

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 — 11

AMOSUN/CUSTOMS CONTROVERSY: Why we rejectedAmosun’s plea over seized goods – Customs

VISIT: From left: Member-elect, House of Representatives, Prince Akeem Adeyemi; Alaafinof Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi; Secretary, State of Maryland, United States, Mr JohnWobensmith; Prince Adeleke Adeyemi and Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu, during their visitto the US, to facilitate the proposed medical and trade mission to Oyo State, as part of theactivities marking the 2015 Oranyan Festival, at the weekend.

Again, APC criticises Fayose’s stomach infrastructure, policies

EKITI PDP:Elders’ Forumrejectschairman’sremoval

A B E O K U T A — T H EComptroller, Ogun State

area command, Nigeria CustomsService, Haruna Mamudu, hassaid the Service had to enforcethe anti-smuggling law of theland, which explains why itturned down the request by thestate governor, Senator IbikunleAmosun to release the ankarastock his command seized fromtextile traders.

The Customs’ boss also saidthe recent protest by some textiletraders in the state at theGovernor ’s office over theseizure of their textile stock byits operatives was not justifiable.

He stated this in Abeokuta atthe weekend.

Mamudu, who disclosed thatthe governor had written to hisoffice through the Secretary to theState Government, TaiwoAdeoluwa over the seizures, saidhe had forwarded the list of thecontraband to the governor.

The Customs Comptroller saidthe excuse by the owners of thecontraband that the Customs menought to have stopped the goodsfrom coming into the countrywas not tenable, stressing thatany contraband seen anywhere

remained a contraband.He, however, disclosed that

the four Chinese merchantsinvolved in the smuggling ofthe fabrics into Nigeria hadalready been arrested andtheir warehouse in Kanosealed off.

Mamudu, who disclosed that

the goods were smuggled into thecountry from Cameroon by theChinese merchants, added that theCustoms men did not need anysearch warrant before carryingout their duty in any premisessuspected of harbouringsmuggled goods.

“It is quite amusing that some

By Daud Olatunji people claim that they do notknow that ankara textile is amongthose goods on prohibition list."Again, it is not enough forthose who have those ankaratextile in their shops to claimthat they bought them in Kano.We shall seize them whereverthey are found,” he said.

THE All ProgressivesCongress (APC) in Ekiti State

has accused Governor AyodeleFayose of implementing policiesthat threaten the developmentneeds of Ekiti people, saying hisrice gift is a deliberate and callousincentive to lock people out ofgovernment-promoted self-sustaining schemes that can makepeople the creators of wealth to takecare of their development needs.

But the governor in a swiftreaction, said the party lacked moralrights to criticise his governmentpolicies, having run the stateaground in its four years of DrKayode Fayemi’s reign.

The APC also accused thegovernor of failing to pay workerssalary 192 hours after he made thepromise to pay in 24 hours.

A statement by APC's PublicitySecretary, Taiwo Olatubosun,regretted that instead of promotingpolicies that would take Ekiti peopleout of poverty, the governor wasbusy removing attention from self-sustaining schemes by distributingone kilogramme rice for one-dayfeeding need of a family.

“What the governor is doing iswickedness to the people bydistributing one kilo rice for one-day need of the few out of millionsliving in abject poverty at the timemore purposeful administrators all

over the world are setting up self-sustaining schemes thatpermanently address povertyproblems among the masses.

‘’The dehumanisation of Ekitipeople by Fayose must stop,'' thethe APC spokesman said,stressing that it is the restorationand promotion of Ekiti corevalues of hard work, honesty andthirst for self-fulfillment anddevelopment that should be thedriving force of a genuine loverof Ekiti people for them to enjoyreal development,’’

APC lacks moral right— FayoseMeantime, Fayose has said the

APC as a party lacked moralrights to criticise his governmentpolicies, having ran the Stateaground in its four years ofKayode Fayemi’s reign.

Fayose, who reacted to theAPC’s criticism of his stomachinfrastructure policy through hisSpecial Assistant on PublicCommunications and NewMedia, Lere Olayinka, said “Itis preferable to give the peoplewhat to eat than spendingbillions of borrowed fund to buildhilltop government house meantfor just one family as done by theAPC government.”

The governor asked the APCthe benefits derivable from thepavilion, government house,

civic centre and other whiteelephant projects that the partyused borrowed fund to execute.

He said; “Here is a party thatused borrowed fund to plantflowers in Ado Ekiti and none ofthe flowers can be seen anywherein the State capital talking aboutour government’s policies notbeing developmental.

“Oba Adejugbe GeneralHospital, Ado Ekiti was almostcompleted before Fayemi assumedoffice. That hospital was notcompleted throughout the fouryears of APC government. Theyeven went to the ridiculous levelof commissioning the hospital withits inside yet to be painted and nosingle bed provided.

“Today, Ekiti State is strugglingto meet its financial obligations tothe people because of the senselessand wasteful financialmanagement of the State by theAPC government, with billions ofnaira loans left unpaid.

“However, despite the huge debtburden that they left behind, wehave remained faithful to ourpromises to the people. We havepaid workers salaries as at whendue, except April salary that westarted paying last week Friday.”

Fayose’s criticism of Oni,Omirin lacks depth –Speaker’s aide

Also, factional Speaker, Dr

Adewale Omirin’s SpecialAdviser on Media, Wole Olujobi,has reacted to Governor Fayose’smedia aide, Idowu Adelusi, overhis boss over-bloated popularityrating, saying comparing Fayosewith former Governor Segun Oniand blaming Dr Adewale Omirinfor Ekiti crisis is turning history tofiction and unconscionablebeatification of the unholy in areckless political brinkmanship.

“It is amusing that Adelusiis talking about winningelection by his boss on twooccasions, forgetting thatNigerians can still recollect thecircumstances that threw Fayoseup on the two occasions.

“The first time, Fayose was abeneficiary of a “do or die” politicalfraud in the South West when hebenefited from a mindless riggingcoordinated by the FederalGovernment.

“The second time was moredaring, with thousands of federaltroops seizing Ekiti State to enableFayose win. This is apart from therevelations in Ekitigate tapewhere Fayose himself said hecollected INEC soft copies that heprinted for his election.

“It is baffling that a media aidewould come in the open tocelebrate these frauds asbefitting trophies that must beshowcased through the mediato the world,” Olujobi said.

ADO EKITI – THEElders Forum of the

Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, in Ekiti State has kickedagainst the purportedremoval of the chairman ofthe party in the state, ChiefIdowu Faleye, by a groupwithin the party, sayingFaleye remains the chairmanof the party.

A faction led the ViceChairman (North), Mr.Olatunde Olatunde haddeclared himself the newchairman of the party at apress conference in Ado Ekitilast week.

He had accused Faleye ofinefficiency and failure tocall meetings sinceassumption of office in 2014.

However, the embattledchairman, had sincedismissed the allegation,saying he remained theauthentic party chairman inthe state until the NationalWorking Committee of theparty thinks otherwise.

The chairman, who linkedhis present problems withsome members of the StateWorking Committee, SWCto his refusal to sign a N11mhonorarium for them.

According to a statementby the elders in Ado Ekitiweekend, they dismissedthe purported removal of thechairman as a charade thatwould not hold any water.

The statement, signed bya member of PDP Board ofTrustee, Chief C.K. Awoyelu,said it was “absolutely wrongand unexpected” ofOlatunde to have declaredhimself chairman after ameeting held with theaggrieved members, whereit was agreed that the matterwould be resolved amicably.

They therefore passed avote of confidence on theFaleye-led executive,warning the Olatunde-ledfaction to tread softly andavoid anything that couldreverse the progress of theparty in the state.

On the controversialN11.2m honorarium to themembers, the elderspromised to meet GovernorAyodele Fayose on the needto assist the party financially.

They agreed with Faleyethat the governor as theleader of the party shouldbe briefed on all activitiesof the party, including itsfinancial matters.

In his reaction, Olatundesaid the body of elders hasno “locus standi” in thePDP. constitution.

They lack moral rights to speak on Ekiti governance — GOV

By Leke Adeseri

By Gbenga Ariyibi

12—Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

Yenagoa stands still in honour of Isaac BoroBy Samuel Oyadongha

CMYK

YENAGOA—SOCIAL andcommercial activities

were, weekend, grounded forthe better part of the day asIjaws from all walks of lifecommemorated theanniversary of late MajorIsaac Boro, Ijaw activist forequity and true fiscalfederalism within a unitedNigeria.

Shops and retail outlets inYenagoa, the capital city, wereunder lock and key in honourthe late Boro, just as Ijawyouths staged a processionround the city beforeconverging at the Heroes Park,where the remains of Borowere reburied last year.

Boro died in active service47 years ago in Port Harcourt,Rivers State, fighting for theunity of Nigeria in the civilwar.

He was buried in Lagos buthis remains were exhumed lastApril at the instance of theBayelsa State governor, MrSeriake Dickson and reburiedin the state in line with Ijawtraditional rites.

Speaking at the Heroes Parkon the anniversary, GovernorDickson, represented by hisDeputy, Rear Admiral JohnGboribiogha-Jonah (rtd), saidthat for the Ijaw to be taken

seriously in the politics of thecountry, they must cometogether as a people andspeak with one voice.

Dickson implored Ijaw andNiger Delta youths to imbibe

the ideals of selfless service,which he said defined IsaacBoro’s life and struggle.

The governor said thoughBoro rebelled against theFederal Government to show

NPDC, NNPC workers shut down oil facilities overalleged sale of OML42

his displeasure over theoppression of the minority bythe Nigerian state, he joinedthe Nigerian Army to fight tokeep the country a unitedentity.

By Simon Ebegbulem

BENIN—CRISIS isbrewing in the oil

industry as staff of theNigerian PetroleumDevelopment Company,NPDC, in Benin City, EdoState, commenced the shutdown of oil facilities in theNiger Delta in protest over thealleged illegal sale of OML42, one of the company ’spriced oil blocs by the FederalGovernment.

Staff of the companyembarked on a three-daywarning strike last week, butVanguard learned that theworkers have vowed tocontinue the strike until the

Federal Government reversedthe sale of the oil bloc whichthey alleged was sold to oneof the NPDC contractorswhich, according to them, didnot follow due process.

A union member whocraved anonymity toldVanguard: “Our sistercompanies like the IDSL andNNPC, have all indicatedinterest to join the strike andthe meaning is that tomorrow,there will be total shut downof all oil facilities in the NigerDelta. We have commencedshutting down some sinceFriday.

“We tried to shut down theOML 42 which they sold butthe Federal Government

deployed hundreds of soldiersto stop us. So, we left therebecause we don’t want toexpose our members to dangerbut that will not deter us. OurManaging Director, MrAnthony Muoneke, issupposed to come back todayfrom Abuja, but we will shuthim outside the compound.We have been told that he iscoming with soldiers but weshall see if he will kill all ofus.

“So, the nation shouldexpect a total shut down of oilfacilities as from Tuesday. Wewill resist any attempt tointimidate us,” the sourcesaid.

Reacting to the brewing

problem, the former Ministerof State (Works), Dr. ChrisOgiemwonyi, also a formerGroup Managing Director ofNPDC, described the allegedsale of the OML 42 as criminaland threatened to head tocourt on the issue.

He said: “I tried not tobelieve that the managementof NPDC will be selling theirassets, the reason being thatwhen we started NPDC, Iremember our first project wasOredo field project. We usedthat field to acquire expertise,more or less a trainingground. So, if what we arehearing is true, then there isa problem. Instead of growingcapacity they are nowdissipating capacity.”

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015—13

Court adjourns N3bn suit against DefenceMinistry to June 2

By Jimitota Onoyume,Festus Ahon & Ochuko

Akuopha

By Emem Idio

DEFECTION:Bayelsayouths moveto recallIkisikpo,others

By Samuel Oyadongha

IYC backs Jonathan on relocation of $500m oil projectto Bayelsa

Group urges Buhari to increase NDDC'sfunding

BNCcongratulatesArase onconfirmationas IG

PORT HARCOURT—AFEDERAL High Court

sitting in Port Harcourt, RiversState, has adjourned till June2, the suit by JTF House BoatOwners Coalition against theMinistry of Defence overalleged non-payment of overN3 billion owed them in respectof 13 house boats hired by theJoint Task Force (OperationPulo Shield) for securitysurveillance of crude oilexplorations in the creeks of theNiger Delta region.

Meanwhile, a coalition,comprising Etukcom IntegratedService Limited, PeachesIntegrated Limited and GodsamIndustrial Services Limitedworkers besieged the premisesof the court to protest what theydescribed as the unwillingnessof the Ministry of Defence toclear the debt which they saidhas been accumulating in thelast three years.

Trial judge, Justice LamboAkanbi, granted the prayer ofthe defence counsel, Mr.Ekanem Etuk, for anadjournment to give himsufficient time to prepare hisdefence.

Addressing newsmen after theadjournment, counsel to theplaintiffs, Mr Lawal Rabana(SAN), said: “My clients areinto marine services and toboost the security operation of

the Niger Delta region, theywere all approached to providehouse boats for the JTF to patrolsome of those areas to protectthe facilities but unfortunately,having made that sacrifice ofletting out their house boats tothem, the office of the Chief ofDefence Staff refused to pay.

“They have also refused torelease the house boats to myclients, so, as it is now, nomoney is being paid to them,they cannot put the house boatsto use and of course in a

civilized system, you only resortto the court. So, we are in courtto enforce the terms of theagreement which provided fora payment of N4.5 million everymonth for the use of the houseboats. So, what we have justdone is to calculate the numberof months that are outstandingand we are seeking theintervention of the court for thepayment."

Also speaking, counsel to thedefendant, Mr. Etuk, said: “Weare asking the court to adjourn

the matter to that date to enableus file our defence.”

On their part, ManagingDirectors of Etukcom IntegratedService Limited, PeachesIntegrated Limited and GodsamIndustrial Services Limited, Dr.Etiese Etuk, Prince EdwinOchai and Mr. Godwin Amusarespectively, said they have beenproviding services to the JTF inthe past 36 months, lamentingthat they have neither beenpaid nor have their boats beenreleased to them.

YENAGOA—IJAW YouthCouncil, IYC, worldwide,

weekend backed PresidentGoodluck Jonathan's decisionto relocate the fabrication andintegration yards for the multi-million dollars Egina FloatingProduction Storage andOffloading, FPSO, facility fromLADOL yard in Lagos to Aggein Bayelsa State.

Spokesman of IYC, Mr. EricOmare, in a statement inYenagoa, while faulting aninterim order of the FederalHigh Court, Lagos, stoppingthe Federal Government fromimplementing the directive,said that the people of theNiger Delta would take stepsto ensure that any oil companywithout its headquarters in theNiger Delta region will not beallowed to operate in theregion.

He said: “The IYC andindeed the Niger Delta peopleback the directive of PresidentJonathan to move thefabrication of oil and gas

materials to the Niger Deltawhere the eventual job is to bedone. We also support thedirective to move oil and gascargoes to only ports in Warri,Calabar and Onne. This is notonly in line with therequirement of the localcontent law but also makeseconomic sense.

“It is common knowledge thatLagos is highly congested and

there is need to move someclass of cargoes especially oiland gas materials, to portswithin the Niger Delta regionwhere the oil facilities arelocated.

“We consider the oppositionto the presidential directiveand the attendant mediapropaganda by the Lagoscabal as an insult on NigerDeltans. It is on record that all

the oil companies operating inthe Niger Delta region havetheir offices in Lagos to thedetriment of the Niger Deltaeconomy.

“Henceforth, Niger Deltanswould take steps to ensure thatany oil company without itsheadquarters in the NigerDelta region would not beallowed to operate in theregion."

By Davies Iheamnachor

PORT HARCOURT—NIGER Delta

Transparency and IntegrityCoalition, NDTIC, a non-governmental organisation inRivers State, has urged the in-coming administration ofPresident-elect, Gen.Muhammadu Buhari, toimprove the funding of theNiger Delta DevelopmentCommission, NDDC, to enablethe commission to deliver on its

mandate to the people of theNiger Delta region, allegingthat the NDDC is beingunderfunded.

The group also deniedaccusation by Chief NgoyeIyalla that the NDDC boardfraudulently borrowed N2.4billion and is subsequentlyservicing the loan to the tone ofN2.4 million monthly.

Describing the allegations asbaseless, unfounded anduntrue, the group said that theproblem of NDDC was that it

has been underfunded, allegingthat the outgoingadministration didd not doenough as it concerns fundingof the commission.

National President of thegroup, Chinagorom Nwonkwo,who addressed newsmen on theallegations against the NDDCboard, said President GoodluckJonathan did much indeveloping the Northern part ofthe country and called onBuhari to reciprocate same bydoing same to the South-south.

Y E N A G O A —YOUTHS of Ogbia

Local Government Area,Bayelsa State, under theaegis of Ogbia BrotherhoodYouth Council, havecommenced the processesof recalling Senator CleverIkisipo, Mr. Nadu Karibo,member representingOgbia federal constituencyand Mr. Azibola Omekwe,member representingOgbia state constituencyone, over their defectionfrom the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, tothe All ProgressivesCongress, APC.

The youths, whodescribed the action of thetrio as anti-Ogbia and a“conspiracy to ridiculePresident GoodluckJonathan,” said that inliaison with theIndependent NationalElectoral Commission,INEC, they have startedmassive sensitization andcollation of signaturestowards the recall of thedefected lawmakers.

By GabrielEnogholase

BENIN—THE BeninNational Congress,

BNC, has described theconfirmation of Mr.Solomon Arase as thenew Inspector-General ofPolice as a square peg ina square hole.

The group, in acongratulatory messageto the IG by Dr. DavidEkomwenrenren, itsDirector of Publicity andIntelligence, said Arase’sappointment would leadto robust productivity inthe Police force.

He said: “Wecongratulate Mr. Araseessentially for hishumility and soundethical re-orientation ofthe aspirations of theaverage officers and menof the Nigeria Police, aswell as his peacefuldisposition in the face oftendencies that havebeen at play againstmerit and good conduct."

THANKSGIVING: From left: Dr. Cyril Oshiomhole, Adams Oshiomhole (Jnr), Mr andMrs Jesus Fortes, (the governor's in-laws); Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State andhis wife, Iara Oshiomhole, at a thanksgiving mass held at the Immaculate ConceptionCathedral, Auchi, yesterday.

14—Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

Otti challenges Ikpeazu’s victory attribunal

By Anayo Okoli

U M U A H I A —GOVERNORSHIP

candidate of All ProgressivesGrand Alliance, APGA, in thelast elections in Abia State, Dr.

Alex Otti, has filed a petition atthe Abia State Election Tribunalsitting in Umuahia, againstINEC’s declaration of PDPgovernorship candidate, Dr.Okezie Ikpeazu, as winner of thepoll.

In the petition, Otti is praying

the tribunal to declare him therightful winner of the election onthe grounds that Ikpeazu waswrongly declared winner.

Otti is contesting the declarationof Ikpeazu as the winner of theelection on the grounds that thesaid election was fraught with

malpractices and not conductedin accordance with the ElectoralAct.

He is, therefore, asking thetribunal to cancel votes fromObingwa Council where healleged that election did not holdand Osisioma, Isiala Ngwa Northand Ugwunagbo localgovernment areas where healleged there were huge electoralmalpractices.

Briefing journalists at thepremises of Federal High Court,venue of the tribunal sitting, thelegal adviser of Dr. Alex OttiCampaign Organization, Mr.Ken Ahia, disclosed that the legalteam would be led by Chief AkinOlujimi.

Ahia said that Otti was askingthe court to declare him therightful winner of the electionbecause he won the election buthad his mandate stolen.

“This is the continuation of theelectoral process. Abians votedoverwhelmingly for Dr. Alex Ottibut that mandate was stolen; wehere in the court to retrieve themandate.

“So today we have filed thepetition, asking that Dr. Alex Ottibe declared the rightful winnerof the 2015 elections,” he said.

Joined as defendants are Dr.Okezie Ikpeazu, PeoplesDemocratic Party, IndependentElectoral Commission, amongothers.

THE President-Elect,General Muhammadu

Buhari has no plans to cancelcontracts to ex-militants and theOdua Peoples Congress, OPC,

his spokesman has said. Thespokesman has thus cautionedthe media to stop putting wordsin the mouth of the president-elect.

Vanguard had on Saturdaypublished on its front page astory that General MuhammaduBuhari plans to revoke PresidentJonathan's pipeline survellanceto ex-militants and Odua People'sCongress, OPC.

“Many statements credited toGen Buhari, “ said thespokesman, “are personalopinions of individual partymembers, not Buhari’s, not eventhe APC’s.”

The party in a statementyesterday equally dismissed asspeculative and unfounded listsof ministerial nominees beingcirculated in some newspapersand online news websites.

The party therefore appealed tothe media to clarify with theauthentic officials of the partyand the Buhari CampaignOrganization any issue havingto do with the actions of thePresident-elect in order to avoidpresenting falsehood as facts.

In the statement issued inAbuja by its National PublicitySecretary, Alhaji LaiMohammed, the party said theappeal became necessaryfollowing recent media reports onthe actions which the President-elect will purportedly embark

upon once he is sworn into office.‘’Various people have been

quoted in the media on what thePresident-elect will do or will notdo once he assumes office. Thetruth is that these people do notspeak for the President-elect,hence the need for the media toclarify such issues with theChairman of the party, itsNational Publicity Secretary orthe Spokesman of the BuhariCampaign Organization. Theseofficials are always available toclarify issues,’’ it said.

APC said the ongoingtransition is a delicate period thatfifth columnists could capitalizeon to cause disaffection oroverheat the polity, hence theneed for all stakeholders to beextra-cautious and to put thenational interest above all otherinterests.

Meanwhile, the party hasdescribed as a mere fiction theministerial lists currently beingcirculated, especially on theSocial Media.

‘’Nigerians should disregardthese lists and await theauthentic list which will becommunicated through theappropriate channels at the righttime,’’ it said.

Leadership crisis in Awka deepensBy Vincent Ujumadu

AWKA—-THE leadershipcrisis in Awka, Anambra

State capital, worsened, weekend,with security operatives avertingwhat could have led to a majorconfrontation between thecontending parties.

Stakeholders in the communityclaimed that its former PresidentGeneral, Mr. Tony Okechukwu,whose tenure expired March thisyear, was hanging on to powerand frustrating moves to conductelection for the emergence of anew leadership.

A general assembly of thecommunity convened, yesterday,

at Umuoranma Square by AwkaAmbassadors Club, which hadprominent Awka sons asmembers and which wasattended by titled men, elders ofthe community and all maleadults at home and abroad,unanimously rejected theleadership of the PresidentGeneral, insisting that his tenurehad long expired.

They accused him of amendingthe constitution of the town to suithis bid to return to power for asecond term, even though heknew that it was not right for himto return as doing so wouldcontravene the constitution whichbrought him to office.

Former Deputy Speaker of

Anambra State House ofAssembly, Mr. KeluoMolokwu, who was at themeeting, said: “Our 2008constitution which broughtOkechukwu to power stipulatesone term each for a person, anda rotational six years to the twozones of the town; Ezi and Ifite.

“We as members of AwkaAmbassadors Club decided toconvene Izu Awka(generalassembly) after meeting with theparties involved, and we haveagreed that he will no longer beour leader.

‘’A fresh election will beconducted, but we already havea seven-man committee in hisstead to steer the affairs of thecommunity.”

Youths of the community whothronged the venue, denouncedOkechukwu, stating that hisleadership had brought no goodto Awka and that for him toattempt to foist himself on themagain against the constitution,bordered on selfishness.

PRESENTATION: Pro-Chancellor, Ebonyi State University, Dr. Alex Ekwueme (left), with ProfessorChiweyite Ejike, during the presentation of Doctor of Science honorary degree by Ebonyi StateUniversity to the Prof Ejike, in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, yesterday. Photo: NAN

AN Oil firm, Aiteo hasrefuted reports that the

company is fronting forpeople over its contract withthe Nigerian NationalPetroleum Corporation(NNPC) on oil mining lease(OML) 29.

It said that Aiteo onlystarted participating in theoffshore processingagreement (OPA) with theNNPC three months agoafter the company wasselected based on its capacityand ability to perform.

In a statement yesterday, itsaid “the terms of thiscontract are clear, and Aiteohas not breached anyobligation in the OPA.Indeed just last Friday, Aiteohad a reconciliation meetingwith the NNPC, and it wasacknowledged that Aiteo isup to date in its contractualperformance.

The Offshore ProcessingAgreement (OPA) is aprocess by which theNigerian National PetroleumCorporation (NNPC)provides crude oil to anotherparty that would refine thecrude oil on behalf of thecorporation and returns therefined products to theNNPC based on the yieldslate of the party’s refinery,and NNPC pays for therefining and other incidentalcosts.

The company said: “Aiteois a legitimate business, thathas recently grown itsworkforce from 400 to 2000to enable it effectivelymanage OML 29. Aiteoexpects to substantiallyrecruit above this numbervery soon.

Aiteo isdelivering on itsobligations onOML 29

Buhari has not made plans to cancel contractsto ex-militants, OPC - APC

IN Friday’s edition of Vanguard, we published a story with the headline: “Controversy trails Aregbesola’s son’s alleged arrest,” and quot-

ing a source as confirming the arrest of the son of Governor Rauf Areg-besola of Osun State for money laundering. We have since discoveredthat the report was false in its entirety as no son of Governor Aregbesolawas arrested as reported. We hereby tender our sincere apology for theembarrassment the story must have caused the governor and his family.

APOLOGY

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 —15

Guarantee of freedom my greatest legacy, Elechi says

A B A K A L I K I —GOVERNOR Martin

Elechi of Ebonyi State has saidthat allowing people to exercisetheir basic rights and freedom washis greatest legacy in the eightyears of his administration.

Elechi made the statement,yesterday, at a ThanksgivingMass, at Government HouseCatholic Chapel, Abakaliki,officiated by the Catholic Bishopof Abakaliki Diocese, MichaelOkoro.

“Ensuring that the people freelyexercised the freedom to bethemselves in all situations,criticise government without fearor favour, gave me the greatestjoy as governor.

“When one adds this legacy tothe provision of basicinfrastructure; giant stridesrecorded in education sector,health, agriculture, amongothers, it could be concluded thatmy tenure was successful andfulfilling,” he said.

The governor, however,regretted that some people in thestate put their personal interestabove collective values whichmade the attainment of collectivegoals challenging.

“We have to make people knowthat the things that bind ussupercede personal interests as

collective interest is more thanwhat few friends or admirers cansay they gained from a publicservant or administration.

“Most people judge successesand failures of one’sadministration from what theybenefit from it.

“The quantum of violencerecorded during the last election,made me wonder if the attitudinalchange policy we preached for

over seven years was a wasteddream,” Elechi said.

He noted that the denial ofpeople’s common freedom, peaceand right to choose their leadersduring the last elections in thestate, gave him the greatest painin office.

“The issue currently is not whowon or lost because it wasdiscovered that after the elections,there were no jubilations as the

winners failed to jubilate.“We discovered that the entire

state was shrouded in treacherouscalm which could burst intoviolence at the slightestopportunity.

“This made us to invite thegovernorship candidates andtheir supporters to maintain peacein the collective interest of thestate,” he said.

Ekweremadu, guest of honour, Gemade, chair, at launch of‘Fragrance of Diversity’ tomorrow

DEPUTY SENATEPresident, Chief Ike

Ekweremadu, will be the specialguest of honour at the unveilingof the book, ‘’FRAGRANCE OFDIVERSITY: Anthology ofNigerian names,’’ tomorrow,Tuesday, May 19, 2015.

The senator representingBenue North East senatorialzone, Chief Barnabas Gemade,is also expected to chair theceremony scheduled to hold atInternational Conference Centre,Abuja.

The same ceremony has FCTMinister, Senator BalaMohammed, as the chief host,with one of his predecessors,Alhaji Mohammed Abba Gana,

as the father of the day.The 352-page book, written by

Nosike Ogbuenyi, the SpecialAssistant on Media to the FCTMinister, covers about 10,000Nigerian names and theirmeanings.

It also has chapters containingthread names, words and otherrelated matters.

According to a statement,yesterday, in Abuja by theChairman of the NationalOrganizing Committee for thepresentation and a NationalTrustee of Unity and ToleranceInitiative, Gbenga Onayiga,issues relating to unity,understanding, tolerance,harmony and peaceful co-

existence will be on the frontburner on the occasion.

He explained that the book waswritten to promote peace, unity,understanding, harmony andtolerance among all Nigerians,irrespective of diversity.

Onayiga said the timing of thepresentation of the book wasdeliberate, with the hindsight ofcushioning the gains, trauma andchallenges from the recentgeneral elections and theattendant first-of-its-kind inter-party transition in Nigeria.

He added that the book willpromote understanding,tolerance in Nigeria.

Onayiga said the book soughtto demonstrate how some of

Nigeria’s cultural traits anddiverse names, which had oftenbeen misapplied as divisive tools,could be transformed into positiveinstruments of unity.

Many analysts are of the viewthat the book would definitely goa long way towards blendingNigerians of diverse linguisticand ethno-religious backgroundstogether by encouraging bearingof names across ethnic andreligious divides.

The book had been describedas “a valuable companion for allpatriots and those who want tounderstand Nigeria andNigerians better as well as thoseseeking good baby names fortheir children.”

FG explains varsity chancellors'appointment criteria

THANKSGIVING: From left, Speaker,Abia State House of Assembly and deputy governor-elect, Hon. Ude Okochukwu; wife of governor-elect, Mrs. Nkechi Ikpeazu; Dr. OkezieIkpeazu, Abia State governor-elect; Abia State governor,Theodore Orji, and his wife, Mercy,during the valedictory thanksgiving service, at the new International Conference Centre, inUmuahia.

OWERRI—THE FederalGovernment has said it

appointed 38 varsitychancellors from outside thegeographical location of eachchancellor to cross-fertilizediverse cultural backgroundsand ensure synergy amongthem.

The Minister of Education,Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau,disclosed this at the Palace ofEze Cletus Ilomuanya inObinugwu, Orlu LocalGovernment Area of Imo State,during the formal presentationof the Monarch’s appointmentletter as Chancellor, FederalUniversity, Bernin Kebbi, KebbiState.

The Minister wasaccompanied by the Minister ofState for Education, Prof. ViolaOnwuliri, the PermanentSecretary and Heads ofParastatals under the Ministry,including the Rector andProvost of Federal Polytechnic,Nekede and Alvan IkokuFederal College of Education,both in Owerri.

Also present was the registrarof Federal University, BerninKebbi, Alhaji Ibrahim Mungadi.

Shekarau said: “The essenceis for the chancellors as fathers,to impact positively on the livesof Nigerians other than theirown immediate constituenciesand by so doing, enhance the

peace, stability and progress ofNigeria.”

He described Eze Ilomuanyaas a highly detribalized andrespected traditional ruler inthe country, pointing out that hewas carefully selected alongside37 other prominent monarchs.

The Minister noted that asa trail blazer, Eze Ilomuanyahad been in the fore-front ofpeaceful co-existence of varioussections of the country, stating

that his appointment was anindication of the honour andrespect the FederalGovernment had for him.

Responding, Eze Ilomuanyathanked the Minister ofEducation and the FederalGovernment for the honourdone him.

He assured that he would notrelent in his task of ensuring apeaceful, united and stableNigeria, where all would be

regarded as one, irrespectiveof religion, tribe and language.

Vanguard gathered that EzeIlomuanya and the Emir ofKano, who now doubles as theChancellor of University ofBenin, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido,are the only two traditionalrulers who the Ministerpersonally delivered theirappointment letters aschancellors.

Police nabrobberysyndicate inEbonyi

ABAKALIKI—Asyndicate that

specializes in robbingunsuspecting citizens ofthe state of their monies,electronics and otherhousehold property,was, last weekend,arrested and paraded byEbonyi State policecommand.

The suspects who areall indigenes of EnuguState, includeOkechukwu Okolie, 27,Nnabude Onwudiwe,28, and Sunday Agu, 38.

Briefing newsmen atthe commandheadquarters inAbakaliki, the StatePolice Public RelationsOfficers, DSP ChrisAnyanwu, who disclosedthat the suspects werearrested in a red-coloured Golf car withRegistration NumberOndo AM 763 NND,added that one of theirvictims, Maureen EkechiNnebuife, 29, wasswindled of N650,000.

“One of the miscreantsfeigned to have justarrived from Greece anddidn’t know his wayaround town and neededto be directed to anynearby Eye Clinic formedication.

‘’While in the car, thesaid woman wasdispossessed of sum ofN50,000 cash which herhusband sent her todeposit in a bank.

“Not yet done with her,the crooks forced herunder threat to hermother ’s residence atOnueke and robbed herof N600,000 cash whichthe poor woman tradeswith in her meatbusiness,” he said.

By Peter OkutuBy Chidi Nkwopara

16—Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

PRESENTATION: From left, Managing Director, China Harbour Engineering LFTZ Enterprise,CHELE, Mr. Wang Zhichao; Managing Director, Lekki Port, Mr. Haresh Aswani; ManagingDirector, Nigeria Port Authority, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Ado Bayero, and HonourableCommissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Mrs. Olusola Oworu, at thepresentation of $58.5 million cheque to China Harbour Engineering LFTZ Enterprise, tokick off the construction of Lekki Port, in Lagos.

LEAD POISONING OUT-BREAK: 28children killed in Niger State

By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA—AN out-break oflead poisoning has killed

28 children in Angwan Maijeroand Angwan Karo, MadakaDistrict in Rafi Local GovernmentArea of Niger State, following the

INSURGENCY: Military cautions advocacy groups against hatecampaigns

THE NIGERIAN Militaryhas cautioned advocacy

groups against hatecampaigns even as it insistedthat all its reports on counter-terrorism are based on theavailable information andobservance of the elements ofpropriety, security, policy andaccuracy which have remainedits guiding principles.

In a letter addressed to theleadership of Bring Back Our

Girls, BBOG, group, theDirector of DefenceInformation, Major GeneralChris Olukolade cautionedthem to be wary of those hecalled "charlatans looking fora platform to denigrate theMilitary for selfish and ulteriormotives.

“I feel constrained to call yourattention to the existence andactivities of charlatans in yourmidst who have never had the

privilege of responsible service inpublic sector, but are now keen tosee everyone in position broughtdown to entertain their fancy andenvy,” he said.

Olukolade regretted that somepersons have sought to equatemilitary’s efforts to give accountsof activities on the nation’s waron terror as propaganda or coverup.

Insisting that the battle situationon ground could be very fluid and

susceptible to rapid changes;Olukolade said: “The situationsaround the battle could alsochange accordingly in aninexplicable manner.

"This trend is also compoundedby various perspectives that havebeen employed to seriouslypolarise the understanding of thesituation along the line of allkinds of sentiments and biasesprevailing in the environment.”

Reps memberwantsS/Courtinjunction onConstitutionamendmentprocessreviewed

By EmmanOvuakporie

A B U J A —CHAIRMAN of

the House ofR e p r e s e n t a t i v e sCommittee on rules andbusiness, Albert Sam-Tsokwa, PDP, Taraba, hassaid that the NationalAssembly will ask for areview of the SupremeCourt's decision stoppingthe lawmakers fromproceeding with theprocess on amendment ofthe 1999 Constitution.

He said while theNational Assembly holdsthe Supreme Court in highesteem and would notdisobey its ruling pendingthe final decision on thematter, however arguedthat the ruling poses adangerous precedence forthe independence of thelegislature in Nigeria.

The out-going lawmakersaid the National Assemblyhad directed its lawyers togo back to the SupremeCourt and discharge theorder because “the orderwas hastily made. The courtcan’t stop a legislativeprocess."

activities of illegal miners.This was contained in a

statement by the Ministry ofMines and Steel Development,yesterday.

The statement indicated that thenumber of casualties was more ofchildren, 15 of them, but theMinistry of Health, Niger State

reported that the death toll hadincreased to 28 children, whilemany were still sick.

The statement read in part: “Acase of lead poisoningpurportedly resulting from theactivities of informal miners inAngwan Maijero and AngwanKaro, Madaka District, Rafi LGA,

Niger State, was reported by ourFederal Mines Officer In-charge,Niger State on May 13, 2015.

“The report contained a detailedinvestigation on the incident andmeasures taken to forestal furtherdeterioration of the situation.

"A highpoint of the report wasthe initial report by the field officerof 15 casualties, made up ofmainly children, linked to thepoisoning caused by the activitiesof these miners.

