Vol. 3 N0. 694 Monday, August 26, 2013 N150

UDEME AKPAN

The Federal Govern-ment has started working towards

handing over the privatised

Electricity Generation Companies, GENCOs, and the Electricity Distribu-tion Companies, DISCOs, to their new owners within the next couple of weeks.

The handing over is

scheduled to take place after the resolution of out-standing issues associated with the privatisation, es-pecially the completion of payment of severance ben-

Free inside

Samsung to deploy ex-militants in ship building projectsBanks, MFBs jostle for SME funds disbursement

AYODELE OJO AND FELIX NWANERI

The crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is far

from being over as eight governors elected on the party’s platform are set to dump the party for a new political party to be known as the Voice of the People, VOP.

The new political organ-isation is already awaiting registration by the Inde-pendent National Elector-al Commission, INEC.

It was learnt that the ar-rowheads of the new par-ty are Governors Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Mur-tala Nyako (Adamawa),

PDM, Anenih disagree over party statusAliyu, Wamakko, Nyako, Kwankwaso, Amaechi, others involved

8 PDP governors fl oat new party

Taraba State Governor Danbaba Suntai being assisted by officials to disembark from an aircraft on his return from the United States at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja yesterday. PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA

Nebo

Chukwu

New owners take over GENCOs, DISCOs soon –FG

BUSINESSTHE SECTION

ree insiidede

oy p

SANs, others condemn Ozekhome's abduction

FG, health workers meet over strike

P.6

P.7,9

Illegal 'oil wells' found in Lagos homes

OAUTH shut over N3bn unpaid taxes

P.6,47

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10 MONTHS AFTER... SUNTAI RETURNS, KEEPS MUM P.2

P.8

EXCLUSIV

E

ISE-OLUWA IGE

Indications emerged yes-terday that the ailing Taraba State Governor

Danbaba Suntai was flown home to abort a move by some powerful individu-als in the state to force the hands of the executive and the state House of Assem-bly to declare him incapaci-tated and remove him from office.

Suntai, who arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Inter-national Airport, Abuja, at 12.05p.m. after a 10-month absence, was immediately driven in a black Toyota Sequoia SUV with registra-tion Lagos SC 989 AAA for some rest at the VIP Lounge before boarding a connect-ing flight to Yola.

The governor, who spot-ted grey suit and blue shirt, was helped down the steps of the light jet that brought him to Abuja and appeared clearly frail.

He did not speak to re-porters and barely man-aged to acknowledge cheers from the crowd by waving to the people before he was assisted into a waiting car.

Former information minister and a member of the Board of Trustees, BoT, of the ruling Peoples Demo-cratic Party, PDP, Prof. Jer-ry Gana, who was at the air-port to receive the governor told reporters that he was thankful to God Almighty for the safe return of the governor.

He said:"After about 13

hours of flight, he will be tired as a human being. He is fine; he wants to rest a bit before the next flight to Yola.

"We thank God he ar-rived safely; he is very sound but because of the fa-tigue of travelling, he is go-ing to rest for about an hour or two before the next flight to Jalingo.

"Governance doesn't mean you will be running around, you have to think and act. There are those who are governing even on wheelchair. We thank God he is safe and that he ar-rived safely; he is healthy. He will be able to do his work effectively; he is going to Jalingo later today."

Also, the Minister of State for Niger Delta Af-fairs, Mr. Darius Ishaku, who also spoke to reporters, said it was a good develop-ment that the governor ar-rived safely.

The minister, who de-fended the governor’s deci-sion to remain overseas to properly recuperate, noted that Suntai could not stay abroad indefinitely as he has recovered and, there-fore, needs to come home.

Other dignitaries who were also at the airport to receive the governor were the former National Trans-formation Party presiden-tial candidate, John Dara, and the former Minister of Sports, Damishi Sango.

Dara said:"We were excit-ed to see the governor. What is clear is that after the long haul from America, he was

Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Aliyu Babangida (Niger) and Sule Lamido (Jigawa).

The factional chairman of the Nigerian Gover-nors’ Forum, NGF, Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State are said to be part of those floating the new party.

The identity of the eighth PDP governor is still being shielded.

The source added that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, is also being speculated to be part of the plot.

The PDP currently has 23 governors in its fold.

“We have filed our pa-pers with INEC and we are

only awaiting the registra-tion as a political party. I can tell you that we will soon pull out of the PDP, which has made life un-bearable for our leaders,” a source familiar with the registration process told National Mirror.

The Chief Press Secre-tary to the INEC Chair-man, Mr. Kayode Idowu, told National Mirror that there is nothing strange in an application for registra-tion as a political party be-fore the commission.

He noted that INEC re-ceives applications for par-ty registration on weekly basis. He, however, said he had no information about the VOP and those behind it.

“Honestly, I don’t have

that information about VOP; who they are and what they represent. I have tried to reach the person in charge, but to no avail. And I can’t guarantee that I can get the information today (yesterday). But ap-plication for party reg-istration comes to INEC every week. It is a routine exercise,” Idowu stated.

National Mirror reli-ably learnt that the failure of President Goodluck Jonathan to effect the re-moval of the PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Baman-ga Tukur, is one of the rea-sons why the governors are leaving the party.

The partisan stance of the Presidency in the NGF crisis is another reason for the development.

Already, most of the political associates of Nyako in Adamawa State had dumped PDP for the All Nigeria People’s Party, ANPP, before its collapse into the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Five of the governors, Kwankwaso, Nyako, Wam-mako, Aliyu and Lamido have demanded the re-moval of Tukur for peace to reign in the party.

But some of the aides of the governors who spoke with National Mirror yes-terday denied knowledge of the new party.

Governor Aliyu’s spokesman, Danladi Ndayebo, told National Mirror that his principal remains in the PDP. “We are going nowhere. Gover-

nor Aliyu remains mem-ber of the PDP. He is not leaving the party,” he said.

Dr. Femi Akorede, the Senior Special Assistant on Communications to Governor Ahmed also denied that the governor was part of the plot. “I’m not aware of the new party. Governor Ahmed has nothing to do with the new party. It is not true,” Akorede said.

Also, the Director of Press and Publicity of Kano State, Baba Dantiye, also denied the involve-ment of Kwanwaso in the plot. “He is in PDP,” Dan-tiye said in text message in response to National Mirror enquiry.

But an aide of one of the governors confirmed

the development. “The floating of the new party is true. I can confirm the involvement of my prin-cipal in the arrangement. That is all I can say for now,” the source said.

It was learnt that Gov-ernors Kwankwaso, Nya-ko, Wammako and Lamido during their recent visit to former President Oluse-gun Obasanjo expressed their frustration with the PDP and their game plan.

They later visited for-mer leaders, including Al-haji Shehu Shagari, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Gen. Ibra-him Babangida, Gen. Ab-dulsalami Abubakar and Dr. Alex Ekwueme.

The governors are polit-ical associates of Obasan-

obviously weak and tired but we were thrilled by the fact that he recognised everyone of us by name, which shows he is mentally alert, lucid and that shows that he is capable of run-ning the affairs of the state as governor.

"We have no doubt that when he gets to Jalingo lat-er, it will be up to his doctor who is accompanying him to say whether he should work today. He is clearly OK and able to function."

However, a prominent indigene of the state, who did not want his name men-tioned, said the governor was still not in a good con-dition of health to enable him perform his functions

but that he was brought in nonetheless to enable him remain in office.

The agenda of the op-position, National Mirror learnt, was to activate Sec-tion 189 of the 1999 Con-stitution as amended. The section covers the process of removing a sitting gov-ernor from office on the grounds of incapacitation.

The plan was already in top gear when the strate-gists in the governor's camp decided to rush the gover-nor home.

A socio-political group, Taraba Justice Forum, had been at the vanguard of calls for the sacking the governor to pave the way for his deputy and acting

governor, Alhaji Garba Umar, to become the sub-stantive chief executive.

The group had based its position on the grounds that members of the state cabinet were allegedly cashing in on the poor state of health of the governor to loot the treasury.

It had insisted that Sun-tai was in vegetative con-dition without intellectual capacity to run the state, and faulted Senator Em-manuel Bwacha over his claim that only the death of Suntai could make the act-ing governor to become the substantive.

The forum noted that the lawmaker was guilty of "misinterpretation of

section 189 of the constitu-tion".

Bwacha is the senator representing Taraba South Senatorial District.

He had in a recent inter-view stated that President Goodluck Jonathan only became the substantive President after the death of former President Umar Yar'Adua and that prec-edent should be applied to the Taraba situation.

But with the arrival of the governor yesterday, the plan to remove the gover-nor might have been scut-tled.

Meanwhile, the gover-nor arrived in Jalingo, the state capital, at 4.20p.m. to

Why ailing Suntai was rushed home –Source

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

8 PDP governors fl oat new partyL-R: Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi; Minister of Special Duties and Chairman, Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North, Alhaji Kabiru Turaki; other members of the committee, Sheik Ahmad Lemu and Shehu Abubakar Tureta, at a news conference in Abuja at the weekend.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

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National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net2 Monday, August 26, 2013News

Monday, August 26, 2013National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net 3

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net4 Monday, August 26, 2013 Photo News

OLUSEGUN KOIKI

The last may not have been heard about the stowaway incident

that occurred on Saturday aboard Arik Air as the Fed-eral Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, yesterday blamed the management of the airline for the security breach.

Arik Air’s flight 544 had departed Benin Airport on Saturday at 09:05am to La-gos and immediately the plane landed, an adoles-cent stowaway, identified as Daniel Ihekina, was spotted coming out of the wheel well of the aircraft.

The boy was immediately arrested by the Aviation Se-curity, AVSEC, and handed over to the police.

Commenting on the inci-dent yesterday, the General Manager, Corporate Com-munications, FAAN, Mr. Yakubu Dati said that inves-tigations carried out by the agency indicated that a pas-senger on board the flight had called the attention of

the cabin crew before take-off that a young boy was seen walking under the air-craft and had not reappear on either side.

He stated that the cabin crew in turn informed the pilots about the incident, while the pilots immedi-ately informed the control tower and asked them to request FAAN to do a sweep of the area after their depar-ture, opting to carry on with the flight, despite the report.

Dati explained that im-mediately the aircraft de-parted, FAAN’s security did another sweep of the area and found nothing unusual at the airside.

He stated that on arrival in Lagos however, the agen-cy was informed that there had been a stowaway found alive alighting from the wheel well of the aircraft.

“While FAAN takes this security breach extremely seriously, we deem Arik’s attempt at indicting and smearing FAAN as irre-sponsible. Safety and secu-

rity breaches occur when all the checks in the system are beaten.

“Given that security is a responsibility for all players in this industry, a critical last opportunity to detect and prevent this stowaway was offered and had the air-line taken the information by passengers as seriously as they should have, this incident would have been avoided.

“Arik Air has a penchant for being unprofessional in its utterances. In the air transport industry, the ethos is not to cast blame, but to learn from such events, by seeking to find out why they occurred, so that all con-cerned can do everything possible to prevent future occurrences.

“Unfortunately, this air-line has chosen to adopt a different ethos and always rushes to cast blame on ev-erybody else except itself. FAAN is dealing with a number of legacy problems stemming from neglect over

the years. One of these is the perimeter fencing of airports across the country, which either did not exist before or have deteriorated significantly,” Dati said.

He noted that as a result of the incident, the agency has further tightened its risk amelioration procedure to ensure that a similar inci-dent does not occur.

Unconfirmed report said that the stowaway has been handed over to the State Se-curity Service, SSS, for fur-ther interrogation.

But as at the time of filing this report, none of the secu-rity agencies at the airport, could confirm the where-abouts of the culprit.

Arik Air, in a statement signed by its spokesman, Mr. Ola Adebanji, had blamed FAAN for the huge breach, noting that the incessant cases of security breaches at the nation’s airports had become a major source of concern to the airline.

Meanwhile, FAAN has said that a passenger’s Bill

of Rights has been intro-duced to protect the rights of air travellers in the coun-try.

The Managing Director of FAAN, Mr George Uriesi, made the disclosure when he featured at a forum of the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Abuja yesterday.

He urged passengers to know their rights.

“The airline business is a time-based business; that is why they have schedules; if it was not, it will be a motor park thing where the air-plane will wait until it is full.

“So, you who want to go to Abuja by 7 O’clock, if the airplane is not full, by 10 a.m., you still have to be on the ground waiting; so, if a deal is made and I promise you I will take you to Abuja by 7 a.m.; at 7 a.m., you must depart whether there are only five passengers or more; whether you are the only one on board, you must depart.

“In the real sense of the word, the Nigeria Civil Avia-

tion Authority, NCAA, is the regulator of the airline in this respect, FAAN is just a service provider like the air-line but it is a government-owned service provider.

“The NCAA has recently introduced the passenger Bill of Rights and I encour-age everybody; you can ac-cess it anywhere, you access on the NCAA’s website; you access it at the airport; go to the NCAA’s desk and take a copy of the Bill of Rights.

“It stipulates all the rights the passenger has with respect to the contract he has with the airline.

“If the airline says it will fly you at 7 a.m., it has a number of hours against which it can delay you be-fore you are entitled to a meal first and a number of hours in which it can delay before you are taken to a ho-tel; then a number of hours within which it is expected to pay you a penalty plus re-fund of your money if you don’t want to fly anymore.

“And these are things that never existed before,” he said.

FAAN, Arik at loggerheads over stowaway incident

L-R: Chief Operating Officer, Brimass, Mr. Stephen Ojji; Chairman, Brian Tracy International, Mr. Brian Tracy and Lead Pastors of The Elevation Church, Godman and Bolarinwa Akinlabi, at the Max Achievement with Brian Tracy & Godman Akinlabi seminar in Lagos, yesterday.

L-R: Comrade Femi Aborisade; Mr. Olaitan Olakunle; former General Secretary, National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, Chief Frank Kokori; celebrant, Baba Oluwide Omojola; Prof. Adeniran Adeboye and NADECO Chieftain, Dr. Amos Akingba, at the 75th birthday and presentation of Omojola’s book, Yoruba Social Science Terms, in Lagos at the weekend.

L-R: President, Nigeria Guild of Editors, Mr. Femi Adesina; Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan and his wife Roli, during the Gala Night marking the end of the 9th Nigeria Guild of Editors Conference in Asaba at the weekend.

L-R: Uncle of the Groom, Mr. Joshua Ajasa; mother, Mrs. Juliana Ajasa; Groom/National Mirror Photojournalist, Mr. Olufemi Ajasa; mother of the Bride, Mrs. Folashade Williams; Bride, Fun-sho and her father, Mr. Olusegun Williams, at the wedding ceremony in Lagos at the weekend. PHOTO: YINKA ADEPARUSI

National News

….as aviation authority introduces passengers’ Bill of Rights

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net 5Monday, August 26, 2013 News

efits to workers and accu-rate metering of electricity consumers.

Others include the test-ing of the market opera-tors’ settlement systems and processes, constitution of a dispute resolution pan-el to settle grievances in the sector and declaration of the Transition Electricity Market, TEM, in the sector.

Chairman, National Council of Privatisation, NCP, Technical Committee, Mr. Atedo Peterside, told our correspondent at the weekend that these issues would be considered in the next NCP meeting.

The meeting will also consider the next steps to be taken over the Enugu Disco, which preferred bid-der, Interstate Electrics, failed to meet the August 21 payments deadline and the North South Power, which made a part payment for

the Sapele Power station.Chairman, Nigerian

Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi, said at the weekend that the commis-sion, which responsibil-ity is to advise the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedun Nebo, on the TEM would soon do so.

He assured that the commission was closely watching efforts targeted at resolving the outstanding matters.

“A lot of efforts were be-ing made to resolve issues. For instance, the Federal Government has gone far in paying severance ben-efits to workers. We have also done a lot towards en-suring that consumers are properly metered.

“NERC has also started the process of putting in place the dispute resolution panel to settle disputes in the sector. We are optimis-

tic that these issues would be completed in the next couple of weeks so that we can put our advice across to the government,” Amadi said.

Our correspondent’s visits to the head offices of the Eko and Ikeja discos showed that business was going on as usual though there was a feeling of ex-pectancy in the air as the workers said they were yet to be paid the severance benefits.

“We are watching and waiting. They have paid people in Abuja, but they are yet to settle us, so noth-ing is happening for now,” a senior staff who did not want his name mentioned, told our correspondent on the phone yesterday.

Special Assistant to the Minister of Power on Me-dia, Mrs. Kande Daniel, however, explained that Nebo and his team were de-

termined to ensure that all outstanding matters were resolved urgently.

She said: “The privatisa-tion of the GENCOs and DISCOs has reached an ir-reversible point.

“This is not only the first time in Nigeria; it is also the first time in Africa that such large number of firms would be sold to private in-vestors.

“The process has attract-ed a lot of commendations from different nations, es-pecially those who started but have not yet been able to complete theirs.”

She stated that the minis-ter of power would address the press early this week to ensure that preferred bidders, presently eager to take over, and the general public were well-informed about the issues lined up to ensure smooth transition from government to the pri-vate investors.

jo.“The governors told

Obasanjo that they are no longer comfortable in the PDP. They said as a mark of honour they have come to inform Obasanjo about their plan to move out of the PDP. They didn’t want the former ruler to hear about the plan out-side without due consul-tation,” a source at that meeting said.

Obasanjo was said to have told the governors to allow peace to reign, prom-ising to mediate in the cri-sis.

National Mirror had ex-clusively reported that the plan of the governors was to allow the crisis in the PDP to fester towards the elections in 2015.

“There is no doubt that President Jonathan will get the PDP ticket for the 2015 presidential election, but the North is keen about power returning to them. For the South-South, Pres-ident Jonathan’s re-elec-tion is a necessity while power coming back to the North is a survival battle.

“We are not contesting the PDP ticket with Jona-than because we know the party will hand over the ticket to him. But the game plan is to weaken the PDP and reduce the party to nothing before the 2015 elections.

“Our governors won’t join the APC but will float a new party that will form an alliance with the people

of the South-West. Don’t forget that the North has the numerical voting strength to decide who wins the Presidency,” a source privy to the ar-rangement had told Na-tional Mirror when the five governors visited Obasanjo.

Meanwhile, the Chair-man, PDP Board of Trust-ees, BoT, Chief Tony An-enih, yesterday described the recent registration of the Peoples Democratic Movement, PDM, by INEC as a political trickery that would not survive the test of time.

Anenih, in a statement made available to National Mirror, said leaders of the movement did not intend that it should transform into a political party, in-sisting that the group en-visioned under the lead-ership of the late Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, remains an integral part of the PDP.

He said: “Reports about the registration of Peoples Democratic Movement, PDM, as a political party by the Independent Na-tional Electoral Commis-sion, INEC, have inundat-ed the polity; and because of my leading role in the formation and nurturing of the movement, con-cerned members of the movement have contacted me to confirm if it was our PDM that has witnessed

a tumultuous welcome by hundreds of residents, who had been waiting to catch a glimpse of him.

Before the team arrived, security at the airport was tight as military person-nel and policemen were on ground.

The office of the acting Governor, Umar, had ear-lier issued a statement that the governor’s entourage would arrive in the state by 8 a.m. instead of the 2 p.m. that was initially an-nounced.

Umar led prominent politicians in the state to receive the governor, who was immediately driven to the Government House in a long convoy that virtually paralysed movement in the state capital.

The governor did not talk to the press on arrival

and there was no statement from his media team.

The Chief Press Secre-tary to the acting gover-nor, Mr. Kefas Sule, said that there would not be any statement for now, but promised to keep the media informed on any develop-ment.

Suntai was involved in a ghastly air crash on Oc-tober 25 last year when a Cessna aircraft he was pi-loting crashed. Three other persons, including his aide de camp, who were with him, sustained varying de-grees of injuries.

He was first flown to the National Hospital, Abuja, and then to Germany a few days later. At the beginning of this year, the governor was transferred to a medi-cal facility in the United States where he had been recuperating.

the transformation.“After in-depth inves-

tigations and extensive consultations with a wide spectrum of the member-ship and leadership of the PDM, which is just like a pressure group within the Peoples Democratic Party, I consider it moral to use this medium to clarify that the PDM, which some per-sons, purporting to be in-terim leaders, secretly and mischievously promoted and succeeded in register-ing with INEC to operate as a political party, is not our PDM that worked with other political associa-tions to form the PDP in

1998.“For the avoidance of

doubt, the PDM, which we collectively envisioned under the leadership of the late Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, remains an integral part of the PDP, whose Board of Trustees, I currently chair by the grace of God and the con-sensus of founding fathers and leaders of our great party.

“I hereby wish to urge those who look up to me for guidance in this cir-cumstance to remain steadfast with me in the task of building a much more united and formida-

ble PDP and to discounte-nance the registration and treat it as a political trick-ery, which will not survive the test of time.

But the Media Adviser to PDM Chairman, Alaba Yusuf, decried Anenih’s outbursts.

Yusuf said: "The mas-querade behind the anti-PDM propaganda has been unmasked. Chief Anenih's statement is a positive ad-vertisement for PDM and what it stands for. There is no turning back the hands of time. PDM is an idea whose time has come.

“We are not going to waste our time exchang-

ing words with those who want to live in the past, and continue to impov-erish the ordinary Nige-rian.

“Let the PDP BoT chair-man resolve the crises tearing his party and the country apart; before dab-bling into the affairs of an-other party over which he has no control.

“Sadly, Chief Anenih’s description of PDM’s reg-istration as “a political trickery” is nothing but an insult to the electoral laws and the credibility of INEC. The beauty of democracy lives on the principles of freedom of speech, association and the right to exist politi-cally.”

L-R: Chairman, Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Mr. Foluso Phillips; Minister, National Planning Commission, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman and Director-General, NESG, Mr. Frank Nweke (Jnr.) at a press conference on the 19th economic summit in Lagos at the weekend.

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New owners take over GENCOs, DISCOs soon –FG

8 PDP governors fl oat new party

Why ailing Suntai was rushed home –Source

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net6 Monday, August 26, 2013 National News

Okunnu, Sagay, Akeredolu, others condemn Ozekhome’s abduction

UDO ONYEKA

There are indications that Deposit Money Banks, DMBs, Mi-

crofinance Banks, MFBs and Microfinance Institu-tions; MFIs, are in deep contest over who would warehouse the N220 billion, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Devel-opment Fund, MSMEDF. National Mirror investiga-tions reveal that the inclu-sion of DMBs as institu-tions’ that are qualified to partake in disbursing the fund did not go down well with MFBs and MFIs for fear of being crowded out due to their financial strength.

Managing Director, Ojokoro Microfinance Bank, Mr. Taiwo Peters, said the funds have no business going through DMBs, since it was meant for SMEs and micro-businesses.

“The funds were sup-posed to be channelled through the MFBs. The Cen-tral Bank of Nigeria, CBN, is aware we do not have

enough fund to service our clients. DMBs have ways of making their money. Even though this is a fund, many MFBs should have used the little money they would have made to revive their businesses.

According to Peters, a large number of un-served and under-served clients ex-ist in the Nigerian MSME sub-sector and it is the MFBs that would serve them better because MFBs are closer to them than the commercial banks, adding that “primarily fund was set up to provide for the whole-sale funding requirements of MFBs/MFIs.”

A financial expert and Chartered Stockbroker, Felix Ibekwe, said that MFBs and MFIs should be allowed to warehouse and disburse the MSME fund. Ac-cording to him there is big gap in the structure of the Nigerian banking industry.

Ibekwe said this has left the small scale enter-prises basically without banks, adding that; “The Microfinance banks and Microfinance institu-

tions can potentially fill that gap only when they receive the required sup-port from the apex bank. Managing Director, Be-rachah Microfinance Bank Limited, Mr. Ologun Olu-mide, said it would be too early for anybody to say whether the DMBs are go-ing to take over the fund or not. “I know the CBN has guideline as regards the dis-bursement, but I also believe the directives would become clearer soon. Let’s just see what happens,” he said.

National Mirror gathered that DMBs are positioning themselves to disburse the MSME fund since according to the CBN’s guideline they are qualified to apply to be part of the fund.

According to a financial expert who does not want his name mentioned, when you allow the DMBs to man-age the fund without effec-tive monitoring, it would end up going into wrong hands and if you also allow the MFBs to mange it with-out effective supervision, the money may not come back.

What the CBN needs to do

is to adequately manage the programme from inception. President of the Asso-ciation of Micro Finance Banks of Nigeria, Jethro Akun, said what this fund hopes to achieve is to pro-vide wholesale finance to the MFBs.

Akun said the fund is aimed at transforming the lives of the rural people fi-nancially.

“It is the beginning of un-locking the untapped poten-tials and opportunities in the microfinance industry”, he said.

A senior manager in one of the DMBs, who did not want his name in print, said there was no way the banks, would be exempted from being part of the MSMEDF since we are talking about financial inclusion.

He noted that DMBs ser-vice a lot of SMEs and mi-cro-businesses.

“Many SMEs and micro-business owners prefer to deal with the banks for rea-sons best known to them. So if banks are exempted from this fund, it then means you have excluded such group of persons,” he said.

Banks, MFBs, MFIs jostle to disburse N220bn MSMEDF fundN464trn Infrastructure Master Plan to be presented this week

WALE IGBINTADE, SEBASTINE EBHUOMHAN AND KENNY ODUNUKAN

Six lawyers, including four Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, yes-

terday condemned the recent abduction of their colleague, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, on the Benin-Auchi Road by an armed gang.

The SANs are Alhaji Femi Okunnu, Prof. Itse Sagay, former President, Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Chief Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and Dr. Abiodun Layonu.

The lawyers, who spoke with National Mirror in Lagos, called for Ozekome’s immediate release and criti-cised the Federal Govern-ment’s inability to tackle the escalating pace of insecurity in the country.

Okunnu, a former Feder-al Commissioner in General Yakubu Gowon’s cabinet, said the whole state of inse-curity could be attributable to the failure of the govern-ment to provide security to its citizenry.

He also called on the Fed-eral Government to tighten its security organs to ensure the safety of lives of all Nige-rians and urged the govern-ment to rehabilitate all de-plorable roads in the country.

According to him; “I also hope the authority will also urgently reconstruct the

Sagamu-Benin Expressway which was built over 40 years ago under my admin-istration as the Federal Com-missioner for Works and Housing.”

In his reaction, Sagay said; “The news of his kid-nap came as a big shock and this is because he is someone who is so close. It is a shock mixed with anger.

He pointed out that the rising number of kidnap-ping cases and other crimes was a justification for the call for the establishment of state police.

His words; “It’s absolutely shocking and frightening. It shows that nobody is safe in this country. This has been happening for the past three to four years, and security agencies again and again are unable to secure the citizens of this country.”

According to Sagay; “That is why some of us have been calling for state police. At least with state police, we can have another group of security agents patrolling and possibly prevent these crimes, rather than this mo-nopoly the Federal Govern-ment is insisting on even when it is unable to manage it effectively.

“This is a young man go-ing about his business, just because he happens to be famous, they grabbed him and he disappears. It is very

frightening and disturbing.” Akeredolu also described

the abduction as unfortunate and urged the police to be tactful in the way they would handle the incident.

He said: “It is an unfortu-nate thing; I called on the se-curity apparatus to be tactful in the way they will handle this matter. It is unfortunate that the police lost four of their men. We extend our sympathy to the families of the men involved.

Another SAN, Layonu sim-ply remarked that; “My prayer is for him to be released un-

harmed as soon as possible.”Lagos lawyer, Mr. Ike Uko

said: “It is unfortunate that kidnapping and terrorism are becoming uncontrol-lable. It is more unfortunate that lawyers are becom-ing victims. My heart goes to Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, and his family. It is my prayer that he would be re-leased very soon.”

For lawyer-activist, Festus Keyamo, he appealed to the abductors to release the lu-minary whom, he said, had contributed so much to the development of the nation’s

judiciary.Keyamo said the kidnap

of Ozekhome further high-lights the state of joblessness among youths in Nigeria, which is one reason why they turn to such dangerous trade for their livelihood.

The Afenmai Youth Co-alition, AYC, and the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, AN-EEJ, both reacted in Benin City, Edo State, in statements that were made available to National Mirror.

The groups blamed the Federal Government for the

pervading national inse-curity that seemed to have given rise to kidnapping and abduction.

AYC promised to assist the Nigeria Police in ensur-ing that Ozekhome was re-leased unhurt by using its security committee to seek and explore liaison with the kidnappers.

Meanwhile, the state police command could not confirm whether the kidnap-pers have finally reached the Ozekhome family to make any ransom demand as at the time of filing this report.

JOHNSON OKANLAWON

The Infrastructure Mas-ter Plan is to be formal-ly presented to the Fed-

eral Executive Council this week, Minister for National Planning, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, has said.

Speaking in an inter-view with National Mir-ror, the minister said the government has presented the Infrastructure Master Plan to the six geopoliti-cal zones of the federation and each state government has supported the plan.

Usman, who spoke on the sidelines of a press confer-ence ahead of the 19th Ni-gerian Economic Summit holding in Abuja early Sep-tember, said the government is determined to fix critical infrastructure in the country.

He reiterated the need to increase investment spending in infrastructure, stressing that budgetary allocation alone would be inadequate to meet the infra-structure requirements.

According to him, Nige-ria would require cumula-tive investments of about N464 trillion over the next 30 years to resolve critical infrastructure issues.

He said; “We have dredged River Niger for easy transportation and the biggest problem of Cal-abar port is water draft. The shallow nature of the water channel has made it impossible for bigger ves-sels to sail through.”

Usman, however, added that to close the current infra-structure gap and reach the desired optimal investment levels, the country must ag-gressively increase core in-frastructure stock from 35 to 40 per cent of Gross Domes-tic Product, GDP, in 2012 to 70 per cent by 2043.

Specifically, he said that an average of $25 billion (N4 trillion) would be re-quired per annum from 2014 to 2018, compared to $9 billion (N1.4 trillion) to $10billion (N1.6 trillion) currently being spent.

L-R: GOC 1 Div., Maj.-Gen. Garba Wahab; Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olufemi Adenaike; Head of Civilian Personnel Unit, Mr. Hassan Adamu and Director, State Security Service, Mr. Yomi Zamba, at the closing ceremony of the second Commanding Officers’ Workshop 2013, in Kaduna, at the weekend. PHOTO:NAN

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net 7Monday, August 26, 2013 News

ISE-OLUWA IGE ABUJA

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mariam

Aloma Mukhtar, has re-called some justices of the Supreme Court from vacation to sit on an emer-gency panel constituted to review the judgement of the Ondo State Gover-norship Election Petition Tribunal and that of the Court of Appeal which declared Governor Oluse-gun Mimiko winner of the October 20, 2012 poll.

The panel is to hear two separate appeals filed by the governorship candi-

date of the Peoples Demo-cratic Party (PDP), Chief Olusola Oke, and that of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN).

The Supreme Court had earlier fixed Septem-ber 24 to review Governor Mimiko’s victory at the poll.

Ordinarily, the Su-preme Court does not sit on appeals while on vaca-tion.

But Justice Mariam re-fixed hearing on the ap-peals to August 27 follow-ing protests from some quarters that the Septem-ber 24 would be outside the mandatory 60 days to

determine the election pe-tition appeals.

When the Supreme Court adjourned hearing in the case till September 24, there was palpable ten-sion in Ondo State.

It was believed that the date announced by the Su-preme Court fell outside the 60 days provided for hearing and determina-tion of the appeal by the constitution.

According to the politi-cal parties involved: “The Supreme Court is expect-ed to deliver its judgement within 60 days and since the Appellate Court has made its own ruling on July 1, the Supreme Court

judgement should fall be-tween August 28 and 29.

For instance, an Akure-based lawyer, Morakinyo Ogele, had said that the date chosen by the Su-preme Court fell outside what the constitution up-holds.

He said that “Section 285 (7) makes it mandato-ry for the Supreme Court to hear the case within 60 days of the judgement of Court of appeal.

The Court of Appeal gave its judgment on July 1, hence the Supreme Court has up to August 29 to give judgement in the appeal.

Ogele said: “The Sep-

tember 24 hearing date released by the Supreme Court must have been an error in view of the con-stitutional provision.”

Meanwhile, members of the opposition parties were frustrated as they alleged that there was a foul play over the date be-ing fixed by the Supreme Court on their appeals.

Youth Leader of the defunct ACN, Mr. Enas Mohammed, suspected that the Presidency’s sup-port for Mimiko could be responsible for the immi-nent constitutional crisis in the state.

Already, the tribunal and the Appeal Court had

earlier ruled in favour of Mimiko.

The lower court based its judgement on the ground that the evidences tendered by the opposi-tion parties, which was on the illegal injection of names into the voter reg-ister were genuine, but seen as a pre-election mat-ter.

Though the Appeal Court disagreed with the tribunal on its judgement that it is a pre-election issue, but still ruled in favour of Mimiko on the ground that the evidenc-es were not substantial enough to nullify the Oc-tober 20 election results.

L-R: Kwara State Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Alhaji Saka Onimago; member, state House of As-sembly, Hon. Segilola Jimoh; Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Deputy Managing Director, KAM Industries Limited, Hajia Mariam Yusuf and Managing Director, Alhaji Kamaldeen Yusuf, during the minister’s pre-commission visit to Cold Roll Sheet Mill complex in Ilorin, at the weekend.

Chukwu

MOJEED ALABI

Following National Mirror’s report of Au-gust 15 on the allega-

tion of invalidation of 2008 May/June SSCE results of some candidates in Benin, Edo State capital, the West African Examination Coun-cil (WAEC) has, again, re-validated the result of one of the concerned candidates.

In the report, a final year student of the Depart-ment of Geology, Faculty of Physical Sciences at the University of Benin, Malo-mi Butane Prosper, accused the examination body of suddenly cancelling Biol-ogy, one of the subjects in his SSCE results, written

five years ago at Diamond Scholars Academy in Be-nin.

Prosper, who said it was the university’s Senate Committee that discovered the error while screening the list of prospective grad-uating students in prepara-tion for their mobilisation for the mandatory National Youth Service Scheme (NYSC), was surprised last week when he checked his result online and found out it had been revalidated.

“I could not believe my eyes when I first checked on my phone and saw my Biol-ogy subject released. It was like a miracle to me because this was an issue that al-most made me mad. I know how much I had suffered to

get the attention of WAEC but none was ready to offer me any reasonable reason, not even at the Head Office in Lagos.

“I think I must com-mend National Mirror for taking up my case even without knowing. If not for the ASUU strike, the university would have ex-pelled me for an offence I never committed and my dream of becoming a geol-ogist would have just been dashed like that. I think I feel very proud now that I can return to school to get screened in preparation for my graduation,” Pros-per told National Mirror.

He added that his course adviser, Mr. Joel Edagbai, advised him to approach

the Students’ Affairs De-partment where he said the secretary to the screening committee, who he simply identified as Mr. Ogbemu-dia, had instructed him to enclose the new result and other documents to be pre-sented for the committee’s appraisal.

“I have immediately en-closed all the required docu-ments including my eligi-bility form, UTME result, WAEC result and WAEC scratch card for verifica-tion. He only told me that members of the committee are also members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and could not do anything until the union resumes duty,” he added.

FATUNMOLE MARCUS ABUJA

The Federal Govern-ment will today meet with leaders

of health workers who em-barked on strike across the country last Wednesday.

The meeting, expected to help resolve the longstand-ing row, will be attended by the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu; Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu and leaders of Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU).

Some of the health workers unions to be rep-resented at the meeting are Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), National As-sociation of Universities, Teaching Hospitals, Re-search Institutes and As-sociated Institutions and National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Mid-wives (NANNM).

The outcome of today’s meeting will either bring the current industrial ac-tion at federal hospitals to an end or force workers in health facilities across the states and local gov-ernment of the federation to join their colleagues on Wednesday as earlier planned.

The strike followed al-leged failure by the Federal Government to implement the ruling of the National Industrial Court of Nige-ria (NICN) on the feud be-tween the warring parties.

The workers blamed the action on the Federal Gov-ernment, which they ac-

cused of failing to honour a peace deal signed after the court verdict.

But Chukwu described the court’s judgement “as a bundle of confusion and contradiction.”

While calling on the workers to sheath their swords in the interest of the nation’s citizenry, the minister accused them of being impatient, noting that the issues raised by them were still under liti-gation at the Appeal Court.

On the reason he did not implement the court’s verdict, the minister said: “Our lawyers strongly ad-vised that this ruling does not hold water; that the judgement is contradictory and it is a bundle of confu-sion and contradiction.

“The lawyers, after criti-cally studied the judge-ment, advised that we should appeal the ruling because if left unchal-lenged at the Appeal Court, it would cause problem and confusion for the gov-ernment and the entire country.”

FG, health workers meet today over strike

WAEC revalidates cancelled result

S/Court fi xes August 27 for review of Mimiko’s victory

FRANCIS SUBERU

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, over

the weekend, sealed up two houses and arrested eight suspects, including the landlords of the houses, for allegedly digging oil wells in their compounds.

The houses which have wells supplying petrol rather than water are located in Animatu Ilo Street, Ejigbo, Lagos State.

The arrested persons are mainly occupants of the buildings as they are deemed as accomplices

under the law. The main suspects, who are own-ers of the buildings, are still being detained at the NSCDC custody pending investigations and even-tual prosecution.

National Mirror gath-ered from NSCDC that the suspects dug their bore-holes to the level of the Ni-gerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, pipe-lines which runs through a section of the Ejigbo community; consequent upon which fuel running through the pipelines is di-verted into the boreholes.

A visit to the affected houses at No 17 and 30,

NSCDC discovers illegal 'oil wells' in two houses Animatu Ilo Street re-

vealed that officials of the NSCDC, assisted by the Nigerian Army, had cor-doned off the scene.

At No 30, the smell of fuel pervaded the entire compound and it became more intense when the well was opened. Attempts by NSCDC officials to draw out water from the well revealed that indeed there was no wa-ter in the well, but fuel.

At No 17, which was ex-actly opposite No 30, the same scenario was repeat-ed as there was another oil well there.

There were many jerry cans filled with fuel at the back of the houses; indi-cating that occupants of the houses are in the know of the illicit activities go-ing on there.

All the suspects, howev-er, denied any illicit trad-ing of the product. Mrs. Funke Ogling, who has lived at No 30, for eight years, claimed that the leakage of fuel into their borehole was a recent de-velopment.

According to her, she had been living in the house with her children

and her husband who she said was currently away on a business trip.

“All these years, we have pumped water out of that borehole. It was only a month ago that we discov-ered that fuel was leaking into our water. We didn’t purposely destroy any pipeline for that to happen.

“Immediately, my hus-band and I noticed this, we reported the incident to the Ejigbo police division and to some NNPC officials. They actually came twice to our house with a tanker to empty the borehole.

“They told us that they would be back on Mon-day to check if there was still fuel and that if there was, they would fill up the borehole with sand and dig another one for us. Till date, we still pump water out of that well.”

One of the landlords, a 60-year-old contractor, simply known as Mr. Aro-mas, who was arrested with his wife and three children, claimed that he bought the house at No 17, six years ago from its original owner with the borehole already sunk.

ABIODUN NEJOADO EKITI

The Peoples Demo-cratic Party, PDP, in Ekiti State yester-

day advised warring fac-tions in the ruling All Pro-gressives Congress, APC, against turning the state into a war zone.

PDP state Chairman, Mr. Makanjuola Ogundipe, said the frequent clashes between the supporters of Governor Kayode Fayemi and those of the House of Representatives member, Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele, were becoming unbear-able and were heightening the tension in the state.

Ogundipe spoke through his Media Aide, Mr. Femi Omolusi, in Ado Ekiti yes-terday against the backdrop of the violent clash between loyalists of the two APC chieftains at the weekend at Iyin Ekiti and Ado Eki-ti, where many sustained varying degree of injuries in addition to vandalisation of properties.

The PDP boss appealed to security agents to be on

the alert and bring per-petrators of violence to book with a view to ensur-ing that the state was not turned into a war zone.

He continued: “This is not the first time their supporters would clash and create mayhem in the state. But, thank God this time around they cannot claim that it was the oppo-sition party.

“People of the state would recall that they clashed in Okemesi-Ekiti last March and unleashed violence on our supporters in Erinjiyan-Ekiti, where they killed Ayo Jeje and Madam Juliana Adewunni.

“We are crying out now so that people will contin-ue to take stock of those fomenting trouble in the state,” he said.

According to Ogundi-pe, the APC members are always aggressive and violent because they have woefully failed the people of the state.

He, however, urged Eki-ti people not to hesitate to vote them out in the gover-norship election next year.

Don’t turn Ekiti to war zone, PDP cautions

The union in a press release titled; “ASUU on government threat of No-Work, No-Pay,” signed by the University of Ibadan branch Chairman, Dr. Olusegun Ajiboye and made available to journal-ists in Ibadan, described such as an ‘obsolete famil-iar threat.’

He said members of the union have resolved to pursue the ongoing strike to a logical conclusion to revitalise public uni-versities with or without strike.

He said ASUU members have resolved and are con-vinced that the current struggle embarked upon by the union is a just one to defend the integrity of the university system in Nigeria and save it from universal mockery.

Ajiboye added that the minimum funding re-quirement to public uni-versities as at 2013 is N500

billion and not N100 bil-lion as being touted by the Federal Government, add-ing that anything short of that is unacceptable to the union.

He described Federal Government’s N100 bil-lion offer as one that ap-pears that the govern-ment ‘is just begging the matter’ on ground as the money is like a drop in the ocean, insisting that no blackmail or ordering of academic staff will break the ongoing strike.

He said: “The academic members remained reso-lute to pursue this strug-gle to its logical conclu-sion.”

On the N100 billion re-leased as funding to the universities by the Feder-al Government, Ajiboye noted that this was just the beginning.

He continued: “Go-ing by the ASUU agree-ment of 2009 and the MoU

signed by the Federal Gov-ernment in January 2012, the minimum funding re-quirement for the univer-sities as at 2013 is N500 bil-lion and not N100 billion.

“Only the provision of this sum will meet the im-mediate needs of address-ing the rot and decay in public universities in the country. Anything short of this is not acceptable to the union.

“Therefore, rather than engaging in cheap black-mail and unworkable threat, the government should address the issues on the table. That is ap-propriate funding of the universities, payment of arrears of earned allow-ances to university work-ers and other allied mat-ters.

“Anything short of full implementation of the agreement and the MoU remained unacceptable to the union.”

No-work, no-pay threat won’t stop our strike –ASUU

Reports on Fashola have vindicated us –Lagos PDP FELIX NWANERI

Lagos State chap-ter of the Peoples Democratic Party,

PDP, has described the re-cent reports of Amnesty International and the Co-alition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, on the government of the state under Governor Baba-tunde Fashola as well re-searched, unbiased and

an indictment on the ad-ministration.

The party in a state-ment signed by its Public-ity Secretary, Taofik Gani, said the reports which scored the administration low in performance, have vindicated its repeated cry that administrations in Lagos State since 1999, have been for the en-richment of Tinubu and Fashola families.

Noting that unless

Fashola speaks out now to debunk the accusations raised by CACOL, the La-gos PDP said he may be re-corded as the most corrupt governor the state ever had.

