jonathan, buhari lay siege to s'east

...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 62367

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015**

Jonathan, Buhari laysiege to S'East

By EmmanuelAziken, Political

Editor

LAGOS — THE twoleading presidential

candidates, PresidentContinues on Page 6

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POCKET CARTOON6—Vanguard, MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015

Continues from Page 1

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

To be successful, choose your thoughts wisely anddeliberately— Ella Randle

Your attitude is so much like an inner architectbuilding resilience in your mindset. What’s at stake?Your outlook involves your perception of success (orfailure) and has a big impact on the viability of yourcareer.

The great thing is, setting your attitude is yourchoice. What you think about yourself, your abilities,financial gains (or losses) and your assessment ofyour ability to succeed becomes what you mightactively live out.

Actions follow thoughts. When your attitude isunproductive and you need to shift from a negativethought pattern, draw upon your inner coach:Reprogramme fearful, defeatist thinking towardthoughts charged with power, conviction and faith.Focus on your ability to meet your goals.

Mr & Mrs

Goodluck Jonathan andMaj-Gen. MuhammaduBuhari (rtd) are todayand tomorrow shiftingtheir focus on the South-East with separate bidsfor the zone’s 6.6 millionvoters.

The All ProgressivesCongress, APC,presidential candidate,Buhari, is trying topuncture the seemingstrength of PresidentJonathan in the South-East with rallies andtown hall meetings in thezone today.

The tension shadowingthe efforts of the twocontenders are expectedto be tempered today ata joint meeting betweenthe two contenders andPresident John Mahamaof Ghana.

The meeting, it wasunderstood, is expectedto provide anopportunity for the twomajor contenders againto pledge adetermination to abide

by the rules of the con-test.

The APC candidate isexpected to attend astrategic meeting of theparty ’s governors andsenior party officials inOwerri today.

Buhari is also expectedto preach his message ofchange at the South-Eastzonal rally holding onthe sidelines of themeeting of the governorsand senior party officials.

Following the meeting,the APC candidate is toproceed to Onitshawhere he is expected tohave an interactivesession with traders andreligious leaders in thecommercial city.

Buhari, according tocampaign officials, isalso expected to provideassurances to the tradersduring the session of hisdetermination to ensurea conducive environmentfor their businesses toflourish.

Buhari’s visit toOnitsha is coinciding

with a visit to the sametown by First Lady,Patience Jonathan, whois also scheduled to holda women sensitisationrally in the commercialcity.

Mrs. Jonathan, who

MEETING: From left: Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Amb. Nuhu Audu Bagoga; Vice PresidentNamadi Sambo; Gov. Mukhtar Ramalan Yero of Kaduna State; and Peoples Domocratic Party, PDP,Chairman, Kaduna State, Alhaji Abubakar Gayya Haruna during Vice President's meeting with religiousleaders from Zone Two, Kaduna, yesterday.

Jonathan, Buhari lay siege to S'East

has maternal links to theSouth-East, is expectedto appeal to thesentiments of her Igbobrothers and sisters inkeeping their in-law inoffice.

Jonathan's townhall meeting inAba

President Jonathan ishimself expected also tovisit Aba, Abia State fora major town hallmeeting with thebusiness community inthe South-East tomorrow.

At the town hallmeeting, the president isexpected to address theconcerns of the businesscommunity, giving factsand figures on the effortsof his administration inbolstering theenvironment for smalland medium scale

businesses.The president’s

renewed interest in theSouth-East is on thestrength of recentmutterings from somestakeholders that thepresident haddisregarded the regionand put his focus on theSouth-West.

President Jonathanswept most of the statesin the South-East in2011 and got more than90 per cent in most of thestates.

However, his politicalsupremacy has facedchallenges on account ofallegations ofinefficiencies in thesystem.

Ikuru's defection: More APC govs, deputiesto join PDP soon —Secondus,•Says it'll be landslide victory for PDP

By Henry Umoru

ABUJA —N A T I O N A L

leadership of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,disclosed, yesterday, thatfollowing his nationwideconsultations anddiscussions in the lastcouple of weeks, somegovernors and theirdeputies on the platformof the All ProgressivesCongress, APC, would inthe next few days returnto the PDP.

Speaking in Abuja,Deputy NationalChairman of the PDP,Prince Uche Secondus,who noted that towardsthe last days ofcampaigns, the APCwould totally crumble,stressed, however thatwith the defection ofdeputy governor ofRivers State, Tele Ikuru,to the PDP, it was a clearindication that PresidentGoodluck Jonathan hasthe vision to take Nigeriato the next level whichthe Presidentialcandidate of APC doesnot have.

Secondus, who

described the defection ofIkuru to PDP as awelcome development,stressed that with the exitof the deputy governorand other candidatesfrom the APC in Rivers,it was an indication thatGovernor RotimiAmaechi was notproviding anygovernance and thepeople have lostconfidence in him,adding that it was now alandslide victory for PDPin the country.

DPPCO urgesothers toemulate Ikuru

Meanwhile, PDPPresidential CampaignOrganisation, PDPPCO,yesterday called onother leaders of the APCto emulate the deputygovernor of Rivers State,Tele Ikuru, by decampingto the PDP.

In a statement.yesterday. by theDirector of Media andPublicity of the PDPPCO,Chief Femi Fani-Kayode,the PDP was happy to

receive Ikuru back into itsfamily.

According to Fani-Kayode, “we are glad tohear about the return ofthe deputy governor ofRivers State, Tele Ikuru,to the PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP)family. This was adeeply courageous stepand we welcome him withopen arms.

“We encourage otherkey leaders of the APC toabandon the ranks of thedoomed and to join thePDP. We urge them tosee the light and retracetheir steps in the sameway that the deputygovernor of Rivers Statehas done.

“The defection of thedeputy governor at thiscritical time represents adeep and grievousspiritual wound on theAPC. They are fallingapart at the seams andthey are crumbling. Weagree with the deputygovernor that the APCare a party of rebels andanarchists and they area party of deceit.

“With a governor like

Rotimi Amaechi, wewonder why the deputygovernor took so long toleave. The stench of filthand corruption thatemanated fromAmaechi’s governmentmust have been too muchfor his deputy governorto bear any longer.

“May God forgive theAPC for that stench andfor trying to deceive anddestroy Nigeria. Othersshould emulate thedeputy governor andtake the path of honourby leaving the APCbefore it is too late.”


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Saturday election stands, Jonathan insists

COMMISSIONING: Minister of lands, housing and urban development, Mrs. AkonEyakenyi with the Managing Director, Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, Mr. GimbaYa’u kumo and Governor Ramalan Yero of Kaduna State, at the commissioning of SkyDiamond Estate, Kaduna Millennium City, weekend. Photo by Olu Ajayi.

By Henry Umoru, CharlesKumolu & Ben Agandety

ABUJA—PRESIDENTGoodluck Jonathan

yesterday reassured Nigerians thatthe March 28 and April 11 datesset by the Professor Attahiru Jega-led Independent National ElectoralCommission, INEC for the conductof General elections remainsacrosanct.

Speaking in Abuja during thesecond session of the presidentialdebate organised by the NigerianElections Debate Group, NEDG forpresidential candidates of sixpolitical parties held at theInternational Conference Centre,President Jonathan said, “Electionswill be conducted as scheduled forMarch 28 and April 11 as fixed bythe Independent National ElectoralCommission, INEC. Thegovernment in these fours yearshas improved in all the sectors andin the next four years, we willconsolidate, we will move forward,we will leave legacy for ourchildren, we cannot think of goingbackward.”

APC shuns debateThe parties that took part in the

second session of the debate werethe Peoples Democratic Party, PDP;National Conscience Party, NCP,United Democratic Party, UDP,KOWA Party and United PeoplesParty, UPP, just as the Presidentialcandidate of the All ProgressiveCongress, General MuhammaduBuhari (retd) was the onlypresidential candidate who failedto attend the debate.

The Presidential candidates wereProfessor Oluremi Osonaiya ofKowa Party, Chief Martin Onovoof NCP; President GoodluckJonathan of PDP; Godson Okoyeof UDP and Chief Chekwas Okorieof UPP.

During the last lap of the debate,which was moderated by veteranbroadcaster, Eugenia Abu of theNigerian Television Authority, NTAand two-man panellists, MartinsOloja, the editor of The Guardiannewspapers and Professor Pate,candidates were asked questionson issues of insecurity, corruption,education, agriculture, educationalsector, among others.

...President seeks for moretime to consolidate

President Jonathan, who urgedNigerians to vote for him to enablehis government consolidate on thevarious achievements it hadrecorded in the last four years,however revealed the change inthe security architecture in thenorth east ,which included the useof drones to monitor the activitiesof the Boko Haram terrorists in theNorth east, which has sufficientlychanged the tide against theterrorists.

According to the President, apartfrom government’s commitment toensuring that the country was freedfrom the terrorists, government has

put in place measures toreconstruct the north east and torehabilitate the people affected bythe insurgency.

On plans to rebuild N' EastHe stated that apart from

normal budgetary provision offunds to reconstruct the areasaffected by the insurgency,government has set up thePresidential Initiative for theNorth East and the safe SchoolInitiatives in order toameliorate the sufferings of thepeople of the area.

On corruptionSpeaking on corruption,

President Jonathan whoacknowledged that it remains avery major issue emphasised thatenforcement of existing laws oncorruption only was not enoughto check the trend.

“Corruption is a major issue.People think that enforcement is

the only way to check it.Enforcement alone does notwork. Armed robbers have beencaught and killed but this has notstopped armed robbery in thecountry. Prevention is better. Wewill ensure that nobody has accessto steal funds. We will strengthenthe institutions so that they canfight corruption” he added.

The president further called fora change of attitudes towardspeople who acquire wealth indubious ways noting that ‘if wedon’t honour people who cannotdefend their source of wealth,people will change’ he said.

On revamping oil sectorOn how he intends to bring in

more transparency to Petroleumsector, President Jonathan saidhis administration will focus onthe proper management of theupstream sector by strengtheningthe regulatory capacity of agenciesin charge of the sector, even as

he disclosed that his governmentwas working on developing atechnology that would check thestealing of crude oil, adding thatwith the planned liberalisation ofthe sector, more transparencywould be brought in and thepassage of the PetroleumIndustry Bill, PIB by the nationalassembly would address otherproblems in the sector.

On agric sectorOn the agricultural sector,

President Jonathan said he willsustain the achievements hisadministration has recorded in thesector by ensuring that there isgreater mechanisation,availability of fertiliser to farmersand full processing of agriculturalproducts.

President Jonathan who askedNigerians to vote for him comeMarch 28 because of the progressmade in the last four years and tosustain the achievements in all

the sectors, promised that hisgovernment will continue tofund education in order toensure that Nigerian graduatesand scientists compete wellwith their counterparts in otherparts of the world.

UPP promises truefederalism

The presidential candidate ofthe United Progressive Party,Chief Chekwas Okorie in hisremarks promised that hisgovernment would ensure thepractice of true Federalism,introduce state Police, review theland use act and ensure that thecartel in the oil sector which hasheld down the sector for too longis death with, adding that hisleadership would be creative withplans to open up the economy witha revolutionary agenda.

According to him, hisgovernment would probe theprevious ones by throwingstones and tearing corruptpersons, adding, “ We will likehe Tiger tear corrupt persons, wewill throw stones, we will askquestions, we cannot be embraced,surrounded by corrupt personsand say change.”

Kowa Party decries publicofficials' high salaries

For the Kowa party, thePresidential Candidate, ProfessorOluremi Osonaiya, the partywould allow for private ownershipof the sector without government’sinterference, just as she describedhuge salaries being paid asunacceptable in a developingcountry like Nigeria, adding thatthe party when elected wouldensure that the country retracedits lost tracks as put in place bythe nation’s founding fathers.

Leadership, Nigeria’s majorproblem — NCP

In his contribution, the NCPpresidential candidate, ChiefMartin Onovo who noted thatleadership was Nigeria’s majorproblem, however stressed theneed for Nigeria to get the rightleadership who will not comefrom the moon, but would comeamong Nigerians, adding, “there is no justification why weshould e where we are.”

…Buhari shuns interraction

...Corruption, insecurity, economy, top presidential debate agenda

SUPPLY of petroleumproducts is expected to rise

in the coming days, as theNigerian National PetroleumCorporation, NNPC, yesterday,said it has completed therehabilitation and reconstructionof several kilometers of internalaccess roads at Port HarcourtRefining Company (PHRC) aswell as Pipelines and ProductsMarketing Company (PPMC)Depot in Onne.

The NNPC, in a statement byits Group General Manager,Group Public Affairs Division,Mr. Ohi Alegbe, said the roadswere commissioned by theGroup Managing Director of the

NNPC, Dr. Joseph Dawha, whowas represented by Mr. AdebayoIbirogba, Group ExecutiveDirector, Engineering andTechnology, NNPC.

Speaking during thecommissioning, Dawha disclosedthat with the rehabilitated roads,daily evacuation of petroleumproducts will rise to 260 trucks perdays from 210 trucks per day.

According to Dawha, with thecompletion of the roads, tankerscould now evacuate about ninemillion litres of petroleumproducts on a daily basis from thedepot adding that at peak theloading bays can service 350tankers per day.

He said, “The installedoperational storage capacities of

the PPMC depot, Port Harcourtare 6.94 million litres of PremiumMotor Spirit, 2.44 million litresof Dual Purpose Kerosene and3.2 million litres of AutomotiveGas Oil.”

He further stated that the roadswould go a long way inpromoting safety and reduce thespilling of petroleum products onasphaltic surfaces.

He noted that the deplorablecondition of the roads madeloading operations at thedepot a nightmare tomembers of the PetroleumTanker Drivers and had led toseveral industrial actionswhich obstructed the smoothevacuation of petroleum productsfrom the depot in the past.

He maintained that the refineryand the depot remain crucialvalue chains to the core businessobjective of the NNPC, especiallyas the NNPC remains the onlyintegrated oil and gas companyin the country that has thecapacity to produce crude oil,refine crude oil and sell samethrough its network of pipelinesand depots across the country.

He further stated that theNNPC would ensure that theongoing rehabilitation andTurn Around Maintenance ofthe refinery is carried out withevery sense of responsibility inorder to produce petroleumproducts that meet thespecification of its numerouscustomers.

NNPC boosts fuel supply with rehabilitation of PHRC/PPMC access roadsBy Michael Eboh

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MEETING: From left: Wife of the Vice President, Hajia Amina Sambo; First Lady, Mrs PatienceJonathan and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Islamic Affairs and State House mosque,Alhaji Tahir Umar at the National Muslim Women town hall meeting in Abuja, yesterday.

By Emeka Anaeto,Economy Editor

CHADIAN troops, which weekend accused the

Nigerian troops of being afraid tooccupy recaptured towns returnedto the northeast Nigerian bordertown of Gamboru after BokoHaram took advantage of a lack ofmilitary presence to kill 11 people.

“Hundreds of Chadian troopsmoved into Gamboru this morning(yesterday) from Fotokol,” saidBabagana Karimbe, who lives inthe town in northern Cameroonwhich is separated from Gamboruby a bridge.

Troops from Chad were creditedlast month with liberatingGamboru in Borno state from BokoHaram control but the Chadians’withdrawal from Nigeria last weekappeared to have left the townexposed. The Islamists returnedon Wednesday, killing eightpeople, while three more werekilled on Thursday.

Karimbe told AFP that thedeployment began at about 7:20am (0620 GMT) and involveddozens of vehicles, includingtanks.

According to him, “they(Chadian troops) are now inGamboru. It is clear Boko Haramgunmen had fled before the troopsdeployed arrived because we havenot heard a single shot since theChadian soldiers moved in. Ourprayer is for the troops to remainin Gamboru because if theywithdraw again Boko Haram willdefinitely return and continuekilling people.”

Chadian troops had pushed intoNigerian territory after freeingGamboru, going on to retake theBorno town of Dikwa, near BokoHaram’s Sambisa Foreststronghold.

Fotokol resident Umar Ari saidby telephone that Gamboruresidents welcomed the soldierswith clapping and cheering,supporting Karimbe’s account thatno shots were fired.

He said, “From Gardumba

neighbourhood (on the outskirtsof Fotokol) we can see theChadian soldiers moving aroundGamboru but we have not seenany Boko Haram gunmen. Wecatch glimpses of Boko Haramgunmen whenever they are inGamboru. On Wednesday wesaw them riding aroundGamboru on motorcyclesbrandishing guns”.

The Chadian Foreign Minister,Moussa Faki Mahamat wasquoted in a report by The NewYork Times on Friday that “theNigerian Army has notsucceeded in facing BokoHaram. The occupation of thesetowns is up to Nigeria and ourbiggest wish is that the NigerianArmy pulls itself together, that ittakes responsibility in the towns,we are ready to disengage rightaway.

Also, Second LieutenantHassan of the Chadian Army wasquoted as having berated theNigerian troops as failing in theirresponsibilities. He had said,

“we asked them to come andreceive this town from us butthey have not come, it is becausethey are afraid. We fought on thenight of the 14th and on the 15thand called the Nigerian troopson the 16th to come and occupythe town we liberated but theydidn’t believe we were here. Itis up to them to hold the town,not us. Our role is offensive, ourmission is to chase the terrorists”.

The Nigerian military howeverexplained that the reluctance tooccupy the liberated towns wasinformed by past experienceswhereby Nigerian troops werelured into ambush bysympathisers of Boko Haramterrorists

Vanguard gathered that theMilitary High Command at theweekend directed Commandersof troops in the epicentre of thebattle to stay in their bases andcaptured locations until distresscalls from unknown sources areverified.

A military source said, “in the

past, our troops had been luredaway from liberated communitiesby unpatriotic elements torespond to distress calls only forthem to either be ambushed ontheir way or for terrorists to beable to re-occupy thosecommunities. Consequently, wehave warned them to maintaintheir positions and hold everycommunity that they liberatepending further officialinstructions and we expect ourMultinational Joint Task Forcepartners to also keep their ownpart of the bargain in line withthe memorandum ofunderstanding that we allsigned.”

According to the senior militaryofficer, “some of the unsavourycomments have been attributedoften times to unnamed officialsof its neighbouring Francophonecountries involved in the MNJTFwhich were obviously meant todisparage the image of Nigeriaand bring its armed forces toridicule” a source said.

Chadian troops return to Gamboruafter Boko Haram kill 11 persons

BARELY a fortnight to the official declaration

of Liberia as an Ebola-freecountry by the World HealthOrganisation, Liberianhealth officials confirmed afresh case of the dreadedEbola Virus Disease, over theweekend.

Coming more than twoweeks after the last knownEbola case in the country wasdischarged from the isolationcentre on March 5, expertssay the developmentrepresents a major setbackfor the West African country.

The new case wasdetected in a 44-year-oldfemale food seller that healthofficials said had not been ona monitoring list for possibleexposure and had nottravelled outside Liberia.

It was gathered that thepatient, from the Caldwellarea near Monrovia, firstdeveloped symptomsaround March 15, accordingto Dr. Moses Massaquoi,leader of the Clinton HealthAccess Initiative in Liberiaand national case managerof the Ebola response.

In a statement, theLiberian InformationMinistry said it was unclearhow the woman had beeninfected. It noted that initialsuspicion showed that thewoman could have hadsexual intercourse with anEbola survivor.

Liberia along with SierraLeone and Guinea havebeen severely hit by theEbola epidemic that haskilled more than 10,000people since it began a yearago.

While that is onlyspeculative, researchershave found evidence thatEbola may persist in semenfor up to three months afterrecovery, and abstinence isrecommended.

In part for this reason, theWorld Health Organizationintends to release newguidelines for when anEbola epidemic ends, aWHO official said.

To be declared Ebola-free,countries must wait 42 daysfrom when the last patienttests negative for a secondtime. The new guidelineswould recommend“heightened surveillance”for an additional 90 days, totake into account thepotential for sexualtransmission and hiddentransmission chains.

CENTRAL Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has rolled out policy

for establishment of developmentbanks popularly known asDevelopment Finance Banks(DFIs) stipulating a minimumcapital base of N100 billion andN10 billion for those that wouldoperate in the wholesale segmentand retail segment respectively.

With this development a majoradjustment has been effected in thestructure of banking industry inNigeria creating a big ticket up-tier subsector in the industry.

Hitherto the key driver-subsectorof the industry is the traditionaldeposit money banks with two

segments, the commercial and themerchant banking segments. Theminimum capital base for them isN25 billion introduced byChukwuma Soludo’s CBN in2004, though the merchantbanking segment had beeneliminated with a universalbanking regime then but re-introduced by Lamido Sanusi’sCBN in 2010.

The other tiers of the industryare the discount houses which isthe top crust but with lesser capitalbase and then the microfinancebanks, the grass-root tier.

Also the DFIs have beenoperating in the banking andfinance sector but just asgovernment agencies and thecapital base of the leading ones

amongst them ranged from N29billion for Infrastructure Bank,N45 billion for Bank of Industryand N50 billion for NigerianExport Import Bank.

With the new policy roll out onDFIs the CBN has not onlyupped the scale in the sub-sectorit has also signaled a privatesector-led DFI regime going bythe indications that FederalGovernment is set to privatise allthe existing DFIs it runs.

However, a note of policydiscord appears to be in thehorizon considering that earlierthis month, the Minister ofFinance and Co-ordinatingMinister of the Economy, MrsNgozi Okonjo-Iweala indicatedthat the ministry would be

setting up an SME DevelopmentBank soon.

A DFI is a specialised financialinstitution established with specificmandate to develop and promotekey sectors of the economyconsidered to be of strategicimportance to the overall socio-economic development objectivesof the country.

Under the guidelines rolled outlast week by CBN, the WholesaleDevelopment Finance Institution(WDFI) is a DFI devotedprincipally to providing wholesalefunds to a group of other financialinstitutions under the newarrangement to be known asParticipating Finance Institutions(PFIs) for on-lending toenterprises in identified sectors.

CBN fixes capital base for Devt banks at N100bn

Ebola returnsto Liberia, twoweeks afterdischarge oflast patient

By Sola Ogundipe,with Agency report

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Maritime workers decry crisis rocking NLC

PDP RALLY: Lagos State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP members on a solidarity walk along Lekki- Ajah expressway in support of the party's candidates in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele.

By Victor Ahiuma-Young

Bar electionoffendersfrom publicoffice– SERAP

POLL: I’ll make C of O easier to get — AGBAJEBy Dapo Akinrefon

By Abdulwahab Abdulah

Lekki deep seaport construction to startsoon — NPA

Lagos HOS advocates women equality

LAGOS—THE Lagos StateHead of Service, HOS, Mrs

Folashade Jaji, has said that therewere women capable of occupyingthe highest office in Nigeria if giventhe necessary support, urgingmothers to train their sons torespect women.

She added that women in LagosState government, for instance, hadgone beyond advocating theaffirmative action to taking theirdestiny in their hands by achievinggoals and making their marks.

Mrs Jaji spoke at 2015International Women’s Daycelebration on Equality for Women,Make it Happen, organized byTrade Union Congress, TUC,Women Commission in Lagos.

Earlier, Chairperson of thecommission, Mrs OyinkaOlasanoye, said: “Whether youhave chosen to be a stay-at-homemother, in full-time employmentor running your own business, itis essential that you arecommitted to developing yourselfwith additional training andknowledge.”

She said two-thirds of the over700 million illiterates in the worldwere women, with the ratio worsein developing countries.

On his part, TUC President,Mr. Bobboi Bala-Kaigama said:“Equality for women is equalityfor all. Records testify to the truththat countries and companies withhigher levels of gender equalityhave higher socio-economicgrowth and development.”

FIVE days to the2015 general

elections, Socio-Economic Rights andAccountability Project(SERAP) has called for alegislation barring anyonefound guilty of violatingelectoral laws from holdingpublic office in the country.

SERAP, in a statement byits executive director,Tokunbo Mumuni said it ismandatory to establish alaw to: “Explicitly bar forlife anyone found guilty ofelectoral-law violations,including hate speech andviolence before, during andafter the general electionsfrom being elected to orappointed to public office.” “Inciting or perpetratingelection-related violenceshould also be included inthe constitution as anexplicit stand-alone groundfor the impeachment ofelected officials.”

Mumuni further said,“Election-related violenceis a very serious problemand it really is somethingwe need to look at in anumber of ways. Barringfrom public office thosefound guilty of violence isperhaps one of them.”

“It’s patently wrong toallow anyone guilty of hatespeech and violencearound elections to occupypublic office.

''It shouldn’t matter whatpolitical party thosecomplicit in these crimesare from. If they have gotthat kind of charge againstthem, and they have beenconvicted, they shouldsurrender the right to holdpublic office,“ he added.

MARITIME Workers Unionof Nigeria, MWUN,

weekend described asunacceptable and a shame thecrisis rocking the Nigeria LabourCongress, NLC, followingdisagreement over the outcomesof March 12 rescheduled electionin Abuja.

In a statement by the President-General of MWUN, ComradeEmmanuel Tony Nted, the unionsaid it was sad that thedesperation of some individualshad reduced the Congress to alaughing stock both locally andinternationally.

The union noted that it hadbeen vindicated when itsPresident-General, on the eve ofthe rescheduled electionwithdrew from the race becausethe election had been reducedto ethnic, tribal and sectionalcontest by those who wished themovement no good.

According to the statement,

“today the movement has beentaken over by thugs andirresponsible individuals who donot understand what it means tobe addressed as comrades.While we are not going to sideeither of the factions, we insist

that the movement is greater thanany individual or groups. We willremain neutral as MaritimeWorkers Union of Nigeria untilthis crisis is resolved.

''Like we said on March 11,while we were withdrawing fromthe contest, we said we did notwant to be associated with what

...Seek veterans’ intervention is happening now because it is ashame. We have been vindicated.

''There are allegations ofmanipulation of the election tofavour some individuals and weare just going about as if nothinghas happened. These are thingsnot associated with labour ingeneral and NLC in particular.

L A G O S — GOVERNORSHIPcandidate of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, in LagosState, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, haspromised to remove thebureaucratic difficultiesaffecting the issuance of C of O(Certificate of Occupancy) in thestate.

He also agreed the electioneeringis telling on him.

Speaking at a fund-raisingdinner titled, ‘An evening ofinteraction and dinner withJimi Agbaje’ in Lagos, Agbajenoted that Governor BabatundeFashola, had worked in severalareas but argued that Lagoswould have experienced

transformation but for “vestedinterests”.

Lamenting that there is a deficitof over two million houses in thestate, Agbaje promised theconstruction of at least 200,000housing units yearly if voted asgovernor of the state.

Agbaje said, “The journey hasnot been easy. I am sure those

who knew me would know that Ihave lost quite some weight. Infact some have asked that 'Jimi, Ihope you are well' and I say thereis nothing wrong with me, it isthis serious business that we areafter. It is not meant to be easybecause we are facing a lot ofhurdles. We have a governmentthat has been there for 16 years

and so pushing them out of officeis not going to be a child’s playbut we are winning.”

Among those at the event wereGovernor Ayodele Fayose ofEkiti State; Minister of Industry,Trade and Investment, MrOlusegun Aganga, Minister forState (Works), Prince DayoAdeyeye; Minister of State forForeign Affairs, Senator MusiliuObanikoro, Chief OlabodeGeorge, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, and many others.

MEANWHILE, the AllProgressives Congres,

APC, governorship candidate inLagos, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambodehas stated that his government,when elected, will not in any wayundermine the role of the

By Oboh Agbonkhese

…As Ambode promises better teachers’ welfare

Teachers, while also assuring thatadequate welfare for them is non-negotiable.

He stated this today during hisinteractive session with the Lagosstate teachers held at the BlueRoof, LTV 8 Complex, Agidingbi,Ikeja, Lagos.

In his address, Ambode readilyidentified with the teachers, whiledescribing himself first, as a sonof a Teacher, and then, a fellowcivil servant; he thereforepromised to use hisunderstanding to serve the bestinterests of Teachers.

“I am the son of a Teacher, andalso a civil servant like you. So, Ihave the capacity in the firsthandto understand your concerns andadequately deal with them. Irecognize you as the ones whohelp to build the society that wehope to govern, I therefore assurethat, all I will do as Governor ofthis state will be in favour of yourwelfare and interests”, he said.

“I intend to continue and evenimprove upon the good workdone in the education sector bythe present government, and withyour support, I am sure the bestis yet to come”, Ambode stressed.

Speaking through the Chairmanof the Lagos state Nigerian Unionof Teachers (NUT), AdesegunIbrahim, the teachers stated thatGovernor Fashola has done quitewell in the Education sector,however, they firmly expressedtheir strong desires for betterwelfare and recognition.

L A G O S — ARRANGEMENTS hadbeen concluded to commenceconstruction of Lekki DeepSeaport project in April, MalamHabib Abdullahi, ManagingDirector, Nigeria Ports Authority(NPA), has said.

Mr Musa Iliya, AssistantGeneral Manager, Public Affairs,NPA, said this yesterday in Lagosin a statement.

Iliya quoted Abdullahi asdescribing the Lekki Deepseaport project as “an exampleof Public- Private-Partnership(PPP) success story.”

Abdullahi assured

stakeholders that as an investorand technical regulator, the NPAwas committed to the actualisationof the project, which would makeNigeria a hub port in West Africa.

The MD said that the NPA hadpaid its N1 billion equity for theproject as at 2015.

The statement quoted MrHaresh Ascoani, ManagingDirector, Lekki Deep Seaport, assaying that the port wouldtransform the Lekki Free TradeZone into a new industrial city ifit becomes operational.

He said that the seaport wouldbe the deepest seaport in WestAfrica and second in Africa afterSouth Africa deep seaport.

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CMYK

ASUU blasts FG over failure to release N1.3trnIntervention Fund

By Ola Ajayi

No plan to sack workers in Osun —APCBy Gbenga Olarinoye

PVCs: Isiaka calls on INEC to wade intoOgun case

Codub Group,Nigeria HighCommission,London, holdsummit oninfrastructure

O S O G B O — A L LP r o g r e s s i v e s

Congress, APC, in Osun Statehas debunked the rumourmaking the rounds that thestate governor, Mr RaufAregbesola, was planning amassive retrenchment ofsenior civil servants on gradelevel 12 and above, includingother workers above the ageof 50 from the state’semployment after the generalelections.

