shekau feared killed in konduga attack

...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 62236

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2014**

Mr & Mrs•P.48

COLUMNISTS:

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Continues on Page 6

Col. Adekunle:Col. Adekunle:Col. Adekunle:Col. Adekunle:Col. Adekunle:We rememberWe rememberWe rememberWe rememberWe rememberdifferentlydifferentlydifferentlydifferentlydifferently

Shekau feared killedin Konduga attack

•P.8 •P.13

Systemiccrisis loomsin bankingsector •P.17

$1bn for BH:Loan or...?

Boko Haram terrorists surrender to troopsin Konduga, beg for mercy— DHQTRS 8

N400mmortgagescam tearsNLC apart

EBOLA:Confusionover schools'resumption

Govs glad withconfab reporton states'creation inS-East

ABUJA — INDICA- TIONS emerged

last night that Nigeriantroops might havescored a strategic victo-ry in the current battleagainst terrorists oper-ating in the North Easton September 17.

Military sources saidyesterday that during adesperate attempt tocapture Konduga intheir delusion to even-tually marching on andcapturing Maiduguri,the man who had beenmimicking late Abu-bakar Shekau in recent

BY KINGSLEYOMONOBI

The process of confirming that the dead body wehave is the same as that character who has beenposing as Shekau is ongoing

From Left. Mr. Fred Odueme, AGM, Brand Vanguard Media Limited, Mrs Helen Ajayi, winner of Allure StyleIcon Award, 2014, Engr, Tele Ikuru, Deputy Governor, Rivers State and Mrs. Remi Diagbare, Editor, VanguardAllure at the Native and Vogue, Port Harcourt International Fashion Week. Pix by Oscar Ochiogu.

•P.6

CMYK

2—Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2014—3

CMYK


CMYK

POCKET CARTOON6—Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

EBOLA: Confusion overschools' resumption

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

LIFEWORDSBY PASTOR ITUAH

Part of being a man is learning to take responsi-bility for your successes and for your failures. Youcan’t go blaming others or being negative . See-ing somebody else’s success as your failure is acancerous way to live — Kevin Bacon

Each time you find yourself pointing out yourfaults, or questioning a decision, simply STOP. Takea moment to remember what you love about you,and even write it down. Show that negative devilwhose boss, and regain control of your mind. Eachnegative thought should be replaced by a positiveone. Positive thinking is a strong tool and plays amajor role in the way we see ourselves.

It is important that we surround ourselves withpositive people while we are rebuilding our self-esteem. Find a friend or a family member that youfeel comfortable talking openly with. Talking tosomeone about how you feel is a big part of build-ing self-confidence. People are social by nature,and talking to someone will also help you workthrough the issues that have dragged you down inthe past.

Life is about sacrifice. The only way to live long isto give up all the things that make you think youwant to live long.

Lagos schools nowresume Oct 8

In Lagos State, how-ever, GovernorBabatunde Fashola di-rected that all learningand teaching activities forthe next academic sessionin Lagos schools be sus-pended until Wednesday,October 8, rather than to-day, September 22.

Speaking at an interac-tive session with princi-pals, vice-principals,head-teachers and assist-ant head-teachers of pub-lic primary and second-ary schools in the state,Governor Fashola saidthe additional two weekswould allow for more timeto further put in place allnecessary precautionarymeasures against thedeadly Ebola Virus Dis-ease (EVD) in LagosState schools.

The latest directive fromGovernor Fashola is adramatic U-turn from hisearlier stance in a state-wide broadcast.

The postponement isalready causing confu-sion among privateboarding schools whosepupils have already re-ported back to their re-spective institutions forresumption of fresh aca-demic session.

Parents and guardiansat the weekend had madefrantic efforts to returntheir children and wardsto schools before thestate’s government shiftin date was announced.

Among the schoolswhich have started re-ceiving pupils include:Agbowa Baptist GrammarSchool, Light HouseSchool, Ikorodu; CalebInternational School,among others.

At press time, parentsand guardians were con-fused on whether to with-draw their children/wards from school.

In NIGER STATE,schools have been di-

rected to resume on Mon-day October 13 for thenew session while thosein the Boarding schoolsare expected to resumeon Friday, October 10.

Governor BabangidaAliyu, who disclosed thiswhen a delegation ofJoint Admission and Ma-triculation Board, those ofthe West African Exami-nations Council, WAECand National Examina-tion Council, NECO paidhim a courtesy visit saidit was an agreementreached between him,the state Commissioner ofBasic Education, AlhajiDanladi Abdulhamid andother stakeholders lastweek to shift the resump-tion date till middle ofOctober to allow studentsenjoy the Eid-el Kabirwhich is fixed for earlynext month.

All Federal GovernmentColleges in IMO STATE,as well as schools ownedby missionaries and indi-viduals will, in full com-pliance with the direc-tives of the Federal Gov-ernment, re-open today.

On the contrary, allschools run by Imo StateGovernment will opentheir doors to pupils onSeptember 29, 2014.

A school principal, whospoke on grounds of ano-nymity, explained thatstate schools were notscheduled to re-open to-day.

“We ended the last aca-demic year a bit late. Mis-sion and private schoolsclosed for the long vaca-tion earlier than publicschools. The originallyscheduled date for ourresumption is September29”, the school principalsaid.

At the time of this inter-view, school principalshave not been invited forany meeting by either theSecondary EducationManagement Board orthe Ministry of Educa-tion.

According to her, “ifand when governmentinvites us for the meeting,we may be told what todo, especially with theadvent of Ebola Virus Dis-ease”.

Anambra readyAnambra State govern-

ment on its part said ithas put in place meas-

ures to ensure that pupilsand their teachers do nothave health issues to con-tend with when theyresume today

Commissioner for Edu-cation, Professor KateOmenugha said allschools have been pro-vided with test kits andsanitizers, while thosewho would handle themin schools have beentrained.

She explained thatschools that have noregular water supplyhave been provided withwater in readiness for re-sumption.

In BAUCHI STATEhowever, NUT saidteachers will not resumeclasses without Ebolaprevention materials andkits in schools.

Chairman of the union,Danjuma Sale in an in-terview with Vanguardsaid that teachers in thestate will comply with theFederal Government's di-rective to resume classeson Sept. 22 (today) butwill not teach until theright facilities are put inplace in schools.

He said the state gov-ernment had promisedthat two teachers fromeach school in the statewould be trained on theprevention of the disease,but has not commencedyet.

Ogun announcesOctober 8The Ogun State Gov-

ernment on its part an-nounced Wednesday,October 8, as the new re-sumption date for bothpublic and private prima-ry and secondary schoolsin the state.

Secretary to the State

Government, Taiwo Ade-oluwa said the new datewas arrived at after seriesof evaluation meetingswith stakeholders onmeasures put in place toprevent outbreak of EVDwhen the pupils resume.

He said: “Since the Eb-ola scourge broke out inLagos, the Ogun Stategovernment has put a lotof preventive measuresin place.

“So, we have agreedthat the new date for re-sumption be shifted toWednesday October 8.”

In BENUE STATE,Governor GabrielSuswam urged schoolsand parents to abide bythe directive of the Fed-eral Government thatschools resume today.

The Governor, whospoke, weekend, at theflag off of the SuswamFree Medical ServicesInitiative, in VandeikyaLocal Government Areaof the state assured thatadequate measures hadbeen put in place tocheck any outbreak ofthe Ebola Virus Diseasein the state.

According to him: “Atthe moment, the govern-ment has also startedtraining teachers on howto tackle the disease if anyoutbreak is recorded inany school in any part ofthe state.

“We have also takenmeasures to ensure thatmedical personnel andfacilities are on 24 hoursstandby to adequatelyrespond to any outbreakin any part of the state.We, therefore, have noreasons not to resumeclasses on the specifieddate.

MEETING —Gov. Sullivan Chime of Enugu State flanked on his rightby Chief Dubem Onyia; Chairman of the South East Governors Forum, Gov-ernor Theodore Orji of Abia State and on his left by Senator Ben-CollinsNdu, shortly after the meeting of the South East Governors and Leaders ofthe zone, at the Governor's Lodge, Enugu, yesterday.

are scheduled to resumetoday include, Abia,Kano, Bayelsa, Imo,Anambra, Bauchi, Benueand Kaduna.

However, states thathave directed theirschools to resume onvarious dates in Octoberinclude Lagos, Osun,Ogun, and Niger.

The Abia State Govern-ment, while directing allschools to re-open said ithas made necessary ar-rangements for the safetyof returning pupils andteachers.

The state commissionerof Education, Mrs.Monica Philips said theteachers have been givenenough training to han-dle and prevent Ebolaoutbreak, assuring thatinfra-red thermometersand sanitizers would beprovided to the publicschools.

LAGOS—AS bothprimary and sec-

ondary schools nation-wide are expected toresume today in compli-ance with the directiveby the Federal Govern-ment, parents and teach-ers have, however, beenthrown into confusionfollowing counter-directives by some stategovernments which havefixed different dates forschools to resume.

The Nigeria Union ofTeachers, on its part hadearlier directed its mem-bers to ignore the direc-tive of the governmentuntil they have been suf-ficiently trained and theirschools provided with thenecessary preventive andprotective equipmentagainst the Ebola VirusDisease, EVD.

States where schools

videos might havebeen finally killed.

According to seniormilitary and intelligencesources, “it is gettingmore certain that the ter-rorists’ Commander whohas been mimickingShekau in those videosis the one killed in Kon-duga on September 17,2014.”

Affirming the develop-ment, PRNigeria sourc-es said the suspecteddemise of the Boko Har-am leader is responsiblefor the scattering of the

sect members in differ-ent independent loca-tions in the neighbour-ing countries, especial-ly in Cameroon, noticedin recent days.

The security sourcesnoted further that “theprocess of confirmingthat the dead body wehave is the same as thatcharacter who has beenposing as Shekau is on-going”, adding: “He isdefinitely a prominentterrorist commander. Idon’t want to say any-thing about this yetplease.”

Another high rankingmilitary source insistedthat the resemblance istoo striking to be a coin-cidence. They cited hisfacial marks, beards andteeth apart from the re-covery by the Nigeriantroops of some of the Ar-moured Vehicles andHilux jeeps that had fea-tured in previous vide-os of the prime suspect.

The officers assuredthat the Defence Head-quarters will soon ad-dress the nation afterfull investigation of theirlatest discovery.

Continues from page 1

Shekau feared killed in Konduga attack

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2014 —7

Courtstops Ogunmonarchfromparadingself M I N N A — T H R E E

people including thepaternal grandmother havebeen arrested by the Niger Statepolice command forslaughtering a 9-year-old boyand using the body to preparepeper soup delicacy.

The incidence happened inKoso village in Lavun LocalGovernment Area of Niger State.

Commissioner of Police, NigerState Command, Mr. OlusolaAmore, told newsmen that thefamily of the late boy had re-ported Liman Doo Moham-med’s mysterious disappear-ance to the police on the 9th oflast month.

However, another report hint-ed the police that they shouldbeam their search light on thepaternal grandmother of the de-ceased, because he was lastseen in her company.

He said based on this vital in-formation, detectives were puton red alert to closely monitorthe grandmother called FatimaSarki's movement.

Granny, 2 others nabbed for usingboy for pepper-soup

By Wole Mosadomi Also arrested with her wereother relations suspected to beher collaborators.

Amore said on interrogation,the grandmother confessed tohave been involved in the das-tardly act and mentioned oneZhitsu Aliyu whom she said ac-tually slaughtered the boy.

Another accomplicementioned was one AminaMusa, who was accused of

helping to cook the boy ’sremains.

All the suspects have beencharged to court on a threecount charge of criminalconspiracy, culpable homicideand cannibalism.

According to the Commissioner,”The pots and plates the suspectsused in cooking and servingthemselves with the said cookedhuman flesh were recovered

and are now exhibits.”The Commissioner revealed

that between the months of Au-gust and September this year, atotal of 65 raids were carried outwithin the state and a total of 182suspects were arrested.

According to him, 39 of themwere released after interrogationwhile 143 have already beencharged to court for variousoffences.

He called on people of the stateto join hands with him in wagingtotal war against crime andcriminals in the state.

DARAZO–BAUCHI StatePolice Command has

arrested one Musa Sale forstabbing two girls to death inSabon Garin Sade village ofDarazo Local Government Areaof Bauchi State.