The party added that while the facts and fig-ures challenging the cred-ibility and rating of the governor has never been controverted by the ad-ministration, it is ready to face the state government on a debate.

KEMI OLAITANIBADAN

The Academic Staff Union of Univer-sities, ASUU, yes-

terday said the threat to implement a ‘No-work-No-Pay’ policy by the Federal Government would not stop the ongoing strike embarked upon by univer-sity teachers throughout the country.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.netMonday, August 26, 2013 8 South West

Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola (left) and International Coordinator, Potters Water Action Group, Mr. Richard Wukich, at a dinner in honour of trade delegates from the United States in Osogbo, at the weekend.

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net 9Monday, August 26, 2013 South West

ADEOLU ADEYEMO OSOGBO

The Obafemi Awolo-wo University Teaching Hospital

(OAUTH) Complex in Ile-Ife has been shut by the Osun State Government for non- payment of N3 billion tax.

The Senior Special As-sistant to the Governor on Internally Generated Rev-enue (IGR), Mr. Femi Balo-gun, who made this known to journalists at the week-end in Osogbo, the capital, frowned at the accumu-lated arrears owed the gov-ernment by the hospital’s

ADEOLU ADEYEMO OSOGBO

The Peoples Democrat-ic Party (PDP) and the newly registered

All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State yester-day accused each other of planning to rig the forth-coming governorship elec-tion in the state.

While the PDP alleged that Chairman of the Inde-pendent national Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attairu Jega, is planning to perpetrate the electoral fraud in favour of APC, the latter claimed that it was the opposition party that

had perfected plan to rig the election.

The APC added that PDP has no plan to convince the people to vote for its candi-date.

The PDP said that INEC, in collaboration with APC, took five data capturing ma-chines to the Government House in Osogbo, the state capital, to register non-indi-genes.

In a statement made available to journalists in Osogbo, PDP Chairman, Alhaji Ganiyu Olaoluwa, al-leged the electoral fraud had been perfected to frustrate his party ahead of the forth-coming governorship poll.

The statement read: “Prof. Jega is not being hon-est on the issue of the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Toyin Akeju. Asking Akeju to con-duct the forthcoming elec-tion in the state is illegal and undemocratic as the Federal High Court has restrained INEC from using him.

“What surprises people of the country and those of the state is that Akeju is still parading himself as the in-cumbent Resident Electoral Commissioner when he ought to have left Osun State for another place.

“During this year’s Osun festival, Toyin Akeju ,a sup-

posedly member of APC and who has been working for the party, detailed five machines to Government House to register people who were imported by the state government.”

But APC spokesperson, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, de-scribed the PDP’s claim as a blatant lie, saying the accus-ers are liars.

Oyatomi said: “PDP is chasing shadow because it has no programmes, vi-sion and mission for the forthcoming governorship election in Osun State and that is why it is trying to misinform members of the public.”

Osun shuts OAUTH over non-payment of N3bn tax

Doctors not after caesarean section for profi t making –Expert

Amosun tasks Yewa indigenes in UK on investment

Osun guber race: PDP, APC in war of words over rigging

L-R: Representative of GOC, 81 Division, Nigeria Army, Capt. Ande Danbeki; son of the deceased, Mr. Donald Fajuyi; Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, and representative of the Chief of Army Staff, Capt. Aduku Saheed, during the funeral mass for late Mrs. Eunice Fajuyi, wife of late Governor of Old Western Region, Col. Adekunle Fajuyi, in Ado-Ekiti, at the weekend.

MURITALA AYINLA

The Lagos State Chairman of the Society of Gyn-

aecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SOGON), Dr Oluwarotimi Akinola, has debunked the claim that medical doctors now opt for caesarean section (CS) for pregnant women before they could deliver baby for profit motives.

There have been accu-sations and counter accu-sations by residents over the growing rate of CS in both public and private hospitals for pregnant women.

Some residents had ac-cused doctors of tactical-ly recommending Caesar-ean Section for pregnant women, even when they could have safe delivery.

But Akinola, while speaking with National Mirror at the inaugural elders’ forum of SOGON held at the Protea Hotel, Ikeja, absolved medical experts of complicity in the growing rate of cases baby delivered through a CS, saying doctors only resort to CS when it re-mains the only saving grace for patients.

He said: “Don’t ever imagine that some doc-tors will operate anyone simply because they want to make money out of them. The majority of that caesarean sections carried out are done for concrete reason. Most of the people who really do caesarean section are the people who are trained and who uphold the eth-ics of the profession. Some people won’t un-derstand why they need to do surgery when their condition demand, the de-cision on CS is done with careful consideration.

The gynaecologist be-moaned attitude of most Nigerians to CS, saying most people only concede

to CS when it is too late which, sometimes, result to death or damage of uterus.

Akinola said: “Four out of every five people who opt for miraculous delivery of their babies in the church when their condition warrants cae-sarean section rupture their uterus and die.

“Most people that you need to operate will first tell you that they don’t think you should operate them until it is too late. As a result, you would have to do when you wouldn’t have wanted.

“Nobody really want to operate people when they could deliver without CS. we are constantly strug-gling to reduce the CS rate in every of our estab-lishment.”

He, however, urged res-idents to patronise regis-tered clinic and hospitals for quality medical atten-tion.

Akinola said: “The truth is that in every pro-fession, there are quacks. Some think because go-ing to the hospital to see medical doctors may be expensive. So, instead of going to the hospital, they go to the chemists. It is the patients that need to be blamed for see-ing unorthodox medical practitioner because it is cheaper.”

Chairman of the Bridge Clinic Dr. Oluyo-mi Abayomi Finnih, said nearly 600,000 pregnant women die yearly global-ly, calling on government to intensify efforts at re-ducing the rate.

He, therefore, de-scribed as unethical for doctors to recommend CS for selfish reason other than to save the life of pa-tient.

“If anybody does that, it is unethical and as for the maternal mortality rate, government is not doing enough,” Finnih said.

Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State has urged

members of the Yewa De-scendants Union based in the United Kingdom and Ireland to support his ad-ministration’s developmen-tal projects.

Amosun spoke yesterday at the 1st Yewa Descendants Union Day held in London, the United Kingdom.

He said his administra-tion had embarked on vari-

ous projects, especially in the areas of infrastructure, agriculture, health, educa-tion and tourism, stressing the need for Ogun State in-digenes in the Diaspora to bring their wealth of exper-tise to bear on the various development projects cur-rently going on in the state.

During an interactive session with members of the union and indigenes, the governor addressed the concerns of the people,

ranging from security, employment generation, health, tourism and the in-novation in creating a one-stop shop for land alloca-tion in the state.

Amosun said: “Ogun is one of the most secure states in Nigeria today. This is the product of our colos-sal investment in security.”

He said government would always provide sites and services in already mapped out area before al-

location was carried out so as to ease the burden of de-velopment.

On youth empower-ment and employment generation, the governor explained that his govern-ment had created many job opportunities, surpassing the 10,000 jobs earlier prom-ised.

Amosun congratulated the union for the Yewa Day initiative and advised mem-bers on the need to contin-ue to be good ambassadors of the state.

management.Balogun alleged that

the management owed the state government about N3 billion six years tax ar-rears and that the revenue service gave the hospital a seven-day ultimatum to pay up the outstanding tax arrears.

He said: “The state gov-ernment was mindful of the operation of the hos-pital, hence its resolve to

shut down only the admin-istrative complex of the institution.”

The office of the Internal Revenue Service in a let-ter dated January 11, 2013 with reference number TI/NBDIE/2006-2011/88 signed by Mr. Olufemi Ba-logun and addressed to the Chief Medical Director of the institution, Prof. San-ya Adejuyigbe, informed the management of the de-

fault.An official of the inter-

nal revenue service, who did not want his name men-tioned, said: “Court has empowered the agency to compel the hospital to pay the tax. Before the clamp down on OAUTH, the rev-enue service conducted an assessment of all the feder-al, state and private institu-tions, including banks in the state and it discovered that

only OAUTH failed to remit the taxes deducted from its workers from 2006 till 2011.”

It was, however, learnt that the state government had sent several memo to the Minister of Health to inform him about the man-agement’s refusal to remit the tax.

All efforts to reach the OAUTH Chief Medical Di-rector (CMD), Prof. Adejuy-igbe and the Public Rela-tions Officer (PRO), Mr. Olu Bello, failed.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net10 Monday, August 26, 2013South East

Imo lawmakers vacate Assembly over roof leakage CHRIS NJOKU OWERRI

Members of the Imo State House of Assembly

will resume legislative duties tomorrow at the Ojukwu Centre in Owerri over the leakage of the Assembly’s roof.

The lawmakers recent-ly vacated the Assembly complex following the leakage of the roof.

They were, however, criticised by the oppo-sition for abandoning their legislative duties.

When National Mirror visited the House of As-sembly at the weekend, workers were seen work-ing on the dilapidated complex.

A source close to the Secretary to the State

Government office, who did not want his name mentioned, said that the lawmakers would resume sitting at the Ojukwu Centre premises tomorrow.

A member of opposi-tion party, who did not want his name men-tioned, said: “This is the worst House of As-sembly since Imo State was created. Instead of providing the needed check and balance that will curtail the excesses of the executive arm, the members are hobnob-bing with the executive to the detriment of the people.

“The legislators have betrayed the people who elected them. If not, how can a state House of As-sembly be shut down for

over three months just be-cause of a leaking roof ?”

But the Special Assis-tant to the House Speaker on Media, Mr. Samuelson Iwuoha, explained that the lawmakers vacated the Assembly to allow for extensive renovation of the complex, adding that the long absence did not affect their legislative du-ties.

The Assembly was built by the administra-tion of first executive governor of the state, Sam Mbakwe. It has not been renovated or up-graded by successive ad-ministrations since then.

But the incumbent gov-ernor, Rochas Okorocha, decided to give the As-sembly complex a facelift.

Iwuoha said: “The law-makers are not rubber

stamp as insinuated by the opposition; they are working harmoniously in the overall interest of the state.”

He noted that the ro-bust relationship between the executive and legisla-ture was responsible for the massive development going on in the state.

“What the opposition wanted was to use the lawmakers against the governor, but when the plot failed, they have now resorted to cheap black-mail. But the current House of Assembly un-der the leadership of Hon Benjamin Uwajumogu will not be on collision course with the gover-nor as expected, because when that happens it is the state that will suffer for it.”

Alleged incompetence: Ebonyi health workers call for minister’s sack

Assault: Three FAAN offi cials released from prison

Why The Gambia is persecuting Wowo –Brother

ALIUNA GODWINEBONYI

Health workers in Ebonyi State have called for the imme-

diate sack of the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, over incompe-tence.

The call followed the al-legation that the minister had been playing politics with the health of Nigeri-ans.

The workers claimed that the since the Chukwu was appointed minister, there had been troubles and conflicts in the health sec-tor.

The health workers re-called that Prof Chukwu was sacked as the Chief Medical Director of the Ebonyi State Teaching Hos-

pital by Governor Martin Elechi as a result of his in-competency.

They, however, urged President Goodluck Jona-than to sack Chukwu for the same reason to “avoid fur-ther damage to the health sector.”

Addressing journalists at a press conference in Abaka-liki, Chairman, Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), Ebonyi State chapter, Mr. Ikechuk-wu Nwafor, said no amount of intimidation, threats or blackmail would stop the union from suspending its ongoing strike.

Nwafor said the strike would only be called off when the demand of the health workers is met.

He said: “Health is an is-sue that concerns all Nigeri-

ans, it cannot be politicised and as a matter of facts, we are beginning to believe that the appointment of Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu as the Minister of Health was done in error because since his appointment, there have been troubles and conflicts in the health sector.

“That is why we are asking that President Goodlock Jonathan should remove him to avoid more problems in the sector or else the votes of Nigerians who need a good health will count even against the President.”

Nwafor, however recalled that when Prof Chukwu was the Ebonyi State Teach-ing Hospital CMD, the state government sacked him. Then, the union pleaded

on his behalf and criticised the government for sacking him the way it did.

“Even the day health worker, including Chukwu, went to meet with Elechi, the governor openly ac-cused him of mismanaging workers’ salaries.

Chairman of Nigeria Union of Allied Health Pro-fessionals, Mr. Obiefuna Okeke, alleged that health workers were being maltreat-ed across the country.

Okeke said that everybody in health sector, including guards and cleaners, are im-portant in the hospital and should be treated like doctors.

Obiefuna said members of the union were committed to the strike and would stay at home for as long as it took the government to imple-ment the earlier agreement.

SEBASTINE EBHUOMHANBENIN

Nigerian former Chief Justice of The Gam-bia, Justice Joseph

Wowo, who was alleged to have asked for bribe, is actu-ally being persecuted on ac-count of his nationality, ac-cording to his elder brother, Mr. Godwin Wowo.

In a statement made avail-able to journalists yesterday in Benin, the Edo State capi-tal, Godwin Wowo said the bribe story was a falsehood orchestrated in You Tube by powerful forces in The Gambia who did not want a foreigner to be appointed the Chief Justice of their coun-try.

Giving a background to the travails of his younger brother who was two weeks ago granted bail by a Mag-istrate’s Court on criminal charges of giving false in-formation to a public officer, Godwin Wowo explained that the former Gambian CJ, who was also a Judge of the country’s Court of Appeal, was invited by The Gambia’s former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Lamin Jobarteh, to help in resolving a dispute

over land matter in which he, Justice Wowo, as a High Court Judge had earlier giv-en judgement in favour of a German plaintiff, Bernd George Diedrich against 12 trespassers, including one Andre Sape Van Klaaber-gen, a client of the former minister before the latter’s appointment as Attorney-General.

He said the meeting at the former minister’s house was attended by parties to the land suit and their coun-sel.

Godwin Wowo added that the former minister had of-fered to pay D500, 000.00 as compensation to the Ger-man for his client’s tres-pass, but that the German, through his counsel, Mr. Christopher Mene, refused to accept anything less than D1.5m for the portion of land occupied by Klaabergen, the 12th defendant in the suit.

While describing the bribe allegation against his brother as untrue, Godwin Wowo said the former CJ could not have asked for bribe at such a meeting in the presence of all the par-ties, more so, in a matter in which judgement had been given.

SEBASTINE EBHUOMHAN BENIN

Three officials of the Federal Airport Au-thority of Nigeria

(FAAN) arraigned on Au-gust 20, 2013 before a Be-nin High Court have been granted bail.

The three defendants in a case of tax evasion instituted by the Edo State Internal Revenue Service were remanded after they could not meet the bail conditions.

The three defendants - Messrs Ayodele Sunday, O. F. Adeboye and Aliu Isimhape - were arraigned before a Benin High Court on a six-count charge of conspiracy to assault, molest and hinder offi-cers of the Edo State In-ternal Revenue Service from performing their lawful duty of enforc-ing the payment of taxes and refusing revenue of-ficials to give effect to a distraining order issued by the state high court against FAAN.

Particularly, the de-fendants were alleged to

have conspired to remove and destroy the notice of the order, a padlock and chain used by the Edo State Internal Revenue Service to lock up the FAAN administrative of-fice in the airport.

Ayodele Sunday was particularly alleged to have conspired to refuse to pay or remit to Edo State Internal Revenue Service the sum of N17.5 million, being amount deducted as Pay As You Earn (PAYE) taxes from salaries of workers. The offences are punishable under Sections 55, 50, 48 & 49 of Edo State Reve-nue Administration Law, 2012.

Upon arraignment, the three defendants pleaded not guilty to the six-count charge before their counsel, Mr. Em-manuel Akhigbe, prayed the court to grant them unconditional bail.

But the tax agency’s prosecuting counsel, Augustin Aleghe Aliyu (SAN) opposed the bail on the ground the application was not properly filed.

L-R: Abia State House of Assembly Speaker, Hon. Udeh Okochukwu; Governor Theodore Orji; his wife, Mercy and wife of the Deputy Governor, Lady Nene Ananaba, during an Interdenominational church service/thanksgiving as part of activities to mark Abia State at 22 in Unuahia, yesterday.

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net 11Monday, August 26, 2013 Views

CALLISTUSOKE

Callistusoke@nationalmirroronline.net 08054103275 (SMS ONLY)

HeartBeat

THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF NIGERIA IS REPLETE

WITH HIGH PROFILE WOMEN ACTIVISTS THAT TROD PATHS FEARED BY

EVEN THE MEN

I START FROM THE NATIONAL MIRROR…

YOU CANNOT BUT ADMIT THAT THIS

NEWSPAPER SHARES A LOT IN COMMON

WITH LATE ABIOLA’S FLAGSHIP NEWSPAPER

Children are the salt of the earth’, is a popular saying. Recognizing the cen-trality of women in the evolution of

mankind, Mary McLeod Bethune, the Afro American civil rights leader, author and education, gave the world this quote: “The true worth of a race must be measured by the character of its womanhood”. Prince Nico Mbarga’s celebrated lyric, Sweet Moth-er, is an appreciation of Nigerian mothers.

Nigeria has a rich pedigree of productive channelization of the energies of her wom-en in areas that have had profound impact on her socioeconomic and political emanci-pation and development. At the family level, but for the contributions of our hard work-ing women (mothers), many homes would have been in disarray. Many of our today’s leaders owe their success to their mothers, especially in polygamous homes where the fathers have learnt and perfected the art of divide and rule politics to make their wives to be in permanent competition among themselves.

And the political history of Nigeria is

Last Saturday August 24, 2013 marked the 76th birth day anniver-sary of Bashorun MKO Abiola. He

was the quintessential entrepreneur, a global brand, if you like. I know him best as the publisher of the Concord Group of newspapers. Although a private enter-prise owned by a Yoruba, it was a perfect example of an organization operating with the federal character principle.

Were the Concord newspapers still in circulation, they would have clocked 33 years on the newsstands this year. The death of MKO about 15 years ago, howev-er, sounded the death knell of his influ-ential newspaper group less than three years later, throwing thousands of its workers into the labour market. There-fore, when I saw a newspaper adverto-rial last year, which announced that a newspaper to be named National Accord was in the offing, I was fascinated by prospect as I tried to establish a linkage between the title and the title I had my journalism roots.

However, I am yet to see National Ac-cord on the newsstands. While I still ro-manticize about the return of National Concord and the introduction the Na-tional Accord, I take pride and comfort in the reign of other newspapers in the market whose style, outlook and con-tents are everything National Concord; and they are providing the platform for journalists to ply their trade and earn their living.

I start from the National Mirror. The layout/design is unmistakably National Concord. Look at its green/red masthead and its font, you cannot but admit that

this newspaper shares a lot in common with late Abiola’s flagship newspaper. The introduction of Business Courage as a full pull out in the Monday edition of National Mirror makes the newspaper Two-in-One package. I wait to see the metamorphosis of BC into a full blown newspaper as MKO encouraged the in-troduction of African Science Monitor from the African Concord. I salute the inspiration of the National Mirror, bear-ing the face of Concord.

My lenses are next on the re-engi-neered Newswatch that saw introduction of Daily Newswatch, Saturday News-watch and Sunday Newswatch apart from breathing new life into the maga-zine. Wallahi, each day I hold a copy of any of the titles, I feel Sunday Concord in my hand. I am amazed how the pro-duction team is able inject the Sunday Concord spirit into it. It is good for the industry that some people can keep hope and dream alive. Kudos to the brain be-hind the new Newswatch.

Now, the Sun. Everything in all the Sun titles is Weekend Concord. I see the minds of Mike Awoyinfa, Dimgba Igwe, Femi Adesina and Osunkeye in the titles. I doff my cap that Weekend Concord is not dead with the establishment of the Sun.

I move to The Nation. Whenever I grab it, I feel I am holding Midweek Concord, last edited by the irrepressible Frank Ig-webueze, the man who narrowly escaped death in the hands of Charles Taylor’s boys in Liberia. Let’s praise publisher for his efforts.

But I cannot find a replacement yet for the Community Concord in all the states

Now that NCWS has lost its innocence

At MKO’s post-humous birthday

of Nigeria or for Udoka, an Igbo vernacu-lar newspaper, although Leadership has come out with Leadership Hausa, shar-ing market with Trust newspapers in the North and essentially for northerners among whom Amanah was a toast Hausa vernacular newspaper published by the Concord Group. Even thought there is a rash of Yoruba vernacular newspapers, I have not seen any matching the quality, taste and content of Isokan where I once maintained a column titled Gege Ara.

As I celebrate the newspapers that have come to take the place of National Concord, I must also pray for those fi-nanciers and publishers who gave new life to old Concord workers. I might be wrong, but the number of Nigerians on the payroll of MKO as newspaper mogul can only be absorbed by the government. At Concord’s zenith, it established the Concord Bulk Delivery Services with a fleet of vehicles to facilitate the circu-lation of Nigerian newspapers nation-wide. Concord was also structured into six zones with each zone almost entirely

manned by indigenes of that part of the country.

On the 25th anniversary of journal-ism odyssey with berths at Nigerian Tribune, the Punch, the Envoy, National Concord, National Guide, The Monitor, Raypower/AIT and VON with the golden opportunity of Editorial Board visiting membership at the National Mirror, this is giving a remarkable toast to all media entrepreneurs who provided the plat-forms for Nigerian journalists to realize their dreams and reach their full poten-tials in life.

On the occasion of MKO’s post-hu-mous birthday, I pray for the repose of the soul of the man in whose empire I earned my first salary, and that of Olu Aboderin who financed the Punch. I also pray for the success of all Nigerian me-dia enterprises.

korewarith@yahoo.com, 08090585723 (SMS only)

ABDUL-WAREES SOLANKE

A

Mirror of the moment

replete with high profile women activists that trod paths feared by even the men. We cannot forget the likes of Chief (Mrs) Olu-funmilayo Ransome Kuti, Mrs Margaret Ekpo, Hajia Gambo Sawaba, Queen Amina of Zaria, Queen Moremi, Janet Nwokedi, Sarah Jubril. The recent Nigerian political history brought out the greatness of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola, Ayo Obe and Josephine Okei-Odumakin et al. The liberation of the country from the jackboots of the mili-tary was partly the result of their iron cast resolve to join the men in the civil rights movement.

It is within this context of high voltage activism that the National Council of Wom-en’s Societies (NCWS) has its relevance. The apex women’s council acted as the catalyst in the crystallization and dissemination of opinions and ideas by our women during the struggle for independence and during the heydays of military repression in the country. It served to bring to the front burn-er issues affecting the general populace and

women in particular, and synergizing with national and international organizations to force attention on these issues.

It is still expected to play that role now more than ever before by connecting with different categories of women in the coun-try. In its operational modus operandi, the NCWS ought not to behave like an affiliate of a political party so that it could have un-fettered access to all the political authorities in our multi-party democracy.

The above observation helps to situate the current state of affairs of the apex wom-en organization in the country. Penultimate Thursday, the NCWS lost its innocence. All its pretences of being an autonomous vanguard vapourised after the “Nigerian Women Rally for Peace and Empower-ment” it organised in collaboration with the Office of the First Lady. Are the current national leadership of the council so politi-cally naïve to have allowed Dame Patience Jonathan coerce them into surrendering the much prized non-alignment principle of the organization to now become a veritable vanguard of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in its strategic drive for success in the 2015 presidential election?

The first pan Nigerian women organi-zation, the National Women Union, was formed 1947 by Chief (Mrs) Funmilayo Ran-some Kuti. With the likes of Hajia Gambo Sawaba and Mrs. Margaret EKPO teaming up with her to enlarge the scope of activ-ism, the new dynamics caused the name to

change to the Federation of Nigerian Wom-en Societies (FNWS) in 1953. It assumed the new name National Council of Women’s Societies in 1959. Since then, it has gone through different phases, but without radi-cally departing from the original mission of serving as the vanguard for the protection of women’s interests and rights in Nigeria.

The timing of the “Lifetime Icon Award’’ bestowed on President Goodluck Jonathan is very poor, coming at a time the gates of the universities nationwide are still shut. Yes, Mr President has done much for our women, giving the award when the ASUU strike is still raging trivializes the award. And being part of a rally that serves to bol-ster the political fortunes of a particular po-litical party is poor judgement on the part of the Council’s national leadership.

I do not pretend not to appreciate the milieu dynamics that could detract from the absolute neutrality and non-alignment of the Council. I am also aware that the ob-trusive style of the First Lady will brook no nonsense from the NCWS leadership; and lastly I am aware of the corruptive influ-ence of our patronage system. However, I would have wished that an iconic institu-tion like NCWS should have been insulated from our banal politics for its own health and cohesion.

And more importantly, losing its neutral-ity will make the Council a tool in the hands of any government in power. The Abuja rally is therefore, a cancerous gamble.

Send your views by mail or sms to PMB 10001, Ikoyi, or our Email: mail@nationalmirroronline.net mirrorlagos@yahoo.com or 08164966858 (SMS only). The Editor reserves the right to edit and reject views or photographs. Pseudonyms may be used but must be clearly marked as such.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net12 Editorial Monday, August 26, 2013

All the Facts, All the SidesAll the Facts, All the SidesA PUBLICATION OF GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LTD

BARRISTER JIMOH IBRAHIM, OFR PUBLISHER

STEVE AYORINDE MD/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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ISE-OLUWA IGE ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF

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FRANK OBOH HEAD, GRAPHICS

All the Facts, All the SidesAll the Facts, All the SidesA PUBLICATION OF GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LTD

BARRISTER JIMOH IBRAHIM, OFR PUBLISHER

STEVE AYORINDE MD/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

YELE AKINROLABU ED OPERATIONS

SEYI FASUGBA DAILY EDITOR

BOLAJI TUNJI SUNDAY EDITOR

GBEMI OLUJOBI SATURDAY EDITOR

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ADESOYE ADEKOYA CONTROLLER, PRODUCTION

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ISE-OLUWA IGE ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF

KAYODE BALOGUN JNR SM, STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT

FRANK OBOH HEAD, GRAPHICS

THE GOVERNMENT AT STATE AND FEDERAL

LEVELS SHOULD DEPOLITICISE ISSUES BORDERING ON THE

OCEAN

Lagos, according to a re-cent report, has again been threatened by severe flood-

ing with the alarm that violent tidal waves are on the increase across the coastal areas. Lekki, Alpha, Elegushi beaches and their environs, among others, have al-ready been declared danger zones for residents and fun seekers alike. The latest surge experienced about a fortnight ago encroached at least 800 metres inland around the Jakande Estate in Lekki. It was unannounced; a development con-sidered a confirmation of public apprehension on the poor capacity of the authorities to manage early warning signals.

Residents near the endan-gered areas were, however, warned to vacate their homes to avert a recurrence of the kind of ocean surge disaster that claimed 15 lives last year. We recall that tidal waves ravaged the Kuramo Beach and swept away fun seekers, fishermen and many occupants of illegal shanties at the beach front. The natural disaster led to the loss of property worth millions of naira and several properties put at risk. The most recent surge did not result in the loss of lives. But this cannot pass for an excuse for inefficient govern-ment response.

The phenomenon of ocean surge is a global problem, but

the solution lies in the capacity of the government, both federal and state, to take immediate and far reaching actions to miti-gate the impact. India, China, Pakistan and the United States, among others, have at one time or the other been affected by nat-ural disasters. Most developed countries have demonstrated the capacity to handle the crises that arise from ocean surge. The effects of the Hurricane Katrina that struck the United States in August 2005 were catastrophic on the populace and the environ-ment, for instance, but the local, state and national governments promptly intervened to save lives and property. No doubt, devel-oped countries have more scien-tific and state-of-the-art technol-ogy and facilities to predict the possibility of ocean surge and related natural disasters. They also have competent and dedicat-ed agencies that are well funded to monitor, predict, evacuate and

provide remedial measures for victims in times of emergency.

Unfortunately, the same can scarcely be said to be the case in Nigeria. The recurring experi-ence has remained panic-stricken and make-shift attempts to secure the coastlines. The duplication of agencies at the state and federal levels has led to the politiciza-tion of measures to check ocean surge in the country. There has been a running face off between the Lagos State government and the Federal Government on the management of the coast lines, for example. Added to this is the chronic non-availability of the required technology and equip-ment to effectively manage the setback. The government at state and federal levels should depo-liticize issues bordering on the ocean. Cooperative federalism that will assist national growth and development is what the country needs at this time. In-deed, Lagos authorities and the FG should harmonize technical plans to reclaim the coast lines.

It has been argued that the Lagos Megacity project and ac-companying land reclamation in the Lekki axis contribute to the increasing threats of ocean surge in Lekki and Victoria Island. The Lagos State govern-ment has shown exceptional commitment to implementing

its mega city project, which in-volves land reclamation for the Eko Atlantic City project and the Export Processing Zone. The land reclamation has been cited as a pre-disposing factor to the ocean surge in the Lekki axis.

It is therefore, imperative that the state government builds ad-equate barriers to forestall ocean surge in the affected areas. The persistence of the surge creates the impression that the state has been tackling the menace with palliative measures. The relevant agencies, such as the Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research, Lagos State Emergency Relief Agency, National Envi-ronmental Protection Agency, et cetera, should be better equipped with human and material re-sources to enable them predict with accuracy and handle ocean surge whenever it occurs.

The most recent rivalry be-tween the Lagos emergency relief agency and its national counterpart is uncalled for and should not be allowed to repeat itself. Lagos State authorities should ensure that residents of all identified danger zone com-ply with its warning that they vacate the areas; they should also clear the coastline of illegal residences, especially in Ilasan, Badore, Lamgbasa, et cetera, to save lives and property.

Lagos and risk of ocean surge

ON THIS DAYThe ‘Boeing 787 Dreamliner’, Boeing’s all-new composite

airliner, received certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Federal Aviation Administra-tion (FAA) of the United States. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a long-range, mid-size wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Its variants seat 210 to 330 passengers. The 787 has been designed to be 20% more fuel efficient than the 767 it is to replace.

August 26, 2011 August 26, 1920

The 19th amendment to United States Constitution took ef-fect, giving women the right to vote. The Nineteenth Amend-ment (Amendment XIX) to the United States Constitution prohibits any US citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of sex. It was ratified on August 18, 1920. The Con-stitution allows the states to determine the qualifications for voting, and until 1910, most states disenfranchised women.

August 26, 1978

Papal Conclave of August 1978: Pope John Paul I was elected to the Papacy. Pope John Paul I, born Albino Luciani (October 17, 1912 – September 28, 1978), was the head of the Catholic Church from his election to the papacy on August 26 1978 to his sudden death 33 days later on September 28, 1978. His 33-day reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent ‘Year of Three Popes’.

All the Facts, All the SidesAll the Facts, All the SidesA PUBLICATION OF GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LTD

BARRISTER JIMOH IBRAHIM, OFR PUBLISHER

STEVE AYORINDE MD/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

YELE AKINROLABU ED OPERATIONS

SEYI FASUGBA DAILY EDITOR

BOLAJI TUNJI SUNDAY EDITOR

GBEMI OLUJOBI SATURDAY EDITOR

DOZIE OKEBALAMA COORDINATOR, EDITORIAL BOARD

ADESOYE ADEKOYA CONTROLLER, PRODUCTION

CALLISTUS OKE EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR

ISE-OLUWA IGE ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF

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Emergence of law reporting in Nigeria

Monday, August 26, 2013

LAW & JUSTICELAW & JUSTICE

CENTENARY SPECIAL

CENTENARY SPECIAL

•Calabar 2013: Issues before the Bar conference

•Lawbreed •Lawbreed notable notable for prompt for prompt reporting of SC reporting of SC judgementsjudgements

•NWLR, trail •NWLR, trail blazer in law blazer in law reporting reporting

15

41

16

Prologue: Emergence of law reporting in Nigeria

EMMANUEL AYOOLA

The publication of the Ni-geria Law Reports [cited as NLR] in 1916 signaled

the beginning of organiised law reporting in Nigeria. That pub-lication was at the initiative of the then Judicial Department. It is not often remembered that law reporting in Nigeria is thus almost as old as Nigeria. The publication of the Nigeria Law Reports ended in 1955 with the regionalization of the Judiciary in 1954. In all, 21 volumes of the Reports were published. With regionalization the regions and the Federal Territory of Lagos each soon began publication of its law reports.

It is recalled that as far back as 1933 at the appellate level there was the WACA Reports containing selected judgments of the West African Court of Ap-peal which at that time was the appellate court of the British West African territories consist-ing of the Gambia, Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast and Nigeria. As would be expected, with the es-tablishment of the Federal Su-preme Court there soon emerged the FSC Reports which con-tained the selected judgments of the Federal Supreme Court. It was published from 1955 to 1960. In 1961, there emerged the All Nigeria Law Reports which, as the name implies, contained selected judgments of all the su-perior courts in Nigeria.

One thing that these earlier reports had in common was that they were all officially spon-sored publications, some domi-ciled in the respective Ministries of Justice and others in their re-spective jurisdictions; another is that they were not always pub-lished in time. Judgments were, more often than not reported months, sometimes years, after the decisions were rendered; un-like foreign judgments that were always punctually reported and published in foreign law reports; and readily made available to legal practitioners who could readily afford them as well as in some court libraries and the libraries of a few ministries of justice. The result is that in those days there was much reli-ance by legal practitioners and judges on foreign law reports. The reception of the English common law into the Nigerian legal system thus became firmly established through the several law reports of England, such as the Weekly Law reports and the All England Law Reports.

With this brief historical background of law reporting in Nigeria that shows that law re-porting in Nigeria has been with us for a long time, that one is now writing about emergence of law reporting in Nigeria should be with the understanding that

Justice and me) to become the pioneer Editorial Board of the Nigerian Monthly Law Reports. Later Chief Folake Solanke (lat-er SAN) was brought in and Pro-fessor Odumosu dropped out.

One would have loved to tell the story of the Nigerian Month-ly Law Reports in more details, but that would not be appropri-ate in this brief writing. It suf-fices to recall what I said in a lecture to mark the 25th Anni-versary of another notable law Report, The Nigerian Weekly Law Report, when I said:

“The Nigerian Monthly Law Reports which is the first indige-nous unofficial law reports came into being in 1964 out of the per-ceived need for efficient and timely law reporting in Nigeria. Although the first edition of the NMLR was presented to the public in 1964, back-room work on the publication commenced in 1963 during which a publish-ing company was incorporated and support and recognition for the proposed law reports were sought and readily obtained from the Chief Justice of Ni-geria, the Chief Justices of the Northern, Eastern and Western States and Lagos. The support of the various heads of the Judi-ciary assured us of regular sup-ply of authenticated judgments and recognition of the reports as authoritative reports without the need to name a barrister as reporter of the individual judg-ments contained in the reports.

As a pioneer in the field of in-digenous private law reports the editorial board of the NMLR set for itself a high standard to meet the responsibility that rested on it to produce qualitative law re-ports acceptable to the legal pro-fession both locally and inter-nationally. The Editorial Board became rather over-selective in regard to cases to be reported and very demanding in regard to the quality of editorial contents. The desire for excellence com-pelled the board to be extraordi-narily selective in those invited to the editorial board and to be uncompromising in ensuring a high standard of editorial qual-ity. With the benefit of hindsight the board was probably more demanding than was required or called for. The result was that the Editorial Board became a virtual closed shop the ranks of which gradually began to shrink as, one by one, members took up appointment on the Bench or were called upon for very impor-tant national assignments that

what is being described is the emergence of present day law reporting in Nigeria. It cannot be denied that, compared with the past, there is a significant transformation of law reporting in Nigeria in the past 50 years. This piece is a very brief story of that transformation.

Private Law Reporting in Nigeria

The story of formal private law reporting in modern Nige-ria must start with the story of the Nigerian Monthly Law Re-ports which was first published in 1964 even though the concept and preparation started 50 year ago in 1963. As an active partici-pant in the birth of the Nigerian Monthly Law Report it is a story I can proudly relate, albeit rath-er sketchily.

The idea of publishing the Ni-gerian Monthly Law Report had its origin in the kind gesture of a Justice of the Supreme Court, Sir Ian Lewis who on his own, and as an individual private ef-fort, used to prepare a monthly digest of cases decided by the Supreme Court. The digest was not for public circulation; but, somehow, he used to send me copies of the digest which I trea-

sured and which were extremely useful. In the legal firm of Ayoo-la Brothers, [then a partnership of myself and my elder brother who later became the Hon. Jus-tice Olu Ayoola] we used to study the digest avidly and would promptly apply for certified true copies of notable judgments in-cluded in the digest. In time we had quite a collection which, as could be expected, would often put us a step ahead of several others in the profession who did not have the advantage of early knowledge of latest decision not yet reported, law reporting in those days being lethargic. In time, it occurred to me that we would be helping the profession if we could embark on a publica-tion of law reports that would be

THE STORY OF THE NIGERIAN WEEKLY LAW REPORTS CANNOT BE TOLD

WITHOUT MENTION OF CHIEF GANI FAWEHINMI, WHOSE SINGULAR EFFORT BROUGHT THE NWLR INTO BEING AND WHO LAID A SOLID FOUNDATION FOR ITS

DURABLE PUBLICATION

prompt and efficient. I broached the idea to my elder brother who easily bought into the idea and modified it. My intention was for us to publish the report as an exclusive private initia-tive of the legal firm of Ayoola Brothers; however, my brother thought we should involve a few other notable legal practitioners with undoubted legal and intel-lectual ability. It was thus that we incorporated Associated Publishers (Nigeria) Ltd and in-vited Dr (later Justice) Akinola Aguda, Chief Richard Akinjide (later Attorney general and Min-ister of Justice and SAN), Omo-tayo Onalaja, Esq.(later a Justice of the Court of Appeal}, Profes-sor Odumosu to join us ( my brother, Olu Ayoola, Esq (later CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

Ayoola

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.netMonday, August 26, 201314 Law & Justice

Ayoola

‘Accuracy, clarity of judgment challenges of law reporting’

NWLR, trail brazer in law reporting –Ayoola

left them with no time for law reporting. As could be expected the absence of advance plan-ning that would have ensured successors to take over the task spelt doom for the sustainability of the NMLR; particularly at a time when judicial activities had increased tremendously with judgments pouring in without a compensating increase in the number of persons groomed to undertake quality reporting. If one lesson is to be learnt from the collapse of the NMLR it is that it takes more than passion and interest to sustain law re-porting. Like any other enter-prise designed to be sustainable advance and careful planning to-wards sustainability is a must.”

The story of law reporting in Nigeria today will not be com-plete without acknowledging a number of success stories in modern law reporting in Nige-ria. In this, The Nigerian Weekly Law Reports which recently, in 2011, celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary of unbroken law re-porting and publication must be given pride of place for its con-sistency and reliability. The story of the Nigerian Weekly Law Re-ports cannot be told without men-tion of Chief Gani Fawehinmi, whose singular effort brought the NWLR into being and who laid a solid foundation for its durable publication. That the NWLR con-tinues to be published till today is a tribute to that great Nigerian and a credit to his successors who ensure the continuing publica-tion of those reports.

There is also the Judgments of the Supreme Court of Ni-geria published by Lawbreed Ltd which is notable for com-paratively prompt reporting of the judgments of the Supreme Court. There are, of course, sev-eral other law reports published through private initiative.

Two recent development in law reporting is worthy of cele-bration and note. The first is the resuscitation of the Nigerian Monthly Law Reports through the efforts of Dr. Wale Babala-kin, SAN, and the publishers, the Optimum Law publishers

Ltd. The second is the introduc-tion of electronic law reporting by LawPavillion Ltd.

The resuscitated Nigerian Monthly Law Reports introduced a more modern format in law re-porting in Nigeria while it also brought to life again the tradi-

tion of the NMLR in reporting se-lected and notable decision of the High Courts. The LawPavillion Electronic Law Reports (LPELR) for its part is worth celebrating for its introduction of electronic law reporting into Nigeria.

Much as success stories in law reporting in Nigeria may engen-der a euphoric mood, that fact, however, should not blind one’s eyes to the multifarious chal-lenges that law reporting must cope with if it is to remain an enduring success story. In this regard I had occasion to observe as follows and it is worth repeat-ing here, that:

Quality of reporting entails editorial accuracy. Editorial ac-curacy and clarity of judgment go hand in hand. Law-reporting fulfills its cardinal purpose only when it satisfies and promotes the doctrine of precedents an ultimately, the rule of law. A law reporter that fails to appre-ciate the difference between the ratio decidendi of a case and an obiter dictum fails to reflect the essence of a law report. The law reporter is assisted in his/her task when the judgment it-self reflects appropriate judicial technique. Yet, sadly often fail-ure of judicial technique mani-fests in judgements in which the principles on which the judge acted are obscure and cannot be ascertained. In the early days of the NMLR we adhered strictly to the guiding principle that a judg-ment is not reportable where the judgment exhibits a failure of judicial technique or where the judgment merely repeats and applies an uncontroversial prin-ciple or is based mainly on facts.

of the glory ‘’the NWLR has brought to Nigeria among common law countries, the NWLR and the principal members of

its editorial board de-serve to be bestowed

befitting national honours by the

country’’.

the Bar and on the Bench are more learned and the entire spectrum of the administra-tion of justice moiré just.’’

Interestingly, in a lecture delivered at the 25th anniversary of NWLR on August 11, 2011 by retired Supreme Court Justice, Emmanuel Ayoola, he observed that ‘’the task of ascertaining applicable principles would become tedious and almost impos-sible without law reports’’.

The jurist said NWLR had blazed the trail by being in existence for more than 25 years and this ‘’gives us much hope and cause for optimism about the future of law report-ing in Nigeria’’.

Ayoola noted that as a mark of the NWLR’s indelible contributions to the legal system and laws in the country and in recognition

Ajao, who paid glowing tribute to the founder of NLP, said the late Fawehinmi wanted to democratise the knowledge and practice of law hence, his decision to roll out the NWLR on October 1, 1985.

The NLP Limited was established by Fawehinmi in 1976 and the company has its corporate head office at CBD, Alausa, Ikeja. It also has nine branch offices in the country namely, Abuja, Port-Harcourt, Enugu, Benin, Ibadan, Akure, Ilorin, Ka-duna and Jos.

The company has published more than 1700 titles of books and law reports since its inception and the most popular out of all the publications is the NWLR.

In a maiden message from Fawehinmi when the NWLR came out in 1985, he states;

“My aim is to make the laws of Nigeria available to all and sundry as quickly as possible. The decisions of the courts which constitute a fundamental part of our laws must be made more readily accessible with a view to ensuring that the learned men at

We may have preferred to err on the side of over-selectivity resulting in slim but qualita-tive monthly editions. Distribu-tors often reported that some lawyers preferred bulky reports with which to fill the shelves!

Emergence of law report-ing in Nigeria imposes fresh responsibilities which can only be ignored at a great cost to our legal system. Unless certain fac-tors are actively promoted the emergence of law reporting in Nigeria will not bring any long lasting quality into our legal sys-tem. Some of these factors are: the need to ensure sustainability of law-reporting and quality of reporting; timely publication of reports; reliable continuity of the publication; availability of the reports and businesslike dis-tribution mechanism. All these require a core of skilled and per-manent staff in all sectors of the project, namely: reporting, edito-rial, production and distribution.