“The report also containedefforts by the Ministry inconjunction with the FederalMinistry of Health and the NigerState Ministry of Health inputting in place a technical teamwhich visited the affected areason a scoping mission to verify theoccurrence of the out-break, itscausative agents, magnitude anddimension.

“A report received on May 7from the State Ministry of Healthcontained an increased number ofsick children, under the age of 5,and the death of about 28 children.

“Series of meetings have beenheld by stakeholders and are stillongoing in the process ofaddressing this issue, especiallythat comprising the FederalMinistry of Health, Ministry ofMines and Steel Development,World Health Organization, CivilSociety Organization, Ministry ofWater Resources and others.”

According to the Ministry ofMines and Steel Developmentthe particular activity that gave riseto this out-break of leadpoisoning, as in other cases in thepast, has been as a result of theinformal mining which involvesthe adoption of unsafe miningpractices, giving little or noregards to personal health, thatof the general public and theenvironment.

This was in spite of theestablishment of a SpecialPresidential Mines SurveillanceTask Force which the Secretary tothe Government of the Federationinaugurated in June 2012 as partof the efforts to curtail thesituation.

However, the Ministry statedthat it had as follow up in mid-2013 by dispatching its MinisterialTask Force to Garin Gabas in thesame Rafi Local Government Areaof Niger State to evacuate illegalminers from sites there.

NIRP to boost annual manufacturing revenue by N5trn—Aganga.As Nigerian engineers task FG to patronise made-in-Nigeria vehicles

By JohnboscoAgbakwuru

ABUJA—THE Minister ofIndustry, Trade and

Investment, Mr. OlusegunAganga has said that the NigeriaIndustrial Revolution Plan, NIRP,would boost the annual revenueearnings of the Nigerianmanufacturers with up to N5trillion per annum.

The Minister, who stated thisat the annual MechanicalEngineers Distinguished lectureentitled, 'The AutomativeIndustry and Nigeria’sIndustrialisation,' in Abuja,explained that the goal of theNIRP was to increase thecontribution of the manufacturingsector to Gross Domestic Product,GDP, from the present seven percent to more than 10 per centover the next five years.

He said that PresidentGoodluck Jonathan in a bid tostrengthen the economic base ofthe country had launched theNIRP and the NationalEnterprise DevelopmentProgramme, NEDEP, to usher anew era for industrial, micro,

small and medium enterprisesdevelopment in the country.

According to him: “The NIRPis the most ambitious andcomprehensive roadmap thatwould transform the nation’sindustrial landscape, boost skillsdevelopment, enhance jobcreation and conserve foreignexchange.

“It is the flagshipindustrialisation programmeever embarked upon by thiscountry. It will fast-track

industrialisation, accelerateinclusive economic growth, jobcreation, transform Nigeria’sbusiness environment and stopthe drain on our foreign reservescaused by importing what we canproduce locally.”

Aganga said that the NIRP wasambitious and comprehensivebecause it was based on thesectors that the "country hascompetitive and comparativeadvantages such as agro-allied,metals and solid minerals, oil and

gas industrial activities andconstruction, light manufacturingand services.

“These are sectors whereNigeria could be number one inAfrica and in the top 10 globally.The NIRP is geared towardsaddressing all the major physicalconstraints impedingindustrialization and aims atimproving the nation’sinvestment climate and promotethe patronage of made-in-Nigeriaproducts,” he said.

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015—17

CMYK

OPINION

18 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

By Yunus Usman

OPINION T T T T Turururururkkkkkeeeeey and the cost of presidential ‘insults’y and the cost of presidential ‘insults’y and the cost of presidential ‘insults’y and the cost of presidential ‘insults’y and the cost of presidential ‘insults’

•Mr. Usman, a commentator on currentaffairs , wrote from Lokoja.

EVENTS in Turkey regarding onslaughton individuals accused of insulting

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have overthe recent times continue to question mybelief on the type of governance that holdssway in that country.While it is widely known that everydemocratic leader must be willing to receivecriticisms and sometime insults from thepeople, events in Turkey, including the recentcourt summon of Emrah Serbes forinsulting President Erdogan, appear tojustify analysts claim that the presentadministration has drifted into a near-dictatorship.As a Nigerian, I have lost count of how manytimes people insulted President GoodluckJonathan, especially in the social media,tagging him disparaging names for failingto meet their expectations. Even thePresident-Elect, General MuhamaduBuhari is not also spared of insults andcriticisms from those who believe theirinterests would be endangered by his rule.I have also seen on various internationaltelevision screens and social network siteshow citizens of major democracies likeUnited States, United Kingdom, India,among many others, criticising andsometime insulting their leaders for notliving up to expectations.Of all these instances, issue of criminalcharges never came up, as criticisms and

constructive ‘insults’ are seen as‘thermometer’ to gauge the popularity ofgovernment in any democratic settings.But President Erdogan seeming passion tostifle critics and’ crush’ Turks who madenegative remarks about the presentadministration through harsh judicialprosecutions, underscore how democracy isfast bidding bye to Turkey amid outcry fromvarious quarters.Before the recent trial of Serbes, who wasaccused of "insulting" President Erdogan ona Television programme he joined as a guestspeaker, many Turks are still licking theirwounds, while others are cooling their heelsin various jails for daring to make negativeremarks on the iron-hand president, ascenario reminiscent of the old days ofEmperor reign.Report has it that between August last yearto March this year alone, no fewer than 236people have been investigated for insultingthe Turkey’s President, out of which 105 wereindicted, while Erdogan filed almost 500

requests to the social media platform,Twitter, for removal of content he consideredabusive.But if the insults are anything to go by, whyis Erdogan attracting abusive remarks fromthe Turkish people? Was it the same thing adecade ago when he assumed power as PrimeMinister before his ‘coronation’ as President?While the present administration seem to beevasive in answering these questions, manyinternational analysts believe that thePresident determined efforts to permanentlyperpetuate himself in power despite hisplummeting rating may have prompted thenegative comments targeting the President.Erdogan popularity rating dwindled to arecord low following the corruption scandalthat rocked the administration in December2013, which some members of the President’sinner circle and officials of the ruling Justiceand Development Party (AKP) wereimplicated.But the quest to whip the Turkish peopleinto his tortuous line has further made thePresident unpopular as waves of arrest ofcritics and blatant crackdown on mediaportray him as an authoritarian anddictatorial leader, even as variousinternational rights groups continue to hithard on Turkey’s human rights record.Reporters Without Borders recently placedthe country in 149th of 180 countries in thepress freedom index, while a recent report,authored by US civil rights advocate JamesHarrington, brought to the fore a bleak

picture of Turkey's poor civil rights recordjust as it warned that further regression willsee to the total erosion of little elements ofdemocracy that are still on ground in thecountry.This may not be far from the truth, inErdogan's time in office,( first as PrimeMinister 2003-to 2014 and President from2014 till date), no fewer than 63 journalistshave been sentenced to a total of 32 years inprison, with collective fines of not less than$128,000, while figures from Turkey’sMinistry of Justice put the number of peopleinvestigated for insulting the President in therecent months at 236.A 16-year-old boy was indicted earlier thisyear for calling the president a thief duringa demonstration, just as a former MissTurkey was also hit with charges for postingpoem deemed to insult the president on herInstagram account.Though most of the cases were initiated byindividuals or lawyers, many believe that thewaves of arrest of critics, judges, journalists,protesters and opposition figures, who thegovernment often accused of being membersof the ‘parallel state’ have the full backingof Erdogan.As in the case of Serbes known for his writingon the popular crime series ‘Behzat C’,scores of criminal investigations and caseshave been launched against authors,journalists, academics and cartoonists for"insulting Erdogan" in recent years,prompting statements of concern from theinternational community.

But if the insults areanything to go by, whyis Erdogan attractingabusive remarks fromthe Turkish people?

PIERRE Nkurunziza is one of Africa’s leastknown dictators. The 10-year ruler ofBurundi wants another five years. Hisambition has upset the fragile peaceinstituted after a brutal 13-year civil warbetween Tutsi and Hutu. People areprotesting another Nkurunziza tenure, acoup was staged against him on Wednesday.

Even if he returns to power, his ambitionhas complicated the politics of Burundi,which rested more on the understanding thatpower, positions, and opportunities wouldbe shared to reflect the pluralities ofBurundi. Nkurunziza argues that parliamentelected him for his first tenure, so it wouldnot count. The Constitutional Court supportshim. Should he not leave office for the sakeof Burundi?

Only last year, Burkinabe BlaiseCompaore, then 63, after 27 years, wantedanother five-year term. If he succeeded, hewould have spent almost half his life as theruler of Burkina Faso, one of the world’spoorest countries, whose misfortunes havebenefitted from stalled leadership.

Angry Burkinabes ejected Compaore frompower, but the chaos that his forceddeparture caused is not new. African

countries with long-lasting dictatorshipsremain in ruination after the demi-godsleave. Cote d’Ivoire has not fully recovered23 years after the death of former PresidentFelix Houphouët-Boigny, its first president.He ruled for 33 years.

Benin, Congo-Brazzaville, the DemocraticRepublic of Congo, and Rwanda are somecountries with sit-tight leaders. Nkurunzizashould have learnt from Niger ’s MamadouTandja who the army evicted in 2010following his third-term bid. Senegal’sPresident Abdoulaye Wade lost the 2012election after changing the constitution torun for a third term.

Paul Biya, 81, Cameroun’s President,perennially in France tending his health,

has been President for 33 years. He wasPrime Minister for seven years. RobertGabriel Mugabe, Zimbabwe, 91, hiscountry’s only President in its 35 years, hashis wife as possible successor.

Eritrea’s Isaias Afwerki (22), Angola’s JoseEduardo dos Santos (36), Chad’s Idriss Deby(25), and Uganda’s Yoweri Kaguta Museveni(29) are among African sit-tight dictators.

Even if Nkurunziza thinks he is the bestPresident for Burundi, the fact remains thathis ambition could return the country to thewar that cost more than 300,000 lives andleft a vastly divided polity.

Like Zimbabwe, where inflation has hitincalculable heights, with scarcity ofeverything from food to fuel, Burundi is ineconomic straits. Nkururnziza’s claims tobuilding schools do not address them.

Nkurunziza, just 51, has been accused ofrepressive measures to reserve thepresidency for himself. Other Africandictators apply the same tactics. The worldshould assist Burundi out of itsquagmire,instead of waiting for another war.

We condemn undemocratic leadershipchanges, and leaders who make theminevitable.

Nkurunziza Learnt Nothing

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 —19

•Dr. Pondei is Chairman, Forum of YoungAcademic Doctors of Bayelsa, State.

By Godfrey Pondei

Politics and development of Bayelsa State

Sapped of power and energy

CREATED by the late General SanniAbacha’s military government on

Tuesday 1st October 1996, Bayelsa State isagreeably the capital and home of Nigeria’sfourth largest tribe – the Ijaws – also knownsometimes as Izons.Due to its linguistichomogeneity, Ijaws who spread acrossBayelsa,Rivers, Delta, Edo, Cross River,Akwa Ibom, and Ondo States consider thecreation of Bayelsa State a dream come trueas it was expected to be the fulcrum of socio-cultural activities spanning the entire Ijawtribe. More importantly, the Ijaw people, twoof whom had been chief executives of theold Rivers State – Chief Diette Spiff and lateChief Melford Okilo - considered thecreation of Bayelsa State as an opportunityto correct infrastructural defects anddeficiencies which they had witnessedinRivers State, one in which they werepreviously domiciled. This makes thedevelopment of Bayelsa State of paramountimportance to the people.

True as the foregoing portends, not onlythe Ijaw people, but the generality of theNigerian populace have expressed concernsabout the volatility that had characterisedthe political climate in Bayelsa State vis-à-vis the short duration in office of chiefexecutives of the state. While other states inthe South south geopolitical zone like Edoand Rivers have had three governors each;Delta, Cross River and Akwa Ibom have hadonly two governors respectively between1999 and date. It is sad to note thattheBayelsa State experience is ratherdifferent and worrisome. Within the periodunder review, the state has had a whoopingtotal of six governors. It is consequentuponthis fact that seeking solution inchecking the trend becomes inevitable.

From an historical perspective, the ChiefD.S.P Alamieyeseigha-led administrationwhich began on 29 May 1999 got shortcircuited on 9 December 2005 during its

second term and was succeeded same dayby the then Deputy Governor – Dr.GoodluckEbele Jonathan. This administration whichspanned through 29th May 2007 wassimilarly truncated by Dr.GoodluckJonathan’s nominationas running mate tothe late President Umaru Shehu Yar’Aduaduring the elections that led to the federaladministration that began 29 May2007.His ascension to the position of theVice President of the Federal Republic ofNigeria created a vacuum in Bayelsa Statewhich needed to be filled.As such, ChiefTimipre Sylva who had been a member ofthe Rivers State House of Assembly in the1990s, and acandidate of the People’sDemocratic Party,emerged winner of theBayelsan gubernatorial election on May29, 2007 and therefore succeeded GoodluckJonathan. It is on record how Sylva’s majoropponent in the 2007 election, EbitimiAmgbare of the Action Congress, legallychallenged his victory. Although the BayelsaState Election Petitions Tribunal upheldSylva’s election, Amgbare took the matterto the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourtwhich overturned the Tribunal’s decisionand nullified Sylva’s election on April 15,2008. Then, the Court of Appeal’s five justiceswere unanimous in their decision andordered that Speaker Werinipre Seibarogube sworn in to replace Sylva as acting

Governor, with a directive to hold a freshelection within three months.The newelection held on May 24, 2008as originallyscheduled and Timipre Sylva, againrunning as the PDP candidate, wonoverwhelmingly. He was sworn in again on27 May 2008.On 27 January 2012, histenure was terminated by an order of theSupreme Court with Nestor K. Binaboappointed as an acting governor to overseethe state until February 2012 when thewinner of an election that will have heldwill be sworn in. As scheduled, on 14February 2012, Honourable Henry SeriakeDickson who won over 90% of the votes asreported by the Independent NationalElectoral Commission, was sworn in andas such,took over the mantle of leadershipfrom 14February 2012 till date.

The foregoing experiences have eitherpremeditatedly or inadvertentlycharacterised the political landscape ofBayelsa State thus culminating in awhooping total of six different chiefexecutives, being the highest across theSouth-South geopolitical zone within theperiod under consideration to haveadministered the affairs of the oil-rich state.

It is thought-provoking that this politicalprecariousness in Bayelsa State is not uniqueto the sixteen year-old democraticdispensation. Similarly, during the militaryera, for instance, Bayelsa State had fourmilitary administrators from its creation in1996 through 1999. This is relative to thethree administrators for Edo, Delta andAkwa Ibom; and two for Rivers and CrossRiver States respectively within the sameperiod.

The political volatility in Bayelsa State,as opined by a thought school is largelydueto the fact that Bayelsans are quick tocomplain just about every regime, a fewmonths into it, until there is a basis forcomparison with another. Could this be acharacteristic feature of Bayelsans, believedto be endemic in the people of the state?Could this be said to be partly responsiblefor the volatility of the state’s politicalsystem, even during the military era? Orcould complaints against Bayelsan

administrations be truly due to inability ofthe political system to provide for itsmembers?More often than not,administrations in Bayelsa are perceived tohave failed to meet the expectations andaspirations of the people, thereby creatinga feeling among citizens that thegovernment is corrupt, amongst otherassociated negative vises.As a consequenceof such undesirableimpressions, Bayelsanregimes are often known by cliché or theother before it is crumbled.It may amuseone to note that the name of an ex-militaryadministrator is used as a common slangto denote the locally brewed gin also knownas ogogoro, as he was rumoured to havedelighted himself in taking a lot of it whilehe served in the state.

Indeed, theBayelsa experience is akin tothe instability of the political systems inLiberia, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republicof Congo, Sudan and others that havecreated numerous challenges for theirpeople– insecurity andunderdevelopment,amongst others.

Believably, political elite and otherpolitical actors, by their actions or inactions,are capable of subjecting a system to stresswhich has the potentials of making it fickle.Could this be true for the Bayelsaexperience? Could this be an explanationfor the relative underdevelopment BayelsaState has suffered ab initio? Profferingsolutions to these hitherto rhetoricalquestions could put one on a good pedestalto solving the problems of the state.

This is where bringing to bear Almondand Powell’s structural functional analysisbecomes needful, understanding thatfunctionalism is a framework for buildingtheory that sees society as a complex systemwhose parts work together to promotesolidarity and stability. In this regard, itbecomes imperative, therefore, for bothgovernment and the governed to see thedevelopment of Bayelsa State as a collectiveresponsibility of all.

Send Opinions & Letters to:opinions1234@yahoo.com

The Buhariadministration islike a crabemerging from ahole; its walkingsideways, willmake it difficult todetermine where itis headed

A FORTNIGHT ago, I was inLagos and with my travelling

companions, we were heading forIbadan. We were low on fuel, butthe fuel stations were mini theatresof war. As we passed them, wecould see low intensive combatsgoing on. There was of course theoption of the black market. But itwas selling for N210 per litre incomparison with the official N87.The other problem is that at thisparallel market, you could be soldadulterated fuel. We concludedthat Ibadan was a saner place tobuy fuel.

In Ibadan, the situation wasworse. I observed a three-manteam of policemen who despitetheir wailing patrol van, found itimpossible to gain access into a fuel station which was blockedby vehicles. They disembarked,muscled their way with theirguns, intimidated the stationmanager who reluctantly soldthem fuel in the three four–litrecans they were carrying. Theyreturned to their patrol van,sweating but triumphant. Whata country!

We soon discovered that notbuying black market fuel in Lagoswas a serious mistake. Where theblack marketers were deregulatedin Lagos and could be foundvirtually at every turn, we could notget any all the way from the formertoll gate to Iwo Road. We were toldthat Sabo, inside the town waswhere we could get black market.We had to risk the drive into townwith our fuel indicator blinking.Yes, the market here was booming,but the cheapest was N310 perlitre!

I reflected the type of devaluedlife Nigerians live. With such a highprice, how do transporters breakeven? How do commuters,especially workers and students,get around? The small scaleentrepreneurs, how do they powertheir generators? At what cost canfarmers transport their produce tothe urban markets? How do wesurvive without the fuel of ournational life?

Doubtlessly, one of the mostprofitable businesses in theworld, is oil marketing in Nigeria.It does not matter whether you are

a minor, major, dependent orindependent marketer; you smileto the bank every second. Thegovernment provides them fundsto import petroleum products andpays interest rates for the samefunds. So they run no risk.

As marketers, they supply whatthey wish, sell at prices they choose,and when they are broke, they stopimporting, or marketing and theGovernment rushes to off loadbillions of Naira into the bowelsof their bulging accounts.Kerosene, mainly used by the poorand manufacturers, for whichmarketers collect subsidies to sellat N50, they openly sell at N150.

An open secret is that some of themarketers, using the notorious‘Cotonou’ and ‘Lome’ ships do noteven bring the products into thecountry. They simply off load themin neighbouring countries, get theNigerian officials to sign thenecessary papers of delivery in thecountry, and smile to the bank.These are marketers who importin the first place. There are thosewho import nothing, use thenames of decommissioned shipsand are paid by Government.

Yet, the reason this racketeeringpersists and why subsidy must

continue is that we do little or no refining in the country. When anoil producing country like Nigeriadoes not refine its petroleum needs,first, it deprives its citizensemployment in that sector, butmost importantly, it exposes itselfto the manipulative vagaries ofthe so called market forces and thefraud inherent in the Nigeriansubsidy regime.

In choosing to import productsrather than refining, governmentexposes the country to two majorfactors it has no control over; theprice of crude at the internationalmarket, and the exchange rate ofthe Naira. These are twoimportant variables that drive thesubsidy regime. Other factorsinclude the added burden offreight, insurance, capital toimport, interest rates, landingcosts, port charges, demurrage,storage charge, lifting fuel by roadall the way from Lagos, etcetera.So why would a nation be soyoked?

There is so much reliance onpetroleum products partly becausethe power sector continues to generate more darkness thanelectricity. We were told that thesolution to that sector isprivatisation. As was done in theBabangida regime, we were toldthat we must embrace TINA. Not Tina, the lady, but the acronym;There Is No Alternative toprivatization.

So the Power Holding Company(PHCN) was privatised by beingunbundled into eighteencompanies; a transmissioncompany, six GeneratingCompanies (GENCOs) and elevenDistribution Companies(DISCOS) Despite theprivatisation a year and half ago,

there is no service delivery, noappreciable investments and theforeign and local fund injectionpromised, did not materialise. Infact, some of the companies are yetto pay fully for the purchase.Despite these huge failures, thosewho purchased the PHCNcompanies with ‘gencos’ in theirblood stream are simply dancing‘discos’ in the banks with profitsmade off Nigerians.

Like the oil marketers, it is theGovernment raising funds for themto run their private companies; theCBN under a Nigeria Electricity Market Stabilization Facility(NEMSF) made available tothem, N213 Billion to off set debtsand open credit lines. So far, theprivatisation of the power sectorhas seen the reduction of the staffby over 70 percent, thecasualisation of the entire industryand the enslavement of staff.

As for the rest of Nigerians, weare stuck with the pre-1999, lessthan four-thousand megawatts ofelectricity, and private powercompanies that cannot evensupply pre-paid meters. Thus,many Nigerians continue to besubjected to so called estimated billsand tariff increases for power notsupplied.

So we are sapped of power, weare sapped of energy. Many arehowever optimistic that the Buhariadministration taking over nextweek Friday will turn things around.This may well be true, but we mustremember that governance is aboutpolicies, guiding principles andinterests, not a religion or set ofbeliefs. The Buhari administrationis like a crab emerging from ahole; its walking sideways, willmake it difficult to determinewhere it is headed.

Continues tomorrow on pg. 18

Believably, political elite andother political actors, bytheir actions or inactions,are capable of subjecting asystem to stress which hasthe potentials of making itfickle. Could this be true forthe Bayelsa experience?

20—Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

OPINION

By Joe Igbokwe

*Mr Igbokwe is the Publicity Secretary of the APC, Lagos Statechapter

Empty treasury awaits General Buhari

IF the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and PresidentGoodluck Jonathan had known that the bubble will

burst in March 28, 2015 presidential elections, I bet theywould have been a little bit cautious and prudent in dealingwith the nation’s finances.

In a special farewell service for the President in Abuja bythe Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion PresidentJonathan lamented that he fears persecution targeted athim and his Ministers from the All Progressives Congress,APC-controlled Federal Government after May 29, 2015.President Jonathan had to swallow the bitter pill of lettingthe world know what has been troubling his innermostchambers since it became obvious that the game has beenwon and lost in Nigeria. The reports of the devastatingstate of Nigeria’s economy have not helped matters. Thefigures refused to add up. Nigeria cannot pay salaries, petrolcannot flow. Electricity is not available. The system is almostat standstill.

But what worries me most is why the President is cryingout loud about possible persecution if there is nothing toworry about. If there is no skeleton in the cupboard, thePresident needs not bother about anything except to prepare

for a decent handover ceremony on May 29, 2015. IfPresident had done his duty to fatherland in the way it shouldbe done, I do not see the reason for this panic statement.

Before 2011 when we sold crude oil at $38 per barrel wehad $62 billion in the external reserve. From 2011 whencrude oil was sold at $110 per barrel our external reservesdropped to $32 billion. Now, where did all the money go?In 1999 Nigeria had more than 3000 Mw of electricity and16 years, after spending billions of dollars, we are still atless than 3000Mw.

Again where did all the money go to? For over 16 years,Nigerians do not know what is going on at NNPC. Howmuch crude oil do we pump in a day? How much of it is soldoutside and what quantity is for local consumption? Whyare our four refineries not working? Has NNPC beenaccountable to anybody? Who are those behind the oilsubsidy scam? Have they been brought to book? Are we notliving witnesses of how those accused of oil subsidy scamfound themselves back in government? Those who aspire tohold public office must be man enough to admit failuresand take responsibility.

The self evident truths here is that President Jonathan andhis PDP never believed that incumbent can lose power inNigeria. They were never prepared for it. They did not look

at the figures. They did not believe that they cannot buy thepresidency again. The PDP and the Presidency did not realisethat the North is aggrieved because Jonathan’s ambitionto rule Nigeria till 2019 has devastated the Southern andNorthern political equilibrium and understanding. Theydid not realise that it is impossible for 11 states in SouthEast and South-South to defeat 25 States from North East,North West, North Central and South West. They were notsmart enough to reason that immediately the whole Northand the Yoruba nation came together, the business has beenconcluded. They did not see that Buhari of 2003, 2007, and2011 is not the same Buhari in 2015.

Impunity and power of arrogance did not let them toknow that losing General Obasanjo will break the back ofPDP. The truth is that President Jonathan and his handlerstook a lot of things for granted and the bubbles burst.

Empty treasury awaits General Buhari on May 29, 2015and this is the hardest truth he has to face. But I know APCwill overcome the coming challenges with the power ofideas and brutal efficiency. With a disciplined andtransparent leadership, the real money that will driveprogress will come. At high levels of office ideas are farbetter than dollars.

WE may soon start payinga heavy price for electing

a man who first ruled us 30 yearsago. We may be headed for agerontocracy; a governmentpopulated by old men andwomen. If these oldies had servedour country well, we would havebeen among the developedcountries in the world. But rightnow, we are not even one of thedeveloped countries in Africa. Weare merely the largest economyin Africa by virtue of the abundantgifts of God. Some of the guys whowere always in the picture in onecapacity or the other in the past40 years are set to be recycledwhen most of them are nearly, oreven above 80!

Our President-elect, GeneralMuhammadu Buhari - the secondex-ruler we brought back tocontinue from where he stoppedin 1985 when about half thepopulation of this country had notbeen born – shocked us when heappointed Dr Ahmed Joda as thehead of his 16-man TransitionCommittee. Joda has been therewhen it comes to the governanceof Nigeria from the 1960s. He wasone of the so-called “Super-permanent Secretaries” whomGeneral Gowon depended uponto run Nigeria and thus alienatedhis colleagues in the military whoremoved him from power in 1975.This man completed hissecondary school 67 years ago! Heis even older than Buhari byofficial age. This man and otherfossilised remains from ourignoble past should be at homewatching TV and playing withtheir great-grand children ratherthan occupying the opportunitiesmeant for today’s people.

Not done yet, Buhari only lastweek went public with a complaintI found rather queer. He said thatour out-going President, DrGoodluck Jonathan, had notoffered a single idea to him abouthow his administration shouldtake off! That is shocking, formany reasons. Number one,General Buhari has been ourHead of State. When he assumedpower on December 31, 1983, hedid not seem to need anyone toteach him how to start governing.

Obasanjo ‘development’ committee – again?

Perhaps, it was his Deputy, thenBrigadier Tunde Idiagbon, whohelped government to start? Arethere not enough experiencedhands in his party, the AllProgressives Congress, APC, tohelp him? The NationalChairman of his Party, Dr JohnOdigie-Oyegun, is a retiredFederal Permanent Secretary.

Secondly, General Buhari hadcontested for the presidency threeprevious times. He surely oughtto have a clear picture of what hewants to do when given theopportunity to rule a second time?Certainly, Obasanjo, the firstfossil we plucked out of thefreezer to rule us underdemocracy after ruling us as amilitary man, knew exactly howto start in 1999. He knew that themilitary was a threat to ourdemocracy and he purged it assoon as he took over. He knew

those who gave him money to runfor election, and he immediatelyawarded emergency contracts tothem, such as the Abuja NationalStadium which Julius Berger wasgiven over N12 billion fromoutside the budget to start a fewdays into Obasanjo’s return topower. I thought the right attitudewas for Jonathan to hand overgovernance and give waycompletely. I never knew Buhariwould need tips from him.

Well, apropos of tips, there is aman who did not wait to be asked.And that is the third shock of thematter. Chief OlusegunObasanjo, our two-time presidentand one-time military head ofstate, last week sent one of hislackeys to submit what wastermed a “development agenda”to Buhari. Obasanjo was quotedas saying he set up the committeeabout four months ago. That wasin January 2015. Does it meanObasanjo knew Jonathan wouldnot be president FOUR monthsago!? I ask this question in viewof the fact that he had fallen outwith Jonathan irretrievably, to thepoint of theatrically tearing hisPDP meal ticket (membershipcard) in public. Very interesting,for those who say there was moreto this election that meets theeye.

Even more interesting were thepeople who reportedly worked inthe Obasanjo DevelopmentCommittee. Names like ProfessorAkin Mabogunje, Dr Kalu IdikaKalu and Dr Christopher Kolade,were mentioned. Another groupfrom our past. At 75, KIK is theyoungest of the trio, and apartfrom KIK the rest have been in,

or worked for, the FederalGovernment since 1970s. ThatBuhari received the ObasanjoCommittee report with suchfanfare could mean he will attachsome importance to it. Usually,when people compose anagenda, they are asked to play arole in actualising it. Shouldn’tMabogunje, Kalu, Kolade andProfessor Tam David-West beallowed to stay at home inretirement, watch TV and playwith their great-grand children?What manner of “change” canBuhari achieve by bringing backthese oldies?

And, for that matter, isn’t it timethat we forcefully retiredObasanjo from our lives? Isn’t itamazing that Buhari, who is seenas a serious-minded leader,should allow himself to becornered by this man whoimposed the late PresidentUmaru Yar’ Adua and the out-going President GoodluckJonathan on the nation to featherhis personal nest, failing whichhe declared wars against them?Why is Buhari allowing Obasanjoto hoodwink him withreminiscences of their military(especially civil war)comradeship and using it to comeinto the “eighteen yard box” ofan impending government thatwe expect to change Nigeria forthe better? Obasanjo is like a madwrestler. Anybody who wrestleswith him comes out with his entirebody covered with sand!

I am wondering what“development plan” Obasanjopresented to Buhari which he wasunable to implement in his totalof 12 years as Nigeria’s ruler? In

Shouldn’tMabogunje, Kalu,Kolade andProfessor TamDavid-West beallowed to stay athome in retirement,watch TV and playwith their great-grand children?

his second coming, apart fromreforming the military to rid it ofcoup-plotting, selling licences tobring in the GSM services andusing Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’sconnections in the World Bank toobtain the debt deal with the ParisClub, not much can beremembered of what Obasanjo’seight years as elected presidentadded to Nigeria’s advancement.

Instead, we can list failures ofgovernance in the areas ofsecurity (with many unsolvedmurders of highly placedNigerians, including hisMinister, Bola Ige), energy(failed National Integrated PowerProjects that gulped over $16billion, and the wasted billions infailed revamp of refineries),economic reforms, rule of law,development of our democracy(serial sabotage of the NationalAssembly, destruction of both thePDP and opposition parties) andthe war on corruption. Obasanjowent into government broke in1999 and came out as one of thewealthiest Nigerians in 2007. Hehas not given us an account ofhow he singlehandedly ran theMinistry of Petroleum Resourcesfor six years of our second oilboom when he was president.His government is rated byTransparency International, TI, asthe “most corrupt” federalgovernment, based on data itcollected between 1979 and 2014.Ironically, the much toutedGoodluck Jonathanadministration was rated as theleast corrupt; far less corrupt thanthat of General Buhari in 1984/85! Remember that Obasanjo wasonce a member of the Board ofTransparency International beforehe was jailed by General SaniAbacha. They cannot be accusedof being biased against theirformer Director or in favour ofJonathan.

Usually, only young people areable to bring about change. Theonly change old people arecapable of bringing about is totake us back to what they knewin their time. In the next fouryears we may be heading forsomething we never bargainedfor!

CMYK

CMYK

MAY 18, 2015

By PETER EGWUATU

Ahead of the sale of the lastnationalised bank(Keystone Bank Limited ) by

Assets Management Corporation ofNigeria (AMCON), fresh facts seem tohave emerged as shareholders havecalled on the incoming government ledby President-elect, GeneralMohammadu Buhari to revisit the issueof the three nationalized banks, statingthat the exercise was not transparentand characterized by corruption.

Meanwhile, AMCON’sspokesperson, Mr. Kayode Lamboconfided in Financial Vanguard that thesale of Keystone Bank will commencethis year, 2015 contrary to earlier 2014speculated.

He said: "The corporation will start theprocess of selling the bank with theappointment of financial advisers andwill be fast-tracked. So it is likely thatthe sale may be completed betweenOctober and November 2015.”

Recall that AMCON has so far soldMainstreet Bank and Enterprise Bankto Skye Bank and Heritage Bankrespectively.

In an exclusive chat with FinancialVanguard, the Chairman, ProgressiveShareholders Association of Nigeria,PSAN, Mr. Boniface Okezie, said, “Wethank God that Keystone Bank, whosecase is still in court over nationalizationhas not been sold yet. We have morefacts on this issue and we want properinvestigation on it by the newgovernment. Also, investigation hadshown that one of the reasons why retailinvestors had shown apathy to theNigerian stock market since themeltdown in 2009 was because of theissue of nationalized banks. The retailinvestors suffered the loss of theirinvestment in these banks. If the newgovernment wants increasedparticipation of local investors in themarket, then it should investigate the

VISIT: Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Mr Segun Ogunsanya presenting a gift to theGovernor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola (right), during a courtesy visit to the State of Osun GovernmentHouse recently.

Continues on page 22

Shareholders seek return ofnationalized banks

Demand probe into events leading to nationalizationAllege due process was not followedKeystone Bank sale to be concluded by October/Nov

issue of the nationalized banks."Continuing, he said, “If the issue is

investigated properly, the governmentwill discover discrepancies in thehandling of the issue and it will beproper if the banks are returned to theirformer shareholders or in the worstsituation, compensation be paid to theshareholders. This step, if carried outwould enhance confidence andengender the participation of local

investors in the capital market. So weare using this opportunity to call on theincoming government to revisit thenationalisation of the three bankswhose licences were revoked by theCentral Bank of Nigeria, CBN andacquired by Nigeria Deposit InsuranceCorporation, NDIC and then finallytaken over by AMCON .

He contended that due process wasnot followed as the exercise was

characterized by corruption, adding,“The nationalization of these banksamounted to unlawful and compulsoryacquisition of our investment and istherefore unconstitutional, arbitrary,null and void. We have fresh facts atour disposal and we would like the newgovernment to investigate this issue.Thank God, Keystone Bank has not yetbeen sold.”

CMYK

22 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

Economy

Continues on page 23

Speaking as well on the issueof nationalized banks,Chairman of NigeriaShareholders SolidarityAssociation, NSSA, ChiefTimothy Adesiyan said,“Nationalisation of these banksis a big fraud and need to berevisited for true justice toprevail.

According to him“Shareholders are not happywith the CBN when itforcefully nationalized threebanks belonging to us. Thequestion is, are the three banksdoing well since they weretaken over by AMCON? Theanswer is no. Then, what is theessence of nationalizing them?We the shareholders of thesebanks were shortchanged andwe would like the issue to berevisited and investigatedbecause we like justice toprevail. When two elephantsare fighting it is the grass thatsuffers.”

Speaking on the issue, theNational Co-ordinator,Independent ShareholdersAssociation of Nigeria, SirSunny Nwosu said, “Theestablishment of AMCON wasintended, ab initio, to re-rationalise banks and rapeshareholders, the idea was an“empty boast geared towardsshortchanging shareholders, toenable them give the banks totheir friends. The revocationof the operating licences of thebanks was an illegal policy thathad clearly showcased Nigeriaas an unfriendly polity forsustainable business.”

In his comment, NationalCo-ordinator, ProactiveShareholders Association ofNigeria, PROSAN, Mr. TaiwoOderinde said, “It is a welcomedevelopment if the issue of thethree nationalised banks is

Shareholders seek return ofnationalised banks

revisited."The shareholders have been

crying and calling on thegovernment to compensate theshareholders who were notcarried along when itnationalised the banks. Wecannot be responsible for theinactiveness of others.

In his response, Mr. AdebayoAdeleke, General Secretary,Independent ShareholdersAssociation of Nigeria (ISAN)said “The previous CBNgovernor should beinvestigated by the Economicand Financial Crimes

hear that the three banks havebeen acquired. Worse still, thefollowing Monday, newmanagements, boards and newnames were announced for thebanks. When will Nigeria’spublic officials learn to obey thelaw?” Why the rush tonationalise, especially forbanks that are publicly quotedon the Nigerian StockExchange, NSE?”

It will be recalled thatKeystone Bank , EnterpriseBank and Mainstreet bank,were totally restructured aftera CBN audit showed their poorfinancial standing.

The Asset ManagementCompany of Nigeria,AMCON, has said it would beselling off Keystone,Enterprise and Mainstreetbanks, in 2014.

The three banks, formerlyknown as Bank PHB, SpringBank, and AfriBank wereamong the banks withinfractions after the CentralBank’s audit in 2009.