The command, in statementyesterday, said the culprit, aged6o and suspected to be insane,went berserk on Saturdayevening, killing the girls andinjuring others, using a sharpknife.

The statement, signed by the

command’s spokesperson,DSP Haruna Mohammed, saidone of the injured, six-month-old baby girl, Maryam Disu,narrowly escaped death afterthe culprit slit her throat.

It gave the names of the twogirls killed as IlawisaAbdullahi and Ummi Saidu,aged two and 12, while twoother persons, Ilu Masani andHassan Garba, were alsoinjured, along with the baby.

“The suspect killed two girlsIlawisa Abdullahi and Ummi

Saidu aged 2 and 12 yearsrespectively.

“Two other persons IluMasani and Hassan Garbawere also attacked and injuredby Sale,” it said.

The command said that thecorpses of the deceased hadbeen released to their parentsafter an autopsy was carriedout, while the injured had beenadmitted at the GeneralHospital, Darazo.

It said investigations into thematter had commenced.

60-yr-old mad man kills two girls, injure others in Bauchi

LAGOS—OPERATIVES of the Special Anti-Robbery

Squad, SARS Ikeja Lagos,have arrested a woman said tobe wife of a dare devil armedrobber. She was arrested forselling guns to armed robbers.

The 34-year-old suspect iden-tified as Sarah Emmanuel, anindigene of Ogun State usedto hawk wares before she wentinto illegal arms supply.

According to reports, themother of two wasapprehended after some SARSoperatives apprehended somearmed robbery suspects, whorevealed during interrogationthat they bought their gunsfrom her.

It was gathered that thesuspect and her friend, oneModinat, who is currently atlarge used to buy locally madeguns from a border townbetween Benin Republic andNigeria and re-sell same toarmed robbers.

Suspects account’’I live in Sango Otta, I have

two children; the first is 10yearsold while the other is six. I ama trained hair dresser.

"I was arrested because myfriend Modinat escaped. Wehave been friends for six years."She asked me to accompanyher to Idiroko where she toldme of her plan to purchase agun for one Ismaila, her armedrobber lover from whom she

collected N25, 000. I only ac-companied her to Ifonyin once."I am widow and my husbanda border town between Niger-ia and Benin Republic wherewe bought the gun for N15,000.

‘’It was after Ismaila’s arrestby operatives of SARS that heconfessed that he bought theguns from Modinat and I.

‘’When the officers went toarrest her she escaped and I

Police arrest woman for supplying arms to robbersBy Esther Onyegbula was arrested her she escaped

and I was arrested instead. Ionly accompanied her toIfonyin once.

‘’I am a widow and my hus-band, who was an armed rob-ber was killed by police, wewere married for ten years butI didn’t know he was an armedrobber before he was killed.

‘’My husband was actuallykilled two years ago during a rob-bery operation at Ilasa. Before I

was arrested I was involved instreet trading. ‘’If the police re-lease me I will assist them to ar-rest my friend Modinat.''

THE People of Okpaka,Opete Communities,

Urhuegwior, in Udu LocalGovernment Area of Delta Stateyesterday cried out to the DeltaState government, demanding tobe recognised in the scheme ofthings before the expiration ofgovernor Emmanuel Uduaghan’sadministration.

Speaking through the President-general of Okpaka Community,Olorogun Godwin Edoja, at hiscountry home in Okpaka, thecommunity lamented the poorstate of infrastructure in thecommunity since 2011.

He said; “The entire people ofOkpaka/Opete, Urhiegwior, havenever benefited anything from thetime till date. There has been norecognition from the local councileither.

We want stakeholders andindigenes of the communities tobe recognized because we gaveover 80percent votes to thegovernor in the 2011 election.” “We have been voting for PDP atthe local, state and federal levelsso we deserve to raise alarm whennot being recognized in the sys-tem, he said.

Delta communityprotestsmarginalisation

ABEOKUTA—AN Ogun S ta te

High Court sitting inIsabo has restrained atraditional ruler, ObaNajeem Aromaye fromparading himself as theOniro of Iroi n O b a f e m i - O w o d eLocal Government Areaof Ogun State pendingthe determination of asubstantive suit.

The embattled monarchwas reportedly installed by the stategovernment onSeptember 16, despitethe order of interlocutoryinjunction restrainingthe government fromdoing so.

The Presiding judge,justice OluwagbengaOgunfowora, whogranted the request ofthe claimants on theinterlocutory injunction,ordered that the firstdefendant to s topparading himself as thenew Oniro of I ropending the finaldetermination of thesuit.

The claimants SikiruAdebari and KamoruAdebari who claimed tobe the head andsecretary of the rulingfamily respectively disowned the embattledmonarch, saying he is nota member of Oleyofamily.

The judge whilegranting the request foran order for interlocutoryinjunction, restrainedthe state government ,the Alake of Egbaland,Oba Adedotun Gbadebo,the regency and councilChiefs from recognisingthe first defendant asthe new Oniro of Iro.

He also granted anorder for interlocutoryinjunction restraining the first defendant fromparading himself asOniro of Iro pending thefinal determination ofthe suit.

The court also orderedthat the king-makers, theregency council andcouncil of Chiefs shouldnot perform the formalitiesthat would lead to thedefendant’s installation asOniro of Iro.

By Daud Olatunji

.The nabbed moll, Sarah, with her weapons of death.

8 — Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

N400m mortgage scam tears NLC apart

VISIT: National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola AhmedTinubu (left) with the Emir of Kano, His Royal Highness Muhammadu Sanusi II duringthe monarch's visit to his Ikoyi, Lagos residence, yesterday.

KONDUGA:OverwhelmedBoko Haramterroristssurrenderto Nigeriantroops

By Funmi Komolafe &Victor Ahiuma-Young

2015: Balewa's son steps out to challenge Jonathan

By Kingsley Omonobi

THE leadership of Nigeria Labour Congress,

NLC, is enmeshed in crisisover an alleged disappearanceof not less than N400 millionbeing contributions of Nigeri-an workers to a housingscheme.

The money, which allegedlygrew wings from one of the ac-counts of the NLC in a newgeneration bank in Abuja wasmeant for a mortgage schemefor Nigerian workers initiatedby a private company (nameswithheld); alongside a Greeknational( name withheld) asa principal partners in collab-oration with the leadership ofthe NLC.

The N400 million allegedlylooted is part cost of a hous-ing project estimated to cost $6billion,or N960 billion.

According to the NLC andthe company, “NLC land invarious state capitals would beused for the project”.

The agreement which wassaid to be aimed at providinghouses for workers in the 36states was signed by then NLCActing President, Mr. PromiseAdewusi, and the private firmin Abuja.

Following disclosure of thismissing money, the NLC sum-moned an emergency Nation-al Administrative Council,NAC, meeting on Wednesday,September 18 at LabourHouse in Abuja.

It was gathered that sub-scribers to the scheme had pro-tested at Labour House beforethe NAC meeting commenced.

The developer has no landwhich was confirmed by FCTminister hence the groundbreaking could not take placeon May Day as scheduled.

An involved suspect said tobe on the run, according to atop official of the NLC was ap-prehended and handed overto the Directorate of State Serv-ice, DSS, in Abuja and waslater released. An authoritativesource at the meeting, quotedthe NLC President, ComradeAbdulwaheed Omar as sayingthat the suspect “forged “hissignature twice.

Other sources said the sus-

pect in his statement namedfour officials of the NLC withwhom he allegedly shared themoney, two of whom are elect-ed officers while the other twoare secretariat staff.

A NAC member who was atthe meeting said other mem-bers asked why an NLC ac-count should have one signa-tory instead of at least two —national president and treasur-er — in line with the norms inthe trade union movement.

In most trade unions, any twoof either the president, treas-urer or trustee are signatoriesto a trade union’s account.

It was learnt that the issue of

the looted money generatedheated argument at the meet-ing as other members queriedhow anyone could have stolenso much money from the Con-gress account.

Sources said the issue cameup during last Month meetingof NLC’s National ExecutiveCouncil, NEC, in Enugu, butwas glossed over.

According to impeccablesources, a key leader of theNLC who allegedly introducedthe suspect to the Congresssaid unknown to the NLC, thesuspect opened another ac-count besides the one inwhich NLC leaders and rep-

resentatives of the privatecompany are signatories.

The plan was to build afford-able houses for all willingNLC members, whose figureis put at eight million. The la-bour movement is worriedabout the 40 million housingdeficit that exists in the coun-try as revealed by a UnitedNations study.

Speaking to Vanguard, NLCGeneral Secretary, Dr. PeterOzo-Esan, denied knowledgeof the of fraud, but admittedthat NLC had issues with oneof the three companies it waspartnering with in the hous-ing scheme for workers.

A B U J A —FOLLOWING

the several defeats BokoHaram terrorists suffered inthe hands of Special Forcesof the Nigerian military,some of the insurgentshave surrendered to theNigerian armed forces evenas some of them who werecaptured during encoun-ters were said to be givinguseful information to thetroops.

The Defenceheadquarters whichdisclosed this yesterdayalso said the fresh attemptby Boko Haram to attackKonduga town wasfrustrated by the troops thatinflicted a heavy defeat onthem.

The terrorists were said tohave attempted to infiltratethe town to avenge thedeaths of hundreds of theirmembers and to alsoretrieve their bodies.

Vanguard gathered thatthe renewed determinationwith which troops of theNigerian military were nowconfronting the terrorists,had so much taken manyof the insurgents aback thatthey now prefer to surrenderwhen they areoverwhelmed rather thanget killed.

As at the early hours ofSunday, about 11 terroristswere said to havesurrendered while many ofthose arrested, are nowcooperating with themilitary and volunteeringinformation about theirplans and activities.

Several dangerousweapons including Anti-Aircraft guns and RocketPropelled Grenades,General Purpose MachineGuns (GPMG), AK 47 andammunitions, wererecovered during theconfrontation.

Confirming the incidentin its twitter handle,Defence Headquarterssaid, “An attempt byanother set of terrorists togain entry to Konduga wasyesterday foiled by troops.It is believed that theterrorists’ move was aimedat recovering the bodies oftheir prominent fighterswho had died in previousencounters in the area”.

A son of Nigeria’s firstand only prime minister,

Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa,Dr. Abdul Jhalil Tafawa Balewa,has formally thrown his hat intothe ring to contest the presidentialticket of the Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP with PresidentGoodluck Jonathan.

The development came despitea warning by the party yesterdayto all party members to refrainfrom seeking the presidencyfollowing the decision of the major

organs of the party to adopt theincumbent president as solecandidate of the party. The PDP,also yesterday, played downdoubts on the position of theincumbent vice-president,Architect Namadi Sambo on the2015 presidential ticket as it saidthat only the president coulddetermine Sambo’s fate.

Meanwhile, the PDP hasscheduled a nationwide tour offlagship projects of the federaladministration as it saidyesterday that opposition partieswere taking credit for theachievements of the

administration. The tour, it waslearnt was aimed at showcasingthe achievements of theadministration and rebuffingcritics of last week’s unanimousadoption of Dr. Jonathan for asecond term.

Abdul Jhalil, who holds adoctorate in nuclear chemistryand was a rabid supporter of Dr.Jonathan’s alleged 2015 ambitiononly a year ago, based hischallenge on what he describedas the transformation of the PDPinto a fiefdom. He particularlyfrowned at what he claimed as thedetermination of the leadership of

By Emmanuel Aziken, &Henry Umoru

...As PDP warns party members to respect NEC decision

the party to railroad the presidentfor a second term despite what hedescribed as the difficult livingconditions of Nigerians.

The aspirant confirmed hisambition in a telephone interviewwith Vanguard yesterdayfollowing speculations about hisambition on social media and SMSplatforms at the weekend.

Taken up on the developmentyesterday, National PublicitySecretary of the PDP, Chief OlisaMetuh, asked, “Is he in PDP?”Told that he had in the pastcampaigned for Dr. Jonathan, hesaid “I didn’t know.”

...As anotherattack is foiled

and Vogue Port Harcourt Inter-national Fashion Week. Theaward was presented to her bythe Deputy Governor of RiversState, Engr. Tele Ikuru.

Also announced last nightwas the winner of the YoungDesigners Competition won byIbiteim Thompson.