I once predicted and I repeat here that: “Until law reports are seen as a product that has to be attractive, qualitative and predict-ably available there cannot be any reasonable assurance that they would remain as sustainable as to outlive the founders and their immediate associates.” That not-withstanding, there is great op-timism about the future of law reporting in Nigeria. There is still great room for development and there is a great need to catch up with law reporting standards of other jurisdictions.

•Emmanuel Olayinka Ayoola, CON, is a retired Justice of the Su-preme Court of Nigeria and one-time Chief Justice of The Gambia.

FRANCIS FAMOROTI

Nigerian Law Publications (NLP) Limited, founded by late lawyer and human rights crusader, Chief

Gani Fawehinmi, SAN has published no fewer than 1,367 parts of the Nigerian Weekly Law Reports (NWLR) since its in-ception about 28 years ago till last month, the company’s Managing Director, Mr. Mo-jeed Ajao, has said.

Ajao, who disclosed this in an interview with the National Mirror in Lagos, said NWLR had revolutionised the practice of law in the country and has never failed to come out on a weekly basis.

The NLP boss explained that the NWLR contains appellate courts judgements , that is, (Court of Appeal and Supreme Court decisions) which had undergone series of reporting and editing by the NLP editors.

According to him, ‘’ the NWLR is used by lawyers, Justices of all courts, higher institutions of learning, cooperate orga-nizations and individuals who desire the knowledge of law.

THERE IS ALSO THE JUDGMENTS’ OF THE SUPREME COURT OF NIGERIA

PUBLISHED BY LAWBREED LTD WHICH IS NOTABLE FOR COMPARATIVELY PROMPT REPORTING OF THE JUDGMENTS OF THE

SUPREME COURT

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

its editorial board de-serve to be bestowed

befitting national honours by the

country’’.

in a lecture delivered at sary of NWLR on August d Supreme Court Justice, la, he observed that ‘’the

ning applicable principles dious and almost impos-reports’’.

id NWLR had blazedng in existence years and this

h hope and ism about w report-

d that the

ble to

m

Ajao

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net Monday, August 26, 2013 15Law & Justice

Calabar 2013: Issues before the Bar Conference

This year’s Annual General Confer-ence of the umbrella body of the Bar in the country, NBA, which is

taking place at Tinapa Business Resort, Calabar, Cross River State, begins today. Having the theme, Law, Leadership and Challenges of Nationhood in the 21st Cen-tury’’, the conference, billed to bring the largest gathering of lawyers to the Can-nan City is scheduled to hold between Au-gust 25 and 30, this year.

The NBA has over the years made its impact felt in the Nigeria’s socio-political life by taking a stance and speaking against the ills of the society, the highhandedness or aberration of the rule of law by the gov-

As this year’s Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) officially be-gins today, lawyers from about 100 branches of the association, as well attendees across the globe, are expected to brain-storm for the next five days on how to move the Bar, the legal system and the country in gen-eral forward. KAYODE KETEFE, Assistant Head, Judiciary Desk, highlights the issues that might engage the attention of the par-ticipants at the conference.

ernment. The body is committed, by its stated objective and observable character, to the promotion and protection of human rights, the rule of law and responsible gov-ernance. However criticisms have begun to rock the administration of recent concern-ing its operations, internal democracy and administration of its secretariat.

At every conference, in addition to the rich discussions and deliberations of dis-cussants and other resource persons, cer-tain current issues bordering on the bar leadership, the legal profession and cur-

THE IDEA OF GATHERING ALL

VOTERS IN ONE PLACE IS MEDIAEVAL AND MUST END. IN THE CURRENT SECURITY CONTEXT THAT WE

HAVE IN NIGERIA, IT IS PLAINLY UNSAFE

being resolved, might also be a suitable item for deliberation.

The Chairman of the Governing Coun-cil of the National Human Rights Commis-sion, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu has identified three vital issues, among others, which concerns how to reposition the Bar and would most probably be among the issues that would dominate discussions at the conference. This is because the issues have been bothering a number of enlightened and progressive lawyers for quite some times and suggestions similar to Odinkalu have underlined some recent discussions on the Nigerian Bar.

Odinkalu said, inter alia “If the NBA can spend ten-digit sums acquiring build-ings, it surely can find sums in the low seven-digits to finance a capable electron-ic platform with adequate firewalls. Old membership records can be mirrored elec-tronically in one year or less. Prospectively, membership and admission records for all lawyers can be electronically maintained and updated.

Second, membership management – in-cluding services, entitlements and voting – can be organised around a unique profes-sional identity number (PIN) assigned to each lawyer on Roll. At the end of the dead-line for payment of annual Practising Fees in the first quarter of each year, the NBA should issue the list of all members who have paid the fees and who, thereby, will have the rights to membership services and voting.

Third, the idea of gathering all voters in one place is Mediaeval and must end. In the current security context that we have in Nigeria, it is plainly unsafe. Instead, voting processes at the Bar, including accredita-tion and balloting, can and should be de-centralised. Current ICT capabilities make this easily manageable.”

Some lawyers who spoke with National Mirror on their expectations on Calabar 2013 expressed divergent opinions. In her own view, a former Chairperson of the Sec-tion on Legal Practice of the NBA, Mrs. Funke Adekoya SAN, said “The Nigerian Bar should not be complacent but must continue to strive for excellence in Bar ad-ministration to bring it to the world stan-dards. She said “I am looking forward to a good conference. All the challenges would be hopefully overcome and participants would get enriched by the quality of dis-cussions and deliberations while the hos-pitality and welcoming atmosphere of the good city of Calabar would also be there to be enjoyed”.

In her own view, the Executive Direc-tor of a Lagos-based non-governmental organisation, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, said “I will be among the participants by the grace of God. I am looking forward to the opening ceremony in Tinapa and the subsequent sessions. I am willing to see the Women forum as well as the hu-man rights sessions addressing some fundamental issues affecting women and children’ rights especially in this kind of time that there are lots of issues in the land concerning derogation on the rights of the said people”

Despite these, the NBA its agenda-set-ting must not lose sight of the theme of the conference, which enjoins the Bar to meet up with the Leadership and Challenges of Nationhood in the 21st Century.

rent affairs affecting the country are often discussed. These issues are often thrashed out at the Pre- Conference National Execu-tive Committee of the NBA and at the An-nual General Meeting of the Annual Gen-eral Conference. This year would not be an exception.

Among the issues that might attract the attention of participants is the consider-ation of the report of the Constitution Re-view Committee for Amendment of NBA Constitution 2009. The said Committee had presented an interim report at the last NEC meeting held at Makurdi, Benue State.

The issue of crisis allegedly rock-ing some sections and structures of the NBA might also be discussed. It will be recalled that the recent damning report submitted by the association committee on professionalisation of the NBA sec-retariat had stated in part that the NBA “is a completely disorganised body with an unclear mission and insecure future where predatory sexual misconducts are rife and the morale of its abused and ex-ploited staff is next to zero.

“It is clear that members of the NBA and much of the leadership treat person-nel of the Secretariat as instruments to be exploited or burdens to be tolerated rather than as the principal tools for guaranteeing an effective Bar.

The association would most probably not leave the above serious allegations unattended to. The current state of the na-tion, of course, is the annual permanent item on the agenda of NEC at the pre-con-ference meeting.

At the AGM of the AGC proper, a num-ber of contemporary issues would be the thrust of discussions. Such issues include the nagging issue of corruption at the Bar, the management of the NBA leadership with the focus on secretariat management, the fiscal accountability as evinced in the tabling, defence of and vote on the annual reports and accounts. Other major issues that might likely crop up included, the yet unresolved controversy on the abolition of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, the issue of verification of lawyers which was done through the verification project for which the lawyers were made to pay three years ago but which still remain uncom-pleted, if not unfruitful. The list would also include recent increase in the practising fees of lawyers.

Others matters that could be treated dur-ing this year conference include ethical is-sues against the background of the allega-tions of professional misconducts among some senior lawyers, while the welfare of junior lawyers, which had claimed atten-tion at many conferences but nowhere near

NBA President, Okey Wali, SAN

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.netMonday, August 26, 201316 Law & Justice

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.netMonday, August 26, 2013 A2 18 Business CourageCourage

A Publication of GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LTDBARRISTER JIMOH IBRAHIM, OFR PUBLISHER

SEMIU SALAMI EDITORADEJUWON OSUNNUYI STAFF WRITERTAYO ADELEKE SENIOR REPORTER

OLATOYE RAPHAEL HEAD, PRODUCTIONSEYI OKUMODI SENIOR GRAPHIC ARTIST

BusinessCourage

Cover

It initially looked like an exercise that was des-tined to hit the rock. Few days before the expira-

tion of the August 21 deadline issued by the Bureau of Public Enterprises to the preferred bidders of the 15 Distribution and Generation Companies to pay up the remaining 75 per cent bid price, the 10 Distri-bution Companies (DISCOs) raised the alarm that it would not be able to meet the dead-line and asked the govern-

Contrary to the gloomy picture initially painted by the Roundtable of Distribution Companies (the Disco Roundtable) 13 of the 15 preferred bidders for the distribution (Discos) and Generation (Gencos) companies finally met the deadline for the payment of the balance of 75 per cent of their bid price for the unbundled PHCN companies thus raising the hope of a light at the end of the tunnel after all

By Semiu Salami

Geregu Power Generation Plant

ment for a one month exten-sion.

The DISCOs had sounded it loud and clear that they would not pay the outstand-ing balance of 75 per cent of the bid price on the August 21 deadline unless and un-til the Federal Government settles all liabilities due to the employees of Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN and fulfi ll all other conditions precedent in the privatization agreement.

Led by former Chairman of the Nigerian Electric-

ity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Ransome Owan, the Discos had told the Min-ister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo that one of the condi-tions precedent for the con-clusion of the privatisation was that the DISCOs would be handed over free from all legacy liabilities.“Our lenders are mindful of this and are re-luctant to approve loans and condition drawdown until all conditions are met. Therefore, it is vital for full payment ob-ligations to the current PHCN employees be fi nalised by

the long stop date of 21 Au-gust, 2013. Lenders expect evidence of these payments before we can draw down on funds to complete our pay-ments,” he said.

Owan had raised a pleth-ora of issues which the DIS-COs had wanted the govern-ment to address, including the conclusion of all labour issues; release subsidy fund contained in the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) model for each of the distribution companies; fund the Trans-mission Company of Nigeria (TCN) adequately; issue an extended fi ve to 10 years spe-cial tax holiday for electricity

distribution akin to the tele-coms start-up assistance to mitigate tariff increase and high cost; and extend the longstop date to September 21, 2013 to allow for the full satisfaction of all conditions by government.

Dr. Owan had insisted that lenders are reluctant to approve loans and condition drawdown until they see the evidences that all outstand-ing payments, particularly to the union before they can draw down on funds to com-plete the payments.

With the long list of con-ditions, many had envisaged that the privatisation of the

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net Monday, August 26, 2013 A3 19Business CourageCourage

power sector which is nearing conclusion may eventually run into a hitch, especially as the Federal Government on its own insisted that the date for the payment would not be shifted, not minding the is-sues raised by the DISCOs.

However, in what appeared

to be more like a volte face, the same DISCOs that Owan had led to Nebo to ask for exten-sion ultimately met the pay-ment deadline as at the close of business last Wednesday, August 21, leaving only two in the lurch.

Interstate Electrics Con-

sortium, whose members in-clude Emeka Offor’s Chrome Energy, Power House Inter-national Limited and Metro-politan Electricity Author-ity of Thailand, the preferred bidder for Enugu Distribution Company, was unable to pay the balance before the expi-

ration of the deadline, while North South Power bidding for Sapele power station made a part payment.

Those that met the dead-line included West Power and Gas, Integrated Energy Distri-bution and Marketing Com-pany; Amperion Power Com-

pany Limited; NEDC/KEPCO, the preferred bidder for Ikeja Distribution Company; Vigeo Consortium, for Benin Dis-tribution Company; 4 Power Consortium for Port Harcourt Distribution Company; Aura Energy for Jos Distribution Company; Kann Consortium for Abuja Distribution Com-pany and Sahelian Power for Kano Distribution Company.

Others are Tony Elumelu’s Transcorp/Woodrock Con-sortium, the preferred bidder for Ughelli Power Plc; Main-stream Energy Ltd, the pre-ferred bidder for Kainji Power Plc; Amperion for Geregu, KEPCO for Egbin and CMEC/EUAFRIC Energy JV, which made part-payments for the acquisition of Sapele Power Plc, have met the deadline.

Under the privatization programme, any of the pre-ferred bidders that fail to meet the deadline would forfeit its initial 25 per cent payment while the company would be offered to the reserved bid-der. : “Any bidder that failed to meet his obligation will lose the slot for that company, and we will hand it over to the reserved bidder,” said Atedo Peterside, Chairman, Techni-cal Committee of the National Council on Privatisation.

So, as it stands, if the Bu-reau of Public Enterprises (BPE) were to follow strictly the terms of the scheme as it is expected to, Interstate Electrics Consortium would lose the bid to Eastern Elec-tric Company, which has al-ready declared its prepared-ness to pay $126 million for the takeover of the company.

Eastern Electric Company is a consortium formed by the fi ve South-east state gov-ernments; Nestoil, a major indigenous operator in the upstream sector of the pe-troleum industry; Aba Power Ltd and Geometric Power Ltd, led by former Power Minis-ter Bart Nnaji and Diamond Bank’s founding chairman Pascal Dozie, among others.

The company, in a state-ment by its communication

PetersideNnaji

Owan Nebo

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.netMonday, August 26, 2013A4 20 Business CourageCourage

consultant, Don Adinuba said it has a robust and matchless combination of global best practices and the best experi-ence of emerging economies. “We shall not have diffi culty raising the funds. The Bu-reau of Public Enterprises is still holding on to our $10m bank bond raised when we were bidding for the Enugu Disco. As all Nigerians must have known, the 141MW Aba integrated power project built by Geometric Power and which cost over $450 million is about to be commissioned,” the statement said.

Other members of the Eastern Electric Company Company include NRECA of the United States which operates in Latin America, Pakistan, Sudan, Bangladesh and controls 10 per cent of the United States one million Megawatt grid amounting to some 100,000MW, and the NETGroup of South Africa which operated Tanzanian power and maintains a sig-nifi cant presence in South Af-rica’s electricity business.

“We have a robust and matchless combination of global best practices and the best experience of emerging economies.

Analysts have equally said that the failure of Inter-state Electrics to pay for the Enugu Electricity Distribu-tion Company, may have even foreclosed the legal tussle be-

Cover

tween it and Nnaji’s Geomet-ric Power over Aba and Ari-aria Market Business Units of the Power Holding Company, PHCN.

Geometric Power Ltd had sued the BPE over Interstate’s claim and Interstate request-ed to be in the suit as an in-terested party. Geometric had insisted that the two business units are excluded from the Enugu Distribution Company based on its 2005 agreement with the Federal Government and amended in 2006.

With the payment, the bid-ders are expected to take full control of the various com-panies and commence the implementation of their vari-ous turnaround initiatives that are expected to engender a new phase in the troubled power sector.

Already, Prof. Nebo, in a statement had stated that the completion of payments en-titled the bid winners to fully take over the power fi rms. Nebo described the privati-zation as a great milestone in the Power Sector Reform Roadmap that should give hope to Nigerians and inspire confi dence in government’s power reform programme and President Goodluck Jona-than’s Transformation Agen-da.

The minister said he would soon formally declare the Transition Electricity Market, TEM, to enable the investors

commence business in ear-nest and further drive the process.

Nebo also reassured all Ni-gerians and investors of gov-ernment’s resolve to pursue the transformation agenda to the end and monitor the emerging transition market in order to protect the interest of the citizenry and the inves-tors.

He said the stability of the national grid was being en-hanced to ensure effective transmission of any quantity of power being generated in the new dispensation, add-ing that efforts were also be-ing made to provide more electricity off-grid, especially for the rural areas, while also sustaining subsidy for low in-come electricity consumers.

So far, Business Cour-age learnt that the Federal Government may have raked in about $2.238 billion or N358.045 billion, an equiva-lent of 7.18 per cent of the 2013 budget of N4.987 tril-lion, thus making the exercise the biggest privatisation sales ever in the history of Nigeria and Africa.

The sum is derived from the $559.44 million already paid by the 14 bidders as 25 per cent of the total cost of their bids for the respective DISCOs and GENCOs un-bundled from PHCN and the balance of 75 per cent paid by 14 of the bidders.

However, how well the re-maining part of the process would go, will to a large ex-tent determine whether Nige-ria’s has indeed crossed the Rubicon.

At the stakeholders meet-ing led by Dr. Owan, the new owners had raised some is-sues which industry analysts say need to be addressed to fully enjoy the benefi t expect-ed from the exercise.

These include the Transi-tion Electricity Market, TEM, which they said would herald the start of contractual ar-rangements in the power sec-tor and the automation of bill-ing and metering operations of the market operator in line with market rules.

The investors had also noted that conditions prec-edent that were yet to be ful-fi lled include the completion of metering of the grid in-terface points; testing of the market operators settlement systems and processes and constitution of dispute reso-lution panel without which the Nigerian Electricity Regu-latory Commission, NERC, could not advise the Minister of Power to declare the start of TEM.

They had also pointed out that industry agreements, including power purchase agreements, vesting con-tracts and transmission net-work agreements, which un-derpinned industry revenue,

would be deemed illegal and a nullity until the declaration was made by the minister.

Of serious concern was the issue of revenues as the investors said DISCOs were operating at a loss and buy-ers would quickly deploy their respective turnaround plans, but a cost refl ective tariff, which guarantees regulated return and covers all indus-try payments, was not yet producing the desired results due to systemic and structur-al problems.

This means that if the DIS-COs were unable to cover the cost of the energy delivered by the bulk trader, the Trans-mission Company of Nigeria, TCN, and the generation com-panies, would be adversely affected. Thus calling for the release of the subsidy con-tained in the Multi-Year Tariff Order, MYTO, model for each DISCO.

Other demands include adequate funding of the TCN to enable it to adequately evacuate power produced for DISCOs as well as the grant of fi ve to 10 years special tax holidays for electricity.

Already, some analysts have punched holes in some of the demands, particularly as it has to do with the issue of subsidy or tax holiday for the investor.

An industry expert who wished to remain anonymous told Business Courage at the weekend that the new own-ers were assumed to have done their homework before putting down their money, stressing that “If they were building new facilities on the prompting of the government, this could apply.”

He said that the electricity market is huge in Nigeria with all citizens underserved at the moment, stressing that they will make their money in no time with the right strategies and investments. “For me, the most important aspect of this milestone is the potential transformational effect on the economy. Availability of pow-er will easily translate into lower cost for businesses and more job creation opportuni-ties as Nigerian goods become more competitive in the local international market. It will reduce the billions spent on diesel and petrol for genera-tors. Small business without capacity to absorb and spread costs will thrive,” he said. BC

Elumelu Osibodu

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net Monday, August 26, 2013 A5 21Business CourageCourage

News

ECA drops to$5.2bn, as FG, others share N715.8bn in JulyBy Tola Akinmutimi, Abuja

Nigeria’s dwindling revenue profi le worsened further

last Thursday with the savings in the Excess Crude Account (ECA) dropping to an all-time level of $5.1 billion.

The decrease in the ECA was due to the withdrawal by the Federation Accounts Al-location Committee of N115 billion from it to augment the revenues distributed to the tiers of government in the month of July this year.

For the month under re-view, the total revenue distrib-uted for the month, including Value Added Tax (VAT) was N715.845 billion.

From this, the net statutory revenue available for distribu-tion after payment of collection costs to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) which received N4.1 billion and N2.3 billion respectively, was put at N477.049 billion, representing a N113.457 billion shortfall.

From this amount, the Fed-eral Government got N227.516 billion, States, N145.39 billion while local governments went away with N88.96 billion. The sum of N45.1 billion was shared to the oil and gas producing states as derivation fund.

On the VAT distribution, the Federal Government got N10.6 billion; states (N35.6 billion); while the local governments got N24.9 billion.

Also distributed was the N7.617 billion Nigerian Na-tional Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) indebtedness to the federation account as well as N35.549 billion under the Sub-sidy-Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P)

Briefi ng journalists at the end of the Federation Ac-counts Allocation Commit-tee’s (FAAC’s) meeting which was not concluded until late hours of the night in Abuja, the Minister of State for Finance, Dr Yerima Lawan Ngama, attributed the delay of the

FAAC meeting and the distri-bution of the revenue to the National Council of Finance and Economic Development (NACOFED) which earlier took place in the month.

The gross revenue of N497.984 billion received for the month was lower than the N863.026 billion that accrued to the Federation Accounts in June by N365.042 billion.

Ngama linked the sharp decline in revenues partly to continuous theft of crude oil leakages, pipeline vandalism at various terminals, HP compres-sor failure and repair work.

In a communique by the Accountant General of the Fed-eration (AGF), Jonah Otunla said that there was a down-ward review of some compa-nies’ estimates and a judgment debt by the Tax Appeal Tribu-nal on Education Tax reduced Petroleum Profi t Tax payable for the month.

“The distrbutable statu-tory revenue for the month is N483.482 billion. The sum of N115.000 billion part-payment of the arrears of augmentation for the month of June, 2013 was proposed for the month.

“The sum of N7.617 billion refunded by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is also distributed. In addition, the sum of N35.549 billion is proposed for distribution under the SURE-P programme. The total revenue distributable for the month including Value Added Tax (VAT) is N715.845 billion” the statement said

Nigerian banks can rank among world’s top 100 - CIBN

The President, Chartered In-stitute of Bankers of Nigeria

(CIBN), Segun Aina, has said that Nigerian banks had the capacity to rank among the top 100 in the world.

He however said that stake-holders in Nigeria’s banking in-dustry need to help indigenous banks to develop services that would enable the industry to compete favourably with those in developed countries.

“It is a challenge to bankers to take the Nigerian bank-ing sector from its `300 plus’ position to the fi rst 100. One of the aims of our programmes

at the institute is to assist banks to design best practices, garnished with good corporate governance and integrity,” he said.

The CIBN president tasked banks to cooperate with the Central Bank of Nigeria to reach the unbanked population through fi nancial inclusion.

Dipo Fatokun, Director, Banking and Payments System Department, CBN, had in Feb-ruary, said that the apex bank would reduce the percentage of unbanked population by 20 per cent.

According to Fatokun, agita-tions for fi nancial inclusion are valid as no nation can develop if the majority of its popula-tion has no access to fi nancial services.

Globalisation: Firm to build capacity for Nigerian CEOsStories by Emmanuel Ogbonnaya

As more global fi rms con-tinue to register their pres-

ence in the country with the at-tendant competitive challenge to local players, a Nigerian fi rm, Solva Global business Consulting, is embarking on a capacity building programme to fully position local CEOs for the evolving challenge.

According to the CEO of Solva Global, Babayemi Olu-wafemi, even the most suc-cessful business operators in the country will still be prone to some of the envisaged and real challenges brought about with the infl ux of some of the world’s best run organisations.

He noted that Africa, spe-cifi cally Nigeria, is currently enjoying dynamic economic expansion with GDP growth of more than fi ve per cent annu-ally, the growth which he says is already attracting more for-eign direct investment interest from developers and investors in the real estate and construc-tion, agriculture, manufactur-ing and other sectors which has raised the corporate stan-dard and competition in the business environment.

He said that the programme which is known as “CEO’s Network” is a unique opportu-nity to meet successful CEOs, entrepreneurs and executives to promote corporate business ideas, services and products by effective networking.

“After several years of working with CEOs, we have seen our share of leaders confronting the challenges of business. We saw fi rsthand, the challenges faced by even the most successful operators, noting that anyone who owns a business knows that it can be stressful. But that stress doesn’t have to be debilitating,”

he said.He explained that the “CEO

Network” which is billed for September in Lagos will also serve as an effective low-cost marketing method for develop-ing sales opportunities and contacts and runs on a quar-terly basis.

“A business network of con-tacts is both a route to mar-ket for you, and a marketing method. Business networking offers a way to reach decision-makers which might otherwise be very diffi cult to engage with using conventional advertising methods,” he said.

In addition, he noted that business networking brings with it the added advantage of recommendation and personal introduction, which are always very helpful for developing business opportunities.

Oluwafemi disclosed that expected speakers and re-source persons at the pro-gramme include: Peter Damian Mbama, a Fellow of the Insti-tute of Financial and Planning Managers in Delaware with an MBA from the prestigious University MIT Sloan School of Management in the United States of America.

Izehi Anuge Thompson, CEO, Eleanor Thompson Sup-port Staff Solution which is the only franchise of the British Butler Institute in West Africa; Orlando Olumide Odejide, a business architect, analyst, strategist, trainer and entre-preneur with over 12 years’ experience in the design and development of business strategy and execution who has built Global 4sight Van-tage (G4V) from an idea into a multimillion dollar per annum business employing more than 60 consultants.

He added that others ex-pected to make presentations at the programme include Abi-sola Longe, who has worked in two of the “top six” internation-al audit fi rms overseas and in Nigeria, an alumni of the Lon-don School of Economics and member, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and Frank Oyorhigho, MD/CEO Primex Background Check ltd, an expert consultant in due diligence.

Spiced-up Boom fruit drink hits the market

Boom, a ready to drink fruit beverage from the stables

of Acreage Food Company Lim-ited, has hit the market with a new and distinctive value-added quality.

The refreshing ready-to-drink series was recently re-introduced to the public at Acreage company premises in Otta, Ogun State.

According to Oladipo Bankole, the Chief Executive of Acreage Food Company, the re-branding was necessary to sat-isfy the taste of Boom’s ever-growing number of consumers. “Boom ready-to-drink has been in the market for a couple of years, however in keeping with our tradition of innovation and improving customer satisfac-tion, it has being rebranded to build on its existing track record,” he said.

He said that the company has been encouraged by the massive reception the product has received from different consumers across the country and promised that efforts were on to get it to every part of the country.

A distributor at the event, Fadele Brothers, expressed confi dence that any product from the stable of Boom is bound to take the market by storm while another distribu-tor, Monumental Agencies added that Boom has already established the image of a high quality refreshing drink.

Amos Ehigie, Managing Di-rector, Goshen Enterprise, Be-nin City urged the company to ensure continuous supplies, as this would enable distributors maintain a continuous push of the product while making more profi t.

In his remarks, Babatunde Mustapha, general sales manager of Acreage assured distributors and consumers of the company’s commitments to meeting their expectations.

He also outlined the mouth-watering incentives that the company has laid out for distributors with outstanding performance, stressing that those who meet their targets

Otunla, Accountant General of the Federation

Aina

Uzo Nduka, CEO of Domino Information Limited, answering questions from other CEOs.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.netMonday, August 26, 2013 A6 22 Business CourageCourage

would be adequately rewarded as promised.

Some of the distributors that took part in the company’s factory tour commended the company on the level of new investment.

Sunday Umor, a distributor commended the management and staff of the company for a job well done; noting that the taste, fl avour and quality of the drinks have been greatly improved upon.

FG/UNEP develop business plan for chemical mgt

The Federal Government, in collaboration with the

United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), has devel-oped a business plan for effec-tive management of chemicals in the country.

This is contained in a docu-ment obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) from the Federal Ministry of Envi-ronment in Abuja on Friday.

The document entitled “Business Plan on Prior-ity Needs to Enable Further Strengthening of the Legal and Institutional Infrastructures for Sound Management of Chemicals (SMC) in Nigeria for 2014-2018,’’ was developed to address pressing priority needs to enable further strengthening of the legal and institutional infrastructures for SMC in Nigeria.

“The plan was developed in line with the UNEP Legal and Institutional Infrastructures for Recovering Cost of National Administration (LIRA) guid-ance document in response to the commitment of the gov-ernment. It was developed for environmentally sound man-agement of chemicals, through a life cycle management ap-proach to chemicals and their waste in Nigeria.

“The plan recognises the Nigerian Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) imple-mentation plan, which signifi es Nigeria’s commitment towards sound management of chemi-cals (2011-2016) , that was endorsed in March 2011 by rel-evant national stakeholders.’’

The document stated that

the plan was designed for fi ve years implementation, com-mencing from 2014 to 2018, to achieve sound management of chemicals.

It stated that it was neces-sary to strengthen institutional capacity, build the capacity of professional offi cers and raise the level of understanding of the populace about risk of chemicals in order to reduce environmental pollution.

On evaluation mechanism, it said that the Federal Minis-try of Environment through its National Committee on Chemi-cals Management (NCCM) would play a coordinating role in implementing the plan.

“It will be implemented in cooperation with relevant min-istries, institutions and civil society organisation according to its mandates and responsi-bilities.

`The ministry will also play a coordination role in organis-ing technical meetings, con-clusion meetings on planning implementation, planning formulation, or project proposal development for implement-ing the works identifi ed in the plan.

“In order to review the ef-fectiveness and effi ciency of the plan implementation, the ministry and all stakehold-ers, especially the NCCM shall establish two main evaluation mechanisms. The fi rst evalua-tion is to do a mid-term evalu-ation that will be organised in the middle of year 2 or 3, while second evaluation is to do the total evaluation of the achieve-ments of the business plan implementation at the end of the programme,’’ it said.

The document stated that the second half of the 2013 should be the time for Nigeria to prepare the Business Plan (BP) and make it ready for implementation.

However, it said that the BP had proposed many activities but operational budget, other resources needed and the po-tential partners, were yet to be known.

In this case, it said that Nigeria faced two main tasks to be done to set the plan in motion; the approval of the BP by stakeholders and starting the funding drive to implement the plan.

“In summary, the goals and objectives in the plan and the specifi c activities and milestones, are unlikely to be achieved as scheduled, and this plan will likely be extended for another two or three years as necessary,’’ it added.

FG urged to use technology to drive national development

The Executive Director, Development Information

Network, Bankole Olubamise, has urged the Federal Govern-ment to explore advancements in technology as a means of en-hancing national development.

Olubamise who spoke in Lagos, said that the people and leaders must make effective use of technological advances to ensure successful and sus-tainable development.

“Technological literacy has to be emphasised in the schools and encouraged throughout the country. The effective use of technology means matching solutions in search of problems to problems in search of solutions; research laboratories must focus on the specifi c needs of the country. In developing countries, this means emphasising applied re-search and development, while maintaining a core of basic researchers who can follow and participate in global advances,” he said.

Olubamise said that in the industrialised countries, technological advancement in-cluded scientifi c, technological and social specialists, working together.

“Materials engineering needs to interact with biology, computer science with linguis-tics, medicine with sociology, and engineering with econom-ics and the law,” he said.

Olubamise said the concept of matching local solutions to local problems also applied to education and training, where important human issues must be fully addressed, to promote the successful transfer of tech-nology.

“Prepackaged knowledge for the use of technology is of little use in developing countries like Nigeria. To be absorbed, new knowledge must be grounded in what is already understood with technological concepts linked to local culture and knowledge,” he said.

Olubamise, however, reiter-ated that technology was not a package that could be bought off the shelf and become im-mediately productive; it is a cumulative process of learning. “The process of diffusion imple-mentation is greatly strength-ened if there is feedback from the users of technology to gen-erators of knowledge,” he said.

Olubamise further said that the nation’s education

system must allow students to develop a good understand-ing of the system, the ability to discuss and manipulate it, and envisioning its functions from many viewpoints.

“The use of tools for man-aging information complexity needs to become part of school-ing for an ever-increasing por-tion of the population.”

Olubamise urged the Fed-eral Government to prepare the populace by using education to get them to become conversant with advancements in techno-logical innovations.

“To prepare the populace to use technological advancement requires a combination of skills development, practise with complexity, and the develop-ment of adaptive problem-solv-ing capabilities,” he added.

PIB will attract investments, say expertsThe Group Executive Director, Exploration and Production of the Nigerian National Petro-leum Corporation, (NNPC), Abiye Membere, has said that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) would attract investments if passed.

Membere who stated this at the 2013 National Associa-tion of Energy Correspondents (NAEC) Conference held in Lagos said PIB would create a strong and independent regula-tor to develop and enforce all the rules in the oil and gas sec-tor when it becomes a law.

He added that the smooth sail of PIB would also create a commercial-oriented national oil company that would com-pete effectively with its peers.

“PIB will sustain the gains of Nigerian content develop-ment; promote local manu-facture and entrepreneurial development and in-country capacity and capability’’, Mem-bere said.

According to him, the PIB will also liberalise and deregu-late the midstream and down-stream sub-sectors of the oil and gas industry.

Ernest Nwapa, the Execu-tive Secretary, Nigerian Con-tent Development and Moni-toring Board (NCDMB), said local content had increased the

number of indigenous opera-tors in the country.

Nwapa said that the board had launched Expatriate Bio-metric Data Capture Scheme to monitor the number of expatri-ates in the oil and gas sector.

He held that the identifi ca-tion cards given to expatriates were to make sure that they did not use more than the time stipulated.

Tony Chukwueke, the Di-rector, Transcorp Energy Ltd., who was the Chairman of the conference, said the nation must move forward just as the oil and gas sector is moving.

Chukwueke said that if the country carried on with the present transformation wit-nessed in the power sector, the country would defi nitely move forward.

He said that if the PIB had been implemented before now, the country would have moved forward more positively.

Give adequate remuneration to construction workers to avoid material theft – Expert

A Deputy Director in the Federal Ministry of Works,

Godwin Eke, has advised con-tractors to adequately remu-nerate their workers to prevent theft of materials at project sites.

Eke, an engineer, who gave the advice in Lagos, regret-ted that theft of materials hampered early completion of projects and reduced the qual-ity of jobs.

He said that poverty made some workers to regularly steal construction materials. “Indigenous contractors and engineers are the worst hit by material theft because they do not have the means to check the trend.

“Some of these workers feel they are not well paid and re-sort to theft of materials. They steal the materials and sell them to make money. Anyone caught is usually sacked in-stantly and a new one recruit-ed, but after a while, the new worker starts doing the same thing,’’ he said.

The engineer, who is in charge of the Phase Two recon-struction of the Oshodi/Apapa Expressway, noted that some local contractors could not af-ford the technology needed to checkmate material thieves.

Eke said that the usu-ally stolen materials included blocks, cements and petroleum products.

He said that construction multinationals used trackers and other monitoring devices to check theft, and urged indig-enous contractors to invest in such technologies.

Hadiza Mailafi a, Minister of Environment

Ita Ewa, Minister Science & Technology

Membere

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The deputy director also advised indigenous contractors to educate their workers on the implications of stealing and urged prosecution of material thieves to serve as a deterrent to others.

Army gets gun-boats to fight oil theft in Niger Delta

The GOC, 82 Division, Nige-rian Army, Enugu, Maj.-

Gen. Adebayor Olaniyi, said on Friday in Calabar that the army had acquired gun-boats to fi ght oil theft in the Niger Delta region.

Olaniyi who stated this while inaugurating fi ve projects at the 13 Brigade Command, Calabar, said that oil was the major revenue source for the country and stressed the need to preserve it for economic growth of the country.

“Offi cers of the Nigerian Army are very alert on the wa-terways; if anybody is caught stealing the country’s oil, he or she will face the law no matter how highly placed the person may be,’’ he warned.

He expressed delight at the programme, adding that the commissioning of the projects in the command would en-hance operations and welfare of personnel.

The projects include mini-supermarket, warrant offi cers’

mess, lawn tennis court, colo-nial block and transit accom-modation.

He commended the com-mander of the brigade, Brig.-Gen. Okwudili Azinta, for the successful completion of the projects within six months after resuming offi ce.

“I am very happy to have the likes of Brig.-Gen. Azinta in my team, working with him in this capacity is highly appreci-ated,’’ he said.

He charged offi cers at the command to emulate Azinta with a view to adding their contribution and values toward the development of the com-mand.

Olaniyi later said that most of the structures renovated and commissioned were built in 1904 and charged the offi cers to exhibit good maintenance culture to sustain the projects.

Also speaking, Azinta expressed happiness at the projects, noting that the com-mander said the army needed such recreational facilities to keep fi t and strong for the job.

He charged offi cers of the command to make good use of the facilities provided them, adding that a good mainte-nance culture would help to sustain the projects.

The Security Adviser to Gov. Liyel Imoke of Cross River, Rekpene Bassey, said that the state was working closely with the military to ensure safety of residents, investors and tourists. “The state security

department is working closely with all the security agencies in the state to ensure protection of lives and property,’’ he said.

He commended the army authorities for executing the projects, noting that the army deserved such recreational facilities. “Everybody needs se-curity; we cannot do business without security, so there is need to work with the security agencies in the state to ensure adequate security of lives and property,’’ he said.

Nigeria needs quota policy to sustain women-owned businesses – IhamaBy Emmanuel Ogbonnaya

The need to enact a quota based policy that will help

sustain existing women owned businesses in the country as

well as create more opportuni-ties for employment and capac-ity building has been brought to the fore.

Speaking exclusively to Business Courage in her offi ce in Lagos, the immediate past president of the International Federation of Business and Professional Women in Nigeria (BPW) Tinuade Ihama, noted that such a policy will encour-age more women to go into business knowing that they stand a very good chance of survival.

“At least 40 per cent of business contracts should be earmarked for women owned businesses as a matter of policy as long as they have the capacity to perform competent-ly,” she said.

Ihama who is also the MD/CEO of Morvan Company Ltd, a construction sector operator noted that there were no spe-cial consideration for women businesses to win contract bids and this should not be the case in a men dominated society.

She hailed the on-going ef-forts by the commonwealth to support women owned busi-nesses and encouraged Nigeria to formulate similar policies that would buoy women enter-prise in the country.

“It is not enough for me to open an offi ce and I have noth-ing to do even with all the effort in this world put in. If you can compete and get government support, you are bound to succeed because they are not just only the best employers of labour but also of business,” she said.

She explained that such a protectionist policy would apart from enhancing competency among women would also cre-ate more job and wealth oppor-tunities in the country which is what the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan is all about.

She pointed out that in the past, focus had been on the empowerment of women but that today, emphasis has shift-ed to the role of the empowered woman in providing leadership for other women.

She said that there has been an improvement over the years in the level of attention being given to women in the country by the government which is evidenced by the ap-pointments of more women to sensitive positions in govern-ment. “I would say that this government more than any other government has tried to propel women into relevant public positions,” she said.

CBN’s withdrawal of govt funds from banks laudable – Dilkon

The Central Bank of Nige-ria’s withdrawal of 50 per

cent of government funds from commercial banks, is good for the economy, says Leon-ard Dilkon, former Chairman, House Committee on Finance.

Dilkon told newsmen in Jos that the step was ``very good’’ as commercial banks would now begin to invest in wealth and job yielding ventures that would stimulate growth.

Recalled that Deposit Mon-ey Banks had kicked against the policy, insisting that such

measure would ``spell doom for the economy’’.

The banks, in separate reactions, had argued that the step would raise interest rates and make lending very dif-fi cult.

But Dilkon, who is the Executive Chairman, Hamtul Press Ltd, a Jos-based large scale printing outfi t, argued that the banks had not helped the economy much as they “merely collect monies from lo-cal, state and Federal Govern-ments’’.

“The banks collect monies from all tiers of government and give them out on loan to the same governments. Such monies are deducted at sources with heavy interests. The banks do not support any business initiative; when you are building your business, the banks will not be there to support, but once you have established, they come for deposits.

“Banks hardly support small scale industrialists and may not even care if they ever existed. The commercial banks hardly seek out ways to help the society,’’ he claimed.

He suggested the with-drawal of ``up to 100 per cent of government monies from the commercial banks’’, adding that the commercial banks were ``exploiting depositors by collecting Commission On Turnover (COT),’’ even when they had no input on such turnovers.

He stated the banks could do more in addressing the problem of violence in most parts of Nigeria, by stimulating the economy.

“Most rioters are only idle and engage in such vices because of indolence; if you approach a bank to seek for a loan to start up a business so as to positively engage Boko Haram members, for instance, they will tell you it is bad investment. But if it is govern-ment money that should enter their hands, they tell you it is good business. Banks won’t support growth but will be quick to seek to reap from any economic growth,’’ he further alleged.

The law maker decried the quest for power by Nigerians, and challenged them to replace such attitude with a desire to

Road construction workers on duty

Nigerian Army new gun-boats

Ihama

Dilkon

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establish cottage industries to engage the youths.

“Northern leaders in par-ticular, must compete over cottage industries like their counterparts in the south west are doing. That is the only way to take our youths off the streets and make them assets to the society,’’ he said.

Dilkon also expressed dis-satisfaction with imposition of taxes on investors by govern-ment without any form of sup-port to such investors, warning that the nation might not move forward if investors were sim-ply left on their own.

He said that Hamtul Press, set up via a partnership with some German investors, cur-rently had close to 100 work-ers, and was targeting 3,000 jobs in the next two years.

NESREA urges attitudinal change to reduce environmental hazards

The National Environmental Standards and Regulations

Enforcement Agency (NES-REA), has called for attitudinal change on the part of the citi-zens, to reduce environmental abuses causing fl oods in the country.

Ngeri Benebo, the Director-General of the agency, made the call at a one-day sensitisa-tion workshop on fl ood and sanitation for stakeholders in Awka on Friday.

Benebo, represented by Larry Ineke, the Anambra Coordinator of the agency, said that it had embarked on general sensitisation of Nigeri-ans on the ignorance about the environment and wrong prior-ity given to it.

She said that the agency had carried out sensitisation to fl ood-prone communities, markets, schools, abattoirs and high profi le government offi cials to ensure some mea-sures to guide against another fl ood in the state.

‘’This exercise is apt be-cause of the recent prediction by the Nigeria Meteorological Agency that the nation will experience another fl ood this year.’’

The Director-General said that one of the best ways to achieve a better environment was through collaboration and partnership with all stakehold-ers.

‘’If you have respect for en-vironment, you will not abuse it with impunity. If you don’t abuse it you will get the best out of it,’’ Benebo said.

Meanwhile, Sebastine Okoye, the Commissioner for Environment, said that the state government would con-tinue to partner with NESREA and other such agencies to enlighten the people, to guard against abuse of the environ-ment.

He said that the govern-ment had established the Anambra State Waste Man-agement Authority, to ensure prompt evacuation of waste.

Commending NESREA, Okoye represented by Joseph Ibuzo, the Director of Envi-ronment and Ecology in the ministry said that the agency had done a lot on environmen-tal protection and monitoring in the state.

In his remark, Obi Enemo, the state Director, National Orientation Agency, com-mended NESREA for its efforts to achieve its mandate by enforcing the protection and improvement of environmental quality and public health in the state.

Dr Anthony Okoye in a pa-per titled: ‘’Waste Management and Sanitation in Anambra : The Role of Stakeholders,’’ noted that urbanisation trends and industrialisation in Africa had led to a rapid growth in the volume of waste generated.

According to him, the urban population is growing faster than urban authorities’ capac-ity for waste collection and disposal, a condition which, he said, had led to inadequate waste management.

NDIC’s report on bank fraud worrisome – ASSBIFI

The Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance

and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFI), has described as worrisome the level of bank

fraud as recently reported by the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (NDIC).