Their situations were beyondmere bailouts and they had tobe totally restructured,refunded and nationalised, tosave depositors' funds.

AMCON was setup to reviveand stabilise Nigeria’s bankingindustry through the purchaseof Non-Performing Loans,NPLs, of the nation’s bankingindustry.

The 2009 banking crisis in thecountry, which coincided withthe global asset bubble, washuge, when compared toprevious industry crises,according to finance experts.The crisis of solvency liquidityand confidence affectedapproximately 40 per cent ofthe total banking system.Financial firm’s reports reveal

Commission (EFCC). Heshould be asked to account forhow the three banks werenationalised without followingdue process. The former CBNGovernor, Mallam LamidoSanusi never followed dueprocess to nationalize thesebanks. The CBN had givenSeptember 30 for the banks torecapitalise but the investingpublic woke up on Friday to

We, theshareholdersof thesebanks wereshortchangedand wewould likethe issue tobe revisitedandinvestigatedbecause welike justice toprevail

Continued from page 21

ROUNDTABLE: From left, Renowned economist, Dr Ayo Teriba; Prince Bimbo Olashore,Chairman Lead Capital, and Dr Andrew Nevin, Chief Economist, PricewaterhouseCoopers atan event. The trio are expected at the Chambers Roundtable today in Lagos.

Developers in thecountry have called for

the restructuring ofgovernment agencies in thehousing sector to enablethem to fulfil their mandateof providing affordablehousing for the citizens.

President of REDAN, Rev.Ugochukwu Chime, observedthat the Federal HousingAuthority (FHA) had deviatedfrom its mandate and was nowbuilding houses for the rich.He called for therecapitalisation of FederalMortgage Bank of Nigeria(FMBN) to boost its businessand enable it delivereffectively on its mandate. Hefurther urged the governmentto address all issueshindering the efficiency ofthese agencies.

“It’s not good for you tohave a bank with insufficient

Developers seek restructuringof FMBN, FHA

funding and then say they arenot performing their best,FMBN is the only agency thatprovides construction andmortgage financing. We havewitnessed situations wherethe government had doled outN200 billion to those in theentertainment industry andhundreds of billions to thosewho are in agriculture. Thehousing sector deservesbetter since it is a basic needof man; therefore theminimum that could beinvested in FMBN should beabout N250 billion torecapitalise and restructure it.If we can embark onrepositioning banks throughthe banking reform and putin place measures to ensurethat banks do not havechallenges as they used tohave, why can’t we do thesame to the FMBN?”

Analysts at the FinancialDerivatives Company has

described unrealistic theinflation target of six to ninepercent (6-9%) by the Centralbank of Nigeria, given thethreat of stagflationconfronting the economy.Describing stagflation as loweconomic growth combinedwith high inflation, theanalysts, said “Nigeria is notin a stagflation state but couldbe inadvertently moving inthat direction.”Writing in the FDC EconomicBulletin issued on Friday theystated, “The recent NationalBureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed a contraction ineconomic growth to 3.96percent in first quarter of2015 ( Q1’15) from 6.21percent in thecorresponding period of 2014.Also, the inflation numbersreleased for April showed the5th consecutive increase to8.7 percent. Hence, this is notstagflation but just a recipe ora start of the curve. “In order to stimulate growth,the government is likely tospend more throughincreased borrowing andadvocate for a lower interestrate. This reducesunemployment and boostsgrowth but is likely to resultin a higher level of inflationrate. Nonetheless, if the levelof economic growth achievedby the accommodative policyis significant, the impact of a

Stagflation: CBN’s inflationtarget unrealistic-FDC analysts

By Babajide Komolafe

high rate of inflation may bemuted. The current CBN inflationtarget of 6-9 percent isunrealistic with the currentfundamentals in play.Targeting an inflation band of10-13% allows the CBN moreroom to tinker with theinterest rates to stimulategrowth.“Encouraging bank lendingto specific sectors of theeconomy using subsidizedinterest rates alongside amore practical inflation targethelps to address the loomingissue of stagflation. “If policy measures by thenew administration are aimedat reviving productivity andimproving returns oninvestment, the real sectorwill have the incentive to liftcapital expenditure. Hence,Nigeria will be on thetransition path fromstagflation to higher andsustainable real economicgrowth. “Buhari is obsessed withdevelopment and long-termcompetitiveness of theNigerian economy, aimed atimproving the welfare ofNigerians. He will have todeal with some trade-offsespecially allowing for someinflation whilst investingsignificantly i.e. 10% of GDPin infrastructure to jump startthe economy. There are noeasy options, there are onlyhard choices”.

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 — 23

Cover

CMYK

Continued from page 22

the financial cost of theintervention is now in excessof N5 trillion, aside shareholdervalues destroyed.

It will be recalled that someshareholders had takenAMCON to court and the casehas yet to be finalized. At thelast ruling, a Federal HighCourt in Lagos refused todismiss a suit filed by someshareholders of the defunctBank PHB Plc (now KeystoneBank) against the CBN,AMCON and three others overthe forced acquisition of their

Shareholders seek return of nationalised banksshares.

While ruling on apreliminary objections filed bythe defendants to challengethe jurisdiction of the court,Justice Mohammed Yunusaheld that as shareholders, theplaintiffs have a say in the bankand that no arm of governmentcan take away a citizen’s rightto acquire or hold property;therefore, there can be nocompulsory acquisition of theshares.

The plaintiffs are challengingthe alleged illegal transfer oftheir shares to Keystone Bank

without compensation.They are also demanding the

sum of N38.6 billion from thedefendants being “faircompensation” to them for thevalue of their investment in BankPHB Plc.

The shareholders are furtherasking the court for an ordersetting aside the allegedunlawful nationalisation,compulsory acquisition andexpropriation of theirinvestments in Bank PHB, andare seeking N20 billion asdamages for the loss of value oftheir investments in Bank PHB.

The defendants in the suit areCBN, Keystone Bank, Attorney-General of the Federation andNigeria Deposit InsuranceCorporation (NDIC).

The plaintiffs claimed thatNDIC on August 5, 2011, wroteBank PHB’s Managing Directorinforming him that the bank’sassets and liabilities have beentransferred to Keystone Bankwithout any form of adequatecompensation to theshareholders.

The plaintiffs are praying thecourt to declare that the actionamounted to unlawful

compulsory acquisition of theirinvestment and is thereforeunconstitutional, arbitrary, nulland void.

But the defendants in theirpreliminary objections to thesuit, urged the court to strike itout for lack of jurisdiction.

According to their lawyer,Kola Awodein, the shareholdersdid not bring the action properlybefore the court thereby robbingthe court of the jurisdiction tohear it.

The order asking tankerdrivers occupying theO s h o d i - A p a p a

Expressway to vacate within48 hours has made the LagosState Government a laughingstock. When the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway was beingrehabilitated, commuters andother road users went throughhell. The hellish conditionwas bearable to many on theconsolation that once the roadwork was completed, therewill be a relief.

That was not to be. As soonas the Mile-Two end of therehabilitation work wascompleted, tankers andarticulated vehicles took overthe road completely. It was asif the tankers and other heavyduty vehicles had decided tomake the expressway theirparking lot. All efforts todecongest the road failed. Thepolice pleaded helplessness.The Navy did its best but norelief came. The Lagos StateGovernment went on blamegame, shifting responsibilityto the Federal Government. Inall, nothing meaningful wasachieved. The tanker driversentrenched themselves on theroad claiming that they havesettled virtually all the lawenforcement agencies ofgovernment deployed tosalvage the situation. Onseveral occasions, workershave had to either abandontheir vehicles or sleep in theoffice.

Suddenly, and fromnowhere, the Lagos StateGovernment woke up from itslong slumber and found themoral courage to ask theheartless and unrepentanttanker drivers to leave theroad in 48 hours. To any firsttime visitor to Nigeria, hewould reason that if there isanything that symbolises adysfunctional system andineffective governance, it isthe Apapa gridlock. Apapahouses the nation’s gateway,the biggest port in the country,yet it is inaccessible. TheApapa-Oshodi Expresswaylinks the Lagos port to the

Review operating policies on tanksfarms, petroleum distribution

Murtala International Airportand it is sad that both LagosState and FederalGovernments have not paidenough attention to it butrather, have been playing

politics with it. Apapa traffic gridlock is a

symptom of much deepershortcomings in themanagement of governmentbusiness. The FederalGovernment has for long soldthe downstream of the oilsector to a cabal who hasensured that the nation’srefineries would never work.This is to give them the leeway to continue to importrefined products and line

their pockets with ill-gottenwealth. It is to enable the fewthat have access togovernment apparatus toimport products and claimsubsidy. Subsidy racket hasbecome a big and lucrativebusiness in Nigeria’s rentaleconomy. If the nation’srefineries were working, thetrucks will not be convergingon Lagos to lift importedpetroleum products from tankfarms concentrated in Apapaand owned by individualswho care less about theordinary Nigerian.

Commercial activities alongthe Apapa-Oshodi

Expressway axis of Lagos aregradually being grounded asthe uncivilized and unculturedattitude of most of the tankerdrivers has become unbearable.They park their tankersindiscriminately therebyblocking the highway andcausing pains and discomfort toother road users as if Nigeriais in a state of anarchy andabsolute lawlessness. Residentsalong Oshodi-ApapaExpressway are beginning to

relocate to other parts of thestate all to avoid the trafficmadness on the road.

Warnings in the past from wellmeaning Nigerians that portusers will have challenges onthat road and advised againstlocating tank farms within theports area were ignored by theadministration of formerPresident Olusegun Obasanjo.The Obasanjo administrationgave approval to all the tankfarms to be situated aroundNigeria’s busiest ports andmany had no environmentalimpact assessment. Thisgreedy, singular and callous actof ‘Executive Recklessness’ has

brought economic loss interms of manpower and lossof valuable time to both therich and poor.

The government also failedto make the network ofpipelines that link Atlas Coveto the various depots acrossthe country work. If thepipelines were in good state,the bulk of the products thetankers are waiting endlesslyto carry would have beentransported seamlessly to thevarious depots in the country.Equally important is the factthat these cabals who ownthese trucks have also madethe railways to fail. If the railsystem had not collapsed,most of the products wouldalso have been transported byrail at even cheaper cost.

As a result of these failures,the energy to power theeconomy is undersupplied.And this is made even worseby a collapsing public powersupply system. Manyindustries and businessenterprises have beengroaning as a consequence ofenergy crisis. Many have cutdown on the number of workhours. Flights are beingcancelled on daily basisbecause aviation fuel couldnot be supplied on account ofthe gridlock on the Apapa-Oshodi axis. Because of theconvergence of trucks onLagos ports, anunprecedented traffic gridlockhas been created on the Apapaaxis of Lagos with spillovereffects to other parts of Lagos,leading to considerable loss of

man hours. Generally, the tollon the welfare of citizens isprofound.

The government shouldimmediately review theoperating licenses granted totank farm operators. Thosewithout adequate facilitiesacross the country whereproduct can be discharged inbulk should be eased out ofthe business. Products shouldnot be discharged at theApapa port alone. Those toserve the Niger-Delta shouldgo to Warri, Koko ports whilethose for East should bedischarged at Port Harcourt.The participation of the NNPCin the supply chain should bediscontinued and the privatesector should be allowed tooperate in a fully deregulatedregime, subject to appropriateguidelines. Existingpipelines should be privatizedor leased to tank farm ownersto operate. The current modelis clearly not working forNigerians and governmentshould put an end to it.Nigeria needs to make the railsystem work as well. For aneconomy of the size of Nigeriato be efficient in every sense,it must have a functional railsystem. The review of theentire distribution chain in thedownstream of the petroleumsector is needed urgently. Itis hoped it will be the firstchange that Nigerians will seein the APC- led FederalGovernment whose magicalpass word is change.

If the pipelines were in goodstate, the bulk of the productsthe tankers are waitingendlessly to carry would havebeen transported seamlesslyto various depots in thecountry

24 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 — 25

Business & Economy

Cargo diversion looms overNPA's order on oil, gas

BY GODFREY BIVBERE

Diversion of Oil andgas cargo ton e i g h b o u r i n g

countries' ports is imminentfollowing the recent directiveby the new management ofthe Nigerian Ports Authority,NPA, that all oil and gasvessels should henceforth gothrough Intels facilities inOnne, Rivers State.

Members of the Associationof Nigerian LicensedCustoms Agents (ANLCA)and others have threatened todivert oil and gas cargoes toneighbouring countriesunless the directive isrescinded. The associationwhich decried government’smoves to grant suchmonopoly said that it wouldinstruct its members andprincipals who handle oil andgas cargoes to henceforthdirect their vessels toboycott all Intels-controlledseaports, unless thedirective was reversed.

National President of theassociation, Prince OlayiwolaShittu, who spoke on theissue said what the FederalGovernment has done wasvery irresponsible. “What theyare doing is creating amonopoly that is anti-people,and not in the interest of theeconomy,” he said.

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

other ports. “We have started our

campaign also to call for theboycott of all Intels’ portsfacilities. In addition, we areprepared to take our oil andgas goods through Cotonou.If that discrimination is goingto happen, then we gothrough the border.

“It is very unfortunatebecause Intels have been aproblem and it is like acountry, a sovereign of its

own. That is because thepromoters are holding thegovernment and Nigerians bythe jugular. It is veryunfortunate”.

The ANLCA Presidentcriticised out-going governmentof President Goodluck Jonathanfor embarking on some recentcontroversial appointments,which he described as deliberateplots to create problems for itssuccessor.

“Like many things the out-

going government is doing now,I think they are just out to createproblems for the newadministration. We should betalking about the in-cominggovernment, not the out-goingone that is just creating booby-traps all over the place for itssuccessor,” he said.

The ANLCA leader, however,opined that such “booby-traps canbe dismantled by the in-cominggovernment if they can put theiracts together.

“While tackling the issue of theeconomy, he (in-comingPresident Muhammadu Buhari)should also be looking into theMaritime Industry. The maritimeindustry is a very viable avenuefor government to meet itsrevenue needs. If we can raise upto N7 trillion annually from theindustry, and our current budgetis N4-5 trillion, then we shouldbe able to break even.

“So the in-comingadministration should look into allthese, all the hurriedappointments and commitmentsthey are making now, the first stepfor them is to repudiate all theseactions they know are not in theinterest of the common man,”Shittu said.

The directive which is seen asvery unhealthy monopoly cameon the heels of growing concernamong stakeholders over thecontroversial sack of the formerMD of the NPA, Mallam HabbibAbdullahi, and his replacementwith Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Ado-Bayero, whose family is alleged tohave substantial interest in Intels.

Economic woes worsen as NLNG’srevenue drops by 30%

BY MICHAEL EBOH

Nigeria’s dwindlingrevenue profile is

expected to worsen further,as the Nigeria LiquefiedNatural Gas, NLNG,yesterday said it hasrecorded a 30 per centdecline in its revenue as atApril 2015.

Specifically, NLNG had in2014 paid about N220 billioninto the coffers of the FederalGovernment for CorporateIncome Tax. This amountdoes not include the sum theNLNG pays the country asdividends for its 49 per centholding in the company.

NLNG puts Nigeria’soverall earnings from thecompany at over 70 per cent,

comprising the 49 per centdividend, 30 per centCorporate Income Tax (CIT)and other taxes.

Speaking at the ExternalStakeholders Forum as partsof activities marking theNLNG Commercial Week2015, Deputy ManagingDirector of the company, Mr.Isa Inuwa, stated that NLNG’srevenue was impacted by thefalling crude oil price and thelow consumption of itsproducts.

He said, “Our prices areindexed to crude; at least asignificant portion of ourportfolio. The price of gas isindexed to Brent, hence ifthere is a fall in the prices ofBrent; it means we will sell forless.” To cushion against theeffect of the declining crude

price, Inuwa stated that theNLNG is looking at itsoperating model and isconsidering increasing its gasoutput. To this end, he statedthat the company is investingin the upstream sector toensure continuous gas supplyand feed stock to its plants inquantity that will enable it meetthe contractual obligations toits customers and also delivervalue to its shareholders.

He further stated thatbetween year 2020 and 2021,the agreements and contractson its Trains one to three, witha capacity of 10 million tonnes,are expected to come to anend, adding that the NLNGhas already developed anaggressive marketing strategyto re-market the Trains and itwill be looking at destinationsand buyers for its commodities.

Leap AfricaMSME forumfocusesriskmitigation

Leap Africa has concludedarrangements to host

Small and Medium ScaleEnterprises, SMEs with theaim of sensitising them on howto maximise profit andmitigate risk in theirbusinesses.Specifically, LEAP Africa, aleadership developmentorganization and its partnerswill converge 800 SMEs atthe 10th edition of the CEOsForum under the theme:Staying Ahead: MaximizingProfit and Mitigating Risks.The speakers will deliberateon sectoral and industrialrisks; the need for SMEs toconcentrate their efforts onevaluating and managing theirrisk exposures for long-termsustainability.Well-known industry businessleaders, entrepreneurs, riskmanagement experts inNigeria’s business sector – Mr.Dharnesh Gordhon, MD/CEO; Nestlé Nigeria Plc., Mrs.Peju Adebayo, ManagingDirector, Lafarge CementWapco Nigeria; Mr. WoleOshin, Managing Director,Custodian and AlliedInsurance Plc and Mrs. ClareOmatseye, Founder/Managing Director, JNCInternational Nigeria Ltd willlead high-level discussions atLEAP Africa’s CEOs Forum forSMEs in Lagos.According to IyadunniOlubode, LEAP Africa’sExecutive Director;”SMEsshould be proactive inmanaging risk instead ofbeing reactive. There is acommon misconception thatonly large companies need tomanage risks, but this year’sCEOs Forum seeks to addressthat and offer practical advicefor entrepreneurs onprotecting their profits throughrisk mitigation strategies”.Studies show that poor riskmanagement systems hindergrowth, performance andexpansion. Although manylocal companies areincreasingly conscious of riskfacing their business and theimportance of curtailing them,few know measures forcontrolling risks.The forum will providecutting-edge solutions andbest practices in corporationsto enable SMEs deal with risksin present political andeconomic realities in Nigeria.

BRIEFING: From Left, Dr Bimbo Ogunkelu (former Minister for Integration and Chairman,CHESTRAD), Dr Lola Dare (President, CHESTRAD International) and Mr. Bolaji Shenjobi (BoardMember) at a Press briefing by CHESTRAD International on Thursday where a newphilanthropic NGO, “I Will Give” was introduced to the Nigerian public.

26 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

Business & Economy

Nigeria loses N7bn as Shell shutsTrans-Niger Pipeline

By Michael Eboh withAgency Report

Barring othera r r a n g e m e n t s ,Nigeria has lost a

minimum of $35.139 million,about N7.029 billion, overthe last three days, as ShellNigeria, yesterday, said ithas shut down the 180,000barrels of crude oil per dayTrans Niger Pipeline.

According to a statement byShell, the company shutdown the pipeline, May 12,but failed to state the reasonsfor the shut down and whenit would be reopened.

The Trans Niger Pipeline iscritical to Nigeria’s crudeexport as it carries Nigeria’scrude oil, Bonny Light, to anexport terminal.

Traders told Reuters thatBonny Light loadings havebeen delayed by up to fourdays over the past week.

The Trans Niger Pipeline,according to Shell, transportsaround 180,000 barrels perday of crude oil to the BonnyExport Terminal and is partof the gas liquids evacuationinfrastructure, critical forcontinued domestic powergeneration and liquefied gasexports. The Central Bank ofNigeria puts the averageprice for Bonny Light at$65.07 per barrel. This meansthat for every day that thepipeline is shut, Nigeria willbe losing a minimum of$11.713 million, aboutN2.343 billion.

The Nigerian NationalPetroleum Corporation,NNPC, had a couple ofweeks ago, lamented therecent increase in the attackon crude oil and gaspipelines across the country,stating that the country islosing about 60,000 barrels ofcrude oil and condensatesdaily whenever there is apipeline break.

The NNPC had also statedthat over 50 attacks werelaunched by vandals on thenation’s crude oil and gaspipelines in the last sixmonths.

Group Executive Director,Gas and Power of the NNPC,Mr. David Ige, had statedthat apart from the loss ofrevenue from crude sales,the vandalisation of thepipeline is expected toworsen the country’s powersituation as a number ofpower plants relying on gassupply from the pipeline willbe starved of gas to generateelectricity.

Ige lamented that betweenJanuary and February 2015alone, the Trans-Forcadoscrude oil pipeline wasattacked and vandalised fourtimes, adding that none of thecorporation’s gas pipelineshas been able to run twostraight days without beingbrought down. Ige, however,stated that the NNPC wasexploring a number of optionson how to tackle the pipelinevandalism menace, rangingfrom an aggressivecommunity engagement toinstallation of technologicalgadgets to stave off thevandals. He called for a

holistic approach to resolvingthe pipeline vandalismscourge ranging fromtightening security toexpeditious judicialenforcement, to bring to anend the menace which hasdeprived the country ofseveral billions of revenue.

Also, Nigerian GasCompany, NGC, a subsidiaryof the Nigerian NationalPetroleum Corporation,NNPC, had in few days ago,stated that Nigeria has lost aminimum of N8.04 billionsince January, to theincessant vandalism of gaspipelines. Managing

Director, NGC, Mr. DafeSejebor, disclosed that sincethe beginning of this year thecountry has witnessed anunprecedented increase inthe spate of gas pipelinevandalism.

He added that within the lasttwo months, it has recordedthree major attacks on itspipeline network, mainly inthe Niger Delta region.

According to him, wheneverthese pipelines aresabotaged, we are forced toshut down the pipeline, andwe defer a minimum of 200million Standard Cubic Feet,SCF, of gas per day.

BY GODWIN ORITSE

MEMBERS of the Seaport TerminalAssociation of Nigeria (STOAN), have

called for the immediate suspension ofpetroleum products delivery by road with aview to resolving the Apapa traffic gridlock.

Chairman of STOAN, Princess VickyHaastrup said that the gridlock beingexperienced in Apapa is a direct consequenceof system failure in the oil and gas industrylogistics chain.

Haastrup also said that the only way to solvethe gridlock is to immediately suspend thelifting of imported petroleum products fromtank farms by road.

“There is an over-concentration of oil tankfarms in Apapa, an area predominantlydesigned for port operations. There is now asituation where we have proliferation of oil tankfarms without regards for the safety logisticsimplication.

Suspend evacuation of petroleum productsby road — Terminal operators

“I issued a warning over five years agoadvising government to discontinue tank farmoperations in Apapa but nothing was done. Theproblem is now staring all of us in the face.

“Port operations have been brought to avirtual standstill as a result of this chaos createdby tank farm and oil tankers and it does notlook like anyone is doing anything drasticabout it.

“We have a situation where over 10,000tankers descend on Apapa daily and when youadd this to the number of conventional truckson routine maritime operations, it is notsurprising that we have the kind of gridlockwe are currently witnessing,” she said.

She lamented that there are about 60 tankfarms operating in Apapa.

On the immediate solution to the problem,Haastrup said, “There must be immediatesuspension of the evacuation of petroleumproducts from Apapa by road. The authoritiesmust immediately activate the use of barges inpetroleum products evacuation."

NIRP to boostannualmanufacturingrevenue by N5trn—AgangaBY JOHNBOSCOAGBAKWURU

THE Minister of Industry,Trade and Investment,

Mr. Olusegun Aganga hassaid that the NigeriaIndustrial Revolution Plan,NIRP, would boost the annualrevenue earnings of theNigerian manufacturers toabout N5 trillion per annum.

The Minister who stated thisat the annual MechanicalEngineers Distinguishedlecture with the theme: “TheAutomative Industry andNigeria’s Industrialisation” inAbuja explained that the goalof the NIRP was to increasethe contribution of themanufacturing sector GrossDomestic Product, GDP, fromthe present seven per cent tomore than 10 per cent over thenext five years. He said thatPresident Goodluck Jonathanin a bid to strengthen theeconomic base of the countryhad launched the NIRP andthe National EnterpriseDevelopment Programme,NEDEP, to usher a new era forindustrial, micro, small andmedium enterprisesdevelopment in the country.

According to him, “TheNIRP is the most ambitiousand comprehensive roadmapthat would transform thenation’s industrial landscape,boosts skills development,enhances job creation andconserves foreign exchange.

“It is the flagshipindustrialisation programmeever embarked upon by thiscountry. It will fast-trackindustrialisation, accelerateinclusive economic growth, jobcreation, transform Nigeria’sbusiness environment andstop the drain on our foreignreserves caused by importingwhat we can produce locally.”Aganga said that the NIRPwas ambitious andcomprehensive because it wasbased on the sectors that thecountry has competitive andcomparative advantages suchas agro-allied, metals andsolid minerals, oil and gasindustrial activities andconstruction, lightmanufacturing and services.

He said, “These are sectorswhere Nigeria could benumber one in Africa and inthe top 10 globally. The NIRPis geared towards addressingall the major physicalconstraints impedingindustrialisation and aims atimproving the nation’sinvestment climate andpromote the patronage ofmade-in-Nigeria products.”

CONFERENCE: From left, Computer System and Network Engineer, Covenant University (CU),Prof. Samuel John; Adviser, Ivory Banking, Heritage Banking Company Limited, Titilayo Ba-baoye; Chairman, Planning Committee, Prof. Olawale Daramola and Dean, College of Sci-ence and Technology, CU, Prof. Chinedu Shalom, during the Covenant University’s Interna-tional Conference on African Development Issues at the University’s Campus in Ota, OgunState.

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 — 27

Banking & Finance

Bank customers acrossthe country have thirtythree days from today

to enrol for the BankVerification Number (BVN)

However there are issuesconcerning how manycustomers would haveenrolled for the exercise by thedeadline, even asstakeholders in the bankingindustry have stepped upefforts to highlight the benefitsof the initiative for the countryas a whole.

The BVN was introduced bythe Central Bank of Nigeriaand was launched February14th last year. It is theregistration of customers in thefinancial system usingbiometric technology. Biometric technology involvesthe process of recording aperson’s unique physical traitssuch as fingerprints and facialfeatures. This record canthen be used to correctlyidentify the person afterwards. Once a person’s biometricshas been properly captured,the person is given a BankVerification Number or BVN.According to the CBN, Theobjective of the BVN initiativeis to protect bank customers,reduce fraud and furtherstrengthen the Nigerianbanking system. Fraudis reduced because no twopeople have the samebiometric information. Banks will therefore be ableto check the features of aperson doing a transactionagainst the record, which thebank has captured therebycorrectly identifying the ownerof an account.

EnrolmentTo enroll for the BVN, bank

customers have to visit abranch of their bank, completeand submit the BVN enrolmentform, after which, thebiometric information such asfingerprints and facialimagery are recorded. Thecustomer is then issued anacknowledgment slip withtransaction ID. Thereafter,BVN is created and thecustomer is alerted via SMSto arrange for pick-up.

Fast-Track MeasuresIn order to fast-track

enrolment of customers for theBVN, the CBN October lastyear, stipulated targets anddeadline for banks. The apexbank also made the BVN acondition for accessing loan.The CBN stated in circular,“In order to fast-track theenrolment process: DMBs areexpected to give attention toenrolment of their customers;All DMBs are required to enrolat least, 40 percent of their

BVN: The banking public and the Junedeadline

Once banks are able toidentify and blacklistfraudulent customers, theywould be encouraged toextend loans to thosecustomers that are creditworthy

Emefiele, CBN Governor

BY BABAJIDEKOMOLAFE

customers on or before 31stDecember 2014, and 70percent on or before 30thMarch 2015; All DMBs arerequired to fully integrate

their core banking system,latest by 31st October 2014, toease the enrolment process;All new loans must have theBVN as condition precedent todrawdown, with effect from3rd November 2014; All creditcustomers must have BVNs by31st December 2014; TheCentral Bank of Nigeria willmonitor compliance”.

IssuesThough, banks have stepped

up efforts to publicise theBVN, in order to meet thesedeadlines, there are howeverconcerns about ensuring thatall bank customers have beencaptured and issued with theBVN before the June 30thdeadline. For example,investigations reveal thatsome bank customers are yetto receive their BVN monthsafter they have been enrolled,a development dismissed as

untrue by the NigeriaInterbank Settlement System(NIBSS). Secondly, customerswith accounts in variousbanks, who have enrolled for

the BVN in one bank, may nothave supplied their BVN to theother banks, hence confusingthe industry about the actualnumber of account holdersthat have been enrolled for theBVN. In addition to these isthe issue of account holdersbased outside the country, andhow to ensure they areenrolled for the BVN.

Beyond these is the threat offraudsters, who have beensending fake BVN Validationemail to bank customers. Oneof such messages read, “DearValued Customer, this is tobring to your notice that youraccount has been listed to bede-activated. This is becauseyou have not validated yourBiometric Verification Numberwith your online account.Follow this reference to STARTVALIDATION. All informationmust be filled correctly.

NOTE: All ATM and internetbanking channel will bedisabled and your remoteaccess will be blocked within12 hours failure to comply.”

Stakeholders drum upsupport

Meanwhile, stakeholders inthe banking industry havestepped up efforts to highlightthe various benefits of theBVN.

According to the ManagingDirector of the NigeriaInterbank Settlement System(NIBSS), Mr. Ade Shonubi,the BVN initiative, by helpingbanks to identify and blacklistfraudulent customers, willhelp to boost retail credit in thebanking industry. The NIBSSboss, who is responsible forthe implementation of theBVN, in a statement,explained that once banks areable to identify and blacklistfraudulent customers, theywould be encouraged toextend loans to thosecustomers that are creditworthy and do not have anyrecord of being delinquentborrowers.

Shonubi said, “When theBVN project came up, therewere three key things. Firstand most important of all is forus to identify our customersand to identify them uniquelyacross banks and acrossaccounts. So, once you haveBVN, even if you have 10bank accounts, it is the sameBVN that will be tied to thebank accounts. Now, relatingto identifying is the possibilityof banks blacklisting peoplewho have committed financialinfractions. It could befraudsters; it could be peoplewho have gone to forgedocuments because whathappens today is that the sameguy will go to a bank, commitsfraud, then runs to anotherbank and because there is noway of tying all these activitiesacross. So, we found out thatthere were quite a lot of lossesrelated to these individualsfrom one bank to another.

On his part, ExecutiveDirector at Sterling Bank, Mr.Abubakar Suleiman said thatBank Verification Number(BVN) initiative, when fullyimplemented, will help tocurb arbitrage in the foreignexchange market.

Suleiman, who disclosed thisat an interactive session withnewsmen in Lagos, explained that with the BVN,each bank customer will havea unique identification, whichwill make it easy to preventpeople from flouting theCentral Bank of Nigeria’s(CBN) recent policy on theuse of naira denominateddebit cards for transactionsabroad.

The need for corporateexecutives to cultivate a

healthy lifestyle throughactive participation in sports isthe focus of this year’s RemitaCorporate Championship Cup[RC3] football tournamentwhich kicked off over theweekend with UBA, MTN,Etisalat and otherscommencing battle for footballsupremacy in the prestigiousevent.

While addressing the mediain Lagos, Managing Directorand CEO of SystemSpecs[owners of Remita, anelectronic platform forreceiving and makingpayments], John Obaro,explained that it is pertinentfor corporate executives tomaintain healthy lifestyles thatcan position them to be part of“healthy companies”.

Sterling Bankholds parentingseries workshop

In furtherance of itscommitment to the

development of education inNigeria, Sterling Bank Plc inpartnership with Caleb Groupof Schools has concludedplans to hold the secondedition of the ParentingWorkshop under its OneEducation Initiative. Theworkshop is aimed ateducating parents andguardians on how to nurturetheir children and bring outthe best in them.

The theme of the workshopis ‘Enhancing your child’scapacity for learning’.

The Bank in a statementsigned by its Group Head,Strategy & Communications,Mr. Shina Atilola describedthe Parenting Series as a familygrowth and educationinitiative designed to supportparents’ desire to optimize thepotentials and talents of theirchildren.

He noted that the purposeof the workshop is to aidparents and guardians indealing with topical issuesthat affect the upbringing andtraining of their wards in the21st century vis-à-vis thepractical day-to-day realities oflife in Nigeria.

The Bank’s Chief strategistsaid the involvement of theBank in the second edition ofthe workshop was informed bythe overwhelming turn-out ofparents who attended the firstedition, adding that the Bankwill continue to invest ininitiatives that add value to thelives of people in line with itspurpose.

UBA, MTNothers battle forRemita’s RC3Cup

28 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

Banking & Finance

Unified PaymentsServices Limited and

PayAttitude have unveiledPayAttitude, the first-everinteroperable multi-bankChip+PIN and Offline/Online contactless solution forretail banking in the country.

Speaking at a formal launchof PayAttitude in Lagos,Managing Director/CEO,Unified Payments, Mr. AgadaApochi, explained thatPayAttitude is a revolutionarystep forward in Nigeria’sretail commerce and bankingsector:

He said, “PayAttitudeguarantees subscribers theconfidence and comfort ofsuccessful payment for goodsand services at merchantlocations at all timesnotwithstanding thechallenges oftelecommunication at thePoint of Sale (PoS) terminal orthe unavailability of networkof the Subscriber’s bank. It isalso compatible with works onall types of mobile phonehandset and all networks,making it possible for thephone handset to be used forretails payments at Points ofSale. PayAttitude uses NearField Communication (NFC)technology to achieveseamless interaction betweenthe subscriber ’s phonehandset and PoS terminals”.

Two variants of PayAttitude;PayAttitude Debit andPayAttitude Prepaid/Mobileguarantees convenient, safeand secure transactions forsubscribers.

Also, Country Manager,PayAttitude, Mrs. TitilayoOlubiyi, added: “Thedifference between the twovariants is that Prepaid/Mobile can be obtained atauthorised agent locationswithout a bank account whilethe Debit is used with bankaccounts thereby deliveringon the objectives of AgencyBanking and FinancialInclusion.

“PayAttitude is easy foranyone to use, just visit anyparticipating bank orauthourised retail outlet to getyour Tag, attach to yourmobile and at any POSanywhere, tap and welcometo a world of mobiletransactions made easy andsecure”, Olubiyi said.

REMITA SEASON 2: From left, Executive Director, SystemSpecs [owners of Remita e-paymentplatform], Deremi Atanda, Brand Ambassador, Remita Corporate Champions Cup and formerSuper Eagles goalkeeper, Peter Rufai and MD/CEO, SystemSpecs, John Obaro chatting at theSeason 2 of Remita Corporate Champions Cup at the Campos Stadium Lagos at the weekend

CBN hides banks’ interestearnings on standing depositfacility

BY BABAJIDEKOMOLAFE

The Central Bank ofNigeria (CBN) hasstopped publishing

how much banks are makingby lacing their excessliquidity as deposit via itsStanding Deposit Facility(SDF)

This follows VanguardNewspaper’s report, on thehuge amount of money banksmade placing deposit with theapex bank.

Banks access the SLF toborrow from the CBN whilethey access the SDF to placedeposit with the CBN.Presently the CBN charges 15percent as interest rate onloans to banks through theSLF while it pays 11 percentas interest on depositplacement through the SDF.

In January, Vanguardexclusively reported thatbanks earned N27.26 billionas net interest earned fromplacing their excess liquidityas deposit with the CBN inone year.

Vanguard investigationsrevealed that from October

2013 to September 2014,banks placed N81.85 trillionas deposit with the CBNthrough the SDF andborrowed N5.14 trillionthrough the SLF. Further, theCBN paid interest of N32.9billion on the deposit throughthe SDF, while it earnedinterest of N3.68 billion onloans to banks through theSLF.

Consequently the CBN, inits Economic Report forJanuary, and Economic reportreleased last week, omittedinformation on how muchbanks made by placing theirmoney as deposit via the SDF.

Rather, the apex bank limitedits report to how much it lentto banks via the SLF and howmuch banks placed as depositvia the SDF.

The CBN Economic reportfor January stated, “ The totalrequest for the standinglending facility (SLF) in themonth of January 2015 wasN67.79 billion, reflecting adaily average of N9.68 billionfor the 7 transaction days inthe month, compared withtotal request of N1,115.38billion with a daily average ofN61.97 billion in 18transaction days in December2014.

“Standing Deposit Facility(SDF) totalling N2,282.36billion was received. Thisrepresented a daily averageof N126.80 billion for the 18working days in the month,representing an increase of181.8 per cent over the levelin the preceding month, areflection of the liquiditycondition in the market.