A statement by the party’sDirector of Publicity, Researchand Strategy, Mr KunleOyatomi, the APC describedthe rumour as, “The usual sillyspin of falsehoodcharacteristic of PDP’s evilgenius for manufacturing andpropagating wicked liesespecially in Osun state.”

According to the APC, “At notime did Aregbesolacontemplate to retrench anystaff of any grade or age, andno such thing will be allowedto happen any time soon or inthe future.

The statement read in part:“From day one, the policy ofgainful employment of theAPC governor, RaufAregbesola, had been,continues to remain and willbe the intensified mantra of theparty in the months and yearsahead. The only monstrousobstacle to this policy is the evilconstruct of the PDP-led

Federal Government instarving Osun State of itslegitimate statutory funding.

“Not many people knew,until Governor Fashola ofLagos State revealed recently,that to further starve APCstates in particular of fundingassistance, the Minister ofFinance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, ordered the banks notto help fund state government

projects.“This kind of frustrating

impediment is what the PDPis using to force states of theopposition to look for ways toovercome deliberatestrangulation, through forcedretirement of workers.

“But the APC government ismore innovative andconstructive than the PDP hadimagined.

“Rather than contemplateretrenchment as beingschemed, Ogbeni RaufAregbesola is planning thecreation of more jobs for thepeople; and one of the ways,indeed the most effective wayto achieve this for Nigerians,is to defeat the PDP on March28 and April 11 presidentialand general elections.”

IBADAN—ACADEMICStaff Union of Universities,

ASUU, has expresseddisappointment over the failureof the federal government torelease the promised N1.3 trillionNEEDS intervention fund.

The union, through its nationalChairman, Dr. Nasir Fagge andUniversity of Ibadan chapterChairman, Professor SegunAjiboye, said apart from the N200billion that was released in 2013,the government had reneged onits promise by not releasing anymoney in 2014 up till now.

In addition, the academic unionnoted that the leadership in thecountry as presently constitutedlacked integrity.

Fagge, who was at theUniversity of Ibadan 63Interdisciplinary Discourse alsolamented that the reasons forgoing on series of strikes for 21years were hinged ongovernments not honouring theirthe agreements they freely signedwith the university lecturers.

According to the ASUUpresident, while the federalgovernment continues to cripplethe operation of public universities

through stiffening under funding,the effects of such deliberate actionof government are the “Contemporary assessment ofproducts of the systemcharacterized them asunemployable and lacking inbasic social, emotional and literacyskills. The educational curricula,programmes and pedagogy today

are as irrelevant and unrealisticas they were in colonial times.”

Speaking on the topic “ASUUstruggles and the Revitilisation ofPublic University Education inNigeria”, Fagge, who wasrepresented by his Vice president,Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, saidthe condition fuelling ASUUstrikes included poor funding,inadequate remuneration,inadequate capacity, brain drain,

poor infrastructure, violation ofuniversity autonomy andacademic freedom, failure ofgovernment to implementrecommendations of its ownreview panels, violations ofagreements freely entered into bygovernments, inconsistentpolicies and poor planning,corruption and poor managementof funds by universityadministrators."

DEFECTION: Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun (2nd right); Speaker, OgunState House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Suraj Ishola Adekunbi (right) and Chairman, AllProgressives Congress (APC), Yewa North Local Government Area, Chief Sunday Akinyemi(left), when a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart and three-time member of the Houseof Representatives, Hon. Rasak Adewusi (2nd left) defected to the APC in Ijoun,Yewa NorthLocal Government Area, yesterday.

By Dapo Akinrefon

OGUN Stategovernorship candidate

for the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, Prince Nasir Isiaka, hascalled on the IndependentNational Electoral Commission,INEC, to wade into thedistribution and collection of thePermanent Voters Cards, PVCs,in the state.

The governorship candidate,in a statement, expressed worryover the poor handling of thePVCs in Ogun State saying,“Nothing appreciable has been

THE Codub GroupUK, in conjunction

with the United KingdomTrade and Investment(UKTI) and the NigeriaHigh Commission, Londonwill hold the fourth annualinfrastructure asset summit,in Lagos today.

Holding at the Eko Hotels& Suites, Victoria Island,,with the theme:‘Transforming andsustaining the economythrough effective assetmanagement &maintenance culture,’ thesummit is expected to attractover 200 seniorprofessionals and decisionmakers from real estate andfacilities, government,banking, oil and gas,manufacturing and utilities.It will end tomorrow.

A statement issued by theorganisers of the eventstated that the event isexpected to proffer lastingsolutions to infrastructuralchallenges in the country.

By Clifford Ndujihe

done to substantially amelioratethe situation.”

According to him, “I havebeen inundated with severalcalls and complaints from a lotof our people in various localgovernments across the state;especially in Yewa North, IjebuEast, Imeko-Afon, Ipokia, Abeokuta North and ObafemiOwode have yet to receive theirPVCs with just a week to thePresidential and NationalAssembly elections.

"I also understand that it is notthat INEC has not beenreceiving these complaints and

also that the commission iswilling to make the cardsavailable to as manybeneficiaries as possible, but itis clearly lacking in capacityto do so.”

He said the poor distributionof the PVCs might lead to thedisenfranchisement of theelectorate in Ogun state.

He said “having rolled outthe statistics last week andseeing that not much has beendone as at now, I wonder whatmagic will be done in the nextfive days to give the PVCs tothe huge numbers of eligiblevoters that don’t have it yet."

POLLS: PlaceEkiti underspecialwatch, APCurges INEC

THE All ProgressivesCongress (APC) in

Ekiti State has said it hasuncovered plot by thestate leaders of thePeople’s Democratic Party(PDP) to compromiseINEC voting materials fora repeat of June 21governor poll to rig theMarch 28 presidentialpoll in favour of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan.

It asked the Chairmanof the IndependentNational ElectoralCommission (INEC),Professor Attahiru Jega,and all election monitorsto put Ekiti State underspecial watch to forestallelectoral fraud.

But in a statement issuedyesterday, Ekiti StateGovernor, Mr AyodeleFayose has saidNigerians will neversuccumb to the deceit andfalsehood of the APC,saying; “It is self deceittaken too far for anyoneto list Ekiti as part ofStates to be won by theAPC in the Saturday’spresidential election."

12—Vanguard, MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015

CMYK

Vote to determine your future —AMAECHI

Urhobo youths endorse JonathanBy Festus Ahon

Resign, join politics, Edo Majority Leadertells IG

By Simon Ebegbulem

Riversmonarchpredictsvictory forDakuku

Maritime workers threaten to disruptoil firm's operation in Bayelsa

Delta LG PDPfactionsresolvedifferences

BENIN—MAJORITYLeader of Edo State

House of Assembly and Houseof Representatives candidate ofthe All Progressives Congress,APC, in Etsako federalconstituency, Edo State, MrPhilip Shaibu, has accused theInspector General of Police, MrSuleiman Abba of being astooge of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, urginghim to resign his position andjoin politics.

He said the IG’s comment thatNigerians should cast theirvotes and leave the pollingunits was an indication that theIG was allegedly working with“enemies of democracy to rig theelections.”

According to Shaibu, “The IGshould leave politics alone andface his work as the head of thepolice, particularly catering tothe welfare of the rank and fileof the Police. The IG shouldmake sure that policemen gettheir pension as and when due.The IG should ensure welfareof police officers so thatpolicemen don't buy boots anduniforms for themselves. Heshould leave politics alone.

“If he wants to be a politicianhe should resign as IG andcome and contest the election.Nigerians should disregard himbecause he is acting the script

of President Goodluck Jonathanand the PDP. Nigerians shouldremain at the polling units aftervoting. Everybody should bepeaceful and ensure that theirvotes count before they go home.They should remain in theirpolling units after voting. Those

who have the energy mustensure that they monitor theirvotes to the collation centers.

“We expected the IG to facethe very worrisome issue ofpromotion of police officers. Ifhe wishes to be a politician heshould resign instead of turning

the Nigeria Police Force toPDP Police Force. I want to puthim on notice that Nigerianswill resist him. Nigerians willstand behind the police thatare sincere for a free and fairelection not Jonathan’s IG."

GOVERNOR RotimiAmaechi of Rivers State

has urged Nigerians to votecautiously in Saturday'spresidential elections in orderto shape their future.

He said that it was their onlypower to transform both thecountry and its leadership andappealed to the people to votefor the All ProgressivesCongress, APC presidentialcandidate, Gen. MuhammaduBuhari.

Amaechi spoke at the 27thconvocation of Rivers StateUniversity of Science andTechnology in Port Harcourt,weekend.

According to him, Nigerianswould be faced with the realityof voting on March 28 in thecountry ’s Presidentialelection.

He said: “Today, you areconfronted with one reality, thereality of Nigeria. That realitybegins from March 28, thereality to choose betweengood and evil and the realityto choose between peace andcorruption and those who wantto change your life; the realityof the fact that after now, mostof you will be unemployed.The reality of the fact that I sithere as governor and students

are fighting over electric fan,compared with the reality of thefact that in other universitiesoutside this country,convocation arenas are builtwith air-conditioners, sostudents don’t fight over fan.

That reality is what confrontsyou today.

“It is the reality of asking yourlecturers, what are theirqualifications, why don’t wehave enough lecturers in eachfaculty? When I was in the

University of Port Harcourt,I had enough lecturers in myfaculty and I’m proud to saythat I graduated from thatuniversity knowing mylecturers were those whocould defend their degrees."

ASABA—LEADERSHIP ofthe youth wing of Urhobo

Progress Union, UPU, hasendorsed President GoodluckJonathan as its sole candidatein the March 28 presidentialelection.

National President of the youthwing, Mr Anthony Ovie, whodisclosed this when he led othermembers of his executive,representing over one millionyouths of Urhobo nation, on acourtesy visit to the Minister ofNiger Delta Affairs, Dr StephenOru, said: “Our support forJonathan is anchored on theground that he is the mostqualified in terms of experience,qualification, capability, capacityand competence to lead theNigerian federation.

“He has provided the bestleadership in the history ofNigeria. His transformation

agenda has been verysuccessful and he has, throughdint of hard work and God’sprovidence upon his life,distinguished himself as a goodambassador of the Niger Delta

region.”He commended President

Jonathan for listening to the cryof the Urhobo by appointingone of their sons, Dr. Oru as theMinister of Niger Delta Affairs.

By Samuel Oyadongha

Y E N A G O A — T H EMaritime Workers’

Union of Nigeria, Bayelsadistrict, has threatened tocripple drilling activities at theAngo Field Operations inKoluama clan operated byConoil Producing NigeriaLimited on the Atlantic fringeof Bayelsa State over thecompany's alleged insensitivityto the plight of its members.

The maritime workers, led byMr Lloyd Sese, hinted,

yesterday in Yenagoa, of theirdecision to picket thecompany ’s operation onWednesday at the expiration ofthe 21 days ultimatum givento the management of Conoil.

Sese said the union hadseverally written to thecompany requesting for ameeting with its managementconcerning its operations inAngo Field location atKoluama which by virtue of itsmaritime environment fallswithin the coverage of theunion, to no avail.

By DaviesIheamnachor

PORT HAR-COURT— HIS

Royal Majesty, Eze VictorNnanna Woluchem,Epara Rebisi XII, theparamount ruler of PortHarcourt, Obio/AkporLocal Government Area,Rivers State, haspredicted victory for thegovernorship candidateof All ProgressivesCongress, APC, Dr.Dakuku Peterside, sayinghe is the best option forthe state.

Eze Woluchem,weekend, made thedeclaration at his palacewhen the APC candidatepaid the Epara Council ofChiefs a courtesy visitduring his ward rally.

Woluchem said that forthe governorship election,the APC candidate wasalready victorious, addingthat there is no contest atall in the race. He saidthere was no match toPeterside’s candidaturebased on his pastlegacies.

B O M A D I —O P P O S I N G

factions in the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, inBomadi LocalGovernment Area, DeltaState, weekend, resolvedto work together to ensure100 percent victory in theforthcoming generalelections in the council.

The decision wasreached at areconciliatory meetingheld at Chief BroderickBozimo’s residence inWarri, is a chieftain of theparty and chairman of thePDP Elders ReconciliationCommittee in the council.

Chief Bozimo, a formerMinister of Police Affairs,who addressed partymembers, said opposinggroups within the partyhad agreed to embraceone another in the interestof the party, stressing thatPDP would have nothingless than 100 percentvictory in the comingelections in the area.

By Onoja Innocent

MEETING: From left: Mr. Nwonye Emmanuel, Coordinator, Deltans Diaspora, Abujachapter; Prince Sani Usman, President, Non-Indigenes Forum/PDP Youths in Delta State;Miss Anita Ekpheshe, former Miss Lagoon University, Ghana, Mr. Ochuko Odugba, Patron,Non-Indigenes Forum/Deltans Diaspora, and Prince Kingsley Oberuruaria, Secretary, Non-Indigenes Forum/PDP Youths in Delta State, after a town-hall meeting with Senator IfeanyiOkowa, Delta State PDP governorship candidate, at Uvwie Local Government Area, DeltaState.


No plans to secure N50bn bond, saysDelta govt

DELTA State Governmenthas denied media

reports that it was about tosecure a N50 billion bond withjust about two months to theterminal date of theadministration.

The state Commissioner forInformation, Mr ChikeOgeah, in a statement,yesterday, said: “The attentionof the Delta State Governmenthas been drawn to false reportsin a section of the onlinemedia alleging that a N50billion bond was about beingdrawn with just about twomonths to the terminal date ofthe administration.

“The most bizzare of thereports by one Fejiro Oliver ofSecret Reporters claimed that'over N40 billion will bediverted to private pockets asfarewell gifts for loyal aides'while the balance will be usedto bribe officials of theSecurities and ExchangeCommission, SEC and banks.

“There is absolutely no truthin the allegation that the

governor of Delta State, Dr.Emmanuel Uduaghan, isseeking another N50 billionbond from the capital market.There is no such plan and nomove has been initiated to thateffect.

“It is our contention that inhis morbid haste to portray the

Rivers deputy gov dumps APC for PDP

THE deputy to GovernorRotimi Amaechi of Rivers

State, Mr Tele Ikuru, yesterday,dumped his All ProgressivesCongress, APC, for the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, describingthe APC as “A party of rebels,insurgents and anarchists,clothed in robes of pretence anddeceit.”

Governor Amaehi, has,meanwhile, expressed shock atthe resignation, even as heregretted what he described asthe ‘dishonourable lies’ given bythe deputy for making his exitfrom the party.

However, the PresidentGoodluck Jonathan CampaignOrganisation welcomed thedevelopment and called on otherleaders of the APC in Rivers Stateto emulate Ikuru, and totallyagreeing with Ikuru's descriptionof APC as a party of deceit.

Ikuru, in a statement, said: “Mydear people of Rivers State, Ibring you honest and sinceregreetings. Today (Sunday), Iaddress you out of the fullness ofmy heart. Recall that in December2013, out of extreme loyalty to myboss and friend, I joined the APC,along with other thendisillusioned Rivers people.

“Ever since, as the true natureand motives of APC are unveiled,I have continued to twist and turnin extreme mental and emotionalagony. The more I struggled tobelong, the more the Rivers manin me rejects the APC.

“After carefully studying,interacting and analyzing theleadership of the party, I havecome to the sad conclusion thatthe APC is a party of rebels,insurgents and anarchists,clothed in robes of pretence anddeceit. APC is a party foundedon deception and it thrives onunholy propaganda andfalsehood.

“I, therefore, on behalf of myteaming supporters, and myhumble self denounce the APCand we all jointly and severallyresign our membership of theAPC.

“My dear people of Rivers State,we of this generation will not ingood conscience expectforgiveness and compassion fromour forebears, posterity, and thespirit of our unborn generationsif it is recorded in the annals ofhistory that after 48 years ofRivers people supporting leadersfrom all other parts of this countrywith our votes and resources, wewere the same that witch huntedand hounded down the very firstever president from this region,granted us by providence. I washmy hands off the treachery.

“In the light of the above, I wishto urge all my supporters, thegood people of Rivers State to joinhands with others to vote forPresident Jonathan and thetransformation agenda that hasbrought so much relief and succorto the greatest number of

Nigerians. I also urge all Riverspeople to vote for Chief NyesomWike (PDP governorshipcandidate in the state), who hasshown by his antecedents, trackrecords and boundlesscapabilities that he will delivergood governance to the people ofRivers State.”

Governor Amaechi in astatement by his Commissioner forInformation andCommunications, Mrs IbimSemenitari said the action of hisdeputy had confirmedspeculations in several quartersthat he was a mole in the APC,adding that like every Nigerian,Ikuru was free to belong to anypolitical party.

“Whilst the news remains

Okunbor, Igbinedion, others rally support forJonathan

By Simon Ebegbulem

BENIN—AHEAD theMarch 28 presidential

elections, the Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, in Edo South senatorialdistrict of Edo State, yesterday,held a rally tagged “Operationfinal push,” appealing to thepeople of the area to vote forPresident Goodluck Jonathan soas to enjoy the government at thefederal level.

The rally was attended bychieftains of the PDP in the area,

led by its major financier in thestate, Captain Hosa Okunbor,Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, SenatorRowland Owie, Chief LuckyImasuen, Senator EhigieUzamere, Pastor Osagie IzeIyamu, MatthewIduoriyekemwen, VictorEbomoyi, among others.

Though the state chairman ofthe party, Chief Dan Orbih andthe Minister of Works, Mr MikeOnolemenmen, were not fromthe area, they later joined therally. The duo declared that they

were using the rally to giveGovernor Adams Oshiomholeand his All ProgressivesCongress, APC, quit notice in thestate, adding that Edo is a PDPstate “and must return to PDPfrom the federal to the state.”

Captain Okunbor, in hisaddress, pointed out that “Apartfrom the fact that PresidentJonathan is our son and brother,he has performed more than anypresident in this country. So, it isin the interest of our people, theBinis, to support his re-election."

unofficial at this time as theDeputy Governor is yet to notifythe governor of this move,Governor Amaechi, however,wishes Engr Ikuru all the best inhis future political endeavours.

“He, however, wishes to notethat the reasons adduced by EngrIkuru are shocking as DeputyGovernor lkuru has consistentlybeen the one driving politicalactivities in his local governmentarea of Andoni and has been thesecond in command drivingpolitics and governance in Riversstate," he said.

President Jonathan, speakingthrough his campaignspokesman, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, said in a statement, inAbuja that the PDP was happy to

receive Ikuru back into itsfamily.

He said: “We are glad to hearabout the return of the deputygovernor of Rivers State, TeleIkuru, to the PDP family. Thiswas a deeply courageous stepand we welcome him with openarms."

Rivers State Chairman of theAPC, Dr Davies Ikanya, said thatIkuru's exit from the party wasinconsequential, dismissingallegations of power tusslebetween him and the deputygovernor.

“His exist does not meananything to our party. Everybodyhas one vote. He has only onevote. Watch out, now that he hasleft more PDP members will jointhe party from the area."

POLLS:Securityagencies inShow of Forceexercise

By GabrielEnogholase

BENIN—THE Policeand other security

agencies in Edo State,determined to ensure free,fair and non- violenceelection, weekend, stagedwhat they termed, ‘Show offorce’ exercise.

The demonstration, led byGarrison commander, LtCol Amatso, began at 9.30a.m., and ended about5p.m.

Army Public RelationsOfficer, Captain AbubakarAbdullahi, told journalistsin Benin, weekend, that theexercise was aimed atletting the public know theirreadiness towardsensuring free and fairelections and demonstratethe unity among thesecurity agencies in thestate.

He added that it was alsoto encourage the populaceto feel free and safe toexercise their constitutionalrights of voting and beingvoted for withoutharassment or intimidation.

“What is going on today(yesterday) is a show offorce, a way ofdemonstrating ourpreparedness for free, fair,peaceful and credibleelections. It is meant toshow the level of unityexisting among the securityagencies in Edo State andhow we will work togetherto ensure we haveviolence-free elections.

“As you can see, we havemen from the NigerianArmy, Nigeria Police,Department of StateServices, Nigeria Air Force,National Security and CivilDefence Corps, FederalRoad Safety Corps,Nigerian Prison Services,and numerous others. Theyare all here."

By Emmanuel Aziken

ST PATRICKS DAY: Edo/Delta Chaplain, Rev. Fr. Vincent Mokweye (R) congratulating thePresident, St Patricks Edo/Delta, Mr Greg Ekatah, during the St Patrick Edo/Delta celebrationat Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Gwagwalada, in Abuja, yesterday .

administration of Uduaghanin poor light, the authordisplayed total ignorance ofthe workings of the capitalmarket or genuinely lackedadequate knowledge todistinguish between anexecuted bond and a tranchethat was not taken."

SUSPENSION OF FIVE MONARCHS:PDP, APGA trade words

By Anayo Okoli

Onitsha industrialists demand N30bn compensation for 2012 flood disaster

By Vincent Ujumadu

Fr Mbaka shuts Adoration Ground over alleged threat to life

POLLS: EnuguPolice bosswarnspoliticiansagainstviolence

By Austin Ogwuda

ENUGU—AHEAD of the general elections

coming up in the next fewdays, Enugu StateCommissioner of Police,Abubakar Mohammed, haswarned that his men werebattle ready to curb any actof violence before, duringand after the exercise.

He also remindedcandidates that they will bemade to pay, if theybreached the peace accordthey signed.

Political party chairmen inEnugu State, includingcandidates contestingvarious seats in theforthcoming generalelections, had at the statepolice headquarters inFebruary, signed a peaceaccord, pledging tomaintain peace with theirsupporters before, duringand after the elections.

They promised to fullyabide by all rules andregulations as laid down inthe legal framework forelections in Nigeria.

The CP reminded them ofthe accord and thesubsequent penalty shouldthere be any breach whenhe received the AfricanUnion ObservationMission for the generalelections, led by JohnMaphephe, at theweekend.

The AU team visited thepolice boss to find out hisreadiness for the conduct ofthe elections, especially onthe issue of security.

The police boss said:“We have covered all thepolling stations in thestate and if you mentiona particular polling station,we know the officers postedto the polling station and allthe key points close to thepolling station.''

A W K A — INDUSTRIALISTS at thefamous Harbour layout inOnitsha, Anambra State, aredemanding N30 billioncompensation from the FederalGovernment to cushion the effectsof the 2012 flood disaster thatravaged most manufacturingcompanies in the area.

The industrialists said duringtheir interaction with the formergovernor of Anambra State, MrPeter Obi, who is the deputydirector-general of PresidentJonathan CampaignOrganisation in Onitsha that theywere making the demandbecause they were aware that theFederal Government had set upan intervention fund to assistcompanies that sustained lossesduring the disaster.

Chairman of Harbour IndustrialLayout Association, Chief PaulOkonkwor said the companies inthe area lost over N100 billion tothe flood, adding that thecompensation would enable themrecall thousands of workers laidoff as a result of the flood.

Okonkwor said: “We expressdeep concern over the absence ofwell coordinated preemptive floodmitigation operation at theindustrial layout due to our

UMUAHIA—PEOPLESDemocratic Party, PDP,

and the main opposition AllProgressive Grand Alliance,APGA, in Abia State are currentlytrading words over thesuspension of five traditionalrulers from Ngwa axis of the state.

The suspended traditionalrulers include Eze NelsonNmerengwa of Isieketeautonomous community, EzeN.N. Nwachukwu of Ovungwuautonomous community, EzePeter Emereonye of Okporoahabaautonomous community, EzeSampson Jinanwa of AmaiseOvungwu autonomouscommunity and Eze Gbufor, allfrom Isiala Ngwa council area andanother Eze from Ariam Usaka inIkwuano local government area.

While APGA alleged that thetraditional rulers were axedbecause of their support andloyalty to its governorshipcandidate, Dr. Alex Otti, notingthat four of the sacked monarchswere from Otti’s Isiala NgwaSouth local government area,PDP dismissed the claim asbaseless.

A statement by APGACampaign Organisation, andsigned by Chris Aka, describedthe action against the monarchs

as cowardly and vindictive,claiming that they were sacked forfailing to abide by directive of thegovernment that no Eze in thestate should identify with APGA.

But in a swift reaction, PDP/Okezie Ikpeazu GovenorshipCampaign Organisationdismissed APGA’s position as amere weeping up of sentimentsfor political gains, explaining thatthe monarchs were axed foralleged security breaches.

“No responsible governmentcould have folded its arms andwatch events escalate out ofcontrol in those domains. Moreso when there was alreadyplethora of petitions against theroyal fathers by their subjects andtown unions,” PDP/Ikpeazucampaign said.

The campaign organisation, ina statement signed by KingsleyEmereuwa, said: “We areconstrained to clarify some issues

that bother on the developmentbecause of Otti’s futile attempt towhip up sentiment by linking theaction of government as aimed togive an edge to the governorshipproject of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu.

“Whereas we are not speakingfor the state government, it is acommon knowledge that theissues that led to the suspensionof the affected royal fathersbothered on serious securitybreaches and abuse of theirpositions as royal fathers anaction capable of underminingthe pervading peacefulatmosphere in the state.''

geographical location, in spiteof the climate change warnings.

“We also want to express ourheartfelt concerns over themanner in which the flood-affected industries have been leftto fend for themselves since theflood disaster in the area, asmost of the industries lost most

of their assets to the flood. “Okonkwor said it was for that

reason that most of the industriesrationalized their workforce, adevelopment he described asunfortunate because they hadspent a lot of money to train theaffected workers.

Addressing them, Obi said

government would not toy with agroup that employed about30,000 workers directly, addingthat they needed industrialharmony created by the Jonathanadministration to remain inbusiness and should thereforeensure that the President wasreturned to office on March 28.

ENUGU—OUTSPOKENCatholic Priest, Reverend Fr.

Ejike Mbaka of AdorationMinistries, Enugu, hassuspended his weekly crusadeuntil after the general elections dueto alleged threat to life.

This left no fewer than 100,000worshippers stranded anddisappointed last Friday.

The Adoration Ground inEmene, Enugu, is noted forattracting over 100,000worshippers every Friday from theSouth-East zone and beyond forspiritual healing and deliverancefrom satanic attacks.

Mbaka had in a statementsigned by his Media Officer, IkeMaximus Ugwoke, stated: “It iswith a deep sense of concern thatwe are constrained to make this

statement on the continuedthreat to the life of Rev. Fr. EjikeMbaka over his 2015 New Yearmessage titled 'From GoodLuck to Bad Luck.'

“Last Wednesday, mean look-ing men in a black Hilux be-sieged his parish compound butthey left disappointed whenthey could not see him”.


By Austin Ogwuda

PROMO: From left; President, Entrepreneurs' Organization, EO, Abuja, Mr. Rotimi Martins;Global Vice President, Entrepreneurs’ Organisation, Miranda Barrett; Winner, EO GSEA,Prince Joshua Oyeniyi; President, EO East Africa, Mr Sriram Bharatam and President,Entrepreneurs’ Organisation, Lagos, Mr Tony Okoye, during the EO GSEA finals in Lagos.

ISOKO—A PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,

chieftain in Isoko North LocalGovernment Area, Mr. OchukoOdugba, yesterday led more thana thousand Isoko youths drawnfrom the various Wards in thecouncil area to endorse thecandidature of Hon. Leo Ogor forFederal House of Representativesand Senator Ifeanyi Okowa forGovernor, Delta State.

He noted that the decision of LeoOgor to seek re-election was as aresult of the experience garnered

over the years, adding that tobring purposeful representation,Isoko must line behind not justany politician but one with vastknowledge in politics and thegeneral welfare of the people.

His words: He is the mostqualified and has all it takes to givethe people of Isoko a voice withinthe larger Nigeria spectrum.”

Speaking further, he describedOkowa, the PDP governorshipcandidate in the state as aseasoned grassroots politicianwho, if given the opportunity,

would bring abundant smiles tohis people.

He said: “No progressiverepresentative should be afraid togo back to his people to renewhis mandate; and that is thebeauty of democracy. It is onlythose who alienated themselveswhile in office and who neverkept in touch with their rootsthat find it hard to approach hispeople. So I urge the people tocome out en-masse on March28 and April 11 to vote for allthe PDP candidates.”

PDP chieftain mobilises youths for Ogor, Okowa


Lack of respectfor individualchoices worryArchbishop

By Chidi Nkwopara

OWERRI — THE CatholicArchbishop of Owerri

Ecclesiastical Province, His Grace,Most Rev. Dr. Anthony J. V.Obinna, has expressed seriousreservation at the way somepoliticians exhibit lack of respectfor individual choices.

Dr. Obinna made his feelingsknown while speaking after there-consecration of MariaAssumpta Cathedral, Owerri, thatwas desecrated by suspectedpolitical thugs during the botchedgovernorship debate organisedby the Justice Development andPeace Commission, JDPC, of theArchdiocese.

“It is disturbing that somepeople brazenly resort tointimidation and violence in orderto push forward their own claimsand opinion.

"They express lack of respect forindividual choices, views orexpectations,” Obinna said.

According to the fiery Catholiccleric, such violent politicianswant everybody to vote for thesame party.

He stressed that such a positionmarked the beginning of theproblem.

PRESIDENTIALPOLL:Jonathanloses bid toget Igbobloc votes

By Francis Igata

ENUGU — WITH fivedays to the

presidential election,fresh indicationsemerged, yesterday, thatthe Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, candidate,President GoodluckJonathan, may have lostground for a bloc vote inthe South East geo-political zone.

This is even as the apexIgbo socio-cultural group,Ohanaeze Ndigbo,endorsed Jonathan whichhad received the bashingof groups and individualsacross the Igbo nation.