Other winners in the differ-ent categories of the AllureStyle Awards include, LexyMojo Eyes, Fashion Promoterof the Year, Bimpe Onakoya asMake up Artist of the Year,Zhalima Grazioni as Young

Designer of the Year.Also on the winners line up

are, Amaka Chirah whoemerged Model of the Yearand Recare for Beauty Brandof the Year.

The annual Allure StyleAwards, was instituted to rec-ognise and applaud stake-holders in the fashion andbeauty industry who haveexcelled in their fields.

The event was spiced withperformances by music iconTu Baba.

FORMER Miss Nigeriaand Lifestyle Consultant,

Mrs. Helen Ajayi hasemerged Allure Style Icon2014. Nominated along withher in this category are NkiruAnumudu and proprietor ofEbony Life TV, Mo Abudu.

The formal presentation ofthe award plaques took placeyesterday in Port Harcourtduring the closing ceremonyof the three day long Native

Helen Ajayi wins Style Icon AwardBy Jemi Ekunkunbor


WORKSHOP: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN (3rd right); Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello (3rdleft); Managing Director, Lagos State Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, Mr. Ola Oresanya (2nd left); Managing Director, SterlingBank, Mr. Yemi Adeola (left), with winners of the Best Street Sweepers of the Year, during the 6th Street Sweepers’ Workshop with thetheme, 'Let’s keep Our Environment Clean at all Times,' organized by LAWMA, at the Onikan Stadium, Lagos, weekend.

LAGOS — THE indefinitenationwide strike

embarked upon since Friday byworkers of the 104 FederalGovernment Colleges, FGCs,otherwise known as UnitySchools, has crippled activitiesat the colleges throughout thecountry, making a mess of theresumption of academic andother activities from today.

Also affected by the strikecalled by Association of Senior

Civil Servants of Nigeria,ASCSN, are the headquartersof the Federal Ministry ofEducation, FME, as well as theInspectorate Departments ofthe Ministry throughout thecountry expected to be shutfrom today.

The workers are protestingamong others, non-payment ofoutstanding promotion arrearsfor 2007-2010 and the balanceof 2011 promotion arrears;promotion arrears for 2012-2013; unpaid salaries to somestaff for July, August,

September, and October 2013;end-of-year incentives; non-payment of 1st 28 days in lieu ofhotel accommodation; 2010 Headof Service organised mandatorytraining allowance, repatriationallowance, duty tour allowance andnon-placement of promotedofficers.

Confirming the development inLagos, Secretary General ofASCSN, Mr. Alade Bashir Lawal,claimed the FME admitted thatN1.8 billion was released to it thisyear by the Federal Governmentto settle all outstanding liabilities

including salaries and allowancesand wondered if the money hadentered into ‘’voice mail” as usual.

According to him: ‘’OnWednesday, August 20, 2014, theNational Leadership of the Unionmet with the Permanent Secretaryand other top officials of theMinistry where the Ministry gaveits words that all the outstandingarrears of promotion would bepaid on or before August 31, 2014.

"However, the Leadership of theUnion gave the Ministry anextension up to Friday, September12, 2014 to effect all the payment.”

He noted that when it becameapparent that the Ministry had notcommenced payment ofpromotion arrears andoutstanding salaries as agreedwith the union, the nationalleadership of the Association wrotea letter including a reminder tothe FME on what was agreed atthe last meeting.

Mr. Lawal argued that themanagement of the FMEconsequently fixed a meeting withthe leadership of the Associationfor Wednesday, September 17,2014, saying, ‘’on Wednesday ,September 17, 2010, when thenational leadership of the unionturned up for the meeting at theheadquarters of the Ministry at thescheduled time, neither theHonourable Minister, thePermanent Secretary nor any topofficial of the Ministry wasavailable for the parley.”

He recalled that all agreementsentered into by the union with themanagement of the FME over theyears to pay these outstandingsalaries and allowances hadalways been breached withimpunity, lamenting that “sincethe management of the FME hasrefused to pay the outstandingsalaries and allowances, theteeming members of the union inthe Ministry including those in the104 Federal Unity Colleges haveembarked on indefinite strike tillthe outstanding salaries,promotion arrears, and otherentitlements are paid in full.”

Strike cripples activities at unity schoolsBy Victor Ahiuma-Young

Sanusi, Emirof Kano,visits Awujale

MAIDUGURI —SUSPECTED members

of dreaded Boko Haram terrorists,yesterday, attacked a market inMonguno village killing ninepersons, while 10 others

By Daud Olatunji

ABEOKUTA — THEEmir of Kano,

Mallam Sanusi LamidoSanusi, yesterday, calledfor good governance andpeace in the country.

The Emir who wasaccompanied by Oba ofLagos, Oba RilwanuAkiolu and other dignitaries during acourtesy call on ObaSikiru Adetona, theAwujale of Ijebu land,said no nation coulddevelop if the peoplewere not united, insistingthat there must be peaceand love across all multi-ethnic divides.

He, however, taskedpolitical leaders todischarge their dutieswith honesty whileupholding their integrityto retain the confidence ofthe electorate, saying,“people who don’tappreciate our diversityand uniqueness as apeople are those whodon’t have knowledge. Atthe end of the day, we areall one.

"My prayer is that asleaders, we will strengthenthe bonds between ourpeople because whetherwe like it or not, we are amulti-ethnic and multi-religious country."

“My hope is that togetherwe would strengthen theunity of this country byupholding the tenets of ourtraditions. We need moreprogress with peace andlove. Strife and killings aretotally unnecessary.”

The Awujale in hisremarks charged the Emirto use his wealth ofexperience in the bankingindustry for the benefit ofhis people, saying leadersmust always be truthful tosociety.

“I discovered over theyears that some politicianswho were called to serve didnot really represent theirpeople but themselves. Wemust have the courage totell our leaders the truth atall times. Even when theyrefuse to heed our cry, leavethem to their maker. Wemust be very honest withwhat we do as most of usshall give account of ourstewardship before God,”Adetona said.

In his own remark, Akiolusaid that the ability tosurmount the nation’schallenges was everyone’sresponsibility adding thatNigerians must continuallypray for unity, saying Wemust all unite together andpray for the corporateexistence of this country.

sustained various degrees ofgun-shot wounds.

Monguno is about 100kilometres drive from Maiduguri,the Borno State capital that hadwitnessed relative peace foralmost a year ago after failedattempt by the terrorists to destroy

the military barracks in the area.Sources told Vanguard that the

insurgents who disguised ascustomers stormed the market atabout 3p.m., weekend, andopened fire on the traders beforefleeing the scene of the incident.

A trader, Mallam Abubakar AliMonguno, said, the insurgentswere suspected to be on a targetmission as they shot at selectedtraders before escaping, saying,“when they stormed the market,they shot at my neighbour, beforeproceeding to other shops as theywere much selective in theiroperations.”

The source noted that, manypetty traders abandoned theirwares during the shooting andonly resurfaced, yesterday,morning to take their wares.

Efforts to speak with the PolicePublic Relations Officer, DSPGidoen Jubrin, proved abortive,but a senior security personnelconfirmed the attack and killings.

He said: “Yes, some suspectedmembers of Boko Haram sectlaunched an attack on Mongunovillage market killing ninepersons and injuring about 10others currently receivingtreatment in one of the treatmentcentres in the state.

"Already security operatives havebeen drafted to the scene andnormalcy has since been restoredin the area."

Boko Haram kills 9, injures 10 in BornoBy Ndahi Marama

Lawyers want quickdispensation of justice

LAGOS — SOMEprominent lawyers in

Lagos, weekend, called forquick dispensation of justice inLagos State in the 2014/2015Legal Year.

The lawyers spoke in separateinterviews with the NewsAgency of Nigeria, NAN, inLagos.

Mr. Alex Mouka, theChairman, Nigerian BarAssociation, NBA, Lagosbranch, said the Lagos StateJudiciary had put variousreforms in place to accelerateaccess to justice.

Mouka, however, noted thatlawyers had pivotal roles to playin ensuring that such reformsachieved the desired objectives.

“The NBA has beensensitizing lawyers on how toimprove the justice sector. It

has been told to abide by theethics of the legal profession intheir practices. So in this newlegal year, we are a expectingmore robust interaction betweenthe Bench and the Bar to fast trackjustice delivery,” he added.

On his part, Mr OnyekachiUbani, a former Chairman of theIkeja branch of the NBA, said thejudiciary must be more vibrant inthe new legal year.

Ubani said: “we expect avibrant judiciary where cases willbe disposed of in a timely manneras well as the enthronement ofjustice and equity to everylitigant irrespective of status orcondition.”

“Lawyers and otherstakeholders must all brace up toensure the respect of our laws andupliftment of due process in ourlegal system.”


APC, PDP bicker over alleged plan tocause mayhem in Osun

By Gbenga Olarinoye

OSUN STATE chapter ofAll Progressives

Congress, APC and PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,weekend, traded words overalleged plan to cause mayhemand make the stateungovernable.

While the APC accused PDPof planning to cause“sustained mayhem” across thestate to make the stateungovernable for governorRauf Aregbesola, the PDP said

it knew nothing about suchplans, but only interested inreclaiming alleged mandategiven to its candidate in theAugust 9 governorshipelection.

The APC in a statement byits Director of Publicity,Research and Strategy, Mr.Kunle Oyatomi in Osogbo,claimed that the party got theintelligence reports throughinsider sources within thePDP.

According to APC, “the PDPleadership in the state is

already arranging forhundreds of youths to betransported to Abuja to protestthe victory of Ogbeni RaufAregbesola in the August 9governorship election.

This protest will be based onthe yet-to-be- substantiatedallegation by the PDP that theIndependent NationalElectoral Commission colludedwith the governor and the APCto “rig” the August 9 election.The underlying theme of theAbuja protest by the PDP willbe that INEC gave the election

to the APC to prevent PresidentGoodluck Jonathan fromwinning the 2015 presidentialelection. So the protest will beeffectively against INEC andAPC.”

PDP in its reaction throughthe publicity secretary, PrinceBola Ajao, described theallegation as ridiculous and outof tune with reality, saying,“as a matter of fact, we arecivilised people who arealways in tandem with dueprocess and rule of law. We areat the election petition tribunaland we are sure that with allthe unassailable andincontrovertible evidences onground, we would retrieve themandate given to ourcandidate, Senator IyiolaOmisore by the people.

"Unfortunately, this mandateis being held on to byAregbesola because of thelarge-scale electoral fraud andanomalies that characterizedAugust 9, 2014 governorshipelection. This cork and bullstory is not own portion. Wewould do everything legallypossible within the ambit of lawto retrieve this mandate.

“The APC and its leadershipare pathological liars. If theyare sure that their illegitimatemandate is genuine, theywould not be cooking upunfounded allegation thatlacks basis. Let them continue.It is clear and evident that APCare hand in gloves with INECto thwart the desire of Osunpeople. Even, from theongoing inspection of electionmaterials, it is obvious that theyare collaborating to perfectsinister agenda.”

Meanwhile, APC is to call600 witnesses in the petition bythe PDP, governorshipcandidate, Senator IyiolaOmisore, challenging theAugust 9 governorshipelection, won by the APC.

The statements of thewitnesses were filed along withthe reply of the APC, which isthe second respondent in thepetition.

Senator Omisore ischallenging the re-election ofGovernor Rauf Aregbesola,claiming the election wasmarred with irregularities.

The lead counsel to the APC,Mr. Kunle Adegoke who filedthe reply on behalf of the partyand Governor Aregbesola, saidclients were asking thetribunal to dismiss the petitionof PDP and its candidate for “itis baseless, frivolous andcontentious.”

He disclosed that the replyof APC contained 257 pageswhere explanations wereoffered in the localgovernments being challengedby the PDP.

According to him, “in ourreply to the petition we haveabout 600 witnesses that wehave prepared their statementsto counter the allegations of thepetitioners. Our reply is to theeffect that the allegationsraised by the petitioners arecompletely frivolous, baseless,vexatious and constitute abuseof court process.

Fayemi goes on 'thank-you' tour todayBy Gbenga Ariyibi

OPC suspends Ekitico-ordinator

the congress to ensure that Ogundipefollowed the line of responsibility as a statecoordinator, “you have continued to behavein a manner that is capable of dragging thename of the congress in the mud.