Similarly, the Economicreport for February stated,“The total request for thestanding lending facility(SLF) in the month ofFebruary 2015 stood atN1,060.01 billion, consistingof N154.50 billion (direct SLF)and N905.51 billion (IntradayLending Facility converted toovernight repo), reflecting adaily average of N66.25 billionfor the 16 transaction days inthe month, compared with atotal request of N75.39 billion,with a daily average of N9.42billion in 8 transaction daysin January 2015.

“Transactions at theStanding Deposit Facility(SDF) window amounted toN794.28 billion. Thisrepresented a daily averageof N46.72 billion for the 17working days in the month,reflecting a decline of 69.14per cent below the level in thepreceding month.”

Heritage Bank boosts financial literacy with‘My Day as a Banker’

Heritage Bank hasoffered school children

across the country aninnovative way to celebratethis year ’s Children’s Daythrough the ‘My Day as aBanker’ experience.

Designed to spice up theMay 27th Children’s Daycelebration with innovativeand fun filled way toexperience the world ofbankers, ‘My Day as aBanker’ is a Bank-wideactivity on Monday May 25th,where selected secondaryschool pupils will have theopportunity of handlingvarious banking roles such astellers, customer serviceassociates etc.

Managing Director/ChiefExecutive, Heritage Bank,Mr. Ifie Sekibo said that ‘MyDay as a Banker’ is ademonstration of the bank’scommitment to innovation.“Children are very special tous at Heritage Bank, hencewe decided to celebrate themin a unique way that offersopportunity to have fun andlearn about banking. ‘My Dayas a Banker’ is also HeritageBank’s unique way ofpromoting financial literacyamong children, which is thecore essence of the HB BudSavings Account, speciallydesigned to promote savingshabit among children andyouths.

In addition to the My Dayas a Banker, Heritage Bankhas lined up series of funfilled events to mark theChildren’s Day Celebration.The events will be anchoredby the Heritage BankFinancial Literacy BrandAmbassador, Zuriel Oduwole,the youngest child to haveinterviewed 9 IncumbentPresidents.

The events include TreasureHunt at School onWednesday May 20th and atthe Bank on Friday May22nd, during which Pupilsare expected to locate theirfairy god parents from cluesdesigned for them and get aticket to the Children’s Daycarnival. The god parents areselected Group Heads of

Heritage Bank, who wouldpackage and offer verysubstantial gifts to the pupils.

Furthermore, Heritage Bankwill hold a Children’s DayCarnival on Wednesday May27th at Dreamworld AfricanaAmusement Park by ChevronToll Plaza Lekki Expressway– in partnership withInspiration FM. Customerswho have the Heritage Bankchildren account – “BudAccount” stands a chance towin tickets to the carnival.Tickets can also be purchasedat any Heritage Bankexperience Centre. Thecarnival offers exiting funfilled experience includingbouncing castle, fun rides,loads of food and drinks andplenty more.

BY PROVIDENCEOBUH

PayAttitude,UnifiedPayments offerinnovative retailpayments

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 — 29

CMYK

Corporate Finance

PRESENTATION: From left, Head, Listings Sales and Retention, Nigerian Stock Exchange(NSE), Mrs. Taba Peterside; Executive Director, Business Development, NSE, Mr. Haruna Jalo-Waziri; Chairman, Courteville Business Solution Plc, Group Capt. M. O. Salami (Rtd) andGroup Managing Director, Courteville Business Solution Plc, Mr. Adebola Akindele at theFacts Behind the Figures presentation at the exchange.

By PETER EGWUATU

Lafarge Africa Plcshareholders areexpected to reap

from the company’sconsolidation as its Board ofDirectors is expected topropose a dividend of N16billion at its forth comingAnnual General Meeting,AGM.

Vanguard reliably gatheredthat the Board wouldproposed a dividend of N16billion to its shareholders atan AGM expected to holdnext week.

It will be recalled that theshareholders last year gavethe Board approval toconsolidate the businesses ofthe company in Africa into astronger group. The creationof Lafarge Africa hastransformed the companyinto a group which is wellequipped to continue theacceleration of a group towithstand challenges in themarket place. It was gatheredthat company’s currentproduction capacity hasgrown from 4.5 million tonsto about 12 million tons. Inaddition, 3.5 million cubicmeters of ReadyMi cococreates and over 5.0 milliontons of Aggregates have beenadded to the portfolio.Theimprovement shows that thecompany’s decision toconsolidate has been a wiseone.

Company’s profile:Lafarge Africa Plc was

renamed following theconsolidation of Lafarge S.Aindirect assets in Nigeria andSouth Africa into theerstwhile Lafarge CementWAPCO Nigeria Plc. Theassets that were transferredto Lafarge Cement WAPCONigeria Plc included: LafargeSouth Africa Holdings (Pty)Limited; United CementCompany of Nigeria Limited,through Egyptian CementHolding B.V.; Ashaka CementPlc; and Atlas CementCompany Limited. Followingthe transactions, the name ofthe company was changed toLafarge Africa Plc in order toreflect its new reach andpositioning.

Lafarge S.A. of France,controls 72.74 per cent ofLafarge Africa the remaining27.26 l is held by Nigerianand foreign, institutional andindividual investors. LafargeS.A. of France is a worldleader in building materialswith a presence in 62countries across the Globe.Consequently, Lafarge Africais able to take advantage of

ChampionBreweriesgrows turnoverto N3.3bn,returns toprofitability

Champion Breweries Plchas recorded substantial

improvement in its tradingresults with a record leap inturnover from N2.2 billionrecorded in 2013 to N3.3billion in 2014. The Companywhich has repositioned toattract credit, also returned toprofitability and generated aprofit of N25.5 million asagainst a loss of N543.9million declared for theprevious year.

The chairman of theCompany, Chief SenasUkpanah who stated this lastweek in Lagos at thecompany ’s 39th AnnualGeneral Meeting put thecompany’s loss before tax atN1.07 billion from N1.73billion recorded the previousyear. This, according to him,was due to high impact offinance cost of N1.08billion asagainst the previous figure ofN1.18billion.

Chief Ukpanah commendedshareholders for supportingthe last recapitalizationexercise of the Company,saying the N13.7 billion rightsissue was successful as it wasover-subscribed byshareholders.

While lamenting thechallenging economicenvironment under which thecompany operates, he said“despite the overallstagnating market, ChampionBreweries was able to achieveoperational profits as well ascomplete pay-off of its long-standing debts and reducedthe interest burden carriedover the years”.

Chief Ukpanah, whoexpressed optimism on brightprospects for the Companysaid “our ship has set sail tonavigate into greater heightsand positive prospects.Strategies are being put inplace to grow our dear brand-Champion Lager Beer- andsignificantly expand ourmarkets within the South-South region in the incomingyears”.

The shareholdersapplauded the Board’s effortand the turnaround planbeing implemented for theCompany while appealing formore efforts by the CompanyManagement to makeChampion Lager Beer morecompetitive.

BY JONAH NWOKPOKU

The Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE andNigerian Institute of Management, NIM

have commenced negotiations for a capacitybuilding partnership for all operators in theNigerian Stock Exchange.

This was made known when the Presidentand Chairman in Council, NIM Dr. NelsonUwaga paid a courtesy visit to the ChiefExecutive Officer of NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyemain Lagos.

The NIM boss said the institute is desirousof running collaborative customised courseswith the Exchange for the management staffof all listed companies and that NIM is equallysoliciting the Exchange to support NIM bymarketing its sundry local and foreign trainingprogrammes to listed companies.

He said: “The Institute requests theExchange to encourage the management staffof its listed companies to take up partnershipof NIM by recommending the possession ofthe Institute’s professional management

NSE, NIM partner on capacity buildingcertificate as a prerequisite for the purpose ofemployment and promotion to certainmanagerial positions in listed companies.

“The Institute is willing to organise anaccelerated membership training programmefor members of staff of listed companies.Thereafter, the beneficiaries will be admittedinto the institute’s membership through aspecial induction programme.”

He added: “As part of the collaborativearrangement between our organisations, theNIM will support the Exchange byencouraging the unlisted companies to getlisted with the Exchange knowing the hugebenefits. The institute is willing to signmemorandum of understanding with theExchange to cover all areas of proposedcollaboration.”

In response, the CEO of NSE, Mr. OscarOnyema said: “This visit is very relevant tous. We look forward to collaborating in areaswhere we have common interest in terms ofbuilding managerial capacity to grow thebusinesses in Nigeria and enhance corporategovernance as well.

N16bn dividend awaits Lafargeshareholders

and benefit from LafargeS.A.’s management andtechnical expertise.

Business consolidation:The business consolidation

that took place last yearhappened following theendorsement given theshareholders at a meeting inLagos. Speaking after theshareholders’ approval,Osunkeye had said, “Theoverwhelming majority of ourminority shareholders werestrongly supportive, whichreflects that they see thestrong value opportunity inthe creation of Lafarge Africa.Lafarge Africa is not only avalue enhancing transactionfor shareholders but it will

provide significant value to allstakeholders through thecreation of a Nigerian listedSub-Saharan Africa buildingmaterials giant that will bebetter able to support thedevelopment needs of ourcontinent.”

Speaking in the same vein,Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer,Guillaume Roux, said: “Thecreation of Lafarge Africaallows the company tocontinue in its drive to be thebest in the areas in which itoperates. The broadergeographic coverage meansthat Lafarge Africa will bebetter positioned to serve itscustomers more widely. It also

places the company in astronger position to be able tobenefit from the economicgrowth and developmentopportunities available in bothNigeria and South Africa.”

Financial Performance:Lafarge Africa Plc, ended

2014 with an operationalProfit afterTax of N37 billion,which is eight higher thanprior year, after adjusting forone-offs. Cash of N49 billionwas generated from theoperations, while a dividendof N3.60 per share wasrecommended for theshareholders, up nine percent above what was paid theprevious year.

30 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

CMYK

Corporate Finance

Considering thecriticalimportance of oursector to nationaldevelopment,government canoffer us incentiveslike tax holidays,duty freemportation ofprintingmachines

Mr. Segun Oladipo isthe ManagingD i r e c t o r / C h i e f

Executive Officer, Learn AfricaPlc. Learn Africa is a quotedcompany on the NigerianStock Exchange, NSE. In thisinterview, Mr. Oladipo spokeon issues affecting theprinting industry, challengesfacing the company and itsfinancial performanceamongst others.

Excerpts:As a publishing company,

how has the insurgency inthe northern region of thecountry affected yourbusiness?

The deadly activities of theinsurgents have destroyedeconomic and commercialactivities in the affected states.The frequent bombings andclashes between Boko Harammembers and the lawenforcement agents haveforced many companies toclose their offices while othershave substantially reducedtheir operations and businesshours. The general feeling ofuncertainty and insecurity inthose areas has made manyinvestors to relocate theirbusinesses to safe areas. As acompany, we are greatlyconcerned about this terriblesituation which has limitedour promotional activities andrevenue generation efforts.Our sales and marketingoperatives have not been ableto move extensively in orderto sell the full benefits of ourexcellent learning resources tothe teachers, schooladministrators and otherinfluential persons in theeducational sector. As amatter of fact, several schoolshave been closed down dueto the destruction of facilities,widespread killings andthreats to the lives of studentsand their teachers. Besides,bookshops and other salesoutlets have stoppedoperating due to high level ofinsecurity. Many of theteachers in those areas havealso lost the opportunity toupdate their knowledge andupgrade their skills throughattendance at capacitybuilding events like theseminars and workshops thatwe organized in severallocations across Nigeria.

What steps have youtaken to overcome thedifficulties caused by theinsurgency in thenorthern region?

We have reduced our

BY PETEREGWUATU

Mr. Segun Oladipo, MD/CEO, Learn Africa Plc

are unable to pay dividendsto shareholders because thegreater percentage of whatthey would have declared aprofits is used to pay intereston credit facilities that theyobtained from thecommercial banks. Perhaps,the Governor of the CentralBank will initiate policies thatcan address this concern andencourage the private sectorto increase capacityutilization and establish newfactories that can reduce thecurrent high level ofunemployment.

In what ways shouldgovernment assist thebook publishing

industry?Government needs

to address thec h a l l e n g e sassociated with ourp u b l i cinfrastructure. Ourroad networks needto be expanded andm a i n t a i n e dregularly to enablec o m p a n i e sdistribute productsacross the country ata lower cost and at afaster pace. It ishoped that thereforms in the powersector will bringabout the desiredimprovement in theprovision ofelectricity andreduce ourdependence onindustrial dieselgenerators and thea t t e n d a n te n v i r o n m e n t a l

pollution. Considering thecritical importance of oursector to nationaldevelopment, governmentcan offer us incentives liketax holidays, duty freemportation of printingmachines, books, paper, inkand other materials that weuse inthe industry. We wouldlike government to intensifyanti-piracy campaigns inorder to reduce its negativeimpact on the fortunes of theindustry.

As the CEO of Learn

Africa Plc, what is theperformance of thecompany in the face of allthe challenges?

Despite the tough businessclimate, we have been able tomeet our obligations to theemployees, suppliers,authors, shareholders,government and otherstakeholders. Besides, wehave made remarkableprogress in our attempts totake the company to greaterheights despite thechallenges. It is alsoinspiring to know that we aremaking significantcontributions to the humancapital development of ourcountry through our learningresources that are enjoyingwarm reception amongstudents, teachers andbooksellers.

I hasten to add that we havebeen able to forge ahead dueto the unflinching supportofour shareholders, our solidcapital base, theresourcefulness of ouremployees, the high qualitymanagement team and thevisionary Board.

Since the exit of PearsonEducation from LongmanNigeria, the stock price ofLearn Africa Plc on the floorof the Nigerian StockExchange has beendropping. What isresponsible for this?

The decline in our shareprice was largely due towrong perception by somemarket operators who thoughtwe might not be able to copewith the challenges that werelikely to be associated with thedivestment of our formerparent company. Besides, weincurred significant costs as aresult of several initiatives toexpand our product portfolio,distribution network and fieldoperations which had someimpact on our profitability.However, I am pleased toreport that we have startedenjoying the benefits of thosedecisions, which were takento ensure the continuousgrowth and prosperity of ourcompany. It may interest youto note that we havesuccessfully introduced newtitles into the Nigerian marketas replacements for some ofthe Pearson Education titlesthat were withdrawn from ourlist.

What is your message tothe shareholders andprospective investors?

I will like to express mysincere appreciation to theshareholders whose supportshavebeen very critical to theremarkable achievementsthat we have recorded in therecentyears. We are stronglycommitted to theestablishment of our titles onthe key subjectsas leaders inthe pre-primary, basic andsenior secondary segmentsof our market.

business activities in thetroubled areas in order toprotect the lives of ouremployees and ourcompany ’s assets. Inaddition, we have allocatedmore resources to theidentification and exploitationof business opportunities inother parts of the country.More sales representativeshave been employed tosaturate schools in the safeareas with vigorouspromotions of our new andbacklist titles. Furthermore,we have purchasedadditional vans to enable themobile sales teams todistribute our products towider areas. We have alsoincreased the frequency of ourstrategic meetings withteachers, school proprietors,school administrators,government officials andbooksellers across the country,in order to increase the levelof patronage that ourproducts currently enjoy.

What are the challenges thatthe publishing industry isfacing apart from piracywhich is common?

Without any doubt, the poorreading culture in our countryis a big challenge to thepublishing industry. Booksrank very low on thepreference list of an averageNigerian and this has madeit difficult to achieve turnoverthat is commensurate with ourhuge population. Someparents would rather spendmoney on electricalappliances, jewelry,clothesand frivolous ceremonies thanbuy recommended books fortheir children, It is so bad, butfor the intervention of thegovernment, even textbookpurchase for core subjects likeMathematics, EnglishLanguage and the Sciences,may suffer. It ¡s easy to lookat the level of poverty and saythere is no purchasing power.The irony however is thateducation can provideopportunities that can liftpeople out of abject povertyand neglect. As a matter offact, many of the successfulprofessionals and publicfigures in the country todaycame from humblebackgrounds. They were ableto rise above thecircumstances of their birthsthrough the acquisition ofexcellent education,perseverance, self-disciplineand strong faith in God.Besides, the cost of funds isstill very high and this is aserious headache for manycompanies in Nigeria. As amatter of fact, some of them

pPrinting industrPrinting industrPrinting industrPrinting industrPrinting industry needs incentivy needs incentivy needs incentivy needs incentivy needs incentives,es,es,es,es,duty free imporduty free imporduty free imporduty free imporduty free importation - tation - tation - tation - tation - OladipoOladipoOladipoOladipoOladipo

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 — 31

CMYK

32 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

CMYK

Interview

Mr. Albert Okumagba wasuntil recently thePresident of Chartered

Institute of Stockbrokers, CIS beforehe stepped down as the President ofthe institute following the Securitiesand Exchange Commission, SECongoing regulatory oversightinvestigation on BGL Plc’s activitywhere he was the Group’s ChiefExecutive Officer. Prior to joining thecompany, he was Manager and Headof Mergers and Acquisitions atCentre-Point Merchant Bank Limited(now Unity Bank Plc). During hiscareer at Centre-Point, Mr.Okumagba managed portfolios inCorporate Banking, MultilateralAgency Credits and traded on thefloors of the Nigerian Stock Exchangeon behalf of Centre-Point’s stockbroking affiliate. In this interview,he spoke on a number of issuesaffecting capital market activities andthe economy in general and the wayforward

Excerpts:

What would you consider as themajor challenges facing the Nigeriancapital market at the moment?

Crisis of confidence is still pervasivein the market especially, among localinvestors. The negative impact of themargin loans era cannot be forgottenso easily. This is why you have morespeculators than long-term investors,accounting for the high volatility andinstability in the market. Currently,the macro economy, with dwindlingoil prices, devaluation of the Naira,exchange rate instability is nothelping matters. Lastly, the socio-political situation with insurgency inthe North constitute additionaluncertainties; thereby accentuatingthe risk of investing in the Nigeriacapital market.

What is the way forward?We can do a number of things. First,

keep on creating an enablingenvironment to make the investors,both local and foreign, regainconfidence in the market. We need toencourage rules that will deepen themarket especially in areas ofcapturing major sectors of theeconomy that are not currently well-represented in the capital market, forinstance Telecommunication, Power,Entertainment and Oil and Gas. Weneed to also deploy the existing hugesavings in pension funds to developthe economy and the capital marketthrough investment in infrastructure.

Since you took up the mantle ofleadership of the Chartered Instituteof Stockbrokers (CIS) in April 2014,you have been consistent in your callon operators and regulators in thecapital market to work very closelywith the government. Is you callbeing heeded?

Well, the process is on-going.Nothing good comes easy. Theimportance of the government in theeconomy of a developing nation likeours cannot be overemphasised in thearea of directing the economy,formulating, implementing andenforcing policies. As an institute, we

By PETER EGWUATU have reinforced and reinvigoratedvarious advocacy platforms availableto us to engage government in variousareas for the good of the country andthe capital market; for example,through our Annual NationalWorkshop, and the capital marketalliance consisting of CIS, ASHONand AIHN. And I can assure you, weare making progress.

You have also become a strongadvocate of professional associationscoming together for a cohesive goal.Does this inform the recent signingof a five - year economicdevelopment pact by the CIS,Institute of Chartered Accountant ofNigeria ICAN and Nigeria BarAssociation , NBA in Lagos recently?

Yes it does. We believe there is needfor collaboration and exchange ofideas among professionals on subjectsof common interest, in addition, tomaking and/or supportingrepresentation to government andother appropriate agencies ofgovernment on matters affecting theparties and the Nigerian economy.

What is the overriding philosophyof this agreement?

We are collaborating to become astronger force to further the mutualinterests of the parties, and thedevelopment of the Nigerian socio-economic life.

Recall the famous one-Day Dialogueon the Capital Market and 2015National Budget. What were thecritical underlying actors that

enhanced its success?The underlying factor is the

reinvigorated synergy between CIS,Association of Stock Broking Housesof Nigeria, ASHON and Associationof Issuing Houses of Nigeria, AIHNin promoting our common interest,and the relevance of the discussion,bearing on the growth anddevelopment of the Nigerian CapitalMarket within the context of thenational budget for 2015. In addition,the invitation of well-experiencedspeakers with pedigree both from thepublic and private sectors alsoenhanced the quality of thediscussions.

Any plan to widen the scope of theone-day dialogue and make it anannual event?

Our plan is to make the dialogue anannual event. The forum is designedto engage government on the nationalbudget and other issues in theeconomy and to position capital marketoperators for the opportunities andchallenges ahead. Most importantly,through the collaboration of CIS,ASHON and AIHN, the capital marketwill be able to speak with one voice.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)has again taken some strategicdecisions on the devaluation of theNaira. How does this benefit thecapital market?

Let’s start by considering the impacton the economy as a whole;devaluation can have both positiveand negative effects. On the one hand,it would encourage local industrieswhich can now earn more naira ontheir exports with positive impact onour trade balances. On the other hand,it will bring about closure of manycompanies that depend mainly onimported raw materials as the cost oftheir inputs will increase significantlyupon conversion to their nairaequivalent.

For Nigeria which is largely importdependent, the overall impact willlikely be negative in the short run.This could result in negativemacroeconomic indices such as higherrate of unemployment, lower GDP andlower industry capacity utilisation.This could immediately lead to areduction in the profits of some listed

companies thereby reducing the potentialfor capital appreciation and dividendreturn, hence hurting the capital market.

On the long run however, it is could bea positive development for the economyas manufacturers opts for local substitutesto imported raw materials and thecountry’s exports become competitive.Corporate earnings become more stable(as they are no longer significantlyexposed to foreign exchange volatility) tothe benefit of the capital market.

What would you advise investors at thisperiod of uncertainties in the polity?

In a situation of uncertainty such as weare now, the level of risk is higher; henceinvestors should be cautious. In everycrisis, there are both chaos andopportunities. To tap these opportunities,investors with little or no experience

We need toencourage rulesthat will deepenthe marketespecially inareas ofcapturing majorsectors of theeconomy thatare not currentlywell-representedin the capitalmarket

On the long runhowever, it couldbe a positivedevelopment forthe economy asmanufacturers optfor local substitutesto imported rawmaterials and thecountry’s exportsbecome competitive

Albert Okumagba... In a situation of uncertainty such as we are now, the level of risk

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 — 33

Interview

Crisis ofconfidencestill pervasive instock market—OKUMAGBA

should always engage the servicesof experts to manage their wealth.This should provide them with thebenefit of professional advice. I willspecifically advise small investors toinvest in well-managed funds at thistime. The fund managers have the

experience to manageportfolios of well-diversifiedassets for reasonablereturns at relatively lowerlevels of risk.

Finally, this time alsopresents investorsopportunities to generateabnormal returns becauseNigerian equities aresignificantly undervalued,as the common saying infinance goes, ‘the higherthe risk, the higher thereturns.’

Your administration isdetermined to grow themembership base andraise the income profile ofthe CIS. Can you relate thisto the efforts being madeby the institute to leverageon the DiplomaProgramme in Securitiesand Investment?

At the CIS, we have beenengaged in aggressivemobilisation efforts in thelast couple of months. Wehave signed-on five firmsto assist in the strategicgrowth of our studentmembership base. Thesefirms have been providedwith the necessary trainingand tools in order to achieveour target of mobilising onemillion students for ourprofessional Diplomaexamination. Aside fromthis, we regularly visit

tertiary institutions and NYSCcamps for career talks andenlightenment on the benefitsof the CIS certifications. Weare working with top stockbroking firms presently toprovide employmentopportunities for graduates ofthe CIS Diploma programme.

You have always beenfocused on the need to movethe CIS to the next level. Whatshould be put in place toachieve these laudable goals?

Our goal is to be a leadingprofessional institute inNigeria in the next few years.This requires the commitment

of all our stakeholders. Weneed the buy-in of all CISmembers, so that they cancontribute their own quotas.We are engaging the supportof all. We need to strengthenour structures especially theInstitute’s secretariat to be ableto deliver on expectations.The SEC, all the tradingplatforms, and Securities andInvestment firms also haveroles to play in supporting thisgoal which will be to thebenefit of the capital marketas a whole.

The CIS is believed to havebecome more visible under

Albert Okumagba

y o u radministration.What is thestrategy?

We have takenbold steps to putthe institute backto its rightfulplace. We areimpacting on allour stakeholdersin various ways.Beyond thecapital market,we are regularlycontributing ourquota to nationaldiscourse andengaging thegovernment onrelevant issues.We have alsotaken deliberate

steps to inform members andthe public about the instituteand its activities.

During the 2014 AnnualConference of the CIS, thefocus was on theentertainment industry. Anyupdate?

The Conference on thecreative industry was an eyeopener to the stakeholders inthe industry as they were ableto appreciate the enormouspotential for long-termfinancing of this major sectorthrough the Nigerian Capitalmarket. There are ongoingdiscussions between capitalmarket operators andpractitioners in the creativeindustry on the modalities forexploiting the opportunitiesavailable in the market tofurther develop “Nollywood”.

What message would like topass to the investing public?

Uncertain economic timescan bring you down along withthe market. But even when thestock market turns down, it ispossible to make money. Bearmarkets are great times to buystocks at bargain prices. Iwould advise small investorsto focus on well-chosen mutualfunds or exchange-tradedfunds (ETFs). This providesthe benefit of risk reductionand professionalmanagement.

is higher; hence investors should be cautious AlbertOkumagba

The conference onthe creative industrywas an eye openerto the stakeholdersin the industry asthey were able toappreciate theenormous potentialfor long-termfinancing of thismajor sector throughthe Nigerian Capitalmarket

34 —Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

Homes & Housing

Governmentshould bethinking ofbeefing up thecapital baseof FMBNrather thanasking thebank to selloff its assets

N100bn mortgage-backed bond:FG urged to redeem guarantee

FMBN MD, Kimba Ya'u Kumo Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

BY YINKA KOLAWOLE

Stakeholders in thehousing sector havecalled on the Federal

Government to redeem itsguarantee on the Series 3 ofthe N100 billion mortgage-backed bond it floated in2007. The Series 3 ismaturing on May 24, 2015with obligation to payN24.564 billion to Noteholders. They said failure bythe Federal Government toredeem the bond at maturitywill lead to the call of FGNGuarantee that backed thetransaction which can spelldoom for the country in localand offshore financial circles.

It would be recalled that thePresident Olusegun Obasanjoadministration, in 2007,floated a N100 billionmortgage-backed bond toraise funds to assist civilservants to buy federalgovernment houses under theregime’s monetizationprogramme. The 1st Series ofthe Bond was issued on May25, 2007 for the sum of N26billion with maturity date ofMay 25, 2012, while the 2ndSeries was issued on April 3,2012 for the sum of N6 billionwith maturity date of April 3,2017. At the maturity date ofthe first Series on May 25,2012, it was refinanced andbecame Series 3 Bond withmaturity date of May 25, 2015,with obligation to payN24.564 billion to Noteholders.

The Federal Governmentwas the Guarantor andInitiator of the bond. In orderto make the transactionindependent of FMBN, thegovernment ensured that itwas carried out throughSpecial Purpose Vehicles(SPVs) incorporated with theCorporate Affairs Commission(CAC), namely: FMBN SPVIssuer Limited, FMBN SPVFunding Limited, and FMBNMortgage Trustee Limited.Parties to the bondprogramme include: UBACapital, Lead Arranger/Adviser for Series 1 Bond,UBA Capital Trustees, NotesTrustees, FBN TrusteesLimited, Security Trustee, G.Elias & Co; TransactionsCounsel, Dunn LorenMerrifield Ltd, GIC Provider,Bond Series 2 & 3, ASOSavings & Loans Plc,Mortgage Loan Originator/Servicer and Stanbic IBTCBank Plc that was the AccountBank for Series 2.

However, financing thebond has been facing severalchallenges including:Negative carry (interest ratesubsidy) arising fromGovernment fixing themortgage interest rate at 9.5percent which is lower thanmarket rates. The FederalCapital TerritoryAdministration (FCTA) was tooffset the subsidy paymentson an annual basis; howeverFCTA paid the subsidy foronly one year throughout thetenors of the bonds. Tenormismatch arising from

forestall imposing a crisis onthe economy. FMBN shouldensure that ASO Savings andLoans immediately remit thecollections of N4.54 billionwhich it has failed to remit tothe FMBN. FMBN toimmediately recover all thenon-performing loans,including the use ofForeclosures (where the C ofO of the properties are in thecustody of the securitytrustees) of the assets of thedefaulters, and take allnecessary actions to ensurethat the federal governmentguarantee does notcrystallize.”

Stakeholders havedescribed current eventssurrounding the bonds asunfortunate saying that thecountry has serious obligationunder the bond transactionswhich if not met canundermine the countryinternally and externally.

In his reaction, President ofReal Estate DevelopersAssociation of Nigeria

(REDAN), Rev. Ugo Chime,passing the buck to FMBN atthis stage will not augur wellfor the country.

He counseled thatgovernment should ratherinject more funds into theFMBN and even restructureit if deemed fit for betterefficiency. His words: “On thisbond issue, we need to lookat some aspects. Where is themoney? Was it injected intothe NHF? This money shouldhave been used as seed fundto assist FMBN to makehouses more affordable. Idon’t think that at a time whenthe government should bethinking of beefing up thecapital base of FMBN itshould be asking the bank tosell off its assets. The FederalGovernment should pay themoney that is due in a fewdays as this date has notcome to them as a surprise.There are no assets for theFMBN to sell off to be able tomeet the deadline, even ifthere were how many dayswill it take to do so and meetup with the deadline?”Chime said the government

has usedprivatization toremove safety netsfrom the commonman and describesthe bondcontroversy asanother attempt tofurther make thecommon mansuffer. He added:“People arecontributing 2.5per cent to theNational HousingFund and over 90per cent of thesepeople cannotaccess the NHFloans due to poorfunding by the sameg o v e r n m e n t .Government shouldlive up to itsresponsibility as faras this bond issue isconcerned”.

Also speaking onthe development,Chief ExecutiveOfficer of amortgage bank, whospoke on condition ofanonymity, said:“The Federal

Government can redeem theGuarantee to meet thematured obligation andsubsequently recoup fromthe unremitted collection byASO Savings totaling aboutN4.54 billion. Then it has tolook at the non-performingloans of about N3.64 billionand outstanding mortgagesto redeem its obligationunder the Series that willsoon fall due.”

Meanwhile, FMBN arguedthat since it neither sponsorednor guaranteed thetransaction, it should not beheld responsible or liable forthe bond. Managing Directorof FMBN, Gimba Ya’u Kumo,in a letter addressed to theDMO, explained that thebond issuance programmewas at the instance of thefederal government. Headded that the guarantee thatsupported the bondtransaction was between thefederal government as theguarantor and UBA TrusteesLimited as the NotesTrustees.

mortgage tenors of 15 yearswhile the bonds are for fiveand three yearsrespectively; Non-performing loans (N3.64billion) arising from defaulton mortgage repaymentswhich mortgage loanoriginators (MLOs) haveresponsibility to recoverand; Non-remittance ofcollections by the MLOs,such as ASO Savings & LoansPlc which was said to havefailed to remit about N4.54billion to FMBN.

The apparent unavailabilityof funds to redeem the bondhas led to buck-passingbetween FMBN, DebtManagement Office (DMO)and Federal Ministry ofFinance on which of them isto provide the funds. Thisdevelopment prompted theCoordinating Minister of theEconomy and Minister ofFinance, Ngozi OkonjoIweala to issue a directive,mandating the FMBN toaccept responsibility for thebond. A reliable source saidin the directive conveyedthrough a letter dated 5thMay 2015, addressed to Mrs.Akon Eyakenyi, Minister ofLands and Housing, Okonjo-Iweala recommended thatassets of FMBN be sold tooffset the sum of N24.564billion, being the first trancheof the bond, which matures on24th May 2015. According tothe source, the letter reads inpart; “I wish to recommendthat Mr. President considersdirecting the HonourableMinister of Lands, Housingand Urban Development todirect the FMBN to raisefunds to pay its maturingobligation of N24.564 billionon May 24, 2015, as it must

US mortgage rates up for 3rd week

Average long-term U.S.mortgage rates are up for

the third straight week.Mortgage giant, Freddie Macsays the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage roseto 3.85 percent from 3.80percent a week earlier. Therate on 15-year fixed-ratemortgages rose to 3.07percent from 3.02 percent.Both rates were the highestsince mid-March.

Still, mortgage rates remainlow by historic standards. A

year ago, the 30-year rate was4.20 percent and the 15-yearwas 3.29 percent.

Long-term mortgage ratesare rising along with the yieldon 10-year Treasury notes,which is up to 2.24 percentfrom less than 1.9 percent inmid-April. The higher ratesreflect some signs ofimprovement in the U.S.economy. The unemploymentrate tumbled last month to 5.4percent, lowest since May2008.

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 — 35

CMYK

Micro-Finance

Accenture has enteredinto partnership with

Lagos Chamber of Commerceand Industry, LCCI, in order

Poor orientation hampers MSMEDF disbursement— SMEDAN

Poor orientation isr e s t r a i n i n gdisbursement of the

N220 billion Micro,Small andMedium EnterprisesDevelopment Fund(MSMEDF)

Lagos State Coordinator,Small and MediumEnterprises DevelopmentAgency of Nigeria(SMEDAN) Mr Yinka Fisher,disclosed this, while statingthat the Central Bank ofNigeria (CBN) and Microfinance Banks have stoppedthe disbursement of the loans

Stories byPROVIDENCE OBUHwith agency report

following logisticsimpediments.

Fisher said that the embargowas placed on thedisbursement of the fund dueto lack of collateral from theSmall and MediumEnterprises (SMEs).

According to him, “Thetruth is that the disbursementof the fund has been placedon hold for now because mostof the SMEs do not havepresentable collateral andcertificates of incorporation.

“The microfinance banks

are complaining that theyalready have collateral withthe Central Bank, but theSMEs approaching them forthe loans are coming with un-

presentable collateral, so withthis, it is difficult for themicrofinance banks to keepgiving out the loans.

“We are currently on

reconciling terms with theCBN to figure out othermeans, but another majorissue is that some of the SMEowners are getting poororientation about the loans,”he said.

Accenture partners LCCI to empower3m youths by 2020

to give a six monthsmentoring programme toyoung Nigerian

entrepreneurs, aspart of efforts torealize its vision2020 to empowerthree millionpeople globally tobecome successfulentrepreneurs andbusiness owners.

Speaking at 2015LCCI mentoringprogram in Lagos,M a r k e t i n gCommunicationsLeader, AccentureNigeria, Mr. SegunOlalandu, saidAccenture startedwith a vision toempower 250,000people globallyand have thusachieved thenumber.

Osun State Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola,has commended leading telecommunications

services provider, Airtel Nigeria, for its support tolocal content development, saying the telco is helpingto power the State’s job creation drive.

Speaking at the RLG Product Discovery Day heldat RLG Adulawo Technology City, Ilesa, he said thatthe telecommunications company has shown supportfor local content development, establishing retailfootprints across the country and boosting jobcreation.

“Airtel has supported a significant breakthroughfor the Adulawo Technology City, supporting theprovision of jobs from end-to-end, from thetechnicians in the Adulawo Technology City to thoseworking in the Airtel retail pipeline,” he said.

Describing the Technology City initiative as ahistoric monument Aregbesola explained that the techcity in the last one year had provided directemployment to 150 indigenes and was poised toprovide employment to 1,500 sales persons, whowould man kiosks and other sales outposts for RLGproducts.

Also speaking, Managing Director/CEO, AirtelNigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, said that thecompany believes in supporting local development,providing opportunities for job creation.

According to him, Airtel has invested enormouslyin building a large eco-system for local contentinitiatives through its broad-based programmes andinitiatives.

“Interestingly, the youths are the biggestbeneficiaries of our local content initiatives. Onlyrecently, we floated an initiative, Catapult-a-Startup,with the overriding idea of providing youths with astrong platform, robust funding and rightpartnerships to build local applications that will helptransform lives, shape public service and build abetter society for all of us. The good news is that wehave seen a lot of success stories come out from thisprogramme,” he said.

“Accenture now aims toempower three million peopleby 2020 globally by helpingthem get a job or start abusiness. As at 2015,Accenture has empoweredover 800 thousand peopleglobally and now it isenabling 50 people andhelping them grow theirbusinesses through thepartnership.

“We partner significantlywith anybody who will helpus achieve that goal of gettingpeople employed, skill themup to be employable and alsopeople who will help us getpeople to start their ownbusinesses like LCCI isdoing,” he said.

President, LCCI, Mr. RemiBello, said that the focus ofthe developmental initiativeon the youth is a means ofinvesting in their future andguaranteeing a bettertomorrow for the country.