The National President of ASSBIFI, Olusoji Salako, said in Lagos that the report indi-cated that the level of fraud in banks was high.

The NDIC’s annual report and statement of accounts released on Tuesday said that bankers committed fraud amounting to N17.97 billion in 2012.

“This development calls for concern from every stakehold-er. We have the report, and we are considering the steps to take to prevent a reoccurrence in the future. In most cases, these bankers are mobilised by outsiders to commit fraud in the system. We are not going to sleep with this report; we will work on our members,” Salako said.

He said that the union would intensify education of its members on the dangers of allowing outsiders to use them for fraudulent purposes.

Salako said that fraud in the banking industry escalated due to reckless deposit mo-bilisation, casualisation and outsourcing of workers.

“Casualisation and out-sourcing are two key factors. If you employ a person on a ca-sual basis, and the person has to handle a lot of cash, yet, he or she is being paid peanuts, there will be the temptation to steal. Also, in the last decade, aggressive marketing came in and people with question-able characters were employed in the industry to source for deposits.

“Our fl anks have been opened by this practice, all safety measures thrown over-board, and all that the bank executives are concerned about is the amount of deposits brought in,” he said.

Salako said that the bank-ing sector might continue to record leakages and fraud until the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and management of banks take steps to curtail it.

He urged the CBN and management of banks to de-emphasise deposit mobilisation and engagement of contract staff and casual workers.

Kamson Olaniyan, the Gen-eral Secretary of the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employ-ees (NUBIFIE), said that none of the association’s members was fraudulent.

“None of us has been ac-cused of fraud. Junior staffs do not have access to facilities for money transfer and money laundering. It is the manage-ment staff that are involved, and some of them are being prosecuted as we speak, `` Olaniyan said.

He said that the CBN need-ed to urgently address out-sourcing of workers to reduce bank fraud.

Nigeria-South Africa trade council to be inaugurated – Aganga

The minister of industry, trade and investment has

revealed that the much awaited Nigeria-South Africa trade council would be inaugurated in September. The agreement to set up the council was one of the fallouts of the Nigerian trade delegation to South Af-rica earlier in May.

Aganga disclosed that the success of the delegation to South Africa is evidenced by a record 900 MOUs which was signed with the South African government as proof of Nige-ria’s commitment to fostering economic relationship between both countries.

The minister made the revelation in Lagos at a meet-ing with the Nigerian-South African Chamber of Commerce (NSACC). “One of the good things that came out of that conference was the agreement that we needed to set up a joint trade and investment council to facilitate trade and investment between the two countries. The idea is that this council would be inaugurated by September in South Africa, ahead of Presi-dent Zuma’s visit to Nigeria in November,” he said.

According to him inaugurat-ing the council ahead of Presi-dent Zuma’s visit was strategic to having something to pres-ent to both presidents on that occasion on work being done to foster economic cooperation between both countries.

Commending the Chambers for their role which culminated in the success recorded at the summit, he noted that there was also lack of awareness of some of the good things that were happening such as the existing intra-African invest-ments especially between both countries.

“South Africans are invest-ing in this country and Nigeri-ans are also investing in South Africa but we don’t shout enough about it to let people know,” he stressed.

He further enjoined them to continue working with the gov-ernment in order to create the

Benebo

sort of inclusive economy that both countries desires.

He pointed out that for Africa to live up to its full eco-nomic potential, the big econo-mies in the continent needed to come together. “You need South Africa which is today the number one economy in Africa and Nigeria which is number two to come together and take the lead to drive our continent forward,’ he said.

He stated that Africa cur-rently contributes 0.1 per cent of the manufacturing value added (MVA) because like Nigeria, South Africa for de-cades have pursued the wrong policies which is exporting raw materials and jobs.

“When you talk about the value and the supply chain, African countries would be found at the bottom end of that chain in terms of raw materials producers. That is what Africa has done for decades but that is what Nigeria is changing now under this administra-tion,” he said.

On the mandate of the Nige-ria-South Africa Trade Council, Aganga explained that it was agreed that the council will be assigned to focus on specifi c sectors of the economy, work-ing along the value chain to encourage intra-African trade and remove any impediment to trade and investment.

NAMB insists on guidelines for N200bn bailout

The Nigeria Association of Microfi nance Banks (NAMB)

says it will not forward any application which fails to meet the guidelines for sourcing the N220bn bailout fund for MSMEs.

The President of the as-sociation, Jethro Akun, said on Friday in Lagos that the association was determined to follow the guidelines strictly.

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sa-nusi recently launched the intervention fund for MSMEs - Micro, Small and Medium En-terprises.

The CBN gave NAMB the duty to disburse the fund to its members and members of MSME.

The Federal Government announced the bailout at the 7th MSMEs’ Conference/Entre-preneurship Awards ceremony in Abuja.

“We have sent an elec-tronic copy of the guidelines for disbursement of the funds to all our members. Microfi nance banks that are interested in participating have to apply based on those guidelines. The association will in turn forward the applications with our rec-ommendations to the appro-priate quarters for approval,” Akun said.Salako

Aganga

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Nasdaq trading halted by glitch

The Nasdaq exchange re-sumed trading Friday after-

noon, after an earlier suspen-sion for a “technical issue”.

Trading had been halted for around three hours, with the US exchange citing a problem distributing stock price quotes.

After resuming trading at 15:25 EST (20:25 GMT), the Nasdaq closed up one per cent to 3,102. Trading had been halted at 12:14 EST.

Trading on the other US exchanges was uninterrupted.

The Nasdaq is the second-largest stock exchange in the US, and the world’s largest electronic stock market. It is dominated by major tech stocks such as Apple and Face-book.

Nasdaq said that trades executed between 12:14:03 and 12:23:31 would stand. But trades between 12:23:31 and the resumption of trading would not stand, it said.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission said it wants to meet with Nasdaq fol-lowing the outage.

“Today’s interruption in trading, while resolved before the end of the day, was none-theless serious and should reinforce our collective commit-ment to addressing technologi-cal vulnerabilities of exchanges and other market participants,” SEC chairwoman Mary Jo White said.

Shares in the stock ex-change’s owner Nasdaq OMX Group - which themselves trade on the Nasdaq - fell over three per cent by the end of the day.

This is not the fi rst techni-cal glitch to affect recent US share trading. Last year, trad-ing was delayed in the much-anticipated debut of social network Facebook.

Nasdaq agreed to pay a $10m penalty to settle federal civil charges after regulators said its systems and deci-sions disrupted the fl oat, and it paid out a further $62m in reimbursements to investment fi rms that lost money because of the problems.

Its rival, the New York Stock Exchange, had similar prob-lems last year when a soft-ware glitch at market-maker Knight Capital caused huge

price swings in trading in 140 stocks. During Thursday’s sus-pension, Nasdaq advised fi rms to route their trades elsewhere.

UK GDP growth revised upwards to 0.7 per cent

Economic growth in the UK during the second quarter

of the year has been revised up to 0.7 per cent by the Offi ce for National Statistics (ONS).

The initial estimate, re-leased in July, suggested growth domestic product (GDP) - the UK’s economic output - had risen by 0.6 per cent from the previous quarter.

The ONS said the revision refl ected small upward adjust-ments to the estimated output of several industries.

The data also showed that export demand played a major role in driving growth. Com-pared with a year ago, GDP in the three months to June was 1.5 per cent higher.

The latest revision adds to evidence that the UK economic recovery may fi nally be gaining momentum after almost four years of stagnation since the 2008-09 recession ended.

The 0.7 per cent rate matches the pace recorded during the third quarter of 2012, when the economy was buoyed by the London Olym-pics, which was itself the fast-est growth rate since 2010.

However, the ONS cau-tioned that the current rate of economic growth was still well below the rate experienced dur-ing previous recoveries from recessions since 1945 - during which the economy has typi-cally enjoyed a short burst of growth as it caught up with its pre-recession level.

The revised data confi rmed that all four major sectors of the economy - services, indus-try, agriculture and construc-tion - had expanded during the three months to June.

However, only the service sector has grown steadily since the 2008-09 recession ended, while the UK’s manufacturing sector had previously contin-ued to contract.

The latest index of service sector activity, also published by the ONS on Friday, showed

output in the sector was 2.8 per cent higher in June than a year earlier, led by fi nancial services, and hotels and res-taurants.

The latest ONS release showed that exports playing a bigger role than expected in boosting growth.

Exports rose 3.6 per cent from the previous three months, helped by the weak pound and a bottoming-out of the eurozone economy, while imports increased 2.5 per cent, meaning that the country’s defi cit would have narrowed.

“The expenditure break-down was positive news,” said Philip Rush, economist and investment bank Nomura. “Consumption obviously fairly important to the recovery there but... the recovery in the second quarter wasn’t as reli-ant on consumption as we’d feared.”

Most economists agree that for the recovery to be sustained, the UK economy needs to rebalance away from the consumer spending that helped drive the boom in the last decade, with greater reli-ance on industry, investment and exports.

Investment spending by businesses rose 1.7 per cent - still a somewhat tepid rate during an economic recovery - while government spend-ing rose 0.9 per cent despite spending cuts in Whitehall.

Brazil unveils $60bn currency move

Brazil’s central bank has announced a $60bn plan

to prop up the value of the na-tional currency. It comes as the Brazilian real nears a fi ve-year low against the US dollar.

The real and other emerg-ing market currencies have fallen steadily over the last three months on speculation of higher US interest rates.

The central bank said it would spend $500m a day on Mondays to Thursdays and $1bn on Fridays buying reais in the currency markets.

The Monday-to-Thursday interventions will target cur-rency swap markets - fi nancial derivatives used by companies and investors to hedge their currency exposure - while on Fridays, the central bank will buy the national currency di-rectly in return for US dollars.

The interventions will run up until December.

“This shows the fi rm deter-mination of monetary authori-ties to keep the exchange rate from slipping further,” said Andre Perfeito, chief economist at Gradual Investments in Sao Paulo.

It is the fi rst time the cen-tral bank has pre-announced daily interventions in this way since 2002 - a time when mar-

kets were speculating over a possible Brazilian debt default, following the fi nancial collapse of neighbouring Argentina and with the imminent election of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The weaker currency is rais-ing the cost of imports, which in turn increases the cost of living for Brazilians and raises concern that infl ation could get out of control.

It could also put pressure on any Brazilians who have taken on large debts, particu-larly if the debts are denomi-nated in foreign currency.

Brazil and India have been at the brunt of the recent change in market sentiment, with the real down 16 per cent against the dollar since May.

Both countries benefi ted from infl ows of foreign money over recent years as investors and speculators have been able to borrow cheaply in the dollar.

That process now appears to be unwinding, as the long-term cost of borrowing rises on speculation that the US Federal Reserve is preparing to curtail its monetary stimulus programme, perhaps as soon as next month.

Another victim of the loss of market confi dence in emerging markets has been Indonesia, whose currency, the rupiah, has fallen to a four-year low.

Indonesia’s fi nance minister has announced measures to return the country to a trade surplus, including the lifting of restrictions on mineral exports and the imposition of taxes on imports of luxury cars and branded products.

Concerns over Brazil have been heightened by infl ation rising well above six per cent in recent months, and doubts about the central bank’s will-ingness and ability to contain it.

The country suffered from hyperinfl ation in the 1980s and 1990s, although price rises have remained in single digits ever since.

The central bank faces a diffi cult dilemma. The weak currency and rising infl ation would normally be tackled by higher interest rates.

However, the country’s economy has ground to a halt as Chinese demand for the country’s mineral exports has weakened.

German budget surplus jumps in first half of year

Offi cial fi gures show Ger-many’s budget surplus

rose to 0.6 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the fi rst half of the year, boosted by higher tax income.

The government pulled in 321.4bn euros in taxes, 3.8 per cent more than a year ago thanks to its steady employ-ment rate.

The German Federal Sta-tistical Offi ce, Destatis, said the surplus was 8.5bn euros (£7.3bn; $11.3bn) in the period between January and June.

The fi gure was higher than the surplus for the same period a year ago. For the whole of last year, Germany’s budget sur-plus was 0.2 per cent of GDP.

Budget surpluses are rare among European countries. Many have defi cits of more than 3% of GDP, despite an Europe-an Union limit of that level.

In a statement, Destatis said: “The budgets of central government, state govern-ments, local government and social security funds benefi ted from a generally good employ-ment situation and a stable

economic development in the fi rst half of 2013 compared with other European coun-tries.”

The agency also confi rmed a preliminary estimate of German GDP of 0.7 per cent growth in the second quarter, giving an annual growth rate of 0.9 per cent.

It said this was partly thanks to “weather-related catch-up effects following the unusually long and cold winter”.

Johannes Gareis, an econo-mist at Natixis, said he was expecting more modest expan-sion in the second half of 2013.

“For the rest of this year, we expect the German economy to continue to grow, albeit at a slower rate,” he said.

Holger Sandte, an econo-mist at Nordea, said: “The com-position of the growth is very good. It is being driven more strongly from within, which is good for Germany and the eurozone.

“It is also positive that fi rms are investing more in equip-ment and are not so hesitant anymore.”

White

Cameron, Britain Prime Minister

Dilma Rouseff, Brazil President

Merkel, German Vice Chancellor

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.netMonday, August 26, 2013A10 26 Business CourageCourage

For those that are fa-miliar with the city of Lagos, particularly the high-brow Victoria Is-

land part of the metropolis, the name Oyin Jolayemi will cer-tainly strike a chord. It is one of the major streets in Victoria Is-land, which plays host to head offi ces of some of the best big corporate organisations.

However, beyond being a popular street, Oyin Jolayemi is also the name of one of Ni-geria’s highly successful corpo-rate icons, who by dint of hard work, strong determination to excel, courage and uncommon zeal, broke loose from the chain of poverty and deprivation to attain the commanding height in his chosen career. This is this same man that the popu-lar Oyin Jolayemi Street was

His story is akin to that of a lame rising into fame. Sojourning to Lagos from Iludun Oro, Kwara State 60 years ago at the age of 19 and armed with nothing but a mix of educational disability and strong commitment to excel and break loose from the yoke of poverty; Oyin Jolayemi, founder of the Daily Need Group of Companies, is today not just an ordinary industrialist, he is an industrial icon, a quintessential entrepreneur whose story, no doubt, provides the motivational pull for aspiring entrepreneurs

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi named after.Born in 1940 at Iludun Oro

in Kwara State to the family of Pa Sangotoye Jolayemi, a man reputed as the custodian of curative services, with magical prowess and the ability to call fi re from the skies, Oyinlola, as he was then called, was the youngest of fi ve surviving chil-dren.

As a traditionalist himself, the elder Jolayemi, perhaps, forced by the circumstances that surrounded the loss of seven of his children decided to allow the remaining fi ve cer-tain privileges like freedom to worship whatever they chose. However, the freedom did not include being allowed to go to school as their father felt it was a ploy to lure them into Chris-tianity.

With the pursuit of aca-demic, shut out, the young Jolayemi settled for handcraft,

particularly, mat making. At in-fancy, those close to the Jolay-emi family say the young Oyin was a bit rascally; the attri-butes which Business Courage learnt earned him serious rep-rimand despite his closeness to his father as the last child.

However, as it later turned out, Oyin’s closeness to his fa-ther almost became a serious barrier to achieving his own ca-reer path as it took him so long to convince his father to free him to pursue a life-saving ad-venture outside his birth pace, Iludun Oro just like his broth-ers.

At a tender age of 19, the youthful Oyin Jolayemi left Ilu-dun Oro with nothing except determination to come to Lagos and make a meaning out of life.

When he arrived Lagos, Oyin started out as a shop boy sell-ing handkerchief and dusters on the streets of Lagos but sev-eral challenges along with the unfulfi lled promises of his boss to pay him a certain sum made him quit the apprenticeship. There and then, he decided to take the bull by the horn.

After he broke away from his boss, Oyin decided to put into practice, the little he had learnt

from his boss by selling the same items he had hawked on the streets of Lagos Island. As he progressed, he added to his stock, the sale of raincoat.

Interestingly, however, the young Jolayemi had at that stage, known the importance of education as he enrolled for adult education classes which he attended every evening after each day’s sales.

At the early stage of his en-trepreneurial endeavour, Jolay-emi was confronted with teeth-ing challenges that were strong enough to scare him away.

Shortly after he broke away

Jolayemi

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net Monday, August 26, 2013 A11 27Business CourageCourage

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from his boss and opted to sell his own handkerchiefs and dusters, Oyin was hit by fraud-sters who defrauded him of the entire handkerchiefs he hawked around the streets in Ikoyi.

As he later narrated, the fraudster had pretended to be a big customer requesting a large quantity of his wares. Oyin was asked to go and bring the rest items in his small shop to meet up with their demand.

Though young at that time, he was wise enough to know that bulk sales would afford him the opportunity of sub-stantial funds to increase his stock. But he was dead wrong.

“I thought he was serious. He told me he wanted to buy many. I ran back to my shop to bring all that I had, but only for him to order me in a way that I do not know to lie down in a gutter and start looking forward and praying. He warned me to just lie there and do not raise my head until the money came, but only for me to later raise my head with courage and the man was nowhere to be found again,” he recounted.

Despite this shortcoming, however, Oyin Jolayemi refused to cave in. He picked up his pieces and intensifi ed his drive in the handkerchief sale until he was eventually introduced to the sale of over-the-counter drugs by Folorunsho Akosile, who as at then, dealt in Patent Medicine.

This connection opened doors for him, leading to the establishment of Daily Needs Chemist, at Idumota Lagos, thus transforming him from a handkerchief seller to a patient medicine seller, the business that raised his profi le around Idumota and Ereko area of La-gos Island. Interestingly, it was that same line of business that ultimately unveiled the strong entrepreneurial spirit in Oyin Jolayemi and served as the pro-genitor of the later day group of companies.

After running the patent medicine business for some time and becoming very popu-lar around the Idumota/Ereko axis of the Lagos Island, Jo-layemi, in 1970 opened a shop known as Daily-Need Chemist located at 134 Nnamdi Azikiwe Street, Lagos Island.

Essentially, Daily-Need Chemist was the mustard seed that germinated and grew to be-come an oak tree which today is the Daily-Need Group, an in-digenous conglomerate which has now grown to include Daily Need Industries Limited, DNI Personal Products Ltd., Oyin Holdings Ltd., De Honey Inter-national Ventures, and Jolay-emi Nigeria Ltd, with turnover running into several billions.

After two years of trading under Daily Need Chemist, Jo-layemi ventured into manufac-turing of “Paulina,” a beauty cream somewhere in Surulere, Lagos. This was followed by the

production of Penicillin Oint-ment, the product that effec-tively launched him into full blown pharmaceutical produc-tion.

Today, Daily-Need Group has over ten quality and vi-brant brands under its port-folio. The company manufac-tures Biovit, syrup of Vitamin B Complex, which restores lost energy, reduces stress, replen-ishes the skin and enhances the well-being of the body sys-tem. Also, De-Deon’s, a syrup of Haemoglobin Vitamin B12 which restores lost energy, re-duces stress and enhances the well-being of the body system is another brand which has today become a must have for all fam-ilies especially patients in dire need of blood restoration.

Other pharmaceutical prod-ucts include Uniplex Cough Syrup, for effective treatment against irritating and chesty coughs, Matthew Worm Elixir for effective treatment against round worms as well as thread worms. Vilicin Balm is popu-larly known for fast relief from muscle aches and pains as well as ensuring fast and soothing relief from lumbago.

In the foods sector, the group’s Suppy, a beef seasoning cube, is today one of the house-hold brands which competes favourably well with its peers produced by foreign conglomer-ate in the country.

The company also manufac-tured one of the leading tooth pastes in the country way back in the 80s. Daily Need Flouride Toothpaste however, suddenly went underground but in 2008, like the mythical phoenix, the toothpaste practically rose from the dead and has since bounced back into strong reck-oning. The reformulated red gel toothpaste rose from the ashes of irrelevance to which its white fore bearer was confi ned sev-eral years ago, to return into the coveted Nigerian consumer market with fanfare.

Jolayemi was also into the banking sector, but his experi-ence in this area may have left sour taste in his mouth as his Victory Merchant Bank Lim-ited left the worst scar on him. The bank was among the list of distressed banks whose operat-ing licence was revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)in 1998 and was subsequently liq-uidated by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).

Indeed, the story of Oyin Jo-layemi can simply be described as the life of a village boy who came to Lagos with nothing at the tender age but with deter-mination, courage and focus in life became an industrial giant.

His walk into an industrial fulfi llment is quite an interest-ing one. Then, young Jolayemi would wake up every other morning on his 52, Balogun Street Lagos Island abode to take a view of many ships row-ing into the country, while he

hoped and prayed for his to come too.

Indeed, his rise from grass to grace is a story which many aspiring entrepreneurs should take a cue from. Despite not having formal education and getting seared at different points in his rise to the top of his game, Jolayemi persevered and today, he is on top of the game. He is a very successful industrialist with over three decades of ro-bust business experience.

His background notwith-standing, Jolayemi has earned himself respect in the business and fi nancial world and his lack of formal education as he so-journed on no longer count for a man who now holds a Honor-ary Degree in Business Admin-istration from Keshington Uni-versity (USA). His international exposures which have seen him traverse key industrial capitals in the world like the United Kingdom, USA, the Middle East and Far East has broadened his

exposure in industrial manage-ment.

Jolayemi himself admit that his desperate and dedicated spirit helped him climb the lad-der of success to the present stage, “I do not look down on the elders. I always run errands for them and when I came to La-gos, I started working as a shop boy running errands. Nobody taught me to save my income and by special grace of God, I knew by keeping my income, it will put in my hands the keys to wealth and greatness. There-fore, my principle was, if you want to have much, use little and save the rest.”

Jolayemi believes that what he was taught by his parents and what he learnt by himself were good but according to him, “it was not what mummy and daddy taught that matters. What makes me different in my life is the grace of the almighty God.”

The “handkerchief boy” as

Jolayemi is called by those close to him says his story is the “manifestation of God’s goodness” as he said “I tried to recollect the essence and event of my life, how God has brought me this far. I have also received a lot of help; I have received God’s help. I really do have a story as it is contained in this book ‘The Pursuits of destiny’ and I believe that many of us, especially the younger ones will have some lessons from it,” he said at the launch of his auto-biography.

Earnest Shonekan, himself a renowned industrialist and former Head of the Interim Na-tional Government described Jolayemi as a leading light, a kind of an industrialist who has shown way to others in the country.

According to him, Oyin Jo-layemi was not born with a golden or silver spoon in his mouth to have climbed the height of success in his chosen fi eld of business, and as such, his rise from nobody to a sta-tus of international recognition should serve as a lesson for younger Nigerians not to have an excuse to be poor.

The founder of the Daily Need Group is a fi rst class phi-lanthropist. Despite his tower-ing status, Jolayemi did not forget his cradle, particularly in the area of providing infra-structure support. Among oth-er things, Jolayemi was said to have singlehandedly repaired and tarred the road networks in his home town.

He had also at one time, donated Bronchoscopy equip-ment to the pediatric unit of Lagos University Teaching Hos-pital (LASUTH) for treatment of children with cases of foreign body injuries. Bronchoscopy is a technique utilised to visu-alise the inside of the airways for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. He also donated a complete laundry unit to the Massey Street Children Hospi-tal, Lagos.

The signifi cance of Jolay-emi’s donation to LASUTH was properly situated by Thoracic Cardiologist at the LASUTH; Dr. Bode Falashe who observed that while at least 500 children die from foreign body injuries in the United States of Ameri-ca, there is no accurate data in Nigeria as only very few of the patients are seen in the hospi-tal. Several lives have already been saved since the dona-tion of the equipment. “When a child’s airway is blocked by foreign bodies, it is not easy to remove like in adults due to the tiny size of the airway which may lead to complications and even death. Most times you fi nd ear rings, fi sh bones etc; these things block the lungs making it impossible for the children to breathe well. But with this equipment in place, it is easy to remove such foreign bodies,” Falashe noted.

Jolayemi

When I came to Lagos, I started working as a shop boy running errands. Nobody taught me to save my income and by special grace of God, I knew by keeping my income, it will put in my hands the keys to wealth and greatness. Therefore, my principle was, if you want to have much, use little and save the rest

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.netMonday, August 26, 2013 A12 28 Business CourageCourage

ThebuddingEntrepreneurs

Management Principles

By Biodun Alade

Martin Luther King Ju-nior had a dream that one day the black Amer-

icans will be treated as equal with other Americans; a period where they wouldn’t be discrimi-nated against or judged by the colours of their skin. The dream, many argued, was fulfi lled when the present President of the United States of America, Bar-rack Obama became president.

Similarly, John Fitzgerald “Jack” Kennedy also charged the citizens to think of what they can do for the country and not what the country can do for them. However, that is a submis-sion, many in Nigeria will fault. For many, it is not only a search of what the country can do for them but what they can milk from the country in the name of sharing the national cake.

However, a young entrepre-neur, Oluseun Onigbinde, had a dream of ensuring transparency and accountability in govern-ment through the effective use of available resources to meet the basic needs of the citizens and minimize wastage. He also saw the need to educate and inform the citizen about the country’s budget and how it affects every member of the society.

This led him to the establish-ment of BudgIT, a company ded-icated to the analysis of budget through creative use of govern-ment data by either presenting them in simple tweets, interac-tive format or infographic dis-plays. Onigbinde believes that equality and open access to gov-ernance is entrenched in democ-racy and its institutions and as such, budgetary information as a vital asset needs to be under-standable and accessible to all

The quest to make profit propels the establishment of most companies, but for Oluseun David Onigbinde, the quest to ensure prudence, accountability and optimization of available resources by the government remains the motivation that led him into his own brand of entrepreneurship. Oningbinde’s specialization is budget analysis and this he has done with some level of perfection, earning him the sobriquet “budget watchdog”

Nigerians. BudgIT offers mobile and on-

line solution to trigger discus-sions around the budget and take the budget beyond a news item to a focal point of debate among Nigerians. The company believes that in a democracy, ev-ery citizen has the right to know how his/her taxes are expended in the delivery of public infra-structure and services in order to enhance accountability and transparency in government ex-penditure.

“The whole idea is to make government more accountable, responsive, and transparent and provide effi cient services for people. The budget of a coun-try speaks volume of what the direction government activities will take. It is a guide to the in-come and expenditure of the government and by extension, the country because for every spending of government, there is an appropriation for it in the budget,” he said.

According to him, “When I began this, I also discovered that most citizens don’t have knowledge of the budget. So if you don’t have knowledge about how government spends money or plans policy, you will just be complaining that government has failed to do this or that in your areas but unknowingly to you, those things are not bud-geted for by government. So the whole idea is about budget com-munication and budget under-standing,” Oningbinde disclosed to Business Courage.

He argued that the ignorance of the populace about budget is affecting the public perception of governance as most Nigerians are unaware of the activities of the tiers and arms of govern-ment; and which of the tiers or

arms is to handle a particular project, thus making it diffi cult for the electorates to demand dividends of democracy from their leaders right from the grassroots level to the national level. And in order to pass the message across to the populace, putting into consideration the illiteracy level in the country, BudgIT uses common ICT tools which include the web, phones, sms, cartoons, printed text

among others. Starting the business like ev-

ery other one, had its challeng-es, especially with the fact that BudgIT started as a non-profi t business set-up but the money was not the major challenge. The idea of BudgIT was appreci-ated by a local organisation, Co-Creation Hub, which fi nanced it with 5, 000 pounds at the initial stage. However, the real chal-lenge was getting data as Onig-

binde argued; most government institutions are always unwilling to release data or information that will help in analysing the budget effectively.

Coupled with this, is the apa-thy from the citizenry who are of the opinion that having a com-prehensive knowledge of gov-ernment’s spending is of little benefi t to them. Most citizens, he said, care little about govern-ment budget or how it affects them. He submitted that most often, media releases of the Nige-rian budget only have the macro fi gures as the fi ner details that trickle down to the citizens such as neighbourhood projects are not fully explained, stressing that the maze of millions and bil-lions in the “thick” budget docu-ments tend to confuse and it is diffi cult to put in clear context, how public funds are actually spent.

The graduate of Electrical/Electronic Engineering also be-lieved the company needs more money to help it spread its mes-sage, though, he acknowledged that he is getting international sponsorship and support from individual who are more than happy to see Nigerians get in-volved in the way their resources are spent.

Recalling how his journey to BudgIT started, the 2012 Ashoka Fellow, who spent three and half years in an old generation bank told Business Courage that he was in his offi ce ruminating about what he can do to make a difference. “Then, an idea that I can do something about the budget of the country kept fl ick-ing through my mind. So, I made

Onigbinde

Small-business marketing management is based on a set of principles that encompass tasks from planning to ad creation and long-term maintenance. These principles vary in specifi cs and are determined by the industry and target audience you deal with. While a good deal of

small-business marketing management involves the creation of interest on the part of the consum-er, it also involves ad creation and day-to-day operation of the marketing strategy.

KnowledgeSmall-business marketing management requires a familiarity with specifi c target segments,

what these consumers want and how to best reach them. There must be an understanding about what the message should be and why, and what the short- and long-term goals of advertising are for the company. Market research, competitor analysis and industry experience all feed into the development of market expertise and all are essential to the success of the marketing strategy and the company as a whole.

OrganizationThe development of marketing plans is a key part of small-business marketing management.

Plans must address the marketing desires of each marketing partner or of the company itself and rely heavily on organization to manage the process. Plans outline the initiatives of each proposed campaign and state the cost to the customer versus the projected return on investment. Market-ing plans are a key part of setting the schedule, announcing the marketing goals for the year and developing relationships with marketing partners that can lead to partial or full funding of the advertisements created.

Principles of marketing management

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net Monday, August 26, 2013 A13 29Business CourageCourage

BC

ThebuddingEntrepreneursPersonal Finance

Common characteristics of successful entrepreneurs

little research to see if someone was doing something like it and discov-ered that there was only one person in Finland doing something similar. I conceptualize the idea and got the right support and mentoring from Co-creation hub. So, I am just like a steward and if I fail to do it, someone else will. I believe I am making my little contribution in my own way.”

Although Onigbinde got the sup-port of his father and Co-creation hub at the start, but the journey was tough, especially with an apprehen-sive mother who felt he was biting too much at an early age. His mother felt that he should spend more time in the bank, earn more money rather than jump into an uncertain future at the early stage of his life- to her; it was an expression of a dream too early.

“My father was supportive while my mother was apprehensive. She felt it might be too hasty and I should take my time before quit-ting the banking job but after few

months, she understood it. When I left it was tough but it was cour-age and the support I had from people that got me going. But with time, I realised that I was not mak-ing more money in the bank and more so with more money come more responsibilities. Through-out my stay in the bank, I was not promoted, so I needed to do some-thing that brings happiness and fulfi llment,” he said.

Onigbinde believes that hap-piness matters in whatever one chose to do in life and the need to stand out from the crowd and do something different, which he la-beled being “a drop-out”. “At some point in life, you need to be a drop-out; not that you leave school but chose a unique path different from the crowd. You need to fi nd your clear path in life, otherwise, you will continue to be in the crowd- doing what everybody is doing with little or no fulfi llment at all,” he added.

A winner of The Future Awards as well as the Nigeria Internet Group Prize for social entrepreneur-ship, Onigbinde argued that until one chose a defi nite path, it will be diffi cult to succeed as an entrepre-neur, stressing that there is a lot of competition in almost every human endeavour. He submitted that gone are the days that being a gradu-ate was a big deal but today, with the number of graduates annually, it will take an extra skill to get job for those seeking employment while it will also take the same extra to make a difference and stand out as an entrepreneur.

“The space for employment in the country is very small because there are limited jobs. You are a graduate, so what? Nobody will give you a job because you are a graduate but because you have an additional skill that will aid the development of the organisation or company. So you need to fi nd something different to do or some-thing trending that will give you the edge over your peers,” he said.

He recalled that it took him over three months in search of an infog-raphist to work with but could not fi nd one, until recently when he got someone that can be managed for the position. “This is something that has being trending for like fi ve years plus now and very few have acquired the skill. And you also need to be sincere with yourself, what if the job does not come, what are you going to do? You cannot af-ford to waste your years in higher institution of learning by looking for job; you can simply create your lit-tle space and maximize it,” he said.

He counseled on the need to stay focus on a particular idea, especial-ly for young entrepreneur, noting that doing ten things or pursuing ten ideas at a single time makes one end up doing little or nothing at all. He added that the ability to master an idea or skill makes one an authority in it.

“There is the need to have pas-sion for what you are doing and stay focus on it. More than ten ideas do cross my mind on a daily basis but I have chosen this. When you dedi-cate yourself to a particular idea and skill, you earn excellence in it, thus opening doors for you because nobody wants to associate with a shabby job,” he added.

Well, in less than two years, BudgIT has opened doors for him as he has been able to take his mes-sage to the government through the Minister for Information and Com-munications Technology, Omobola Johnson and her counterpart in the ministry of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, though, he ac-knowledged that it will take time to effect changes to the bureaucratic nature of governance in the coun-try. He has also been able to lecture close to one hundred thousand Ni-gerians and Non-Nigerians about the performance of the Nigeria bud-get.

However, BudgIT is not all about government alone. He also consults for organisations and companies in analysing their budgets and mining data just as he was doing during his days in the bank. BC

Onigbinde (standing) with the BudgIT team at work

Regardless of your defi nition of success, there are, oddly enough, a great number of common characteristics that are shared by successful

businesspeople. You can place a check beside each characteristic that you feel that you possess. This way, you can see how you stack up. Even if you don’t have all of these characteristics, don’t fret. Most can be learned with practice and by developing a winning attitude, especially if you set goals and apply yourself, through strategic planning, to reach those goals in incremental and measurable stages.

Do what you enjoyWhat you get out of your business in the form of

personal satisfaction, fi nancial gain, stability and enjoyment will be the sum of what you put into your business. So, if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, in all likelihood, it’s safe to assume that will be refl ected in the success of your business--or subsequent lack of success. In fact, if you don’t enjoy what you’re do-ing, chances are you won’t succeed.

Take what you do seriouslyYou cannot expect to be effective and successful

in business unless you truly believe in your business and in the goods and services that you sell. Far too many home business owners fail to take their own businesses seriously enough, getting easily side-tracked and not staying motivated and keeping their noses to the grindstone. They also fall prey to naysay-ers who don’t take them seriously because they don’t work from an offi ce building, offi ce park, storefront, or factory. Little do these skeptics, who rain on the home business owner’s parade, know is that the number of people working from home, and making very good annual incomes, has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years.

Plan everythingPlanning every aspect of your home business is

not only a must, but also builds habits that every home business owner should develop, implement, and maintain. The act of business planning is so im-portant because it requires you to analyse each busi-ness situation, research and compile data, and make conclusions based mainly on the facts as revealed through the research. Business planning also serves a second function, which is having your goals and how you will achieve them, on paper. You can use the plan that you create both as map to take you from point A to Z and as a yardstick to measure the success of each individual plan or segment within the plan.

Manage money wiselyThe lifeblood of any business enterprise is cash

fl ow. You need it to buy inventory, pay for services, promote and market your business, repair and re-place tools and equipment, and pay yourself so that you can continue to work. Therefore, all home busi-ness owners must become wise money managers to ensure that the cash keeps fl owing and the bills get paid.

Ask for the saleA home business entrepreneur must always re-

member that marketing, advertising, or promotional activities are completely worthless, regardless of how clever, expensive, or perfectly targeted they are, un-less one simple thing is accomplished--ask for the sale. This is not to say that being a great salesperson, advertising copywriting whiz or a public relations specialist isn’t a tremendous asset to your business. However, all of these skills will be for naught if you do not actively ask people to buy what you are selling.

To be continued

CreativitySince small businesses typically do not have the resources for the

mass campaigns that large corporations develop, creativity in adver-tising is an important principle. This is often the most interesting part of the marketing management process, since marketers will get to see their ideas slowly take shape and form tangible campaigns. The process often starts with a few ideas written on paper, followed by a meeting with graphic artists or outside creative companies. From here, a back and forth of ideas and proofs lead up to the fi nal result and distribution.

Effi ciencyOnce completed, each campaign initiative must be distributed.

Distribution involves the placement of ads in publications, the deliv-ery of recordings to TV and radio stations, the hiring of personnel to hand out fl iers, the arrangement of proofs for glossy magazines and so on. Small-business marketing distribution requires practical skill and both fi nancial and logistical effi ciency. Relationships must be built and channels developed that provide quick and easy access to your target market segments as well as short turnaround times when new campaigns and promotions hit the market.

Adaptability Small-business marketing management does not end with the

release of new campaigns. Continual oversight of the progress of each campaign and adjustment is often required. For example, if you notice that your fl ier promotion initiative is no longer bringing the re-sponse that it used to, further analysis may be in order. Once the rea-son for the decline is determined, the promotion can be altered and redistributed to the consumer, after which a second round of analy-sis will reveal whether you are on the right track or not. Constant maintenance and adaptation is a principle of marketing management necessary to the continued success of any small business. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.netMonday, August 26, 2013 A14 30 Business CourageCourage

Going by the calculations of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), if fully

embraced, the introduction of mobile money services is ex-pected to be a real tool for eco-nomic growth and development. As a matter of fact, the apex bank has never failed to tell its critics that mobile money would go a long way in providing basic fi nancial services as well as cre-ating payment access especially to Nigerians without bank ac-counts, as well as to help drive fi nancial inclusion in the coun-try.

Mobile money enables mon-etary transactions to be done on mobile phones through text messaging. Operations that can be carried out through the mobile money include money deposit, bill payment, funds transfer and withdrawal as well as payment for goods and ser-vices. It serves as an alternative way of storing money for both the banked and the unbanked.

In the wake of the introduc-tion of the cash-less policy in 2011, an Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access survey had revealed that about 63.5 per cent of Nigeria’s adult males and 76.8 per cent of adult fe-males are unbanked, while 78.8 per cent of the country’s rural populations are largely unbanked, thus creating en-thusiasm among industry ex-perts that with over 100 million active mobile subscribers, more unbanked can become banked through affordable, secure and

Despite its huge potential and efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other financial services institutions to promote mobile payment adoption in the country, a new survey shows that the money service is still struggling to get a footing. But stakeholders believe operators and banks have failed to clearly define the benefits customers can derive from using the service

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

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convenient mobile money solu-tions.

However, almost two years after and despite its huge po-tentials and efforts by the CBN and other fi nancial services institutions to promote mobile payment adoption in the coun-try, there are strong indications that the money service is still struggling to get a footing as majority of Nigerians still shun the mobile money services.

According to a recent survey conducted by the NOI Polls on the adoption of the mobile mon-ey services, while six in every 10 Nigerians (59 per cent) are not aware of mobile money services, only 13 per cent of those that are aware (49 per cent) of the

ns

services currently use it. Most importantly, of the 41 per cent citizens that are knowledgeable about mobile money services, only 13 per cent have adopted it, thus indicating a very low adoption rate.

NOI Polls is one of the world’s leading opinion research and knowledge management organ-isation, which provides timely and relevant information on people’s perspectives on a va-riety of socio-economic issues; the results are based on a na-tionwide telephone survey of randomly selected adults.

The poll conducted in the fi rst week of August was to ex-plore the current level of aware-ness of mobile money services

among Nigerians and to deter-mine the present rate of adop-tion and potential for the future.

According to the NOI results, an overwhelming majority (93 per cent) of those that use the service, operate their mobile money account in connection with their bank accounts, while all the mobile money service us-ers (13 per cent) are all banked showing little or no adoption of this service by the unbanked.

However, the report indicat-ed a positive experience by the users highlighting ease of use, security, cost saving and time saving as factors that enhance this experience as according to the survey, about seven in 10 (71 per cent) non-users say they would consider using mo-bile money services in the fu-ture.

Another key fi nding of the study indicated based on geo-political zones analysis, the South-South (54 per cent), South-West (46 per cent) and the North-Central (43 per cent) zones have the highest propor-tions of respondents who know of Mobile Money services. On the contrary, the North-East (70 per cent), South-East (64 per cent) and the North-West (63 per cent) zones account for the highest proportions of re-spondents not aware of the mo-bile services, among other fi nd-ings by NOI Poll.

As pointed out, the scheme might have suffered slow adop-tion by Nigerians as the li-censed operators of mobile money services have not made a signifi cant headway in the de-ployment of the services across the states.

To experts, the scheme has no doubt been facing other challenges which include low

awareness and adoption; lack of fi nance and basic infrastruc-ture; very few agents; and the exclusion of mobile operators from taking part in the execu-tion of the services.

For instance, according to the NOI survey, while majority of the users (86 per cent) had indicated ‘banks’ as their fi nan-cial service provider, it could be said that licensed banks have been mostly given the responsi-bility to establish the services in Nigeria. Relatively, only 12 per cent indicated ‘mobile money agents’ as their provider and one per cent indicated other sources.

However, industry stake-holders are quick to point out that if the mobile money service is to make any impact in the nearest future, one challenge that must be surmounted for the mobile money to have real impact on the unbanked popu-lation is inadequate agency net-work.

Obviously, it is no longer news that since the introduc-tion about two years ago, the emerging mobile money indus-try currently lacks the requi-site agent locations required to deepen the services’ penetra-tion across all nooks and cran-nies of the country.

With an estimated popula-tion of 167 million people and 25.4 million bank accounts, while a larger number of Nige-rians lack access to basic fi nan-cial services, out of over 50,000 mobile money agents estimated for the seamless success of the mobile service, currently, across the country, the opera-tors have only managed to en-gage about 3,000. But experts noted that if anything at all; the number must even be increased to 250,000 in the nearest fu-ture.

In the real sense of it, mo-bile money agents are like mini bank outlets where different services like utilities, remittanc-

Sanusi Lamido, CBN Governor

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net Monday, August 26, 2013 A15 31Business CourageCourage

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Printing from your ipad, iphone or ipod touch

with Esther Ozue(ozueesther@nationalmirroronline.net) 08059234648 (sms only)

BC

TechnotalkTechnotalk

With the evolving technology and the need to be mo-bile and productive in your respective businesses, you might not necessarily be at your desktop com-

puter when you realise the need to print a document. If you spend more of your time on your iOS devices like ipad and iphone, you can print wirelessly from your device remotely linked to your printer.

Printing from your ipad, iphone or ipod is really an amaz-ing experience although it depends on the printer you have, which essentially should be able to support Airprint technol-ogy.

AirPrint works wirelessly, so if your printer supports it and both the printer and iOS device are connected to the same network, you should see the printer icon show up on the iOS device when you select to printer from an applica-tion. To do this with the Apple applications such as Mail, Safari, Photos, and Maps, you tap the share button and then tap Print.

AirPrint works via Wi-Fi and the printer must be con-nected to the same Wi-Fi network as the iOS device. If no AirPrint printers are found, double check that the printer is turned on and that your iOS device is connected to the same Wi-Fi network that your printer is connected to. Also ensure that the printer is ready and doesn’t have any error display on the LCD screen or on your computer.