“It has come to the notice of the organizationthat you have consistently involved yourselfin activities deemed as anti-congress. It isalso noted that you have consistently absentedyourself from all activities of the congress,including absenting yourself from the meetingof National Coordinating Council, NCC,which is the highest decision-making arm ofthe congress."

“Therefore, after a meeting of the NCC,during which your matter came up fordiscussion, it was unanimously agreed thatyou should embark on an immediatesuspension from all activities of the congress.”

By Dapo Akinrefon

THE NATIONAL Coordinator of the Oodua People’s Congress,OPC, Otunba Gani Adams has suspended the co-ordinator for

Ekiti State, Prince Niyi Ogundipe, for activities deemed as anti-congress.

In a letter entitled, “Your suspension as Ekiti State Coordinator,”the OPC explained that despite several warnings by the elders of

IBEDCreassuresconsumers ofimprovedpower supply

ADO EKITI — GOVERNORKayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, willtoday embark on thank-you-tourof all the 35 council areas in thestate, even as the government hasscored itself passmark in theadministration of the state in thelast four years.

Specifically, the governmentscored itself high in youthempowerment, social securityscheme, urban renewal,improvement in the standard ofeducation and peaceful co-existence of the people of thestate.

Fayemi is expected tocommission no fewer than 60projects including the legacyprojects in all the 35 council areasduring the two week tour to mark

the end of his tenure in officeAt a briefing, weekend, to

herald the tour, Chief of Staff tothe Governor, Mr. YemiAdaramodu, said the presentgovernment had surpassed thepreceding governments in all theareas earlier highlighted.

Adaramodu said “Fayemi gavecore subjects and Rural

Allowances to teachers and thishad never happened in the historyof this state. As part of our effortsto encourage teachers, wedistributed about 18,000 set ofcomputers to them to boost theirknowledge of ICT , aside the30,000 distributed to students. So, Fayemi is not an enemy to ourteachers

I B A D A NELECTRICITY

Distribution Company,IBEDC, has assured itscustomers in Oyo, Ogun,Osun, Kwara states andparts of Kogi, Ekiti,Niger states of improvedelectricity supply.

Managing Director,Mr. Fortunato Leynes,weekend, also said thatIBEDC planned to raiseits electricity distributioncapacity throughembedded powergeneration.

Embedded generationis a source where thegenerator is directlyconnected to thedistribution networks. It consists of smaller ormodular generators thatuse a variety ofgeneration technologiessuch as solar, wind,biomass, diesel, andcrude oil and smallhydro.

Speaking ong o v e r n m e n t ’ scommitment to increasethe country’s generatingcapacity, Leynes said,“ we are entertainingproposals on how toincrease powergeneration and we hopeto reach 3,000 to3,500mw.

By Sebastine Obasi

VISIT: From left, Alhaji Ismaila Zakari, 2nd Dep VP; Mr. Chidi Ajaegbu, President, both ofInstitute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN; Mr. Richard Giwa-Osagie, ManagingPartner, and Mr. Felix Obadan, Partner, both of Giwa-Osagie DFK & Co, during the visit ofICAN President and his team to Giwa-Osagie & Co. Photo: Biodun Ogunleye

APC CRISIS:Amosun'sally, 2,500others dumpAPC for PDP

By Daud Olatunji

ABEOKUTA — THEcrisis rocking the

All ProgressivesCongress, APC, in OgunState deepened,yesterday, as no fewerthan 2,500 members ofthe party including aprominent politicianbelieved to be an ally ofGovernor IbikunleAmosun, Dapo Abiodundefected to the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP.

Also a formerCommissioner for Youthand Sports under formerGovernor GbengaDaniel, Otunba FataiSowemimo defected withhundreds of others fromLabour Party, LP.

Others who defectedwith their supporterswere the APC Secretaryfor Remo North LocalGovernment Area, OpeOlateju, and thechairman of LP in IjebuEast Local Govern-ment, Ganiyu Ishola.

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THANKSGIVING: from left; PDP Governorship aspirant, Sir Anthony Obuh, his wife, Esther , and wifeof the governor of Delta State, Deaconess Roli Uduaghan, during the thanksgiving service marking thevoluntary retirement of the guber aspirant at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Agbor yesterday.Photo: Henry Unini

2015: Respect existing Rivers guber rotation, Harry warnsSonghai farmcommencestraining onmale Tilapiaproduction

By Soni Daniel

A POLITICAL bigwig inRivers State, Dr. Pax

Harry, has warned againstattempts by any of the politicalparties to tamper with theexisting political formula thatrotates its governorshipbetween the upland andriverine parts of the state.

Harry who spsoke withjournalists in Abuja, weekend,said that it was the turn of theKalabari-speaking people ofthe state to produce the nextgovernor in 2015, having notproduced one since thecreation of the state in 1967.

Harry, who was a memberof the Justice Kayode Esho-led Rivers Truth andReconciliation Commission,pointed out that it would bewrong for the upland part ofthe state to attempt to presideover the affairs of the state afterDr. Peter Odili and RotimiAmaechi might have heldsway for 16 years.

He said any move by anyupland politician to rule thestate in 2015 would havesidelined the Kalabari peopleand other riverine natives forover 24 years, thereby

marginalising them for no justcause.

Harry warned that those whowere trying to abolish theexisting rotation ofgovernorship between theupland and riverine parts of the

state, were doing so for selfishreasons as same was capable ofplunging the state intoavoidable political upheaval.

According to Harry, thestruggle by some uplandpoliticians to take a shot at the

Government House shortlyafter Governor Amaechi, wasborne out of disrespect andinsensitivity to the yearningsand aspirations of the riverinepeople, of which the Kalabariare an integral part.

P O R T

H A R C O U R T —GOVERNOR RotimiAmaechi of Rivers Statehas called for properfunding of education inthe country.

Speaking at the 18-20thconvocation of the RiversState Polytechnic, Bori,headquarters of KhanaLocal Government Area ofthe state, he said that therewas a drop in the qualityof education in thecountry, stressing thaturgent steps should betaken to address thesituation.

Governor Amaechi whonoted that some of thegraduates coming out ofthe nation’s higherinstitutions were not fit,said “Our country, Nigeriamust have the capacity tocreate the human capitalneeded for economicdevelopment. There areserious concerns that ourhigher institutions oflearning at all levels areproducing graduates notfit. In other words, ourchildren are leavingschool without theknowledge to sustainthem or contribute to thedevelopment of thenational economy.”

He said his governmentwill continue to invest in

Amaechi seeks proper funding ofeducation

By Jimitota Onoyume &Davies Iheamnachor

education because of itsvalue for the sector,stressing, “Early, in thelife of this administration,we declared a state ofemergency in theeducation sector to makeRivers State the hub ofeducation, not only inNigeria, but also in sub-Sahara Africa. Ourcommitment is to improveservices and the quality ofeducation and make itmore relevant toproductive activities,including value re-orientation, employmentand wealth creation.

“We shall continue to

pursue that dreamvigorously and alsoconfront the challengesbedeviling the educationsector. Even as we striveto revitalize the sector, Iam delighted to say thatour efforts are bearingfruitful results. Thenaming of Port Harcourtas the World Book Capital2014 earlier in the yearand other achievementsgave eloquent testimonyof the recognition. It is anu n p r e c e d e n t e dachievement as we putRivers State and Nigeriain the global map.”

WARRI —E C O N O M I C

activities in oil rich Oviri-Olomu have beendisrupted following the oilspill from pipelines from afacility operated byNigerian PetroleumDevelopment Company,NPDC, under OML 34 and65. Mr. Peter Edariense,President General, Oviri-Olomu community, whoconfirmed the spill, said itstarted more than a monthago with no response fromNPDC.

He said,“The spill wasdiscovered and reported bysome fishermen. The

Oil spill ravages Olomu communityBy Egufe Yafugborhi &Akpokona Omafuaire community leadership

promptly contacted NPDCSurveillance Contractor inthe area, who later visitedthe spot but no action hasbeen taken.”

Edariense who blamedthe spill on the alleged poormaintenance of oil facilitieslaid over 36 hectares of thecommunity land by ShellPetroleum DevelopmentCompany, SPDC, lamentedthat the recurring spillagehas brought untoldhardship on the people ofthe area. He appealed tothe Delta State Governmentto prevail on the polluter toclean-up the area and paycompensation to thepeople.

SAPELE— TO realisepart of the objectives

of the Delta Beyond Oilinitiative, the stategovernment ownedSonghai Delta Farm,Amukpe, in Sapele LocalGovernment Area, willcommence the training ofmale tilapia production.

Governor EmmanuelUduaghan, who recentlyinspected the farm, said thefarm was revamped notonly to engage in theproduction of food stuff forNigerians, but also toengage in training andretraining of all classes ofpeople and students ofacademic and trade/skillacquisition institutions fromwithin and outsideNigeria.

Chief Consultant of thefarm, Dr TheophilusOkpidi, said in a statementthat the training workshopwill take place betweenOctober 3 – 6, adding thatparticipants shall includepublic and private fishfarmers.

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Govs glad with confab report on statescreation in S-E .... Pass vote of confidence on delegates

By Austin Ogwuda & FrancisIgata

ENUGU — GOVERNORS,traditional rulers and

political leaders from the South-East geo-political zone met inEnugu, weekend, with a resolveto pursue the proposed creationof additional states in the regionas recommended by the justconcluded National Conference.

They also passed a vote ofconfidence on the delegates fromthe zone for a good performanceat the conference.

Rising from the meeting,chairman, South-East GovernorsForum, Chief Theodore Orji ofAbia State, said: “We met toreview the outcome of the justconcluded confab. We summonedthe meeting to find out whetherthe delegates performed accordingto our mandate.

“Those delegates did very wellin articulating our points. Thosepoints are contained in adocument that had beenpresented to the President,prominent among them is theissue of creation of states. It issensitive to the zone and theywere in a position to argue foradditional state for the south-eastzone.

“Topmost is to give us, oneadditional state, to bring us at parwith other zones in the country.So, we are happy with them andthat is why we have come to getbriefs from them. They have toldus and we are satisfied. If thereare amendments, it will comelater.”

On the issue of security,Governor Orji said: “We are doingour best to ensure that every statein the Eouth-East is puttingeverything in place to make surethat lives and property areprotected. You can attest that thereis a decrease in the incidence ofkidnapping, armed robbery in thiszone.

“It is as a result of efforts, the

South-East governors are making.The last time we met here, we toldyou that we are making effortsjointly to purchase a trackingequipment that will boost securityin the region. The effort is still on.When it comes on board, it willhelp us.”

Governors in attendance werehost, Sullivan Chime,EnuguState; Martin Elechi, Ebonyi;Deputy Governor, Imo State,Prince Eze Madumere, and ChiefWillie Obiano of Anambra State.

Other dignitaries includeSenator Uche Chukwumerije,Senator Ayogu Eze, Speaker,Enugu State House of Assembly,Eugene Odoh, Chief MbazuruikeAmaechi, National Vice

Chairman, PDP, Col. AustinAkobundu and Minister forLabour and Productivity, ChiefEmeka Nwogu.

The creation of new states wasone of the decisions taken by thedelegates at their plenary whileconsidering the report of theCommittee on PoliticalRestructuring and Forms ofGovernment, while Aba State isto be carved out of the presentAbia State, according to therecommendation.

Apart from the 18 new statesproposed, the Conference said aseparate state, yet-to-be named,should be carved out of the South-East to bring the number of thestates in the zone to six.

Police kill 2 kidnap kingpins on wanted listin Enugu

By Austin Ogwuda & Francis Igata

ENUGU — TWO members of a notorious robbery/kidnapgang on the wanted list of Enugu State police command

for allegedly terrorizing residents of Trans-Ekulu and itsenvirons have been killed, following a fierce gun battle withthe police team.

Enugu State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. EbereAmaraizu, stated this in a statement at the weekend.

According to him, “a joint operation on September 19 led tothe arrest of two notorious armed robbery suspects who had

been terrorizing the lives and propertyof the good people of Trans-Ekulu andits environs

“Our operatives swooped on them,following intelligence report as theywere about to carry out their nefariousactivities on that fateful night whileoperating in a Golf, Volkswagen carwith Enugu taxi-cab colour alongEnugu-Onitsha expressway by Trans-Ekulu axis of the state.