Aregbesola lauds Airtelon job creation

36 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

Business & Economy

“If the opinion of insiders isanything to go by, it may becorrect to say that the nation’sbanking community is in direfinancial straits. That muchthe NATION canauthoritatively report.”

NATION ON SUNDAY, April12, 2015, p 58.

Foreigners know beforewe do when a banking

crisis is round the corner. Twousual tell-tale signs occur inrapid succession. First,Foreign Portfolio Investment,FPI, drops. Second, somebanks start approaching thecapital market for funds toshore up their balance sheets.The two are happening nowand, once more, it is time tobe careful where depositorsplace their money. Nobodyneeds a repetition of SocieteGeneral and Savannah bankswhich closed their gatestrapping billions of peoples’money till today. Thequestion is why so soonagain? Also, what happenedto Soludo’s assurances toNigerians, after “Con-SOLUDO-tion that depositorscould go to sleep with theirtwo eyes closed. Once again,those in the know areexperiencing sleepless

Banking crisis and another season of anxieties

nights. This will be the thirdcrisis since the emergence oftwenty five banks as Mega-banks in 2006.

Most Nigerians wouldrecollect that ProfessorChukwumah Soludo, theformer Governor of theCentral Bank of Nigeria,CBN, had boasted that he wasbequeathing to the nation,banks in which depositors cankeep their funds and “go tosleep with their eyes closed.”Among those banks, Soludoleft us with wereIntercontinental, Afribankand Oceanic – all now ofblessed memory. In 2006, thenation was left with 25“strong” banks out of seven-three the previous year.Today, there are less thanfifteen and the next bankingcrisis might reduce thenumber to under a dozen.The reasons, not far fetched,are linked.

First, when ForeignPortfolio Investment, FPI,starts dropping significantly,certain things occur. Thedeparting foreigners depressthe capital market and theirpessimism about the futurebecomes contagious. Evendomestic fund managers

begin to consider exiting themarket. That is alreadyoccurring.

In an article in the SUN,on May 11, 2015, page 43, byChinenye Amiforo, it wasrevealed that FPI in March ofthis year, had declined fromN133.92bn to N102.56bn.And, we are still in the firstquarter of the year –a year,which promises more harshnews than any we hadexperienced in years. Thatwill be explained later.

Simultaneously, severalbanks are forced, voluntarilyor otherwise, to approach thecapital market for funds toshore up their balance sheets.Once again, that process ison. At least four banks arealready in the market to raisefresh capital; the number willcertainly go up in the nearfuture. Banks going to thecapital market under thecloudy economic outlook ofthe nation must have morefaith than that required tomove mountains to expect theresult to be favourable. But,the banks have no choice.They are stuck between thedevil and the deep ocean.That is not an ideal operatingenvironment. Banks should

operate in calm waters. Thedevil was the price of crude,which dropped suddenly; thedeep ocean is the out-goingFederal government whoseeconomic managers weremost irresponsible.

GDP growth declines by2.08% in Q1—NBS.

PUNCH, May 14, 2015, p 7. However, the real demon

threatening the bankingsector is the Nigerianeconomy at the moment andthe trend for the near term.The PUNCH story, went on tosay that “The National Bureauof Statistics, on Wednesdaynight released the firstquarter 2015 Gross DomesticProduct figure, stating thatthe country’s GDP declinedfrom 5.94 per cent at the endof the fourth quarter of lastyear to 3.86 per cent.” Thatrevelation by the NBS hasfurther complicated theproblems of Nigeria banks –irrespective of whether theyneed additional capital or not.High GDP growth rate,averaging over 7% perannum, in the last six yearshad been the magnet forattracting Foreign DirectInvestment into Nigeria.Hitherto, it had been one of

the top five globally andinvestors had ignored therisks associated, or perceivedto be, with investment inemerging markets. Decline to3.86 per cent is a definite turn-off. So, those dollars walkinginto Nigerian banks will walkaway for a while. Crude oil isthe devil here. High crude oilprices, like high tide, broughtthem in. Low crude oil iswashing them away.

“Against the stupidity [ofrulers], the gods themselvesstruggle in vain.” Schiller,1759- 1805. (VANGUARDBOOK OF QUOTATIONSp235.

Fate, as well as the infinitedeafness of Federalgovernment officials,Jonathan’s CampaignManagers, and jesters likethe TransformationAmbassadors had combinedto close the President’s eyesto the impending doom.Repeatedly, they had pointedto the exceptional GDPgrowth in the past. Nobody,not even Okonjo-Iweala,mentioned the, nowinevitable, possibility thatJonathan might leave office ata time when the economy iscrawling at 3%. And with thathe had sealed the fates of atleast three banks. It is notmuch of a legacy to inherit aneconomy growing at 7% andleave it at 3%; is it?

The most seniormanagers at oil giant

Eni appear to have misledshareholders over thecompany ’s actions in acorrupt oil deal at its 2014AGM. This is very important– as they gather for the 2015meeting, shareholders inItaly ’s biggest companyshould expect straightanswers over a deal whichposes real risks to theirinvestments. The corruptionat the heart of the dealdeprived the Nigerian state ofover U.S. $1.1 billion, hastriggered investigations byauthorities in three countries,and could ultimately lead tothe Eni and its partner Shelllosing access to the oil block.

The back story goes like this:in 2011 Eni and Shell paid$1.1bn for oil block OPL 245,one of the biggest off the coastof Nigeria. The money shouldhave ended up in Nigerianstate coffers, where it is badlyneeded - $1.1bn is equivalentto two-thirds of the 2014Nigerian healthcare budget.Instead the payment wasmade to the government, whothen passed on to Malabu, afront company owned by theformer Nigerian oil minister,Dan Etete Etete had awarded

Eni misled shareholders over Nigeriacorruption scandal — Global Witness

his own company the blockwhilst in office under theformer dictator Sani Abacha,and was now, together withothers was cashing in on hiscorrupt acquisition.

Eni’s senior leadershipclaimed it didn’t know thatEtete was behind Malabu atits 2014 AGM. But duediligence reportscommissioned by Eni seen byGlobal Witness show that thatEni was told “Whatever theformal ownership structure ofMalabu, all of the sources towhom we have spoken areunited in the opinion thatDan Etete is the owner of thecompany”. The company didlater adjust its story sayingthat they never completedtheir full due diligenceprocess because theychanged their mind aboutdoing a deal directly withMalabu, doing the deal viathe Government instead, andthat Etete’s involvement was

a ‘red flag’ and an ‘elementof concern. However, it isdifficult to understand howEni’s staff could honestlyconclude that its duediligence had not found clear

evidence for concluding thatEtete was ultimately behindMalabu.

This kind of deal poseshuge risks for Eni’s investors.The case has been

investigated by authorities inthree separate countries andits former and current CEOsare both under investigationfor their role in the deal.

Guaranty Trust Bank plchas launched another

innovative mobile channelwhich enables GTBankcustomers convenientlyperform third party transfersto both GTBank and otherbank account holders inNigeria, via their mobilephones, by simply dialing theUSSD short code *737 withdetails of the amount andaccount number (NUBAN) ofthe beneficiary.The *737* transfer service isanother novel offeringpioneered by GTBank in theNigerian Financial Industry,that is safe, simple andconvenient. The 737 transfer

GTBank launches mobile money transferservice has been introducedto build on the success of theBank’s One Click Top –upservice; which offers GTBankcustomers an efficient andeasy way to buy airtime ontheir mobile phones directlyfrom their GTBank account bysimply dialing a short USSDcode (*737*AMOUNT#).According to Mr. SegunAgbaje, Managing Director/CEO of the Bank, “we willcontinue to leveragetechnology to make banking,especially payments andtransfers, faster, safer andmore convenient for all ourcustomers. He further statedthat, “this service addresses

the electronic bankingrequirements of ourcustomers, irrespective oftheir phone type”. The *737*Transfer service is onlyavailable to GTBankcustomers via their mobilephone numbers registeredwith the Bank and hasminimum transfer limit ofN1,000 and a daily transferlimit of N20,000. GuarantyTrust Bank plc wasestablished in 1990 and haswithin the last 25 years cometo be recognized as one of themost profitable, innovative,service focused and wellmanaged banks in theNigerian financial marketspace.

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 — 37

Tax Matters

There is a need to drawattention to the fundamentaldifference between

Withholding Tax (WHT) and ValueAdded Tax (VAT) so as to facilitateclear understanding of the mechanicsof the tax concepts.

WHT is an advance payment ofincome tax and the purpose is to bringthe prospective taxpayer into the tax-net, thereby widening the income taxbase. In other words, the WHT systemis aimed at tracking down taxpayersand the incomes which may otherwisenot be reported by them.

When the income on which WHT isdeducted at source is finally broughtto the notice of the tax authority andthe appropriate tax computed, duecredit is given for the WHT deductedat source on the presentation of theoriginal WHT receipts through theissuance of credit notes. The taxpayerwill be required to pay only thebalance due after matching the actualtax liability against the credit for theWHT suffered at source. WHT istherefore nothing more than acollection machinery to curb taxevasion. It is not a separate tax on itsown. It is a part of the income tax -whether personal or corporate incometax.

In contrast, VAT is a different typeof tax. VAT is a consumption taxpayable on the goods and servicesconsumed by any person, whethergovernment agencies, businessorganisations or individuals. Thetarget of VAT is the final consumer ofgoods and services and unless anitem is specifically exempted by law,the consumer is liable to the tax.Exemption from this is not aimed atagencies, companies or individualsbut rather at the goods and services.

Therefore, all agencies ofgovernment, religious and otherorganisations and similar persons thatare normally exempted from incometax are expected to pay VAT on thegoods and services consumed by themexcept where the goods and servicesare specifically exempted by law.

THE PRIMARY MARKET

(a) How to Impose WHT

It is usual for issuing companies topay fees to issuing houses, stockbrokerage firms, reportingaccountants and solicitors in respectof new and rights issues, as well asdebenture stocks. Such fees should besubject to withholding tax at sourcein accordance with Section 63 of theCompanies Income Tax Cap 60 LFN1990, and the relevant extra-ordinaryGazette. The issuing companies arehereby mandated to deduct the WHTtax there-from and pay over to theFederal Inland Revenue Service(FIRS) within 30 days as stipulatedin the tax law. The net is then paidover to the issuing house that handledthe issue. The applicable rate for

Distinguishing withholding tax fromvalue added tax

commissions/fees is ten percent (10%)for limited liability companies, andfive percent (5%) for individuals andpartnerships.

(b) How to Impose VATEvery consumer pays VAT on

services rendered to it. As consumersof the services rendered by both theissuing houses and other parties to theissue, the issuing companies are liableto the payment of VAT for the servicesrendered. The issuing houses andother parties to the issue shouldcharge VAT at 5% on their invoices forservices rendered. Since the issuinghouses handle the transactionsconnected with new and rights issues,they are to act as agents for thecollection and remission of VAT toFIRS.

(c) Listing by the Nigeria StockExchange (NSE)

As a pre-requisite for listing newsecurities by the NSE, the evidenceof settlement of WHT and VAT on thenew and rights issues must beattached. The listing fees arethemselves liable to WHT and VAT.

(d) Renewal of Operators’Licences

Before an operator ’s licence isrenewed by a regulatory authority,evidence of WHT and VAT on issueshandled in the previous year must beproduced.

THE SECONDARY MARKET(a) How to Impose WHT

· In the case of a purchase, thestockbroker is expected to charge theinvestor for the following:-

o The cost of the sharespurchased,

o Commission based on grossvalue of shares purchased on behalfof that investor, - the Securities andExchange Commission (SEC) fee(which is currently 1% of totalconsideration and is not subject toWHT and VAT being part of grossincome earned by SEC)

o Deduct WHT on thecommission at 10% and pay over to therelevant tax authority, i.e. State Boardof Internal Revenue (SBIR) or FIRS.

· In the case of a sale, thestockbroker is expected to deduct fromthe investor’s gross consideration thefollowing:-

o his commission,o the other fees payable to other

third parties, as approved by the SEC.

· Thereafter, the net sale shouldbe paid over to the investor.

· Both the Nstockbroker ’scommission and other fees paid to

other third parties are subject to WHT.The stockbroker is to pay over taxwithheld from the commission andother fees to the relevant tax authority.

(b) How to Impose VATIn both purchase and sale

transactions, the consumer of theservices rendered is the investor. It istherefore the investor that is subjectto this tax. The VAT on thesetransactions should be paid over toFIRS.

COLLECTION ARRANGEMENTIn respect of the collection of the

taxes herewith discussed, the usualcollection arrangement will prevail.Reference to the relevant FIRSinformation circular (9502 of 20thFebruary 1995, 9501 of 13th January1995) may be advisable.

However, in summary, the followingcollection arrangement should beobserved:-

(a) WHTØ The rate at which tax is to be

withheld on commission and fees is10% when these payments are madeto limited liability companies; and 5%for individuals and partnerships.

Ø The currency in which the taxis to be paid is the currency thetransaction was carried out and inwhich the tax was deducted.

Ø payments of wht should bemade in bank drafts and payable to:

Ø ‘‘The Federal Government ofNigeria- FIRS – Withholding TaxAccount’’

Ø Payments should beaccompanied by the relevant forms(CMF1, CMF2, CMF3, CMF4, orCMF5).

Ø Any default in theimplementation of the tax carriesheavy penalties.

Ø Failure to deduct WHT andfailure to remit taxes withheld arepunishable on conviction by a fine of200% of the tax not withheld orremitted.

(b) VATØ The rate for VAT is 5%.Ø Payments of VAT should be

made in bank draft and payable to:Ø ‘‘The Federal Government of

Nigeria – FIRS – VAT Account’’Ø The payments should be

accompanied by the VAT FORM 022which is readily available online andall FIRS offices throughout Nigeria.

DUAL ROLE OF ISSUINGHOUSES

It is necessary to clarify that the newpolicy of government imposes dualroles on the issuing houses asagencies which handle new and rightsissues:

ibas agent of government for thededuction and remittance of WHT andas agent of government for thecollection and remittance of VAT evenin respect of their own respectivetransactions which ordinarily shouldhave been paid over to the operatorwho charged the VAT on his invoice.(For more details see pare. 4 ofInformation Circular no. 9502 of 29thFebruary, 1995).

Before anoperator’slicence isrenewed by aregulatoryauthority,evidence of WHTand VAT onissues handledin the previousyear must beproduced.

CMYK

38 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

People in Business

BY EBELE ORAKPO

Mrs BunmiAremo, agraduate of

Home Economics fromthe University ofAgriculture, Makurdi, isthe Managing Director/Chief Executive Officerof Lagos-based PreciousCookies. In this chatwith FinancialVanguard in her office,she spoke on herbusiness, how she gotinto the confectionerybusiness, the challengesand why she ended upstudying HomeEconomics. Excerpts:

Studying HomeEconomics :

According to Aremo, as achild, she loved working withher hands and very creative soshe thought of reading AgricEconomics but was givenHome Economics instead.

“My mother asked me tocome home because readingHome Economics, to her, waslike wasting my talent. I alsogot admission into ObafemiAwolowo University (OAU) toread Agric-Economics. I haddone remedial programme inMakurdi so I told one of mylecturers that I was leaving forOAU and he asked why I feltHome Economics was notgood for me. I said it’s all aboutcooking. He explained to methat it is not about cooking,that it is in the Faculty ofEngineering, College of FoodScience and Technology andthat the programme was newso I decided to stay andthroughout the course, therewas no cooking. I learnt howto calculate nutrients in foodand so many other things. Infact, my project (whichinvolved calculating theamount of nutrients in thefood of about 200 pupils), halfof it was slashed because myexternal supervisor could notbelieve I did the work asaccording to him, it was a PhDstuff and not relevant for a BSc.programme.”

Going into business:“I got married and was

teaching at the Nigerian-Turkish International School,Abuja. I was pregnant and twoweeks before the birth, I wasinvolved in the Miss Worldriots in Abuja and it affectedme. We tried to manage thepregnancy to seven months sothat the child can survive butwe couldn’t, so I had apremature baby. He was bornat six and half months and sosmall that after wrapping himin layers of cloths, he did notstill weigh up to one kilogramat birth.

"So the doctor advised me toforget about work and devotetime to him. My son was born

on the 8th but we celebrate hisbirthday on the 9th, we had togive him a whole day after hewas born to be sure he wouldsurvive.

"I am not the type that cansit at home doing nothing soone day, a friend came to meand asked me to teach herhow to make cake. I said“cake? When we were inschool, did you ever see mewith spoons and pots? I don’tknow how to make cake.” Iasked myself how I could tellpeople that I read HomeEconomics and yet cannotmake cake. So I told her tocome and teach me after shelearnt and she did."

Coming to Lagos:"I started making cakes and

my husband would help medistribute. I was doing thatuntil my he was transferred toLagos. When we came toLagos, I started training againon cake-making and I got abigger market this time. I wassupplying companies’ staffbirthday cakes. I started withQueens cake which I wassupplying to supermarkets.My husband startedcomplaining, saying therewas not enough space in thehouse for my business so Ishould move out. Prior tothat, a friend told me aboutPan-African University’sLagos Business School. Iapplied for and gotscholarship. In class, theytold us it is unwise to do your

business from home. Thoughthey are not despising the dayof little beginning, but if youdon’t move out, you willremain small. I got to knowabout Technology IncubationCentre (TIC) Lagos and withthe help of the EnterpriseDevelopment Centre, Pan-Atlantic University, I wasgiven a space. I couldn’tbelieve it because in less thantwo years, I got my NAFDACcertification, I not only do theQueens cake, I began to docookies and I noticed that thecookies were selling more."

Moving forward:“Before I get to some

finished my training,everything changed, even mydressing. So entering theinternational market was not toodifficult for me because of thebackground. Now, we aretrying to move into the Asianand American markets.

Business has been improvingday by day, especially with thehelp of the TIC. We are trying

to work on some other lines, stillon cookies; cookies is aboutshapes and flavours."

The staff:"Presently, we have nine

members of staff due to spaceand capacity. We just acquired

an electric oven. We wereusing manual oven beforewhich would bake a tray forthree hours but the electric ovendoes it in 30 minutes. We canstill calibrate it to bake a trayin 10 minutes. With that, webelieve we can have moreturnover. It will increase oursalary and we will be able toemploy more people. Most ofmy staff are unskilled. What Ido is to work with them andthen work on their minds togo back to school. There is acertain amount of their salarythat must go towards theireducation. We help them

*Mrs. Bunmi Aremo...a certain amount of their salary must go towards their education

Finance isanotherchallenge but Ibelieve that ifyou have anidea, peoplewill come toyour aid; it isnot aboutmoney

supermarkets, I would seequeues and one day, I was toldthey were queuing for thecookies, that I was not bringingenough, so I had to double thesupply. At this time, the cookieswere unlabelled. One of my staffsuggested we begin supplyingin cartons. We did andincreased the number of outlets.

International market:"Before I knew it, I was

exporting the cookies. Myentrepreneurship training withEDC really helped me. Thepackaging when I came fromAbuja was really ugly so Ichanged to another one whichwas still ugly but by the time I

Challenges are part oflife; they help us togrow — BUNMI AREMO

Challenges are part oflife; they help us togrow — BUNMI AREMO

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 — 39

E-Commerce

PayPal, the paymentsdivision that’s

separating from the onlinemarketplace, EBay, will tradeon the Nasdaq Stock Marketas PYPL, its original tickersymbol before being acquiredby the online marketplace in2002.

“I’m honoured and thrilledthat PayPal is returning to itsroots as an independentcompany,” said PayPalPresident, Dan Schulman,who will be the company’sChief Executive Officer whenthe split is completed in thethird quarter of the year.

He added: “This is ameaningful symbol for thecompany because itrepresents our unbrokencommitment to the spirit ofthe original vision thatsparked the launch of PayPalseventeen years ago.”

EBay announced the splitlast year after activist investorCarl Icahn said PayPal wasbeing held back by its parentcompany’s slower-growingWeb marketplace business.

Schulman joined PayPal,which has 165 millioncustomers in 200 countries,from American Express Co.

Co-Creation Hub to invest over N10m in start-upsStories byJONAH NWOKPOKU

Nigeria’s first sociali n n o v a t i o ncentre, Co-

creation Hub, CcHUB hasannounced it will investbetween $15,000 to$25,000, about N3.3 millionto N5.5 million, in seedfunding in three tech start-ups.

The ventures include:Grit Systems, Mamaletteand Autobox. The deal willalso invlove mentoring,business developmentsupport and office space tohelp in their quest to growtheir businesses rapidly.

Grit Systems is CcHUB’sfirst Internet of Things(iOT) venture, whileMamalette is an onlinecommunity for mothers andmothers-to-be andAutobox is a platform forcar owners to buy genuineauto parts and discover allthings motoring.

Grit Systems developsweb-enabled technologyfor controlling andgathering data about

Rocket Internet launches online classifieds siteGerman based Internet

company, RocketInternet has unveiled anonline classified platform,Vendito for emergingmarkets.

The site which is alreadylive in Senegal, Uganda andTanzania is expected to go livesoon in Nigeria atVendito.com.ng or Vendito.ngand in Ghana asVendito.com.gh andVendito.co.ke in Kenya.

The company told the medialast week that most of theURLs are not live to the publicyet.

According to RocketInternet, “Vendito is an onlineclassifieds website wherepeople can buy and sellalmost anything in their cities,from electronics, cars, real

estate to jobs and services.Currently we operate inMyanmar, Asia, under thename of Ads.com.mm whichis the largest classifiedwebsite in the country withmore than 150, 000 visits permonth. As part of ourambitious goals we recentlystepped foot in West and EastAfrica, first milestones to ourinspiring journey.

“Vendito’s mission is toprovide a free, easy-to-use,fast and localized website thatconnects buyers and sellerslocally to buy or sell theirused items and/or services.Of course Vendito’s ambitionis to become the leadinggeneral classifieds website inemerging markets.

“Just like OLX’s speech,Vendito says if you have used

PayPal totrade underold symbolafter splitfrom EBay

TRAINING: From left Mr. Martins Awofisayo, MD, HarvestField Industries Limited, Mr. Syl-vestre Jobic, Country Group Manager – Sub-Saharan Africa, Bayer Environmental Science,Dr. Bukar Ali Usman, Director, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Con-trol (NAFDAC) and Mrs. Adjo Mfodwo, Manager – Anglophone West Africa, Bayer Environ-mental Science at a stakeholders training and seminar on pest control held in MarylandLagos.

items you don’t needanymore and are taking uptoo much space in your houseor office Vendito is theplace. Vendito has a similarplatform. Just like the formerTradeStable which wasmerged into OLX recentlywhich has looks similar toGumtree but we think it’s lesslikely to launch in SouthAfrica soon.”

household and commercialelectrical powerconsumption.

Started in 2011 in Yaba

Lagos, CcHUB has workedwith over fifty early stageventures through its pre-incubation and incubationprogrammes including

Traclist, Truppr, Wecyclersand Vacantboards. In 2014,CcHUB graduated BudgIT,the first venture in itsincubation portfolio.

Openshopen emerges e-commerce platform of the year

Computer WarehouseGroup, CWG's e-

commerce platform,Openshopen.ng has beennamed e-commerceplatform of the year at theBeacon of Information andCommunication Technologyawards held in Lagosrecently.

The website, polled thehighest votes in its categoryfollowing an online pollthat featured over twohundred thousand entriesvia email and on theaward's electronic votingportal.

Speaking on the award,Founder/ CEO, CWG, AustinOkere said: “Winning theaward of the e-commerceplatform of the year in just lessthan one year of introducingour solution to the Nigerianmarket speaks volumes aboutthe unique valueOpenshopen offers to SMEsand how they have come toappreciate it.”

According to him, “Our e-commerce platform has thecapacity to support over 100million stores. It offersbusinesses the advantage ofbuilding and promoting their

own brands rather than justdumping their goods andtheir fates in the hands ofthird parties, whose brandsthey are invariablypromoting. By displayingtheir goods online,entrepreneurs significantlyincrease their sales, therebycreating jobs and ensuringinclusive growth for theeconomy.”

Speaking on the credibilityof the award process, theChairman of the event andChief Executive Officer,Zinox Technologies limited,Chief Leo Stan Ekeh said: “I

know that those that won theawards tonight deservedthem because I canconfidently say that thepublisher, whom I know verywell, is a man of integrity andhe will give you what youdeserve.”

On his part, Formerpresident of the Institute ofSoftware Practitioners ofNigeria (ISPON) ChrisUwaje observed that CWG Plcis known for rolling out ITsolutions that are remarkablefor standard, customersatisfaction and reliability.

A group of luxury goodsmakers in the United

States has sued, CHinese e-commerce giant, AlibabaGroup Holding Ltdcontending that it hadknowingly made it possiblefor counterfeiters to sell theirproducts throughout theworld.

Alibaba in litigation over fake goodsThe lawsuit alleged thatAlibaba had conspired tomanufacture, offer for saleand traffic in counterfeitproducts bearing theirtrademarks without theirpermission.The lawsuit alleged thatAlibaba and its relatedentities “provide the

marketplace advertising andother essential servicesnecessary for counterfeiters tosell their counterfeit productsto customers in the UnitedStates.” The lawsuit cited, forexample, an alleged fakeGucci bag offered for $2 to $5each by a Chinese merchant.

Netflix in talksto enter China

Video streaming company,Netflix is in talks with

Wasu Media Holding Co. andother potential partners toenter China’s booming onlinevideo market.

Netflix is seeking a partnerthat has licenses for content onall devices, including mobilephones, computers and set-top boxes, the report said.

Netflix earlier said it wasdeveloping plans to launch a“modest” service in China ifit can get permission tooperate in the world’s mostpopulous country. Chineseconsumers are used towatching entertainment forfree that is either supported byads or pirated.

“For every country we knowwhat we want to do, but inChina we are still exploringour options,” Chief Executive,Reed Hastings said in aninterview earlier this year.

A local partnership would beessential given the Chinesegovernment’s strict controlsover licensing for onlinecontent.

CMYK

40 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 — 41

CMYK

42 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

Economy

inflationary pressurecontainment strategy,exchange rate management,money supply from fiscalperspectives amongst others.

Commenting on the outlookof today's MPC the researchteam at Afrinvest, one ofNigeria's leading investmenthouses, outlined three majorpossible policy options beforethe Committee, first being toretain Marginal RediscountRate (MPR) at 13 per cent,public sector Credit ReserveRation (CRR) at 75 per cent,private sector CRR at 20 percent, liquidity ratio at 30 percent and then announce afloating of the currency toeliminate pressure on externalreserves.

The next alternative course ofaction before the MPC today,according to Afrinvest, is toretain all the ratios above andthen increase CBN'sintervention rate at theinterbank foreign exchangemarket to reduce the pressureon the reserves.

However, Afrinvest says MPCalso has the option of not onlyleaving all the ratios as theywere, but it could also decideto stay with status quo on alleconomic and monetarypolicies to allow the in-coming

federal government to settledown before grappling withany major policy issues.

On the probabilistic basis,Afrinvest assigned 5 per centlikelihood for first option, 45 percent for the second option and50 per cent for the last option.This possible position,according to Afrinvest, wouldjust be for political expediencyrather than sound policy stancein the face of serious andurgent economic challenges.

Some of the challengesinclude the heighteningarbitraging in the currencymarket resulting from a half-baked foreign exchange policy

STORIES BY EMEKAANAETO, ECONOMY

EDITOR

The last Monetary PolicyCommittee (MPC) meeting inthe life of the presentgovernment holding today willlargely shy away from keyeconomic issues threateningthe nation's economy, due totransition uncertainties.In order to facilitate theattainment of the objective ofprice stability and to supportthe economic policy of theFederal Government, acommittee of the Central Bankof Nigeria (CBN) referred to asMPC is in place made up ofthe CBN Governor as theChairman with the four DeputyGovernors of the Bank, twomembers of the Board ofDirectors of the Bank as wellas three members appointed bythe President and two membersappointed by the Governor.

The MPC is the highestpolicy making committee of theCBN with the the mandate toreview economic and financialconditions in the economy,determine appropriate stance ofpolicy in the short to mediumterm, review regularly, theCBN monetary policyframework and adopt changeswhen necessary, and alsocommunicate monetary/financial policy decisionseffectively to the public andensure the credibility of themodel of transmissionmechanism of monetary policy.The MPC meets quarterly, andtoday's meeting is the secondthis year.

Sources close to theCommittee said nothingfundamental would happendespite the major fundamentalchallenges the economy hasbeen facing in the past sixmonths which have forcedsome reversals in the economicgains of recent years.

For instance the inflation rateand exchange rates have beenon headwinds whilemacroeconomic stability is alsofaced with dwindling revenueinflow and external reserves.

Though no major policydecision would likely emanatefrom today's meeting sourcesclose to the Committee indicatethat considerations would begiven to wide-ranging issueswhich the members consider askey decision points for the in-coming government at nationallevel. Some of the issues beingput forward includes

which has left the parallelmarket margins at about 12 percent as at last week when CBNrate was N197/ USD1.00 whileparallel market was N122.5/USD1.00.

A few analysts believed thatthe post-election renewedconfidence in the economy mayfavour inflow of foreign capitalwhile starving off capital flight,but the ability of CBN to tomaintain the induced forexmarket stability remains indoubt should the apex bankmaintain the current level ofintervention in the light of theexternal reserve position.

The other challenge is theheightening inflationarypressure and the declininggross domestic products (GDP)both of which have threatenedthe gains of the recent yearsespecially as it concerned theenviable position of Nigeria asAfrica's largest and fastestgrowing economy.

Economy watchers haveexpressed concern over theaccerating of inflation rate thisyear, though expected as thefall out of the exchange ratecrises but without anymitigation policy in place orbeing conceived. The generalprice level has assumed asteady upward trend since theinitial November 2014devaluation of Naira.

With respect to the fiscalpolicy the MPC would likely bemore concerned withspeculations on the likely fiscalstance of the in-cominggovernment rather than thepolicy thrust of the currentnational budget which hadhitherto guided their policypositions.

Consumer price to remain upwards for several months ahead

Transition politics torestrict MPC economicpolicy decisions

The fall out of the direct andindirect devaluation of

Naira in the fourth quarter of2014 may have begun its chainof inflationary pressureamidst other worries over theeconomy to be inherited bythe in-coming governmentheaded by MohammaduBuhari.

Economy review and forcastby Afrinvest indicated thatthe sustained acceleration inconsumer prices over the pastfive months broadly reflectsthe pass-through of the Nairadepreciation in recent months

on input cost and importprices.

Although, pass-through ofNaira depreciation remainedsubdued - headline Index hasonly grown 3.2 per cent (April:169.7 against December 2014:164.4), relative to Nairadepreciation of 11.3 per centsince the first currencydevaluation in November2014, economy analystsbelieve that recentdevelopment in the domesticmonetary space may furtherpressure price levels inseveral months ahead.

The main monetary

aggregate, Broad MoneySupply (M2), rose 13.7 percent in March 2014 toN19.1trillion, up significantlyby 15.7 per cent fromFebruary.

This, according to Afrinvest,may constitute additionalheadwind on consumer priceswithin the near term, giventhe perceived positiverelationship between moneysupply and inflation inNigeria.

The Nigerian Bureau ofStatistics (NBS) released theConsumer Price Index (CPI)

report for April last weekshowing 8.7 per cent headlineinflation for April, 2015,measured Year-on-Year, a 20bases points rise higher than8.5 per cent reported inMarch. This is the fifthconsecutive increase in theheadline inflation rate.

This is the highest headlineinflation rate recorded sinceJuly 2013. According to theNBS report, the accelerationof inflation rate in April wasdue to uptrend in Individualconsumption expenditure ofhouseholds.

•CBN GovernorEmefiele

MPC also has theoption of not onlyleaving all theratios as they were,but it could alsodecide to stay withstatus quo on alleconomic andmonetary policiesto allow the in-coming federalgovernment tosettle down beforegrappling with anymajor policy issues

Advertising & Promotions

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 — 43

CMYK

Stories byPRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

The dishwashing liquidmarket is becominginteresting with new

entrants promising to closethe missing link witnessed inthe market. Ireti Doyle, asFairy’s godmother revealedto Princewill Ekwujuru, herplans and the brand’s powerto deliver on promises. Readon.

EndorsementEndorsement is not just

something you pursue. You doyour work and hopefullysomeone will look your way. Ihave been approached bysome people but this didn’twork out. That we did notcomplete or tie the dealsomewhere along the line, wewere not a perfect fit. And it’sjust a matter of time a brandwill come along and there willbe a match made in heaven. Iam absolutely and personallyproud to be selected by thenumber one brand in theworld. If I have to wait thislong to represent anyone ithas to be a major brand. Thatis what has happened today.It is number one brandglobally, not just based onhype but based on empiricalinformation, based on trialand proof that it delivers onits promise. So far so good.The burden has been a verylight one to bear.

I have responsibilitytowards the Fairybrand and Nigeria—Doyle

It hasn’t been hectic. It hasbeen a symbiotic relationshipthus far. It began with ajourney to Cape Town (SouthAfrica) in March, 2014. Wewent to produce thecommercial and all thematerials that will be usedduring this campaign. It was

a wonderful experience. Wehad a top notch technicalteam. So, it has been a veryenjoyable journey so far. Ihave enjoyed being Fairy’sgod mother.

Claim as global dishwashing brand

It has been proven thatindeed Fairy is the numberone global brand. There wasresearch to prove that, so itwas not just an empty claim.Could I claim that Fairy isnumber one brand here inNigeria. Let us remember thatwe just launched in themarket properly in March.The exercise that we aredoing now (the interviewsession) is all part of creatingawareness. The intent is notjust to make appearance inNigeria but to makeappearance all over theAfrican continent startingwith Nigeria.

Why I cannot tell youcategorically that Fairy is thenumber one brand in Nigeriapurely because it’s new, but Iwill beat my chest, andactually I can bet a year salary,

that within the next one yearFairy will be the number onebrand because it delivers onits promise. All you have todo is try it once and you willsee that this dish washingliquid delivers on all itspromises. It’s effective on oilydishes. Your bottle of Fairylast two or three times longer.Use a little drop of Fairy andit washes many more dishesthat you wouldn’t use anyother brand. What I can sayto consumers is that a trial willconvince you. I am soconvinced about this product.I encourage people to give atry, and please make theirfindings public. If we arelying put it out there. We are100 percent sure of the factsthat we are putting out there.It’s just a matter of time beforeFairy takes over the marketnot just in Nigeria but all overAfrica.

Taking the brand fromfactory to kitchen

Again, I say we have beenpromoting this brand sinceMarch and as Nigerian’s youknow we had elections inbetween. As a sociallyconscious Nigerian while Ihave responsibilities towardsthis brand, I haveresponsibility towards mynation. We didn’t think thatthe period of the election wasright to be talking about dishwashing liquid. That can ofslowed us down a bit. But wehave had a couple ofinterviews; We have doneinsertion with the marketers.Last week we had a veryvibrant tweeter interview. Iwas told on the day we werenumber seven on the trendinglist. I can assure you there willbe a lot more interaction. Youwill be seeing me at malls,getting active with the peopleand telling them about thebrand, convincing them togive it a try. Once you tryFairy you will never go backagain.

Price and competitionYou can get a gigantic bottle

for 2 kobo but my question ishow many dishes is it goingto wash? Are you going to bepenny wise and poundfoolish.? Fact is one bottle ofFairy washes 14, 763 platestested and proven. So are yougoing to spend N100 extra fora bottle that is going to lastyou about four times longerthan a gigantic bottle that youliterally have to pour half ofit. You know, we eat very oilyfood in Africa so to get yourdishes quicky clean you reallyhave to use almost a quarterof your gigantic bottle asopposed to a few drops ofFairy. All I require you to dois please give it a try. Andwhen you see that a bottle ofFairy lasts you six timeslonger, I think people will gofor value and quality asopposed to quantity.

International DistillersLimited, IDL,manufacturers of

Chelsea dry gin, Squadron,says Corporate SocialResponsibility, CSR andsustainability runs in theDeoxyribonucleic Acid, DNA,(molecule of life) of thecompany.

The Managing Director,Engr. Patrick Anegbe,asserted this when he said,“as a policy, our companybelieves that business is notjust about making profit, butalso touching lives ofcommunities where weoperate in a positive way.”

“Hence our involvement invarious CSR activities overthe years in communitieswhere we operate.”

While listing some of theachievements of the companyin CSR, during thecommissioning of a block offour classrooms and twooffices, noted that thecompany had carried outextension of treated drinkingwater from the company’sfactory to Igboloyecommunity, Ota, donation ofborehole to the samecommunity and donation of500 KVA transformers.