Speaking on lastFriday’s endorsement ofAll ProgressivesCongress, APC,p r e s i d e n t i a lc a n d i d a t e , G e n e r a lMuhammadu Buhari(retd) by Igbo leaders inthe 19 northern states andFederal Capital Territory,Abuja, under the aegis ofIgbo Delegates Assembly,IDA,urging him to rescuethe country from beingrun aground by Jonathan.

The party ’sspokesperson, South East,Mr. Osita Okechukwu,said in a statement:“Ndigbo should not makethe mistake of putting alltheir eggs in one basket.

“With IDA’sendorsement, it meansNdigbo will be part of thevictory squad which waswhat the late Rt. Hon.Chuba Okadigbopredicted in 2002, thatBuhari would not onlyspearhead a coalition tostop one party’s system inour dear country, butwould fix a brokenNigeria.

“The Yoruba are 60-40per cent and the Hausasare 80-20 per cent, insupport of Buhari andJonathan respectively.Why should Ndigbosupport Jonathan 100 percent? Is it not a grosserror?"

ELECTION: Security agencies

By Chimaobi Nwaiwu

THE JOINT security force, comprisingNigerian Army, Navy, Police, Nigerian

Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC,Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, NigerianPrisons Service, Directorate of State Security,DSS, has declared its preparedness to ensurefree, fair and credible general elections inAnambra State.

The Commander of Onitsha MilitaryCantonment, the 302 Artillery Regiment, Col.Mohammed Bello, who spoke on behalf of othersecurity organisations, disclosed this after ajoint security force simulation to showcase therole and channel of communication of securityagencies on election days.

The exercise, tagged, 'Exercise Nsogbuadiro(No problem),' is to harness the synergybetween other security services in the state aswell as see practical lapses that needed to beaddressed before the elections.

He said: 'Exercise, Nsogbuadiro,' is basicallyto prepare us, the military with the assistanceof other security agencies here, so we comeup with good exercise that will prepare ourtroops for eventual deployment for electionduties.”

“Yes, Onitsha is not known for electionviolence because it is in the urban area andthere are units here to contain any problemsthat may arise, but where we think there wouldbe problems is at the hinterlands, the riverineareas.

‘’In the rural areas where we have lesssecurity agencies massively deployed, we haveput in adequate measures to ensure that wecover those areas in terms of troopsdeployment.

‘’In that regard, we have goodcommunication network and mobile patrols thatwill dominate those areas that are isolated andrural in nature. "

By Victor Ahiuma-Young

FACTIONAL President ofNigeria Labour Congress,

Joe Ajaero, and the NationalAdministrative Council of theCongress, NAC, have allegedthat evidences were emergingthat former NLC President,Abdulwaheed Omar, colludedwith agencies of state to ensurethe emergence of Ayuba aspresident at all costs against thewill of majority of workers.

The faction in a statement inLagos, weekend, said lastweek’s visits of Ayuba Wabbaand others to Federal Ministryof Labour and Director Generalof the Department of StateService, DSS, was suggestive ofalleged attempt of Wabba tosurrender labour movement tothe government.

The statement by Segun Esanon behalf of the faction, said:“The visit of Comrade AyubaWabba and his cohorts to theagencies of the state is sounfortunate.

‘’These hurried visitsvindicate our position that theformer president, Comrade

Why Wabba, others visited DSS,Labour Ministry—Ajaero factionof NLC

Abdul Omar, colluded withagencies of the state toperpetrate the fraud calledelection to ensure theemergence of Ayuba at all costsagainst the will of the majorityof the Nigerian working people.

‘’After all, the Ministry ofLabour is aware that the tenureof Ayuba Wabba as President ofMedical and Health had endedsince 2013 and could not carryout his oversight function toensure that the constitution ofthe union is not violated withimpunity as Wabba had done inthe last two years.

“Apparently, the visit to theDirector General of DSS wasalso a 'thank you' visit for therole the security agenciesplayed during the disputedelections in Abuja.

‘’The DSS and the policeunleashed dogs and policemenon horses to chase awaymajority of the private sectorunions that were behind Ajaero.

"Such unsolicited visits to theagencies of the state are clearlysuggestive of Wabba’s

indebtedness to the state andhis willingness to surrender thelabour movement to thegovernment."

‘’We are concerned that suchfrivolous visits could giveinvitation or encouragement tothe government or any of itsagencies to interfere in theaffairs of the labour movement.The Labour movement is a non-governmental organisation thatowes its powers and legitimacyonly to workers/members."

Such unsolicited visits to theagencies of the state are clearlysuggestive of Wabba’sindebtedness to the state andhis willingness to surrender thelabour movement to thegovernment.

‘’We are concerned that suchfrivolous visits could giveinvitation or encouragement tothe government or any of itsagencies to interfere in the affairsof the labour movement. TheLabour movement is a non-governmental organisation thatowes its powers and legitimacyonly to workers/members."

complete exercise inOnitsha


CONFERENCE: All Progressives Congress, APC, National Publicity Secretary, LaiMohammed (middle), his Personal Assistants, William Adeleye (right), and Femi Odutale,during a press conference on the planned arrest, detention and prosecution of the partyleaders by the ruling PDP prior to March 28, 2015 presidential election, in Lagos,weekend.

S T A K E H O L D E R S ,LEADERS and members

of the traditional rulers council ofDelta North senatorial districthave expressed dismay overcontinuous verbal attacks memberrepresenting Aniocha Southconstituency in the Delta StateHouse of Assembly, Hon.Onyemaechi Mrakpor.

Speaking at a press conferencein Asaba, the spokesman of themonarch’s council, Chief SolomonOnyejeoseh said for sometime now,a few disgruntled and faceless

persons have continued tosponsor publications in thenewspapers aimed at smearingthe name Hon. Mrakpor.

The leaders stated that theydecided to come together to putthe records straight, adding thatas custodians of the laws of theland and tradition of their variouscommunities, they would nolonger fold their hands and allowsome desperate persons destroythe good things they have enjoyedover the years through theeffective representation of Mrs.Mrakpor.

The group described Mrakpor,currently the PDP candidate torepresent Aniocha/OshimiliFederal constituency in thecoming elections as a humble,respectable daughter of the area,who had used her two terms inoffice as a lawmaker, to attractmonumental developments,which include, construction of a60-bed hospital, doctors, nursesquarters, provision ofambulances, construction ofmarkets, as well as scholarshipschemes for the less privileged.

Monarchs flay attacks on Hon Mrakpor

Nigerians're clamouring for change morethan APC, Buhari tells private sector forum

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

ABUJA—PRESIDENTIALcandidate of All ProgressivesCongress, APC, GeneralMohammadu Buhari has saidthat the clamour for change inNigeria’s political governancehas become the desire of allNigerians and not limited to APCas a party.

Buhari made the statementduring a dinner meeting with

Abuja Private Sector Forum inAbuja on Saturday night.

Addressing the forum, thepresidential candidate said thatevery Nigerian had been affectedin negative manner by the badsystem of government of the rulingPeople’s Democratic Party, PDPnoting that the worst hit was thebusiness community.

According to him, the desire forchange has culminated into anational movement.

He said: “I am glad to state thatdesire for change in Nigeriatoday is not just an AllProgressives Congress (APC)party affair but has turned into anational movement underpinnedby a National Agenda of arrestingthe drift and promoting the unityand development of our country.This desire for change has beenembraced by all and sundry fromall over the country.

“I am sure you are all

concerned about the generaldeterioration in all sectors of theNigerian society, in particular thebusiness environment which hasbeen negatively affected bymismanagement, profligacy, badgovernance, corruption andabove all pervasive insecurity inour land and therefore has notbeen able to advance the courseof doing business in our country.”

Buhari also assured thecommunity that if elected the nextpresident of Nigeria on Saturday,insecurity would be history inNigeria, stating that the victimsof the insurgency would also berehabilitated.

He also pledged to review thePublic Private Partnership (PPP)framework and make it moreresult oriented.

“If by the grace of God I amelected President, in the nextSaturday’s election, the securityand stability of our nation, whichhave been threatened in recenttimes, more than at any time sincethe Civil War, shall be properlyaddressed as a number onepriority by enhancing the capacityof security agencies to safeguardlives and property.

“We shall decisively bring theBoko Haram insurgency to anend and promote lasting peaceand stability in all the nooks andcrannies of our nation. We wouldensure that the victims of theinsurgency are adequatelyrehabilitated and supported torestore their means of livelihood.

You don’t change a winning team — PDP..insists Nigeria’s economic future secure under Jonathan

...assures of end to insecurity

By Henry Umoru

ABUJA — AHEAD of thePresidential and general

elections slated for March 28 andApril 11 respectively, Nationalleadership of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP saidyesterday that no one changes awinning team, just as it urgedNigerians to re- elect the party’sPresidential candidate, PresidentGoodluck Jonathan because ofhis achievements in the last fouryears.

In a statement yesterday byPDP National PublicitySecretary, Chief Olisa Metuh,the PDP noted that with the re-election of Jonathan, the nation’seconomic future was guaranteed,just as he cited his performancein wealth creation as well asstrategies already mapped outfor continued economic andsocial growth in the country.

According to Metuh, the multi-sectoral development approachadopted by the Jonathanadministration resulted in astronger economy, which notonly withstood the shock of theglobal financial downturn that

ravaged most nations of theworld, but also created anexceptional enablingenvironment and support forinvestments and businesses tothrive in the country.

The PDP Spokespersonstressed that it was indisputablethat investors and entrepreneursin the country have fared better,more than ever before, in the lastfour years under PresidentJonathan making the nation thelargest economy in Africa andone of the fastest growing in theworld, “a fact businessmen, even

those in the opposition cannotcontest”.

He continued, “no bodychanges a winning team just forthe sake of change”, the PDP saidwhat the nation needs at themoment is “an uninterruptedflow of the transformation effortwhich can only be best handledby a President GoodluckJonathan-led PDPadministration, especially as theopposition has failed to articulateany workable alternative toNigerians.

“We restate that our nation has

been blessed with themeticulous application ofdeliberate economic policies andprogrammes in the last fouryears under PresidentJonathan’s TransformationAgenda. Within this period,there has been a phenomenalgrowth of small and mediumscale enterprises in addition tothe revamping of themanufacturing sector withunprecedented volume ofdomestic and direct foreigninvestments empowering ourpeople in all walks of life.

POLLS: Votepeacefully,group urgesNigerians

By Dapo Akinrefon

A SOCIO-POLITICALgroup, the GoodluckMandate Worldwide,GMW, has called on theelectorate to participate fullyand peacefully in theMarch 28 and April 11general elections, to ensurethey get the leadership theydesire.

National president of thegroup, Prince AniChidiebere, whoaddressed newsmen inLagos, also called onNigerians in diaspora tocome home to contributetheir quota to thedevelopment of the country.

While urging Nigeriansto eschew ethnicity,tribalism and nepotism inthe choice of who governsthem, he called on citizensand politicians to drawinspiration from thenational anthem of thecountry, to arise and servediligently.

ELECTIONS:Group urgessecurityagencies toremainneutral

By Gbenga Oke

A GROUP under theauspices of All

Progressives CongressState Publicity Secretaries,CAPS, has called onsecurity agencies to remainneutral, unbiased andprofessional in the disch-arge of their duties duringthe general elections.

The group also called onthe security agencies toarrest all those involved inthe purchase of voters cardsand other related electoraloffences.

In a statement by CAPSafter a summit to review thecoming 2015 elections, thegroup charges theNigerian Police, NigerianCivil Defence Corps, StateSecurity Service and allother civil authoritiesconnected to security in thecoming elections and beingpaid by Nigerian taxpayers to remain neutral,professional and unbiasedin the discharge of theirduties during the Elections.We also urge the lawenforcement agencies toensure that no money isshared to voters in oraround voting centres inNigeria during theelections to avoid electiondisruption which may arise


CMYK

OPINION


ByOkofu Ubaka

OPINIONRape of equityRape of equityRape of equityRape of equityRape of equity, justice and fairness in Delta South, justice and fairness in Delta South, justice and fairness in Delta South, justice and fairness in Delta South, justice and fairness in Delta South

•Mr. Ubaka, a political analyst, wrote fromKoko, Warri North LGA, Delta State.

IF Hon. James Manager wins in theforthcoming general elections to

represent the people of Delta SouthSenatorial district in the ‘Green chamber’,equity, justice and fairness would have losttheir true meaning to the aggrieved Itsekirisand Isokos of the same senatorial district.Amidst deafened protest in 2013 againstManager’s second term in the place of anItsekiri candidate whose turn it was torepresent the district at the senate, Managerwas imposed on the people. An action whichstarred the hornet nest and caused so muchdisaffections among the Itsekiris and Isokospolitical class who have been victims ofManager ’s manipulation. Manager ’sshenanigan broke down completely themutual understanding between the threeethnic groups to rotate the senate seat asingle term bases.

It is commonplace to hear of ‘mutualagreement and rotation’ among stalwartsof the Peoples’ Democratic Party, (PDP). Whysuch agreement among the three ethnicgroups in Delta South Senatorial districtwas frustrated, abused and jettisoned byJames Manager and his lieutenants isbeyond comprehension. For the Itsekiris andthe Isokos who are principal victims of thismanipulation, the mutual trust between theformer ethnic nationalities and the Ijaws ofthe same district would for a long time tocome suffer frustration unless somethingbold and drastic is done about the impositionon the other two tribes in the district by theleadership of the Peoples’ Democratic Party.

Nonetheless, signs are ominous that thePDP is in for the worst and humiliatingdefeat in this senatorial district since theinception of the party. Let me quickly addhere that not all Ijaws are in support ofManager’s imposition. Hence, to say thatsome discerning Ijaws in the state arebrooding over Manager’s ‘third coming’ tothe senate is stating the obvious. It is the dutyof this minds therefore to callJamesManager to order or at best desert him tokeep the unity of purpose in Delta South.

This is not intended to whip up unduesentiment or cry wolf where none exist. Yet,the truth must be told because only fairnessand justice can guarantee peacefulcoexistence among people of diversifiedethnic backgrounds. It is sad that it is onlyin Delta south that this kind of Manager’simpunity can take place.

Manager had openly aborted theagreement entered into by the oldergeneration of politicians from the districtwithout the least respect for fairness anddecency. Unlike what is obtainable in othersenatorial districts of the state, the

agreement to rotate the seat among thedifferent ethnic groups in the district wasarrogantly messed up by this politics ofattrition and personality assassination.

In Delta North for instance, we have theOsimilis, the Ikas, the Aniochas and theUkwanis bond peacefully together as aresult of each ethnic group abiding by theagreement to have the senatorial seat forone term and relinquish the seat for anotherethnic group on expiration of the former’sfour year-term. The same practice andunderstanding is obtainable in Delta Centralwhere we have the Agbons in majority yetshare with the Udos, the Uvhwes and theOkpes. Such is the demonstration of anegalitarian society, not the repressive andhostile political atmosphere whichManager’s action is capable of plungingDelta south into should he have anothersmooth sail to the Senate in 2015.

Before now, there had been equitable andtriangular rotations of the senatorial seatamong the three ethnic nationalities ( theIjaws, the Isoko and the Itsekiris ) in DeltaSouth Senatorial district. The rotationarrangement had enthrone peace andpeople had been better for it without anyform of acrimony and bad taste. In 1979,Chief T. Atake, an Itsekiri stood in the Senatefor the people of the district for a single term.In 1983, it was the turn of the Ijaws to producea candidate for the seat. Chief Edwin Clarkewon the seat with the support of the othertwo ethnic groups; the Itsekiris and Isokos.

Upon creation of Delta state, the triangularrotation was maintained, not even time andevents could distort the orderliness andfrustrate the community of purpose of theolder generation of politicians from thedistrict in enthroning peace by giving equityand fairness a prime consideration. In lieuof this, Chief Mrs Stella Omu went to the‘Green chamber’ on the auspices of theSenatorial district, and was there for a loneterm.

The questions most people fromDeltasouth are asking, are; what has changed thisfar to make Sen. Jame Manager feel he caneat his cake and have it? Why will Managerwant to add salt to an injury his second termin the Senate had already caused the people?What makes him feel he is the only qualifiedperson in the district to return to the senate?

It is against this backdrop that we ask allthe good people of the district to throw theirweight by casting their votes for aconscientious and sellable candidate in theperson of Hon. Prince JFK Omatsone, anItsekiri. He has been tested and can betrusted. Omatsone was one time Speaker ofthe Delta House of Assembly during theJames Onanefe’s tenure as the executiveGovernor of the state. He is a good listener,and always a step ahead for his people. Likethe people of Delta south, Hon. Omatsone ispassionate for a change.

What makes him feel heis the only qualifiedperson in the district toreturn to the senate?

MARCH 22 was the World Water Day. It wasthe 22nd anniversary of the United NationsWorld Water Day. The theme, Water andSustainable Development, aptly capturestravails of living in Nigeria, where the WaterDay is celebrated with rehashed speeches,indicating poignant disregard for develop-ment handles water provides. The connec-tions between water and sustainabledevelopment and their impacts on the livesof people across the world have drawnattention to the resource and its uses. Manycountries have realised that without water,development, prosperity and successes areimpossible.

Among objectives the United Nations setfor the World Water Day, are identifyingpolicies, approaches and solutions to wateruses and sustainable manners to achievegreater economic and social impacts.Relevant stakeholders in water andsustainable development should be engagedin charting more water and developmentlinkages. For Nigeria, focus on water iscritical to the attainment of the economicand social prosperity. Water is very essentialto survival. Sustainable development isimpossible without water, which is crucialfor energy, health, industrial, commercialand social engagements. Yet none of

Water – Important,Now, Forever

contestants for office is approaching thematter with any discernible manner. Issuesof water and their implications areprofound.

The lackadaisical approaches to water andsustainable development are difficult tounderstand against the background of thegeneral improvements they can make onlives, and creating jobs across industries andvarious enterprises. Nigeria’s situation isworse: we do not have drinking water. Waterdefines some countries. Water is soimportant that nations go to war over it.Egypt and Ethiopia cannot do without theNile. Their agriculture, electricity, and waterfor other daily affairs, draw from the riverthey share with Burundi, Democratic

Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Kenya,Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, andUganda.

The 6,650-km Nile, the longest river in theworld, serves over 450 million people withmore than 200 million of them dependingdirectly on it for their food and watersecurity. The linkages from the uses of theNile affect both economic and social lives oftheir peoples. Agreements on the uses of theNile date back to 1902. The larger nationalpicture is of urban areas without safedrinking water sources. The hazards fromsuch living, which is worse in rural Nigeria,are ominous and hamper sustainabledevelopment.

Lamentations about the poor state of ourenergy and water infrastructure should stop.Government budgets for the sectors are solow that it is obvious they cannot solve theproblems. Sustainable solutions to Nigeria’swater and development crises lie in morerobust and sustainable partnerships with theprivate sector, and users, with emphases onmore efficient uses of this valuable resource.

CMYK


OPINIONBy Bobson Gbinije

*Mr. Gbinije, a social critic, wrote from Warri, Delta State.

Concluding remarks (1) Buhari

AFTER about four months of frenziedcampaigns, we have just five days to

the rescheduled presidential election2015. I consider it necessary to make afew concluding remarks on the two majorpresidential candidates: PresidentGoodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, theflag bearer of the ruling PeoplesDemocratic Party (PDP) and GeneralMuhammadu Buhari of the mainopposition All Progressives Congress(APC).

Buhari, during this period, has mademore headlines than the incumbentpresident. It all started shortly after heclinched the APC presidential ticket at theTeslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere onDecember 11th, 2014. From that momenton, he became the exclusive property ofthe Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) politicalcamp, which has shouldered the bulk ofhis campaign needs, with the DirectorGeneral of the campaign organisation,Governor Rotimi Amaechi, acting as avery visible and audible sidekick.

Missing northernpolitical elite

Surprisingly, the political elite of NorthernNigeria in the APC quietly withdrew fromhis side. You name them: Alhaji AbubakarAtiku, Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, Mr.Nda Isaiah, the three others who vied forthe ticket with Buhari; northern governorson the APC platform, Speaker of the Houseof Representatives, Ahaji Aminu WaziriTambuwal, who was briefly favoured byTinubu until he withdrew in favour of thegovernorship seat of Sokoto State and topfigures in the Northern Elders Forum(NEF) such as Professor Ango Abdullahiand Dr. Junaidu Mohammed, who openlydeclared that Buhari was the candidate ofthe North after he emerged. The onlyperson from the North who is regularlyseen with Buhari is the midget man fromKaduna State, Mallam Nasir el Rufai.

They may have withdrawn from Buharifor tactical reasons, but you can be surethey are hiding in the shadows, just out ofsight, waiting for the moment they hopeProfessor Attahiru Jega will announceBuhari as the winner of the poll. Then, theywill show up in their full colours andnumbers. If Buhari wins the election, weare soon going to be treated to rounds ofJeremiads from his current intellectual,financial and material backers from theSouth West. They will complain that themonkey worked and the baboon isenjoying the spoils. This is by no means aprophecy. It is a statement based onempirical surmises. If tomorrow comes inBuhari’s favour, we will surely remind youwe said so long before it happened.

The moment Buhari picked the APCticket, it was pretty clear that the task ofselling him must target the South, and

more especially the South West. The choiceof most people in Arewa North wasobviously Buhari. He was already sold outthere. Jonathan was already sold out inSouth East, South-South, and to anappreciable extent, the North Central andthe Minority enclaves of the nation. It wasin the South West that Buhari had to berebranded for acceptability. Overnight, westarted seeing posters of Buhari, (a manwho has only worn babanriga and kaftansince he retired from the army) clad indinner black suit, white shirt and bow tie.Buhari has put the lie to this as he hasnever worn a suit since he startedcampaigning. He only wore an overcoatwhile in London for medical attention andthe Chatham House appearance, but evenat that, he discarded it for his usual flowingrobes once inside the building.

The APC'smantra

Buhari was advertised as the man whowill bring about change, the mantra of theAPC. I wonder what will happen to themantra if APC wins the presidency. Willthey still want change? The machinery ofthe South West media was fully mobilised,while an army of young internet bloggerswas mobilised to extol the virtues ofBuhari and his party, while savaging thePDP and its presidential candidate. Theyinvaded every polling site and clicked likemad for Buhari, thus orchestrating amomentum for him.

This same section of the media wastalking from a different side of its mouthwhen Buhari was contesting againstOlusegun Obasanjo in 2003. At that time,what we heard was that Buhari was ananti-democrat who truncated civilian rulein 1994, a despot who jailed politiciansand confiscated their property at hiskangaroo tribunals.

We were reminded, correctly, how Buharihastened the death of Yoruba politicalpatriarch, Chief Obafemi Awolowo,cancelled the metro line project conceivedand initiated by Alhaji Lateef Jakande todecongest the Lagos traffic, useddraconian decrees to cripple the Press,which is the right arm of Yoruba politicalclout and did not initiate or complete asingle capital project in all his twentymonths in power. We were also remindedthat Buhari, as Executive Chairman of thedefunct Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) deniedthe South West its fair share of projectswhile massing projects in the North.

We were made to remember that Buharinever said a word when the struggle forthe restoration of Chief Moshood Abiola’smandate was on. Rather, he was a greatfan of General Sani Abacha, who gavehim the PTF job. Till date Buharimaintains Abacha never looted, but he hasnot told where those Abacha lootsrepatriated from Western banks came

from. He never contributed in any way inbringing about the return to democracy.Instead, he rode on the back of the Shariauprising in Arewa North between 2000and 2001, where he became its mainpolitical figure after embracing itpublicly, vowing to ensure it was taken toall parts of the country.

Certificate scandal

These rebranders were the ones who tookup Buhari’s battles when his certificatescandal broke open. People who set thepace in western educational pursuits andwere ahead before others came up; peoplewho always boast of their many professorsand the commanding edge Awolowo’s freeeducation gave them suddenly startedsaying that Buhari’s lack of schoolcertificate “does not matter”. Buhari wasunable to pronounce correctly the nameof his running mate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo;it did not matter. The message Buharihas projected throughout his campaign isthat he will ensure the security of allNigerians and jail corrupt leaders. Whenit became obvious that he would have nochoice but to jail the same people who arebankrolling his campaign straight fromthe coffers of their state treasuries, Buharidecided he would only jail those who“steal” from the period he assumes office!Someone should please tell him that apresident has no power to jail anyone. Hecan cause corrupt people to be prosecuted.It is the judges that jail convicted people.He will not have the power to promulgatedecrees. This is democracy!

Bindingideological ties

Up till this moment, Tinubu and Buharihave not shown us the ideological ties thatbind them together in the APC. Tinubu sayshe wants true federalism. He wants statepolice. He wants states to control localgovernments under them. But Buhari hasnever promised anything in that direction.Buhari is against true federalism. Hebelieves in a super-strong centre, like mostArewa politicians. The only real tie thatbinds Tinubu and Buhari together is theirhot desire to unseat President GoodluckJonathan. Tinubu is not really botheredabout dispensational change. Just changeJonathan, and he is ok.

But an old adage warns: “be carefulwhat you wish for, you might get it”. Thepossessed masquerade always begins byflogging the man that dresses it up. IfBuhari should win this presidentialelection, Tinubu will bite his finger inregret. His political kingdom will be takenaway from him, and some of his loyalistsof today will be willing tools in the handsof Buhari’s Arewa cabals that are hidingin the shadows, for now.

“Tis all men’s office to speak patienceTo those who wring under the load of sorrow,But no man’s virtue nor sufficiencyTo be so moral when he shall endureThe like himself.” – SHAKESPEARE (1564-1616)

THERE is no gainsaying that good things come to thosewho wait and that mammoth largess is the portion of

those who labour and strive hard. These two perspectivesabout the approach to success are correct, but they drawtheir discipleship based on the principles of the collectivityor the individual. Where stands the Igbo nation in the lightof the next president after Jonathan or Buhari, given theIgbo's many years of political servitude? Is it politicalpragmatism or “waiting on the Lord or Godot” that willgive them the presidency?

Demographic statistical data in Nigeria shows that theIgbo people constitute one of the largest ethnic groups inthe country. They are economic, social and educationalgiants in their own right. Their spirit of mercantilism andcommercial dexterity has made them universallyubiquitous. The Igbos in the Diaspora spread to parts ofAfrica, Asia, Europe and the Americas. But at home inNigeria, the Igbo people are political midgets andadministrative homunculus. The demoniacal political fireand vibrancy in them is stoked by economic demonolatry.

But for how long will this playing of political second fiddlecontinue? When will Igbo nation and the Ibo-man be able

When will the Igbo presidency be?When will the Igbo presidency be?When will the Igbo presidency be?When will the Igbo presidency be?When will the Igbo presidency be?to take his political destiny in his/their own hands? Whenwill the Igbo people wake up from their politicallyslumberous stupor? Do they feel the impact of erosion andtopographical menace in their land? So they cannot see thehands of neglect and marginalization in their lives. Theycannot decipher the glaring prevalence of political cronyismand administrative ethnic cleansing in their so-calledfatherland, which implies that an Ibo man is not competentto be the Nigerian President. When will their chains ofcommercialism wear away?

The English playwright William Shakespeare posited that,“the fault is not our stars, but in us that we are underlyings”The fault is with the Igbo people themselves. Do they knowthat Alhaji Tafawa Balewa ruledNigeria for six years, GeneralYakubu Gowon nine years,General MurtalaMohammend six months,Alhaji Shehu Shagari fouryears, Abiola’s electiondisallowed, Ernest Shonekanthree months, General SanniAbacha five years, GeneralAbdusalam Abubakar a year,General/President OlusegunKikelola Aremu Obasanjo inboth military/civilian

computation ruled Nigeria for over 11 years, Yar’Aduatwo years and President Ebele Jonathan six years so far.Where is the South-East or the Ibo man in this politicalalgebra or are they counting the figurehead of Dr. NnamdiAzikiwe, General Aguiyi Ironsi and or Alex Ekwueme aspolitical leaders? What a shame!

Since the institutionalization of the Lugardian albatrossof the Northern and Southern protectorates in 1914, thecommencement of the Direct and Indirect Rule System in1916 and the inception of the political engineering processthrough constitution making which manifested in the 1922Sir Clifford’s constitution, the 1945 Richard’s constitution,the 1946 Milverton constitution, 1951 Alan Burnsconstitution, the 1952 McPherson’s constitution, 1954Littleton’s constitution, 1960 independence constitution,1963 republication constitution, the military-manipulated1989 and 1999 constitution etc. the Igbo people have neverbeen at the Centre stage of the political process in Nigeria.

The 1957 constitutional conference offered NigerianNationalists implicit opportunity to proffer a date forNigeria’s independence and not regional autonomy. Butwhilst other ethnic groups were calling Nigeria afragmented Nigeria the Ibos stood firmly for a united strongand virile Nigeria.

Continues tomorrow on pg 18

But for howlong will thisplaying ofpoliticalsecond fiddlecontinue?

The message Buhari hasprojected throughout hiscampaign is that he willensure the security of allNigerians and jailcorrupt leaders. When itbecame obvious that hewould have no choicebut to jail the samepeople who arebankrolling hiscampaign straight fromthe coffers of their statetreasuries, Buharidecided he would onlyjail those who “steal”from the period heassumes office!

CMYK


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•Mr. Sunday, an international rela-tions expert, wrote from Abuja.

By Bashir Hassan

•Mr. Hassan, developmentstrategist, wrote fromAbuja.

WITH total banking assetsin excess of N22 trillion

($110 billion), Nigeria simplyhas the largest financial systemin sub-Saharan Africa. Such ahuge asset base places Nigeria’sDeposit Insurance Corporation,NDIC, as one of the leadingdeposit insurers in Africa. In effect,NDIC has huge responsibilities asa risk minimizer with other broadmandates of deposit guarantee,bank supervision as well asproviding mechanism fororderly resolution of failure,including bank liquidation.Fulfilling these tasks will requirenot only a sturdy legalframework but a vigilance thatwill ensure that suchframeworks are constantlyupdated and brought in line withworld best practice and standard.