“The hoodlums who were four innumber, on sighting the operatives

who already had taken their positions,opened fire on them and in the ensuinggun duel,two of the suspects were fatallyinjured, leaving them dead, while therest believed to have sustained bulletwounds escaped into the bush.

“Among the deceased suspects is theleader of the gang, simply calledUdochukwu, and his cohort alsoidentified as Onyebuchi. They had beenon the wanted list of the operatives oversome killings in Trans-Ekulu andAbakpa, including the last two weeksincident of killings at a filling station inTrans-Ekulu, among others.

“Manhunt on the escapee gangmembers have been intensified by theoperatives. The state command is alsoappealing to hospital operators andgood people of the state with informationabout anyone with injury/injuriessuspected to be that of bullet, to reportpromptly to any nearby Police Divisionor contact the state command.”

Imo topartnerWAEC, JAMBto improvequality ofeducation

IMO STATEGovernment has

reiterated its readiness topartner West AfricanExamination Council,WAEC, Joint Admissionand Matriculation Board,JAMB, respectively for acontinuous sustenance ofquality education in thestate.

The government madethis promise recentlywhile receivingmanagement of the twoexamination bodies atGovernment House,Owerri.

Governor RochasOkorocha represented byChief of Staff, Sir JudeEjiogu, disclosed that oneof the primary objectives ofhis rescue missionadministration was to takeeducation to its enviableheight, adding that thegovernor’s idea for makingit free at all levels was togive children of the pooraccess to quality education.

Ebola: OwerriCatholicprovincesensitizesteachers,others

By Chidi Nkwopara

OWERRI — THEC a t h o l i c

Ecclesiastical Province ofOwerri has concluded itssensitization seminar onEbola Virus Disease, EVD,for its school teachers andmanagements, ahead ofthe resumption ofinstitutions today for thenew academic year.

This came as Imo Stategovernment commendedthe Rotary Club for itscommitment to theeradication of the poliovirus.

The training wasorganized in Owerri by theArchdiocesan EducationCommission, incollaboration with theArchdiocesan HealthAdvisory Board, forteachers in both the primaryand secondary schools.

Addressing theparticipants, OwerriArchdiocesan Director ofEducation, Rev. Fr. VictorEleba, explained that thetraining was to properlyarm the teachers and schoolmanagements on how tocheck the EVD from gettinginto any of theArchdiocesan schools.


By LevinusNwabughiogu

Don't postpone 2015 generalelections, APC warns

IGP orders withdrawal of road blocks nationwide

THE All ProgressivesCongress, APC, has

warned those nursing theplan to postpone the 2015general elections to perishthe thought, sayingNigerians would not acceptany scheme by desperateelected officials to gettenure elongation bysubterfuge

In a statement issued inLagos on Sunday by itsNational Publicity Secretary,Alhaji Lai Mohammed, theparty said those flying thekite of pushing forward theelection for the claim thatthe nation was at war weretrying to imperil the nation’sdemocracy.

‘’Election is the lifebloodof democracy, themechanism by whichmodern representativedemocracy operates. It is theonly way for the citizenry torenew and refresh thegoverning process so they

can get the most benefits outof democracy.

“Therefore, anyone thattries to sabotage thismechanism is aiming adagger straight at the heartof democracy,’’ it said.

APC said the statementcredited to Senate PresidentDavid Mark, that thequestion of election wascurrently not on the table,in view of the fact that thenation was at war, reflectedthe thinking in governmentcircles.

The party noted that theSenate President, havingrun into a wall of oppositionover his unfortunatestatement, had tried to stepback from the comments.

‘’We in the APC saw thiscoming, and we have saidit at several fora: That theJonathan Administrationhas deliberately allowed theinsurgency in the North-east, an oppositionstronghold, to fester so hecan cash in on it to get re-elected. Simply put, the

administration has beenplaying dirty politics withBoko Haram, at the expenseof the lives and property ofthe citizenry and the well-being of the nation.

‘’However, theAdministration is being tooclever by half to think thatNigerians will reward it forits failure in its main reasonfor existence, which is theprotection of the welfare andsecurity of the citizens.

“There is just no way thisgovernment will be allowedto profit from its ineptnessand its conspiracy to prolongan insurgency that shouldhave ended a long timeago,’’ the party said.

It said the statement byINEC chairman, AttahiruJega, that the commissionhad started preparing forelections, even in theNorth-East, presented aray of hope but warned theelectoral body to remainsteadfast and not to cavein to what will be massivepressure from theJonathan administrationand its gong beaters toscuttle the 2105 elections.

By Kingsley Omonobi

A B U J A — T H EInspector-General

of Police, Suleiman Abba,has ordered the immediatedismantling of all newpolice roadblocksnationwide.

He also statedunequivocally that the orderbanning the setting up ofPolice road-blocksnationwide was still strictlyin force.

In a directive issued to allcommands and formationsof the Force, the IGPwarned that “all semblances

NIGERIA’S fastestgrowing online

retail store, Eshoppaz,which launched its platformon March 2014, has beenmaking tremendousprogress in its efforts atmaking e-commerce inNigeria healthy and risk-free.

The retail store recentlyannounced charismaticgospel singer, Buchi as itsfirst brand ambassador. Thestylish singer is set to bemade the face of Eshoppaz.

The Chief ExecutiveOfficer, DarlingtonOnokerhor, who has beenpart of e-commerce since itsinception in Nigeria at the

of Police road-blocks andpermanent check-pointsreportedly re-emerging insome parts of the country,especially in the South-East, South-South andSouth-West geo-politicalzones of Nigeria shouldimmediately bedismantled.”

Force headquarters, ina statement signed by theForce Public Relationsofficer, CP EmmanuelOjukwu, said: “The IGP,who described the trendas a serious violation ofsubsisting order on road-blocks, warned that

severe sanctions awaitany police commands,formations and personnelwho violate the order.

unveiling said, Buchi is oneof the most respectedcelebrities in the country, forthe quality of his music, hismessage, and his charitablework.

''We are tremendouslyexcited to have him on ourteam, and he represents allthat we stand for ateshopppaz - excellence,passion and people.

''Buchi ambassadorshiphas officially kicked off, aswe are so pleased toannounce his charitablegesture to be the face ofeshoppaz.com just aseshoppaz prepares tocommence nationwide cashon delivery of products.''

Eshoppaz unveils Buchi asbrand ambassador

A chieftain of the All Progressives

Congress, APC, Mr.Adekunle Olayinka, hasurged the rich in thesociety to plough backpart of their wealth toassist the country reducethe level of poverty andengender development.

He also lauded RotaryClub International for itscommitment to developcommunities across theworld throughphilanthropic gestures.

Speaking at an award/fund raising ceremony ofthe Rotary Club of OmoleGolden and installationceremony of Rotarian ChrisAlabi, in Ikeja, Olayinka,who bagged an award ofexcellence from the club,also called on governmentsat all levels to see suchorganisations as partners inprogress in the task ofdeveloping the country.

APC chieftaintasks richNigerians onpovertyreduction

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2014 —15

WEDDING: From left; Chief Sunny Odogwu; Mrs Evelyn Obioha, groom's mother; MrEhimaobi Obioha, groom, his wife, Kokoeka; Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, bride's mother andChief Abah Folawiyo during the solemnisation of matrimony between Kokoeka and Ehimaobiat the Methodist Church of the Trinity, Tinubu, Lagos on Saturday. Photo by Lamidi Bamidele.

LAGOS—FORMER Vice-President and presidential

aspirant on the platform of the AllProgressives Congress, APC,Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, weekendin Lagos said the North would notvote for the Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, in the 2015 presidentialelection, claiming PDP had donenothing to attract votes fromNigerians.

At an interactive session withselected youths, he insisted thathe would support whoever

emerged presidential candidateof APC if he did not get the ticket,but expressed doubts on the abilityof the Independent ElectoralCommission of Nigeria, INEC, toconduct a free and fair election.

According to him, ‘’Asking meto not contest is asking me to giveup on Nigeria. The North will notvote for the PDP because the partyhas failed everybody. This periodpresents an opportunity forchange. Before now, the PDP wasbig and the absence of a viableopposition then allowed the partyto become monstrous. But now

with the APC there is choice.There is no way Nigerians canvote for the PDP in 2015. PDP hasfailed everybody. We all yearn forthis change. We have got anopportunity to change but nothingcame out of it because we had onebig monster party. Today we havetwo equal parties. One good thingabout it is that the APC providesan opportunity.’’

Continuing, Atiku said “anumber of reasons have beenadduced as responsible forinsurgency. Some said the regionwas the most backward region in

the country, with widespreadpoverty and illiteracy. But theseare not reasons why peopleshould take arms and start killinginnocent Nigerians. There ispoverty everywhere in thiscountry. There is unemploymenteverywhere. I want to recall thata similar situation arose in YobeState while we were in office. Itdid not take us more than a monthto crush that insurgency. I thinkthe mistake we made aftercrushing the insurgency, was notgoing back to the people to knowwhy they took up arms against thecountry. We failed to listen to themand provide solution to whichevergrievance they had. Today, thereis a recurrence. There is failure ofleadership in the war againstterrorism in terms of capacity.’

“I also believe that the armedforces should be well provided for.I come from that region and knowthat our armed forces are not wellequipped. If you watch theirencounter with the insurgents onYouTube, you will agree that theinsurgents are better equipped.There is also failure of intelligencegathering among ourneighbouring countries.

''The President visited Chadand Cameroon recently, what Iexpected was a meeting withthe service chiefs of the countriesand their military commanders.I think we have a number offactors that have contributed tothe growth of insurgency. Thatis why we believe that theremust be a change.’’

North won't vote for PDP in 2015 — ATIKUBy Charles Kumolu

A Benin-basedlawyer, Olushola

Iyogun, has advised EdoState Government toexercise patience on recentstatements credited to thestate Chairman of thePeoples Democratic Party,PDP, Chief Dan Orbih, andurged him to prove that thedocuments he is paradingare original documents andapproved by the stategovernment.

In a statement, Iyogunsaid “If Edo StateGovernment is consideringlegal options against DanOrbih, it should soft-pedalbecause Orbih has a dutyto go the extra mile toconvince the public that hisclaims against the stategovernment are genuine,and that the documentswere not forged otherwise,one would advise the stategovernment to invoke thelaw and prosecute Orbih forfalse information, forgery/perjury, incitement,unlawful possession andacquisition of confidentialdocuments, among otherconsiderable legal options.

“Except to say that thestate government and inthis case, the governor,Comrade AdamsOshiomhole does not wantto invoke the powers of hisoffice, and the law or thatthose approvals made byhim as an ExecutiveGovernor were duly soughtand obtained according tothe Freedom of InformationAct by Orbih since they areclassified as secret orconfidential documents.

“However, I want to notehere that the alarm and theintentions which theapprovals were meant toachieve by Dan Orbih canbest be described asmalicious and outlandishbecause, if withoutconceding, the authenticityof the documents, theapprovals were not onlylegitimate, they are also inline with world bestpractices. Was the event inChicago a priority? Yes. IsOshiomhole the firstGovernor to have attendedsimilar events by EdoNationals in the UnitedStates of America? No. Wasmoney approved above theconventional and statutoryallowances for oversea tripsfor top government officials?No. When these delegatesincluding traditional rulersgot these monies, did theyembark on the trip? Yes. Wasmoney embezzled? No."

I L O R I N — S P E C I A LAdviser on National

Assembly Matters to PresidentGoodluck Jonathan, SenatorMakanjuola Ajadi, weekend saidthe adoption of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan as the solecandidate of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, in the 2015presidential election, was the bestthing to happen to Nigeria as acountry.

He spoke in an interview withjournalists in Ilorin and claimedno party could defeat the PDP inthe state, saying Kwarans wouldvote massively for PresidentJonathan.

According to him, “There isnobody who can defeat PDP in2015 election. If it happens, donot call me Senator again, removeSenator from my name because itwould not happen. Tell me whoare the people remaining inKwara APC in Kwara State?”