Others are donation of a

CSR, sustainability our policy thrusts—IDLblock of three classrooms andcomputers to IganmodeGrammar school, Ota,renovation of a block of fiveclassrooms for St MichaelPrimary School, and block ofthree classrooms for St Peter’sPrimary School 2, all in Ota.

He went on to say that thecompany completed anassembly hall for customssecondary school, Idiroko,

donated sets of computersand printers to the SpecialMarshal unit of the FederalRoad Safety Corps, FRSC,Ogun Command.

Donated 5.5KVA generatorto National Identitymanagement Commission,and N250,000 to Ogun statesports council towards thenational Sports Festival, hestated.

Managing Director andChief Executive Officer ofAirtel Nigeria, SegunOgunsanya, has been namedCEO Brand Personality of theYear by marketingcommunications magazine,Marketing Edge.

According to the brand andmarketing publication,Ogunsanya’s enviable trackrecord as CEO of AirtelNigeria, marketing-facingaccomplishments andimmense contributions to thedevelopment of the Nigerianmarketing communicationsindustry, set him apart as theCEO Brand Personality of theYear (2014).

Airtel boss wins CEO BrandPersonality award

Receiving the award on hisbehalf in Lagos, ChiefCommercial Officer, AirtelNigeria, Maurice Newa,dedicated the award to thecompany ’s stakeholders,thanking subscribers forvoting for the Airtel brand.

According to him, Airtelappreciates the belief, trustand confidence its customersrepose on the brand, notingthat the telco will continue togo the extra mile to delighttelecoms consumers withinnovative mobile Internetand voice solutions as well asfirst-rate customerexperience.

New lookClose–uppastes hitmarket

Unilever Nigeria Plc hasre-launched Close –

Up toothpaste brand acrossthree variants of Deep ActionRed Hot, Naija Herbal geland herbal paste in new logoand packages.

The Close-up brandsaccording to the company ispoised to cater to the oralcare of Nigerians with aformulation that containsmicro-shine crystals to cleandeep corners of the mouthand active zinc mouth washthat kills 99.9 percent germs,giving long lasting freshbreath for 12 hours.

Speaking, BrandingBuilding Director of thecompany, David Okeme, saidUnilever is excited also tointroduce Davido, amusician, as the brandambassador for Close-up.This he stated is “gearedtowards engaging our coretarget the Nigerian youth.”

Okeme went on to say thatClose-up is vibrant, intenseand sensrially chargedtoothpaste that consumerscan feel working in theirmouth delivering noticeablefresher breath and whiterteeth for a confident smile. “Itgives you the confidence forintense moments ofcloseness.”

PRCAN becomesICCO member

The Public RelationsC o n s u l t a n t sA s s o c i a t i o n

(PRCAN), the umbrella bodyof PR consultancy firmsoperating in Nigeria, hasbeen admitted intomembership of theI n t e r n a t i o n a lC o m m u n i c a t i o n sConsultancy Organization(ICCO).

PRCAN’s admission wasannounced by the ICCOChief Executive, FrancisIngham, at theorganization’s bi-annualBoard of Managementmeeting which held inVienna, Austria, on April 16-17, 2015.

Following PRCAN’sinclusion, the PRCANPresident, Mr. JohnEhiguese, was alsoappointed to the Board ofManagement of theOrganization, for amaximum tenure of fouryears. By this appointment,he joins 30 other members inICCO’s highest decision-making authority.

•Ireti Doyle

Business & Economy

Email:lesleba@lesleba.com, lesleba@gmail.comBlog page:www.lesleba.com/blog2Website: www.lesleba.comTel:0805 220 1997

44 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

CMYK

Omoh Gabriel - Group Business Editor

Babajide Komolafe - Deputy Business Editor

Clara Nwachukwu - Energy Editor

Peter Egwuatu - Asst. Business Editor

Yinka Kolawole - Snr Bus. Correspondent

Favour Nnabugwu - Insurance Correspondent

Godwin Oritse - Maritime Correspondent

Godfrey Bivbere - Maritime Correspondent

Michael Eboh - Energy Reporter

Franklin Alli - Industry/Agric. Reporter

Ifeyinwa Obi - Maritime Reporter

Rosemary Onuoha - Insurance Reporter

Nkiruka Nnorom - Capital Market Reporter

CONTRIBUTORS

Princewill Ekwujuru - Media/Marketing

Jonah Nwokpoku - E-Commerce

Naomi Uzor - Industry

Providence Obuh - Micro Finance

LAYOUT - Graphics Department

The severe socialdiscomfort andeconomic dislocation

caused by fuel scarcitynationwide may stampede theincoming Administration ofPresident-elect MuhamadBuhari to settle theoutstanding invoices of PetrolMarketers, and also acceptover N200bn penalty interestcharge for delayed paymentsand exchange rate differentialsconsequent upon the almost20% recent Naira devaluation.Some critics may suggest thatthe governmentrepresentatives who acceptedliability for such oppressivepenalty charges, would notreadily make such anundertaking if theyrepresented their own privatecorporations or family assets,particularly in the face of ableeding revenue base andrapidly increasing debtburden.Nonetheless, Buhari may beforced to tow the same path ofreckless financialmanagement, if petrolmarketers remain adamantand insist that governmentshould first settle allegedoutstanding debts before theycommit to any fresh fuelimportation; unfortunately,the longer it takes to reach anagreement on actual liability,interest payments maycontinue to increase andfurther bloat government’sindebtedness.Clearly, however, the retiredGeneral certainly does notneed an early confrontationwith the public or indeedLabour who will as usual insistthat subsidy should only beremoved after sufficient localrefineries can meet domesticconsumption! In the eventhowever, that refineries(depending on size) have

Fuel subsidy dilemma: The sensible way outbetween 18-36 monthsgestation, this may suggestthat subsidy may not bewished away very soon!Furthermore, Labour andCivil Societies also recognisethat it would be foolhardy toaccept deregulation, if theNaira rate continues its steadyplunge against the dollar asfuel prices will simultaneouslycontinue to spiral! Conversely,Buhari’s Team may plead thatit is not sensible to dedicateover 20% of federal budgets tosubsidy and almost 50% oftotal Crude Export Revenue toconsumption of imported fuelannually.We cannot predict the lengthof the ensuing stalemate, butas usual, in the interest of thenation, government andLabour are likely to once moreagree to split the subsidyburden. Clearly,government’s share of subsidywill nonetheless rise if theNaira continues its downwardslide or if “fortuitously” or“unfortunately”, crude oilprices rebound once again. Forexample, if the Naira is left tofloat as currently proposed bythe Banker’s Committee, Nairacould well exchange for overN300=$1 before the end of2015, particularly if theinstigation of systemic excessNaira remains an abidingfeature of CBN’s monetarystrategy.Invariably, with such Nairadepreciation, fuel prices willspiral about 50% above theprice on which subsidy wasinitially calculated.Consequently, unless pumpprices are adjusted upwards,government’s share of thesubsidy burden will once againballoon and bring us back tosquare one, where subsidyexceeds 20% of annual federalbudgets.

Furthermore, in the absenceof fiscal discipline, subsidyrefunds to marketers willinvariably be delayed and willaccumulate as usual, until theissue of delayed payments andexchange rate differentialssurface once more to triggerfuel scarcity with the attendantpainful, social and economicdislocations. Similarly, highercrude prices will also translateto higher fuel prices andincreasing subsidy values.In his attempt to end thishorrendous cyclical narrative,Buhari will be well advised to

recognise that subsidy can beeliminated if crude priceremains below $50/barrel, sothat ex-refinery cost remainslow; ironically, if this happens,our oil revenue base willunfortunately remaindepleted and further threatenthe Naira exchange rate as iscurrently the case.Ultimately, increasingspeculative dollar demandwill instigate further Nairadepreciation which wouldinadvertently pump up fuelprice and also swell theexisting value of subsidy.Clearly, if weaker Naira ratesinstigate higher fuel pricesand fuel subsidy values, it

stands to reason that anincreasingly stronger Nairashould also reduce fuel priceand ultimately eliminatesubsidy while new refinerieswill be established with thecomplete deregulation of thesector.For example, if Nairaexchanges for N100=$1, thiswould be a 50% appreciationfrom the current N200=$1, inthis event, the unsubsidizedcurrent actual fuel price ofabout N150/litre willimmediately fall below N80/litre, and make N7/litreavailable as sales tax if thecurrent regulated price ofN87/litre remainsunchanged. Notably, therelative sales tax potential willincrease beyond N7/litre if theNaira strengthens belowN100=$1.The million-dollar questionhowever, is how the Naira canappreciate when oil revenue isdwindling; after all, as someexperts claim, it is the size ofour reserves that defines theexchange rate of the Naira!Curiously, in the Nigeriancontext however, in order forCBN to build up its dollarreserves, it must consciouslycontinue to induce thesuffocation of the domesticmoney market with surplusNaira, despite the adverseattendant economicconsequences.Expectedly, with such a Nairaantagonistic strategy, theNaira exchange rate will bepummeled when it isconstantly pitted against thepaltry dollar rations,auctioned weekly by CBNfrom its caché of public sectordollars which were earliercaptured and substituted withNaira allocations at anexchange rate that isunilaterally determined by the

Apex Bank. This bizarrepayments strategy apart frominstigating excess Naira, alsoinduces the unforced error ofthe official provision ofpresumably ‘scarce’ publicsector dollars for theunsubstantiated forexrequirements of the blackmarket. Instructively,however, if the foreignexchange component offederal allocations are paidwith dollar certificates ratherthan the outright monthlysubstitution of Naira valueswhich precipitate the constantspectre of surplus Naira and itsoppressive train of inflation,huge cost of funds, a weakerNaira as well as higher fuelprices, which make theremoval of subsidyimpossible.Incidentally, the aboverecommended reform in fiscalallocations, will gradually mopup the unrelenting flood ofsurplus Naira which swallowthe dollar rations sold weeklyby CBN; clearly, if this fiscalpayment practice is sustained,the Naira may still ultimatelyexchange below N100=$1despite reduced crude oilrevenue within Buhari’s firstyear in office.Thus, Buhari will avoid aprotracted social andeconomic dislocation, if hequickly engages OrganisedLabour and Civil Societies ona consensus to sustain partialderegulation withgovernment, “reluctantly”conceding 50% of thedifference between the currentN87/litre and theunsubsidized current actualmarket price of about N150/litre; with this arrangement,the agreed pump price wouldbe set at N120/litre excludinggovernment’s subsidy ofabout N33/litre.

Higher crudeprices will alsotranslate tohigher fuelprices andincreasingsubsidy values

CHESTRAD set to bridge poverty gap in Nigeria

By PETER EGWUATU

C H E S T R A DInternational, a

non profit makingorganisation said it iscommitted to bridge povertygap among the people in thecountry as inequalities inaccess to basic assetsincluding education, healthand productive inputs are onthe rise. Speaking to newsmenin Lagos, Dr. Bimbo Ogunkelu,former Minister forIntegration and Chairman ofCHESTRAD said “ CHESTRADis committed to crowd fundingso that it can assist thegovernment in its quest toalleviate poverty in Nigeria. It

is in this regard that we areinaugurating steeringcommittee and to introduce anew philanthropic NGO, “I WillGive” to the Nigerian public.“According to him “CHESTRAD has track recordfor over 25 years of itsexistence and perform similarwork like red cross society.”In her own remark at thebriefing, Dr. Lola Dare,President CHESTRADInternational said “Themiddle class in Africa andNigeria in particular expandsalmost as rapidly as itsprojected economic growth.At the same time, inequalitiesin access to basic assets

including education, healthand productive inputs are onthe rise. This picture ismarkedly demonstrated inNigeria, home to the greatestwealth in Africa, yet also someof the most dismal levels ofaccess to these basic services.She expanded thatCHESTRAD Internationalseeks to take advantage of thisincrease in wealth to utilizethe capacities that exist in themiddle classes for socialgiving.According to her “ Weseek to leverage economicgrowth at individual andcorporate level for thepurpose of African socialdevelopment, with activitiesin Nigeria in the first instance.

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015—45

AS Nigeria joins the rest of theworld to mark the HIV Vac-

cine Awareness Day today, an As-sociate Professor of PaediatricDentistry and Consultant at theObafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria, Dr.Morenike Ukpong, has called forall hands to be on deck to ensurethat all available HIV preventionmethods reach people who needthem.

In a statement to herald the day,Ukpong who is Coordinator of theNew HIV Vaccine and Microbi-cide Advocacy Society, saidNHVMAS, in collaboration withthe Vaccine Advocacy ResearchGroup, AVAC, is committed toensure that investments in re-search to ensure even more pre-vention options are made avilableas they are developed.

“While we know that an AIDS

HIV vaccine: Experts explore viableoptions

By Sola Ogundipe

EVEN as she was beingunveiled as the Face of

Childhood Cancer in Nigeria,popular artiste, Kenny SaintBrown, said she was shocked tolearn that children also havecancer.

At the unveiling last week bythe Children Living with CancerFoundation, CLWCF, Brownpromised to take the awarenessto the door step of all Nigerians,particularly, the rich andcorporate organisations.

She disclosed that she chose toidentify with CLWCF in additionto being one of the judges at thesinging completion.

“I want to be like energy toCLWCF. I will add a corporateimage to it. I will work harder togenerate adequate funds that willensure early detection andtreatment of cancer in children.In the next five years, Godkeeping us alive, childhoodcancer would have been knownin Nigeria and Africa at large.

“We will ensure that we have atreatment centre in the country.We intend to take palliative careto the next level, establish a blooddonor registry to increaseavailability of blood and also abone marrow registry for people

willing to donate bone marrowfreely.

The CLWCF holds its AnnualInter- School Singout ChildhoodCancer competition this week aspart of efforts to create awarenesson the burden of the diseaseamong Nigerian children.

Speaking, the ExecutiveDirector and Founder, CLWCF, DrNneka Nwobbi who said theFoundation caters for the welfareand medication for childrenbattling cancer whilst providing

I’m shocked that even children have cancer

By Chioma Obinna

“With the excitement in thefield, and the prospect for the fu-ture, we ask that the robust com-munity of researchers in the HIVfield in Nigeria needs to be at thetable now that research plans are

the science, purpose and possibleoutcomes of this research needsupport to track the research path,ask the hard questions, demandprogress and efficiency, and otheraspects of the R&D process.

“We need to collectively ensurethat Nigerians and West Africa asa region start working conscien-tiously for prompt access to de-veloped product. We also need toengage with the exciting effortsto understand if and how to cureHIV in people who are alreadyinfected.”

calling for advocacy, Pointingout that tThe timeline for the workis long and uncertain. Here, too,advocacy is needed to sustain mo-mentum.

The statement observed thatJanssen, part of Johnson &Johnson, is launching its owninternational clinical trial to test avaccine developed with partners.“We haven’t seen a large vaccinedeveloper invest in clinical trialsfor AIDS vaccine without publicor charitable contributions in al-most a decade. This vaccine strat-egy incorporatesa strategy that re-searchers hope will protectagainst the many different typesof HIV that circulate around theworld.

“Second, further upstream re-search involves the discovery thatsome people living withHIVcreate particularly potentantibodies that are able to‘neutralise’ many different HIVstrains. A handful ofthese ‘broadlyneutralising antibodies’, orbNAbs, have been isolated fromblood samples donated by HIV

We are alwaystelling people toreport suchincidents. In theevent that you reporta case of violenceagainst a womanand the matter isn'ttaken up at the sta-tion, report to theDPO

support for their familieslamented poor attention tochildhood cancer in Nigeria.

She said some children broughtto hospital are detained for daysfor just N57, 000 required for bedspace.

“Today, many Nigerianchildren are dying in theirnumbers due to cancer. We losethese children also due to anumber of reasons such as latepresentation, poverty; treatment

— Kenny St. Brown, New Face of Childhood Cancer in Nigeria

cost and mostly, these children arefrom poor homes.

“It is sad that till date Nigerianshave continued to express shockeach time you talk to them aboutchildhood cancer. We have lostquite a number of these children.

On the choice of Kenny SaintBrown, she said the face ofChildhood cancer was to increaseawareness on the problem as wellas raise adequate funds for thebuilding of a treatment centre forchildren as well as raise moneyfor their treatment and support.

On the inter-schoolcompetition at Pinefield School atLekki Phase 1, Lagos, she saidfocus is creating a resoundingbalanced singing competitionprogramme with ultimate goal ofraising funds for cancer afflictedkids and to increase theawareness level in the society.

Childhood cancer is the leadingcause of disease-related deathamong children and adolescents.

Experts say it is difficult to knowthe number of children that diefrom cancer in Nigeria. Thediagnos of childhood cancer ifoften kept secret because ofstigma.

The most common childhoodcancers are leukemia, lymphoma,and brain cancer, but in the teenyears, there is an increase in theincidence of bone cancer.

From left: Kenny St.Brown, the Face of Childhood Cancer inNigeria; one of the children being supported by CLWCF andDr. Nneka Nwobbi, Executive Director, CLWCF during theunveiling in Lagos last week.

vaccine remains essential to ulti-mately ending the epidemic, to-day on HIV Vaccine AwarenessDay 2015, we can report progressin the field of HIV Vaccine re-search as well as progress in thedevelopment of other HIV pre-vention strategies.

Highlighting the globalprogress on clinical trails, andgroundbreaking research withother novel vaccine strategies, aswell as broadly neutralizing an-tibodies that target a wide rangeof HIV strains, NHVMAS is call-ing for greater support and com-mitment .

“As this work moves forward, sci-entists and funders need to col-laborate with advocates and com-munity stakeholders to ensurethat adequate resources are allo-cated to communications and com-munity engagement.

being taken so as to ensure thatthe needs of Nigerians and WestAfrica as a region is addressed.

“We need our HIV activists, ad-vocates and community stake-holders who will need to explain

• As research and development of an HIV vaccine continues, researchers are pursuing groundbreakingresearch with other novel vaccine strategies, including broadly neutralising antibodies that target awide range of HIV strains.

CMYK

46—VANGUARD, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

AFTER gifting thepresidency to the

opposition All ProgressivesCongress, APC, the defectionof the legislators underscoredthe inclement political weatherthe outgoing president isbound to face when he returnshome.

Senator Clever MarcusIkisikpo, representing BayelsaEast, President Jonathan’ssenatorial district, who led theother two legislators, HonNado Karibo representingOgbia federal constituency andHon Azibola Paul Omekwerepresenting Ogbiaconstituency I in the BayelsaState House of Assembly todefect had been particularlyclose to the president. He hadsojourned with the presidentthrough thick and thin since1999.

Ikisikpo, a former classroomteacher, had been elected amember of the Bayelsa StateHouse of Assembly to representJonathan’s Ogbia constituencyIII in 1999.

Following that, he proceededto the House ofRepresentatives in 2003 wherehe was re-elected in 2007 at thesame time that Dr. Jonathanemerged as vice-president.Ikisikpo was to emerge as apawn in the remote fightbetween the president andformer Governor Timipre Sylvain 2011.

When Ikisikpo got the ticketto represent the Bayelsa EastSenate seat in 2011 manybelieved that it was because ofhis closeness to the president.However, that fact did notreflect that he got the seat atthe pleasure of Sylva who hadfallen out very badly with theoccupant of that seat, SenatorNimi Barigha-Amange whowas also a very close associateof the president.

But even at that only few untilrecently would comprehendthat Ikisikpo, regarded as oneof the longest serving PDPchieftains from the Ogbia Ijawspeaking stock could abandonhis kinsman and benefactor,President Jonathan bydumping the president and hisparty, PDP in their mostchallenging times.

PDP disciplinary committeeThe decision of the PDP to set

up a disciplinary committee toinvestigate and sanction someof its high-ranking members atthe state chapter over allegedanti-party activities in the lastgeneral election and alleged

ATTACK FROM HOME:Jonathan’s troubles in Bayelsa

THE defection of all three legislatorsrepresenting President GoodluckJonathan, senator, member House ofRepresentatives and state House ofAssembly was a jolt from the blues.

•Jonathan •Dickson

hijack of the party by GovernorSeriake Dickson, Vanguardreliably gathered wasresponsible for the defection ofIkisikpo and others to the APCfolk.

The rank of the PDP, a sourcetold our correspondent, may befurther depleted as some of thebig names in the party arealready holding secretconsultations with theirsupporters and the powers thatbe in the APC.

Evading sledgehammerThough the names of the

party members facing thedisciplinary committee werenot made public, it wasspeculated that SenatorIkisikpo was on the choppinglist and that he took the decisionof opting out of the party at thistime. His decision was seen asan irony given that he was aconvener of the party inBayelsa while Dickson did notjoin in the party until about sixyears after.

A source close to the senatorsaid, “It was a smart move onhis part to leave the partybefore the sledgehammerdescended on him as there isno way he could have escapedgiven the cold war between him

and the governor. Oga is aloyalist of the First Lady, DamePatience Jonathan, and youdon’t expect the committee tocome clean in their findingswithout indicting perceivedopponents of the governor.”

Bayelsa Assembly declaresfour seats vacant overdefection

In a surprising move, theSpeaker of the Bayelsa StateAssembly, Hon.KomboweiBenson weekend declared thatfour members of the House

who joined in the defection tothe APC have lost their seatspurportedly over their allegeddefection.

According to the Speaker, thedecision to declare the seats ofthe four members vacant wasbased on the provision ofsection 109 (1) of theConstitution of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria.

The affected members, had atseparate fora, announced theirdecision to dump the PDP forthe APC, citing the hijack of theparty by the governor and thecrisis over the suspension of theState Chairman, Col. SamInokoba (rtd).

The affected members includeHon. Fini Angaye (Kolokuma/Opokuma constituency 2) Hon.Alfred Egba,(Yenagoaconstituency 1),Hon. VictorPrezi (Ekeremor Constituency3) and Hon. Azibola PaulOmekwe (Ogbia constituency1).

Assembly action ‘ll reduceindiscipline, engender sanity-Dickson

Remarkably, GovernorDickson was quick to commendthe decision of the legislaturesaying that the action was astep in the right direction and

would help to bring sanity tothe House.

Dickson, in a statement issuedFriday night by his Chief PressSecretary, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said the action of thestate legislature was not onlyconstitutional, but would alsoinstil party discipline andsanitize the polity.

He condemned the practice,where politicians cross carpetat will, without recourse to theparties under which they wereelected into positions as nolonger acceptable andpracticable, under a thrivingdemocracy.

According to him, the stateassembly has by the singularact, set the pace and shown thedirection of the new PDP in thestate, where party disciplineand loyalty, must be theoverriding principles andfactors for all members.

The governor noted that,indiscipline, disloyalty andgreed have been the bane ofthe PDP at state and nationallevels in the past, stressing that,such acts would no longer betolerated for whatever reasonin the party.

He said, “We will continue todo the needful by ensuring

Continues on page 48

Ikisikpo, a formerclassroom teacherhad been electedmember of theBayelsa StateHouse of Assemblyto representJonathan’s Ogbiaconstituency III in1999

BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA

CMYK

VANGUARD, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015—47

DRAWING dissentingdefectors from the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP may

have been the easier part for the AllProgressives Congress, APC inBayelsa State. Indeed it is easy toassume that the APC would easilyprofit from the seeming challengesfacing the PDP. But not easily. TheAPC is itself bound to face its owndifficulties as the governorshipelection due in February 2016 drawscloser.

•Alaibe

The APC in Bayelsa is presently led byMr. Timipire Sylva, the immediate pastgovernor of the state whose legacy in officeat best remains mixed. Grabbing SenatorClever Ikisikpo from the PDP was perhapsnot too much of a difficult task for Sylvagiven the partnership they shared in 2011when Sylva collaborated with him to stopthe return to the Senate of Senator NimiBarigha-Amange, a steadfast loyalist ofPresident Goodluck Jonathan.

However, Sylva is believed to be eyeinga return to the Government House.

Concomitantly, the political landscape inBayelsa is abuzz with claims that ChiefTimi Alaibe is also being nudged ornudging himself to bid for theGovernment House on the ticket of theAPC. With Sylva being in control of theAPC state structure, Alaibe would have adifficult task overcoming him in his quest.Governor Dickson ironically may not betoo unhappy seeing Alaibe enter thecontest on the platform of the APC, afterall, it would help to create bad bloodbetween his rivals.

•Amange

AT the heart of thedecision of the three

Bayelsa legislators to defectfrom the PDP is the belief thatthey were not well covered byPresident Goodluck Jonathanin the local conflict withGovernor Serikae Dickson.Such suggestions that thepresident is aloof to thetroubles of his politicalassociates is not new.

Several legislators fromwithin and outside Bayelsahave in the past complainedof being politically bruisedand battered even whilefighting the battles of thepresident.

In 2011 it is rememberedthat most of those who foughtfor the enthronement of Dr.Goodluck Jonathan as actingpresident of the countryeventually rued that they didnot get protection within thePDP and as a resulteventually lost out. SenatorEhigie Uzamere whoconceived the caucus ofsenators National InterestGroup, NIG in 2010 topromote the enthronement of

Jonathan and his friendsBy EMMANUEL AZIKEN,

Political Editor

Dr. Jonathan as actingpresident only returned to theSenate in 2011 because heremained in the then ActionCongress of Nigeria, ACN.Several other senatorsincluding Senator NimiBarigha-Amange, Jonathan’sown senator were shut outfrom re-election, and thepresident simply was helplessas governors dealt mercilesslywith the Jonathan allies.

In the case of SenatorClever Ikisikpo, associatesclaim that the president didnot intervene as GovernorDickson not only stopped himfrom getting a re-electionticket, but also allegedlyprepared grounds through theestablishment of a disciplinarycommittee with the target ofwielding him and hisassociates from the party. Theclaim among severalstakeholders in Ikisikpo’s

camp is that the PDPdisciplinary committeeconstituted by GovernorDickson was targeted at themand hence their decision toexit the party, a move thatinevitably seemed to ridiculethe president.

Whereas several associatesof the president had in thepast borne with equanimitysuch persecutions that theygot in the course of walkingwith the president, SenatorIkisikpo, apparently refusedto walk in the same course.Why he chose this course maynot be unconnected to the fact

that the President would infew days be out of office andas such be without the kindof carrot or stick to lure or lashthem. After all, SenatorBarigha-Amange despite thesame humiliation remained inthe party in 2011 andcontinued working for thepresident.

The decision of the fourmembers of the Bayelsa StateHouse of Assembly to defectfrom the Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP to the APC wasbased on the fact that theywere denied re-election ticketon the banner of the PDP.

It is assumed that those whogot the ticket of the PDP wereassociates of the governor.Such antics by governors ofBayelsa State in projectingtheir associates to win thetickets in the state House ofAssembly are not new. Thefirst civilian governor of thestate, Chief DipereyeAlamieyeseigha was facedwith a similar crisis ahead ofthe 2003 governorshipelection when majority of thestate executive of the partyturned against him in favourof the then executive directorof the Niger DeltaDevelopment Commission,NDDC, Chief Timi Alaibe.

At the heart of the crisis thenwas that Alamieyeseighafailed to honour a pactreached with the state PDPexecutive at the HotelPresidential, Port-Harcourt inwhich he was to cede 10 of the24 seats in the House ofAssembly to the state exco.After agreeing with theexecutive, the governorreportedly reneged andpushed forward his surrogatesto take all 24 seats in thelegislature.

Eventually, the majority ofthe same men he pushedforward who he believedwould protect him did notblink when they impeachedhim in 2005.

Governor Timipire Sylvaalso did the same thing aheadof the 2011 election when hepushed his surrogates intotaking all seats in the 24member House of Assembly.When in late 2011 PresidentJonathan bared his fangs inthe battle with the governor,the legislators all laid low andenthusiastically welcomedDickson to office.

Governor Dickson’s decisionto project his own set oflegislators is now believed tobe at the crux of the unfoldingpolitical crisis in BayelsaState. The governor it isalleged is determined to havehis own set of steadfastloyalists in the legislature toif not protect him and projecthis legislative agenda.

•Sylva

Why he chose thiscourse may not beunconnected to thefact that thePresident would infew days be out ofoffice and as suchbe without the kindof carrot or stick tolure or lash them

The trouble that is also coming

CMYK

48—VANGUARD, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

that, only those who respect theposition of the party on issues areallowed to remain, while all those withselfish and unacceptable behavioralpatterns will be shown the way out forthe good of the PDP. Henceforth,members of the party, if truly theybelong to the party, must be heldaccountable for their actions and in-actions.”

Also defends PDP disciplinarycommittee

Dickson also had whileinaugurating the disciplinarycommittee, which is expected todetermine and recommend steps to betaken against those who workedcontrary to the party’s interests duringthe general elections, said indisciplinewithin the party contributed to thefailure of the president in the recentpresidential elections.

He said, “We won the election nodoubt, but this party must continue tobe a party of discipline, commitment.One of the problems we have in thePDP, as a matter of fact, the mainreason we even lost at the federal levelin addition to other things, is becauseof indiscipline and disloyalty to party.

“Party interest supersedes individualinterest and agenda. Regrettably, wehave received reports that someleaders of our party in some cases didnot only work against the interest ofour candidates, but actually sponsoredand actually worked to undermine thesuccess of our party and ourcandidates at the just concludedelections” Dickson added.

Dickson, who warned that direconsequences await any member ofthe PDP, who engages in anti-partyactivities, emphasized the importanceof party discipline and loyalty towards

FROM the beginning, thePDP in Enugu State entrenched its structures

and machinery as a dominantparty working smoothly work-ing with the party leadershipin Abuja to form a mutually ben-eficial partnership.

The March 28 presidentialelection which led to the victo-ry of Gen Muhammadu Buhari,came as a rude shock to thestate chapter of the PDP as itnever envisaged a partnershipwith a strange party in Abuja.

The victory of the Governor-Elect, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi waspredicted on his track record ofbenevolence and performancewhile at the House of Repre-sentatives where he had atwelve year stint. Above all, hissuccess was based on his pop-ularity that permeates throughmost strategic political strata inthe nooks and crannies of thestate.

But, the present scenariowhich Ugwuanyi has foundhimself will unequivocally,present a tough challenge forhis administration.

Observes say the incomingadministration will pay a steepprice when juxtaposed with theburgeoning debt profile of thestate which is reportedly stand-ing over N40.8 billion. The eco-nomic fidelity of the outgoingadministration provokes furthercomments against the back-ground that the preceding ad-ministration headed by Gover-nor Chimaroke Nnamani wasreported to have left no debt forthe Sullivan Chime administra-tion that is now in its exit.

Meanwhile, Ugwuanyi’s ad-ministration will be buffetedfrom all sides by politicians an-gling for appointive politicaloffices. Given that the APCwould now be at the centre,PDP stakeholders may be shutout from ministerial, federalboards, ambassadorial, chan-cellorship appointments andothers dispensed from Abuja.

Politicians in the state knownfor their culture of “choppingand singing praises” will be onUgwuanyi’s throat for contractsand other perks and perqui-sites.

Already, Ugwuanyi’s resi-dence has become a Mecca ofsorts where politicians sleepand even engage in domesticactivities, all in a bid to posi-tion themselves strategically forjuicy public offices.

ENUGU: Takingstock ahead ofUgwuanyi

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, EnuguState chapter had a free rein in the statebetween 1999 and now. The emergence of adifferent party in control in Abuja posesunseen challenges

BY FRANCIS IGATA

Continued from page 46

achieving success in any politicalcontest.

He said reports at his disposalindicated that, some members sabotagedthe interest of the party rather thandemonstrate commitment and galvanizesupport for the party’s flag bearers.

According to him, “We will not sit idleand allow people promoting indisciplineand disloyalty to overrun our party. ThePDP has to reform itself; it has to renewitself and be a party of committed andloyal members. Without discipline andloyalty, no political party can survive orstand or even win any political contest.”

Further trouble ahead of 2016Dickson as the incumbent governor,

no doubt has the war chest to prosecutehis re-election bid but his fighting toomany battles at the same time as wellas his stringent fiscal policies, (tight fist)approach to governance coupled withthe recent sharp drop in allocation tothe state leading to stagnation atprojects sites across the state due to theinability of the government to paycontractors may turn out to be his

undoing.A party chieftain who spoke on condition

of anonymity, “Dickson may be planning thebest for the party but is doing it the wrongaway. This is not the time for the party toalienate its members especially as it is goingfor election. The unfolding drama if nothandled with utmost care could backfire onthe party in the state.”

The PDP, the source added, needs to act fastto mend its weather-beaten umbrella and savePresident Jonathan from returning to his homestate to find a disjointed political ambiencewhere the opposition APC is also desirous oftaking charge of the Creek Haven, the stateseat of power, come February 14, 2016. This,however, depends on the candidate the APCwould present to confront Dickson and ifindeed he has the support and command therespect of the electorate.

It is, however, left to be seen if the people ofthe state will agree to remain in the mainstreamby tagging along this time around with theparty at the centre, the APC. This was thescenario in 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011-2015when the PDP controlled the centre or choseto be an opposition state in 2016.

•Ikisikpo •Karibo

STAKEHOLDERSPEAKS

A political think-tank, Enugu UnityForum, EUF, led byMr. Tahil Ochi toldSunday Vanguardthat Ugwuanyishould consider politicians thatare on ground and who are pro-fessionals in different fields when making appointments.

According to him, “appoint-ments should be based on mer-it. Those who have track recordsof performance and are abreastwith the challenges and pecu-

liarities of the people. Thosepoliticians who acquired noto-riety and have been recycledover time should be jettisoned.

“There should fresh blood inthe entire system to drive thewheel of governance. Any ap-pointment that cannot createavenues for employment gen-

eration should be discarded. Asyou know, Enugu is not likeAnambra or Imo State wheregraduates come out and jointheir family businesses.

“Enugu is notable as a statepredominantly of civil servants.That is why our youths gradu-ate and after ten years, they areyet to find a job. Emphasisshould be made on agricultureto absolve these teeming un-employed youths.”

LIFE AS OPPOSITIONThe PDP in Enugu State will

have to retool and redouble itsefforts to retain the confidenceof the people ahead of the 2019general election.

Having contributed a paltry15,333 votes to the president-elect, Buhari, against the over500,000 votes secured for Pres-ident Goodluck Jonathan, theparty will have to shout to theroof tops for Federal Govern-ment to listen to any challeng-es it may face during the ad-ministration.

A politician, Okey Agbo on hispart said, “the most potent toolof an opposition state is the

media. The Ugwuanyi admin-istration will need to assemblea robust media team that willconvey the cries, challenges ofthe people to Federal Govern-ment for intervention.

“As the practice of winnertakes all goes, indications thatthe centre might neglect stateswon by PDP is rife as historyhas proven. One of the majorreasons APC in Lagos foughtto win the state was to alignwith the centre to enable themhave free flow of Federal Gov-ernment presence in the state.

“A lot also depends on thecharacter and credentials ofthose who will work with Ug-wuanyi. He should use peopleof proven integrity to achievedesired result especially nowthat allocation from the centrehas dropped progressively.

“The idea of shoring up In-ternally Generated Revenue,IGR, should be his main focusto agument and service thehuge debt profile left for hisadministration. If he fails to doso, Enugu might join the statesowing workers salaries”

ATTACK FROM HOME: Jonathan’s troubles in Bayelsa

•Ugwuanyi

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 — 49

CMYK

50—VANGUARD, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

Are you our brother’s keeper?By Chike Ihekwaba, Ola

Nnadi, Nzeribe Ihekwabaand Okezie Ihekwaba

THIS troubling question hasbeen on our mind every day

over the last two and half yearsthat God has granted breath andlife to us: Where on this earth isour brother, Emenike Ihekwaba?We have not given up and wouldnever, at least not until we havelogical answers to our inquiry. Wehave cried, we have prayed, andwe are still full of hope, becausewe are believers and much asJesus the Christ had admonishedus. Like Mary had asked on thatfaithful morning of resurrectionday, as recorded in the Book ofJohn 20:15, so we ask: “Sir, if youhave carried him away, tell mewhere you have put him, and Iwill get him.”

It is not a secret that we arehurting. This vicious, man-madeagony has inflicted untold toll onus, during the past 31 months ofutter hell. Contrary to theexpectations of the perpetratorsof this heinous crime, our headsmay be bloodied but yet it remainsunbowed. Here is the inscrutabledilemma: To go missing,inexplicably, in any part of Nigeriatoday, is becoming an ironic civicduty that honest Nigerians oughtnot to owe their nation. The filialpain is inexplicable, not just to thewards and siblings of the victim,but also to the community thatcherished the honesty andselflessness of the one to whomharm has been wrought. The timeis now to arrest this peculiarvicious circumstance that isunraveling the public safety net.No one, anywhere and anymore,has to become another statistic forthis absurd reality.