Last week NDIC was at theSenate Public Hearing on its questfor amendment (repeal and re-enactment bill) 2006 Act tostrengthen its operations whichfocus on protecting thedepositors. To understand thisquest, one needs to go back inhistory on the one hand andconsider the economic realitiesthat increasingly underlie thecomplexity of its challenges onthe other.

One piece of history took placein 2011 when NDIC was subjectedto the International Association ofInsurers, IADI, peer reviewexercise on the extent of itscompliance with best standards setunder the IADI’s 18 core principlesof effective deposit insurancesystem. The outcome of theassessment revealed that theCorporation had complied fullywith seven core principles; largelycomplied with eight; materiallynon-complied with two while thelast one was found to be notapplicable to NDIC.

This means NDIC needs to domore to bridge the gaps in itscompliance scorecard. But doingmore will require amending any

legal frameworks that arehindering its operation orbringing into existence legislationthat will enhance its operationalexcellence. It is pertinent tomention that Nigeria is one of therespected members of the IADI, aglobal non-profit organisationformed in May 2002 to enhancethe effectiveness of depositinsurance systems by promotingguidance, best practice andinternational cooperation.

Another piece of history was therecent economic recession andrealities in Europe, which werepartly the consequences of theglobal economic meltdown of2008 to 2009. Witnessed across thefinancial system throughout theworld, the meltdown furtherdictated the need for anotherround of amendments to itsstatutes, particularly in theareas of target funding,treatment of systemicallyimportant financial institutionsand bank living will.

The emerging risks andchanges in the global bankingpractices and cross borderoperations of the Nigerian banksare strong imperatives for theCorporation to re-engineer itsenabling laws in order to beahead of such emerging threatsand challenges.

Now, let’s consider NDIC’s questfor amendment influenced byreasons of our economic realities.Take example of the credit risksposed by the recent nosedive in theprice of oil and gas. This turn ofevents continues to put pressure onthe nation’s currency -- the Naira -- and the capital market is takingthe beating for it with massivecapital flight from major off shoreinvestments.

All these pieces of events inhistory and the realities ofNigeria’s economy as of todayand the ultimate mandate ofNDIC as risk minimizer whichseeks to protect the depositor,combine to push NDIC to seek foramendments of its 2006 Act.

So what are these amendmentsNDIC is seeking? They are manybut the major ones are as follows.

The proposed bill (give title ofthe bill) is aimed atstrengthening the Corporation'ssupervisory capacity andaddressing other challenges inthe area of failed financialinstitutions as well as ensuringcompliance with the principles ofan effective deposit insurancescheme in Nigeria.

In its bid to reduce the pains ofdepositors who are subjected tountold hardship anytimeerstwhile owners of the banksattempt to forestall liquidation ofthe failed bank, the new billempowers the Corporation to payinsured deposits to depositors ofan insured institution whoseoperating license has beenrevoked even when litigationchallenging revocation of thefailed institution's operatinglicense or winding-up order ispending in court.

It has become commonknowledge that Nigerian bankshave established a number ofbanking and non-bankingfinancial subsidiaries, affiliatesand associates companies beyondthe purview of their primaryregulators and supervisors.Although the provisions ofconsolidated supervision havenot really been put to actionabletest, we all know that Nigerianbanks have been widelydiversified beyond our shores.However, in order to preventsuch business relationships beingexploited in circumvention of

banking laws or as avenues forabusive ownership andmismanagement of depositors'funds, Section 32 (5) of theproposed bill empowers NDIC tohave enough access to the booksof all such related entities ofinsured banks with a view toassessing their transactionsunder the risk-basedsupervision.

Also, the NDIC Act, 2006 doesnot make provisions for PublicPolicy Objectives. The proposedamendment explicitly providesfor Public Policy Objectives inline with global best practices inDeposit Insurance Scheme, DIS.Unlike the extant law whichmakes no provisions for part-time members, the proposedamendment seeks to provide fortenure of part-time members ofthe Board who would hold officefor a period of four yearsrenewable for another fouryears. Economic analysts say themove would enhance policyformulation, strategic focus andeffective discharge of NDIC'soversight functions in thebanking system.

Although the Act empowersthe NDIC Board to prosecutedirectors and officers forviolation of the provisions of theAct, the provisions have not beeneffectively complied with due tothe difficulty in theirimplementation. However, thenew proposal ensures that NDICis empowered to seek legal redressfor infringement of penal lawsrelating to banking other thanthe Act. It also seeks to improvethe economic value of the legalredress mechanism in the depositinsurance system by subjectingthe convicted erring official(s) tocivil penalty that would berelated directly to the amountinvolved in the provisions of thelaw violated.

In addition, the amendmentbill seeks to enhance the GeneralReserve Fund of NDIC whichhave been negatively affected by

some of the provisions of the FiscalResponsibility Act 2007. TheCorporation is entirely dependenton the incomes derived from theinvestments of the premium paidby the insured deposit-takingfinancial institutions. The incomefrom the investment of DIF is notgovernment revenue but fundsmeant for the operationalactivities of the corporation andto build up the DIF reserve tomeet future funding gap. This isthe essence of target fundingratio. When passed into law,income from the investment ofthe fund will not be liable forremittance to government,contrary to the provisions of theFRA Act of 2007 whichcompelled the remittance of 80%of the operational surplus.

Although the provisions on themandate of NDIC as ProvisionalLiquidator has been tested withthe revocation of the operatinglicenses of 103 micro-financebanks, observers say itsefficiency is still in doubt givenits experience with the defunctFortune and Triumph banks.Consequently, the proposed re-enactment provides for theappointment of NDIC asstatutory Liquidator, ratherthan Provisional Liquidator, inorder to ensure effective windingup of the affairs of all failedinsured deposit-taking financialinstitutions in Nigeria.To meetthe objectives of approximatingto international best practices,the expectation of stakeholdersis that, by the time NDICparticipates in the 8th RegionalWorkshop of IADI on “Assessmentof Compliance with the CorePrinciples for Effective DepositInsurance Systems” holding inPristina, Kosovo, next May, theNational Assembly would havepassed the proposed amendmentsso the Nigeria will hold her headhigh for her implementation of acredible Deposit InsuranceScheme, DIS.

THE raging issue of the sad state ofpress freedom in Turkey which has

eventually gained the attention of the USCongress is essentially a grave indictmenton the government of President Recep TayyipErdogan.Though this is one action thatobviously was long overdue, the fact thatscores of members of the US Congress arebeginning to take some steps towardstaming President Erdogan’s unfriendlyinclination to the freedom of Turkishmedia goes to show that it is no longer thecase of business as usual. Or the unendingblame game that is usually initiated andpassed to either the members of theopposition politicians in Turkey or to theHizmet movement. As it were, there arereports that just last month 88 membersof the US Congress wrote and duly signeda letter directed to the US Secretary of State,John Kerry, requesting him to speak outagainst the apparently deterioratingcondition of press freedom in Turkey.According to a publication in Today’sZaman Newspaper of March 10, 2015, therehas been intense pressure from Turkishgovernment, politicians and a section of theTurkish media alike on Congress memberswho appended their signatures to the letterto review their stand or, possibly, denouncethe letter. And needless to say that this hasnot only been rejected by the concernedCongress members, but also they are poisedto slugging it with the Turkish government.Of course, arising from the fact of therecently reported arrest and detention ofJournalist Mehmet Baransu, amongothers that are currently languishing in

Dissecting Erdogan's sinsBy Chiduluemije Sunday

detention, these lawmakers appear soinfuriated that “media freedom in Turkeyhas taken a wrong turn” such that they couldno long be quiet. Curiously, these lawmakersare now at the receiving end of a series ofpolemics emanating from the Turkishgovernment and its media agents for holdingon to their gun. Apart from having beencalled names by the Turkish based pro-government media, it has been alleged thatthese Congress members were bribed toappend their signatures to the letter.Accordingly, the Turkish based MilatNewspaper in its front page reportedlyaccused Congress man Aaron Schock ofhaving collected bribe from GulenMovement (equally known as HizmetMovement). Also, Sabah Daily (another pro-government media owned by PresidentErdogan’s son-in-law) claimed that othermembers of the Congress were equallybribed and that their trips to Turkey werereportedly sponsored by business men closeto Gulen Movement. It further accused thelawmakers of paying lip service to the issueof media freedom in Turkey and merelyusing that as a pretext for signing the letter“based on bribes and donations”.

Critically viewed, however, it might beof little or no importance to begin to pay

heed to all these allegations leveled againstthe US lawmakers by the Turkishgovernment and its agents.

Truth is that these allegations are notthe real issues for consideration. Instead,they are at best like matters arising andas such seem to be somewhatdiversionary. The bottom line, therefore,remains that the facts and figures aboutthe violation of media freedom in Turkeygo beyond what can ordinarily be sweptunder the carpet.Essentially, there are anumber of questions that are yet to beaddressed by President Erdogan-ledgovernment as contained in thelawmakers’ letter to the US Secretary ofState.

First and foremost, it has not been deniedby Ankara or the pro-government mediathat up to 10 journalists, including Baransuand STV network executive, HidayetKaracaa, are still languishing behind barsin Turkey. And here lies really the ice of thecake. So it is clear that President Erdoganwhose catalogued cases of violation of theTurkish freedom of press can hardly comeclean from the Congress’ letter.

In the same way, given the stand of USlawmakers in their letter to John Kerrythat President Erdogan has so violated theTurkish media freedom that the countryhas now taken the unenviable position of149 out of 180 countries in the latest pressfreedom index released by ReportersWithout Boarders, there is obviouslynothing to exonerate the government ofPresident Erdogan from being found

wanting over the Congress members’charges levelled against him. This is inaddition to the fact that not even the listingof Turkey in the “Not Free” category in themedia freedoms by the Freedom House hashelped in any way to mitigate the complicityin President Erdogan’s reported abuse of thefreedom of the Turkish media.

But then, assuming that these USlawmakers’ letter has some issuessurrounding it as being alleged by theofficials of the Turkish government andtheir media agents, could it be said toothat the leadership of the European Unionwas also bribed in its conclusion on theabysmal state of media freedom inTurkey? Now considering the Union’sstand on the issue, Today’s ZamanNewspaper of March 13, 2015, reportedthat “Freedom of expression, theseparation powers and the rule of law havebeen progressively eroded under(President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan”. Andsince this is the case, then it follows thatthe US Congress members could not havebeen making fuss about the appallingstate of media freedom in Turkey, ascontained in their letter to the SecretaryState, John Kerry.

In like manner, the same could furtherbe argued about the position articulatedby the New York Times magazine in itsFriday, 13th March, 2015 Editorial. According to the editorial, Turkey as amember of NATO has not only grownmore authoritarian in the recent time buthas even drifted away from keeping the corevalues of the organisation.

NDIC and depositors' protection

The proposed re-enactment providesfor the appointmentof NDIC as statutoryLiquidator, ratherthan ProvisionalLiquidator

The facts of violation ofmedia freedom inTurkey cannot be sweptunder the carpet

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MARCH 23, 2015

Continues on page 22

...As regulators, agencies decry unvetted political ads

Parties spend N4.9bn onpolitical advertsBY PRINCEWILLEKWUJURU

WITH just five days to theMarch 28 elections,advertising spend on

political campaigns has been estimatedto have cost political parties, friendsand well wishers of those seekingelective offices a princely N4.9 billionso far. However, federal and stateadvert regulatory agencies haveexpressed displeasure overpublications of unapproved advertmaterials.

According to data gathered fromdifferent advert agencies and reportsfrom advert regulatory bodies, theprint media have so far raked in aboutN1.382 billion of the advert spend,with the All Progressives Congress,APC spending N332.503 million on itspresidential candidate, while itsPeoples Democratic Party, PDPcounterpart spent N1.049 billion,which is 65.5 per cent higher than theamount spent by APC. Field reportsfurther put other expenses oncampaign rallies for PDP and APC atN1.057 billion and N595.082 millionrespectively. Both parties also spentN224.36 million on outdoorcampaigns.

The broadcast campaign coverage forthe presidential candidates were putat N508.35 million and N391.05million for PDP and APC. Electronicmedia adverts were N733.9million forPDP and N555.6 million for APCrespectively, bringing the total amountto N2.5 billion. In summary, a total ofN4.973 billion has been spent oncampaign expenses, with PDP and

APC spending N3.549 billion andN1.424 billion respectively.

Last year, the Advertising AgenciesAssociation of Nigeria, AAAN hadprojected that the 2015 generalelections will contribute billions ofnaira to the advert industry, anamount it said will form major part ofthe advertising spend for the 2015advertising year. But from recentdevelopment and the run of politicalcampaigns so far, the projection hasbeen surpassed in terms of adspend.However, advert practitioners feel theestimate is much less than what hasbeen spent, going by the inability ofheads of sectoral bodies in the advert

industry to track the amount spent bypoliticians, as a result of thehaphazard nature the adverts weregiven out.

It would be recalled that in 2014,former president of AAAN and ChiefOperating Officer of 141 Worldwide,Bunmi Oke, predicted a bright futurefor any ad agency that puts its acttogether to tap into the windfallexpected from the election year andthe huge budget politicians wouldearmark for the 2015 politicalcampaigns.

Worried by the bulk of politicalcampaign materials, FinancialVanguard sampled the opinions of

stakeholders who were particularlydisappointed at the mannerunapproved political materials litteradvertising spaces in the country.

It is a fact that Nigeria has a historyof not coming out with electionspending figures, and data are equallyunavailable on the actual spending ofpoliticians on campaigns. But goingby the volume of materials churnedout through the different media ofcommunication for political parties,it is no longer in doubt that billionsof naira were spent in the 2015election campaigns.

LECTURE: MD/CEO of WemaBank, Mr SegunOloketuyi heremakes a presen-tation on 'GrowingYour Money' tostudents of Gov-ernment Second-ary School, Mora-ba, Ilorin, inKwara State tocommemorate theChild & YouthFinancial LiteracyDay.

CMYK


Cover Story

The AAAN membersobserved with great concernthe spate of unhealthy smearcampaigns by the politicalparties and shadow interestgroups across the variousmedia channels.

AAAN said: “In obviousdisregard of the advertisingcode and ethics of theAdvertising PractitionersCouncil of Nigeria, APCON,a body saddled with theresponsibility of regulatingand controlling advertisementin the country, and theAAAN, most of thesepolitical advertisements havebeen exposed without goingthrough the vettingprocedures and consequentapprovals from theAdvertising Standards Panel,ASP, of APCON.

“Our concerns are that theprofessional values of theadvertising practice andindeed, public sensibilities,as well as the very stabilityof the polity have beenseverely undermined by thecontinued characterassassinations, wantonabuses, unrestrainedattacks, threats and counter-threats that have become thebane of politicalcommunication building upto the elections," AAAN saidin a release.

Kayode Olagesin,Managing Director ofTowncriers, an activationagency said: “There is notime in the history of thecountry that we havewitnessed this volume ofcampaigns. I tell you, I don'tsee them spending less thanN5 billion on each of thepresidential candidates.

“If you look at the way theyhave used the press, wraparound that costs millions,there are lots of heavycharges paid, lots of them upto N20 million for onematerial, five or more pagesof newspapers in a day, andyou have several days in aweek, I tell you, they havespent billions, but the truthis that it is difficult to know

exactly how much they arespending. Mind you, thespending still continues, soyou do not know yet, may beafter the whole campaign,you can sit down andcalculate and put somefigures to it.

"What is more interestingis to find out what portion ofthe advertising materialsthat passed throughprofessional advertisingpractitioners in Nigeria. Idaresay, a lot of it did notpass through theprofessional advertisingpractice. So it will not,therefore, have added thatmuch value to the revenueof advertising agencies in

the country." He went on tosay that the impact onadvertising agencies isminimal through third handor second hand, passing tothe agencies. "I do not thinkagencies are on the table, thestrategy and the energy aredisbursed to agenciesoutside. I think a fewagencies in Nigeria areactually having those directcontracts with politicalparties. We should urge thepolitical parties to do what isright; to appoint properNigerian agencies to run theircampaigns. That is whatneeds to happen.

“I do not know theelements of it that areproduced and done outside.I don’t know the details ofthat, but I know that thedirect contact have not beengiven to Nigerian advertisingagencies, a lot of them aregiven to people who areprobably politicians to helpthem broker it through first,second or third partyagents,” he stated.

On the other hand, theOAAN, on their part, said allpolitical adverts posted ontheir billboards were dulyvetted by APCON’s ASP.

Also disturbed were stateregulatory agencies. Forexample, the Oyo StateSignage and AdvertisementAgency, OYSAA, complainedthat adverts posted indifferent sites andunauthorised places,including lamp poles aroundthe city, is a flagrant breachof the extant laws andregulation of the agency.

This, however, promptedthe Director-General, Mr.

Parties spend N4.9bn on politicaladverts


Continues from page 21

MEETING - From left: Asiwaju Solomon Onafowokan, Chairman, Coleman Wires &Cables;Mr. Taiwo Adeoluwa, SSG Ogun State; Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, MD/CEO, Airtel Nigeria; Prof.Ganiyu Olatunde, Chief of Staff, Ogun State; and Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, Ogun StateCommissioner for Commerce&Industry, during a Breakfast meeting with Governor Amosunorganized by the Ogun State Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Abeokuta.

The truth ofit is that it isdifficult toknowexactly howmuch theyare spending

Technical education is aplanned programme of

courses and learningexperiences that begins withexploration of career options,supports basic academic andlife skills, and enablesachievement of high academicstandards, leadership,preparation for industry-defined work, and advancedand continuing education.Vocational education andtraining prepares learners forcareers that are based inmanual or practical activities,traditionally non-academicand totally related to a specifictrade, occupation or vocation.In other words, it is an“education designed todevelop occupational skills.”Vocational and technicaleducation gives individuals theskills to “live, learn and workas a productive citizen in aglobal society.”

Technical and vocationaleducation has been an integralpart of national developmentstrategies in many societiesbecause of its impact onproductivity and economicdevelopment. Despite itscontributions the leaders ofNigeria have not given thisaspect of education theattention it deserves, and thisis one of the reasons for thenation’s underdevelopment.This article focuses on thedearth of skilled technical andvocational manpower inNigeria and argues thattechnical and vocationaleducation holds the key tonational development.

Every facet of the economyhas been affected by lack ofskilled technicians. Thefinancial sector lackstechnicians to regulate thebanks and to develop financial

Vocation & technical education – A keyto improving Nigeria’s development

software toproperly tacklethe risingf r a u d u l e n tactivities in thebanking sector.Without security,development isimpossible in asociety; no nationcan sustain itsdemocracy if thecitizens lackconfidence in thepolice. The policeviolate thecitizens’ humanand civil rightsand lack forensiclaboratory and

fingerprint technicians toconduct criminalinvestigations. And due topoor training, military officersare known to beat up thecitizens who challenge theirpowers and go scot free fortheir inhumane actions. Thedanger posed byenvironmental pollution andfake drugs is alarming. The lesseducated in the society lack theskill to manage AIDS, cancerand diabetes among otherserious health problems. Onewonders what the nation’shealth minister and the 36state health commissioners aredoing to tackle these issues.Every good citizen is aware thatthe neglect of technical andvocational education issocially and economicallyinjurious, because it is robbingthe nation of the contributionsthe graduates would make onnational development. Forthat Nigeria is today wearingthe toga of a poor state.

Although technical andvocational education seemdeficient in ‘citizenship orleadership training’ (Friedman1982). It provides studentswith “life skills to becomeproductive entrepreneurs as itengenders creative andinnovative ideas, enlarge theeconomic pie, and increasepersonal freedom. Most of theso-called “expatriateengineers” who are being paidmillions of dollars to buildNigeria’s roads and bridges aregraduates of technical andvocational colleges. Yet theleaders do not take technicalinstitutions seriously.Nigeria’s currentpreoccupation with universityeducation reduces economicopportunities of those who aremore oriented toward work

than academic. Noteveryone needs au n i v e r s i t ye d u c a t i o n .Awarding licensesto greedyorganizations andindividuals toestablish privateuniversities thatare not even asequipped as someof the technical andvocational schoolsin the United Statesand otheradvanced nationscannot develop thesociety.

Manygraduates lack'employability'skills, whichwould easilybe acquiredfrom technicaland vocationalcolleges


Business & Economy

CMYK

Yinka Adepoju to direct allpolitical campaignorganisations/committees toapply and obtain approval ofOYSAA before posting theircampaign materials in anylocation. The agency said thewarning became necessary inorder not to exacerbate thealready tensed political climatein the country, and to maintainthe pervading peace enjoyed inthe state.

Speaking on thedevelopment, Mr. AdigweIwuala, Deputy ManagingDirector, OrlickCommunications, said: “Thiswill remain a conjecture untilthe elections are over. Whatyou will get from any personnow is an estimated amountwhich may be low or high.

“The print industry may bepocketing about N900 million

for various adverts. If youaggregate this by the numberof newspapers and magazinesin the different parts of thecountry, you may find out thatit is running to above N900million.” On social media,Michael Uze, a publiccommentator, observed thatthe social media ad spendcannot be tracked as there isno registered body saddledwith the responsibility to trackwhat is spent on that platform.

Reacting to the issue of non-disclosure of amount spent onthe 2015 elections so far, Mr.Andre Nduneche, LeadConsultant, Image MachineAdvertising, said Nigerians canonly speculate as politiciansare secretive when it comes todisclosing budgets onadvertising. "The politiciansare very secretive about these

things. They will not want youto know how much they areputting into it, but from allindications, you can tell by thevolume of contents in all theadvertising platforms which isrunning into billions of naira.

“The 2015 electioneeringcampaign period is just theChristmas of advertising.Everybody waits for years, andthat too, increases the price ofadvertising as it is only in fouryears that such opportunitycalls. Money that should havebeen spent in four years is nowspent within a short period oftime. So we are looking at avery substantial amount ofmoney,” he said.

Corroborating, Mr. EwatOkonokon, a brand analystwith Brand CampaignInternational, said that duringelectioneering periods likethis, advertising contentsacross various advertisingplatforms prior to elections areincreased. He noted also thatthe 2015 election has attractedmore advertising than anyperiod of election in thecountry, pointing out thatpoliticians are beginning to

understand the power ofadvertising in shaping theminds of people.

He went further to say thatthe close contest between PDP,APC and other fringe parties in2011, did not experience astrong competition like 2015,and this has impacted greatlyon the advertising industry.

It will be recalled that theissue of non-disclosure of theamount political parties spendon the 2015 election promptedthe Socio-Economic Rightsand Accountability Project,SERAP, to institute an actiondemanding that all politicalparties make full disclosure ofsources of their campaignfunds, a way of invoking theFreedom of Information bill, anaction seen as a step in the rightdirection for publicaccountability. It is still indoubt whether that move willyield any positive result.

Parties spend N4.9bn on political advertsContinues from page 22

The 2015 election willcertainly come and gobut the after effect

may linger for a long time.Whether it is PDP or APC thateventually wins thepresidential election, theparty that will come to powerpost-election, had better getprepared for the handling ofthe economy. As it stands, thenation is on a financial cliffthat can fall off any timeexcept a miracle happens.The one commodity thatprovides life support for theeconomy has seen its price atthe international market fallto as low as $58 per barrel.

The International EnergyAgency has predicted thatcrude oil prices may fall to aslow as $20 per barrel. Oilprices might have stabilisedonly temporarily because theglobal oil glut is worseningand U.S. production shows nosign of slowing. The US maysoon run out of spare capacityto store crude, which wouldput additional downwardpressure on prices. Thatprocess would last at leastuntil the second half of 2015,when growth in US oilproduction is expected to startabating.

Behind the façade ofstability, the rebalancingtriggered by the price collapsehas yet to run its course, andit might be overly optimistic toexpect it to proceed smoothly.

As a result of the above oilmarket scenerio, the incominggovernment will have aHerculean task running thecountry effectively. Manystates will not be able to paytheir bills, same with theFederal Government. As it isnow, money that would have

Tough times aheadafter elections

been judiciously used is being frittered awayin foreign currency in the name of election.Right now, politicians have invaded the foreignexchange market to buy up the available dollar

between the bank naira -dollar rate and the blackmarket rate after theNovember 2014 devaluation,is now about 13 per cent inless than five months.

This is not in the bestinterest of the economy andafter the election, if prices ofcrude continue its southwardjourney, things will becomeworse as fewer dollars will beavailable at the foreignexchange market forimportation of essentialconsumer goods. This, ofcourse, will give rise tohyper-inflation which isalready rising and willcontinue to rise. The NationalBureau of Statistics (NBS) lastweek, released the ConsumerPrice Index (CPI) report forFebruary 2015 saying thatprices of goods and servicesrose slightly by 20 basispoints, which is about 0.2 percent. It said that rise in prices,headline inflation - measuredYear-on-Year (Y-o-Y), wasestimated at 8.4 per cent,20bps higher than 8.2per centreported in January 2015.

This is largely the expectationas inflationary pressureintensified in February due to

the weakness of the domesticcurrency over the past sixmonths. This had a knock-onimpact on prices of bothimported food and non-fooditems.

After the election, which everparty comes into power,Nigerians should expect arough time going forward.There is no doubt that withdwindling oil prices, Jonathanor Buhari will have no optionthan to remove completely fuelsubsidy. It will not be a matterof choice, it will be a matter ofsurvival for the government tocontinue to meet its internalfinancial obligation. The firstshot at raising revenue will besubsidy removal. Nigeriansshould not be deceived. Thiswill certainly come into playearly in the life of the newadministration. None of thepolitical parties has made it anelectoral issue and Nigerianshave not asked either Jonathanor Buhari what they intend todo with subsidy on petrol.

The Nigerian banking sectorwill feel the heat as they arelikely to lay off employees afterthe election is successfullyconcluded. Many companiesmay not be able to service theirfacilities and non- performing

loans may mount. Banks maybe tempted to stop giving outloans due to high cost of funds.In a bid to tighten monetarypolicy after the election, theCBN may demand to sterilisepublic funds in the bankingsystem or demand that allpublic sector funds be placeddirectly with it. The privatesector deposit in banks may seesome increase in the amountthe CBN will withdraw frombanks. The banks will then beunder extreme pressure toperform post- election 2015.

The Federal Governmentunder pressure to raise money,may after the election allowthe naira to further depreciateto raise more money forgovernment as crude oil pricesprobably falls below $53which is the 2015 budgetb e n c h m a r k . M o r emanufacturing companies willclose or reduce operations dueto stifling businessenvironment wreaking havocon their businesses. Nigeriansshould expect higherelectricity tariff, nairadevaluation, less power fromthe national grid which meansmore expenses incurred to rungenerators. For now, there isno light in the tunnel.

The unusual use of dollar inpolitical campaign has led tofurther depletion of thenation’s foreign reserves asmoney is carried around insacks to people whom thepoliticians believe have someinfluence over a certainsection of the populace andtheir presidential votingchoice. As a result of themopping up of the dollar fromthe system for non-productive use, a less thanthree per cent differential

to pay electorate for votes.Instead of saving the windfallfrom oil when prices werehigh, state governorsclamoured for the sharing ofthe excess crude account, nowthe account has nothing to beshared. Indications are thatthe pressure on the naira nowis as a result of politicalactivities in the country. Post-election, the naira may seesome level of stability at N197to the dollar.

There is nodoubt that withdwindling oilprices,Jonathan orBuhari willhave no optionthan to removefuel subsidycompletely

The 2015electioneeringcampaignperiod is justthe Christmasof advertising


CMYK


Business & Economy

The Bank of Industry,(BoI), has said that Small

and Medium Enterprises(SMEs) in Nigeria canovercome the challenge oflack of access to finance byemploying appropriatestrategies suitable to theirpeculiar characteristics.

Disclosing this at the 2015Annual General Meeting of theNigerian Association of Smalland Medium Enterprises(NASME), Executive Director,Small and MediumEnterprises, BOI, Mr. WaheedOlagunju, said SMEs arerecognised as playing key rolesin the economy of any societyand Nigeria is not anexception.He noted that in joband wealth creation however,they face numerous challengesincluding access to financewhich can be overcome by

SMEs can access finance withappropriate strategies — BoI

appropriate strategies thatmust address their peculiarcharacteristics, adding that,VCF is one such strategy thatcan facilitate access to financeby MSMEs

“Since challenges facingMSMES are numerous andmultidimensional holisticapproach is required to de-riskMSMES. All hands must be ondeck: entrepreneurs,governments, operators alongthe financial value chain,foreign development partners,governments at all tiers LocalGovewrnment, state, federal-and regulator ” he stated.

Olagunju stressed that factorslimiting the growth of MSMEsin Nigeria are market access:weak local patronage,infrastructure: power, transport,water etc, support services:business development support,finance / capital: perceived riskyby DMBs, information: what to

do and how to go about it andtechnology: dependence onexpensive sophisticatedimported technology.

The President and Chairmanof Council, NASME, AlhajiGarba Gusau, challenged thepolitical gladiators on theirprogrammes and policies for theMSMEs at all levels ofgovernance, saying, thatMSMEs development shouldbe in the front burner of thepolitical discourse.

According to him, to developthe MSME sector requiresstrong and supportiveinstitutions and holisticinfrastructural development aswell as key and impactfulsectoral intervention byNigerian financial system, as adeliberate effort towardsaddressing the many neglect ofthe sector and that now that theelections are here again.

13 ships ladenwith petroleumproducts, othercargo arriveLagosThirteen ships laden

with petroleumproducts, general cargo andfood items have arrived theLagos ports, waiting toberth. The Nigerian PortsAuthority (NPA) stated thisin its daily publication,‘Shipping Position’ madeavailable to newsmenyesterday in Lagos.

According to thepublication, seven of theships sailed into the portswith petrol, kerosene andaviation fuel. It indicatedthat six other ships camein with rice, soya beans andgeneral cargo.

The document stated that42 ships were scheduled toarrive at the ports betweenMarch 18 and April 6. It saidthat 18 of the ships wouldsail in with containers,while eight others wereexpected with generalcargo. The document saidthat seven ships would sailin with rice, frozen fish,crude palm oil, buckwheatand bulk sugar. It alsoindicated that the remainingnine ships would arrive withkerosene, base oil, aviationfuel and petrol.