Explaining the adoption ofPresident Goodluck Jonathan byPDP as its sole candidate, SenatorAjadi said,” the norms all over theworld is that a sitting Presidenthas the first option of refusal, infact other political parties shouldemulate PDP in the future.Anywhere, a serving president isalways given the first option of

refusal. It is only when thatPresident refuses that alternativewould now be looked into. It is oneof the best things that has everhappened in the politicaldevelopment of Nigeria.Everybody knows all over the

world that sitting Presidents arealways given the first option ofrefusal to re-contest. Are wesaying, we are still blind and wecannot see what is going on allover the world? This is a lessonfor all other political parties in

Nigeria to emulate in future. Ifanybody is on seat and he isperforming well and he is willingto go for second term, it should beautomatic ticket as it happened toPresident Jonathan.”

‘Jonathan's adoption, best thing to happen to Nigeria'By Demola Akinyemi

ABUJA—FORMER Deputy President of the

Senate, Senator Ibrahim Mantuhas admitted that both the rulingPeoples Democratic Party, PDP andthe opposition party, the AllProgressives Congress, APC lackinternal democracy.

According to him, it is sad thatparty members are forced to waitin the sun without food to expresstheir voting rights, only to discoverat the end of the day that theirvotes do not count.

Mantu in a chat with journalistsweekend, said he was now a bornagain politician who had left thepast behind.

He however went down memorylane, explaining that he wasrefused the position of NationalChairman of the defunctNational Relublican Convention,NRC, because he insisted thatpower must shift from the north

to the south.Speaking during the special

media interactive sessionorgsnised by the Save DemocracyGroup, Senator Mantu warnedthat the country would not get itright until she started doing thingsright and putting democracy in itsright perspective.

According to him, theinternational communityabandoned the country especiallythe President of the United Statesof America, President BarackObama who refused to come toNigeria, but went to Ghana.

Mantu noted that his heartbleeds like every other politicianthat things were not in theirrightful perspective, saying,“today, all the parties are guilty oflack of internal democracy, theyare all suffering of lack of internaldemocracy. You ask people to sitall day, no food, no drink and theirvows not taken as leaders sit atthe party secretatiat to send names

to INEC, all the parties are guiltyof this. When you have afraudulent person presented toINEC, it will affect the system.

“Until we start doing thingsright, that is when we will getdemocracy right, once we get itright, we then achieve all. Nigeriais not flowing with milk and honeybecause we have abandoned theright things.

Speaking earlier, nationalcoordinator of Save DemocracyGroup, Dr. Ifedi Okwennaexplained that the group believesthat by creating stronginstitutions, appropriate checksand monitoring would be broughtto bear on the nation’s politicalactors to ensure that they imbibeconsciously the democratic cultureand norms; value of tolerance foranother viewpoint; playing thegames by the rules and in thepropagation and promotion of theprinciple of internal democracyamong political parties.

Lack of internal democracy, bane of PDP, APC — MANTUBy Henry Umoru

LawyercautionsEdo govtover PDPChairman

OPINION


*Mr. Ayandele, a commentator onnational issues, wrote from Osogbo,Osun State.

The media, Omisore and Osun electionsBy Tunji Ayandele

WHILE it is generally agreed thatno medium exists without its

own bias, the greater truth is that themedia is a public trust and its hallmarkis integrity established by truth. Whena medium publishes falsehood, eitherdeliberately or inadvertently, itundermines the basis of its credibility.

This is the trap that the defeatedcandidate of the Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, Senator Iyiola Omisore, setfor the Nigerian media before, duringand after the August 9, governorshipelection in Osun State.

Senator Omisore asked for theremoval of the State ResidentElectoral Commission, AmbassadorRufus Akeju, alleging that Akeju is acard-carrying member of the thenAction Congress of Nigeria, ACN,which later metamorphosed into theAll Progressives Congress, APC. Hedid not offer any evidence. TheIndependent National ElectoralCommission, INEC, Akeju’s employer,asked him to substantiate his claim,since he who asserts must prove.Almost four years down the line, he isyet to come up with anything. But themedia, regrettably, has been amplifyingthis false allegation for him.

Again, he has been fulminating that

INEC conducted the 2011 generalelections against a subsisting courtorder. He trumpeted this lie with ademonic frenzy, regrettably with thehelp of the media.

The truth, however, is that the PDPwent to court asking for aninterlocutory injunction preventingAkeju from conducting the 2011election. INEC agreed and waspreparing to replace Akeju when PDPwent back to the same court and askedfor a ‘stay of execution’.

The judge, Babs Kuewumi, wasscandalised. He told them that theirdemand defied logic since it is the loserthat asks for an injunction against aninjunction, not the winner, who shouldbe savouring the fruits of his victory.He then granted the stay of executionof the injunction he had earliergranted.

It is inconceivable that Omisore willnow turn round to accuse INEC offlouting court order. The mediareported this falsehood with recklessabandon, without cross-checking thefacts.

Then again, the media on September2 were awash with an interesting newsitem – a report that INEC hadsuspended two Electoral Officers, EOs,

for Obokun and Osogbo localgovernments. The report gleefully andrecklessly claimed they were suspendedfor helping APC to rig the August 9,2014 governorship election in OsunState.

The next day INEC came out to rebutthe story. INEC was categorical indenying that the two EOs weresuspended for helping APC rig theelection. Indeed, the EO for Obokunwas suspended for diverting electionmaterials and arrested by the policewhile doing so. What INEC did notmention was that the news actuallybroke on the eve of the election, howvigilant youths in Otan-Ile hadapprehended the EO while taking thematerials to the residence of a PDPchief in Ilase and how he was releasedby police to a PDP national officerfrom the state.

The second EO for Osogbo wasactually suspended following thepetition written against him forattempting to manipulate the electionagainst APC. He hid the accreditationtags of APC party agents and did notrelease them until after accreditationhad taken place. He also hid form EC8Cin a waste bin and caused the delay incompiling the result for Osogbo until

about 2.00 am the next day.How then could the two EOs have

rigged for APC? Interestingly, the samemedia had reported these events whenthey occurred. All they needed to dowas crosscheck with their own record.However, the report was written bythe media handlers of Omisore andhanded to the media with a littleinducement. The public had beenbadly served.

The irony is that each time the publicread a report in the media that ispatently false, instead of Omisore, itis the media that gets discredited.There is no amount of money that cancompensate for the loss of credibilityfor the media. Believability is themedia’s daily bread and once it is lost,nothing is left.

Omisore is a mere bird of passage,he should not be allowed to destroythe media that have been built overtime with the sweat and blood of ourpatriots and heroes of the profession.

AS schools are officially scheduled toresume nationwide today, we hasten todraw attention to an obnoxious policythat, if not immediately addressed, coulddo irreparable harm not only to theeducational system but to the knowledgeindustry as a whole.The Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF)

has introduced a 50% tariff and duty onimported printed books. In the first place,this is a gross negation of the UnitedNations Educational, Scientific andCultural Organisation (UNESCO)Florence Convention which the UnitedNations enunciated in 1954 guaranteeingfree flow of educational, scientific andcultural materials. It was aimed at the freesharing of knowledge and ideas for thedevelopment of mankind. Nigeria is asignatory to that convention.Back home, President Goodluck Jonathan

launched the Bring Back the Bookcampaign to illustrate his concern for thefallen fortunes of books in Nigeria and hisdetermination to transform the educationalsector. This increase in tariff runs totallycounter to the chosen direction of thenation. It is obvious that the policy was

SSSSStttttop The Wop The Wop The Wop The Wop The War Onar Onar Onar Onar OnBooksBooksBooksBooksBooks

not properly thought through.Parents and guardians have been groaning

under the heavy weight of high school feesin an era when the public school system isin ruins. The high tariff and duty willincrease their pains and drive books – andquality education – beyond the reach of thestruggling masses. It will impact negativelyon authors, publishers and writers in thelong run because book piracy and stealingof intellectual property will be on theincrease.The paucity of quality books will force

more parents to send their children toschools abroad and increase capital flight.A fact sheet released during the Nigerian

Economic Summit indicates that between2007 and 2010 Nigerian students enrolledin foreign universities increased from22,712 to 38,851, draining the nation of1.5 trillion naira annually. It was a fall-out from poor quality public policy, suchas this one.It is alarming that Nigeria currently ranks

117 out of 148 countries in quality ofmathematics and science education, yet weare competing with other rapidly advancingcountries such as Singapore: 1st out of 148;Tunisia, 31st out of 148 and Cote D’Ivoire:60 out of 148.It is such a shame that those

superintending this policy benefited fromfree availability of books and got solidgrounding from the Nigerian educationalsystem when it was still very competitive.It is like using the ladder to climb to thetop and kicking it away.Nigeria only this month joined other

countries of the world to reaffirm ourcommitment to education for all and otheruniversal goals by 2015. As we welcomeour children back to school, governmentmust remove this tariff and give room toquality education.

SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

As banks' non-performing loans mountWe won't buy bad debts again — AMCON

Continues on page 19

BY PETER EGWUATU

There are indications that somebanks are not makingadequate provisions for bad

and doubtful loans in their books asmandated by the Central Bank ofNigeria, CBN. This, it is feared, maytrigger another systemic crisis in thebanking sector if not checked. It willbe recalled that it was as a result ofhuge non-performing loans in theNigerian banking sector that led to the

Systemic crisis looms inbanking sector

CBN intervention in five banks in2009.

Banks are supposed to makeadequate provisions for non-performing loans from theirshareholders' funds in order to avertthe kind of situation which led tofinancial crisis in 2009. Investigationshave shown that banks’ bad debts arebeginning to grow again in thebanking sector following the outcryfrom the recently privatised firms inthe Power sector of their inability toservice the loans they obtained from

the financial institutions which havegrown to over N250 billion

Meanwhile, the Asset ManagementCorporation of Nigeria, AMCON hassaid that it will no longer buy any baddebt from any bank.

According AMCON spokesman,Mr. Kayode Lambo, "AMCON is nolonger buying NPLs and we have beenrepeating that. The CBN is the onlyinstitution that can say we shouldbuy.” Commenting further, he said:“If it is true that some banks' non-performing loans are accumulating,

then they should make provisions forsuch or sell such NPLs to someoneelse, not AMCON.”

Reacting on the development, someoperators in the Nigerian capitalmarket who preferred to remainanonymous said: “It is time for theregulators to beam their searchlightson these banks. The financialstatement of banks should bethoroughly examined. How canoperators in the recently privatisedpower sector not be able to pay theloan they took from the banks, giventhe arbitrary charges and huge returnsthey make from low power supply?The banks that gave loans to thesecompanies should ensure thatappropriate provisions are made asmandated by the CBN, otherwise, weshall begin to see another sign ofdistress in the sector."

It will be recalled that the Bankers

INTERACTION - General manager, Lagos State Building Control Agency LASBCA), Abimbola Animashaun flankedby Director and Head Inspectorate and Quality Control Departmenty, Ayo Sodeinde (left), and Assistant Chief BuilderOfficer, Divisional Head, Lagos, Adeoye Adeyemi, during the Agency's media interaction at its Ikeja Office in Lagos .

MarketData

/P28

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Cover Story

Continues from page 17 ,

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Starting your ownbusiness can yieldamazing rewards but

at the same time it’s a prettybig risk. One of the biggestreasons why people fail isthey enter into a business anddoesn’t have profitablemarket. They may like whatthey are doing but they arenot making money. It is oneof the keys to do somethingyou are passionate about, butif you can’t monetize it, thenit is not something you maywant to go into business in. Itis necessary to carry outresearch before you build upa business to find if there is ademand for your products.

At one time to another, wehave all fantasized aboutcreating our own businessand being a successfulentrepreneur. It is exciting toconsider the possibilities butthen the fears creep in. Wehave all heard stories aboutpeople who started their ownbusiness full of hope andfaith, only to unwind shortlythereafter and fail miserablywhile losing some good hardearned cash in the meantime.

Let us take a look at someof the underlying causes thatare not always discussed. Youmight be surprised to hearthat the lack of money is notthe main reason for failure;there are several reasons whypeople fail in business:

· THE “COPY CAT”FACTOR - Many people gointo business or make abusiness choice because theyalso think they can besuccessful in it. Many peoplefail because of this reason.You have to put intoconsideration that what worksfor “MR. A” may not beapplicable to “MR. B” and itis better to go along with yourown idea and instinct insteadof trying to be like someoneelse. This is wrong.