Abduction reportedThe abduction of our brother,

Emenike Ihekwaba, on August26, 2012 at Amaraku in IsialaMbano Local Government Areaof Imo State, was reported to alllaw enforcement agencies as wellas government entities. It was wellpublicized by the mass mediaoutlets. At the time of the dastardact, he was a permanent secretaryin the Imo State Civil Service (inline to become the Imo State Headof Service) as well as the PrincipalSecretary to the then DeputyGovernor of Imo State, Mr. JudeAgbaso and Principal Secretaryin the Government House,Owerri. As expected, thekidnapping was brought to theattention of his employer, the ImoState government since he was aranking official. Instructively, Mr.Agbaso’s boss, Governor RochasOkorocha knows, and probablystill remembers, that thisdisappearance is highlysuspicious just like many in thegovernment as well as a largeswath of Imo populace andorganizations.

A God-fearing, celebratedlicensed architect and alumnus of

the University of Nigeria, ourbrother believed and advocatedfor honest dealings. Everyoneattests that he served hiscommunity, government andcountry with transparentcommitment and honesty but thathis country and its governmenthave failed him. It is now wellover two and half years since hewas forcefully taken away. Butwhy he is still being held, withouttrace and incommunicado, sincethen is puzzling and suggestive.An incident that happened justbefore his 29th year of meritoriousservice to the Imo Stategovernment still lingers, evenafter he attained the retirementage without being accounted for.Emenike and family have beendenied the joy and pomp of apeaceful retirement as well as athanksgiving to God for a fruitfulcareer milestone.

Protections of the stateIn every community or nation

where decency is the norm, andprofessionalism and transparenthonesty are encouraged,Emenike Ihekwaba, and otherslike him, would have beenaccorded the due protections ofthe state. In fact, in such a clime,the government – especially thatof Imo State where he served withdistinction all his life - would havebeen committed to, and pilotedhis rescue. Regrettably, this hasnot happened. And this telling

lapse, wittingly or unwittingly,may have given rise to thepersisting suspicion of thepotential knowledge orinvolvement of elements in verypowerful positions.

Distressing questionsRegrettably, there are still

distressing questions that remainunanswered: What does the ImoState Government know andwhen did it know about thepresent whereabouts of ourbrother, Emenike Ihekwaba? Atthe time of the abduction of ourbrother, Mr. Baba Adisa Bolantawas Commissioner of the ImoState Command (but now anAssistant Inspector General ofPolice), and the commandallegedly investigated it whileMr. Bolanta made public pressstatements suggesting that thewhereabouts of EmenikeIhekwaba was known.

Pray, why is our brother stillmissing in spite of the radio/television pronouncements of theImo State Government and theImo Police Command at the statedtime? The pronouncements werepublished in The Sun andGuardian newspapers ofNovember 1 and 2, 2012respectively, as well as broadcastin the radio/television medianationally and locally in ImoState. Since those publicstatements implied and vowedtheir resolve to effect Emenike’simminent release, why thelingering delay?

The former Inspector General ofPolice, Mohammed Abubakarreceived another representationconcerning this case sometime in2014 and reportedly constitutedan investigating team prior to hisrecent retirement. Why is it thateach time an investigation isallegedly done, concerning thismatter, the findings get shroudedin secrecy and mystery? A plantednews report was once made acouple of months ago in one ofthe newspapers to sway andmisdirect us but that effort failed.

It is rather curious that after ourfamily members made severalattempts, locally and at Abuja, tofind a resolution to thisnightmare, high ranking religiousleaders of note and severalstakeholders of reach in Nigeriaintervened by inquiring into thissuspicious abduction but,regrettably, all such efforts werereportedly fruitless. Those whoshould know are keeping theirsilence. We find it distressing andvexatious that those who spiritedaway our brother, EmenikeIhekwaba in Imo State, are stillwalking around as free personsand probably occupying powerfulpositions. Why they would ratherthis unlawful act persist is withoutfathom and is even moretroubling. We have asked aroundand cannot find answers to ourdilemma. We implore the publicto come to our aid.

Victimized as beliefclashed with duty?

In the intervening time, wehave sought solace and comfortin the testaments of local folksthat our brother, as a high rankinggovernment official in Imo State,professed piety both in private lifeand at his duty post. Could it thenbe that he may have becomevictimized as belief clashed withduty? In such imponderablecircumstance, we are fearful thatthe perpetrators may feel that theyhave gotten away, perhaps withofficial protection, as at this time.

As in life, and in manycircumstances, anonymity is onlytemporary. Instances like this,where a ranking governmentofficial disappears, create civicdoubt and compromises publicpolicy implementation. Ithighlights the absence ofgubernatorial fortitude evenwhere the constitution demandsenforcement and justice, more sowith the governor as the ChiefLaw Enforcement Officer in theState.

We believe that our brother,Emenike Ihekwaba, will notremain missing for forever. For allintents and purposes, this type ofbrazenness pokes a soiled fingerin the eye of law and order. Itchallenges the basic notion ofcivic responsibility, and makes thegovernment and its lawenforcement agencies appearweak and compromised. As theperpetrators may have acted inthis hideous manner perhaps tohide something, but they cannever get rid of this dastardlybone in their throat. We remainsteadfastly resolute in our questto find answers and a resolutionto this nightmare. We implore thegeneral public and persons withconscience to come to our help aswe seek answers to the manyquestions we have. And it is clearand simple: that we want ourbrother, Emenike Ihekwabahome.

Engr. Chike Ihekwaba, Prof.Ola Nnadi, Dr. Nzeribe Ihekwabaand Mr. Okezie Ihekwaba aresiblings of Emenike Ihekwaba,and members of the victim familyfrom Nkwerre, Imo State.

Map of Imo State

We believe thatour brother,EmenikeIhekwaba, willnot remainmissing forforever.

TUC urgesBuhari todeclareemergencyon powersector

LAGOS — TRADE UnionCongress of Nigeria (TUC),

weekend, urged the incominggovernment of MuhammaduBuhari to declare a state ofemergency on the power sectorto find a lasting solution to theintractable power supply crisisin Nigeria.

At its National ExecutiveCouncil (NEC) meeting inLagos, President of TUC, MrBobboi Kaigama, who spoke atthe end of meeting, lamentedthat the electricity supply acrossthe country had gone from badto worse, saying: “Electricityhas reduced from 4,000 to 800megawatts. We believe thatincoming administration shoulddeclare a state of emerge onpower sector.”

He equally called on theincoming administration to beprepared to increase thesalaries and allowances ofworkers from the currentN18,000 because of rate ofinflation and increase inexchange rate.

According to him, theminimum wage of workerswhich was less than $90 couldno longer meet the needs ofmany families even as hecontended that it was sad thatsome state government had yetto pay the N18,000 minimumwage while some were owingworkers.

“Nigerian workers are wealthcreators so we demand a faredeal,” he said.

On petroleum, Kaigama saidthe Federal Governmentshould address thecontroversies with themarketers to resolve thedemand and supply deficit ofthe continued scarcity ofpetroleum products.

He said there was the needto take concrete step on localrefining to stop the issue ofimportation of petroleumproducts and payment ofsubsidy.

On pension and gratitude, hecautioned the public officeholders on the manner whichthey pay severance benefits tothemselves without addressingthe issues affecting workers onpension and gratuity.

“The incoming governmentshould restore the payment ofgratuity along with pension,”Kaigama said.

The TUC president advisedthe incoming government toreduce the cost of governancein the country by cutting thenumber of politicalappointments as well asdiscontinue the trend of lawmakers fixing their own salariesand allowances.

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015—51

How to stop kidnappingin Ekiti State

By Femi Falana

LAST week, Mr. AyoFayose, the governor of

Ekiti State was reported tohave sent SOS to theInspector-General of Police,Mr. Solomon Arase, over theincreasing wave ofkidnapping sweeping acrossthe state. In urging the PoliceChief to attend promptly tothe concern expressed by thegovernor, I am compelled topoint out that the stategovernment has itself toblame for deliberatelyproviding official cover forarmed gangs and othercriminally mindedindividuals who have takenover the monopoly of violencein Ekiti state. For instance,the House of Assemblycomplex has been occupiedby armed lumpen elementssince November last yearwith the connivance of thestate government.

In the atmosphere ofimpunity which currentlyobtains in the country thewell known armed thugsoperating in Ekiti state havebeen granted immunity bythe federal government.Hence, police officers areunder strict instructions notto arrest or prosecute any ofthem. Recently, aCommissioner of Police whowas determined to rid thestate of kidnapping, armedrobbery and other violentcrimes was queried andinvestigated by the PoliceService Commission. Eventhough he was not indictedin the dubious probe set upby the Police Authorities thePolice Service Commissionensured that he was removedand posted out of the state.Based on such officialendorsement of criminality,kidnappers and othercriminal elements have beenhaving a field day in Ekitistate.

Indeed, the crisis ofmaintaining law and order inthe state has beencompounded by the six-month-old industrial action ofjudicial workers. Thus, for the

past six months, nocriminal suspect has beencharged to court while allcriminal cases pending inthe various magistrate andhigh courts in the statehave been adjourned sinedie.

I have confirmed that thekidnappers who made thestate ungovernable from2009-2010 and who wereon trial before the KogiState High Court holden atLokoja escaped fromprison during a recent jailbreak. Having not beendeclared wanted by thePrison authorities thecriminals are alleged tohave resumed thenefarious business ofkidnapping in Ekiti State.

Politicallymotivatedkillings

It is on record that EkitiState has consistentlywitnessed politicallymotivated killings since2003. To the credit of thePolice and the StateSecurity Service, all thesuspected murderers andtheir sponsors werenabbed and charged tocourt at various times.

But apart from the killersof two students who wereconvicted in 2005, thealleged killers of TundeOmojola, Ayo Daramola,Kehinde Fasuba, FolusoOgundare and others arewalking free in the societydue to political pressureexerted on the securityagencies.

Since the files of all themurder cases are in thecustody of the Police, theInspector-General of Policeought to re-arrest andprosecute the suspects inorder to restore law andorder in Ekiti State.

In addition, theInspector-General shouldprevail on GovernorFayose to realise that asthe chief security officer ofEkiti state he has enormousc o n s t i t u t i o n a lresponsibility to maintainlaw and order.

As a matter of urgency, heshould be made to distancehimself from criminalityand allow the Police todisband and disarm thearmed thugs who havebeen linked withkidnapping and othergrave criminal activities.Finally, the Governorshould emulate hiscolleagues in a number ofstates who have succeededin persuading judicialworkers to call off theirstrike. A state wherejudges are beaten up bythugs and courts arelocked up indefinitelycannot genuinelyguarantee law and order.

The Inspector-General shouldprevail onGovernor Fayoseto realise that asthe chief securityofficer of Ekitistate he hasenormousconstitutionalresponsibility tomaintain law andorder

X-raying Ogboru’s attempted foray into APC

By Jesutega Onokpasa

LABOUR Party, LP,gubernatorial candidate

for Delta State, Chief GreatOgboru, was recently reportedto be lobbying All ProgressivesCongress, APC, leaders foradmission into the party.Ironically, this is the sameparty he fought tooth and nailagainst in the last elections,having been recruited by out-going President GoodluckJonathan to campaign for himand split APC votes in Deltaon a promise of being laterrewarded with thegovernorship of the state.

Thereafter, Ogboru sparedno opportunity of denigratingthe APC, humiliating GeneralBuhari, and castigating APCnational leader, Asiwaju BolaTinubu, while all the timedeploying the most sickeningstratagems of dirty politics inundermining OlorogunO’tega Emerhor, APCGovernorship candidate forDelta and the party ’sundisputed chief financier andmain motivator in the state.

In the process, he gleefullyappeared with Jonathan in hiscampaign posters, withLabour Party, his partyeffectively collapsing into thePDP for the purpose of theelections. Ogboru would laterbe rewarded for his spoilerrole with a handful of Houseof Assembly seats the PDPrigging machine allocated toerstwhile PDP members it hadapparently leased to Labour.

Just as I cannot imaginesomeone like outgoing DeltaState Governor, Dr EmmanuelUduaghan, approaching theAPC for any degree ofaccommodation within itsranks, having presided asGovernor and state PDPleader, I find it utterlymindboggling that Ogboru,the so-called “People’sGeneral” of all people, willnow approach the same party,perplexingly expecting hismisdeeds against the APC tobe swept under the carpet andits structure in Delta, handedover to him on a platter ofgold.

Emerhor, in hischaracteristically open-minded and accommodatingapproach to politics wasrecently quoted as indicatingthat Ogboru might be welcometo the APC subject to certainconditions.

For once, I respectfully begto differ with my hero, mentorand undisputed leader inDelta APC. I cannot see howOgboru can be admitted intoour party in any capacitywhatsoever, even as anordinary floor member, muchless a leader to any degree.

Having already shut the dooragainst the hordes of daily

bread politicians seeking totroop into the APC at this latehour, that ban automaticallyapplies to Ogboru, whovociferously prosecuted abitter war against our party atthe behest of the PDP, with hisragtag support base hurlinghighly demeaning insults atour Presidential candidatewhile casting aspersions onthe leadership of our party.

In spite of the embarrassingshortcomings of hisadministration, many of us hadinitially been reluctant toabandon Jonathan, mainly onsentimental grounds. Most ofus were eventually convincedby Emerhor to take anunbiased look at GeneralBuhari, prompting us intotaking the bold step of pitchingour tents with the General and

his party.We, thereafter, found

ourselves taking potentiallydeadly risks, fighting the likesof Government Ekpemupolo,aka Tompolo and mountingrelentless opposition to theIbori/Uduagahn politicalfamily.

We are proud to have stoodto be counted on GeneralBuhari’s side when there wasno guarantee whatsoever thathe would emerge victorious.This was at a time Ogboru hadyielded to PDP enticement inthe belief that Jonathan wouldbe able to get a second termand subsequently put him inpower in Delta.

Any man claimingleadership status shouldequally be man enough tobear the consequences of hisactions and follies.

Ogboru miscalculated andmust suffer the consequences.Whatever his political destinymay or may not be, he will notrealize it in a party he movedmountains in a failed bid todestroy.

He will not be allowed intoour party by those of us whorisked all when it matteredmost, coughing out millionsfrom our meagre resourcesprojecting the APC, buildingup the party and fighting thePDP under the sterlingleadership of Emerhor, whodeployed a colossal quantumof his personal resources intofunding the party andconstructing it into thegenuine face of progress andchange in Delta today.

Nobody is coming into ourparty to grab its structure fromOlorogun O’tega Emerhor,least of all Ogboru, who didjust as much damage to us asdid his erstwhile PDPpaymasters.

Nokpasa, a public affairscommentator, wrote fromDelta State.

Map of Delta State

We are proud tohave stood to becounted onGeneral Buhari’sside when therewas noguaranteewhatsoever thathe would emergevictorious

52—Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

COMMISSIONING: Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State (middle) commissioningthe administrative block of state's College of Education, Afaha Nsit, during the 6th combined convocation ofthe institution. With him are Mr. Udom Emmanuel, governor-elect (2nd right); Senator Ibok Essien (1stright); Dr. Patrick Uko, Provost of the College (3rd left); Mr. Aniekan Umanah, Commissioner for Information(2nd right) and others.

Olori-ebi: Delta family clears air on community title

WARRI — THE Kolofamily of Kpokpo

community in Warri South-WestLocal Government Area, DeltaState, has stated that there is noOlare-Aja in the community.They affirmed that what they

have from inception is Olori-ebi.This was contained in a

statement by the Olori-ebi of thecommunity, Pa George KoloFregene in Warri.

This is just as Pa Fregenepassed a vote of confidence on

the EPZ committee Chairman,Mr. Austin Oborogbeyi.

The Olori-ebi frowned at callsfor Oborogbeyi’s resignation,when, according to him, it wasclear to all that Oborogbeyi hadperformed well and carried the

people along since the EPZcommittee was inaugurated.

Pa Fregene added that thecommittee was the only recognizedbody with official mandate to acton behalf of Itsekiri communitiesin the Escravos.

M I L I T A R Ya u t h o r i t i e s ,

yesterday, disclosed thatan unconfirmed numberof terrorists died onSaturday as 10 additionalcamps used by terroristswere overran in thecontinuing offensiveoperations against the

terrorists in SambisaForest.

According to astatement from DefenceHeadquarters, “the Durecamp, which is one of themost prominent camps inthe forest, witnessed thefiercest battle as theSpecial Forces, backed byair power, descendedheavily on it before itfinally fell.

“Four of the camps were

located in a place calledIza within the forest,while three others werenoted to be recentlyestablished by theterrorists before theassault began.

“One soldier died fromone of the land minesencountered in theoperation, while twoothers were alsowounded.

“The terrorists lost a

number of vehiclesmounted with anti-aircraft guns andarmoured vehicles. Someof the terrorists, whoescaped from the camps,also died as they ran intotroops ambush in someescape routes.

“Meanwhile, some ofthe fleeing terrorists havealso engaged in suicidemissions at Bitta, wherethey encounteredNigerian troops andKiskeru across the borderin Niger Republic.

“The operation to clearthe terrorists in Sambisaand other forests iscontinuing as troops in allfronts have been alertedto be on the lookout forfleeing terrorists.

“The Nigerian Air Forceis maintaining an activeair surveillance to trackthe movement of terroristsfor appropriate action asthe operation continues.”

Sambisa offensive: 10 more terrorists' camps fall

By KingsleyOmonobi & Ndahi

Marama

Stakeholders berate BPE over Warri Port

W A R R I —INVESTORS

in the maritime sector,under the auspices of NPAWarri Port Stakeholders’Forum, have faulted theBureau of PublicEnterprises, BPE, over itsdefence of the purportedconcession of NPA WarriOld Port Terminal ‘B’,insisting that neither thebureau nor NationalCouncil on Privatization,NCP, had theconstitutional right to doso under theInfrastructure ConcessionRegulation Commission,ICRC, Act of 2005.

According to thestakeholders, all projectshandled by BPE in 2006in line with the ICRC Acthave been handed over toICRC, hence the BPEreport, which claimed thatTerminal ‘B’ of the 24terminals concessionedby it in 2006 to AssociatedMarine Services, AMS,and later relocated toTerminal ‘A’ New Port,Warri, showed that BPEonly contradicted itselfand implies that Terminal‘B’, therefore, remains notallotted.”

In a fresh petitionaddressed to PresidentGoodluck Jonathan,

entitled Re: IllegalConcession of NPA WarriOld Port Terminal ‘B’ byBPE— A Clarification ofthe Issues, the forumaccused officials of NCPand BPE of resorting “toconcocting lies to deceiveunsuspecting Nigeriansto facilitate their acts ofimpunity” aimed atpatronizing their croniesand to “avoid the scrutinyof ICRC GoverningBoard, which is made upof very eminentNigerians of provenintegrity.”

The petition, which wassigned by Messrs EmikoOghomienor, TommyGbugbuda, OritsemaOlley and JonathanOrugbor, wondered whileBPE, which “is yet to fullyprivatize all the FederalGovernment's assetsmarked for privatization”under its purview woulddabble “into the functionsof another agency which

it has been relieved of bylaw.”

The stakeholders, whocalled on PresidentJonathan to institute aprocess for BPE, alsocopied the President-elect, MuhammaduBuhari, among otherministries, departmentsand agencies.

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015—53

Confession of robbery suspects: Introductionof cashless policy is affecting us

BY EVELYN USMAN

TWO suspected membersof a robbery gang which

specialised in attackingcustomers while they arewithdrawing money frombanks in Lagos and Ogunstates are currently coolingtheir heels at the Ogun StateCriminal InvestigationDepartments , Elewee-Eran.The suspects, Lukmon Belloand Jide Abbass, met theirwaterloo, penultimateMonday, after a foiled attemptto snatch a bag containing anunspecified amount from a carparked in front of a businesscentre in Oke-Ilewo area ofthe state.

They reportedly trailed theowner of the car who had goneto withdraw some money fromthe Ibara branch of SterlingBank, Abeokuta to thebusiness centre. But unknownto them the customer is aDivisional Crime Officer,DCO, attached to one of thedivisions in Abeokuta.

Vanguard Metro, VM,gathered that while theunsuspecting policeman wasinside the business centre, thesuspects who came in theiroperational Mercedes Benz190 car, reportedly parkedbeside his car. Eye witnessessaid they opened the car witha master key and collected anenvelop where the withdrawnmoney was kept. But they gotthe shock of their lives whenthe policeman who was justcoming out of the businesscentre sighted them and fireda shot at one of them.

Why I joined robberyTracing the genesis of his

misadventure, 46-year-oldLukmon, an indigene ofIbadan, Oyo State, informedthat he was a commercial busdriver and shuttled betweenMile 12, Ketu and Oshodiroad, Lagos. He claimed hetook to robbery due to hisinability to fend for his twowives and six children.

In his words: “I was initiallyinto international trade. Iusually travelled to Dubai tobuy men’s clothes to sell untilthe trade crumbled. I had alsotravelled to Mecca, SaudiArabia, twice, to perform HolyPilgrimage. While the goingwas good, I got married to twowives. But along the line, mybusiness crumbled and Istarted driving commercialbus. At a point, I could barelyfeed my family. In the process,I met Jide Abass, whointroduced me to robbery.

those who had gone towithdraw money. It is notdifficult to notice them. Forthe men, it is either theirpockets would be bulging orthey would come out with theusual black nylon. Forcustomers who came in theirvehicles, we would eitherambush them or trail them tosafer places where we wouldcollect the withdrawn amount.But since the introduction ofcashless policy, people don’tusually got out with cash.Even when they go to eateriesor super markets, they makeuse of POS and this has beenaffecting our operations.

“We started operating inIkorodu, Lagos State but sincethe police seem to have bracedup to the challenge, wedecided to relocate to OgunState. This is our fourthoperation here. I am ashamedof myself because my twowives may likely divorce meif they find out their husbandis a robber,” he said.

The suspects according tothe command, would becharged to court soon.

How I was arrested“On that fateful day, we left

Ikorodu where we live, to

Abeouta to operate. It wasJide who suggested we wentfar to operate to avoid beingrecognised during operation.We trailed this particular manto Oke-Ilewo. We saw himcounting some money andkept some in the safe of hiscar. We did not know hewould not stay long inside theoffice he entered. We werebusy ransacking his vehiclefor the money he left andnever noticed him coming outuntil he was close. As weattempted to enter our carand flee he pulled out a pistoland shot me in the thigh.

“I managed to hop into myMercedez benz car which wasused for the operation andsped off towards IbaraHousing en-route Kuto( A b e o k u t a ) / I s i u nExpressway. But I became

unconscious as a result of lossof blood and in the processran into an oncoming vehicleon reaching the Ogun StateNUT Conference Halljunction, close to MKO AbiolaStadium, Abeokuta.

“Some good Samaritans whodid not know what actuallyhappened came to our rescueand rushed us to the FederalMedical Centre,FMC, Idi-Aba, Abeokuta, for treatment.But to our surprise, the manwho shot me located us andarrested us. It was after wewere arrested that wediscovered that he was apoliceman. My wives andchildren are not aware I havebeen arrested. Greed lured meinto this”.

Introduction of cashlesspolicy is affecting us- Abass

Lukmon’s partner in crime,Jide Abass, 45, who hails fromIlesha, Osun State, stated thatrobbery was easier for themuntil the introduction of thecashless policy in the country.

“We usually laid ambush forbank customers, especially

•My two wives’ll divorce me if they discover I’m a robber — Suspect

•Ogun suspects (l-r: Lukmon Bello and Jide Abass)

•Ogun CP, Mr Valentine Ntomchukwu

We usually laidambush for bankcustomers,especially thosewho had gone towithdraw money; itis not difficult toidentify them

CMYK

54—Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

My wife wasn't a model —OSHIOMHOLEBy Simon Ebegbulem

CMYK

Abe mournsSenatorZanna

BENIN—GOVERNORAdams Oshiomhole of Edo

State has said that his new wife,Iara, was not a modelprofessionally, although she is amodel to him. He, meanwhile,said his new wife was not areplacement for his late wife,Clara, whom he said wasirreplaceable.

Speaking at a thanksgivingMass at the ImmaculateConception Cathedral, Auchi,yesterday, Oshiomhole deniedreports that his wife is a ‘topmodel,’ saying the speculationmight have been generated fromher poise and beauty.

He said: “When I readnewspaper stories and they saidthat I married a top model, I feltmaybe they were referring toanother person.

“The lady that God has directedto my path and heart to marry isnot and was not a model. Ofcourse, she looks beautiful and Iunderstand that is why peopleassume that this kind of a ladymust be a model. But, of course,she is a model to me and we hopeand pray that we will be modelsin the eyes of our God and I think

Amaechi calls for probe of Police, Army'sroles in last elections

By Jimitota Onoyume

THANKSGIVING: From left: Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State; his wife, Judith;Rivers State APC governorship candidate, Dr. Dakuku Peterside and his running mate, Mr.Asita Asita, during a special thanksgiving service by the Greater Together CampaignOrganisation for God's faithfulness throughout the electioneering period, in Port Harcourt,yesterday.

that is the most important thing.”Governor Oshiomhole appealed

to the congregation to keepsupporting him and his new wife

in prayer, saying: “I ask you toplease continue to pray for us. Itis not easy. I lost my first wifeand it is not possible to replace

her. Yes, I have married anotherbut it is not a replacement."

THE senatorrepresenting Rivers

South-East senatorialdistrict in the NationalAssembly, SenatorMagnus Abe, hasdescribed the death of hiscolleague, Senator KhalifaZanna, as shocking andpainful.

Abe, while reacting tothe demise of the senatorwho died, Saturday, at theNational Hospital, Abuja,said Nigeria has lost avibrant, dogged andresilient lawmaker whosetenacity was exemplary.

Senator Zannarepresented BornoCentral senatorial districtin the National Assemblywhere he was ViceChairman, SenateCommittee on Gas andmember, SenateCommittee on Navy untilhis death.

He said that Zanna wasa proud Nigerian whocame into the Senate in2011, and was re-electedby his people under theAll ProgressivesCongress, APC, in theMarch 28 elections,adding that Zanna'singenious contributions tolegislative business andissues of nationaldevelopment will begreatly missed.

PORT HARCOURT—GOVERNOR Rotimi

Amaechi of Rivers State has calledfor the probe of the roles playedby the Nigerian Army and thePolice in the last general elections.

Amaechi, yesterday at athanksgiving service by theGreater Together Organizationof the All Progressives Congress,APC, in Port Harcourt, said thePolice and the Army were alleg-edly used to rob the APC of vic-tory in the last elections.

“Let us ask the Federal Gov-ernment to investigate the cri-sis in Rivers State. The Armyshould be investigated be-cause they participated in thegeneral elections.

“Why do I have to thankGod? For our lives. He an-swered our prayers by makingGeneral Muhammadu Buharithe president. Imagine if Bu-hari did not win? Just sleepand wake up and imagine thatBuhari did not win, what

would have happened?"“Imagine that Buhari did not

win, they wouldn’t have al-lowed us to enter this hall,

even though we are still in gov-ernment.”

Don’t revoke oil pipelines surveillance contracts,group urges Buhari

By Emma Amaize

WARRI—A NigerDelta group, Ijaw

People’s Development Initiative,PDI, weekend, warned thePresident-elect, GeneralMuhammadu Buhari, againstterminating contracts forsurveillance of oil pipelines in theNiger Delta awarded by theoutgoing President GoodluckJonathan administration, sayingthat such an actionwould be counterproductive.

President of thegroup, Mr AustinOzobo, in Warri,Delta State, whospoke against thebackdrop ofa n t i c i p a t e drevocation of the oils u r v e i l l a n c econtracts, noted: “It

will be a slap on the face of Niger Deltansand would be matched with equal resistance.

“The oil surveillance contracts were part ofthe conditions for peace and disarmament ofex-militants in the Niger Delta and suchaction will have consequences.”

He described the threat by the incomingadministration to revoke oil surveillancecontracts as anti-Niger Delta and anindication that the new government woulddestroy the relative peace built in the regionby the Jonathan government.

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 — 55

‘Allow APC leaders to recommend ministerial nominee'

DELTA Good Governance Group, DGGG,

has called on the leadership ofDelta State chapter of the AllProgressives Congress, APC, toensure that someone with credibleintegrity is recommended forministerial position in the incomingadministration of GenMuhammadu Buhari, retd.

A statement by its coordinator, Mr.Ignatius Nkemchor said ministerial

6TH SYNOD: From left; Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, Lagos State Deputy Governor; Rt Revd.& Mrs James Odedeji, Bishop of Lagos West ; Most Revd (Prof) Adebayo Akinde, the Bishop of Lagosand Chief Segun Osunkeye, during the 1st Session of the 6th Synod of the Dioceses of Lagos West,Anglican Communion at Archbishop Vining Cathedral, GRA, Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Diran Oshe.

LAGOS—NORTHERN youths under the aegis of

Arewa Youth ConsultativeForum, AYCF, have thrown theirweight behind Senator BukolaSaraki to become the nextSenate President in the 8thAssembly.

At a press conference inLagos, the forum’s President,Alhaji Shettima Yerima, saidtheir support for the formerKwara State governor wasbecause “Saraki’s leadershiptraits make him eminently

qualified to lead the upper legis-lative chamber and deliver demo-cratic good to the Nigerian citi-zens.”

Yerima explained that “We admitthat in both the Senate and Houseof Representatives, we havevibrant and amiable personalitiesbubbling with energy to turn aroundNigeria for the better. However, Iwould want to go personal to callon personalities such as SenatorBukola Saraki, to avail himself toprovide leadership in the Senate.This call has become imperativewhen we look at track records andcapacity to deliver which leaves noone in doubt about his capabilityand competence.”

According to him, it was a factthat there was going to be dauntingtasks and challenges in the face ofNigerians’ desire for change andexpectation for a difference anddelivery of campaign promises.

He added that, that was whythe incoming administrationmust ensure the presence ofcapable hands to help translatethe resolve and determinationof General, MuhammaduBuhari to bring about the much-desired and anticipated changein all ramifications.

nominee for the state should bechosen by party leaders across thethree senatorial districts in DeltaState.

The statement reads: ‘’Onedoes not need to wonder how aminister will emerge from theAPC fold in Delta State becauseAPC leadership in the state isproperly organized. The unityat the top is very strong. So, theincoming APC administration

would only need to consult theleadership, which has SenatorSpanner Okpozo, Delta South atthe helm of affairs. He is assistedby the following; Chief FrankKokori; Delta Central Engr.Hyacinth Enuha and DIG Ugbaja;Delta North.

‘’These leaders have workedtirelessly to ensure that the APCParty exists in Delta State. Theirwisdom of coming together

SENATE PRESIDENCY:Arewa youths back Saraki

By Dapo Akinrefon

stemmed the rancour amongcandidates for the governorshipelection and saw the emergenceof O’tega Emerhor as the flagbearer for the APC party in thegovernorship election.

‘’On the ministerial slot forDelta, which is a prerogative ofthe president-elect to choose, theAPC leaders in Delta canrecommend a good choice forthe new administration.''

CMYK

56 — VANGUARD, MONDAY, MAY 18 , 2015

Islamic State seizes Iraqi army base

Smoke rises after a bomb attack in the city of Ramadi, May 15, 2015

ISLAMIC Statemilitants drove

security forces from a keymilitary base in westernIraq yesterday as PrimeMinister Haider al-Abadiauthorized thedeployment of Shi’iteparamilitaries to wrest backcontrol of the mainly Sunniprovince.

Members of the securityforces said they hadwithdrawn from the AnbarOperations Commandafter it came under attackby the insurgents, whohave now trapped them inan area to the west of thecity of Ramadi.

One officer among them

who asked to remainunnamed said themilitants were urging thesecurity forces vialoudspeaker to discardtheir weapons, andpromising them safety inreturn.

The recent Islamic Stategains in Anbar provincerepresent the biggestvictory for the insurgents inIraq since security forcesand Shi’ite paramilitarygroups began pushingthem back last year.

A spokesman for Abadisaid the prime minister hadordered paramilitaries toprepare to “support thearmed forces and restore

control over all parts ofAnbar”, after the provincialcouncil voted in favor oftheir deployment.

Shi’ite paramilitarieshave played a leading rolein reversing Islamic Stategains elsewhere in Iraq,but have so far been kepton the sidelines in Anbardue to concerns aboutinflaming sectarianviolence.

Earlier on Sunday, theinsurgents overran one ofthe last remaining districtsheld by government forcesin Ramadi, having seizedmost of the city over thepast two days.

Pressure mounts on Myanmar over Asia‘boat people’ crisis

M A L A Y S I Ap r o d d e d

Myanmar yesterday to haltthe exodus from its shores asconcern grew for uncountedmigrants adrift in rickety

boats around the AndamanSea.

The United Nations hascalled on Southeast Asiannations not to push back theboatloads of Rohingya

Muslims from Myanmarand Bangladeshis - men,women and children whofled persecution and povertyat home, and now facesickness and starvation atsea.

Malaysia, which says it hasalready taken in 120,000illegal migrants fromMyanmar, has made it clearthat it wants no more and itsdeputy prime minister saidon Sunday that Myanmarmust now take responsibility.

“What is the responsibilityof the Myanmargovernment ... is there anyhumanitarian aspect forthem to solve this matterinternally?” MuhyiddinYassin told a newsconference, adding that theburden should not fall onother members of theAssociation of SoutheastAsian Nations (ASEAN).

Bangladeshi migrants who recently arrivedin Indonesia by boat, are registered by a staffmember of the International Organization forMigration, at Kuala Langsa, in Indonesia’sAceh Province, yesterday.

IN a canonizationladen with signi-

ficance both religiousand political, PopeFrancis yesterdaydeclared MarieAlphonsine Ghattas andMariam Baouardy thefirst two Palestiniansaints of modern times.

Some 2,000Palestinians gathered inthe Vatican’s St. Peter’sSquare to sing and prayand celebrate theirsaints. There, theyheard the Pope paytribute to the way inwhich the two newsaints experienced thelove of God.

Pope confers sainthood on two Palestinians

*Pope

NEARLY 300people have been

killed after several days offighting between theIslamic State of Iraq andthe Levant (ISIL) groupand the Syrian governmentin the historic town ofPalmyra, activists said.

The UK-based SyrianObservatory for HumanRights said yesterday thatthe dead included 123Syrian governmentsoldiers and alliedmilitiamen, 115 ISILfighters, and 57 civilians.

Reports of the deaths

300 people killed in Syriafighting over Palmyra

came as the Syriangovernment claimed it hadrepelled ISIL fighters fromthe ancient city, where thearmed group had seizedthe northern part of themodern settlement,Tadmur.

Provincial governor TalalBarazi told the AFP newsagency that the army hadrecaptured districts of thetown which ISIL hadoverrun on Saturday.

Barazi said the army was“still combing the streetsfor bombs,” but that “thesituation in the city and itsoutskirts is good.”

The ISIL advance onPalmyra had sparkedinternational concern forthe safety of the UNESCOWorld Heritage site.Syrian officials expressedrelief that the armed grouphad been pushed back.

Syria rebels

THE number ofpeople killed in

Nepal by two majorearthquakes hassurpassed 8,500, making

Nepal quake death toll surpasses 8,500 as dozens

still missing

the disaster the deadliestto hit the Himalayancountry on record, asrescuers on Sundaysearched for dozens ofpeople still missing inremote villages.

A 7.8-magnitude earth-quake hit Nepal on April25, killing thousands anddemolishing more thanhalf a million homes, mostof them in rural areas cutoff from emergency medicalcare.

A second major quake

struck on Tuesday 76kilometers (47 miles) eastof the capital Kathmandu,just as Nepalis werebeginning to recover fromthe previous earthquake.

The death toll from thetwo quakes now stands at8,583, the home ministrysaid on Sunday.

The previous deadliestearthquake to strike thecountry - in 1934 - killedat least 8,519 in Nepal, aswell as thousands more inneighboring India.

A SUICIDE carbomber rammed a

European Union vehiclenear the main airport inAfghanistan’s capitalyesterday , killing twoAfghan civilians and aBritish security contractor

Car bomb hit EU vehicle, kills three in Afghan capital

in the latest attack in the city,officials said.

The Taliban claimedresponsibility for the attackon the European UnionPolice Mission inAfghanistan (EUPOL),which advises Afghan law

enforcement authorities.The insurgents have

launched a wave of attacksaround the country sincethe drawdown of mostforeign troops last year to asmall training force of about12,500.