FAAC: FG,states, LGsshare N522bnfor FebThe Minister of State for

Finance, Mr BashirYuguda, said that N522billion was shared amongthe federal, states and localgovernments as revenue forFebruary, 2015.

Yuguda announced this inAbuja when he addressednewsmen on the outcome ofthe Federation AccountsAllocation Committee(FAAC) meeting.

He said that the sharedamount comprised themonth’s statutory revenueof N401.4 billion and N6.3billion refunded byNigerian NationalPetroleum Corporation(NNPC).

“Also, there is theexchange gain of N55.9billion which is proposed fordistribution.

“Therefore the totalrevenue distributable for themonth of February,including VAT of N58.2billion, is N522 billion.’’

WORKSHOP - From left: Managing Director /CEO Shoreline Natural Resource Ltd, Dr.Ladi Bada discussing with Managing Director &CEO First E&P, Ademola Adeyemi-Beroduring 2015 Nigeria Oil & Gas Workshop in Abuja. Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan.

Investment in African megaprojects surged 46% to

US$326 billion last year led byheavy investment in transport,energy and power, accordingto the third annual DeloitteAfrican Construction Trendsreport, which monitorsprogress on capital intensiveinfrastructure on thecontinent.

To qualify for inclusion inthe Deloitte AfricanConstruction Trends report,projects must be valued atmore than US$50 million andhad to have broken ground byat least 1 June 2014. While thenumber of projects thatqualified for inclusion in the2014 report fell to 257 from 322the year before, the total valueof projects under constructionincreased from USD 222.77billion in 2013.

“Africa’s rapidly growingmiddle class continues todrive demand for sustainablesocial infrastructure,” said MrAndre Pottas, RegionalDirector at Deloitte. “Africa isen route to a brighter futureand overall we see theopportunities surpassing thechallenges facing ourcontinent.”

Of the projects included inthe 2014 Deloitte AfricanConstruction Trends report, noless than 143 were led by thepublic sector with a further 88being private sector initiativesand 26 classified as publicprivate partnerships (PPPs).Energy & Power accounted for37% of the number of mega

DeloittDeloittDeloittDeloittDeloitte sure sure sure sure survvvvveeeeey repory repory repory repory reports surgets surgets surgets surgets surgein Africa’s mega prin Africa’s mega prin Africa’s mega prin Africa’s mega prin Africa’s mega projects tojects tojects tojects tojects tooooo$326bn in 20$326bn in 20$326bn in 20$326bn in 20$326bn in 201111144444By ADEKUNLE ADEKOYA,General Editor

projects undertaken in Africain 2014, followed by transport(34%), mining (9%), real estate(6%), water (5%), oil & gas(4%), mixed use facilities (2%)and health care (1%).

“More than 10% of theprojects included in this year’ssurvey were structured asPPPs, which is an increasefrom about 4% the previousyear,” said Mr Pottas. “That isvery encouraging to see as webelieve that significant privatesector participation is required

alongside governmentinitiatives in order to enableAfrica to close its infrastructuregap with the rest of the world.”

Southern Africa ledconstruction activity on thecontinent, accounting for$144.89 billion in projects or44.5% of the total value ofmega construction projects onthe continent last year. WestAfrica overtook East Africawith the region attractingUS$74.84 billion in projects, or23% of the total projects on the

continent by value. CentralAfrica experienced a massive117% surge in the value ofconstruction projects whichreached $33.21 billion whileNorth Africa saw the value ofconstruction projects jumpalmost 36% to $9.12 billion.East Africa experienced amoderate 10% decline in thevalue of projects, whichnevertheless totalled arespectable $60.67 billion in2014.

“Africa continues to be amagnet for Foreign DirectInvestment (FDI) and intra-African capital inflows,” saidMr Pottas. “With a 76%completion rate of projectscollected from our previousreport, expectations remainhigh for infrastructure toprovide the developingcontinent with much neededmarket expansion.”

Africa’s infrastructuraltransformation is being drivenby increased output in thenatural resources sector,which in turn hasunderpinned rising fiscalexpenditure on infrastructureprojects to facilitate risinginternational trade with thecontinent. At the same time,rapidly growing urbanisationand rising domestic demandin Africa has ushered in anunprecedented wave of foreigndirect investment in thecontinent’s biggest and mostdynamic economies.

“The African ConstructionTrends report confirmscontinued, intensiveconstruction activity across thecontinent,” said Mr Pottas.“The journey may not be highspeed just yet but it isunfolding at a steadilyincreasing pace.”

BY NAOMI UZOR


Corporate Finance

First Bank spendsover N500m onsavings promo

By PRINCEWILLEKWUJURU

First Bank Nigeria Plcsaid it has expended

over N500million as cash gift toover 5000 customers in the sixyears of its ‘Savings PromoBonanza,’ as the bank presentsa car to wound off its promo.

This was revealed when theGroup Managing Director, BisiOnasanya presented one of thecars, a brand new Toyota Corollato the winner, Mrs. EbisanOnyema at the bank’s headoffice in Lagos. The promo,according to Onasanya, hasrewarded over 5000 customerssince inception six years agowith over N500million given outin cash, household appliances,cars and a four bedroom duplexterrace house in Lekki area ofLagos.

The GMD also stated that the‘Savings Bonanza’ delivers tothe bank’s promise of putting thecustomer first as it is designedto reward customers for theirpatronage and loyalty to thebrand over the years. “First Bankhas been changing the life styleof average Nigerians with itsSavings Promo since 2008. Wewould continue to churn outinnovative and tailored-fitproducts to support customers’needs and aspirations”, hestated.

Quoted firms research reports:Related brokerage firms should notbe involved —Analyst

BY PETER EGWUATU

The Senior AfricaInvestment Analyst,

Mr. Jude Fejokwu has saidthat Board members of listedcompanies on the NigerianStock Exchange , NSE thatown or partly own stakes inbrokerage firms and/orinvestment banks should beprevented from publiclydisseminating equity researchreports and related materialson the companies they areboard members of using theirin-house analysts.

According to him “ Real lifeexample: Chapel Hill Denhamanalysts should be preventedfrom writing reports on LafargeAfrica, Stanbic IBTC analystsshould be prevented fromwriting reports on Cadbury andNigerian Breweries just toname a few. Why? Simply put,its a conflict of interest thatplaces inherent doubt on theviews that are held in thereport by the “home base”analysts. Secondly, the risk ofunfair disclosure is high inwhich the analysts of theparticular company may endup being privy to non-publicinformation before thegenerality of the investingpublic or privy to informationthat no one else will ever bepublicly aware of. This sets anunfair advantage and sets ourstock market backward wheninformation is not fairlydisseminated.”

Buttressing his view , he said“ People (companies) get sickand then they get well (e.g.Forte Oil); sometimes, they getsick and then they neverrecover and die (e.g.Starcomms) Sometimes ourblood pressure rises beyondnormal and sometimes it dropsbelow normal. My point hereis everything in life has its upsand downs. Companies alsohave their ups and downs.Owners and significantshareholders in Nigeriancompanies tend to forget thisfact of life. Their companieshave to always be portrayed ontop when they are on top andalso when they are down andbusiness is no longer as smoothas a brand new dollar bill.Failure to adhere to this“Nigerian rule” is usuallytaken as a personal affront bythe ‘larger than life” owners ofthe companies in question andthe analyst(s) now finds thatthere is an invisibleprofessional enemy lurkingsomewhere hunting them inalleys and crevices. A personal

vendetta is now establishedbetween someone at the topand someone below; truth andfiction take center stage todetermine who will stand tallerat the end of the day. Owners/stakeholders should accept thatbusinesses have circular lifecycles (just like the planet welive on) and go through boomand bust cycles. Learn fromthese ‘down time” experiencesand change them; do not fightreality!”

Fejokwu, further stated thatinvestment banks need toprovide a deeper level ofdisclosure about the exactnature of the businessrelationship they have with acompany and/or if they werepaid in cash and/or kind toproduce the particular equityresearch product in questioneach time a report is

disseminated.According to him “ In the

first-half of 2009,Intercontinental Bankmanagement was dealing withwidespread speculation thatthe bank was in distress. Whenthe negative news refused togo away despite using a bevyof journalists to get out their

positive message,management turned toRenaissance Capital Nigeriafor succor. Managementturned over their books to theRencap analyst(s) who cameout with a report stating in anutshell that the bank is notin distress and we should allcalm down. A few monthslater in 2009, we all knowwhat happened to the bank.Regardless of what peoplemay think about Sanusi’staking over some banks andthe intrigues surrounding it,my analyses in 2008 didforetell that IntercontinentalBank was a bank headingsouth. The events that befellIntercontinental Bank (as itrelates to the bank’sperformance) did not surpriseme one bit when it all cameto a head.”

PRESENTATION - From left: Head, Product Management, Nigerian Stock Exchange(NSE), Mr. Oladipo Omotoso; Chief Executive Officer, Chapel Hill Denham Securities Limited,Mr. Akeem Shadare; Executive Director, Business Development, NSE, Mr. Haruna Jalo-Waziri and Compliance Officer, Chapel Hill Denham Securities Limited, Ms. Ewere Mgbekeat the presentation of appointment letter as a Primary Market Maker at the exchange

Companiesalso havetheir upsand downs

Stanbic IBTC Bank has launched the StanbicIBTC Priority Pass, a customized card that

gives holders access to unique benefits at over700 airports around the world as part of itsdetermination to deploy technology to bringadded value to the lives and businesses of itsclients.

Priority Pass is the world’s largest independentairport lounge access programme. The StanbicIBTC Priority Pass allows members access to over700 airport lounges in more than 120 countriesand 400 cities worldwide including Nigeria. Inaddition, the pass gives the holder comfort,makes travelling stress-free even in the eventof flight delays, cancellations and crowdeddeparture halls. It also keeps the traveller

Stanbic IBTC launches Priority Pass access cardBy NKIRUKA NNOROM

relaxed in a serene ambience until he boardsa flight. The cards will be issued to StanbicIBTC Bank’s credit Speaking at the officiallaunch in Lagos, Yinka Sanni, Stanbic IBTCBank’s Chief Executive, said the productrepresents another milestone in the drive tomove customers forward by continuouslyintroducing value-added products andservices that suit their lifestyles, whilst givingthem access to financial options wherever andwhenever they want it.

Sanni said the product is another steptowards leveraging innovation and evolvingtechnologies to serve customers better. “AtStanbic IBTC Bank, we are poised to alwaysavail the best solutions to enhance the livesof the people we serve. This product is yetanother manifestation of this quest,” hestated.

More winners emerge inFidelity Bank’s ‘Save 4Scholarship’ promoThe Fidelity Bank Plc ‘Save

4 Scholarship’ Promo hasproduced 49 more winners thatwent home with N15.9 million ina final draw that took place inLagos. The draw, which tookplace weekend, at the bank’shead office, brought the totalamount given out throughout theduration of the promo to N80million.

Besides cash prizes, whichranged from N2 million, N1million, N500,000 to N210,000,other consolation prizes ofgenerating sets and fridges werealso given to the winners thatemerged from the six geo-political zones of the country.

Mr. Ik Mbagwu, ExecutiveDirector, Lagos & South WestDirectorate, Fidelity Bank, whospoke at the event said the bankhas other loyalty reward promoslined up that would be moreexciting than the just concluded‘Save 4 Scholarship’ promo.

He listed two of such productsto include School SupportScheme through which N50million will be given outannually and Extra IncomeScheme.


Banking & Finance

In order to make taxpayment moreconvenient for tax

payers, the Federal InlandRevenue Service (FIRS) lastmonth introduce electronicfilling and payment of taxes.The initiative was inpartnership withSystemSpecs, owners of theRemita electronic paymentplatform, which can be usedfor electronic filling andpayment of taxes. In thisinterview, John Obaro ,speaks on the objectives andbenefits of e-filling andpayment of taxes and the roleof Remita in the initiatives.Excerpts

What does e-filing imply tothe taxpayers?

Well before now, the FederalInland Revenue Service(FIRS) has been collecting taxreports manually. So, theyhave now created a platformfor organisations to be able tofile electronically. Now, whenyou submit your documentsinto their portal, you will geta reference called documentnumber. You will take thatdocument number to yourRemita platform, to makepayments and your paymentsleaves your bank account andgoes to FIRS account, you getan acknowledgement and youalso have proper records ofthe taxes you have paid.

What exactly is the role ofRemita in this scheme?

The role of Remita is apayment engine. Now, anumber of organisations todayalready use Remita to payvendors, to pay salaries,pension fund administratorsand different types ofpayments. But now, they areable to make tax payments toFIRS. When they pay throughthe platform, they don’t needto submit any document againbecause we are integrated atthe back to FIRS. So, wesubmit the data that, thatorganisation has provided tothe FIRS in addition to movingmoney to the FIRS.

But does e-filing means thatthe manual way of paying taxin the country will no longerbe in existence?

Well, I believe it is going tohappen gradually because notall the FIRS offices have beenconverted. So, they are doingthem in phases. There will bea period of transition, butultimately the idea is that itgoes to a paperless filingarrangement.

What will be the impact

The truthis thatmany timeswe judgepeople thatthey don’twant to paytaxes

•John Obaro, MD/CEO SystemSpec

Transition to e-payment of taxeswill be gradual — OBARO

BY BABAJIDEKOMOLAFE

Ecobank offersproducts at EnuguInternational TradeFair

Ecobank Nigeriaarray of cuttingedge financial

product were offered toparticipants at the 26th

Enugu International TradeFair. Special products thatrepresent the banks’ e-banking, transfer and middleclass solutions were alldisplayed and customers’access and easy use weredemonstrated to visitors atthe fair. The bank alsooffered financial solutionsand advise to the variousSmall and MediumEnterprises and localcorporate size companies, onthe new CBNs single digit intervention facilities, suchas the Micro, Small andMedium Enterprises(MSME) and Real Sector SupportFinance(RSSF), of whichEcobank is a championingbank.

Access Bankreiteratescommitment tofinancialliteracy

Access Bank hasreiterated itscommitment to

encouraging financialliteracy amongst Nigerianyouths.

Speaking at a sessionwhich held at theGreensprings School,Anthony Campus, Lagos onWednesday, March 11, 2015in commemoration of the2015 Global Money week,Mr. Victor Etuokwu,Executive Director, PersonalBanking Division, noted thatAccess Bank has pioneereda number of industrydefining financial literacyinitiatives aimed atpromoting awareness forFinancial Inclusion andLiteracy amongst women,small and medium scaleentrepreneurs (SMEs) andmore especially children andschools in Nigeria.

During the session with thetheme “Save Today, SafeTomorrow”, Mr. Etuokwusaid, “Several years ago welaunched Nigeria’s first fun-filled interactive financialliteracy campaign for kids,parents and educators withthe Access Early Saverscampaign. This shows thatwe have always beeninvolved in empoweringyoung ones”.

of this scheme on theeconomy?

The truth is that many timeswe judge people that theydon’t want to pay taxes. Butthe truth of the matter is thatthe payment process, if it istoo cumbersome, some peoplewho want to pay would justend up not paying becausethey would get carried awayby something else. By makingit easier for people to pay, itis expected that the collectionwould improve. Now, youhave a 24-hour arrangementto pay. There is no needsaying the managing directoris out of town and he is notgoing to be back until nextweek. You don’t need thoseexcuses again. It is noweasier to pay from your home,from your offices and fromyour mobile devices. So, it isexpected that the totalcollections would grow.

Did the federal governmentand others involved inthe introduction of thisscheme take into

consideration the technologicalchallenges we have in the country?And for those that are nottechnologically savvy, how will theybe able to use this system?

Well, the first thing you talked about wasinfrastructural challenges. The mere fact thatthere are infrastructural challenges has notstopped the rapid growth of e-payment inNigeria. We are not where we were five yearsago. In fact, we are not where we were twoyears ago. So, a lot of things are improving.We know we are not yet there, but we shouldnot discountenance the fact that a lot ofprogress has been made. We cannot wait andsay we cannot practice e-payment untileverything is perfect because that day will notcome. Even if you go to the developedcountries, you still have occasional failures.You still have communication challenges. Itmay not be as much as we have here, but theystill happen. So, I really would not want us tofocus on a glass that is half empty, let us focuson the portion that is half full. We have theopportunities with us here and things arehappening and things are getting better. So,let us focus on the fact that it is growing andthe challenges that are coming up are notunresolvable.

But the process of the e-filing seems to verylong. Let’s consider the average individual,would that not be discouraging to him orher?

For e-filing, we can say that this is the firstversion of the product. With the first versionof the product coming out, there would besome lessons learnt and in the not too distancefuture, we would expect some improvements.But for clients on Remita, what we have doneis to create a simply access point for them tobe able to make all their payments and savethemselves some cumbersome processes. So,like I said earlier, things may not be perfect,but they will improve with time.

There is e-filing and e-payment, are bothaccessible through Remita?

Remita is basically an e-payment platform.It is expected that you must have done youre-filing to collect your reference. When younow come to Remita, we will now interrogatethe FIRS platform to bring out all yourinformation, and then you make yourpayment.

What is your expectation from the e-filingscheme generally?

My expectation is that the taxpayers nowknow that there are electronic options for themto begin to make tax payments. They may fileelectronically and effect their payments. Theydo not necessarily need to go to a bank branchagain and they need not move from one bank’sinternet banking to another bank’s internetbanking again. Log into Remita and makepayment from anywhere.

What is the relationship between Remitaand the banks?

Now, when customers register on Remita,they fill an application form to their banks, itis their banks that actually register them onthe platform. It is a multi-bank platform, socustomers come on the platform and put inall their bank accounts. When it is time forthem to make any payment, they just selectwhich account they want to fund from. It neednot be tied to any particular bank. You mayhave accounts with different banks. So, youjust select the one you want to fund from atthat point in time and it goes through theinternal approval rule of that organisation.


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Debt Office recommends$12.4bn borrowing ceilingfor FG in 2015

•Dr Abraham Nwankwo, Director-General, DMO

Economy

Prolongeddeterioration in oneor two variablessuch as reduction inGDP growth rate,increase ininflation, decline inrevenue...couldincrease therisk of debtunsustainability

Stories byEMEKA ANAETO,Economy Editor

The Debt ManagementOffice (DMO) has

recommended a maximum ofUSD12.4 billion totalborrowing (domestic andexternal) for FederalGovernment in 2015. Thiswould amount to N2.5 trillionaddition to the existing N7.9trillion outstanding debt as atend 2014, bringing the totalindebtedness to about N10.4trillion.

DMO which centrallymanages Nigeria’s debthowever said in its DebtSustainability Analysis (DSA)report, 2014 that the solvencyand liquidity indicators underthe Baseline Scenario showthat Nigeria is at a very lowrisk of debt distress. In fact

Nigeria is actually under-borrowing as at today.

But under its PessimisticScenario DMO report showsthat though the results of itsanalysis indicated that thecountry would remain at a lowrisk of debt distress it alsoshows a rising trend for all the

debt indicators throughout theprojection period (2014-2034).This means a prolongeddeterioration in one or twovariables such as reduction inGDP growth rate, increase ininflation, decline in revenue,

etc, could increase the risk ofdebt unsustainability.

Also a standard stress testunder the Baseline Scenarioshows the impact of mostextreme shocks in thesolvency and liquidity

indicators which,though remainedabove the baselinefor all the debtindicators, werewell belowinternat ional lya c c l a i m e ds t a n d a r dthresholds.

The result furtherconfirmed the factthat though thecountry has no riskof debt distress inthe near term underboth Baseline andStandard StressTest Scenarios,DMO warns thatthe country ishighly susceptibleto revenue shocksbased ondeterioration inm a j o rmacroeconomicvariables.

The revenue block, accordingto the report, clearly show thatany shock in revenue wouldlead to debt distress in themedium-term with a highprobability of being sustainedin the long-term if othersources of revenue are notdeveloped to bridge thegap.

Economy recorded strong merchandisetrade growth in 2014 — NBS

The total value of Nigeria’sexternal merchandise trade at

the end of fourth quarter 2014 wasN5.7 trillion, indicating that exportsoutperformed imports leading tovisible trade surplus. This was,however, 11.9 per cent lower than thevalue (N6.5 trillion) recorded in thepreceding quarter, according to thereport released at the weekend by theNational Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

At the end of 2014 Nigeria’sexternal trade stood at N24.4 trillion.This was N3.2 trillion or 14.9 per centgreater than the value recorded in2013. This development arose froma sharp rise in the value of exportsfrom N14.4 trillion in 2013 to N17.2trillion in 2014 (an increase of 20.8per cent).

A slight increase of N215.6 billion,which amounted to only a 3 per centrise in imports, also contributed tothe very favourable trade balance ofN9.97 trillion recorded in 2014. Thecrude oil component of total tradeincreased by N982.3 billion or 8.3 per

cent over the level recorded in 2013.Nigeria’s import trade stood at N1.9

trillion at the end of fourth quarter2014. This was 3.7 per cent more thanthe value(N1.8 trillion) recorded in thepreceding quarter.

The structure of Nigeria’s importtrade, according to StandardInternational Trade Classification(SITC) was dominated by the importsof ‘’Machinery and transportequipments”, ‘’Food and LiveAnimals” and ‘’Manufactured Goods”which accounted for 35.4 per cent, 15.5per cent and 15.1 per cent respectivelyin 2014. These commoditiescontributed the most to the rise in thevalue of import trade in 2014, whereascommodities like ‘’Crude inediblematerial, ‘’Oils, Fat and Waxs”, and

‘’Beverages and Tobacco” contributedthe least, accounting for 1.3 per cent,1.2 per cent and 0.7 per centrespectively.

Analysis of import trade by sectionwas dominated by the imports of‘’Boilers, Machinery and Appliances”,which accounted for N1.7 trillion or26 per cent of the total value of importtrade in 2014.

Other commodities whichcontributed noticeably to the value ofimport trade in 2014 were ‘’MineralProducts” at N1.1 trillion or 15.3 percent, ‘’Vehicles, Aircraft and Parts”N876.5 billion or 12.1 per cent, ‘’BaseMetals and Articles of Base Metals”at N673.3 billion or 9.3 per cent, and‘’Products of Chemical and AlliedIndustry” at N583.5 billion or 8.1 per

cent of total imports value. At the endof 2014, the import trade classifiedby Broad Economic Categoryrevealed that ‘’Industrial SuppliesNot Elsewhere Classified” rankedfirst with N1.98 trillion or 27.4 percent. This was followed by ‘’CapitalGoods and Parts” with the value ofN1.7 trillion or 22.9 per cent and‘’Food and Beverages” with N1.2trillion or 16.7 per cent.

Nigeria’s import trade by EconomicRegion revealed that the countryconsumed goods largely from Asiawith import value of N3.1 trillion or43.5 per cent. The country alsoimported goods valued at N2.4trillion or 33.7 per cent from Europe,and N1.04 trillion or 14.4 per centfrom America.


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Vanguard, MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015 —A1

A2 — Vanguard, MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015


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34 —Vanguard, MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015

Insurance

LAUNCH - From left: O’lorogun Sonny Kuku, Chairman, Ecobank Nigeria; Mr JibrilAku, Managing Director, ECobank Nigeria; Mr Patrick Akinwuntan, Group Executive,Ecobank Transnational Incorporated; Mr Olusegun Aina, Former President, CIBN and MrTony Okpanachi, Deputy Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria at the launch of EcobankSME Club held in Lagos on Thursday. Photo Lamidi Bamidele.

Brokers hinge success of businesseson professionalism

President of theNigerian Council of

Registered InsuranceBrokers, NCRIB, Mr.Ayodapo Shoderu, has saidthe foundation of anybusiness behavior is hingedon moral principles andpractices of those peopleinvolved and the standardset for or by the profession.

Shoderu made thestatement at the 2nd AnnualConference and Exhibitionof the Ghana InsuranceBrokers Association (GIBA).

He said that the discretion

Stories byROSEMARY ONUOHA

of the organisers of theconference in making theissues of ethics andprofessionalism the kernel ofdiscussion is quitecommendable because theseare issues that have continuedto generate an undyingattention and ideationamongst professionals all overthe world.

“While people are part ofbusiness solutions; they arealso mostly responsible formany business challenges.Business challenges whichorganisations may faceinclude responsible andinformed decisions making,confidentiality, piracy, fraudand misuse of information,

trade secrets and so on.“Whilst noting that there

exists a thin line betweenprofessionalism and ethics in

insurance business, which isour own constituency, it isapposite to note thatprofessionalism connotes theutmost demonstration ofintegrity and probity. That is,the professional must alwaysdisplay ability to stand up tothe test of accountability. Hemust not do anything that willnot stand to private or publicscrutiny. The professionalmust be a person ofimpeccable character who willnot compromise moralprinciples and the ethics of theprofession. Professionalismalso includes continuousdemonstration of competenceacquired partly throughcontinuous leaning andpersonal development. Ethicalbehavior on the other side maybe defined as a set of moralprinciples and it derives fromthe Greek word meaning“ethos” which means“character.” It has also beenseen as a set of a system ofmoral principles and branch ofphilosophy which defineswhat is good for the individualand the larger society ”Shoderu said.

According to Shoderu, sinceinsurance itself is built on theprinciples of utmost good faith,insurance brokers arefiduciaries and insurers aretrustees of policy holders’funds. “An insuranceprofessional must thereforeput service above self andshould always endeavor toemploy the most effective andeconomic ways to doingbusiness and achieving thelegitimate objectives of hiscompany” he said.

Shoderu noted that everycountry must continuallysubject its professionals tosome forms of regulations, andthis may be in form ofgovernment or self -regulationor a combination of the two.

“Since the society is notstatic, prescription of ethicalstandards for the professionalcannot be a once and for allthing. The insurance operatorsmust constantly challengetheir regulatory institutions tocome up with regulations andlaws that are in line with thechanging global environment.In view of the increasingtemptations to cut corners orembrace unethical acts, theprofessionals must bevanguards in societalreformation. Professionalsmust realize that they are theconscience of the respectivenations where they operateand refrain from thetemptation of staying aloof inpolitical, social, economic andenvironment matters,”Shoderu noted.

Cornerstone Insurance Plc in partnershipwith SuperGeeks, an after-sales tech

support and gadget repair service provider,is set to launch Nigeria’s first OriginalEquipment Manufacturer (OEM) agnosticsupplementary warranty service – GadgetProtection Plan (GPP). The Gadget ProtectionPlan is the first of its kind in the Nigerianmarket to cater for the discerning consumerswho crave for security and peace of mind withthe purchase of their dream devices.

The Gadget Protection Plan (GPP) isdeveloped for customers with a view toeliminating their fears and frustrations of awrecked device. Should a device covered byGPP experience any damage - be it the useror manufacturer’s fault, SuperGeeks will beon hand to fix it. The claim process is simpleand free of any hassles. All customers haveto do is sign-up for Gadget Protection Plan atthe point of purchase of their next device atany of certified retail partners.

Chief Executive Officer of SuperGeeks, Mr.Sam Uduma, said, “At SuperGeeks, wedevelop technical competence across a wide

Cornerstone, SuperGeeks to launchNigeria’s first gadget protection plan

variety of device manufacturers which allowsus to offer best-in-class service quality andefficient service delivery.”

Addressing the value of Gadget ProtectionPlan to the people, he says: “More and more,gadget users are becoming very attached totheir devices, where any downtime impactstheir quality of life. With GPP, we aim tomigrate gadget users from a ‘break & fix’mentality to a more preventative approach,greatly reducing the turnaround time forrepairs while saving them money overall”.

Managing Director, Life and Retail,Cornerstone Insurance, Mr. Tokunbo Bello,said, “We are delighted to be at the forefrontof another innovative initiative that willprovide Nigerians with the opportunity tobenefit from the security and peace of mindthat this value-rich product offers. GPPprovides a quick and dependable solution toa major customer dissatisfaction which mayarise from the purchase of a new device –damage. More so, you have the peace ofmind that your gadget is covered byCornerstone Insurance.”

Citibank Nigeriacommemoratesglobal money week2015

Citibank NigeriaLimited joined the rest

of the world tocommemorate the annualGlobal Money Week.

The event which held atAunty Ayo Girls’Comprehensive SeniorSecondary School, Lagosfeatured a fully interactivesession on financial literacy,titled “Growing YourMoney”.

The program focused oneducating Nigeria’s youthabout the economicenvironment whilstimpressing upon them theimportance of saving,entrepreneurship andfinancial value creation.

The event was organised inpartnership with JuniorAchievements of Nigeria(JAN), a financial educationn o n - g o v e r n m e n t a lorganisation.

Executive Director andHead of Global SubsidiariesGroup, Citibank NigeriaLimited, Mrs. NnekaEnwereji was at the event todeliver a lecture on financialeducation.

While speaking at theoccasion, Mrs. Enwerejiencouraged the students tobe accountable for theirfinancial health byprioritising their needs overtheir wants.

She also stressed thenecessity for the students tobe financially aware andempowered to save andmake monetary decisions.

Also present at theoccasion was JuniorAchievement’s ProgramOfficer, Ms. Efe Adefuluwho further reiterated to thestudents on the importanceof saving.

Addressing the girls,Adefulu expounded on thesignificance of financialliteracy to the fiscalindependence andeconomic sustainability ofNigeria.

Global Money week is ayearly celebration which iscommemorated across theworld in honour ofempowering the youth to beinvolved in reshaping theirfinances and their futures.Financial Literacy dayserves as a time to focus onNigeria’s youth in primaryand secondary schoolsnationwide, equipping themthrough the enhancement oftheir financial knowledgeand planning skills to createtheir own livelihoods.

Prescription ofethicalstandards forthe professionalcannot be aonce and for allthing


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CMYK

E - Commerce

CSR:RosabonempowersSMEs inLagos,RiversRosabon financial

services, adevelopment financeinstitution has empoweredover 1,500 small andmedium enterprise, SMEoperators spread acrossLagos and Rivers States.