If your printer is not Airprint compatible, you can as well make your printer to work like an AirPrint printer by install-ing software on your computer which works effectively by taking printers connected via USB cable or the network and broadcasting them as AirPrint printers to iOS devices on the network.

Since the software is doing the magic, the PC would have to be running when you print from your iOS devices.

Software applications that can add AirPrint support to your regular printers are Handy Print, Fingerprint, and Net gear Genie.

HandyPrint is installed on only Mac computers, Finger-print can be installed on either Mac or Windows PCs while Netgear Genie is a network management software you can use with supported Netgear routers which helps you to man-age your home/small network in addition to providing the AirPrint functionality.

For mobile applications, they are software solutions you can install on your device to enable printing to printers, most of which support printing from iOS and Android de-vices like PrintMagic which allows users to print on the same network without installing software on your computer. You can print to any printer shared from your Mac computer via Printer Sharing or any printer available on your Windows PC once you have installed the software. It also offers the printer test for Print Magic application to check for printer compat-ibility before purchasing.

Print and Share also allows users to print to most Wi-Fi and network connected printers on the same network with-out installing software on your computer. After the software installations, users can print to any printer available on your Windows PC or Mac computer when on the same network or remotely via 3G, 4G, or the cloud. In addition to the printing functionality, the application includes many other Wi-Fi and cloud sharing features.

Epson iPrint allows users to scan and wirelessly print documents anywhere from your iOS devices if you have a supported Epson printer. Users can also check their print-er’s status and ink levels with this application. It supports online fi le services like Box, Dropbox and Evernote.

Finally, there are some useful applications that are Air-print ready like the Google Maps which print out maps and driving directions, Instapaper which gets a hard copy of an article or blog, Evernote , Safari which can print an entire web page using the action button at the top of the browser, and lastly iWork which can get paper versions of any key-note, pages, and numbers.

Stay connected always either in the offi ce or working remotely and enjoy the amazing benefi t of printing directly from your iOS devices.

es, Person 2 Person (P2P) pay-ment, and banking services can be conducted. Their major role in the mobile money ecosystem is to do cash in and cash out.

The Principal Associate, Mobile Money Africa, Emman-uel Okoegwale, affi rming this, noted that “The agency net-work that should make mobile money happen in Nigeria is not there now and this can affect the success of the mobile mon-ey system. In Nigeria today, we have less than 3,000 verifi able agents while in Kenya, there are 22,000 agents and 54,000 in Brazil. Mobile money operators will require adequate number of agents. If not, the unbanked people will not be able to access mobile money services.”

“If, for instance, I send mon-ey from my mobile money wallet to my cousin in Maiduguri and he cannot do ‘cash out’ due to the absence of an agent, then the whole essence of the mobile money system has been defeat-ed,” he added.

Sola Bickersteth, Director, One Network, an industry-focused organisation helping

to expand agent networks to 50,000 this year, says “The mo-bile money industry requires an estimated 250,000 or one agent per 3,000.

To Bickesteth, the industry has not done badly as “People’s responses have been very en-couraging. We have a long list of interested agents, who can’t wait for the approval process to commence. Being a mobile money agent is a potentially lucrative job, if one gets a good location and is serious with the business.”

He, however, explains that One Network will not rest on its oars in expanding agency net-work in the country.

Explaining that his organi-sation will be supporting the Nigerian Postal Service in put-ting together all the necessary Information Technology and infrastructure tools required to interconnect and manage 50,000 or more locations, Bick-ersteth added that One Network is working with all the neces-sary stakeholders such as mi-crofi nance and other banks, the National Directorate of Employ-

ment, CBN, associations and cooperatives, local and state governments to contribute to building the huge network.

The aim of this project, he says, is to create jobs in the country where unemployment is a major problem with no ad-equate solution in sight. “One Network plans to build a struc-tured and open nationwide net-work of 50,000 neighborhood agents that provide public ac-cess to citizens and fi nancial services through about 3,000 agent supervisor locations, such as post offi ces, microfi -nance and other bank branch-es,” he stressed.

Bickersteth, who discloses that 12 mobile money operators have signed an agreement with NIPOST, says that the One Net-work project will play a major role in creating employment for thousands of Nigerians as it es-tablishes agent locations across the country for the mobile mon-ey scheme.

According to him, creating more mobile money agent loca-tions will generate over 250,000 new jobs in the next three years. Some of the services that can be offered by a typical agent point are SIM card and public identity registration; ed-ucational services registration; government services registra-tion; mobile money and money transfer services; utility bill and tax payments as well as public and micro insurance services. Others are card issuance and collection; online business ser-vices; and information verifi ca-tion services, among others.

However, the CBN as well as the major stakeholders in the mobile money industry are of the belief that despite the hic-cups, the country’s cashless banking policy has continued to record growing acceptance, as there have been over 200 mo-bile money transactions worth N8 million done daily. These are specifi cally transactions from one mobile scheme wallet to another as well as from mo-bile scheme wallet to bank ac-counts.

It would be recalled that minister of communications technology, Omobola Johnson had noted that mobile money transactions is expected to hit N151 billion by 2015. Accord-ing to her, while total value of transactions on mobile money networks, currently stands at N228 million, the total vol-ume of non-store shopping increased from N62 billion in 2011 to N77.5 billion in 2012. Analysts say non-store shop-ping is largely been driven by the Internet.

Analysts believe that the constant growth of the formal retail sector in Nigeria, along with rising internet penetration in the country, has been driving the expansion of online retail-ing. According to Johnson, the fi gure for non- store shopping will increase to N658 billion by 2015.

Johnson

Okoegwale

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.netMonday, August 26, 2013 A16 32 Business CourageCourage

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Samsung deploys cutting-edge technology for Union BankStories by Kunle Azeez

A subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Company

Limited, a global leader in digital convergence technol-ogy, Samsung Electronics West Africa, has delivered a cutting-edge customer experience solutions for one of Nigeria’s commercial bank, Union Bank Plc.

The package, tagged Sam-sung “Bank of the Future (BOF)” Solution, was unveiled by Union Bank to a select audience at the Silverbird Galleria Union Bank Branch, in Lagos.

Samsung says the solu-tion has the potential to revolutionalise banking transactions, leveraging on contemporary technology.

The solution is an inter-active self-service solution that focuses on gaining an in-depth knowledge of the individual customers of the bank to meet their unique needs.

Bank of the Future solu-tion will ensure that custom-ers are well informed and better engaged whenever they come into the banking halls and are promptly attended to, living them with a unique customer experience that is deeply satisfying.

The new BOF design for Union Bank revolves around three core principles which include the banking space is designed to allow Union Bank personnel the opportunity to converse with customers readily in a variety of ways.

This, thus, provides op-portunity to the bank to facilitate relationship and enhance connection to the wider and signifi cant Union Bank network, and to en-hance the ease and effi ciency of the banking process.

Speaking at the launch of the solution, Managing Director, Samsung Electron-ics West Africa, Brovo Kim, said the Samsung solution will differentiate Union Bank from the rest and create a niche for the bank.

According to him, “Cus-

tomers coming into the bank-ing hall will be well informed about operations, and various products offerings in a way they will not easily forget.”

He also stated that Union Bank has identifi ed the need to create a new way of banking, with real focus on the cus-tomer, leveraging retail design principles and identifi ed oppor-tunities from new technologies.

BOF solution, he said, “Will enhance functional experience of banking and information gathering for the customer and accommodating a suite of con-temporary technology options designed to increase effi ciency and speed for the customer experience and turnaround time.”

Key components of the solu-tion includes Media All in One Kiosk; a single user electronic touch-screen information point. The content links the re-ality of the local branch service offer and spatial experience of the bank with the broader nationwide Union Bank media presence.

The content and the range of digital display material are animated and fi lmic and con-vey a sense of life, change and interest that is greater than purely static messages.

The kiosk engage customer in an intimate way rather than addressing them as though they were in a football stadi-um, customers could actually request for credit card, debit card, open a bank account and request for loan or consumer products.

It also includes the Sam-sung Video Wall; a combina-tion nine Units of Large Format Display UD46 screens that form a large screens display. The display continually runs Union Bank products and services ad while engaging customers; the large screen is made interactive by touch experience and also include facial scanning for analytical information and customized experience for every customer.

The Video Banking Zone is made up of Ativ web kiosk; a semi private space for the bank’s customers. This facil-ity which comprises Samsung Smart TV for 24/7 customer service with the bank’s help desk and Samsung Ativ tablet with web browser and printer which allows the customer to access bank and fi nance websites and to print out information giving them a real life experience of banking hall transaction round the clock.

Intel backs WTEC’s Technology Camp to develop Nigerian girls

A leading global chip makers, Intel Corporation, has sup-

ported the fi rst-ever technology camp for girls in Nigeria.

The camp, set up by the

Women’s Technology Empow-erment Centre, is a two-week technology education and mentoring programme de-signed to help girls develop an early interest in computers and other information technology.

Intel has over the years supported several girl-child ed-ucation initiatives investing in technology-based programmes in education and digital lit-eracy, and has championed the empowerment of women and girls, around the world.

Working together with its wide range of partners across Africa and the world, Intel has created and supported in-novative solutions to remove gender-based barriers to edu-cation and technology, and to build a fl ourishing future fi lled with opportunities for girls and women.

Speaking on the initiative, the Executive Director of the Women’s Technology Em-powerment Centre, Oreoluwa Somolu, explained that the technology camp examines a variety of strategies that en-able female students maximise their learning experiences and make them better equipped to pursue careers in technology.

“In the long term, we hope to achieve a signifi cant in-crease in the number of tech-nology literate Nigerian women that will ultimately deploy the knowledge they have for pro-ductive learning, professional and leadership activities.We also hope to increase the number of women creating and developing new technology and content,” she stated.

The camp has run consis-tently for fi ve years, throwing its doors open to secondary school students all over Nigeria and involving them in activi-ties such as graphic design, movie-making, web design and introduction to programming.

During the camp, the girls also participate in technology workshops and leadership ac-tivities for an all-round experi-ence.

On the partnership, Coun-try Manager, Intel, Olubunmi Ekundare, said, “Here at Intel, we believe that girls, when afforded the opportunity, can make more signifi cant impact around the globe through posi-tive leadership and impact in

and around their communities and indeed the world. These for us, are the beliefs that drive Intel’s programs to inspire and empower women and girls around the world.”

According to him, Intel be-lieves that access to education and technology must become a global, fundamental right for girls and women.

The company’s initiatives and wide network of partners, he added, has provided girls with the opportunities for quality education and personal growth through technology, scholarships, and community learning programs.

Speaking to the gathering on several initiatives by Intel to support young girls in pursu-ing a career along the fi elds of Science and Technology, the Marketing and Public Relations Manager, Intel West Africa, Adim Isiakpona, reinforced the company’s commitment to edu-cating and empowering girls.

“Here at Intel, we believe that access to technology education and its opportunities are the keys that will open the doors to profi table careers and an avenue for these girls to give back to their respective fi elds in Science and Technology.

“We have over the years championed initiatives such as Intel Learn, Intel Teach and Intel Easy Steps among others have provided girls and women with opportunities for quality education and personal growth.”

Ericsson leads in LTE Infrastructure deployment

Premier analyst and lead-ing worldwide Information

Technology research and advi-sory fi rm, Gartner, has named the global Information Technol-ogy infrastructure company, Ericsson as a leader in the Long Term Evolution industry globally.

Gartner, in its 2013 Magic Quadarnat Report, notes that Ericsson’s end-to-end offer-ing, footprint and professional services give a uniquely strong position to leverage Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) accounts, even as It

recognised that Ericsson powers nine of

top 10 LTE operators’ live networks.

The LTE leadership posi-tion by Ericsson, according to Gartner, is coming for the fourth year in a row.

Gartner evaluated end-to-end vendors of LTE equip-ment (radio and core) based on their ability to execute and completeness of vision in the LTE market.

Ericsson provides hetero-geneous network solutions with Wi-Fi integration for small cells, an end-to-end LTE offering with a large foot-print, Worldwide Code Divi-sion Multiple Access (CDMA) and CDMA, together with professional services.

Commenting on the report,

Vice President and Head of Product Area Radio, Erics-son, Thomas Noren, said, “We are pleased Gartner has recognized us as a leader in the LTE Magic Quadrant yet another year running. We believe this confi rms other independent measurements and leading operator reports that Ericsson has the best network performance in the industry.”

Speaking further, No-ren, said, “We are also the only vendor that has com-mercial Antenna Integrated Radio products, which deploy quickly and bring further radio coverage benefi ts that enable operators to provide higher speeds and handle more traffi c cost effectively. Ericsson will continue to show leadership in services; for example, we are the lead-ing vendor of VoLTE and LTE Broadcast.”

Ericsson is present in high traffi c markets, and of the top 10 LTE operators ranked by LTE subscriptions in May, 2013, Ericsson powers nine of these top 10 LTE operators’ live networks.

Ericsson is the prime driver of open standards and has had the most signifi cant impact on the LTE specifi ca-tions released to date.

Ericsson expects to hold 25 per cent of all essential patents for LTE, making it the largest patent holder in the industry. Ericsson is the industry leader in managed services, managing networks that serve over 800 million subscribers globally.

Kim

Somolu (right) in the camp with the girls

Noren

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net Monday, August 26, 2013 A17 33Business CourageCourage

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Scientists at the World Agroforest-ry Centre (ICRAF) have developed a new technique, called total X-

ray fl uorescence spectroscopy (TXRF), which saves time and cost for determin-ing the concentration of most major and trace elements in sub-saharan soils.

ICRAF and their partners adapted the technique which is commonly used in clinical, archeological, and other ap-plications so it can be used to determine the total chemical composition of the soils of sub-Saharan Africa.

According to them, this work also paves the way for the development of en-vironmental quality guidelines (EQGs) for tropical Africa soils, which would al-low better-informed land use planning since at present no such guidelines ex-ist for the soils of tropical Africa.

Erick Towett, a research analyst with ICRAF’s Land Health research pro-gramme and a member of the team that developed the technology noted that TXRF is simpler to use than convention-al chemistry analyses like ICP-MS.

“With TXRF, it takes just 13 minutes to do total soil chemical analysis on a sample, while ICP-MS analysis takes approximately one day per sample. The new TXRF protocol costs around $ 8-10

per sample, which is around ten times cheaper than ICP-MS. Moreover, soil samples from tropical African coun-tries have hitherto needed to be shipped abroad for total element analysis using ICP-MS, greatly raising expenses,” he

said.He was quick to add that calibration

measures have to be followed closely for soil analyses using TXRF and that for now, the technique cannot be used for all elements.

He pointed out that some elements, owing to interactions with the TXRF in-strument or with other elements found in soil samples, could not be measured with the new protocol. For instance, the element silver (Ag) could not be detect-ed; mercury escaped from the surface of the refl ector before it could be mea-sured; silicon returned a blank result against the quartz glass sample carri-ers; and cadmium and thallium could not be accurately analysed.

“TXRF is as accurate as ICP-MS for 11 key elements, including many that relate directly to soil fertility, such as aluminum, potassium, iron, zinc and copper,” he said.

He explained that the concentra-tion of nine other elements, including phosphorus and calcium, can also be determined with 60 per cent or higher accuracy relative to ICP-MS; these may be under- or overestimated by TXRF analyses as calibrated.

Despite these limitations, experts be-

lieve that the new procedure opens up many new possibilities for land health monitoring and land-use planning in Africa.

“This research marks a huge step in our progress in developing rapid tests to analyse soils. Soil health is the basis of agricultural productivity and it has im-plications for both human and animal health,” said Keith Shepherd, leader of Land Health research at ICRAF.

He noted that with an already strong demand on the continent for technolo-gies that use electromagnetic radiation for soil analysis (such as infrared, X-rays, and laser light) ICRAF has assist-ed with the establishment of infrared spectral diagnostic labs in 10 African countries, under the Africa Soil infor-mation Service project (AfSIS), funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa.

“With good quality data, environ-mental quality guidelines (EQGs) for soils in Africa can start to be developed. Reliable knowledge on soils can support agriculture in Africa, as well as human and animal health, particularly if the fi ndings are used to guide action and policies,” states Shepherd.

New technology crashes cost of soil testing in sub-Saharan AfricaBy Emmanuel Ogbonnaya

Ewa, Minister of Science Technology

When the news of a teenage boy that fl ew in the Arik Air with registration number, 5N-MJG

Flight 44 from Benin to Lagos, hiding in the tyre hole fi rst hit the airwaves, it ini-tially sounded like a farce.

As the story goes, the teenager identi-fi ed as Daniel Ihekina, allegedly beat the airline and airport security at the Benin Airport and sneaked into the tyre com-partment of a Lagos-bound Arik plane, where he fl ew safely to the Murtala Mu-hammed Airport, Lagos, on Saturday morning.

Curiously, passengers of the airline had noticed the stowaway boy as he ran towards the aircraft just as the plane makes fi nal turn, preparatory for take-off at the Benin Airport. Though the cabin crew was said to have alerted the pilot, who in turn allegedly contacted the control tower, nothing serious was done to prevent the situation until the plane got to Lagos and the stowaway emerged from the undercarriage to join fellow travellers.

Both the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the airline have con-tinued in the usual trend of blame game.

In a desperate attempt to extricate itself from the shameful and criminal breach, FAAN is blaming the manage-ment of Arik Air, saying that the airline

Refl ectionsRefl ections with Semiu Salami07043280449 sms only

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Arik Air, stowaway boy and airport securityacted with impunity by not stopping the aircraft to check when the crew and ground personnel’s attention was drawn to an abnormality on the tarmac.

FAAN, in a statement by its General Manager, Corporate Communications, Yakubu Dati, said that the procedure for such infraction was for the crew to abort the fl ight and return to the apron for check-up. “This is arrant display of impunity. The aircraft should not have taxied further, but return to the apron until a proper check is carried out on all parts of the aircraft. FAAN will not toler-ate such impunity henceforth from Arik or any airline. Any violation would be met with applicable sanctions,” he said.

Expectedly, Airik Air on its own is equally blaming FAAN for the huge breach in security, noting that the in-cessant cases of security breaches at the nation’s airport had become a major source of concern to the airline.

Arik’s Managing Director, Chris Ndu-lue in a statement, wondered how the teenager beat the aviation security per-sonnel at the Benin Airport to get to the runway.

Ndulue said that the pilot had report-ed to the control tower the presence of a strange boy in the bush about 200 – 300 metres at the end of runway before leav-ing the airport, stating that the control

tower had told its pilot that they were sending security men to the place to ar-rest the boy.

“As the captain was making his fi nal turn, preparatory for take-off, a cabin crew called his attention to the informa-tion by some of the passengers that they saw a boy running towards the airplane. The First Offi cer confi rmed that they had observed it earlier and alerted the control tower which responded that they had sent the patrol team to arrest the boy. The captain again reported to the control tower and was informed that the situation was under control and that he had been cleared for take-off.

“On arrival at the domestic wing of MMA, Lagos, a teenage boy, who appar-ently had sneaked into the aircraft main wheel well jumped out and was arrested by Arik personnel and handed over to FAAN security,” Ndulue said.

Sadly, this current incident was not the fi rst. In 2010, a desperate young Ni-gerian, Emeka Okechukwu Okeke, who tried to smuggle himself to the United States from the Murtala Mohammed In-ternational Airport, Lagos, died in the tyre compartment of a Delta Airlines air-craft and was only discovered on arrival in New York.

Last year, the dead body of a young Nigerian was also discovered in the un-

dercarriage compartment of a domestic airline, after it returned from South Af-rica.

Clearly, this situation, like those that preceded it are not only disturbing, it’s also a serious embarrassment and dent , particularly for a country that has been spending huge tax payers’ money on the aviation sector under the current leader-ship of Stella Oduiah.

In these days of serious security challenges, where serious minded na-tions place huge premium on security, such an irresponsible breach needs to be seriously investigated and appropri-ate sanction applied.

My main worry is the potential conse-quences of allowing situations like this to continue unabated and unchecked. What if the stowaway teenager was car-rying bomb? Has anyone ever stopped to imagine how calamitous the conse-quences would have been?

So, rather than shamelessly engage in a blame game, throwing tirades and tantrums, what is important is for those responsible for maintaining security at the ports to re-double their efforts and raise the stakes. We cannot afford to al-low cheer laxity and operational ineffi -ciency of a few turn our airports into an unsafe haven. The consequences could be so dire for us as a nation to bear.

BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.netMonday, August 26, 2013A18 34 Business CourageCourage

Behind d WheelsThis page is open to sponsorship

Luxury car buyers are a de-manding bunch. They’ve got this crazy notion that

just because they’re spending the better part of a hundred grand on a top-tier luxury se-dan, they should get the very best and the cutting edge of what the industry has to of-fer. That has tended to come down to the S-Class even when it had grown long in the tooth, and now that Mercedes-Benz has rolled out an all-new ver-sion, the competition is falling all over itself to release updates to keep their fl agship sedans in the running. Jaguar did that just last Tuesday with its XJ se-dan and a day after, Audi has revealed the latest revisions to its A8 range.

Set to debut at the Frankfurt show in just a few weeks from now, the latest A8 (and its per-formance version, the S8) ben-efi ts from a series of stylistic, powertrain, and technology up-grades. Among the most promi-nent, of all things, are the new Matrix LED headlights that can automatically lower the high-beams for oncoming vehicles, with integrated turn signals that light up to point in the direction the driver’s about to turn. But that’s hardly the end of the story.

2015 Audi S8 has appar-ently reduced the output on the 3.0-litre supercharged V6 to from 328 horsepower to 310 but raised the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 from 414 hp to 435, which now offers a 0-60 run of just 4.5 seconds.

While the size of the standard model remains unchanged, Audi has added an extra fi ve inches to the A8 L, and upgrad-ed the interior with new trim options. The expanding suite of

With systematic lightweight construction, excellent comfort and a broad portfolio of high-end technologies, Audi has given its flagship, the A8, a wide-sweeping update. The engines are even more powerful and efficient, while new assistance systems and the innovative Matrix LED headlights provide for an added level of composure

t and

s

electronic nannies includes new active lane and parking assist systems, a new head-up display and night vision system that can recognize larger animals as well as humans. Buyers will be able to choose from new colour options, wheels up to 21 inches in diameter and even carbon-ceramic brakes for eight- and twelve-cylinder models.

The updated A8 hits German dealers in November following its debut at the Frankfurt show next month.

The new A8 places Audi among the innovation leaders in the luxury segment. One great strength of the big sedan is its lightweight construction. The Audi A8 3.0 TFSI with the normal wheelbase has a curb weight of just 1,830 kilograms (4,034.46 lb) – best-in-class for models with all-wheel drive. The body is made almost entire-ly of aluminum; an Audi Space Frame (ASF) design, it weighs just 231 kilograms (509.27 lb).

The dynamic design of the big sedan has become even more expressive. The engine hood, the Single frame grille and the front bumper are even more sculptured; the lower edge of the headlight units is straight. In the German market, LED headlights are standard in all models with a V8 engine. Audi also offers optional headlights featuring Matrix LED technolo-gy, which sets new benchmarks with respect to design and tech-nology. With these headlights, the high-beam comprises 25 individual light-emitting diodes per unit that can be switched on and off or dimmed individu-ally depending on the situation.

This enables the headlight system to react extremely pre-cisely to other vehicles while

always brightly illuminating the road. Additional features of the new headlights are the in-telligent cornering light, new-look daytime running lights and dynamic turn signals. The lighting system in the A8 uses predictive route data from the navigation system to adjust the distribution of light in re-sponse to the current driving situation. In combination with the optional Navigation plus with MMI touch, the system recognizes route data con-tained in the navigation sys-tem, such as curves and road classifi cations.

The LED lamps at the rear of the new Audi A8 have also become fl atter. In all models except the S8, the redesigned bumper houses two rhomboid tailpipes. New chrome strips and high-gloss black window frames round out the differen-tiating design details. There is a choice of twelve colors, in-cluding fi ve new ones. Wheels are available in sizes up to 21

inches. The powertrain: More power

and effi ciencyAudi offer the A8 on the Ger-

man market with two gasoline and two diesel engines. These are the supercharged 3.0 TFSI with 228 kW (310 hp), the V8 twin-turbo 4.0 TFSI with 320 kW (435 hp), the highly effi cient 3.0 TDI clean diesel with 190 kW (258 hp) and the extremely high-torque 4.2 TDI clean die-sel, which produces 283 kW (385 hp) and 850 Nm (626.93 lb-ft).

Performance has increased with most engines. When paired with quattro all-wheel drive, the 4.0 TFSI now accelerates the A8 from 0 to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in 4.5 seconds. Under partial load, the Audi cylinder on demand (COD) system de-activates four of the eight cyl-inders. The most effi cient en-gine is the 3.0 TDI clean diesel, which consumes just 5.9 litres of diesel per 100 kilometers

(39.87 US mpg), which corre-sponds to 155 grams CO2 per kilometer (249.45 g/mile) All engines satisfy the Euro 6 stan-dard. Friction-reducing mea-sures reduce consumption by as much as 10 percent.

These variants are joined by three additional models. The top-of-the-line model is the luxuriously equipped Audi A8 L W12 quattro. Its gasoline en-gine is particularly short and lightweight thanks to its W layout. Displacing 6.3 litres, it produces 368 kW (500 hp). It also boasts best-in-class fuel consumption of 11.7 litres per 100 kilometers (20.10 US mpg), corresponding to 270 grams CO2 per kilometer (434.52 g/mile). It also has a COD system that was designed specifi cally for it. At low load, it deactivates the fuel injection and ignition for six cylinders. The available Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) ensures excellent acoustic com-fort.

With 380 kW (520 hp), the

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net Monday, August 26, 2013 A19 35Business CourageCourage

Behind d Wheels

AutocareThis page is open to sponsorship

BC

Signs of transmission trouble (3)

BC

The scan tool will display a code that corresponds to the area of the vehicle causing the fault. If the code tells you there’s a transmission problem, well, that’s a good time

to see your mechanic.But even if your check engine light isn’t on, you can still be

on the lookout for transmission problems. On the next page, see what type of movements your car can make when the transmission requires service.

Grinding or shaking Depending on whether you have a manual or automatic

transmission, your car may respond differently when your transmission isn’t working correctly. As noted in a previous section, with a manual transmission, a common sign of trouble is a grinding sound or feeling when you shift into a new gear. If you fully engage the clutch, shift and then hear a grinding sound, you may have a worn clutch or you may just need to have it adjusted [source: AAMCO]. Or perhaps one or more of your transmission’s gear synchronizers, or synchros, is worn out or damaged. Grinding gears can be caused by a number of different factors.

For automatic transmissions problems, you’ll most likely feel the car shimmy into each gear rather than the typical almost unnoticeable shifts, or the transmission will make a jarring transition into the next gear. Both are signs that your transmission needs attention. If you notice anything other than a smooth transition between gears, then you might need to have your automatic transmission looked at for adjustments or repair.

But feeling transmission problems aren’t the only way to use your senses.

Whining, clunking and hummingIt’s diffi cult to nail down exactly how your car may sound

if there’s transmission trouble, but one thing’s pretty certain, you’ll probably get a that-doesn’t-sound-right feeling when you hear it. Every car is built differently, so the sounds they pro-duce can vary greatly, but if you have an automatic transmis-sion, there’s a good chance you may hear a whining, humming or even a slight buzzing sound.

With manual transmissions, the sounds will usually come across as a bit more abrupt and mechanical sounding. If you shift gears and hear a clunking sound, then you defi nitely need to have it checked out by a professional [source: AAMCO]. But a clunking sound from underneath your vehicle may not always point to a transmission problem. Your constant velocity joints (CV joints), or even your differential may be the culprit.

The sounds you hear may happen from time to time at fi rst, but if you neglect the noises, they’ll occur more frequently as time goes on.

Lack of responseTransmissions are designed to go into the correct gear every

time, so when they hesitate or refuse to go, it’s a sure sign there’s something wrong. With manual transmission problems, you may notice after shifting into a gear that the car’s engine will rev up, but the car won’t be moving as quickly as the engine is running. In this case, a worn-out clutch or more seri-ous transmission problem may be occurring.

Automatic transmissions have the same lack-of-response problem, but will usually manifest the issue while engaging the “Park” or “Drive” selection. The car should shift quickly into either of these modes, but if your transmission hesitates to go into either one, then it’s likely there’s an issue with the trans-mission.

S8 is Audi’s big sports sedan. Paired with quattro all-wheel drive, its sonorous 4.0 TFSI ac-celerates the S8 from 0 to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) in 4.2 sec-onds. Average fuel consumption for the S8 is just 10.1 litres per 100 kilometers (23.29 US mpg), corresponding to 235 grams CO2 per kilometer (378.20 g/mile). The COD system plays a key role here, too. Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), a technol-ogy that is also used in the A8 4.0 TFSI quattro, the A8 L W12 quattro and the A8 hybrid, uses precise antiphase noise to com-pensate for intrusive noise in the cabin while operating on four cylinders while active en-gine mounts dampen vibration. The chassis and many body de-tails refl ect the sporty position-ing of the S8.

The Audi A8 hybrid com-bines a 2.0 TFSI and electric motor to produce a system output of 180 kW (245 hp) and system torque of 480 Nm (354.03 lb-ft). The engine’s power fl ows to the front wheels via a modifi ed tiptronic. The lithium-ion battery in the rear enables purely electric driving at up to 100 km/h (62.14 mph) with a range of roughly three kilometers (1.86 miles). The A8 hybrid consumes on average just 6.3 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (147 grams CO2 per kilometer .

The new A8 comes stan-dard with a fast and smooth-shifting, eight-speed tiptronic. The electronically controlled automatic transmission is paired with quattro perma-nent all-wheel drive. Audi also offers an optional sport differ-ential for the rear axle, which distributes the power between

the rear wheels as needed. The sport differential is standard in the S8 and the A8 4.2 TDI clean diesel quattro.

The sedan owes its sporty character in large part to the sophisticated chassis. The Audi drive select system, which var-ies the function of various tech-nology modules, is standard. It also controls the adaptive air suspension with adaptive damping. Audi offers the air suspension with a sporty setup upon request. The power steer-ing uses an effi cient electrome-chanical drive. Dynamic steer-ing, which varies boost as a function of the speed driven, is available as an option. Carbon fi ber ceramic brake discs are available for V8 models and the A8 L W12 quattro.

Another option is for 9 J x 20 aluminum-technology wheels which are based on forged sup-port wheels. A special process joins the support wheel to a ten-spoke design element of high-strength polymer.

The interior designThe interior of the Audi fl ag-

ship dazzles with its elegant lines and generous spacious-ness. Options for the front seats include ventilation and massage. Electrically adjust-able, individual rear seats are available as an option for the A8 and the A8 L. The A8 L is also available with a continuous, leather-covered centre console. The fi rst-class solution here is the relaxation seat with power footrest. A large number of ad-ditional features are also avail-able, from four-zone automatic air conditioning and power-as-sisted closing to a cooler.

All components in the new

A8 have been carefully cho-sen and processed with the utmost precision. Each of the lovingly executed details docu-ments the hand-built character of the interior. A new range of choices for seat coverings, in-lays and colors is available in many areas. New additions in-clude the woods Fine grain pop-lar brown-silver and Fine grain ash brown-gold natural as well as the leather Unikat, which is particularly natural-looking, soft and breathable.

The Audi design selection offers a pre-selection of exclu-sive materials and colors for the interior, including sycamore gray/marble gray. The design selection black/vermont brown with Carbon twill copper inlays is available for the Audi S8. The Audi exclusive range offers ad-ditional individualization op-tions for particularly discerning customers.

As is typical for Audi, the new A8 features exemplar-ily clear controls despite the abundance of functions. Taking center stage is the MMI control element on the tunnel’s center console. MMI navigation plus also includes a touchpad. The driver draws characters on the pad (MMI touch) to control nu-merous navigation and multi-media functions.

Driving assistDriving is even more com-

posed with the optional assis-tance systems. The adaptive cruise control with Stop & Go function is coupled with an ex-panded version of the standard Audi pre sense basic safety sys-tem. The same applies to Audi side assist. New in the A8 are Audi active lane assist, which makes slight steering adjust-ments when necessary, and the park assist system with 360° display, which handles steer-ing when parking. The head-up display, which is also new, projects important data in the driver’s fi eld of vision on the windshield. The night vision as-sistant can now also recognize larger animals in addition to pe-destrians.

Audi connect including car phone is available as a supple-ment to MMI navigation plus. It uses an integrated UMTS mod-ule to connect the new A8 to the Internet. Passengers can surf and e-mail freely via a WLAN hotspot. For the driver, the sys-tem delivers the tailored online services from Audi connect to the car, such as online traf-fi c information, Google Earth, Google Street View and online news. The multimedia highlight is the Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System. The Rear Seat Entertainment system includes two displays, Bluetooth head-phones and a DVD player.

BC

Paradigm shift in power sector

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.netMonday, August 26, 2013 A20 36 Business CourageCourage

BC

At long last, the Federal Govern-ment’s power sector privatisation programme entered a watershed

moment with the largely successful sale of 10 distribution companies and fi ve generation companies to private inves-tors.

The entire process, complex as it was, had the stamp of legitimacy with credible individuals at the driver’s seat and gener-ated enough confi dence within the fi nan-cial services industry to enable the banks fund the acquisitions.

With just one of the 14 bidders fail-ing to meet the August 21 deadline and another making a substantial part pay-ment, Nigeria has clearly broken the jinx associated with attempt to privatise large public utilities such as NITEL

I will not hesitate to give kudos to the government for sticking by the payment deadline even in the face of threats by the bidders to withhold the 75 per cent bid price balance unless the labour unions were paid in fulfi lment of one of the con-ditions precedent o the conclusion of the sale which is the power company will be handed over free from liabilities.

Now that government has more than enough money to complete the payment of the severance benefi ts of the 40,000 odd workers of the defunct Power Hold-ing Company of Nigeria, it should do so with dispatch.

However, the question that arises af-ter the privatisation is: What next? One really hopes that while the new owners have been given the authority to take over the fi rms, the transition will be smooth at the management level and that they will enjoy the full cooperation of the PHCN managers.

Again, the new owners had raised some issues at a stakeholders meeting held shortly before the payment deadline that will also need to be addressed.

These include the Transition Electric-ity Market, TEM, which they said would herald the start of contractual arrange-ments in the power sector and the auto-mation of billing and metering operations of the market operator in line with mar-ket rules.

The investors had also noted that con-ditions precedent that were yet to be ful-fi lled include the completion of metering of the grid interface points; testing of the market operators settlement systems and processes and constitution of dispute resolution panel without which the Nige-rian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, could not advise the Minister of Power to declare the start of TEM.

They also pointed out that industry agreements, including power purchase agreements, vesting contracts and trans-mission network agreements, which un-derpinned industry revenue, would be deemed illegal and a nullity until the dec-

laration was made by the minister.Of serious concern was the issue of

revenues as the investors said DISCOs were operating at a loss and buyers would quickly deploy their respective turnaround plans, but a cost refl ective tariff, which guarantees regulated return and covers all industry payments, was not yet producing the desired results due to systemic and structural problems.

This means that if the DISCOs were unable to cover the cost of the energy delivered by the bulk trader, the Trans-mission Company of Nigeria, TCN, and the generation companies, would be adversely affected. They called for the release of the subsidy contained in the Multi-Year Tariff Order, MYTO, model for each DISCO.

Other demands include adequate funding of the TCN to enable it to ad-equately evacuate power produced for DISCOs as well as the grant of fi ve to 10 years special tax holidays for electricity.

While most of these observations are genuine, I will not support any subsidy or tax holiday for the investor, who were assumed to have done their homework before putting down their money. If they were building new facilities on the prompting of the government, this could apply. The electricity market is huge in Nigeria with all citizens underserved at the moment. They will make their money in no time with the right strategies and investments.

For me, the most important aspect of this milestone is the potential transfor-mational effect on the economy. Avail-ability of power will easily translate into lower cost for businesses and more job creation opportunities as Nigerian goods become more competitive in the local international market. It will reduce the billions spent on diesel and petrol for generators. Small business without ca-pacity to absorb and spread costs will thrive.

Of course this will not happen over-night as the new investors themselves go through the learning curve, especially those who bought the discos, where they will face serious challenges in reforming the system.

But what Nigerians expect is simple. Effi cient power delivery at reasonable cost.

To complement the power sector pri-vatisation effort and end the absurdity of an oil and gas nation importing fuel is the privatisation of the refi neries. Gov-ernment needs to get out of that space now.

If President Goodluck Jonathan is worried about his legacy, resolving the power sector crises and construction of a nationwide rail network are just about enough to put his name on the brighter side of history.

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) says that the in-creasing cases of building ma-

terial failure, which leads to rampant collapse of buildings with the atten-dant loss of lives negatively affects the international acceptability of every other made in Nigeria good.

Director General of the organi-sation, Dr. Joseph Odumodu, who spoke at a one-day sensitisation workshop on the sandcrete sub-sec-tor of the building sector organised by the organisation in Lagos, observed that any time a building material fails durability or safety tests, it leaves a question mark on all the relevant stakeholders concerned.

He also said that any time a build-ing collapses, it raises a lot of ques-tions, casts aspersions on the sin-cerity and capability of regulatory agencies particularly and the repu-tation of government at the various levels, which the government and its relevant agencies are longer relevant to tolerate.

According to him, such incidences, which also account for the increas-ing cases of collapse of buildings that have continued to affect the interna-tional acceptability of Nigerian-made products.

While describing this development as rather unfortunate which, the SON intervention policies have been fi ght-ing doggedly, he also assured that the organisation will continue to fi ght this trend relentlessly.

Such interventions have over the years come in the form of sen-sitisaiton programmes, stakeholder meetings, factory visits or closures where found to be complicit in the manufacture, warehousing or sale of substandard products and even col-laborations with willing organisations and associations.

According to him, the decision of the organisation to put such policy interventions in place was informed by the importance of materials qual-ity in the building construction sector generally and sancrete products par-ticularly.

“In other words, material handling is very crucial matter in construction activities. Safety of lives depend on it; safety of investments, credibility of nation’s, agencies, organisations and companies depend on it”, he asserted.

He also said: “This tells us that we need to properly evaluate the value we attach to materials deployed in our construction activities. It means that at all levels; we must ensure that our products and procedures follow laid down rules and regulations”.

He also observed that the govern-ment has played its part in ensuring safety of lives by putting in place rules and regulations and by establishing manufacturing procedures and build-

ing rules and laws.The SON-boss insisted that all

stakeholders must abide by these rules and regulations in order to se-cure lives and also save resources.

“In the building industry, proper handling of materials and compliance with guiding codes and standards play important roles; they guard against liabilities of all kinds includ-ing loss of money and lives. These of course are obvious facts but I thought I should refresh our minds about them. They are the reason we are do-ing what we are doing today, to help refresh our minds, and also sound a note of warning to all those who may have been short-changing the system deliberately”, he had warned.

It was however gathered that the organisation is partnering stakehold-ers in the sandcrete industry in order to carry them along in its proposed sanitisation of the sector so as not to allow anyone to be caught un-awares by the reforms, as well as to train most of the operators, who are though already organised, but still suffers from a lack of requisite skills.

Meanwhile, General Manager of the Lagos Building Maerial Control Agency, Abimbola Animasaun, who also spoke at the event, warned the stakeholders that the state govern-ment would come hard on producers of substandard materials.

According to her, most of the col-lapsed building cases recorded in the state, especially the three recorded in the last one month, which led to the death of 15 people is either new-ly built houses or those under con-struction.

“The Lagos State Government is very worried over the increasing cas-es of building collapse. It is not that buildings do not collapse elsewhere in the world, but it has become a case of one too many in Lagos”, she said.

She however thanked the man-agement of SON for bringing together different stakeholders in the building industry to sensitise them, which she said was in tune with the desire of the Lagos Government to reduce the is-sue of building collapse to its barest minimum.

Building material failure affects international acceptability of Nigerian products

Odumodu

By Francis Ezem

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net Monday, August 26, 2013 A21 37

Stock Updates

GAINERS

COMPANY OPENING PRICE CLOSING PRICE CHANGE

FLOURMILL 76.29 83.90 9.98

ACADEMY 1.74 1.91 9.77

NAHCO 6.15 6.74 9.59

JOSBREW 1.67 1.83 9.58

VONO 0.74 0.81 9.46

LOSERS

COMPANY OPENING PRICE CLOSING PRICE CHANGE

NEIMETH 1.40 1.26 -10.00

IPWA 0.85 0.77 -9.41

AIRSERVICE 4.28 3.88 -9.35

DNMEYER 1.43 1.30 -9.09

THOMASEXPR 0.88 0.81 -7.95

Inter-Bank Rates

TENOR RATE%(PREV) 16-Aug-2013 RATE%(CURR) 23-Aug-2013

CALL 12.0000 – 18.0000 17.0000 – 25.0000

OBB 11.4000 – 14.5000 14.5000 – 25.0000

Primary Market Auction

TENOR AMOUNT (N’mn) RATE (%) DATE

91-Days 20647.81 11.09 21-Aug-13

182-Days 30,000 12.25 21-Aug-13

91-Days 22057.31 11.50 07-Aug-13

Open Market Operation

TENOR AMOUNT (N’mn) RATE (%) DATE

182-Days 70,000 13.15 18-July-13

210-Days 70,000 13.18 18-July-13

80-Days 30,000 12.50 15-July-13

Wholesale Dutch Auction System AMOUNT OFFERED MARKET DEMAND AMOUNT SOLD DATE

$300m $290m $290m 21-Aug-13

$300m $258m $258m 19-Aug-13

Market Indicators for Week Ended 23-08-13All-Share Index 36,577.28 pointsMarket Capitalisation N11,583,734,535,261.83

Business CourageCourage

Weekly activities on the Nigerian Stock Ex-change (NSE) closed

on Friday on impressive note as some highly capitalised stocks recorded price gains.The All-share index appreci-ated by 13.39 points or 0.04 per cent to close at 36,577.28 against the 36,563.89 recorded on Thursday.

The Market capitalisation of all the listed securities grew by N4 billion to close at N11.58 trillion from the N11.57 trillion exchanged on Thursday.

FlourMills led the gainers’ chart with N7.61 to close at N83.90 per share.

NSE All-share index appreciates by 0.04 per centGlaxoSmithKline followed

with a gain of N3 to close at N68 per share, while Lafarge Wapco share price grew by N2 to close at N95 per share.

Presco share price appre-ciated by N1.39 to close at N34.99, while NAHCO rose by 59k to close at N6.74 per share.

On the other hand, Dangote Cement led the price losers by N2 to close at N188 per share.

UAC-Property share price dipped by N1.10 to close at N16.70 per share while Unile-ver lost 49k to close at N62 per share.

Air Service depreciated by

The Nigerian Railways Corporation (NRC) at the weekend said it invested a

total N3 billion in the acquisi-tion of four brand new locomo-tives and two state-of-the –art telescopic cranes with 1800 cat-erpillar engine capacity.

The corporation has also kicked off the haulage of con-tainers from Apapa Port, Lagos to Kano and Kaduna, which was halted over 10 years as a result of poor state of the rail tracks as well as non-availability train coaches.