· LACK OF DISCIPLINEAND CONSISTENCY - Mostpeople get the idea that theycan make millions by simplystarting their own business.Developing the disciplineand consistency necessary tobe successful in anyendeavour is part of whatmakes success so sweet. Thereare not many accidentalsuccess stories. It takestremendous discipline to be

Why people fail intheir business

successful in anythingincluding a business. It is likegetting in shape or going tocollege. You will not make itthrough the college if youonly study one day in eachsemester. Once you knowwhat is required daily, learnto discipline yourself and beconsistent. Amazingly,consistency and discipline notonly elevate you to higherlevels of success, they alsomake your work so mucheasier!

· LACK OF PERSONALGROWTH - Most peoplehave it backwards. They thinkthat one becomes a millionaireand then starts thinking likeone. But it is the other wayround. Before you can besuccessful, you have to thinklike a successful person. Yourthoughts, words, and yourimagination will affect

whether you succeed or fail.Personal developments ofyour attitude andcommunication skills are amust. It is hard work and ittakes discipline. You willhave a hard time succeedingwithout protecting andworking on your attitude.This is especially true aftersome failures. This is alearned skill. It is alsoapplicable in business.

· Lacks of direction/plan -Most people that start abusiness have a little or noidea how to succeed.Therefore, it is extremelyinportant to find a consultantwho has the time andexperience to guide youthrough the maze, step bystep. Be sure this person willactually have (or make) thetime for you.

Once you knowwhat is requireddaily, learn todiscipline yourselfand be consistent.Amazingly,consistency anddiscipline not onlyelevate you tohigher levels ofsuccess, they alsomake your work somuch easier!

Committee recently said itwould help the privatisedpower firms clear N25 billionPHCN legacy debts to gas-producing companies.

Also speaking on thedevelopment, ManagingDirector/Chief Executive,Afrinvest Plc, Mr. Ike Chiokeduring his presentation of theAfrinvest Nigeria BankingSector Report in Lagos, notedthat there is a growing pileof troubling power assets inthe banking industry, whilethe capacity of the CBN topursue another bailout in theevent of a banking crisis isdoubtful.

According to him: “Ifthere is a problem in the

power sector and they are notable to service these loans,there is essentially going tobe a problem in the bankingsector. And if there is aproblem, the balance sheet ofCBN may not be able toaccommodate anotherbailout.”

The report stated: “Thehighly applauded powersector privatisationprogramme of the FederalGovernment in 2013 maybegin to reveal structural andfinancial challenges in thenear term if not wellmanaged. Approximately$2.5 billion was raised by theBPE in 2013 from theprivatisation of PHCN’sgenerating (GENCOs) anddistribution (DISCOs)companies. Another $5.7billion is expected to beraised by the FederalGovernment from this year’s

Systemic crisis looms in banking sectorSystemic crisis looms in banking sectorSystemic crisis looms in banking sectorSystemic crisis looms in banking sectorSystemic crisis looms in banking sector

sale of the NIPP plants.A significant portion of the

funding for the acquisition ofthese assets by private sectorinvestors was provided byNigerian banks with minimalequity contributions. This hasabsorbed an enormous levelof funds from banks. Thisinvestment is, however,supposedly yet to yieldreturns and has in part led tothe rush for Eurobonds bybanks in 2014 in an attemptto restructure credit to thePower sector.

A major apprehension isthe currency mismatch ascash flows from power assetsare generated in naira. Moreworrisome, however, is thatmany of the GENCOS andDISCOS earn significantlyless than their projected cashflows prior to acquisition dueto government’s inability to

resolve tariff and gas supplychallenges. Cumulatively, theapex bank should keep a closewatch on banks' risk assets tothe power space in order toavoid the emergence ofanother era of toxic assets.

“Our review of the CBN’sbalance sheet as at November2013 raises crucial questionsthat require urgent attention.The CBN’s proactiveresponse to the 2008/2009banking crisis was arguablythe right move although thishas, in itself, magnifiedCBN’s level of indebtedness.Over 40.0 per cent of CBN’sasset portfolio isunmarketable, comprisingprincipally of AMCONbonds, intervention funds anddevelopment finance loans.

These are long-terminvestments without adiscernible exit time frameother than the eventualperformance of the loanportfolio. For instance, the190.5 per cent surge in otherliabilities from N2.1 trillion inDecember 2009 to N6.1 trillionin November 2013, traceableto the acquisition ofAMCON’s debt by the CBN,is alarming.

In the event of another crisisin the banking space, theCBN may not have thecapacity to bail out the bankswithout avoiding the optionof printing money, which willhave significantconsequences on pricestability. As such, we believethe CBN may be forced toraise the AMCON levy onbanks from the current 0.5 percent of total assets plus 0.5 percent of 33.0 per cent of off-balance sheet items in thecoming years,” Chiokeemphasised.

The highlyapplaudedPower sectorprivatisationprogramme ofthe FederalGovernment in2013 may beginto revealstructural andfinancialchallenges inthe near term ifnot wellmanaged

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT - Dr. Jibril Aku, Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeriapresenting his signed Code of Conduct in Nigerian Banking Industry Form, to Otunba (Mrs)Debola Osibogun, President/Chairman of Council, CIBN while Dr. Uche Olowu, 2nd Vice Pres-ident, CIBN looks on during the stakeholders engagement with the Bank in Lagos.

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2014 — 19

Business & Economy

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Signals emerging from the global economy can best bedescribed as complex considering the trends inmacroeconomic and socio-political sphere. As of now, the international

financial market has not fully recovered from the 2008 financial crisis. Economiesare still weighed down by the aftermath of the crisis. The global oil market on

Tough times ahead for Nigerianbank investorssubsidiary of the NigerianNational Petroleum Corporation(NNPC), is posing a bigchallenge to banks' loanportfolio. The debt owed by thegenerating companies and theover N200 billion borrowedfrom banks by the new investorsto purchase the power assetshave slowed down the post-privatisation growth of thepower sector. As a result, thesepower generating companiesare not able to sell enoughpower to recover cost andservice banks loans. Some of thehuge loans will soon becomenon-performing assets in thebooks of banks.

With Asset ManagementCompany of Nigeria foreclosingany further purchase of bad andnon-performing loans frombanks, they (banks) may soonhave another round of hugenon-performing loans. By theCBN regulations, banks willhave to make provisions forthese assets sooner or later.This will eat up the existingcapital structure of most Nigerianbanks and will jeopardize the profitpotential of these banks and maysubsequently result in systemicdistress. The CBN last yearperhaps in anticipation of thisdevelopment, released a draftdocument in which it designatedeight banks as too big to fail due tothe risk their failure could pose tothe entire financial system. The

which Nigeria depends somuch, is precariouslyoscillating and prices areheading south. The story isnot different in other sectors.The sharing by the three tiersof government from thefederation account isdwindling.

Many socio-politicalcommentators would quicklysay that the global economy,fueled by monetary stimuli inEurope and the U.S, appearsto have reached a point ofinflection based on themoderate rebound ofeconomic activities in Africa,USA, Asia and parts ofEurope. Yes, the financialindustry has succeeded inleveraging the modestrecovery amidst regulatoryadjustments. A criticalanalysis of the Time seriesdata of the global economywould show that policyadjustments to combat theimpact of the 2008 financialcrisis have revealedloopholes and weaknesses inthe system, particularly thecomplexity in design andabnormal levels of illicittransactions by banks, whichhas come to indicate a highlevel of governanceindiscipline especially inNigeria.

As a result, regulators haveintroduced new policiesdesigned to further tightenthe noose on banks. Thecritical question now is: howprofitable are Nigerianbanks?

The inability of therecently privatized Powersector operators to pay up theover N30 billion owed theNigeria Gas Company, a

central bank also recentlychanged the way banks calculatecapital buffers to align withglobal standards and increasetheir ability to withstand losses.

The CBN action is in line withthe G-20 proposal that willrequire top banks in everycountry to issue special bonds ascapital that can assist them intimes of crises.

Government leaders areexpected to agree in Novemberthat the world’s top banks mustissue special bonds to increasethe amount of capital which canbe tapped in a crisis instead ofcalling on taxpayers to come totheir rescue. The bonds, to beknown as Gone Concern Loss

Absorption capacity or GLAC, areseen by regulators as essential tostopping the world’s biggestbanks from being “too big to fail.

The plans are being drafted bythe Financial Stability Board, theregulatory task force of the Groupof 20 economies, and G20 leaderswill discuss the reform before it isput out to public consultation inNovember. The reform would putin place the final major piece ofG20 regulation on banking as theglobal body turns to a “post-crisis” agenda of fosteringeconomic growth and beddingdown the rules it has approved.

The CBN ordered Nigerianbanks it considered too big to failto boost minimum capital ratiosto 16 per cent last year, comparedwith 10.5 per cent for SouthAfrican banks, which control mostof the continent’s banking assets.The central bank removed someassets banks can count as capitalin preparation for theimplementation of Basel II andIII, while limiting Tier 2 capitalto 33 per cent of Tier 1 capital,according to its August 5thcircular.

The banks designated as “toobig to fail” or SystematicallyImportant Banks (SIBs) in theCBN draft paper include: FirstBank of Nigeria, United Bank forAfrica, Zenith Bank, Access Bank,Ecobank Nigeria, Guaranty TrustBank, Skye Bank and DiamondBank.

The top eight banks currentlyaccount for over 70 percent of theindustry’s total assets.

The CBN's move seems to befollowing developments in thedeveloped capital markets, whereregulators have sought to namesystemically important banks astoo big to fail and have proposedhigher capital requirements forthem. As is the case abroad, a bigimpact of being named as a SIBby the CBN is that some of bankswould require additional capital.The current capital adequacy ratio(CAR) in Nigeria is 10 percentfor local banks and 15 percent forbanks with internationaloperations.

Of the eight banks named bythe CBN, Zenith Bank has thehighest liquidity ratio at 63.1 percent, followed by First Bank at62.7 percent. At the other end ofthe spectrum are Skye at 31.5percent and Diamond at 36.7percent. Already some of thesebanks are out in both local andinternational capital market toraise new funds. The local capitalmarket is still struggling to be onits proper footing. This leaves thebank no option than to look outside or raise the desired fundthrough rights issue. As it is, withthe current spate of toughregulations and with the wind ofdwindling economic fortuneacross the country, Nigerianbanks are in for a tough and roughweather this time around. Howthey will whether the storm willbe a matter of strongmanagement capability. Bankshareholders will once again beon the receiving end of thisfinancial game.

With AssetManagementCompany ofNigeriaforeclosing anyfurther purchaseof bad and non-performing loansfrom banks, they(banks) maysoon haveanother round ofhuge non-performingloans

In what is testament to thecompany’s meteoric rise

over the years, Twenty ThirdCentury Systems (TTCS), thePan African business solutionsprovider, has received topinternational awards.

The company won four topawards, making it thetechnology winner across thewhole African continent at thejust-concluded 2014 SAPAfrica Partner of the YearAwards in Johannesburg,South Africa.

This followed an awardshaul of Innovation in Salescategory (Cloud and Line OfBusiness), Regional MDAward (Partner of the Year –for Southern Africa including South Africa) aswell other accolades such as

TTCS wins SAP Top Partner Awards in AfricaPublic Services Partner of the YearAward and SAP Business OnePartner of the Year (which wentto DBS, a Twenty Third CenturySystems subsidiary).

The Pan Africa Group, whichhas been successfullyimplementing SAP acrossAfrica and the Middle Eastsince 1996, won these

accolades ahead of all other SAPpartners in Africa.

The awards haul was the mostby any SAP partner andconfirms TTCS as a leading

SAP partner on the Africancontinent. TTCS is present inmore than 10 African countrieswhich include Zimbabwe, SouthAfrica, Zambia, Malawi, Kenya,Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria,Botswana and French speakingWest Africa out of Senegal andIvory Coast.

In a bid to entrench its leadershiprole in the textile floor coverings

industry, Lucky Fibres, makers ofNobel Carpets & Rugs has introduceda new range of Centre rugs known asAAFREEN. into the Nigerian market.The new product will be available inNigeria starting this September.AAFREEN is a premium brand withunsurpassed beauty and quality at anaffordable price.

Commenting on the product qualityand durability, Kunal Malhotra, the

Lucky Fibre introduces AAFREEN to NigeriaGeneral Manager, Lucky Fibres, saidAAFREEN is rich in texture and isproduced in unique, trendy, modernand vibrant colours to meet thegrowing demands of consumers inevery socio economic class. AAFREENgives consumers a wider range ofdesign/colour options to choose from.