This was part of thecompany’s 2015 CorporateSocial Responsibilityinitiatives. The SMEoperators were empoweredwith umbrellas. Rosabon saidthe gesture was “toencourage the hard workingmen and women of themarketplace by ensuring thatthey are well protectedagainst the elements.”

The Rosabon teamdistributed the over 1, 500Umbrellas in the mostpopulated marketplaces inLagos in areas like the Yabamarket, Oyingbo, LagosIsland, Bariga, Orile and inArtillery Junction, AirforceJunction, Rumuola, Garrison,Oil Mill Junction inPortharcourt.

Speaking about theinitiative, Head of Strategyand Marketing, RosabonNigeria, ChidimmaOnyeokoro, said: “AtRosabon, we are passionateabout community buildingand development, and wenever allow the economicclimate to affect ourcommitment to our customersand our community. In 2014,we embarked on a series ofcommunity building drives,and this year we plan toincrease this with severalinitiatives planned by theteam.”

Recall that the companyrecently launched its newcustomer friendly website andcelebrated the end of the yearwith daily mobile phonegiveaways and a star prize ofall expense paid trip for threelucky customers to holidaydestinations.

It had also embarked onnotable Customer socialresponsibility drives like itshealth focused initiatives likethe distribution of state of theart IT learning systems andrelief materials to themanagement of Heart of GoldHospital Surulere and theLittle Saint Orphanage, Palmgroove, and financial literacyfocused initiatives liketraining camps and meetups.

Stories BY JONAHNWOKPOKU

Experts have identifiedtechnology as one of

the key component in thediversification of the Nigeriaeconomy. They reached thisconsensus in Lagos at theSignal Alliance Customer

W e e k Workshoporganizedi nconjunctionw i t h

Cisco.

‘Technology, key to diversification ofNigerian economy’

“We are quite satisfiedwith the outcome of theconversations that took place,considering the challengethe Nigeria economy iscurrently facing due to fall inglobal oil prices, exchangerate collapse, and uncertaintysurrounding the elections.This is compounded by thefact that Nigeria is largely animport-based and a mono-product economy,” saidAdanma Onuegbu, CEOSignal Alliance.

The experts called on all

stakeholders to work togetherto “build an ecosystems thatwill support start-ups fromsetting up investment institutions from seedfunding to technology backedprivate equity, andpromoting incubators andaccelerators; deepeninggovernment structures thatsupports indigenoustechnology like the FederalMinistry of CommunicationTechnology, NITDA,SMEDAN, etc, as well asencourage consumption of

local technology throughstrict implementation of thelocal content law andstandardization of localtechnology products to enablethem to competeinternationally.

The workshop which hasthe theme: ‘Diversification &Innovation: A technologyroadmap to grow Nigerianeconomy’ has in attendance,business leaders in the publicand private sectors,technology leaders andentrepreneurs, and themedia.

The workshop is one of themajor activities of the annualSignal Alliance CustomerWeek that includes; customervisitation across the country,corporate social responsibilityprogrammes in Lagos andAbuja, and customerappreciation programme.

Lamudi.com educates users on spottingreal estate scam

In an effort to tackle onlinerelated real estate fraud,

Nigeria’s online real estateplatform, Lamudi.com hascompiled a guide to help theirusers avoid falling victim toscam.

They noted that “while newtechnologies have made iteasier than ever before, forproperty seekers to get all theinformation they need tosupercharge their house hunt,the Internet has also made iteasier for online fraudsters totarget both buyers and renters.But by being aware of a fewtell-tale signs, house-hunterscan learn to quickly sort thescammers from the legitimatereal estate agents.”

To protect themselves, theysay users should take thefollowing steps.

*Avoid paying inspectionfees

Never agree to make anypayments upfront or sign acontract without firstinspecting the property nomatter how official thedocumentation looks. Viewingthe property and meeting theagent in person are the bestways to guarantee that the

listing is legitimate.*Verify the identity of the

person you are dealing withTake steps to check the agent

you are dealing with is alicensed broker or agent. In thefirst instance, a simple onlinesearch can help you detect ascam. Try searching for theproperty’s address, the nameof the agent and their emailaddress.

*Avoid listings that havebeen posted multiple times

One common scam is forfraudsters to copy an existing(and legitimate) listing of aproperty for sale and repost it

as a rental, with their owncontact details attached. Lookout for duplicate listings whichhave different asking prices.

*Never give away yourpersonal information ordocuments

You should never be asked toprovide your bank accountdetails or personalidentification documents tosomeone over the internet.Importantly, never provideyour credit card verification

*Remember that if it soundstoo good to be true, it probablyis One of the most importantrules in real estate is that if a

deal sounds too good to be true,it most likely is. Be scepticalabout any online listings forattractive properties which arevery well priced for the area.Scammers often use these verylow prices to lure propertyseekers.

*If you detect a scam, get intouch

Focus your search onproperties listed by well-known real estate agencies andtrusted classifieds websites.Once you have detected apossible scam on a real estatesearch website, notify theplatform immediately.

PRESENTATION - From left:Dr Joseph Odumodu, D-G,Standards Organisation ofNigeria, presenting the finaldocument of Nigerian NationalQuality Policy (NNQP) to Dr.Olusegun Aganga, Minister of Industry, Trade &Investment while Dr PatrickKorma, UNIDO CountryRepresentative looks on inAbuja.

Royal Air Maroc , the official airlineof Morroco, weekend said it

transported about 1,3 million passengerson its African destinations in 2014 duringthe period spanning from November 1st,2013 to the end of October, 2014. This,according to the airline, represents anincrease of 16 % with regard to the previousyear.

It further said during the year, thenational company operated 16 285 flightson 32 air routes towards the continent.

“The bulk of this increase is ascribed to

Royal Air Maroc ferries 1.3 million passengersnine air links, namely flights connectingMorocco to Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali,Mauritania, Guinea, Nigeria, Algeria,Tunisia and Gabon. Through theseregular connections, Royal Air Maroccould carry 782,000 passengers.”

“This result shows the commitment of thenational company in the strengtheningstrategy of its anchorage in its naturalenvironment, by developing its network onthe continent and improving its offer andits services for the benefit of the clientelein Africa.


CMYK

Micro-Finance

It was beautiful and simpleas all truly great swindles

are”, O’Henry, 1862-1910.(VANGUARD BOOK OFQUOTATIONS p239).

Banking consolidationintroduced by Professor Soludo,shortly after becomingGovernor of the Central Bankof Nigeria, CBN, shouldactually be called Con-SOLUDO-tion. It was a greatswindle as a result of whichmillions of Nigerians,including traders, teachers,pensioners, accounts holderswith banks, were lured into thecapital market to buy sharesfrom con men and women whoSoludo praised continuouslyuntil Sanusi blew the whistleon the monumental scam in2009. Today, shares which soldfor N70+ and N50+, whileSoludo and the banksconspired to deceive us, are onoffer for N10 or less. Millionsof Nigerians lost trillions –while Soludo’s friends(Directors and Chief Executiveofficers of the banks) literallystole depositors andshareholders funds.

Yet, in his reply to Okonjo-Iweala’s, admittedly self-serving rejoinder, afterclaiming credit for everythingwhich went well as a result ofCon-SOLUDO-tion, he did notonce mention the trillions lostby shareholders, the bankersnow facing prosecution or theone who had been convicted– and, after plea bargain, kept

Battle of two truth benders:Soludo versus Okonjo-Iweala — 3half the loot. He also failed torecognize that he left 25 bankshe told us were healthy. But,today, Intercontinental,Oceanic, BankPHB, Afribank,no longer exist. Yet all thesewere banks whose MDs werewinning awards as “Bankers ofthe Year”.

So when Soludo lists all theawards he won, he deliberatelyomitted to reveal to the readersthat the accolades came beforethe truth about the bankingcatastrophe was known to thewhole world in 2009. Two suchtestimonials illustrate howSoludo bends facts to suit hisself-exculpation. He cited onefrom Obasanjo in December2004, and another by Yar’Aduain May 2009. Consolidationpolicy, requesting banks tohave a minimum of N25 billionpaid up capital, wasannounced in mid-2004 andthe banks were given up toDecember 2005 to raise thecapital. There wereapproximately 73 banks inoperation in 2004; byJanuary 2006, when “Con-SOLUDO-tion” took effectthere were only 25 left.Thousands of bank employeeslost their jobs and manyremain unemployed till today.Depositors with the banks

which failed to qualify werealso adversely affected. But,reading Soludo’s indictment ofOkonjo-Iweala and his self-congratulatory submissionsyou would not find a wordabout these calamities.Obviously, Obasanjo’scomments in December 2004could not have been referringto Consolidation which had notbeen concluded.

Similarly, Yar’Adua’scomments were forunderstandable reasons verydiplomatic. The late Presidenthad made up his mind toreplace Soludo, an Igbo, withSanusi, a Fulani. In a countrywhere ethnicity is very

sensitive matter, Yar’Adua didnot want to antagonize Igbostwice – by replacing “their”man with “his” man andadding insult to injury withharsh criticisms. At any rate,even Yar’Adua did not knowthe disaster Soludo had beencovering up at the time. It wasafter Sanusi blew the lid off thecan of worms that the latePresident knew the extent ofdamage Soludo and “hisfriends” in the banks hadinflicted on the nation. Theunwary reader, not beingaware of the sequence ofevents would be tricked intobelieving that the two formerPresidents endorsed “Con-SOLUDO-tion. That is a blatantlie.

Meanwhile, was everybodypraising Soludo? That againwas not true. Atedo Petersideof IBTC was the mostprominent among those whothought that Soludo hadborrowed a good idea,consolidation, from abroad,but he was too hasty in itsimplementation and there wasthe possibility of a majorbanking crisis in the nearfuture. Atedo was not alone. Let me remind readers andSoludo of a series, which waspublished in VANGUARD in

2009 titled BANKING CRISIS–THE ROAD TO HELL. Belowis reproduced the openingparagraphs of that essay. InJuly of that year, while Soludowas still CBN Governor, I hadraised alarm about bankingsupervision and the conspiracyof silence between CBN banksupervisors and the banks. Inplain language, every singleone of CBN bank supervisors,at the time were corruptlyenriching themselves and wereignoring bare-faced fraudbeing perpetrated by theDirectors of the banks – led bythe MDs. Please read on.

The real truth about thebanks became known, as myarticle suggested, after Soludowas removed and theconspiracy of silence wasexposed. Whether or notSoludo personally gained fromthe grand larceny is unknown.But, his entry into the race forGovernor in his state and themoney involved in thatventure leave room forskepticism. However,irrespective of whether hebenefited, directly or indirectly,or not, the result wasdevastating to the bankingsector. Unfortunately, Soludomentioned Dangote and Arikamong the beneficiaries of“Con-SOLUDO-tion”. It wouldhave been better if he had notdone that; because he hadmerely pointed to what can bedescribed as an apt summaryof what “Con-SOLUDO-tionwas all about.

“

President of Council of theNigerian Stock

Exchange, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, weekend, urgedwomen to have a vision andgame plan so as to thrive in achallenging environment.

He said this during theWomen in Management,Business and Public Service(WIMBIZ) Annual Lecturethemed: “Thriving in ToughTimes: NavigatingChallenging Environments.”

Imoukhuede noted thatsocieties that do not allowwomen to contribute to societaldevelopment cannot grow,adding that companies withmore women on board sufferfewer crises.

He said that the WIMBIZhas become a beacon of lightnot for only women but all wellmeaning stakeholders inNigeria and across Nigeria.

Describing vision, he said,“There is nothing moreimportant than having a visionand there is nothing in life thathas not been achieved without

WIMBIZ: Imoukhuede urges women to be visionaryStories byPROVIDENCE OBUH

a vision, everything that yousee has been achieved througha vision. It is vision that makesyou entrepreneurs and makesyou succeed, vision isfundamental to survival, yourvision is your anchor of hopeand without a vision when youare beaten down you have noreason to get up.

“Your vision is your source ofconfidence, stability motivateyour passion and yourconviction to succeed. Dreamsare good but then we wake up,plans are the actionable stepsyou must exude successfully tomake your vision a reality.

Without a game plan there is

nothing to focus on, focus isrelevant in the contest of a plan,focus without a plan ismeaningless,” he said.

He added those crises are testof ability to overcome crisis,saying, “if you do not thrive incrisis you do not worth leadingothers.”

In her welcome address,

WIMBIZ Chairperson, Mrs.Osayi Alile, said that the topicwas chosen as a result of therealities of Nigeria and theneed for people especiallywomen to prepare and learnthe most out of the situation.

Alile said, “When we go intobusiness we are always lookingat the profit of today but when

you go into business with along term vision, you find outthat regardless of the ups anddowns and some challengesyou face, at the end you areable to achieve those goals. SoI think is a process but weneeded to be prepared for thatprocess having a strongdecision.”

A group, Rural FinanceInstitution Building

Programme (RUFIN), hassaid that it would facilitateaccess of microfinance banks,

We'll assist MFIs to access MSME fund — Groupcooperatives and otherorganizations to the N220billion Micro Small andMedium Enterprises(MSME) funds.

The Lagos State Cordinatorof the group, Mrs FunmiBello, said this at a workshoporganised by RUFIN for banksand other financialinstitutions.

According to her, “MostNigerians in remote areaslack access to credit, thereforein facilitating access to thefund, RUFIN will be fulfillingits objective of full financialpenetration to the rural areasin the country to reducepoverty, especially amongwomen and the physicallychallenged persons.

Organisers of the Lagos Water Regattahave announced plans to hold this

year’s edition of a fun filled water-based eventdepicting the socio-cultural, traditionalfolklores and occupational aspects of thepeople of Lagos State

The fun filled water-based cultural sportingand recreational activity is billed to hold onApril 19, 2015 at the Regatta Village, Oyinkan

Lagos water regatta holdsAbayomi Drive, Ikoyi Lagos with the theme“Celebrating the Aquatic Splendor of Lagos”.

The Regatta will feature a parade of boatsand yachts, including large fishing boats,ferries, barges and other marine vessels thatare beautifully adorned.

Speaking in a media chat with the Chairman,Organizing Committee, Lagos Water Regatta,Engr. Olusegun Jawando said that in additionto the colorful array of decorated floats.

Shares whichsold for N70+and N50+,while Soludoand the banksconspired todeceive us, areon offer forN10 or less


CMYK

People in Business

Mr. Olu Adeola isthe Managing

Director/Chief ExecutiveOfficer of Abeokuta-based GlobalherbsNatural HealthcareProduct Company. Inthis chat withFinancial Vanguard inAbeokuta recently,the BusinessAdministration andManagement graduatefrom the AhmaduBello University Zaria,speaks on why heventured inton a t u r a l / t rad i t iona lmedicine and whyNigeria has not beenable to exploit herhuge bio-resourcespotent ia l .

Excerpts:

Why naturalmedic ine?

According to Adeola, hegot into natural medicinebecause of its hugepotential for Nigeria. "Ihave been in this businessfor over a decade. I wasseconded from NigeriaNatural MedicineDevelopment Agency(NNMDA). I was in acollaborative venture withthe agency and while there,they discovered theenormous potential in meand my ability for in-depthresearch into ourtraditional medicinebecause Nigerians as apeople, only look forwardbut fail to look backward.You have to look at thepast and move on in thepresent to project thefuture.

"What fascinated me innatural\traditionalmedicine is that it has a lotof potential in arrestingmost of the ailmentsespecially in sub-SaharaAfrica that orthodoxmedicine does not havecure for. As everyoneknows, malaria is ourmajor problem in Africaand for a very long time, wehave depended on westerncountries for solutions tomost of our problems. Thisshould not be the casebecause God has created usin this environment andhas given us all that weneed to survive under thisenvironment but it is

By EBELE ORAKPO

Natural medicine hashuge potential for Nigeria— OLU ADEOLA

perhaps, our inability tolook inwards that has madeit impossible for us tounlock the potential withinour environment. Since Icame into naturalmedicine, it has been ablessing to me, my familyand mankind because overthe years, I have been ableto collaborate with theNational Institute forPharmaceutical Researchand Development (NIPRD)in Abuja in the research fordrugs for diabetes,tuberculosis, malaria andother ailments."

Asked whether they havecome up with any naturaldrug for diabetes, he said:“A lot of good things havebeen done by NIPRD andeven the NNMDA, but youknow, the problem inNigeria is lack of funding. Iknow that at NIPRD, a lot of

work has been done on thatbut as you know, researchis not something you startone day and come out withyour findings the next day.

It takes about 10 years. Inorthodox medicine, theyhave to do a lot of write-ups and carry out a lotof tests."

Some of thep r o d u c t sdeveloped:“I developed aproduct calledValueplus, adental drop andmouthwash. It is

100 per cent Nigerianproduct and it has beensubmitted to NIPRD forscientific investigation. Itcan help HIV-positivepeople againstopportunistic infectionslike oral thrush as well asHIV negative people whowant to preserve theirdental health. Otherproducts are Dr. Malaria,hyperherbs, combatolrange of hair and skinproducts, bitters etc.

"NNMDA has been up anddoing as it relates to mostof the products I havedeveloped because I have agood working relationshipwith the leadership of theagency. Also, the Director-General of the NationalBoard for TechnologyIncubation, Dr.Mohammed Jibrin has beenhighly resourceful andsupportive. To mostentrepreneurs at theTechnology Incubation

Centre, Abeokuta, it is likegoing back to theclassroom because forevery product you make,there is a mandate thatyou must be able topresent it for externalinvestigation. So it is notjust to claim that youhave done so and so, youhave to defend it,"he said.

Adeola who presentlyhas three employees andhopes to employ more ifhe is able to access funds,appealed to the FederalGovernment to make theconditions for accessingloan from the Bank ofIndustry less stringent soentrepreneurs can easilyaccess loans from thebank as that will helpNigeria move from a monoeconomy to diversifiedeconomy to enable herexploit the huge potentialin bio-resources.

"Nigeria has got it but theonly thing is our inabilityto exploit it.

“All my raw materialsare locally sourced exceptsome of the packagingmaterials which we importbecause most of thecompanies that producethe packaging materialsare not in the country sowe resort to buying fromoutside the country. Asidethat, virtually everythinghas been given to us inNigeria free of charge."

Naturalmedicine has alot of potentialin arrestingmost of theailments thatorthodoxmedicine doesnot have curefor

•Olu Adeola...God has created us in this environmentand has given us all that we need to survive under thisenvironment

•Some of the naturalmedicine products


CMYK

Advertising & Promotions

*PROMO - From left: Specialist, Youth Segment, Etisalat Nigeria, Ife Oyeyipo; NigerianHip Hop A-List Artistes, Remilekun Abdulkalid Safaru (Reminisce); Specialist,Merchandizing and Communications South-West Region, Etisalat Nigeria, Femi Adewuyiand Analyst, Youth Segment, Etisalat Nigeria, Michael Nwoseh;at the Etisalat Cliqfest heldat Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta.

The signage andadvertisement regulatory

agencies in western part of thecountry have abandoned theirprimary duties of providingcleaner, saner and beautifulenvironment that could attractinvestors to the states torevenue generation.

The investigation conductedby Vanguard on the activitiesof the agencies like the LagosState Signage and AdvertisingAgency, LASAA, Ogun StateSignage and AdvertisingAgency, OGSAA, Oyo StateSignage and AdvertisingAgency, OYSAA, Ekiti StateSignage and AdvertisingAgencies, EKSAA and theKwara State Signage andAdvertising Agency, KWSAA,showed a drastic reduction intheir primary objective ofenvironmental beautification.The law setting up LASAA isthe same law setting up othersas most of them copied fromLagos State as statescontrolled by the samepolitical party, in exception ofEkiti state.

LASAA was established by theLagos State governmentthrough Law No. 9 of 2006.While section 3 of the Lawempowers the Agency to:Control outdoor structures tobe used for signage andadvertisements; Issue licensesand permits for theconstruction and placement ofoutdoor structures in any partof the state; Protect theenvironment from potentialadverse impact from visualblights and; Control thenumber, size and location ofoutdoor structures. Otherfunctions are: Ensure theoutdoor structures aresoundly and carefullydesigned, erected, modified,maintained or removed whenno longer in use to avoidpotential danger to lives andproperty; Ensure that

State ad agencies abandon regulatorybrief for revenue generation

By PRINCEWILLEKWUJURU

outdoor structures arecompatible with surroundingland uses and environmentand further ensure thebeautification of theimmediate surrounding andvicinity of the advertisement;Control the pasting anddisplay of posters on publicstructures and highways;Organise the procedure toregulate the ownership andoperation of outdoorstructures for the purpose ofsignage or advertisementsunder specific regulations ascontained in this Law and;Reject, revoke or modify apermit if found to be inviolation of any of theprovisions of this Law or theconditions for its grant.

The agency is also to: Prepareand keep all records related tothe issuance and denial of

outdoor structures permit aswell as appropriate generalrecords; Monitor and inspectthrough its Monitoring Unitany outdoor structure andverify its compliance with thisLaw; and; Establish a data-base of all the outdoorstructures used for signageand advertisement, theirowners and operators as wellas their location and thereason for the operation.

It appears that the stategovernments weredeliberately careful toemphasize outdooradvertisement structures asopposed to outdooradvertisement (content/message) per se. It seems thatthose who crafted the LASAAlaw are particularly concernedabout the nature and locationof the physical structures thatdisplay outdooradvertisement rather than theadvertisements that aredisplayed on these structures.

This understanding of thespirit of the regulatory law isconsistent with the obligationof the states to provide for thesafety, protection and beautyof the environment, but not forrevenue drive since theagencies collect subventionfrom the state governments.

The Outdoor AdvertisingAssociation of Nigeria,

OAAN, said its going to NorthDakota State University,NDSU, for a capacity-buildingtraining programs to acquire

Outdoor practitioners for capacity building training

more skill..The program according to

the association starts with theExecutive EducationWorkshop Focusing on thetheme: “The Art and Science

of Outdoor Advertising inthe Age of Digital Media.”

The five-days training willhold from April 12 to 17, atthe Department ofCommunication of theUniversity.

The resource persons aredrawn from other AmericanUniversities and the field ofAmerican ProfessionalOutdoor AdvertisingPractitioners.

Dr. Mark Meister, Professorand Chair of NDSU’sDepartment ofCommunication said his teamis excited about theopportunity to collaboratewith OAAN in co-hosting thisspecial Training Program,which demonstrates theUniversity’s commitment toserving its publics, locallyand internationally.

In a renewed bid to combat dental cavityand enhance oral health in Nigeria,

Colgate Palmolive Nigeria has introducednew toothpaste, Colgate Maximum CavityProtection, MCP, produced with Pro-ArginTechnology, a new anti-cavity technology.

The new toothpaste, which is also a sugaracid neutraliser,was recently presented todental care professionals at the SheratonHotels and Towers, Lagos.

Speaking, Mrs. Hannah Oyebanjo,Marketing Director, Colgate PalmoliveNigeria, said that the company has a lot ofinitiative for the country, adding that theintroduction of Colgate MCP was just one

Colgate introduces toothpaste reinforce with technologyof such.

Mr. Cheslin Twigg, Profession Manager,Colgate West/East Africa, said Colgate MCPwas the first and only family toothpaste witha unique sugar acid neutraliser technologyand fluoride.

He stated the company was introducingthe best cavity-protection toothpaste to theprofessionals, adding that research hadshown that the product was so advanced thatit decreased early decay by half.

Fluoride, he added, does not neutralisesugar or prevent cavity, unlike Colgate MCP,which is the future of cavity protection andwould make things easy for the dentists.

Karcher Centre opensin NigeriaGerman Technology

Nigeria Limited, asubsidiary of Salhab Group, hasopened the first Karcher rangeof cleaning equipment office inNigeria market.

Speaking at the inaugurationof the showroom in VictoriaIsland, Lagos, Mr. Axel Stolz,Vice President, InternationalSales and Marketing, AlfredKarcher GmBH, said, “We areexcited at the opportunity tobring our cleaning equipmentand solutions to Nigeria. We areoffering Nigerians a broadvariety of equipment that meeta wide range of cleaning needsacross various industries suchas manufacturing, hospitality,food and agro, automotiveindustry etc.’

Continuing, Mr. Stolz said,‘The potential of the Nigerianmarket is huge. We recognizethat the country is the largesteconomy in Africa and as suchour headquarters in Germanywill be providing all thelogistics and support for thelocal partner over here. Serviceis an important sales tool for us.This has necessitated the settingup of a world class after salescenter along with thisshowroom to ensure that wedeliver quality product care tocustomers.”

'Diversification ofeconomy via GIS isdeliberate'

The Director of Projects,Graduate Internship

Scheme, GIS, Peter Papwa, saiddiversification of the economyto the non-oil sector is adeliberate attempt by theFederal Government through itsGIS sponsored SubsidyReinvestment andEmpowerment Program, SURE-P.

The Director made thisassertion at the stakeholders/Feedback session for Internsand Firms representatives inLagos, where he said that theGIS is in line with FG’s resolveto diversify the economic baseof the country. He also statedthat government was deliberateby keying into the non-oilsectors through the GIS with aview to developing capacity andskills required to complimentthe oil and gas sector.

The Director observed that theinitiative has culminated inpartnership established withseveral government and non-governmental Organizationswith Memorandum ofUnderstanding, MoU signedespecially as relating to exporttrade promotion.

The law setting upLASAA is the samelaw setting up othersas most of them copiedfrom Lagos State

Business & Economy

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


Omoh Gabriel - Group Business EditorBabajide Komolafe - Deputy Business EditorClara Nwachukwu - Energy EditorPeter Egwuatu - Asst. Business EditorYinka Kolawole - Snr Bus. CorrespondentFavour Nnabugwu - Insurance CorrespondentGodwin Oritse - Maritime CorrespondentGodfrey Bivbere - Maritime CorrespondentMichael Eboh - Energy ReporterFranklin Alli - Industry/Agric. ReporterIfeyinwa Obi - Maritime ReporterRosemary Onuoha - Insurance ReporterNkiruka Nnorom - Capital Market Reporter

CONTRIBUTORSPrincewill Ekwujuru - Media/MarketingJonah Nwokpoku - E-CommerceNaomi Uzor - IndustryProvidence Obuh - Micro FinanceLAYOUT - Graphics Department

CMYK

BY PROVIDENCE OBUH

The Nigerian ExportPromotion Council

(NEPC) has said that a 9 percentdecline from $2.970 billion to2.714 billion was recorded inthe country’s non-oil exportbetween 2013 and 2014.Meanwhile, with the dwindlingoil revenue coupled with thequest to increase the basket ofexportable products fromNigeria, the council hasconcluded plans to launch theOne State One Product (OSOP)initiative targeted at developingand promoting one product for

Non-oil export drops by 9%, says NEPCexport per state.

To this end, the council hasidentified 13 National StrategicExport Products (NSEPs) that willreplace oil as part ofdiversification of the economyusing the Nigerian IndustrialRevolution Plan (NIRP) and theNigerian EnterpriseDevelopment Programme(NEDEP) as key strategies. TheNSEPs are grouped under threecategories Agro-industrial (Palmoil, Cocoa, Cashew, Sugar, Rice);Mining related products(Cement, Iron ore, Metals, Autoparts/cars, Aluminium); Oil andGas industrial products(Petroleum products,

Fertilizer/Urea, Petrochemicaland Methanol).

Speaking at a two-day capacitybuilding programme for StateCommittees on Export Promotionand City Chambers of Commerceand Industries in all States of theFederation with the theme:“Techniques of Non Oil ExportProject Formulation andImplementation,” ExecutiveDirector/CEO, Nigerian ExportPromotion Council, Mr.Olusegun Awolowo, said thatNigeria’s exports are stilldominated by oil while its non-oil exports are dominated byAgriculture.

The Nigerian StockExchange was founded

in 1960 to provide a platformfor buying and selling ofshares of listed publiccompanies. Consequently, thesize and vibrancy of domesticstock markets generallyprovide a bird’s eye view ofthe degree of confidence andscope of activities in aneconomy.

The forced consolidation ofbanks in 2005, increased themarket value of shares by over100% from $14bn in 2004 toover $32bn by 2006.Nonetheless, the obnoxiouspractices of insider andmargin trading in a boisterousspeculative market, eventuallyspurred capitalization beyond$80bn (N13.4Tn) in 2007.However, the underlyingunethical practices in thebanking consolidationexercise and the selectivecovert operations of sponsoredmarket makers becameunexpectedly exposed by theinternational financial crisis of2008 which led to the stockmarket shedding over half ofits value to close below $34bn(N5.6Tn) by 2009. Sadly, thedeflation in stock valuesresulted in extremely stressfulconsequences for everyonewho had adopted the equitiesmarket as a safe financialrefuge. Nonetheless, themarket never fully recovereduntil it was again lifted beyondN8Tn ($56bn) in 2010 with thelisting of Dangote’s heavyinvestments, particularly, inthe cement industrialsubsector.

Former CBN Governor,Lamido Sanusi’s regulatoryreforms, especially in the areaof risk management, as wellas the various internal reformsembarked upon by both theSecurities and ExchangeCommission and the NigerianStock Exchange sustainedrelative stability andconfidence in the capitalmarket and gradually pushed

Shareholders as victimsof devaluationaverage market capitalisationbeyond N12Tn ($72bn) untilcrude oil prices tumbledrapidly within the last sixmonths to fan speculativeembers which burned offalmost a quarter of value tobring capitalization belowN10tn by March 2015.

Ironically, however, thenominal N10Tn presentmarket capitalization is noteven a true reflection of theactual fall in value of equities,as the listed valuescamouflage the devastingimpact of Naira devaluation;for instance, the 2014 1st

quarter average marketcapitalization of aboutN12.5Tn was equal to about$75bn, when the Nairaexchanged for less thanN160=$1.