Managing Director of NRC, Adeseye Sijuade, who briefed news men shortly after the of-fi cial commissioning of the lo-comotives, cranes and fl ag off of the container haulage, dis-closed that each of the cranes was acquired at the cost of N1 billion, bringing to a total of N2 billion.

He also said that each of the four locomotives was acquired at the cost of N250 million, which brings to a total of N1 billion for the four locomotives. This brings the cumulative cost of the cranes, manufactured in Germany and locomotives man-ufactured in China to a total of N3billion.

The managing director also said that the re-instatement of the container haulage services was in line with the corpora-tion’s promise to assist in de-congestion of the ports through massive movement of contain-ers through the rails.

He also disclosed that the corporation has a projection of stocking 23 locomotives on its fl eet for the movement of cargo out of the nation’s seaports to mitigate the impact of increased cargo throughput into the country.

It was also gathered that NRC will this month commence the haulage of Dangote Sugar and Cement to the northern

NRC invests N3bn on cranes, locomotive acquisitionBy Francis Ezem

part of the country, while plans are underway for the haulage of refi ned petroleum products to some parts of the country.

The NRC-boss however as-sured of the security of the cargo, which he said were all bonded and moved under heavy security to forestall possible at-tacks by hoodlums and crimi-nals along the rail tracks while the goods are in transit.

Meanwhile, Minister of Transport, Idris Umar, who conducted the offi cial fl ag off of the haulage services as well as the commissioning of the new equipment, noted that it was in line with the transformation agenda of the current adminis-tration.

According to him, it was also a demonstration of Federal Government unfl inching com-mitment to reposition the rail system in the country and to concretise its promise to revi-talise the services, which have been halted across the country owing to dilapidated infrastruc-ture, most of which have been put in form again.

The Minister, who was rep-resented by chairman of the corporation, Kawo Baraje, also recalled that the government had last month re-introduced rail services along the Lagos-

Kano corridor, adding that the re-introduction of container haulage to reassure Nigerians that rail services in the country will not be limited to passenger services alone.

While assuring the Nige-ria Customs Service of smooth fl ow of cargo transportation, he disclosed that the corporation would acquire for new locomo-tives and additional 200 wagons before the end of the year in line with its determination to make transportation comfortable and affordable for Nigerians.

The Federal Government had recently developed a com-prehensive master plan for high speed rail across the federation as part of its strategic plans for the development of rail infra-structure in Nigeria,

This is in line with its vi-sion 20-20-20, through which it plans to launch the country into the league of one of the most 20 developed economies of the world come year 2020, said it is committed to the de-velopment of transport infra-structure, which it described as catalyst for the development of any economy.

Under the new master plan, which is part of 25-year devel-opment project for the rail sys-tem in the country covering the rehabilitation of the existing narrow gauge and construction of modern standard gauge, the government intends to run a six-structure plan for the high speed rail lines covering the length and breadth of the na-tion.

The six –structure rail sys-tem comprises of the Eagle Line, which covers the high sped line from Lagos – Oshogbo-Abuja-Gombe and then down to Mai-duguri while the Southern Line covers from Enugu-Benin City-Ikeja Lagos down to Cotonou, the Republic of Benin, among others.

40k to close at N3.88 per share while NASCON lost 30k to close at N11.40 per share.

In all, investors exchanged 243.85 million shares worth N3.1 billion in 4,879 deals com-pared with N252.17 million shares worth N3.5billion traded in 4,909 deals on Thursday.

Transcorp emerged as the most traded stock with a total of 27.03 million shares valued at N34.85 billion.

Aiico followed with 23.91 million shares worth N23.94 million, while Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN) sold 19.10 million shares valued at N175.98 million. BC

Sijuade

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.netMonday, August 26, 2013 A22 38 Business CourageCourage

United African Company of Nigeria Plc, UACN, one of the large cap stocks

on the Nigerian Stock Exchange continues to be major driver, as investors prefer the good funda-mentals and corporage gover-nance of the company. The half year performance demonstrated the group’s resolve to stay true to plans and targets, as it deployed its inventiveness and capacity to manage the dynamics of its oper-ating environment.

According to the unaudited results of UACN for the half-year ended June 30, 2013, the com-pany posted a turnover off N37.7 billion, up 24 per cent from N30.5 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2012. Gross profi t stood at N9.6 bil-lion, up 11 per cent N8.6 billion in 2012.

The company’s profi t before tax rose by 51 per cent from N3.5 billion in the 2012 half year to N5.2 billion in the review period, while profi t after tax increased by 61 per cent, from N2.1 billion to N3.4 billion. Analysis of the performance showed that gross profi t margin stood at 25 per cent compared with 28 per cent in 2012.

Operating profi t margin im-proved from 14 per cent to 16 per cent, while annualised earn-ings per share (EPS) also im-proved from 124 kobo to 169 kobo in 2012. Annualised Re-turn on Equity (ROE) equally im-proved from nine per cent to 13 per cent.

Commenting on the results, the Group Managing Director of the company, Larry Ettah said, “I am pleased to announce this set of Half-year results which dem-onstrate the positive trends com-ing out of our strategy of restruc-turing the Group into a holding company with empowered and effi cient subsidiaries.

“Building on the momentum of the fi rst quarter of the year, Group revenues are up 24 per cent year on year and we are tackling the margin challenge in some of the industries we oper-ate.”

Explaining series of transac-tions that advance the company strategic agenda, he said, “We are on course to conclude the remaining transactions for the year pursue our integration plan for the new acquisitions and work with our strategic part-ners to strengthen our brands and sustain leading positions in our markets. We aim to trans-late those leading positions to leading performance and gener-ate competitive returns for our shareholders.”

The company divisionsThe UAC Foods Limited re-

corded a profi t before tax of N864 million in the half year ended June 30, 2013, down three per cent from N888 million recorded

in the same period of 2012.Other operational highlights

indicated that the division in-stalled new blow mould equip-ment at SWAN factory. It also in-stalled two additional production lines for Gala, complete facility upgrade in Ojota and Oregun, Lagos. Others include Funtime Cake with 15 days shelf life. However, security challenges in the North impacted on sales ex-ecution of the division.

United Property Development Company Plc profi t before tax rose by 129 per cent from N683 million in 2012 half year to N1.56 billion in the review period. The company inaugurated Grandville Estate (Ikeja) and Metro Gardens (Lekki) in Lagos. Also, the con-struction work on Festival Mall, Festac commenced.

UPDC REIT listed on the Ni-gerian Stock Exchange, while sales mix impacting the compa-ny’s profi t favourably.

Grand Cereals Limited (ani-mal feed, cereal meal and edible oil) posted a profi t before tax of N753 million, down 40 per cent from N1.26 billion recorded in the 2012 half year. While the turnover was up 27 per cent, security challenges were a chal-lenge as the North-east market was inaccessible. Also elevated local grain prices impacting mar-gins. However, the company is pursuing procurement savings through offshore sourcing and is also reviewing and restructuring its operations, just as the com-pany is installing a new plant.

Livestock Feeds Plc, where the company acquired 51 per cent stake posted a growth of 20 per cent in profi t before tax to N95 million. The operation of the company is being reviewed.

MDS Logistics Plc equally re-corded a growth of 37 per cent in profi t before tax in the 2013 half year to N637 million, from N464 million in 2012. During the re-view period, division commenced business with four new clients. It upgraded its Abuja Pharma warehouse facility while Impe-rial Logistics of South Africa ac-quired 49 per cent equity stake in the company.

The paint making subsidiary,

Chemical and Allied Products Plc posted a seven per cent increase in profi t before tax to N910 mil-lion in 2012, compared to N849 million in 2012. The fi rm opened four Dulux colour shops and achieved Nigeria Industrial Stan-dards certifi cation/product re-validation by Standards Organi-sation of Nigeria.

Business strategyThe company’s strategic

partnership with Tiger Brands of South Africa in UAC Foods Limited was yielding positive results, while the company re-corded progress in its growth drive through the acquisition of majority stake in Livestock Feeds Plc and Portland Paints and Products Plc.

For example, the food and beverages, real estate, logistics and paints segments contribut-ed 98 per cent to total revenue for the 2012 and 2011 fi nancial years. Specifi cally, real estate contributed 17 per cent, food and beverages 67 per cent, while paints contributed eight per

cent. Logistics and others con-tributed eight per cent and two per cent respectively.

On the UAC Properties Devel-opment Company, its main busi-ness is the acquisition, develop-ment, sales and management of high quality commercial and res-idential properties in the luxury, premium and classic segments of the real estate market in se-lected cities in Nigeria.`

Emerging trend shows that a combination of bonus and divi-dend is the winning formula for the conglomerate, as Chemical and Allied Products dividend in the 2012 fi nancial yearrose by 102 per cent and UACN 67 per cent.

Financial HealthThe fi nancial year in 2012

witnessed improved performance of the company as major prof-itability indicators added sub-stantial values. Gross margin sustained at 27 per cent despite increases in input costs in key categories. Its earnings before interest and taxes margin stood at 17 per cent in 2012, higher than 13 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2011, refl ecting improvements in oper-ating performance.

The company’s operating profi t almost double the fi gure recorded in 2011 fi nancial year, from N7.72bn to N11.5bn, while gross profi t rose by 20 per cent to N19.05bn, up from N15.8 billion in 2011. Its fi nance in-come increased by 84 per cent to N1.75bn, while fi nance cost and net fi nance cost stood at N2.53billion and N780 million respectively. The company’s pre-tax profi t was up by 54 per cent to N10.75bn, from N6.99bn in

2011.Analyst as FBN Capital Lim-

ited, while reacting to the UACN results said the food division was the major driver behind the strong growth on the pre-tax profi t line in the fourth quarter of 2012.

“Excluding the properties and paints division, UACN’s ex-prop-erties and paints fourth quarter profi t before tax grew by a re-markable 1,164 per cent. This compares with a profi t before tax decline of 15 per cent for the properties and paints division. Sequentially, in absolute terms, both contributed equally to the increase in profi t before tax,” the investment company said.

Asset QualityAnalysis of the balance sheet

for the 2012 fi nancial year showed that the company’s to-tal assets appreciated substan-tially compared to the value recorded the preceding fi nan-cial year. Its total assets stood at N122.9billion in 2012, from N121.6bn in 2011, while total li-abilities declined to N62.4bn in the review period, from N64.5bn in 2011. It showed that the ag-gregate of all debts the company is liable for has reduced drasti-cally. Short term bank facilities dropped from N16.2 billion in 2011 to N15.02bn in 2012, while others fell to N3.49bn, from N5.77bn in 2011.

The company’s debt-to-equity ratio down from 0.59 per cent to 0.5 per cent, as the total equity stood at N60.6billion in the re-view period. Total debt reduces as a result of reduced leverage in Grand Cereals following suc-cessful Rights Issue. Cash and short-term deposits stood at N13.4bn in 2012, from N15.3bn in 2011, while others dipped to N40.3bn, from N45.2bn in 2011.

Managing CostIn terms of operation effi -

ciency, the company’s cost-to-income ratio fell marginally to 0.72 per cent, from 0.73 per cent in 2011. The company’s return on equity grew by 12 per cent in 2012, from six per cent in 2011, while return on assets rose by six per cent, from three per cent the preceding fi nancial year.

Business OutlookUACN has adopted the SAP

application software for all the businesses in the group. Imple-mentation will be in phases. The company is working with a lead-ing consulting fi rm to develop a comprehensive enterprise risk management framework for the group.

With the acquisition of a 51 per cent stake in Livestock Feeds Plc, boosting its share of the Ni-gerian animal feeds market to 32 per cent, the transaction should lead to signifi cant development of the agro-allied business in-dustry, which is pivotal to Nige-ria’s drive for enhanced agricul-tural sector contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Prod-uct and food security.

UACN Plc: Sustaining good fundamentalsBy Johnson Okanlawon

Ettah

BC

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net Monday, August 26, 2013 A23 39

STOCKWATCH

AGRICULTURE/AGRO-ALLIED Crop Production FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 0.50 100 000 0.64 0.50 2 200 000 000 0.10 N/A 0.50OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 45.00 386 040 51.04 14.53 476 955 000 6.73 2.86 43.75PRESCO PLC 34.99 76 967 38.48 6.40 1 000 000 000 2.75 -3.58 36.29Fishing/Hunting/Trapping ELLAH LAKES PLC. NT NT 4.26 4.26 60 000 000 0.00 N/A NTLivestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 3.91 635 452 5.94 0.48 1 199 549 736 0.11 -5.33 4.13CONGLOMERATES Diversifi ed Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 1.41 240 075 2.54 0.74 2 191 895 983 0.08 -8.44 1.54CHELLARAMS PLC. 4.41 2 400 7.60 5.81 963 900 300 0.24 N/A 4.41JOHN HOLT PLC. 1.26 62 032 8.82 5.32 389 151 408 0.00 N/A 1.22S C O A NIG. PLC. 5.32 10 000 8.28 5.52 821 666 666 0.35 N/A 5.32U A C N PLC. 59.00 90 322 61.00 28.70 1 600 720 323 6.89 N/A 61.89CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Construction ARBICO PLC. NT NT 26.00 14.09 148 500 000 0.00 N/A NTCAPPA & D’ALBERTO PLC. NT NT 95.49 95.49 196 876 000 4.50 N/A NTBuilding Structure/Completion/Other COSTAIN (W A) PLC. 1.23 1 033 833 7.97 2.46 920 573 765 0.00 N/A 1.20G CAPPA PLC NT NT 14.46 14.46 125 000 000 0.00 N/A NTNon--Building/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 71.00 83 229 62.26 21.55 1 200 000 000 4.93 0.00 71.00ROADS NIG PLC. NT NT 10.00 3.01 20 000 000 4.73 N/A NTReal Estate Development PINNACLE POINT GROUP PLC NT NT 7.28 7.28 0.00 N/A NTUACN PROPERTY DEV 16.70 173 495 20.15 8.82 1 375 000 000 1.66 -7.22 18.00Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC NT NT 100.00 97.00 20 000 000 11.75 N/A NTUNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INV 50.00 135 50.00 50.00 250 019 781 0.75 N/A 50.00CONSUMER GOODS Automobiles/Auto Parts DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 0.50 145 506 0.50 0.50 4 772 528 415 0.00 N/A 0.50Beverages--Brewers/Distillers CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 17.42 139 035 4.63 2.23 900 000 000 0.00 N/A 19.35GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. NT NT 0.68 0.68 272 160 000 0.03 N/A NTGUINNESS NIG PLC 254.04 37 269 277.00 186.00 1 474 925 519 9.46 -4.14 265.00INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 21.45 462 651 27.00 5.23 2 112 914 681 0.25 N/A 21.45JOS INT. BREWERIES PLC. 1.83 150 000 3.20 1.61 562 000 000 0.00 N/A 1.16NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 167.50 1 151 337 178.00 72.50 7 562 562 340 5.08 -1.18 169.50PREMIER BREWERIES PLC NT NT 0.97 0.93 126 000 000 0.00 N/A NTBeverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. 72.00 31 310 54.45 38.31 640 590 362 2.69 N/A 74.20Food Products BIG TREAT PLC NT NT 0.50 0.50 2 000 000 000 0.00 N/A NTDANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 9.50 480 767 19.90 4.15 5 000 000 000 0.00 0.00 9.50DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 10.90 1 137 926 16.20 3.64 12 000 000 000 0.91 -1.62 11.08FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 83.90 178 441 95.00 52.50 1 879 210 666 3.79 6.80 78.56HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 3.13 958 110 6.60 1.91 7 930 197 658 0.51 -2.19 3.20MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC NT NT 2.70 1.00 3 722 493 620 0.00 N/A NTN NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 29.70 18 574 43.96 20.41 178 200 000 2.50 N/A 29.70NATIONAL SALT CO. NIG. PLC 11.40 1 406 190 6.70 3.86 1.07 1.79 11.20P S MANDRIDES & CO PLC. NT NT 5.66 5.66 40 000 000 0.08 N/A NTU T C NIG. PLC. 0.80 146 997 0.88 0.50 1 233 375 004 1.13 0.00 0.80UNION DICON SALT PLC. NT NT 4.22 4.22 360 000 000 0.00 N/A NTFood Products--Diversifi ed CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 52.95 369 118 55.49 9.15 3 129 188 160 1.35 4.03 50.90NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 935.00 255 501 1075.17 367.83 792 656 250 25.43 0.00 935.00Household Durables BETA GLASS CO PLC. NT NT 15.58 10.03 3.90 N/A NTNIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. NT NT 42.66 34.39 63 360 000 1.61 N/A NTVITAFOAM NIG PLC. 3.90 52 092 6.75 3.01 819 000 000 0.54 -9.30 4.30VONO PRODUCTS PLC. 0.81 11 266 3.67 2.66 300 000 001 0.00 N/A 0.62Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 35.00 395 808 53.00 22.07 3 176 381 636 0.70 -6.91 37.60UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 62.00 762 575 68.00 22.56 3 783 296 250 1.44 -1.59 63.00Textiles/Apparel UNITED NIG. TEXTILES PLC. NT NT 0.97 0.57 843 284 027 0.00 N/A NTFINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. 10.95 6 952 371 11.70 4.76 17 888 251 479 1.42 -0.54 11.01DIAMOND BANK PLC 6.60 7 443 990 9.27 2.01 14 475 243 105 0.90 -1.49 6.70ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INC. 14.90 966 817 17.05 9.97 9 873 614 567 2.81 1.57 14.67FIDELITY BANK PLC 2.85 4 399 347 3.20 1.14 28 974 797 023 0.43 0.00 2.85FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC. NT NT 8.30 3.04 16 271 192 202 0.60 #VALUE! NTGUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 25.25 14 046 504 29.05 11.64 29 146 482 209 2.10 0.96 25.01SKYE BANK PLC 4.30 4 986 686 10.17 2.73 13 219 334 676 0.71 6.17 4.05STERLING BANK PLC. 2.60 3 902 811 2.91 0.97 12 563 091 545 0.54 -5.45 2.75U B A PLC 7.54 17 151 524 8.70 1.64 32 334 693 693 0.67 -4.68 7.91UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 10.55 274 926 13.09 1.96 13 509 726 273 0.00 -3.21 10.90UNITY BANK PLC 0.54 13 139 962 1.92 0.50 33 675 576 085 0.00 0.00 0.55WEMA BANK PLC. 1.04 1 018 390 1.75 0.50 12 821 249 880 0.00 -0.95 1.05ZENITH BANK PLC 20.14 5 939 300 22.75 11.70 31 396 493 790 2.09 -3.36 20.84Insurance Carriers, Brokers & Services AFRICAN ALLIANCE INS. COY. PLC 0.50 400 000 0.50 0.50 20 585 000 000 0.00 N/A 0.50AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 1.00 4 443 030 1.01 0.50 7 809 391 256 0.05 0.00 0.94CONFIDENCE INSURANCE PLC NT NT 0.64 0.61 211 626 000 0.00 N/A NTCONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INS. PLC 0.50 1 000 000 0.50 0.50 6 000 000 000 0.05 N/A 0.50CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 1.20 20 533 900 1.20 0.61 10 372 624 157 0.14 0.00 1.16CORNERSTONE INS. COY. PLC. 0.50 268 000 0.50 0.50 8 820 010 363 0.02 0.00 0.50CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INS. PLC 1.57 1 608 408 3.51 1.31 5 100 846 808 0.28 0.00 1.48EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC. NT NT 0.50 0.50 8 847 298 420 0.00 N/A NTGOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC NT NT 0.69 0.50 4 549 947 000 0.00 N/A NTGREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC 0.50 10 000 0.50 0.50 3 827 485 380 0.00 N/A 0.50GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. NT NT 0.50 0.50 720 000 000 0.00 N/A NTINTERCONTINENTAL WAPIC INS. PLC 0.80 721 163 0.97 0.50 5 061 804 000 0.00 N/A 0.80INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INS. PLC 2.32 30 000 0.50 0.50 6 420 427 449 0.00 0.00 2.25INVESTMENT AND ALLIED ARN. NT NT 0.50 0.50 28 000 000 000 0.02 N/A NTLASACO ASSURANCE PLC. NT NT 0.50 0.50 7 323 313 227 0.00 N/A NTLAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 0.50 123 965 0.61 0.50 3 437 330 500 0.00 N/A 0.50LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 0.50 123 965 0.50 0.50 4 083 713 569 0.03 0.00 0.50MANSARD INSURANCE PLC 2.32 1 533 300 2.30 0.95 10 000 000 000 0.16 1.75 2.28MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. NT NT 0.50 0.50 7 998 705 336 0.01 N/A NTN.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. 0.72 985 263 0.86 0.50 5 332 830 881 0.37 0.00 0.72NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. NT NT 1.11 0.50 5 649 693 923 0.02 N/A NTOASIS INSURANCE PLC NT NT 0.50 0.50 5 003 506 791 0.04 N/A NTPRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. 0.55 1 103 367 2.35 0.50 2 508 315 436 0.06 0.00 0.55REGENCY ALLIANCE INS. COY PLC NT NT 0.50 0.50 6 668 750 000 0.04 N/A NTSOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 0.50 85 000 0.52 0.50 5 203 757 266 0.09 0.00 0.50STACO INSURANCE PLC NT NT 0.50 0.50 6 141 087 609 0.00 N/A NTSTANDARD ALLIANCE INS. PLC. 0.50 60 000 0.50 0.50 8 493 173 450 0.00 N/A 0.50UNIC INSURANCE PLC. 0.50 708 026 0.50 0.50 2 581 733 505 0.00 N/A 0.50UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC NT NT 0.50 0.50 13 000 000 000 0.02 N/A NTUNIVERSAL INS. COMPANY PLC 0.50 3 627 0.50 0.50 16 000 000 000 0.00 N/A 0.50Micro Finance Banks FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC NT NT 6.00 0.00 0.01 NTNPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 0.83 686 300 1.15 1.00 0.07 0.83Mortgage Carriers, Brokers &Services ABBEY BUILDING SOCIETY PLC 1.53 300 1.51 1.33 4 200 000 000 0.03 N/A 1.53ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC 0.50 1 000 000 0.50 0.50 8 679 148 676 0.02 N/A 0.50RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 0.50 260 365 0.50 0.50 13 175 732 404 0.00 N/A 0.50UNION HOMES SAVINGS&LOANS PLC NT 1 0.99 0.50 7 812 500 000 0.00 N/A NTOther Financial Institutions CRUSADER ( NIG) PLC. NT NT 0.61 0.50 3 778 005 975 0.00 N/A NTDEAP CAPITAL MGT & TRUST PLC 1.82 70 000 2.02 2.02 1 333 333 333 0.00 N/A 1.82FBN HOLDINGS PLC 16.50 69 684 902 19.60 8.50 32 632 084 358 3.03 0.86 16.36NIG SEW. MACH. MAN. CO. PLC. NT NT 0.15 0.15 5 880 000 0.00 N/A NTNIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND NT NT 552.20 555.20 2 500 000 12.65 N/A NTROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 0.52 34 660 0.66 0.50 3 608 657 661 0.00 N/A 0.52STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC 16.37 446 392 16.00 6.40 18 750 000 000 0.87 -4.83 17.20HEALTHCARE Healthcare Providers EKOCORP PLC. 4.32 400 5.31 5.05 498 600 908 0.12 N/A 4.32Medical Equipment UNION DIAGNOSTIC &CLINICAL PLC 0.50 4 300 000 0.50 0.50 3 553 138 528 0.00 N/A 0.50Medical Supplies MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 2.23 6 780 10.54 7.39 152 178 750 0.06 N/A 2.23Pharmaceuticals EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 4.74 600 3.30 0.50 486 473 856 0.00 0.00 4.74FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 2.01 510 500 3.20 0.76 1 500 000 000 0.44 -2.43 2.06GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER PLC 68.00 21 160 68.00 19.30 956 701 192 2.62 4.62 65.00MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 2.40 515 977 5.61 1.62 980 000 000 0.20 0.00 2.40

NOTE NT=Not Traded on 23-08-13 N/A=Not Avialable

NEIMETH INT PHARM PLC 1.26 56 409 1.96 0.76 1 925 717 268 0.09 -10.00 1.40NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. 7.36 412 477 12.91 8.59 153 786 012 0.00 N/A 7.36PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 2.03 16 993 4.28 3.50 100 000 000 0.00 N/A 2.03ICT Computer Based Systems COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SLN PLC 0.69 2 635 500 0.80 0.50 2 960 000 000 0.10 0.00 0.69Computers and Peripherals OMATEK VENTURES PLC 0.50 11 127 0.50 0.50 2 941 789 472 0.00 N/A 0.50Electronic Communications Services MTECH COMMUNICATIONS PLC NT NT 0.91 0.91 4 966 666 668 0.00 N/A NTIT Services NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. 18.70 608 18.70 13.12 108 000 000 0.00 N/A 18.70TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 2.29 910 3.59 2.41 492 825 600 0.01 N/A 2.29Processing Systems CHAMS PLC 0.50 75 000 0.50 0.50 4 620 600 000 0.00 N/A 0.50E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 3.47 10 4.97 4.04 4 200 000 000 0.04 N/A 3.47Telecommunications Carriers STARCOMMS PLC NT NT 1.47 0.50 6 878 478 096 0.00 N/A NTTelecommunications Services IHS NIGERIA PLC PREF SHARES NT NT 2.25 0.00 0.00 N/A NTIHS PLC 2.60 2 948 970 3.50 2.46 4 400 000 000 0.00 N/A 2.60MTI PLC NT NT 0.50 0.50 4 893 594 400 0.00 N/A NTINDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials AFRICAN PAINTS (NIGERIA) PLC. NT NT 3.32 2.86 260 000 000 0.00 N/A NTASHAKA CEM PLC 21.05 250 093 30.00 9.10 2 239 453 125 2.14 -4.32 22.00BERGER PAINTS PLC 8.70 11 065 12.57 7.27 217 367 585 1.09 -9.47 9.61CAP PLC 43.65 26 316 43.98 14.50 560 000 000 2.28 0.00 43.65CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC 9.21 148 744 15.49 4.20 1 241 548 285 1.47 -0.97 9.30DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 188.00 1 236 867 132.51 95.00 15 494 019 668 8.33 -1.05 190.00DN MEYER PLC. 1.30 10 000 3.51 0.93 242 908 200 0.00 N/A 1.58FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC NT NT 0.75 0.50 2 109 928 275 0.00 N/A NTIPWA PLC 0.95 192 063 0.99 0.91 513 696 000 0.00 N/A 0.95LAFARGE WAPCO PLC. 95.00 802 171 56.50 37.00 3 001 600 004 4.10 -1.04 96.00PAINTS & COATINGS MANFACT.PLC NT NT 3.36 0.52 792 914 256 0.26 N/A NTPORTLAND PAINTS & PRDT NIG. PLC 5.56 85 000 5.28 2.27 400 000 000 0.23 N/A 5.56PREMIER PAINTS PLC. NT NT 13.40 10.93 75 000 000 0.00 N/A NTElectronic and Electrical Products AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 2.00 200 000 2.00 2.00 0.03 N/A 2.00CUTIX PLC. 1.86 127 593 2.50 1.33 510 396 608 0.11 3.33 1.80NIGERIAN WIRE AND CABLE PLC. NT NT 0.73 0.50 2 220 000 000 0.00 N/A NTNIGERIAN WIRE IND. PLC NT NT 2.58 2.58 15 000 000 0.00 N/A NTPackaging/Containers ABPLAST PRODUCTS PLC. NT NT 3.98 3.98 25 000 000 0.00 N/A NTAVON CROWNCAPS & CONTAINERS 1.71 1 711 6.91 2.19 683 974 528 0.05 N/A 1.71BETA GLASS CO PLC. 13.18 49 451 12.71 9.53 0.05 13.18GREIF NIGERIA PLC NT NT 15.03 13.28 42 640 000 0.90 N/A NTNIG. BAGS MANFACT. COY PLC NT NT 3.60 1.60 6 215 000 000 0.24 #VALUE! NTPOLY PRODUCTS (NIG) PLC. NT NT 1.86 1.05 240 000 000 0.22 N/A NTW A GLASS IND. PLC. NT NT 0.63 0.63 199 066 550 0.00 N/A NTTools and Machinery NIGERIAN ROPES PLC 7.85 20 8.69 8.26 265 409 280 0.00 N/A 7.85STOKVIS NIG PLC. NT NT 0.14 0.14 2 918 000 0.00 N/A NTNATURAL RESOURCES Chemicals B.O.C. GASES PLC. 6.50 55 9.20 5.70 393 120 000 0.76 0.00 6.50Metals ALUMACO PLC NT NT 7.75 7.75 75 600 000 0.00 N/A NTALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. 10.50 3 134 12.39 10.55 100 000 000 0.43 N/A 10.50Non-Metallic Mineral Mining MULTIVERSE PLC NT NT 0.50 0.50 4 058 989 226 0.00 N/A NTPaper/Forest Products HALLMARK PAPER PRODUCTS PLC. NT NT 3.22 3.22 50 000 000 0.04 N/A NTTHOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. NT NT 1.38 1.38 220 000 000 0.00 N/A NTOIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SER. PLC 0.52 2 070 197 1.02 0.54 6 262 701 716 0.13 0.00 0.52Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC 12.20 3 826 888 24.80 10.94 2 262 711 568 1.73 0.00 12.20Petroleum &Petroleum Products Distributors AFROIL PLC NT NT 20.71 20.71 125 487 475 0.00 N/A NTBECO PETROLEUM PRODUCT PLC 0.50 51 000 0.70 0.50 3 716 976 579 0.00 N/A 0.50CONOIL PLC 29.80 131 435 41.89 19.61 693 952 117 0.47 -9.70 33.00ETERNA PLC. 2.75 347 923 5.59 2.12 1 249 162 828 0.61 -5.17 2.90FORTE OIL PLC. 39.00 172 212 28.69 9.12 1 080 280 628 0.00 -2.50 40.00MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. 119.00 19 625 163.50 111.51 300 496 051 6.11 0.00 119.00MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 36.14 1 540 72.00 32.29 253 988 672 3.62 N/A 36.14TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 155.00 25 864 240.00 125.00 339 521 837 14.63 0.00 155.00SERVICES Advertising AFROMEDIA PLC NT NT 0.72 0.50 4 035 497 307 0.00 N/A NTApparel Retailers LENNARDS (NIG) PLC. NT NT 3.48 3.48 0.19 N/A NTAutomobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. 1.45 272 639 3.65 1.12 980 294 400 0.21 0.00 1.45Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 4.69 327 998 3.67 2.11 589 496 310 0.58 0.00 4.69TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 1.05 11 300 6.40 3.28 198 819 763 0.25 N/A 1.05Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC. 0.50 100 000 1.64 0.85 865 808 912 0.08 N/A 0.50Hospitality TANTALIZERS PLC NT NT 0.75 0.50 3 211 627 907 0.01 N/A NTHotels/Lodging CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 4.55 10 600 8.00 3.00 1 548 780 000 0.18 N/A 4.55IKEJA HOTEL PLC 0.79 12 000 2.59 1.16 2 078 796 396 0.92 0.00 0.79TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. NT NT 4.76 4.31 1 772 884 297 0.00 N/A NTTRANSNATIONAL CORP. OF NIG.PLC 1.30 6 850 971 1.95 0.50 25 813 998 283 0.22 0.00 1.30Media/Entertainment DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 0.50 10 000 0.50 0.50 8 000 000 000 0.00 N/A 0.50Printing/Publishing ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 1.91 96 084 3.68 1.64 403 200 000 0.14 N/A 1.76LEARN AFRICA PLC 1.60 295 845 8.00 1.94 771 450 000 0.29 N/A 1.70STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. NT NT 2.92 2.78 0.01 N/A NTUNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 4.10 51 408 6.82 3.09 425 641 111 0.50 0.00 4.10Road Transportation ABC TRANSPORT PLCPLC 0.74 1 453 026 0.80 0.50 1 507 000 000 0.00 N/A 0.90Specialty INTERLINKED TECHNOLOGIES PLC NT NT 5.15 4.90 236 699 511 0.00 N/A NTSECURE ELECTRONIC TECH.PLC NT NT 1.88 0.80 5 631 539 736 0.03 N/A NTTransport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC 3.88 231 753 2.78 1.54 634 000 000 0.38 N/A 4.32NIG. AVIATION HANDLING COY PLC 6.74 290 942 11.75 5.15 1 230 468 750 0.81 7.67 6.26ASeM CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Property Management SMART PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC NT NT 1.43 1.04 45 000 000 0.12 N/A NTCONSUMER GOODS Food Products MCNICHOLS PLC 0.97 11 000 1.02 1.02 201 885 335 0.00 N/A 0.97Personal/Household Products ROKANA INDUSTRIES PLC. 0.60 500 0.60 0.60 30 000 000 0.00 N/A 0.60HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals AFRIK PHARMACEUTICALS PLC. NT NT 0.50 0.50 24 898 850 0.00 N/A NTINDUSTRIAL GOODS Electronic and Electrical Products NT NT NTADSWITCH PLC. 1.63 500 1.88 1.63 125 005 250 0.00 N/A 1.63NATURAL RESOURCES Metals W.A. ALUM. PRODUCTS PLC. NT NT 0.50 0.50 6 650 000 0.00 N/A NTOIL AND GAS Petroleum & Petroleum Products Distributors ANINO INTERNATIONAL PLC. NT NT 0.21 0.21 24 200 000 0.00 N/A NTCAPITAL OIL PLC 0.50 20 000 0.50 0.50 5 857 500 000 0.00 N/A 0.50RAK UNITY PET. COMP. PLC. NT NT 0.31 0.31 15 000 000 0.00 N/A NTUNION VENTURES & PET. PLC NT NT 0.63 0.63 98 600 000 0.00 N/A NTSERVICES Apparel Retailers UDEOFSON GARMENT FACT. NIG PLC NT NT 0.50 0.50 20 000 000 0.00 N/A NTFood/Drug Retailers and Wholesalers NT NT NTJULI PLC. 2.14 100 3.05 2.76 194 700 000 0.00 N/A 2.14ETF’s Sector ETF NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND 2 638.00 100 2 706 2 422 0.00 2 638.00

PRICE 52 WK 52 WK SHARES MOV.SECURITY (=N=) QUANTITY HIGH LOW OUTSTANDING EPS (%) Previous

PRICE 52 WK 52 WK SHARES MOV.SECURITY (=N=) QUANTITY HIGH LOW OUTSTANDING EPS (%) Previous

Stock Exchange weekly equities summary as at Friday, August 23, 2013

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Monday, August 26, 2013 National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net40

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National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net 41Monday, August 26, 2013 Law & Justice

‘Lawbreed notable for prompt reporting of SC judgments’

Babatunde (SAN)

NBA LEADERS TO DATE Former chairmen or presidents Chairmen of the Bar Association were:

Christopher Sapara Williams (1900–1915)

Sir Kitoyi Ajasa (1915–1937)

Eric Olawale Moore (1937–1944)

E.J. Alex Taylor (1944–1950)

Sir Adeyemo Alakija (1950–1952)

Jubril Martin (1952–1959)

Presidents of the NBA, who had the same authority as the former Chairmen, were:

Frederick Rotimi Williams (1960–1968)

Peter Thomas (1968–1969)

Chief B.M. Boyo (1969–1970)

Chief Richard Akinjide (1970–1973)

Chief Adebayo Ogunsanya (1973–1974)

Dr. Mudiaga Odge (1974–1975)

Dr. Nwakanma Okoro (1976–1978)

Chief B.O. Benson (1978–1980)

Chief Adetunji Fadairo (1980–1982)

A.N. Anyamene (1982–1984)

Prince Bola Ajibola, former (1984–1985)

Ebele Nwokoye (1985–1987)

Alao Aka-Bashorun (1987–1989)

Charles Idehen (1989–1991)

Chief Clement Akpamgbo (1991–1992)

Priscilla Kuye (1991–1992)

Between 1992 and 1998 the NBA had no president, functioning only in branches. After the crisis, presidents were:

Chief T.J.O. Okpoko, SAN (1998–2000)

O.C.J. Okocha, SAN (2000–2002)

Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN (2002–2004)

Chief Bayo Ojo, SAN (2004–2005)

Prince Lanke Odogiyo (2005–2006)

Olisa Agbakoba (2006–2008)

Chief Olurotimi Akeredolu, SAN (2008–2010)

Joseph Bodurin Daudu, SAN (2010 - 2012 )

Okey Wali, SAN (2012 –till date )

Bar Jokes

Deathbed lawyer

KENNY ODUNUKAN

Lawbreed Limited, a publishing firm has positioned itself as a

leading law publishing firm in the country.

The Publisher of the Lawbreed, Mr. Layi Baba-tunde, SAN who disclosed this in an interview with our correspondent in Lagos said the firm had not only remained current since it took over the publication of Nigeria’s authoritative Law Report - S.C Report, from the Supreme Court, the company had also done a reprint of the editions previously published by the Supreme Court, before it went out of print.

According to him, ‘We have recently introduced the electronic edition of the S.C. Report. There are other titles published by us, one of which is ‘The Lawyer’s Com-panion, The Third Edition’ of which will be released at the Annual General Confer-ence of the Bar this week’.

Babatunde said the firm intended to build on the goodwill of its numer-

ous users for even greater heights in the future.

On the challenges of law reporting in the coun-try, the publisher admitted that it could be frustrating and regretted that all kinds of charlatans had invaded the publishing industry in the country; with activities ranging from substandard products to outright piracy.

Babatunde said in a bid to meet global standards and penetrate the markets of common law jurisdictions, Lawbreed had brought a lot of improvement to the edi-torial style of the Supreme Court (S.C) Report without compromising its attribute of accuracy.

His words, ‘’The Report as with some other Law Reports to my mind, meet international standards without prejudice to hav-ing room for improvement. However as to selling out-side our shores, I believe we can do better with improved infrastructure and a better image for our country.’’

Asked to react to the en-dorsement of retired Su-preme Court jurist, Justice Emmanuel Ayoola, that

Lawbreed is notable for com-paratively prompt report-ing of SC judgments, the Publisher said ‘’ The com-mendation of a Jurist like Justice Ayoola should not be taken lightly, especially as His Lordship is more than a user of our Law Report; but a pioneer Law Editor and Publisher himself. We are greatly encouraged by His Lordship’s kind gesture and we hope to continue to jus-tify such confidence.’’

Lawbreed Limited is the flagship company of the Lawbreed Group and was incorporated on Jan-uary 17, 1994.

In 1999, the company had the honour of being granted permission by the Supreme Court to take over the pub-lication of the flagship of Nigeria’s indigenous Law Report: Judgments of the Supreme Court of Nigeria (S.C Report). ‘’

The company over the years, has contributed im-mensely to deepening the Nigerian legal literature through the publication of other books that have great-ly enhanced Legal Research and Practice in the country.

Man’s logicA couple wants a di-

vorce, but first they must decide who

will be the main guardian of their child. The jury asks both the man and woman for a reason why

they should be the one to keep the child. So the jury asks the woman first. She says, “Well I carried this child around in my stom-ach for nine months and I had to go through a painful birth process, this is my child and a part of me.”

The jury is impressed and then turns to ask the man the same question. The man replies, “OK, I take a coin and put it in the drink machine and a drink comes out, now tell me who does the drink belong to me or the machine?”.

Why was the lawyer skimming the Bible right before he died? He was looking for loopholes!

What issues do you think will attract the attention of lawyers at annual general conference of the NBA in Calabar?

Well, the issues that will be discussed at the NBA confer-ence are issues designed to empower the members of the legal profession, not only in the conduct of responsibili-ties and duties as lawyers, but also with finding answers to the problems that are facing our democratic experiment.

Apart from the showcase section, there is going to be specialised section. The showcase section will witness the opening ceremony where President Goodluck Jonathan will be there to declare the conference open.

The showcase section that will come thereafter will fo-cus on the economy and the security of the nation. We are also going to have another showcase on money launder-ing. Money Laundering has become an issue throughout the world and it is a transnational problem. Every nation of the world is under obligation to legislate against it.

Nigeria has done this, but the efficacy of the applica-tion of that law still constitutes a challenge and therefore we lawyers are going to concern our ourselves with how the anti-money laundering laws and regulations that we have here in Nigeria can be effectively implemented. How it concerns the legal practitioners. We are also going to look at how the law can be implemented or obeyed within the context of the age-long traditional convention of the legal profession including statutory responsibilities of the legal practitioners to his clients.

For example, the legal practitioner and his clients are in a statuary relationship .Whatever transpired by way of information between the client and the lawyer are supposed to be held by the lawyer in strict confidence. So there is a statutory obligation on the part of the lawyer not to disclose confidential information from his clients and yet we have the anti-money laundering laws and regula-tions which say that lawyers must disclose this informa-tion. So the legal profession is caught in this web. We are going to focus on it.

What other areas? We are going to have a session on section 285(6) of 1999

Constitution; it is going to be purely constitutional issues. Under the new constitution, section 285 has been amend-ed. There is a provision that obligate all election petitions to be completed within a specific statutory period ,first 180 days at the tribunal, second 60days at the Court of Ap-peal and maximum of 60 days at the Supreme Court. The motive behind that provision was the experience we had between 1999 and 2003 and 2003 to 2007.That was a period when election petition cases lasted ad infinitum in our court. Some for three years, some for two and half years once you understand the rationale and the motive behind the National Assembly pegging of time frame. When you also look back to the adjudication of election dispute, post 2011 election, you can conclude that a good number of people do not have justice in their favour. Administration of justice should be such that if you lose, you will be satis-fied that you have lost on the merit. If you win, you will be satisfied that you’ve won on the merit. That is when we say that justice is administered without fear or favour, af-

fection or ill will.After 2011 election, we saw a situation where some of

the cases, if not most of them were thrown out on mere technical ground. An issue of objection was raised at the tribunal that the tribunal ruled in one way or the other, you are dissatisfied, you went to Court of Appeal after that you went to Supreme court. At the Supreme Court, the decision of the tribunal was reversed and you are to go back to the tribunal to have your case reversed. By the time you got back to the tribunal, the tribunal told you sorry your time is up! This is because the180 days have expired. Such a person would be disappointed because he has come to the court without having his dispute resolved. It is not good for our democratic experience. We are going to look at that issues and look whether we can find a solu-tion to it.

There are some other issues that we are going to look at either from section of Business Law to other sections of legal practice.

What is your take on the various allegations of corruption

on the Bench? The NBA is concerned with a lot of issues bordering

on judicial integrity and corruption in the judiciary. Let me say this, I don’t believe in magnifying my problem, what do I mean? It is not correct that the Judiciary of Nigeria lacks integrity, it is not correct to say that the Ju-diciary in Nigeria is corrupt. The judiciary is an institu-tion, that institutions is distinguishable from the judicial officer that overseers the institutions. In Nigeria today, I want to believe, I think I will even find time to get accurate number of judges we have in Nigeria. Judges from High Court to Supreme Court, I am sure we don’t have less than 800 judges and justices in our nation’s judiciary. If out of about 800 judges, 8 of them are guilty of conducts that are highly reprehensible, that does not mean the entire judges of the country should be condemned. This is what a good number of Nigerians are doing. Nigerians have elevated perception to the level of reality, which is wrong.