VANGUARD, MONDAY, MAY 18 , 2015 — 57

S/Africa arrests 1,600 illegalimmigrants in crackdown

MORE than 3,900people including

1,650 illegal immigrantshave been arrested in SouthAfrica during a controversialpolice crackdown afterApril’s deadly xenophobicviolence, authorities saidyesterday.

“We are satisfied that wehave stabilised the situationand further loss of life hasbeen prevented,” agovernment statement said.

“Security agenciescontinue to work around theclock to protect both foreignnationals and South Africancitizens against anyattacks.”

The crackdown came afterat least seven people werekilled as mobs hunted downmigrant workers fromZimbabwe, Mozambiqueand other African countries,forcing hundreds of terrifiedfamilies to abandon theirhomes.

Rampant unemp-loyment and poverty areseen as an underlyingcause of the violence bySouth Africans who accusedmigrants of stealing theirjobs.

The arrests of illegalimmigrants has promptedcharges that thegovernment was fanningxenophobic sentiment,though authoritiescategorically denied that theoperation targetedforeigners.

Some 2,260 SouthAfricans have been arrestedon a variety of charges sincethe operation began.

“We will, in the nextweeks and months,accelerate our efforts totake back publicbuildings that have beenhijacked, either byforeign nationals or bySouth Africans; rid ourtownships and villages ofdrugs... that aredestroying the lives ofmany young people,” thegovernment statementadded.

South Africanauthorities are also goingto continue withexpulsions of foreigners.More than 400Mozambicans wereexpelled Friday and 427others in South Africaillegally are slated to bekicked out in the comingdays.

While South AfricanPresident Jacob Zumahas denounced the anti-immigrant violence healso promised to step upa crackdown on illegalimmigration.

The police operationwas strongly criticisedduring a rally Saturday inan immigrantneighbourhood inJohannesburg.

South African officers arrest illegal immigrants and foreign nationals duringa raid in the Johannesburg CB last week

•As President Nkurunziza appears in capitalBurundi takes 18 suspects in failed coupto court

BURUNDI took 18people suspected of

involvement in a failedcoup against PresidentPierre Nkurunziza to thehigh court at the weekend, relatives of some of theaccused said.

Earlier, about a hundreddemonstrators took to thestreets of Bujumbura toprotest againstNkurunziza’s decision toseek a third term, defyingthe president’s call theprevious day for an end tothe weeks-long protests.

The east African nationwas plunged into deepcrisis after Nkurunzizaannounced he wasrunning for another five-year term, with clashesbetween police andprotesters stirringmemories of an ethnicallydriven civil war that endeda decade ago.

“A lot of us citizens do notwant the constitution to beviolated as he is notallowed to lead for the third

term.We will demonstrateuntil he steps down,” saidNduwimana Belamie, oneof the protesters.

Opponents sayNkurunziza’s decisionviolates the constitution andthe Arusha deal to end thewar that pitted rebel groupsof the majority Hutupopulation, including oneled by Nkurunziza, againstthe army which was thencommanded by minorityTutsis.

The army is now mixedand has absorbed rivalfactions, but the coupattempt exposed divisions.

The fate of GeneralGodefroid Niyombare, whohad announced thepresident’s ouster onWednesday, was still notclear on Saturday. Loyalisttroops calmed the streets ofthe capital on Fridayfollowing clashes betweenthe two factions.Meanwhile, BurundianPresident PierreNkurunziza yesterday

made his first publicappearance in the capitalBujumbura since anattempted coup last weekfailed to oust him, warningof a threat posed by Islamistmilitants from Somalia.

The east African nationwas plunged into crisis afterNkurunziza said he wasseeking a third term of

office.Critics said the move

would be unconstitutional,and there have been almostdaily protests sinceN k u r u n z i z a ’ sannouncement, stirringmemories of an ethnicallydriven civil war that endeda decade ago.

Policemen escort detained Burundi Army general Juvenal Niyungeko to a highcourt in Bujumbura, Burundi on Saturday

Mother of Pistorius’s slain girlfriend condemns release

THE mother of OscarPistorius’s slain

girlfriend told a newspaperyesterday it would be toosoon to release the fallenParalympian from prison asearly as August for goodconduct.

The 28-year-old SouthAfrican double amputeesprinter was found guiltylast year of culpablehomicide - a charge akinto manslaughter — andsentenced to five years inprison for shooting his

girlfriend, model and TVpresenter ReevaSteenkamp, on Valentine’sDay 2013.

Pistorius claimed that hemistook Steenkamp for anintruder, firing four shotsthrough a locked bathroomdoor.

He is now waiting for theSouth African prisonauthorities to decidewhether to grant himconditional release,possibly from August.

If Pistorius is released

then, he will have spent just10 months in prison.

“I don’t think it is longenough for somebody whohas caused somebody’sdeath,” Reeva’s motherJune Steenkamp toldSouth Africa’s SundayTimes newspaper.

“Surely her life is worthmore than 10 months’incarceration? He’s takensomething so precious outof our lives. Her life isgone,” Steenkamp added.

“All I could think aboutJune Steenkamp

was her in that toilet andthat she couldn’t move.She couldn’t get out of theway. She was trapped inthere. She was suffering.She was in pain andagony. Her brains allover... I’ve hadnightmares over that.”

Reeva Steenkamp was29 years old whenPistorius shot her dead.Pistorius, 28, has beenserving his sentence in acentral Pretoria prisonsince October.

Morsi: Egyptian judgesshot dead in Sinai

AN Egyptian courtsentenced ousted

President MohammedMorsi and over 100 othersto death on Saturday(Sunday NZT) over a massprison break during the2011 uprising that toppledHosni Mubarak and laterbrought Morsi’s Islamistmovement to power.

In what appears to be thefirst violent response to thesentence, suspectedIslamic militants in Egypt’sSinai Peninsula gunneddown three judges andtheir driver, who weretraveling in a car in thenorthern Sinai city of al-Arish, according to securityofficials, who spoke oncondition of anonymitybecause they were notauthorised to speak to themedia.

As is customary in capitalpunishment cases, JudgeShaaban el-Shami

referred his deathsentence on Morsi and theothers to the nation’s topMuslim theologian, ormufti, for his non-bindingopinion. El-Shami setJune 2 for the nexthearing. Regardless of themufti’s ruling, thesentences can beappealed.

Morsi, Egypt’s firstfreely elected leader, wasousted by the military inJuly 2013 following daysof mass street protests byEgyptians demanding thathe be removed because ofhis divisive policies.Morsi’s successor, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, was themilitary chief at the timeand led the ouster. El-Sissiran for president last yearand won in a landslide.

Also sentenced to deathwith Morsi in the prisonbreak case were 105defendants, most tried andconvicted in absentia.

They include some 70Palestinians. Those tried inabsentia in Egypt receiveautomatic retrials once theyare detained.

Supporters of Morsi andhis now-outlawed MuslimBrotherhood chanted“down, down with militaryrule” as el-Shamiannounced the verdict inthe courtroom, a convertedlecture hall in the nationalpolice academy in aneastern Cairo suburb.

VIRGINIA

KAPTAIN AFRIKA in “Pretty Lunatic’ By Andy Akman

dadadekola@yahoo.com

TERROR MUDA in “Never say goodbye” By Lanre Kehinde

HOME & ABROAD By Lawrence Akapa

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Counselling, PCounselling, PCounselling, PCounselling, PCounselling, P.M.B 1.M.B 1.M.B 1.M.B 1.M.B 100000000007, Apapa, Lagos7, Apapa, Lagos7, Apapa, Lagos7, Apapa, Lagos7, Apapa, Lagos

YOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAY

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139

58 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

L E I S U R ETHOUGHT FOR TODAYTHOUGHT FOR TODAYTHOUGHT FOR TODAYTHOUGHT FOR TODAYTHOUGHT FOR TODAY

By Richard EromoselePISCES; This may not be the best of days as therewill be a few challenges within your working arena.If you rely on luck today, you would be disappointed.

ARIES; You will need to watch what you tell others,especially those friends you don’t know too well. Bemore loving but refuse to gamble with love.

TAURUS; If care is not taken what you have gainedyesterday may be lost due to your care-free attitudewithin your base of operation. Avoid deceit today.

GEMINI; You would fare better if you prepare yourmind for possible confrontation from unexpectedquarters. Don’t promise more than you can actuallydeliver.

CANCER; Both your mood and element of luck areas friendly as you would want them to be. Thussuccess may come the harder way today. Protect yourfinances.

LEO; Many will look up to you both for practicalassistance and leadership direction thus, you mustnot ball-up under pressure. Try to reason with yourspouse.

VIRGO; Diplomacy may become very importanttoday as development within your working arenacalls for both maturity and cleverness. Be familyminded today.

LIBRA; No matter how helpful friends wereyesterday it is important you don’t dance todiscordant tunes from any quarter today; gamble notwith matters-of-the-heart.

SCORPIO; Many people are under pressure todaybut, if you do away with sentiment and give priorityattention to money making your finances will bebetter for your efforts. Don’t allow misunderstandingwithin your family circle go out of hands.

SAGITTARIUS; To be on the safer side it isimperative you respect the law and it’s enforcementagents. Some people are trying to deceive you foran obvious reason.

CAPRICORN; Early part of the day may bring yougood opportunity but for you not to lose it you mustexhibit maturity. Protect both your money and sourceof income.

AQUARIUS; Others will step on your nerves yet itnot the best for you to over-react today. It is good toprove reliable but your secrets must remain intact.

What’s my

astro-personality?Dear Joshua,Please keep my birth data secret, but I want you toanalyse my horoscope bluntly so that I can know whoam I; talking about my personality.Francis, Kano.

Dear Francis,What you will find here under will prove useful if youtake them seriously and utilise them.

ANALYSIS OF YOUR HOROSCOPE DATA/PLANETARY PLACEMENTAries that hosted the most important heavenly body (theSun) together with indicator of mental focus lens-Mercury, is known for special leadership quality andhigher degree of positive aggressiveness. Yes you wereendowed with leadership talents which can manifest either in the business world or POLITICS and probablyboth.It is true that Aries can be very aggressive, but with manyplanets placed in more mild Star signs, with less than50% of push-full influence, loving Venus as mostinfluential planet when you were born, certainlyaggression of Aries is greatly water down to the minimum . That is not to say you the timid type butyours is a balanced personality. You are gentle, honestand straight forward person. Preponderance of fixed andearth in your chart are pointers to the fact that you arethe careful type who will not change his mind just for thefun of it. Then as peace loving Venus was the mostinfluential planet when you were born, peace andharmony will always come first whenever you want totake any (important and/or) decisive action. Placement of mighty Sun (indicator of basic-self hood)the Moon (indicator of sub-conscious self/emotion) andthe Stellium (that is more than two planets in one Starsign} in Aries, Pisces and Taurus respectively meant thatbasic characteristics of the three Star signs stated inthis paragraph are highly pronounced in your inner-self.

The Change FactorTHERE is only one

thing that humansdon’t want in life andthat is change. Butwhether we like it ornot, change will come.It either comes on itsown or is provoked. Ofall the things in life,change is the onlyconstant. It is

senseless to workagainst change. Foreveryone that worksagainst change eitherends up consumed ordestroyed by change.For change to beeffective, we must act

the change asindividuals and as acollective. If ourattitude, our lifestyle,our values, our ethicsand etiquettes remainessentially the waythey have been, then

we are not sincere.Change means new

ways, new things. If ichange and youchange, then Nigeriawill change. Do youdeserve a change?Then be the changeyou desire.

Think about it!

VanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardCLASSIFIED

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YOU CAN BOOK YOUR ADVERT AT:

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VANGUARD, MONDAY, MAY 18 , 2015 — 59

60— Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

expected of him butadded that without thesupport of Nigerians,there’s no way the teamcan succeed.

“ My expectation ishigher than any otherperson’s. This is my jobthis is what I love to do,its my country.

The former Mali andTogo boss said he hopesto build a formidableteam that can make thecountry proud again, buthe can’t achieve thatwithout being giventotal support byNigerian.

He said: “ Havingspent more than half ofmy life playing andworking for Nigeria, wehave to push oneanother to get there.

KeshiContinued from BP

coasted to victory.The Nigerian

champion who started inlane 3 got a perfect startand was running neck-to-neck with Fraser-Pryce who started inlane 4, but Okagbareeluded the Jamaican andsteered clear of thechasing pack in the last40m of the race,finishing nearly a tenthof a second ahead of 2ndplaced Tori Bowie whoclocked 11.07s. Trinidadand Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye finished 3rd in11.13s. The Jamaicanduo of Veronica

Campbell-Brown andFraser-Pryce could onlymanage 4th and 5thpositions in 11.22s and11.25s respectively.

Just a week afterfinishing second in11.05s at the JamaicaInvitational, Okagbarehas now improved onher season best, puttingher in great contentionfor the season ahead.Last year, Okagbare wasvictorious at this circuit,winning a double inboth the women’s LongJump and 200m events,all with a meetingrecords. And withanother win this year, itis now back to backwins, with Shanghailooking like a goodhunting ground for theNigerian.

Okagbare

Continued from BPHapoel Be’er Shevarespectively, lost.

Eagles skipperVincent Enyeamaconceded four goals asLille were thrashed 4-0at home by OlympiqueMarseille.

Ghana forwardAndrew Ayew wasamong the goals forMarseille.

In a related vein,Eagles second choicegoalkeeper Austin Ejidealso let in four goals ashis team Hapoel Be’erSheva lost 4-0 atMaccabi Haifa in anIsraeli championshipplayoff game.

Enyeama Los Blancos back infront and Ronaldo got asecond but Messi’s goalmeant it didn’t matter.

Luis Suarez didn’teven make the bench forthe Catalans after goingoff at half-time againstBayern Munich, whileAtletico went withAntoine Griezmann andFernando Torres inattack, MarioMandzukic left amongthe substitutes.

Claudio Bravo was thefirst goalkeeper calledinto action, getting astrong hand toGimenez’s near postheader to bat the ballaway.

Messi came to theparty just after the 10-

Continued from BP

minute mark after fancyfootwork from AndresIniesta and Neymar sawthe Argentine teed up fora shot, but it was straightat Jan Oblak.

Messi again testedOblak, this time with aheader from Dani Alves’cross, but it too waseasily fielded by thehome goalkeeper.

Messi felt he shouldhave had a penalty whenhis header was blockedby Juanfran’s arm andreferee UndianoMallenco further raisedCatalan ire by decidingDiego Godin’s shirt pullon Alves was outside thepenalty area.

It appeared Alves hadbeen booked for divingbut instead a free-kickwas given, wide of thegoal, and Messi clippedthe crossbar with theset-piece.

BarcaContinued from BP

FIT AS A FIDDLE: Governor Adams Oshiomhole leads others at the 3rdedition of the Annual IAAF certified 10km Okpekpe race, on Saturday.

REAL Madrid’s LaLiga title hopes

were ended despite a 4-1victory at Espanyol asBarcelona condemnedthem to second place witha win at Atletico Madrid.

A Cristiano Ronaldohat-trick and one fromMarcelo halted Real’s runof three consecutivewinless games in allcompetitions and sparedthe blushes of goalkeeperKeylor Navas, whoseterrible error allowedChristian Stuani toequalise.

But Barcelona’s 1-0success at the EstadioVicente Calderon in thepenultimate game of theseason saw them crownedchampions and confirmReal as runners-up to

CR7 hits hat-trick

complete a miserableweek that also saw CarloAncelotti’s side denied aplace in the UEFAChampions League finalby Juventus, increasingthe pressure on the Italiancoach.

•Ronaldo

BY JUDE OPARA,Abuja

THERE are veryclear indications

that the much celebratedcontract which theNigeria FootballFederation (NFF)signed with kitsm a n u f a c t u r i n gcompany, Nike mayhave been a slavecontract after all.

An impeccable sourceat the NFF Secretariat

How NFF signed ‘slave’ contract with Niketold Sports Vanguardover the weekend thatwhat the deal amountsto is just that theAmerican basedcompany will besupplying the variousNigerian football teamswith kits without anymonetary value.

Our source who wouldnot want to be namedfurther revealed thatafter the former kitsponsors, adidas pulledout after the 2014 WorldCup, efforts were madeto get another reliableorganization to kit thenational teams with a$12.5million dollars ayear proposal given toNike.

According to him,Nike had repliedthrough one JuliaSaminie that theproposal was rather onthe high side insistingthat the deal bereviewed downwards inline with what they giveto other Africancountries.

“What Nike said in anutshell is that theywere interested in thedeal but that there wasthe need for us to reduceour expectations. Butwhen it was time tosign the contract theywent their own waywithout the knowledgeof those who had thestrength to negotiate.

“Interestingly, we hadstarted the talks withNike before the comingof the present board butwhen they were to signthey did not even seekour input. The $750,000dollars deal has nomonetary attachment.Our national teams willonly be wearing andadvertising Nikeproducts for free.

“That is purely a slavecontract because thereis not even aretainership clause andone wonders why thesame company will paySouth Africa, a team thatNigeria is rated higherbut they will not pay

Nigeria anything.”Recall that the former

kit sponsors, adidaspulled out of thecontract with Nigeriaafter the 2014 WorldCup due to the attitudeof some Nigerianplayers who were saidto have won kits of rivalcompanies.

THE nine FlyingEagles players

who failed to make thefinal 21-man squad forthe forthcoming U20World Cup in NewZealand will return toNigeria from Germanyon Wednesday, officialsdisclosed.

The affected playersare Christian Pyagbara,Abdullahi IbrahimAlhassan ‘Muazam’,Abdullahi Alfa, AdamuAbubakar, UsmanHassan, Samuel Okon,Bashiru Monsuru,Saheed Abdulganiyuand Wasiu Jimoh.

All these players bar

Dropped F/Eagles returnWednesday

Monsuru featured atthe African YouthChampionship inSenegal in March,when Nigeria won arecord seventhtournament.

The Flying Eagleshave been training inNurnberg, Germany,since May 3 ahead ofthe World Cup in NewZeland, where they aredrawn in the first roundagainst five-timechampions Brazil,North Korea andHungary.

They play their firstmatch on June 1 againstBrazil in New Plymouth.

•Pinnick

Mini-stadium in Lagos,Saturday witnessed acapacity crowd made upof top management andstaff of the oil giants andthe families.

The competition startedwith teams from theHead Office, Northern,Western and Easternoperations culminated inthe final which featuredthe Head Office againstthe Western Office.

The final lived up to itsbilling as the two teamsfought to a goalless firsthalf.

In the restart, the HeadOffice team took the leadthrough an excellentfinish by SaheedGbadamosi.

Two goal hero AyoMibiola took the arenaby storm as he ensuredthe Head Office carriedthe day with his clinicalfinish.

Ayodeji of the WesternOffice converted a latepenalty as consolationfor his team.

Head Office wins Total MD Cup

A brace by AyoMibiola and an

earlier strike by SaheedGbadamosi secured a 3-1 win for the Head Officeover Western operationsin this year’s MD’s Copof Total Nigeria.

The match which wasplayed at the Campos

MANCHESTERUnited missed

out on the chance to climbto third in the table asTheo Walcott’s deflectedstrike secured a point forArsenal.

Ander Herrera gaveUnited the lead in the firsthalf as he volleyed inAshley Young’s left-wingcross at the back post.

But the Gunners hadthe better of things afterthe break, with David DeGea saving well fromOlivier Giroud.

The Red Devilsgoalkeeper was unable tosee out the 90 minutes,however, as he limped offwith a back injury.

Walcott’sstrike keepsMan U in 4th

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 — 61

,

The OkpekpeMarathon experience

,

LAST Saturday, May 16, the who’s who in trackand field in the land gathered at Okpekpe, a

sleepy town, about 23 kilometres from Auchi for the3rd IAAF Sanctioned Okpekpe 10 KiliometreMarathon.

For those who have been regulars at this fastgrowing event, there were a lot of stories to tell,about improvements, innovations and excitementsgalore. For yours truly it was the first appearance atthe yearly event programme I and Aisha Falode werelisted as Protocol and Ceremonial Directors.

A thirty minutes flight to the ancient city of Beninwas all we needed to know that Okpeke was real.Giant bill boards, Buntings and signages welcomedyou to Edo state and signposted you on the majorroutes in the direction of Auchi, destination Okpekpe.

We arrived Auchi ( Operational base ) on Thursdayand quickly decided to do a tour of the marathontown. Driving through the windy and hilly routewith thoughts of suffering marathoners iscompensated by the heavenly scenery and greenerythat presents a picturesque view fit for a classic postcard.

Okpekpe town may not be everyone’s delight, atfirst sight. Few minutes to soak all in and oneappreciates the enormous tourism and economicpotential waiting to be tapped. With a population ofless than 4000 inhabitants, one notices the bodylanguage and proud gait of the locals who on thisThursday afternoon have started soaking in the prideof belonging to a town that will soon explode on theworld sports horizon as has been the case these pasttwo years.

The indigenes are friendly and have cause to be.The Okpekpe marathon has not only placed theirtown on the world athletics map, but has alsoopened up the indigene to a life long opportunityof mixing with the high and mighty of politics, sportsand economy, not only in Edo state, Nigeria but theworld at large.

The Okpekpe marathon affords sons and daughtersthe opportunity of playing significant roles asvolunteers, not to mention the commercial boom thatit brings to attendant and relevant businesses.

Tony Egbabe sums it all “…. How many towns inEdo state can guarantee the presence of HisExcellency the Governor at least once a year? Seeall these athletes that we only see on tv from foreignlands, here we shake their hands. Nollywood stars,captains of industry, managers of banks and topbusiness concerns, first class journalists and

broadcasters…..Okpekpe has played host to all ofthem……we are blessed”

Friday, the “sleepy Okpekpe” comes alive, fullyawake as a beehive of activity threatens the serenityof the town. Media installations, athletes on a lastlap route familiarization tour, mounting of gianttents, sponsors banners……..frantic efforts to beready for the next day as the media is agog withstories of preparations and previews of possiblechampions of the total prize money of over $200,000dollars US, international men and women anddomestic runners.

Saturday morning, as early as 5 am, securitypersonnel are in place. Finishing touches are putto the activities in preparation for the great flag off.The people of Okpekpe refuse to be undone, comingout in their hundreds dressed in their Sunday best,led by dozens of red cap chiefs resplendent in white.Traditional music and dances rent the air as the worldawaited the start of the race that has in less thanthree years earned Road Race Bronze Labelcertification by the International Amateur AthleticsFederation (IAAF) hence the top quality entries and

participation.The carnival has begun. Dignitaries, sports stars,

musicians and politicians arrive, even as Sponsorsand partners struggle for visibility and promotionof their goods and services.

For this particular edition there are speculationsas to the participation of Governor Adams Oshiomolewho has religiously kept faith with the race thesetwo years past. Rumour has it that with the Governorwedding that Friday and the attendant stressinvolved, ( including first wedding night) he maynot wake up early for his race scheduled to flag offat 8am!

How wrong. Not only did Governor Oshiomoleshow up, he stuck to his 10 kilometre mark andfinished in grand style, doing press ups and flexinghis muscles at the end of the race.

The arrival of Governor Oshiomole at the finishline generates fresh rounds of excitement and funas many clamour for the quality merchandise onsale at site (Towels, bags, face caps, waist bandsetc)

News comes in that the athletes were on their wayand again, the hustle and bustle to catch a glimpseof the marathoners as they arrive. Who will it be?Who will be crowned Okpekpe champion for 2015?Will Nigerians upstage the foreigners and cart homethe $25,000 prize money for champion?, it took only29 minutes and 20 seconds for Alex Korio of Kenyato emerge on the horizon hotly challenged by LeishGabrielselase of Ethiopia and compatriot AmosMutei.

Unlike what happened last year when theEthiopians swept the women’s race, the Kenyansdid the triple this year thanks to Tanui Aifele,Rionoripo and Mary Wacere.

Its congratulations galore for another successfulend to a vision that was designed to bring“…..sporting activity to the door step of Nigerianswith the sole objective of engaging the youths,communities and building champions”

Race founder and Chief Executive Officer PadmoziSports Marketing Nigeria Limited soaks in thecongratulations of all present, he thanks GovernorOshiomole and the sponsors for their support,commends all those who toiled day and night tomake the current edition a success and promises animproved edition next year.

Departures as Okpekpe reluctantly regains itspeace, looking forward to next year…...

See you next week .

Its congratulations galore foranother successful end to a vision

that was designed to bring“…..sporting activity to the doorstep of Nigerians with the sole

objective of engaging the youths,communities and building

champions”

WARRI Wolves’unbeaten run in

the CAF ConfederationCup was brought to anend yesterday evening asthey crashed 3-0 to Ath-létic Club Léopards deDolisie in the first legplay-off round played atthe Stade Denis SassouNguesso, Dolisie. CoachPaul Aigbogun’s menmust now score four goalswithout conceding any inthe second leg to qualifyfor the CAF Confedera-tion Cup group stage

Goals from MahamaneCissé, Bokuoa and Pre-stone Lakolo were all theCongolese needed tobring the Nigerians downto their feet in Dolisie.

The hosts began therout in the eight minutethrough Cisse who tookadvantage of the Nigeri-ans shaky backline. PaulAigbogun’s men attempt-ed an equalizer but could

Leopards tear Wolves apart

not break down the solidbackline of the hosts whotook a goal lead to the halftime break.

On resumption of thesecond half, Bokuoa andLakolo sealed the win forAC Leopards as all efforts

from the visitors to reducethe deficit proved futile.

Warri Wolves must nowwin the second leg 4-0 inWarri if they hope to qual-ify for the round robinstage of the tournament.

CSKA Moscow forward, Ahmed

Musa, broke his twomonth goal-drought byscoring in his side’s 4-0rout over Spartak Moscow.

The 22-year-old’s lastgoal for CSKA was on thethe 7th of March 2015,when he netted a brace ina 2-1 win over TerekGrozny.

Since then he has gonenine games without a goal,before scoring in the 76thminute after picking up anassist for his side third goalin a comprehensive 4-0win.

Musa ends goal drought

Musa

FORMER Nigeriainternational Mutiu

Adepoju has tipped theFlying Eagles for successat the forthcoming FIFA U-20 World Cup in NewZealand.

Adepoju, a former Fly-ing Eagle who represent-ed Nigeria at the 1989World Youth Champion-ship (now U-20 World

Adepoju tips Flying Eagles for successCup) in Saudi Arabia,says the present FlyingEagles have shownenough to suggest theycan be the first Nigerianteam to win the competi-tion.

“I have seen them playand I can tell that they arevery good. The coacheshave done a fantastic joband the players have

shown there is still hopein this country.

“The competition will bea different ball game en-tirely of course, but theseboys are good. It may betoo early to say they willwin the World Cup, butthey sure look like theywill be the first NigerianU20 team to win the com-petition,” he said.

DEVOURED ...Warri Wolves players celebrating in one of theirmatches in the Confederation Cup. A.C Leopards thrashedWolves 3-0.

*Leopards 3 Wolves 0

62— Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

Brazil national team picked by its commercial partnerssince 2006 with only ‘marketable’ stars selected

•The Brazil national team is selected by its commercial partners, accordingto the bombshell revelations

•The reports claim a group of elite Brazilianplayers must feature in every international match

•Dunga, a World Cup winner with Brazil in 1994,is the current manager of the national side

•Brazil fans will no doubt be astonished by theclaims if they turn out to be correct.

did not pick Neymar,Kaka, Leandro Damiaoand other leadingnames, leading to a fine.

In the event of one ofthese elite players beinginjured, the CBF wouldhave to send ISE amedical certificate andagree on a suitablereplacement.

The alleged clausestates: ‘Any changes tothe list shall becommunicated inwriting to ISE andconfirmed by mutualagreement.

‘In this case, the CBFwill endeavour toreplace with newplayers of a similarlevel, with respect tomarketing value,technical skill andreputation.’

In addition, thecontract states allbroadcast rights andcopyright are signedover in full to ISE withany violation resulting ina fine of £630,000 ($1m).

The document ends: ‘Allterms and conditions ofthis agreement shall betreated as confidential bythe parties and neitherwill disclose them.’

Mane’s stunning hat-trick has capped off solid season

•Sadio Mane’s hat-trick for Southampton was the fastest hat-trick in PremierLeague history.

of great impact atSouthampton, followinghis £11.8million movefrom Red Bull Salzburg –but this ensured his namewill be chiselled inPremier League stone.

Was this the greatestmoment of his career?

Undoubtedly yes, byMane’s own admission.

The 23-year-old movedto Salzburg from Metz inAugust 2012 for €4million(£2.9million), the third-highest fee the Frenchclub had received for aplayer (Marseille paidMetz £5million for Robert

IT was Mane, Mane,Mane in just two

minutes and 56 secondsat St Mary’s on Saturday.A quick-fire hat-trick toshatter the record booksand Aston Villa’sdefence.

So swift was his triplestrike that his first hadbarely been digested bythe time his third hit theback of the net. Anyonewatching at homepopping to put the kettleon in the 13th minutewould have missed it all.

Sadio Mane hasenjoyed a debut season

Pires in 1998). So a decentline for the CV.

At Salzburg, he scoreda hat-trick away toKalsdorf in the AustrianCup, another againstGrodig in the AustrianBundesliga, and a thirdlast May in the Cup semi-final against Horn onroute to the domesticdouble.

But, as Ronald Koemansaid, a Premier Leaguehat-trick in record time –ending Robbie Fowler’s21-year stay at the top –is an altogether moresizeable achievement.

‘It’s not normal to havea hat-trick in threeminutes, even in the worstleague in the world,’ saidthe chucklingSouthampton manager.

What’s Mane’s story?Born in Sedhiou,

Senegal, a town on thebanks of the Casamanceriver, he joinedGeneration Foot at theage of 12, a footballacademy in capital Dakarrun by Mady Toure, aformer player, and singerYoussou N’Dour.

Six years later, hesigned for Metz as partof the club’s partnershipwith the academy, whichallows one young player

to move to France everyyear.

His performancesearned him a place inSenegal’s squad for the2012 Olympics and agood display againstGreat Britain in the 1-1draw at Old Traffordsecured his move toSalzburg.

The price paid bySouthampton lastSeptember saw Manesurpass El Hadji Diouf asthe most expensiveSenagalese player inhistory.

How has this seasongone?

Despite his late arrival toEngland, Mane’scontribution has beensignificant. He made hisdebut in the Capital OneCup win at Arsenal andscored his first goal in the1-0 win over Stoke inOctober.

Playing anywhere acrossthe front three, hisquicksilver speed andmovement has troubleddefences. He scored in threeconsecutive games fromBoxing Day to New Year,against Crystal Palace,Chelsea, and Arsenal, andno other non-striker hasscored more Premier Leaguegoals in 2015 (seven).

CMYK

THE Braziliannational football

team has been picked byits commercial partnerssince 2006 with onlyplayers who are ‘mar-ketable’ enough calledup, according to aston-ishing allegations in aSao Paulo newspaper.

Estadao claim to haveobtained a contractagreed in 2006 betweenthe Brazilian FootballAssociation (CBF) and afirm called ISE, who arebased in the Cayman Is-lands and don’t haveany employees.

The firm is a front fora Saudi Arabian compa-ny called Dallah Al-Bar-aka, who have invest-ments in finance, health-care, banking, transport,manufacturing and oth-er industries.

The document statesthat only the Brazilianteam’s commercial part-ners can decide whoplays for the nationalteam in international fix-tures, suggesting themanager and coachingstaff have little or nosay.

It also claims the CBFmust make requests toISE if they want to call-up a new player and thisis only sanctioned if hehas ‘an equal marketingvalue.’

Certain players cho-sen by ISE must start inevery game, while theCBF must supply ISEwith a medical report toprove a player is genu-inely injured.

Initially a 10-year ar-rangement signed in2006, it was renewedfour years ago by theformer CBF PresidentRicardo Teixeira.

If the bombshell claimsare true, Brazilian foot-ball will be rocked to thecore as it suggests thatDunga, Mano Menezesand Luis Felipe Scolari,the team’s managerssince 2006, did not havethe final call on teamselection.

An elite group of play-ers have to feature inevery match, with article9.1 of the contract read-ing: ‘The CBF will en-sure and guarantee thatthese players who areplaying in official com-petitions participate inany and every match.’

Any breach of this ar-rangement resulted inthe commercial partnerspaying only half theagreed match fee of£660,000 ($1.05m).

One example of thiscame in November 2011when Brazil playedEgypt in a Doha friend-ly and coach Menezes

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015 — 63

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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.

FRIFRIFRIFRIFRIDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSTODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLE

Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

CMYK

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDACROSS1 Liking (6)5 Forgive (6)8 Quarrel (8)9 Roster (4)10 Silent (3)12 Fight (5)15 Cur (3)17 Scull (3)18 Poem (3)19 Hill (3)20 Happening (5)21 Charge (3)22 Hatchet (3)23 Sheep (3)24 Lubricate (3)26 Leaf (5)29 Wand (3)33 Shout (4)34 Submarine (8)

DOWN2 Farewell (5)3 Absent (4)4 Enlist (5)5 Squeeze (5)6 Unusual (4)7 Surpass (5)10 Saying (5)11 Ethical (5)12 Crawl (5)13 Deflect (5)14 Inn (5)15 Postpone (5)16 Avarice (5)25 Unsuitable (5)27 Ooze (5)28 Viper (5)30 Open (5)31 Association (4)32 Courage (4)

ACROSS: 1, Taxi 4, Fad 6, Tour 8, Stifle9, Facade 10, Lay 12, Bread 14, Stern 15,Mined 18, Serene 20, Orator 24, Total 26,Creel 28, Wedge 30, Ebb 32, Cinema 33,Rotten 34, Fret 35, Had 36, Done.

DOWN: 2, After 3, Inflame 4, Feel 5,Defy 6, Tacit 7, Undergo 11, Awe 12, Bus13, Din 16, Net 17, Dot 19, Earlier 21,Raw 22, Alerted 23, Roe 25, Orb 27,Eject 29, Green 30, Each 31, Bred.

Diamond League: Okagbaredusts Olympic champion!

Continued on page 60B L E S S I N G

O k a g b a r e -Ighoteguonor got her

season underway with adominating win at the2015 Shanghai Diamond

League yesterday,winning the women’s100m in 10.98s.

Okagbare got ahead ofa star-studded line-upthat included Olympic

Champion Shelly AnnFraser-Pryce, and

Leopards tear Wolves into shreds — Pg 61

Team GP W D L GF GA GD PTSChelsea 36 25 9 2 70 28 42 84Man City 37 23 7 7 81 38 43 76Arsenal 36 21 8 7 67 35 32 71Man U 37 20 9 8 62 37 25 69Liverpool 37 18 8 11 51 42 9 62

EPL TOP FIVE

Gabros 1 Sharks 0Giwa 0 Taraba 0Dolphins 1 Enyimba 2El-Kanemi 1 Bayelsa 0Wikki 1 Lobi 0Ht/land 2 Akwa Utd 03SC 1 Rangers 1Nasarawa 1 Sunshine 1Ab/Warriors 0 Pillars1

Swansea 2 Man City 4Man U 1 Arsenal 1

RESULTS

EPL

Enyeama,Ejide let in 8goals

SUPER Eagles toptwo goalkeepers

Vincent Enyeama andAustin Ejide had a badday in the officeSaturday when they eachconceded four goals astheir clubs, Lille and

•Enyeama

Continued on page 60SUPER Eagles headcoach, Stephen

Keshi has urged allNigerians to support andpray for the team as theyprepare for the 2017African Cup of Nationsqualifiers against ChadRepublic next month.

Keshi, who won thenation’s third AFCONtitle for the country, 19years after they wontheir second titleexplained that heunderstands what is

Keshi callsfor prayers

Continued on page 60

CR7 hits hat-trick — Pg 60

LIONEL Messiscored as Barcelona

beat Atletico Madrid andregained the Primera titlewith a game to spare.

Real Madrid beatEspanyol but Barca’s winat Vicente Calderon meansthey go into nextweekend’s final round

Barca crowned La Liga champions!

Continued on page 60

WINNER... Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguonor reacts after winning the women's100m event at the Diamond League athletics meeting in Shanghai yesterday.Photo: AFP

with an unassailable four-point lead at the top of LaLiga.

Messi claimed thecrucial goal just past thehour mark, exchangingpasses with Neymar on theedge of the area,slaloming into the box, pastthe lunging defenders,

and finishing calmly.The goal came only

moments after CristianoRonaldo gave Madrid thelead but a mistake byKeylor Navas allowedChristian Stuani toequalise. Marcelo put