Ironically, however, even theN2.5Tn reduction in stockvalue in one year, is not alsotruly reflective of the realactual loss in marketcapitalization. Indeed, twelvemonths ago, the equity valueof over N12.5Tn was valued atabout $78b when the Nairaexchanged for N160=$1.However, the current N10Tnmarket capitalization is barely$50b at current exchange rateof about N200=$1.Instructively, if the Naira hadremained stable at the old rateof N160=$1, the currentmarket capitalization of N10Tnwould command the highervalue of about $60bn ratherthan $50bn with the reducedNaira exchange rate ofN200=$1. Thus, the stockmarket lost about $30b fromthe speculative run instigatedby falling crude prices and thedouble devaluation of theNaira between December 2014

and March 2015.Similarly, the total market

value of bonds (governmentdebts) was over N4.25Tn or($25.5bn) just a year ago,when Naira exchanged forabout N160=$1. Today,regrettably, the same Bondvalue of N4.25Tn will barelycommand the dollarequivalent of about $21bn withN200=$1 exchange rate.

Similarly, your investment instocks would inevitably, loseover 20% of its purchasingvalue against the dollarequivalent barely 12 monthsago because of Nairadevaluation. In effect, it is asif someone brazenly pickedyour pocket while youwatched helplessly! Infact, ifyour share certificates servedas collateral for anytransaction, your bankers orcreditors, most certainly,would already be makingrepeated calls for you toaugment the value of yourcollateral or in the alternative,you may be forced to liquidateyour debt and or lose yourcollateral.

Either way, these are tryingtimes for all Nigerian incomeearners and stock marketpatrons, as the doors todistress and inevitabledeepening poverty openwider and wider with a slidingNaira, which will in turninvariably instigate inflationbeyond 10% to further reducethe real purchasing value ofthe N10Tn present stockmarket capitalization below$50bn.

Instructively, an annualinflation rate of 10%, meansthat the present marketcapitalization will additionallyalso lose about N1Tn ($5bn)of its domestic purchasingvalue every year. Thus, unlessaverage annual dividendsfrom equities exceed 10%annually, your investment inthe stock market mayultimately be graduallywhittled away to make youronce valuable share certificateas worthless as a mere pieceof paper.

Incidentally, the earlieststocks listed in the exchangewere 50 kobo shares. Forexample, the 50 kobo UACshare was the equivalent ofover $0.70 (70 US cents) at thetime of issue about 40 yearsago. However, the currentmarket price of N36 for UACPLC shares is barelyequivalent to US $0.18 (18 UScents!). Nevertheless, even ifthe price remained at N36 pershare, if the Naira furtherdeclines to say N300=$1because of surplus naira, thereal value of this share wouldfall below 12 US cents.

The above narrative isindicative of the plight ofinvestors under the presentunstable and hazy economic

environment. Indeed, if inspite of an annual averageinflation rate of 10%, the Nairafurther crashes because of theever present burden ofsurplus Naira chasing dollarsrationed from CBN, the dollarexchange rate could rise toN300 or above against theNaira, such that another 50%may be rubbed off the dollarvalue of market capitalization.This is not a false cry of wolf,several countries who couldnot manage the same eternalburden of surplus cash havetravelled this path; indeedGhana, our sister nation inECOWAS suffered a steadydecline from one Cedi equalsone dollar to the present35,000 Cedis (or 3.5 NewGhana Cedis afterredenomination) to the dollar.Incidentally, in spite of mediareports of increasing oilrevenue and alleged bettereconomic management, theCedi lost almost 40% of itspurchasing value against thedollar in the last 12 months;thus unless, we arrest the rootcause of surplus cash , theNaira will inevitably travel thesame path to challenge thevirtue and economicsignificance of savings.Ultimately, since investmentsdepend on availability ofsavings, the rate ofinvestments will invariablyalso drop in response to thereduced level of savings.

Thus, the adverse impact ofspeculation, inflation, andunyielding Naira depreciationwill ultimately strangle andreduce the enthusiasm forfresh investments, so that theflow of new equity into marketwill also be reduced, while thealready listed existing sharesmay attract little interest froma suspicious andapprehensive public. In thisevent, the economy willunravel and deepen povertynationwide.

SAVE THE NAIRA, SAVENIGERIANS

Severalcountries whocould notmanage thesame eternalburden ofsurplus cashhave travelledthis path


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ANAMBRA State2011: Jonathan 1,145,169

Buhari 4,223Anambra was a state Jonathan

won with more than 99 per centin 2011 with 1,145,169 votes. Thepresident is believably headedfor another victory in the state in2015, but only fools will believethat the president could get thekind of victory he got four yearsago.

The momentum for Buhari hasbeen tempered in Anambra byinternal divisions within theBuhari campaign especiallyaround the personality of theleaders of the campaign. SenatorChris Ngige, who is leading thecampaign in the state, is not inthe good books of a handful ofmany other supporters.

Dr. Jonathan is also boosted bythe unqualified support he isreceiving from the AllProgressives Grand Alliance,APGA government in the state.Dr. Jonathan would winhandsomely in the state, Buhari

would not get 25 per cent but thebad news for the Jonathancampaign is that the swelled votewould not be obtained given theintroduction of the card reader.

Ebonyi2011: Jonathan 480,592 Buhari

1,025Jonathan got more than 99.5

per cent of the votes he got in2011 and was helped by the factthat Buhari practically did nothave an organisation in the stateand the state opposition leader,Senator Julius Ucha was drainedof resources.

However, with the reinventionof the opposition and the internaldiscord in the PDP that led to themovement of Governor MartinElechi’s supporters to LabourParty, the APC could be temptedto smell an opportunity. However,chances of that were as atweekend not viable given recentefforts by the president to keepElechi from being impeached.

Unless Elechi decides to playa rascal, Buhari will not get 25per cent in Ebonyi

IMODr. Jonathan got almost the

entire 1,406, 289 votes in ImoState in 2011. However, thedefeat of Ikedi Ohakim in thegovernorship election that tookplace about the same time by290,496 votes to 336,859 votes inthe same constituency has ledmany to believe that thepresidential election results mayhave been bloated. Given thatless than 600,000 persons votedin the governorship election hasresulted in questions aboutwhere the voters in thepresidential election came from.

With the opposition in controlof the state, Imo looks thebrightest opportunity for Buhariin the Southeast, but he wouldyet be lucky to smile home with40 per cent of the votes.

EnuguJonathan won here with

882,144 votes to Buhari’s 3753while Ribadu went home with1,755 votes.

The major players in the state

are Senator Ike Ekweremadu,the deputy president of theSenate and Governor SullivanChime who are both on thesurface rooting for thepresident. But given thewounds that the governorreceived and the fact that he hasno stake in the presidentialelection he could decide to payback the president with badcoins so that both of them couldretire from public life together.

Also to the advantage ofBuhari is the presence of FatherEjike Mbaka, who has openlyendorsed Buhari against thepresident.

The prospects of Buharigetting 25 per cent in Enuguare not impossible despite theefforts of Ekweremadu.

ABIAJonathan got 1,175,954 to the

3,608 votes Buhari received in2011. Though with theintroduction of the card readerthe prospects of Jonathangetting that many votes havebeen seriously reduced, butthere is little doubt he wouldeasily trounce Buhari in Abia.The closest opposition is APGAwhich has interestingly adoptedJonathan as its presidentialcandidate.

The factors against Buharicould only be sentimentsagainst the outgoingadministration and theslowdown of the economy whichhas affected businesses in thestate. Still, Buhari is notexpected to get 25 per cent inAbia.

Remarkably, unlike thesituation in many other stateswhere losers in the PDPgovernorship primariesdefected or went underground,many of those who lost out in

the PDP including Emeka Woguare fanatically working for the PDP.

DELTAJonathan won here with 1, 378,

851 in 2011. However, since thena number of political shifts andmiscalculations have been madeto cause a radical alteration of thepermutations.

While the PDP remains almostunified the humiliation thegovernor, Dr. EmmanuelUduaghan suffered even aftersurrendering his senatorial ticketand inability to position his ownman as governor has led some tobelieve he could seek vengeance.However, the governor has almostremained steadfastl in support ofthe Jonathan project.

Anyway, other issues includingthe reported overbearing attitudeof Jonathan’s Ijaw kinsmen whichhas led to the repeatedpostponement of thegroundbreaking of the EPZ in thestate, and the sidelining of theUrhobo may hurt Jonathan .

Buhari is, however, not helpedby the fact that his governorshipcandidate in the state, OtegaEmerhor was not universallyaccepted by the party leaders. Thatnonetheless, Jonathan is no longerlooked at as “our brother” by thenon-Ijaws, a situation that has putBuhari in good look to get at least30 per cent of the votes in Delta.

EDO2011: Jonathan 542, 173 Buhari

17,795The results in 2011 would be of

little consequence in 2015 giventhat Governor Adams Oshiomholepractically sat on the fence that year.In 2015 the comrade governor hastaken the Buhari project as apersonal one. The challenges thathave faced the Jonathanadministration make it a temptingground for Buhari to pull awayvictory. However, the PDP ismarshalling several personalitiesincluding Chief Tony Anenih,Chief Tom Ikimi among others tohelp the president. Edo is too closeto call.

BAYELSA504,811 691.Buhari got only 691 votes last

time. He is destined to do bettergiven the internal discord in thestate chapter of the PDP but itwould be a foolish guess to say hecould score more than 5 per centof the votes in the state.

CROSS RIVER2011 Jonathan 709,382 Buhari

4,002Not much of change is expected

for Buhari in Cross River given theabsence of a strong internal partyin the state. Jonathan should scorea minimum of 80 per cent of thevotes in Cross River. However, likein many other states the totalnumber of votes is expected to besuppressed by the anti-riggingdevice, card reader.

AKWA IBOM2011: Jonathan 1,165,629 Buhari

5,348Jonathan is expected to be

seriously challenged in Akwa Ibom

POLLS: The battle on groundPRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan, the presidential candidate of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, and his major rival, Muhammadu Buhari of the AllProgressives Congress, APC, have remarkably rewritten former assumptionsputting the contest into what has become the most competitive election since thereturn of democratic rule in 1999. It is a battle being fought on every inch ofNigerian territory. Buhari, who in his former contests practically ignored severalareas, is going out meeting and soliciting for votes from all over the country.Besides the strategic meeting with governors, he is also expected to address theconcerns of traders in Onitsha. President Jonathan, on the other hand, haspractically laid siege on the Southwest with the prospect of winning over thepeople of the region. A state by state detail of the battle on the ground ispresented hereunder.

By Our Reporters

The momentum forBuhari has beentempered inAnambra by internaldivisions within theBuhari campaignespecially around thepersonality of theleaders of thecampaign.


Continued on page 53

by the support Buhari is gettingfrom the machine transferred tohim by the APC governorshipcandidate, Umana Umana. Thepopularity Umana is getting andthe largely unexpressed attitudeof the Ibibio population towardsGovernor Godswill Akpabiowould pose serious dangers forthe president.

If the election goes smoothly,the president will win but Buhariwould get more than 25 per centof the votes.

RIVERS2011 Jonathan 1, 817, 762

Buhari 13,182This is where the president’s

political problems started and itwould come to a head in six daystime as the president again seeksthe support of his in-laws.

The PDP has traditionallyharvested an approximate twomillion votes in presidential andgovernorship elections in RiversState and that was when the PDPwas in control of the GovernmentHouse, Port Harcourt, wheremany of the winning strategieswere formulated. But with theAPC now in control of theGovernment House the PDP’sleverage has been greatlydiminished.

The prospects of GovernorChibuke Amaechi deliveringRivers to Buhari are daunting asthe president is expected to winagain, but with a significantlysuppressed number of votes. Thevotes will count if all goes welland the traditional two millionvotes will not be available to thePDP candidate. Buhari will smilehome and be satisfied with atleast 30 per cent of the votes.

LAGOSJonathan 1, 281, 688; Buhari

189, 983; Ribadu 427, 000Buhari took third in 2011

largely on account of the supportRibadu got from the APCmachine in Lagos. But with thesame support now actively beingshifted to Buhari and given thechallenges of the president andthe Osinbajo factor, the presidentis in danger of losing Lagos Stateto Buhari.

The president was politicallyshrewd to push forward apopular governorship candidatein the person of Jimi Agbaje,however, that is not going to beof much help to him given theerosion of the Islamic label onBuhari and the momentum hehas received. Lagos is too closeto call.

The president would be helpedin Lagos by the sentiments of thevast Igbo population, majority ofwho are chorusing for him.

OGUNThis is a state the president won

in 2011, but he would need amiracle to help him overcome thechallenges against him in 2015.Besides the strong supportBuhari is getting from GovernorIbikunle Amosun, the presidentis not helped by the disarray thatis in the state chapter of the PDP.

Even though he is not much of

an asset on voting day, formerPresident Olusegun Obasanjo isfrom Ogun State and would doeverything to ensure the rejectionof his one time political godson.

Buhari is projected to winOgun convincingly and thepresident would be happy goingaway with 40 per cent of thevotes.

OSUNThis was the only southern

state the president lost in 2011and is headed towards the samedirection in 2015 despite theincreasing challenges facing theRauf Aregbesola administrationin Osogbo, notably the growingdifficulties in payment of salaries.

The APC is, however, tellingwhoever cares to listen that manyof the challenges they are havingare coming from Jonathan inAbuja.

Dr. Jonathan is projected toscore about 35 per cent of the

about 52 per cent of the votes in2011 and that was when a PDPgovernment was in office. Withthe reverse the case now and thechallenges in office around thepresident, his ability to get theplurality of 2011 is in seriousdoubt. The president’s chanceswere not helped last week aftera senior chief in Ibadan came outto endorse Buhari. Besides, thePDP seems to be doing well incovering its internal fractures,but that fact is obvious to manypeople.

EKITIThe chances of the president

in Ekiti have been boosted by thefanatical support he is receivingfrom Governor Ayodele Fayose.However, the support is almostmatched by the recentreconciliation between Dr.Fayemi and Hon. OpeyemiBamidele who are both workingfor Buhari. Nevertheless, there

are still mutterings that the oldprogressives allegedly shut outby Dr. Fayemi while in office arestill to be fully reintegrated intothe APC.

Whatever, Ekiti is too close tocall.

ONDOThis is a state that ordinarily

should go to Dr. Jonathan giventhe dominance of GovernorSegun Mimiko in the affairs ofthe state. However, as with manysecond term office holders, thegovernor has caught thesyndrome and his politicalinvincibility once the subject ofpolitical folklore is no longertaken for granted. Dr. Jonathanwill win handsomely in Ondo,but Buhari is in good position toget 25 per cent.

KWARAThe choice of a relatively

unpopular governorshipcandidate has not done the PDPgood in Kwara. Many of thegovernorship aspirants whowere in better position toMarshall the votes for thepresident are looking from thesidelines and so, givingopportunity for Senator BukolaSaraki to handsomely deliverKwara to the APC presidentialcandidate.

BENUEIs a state that Buhari has never

won in a presidential election,however, the troubles of the PDPadministration and the choice bythe APC of a grassrootsgovernorship candidate hasopened up the state to battle.Many voters could translate theirfury at the non payment ofsalaries to the president.

Benue is too close to call.

PLATEAUThis is a traditional PDP state

and Jonathan is expected to win

•Jonathan

POLLS: The battle on ground

•Buhari

Even though he isnot much of anasset on voting day,former PresidentOlusegun Obasanjois from Ogun Stateand would doeverything toensure the rejectionof his one timepolitical godson

LEANING TOWARDS BUHARI

AbiaAkwa IbomAnambraBayelsaCross RiverDeltaEbonyiEnuguKogiNasarawaPlateauRiversTarabaOndo

TOO CLOSE TO CALL LEANING TOWARDS JONATHAN

AdamawaBauchi,Borno,GombeJigawaKaduna,Kano,KatsinaKebbiKwaraNigerOgunOsunOyoYobeSokotoZamfara

BenueEdoImoLagosEkiti

votes in the state.

OYOJonathan 484, 758 Buhari 92,

396 Ribadu 252, 240Jonathan won in Oyo with



Continues from page 52

IT is imperative for the voters to know that no person shallbe allowed to vote at any Polling Unit other than where he/she had registered and was duly accredited.

Accreditation begins at 8 am and ends by 1 pm or until thelast person on the queue before 1 pm is accredited. After that,voting commences at 1:30 pm or whenever the accreditationprocess ends.

The Presiding Officer, after setting up the Polling Unit layoutin the approved manner shall explain the voting procedure tothe voters by informing them that the voting process is aboutto begin.

The presiding officer is expected to at this point remind thepeople that the voting in the unit is for only those thatregistered there as well as haven been accredited.

The presiding officer will equally educate the voters on whatthey should be issued with including; a stamped, signed anddated ballot paper because if any of these is mistakenly omitted,the person’s vote would be rejected and would not count.

When casting the vote, it is important that the voter thumb-prints in only one box, that is the box of his or her chosenparty, also a ballot paper folded vertically inward would begiven to the voter, it is highly important that the voter folds itin the same manner after thumb-printing and place it in theballot box. This is to ensure that the thumb-print does notsmear on another party and render the vote invalid.

The voter must also be very careful not to write anything ormake any other mark on the ballot except for his or her thumb-print as anything to the contrary will invalidate the vote.

The presiding officer while maintaining the first come, firstserved order, should however give priority to the physicallychallenged persons, nursing mothers and the elderly whocannot stay long on the queue.

Also he must check the cuticle of the appropriate finger/thumb-nail of the voter to confirm that he or she has beenaccredited and received the number tag for easy location ofvoter ’s name on the Register.

Voting procedure for2015 general elections

By Jude Opara

•Ballot box

convincingly. However, Buhariwould for the first time make aninroad as he taps on thegroundswell of misgivingsagainst Governor Jonah Jang.Such grudges include irregularpayment of salaries and thegovernor’s decision to discardthe zoning principle in the choiceof his successor.

Many leading politicalstakeholders on the plateau areseriously embittered by theoutgoing governor’s decision toenthrone someone from hissenatorial constituency and hisBerom tribe as his successor.Should the misgivings translatefully into votes, Jonathan couldbe in trouble.

NIGERJonathan lost here in 2011 and

despite the alleged schemes ofsome powerful generals in thestate to stop Buhari and returnthe president, it would be adifficult task. The failure of theoutgoing governor to adequatelydeliver democracy dividends is,of course, no help.

Governor Babangida Aliyuwould be desperate for Jonathanto win despite his assertions inthe past that the president signeda one term agreement. Victory forJonathan would position Dr.Aliyu to run the presidentialcontest in 2019.

Given the judicial interpretationof the senatorial election that tookplace in Aliyu’s senatorialconstituency that was won by theAPC, the chances of Buhariwinning are convincing.

NASARAWAThe president won in

Nasarawa last time, but that waswhen a PDP governor was inoffice. Now with an APCgovernor in office, the challengesagainst the president areobvious. The unity in the PDPwas recently broken with thedefection of Labran Maku toAPGA. But that nonetheless,Nasarawa is too close to call.

KADUNAThe president lost his running

mate’s state last time. The sameconfiguration is in place the onlydifference is that Buhari has abetter organisation in 2015 thanhe had in 2011.

Kaduna, as ever, remains tooclose to call and it is expectedthat people may vote accordingto religious lines.

Kaduna too close to call.

KANOBuhari won handsomely here

in 2011 and is expected to do thesame thing. The president’srecruitment of his 2011 rival,Shekarau would do little tochange the tide against him.

KATSINAThis is Buhari's homeland and

he is expected to sail comfortablyto victory here. Jonathan is not

expected to get much from here.

JIGAWAGovernor Sule Lamido is

working seriously to deliverJonathan in Jigawa. In 2011,Jonathan narrowly missedgetting 25 per cent in Jigawa. Itis possible for the president to getthat figure this time.

KEBBI2011: Jonathan 369, 198;

Buhari 501, 453The president did well by

scoring more than 25 per cent inKebbi last time and he isprojected to get about the samefigure this time.

ZAMFARA2011: Jonathan 238, 980 Buhari

624, 515Buhari defeated Jonathan

without much of an organisationin 2011 in Zamfara and he isexpected to do the same this time.

SOKOTO2011: Jonathan 309, 057;

Buhari 540, 769In 2011, Jonathan was helped

by the sentiments of the rulingPDP in the state. But given thediscord that followed and theparting of ways, the presidentwould have to face the seriouschallenge to get the 36 per centhe scored last time in the state.

BAUCHIJonathan 258,000 Buhari 1,

300,000.This was the state where the

president’s convoy was peltedwith stones and in the account ofGovernor Isa Yuguda, those whopelted him were renegade PDP

members.The president’s recent

enthusiasm in other parts of thecountry is not helped by thedivision in the ranks of the PDPlargely between the governorand the FCT minister, SenatorBala Mohammed. Though theyclaim to be working together,there are undergroundinsinuations that one party is notputting all his eggs in one basket.

ADAMAWA2011: Jonathan 508,314 Buhari

344,526The president’s victory here in

2011 could ordinary be replicatedgiven the fact that unlike 2011when he did it Ribadu, a son ofthe soil is not running. However,the Boko Haram factor is an issuefor many people who arequestioning the rationale it tookthe president until election timeto decisively rid the state of theterrorists.

Adamawa is too close to call.

GOMBE2011: Jonathan 290,347 Buhari

459, 898Buhari won in 2011 despite the

presence of a strong governor,Danjuma Goje who at that timewas against him. With Goje nowseriously backing him, itordinarily would be a plus for theAPC candidate. However, theincumbent governor, IbarahimDamkwambo is the Northeastcoordinator for Jonathan and isexpected to put up a hard battlefor the president especially as hisre-election battle comes up in twoweeks time after the presidentialelection.

Buhari is expected to win andJonathan should get more than25 per cent.

TARABA2011: Jonathan 451,354 Buhari

257,986Jonathan won here in 2011 and

is expected to win again despitethe internal divisions that havelately arisen within the statechapter of the PDP.

YOBE2011 Jonathan 117,128 Buhari

337, 537Buhari won Yobe and is

expected to win again.Sentiments against thepresident’s handling of the BokoHaram crisis will not be a goodomen for the president in Yobe.

However, one seriouschallenge for Buhari is theperceived failures of theincumbent governor in providingmorale to the people of the statein the face of the crisis.

BORNO2011: Jonathan 207, 075 Buhari

909,763Buhari won handsomely in

2011 and is expected to do thesame despite the changedpermutations that have seen theformer governor, Senator AliSheriff (SAS) cross over tosupport the president in 2015.

The president losthis running mate’sstate last time. Thesame configurationis in place the onlydifference is thatBuhari has a betterorganisation in2015 than he hadin 2011

2015 POLLS: The battle on ground

CMYK

54 — VANGUARD, MONDAY, MARCH 23 , 2015

Iran is building nuclear bomb attheir own peril —CIAIRAN would build a

nuclear bomb “attheir own peril” ifnuclear talks with theUnited States and otherleading countries falter,Central IntelligenceAgency Director JohnBrennan said yesterday.

“I think they realizethat there’s going to betremendous costs andconsequences andimplications if they wereto decide to go for a‘breakout,’” Brennansaid on “Fox Newsyesterday ,” referringIran amassing enough ofthe materials necessary tobuild a nuclear bombrather than use thosematerials for civil energy

“There are a number ofthings that the UnitedStates has available to itto prevent Iran fromgetting a bomb,”Brennan said. “PresidentObama has made it veryclear that we are goingto prevent Iran fromhaving that type ofnuclear weapon thatthey may have beengoing on track to obtain.So if they decide to godown that route theyknow that they will do soat their own peril.”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (2nd L) and German Foreign MinisterFrank Walter Steinmeier (R) attend a meeting about the recently concludedround of negotiations with Iran over Iran’s nuclear program with their British,French and European Union counterparts in London, England March 21,2015

YYYYYemeni city Temeni city Temeni city Temeni city Temeni city Taiz ‘seized baiz ‘seized baiz ‘seized baiz ‘seized baiz ‘seized by Shia rebels’y Shia rebels’y Shia rebels’y Shia rebels’y Shia rebels’

AHEAD of the presidential election

holding March 28, sev-eral biased and self-serving predictionshave inundated the po-litical space. The twokey candidates are Pres-ident GoodluckJonathan of the rulingPeoples’ DemocraticParty (PDP) and Gen-eral Muhammadu Bu-hari of the oppositionAll Progressives Con-gress (APC).

Unfortunately, the sci-ence of poll predictionis still in infancy hereand not surprisinglymuch of the local‘prophecies’ are meredrivel. This is why therecent survey by UK-based Kevin, Charlyn &Kimberly Associates, aresearch and politicalrisk consultancy firmwhich projected victoryin the March 28 poll forPresident GoodluckJonathan deservessome commentary.

The firm which utilizeda combination of whatit called “monkey sur-vey” and “Political RiskIndex” to forecast theelection projected thatPresident Jonathan willwin by 13 per cent prob-ability if everything re-mains constant.

Kevin, Charlyn & Kim-berly Associates’ surveyrationale and parame-ters are straightforwardand sophisticated. Thiswas properly communi-cated to Nigerians byMr. O.C Vince, Kevin,Charlyn & Kimberly As-sociates’ Vice Presidentfor West Africa.

His words: “Manypeople around theworld, including poli-tics and business lead-ers are focused on Ni-geria.

They want to see howthe ongoing democrat-ic process is managed.Hopefully our non-par-tisan efforts will helpstrengthen democracy,encourage peaceful

and credible electionand enable the differentcontending partiesmanage their finalpush towards the May28 Presidential Elec-tion as scheduled.”

Vince stated his firmhad no partisan inter-est in the outcome ofthe election as it is leftfor the people of Niger-ia to decide and ex-plained it decided toconduct the survey be-cause of the generalglobal interest the Ni-geria election has gen-erated. This clarifica-tion was very impor-tant.

According to the Brit-on, his firm randomlyconducted a nation-wide opinion poll fo-cusing on the six geo-political regions of Ni-geria: North east,North-West, North-Central, South-West,South-East and South-South. In this connec-tion, the sampled pop-ulation were askedthree questions center-ing on human rights,the economy and secu-rity.

As it is not possible toexhaust the researchbody’s survey content,suffice it to touch on afew here. “BetweenGeneral Buhari andPresident GoodluckJonathan, who wouldbest protect the funda-mental human rights ofNigerians? WhileAPC’s Buhari scored 30per cent Jonathanscored 70 per cent.

“Between the elec-tions holding in Febru-ary 14 as previouslyscheduled and March28 as postponed, whichdate do you feel saferto participate in thepresidential election?35 per cent think theelection should havebeen held on February14 as scheduled while65 per cent think theMarch 28 new date isa safer and more se-cured date.”

These facts unearthedby UK’s Kevin, Charlyn& Kimberly Associatessimply go to confirmthe direction the March28 poll will go.

Unfortunately, in anenvironment wheretruth is the first casu-alty in political elec-tions, the countries se-curity agencies must beprepared to safeguardNigeria. We have hadenough bloody post-election violence. Poli-ticians who instigatethis must also be madeto pay heavily.

Jonathan win: UK firm’ssurvey on target

By LewisChukwuma

Many peoplearound theworld,includingpolitics andbusinessleaders arefocused onNigeria

Anti-Houthi protesters took to the streets of Taiz onSaturday and yesterday.

PARTS of Yemen’sthird largest city

Taiz have been seized byShia rebels, reports quot-ing security officials say.

The city’s airport wasamong the areas taken byHouthi insurgents.Meanwhile, there hasbeen mounting violenceby rival armed groups inYemen, including theHouthis, al-Qaeda and

Islamic State militants.President Abdrabbuh

Mansour Hadi was over-thrown by Houthis inFebruary and fled fromthe capital, Sanaa, to thesouthern city of Aden.

On Saturday, the USsaid it was withdrawingits troops from the coun-try due to the worseningsecurity situation.

Houthi fighters dressedin military uniform couldbe seen arriving at theairport in Taiz and pa-trolling parts of the city,eyewitnesses said.

Dozens of tanks andmilitary vehicles werereported to be headingfrom north Yemen to-wards Taiz, which liesbetween Sanaa and

Aden.Some local residents

took to the streets to pro-test against the Houthipresence, promptingrebels to fire into the airto disperse them.

The UN Security Coun-cil had held an emer-gency meeting on Yem-en’s security situationyesterday

The rebels declared anew government in Feb-ruary and said a transi-tional five-member pres-idential council wouldreplace President Hadi.

However, the Houthisare minority Shia fromthe north, and their dec-laration has not been rec-ognised by Sunni andsouthern leaders.

Syria helicopter crashes in rebel-held Idlib

A SYRIAN government helicopter

has crashed in a rebel-held area in the coun-try’s north-west, activistshave said.

The helicopter wentdown in Jabal al-Zawiyain Idlib province, an areaheld by opposition fight-ers, including those from

al-Nusra Front, the Syri-an Observatory for Hu-man Rights reported.

Four crew memberswere captured, while afifth was killed, thegroup said.

Syria’s civil war, whichbegan four years ago,has killed more than200,000 Syrians and dis-

placed 11 million.The helicopter was

forced to carry out an“emergency landing dueto technical failure” nearthe northern town ofMaarat al-Numan, theUK-based observatorysaid.

There were at least sixcrew members on board,

and the fate of the sixthmember is unknown, itadded.

Syrian state televisionconfirmed that an armyhelicopter made an emer-gency landing in north-west Syria, and said asearch for the crew mem-bers was underway, Re-uters reported.

Netanyahu allies blameUS criticism onmisunderstanding

BENJAMIN Netan- yahu’s allies yes-

terday acknowledgedthat his election-eve dis-avowal of a Palestinianstate had caused a riftwith the White House,but blamed U.S. Presi-dent Barack Obama’sunprecedented criticismon a misunderstanding.

In the United States,where relations withNetanyahu have becomea partisan issue aftergenerations in whichsupport for Israel was apoint of bipartisan unity,Republican Senator JohnMcCain said Obama

should get over his “tem-per tantrum”.

The Israeli prime min-ister pledged on the eveof his re-election victorylast week that therewould never be a Pales-tinian state while he isprime minister.