Let me also emphasise that there is no alternative to the judiciary particularly in a democracy where we continu-ally shout on the roof top that the judiciary is corrupt, the judiciary has no integrity, the judiciary is gone, you are eroding the trust and confidence of the people and people will find no reason to access the court any more .The only alternative to submitting grievances and disputes into law court is anarchy which am sure a good numbers of Nige-rians don’t want.

I believe it is very important for us to know that we should not throw away the baby with the bath water. How-ever I agree that some elements within the system may need to be thrown out. In the regard, it is important to look what the regulatory body of the system has been doing. I am talking about the National Judicial Council (NJC).

We’ll wrestle legal profession from

WHEN YOU ALSO LOOK BACK TO THE ADJUDICATION OF

ELECTION DISPUTE, POST 2011 ELECTION, YOU CAN CONCLUDE THAT A GOOD NUMBER OF PEO-

PLE DO NOT HAVE JUSTICE IN THEIR FAVOUR

Mr. Oladele Adesina is a Senior Ad-vocate of Nigeria (SAN). He is also a former national General Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). In this interview with KENNY ODUNUKAN, he speaks on the issues that should attract interest at the annual Bar conference, allegations of corruption in the judiciary and the amendment of the time frame in the 1999 Constitution for the hearing of election petitions in the country. Excerpts:

Adesina

42 Law & Justice National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.netMonday, August 26, 2013

How do you mean? Within the recent times, the NJC has taken drastic

steps against some judicial personnel that are found to be less credible including someone who tampered with his age. These conducts tell a lot about the credibility of the persons involved. As we speak there are judges who are on suspension for a whole year.

To complement the effort of the NJC as it affect the judi-ciary, the Nigeria Bar Association too has woken up more than ever before to matters of discipline of its members. Under the new leadership, Okey Wali (SAN) the number of prosecutors has been increased phenomenally so that prosecution can be speedier. Some few months ago, not less than five lawyers were disciplined. Some were sanc-tioned outright by way of disbarring them from further practicing as lawyers, some were suspended for various period. So if we are doing this first from the part of the judges, second on the part of the lawyers, Nigerians must begin to appreciate that there is a deliberate effort to sa-nitise the system and people must commend it instead of still condemning the entire institution.

What is your take on the plight of young lawyers in the country?

First, you will appreciate the state of the economy of this nation even though government is telling us that the economy is growing. For me I have not seen any evidence of this growth. We lawyers are all participants in the econ-omy. Secondly the income of any principal must determine his expenditure otherwise he will run out of the system.

There are 1001 law offices today that are existing only at a subsistent level. Work, eat and probably take care of their families. You cannot even employ juniors at all but a few of us that God has been so kind to. Some of us are trying our best and that is not to say that the allegation that seniors are not paying well is not wrong.

When I was the General Secretary of the Bar in 2002, we noted this problem. In fact there were lawyers in high brows in Abuja who were being paid N5, 000 and N10, 000 monthly. Not to talk of some other areas. So we did our survey at the executive meeting and we came up with a formula dividing the entire country into three categories .We said category A will comprise of Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt and we peg the salary of junior members to N25,000.We said category 2 will comprise places like Ibadan, Onitsha, Kaduna, Kano .We peg their salaries at N15,000.Every other town that is outside of category 1 and 2 will constitute category 3 and we peg their salaries to N10,000.This policy was approved by the National Execu-tive Committee. We knew we did not have power to enforce this recommendation, but we have the power to persuade and I was glad to know that a very good numbers of senior adjusted their salaries structure.

That is not say that the amount is reflective of the pres-ent system and a number of things had happened in the economy and a number of firms now pay better amount now. What we did then was a demonstration of the leader-ship of the Bar by recognising the plight of young lawyers as at that time and we can do it again.

There are also some offices that are paying their staff very well, there are. I know what my salaries package for all my staff here in my office amounts to every month, and I never owe any worker for one day. I prefer to go hungry than not to pay their salaries and there are so many other offices like that who pays well.

There are also a section of us who believe that in Britain

tion. Nonetheless due to my vision and goals, I was able to succeed.

How will you advise the Nigerian lawyers on the need to advance the cause of the legal profession?

First, let me say this is the best profession in the world. For me I could not have been anything else. Once you are doing what God has destined you to be doing, sooner or later, you will have a breakthrough. I think my advice really will be targeted towards the junior members of the Bar who today appear to be suffering from the situation they did not create; I want to tell them with confidence that there is hope. Things will get better, particularly when leadership of the Bar continues to search for creative ways of retrieving our jobs from those that have unlawfully ap-propriated and encroached on our professional activity in-cluding but not limited to financial institutions.

There was a time in this country when a carpenter was elected the legal adviser to a political party. This and other similar encroachment into our profession will be vigorous-ly addressed in the days ahead. The imperative of empow-ering our junior members who are the leaders of tomor-row will no longer be treated with kid gloves.

you have to even pay money to be able to serve as juniors in the law offices. .By the time you are with me you are learn-ing the intricacies of the job, you are learning the role that will be well enough to sustain you in the future. However, I believe that arrangement may not be good enough because something must be there to keep the body and soul run-ning before you can learn on the job.

Should retired judges handle election tribunal cases?Well, for me there is nothing to show that a retired

judge will be more credible than a serving judge. If both of them err, how do you intend to discipline the retired judge? He is not under any regulatory body after all, he is retired. He is not under the regulatory authority of NJC anymore and how many do want to charge to court and if you charge them to court, how do you intend to prove cases of corruption against him.

In Nigeria today, corruption cases are the most difficult to establish due to the level we are in administration of criminal justice and criminal investigation. We are still at the base level .Other nations have left us behind. Un-less Nigerian Police take confessional statements from you, they cannot investigate. Whereas in some part of the world investigation has become scientific; it is called Fo-rensic Investigation.

I will prefer people that can still be disciplined by the NJC. So I will pitch my tent with serving judges rather retired judges.

What advice do you have for young lawyers on what it takes to reach the pinnacle of the profession?

Firstly, a young lawyer must have a vision. You must have an idea of what you want .From day one I knew I was going to succeed in this profession and I say that with all sense of gratitude to God. So the first thing is to have a vision because if you don’t have a vision there is nothing God will work on. But with vision and then hard work and prayers, you will get there.

For example, after my call to the Bar, I had a brief pe-riod in the Ministry of Justice. I left there and worked for a company where I worked 2-3 years but when I was there I became totally unfulfilled. I was then working in an In-surance company. I felt so unfulfilled and I immediately resigned. As at the time I resigned I never knew where I was going. I just know I was going to practice. Eventually I found myself with a principal counsel who did not have the capacity to pay me monthly. I was with him for a period of six years without signing a paper of monthly remunera-

impostors, says Adesina THE NJC HAS TAKEN DRASTIC STEPS AGAINST SOME JUDICIAL PERSONNEL THAT ARE FOUND TO BE LESS CREDIBLE INCLUD-ING SOMEONE WHO TAMPERED

WITH HIS AGE

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net 43Monday, August 26, 2013 Law & Justice

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net44 Monday, August 26, 2013 Law & Justice

Since January 1, 1914, the effort to move Nigeria to a higher realm of unity and progress is the common

thread that links the story of the coun-try’s nationalist movement, her founding fathers, the later generations of leaders and the entire country together.

The Nigerian Centenary celebrations offer us a unique opportunity to affirm the obvious truth that Nigeria is not a historical accident, rather “the product of a long and mature consideration”.

Modern-day Nigeria came into being on January 1, 1914, with the formal amal-gamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates of the former British colo-ny. Therefore January 1, 2014, marks 100 years of the union.

To re-inspire the unity of Nigeria, preserve the country’s heritage, and document her history, achievements and progress, it is pertinent to showcase the contributions of law and legal develop-ment in the last 100 years.

Apart from taking stock on law in the country in the last 100 years, it is crucial to evolve ideas that will shape the future for this country.

The first indigenous Nigeria lawyer, Christopher Sapara Williams was born on July 14, 1855. He was said to be of Ijesha origin in South-West Nigeria, but was born in Sierra Leone.

He was called to the English Bar on November 17, 1879. When he returned from the United Kingdom, he began to practice law in the Lagos Colony in Janu-ary 1888 after his enrolment at the Nige-rian Bar.

According to historical accounts, he had an unmatched reputation as an advo-cate, and had intimate knowledge of un-written customary law. Sapara Williams was Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Asso-ciation from 1900 to 1915.

Interestingly, Sapara Williams was not the only one involved in the practice of the law at the time. Due to the shortage of qualified lawyers, it was common for non-lawyers with basic education and some knowledge of English law to be appointed to practice as attorneys until 1913.

As a former National Publicity Sec-retary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chief Oladipo Jimilehin in a lecture titled : ‘’ The Legal Profession and role of lawyers in Nigerian politics’’ delivered at the Faculty of Law, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye recent-ly, states that ‘’ The role of lawyers in politics cannot be thoroughly discussed without particular reference to Christo-pher Sapara Williams, the first Nigerian Lawyer who was called to the English

Bar by the Inner Temple on the 17th No-vember, 1879.

Sapara Williams who played a domi-nant role in politics once said: “A lawyer lives for the direction of his people and the advancement of the cause of his country”.

Indeed, as one of the prominent elite of the period, Sapara Williams was nom-inated to the Nigerian Legislative Coun-cil, and served as a member from October 1901 until his death on March 15, 1915.

Besides Sapara Williams, one should not gloss over the activities of other law-yers who also took keen interest in public affairs. History has it that notable law-yers like Joseph Egerton Shyngle, Eric Moore and J. 1. Nelson-Cole demonstrat-ed a flair for political leadership.

It was gathered that after Sapara Wil-liams was nominated into the Legislative Council, Shyngle became the most active, zealous and ablest legal champion of the people’s cause.

Because of the role that legal practitio-ners seemed to have played in the politics of Lagos before the end of the first de-cade of last century, lawyers were looked upon for leadership and as a fighting bri-gade of the people.

Jimilehin notes that ‘’from about 1908, lawyers appeared to be less prominent in politics. Such individuals as S. H. Pearse, Herbert Macaulay, Rev. James Johnson, Dr. Orisadipe Obasa, Dr. J. K. Randle and Rev. Majola Agbebi were actively assum-ing the leadership roles.’’

However, one lawyer who stood out prominently as a discordant element in those days was Sir Kitoyi Ajasa, He was perhaps the most controversial public figure of his time. Ajasa seemed to be more critical about native African affairs and less critical of British colonialism.

It suffices to point that in the olden days, the legal profession required a for-mal training which could in the past be obtained in England until the passing of the Legal Practitioners Act (LPA) in 1962.

Before then all Nigerian lawyers, like all lawyers from other Commonwealth African countries were trained in Eng-land at the English Inns of Court, i.e. Lin-coln’s Inn; the Inner Temple, the Middle Temple and Grays Inn. But with the pass-ing of the Legal Practitioners Act, 1962, the Nigerian Law School was established with the Council of Legal Education. Since then, lawyers are being produced in Nigeria up to date. By implication, all expatriate lawyers had to be enrolled by the Supreme Court of Nigeria otherwise they would not have the right of audi-ence.

First generation lawyers and legal developmentAhead of Nigeria’s centenary celebrations in January next year, FRANCIS FAMOROTI, Head, Judiciary reflects on the impact of first generation lawyers on legal development in the country.

IN THOSE DAYS, THERE WERE NO NIGERIAN MAGISTRATES AND

JUDGES. OLUMUYIWA JIBOWU WAS THE FIRST NIGERIAN

TO BECOME A MAGISTRATE IN 1931

Reminiscences

In those days there were no Nigerian magistrates and judges. They were all British. Olumuyiwa Jibowu was the first Nigerian to become a magistrate in 1931 and then Adebiyi Desalu followed him in 1938. Adetokunboh Ademola was the third in 1939 and then came Victor Adedapo Kayode, F.E.O. Euba and George Frederick Dove-Edwin in 1940. F.O. Lucas was appointed in 1941.

George Sodeinde Sowemimo, was ap-pointed a magistrate 10 years later, in March 1951.

These were the first Nigerians to be-come magistrates and virtually all of them went on to the higher Bench and did exceedingly well. Unfortunately in 1941, just one year after being appointed as a magistrate, Victor Adedapo Kayode died at the relatively young age of 42 whilst he was presiding over an important land case.

By the late 40s, the likes of his son, Remi Fani-Kayode, Bode Thomas, F.R.A Williams, and Obafemi Awolowo quali-

fied as lawyers and established their law firms in the country.

It is apposite to put on record too that Sir Adetokunbo Ademola, was the first indigenous Chief Justice of the entire Federation of Nigeria, having been so named in 1958 and remained in office till 1972.

Over the years however from the pre-independence and post-independence era, there have been a lot of transforma-tions, improvements and inadequacies in the legal profession.

In a newspaper interview published in July 2012, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN) believed that there had been a major decline in judicial standard and justice delivery in the past 16 years.

He writes that “The greatest era of glo-ry for our judiciary was between the late ‘70s and early ‘90s of the 20th Century. This is known among the legal commu-nity in Nigeria as the ‘golden age’ of the Supreme Court. “That is when we had great jurists and indeed stars as Justice Udo Udoma, Justice Mohammed Bello, Justice Chukwunweike Idigbe, Justice Andrews Otutu Obaseki, Justice Kayode Eso, Justice Anthony Aniagolu, Justice Augustine Nnamani, Justice Adolphus Godwin Karibi-Whyte, Justice Chuk-wudifu Akunne Oputa, Justice Philip Nnaemeka-Agu, sitting on the Supreme Court Bench.

“The philosophy on which they oper-ated during this period was that regard-less of the circumstances, justice must be done. They also believed firmly in the supremacy of the rule of law and no institution, power or principality, be it military or civilian government, was im-mune from the impact of their judicial hammer.

Perhaps, an interesting development in this century is the growing response of the Nigerian law to the realities of the ICT revolution.

As a writer, states, “The inestimable benefits of the various advancements in ICT have until the enactment of the new Evidence Act in 2011 remained a matter of much debate and judicial uncertainty”.

Indeed, in recent times it is important to conclude that any lawyer who ignores the realities of the ICT revolution would be doing so at the expense and peril of his nation or society.

Ademola

Williams

AYODELE OJO

For equity and fair play in the Nigerian polity, the Presiden-

cy must rotate among the

dox, that Ndigbo as true federalists, who dwell in ev-ery nook and cranny of the country, invest across the land and regard every part of the country as home are being blinded by a sectional party, APGA?”

The CNPP however en-couraged George Ezemou in his quest to contest the APC primary on Septem-ber 2, adding that it was of the view that Ezemuo’s bid would satisfy the internal democracy content of lib-eral democracy.

OLAJIDE OMOJOLOMOJU

Ahead of the Novem-ber 16 governorship election in Anam-

bra State, the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP, yesterday bid the rul-ing All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, farewell from the state.

The umbrella body of reg-istered political parties also congratulated the Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha, for his foresight, diligence, uncommon commitment to common good and patrio-tism in bidding good-bye to APGA, by joining the pro-gressive train of the All Pro-gressives Congress, APC.

In a statement, signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Osita Okechuk-wu, the CNPP posited that with Okorocha’s exit from APGA to APC and his role in midwifing a seamless APC primary election in Anambra, the end of APGA in Anambra is near.

Okechukwu said: “The CNPP salutes Governor Okorocha for putting the nation first. Is it not a para-

L-R: Speaker Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Hon. Sam Ikon; Cross River State Governor Liyel Imoke, and his Akwa Ibom State counterpart, Godswill Akpabio at the PDP 2013 South-South Expanded Zonal Executive Meeting in Calabar, yesterday.

2015: Presidency must rotate among six zones –Ukpai

APC sets up state interim committees

Anambra: CNPP bids APGA farewell

CHARLES OKEKE AWKA

The Police in Anam-bra State have arrest-ed about 100 people

allegedly brought in from Lagos, Jos and other cities by a key politician to reg-ister as voters in Anambra State in the ongoing voters revalidation exercise.

It was gathered that the suspects, who were arrest-ed at Igbariam were taken to a police station in Otuo-cha for questioning.

It was gathered that two Independent National Elec-toral Commission, INEC, ad hoc staff who were the registration and assistant registration officers for a key registration unit of Ov-ala Square, Igbariam were also arrested.

National Mirror also reliably gathered that the police also impounded two

The aspirants, who would take part in the primary, having been cleared by the party’s Screening Panel, in-

six geo-political zones in the country as against the present arrangement of rotation based on North and South dichotomy.

A Second Republic senator, Chris Ukpabi, can-

sembly who are members of the party.

It further listed others as former ministers; all immediate past national executive members of the legacy parties; immediate past gubernatorial candi-dates and their deputies where APC does not have a sitting governor who are members of the legacy parties; 9 persons compris-ing of three elders, youths and women respectively, from each of the senato-rial districts of the state; among others.

hammed, the party said the decision to set up the SHC, followed the adoption of the report of the Bello Masari Committee by the National Interim Executive of the party last week.

The SHC shall comprise of president/vice president, past and serving, governors/deputy governors, past and serving, serving and former senators and serving mem-bers of the House of Repre-sentatives who are members of the legacy parties and speakers or minority leaders of the states Houses of As-

Chukwuma Soludo, Sir Os-eloka Obaze, Chief Tony Nncheta, Barrister Francis Idigo and Dr. Chike Obi-digbo from contesting in the primary for reasons of lack of voters’ cards and the needed fund to prosecute the expensive project.

Preparation for the governorship primary ex-pected to feature delegates drawn from the 326 wards of Anambra State, started last week Monday with the conclusion of the ward con-gress and the visit of the National Ward Congress Committee to Awka to vali-date the exercise.

clude a former director of Fidelity Bank Plc and lead-ing contender from Agul-eri, Chief Willy Obiano, a member of the House of Representatives and loyalist of the incumbent governor, who hails from Awka, Hon. Emeke Nwogbo, another member of the House, who hails from Nri in Aniocha Local Government Area, Mrs Uche Ekwunife and a former Secretary to the State Government, SSG, who hails from Ayame-lum, Chief Paul Odenigbo, among other aspirants.

Earlier, the screening panel had disqualified Prof.

vassed this position while speaking with newsmen at the weekend.

Ukpai, who is the Chair-man, Governing Council of the Federal College of Education (Technical), Omoku, also opposed the advocates of power shift to the North.

He stated that the North has had a fair share of gov-ernance in the country.

His words: “They have ruled for more than 38 years. Others are also en-titled to be there. You can’t rule for 38 years and ex-pect others to continue to look at you. Nobody will take it. Now these 38 years they maintained that they are military. But I want to tell you this, whether civil-ian or military, they are Northerners. There is a popular Latin adage which

when translated says “the gown does not make a monk.” What you are is what you are, whether you are wearing “babariga” or not. If you are wearing khaki as a General or you are wearing “Babariga” as a civilian you are from the North.”

He said: “Of course, powers should rotate among the zones. As far as I am concerned, there is nothing like North and South. I stand to be op-posed by anybody. There are six geo-political zones because they are entities of their own. It should ro-tate among the zones and not North and South.”

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chieftain said nothing stops President Goodluck Jonathan from going for a second term.

luxurious buses that were allegedly used to bring the arrested voters from Lagos and Jos to Anambra for the exercise.

A source gave the name of one of the arrested vot-ers as Ofieli, who is said to be a Jos-based trader.

Already, it was also learnt that the Director General of the Ifeanyi Ubah Campaign Organisation, Chief Dan Ulasi, criticised the arrest of the voters, saying there was nothing wrong in mobilising people who have been registered to vote to come home to vote.

He said the innocent citi-zens were being unneces-sarily punished for offering to obey a national call to register to vote.

The Anambra State Po-lice Public Relations Offi-cer, Mr. Emeka Chukwue-meka, could not be reached to comment on the ar-

FELIX NWANERI

All Progressives Congress, APC, has approved the

establishment of State Harmonisation Commit-tees, SHC, in order not to create a vacuum and also to regulate the activities of the party at the state level and the Federal Capi-tal Territory, FCT.

In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its in-terim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mo-

rests as his telephone was switched off when National Mirror called him.

The Anambra State chairman of Labour Party, Sam Oraegbunam, speak-ing on the incident, denied it all, saying that the party does not engage in importa-tion of voters.

Meanwhile, the All Pro-gressives Grand Alliance, APGA, will today conduct its primary to pick its flag bearer in the November 16 governorship election at the Women Development Centre in Awka.

Police arrest INEC adhoc staff, imported voters in AnambraObiano, others battle for APGA ticket

PoliticsNational Mirror

www.nationalmirroronline.netMonday, August 26, 2013 45

How Buhari, Shekarau resolved 7-year-old rift

46

The news last week that former Head of State and the presiden-tial candidate of the defunct

Congress for Progressive Change, CPC and one of the major arrow heads of the newly registered All Progressives Congress, APC, General Muhammadu Buhari and the former governor of Kano State, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, have resolved their long-standing politi-cal dispute, and have pledged to work together for the success of the newly registered APC, could be termed divine intervention. The truce provides a ma-jor boost to the new party, especially in the North.

The two former political allies, whose relationship dated back to their days in the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party, ANPP, specifically parted ways shortly before the 2007 general election, met in Kaduna, the capital of Kaduna State last week to iron out the various issues that led to and escalated their political differences, according to sources close to both of them.

Intimate friends and political allies of General Buhari and Shekarau told National Mirror that the two Northern leaders met in Kaduna last week at the instance of former Minister of Agri-culture under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Alhaji Sani Zangon-Daura.

The truce meeting, which National Mirror learnt was held behind closed doors, took place at the Kaduna fam-ily house of the former minister, who is a long-time associate of the former Head of State and also a close friend of the former governor of Kano State. It was said that the meeting was pur-posely initiated to end the long-stand-ing but silent dispute between the two.

Buhari and Shekarau, who were both presidential candidates on the platform of the defunct ANPP at different times, could not resolve their differences after the bitter disagreement that trailed the 2007 elections as it affected the second term candidature of Shekarau.

National Mirror recalls that the cli-max of the perceived Buhari-Shekarau face-off was the alleged refusal of the party’s two-time presidential candi-date to hand over the flag of the defunct ANPP to Shekarau as the party’s stan-dard bearer in Kano in the 2007 gover-norship election, as the then ANPP’s presidential flag bearer.

In fact, it took the intervention of ANPP youths from Kano State, who accompanied Malam Shekarau to the Abuja secretariat of the party for him to

get the party’s flag as its flag bearer as the party leadership was forced to hand over the ticket to Shekarau, in order to avert possible violence and break down of law and order as threatened by the youths, who were Malam’s foot soldiers.

The youths had stormed Abuja in their thousands for the singular pur-pose of securing the controversial party-flag for Shekarau as ANPP’s gov-ernorship candidate in Kano State; a mission which was eventually accom-plished.

The latest move at reconciling the two warring politicians was said to have been informed by the speculated ambition of the former governor of Kano State and his interest in the 2015 presidential race on the platform of the APC, a position General Buhari is equally believed to be interested in.

The Kaduna peace meeting accord-ing to National Mirror source resolved some of the contending issues between the two leaders, with both agreeing henceforth to work together in the in-terest of the new party and in the inter-est of the Northern region.

National Mirror also learnt that at the meeting, Shekarau agreed to con-cede the presidential position to Gen-eral Buhari, as well as back him for the contest on the platform of the APC, if the former presidential candidate of

AUGUSTINE MADU-WEST reports on the truce that led to the end of a seven-year-old rift between former Head of State and presidential candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), and the immediate past governor of Kano State, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau.

the CPC so desires to run, while opting for a senatorial seat on same platform. One competent source, who claimed being party to the reconciliation effort added that some of the Northern politi-cal leaders and big wigs in the APC had feared that should the former governor of Kano State, who was the defunct ANPP Merger and Alliance Committee chairman and who also wielded some influence in the new party, following his role in the merger process that led to the formation of the opposition party, APC, insist on pursuing his perceived presi-dential ambition, then the existing feud between the duo would, rather than thaw, escalate.

It would be recalled that the feud be-tween the former Army General and the former governor was one of the catalysts that led to Buhari quitting the defunct ANPP to form the equally defunct CPC. It was specifically alleged that his unresolved and irreconcilable differences with Shekarau and the lead-ership of the ANPP led to his exit from the party.

But all that has become history, as the CPC which Buhari formed after his fall-out with the ANPP are now part and parcel of the new merger party, APC.

As it is, the peace efforts, which paid off according to political analysts, is a plus for the APC, especially in the North, where the new party is expected

to face some internal squabbles as a re-sult of the long-standing feud between the former governor and former Head of State.

Analysts are therefore of the opinion that with the new found love between Buhari and Shekarau, the APC is tak-ing off in the North on a sound footing. They also believed that fifth columnists who might have planned to capitalise on the differences between the two leaders of the new party to foment trouble and cause disaffection amongst members of the new party may have to go back to the drawing board to re-strategise.

Meanwhile, last week Wednesday witnessed a grand reception to welcome Shekarau back to the ancient city of Kano. He was returning after a month-long vacation in Saudi Arabia, where he has always spent his annual leave and especially during the month of Rama-dan, since his days in the Kano Govern-ment House.

On his return, his supporters and friends normally organise a welcome reception for him. The tradition has also continued, even after he left office in 2011. This year, his role in the emer-gence of the merger opposition party, the APC, made the reception to be more elaborate than previous ones.

The merging parties, the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, the CPC and the ANPP came together and formed a committee to oversee the reception. Membership of the com-mittee which cuts across the three prominent parties in the APC merger had the chairmen of the defunct ACN, CPC and ANPP in Kano State. Other members of the committee include Hon. Kawu Sumaila, a member of the House of Representatives and chair-man of ANPP Elders’ Council, Alhaji Aminu Imam, who chaired the recep-tion committee.

Shekarau, waving the broom, the symbol of the APC, arrived the Markafi Toll Gate, where the reception com-menced, as early as 11a.m, but could not reach his house until 8p.m, as a result of the mammoth crowd of APC support-ers that thronged the gate to welcome him back home. He could not even make any speech.

One pointer at the reception that gave credence to the harmonious relation-ship among the three major parties in the merger process was the harmoni-ous relationship among members of the three parties that metamorphosed into the APC.

Most members of the party arrived at the reception venue dressed in the colours and logos of the three merging parties, but as soon as the former gov-ernor was cited, they all jettisoned the dresses and put on in one accord the APC symbol and logo to show that the APC has come to stay.

According to the media aide to the former governor, Sule Yau Sule, “it was not only ANPP leaders and mem-bers that came to welcome Shekarau home, leaders and members of the ACN and the CPC in Kano State were there in large numbers, not only to welcome him home, but they also fol-lowed him home.”

How Buhari, Shekarau resolved 7-year-old rift

THE PEACE EFFORTS... IS A PLUS FOR THE

APC, ESPECIALLY IN THE NORTH, WHERE

THE NEW PARTY IS EXPECTED TO FACE

SOME INTERNAL SQUABBLES AS A RESULT OF THE LONG-STANDING

FEUD BETWEEN THE FORMER GOVERNOR

AND FORMER HEAD OF STATE

Buhari

Zangon-Daura

Shakarau

Politics National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.netMonday, August 26, 201346

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net 47Monday, August 26, 2013 South South

Samsung to deploy ex-militants in ship building projects

Navy hands over 12 suspected oil thieves to EFCC

FRANCIS EZEM

Korean firm, Samsung Heavy Industries, has unveiled plans

to commence ship build-ing projects in Nigeria in partnership with Bradama International Skill Works Limited.

The partnership is ex-pected to create 1, 000 jobs for ex-Niger Delta militants undergoing training in weld-ing and ancillary services at Bradama facilities located in Agadagba-Obon in Ese Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State.

Bradama has trained highly skilled welders under the Federal Government-sponsored training pro-grammes for ex-militants as part of the Amnesty Pro-gramme.

According to the promot-ers, the trainees will be de-ployed in the construction of heavy duty equipment and ship components after they have acquired prerequisite international training that will be provided by the cen-tre.

General Manager, Sam-sung Heavy Industries, Frank Ejizu, said Bradama was recommended by ex-perts and professionals in the welding construction in-dustry, because of its marked achievements within in a short period of operation.

He said; “We have been

EMMA GBEMUDUYENAGOA

A C a m e r o u n i a n and 11 Nigerians linked with the al-

leged stealing of 10, 000 litres of illegally refined diesel were at the week-end in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, handed over to an of-ficial of the Economic and Financial Crimes Com-mission, EFCC, Mr. Ogbu Michael, by the Nigerian Navy.

The suspects were ar-rested on May 16 off Brass River entrance by a naval patrol team attached to the Forward Operations Base, FOB, Egweama, near Brass.

Operation Officer of the Central Naval Command, Yenagoa, Commodore Em-manuel Enemor, disclosed this to journalists at the weekend in Yenagoa. He said the arrested Camerou-

nian was identified as the captain of the impounded vessel, MV Sea Giant.

According to the naval official, the vessel lacked a ship log, Nigerian Ports Authority bunkering per-mit and certificate of regis-tration with the Joint Task Force, JTF.

Enemor said the sus-pects claimed the product on the vessel was meant for running machine rises, but, a laboratory sample indicated that it was an il-legally refined Automotive Gasoline Oil, AGO.

He went on: “MV Sea Giant operates under the business name and license of MOEN Marine Limited located in Victoria Island, Lagos. The captain con-fessed during interroga-tion that the vessel came from Lagos to load AGO from a barge at Agbara off-shore.”

The Operations Officer said the arrest recorded

by the Navy was due to the unrelenting effort of the Nigerian Navy to curb all forms of illegal activities and criminality in the mar-itime environment.

He said: “Besides, the territorial waters, Exclu-sive Economic Zone, EEZ and the high sea, other wa-ter bodies that are of seri-ous concern to us in the fight against criminalities in the command are the Brass River, Nun River, St. Nicholas River and Santa Barbara River. Others in-clude the Sambreiro River, Middleton River, Akassa Creek and the Foropa Com-munity.”

“In line with the charge handed to the Chief of Naval Staff by President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, to eradicate crude oil theft and other criminality from the country’s waters, the Chief of Naval Staff has or-dered all round patrol of in-land waters and adjoining

seas,” he explained.

Enemor further said that the chief of naval staff had deployed more boats and sea going vessels to the Central Naval Command to facilitate the implementa-tion of his directives.

SAM OLUWALANA

A group that is be-lieved to be loyal to Rivers State Gover-

nor, Rotimi Amaechi, has dismissed a report credited to the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, in which he said for peace to return to the state, the sus-pended Obio-Akpor Local Council chairman and coun-cillors must be recalled.

The group, the Rivers Peoples Forum, RPF, in a statement by its President, Charles Bekwele, said the minister is in no position to give any condition, insisting on its earlier call that Wike must be arrested and pros-ecuted for threatening the peace in the state.

But Media Aide to the Minister, Simon Uwakaudu, when contacted on the is-sue yesterday, described the group as a faceless one with frivolous allegations.

RPF said; “It is ridiculous that Wike, who has openly threatened the peace and people of Rivers State is still

been allowed to roam the streets and make further in-citing comments.

“Who does he (Wike) think he is, to say the suspended Obio-Akpor Council execu-tive must be recalled for peace to return to Rivers State?

“For crying out loud, these people were suspended for monumental fraud and a serving minister is saying they should be recalled just like that? the statement said.

RPF also insisted that Wike is already campaign-ing to be governor of Rivers State and it is too late for him to deny it.

“Wike threatened the peace and people of Rivers State. He said the state will be uncom-fortable, ungovernable. It is on record, on tape, in a video, it is on the internet and many newspapers reported it. He cannot try to twist it now.

“Wike must be arrested and tried for threatening the peace and people of Rivers State. The Inspector-General of Police must act now, this man should not be allowed to roam the streets and con-tinue to make more inciting comments.”

L-R: Senator representing Uyo Senatorial District, Senator Ita Enang; Akwa Ibom State Deputy Governor, Lady Valerie Ebe and state Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Bassey Albert, during the funeral service held for the immediate past Transition Committee Chairman of Ibiono Ibom Local Government Council, late Mrs. Hannah Essien, in Okoita, on Saturday.

looking for a reputable com-pany that specialises in weld-ing and fabrication and we were directed to Bradama by experts, because we intend to train people on fabrication and ship building.

“We are here to look at the facility and we will soon make another more detailed visit to audit the facilities with a view to partnering with them and upgrade the centre so that the training and certification will be of international stan-dards.”

He said Samsung Heavy In-dustries will bring in experts from Korea to train the ex-mil-itants so that they could have the prerequisite expertise and experience to enable them work anywhere in the world.

“It is not our intention to take over the centre, but we will partner with the centre to churn out highly skilled weld-ers who will be able to stand tall among their colleagues in the world. We are a company that believes that Nigerians with the relevant qualifica-tion should be able to compete in the industry anywhere.

“The gain is that the trainees, apart from been well trained, will ultimately stand the chance of being employed in our ship build-ing projects while others with the upgrade modern knowledge in welding should be able to work for reputable companies all over the world.

Founder of the skills cen-

tre, Chief Bibopere Ajube, while welcoming the Sam-sung Heavy Industries’ team to the centre, said he is glad that the centre has been so honoured by a repu-table company like Samsung Heavy Industries and that the achievements of Brad-ama over the last three years have placed it as a reputable training centre not only in Nigeria but in Africa.

“We are pleased to have the Samsung Heavy Indus-tries’ team at the centre and we are optimistic that the ar-rangement will materialise and I will be happy to see our trained graduates working for established companies like Samsung in the nearest future,” Ajube said.

Group fl ays minister over comments on Amaechi

TONY ANICHEBEUYO

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association

of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, has threatened that it will use any means within the confines of the law to resist the negative atti-tude of the management of Frontier Oil Limited towards the formation of union activities in the company.

The management of the company had allegedly em-barrassed the union mem-bers by using the police to abort a meeting of the union’s representatives and

PENGASSAN tackles oil fi rm over stand on unionism

issued queries to 10 of its members of staff for their role in the formation of unionism in the company.

Speaking with journalists in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, the Zonal Chairman of the union, Mr. Friday Otono, said the company’s action violates section 40 of the 1999 Constitution which guar-antees freedom and right to belong to any union; and also constitute an infraction of the Trade Union Acts, section 2 of 2005 on volun-teerism.

He said the management’s hostile attitude presupposes that the workers are work-ing under “slave labour” and this must be resisted.

TONY ANICHEBEUYO

The Humanist As-sociation for Peace and Social Toler-

ance Advancement, HAP-STA, yesterday embarked on a campaign against su-perstitious beliefs in Akwa Ibom State with the aim of reducing the high rate of witchcraft accusations in the state.

At the HAPSTA 2013 in-ternational conference in Eket with the theme: “Su-perstition, Human Rights

and Development in Afri-ca,” Chief Ann Medekong, a key note speaker, said su-perstition has created a lot of human rights problems in the state.

Medekong, who defined superstition as a derogato-ry term for belief in super-natural causality that one event leads to the cause of another without any natu-ral process linking the two events, such as astrology, religion, omen, witchcraft, etc, that contradicts natu-ral science.

She said; “Superstitious

people are never creative or productive because they always live in fear of things that occurs in their environment.”

Medekong said so many abandoned children in the state are victims of super-stitious beliefs by their family members.

According to her; “When people who are su-perstitious in reasoning find themselves in a confu-sion or dilemma, they often times attribute the cause to the person they see in their dream the day before.

NGO mounts campaign against superstitious beliefs

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net48 North Monday, August 26, 2013

Wife of the President, Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan (left), sympathising with an accident victim, Mrs. Titi Olorunda, during her visit to Premus Hospital at Karu in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO: STATE HOUSE

Three secret cult members die during initiationWOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN

No fewer than three members of a se-cret cult known as

Eiye Confraternity died yesterday morning when the police and men of a vigilance group raided the cult’s hideout in Ilo-rin.

Four members of the secret cult were injured and 18 others were ar-rested.

The security person-nel stormed the hideout while new members were being initiated.

Confirming the inci-dent yesterday evening, the Police Public Rela-tions Officer (PPRO),

Olufemi Fabode, said the initial information the police gathered was that armed robbers were, on Saturday night, hiding in a bush behind NAS-FAT village along Airport Road in Ilorin.

Fabode said “This prompted various vigi-lance groups in the com-munities around the place to mount surveillance on the area particularly on all roads leading to the bush and waited until the early hours of Sunday when the Eiye Confraternity began the initiation.

“On noticing that se-curity personnel had laid ambush for them, they ran into the waiting hands of the people who mistook

them for armed robbers and opened fire on them”.

The PPRO said in the ensued exchange of gun fires, three of the cult members fell and they were about to be set ablaze before intervention by the police.

He said four others also got critically injured while 18 of them were arrested.

Fabode said some of the cult members came from Lagos, Osun and Oyo states, promising that more of them would be ar-rested soon.

He said the cult mem-bers ran into various di-rections when they heard that some of their col-leagues had been arrested by the police.

The bodies of those killed were, however, deposited at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) mortuary, while those in-jured were taken to another hospital for treatment.

Fabode called for useful information to the police with a view to make the state crime-free.

He urged parents to moni-tor the movement of their wards.

The police spokesman said: “Some of those arrest-ed have disclosed that they were yet to gain admission to higher institutions neither did their parents know their whereabouts. If this could happen, then they would graduate to become king-pin of the group.”

The Niger State Min-istry of Health has ordered the closure

of 20 private hospitals in the state for operating il-legally and without follow-ing proper medical proce-dures.

The Director, Private Hospitals and Labora-tories, Dr. Usman Baba-Agaie, stated this during an interactive session with journalists yesterday in Minna, the state capital.

He said the action be-came necessary because the hospitals operated be-yond their mandate as con-tained in their operating licences.

Baba-Agaie said the hos-pitals were found to have contravened the guidelines set for their operations, adding that some of them conducted illegal abortions

on pregnant women even when they did not have the equipment necessary for such practices.

The director said some of the hospitals illegally transfused blood on pa-tients without proper equipment or trained per-sonnel to conduct simple blood tests or screening be-fore transfusion.

He said that some of the hospitals were discovered to have carried out illegal surgical operations outside their scope of licence and without the required medi-cal personnel or suitable operating theatre.

The director, however, said the ministry had no option than to seal such hospitals and withdrew their operating licences in the interest and safety of the public, adding that the

closure would be perma-nent.

Baba-Agaie said: “These hospitals were licenced to treat minor illnesses such as headaches, fever and vomiting among others, and they were expected to refer complicated cases to better equipped medical facilities, but some of them had chosen to operate out-side their mandates.’’

According to him, the ministry had informed se-curity agents about the ac-tivities of the managers of the hospitals to ensure that they did not reopen.

He urged members of the public to report the activities of any hospital or staff that carried out il-legal medical procedure or operation to the ministry for necessary investigation and action.

Tofa asks INEC to explain rationale behind PDM’s registrationNiger shuts 20 hospitals over illegal practice

Why Shekau’s death may not end insurgency –SaniAZA MSUE KADUNA

President of the Civil Rights Congress of Ni-geria (CRCN), Mallam

Shehu Sani, has said that the death of the Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, may not end the insecurity confronting the country as long as some members of the sect are still aggrieved.

Sani facilitated the meet-ing between the Boko Haram sect and former President Olusegun Obasanjo last year in Maiduguri.

Answering questions from journalists shortly after a news conference on the newly registered All Pro-gressives Congress (APC), Sani said: “If at all Shekau was killed by the Joint Task Force (JTF), there would be an announcement by the Shura Council that Shakau had been killed and suc-cessor would have been ap-pointed.

“Nigerians should not be-lieve that Shakau was killed until the JTF or government or dialogue committee pres-ents his body.

“We should not misin-form ourselves, the killing of Shekau will not end in-surgency in Nigeria as long as there is one person who is aggrieved or two people who are aggrieved in the Boko Haram sect.

“The only way out for this insurgency is for the gov-ernment to dust the report which I brought to it through former President Obasan-jo and secondly, the one brought to the government

through Dr Datti Ahmed which was facilitated by a freelance journalist Ahmed Sekida. The road map for peace is first to get mediators that are accepted by the Boko Haram sect and recognised by the government.

“Dialogue is recognised by the government and not accepted by Boko Haram sect as it is now. A cease fire needs to be agreed upon and it should be announced by Boko Haram and not the gov-ernment because the cease fire that has been coming up for the past two to three years is the one that has been an-nounced by the government and dismissed by the Boko Haram.

“And then the third step will be to ask the Boko Ha-ram sect to provide for such a list of their members who they believe should be re-leased from detection. Now, the government is only re-leasing innocent persons who have no links and no contacts with the Boko Ha-ram.”

Speaking on the APC, Sani, indicated his interest to contest the governorship or senatorial election in Ka-duna State on the platform of the party in 2015.

He called on the leader-ship of the party to ensure internal democracy and car-ry all sections of the country along.

“The leadership of the APC at the national level must do everything to allay the fears of the people in the South-East and South-South who felt marginalised in the settings of the party.

AUGUSTINE MADU-WESTKANO

Elder statesman Al-haji Bashir Tofa has asked the In-

dependent National Elec-toral Commission (INEC) to explain to Nigerians the rationale behind its registration of the Peo-ples Democratic Move-ment PDM and the Inde-pendent Democrat (ID).

Tofa said for Nigeri-ans to appreciate the registration of the two parties, the electoral body must explain the rationale behind its ac-tion.

He said: When I heard about the registration of PDM and ID, I told myself that INEC had an explanation to offer

because they may have seen some potential in them that others failed to see, something lacking in the existing parties.

“I think strongly that INEC needs to come out and explain this to the satisfaction of Nigeri-ans, particularly why the sudden de-registration of some parties and the sud-den registration of new ones.”

But the elder states-man described the regis-tration of the All Progres-sives Congress (APC) as a welcome development.

He said: “We can un-derstand the registration because it has been there for a long time and people were talking about it, so it was an open thing and there were a lot of prepa-ration, but just take a look

at the two new parties, which suddenly came up and were registered qui-etly.”

Tofa said he was not questioning or disputing the viability of the two parties, but asked INEC to explain why it deregis-tered some parties and se-cretly register new ones.

He said: “At least, the people should understand the thinking behind it so that they can support INEC and the good work it is doing.’’

Tofa, however, admit-ted that the new parties could spring up surprise as they could provide platforms for aggrieved and frustrated members of the Peoples Demo-cratic Party (PDP) and the APC to pursue their political ambitions.

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net Monday, August 26, 2013 49North

Sokoto Gov. Aliyu Wamakko

Senator warns stakeholders on APC leadership EZEKIEL TITUSBAUCHI

The senator repre-senting Bauchi North senatorial

district in the National Assembly, Senator Nazif Gamawa, has warned loy-alists of the newly formed All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state to disre-gard any person or group claiming the leadership of the party.

He charged supporters of the party at the state

level to await further di-rectives from the party’s national secretariat.

The senator made the charge yesterday while ad-dressing members of the defunct ACN and ANPP in his residence in Bau-chi. He said this became imperative as a strategy to ensure the unity of the party ahead of the 2015 polls.

Gamawa noted that the national secretariat of the APC will soon made a pronouncement on the

modalities for putting in place structures of the party in all the 36 states of the federation, including the FCT, Abuja, in prepa-ration for political activi-ties ahead of elections.

“Am telling you to dis-regards any person or group claiming the lead-ership of the party in the state until further direc-tives from the national headquarters of the party, Nazif said.”

Senator Nazif added that there is no way the

APC will not defeat the ruling PDP where its members are in disar-ray, hence the need to put heads together.

According to him, Nige-rians have every cause to wrest power from the PDP that has only succeeded in deceiving the nation all this while with no de-velopment to substantiate their claims of providing democracy dividends to the citizenry. He also la-mented the security chal-lenges facing the country.

2015: ‘Ebira should contest Kogi governorship seat’

5, 180 Sokoto pilgrims to perform 2013 Hajj

Northern govs mourn ex-UNPP chairman

WALE IBRAHIMLOKOJA

Disturbed by the spate of underdevelop-ment in Ebira land,

former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja and now the Vice-Chancel-lor of Sokoto State Univer-sity, Prof. Nuhu Yakubu, has called on Ebira people in Kogi State to contest the 2015 governorship seat.

Yakubu made this call while speaking as chair-man of a forum organised by the Ebira Renaissance Group, ERG, as part of ef-forts to bring about cultural and moral revival in Ebira land that is currently per-vaded by politics of bitter-ness and hatred.

The university admin-istrator said the period between 2005 and 2011 has been described as the dark-est period in the history of Ebira land, where violence became the order of the day as youths were engaged as political thugs by the self

seeking politicians.He said following the

monopolistic tendencies of the Igala people in the state, Ebira politicians should not accept any second fiddle role. He said Ebira people will not adopt violence to prosecute this noble objec-tive this time around, call-ing on the people to support politicians from the west-ern senatorial district for the governorship seat.

Yakubu said though poli-tics was rancorous in the 1960s, where belonging to a political party was a major problem in the land, he said it never escalated to what happened between 2005 and 2011, when killing, arson and destruction of proper-ty, became other of the day.

He, however, lauded the Ebira Renaissance Group for taking the bull by the horns, wanting to re orien-tate the youths in Ebiraland about the core values of the spirit of love and commu-nality and bring sanity to Ebira politics.

PRISCILLA DENNISMINNA

The Northern States Governors Fo-rum, NSGF, has

described the death of former Chairman of the United Nigeria Peoples Party, UNPP, and busi-ness tycoon, Alhaji Saleh Jambo, as a great loss to the nation’s political es-tablishment, the business community and humanity in general.

Chairman of the forum

and Governor of Niger State, Dr Mu’azu Baban-gida Aliyu, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Danladi Ndayebo, said the role of the late UNPP chairman as a stabilising factor in the nation’s political fir-mament, will remain ever-green when the history of the country’s development is being written.

“Thanks to the vision,

commitment and hard work of the late business-man and former Chair-man of the UNPP and the horde of his protégés, who worked for him, his party and at a time, became one of the leading lights in our country’s political estab-lishment.”

The statement ex-pressed the hope that the generation of politicians and businessmen who ben-

efited from the immense knowledge and manage-rial abilities of the late Saleh Jambo will keep the flag flying, by protecting the legacy he left behind.

It further commiser-ated with the members of the Jambo family and prayed that God will give them the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss, while also granting the departed eternal rest.

The Sokoto State gov-ernment yesterday said at least 5, 180

prospective pilgrims from the state are expected to perform this year Hajj.

Chairman of the state Pilgrims’ Welfare Agency, Alhaji Muntari Maigona, told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Sokoto that the figure was arrived at after the reduction of 20 per cent of the number of pilgrims in the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.

“Initially, Sokoto State was allocated 6, 450 seats and they were duly allocat-ed to the 23 local govern-ment areas of the state.

“But when the need to reduce the figure by 20 per cent arose, we conducted ballot across the state and successfully effected the reduction,” he added.

Maigona explained that the agency had concluded all arrangements required to ensure the success of the exercise.

He said the local gov-ernment had refunded the hajj fares of all prospec-tive pilgrims who were af-fected by the reduction.

“All those who were af-fected and needed their money back had since been refunded across the 23 local governments.

“But all those who want

the agency and the local governments to keep the money until the 2014 hajj would be given automatic seats next year,” he said.

Maigona further an-nounced that the state gov-ernment had since given the agency the funds re-quired to successfully con-duct this year’s hajj.

Also speaking, the Me-dia Assistant to the agen-cy, Alhaji Faruk Umar, said that public enlighten-ment by the state govern-ment had been intensified by the unit.

This, according to Umar, is to sensitise the pilgrims to methods of performing the basic hajj rites, be law abiding and how to safeguard their ba-sic travelling allowances.

“We are duly and prop-erly employing all means in this direction. This is aimed at preventing all the recurring problems af-fecting hajj in the past,” he added.

L-R: Former Speaker, House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Masari; Sen. Sani Saleh and Chairman, Kaduna North Local Government Area, Alhaji Samaila Suleiman, at the presentation of cars, motorcycles and other items to the campaign team of Sen. Saleh in Kaduna, at the weekend.

The vice-chancellor also admitted that educa-tion was also not given the pride of place it used to enjoy, blaming politicians for the current state of edu-cation in the land. He said when politicians engage youths as thugs and give them money, their think-ing would be that there was money in politics.

Earlier in his address, the Coordinator of Ebira Renaissance Group, Pastor Suleiman Joseph, said the

group was out to bring re-vival to Ebiraland against the backdrop of politics of self-destruction brought into politics in the area.

Joseph added that the mission of the ERG is to ignite the fire of moral revolution through politi-cal education and value re-orientation, noting that the group shall interface with stakeholders in the Ebira project for purposeful and mutually rewarding out-come.

In their separate con-tributions, former Chair-men of the defunct ANPP, Alhaji Sani Shehu and his defunct ACN counterpart, Alhaji Bappa Tafida, cau-tion members of the par-ty not to allow themselves to be used by the opposi-tion to disrupt the plans of the party, but should rather put heads together in unity.

They also accused the PDP of double standards without putting smiles on

the faces of Nigerians in tandem with their politi-cal promises but only suc-ceeded in creating perma-nent poverty among the people.

The two called on the entire people of the state to shun the PDP ahead of the 2015 polls, but to support a party that will liberate the country from bad leadership and pov-erty of ideas, which the PDP administration was known for since 1999.

Community Mirror50 National Mirror

www.nationalmirroronline.netMonday, August 26, 2013

The demand for Nigerian crude is dropping and supply for the product from other countries has increased, hence the price of

the product in the economic sense would drop. PRESIDENT, DANGOTE GROUP, ALHAJI ALIKO DANGOTE

WALE IGBINTADE

A member of the Kim-ise branch of the Iku-porosi chieftaincy fam-

ily of Ilasamaja, Lagos State, Mudashiru Idowu Dauda has implored a Lagos High Court to restrain the state Attorney General, and the Commis-sioner for Chieftaincy Affairs from installing one Fatai Salau Aberejo as Baale of Ilasamaja community.

The claimant also joined as defendants, the Joint Chief-taincy Committee, Oshodi/Isolo and Ejigbo Local Govern-ment and four others.

In suit No-ID/667/2013, the claimant is asking for a decla-ration that the activities of the defendants violated section 23 (1) (2) (and (d) of the Obas and Chiefs of Lagos State Law 2002.

Consequently, he urged the court to invoke Section 23(1) and set aside all the processes leading to the making of the first defendant, Aberejo, as Baale of Ilasamaja commu-nity.

The claimant in his 80-para-graph statement of claim filed by his lawyer, Matti Olalekan averred that he was nominat-ed by the Ikuporosi chieftain-cy family as candidate to fill the vacant stool of Baale in Ilasamaja.

He added that the stool of the Baale of Ilasamaja is ex-clusively for the four branches namely; Kimise, Ikujeniya, Olaosi and Akinsowon respec-tively.

Dauda alleged that all five former Baales have been within the Akinsowon branch, while the 6th Baale did not relate to the original four branches of the chieftaincy

family.The claimant who traced his

family lineage from one Dauda Gbadamosi said the first de-fendant and his relations are monopolising the chieftaincy stool that rightfully belonged to the four ruling houses.

He further averred that in order to prevent other recog-nised family from benefiting from the Baaleship, the Fabiyi family allegedly shifted the stool to another clan not re-lated to Ikuporosi.

The claimant further al-leged that one Chief Mojeed Jimoh Aje who was installed Baale from 1982 to 2004, was not a member of the Ikupor-osi chieftaincy clan and did not relate to the original four branches of the chieftaincy family.

He further stated that there was no existing registered law that regulates the nomination,

selection and appointment of Baale in the community ex-cept the Lagos State Chiefs Laws and the existing norms and customs.

The claimant added that having held several meetings, the four ruling houses unani-mously accepted his nomina-tion before his family present-ed his name to the consenting authority of Osodi/Isolo Local Government Joint Chieftaincy Committee.

Dauda stated that although his family presented him as candidate to the stool, the Chieftaincy Committee alleg-edly refused to accept his can-didature.

Consequently, he urged the court to order a perpetual in-junction restraining the con-senting authority from recog-nising the first defendant as Baale pending the determina-tion of the suit.

Ilasamaja: Family asks court to stop installation of Baale Children playing with disused tyres in Bogoro Local Government Area of Bauchi, yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

AYO ESAN

As a way of improving unity and boosting eco-nomic development, the

National Coordinator of Oodua People’s Congress, OPC, and chief promoter of Olokun Festi-val Foundation, Otunba Gani Ad-ams, has appealed to federal and state governments to restore the lost glory of the various cultures and heritage across the country.

Making the appeal at the cel-ebration of the Osun Osogbo 2013 festival, he called on leaders and political office holders to emulate the Osun River goddess with re-gard to love, creativity, justice and tranquility which are the basic te-nets of peace and unity.

Adams said, Nigeria is in the wilderness as it has failed to up-hold the tenets of the Osun River goddess, noting that culture plays an important role in the lives of people.

He said, “It is for this reason that our elders said a man with-out culture is dead. It is unfortu-nate that the colonialists out of ignorance and deliberate efforts to denigrate the black race, derid-ed our culture, custom, religion, political organisation, science, commerce and everything about the so called ‘primitive’ race”.

He maintained that such atti-tude was the justification for the subjugation and forceful appro-priation of the wealth of black countries including Nigeria.

Adams said to correct this anomaly; every tier of govern-ment should formulate policies meant to restore the lost cul-ture, custom and heritage of the various ethnic groups in the country.

The OPC leader said, doing this will enhance economic de-velopment and usher peace and unity among the various nation-alities.

OPC chieftain seeks commitment to culture restoration

Man arrested for burglary RICHARD NDOMACALABAR

The police have arrested a suspected buglar, Mr. Christian Okon in Cala-

bar for allegedly breaking into the house of the Assistant Con-troller of Customs.

Okon, was arrested after al-legedly breaking into the resi-

dence at No. 30 Totsman Etody Street, Ekorinim

The Assistant Controller of Customs, Mr. Tony Udeze was reported to have travelled with his wife and children, when Okon sneaked into the house.

When arrested, the suspect pleaded not to be taken to court, as he claimed to be below 18 years of age.

The suspect reportedly went to the Judges Quarters during a heavy downpour.

Eye witnesses, said they saw Okon loitering around the area before scaling the wall into the compound of the one-storey building.

As residents of the area no-ticed suspicious movement, they cordoned off the building

JAMES DANJUMAKATSINA

Several houses in Kusada Local Government Area of Katsina State have col-

lapsed due to heavy rains in the past one week.

The houses had collapsed after three ponds in some communities overflowed, while several drainages were blocked during the torrential rainfall.

Though no lives were lost, it was, however, gathered that houses built mostly with mud were affected, while several household items and animals were lost.

Some government officials including the caretaker com-mittee chairman, Mansir Murnai has visited the affect-ed areas.

During the visit, Murnai called on relevant officers to use fire service trucks to drain the waters in the overflowing ponds.

He also called on other council areas to assist by mak-ing available their fire trucks, even as he urged people in the area to engage in communal efforts as a way of forestalling future occurrence.

Flood washes away houses in Katsina

and called in the police who then apprehended Okon.

The Police public Relations officer, Mr. Hagan Bassey who confirmed the arrest, said the suspect would be charged to court after investigations.

He said items recovered from the suspect include one DSTV decoder, 20 expensive jewelries, wrappers and other clothing.

Zimbabwe’s long-serving president yesterday threat-

ened to expel foreign-owned companies over what he said was the West’s interference in the politics of the coun-try he has led since 1980.

President Robert Mugabe said he wanted no “ideas from London or Washington,” speak-ing before supporters at the funeral of a top mil-itary chief in Harare. He warned the Western powers that although his government hasn’t

“done anything to your companies, time will come when we will say tit for tat.”

He said: “You hit me, I hit you. We have a coun-try to run and we must be left free to run it.”

Britain, the former colonial power, the European Union and the United States have refused to endorse Mugabe’s landslide vic-tory in the July 31 elec-tions, citing evidence of vote rigging. The West-ern countries maintain economic restrictions

on Mugabe and leaders of his ruling party.

Mugabe insists his party won “a resound-ing mandate” in the last election and denies alle-gations of voting fraud. Zimbabwe’s state elec-tion panel said Mugabe won the July 31 elec-tions with 61 percent of the presidential vote.

Mugabe, who was sworn in Thursday for another five-year term at the age of 89, said that “there will come a time when we lose our pa-tience” with the West’s

pressure for democratic reforms.

“I want to assure you our attitude will not

continue to be passive,” Mugabe said Sunday. “We have had enough and enough is enough.”

itary three days later.He is being detained while pros-

ecutors investigate allegations related to his escape from prison during the uprising that forced Mubarak from power, including that he conspired with the Pales-tinian militant group Hamas.

Yesterday, Mubarak ap-peared in the dock inside the high-security courtroom at the police academy on the eastern outskirts of Cairo sitting in a wheelchair, wearing a white tracksuit and dark sunglasses.

The 85-year-old was report-edly flown by helicopter to the court from a military hospital

where he has been held under house arrest since his release from prison on Thursday. The hearing has been adjourned un-til 14 September.

Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison in June 2012 after being found guilty of complic-ity in the killing of hundreds of protesters. His former interior minister, Habib al-Adly, also re-ceived a life sentence, but the security chiefs were acquitted.

The former president and his sons, Alaa and Gamal, were cleared of separate charges of corruption relating to a gas ex-port deal at the same trial because

of the statute of limitations.In January 2013, the Court

of Cassation accepted appeals against their convictions by Mr Mubarak and Adly and ordered a retrial of all the defendants. Their supporters had noted that the orig-inal trial judge had said there was no evidence linking Mr Mubarak to the shooting of protesters.

Their retrial began in May but it has been repeatedly adjourned for various reasons, prompting claims from pro-democracy ac-tivists and representatives of the victims that the judges and defence team were dragging out proceedings to avoid a verdict.

On Thursday, Mubarak was moved from a prison cell to house arrest at the hospital in Maadi, ending more than two years of incarceration.

It came a day after a court ruled that he could no longer be detained in relation to a sepa-rate corruption case that alleges he accepted gifts from the state-run publisher, al-Ahram. He has already served the maximum time allowed in custody in con-nection to the complicity case.

Under President Morsi, state prosecutors brought new charg-es when courts ordered Mr Mubarak’s release to ensure he was kept in detention. Alaa and Gamal Mubarak are being held on multiple corruption charges.

Mugabe threatens to expel foreign-owned fi rms

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, 85, is escorted by medical and security personnel into an ambulance, in Cairo, yesterday. PHOTO: AP

Mugabe

PAUL ARHEWEWITH AGENCY REPORTS

The former Egyptian Pres-ident, Hosni Mubarak, has appeared in court,

three days after he was released from prison and placed under house arrest.

Mubarak is facing a retrial on charges of complicity in the kill-ing of protesters during the 2011 uprising.

He sat in the defendants’ cage along with his two sons, former interior minister, and six secu-rity chiefs.

Earlier, the separate trial of the Muslim Brotherhood’s gen-eral guide and his two deputies was adjourned.

The court convened briefly and made its decision because Mohammed Badie, Khairat al-Shater and Rashad Bayoumi were absent for security reasons.

Their presence was requested for the trial’s resumption on 29 October.

The Brotherhood leaders face charges of inciting the mur-der of protesters who stormed the Islamist movement’s head-quarters in Cairo on 30 June as millions took to the streets demanding the resignation of Mubarak’s democratically elect-ed successor, Mohammed Morsi.

Morsi was deposed by the mil-

51National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.netMonday, August 26, 2013

World News

Shells fired by M23 rebels killed at least three people in Congo’s eastern city of Goma on Satur-day, the United Nations said, as Congo and Rwanda traded accusations over days of border clashes that have drawn in a new, robustly mandated U.N. force.

Two more civilians died during demonstrations that broke out in the wake of the shelling, the United Nations said.

Fighting between M23 and Congolese soldiers, after the rebels entered a security zone around Goma on Wednesday, has now killed at least seven civilians. On Thursday, a U.N. brigade formed to neutralize armed groups in Congo saw its first military action, firing artillery at the rebels.

Former President Nelson Mandela remains in the hospital and his condition is critical, but stable, South African President Jacob Zuma said in a statement, reported yesterday.

“While at times, his condition becomes unstable, the doctors indicate that the former presi-dent has demonstrated great resilience and his condition tends to stabilize as a result of medical interventions,” the state-ment reads.

Zuma said that doctors are still working to further improve Mandela’s health and keep him comfortable.

He also urged South Africans to pray for Mandela, who is 95 years old.

Zuma travelled to Malaysia yesterday.

The Lifetime Award for Global Peace will be awarded to Mandela by the Mahathir Global Peace Foundation, and Zuma will accept the award on Mandela’s behalf.

Several South Sudanese army generals have been put under investigation for alleged human rights abuses in the east of the country where the army is fight-ing a rebellion, President Salva Kiir said yesterday.

The United States has criti-cized the army for various abus-es during a campaign to end a rebellion by politician David Yau Yau and fighting between rival tribes in eastern Jonglei state.

Western powers fear a heavy-handed army approach will escalate the fighting and un-dermine stability, draining state resources at a time of a conflict with arch foe Sudan over oil exports vital to both countries’ economies.

South Sudan accuses Sudan of supplying David Yau Yau with weapons, which is denied by Khartoum.

‘Rebel mortar attack kills at least three in east Congo’

Mandela’s condition remains critical, but stable

South Sudan’s leader probes army generals for abuses

WORLD BULLETIN

“I couldn’t sing and I couldn’t fi gure out why. I knew it was mechanical.”

–U.S SINGER, LINDA RONSTADT

Mubarak appears in court days after release

50

Chemical weapons likely used in Syria –US offi cial

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net52 Monday, August 26, 2013World News

Chemical weapons likely used in Syria –US offi cialThere is “very little

doubt” that a chem-ical weapon was

used by Syria against ci-vilians in an incident that killed at least 100 people last week, but the presi-dent has not yet decided how to respond, a senior administration official said yesterday.

The official said the U.S. intelligence community based its assessment, which was given to the White House, on “the reported

number of victims, report-ed symptoms of those who were killed or injured” and witness accounts.

The official said the White House believes the Syrian government had denied a U.N. investigative team immediate access to the site of a reported Au-gust 21 chemical weapons attack in the Damascus suburbs, in order to give the evidence of the attack time to degrade.

The official said the

regime’s continuing shell-ing of the site also further corrupts any available evi-dence of the attack.

Yesterday morning, Syr-ian State TV announced Bashar Assad’s govern-ment would allow U.N. in-spectors to visit the site — a statement later confirmed by the U.N. The mission “is preparing to conduct on-site fact-finding activities’” on Monday, U.N. spokes-man Martin Nesirky said yesterday in a statement.

But the Obama adminis-tration official said a belat-ed decision to grant access to the U.N. team would be considered “too late to be credible.”

The official insisted on anonymity because of lack of authorization to speak publicly about the developments.

The reported Syrian as-sent came several days af-ter Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-

Moallem, one of the high-est-level contacts between the two governments since the conflict began more than two years ago.

Several bodies being buried during a funeral in a suburb of Damascus, Syria, after the chemical attack. PHOTO: AP

53National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.netMonday, August 26, 2013

SportLagos Classics: Competitors eye N6.5m prize 54

Honestly, I would like to say that I don’t enjoy all the limelight,

even though I really can’t escape it-MIAMI HEAT STAR, LEBRON JAMES

STORIES: EVEREST ONYEWUCHI

Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets will today, know their first round opponents at the

FIFA U-17 World Cup holding in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in October when the draw takes place in Abu Dhabi later this eve-ning.

The draw for the tournament that holds from October 17 to No-vember 8 in six UAE cities will hold in Fairmont Bab Al Bahr in Abu Dhabi.

Beside Abu Dhabi, the other Host Cities are Dubai, Sharjah, Al Ain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah.

FIFA in conjunction with the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the U-17 World Cup invit-ed Coach Manu Garba, team cap-

tain, Musa Mohammed and team’s administrator, Tayo Egbaiyelo, for the draw.

Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Tunisia and Morocco will fly Africa’s flag at the 24-nation tournament.

At the draw event this evening, the teams will be drawn into six groups of four, with the top two teams in each group automatical-ly qualifying for the round of 16 at the end of the group matches.

The four best third-placed teams from the group stages will also progress to the knockout stages.

Nigeria has won the competi-tion in 1985, 1993 and 2007 and fin-ished runner-up in 1987, 2001 and 2009.

Last Thursday, Coach Garba named a provisional 35-man squad list which the Nigeria Foot-ball Federation (NFF) sent to FIFA

as part of the regulations of the championship and it is from this pool of players that the final list of 21 will be picked for the World Cup.

Players who made the list were key members of the Eaglets that won silver at the African Quali-fying Championship held in Mo-rocco.

They include captain Musa Muhammed and star striker, Isaac Success. Others are Chidera Ezeh, Kelechi Iheanacho, Musa Yahaya, Saliu Ali-Baba, Akinjide Idowu, Taiwo Awoniyi, Chidiebe-re Nwakali and goalkeeper Yinka Adewale among others.

Notable new faces include strik-er Theophilus Solomon and Chel-sea’s teenage sensation, Habib Makanjuola, who is expected in camp upon release by his English Premier League side.

Nigeria and Chelsea FC star midfielder, Mikel Obi, has spoken of his

excitement at the upcoming in-augural edition of the Nigeria Pitch Awards, which has been slated for November 17, 2013 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Last year, the Nigeria Foot-ball Federation (NFF) en-dorsed Matchmakers Consult Limited International to stage the first-ever football awards in the country.

In November last year, the pre-event Night of Stars, de-signed to generate nationwide awareness for the Awards, held at the Metropolitan Hotel, Cala-bar.

Mikel, perhaps the most in-fluential player in the Super Eagles’ squad that triumphed at the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa earlier in the year, said at the weekend that he was looking forward to the event.

“Awards serve as great in-centives for sports people all over the world. There is no doubt that awards compen-sate for all the hard work all year round. Every sports person looks for-ward to receiv-ing awards which they treasure,” N F F spokes-m a n , A d e -m o l a O l a -j i r e , quoted M i k e l in a state-

ment. “The Ni-

geria Pitch Awards has come at the right time. I am person-ally looking forward to the event in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State after we must have quali-fied for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals. The ceremony will serve as a real gloss on our World Cup qualifi-cation.”

Mikel said he would be hap-py to pick up an award at the event.

“Of course, I will be happy to pick up an award. It will be a real delight for me and I hope it will be a great event in every sense of the word.”

The Nigeria Pitch Awards will honour stalwarts in every area of the football pitch, as well as to referees, administra-tors, coaches, sponsors, sports-loving state governments and other stakeholders.

Chief Executive of Match-makers Consult, Mr. Shina Philips, told National Mirror yesterday on telephone that his organisation was working tire-lessly towards ensuring a suc-cessful ceremony.

“We have laid out a trans-parent process that will en-sure the credibility of the Awards, and as for the cer-emony itself, we are leaving

no stone unturned to guarantee a highly successful and co-lourful event. We are working with the NFF to be able

to deliver a show-piece that every

Nigerian will be proud

of,” Phil-ips said.

“ O u r

c o m -m i t -ment t o

s e r v -ing the

f o o t b a l l community a

glorious event is huge. We have ploughed

on all along with tremen-dous faith and despite all odds,

and now, we are at a stage that we

can boast that every-thing is going according

to plan for us to kick-start something that will run

for many, many years to come.”

Mikel longs for Nigeria Pitch Awards

Sharks’ midfielder, Jonah Abutu, has assured that the Port Harcourt club will de-

feat Wikki Tourists on Wednes-day as the struggles to escape rel-egation and win the Glo League hot up.

Abutu, who was stand-in cap-tain for Sharks in their 0-1 loss to Kano Pillars on Saturday, is sure the Tourists will suffer “at least two to three goals” defeat at the Sharks Stadium.

“I assure our fans back home that we are going to beat Wikki with at least two to three goals to make up for our loss to Kano Pil-lars and on behalf of the players I apologise for our loss even though the match officials made life dif-ficult for us in Kano,” Abutu con-cluded.

Sharks currently have 36 points but sit outside of the top half of the Glo League standings.

Defending champions, Pillars,

reclaimed top spot after the 1-0 home win over Sharks on Saturday.

Pillars now have 45 points from 26 matches.

Gambo Mohammed playing his second game after a spell on the sidelines due to injury scored the only goal of the game in the 72nd minute to cheer up the home fans.

Meanwhile, Enyimba’s march to a seventh title has been slowed down after the Aba Elephants lost 1-0 at Kwara United.

Glo League: Sharks plan for Tourists, Enyimba agonises

Golden Eaglets’ players celebrating a goal in a match during the qualifiers played in Morocco.G ld E l t ’ l l b ti l i t h d i th lifi l d i MG ld E l t ’ l l b ti l i t h d i th lifi l d i M

UAE 2013:UAE 2013: Eaglets Eaglets know foes todayknow foes today

of the m this al list World

t were s that Quali-n Mo-

Musa triker, hidera Musa injide diebe-Yinka

strik-Chel-

Habib ed in

nglish

event. “Awards serve as great in-

centives for sports people all over the world. There is no doubt that awards compen-sate for all the hard work all year round. Every sports person looks for-ward to receiv-ing awards which they treasure,” N F F spokes-m a n , A d e -m o l a O l a -j i r e , quoted M i k e l in a state-

ment. “The Ni-

geria Pitch Awards has come at the right time. I am person-ally looking forward to the event in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State after we must have quali-fied for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals. The ceremony will serve as a real gloss on our World Cup qualifi-cation.”

no stone unturned guarantee a highsuccessful and clourful event. Ware working witthe NFF to be ab

to deliver a showpiece that ever

Nigerian wbe prou

of,” Phips sai

“ O uc omm iment

s e r ving th

f o o t b acommunity

glorious evenis huge. Whave ploughe

on all alonwith tremedous faith andespite all odd

and now, we aat a stage that w

can boast that everthing is going accordin

to plan for us to kick-stasomething that will ru

for many, many yearscome.”

he 1-0 urday. s from

ng his on the ed the e 72nd fans.

march lowed ts lost

es

54 National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.netMonday, August 26, 2013 Sport

Mihai Bobocia of Italy is among the foreign competitors

Odemwingie

Stoke, Cardiff reprieve for Osaze

Lagos Classics: Competitors eye N6.5m prize YEMI OLUS

The battle for the N6.5million at stake in the first Lagos Inter-national Table Tennis Classics

begins today at the Molade Okoya-Thomas Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.

Spectators at the venue will see players from Egypt, Italy, Lithuania, Senegal, Congo Brazzaville, Congo DRC, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Russia battling for honours in the weeklong event.

Current Africa Champion, Omar Assar, Italy’s Mihai Bobocica and the Congo Brazzaville’s team led by Nige-ria-born Saka Suraju had their first training session yesterday, vowing to upstage the Nigerians from conten-tion.

Team Nigeria will be led by Segun Toriola and Funke Oshonaike, as well as Aruna Quadri, Ojo Onaolapo and

Kazeem Makanjuola who will compete in the men’s singles while the trio of Edem Ofiong, Janet Effiom and Ra-sheedat Ogundele will contest in the women’s singles event

Officials said about 42 Nigerian players will compete in the men’s sin-gles, while 20 will feature in the wom-en’s singles.

Chairman of the Main Organising Committee (MOC), Wahid Oshodi, said the stage was set for the smash off of the championship after the qualifiers held at the weekend.

“We have provided the best facil-ity and we are hoping that fans will throng the venue,” Oshodi said.

“We believe this competition will expose our players to other top play-ers from around the world and will ul-timately improve the fortune of table tennis in Nigeria,” the MOC boss, who is also Lagos State Commissioner for Sports and President of Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), added.

Chelsea has a deal in place for An-zhi Makhachkala star Samuel Eto’o, according to reports.

The Blues have agreed a deal to sign Eto’o as part of the negotia-tions to acquire Willian for £30 mil-lion from Anzhi Makhachkala which will end the club’s attempts to buy Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney this summer.

The double signing was an-nounced yesterday, even as the transfer of 32-year-old Eto’o is said to part of the agreement to sign the Brazil midfielder but Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho does not want Eto’o’s involvement to become public until after tonight’s Premier League game against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Reputed as master mind game player, Mourinho hopes that con-tinuing the speculation over Chel-sea’s interest in Rooney, who may start the game, will unsettle the host.

Reports yesterday said West Brom has received offers from Stoke City and Cardiff City

for about £2 million for Super Eagles striker, Osaze Odemwingie, with Swansea prepared to pay a little less.

The Baggies have previously re-jected bids of £1.5million for the 32-year-old forward, but these latest offers could pave the way for his exit.

Odemwingie has not played any part for Albion since his return to pre-season training, with the club making it clear there is no way back for him.

The Nigeria international has been sidelined since his well-publi-cised fall-out with the club last sea-son which started with his failed move to Queens Park Rangers and continued with a series of Twitter meltdowns.

Although the Hawthorn side is not prepared to let him go on the cheap, it is mindful that his age and contractual situation will drive his price down.

The beleaguered player has less than 12 months left on his current contract with West Brom.

JOEL AJAYIABUJA

The Director General of the National Sports Commis-sion (NSC), Hon. Gbenga

Elegbeleye, has said that the body would reconsider its decision to stop offering grant to the Fed-eration of Public Service Games (FEPSGA) for its Monthly Walk-ing Jogging exercise.

Speaking during the award ceremony organised by the FEPSGA in Abuja at the week-end, Elegbeleye noted that the initiative is about well-being and the walking, jogging exer-cise, which is for the develop-ment of humanity, must be en-couraged.

The NSC DG assured that their relationship would be tightened for the development of Nigerian civil servants and sports in general.

“I was made to know that a re-lationship was existing between FEPSGA and the NSC and it reached a stage where there was break in communication even before I assumed office. But I can assure you the relationship would be renewed; the commis-sion will look into reasons why the grant was discontinued and provide a lasting solution to the stoppage,” he promised.

Everton midfielder, Marouane Fellaini, yester-day declared his interest to move to Manchester United.

Reports claimed that Fellaini desired a quick exit be-fore his price tag gets even higher next year.

The Belgium midfielder is currently valued at more than £23million by Everton, who rejected a joint bid for Fellaini and Leighton Baines of £28m at the start of the week.

Fellaini is keen to be given his chance at a really top club before next summer’s World Cup has a potential impact on his value.

Belgium is expected to qualify for next summer’s tournament and a talented team including Barclays Premier League stars Fellaini, Eden Hazard and Vin-cent Kompany are already being tipped to do well.

Fellaini fears that a successful summer could push his price tag up even higher and that it would be best for his career if he left Goodison Park shortly.

‘Eto’o set for Chelsea’

‘NSC to renew support to FEPSGA’

Fellaini wants Fellaini wants DevilsDevils’ switch’ switch

Eto’o

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net 55Monday, August 26, 2013 Sport

IKENWA NNABUOGOR

Super Eagles’ winger Ahmed Musa has refused to stop scoring, hitting the target for

the second week in a row in CS-KA’s 2-1 win at bottom-placed Tom’ Tomsk on Saturday. Musa put the icing on the cake for the visiting defending Russia champions in the 58th minute to seal a comfort-able victory that shot them to the top of the log.

As usual, the former Kano Pil-lars’ winger lasted the entire du-ration of the game, his sixth start in a row in the new season. He has been substituted just once. He has netted his fourth goal of the season in that encounter. He’s cur-rently the third best in the chart for the top scorers.

In Spain, former youth inter-

national Chrisantus Macauley opened his goal account for Las Palmas in the new season in the second division as his side held hosts Deportivo Alaves to 1-1 draw on Saturday. The 2007 U-17 World Cup top scorer put his visiting side in front in the 29th minute before the hosts evened score with just nine minutes left on the clock. The game was Macauley’s first having missed the league opener through red card suspension. He was on for 90 minutes. The big centre forward netted 12 goals in his first season in the island club that missed promotion to the top flight by the whiskers.

Still in Spain, Super Eagles’ striker Ikechukwu Uche played from the bench for newly-pro-moted Villareal, who maintained their 100 percent record in the La Liga, beating Real Vallodolid 2-1

on Saturday. Uche, the club’s top scorer last season with 14 goals, replaced Spanish striker Johna-than Pereira in the 66th minute. He’s yet to get on the score sheet this season.

In the Netherlands, Super Ea-gles new boy Uche Nwofor was on target for the first time this season for his side VVV Venlo, who beat Helmond Sport 3-2 last Friday. Nwofor, who was on from start made it 2-1 for the hosts in the 74th minute. He was pulled out in the 82nd minute and just two minutes late, VVV Venlo went ahead again but the visitors hit thir second goal just before the referee ended the game. Nwofor, who could be on his way out of the modest club had only played once since the season started.

Still in the top flight in Eng-land, former youth international

Sone Aluko was again on the starting line up for the newly-promoted Hull City but failed to get on the score sheet in their 1-0 victory over Norwich City on Sat-urday. Aluko was replaced in the 72nd minute. He has so far played in all two games for the Tigers this season.

In the lower league in England, former Super Eagles defender Danny Shittu for the first time not on from start to finish for Millwall as the Lions managed to earn their first point this sea-son following their holding hosts Sheffield Wednesday to 2-2 draw at Hillsbrough Stadium, on Sat-urday. Shittu was replaced at the start of the second half. The Lions had lost all their three previous games with the big Nigerian cen-tre back playing in all the games. He’s only gone into the referees’ books once this season.

In Turkey, Emmanuel Emenike will have to wait for another fixture to register his name on the score sheet for his new team Fenerbache as the former Spartak Moscow striker fired blanks in their 1-0 win over Eskisehirspor on Saturday. Emenike was on from start to fin-ish in the game that did not feature Eagles captain Joseph Yobo. Eme-nike has played all the two games so far in his second return to the multiple Turkish champions.

In France, Super Eagles num-ber one goalkeeper Vincent En-yeama was between the sticks for

Lille who picked their first win this season, beating St. Etienne 1-0 yesterday. Enyeama was on from start to finish as he earned his sec-ond consecutive official cap for the three-time French champions. He also picked up a yellow card in the 84th minute. He spent his entire first season at Lille on the bench, playing cover for first choice keep-er Mickael Landreau for whooping 36 games before he joined Israeli champions Maccabi Tel Aviv on loan last season.

In Scotland, former Golden Ea-glets playmaker Rabiu Ibrahim was for their first time this season, on from start to finish for Kilmar-nock, who were beaten 2-1 at home by Hibernian on Saturday. It’s been a different season for the former Golden Eaglets’ midfielder who has been in the scheme of things for Killie after he was disappointingly dumped on the bench last season. He has so far played three games out of the four this season and yet to get into the referees’ books.

Still in Scotland, Super Eagles defender Efe Ambrose returned to the starting line up for Celtic after missing in their shock 2-0 loss to lowly Shakhter Karagandy from Kazakhstan last Tuesday and post-ed a 90-minute performance as the defending champions were held to 2-2 draw by visiting table-topping Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Saturday. Ambrose has played in three games out of four in the new season..

Musa scores again, Nwofor, Musa scores again, Nwofor, Macauley also on targetMacauley also on target

Euro Leagues’ Results

England

Tottenham 1 - 0 Swansea

Aston Villa 1 – 0 Liverpool

Fulham 1 – 3 Arsenal

Hull City 1 – 0 Norwich City

Southampton 1 – 1 Sunderland

Everton 0 – 0 West Brom

Cardiff City 3- 2 Manchester City

Stoke City 2 – 1 Crystal Palace

Newcastle 0 – 0 West Ham

Germany

Bayern Munich 2 – 0 Nuremberg

Hannover 2 – 1 Schalke 04

Borussia Dortmund 1 – 0 Werder Bremen

Hoffenheim 3 – 3 Freiburg

Hertha Berlin 1 – 0 Hamburger SV

Bayer Leverkusen 4 -2 Borussia M’glad

Mainz 2 – 0 Wolfsburg

France

Monaco 0 – 0 Toulouse

Valenciennes 0 – 1 Olympique Marseille

Bordeaux 1 – 0 Bastia

Evian TG 1 – 2 Rennes

Guingamp 2 – 0 Lorient

Lyonnais 0 – 1 Reims

Montpellier 2 – 1 Sochaux

Lille 1 – 0 Saint-Étienne

Ajaccio 0 – 0 Nice

Musa

Nwofor crowded by his team mates after scoring his goal last Saturday.

Bashorun JK Randle

Guest Columnist Matthew Hassan

KukahGuest

Columnist

Vol. 03 No. 694 Monday, August 26, 2013 N150

WORLD RECORD

Tallest residential buildingCompleted in 2012, Princess Tower in Dubai, United Arab Emir-

ates, is 413.4 m (1,356 ft) high and has 101 storeys above ground, dedicated to residential use.

NFF President, Aminu Maigari

Former world heavy-weight boxing champion, Mike Ty-

son, yesterday claimed he is on the verge of dying after revealing his ongo-ing fight to stay sober.

Tyson confessed to be-ing an alcoholic, follow-

ing his debut as a pro-moter on ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights”.

He opened up about his troubles when he was questioned about trying to make amends with for-

mer trainer, Teddy Atlas, who he fell out with when he was 15 in the early 1980s.

“I did a lot of bad things, and I want to be forgiven,” the 47-year-old said.

“I want to change my life, I want to live a differ-ent life now and I want to live my sober life.

“I don’t want to die. I’m on the verge of dying, be-cause I’m a vicious alco-

holic.“I haven’t drunk or tak-

en drugs in six days, and for me that’s a miracle. I’ve been lying to every-body else that thinks I was sober, but I’m not.”

Sport Extra

Tyson makes drug revelation

For Tony Anenih, a shining leader Let me quote from Ecc. 1: 2, 21-23, a

reading my brothers and sisters, most Christians are familiar with;

a reading that was read everywhere in the Catholic world on this August 4, 2013 day, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. It goes thus: Vanity of vanities, All is van-ity… and down the line. We are therefore grateful that the reading helps in intro-ducing our celebration of a man who has been at the centre of Nigeria’s struggle for democracy, especially in the last twenty or so years.

Naturally, his role in politics has dwarfed his other contributions and pur-suits in life. How he has played this role has been and will remain the subject of debate for many years to come. Chief Tony Anenih is therefore, an eminent Ni-

gerian and yet, to say that he is a highly eminent Nigerian is not to engage in sy-cophancy. For whatever reasons, the cali-ber of people gathered here, bears testi-mony to this. What is more, I know that the reception will definitely parade a roll call of the first eleven of our national pol-itics. To be at the centre of this, of course, is nothing short of being eminent.

There are some incontrovertible facts which stand out and are necessary start-ing points in any serious discussion about Chief Anenih, but this is neither the time nor the place to engage in such. It is not for me to assess Chief Anenih as a politician. My role here is to briefly look at his life, see what lesions it has for us and use his central role in Nigerian politics to point at some of the challeng-es that lie before our society.

The late Pope John Paul 1 of blessed memory, the one who was Pope for 33 days, once said that in each of us, there are three persons. First, there is you as only you alone know yourself, there is you as your closest of friends know you and finally there is you as only God, your creator knows you. Our lives are more often regulated and guided by these re-alities and we will continue to mean dif-ferent things to different people and the measure of who we are will finally de-pend more on what our creator sees in us.

I only got to know him a bit more when my best friend, the late Garba Ali Mada-ki, worked with him as Minister of State for Works and Housing. I also got to see

the deep human kindness in the Chief in how much care he took of my friend dur-ing the trying moments before his death. He stood by us and helped his widow, Ke-hinde back to her feet and to life. When she was tragically killed in a car accident last year, he was there to support their devastated children. Personally, there-fore, beyond the realms of politics, it is impossible to ask for a better friend.

Today, Chief Anenih, like the rest of us, is therefore many things to many people. To properly assess him therefore would be to go back to what the late First Lady, Mrs. Stella Obasanjo, his kinswoman once said to a journalist who interviewed her. The journalist asked her to assess her hus-band, President Obasanjo. In response to that question and in a burst of brilliance, she said something to the journalist like;

How do you want me to assess him? Do you want me to assess him as President of Nigeria, my husband or as a father? The journalist encouraged her, and she went on to score President Obasanjo.

I really no longer remember the de-tails. But I recall that she scored him between 80 and 90 percent as President, arguing that despite everything else, she lived with him and knew the sleepless nights he was spending to fix Nigeria. As a father, I think she scored him between 60 and 70 percent. But as a husband, I think she scored him between 30 and 40 percent on grounds of how much his schedule took him away from her. I do not know how the Chief could be scored by different members of his family and his associates, friend and foe alike.

Chief Anenih has traversed and adapt-ed to the ever changing landscape of Nigerian politics with a combination of unobtrusive survivalist instincts of both a chameleon and a cheetah. He has dis-played an uncanny ability to adapt to the political temperatures and temperaments around him and exhibited a phenomenal staying power. From his days with the late General Shehu Yar’adua where his skills and capacity for mobilization and manoeuvre earned him the sobriquet of LEADER, coming to a climax in the very peaceful 1993 elections and their subse-quent tragic abortion, he has remained at the centre. He remained at the side lines in the Abacha days, sprang into action after the death of the General and was a key actor in the process that led to the for-mation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which brought Chief Obasanjo to power in 1999. He has been a central force in the controversial politics that has come to define the largest political party in Africa as PDP likes to call itself.

Bishop Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Sokoto, wrote this tribute on the occasion of the 80th birthday cel-ebrations of Chief Anthony Anenih on August 4, 2013 in Abuja.

To be continued

CHIEF ANENIH HAS TRAVERSED AND

ADAPTED TO THE EVER CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF NIGERIAN POLITICS WITH A COMBINATION

OF UNOBTRUSIVE SURVIVALIST INSTINCTS OF BOTH A CHAMELEON

AND A CHEETAH

Tyson

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