The remarks werewidely interpreted as arejection of the “two-state solution” that hasbeen the basis of decadesof talks to end the Pales-tinian-Israeli conflict,brokered by successiveU.S. Republican andDemocratic administra-tions alike.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR


CMYK


APC presidential rally in Lafia, Nasarawa State

2015 presidential election debate in Abuja

General Muhammadu Buhari (middle), flanked by the Nasarawa State, GovernorAl-Makura; former Governor of Nasarawa State, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, andAPC chieftain, Senator Sirika Hadi, on arrival at North Centreal APC zonal rally, atLafia, Nasarawa State, weekend.

General Muhammadu Buhari, greeting a crowd.

Cross section of people with disabilities, other supporters atthe rally.

From left, Audu Abubakar, former Gov of Kogi , APC Women Leader Hajiya HamatuSaratu Falmata; former Governor Kwara State, Senator Bukola Saraki; APC PresidentialCandidate, General Buhari, and others.

Cross section of guests.President Jonathan and others, at 2015 presidential election debate in Abuja. Photos: StateHouse

President Jonathan visits Kano, Daura

President Goodluck Jonathan, cutting the tape to inaugurate fly-over named after the late Emir ofKano, Ado Bayero, at Kundila Round-about, Kano, Saturday. With him are, from left, Minister ofTransport, Senator Idris Umar; Minister of Works, Mr. Mike Onolomemen; Senator Basheer Lado,and others. Photos: State Hous

President Jonathan, receiving a horse from the Emir ofDaura, Katsina State, Alhaji Faruk Umar, during thePresident's visit to Daura Emirate Council, weekend.


CMYK


MTN boosts Christian subscribers’faith with new proposition

LAGOS — IN its bid toensure that its Christiansubscribers get connectedto their faith on daily basis,telecommunications giant,MTN, has rolled outvarious life-enriching andspirit-filled ChristianValue Added Services(VAS) offerings.

These offerings,according to MTN, willenable Christian faithfulhave easy access to dailydevotionals, Bible quotes,children prayers, sermons,songs, prayers, prayerpoints, hymns, callertunezand other spirituallyuplifting content, that willkeep them connected totheir faith on a daily basis.

In a release, ChiefMarketing Officer of MTN,Mr. Olubayo Adekanmbi,explained that the strategiccrux for the initiative wasaimed at uplifting andencouraging subscribers toget closer to God throughthe company’s bold newdigital Christian VAS.

According to him, “we arecommitted to the total well-being of our customers aswe strive to make their livesbetter through ourpropositions, products andvalue-added services.

“The MTN ChristianService providessubscribers with life-changing prayers andprayer points from anointedmen of God; prayers forchildren, inspirationalmessages from spiritualleaders, daily bible verses,

praise and worship songs,hymns, ChristianCallertunez and otherspi r i tua l -enr ichingcontents to keep us in-tunewith God every day.Subscribers can accessthese offerings by dialing797 on their mobile phonesand follow the voiceprompt.”

On the importance of theMTN Christian Service

during the Lenten season,Adekanmbi said: “This isa way of showing ourcommitment to ouresteemed customers ofChristian faith byconnecting them at thisperiod of spiritualreflection and appreciationfor the sacrifice JesusChrist made on the crossof Calvary (laying downhis life for mankind).

Clark's wife empowers Oguncentral residents

AS part of herm o n t h l y

e m p o w e r m e n tprogramme for thebenefit of residents ofOgun Central Senatorialdistrict, Dr. BisolaSodipo-Clark hasembarked on distributionof 200,000 litres ofkerosene to helpameliorate theexpenditure profile ofher people, owing to therecent inflation as aresult of the fall of oilprices in theinternational market.

She also said thekerosene would helpreduce felling of treeswhich will in turnimprove the eco-systemin the state.

The distribution whichcommenced over theweekend is co-sponsored by the AdeifeAkinola Foundation

founded by Mrs. Sodipo-Clark.

Hundreds of Abeokutaresidents thronged theseveral points ofdistribution, while otherlocal government areasshall be visited in thecause of the week withfree gallons of keroseneand other materials forthe benefit of Nigerians.

Dr. Sodipo-Clark who ismarried to Ijaw leader,Chief Edwin Clark, hasstated that the kerosenedistribution was one outof many projects herfoundation has vowed toundertake for free in thecoming weeks, monthsand years.

Ukwuanireiteratessupport forOchei’scandidacy

THE people ofUmuaja, Umutu,

Ebedei, Umukwatta andEziokpor in UkwuaniLocal Government Areaof Delta State havedeclared their support forMr. Victor Ochei, AccordParty ’s Delta NorthSenatorial zonecandidate.

They made theirposition known duringOchei’s interactivesessions with theelectorate in the localgovernment area.

Ochei, the formerSpeaker, Delta StateHouse of Assembly,informed the people thathis long-standingrelationship with thelocality will spur him tobring more criticalinfrastructural projects.

He said he would bringpositive change indiverse spheres ofhuman endeavour to thepeople.


fellow wrestler OscarGutierrez, known asformer WWE star ReyMysterio Jr., accordingto video of the match ina municipal auditoriumin Tijuana.

The match continuedfor almost two minutesbefore other participantsand the referee realizedAguayo was seriouslyinjured and tended tohim. He was taken to ahospital a block awayand died about 1:30a.m., prosecutor ’sspokesman Raul Gutier-rez said.

WrestlerContinued from BP

“We are not supposedto lose the gamewoefully as we did. Thereferee contributed tothe heavy loss,” Loutealleged.

“Mohgreb’s first goalwas a clear offside, andhe allowed it. We thenhad a clear penaltyappeal when the gamewas 3-0 but he turned itdown. Had it beenawarded and we scored,it could have changedthe course of the game.”

A hat-trick fromMouhcine Iajour was allthe Moroccanchampions needed tothrash Pillars in a firstround, first leg clash onSaturday.

The former RajaCasablanca forwardopened the scoring inthe 14th minute, hedoubled his team’s leadin the 27th minute andeight minutes later, hecompleted his hat-trick.

Pillars

Continued from BP

Moghreb’s fourth goalwas scored in the 90thminute.

Pillars now need towin by at least 5-0 inreturn leg in Kano toadvance to the nextround of thecompetition.

Hat-trick hero Iajourwas part of WydadCasablanca team whoeliminated Pillars in the2013 edition of this samecompetition.

Pillar started the gamewell initiating attacksbut could not find thecutting edge.

Reuben Ogbonnayawas close to goal whenhis free kick in the 18minute missed by awhisker.

The star for Pillars inthis encounter was RabiuAli, who shone inmidfield.

Tony Edjomariegwewas brought down atsome point in the secondhalf but Pillars appeal fora penalty was ignored bythe referee.

Continued from BP

By Ben Efe

FORMER nationalh e p t a t h l o n

champion, PatienceItanyi has called on theAthletics Federation ofNigeria to stop paradingover-aged athletes atlocal and internationalmeets, as this wasinimical to thedevelopment of thesport.

Itanyi, was once AFNathletes’ representativein the USA and hashelped to convinceNigerian-born athletesin America to come backhome and run for theirfatherland. She arguedthat there wereabundant grassrootstalents in the countryand the AFN shouldstrive to discover newfaces every calendaryear rather than rely onthe same faces in twoconsecutive Africanjuniors as was witnessedat African Juniorchampionships inEthiopia.

“It is quite a shamethat we are ratherconcerned aboutwinning and notdevelopment. How canwe explain that anathlete who won gold atthe 2013 African junior,the 2014 World juniorand the 2014Commonwealth Gamesis still running at the2015 African junior?

“Even if these athletesare still within the agelimit once they have

Stop fielding over-ageathletes, Itanyi warns AFN

proved themselvescapable at the seniorlevel they should moveon. There are so manyundiscovered talents inNigeria and here in theUSA that can be calledupon to represent thecountry. By so doing, wewill be expanding ourpool of youngathletes,”said Itanyiwho held the nationalheptathlon record,before it was broken byUhunoma NaomiOsazuwa in May 2012with 6049 points.

Itanyi whorepresented Nigeria inthe long jump at theWorld Championships1995 and 2000 Olympicsgames urged Nigerianofficials to do their bestin the development ofathletics as the countrywas a force to bereckoned with incontinental and worldcontests.

Oreva Edafe... Nigerianjunior long jumpchampion

FORMER SuperEagles captain,

Joseph Yobo hasexonerated the playersfrom blame over thebonus row thatovershadowed Nigeria’sparticipation at the 2014FIFA World Cup.

Soon after the teamqualified for the secondround after the groupmatches, Super Eaglesplayers embarked on aprotest, refusing to train,even when the matchimpending againstFrance was less thantwenty four hours away.

But the formerFenerbahce of Turkeydefender said those whocriticise the players,calling them selfish wereunfair. “ The problem iswhen you have agreedsomething with peoplethen make it happen. Atthe World Cup or duringbonus rows, it was not

Blame NFF for Brazil 2014 bonus row – Yobo

about the money for someplayers but the motivebehind it.

“As a captain myconcern was for some ofthe local players andyoungsters, who travelledthousands of miles,sacrifice themselves ondodgy planes and gave

their all on the pitch.Those of us playing inEurope for years, by thegrace of God, $10,000 isnot our problem but thoseplaying at home werebeing deprived anincentive promised.”

Yobo is still proud of his100 caps, the first

Nigerian to achieve thatfeat. “ It’s amazing whenyou look back and seehow far you’ve come. Ithink I probably didn’trealise how important itwas until I quitinternational football. Ithink it’s a greatachievement.”

He is not envious ofVincent Enyeama, hislong time former assistantwho, with 99 caps isthreatening his record. “Iam very happy forEnyeama, congratulationsto him. He’s a greatgoalkeeper. He has histime. We took a differentroute. He had to start fromthe bench, coming off andfighting for his placebefore he became a superregular. I started and justcontinued. We startedabout the same time soI’m very happy that he’smatching the record andI hope he can break all therecords because hedeserves it.”

Zambia

out of their shell.“If they (Zambia) could

come here and get adraw, we could go thereand beat them 2-0. Weare not going to relent;we will give our best inthe second leg.

“We did very well. Wekept possession andcreated chances in thefirst half.

“The fact that we didnot score does not meanthis is a bad team. Weonly have to improve inour finishing,” Siasiasaid at the post-matchpress conference.

The second leg inZambia comes up in twoweeks.

•Yobo

By Jacob Ajom

•Mrs Yetunde Oni, Head Commercial Clients, StandardChartered Bank (3rd left), presenting the Trophy toCaptain of Super Seven Football Club, Ojo BabatundeDamilola, the winner of the just concluded StandardChartered Road to Anfield 2015 competition.

Leopold Sedar Seng-hor Stadium in Dakar.

Over 40,000 fans wereat the match venue mostof them supporting thehome side. Sidy Sarrwas the first to scare theNigerians with a longrange shot which wascomfortably gathered byJoshua Enaholo.

Flying Eagles gradual-ly began to settle downto their usual free flow-ing game and utilisedthe runs of captain MusaMuhammed. They weresoon in front through amoment of pure magicfrom Bernard Bulbwa inthe 20th minute.

Bulbwa showed greatskills outside the boxbefore unleashing anunstoppable screamer tothe top corner of the net.It was a candidate forthe goal of the tourna-ment. Flying Eaglesplayed a tactical gameand tried to exploit theweak area of the hosts.

Despite leading one-nil as at 31 minutes,coach Manu Garba keptdishing out instructionsto his wards from thesideline.

F/EaglesContinued from BP

CRANES of Ugan- dan coach, Micho

Sredojevic said his teamwill give the Super Ea-gles a tough test in theirMarch 26 Internationalfriendly at the Uyo Sta-dium in Akwa IbomState.

The 45 years old Ser-bian who has been incharge of the Ugandanteam since 2013 statedthat though they have alot of respect for the Ea-gles, his wards will be inno mood to be rolledover as Uganda was us-ing the match to set thetone for the 2017 AfricanNations Cup and WorldCup qualifiers startingin June.

“Nigeria has big nameplayers. I watched six of

Ugandan coach aims tocage Eagles

them at the weekend inBig European games.

“They deserve respectbut not over respect aswe need to think aboutourselves, have self-re-spect and most impor-tantly, check where ourplayers making the trav-elling team are atpresent - in mental,physical, technical andtactical aspect.

*Sredojevic


,

CAF clublicensing system

,Our football has been asubject of so muchridicule in Africa that it washigh time the decline wasarrested

PERMIT me to go back to the seminar I attendedlast week in Cairo and its attendant

coincidences.The CAF Club Licensing System (Already

operational in FIFA and UEFA) is a bold attemptaimed at professionalizing clubs in Africa.

Its objectives as found in the CAF Club LicensingRegulations include but not limited to

•Promoting and improving the quality and thelevel of all football aspects in Africa.

•Ensuring that the clubs have the appropriateinfrastructure, knowledge and application in respectof management and organization

•Adapting and improving the clubs sportinginfrastructure

•Improving the economical and financial capacityof the clubs, through proper corporate governanceand control.

•Ensuring and guaranteeing the continuity of theinternational competitions of clubs during theseason.

•Allowing the parallel development andcomparison amongst the clubs by ensuring thenecessary compliance in terms of financial, sporting,legal, administrative and infrastructure criteria etcetc

Very loaded and instructive, if you ask me.As a CAF Instructor on Club Licensing, one of the

six in Nigeria, I set out to Egypt last week andcoincidentally came across officials and players ofDolphins Football Club who regrettably had spentthe night at the airport because they had missedtheir flight the day before. (Five minutes drive fromthe airport are hotels that charge as less as fivethousand naira a night).

In a chat with Coach Eguma, we concluded that alot of things were wrong and that it was a pity thatthey were found in Nigeria by noon on the eve ofan international match in far away Tunisia. Worse,their flight was not direct as they still had to transitin Dubai.

On getting to Cairo, news filtered in that Dolphinsgot to Tunis late (of course) and were walked overby Club Africain.

This, was the kernel of Club Licensing andDolphins case became a case study throughout ourstay in Cairo to the chagrin of the NigerianInstructors ( General Oneya, Mazi Uchegbulam, Dr.Ojo-Oba, Samson Adamu).

An important feature of the Club LicensingCriteria is that Member Associations are responsiblefor granting licenses. In this case, the NigeriaFootball Federation as Licensor is the body thatoperates the Licensing System and grants thenecessary license.

Don’t forget that the regulations also stipulate that“ If the License applicant (Club) does not fulfill any‘A’ criteria requirements, then it cannot be granteda license to enter the CAF inter club competitions.

We arrived Cairo to the preliminary report, that ofassessing those Member Associations that havefulfilled necessary criteria in advancing the ClubLicensing development. Incidentally the NFFranked high on the table.

According to documents made available to us,“NFF has inserted the Statutory Club LicensingClauses in its Statutes, it has sent out theregulations, it has set up the Decision making bodies(First Instance Body (FIB) and Appeal Body (AB)it has confirmed organizing seminars for clubs

especially in the premier league and it has confirmedappointing a Club Licensing Manager (CLM). Thatofficial who is saddled with running all the ClubLicensing affairs in the Member Association.

Incidentally while NFF claims to have appointeda CLM, those countries that are Club Licensingmodels like Algeria, South Africa are yet to do so.

The argument then was, if the NFF has done thismuch and gotten this far, how come one of its clubscould be so naïve in the approach to an internationalfixture?

With CAF still investigating the circumstances oftheir walk over, we (Nigerians Instructors) decidedto keep mum, knowing quite well that the story backhome was one that could shock Africa especiallythose countries like South Africa, Algeria, Egypt (AlAhly has a register of 50 million card carrying andfee paying Supporters!) Morocco, Tunisia etc.

Briefly, two days into the seminar, I got into myroom Tuesday evening and sent a release callingfor a probe of the Dolphins Shame. This was onecase too many. Our football has been a subject of somuch ridicule in Africa that it was high time thedecline was arrested.

While at it how can I forget the embarrassmentsuffered by Kano Pillars in Sudan? According toAlhaji Ibrahim Galadima the club got to Sudan todiscover that the new CAF Regulations mandatingclubs to make their own accommodation and feedingarrangements had not been passed on to the clubs,yet the NFF claimed to have had a seminar with theclubs prior to their continental assignments!

So Pillars arrived Sudan and waited for the hoststo take them to their hotel and the informed hostswaited for them to direct them to the hotel they(Pillars) had reserved according to the latestregulations! DON’T LAUGH.

Briefly, never again. Let us arrest this ugly andreoccurring issue NOW.

The return of Keshi

A journalist rang me up on Saturday to informthat Keshi was back and sought my opinion.

That Keshi has in the process agreed to turn anew leaf etc etc….

I told him I wished Keshi well for Nigeria’s sake.

See you next week.

THE NigeriaOlympic Committee,

NOC, has appointedPresident of NigeriaWrestling Federation, DrDaniel Igali as it’s Chairman of Technical and DevelopmentCommission as TeamNigeria looks set to betterit’s third place finishing inthe last All Africa Games inMaputo.

President of NOC,Engineer Habu Gumelannounced theappointment with the tacitapproval of the Board andExco members of the NOCduring their meeting at theBoardroom of the NOC,National Stadium,Surulere.

Honourable Igali, apolitician, Olympic Goldmedallist, coach and a PhDholder thereby becomes thefirst man to be appointed bytwo different NOC’s. Theformer NOC led by EngrSani M. Ndanusa alsoappointed him as theTechnical head before the

NOC names Igali Technical CommissionChairman

Commonwealth Games inScotland. The beauty of theappointment was that Igaliwas not present at thedeliberations.

“”He’s a young man ofmany parts. He is highlyintelligent and a go-getter.You can see the supportfrom his Federationcolleagues wasoverwhelming. We wanthim to use it to the good ofTeam Nigeria””, PresidentGumel said.

A shocked Igali whyspeaking on phonethanked the Board andExco members for findinghim worthy to hold theposition.

”I’m surprised. I thank allof them and promise thatTeam Nigeria will benefitfrom this appointment”. Healso promised that Nigeriawill do better than it did atthe last All Africa Games.

Other Commissionsannounced includeMarketing Commissionwith Chief Fatai Williamsas Chairman, Amuwo

•Dr. Igali

THE NigerianCommunications

Commission has givenNigerian tennis a big shotin the arm with theannouncement at theweekend of a team tennischampionship that wouldoffer a total prize money ofN11 million with thewinning team getting N5million.

The Executive ViceChairman of the NCC, MrEugene Juwah, speakingat a media launch inLagos said thesponsorship was theNCC’s “modestcontribution to youthengagement in Nigeria.”

“The competition willfeature all and the verybest players in Nigeriaand would introduce about30 weeks of tennis into theNigerian tennis calendar.

“In addition,” the chiefexecutive continued, “theteam tennis championshipwill take top level tennisto parts of the countrywhich otherwise will nothave the opportunity ofseeing Nigeria’s bestplayers in action.”

The EVC wasrepresented by Mr Tony

NCC’s N11m tennis tourneywill promote unity — KienkaOjobo, the director ofPublic Affairs in theCommission.

Reacting to thedevelopment, thePresident of the NigerianTennis Federation, SaniNdanusa, described theinitiative from the NCC as“a massive contribution tosports development inNigeria and a gamechanger for Nigeriantennis.”

Mr Odein Ajumogobia,who was special guest atthe occasion said the NCCTennis Cup will definitelymotivate Nigerian playersto improve their game andhopefully push them toqualify for Grand Slamevents which Nigeria hasnot featured in sinceNduka Odizor.

The event also featuredthe draws for the eightteams which met thecriteria for registration.According to GodwinKienka, director of theInternational TennisAcademy, organisers of the

championship,the teams will play in two

groups of four with the besttwo emerging for thesemifinals.

The teams in the WhiteGroup are KalotariFoundation Port Harcourt,Team Ogun StateAbeokuta, Team FCTAbuja and the CBNFutures Team based inKaduna. In the BlueGroup are the CivilDefence Team based inIbadan, Team TombimAbuja, Team Delta StateAsaba and Team AnambraState, Onitsha.

Mr Kienka further saidthat the NCC Tennis Cupwill kick off with a mouth-watering challengebetween players based inthe North and those of theSouth. “This will comedirectly after the electionsand will serve to test-runthe championship, promoteunity through sports andwhet the appetite of tennisenthusiasts for the main tiesacross the nation.”

Odofin ProjectDevelopment Committee(Chief Solomon Ogba asChairman), AthleteCommission (Enefiok Udo-Obong), Sports For AllC o m m i s s i o n ( H e n r yAmike), Women AndSports Commission withMary Onyali asChairperson.

The Commissions andCommittees would beinaugurated after thegeneral elections.

CMYK


STEVEN GERRARD said he takes full

responsibility for Liver-pool’s loss to Manches-ter United after beingsent off in just 41 sec-onds during yesterday'sEnglish Premier Leaguegame against Manches-ter United.

Gerrard lasted lessthan a minute after re-placing Adam Lallana athalf-time. He stampedon Ander Herrera andall but ended hopes of aLiverpool fight back.

And while the Redsskipper was at a loss toexplain what was goingthrough his mind at thetime of the challenge,he did accept full re-sponsibility for his ac-tions.

He told Sky Sports: “Ineed to accept it, the de-cision was right.

“I’ve let down myteam-mates and the sup-porters. I take full re-

Gerrard accepts blamefor Liverpool’s defeat

sponsibility. I’ve been inthe game long enoughwhen you do somethinglike that. I take full re-sponsibility.

“I don’t know whatcaused it. I don’t know.

Probably just a reactionto the initial tackle.

“I shouldn’t say moreabout it really, I’ve justcome out here to apolo-gise to the dressingroom and supporters.”

Early Shower... Steve Gerrard takes a long walk to the dressing room afterseeing red.

JUAN MATA was delighted to fire Man-

chester United to a cru-cial victory over bitterrivals Liverpool.

The Spaniard openedthe scoring in the first-half with a well-placedfinish past Reds keeperSimon Mignolet beforehis stunning scissor kickeffort after the breakdoubled their lead.

Daniel Sturridgepulled one back for Liv-erpool but United heldon to pull clear in thetop-four race.

He told Sky Sports: “I

think it’s my best gamein a United shirt, yes. It’sa massive game, proba-bly the biggest in Eng-lish football, so to scoretwo goals is great for me.

“The second goal hasto be up there with mybest. After Steven Ger-rard was sent off weneeded a second goalbecause they pushed usto the end.

“It was important forme. The last few monthsI’ve not had the bestmoment. It is the man-ager who decides but I’mhappy today.”

Juan Mata: Win over Reds mybest United game

Chelsea too comfortable atthe top —WengerARSENAL boss Ar-

sene Wenger be-lieves Chelsea have toomuch security at the topof the Premier Leaguefor his side to be in therace for title.

Wenger, who watchedhis Gunners secured a 2-1 victory at St James’Park over NewcastleUnited on Saturday, has,however, insisted thathis side will continue tofight as they aim to gainas many points as pos-sible between now andthe end of the season.

As it stands, Arsenalare seven points behindChelsea, but the Blueshave one game in handon their rivals.

But, despite Chelsea’sbig lead, Wenger’s sideare ready to fight, as hetold reporters: “Look,

Chelsea have good se-curity and at the mo-ment, I feel they haveenough cushion to bequite serene.

“We have ManchesterCity in front of us andbehind us it is tight aswell - the only thing we

can do is to win ourgames.

I think Chelsea havetoo much security. I justthink at the moment weare not concluding, weare in a fight. You haveseen the game today - inevery game, we need toturn up and fight untilthe last minute to get thepoints."

DIEGO Simeone singled outFernando Torres for praise af-

ter Atletico Madrid’s 2-0 victory overGetafe but admitted “we need more”from the striker. The 30-year-oldscored his first La Liga goal sincereturning to the Vicente Calderonearlier in the season on Saturday, andthe Coach was optimistic it would bethe first of many, providing he con-tinued to work hard for the team.

“Torres is getting better and nowhas a better understanding with histeammates. We need more from him,but he knows what’s asked of him andis accustomed to it.

He lives for goals and needed toscore in the League again. He’s greatcompetition for [Mario] Mandzukic,who for us is a decisive player. Weneed more from Torres than what he’scurrently giving us.”

Simeone wants more from Torres

PREMIER Leaguereferees’ chief Mike

Riley has called for videotechnology to be tried inthe wake of another blun-der that saw the wrongWest Bromwich Albionplayer sent off at Man-chester City.

Neil Swarbrick apolo-gised on Saturday nightfor wrongly red-cardingGareth McAuley in thesecond minute of WestBrom’s 3-0 loss at the Eti-

had Stadium, when itwas team-mate CraigDawson who committed afoul on Wilfried Bony.

It followed last month’sOld Trafford mistakenidentity muddle that sawSunderland’s Wes Brownsent off by Roger East forbringing down Manches-ter United striker Rad-amel Falcao, when theoffence in question wascommitted by JohnO’Shea.

Simeone

AAG: Falcons put one foot in Congo

THE Super Falconshave one foot in the

All Africa Games, sched-uled to take place inBrazzaville, Congo, inSeptember after holdinghosts Mali to a 1-1 drawin the first leg, lastround of the qualifiers.

Mali were on the backfoot for most of the firsthalf, but Nigeria misseda plethora of chancesbefore both teams went

into the break.On 52 minutes, Delta

Queens star Ngozi Ako-bi broke the deadlock,five minutes after theintroduction of Port-smouth forward Iniaba-si Umotong, who re-placed Amanze.

Midway through thesecond half, the hostswould have leveled mat-ters if not for a brilliantstop by Ibebuleye

Whyte.However, Mali kept

pressing for an equaliz-er and it arrived eightminutes from time aftera defensive mix up be-tween Whyte and NgoziEbere.

In the next two weeks,the country that willqualify for the AAG willbe known when the re-turn leg is played in Abu-ja.

Referees chief calls for video aid

CMYK

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Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: MIDENO BAYAGBON. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

How to Play Sudoku

Place a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line canhave two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (alsonine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within abold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1through 9. This means that no number can appear twicein any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, divisionor multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

FRIFRIFRIFRIFRIDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSTODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLE

Vanguard, MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORD

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

CMYK

ACROSS:4 Capture (5)7 Choice (6)9 Friend (3)10 Twitching (3)12 Intended (5)13 Nobleman (4)15 Cringe (4)20 Lariat (5)22 Weaken (3)24 Soared (7)27 Males (3)28 Repentant (5)31 Invoice (4)33 Figurine (6)35 Change (5)37 Precipitation (4)38 Swelling (5)39 Immerse (3)41 Newt (3)42 Relegate (6)43 Centre (5)

ACROSS: 1, Leapt 5, Wicked 8, Lotto 10, Bale-ro II, Over 14, Fading 15, Censure 18, Nip 19,Eat 21, Tear 23, Ensure 24, Deer 27, Ten 29,Lad 31, Defiled 32, Despot 34, Epee 35, Unit-ed 38. Ruled 39, Redden 40, Tenet.

DOWN: 2, Ego 3, Please 4, Tor 5, Woof 6,Credit 7, Dagger 9, Torrent 12, Van 13, Ripe16, Edge 17, Ease 20, Tuneful 22, Ague 24,Dodder 25, Else 26, Rapped 28, Divide 30,Doe 33, Tern 36, Net 37, Ewe.

DOWN:1 Force (6)2 Emphasis (6)3 Bed (3)4 Arrived (4)5 Vigilant (5)6 Contemplate (8)8 Pleasant (4)11 Agreed (9)14 Repose (4)16 Sport (4)18 Chamber (4)21 Height (8)23 Plague (4)25 Direction (4)26 Obstinate (4)29 Cause (6)30 Pulled (6)32 Beer (5)34 Parched (4)36 Departed (4)40 Favourite (3)

THE son of a Mexican wrestling leg-

end died early Saturdayfrom a blow suffered inthe ring, the Baja Cali-fornia state prosecutor’soffice said.

Wrestler dies during matchPedro Aguayo Rami-

rez, known as Hijo delPerro Aguayo, fell un-conscious on the ropes,apparently after receiv-ing a flying kick from

•Late Aguayo

Continues on Page 61

Pillars cry foul after 4-0mauling

•Ali

KANO Pillarsdefender Isaac

Loute has said thereferee caused histeam’s heavy loss toMorocco’s MohgrebAthletic Tetouan (MAT)4-0 in a re-arranged CAFChampions League tie.

Loute said the losscould have been arespectable one had thereferee been fair andfirm in the game.



Sharks 1 Akwa Utd 0Wikki 1 Kwara Utd 1Enyimba 1 Bayelsa 0Taraba 0 Lobi 0I Ubah Utd 1 Rangers 0Giwa 1 Sunshine 0El-Kanemi 3 Abia Warriora 1Heartland 5 Nasarawa 2

Liverpool 1 Man U 2Hull City 2 Chelsea 3QPR 1 Everton 2

NPFL RESULTS

EPL Results

GOAL! Substitute Loic Remy’s strike gave Chelsea all three points despite aspirited Hull City performance. Chelsea won 3-2.

NATIONAL Un-der-23 team

were held to a goallessdraw yesterday by theirZambian counterpartsin the first leg qualifi-er of the All AfricaGames at the NationalStadium Abuja.

The team coached by

Zambia hold ‘Olympic Eagles’Samson Siasia must nowpull the chestnut out ofthe fire in the second leg,otherwise, they will beleft to regret the count-less missed opportunitiesin the game they clearlydominated, but failed tofind the back of the net.

Striker, Oghenekaro

Etebo missed three beg-ging chances, as theZambians effectivelycleared their lines.

However, coach Siasiais hopeful that his boyswill get the job done inthe second leg as theZambians will be forced

•Etebo

F/Eagles win 7th AYC title

Ghana 3 Mali 1

BeatSenegal 1-0

NIGERIA claimed her seventh Afri-

can Youth Champion-ship title after beatinghosts Senegal one-nil inthe final of the 2015 edi-tion last night in Dakar.

Flying Eagles playedin their first final since2011 when they defeat-ed Cameroon 3-2 afterextra time.

It was a very tensedatmosphere at theContinues on Page 61

jonathan, buhari lay siege to s'east

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