According to him, “As the leadingmanufacturer of rugs and carpets inNigeria, the introduction of AAFREENbecomes imperative in order to meetthe growing needs and changing

tastes of consumers. We haveproduced this as a valuable additionto the range of centre rugs thatalready exist in the market”.

“We will continually ensure each ofour rug designs remain a beautifuland unique artwork, a matchless pieceof craftsmanship. Furtherguaranteeing to provide consumersa beautiful and rich experience theyhave always clamoured for in a rug”Malhotra assured.


CMYK

Business & Economy

The Dubai Chamber ofCommerce andIndustry announced

that Ethiopia, Ghana,Rwanda and Senegal Headsof State, as well as severalministers and dignitarieshave confirmed theirpresence at the 2nd AfricaGlobal Business Forum, dueto take place in Dubai inOctober.

The forum is to be heldunder the patronage of HHSheikh Mohammed binRashid Al Maktoum, UAEVice-President and PrimeMinister and Ruler of Dubai.Its objective is to facilitate ahigh-level dialogue andadvice on key strategicdirectives related to Africa’seconomic outlook.

With Dubai becoming asignificant investor acrossAfrica and a base for fast-growing bilateral trade, theForum will exemplify why theEmirate is growing as a hubfor African entrepreneurs toaccess global markets. It willalso define why it forms aninternational investor basefor African operations.

This exclusive, invitation-only event will bring togetherover 500 high-level decisionmakers including: AfricanHeads of State: HE Dr.Mulatu Teshome, President,Federal Republic of Ethiopia,HE John Dramani Mahama,President, Republic ofGhana, HE Paul Kagame,President, Republic ofRwanda, HE Macky Sall,President, Republic ofSenegal.

Ministers and dignitaries

Heads of State, ministers toattend 2nd Africa BusinessForum

that have signified interests inparticipating include HEPatrick Achi, Minister ofEconomic Infrastructure,Republic of Ivory Coast, HEAmama Mbabazi, PrimeMinister, Republic of Uganda,HE Osman Omer AliAlshareef, Minister ofCommerce, Republic of theSudan, HE Cheick Mobido

Diarra, Transitional PrimeMinister of Mali, HE FestusMogae, the Former Presidentof the Republic of Botswana,HE Admiral MohabMohammad HusseinMameesh, Chairman ofEgypt’s General Authority forEconomic Zone, North-WestGulf of Suez, Hon. Dr RichardSezibera, Secretary General,

East African Community(EAC), HE Kadré DésiréOuédraogo, President of theEconomic Community of WestAfrican States Commission(ECOWAS).

Prominent CEOs andDirectors operating globally50 countries, including 22based in Sub-Saharan Africaand 30 industry sectorscurrently represented.Organisations include: AbaxCorporate Services, JonesLang Lasalle, Agility, AstralAviation, Emerald Energy,Chellarams, Mohamed HarebAl Otaiba Group OfCompanies, Siemens, Ernst &Young, Microsoft, SunbirdGroup, Jagal, The CarlyleGroup, Ericsson, HacoIndustries, Mastercard,Habiboil Limited. Heads ofprivate banks, sovereignwealth funds and privateequity firms, including:Unibank Ghana Ltd, HSBCAfrica, London StockExchange Group, NigeriaSovereign InvestmentAuthority, JP Morgan ChaseBank, Deutsche Bank,Wendel, Enko CapitalManagement, Africa FinanceCorporation, Rwanda StockExchange.

Local presence will be led byHE Reem Al Hashimy, UAEMinister of State andManaging Director of DubaiExpo 2020, HE Sultan AlMansouri, UAE Minister ofEconomy and HEMohammed I. Al Shaibani,Executive Director and CEOof the Investment Corporation

The President/ChiefExecutive, DangoteGroup, Aliko

Dangote, has said that Africaoffers one of the highest ratesof return on investment in theworld, a fact that discerningforeign investors have sinceacknowledged.

In his remark on his Group’sinvolvement in the concludedarrangements for thesponsorship of the prestigious‘Facetime’ segment on CNNMarketplace Africa, a CNNInternational’s show thatoffers a unique window intoAfrican business, AlikoDangote said Africa has madetremendous progress on theeconomic front in the lastdecade and has become oneof the fastest growing regionsin the world – home to six ofthe top ten fastest growingeconomies in the world.

Africa offers high rate of ROI —Dangote

... Sponsors Market place Africa on CNN“Africa also offers one of the

highest rates of return oninvestment in the world, a factthat discerning foreigninvestors have sinceacknowledged. Indeed, Africahas turned the corner and isnow catching up with the restof the world in the race fordevelopment. DangoteIndustries Limited isdelighted to sponsor the‘Facetime’ segment in CNN’sMarketplace Africa because ittells compelling successstories about Africa. Suchcontent can ultimatelyposition Africa as an attractiveinvestment destination andfoster development that liftcommunities and nations intoprosperity. This is Africa’stime” he noted.

In a statement signed by theMedia relations corporatecomm., Mr Frances Awowole-Browne, he said, startingtomorrow, a bespoke multi-media Dangote IndustriesLimited advertising campaign

will include sponsorship ofCNN Marketplace’s‘Facetime’ segment andexclusive branding on theshow’s microsite and theadvertising campaign willshowcase Dangote’sexpansion drive across thecontinent and outside of Africaby raising its profile amongbusiness and economicaudience.

“Facetime’ is a high-profilesegment within CNNMarketplace Africa, whereeach week a major playerfrom the continent’s businesscommunity is interviewed.CNN Marketplace Africa isthe destination for access tomovers and shakers at theforefront of African business.The show goes beyond thenumbers to bring viewers thenew business solutions andindustry trends redefiningAfrican business. On-aircontent is complemented bydistinctive online editorial ata CNN Marketplace Africamicrosite, where popular andinnovative content is sharedacross a range of socialchannels” he disclosed.

BY NAOMI UZOR

MEETING - From left, Anambra State Commissioner for Industry, Trade & Commerce, IfeatuOnejeme; Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano; National President, Nigerian Associa-tion of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Alhaji MohammedAbubakar and President, Onitsha Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Tim Anosike on a courtesy visit tothe Governor during the Association's 3rd Quarterly Council Meeting held in Onitsha recently.

The Nigerian InvestmentPromotion Commission,

NIPC is set to enforce itsmandate to register allcompanies in the country thathave foreign equities, asideregistration with theCorporate AffairsCommission, CAC.

The Executive Secretary ofthe commission, Mrs SaratuUmar who disclosed this inAbuja during a courtesy visitby the Deputy Governor ofOyo State, Chief MosesAdeyemo on Thursday, said itis mandatory for allcompanies with foreign staketo register with NIPC.

Umar said the Commissionis now ready to enforce thatsession of its mandate, addingthat the agency has begansentisation Programme to thateffect so as to make thecompanies understand theneed to also register withNIPC.

Session E of the basicfunctions and powers of NIPCAs Prescribed by Act 16 of1995 states that thecommission should ‘registerand keep records of allenterprises to which the NIPCAct legislation applies’ Also,under the provisions relatingto investments, the law furtherstates that ‘An enterprise, inwhich foreign participation ispermitted, shall after itsincorporation or registration,be registered with the NIPC,

Speaking on the visit of OyoState Deputy Governor, ChiefMoses Adeyemo, the NIPCscribe the commission will collaborate with states tostimulate both foreign anddomestic direct investments toenable them realize their fulleconomic potentials.

Chief Adeyemo’s visit toNIPC is part of measures toensure the development ofthe state into one of the topinvestment destinations inNigeria

Umar, commended the statefor the move adding that thedevelopment is coming at atime when the country iswitnessing an increase inforeign direct investmentinflow owing to the reforms bythe federal government.

She said six states-Ogun,Bayelsa, Delta, Cross Rivers,Niger and Rivers havesuccessfully established theirInvestment PromotionAgencies.

NIPC moves toenforce mandateon foreign equitycompanies

By FAVOUR NNABUGWU


Business & Economy

The Bank of Industry,BOI, weekend,launched N5 billion

Cottage Agro Processing (CAP)Fund.

Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa, theManaging Director of the bank,said that existing operators inthe sector as well as prospectiveyoung Nigerians who want togo into farming can takeadvantage of the fund toestablish mini mills forprocessing agro products suchas cassava, cashew, oil palm,rice paddy, groundnut, yam,maize and sorghum, etc.

According to him, for

How loan applicants can accessN5bn CAP Fund — BoI

By FRANKLIN ALLI& PROVIDENCE OBUH

applicants to qualify for theloan, they must meet both thegeneric and specificrequirements as stipulated bythe bank. “For me I think forany applicant to access the loan,let me first of all mention thegeneric requirements beforethe specific ones. The genericrequirements are that when youare applying for loans at BOI,you must clearly articulate yourbusiness model. The businessmodel should answer thefollowing four questions: whatis the product you are offering,what is your target market; whoare you going to sell thisproduct to and why shouldanybody buy your productbecause there are a lot of such

products in the market, so whyshould anybody buy it? How areyou going to create the productto ensure that it actually comesout? For me, if you canarticulate those issues, I thinkwe have a basis for veryinteresting discussion. So, thatis generic.

“The general requirementsare that this particular fund isfor agro products; that meansyou must have a processingfactory that processes crop intofood products or intermediateraw materials for industries.

The agreed product must beavailable in sufficient quantity;we are not looking at a massivetransport cost, so we expect thatyou locate your factory very close

to where the raw materials areavailable so that your transportcost is minimal.

“We expect that you identifyan equipment supplier that isaccredited by BOI and weexpect that you articulatepersonnel requirements thatare within the limit of yourbudget; we expect that youidentify some market for theproduct you want to sell. Theseare basic elements of businessmodel that we expect you to do.

“For people who may not beable to do this, we areappointing business servicesdevelopment firms to help.They will provide the servicesthat are almost next to nothingto the applicants. It will ensuretheir chance of success at theBOI. Right now a lot ofapplications that come to BOIdon’t meet standard. What wewant to do is to increase thesuccess rate of loan applicationsthat come to us, especially fromthe SMEs.”

He further explained that it isa direct intervention fund byBOI, adding , “the onlyinvolvement by commercialbanks will be limited to what wecalled the SMEs friendly banksto able to participate in theworking capital components ofthe loan. The working capitalcomponent is only 10 percent.We have a list of commercialbanks that we have identified;we had meetings with them andthey have agreed to. The SMEsstakeholders like NASME,have agreed with the list of thebanks and if those banks areinterested in providing the 10percent working capita we willgo ahead with them but if theyare not, BOI is prepared to dothat directly.

BY NAOMI UZOR

The Lagos Chamber ofCommerce andIndustry, LCCI, has

urged the FederalGovernment to relocate thetank farms to reduce theconvergence of fuel tankers onthe Apapa corridor. ThePresident of LCCI, Alhaji RemiBello, made this call at theCorporate Assembly withGovernor Babatunde Fashola,at the Lekki Free Trade Zone,Lagos, adding that, there isneed to fix the rail system tofacilitate the evacuation of

Relocate tank farms to reduce convergence offuel tankers, LCCI urges FG

cargo from Lagos ports inorder to reduce the use of thearticulated vehicles andindirectly reduce carnage onLagos roads.

“The Lagos ports havegained a reputation as one ofthe most expensive in theworld, from the point of viewof turn-around time of cargoto cost of clearing cargo. There are issues with internalprocesses within the port;there are even bigger issueswith the logistics of cargomovement outside the portsand to various destinations. All these have profoundimplications for the cost of

doing business. Weappreciate your intervention inrespect of the recent trafficgridlock along the Mile 2Apapa corridor and moreimportantly your concern withrate of accident of articulatedvehicles in the state” he said.

He noted that the Ebola virushas already it has taken its tollon business in a number ofways and has created aperception problem which hasmade many foreign investorsto be wary of coming into thecountry; some projects havebeen put on hold because theforeign partners were nolonger forthcoming, adding

that, the hospitality industrywitnessed some decline; theaviation sector also recordeda drop in Nigeria boundpassengers.

“The good news is that theEVD is being effectivelycontained and the Lagos Stategovernment, working inconjunction with federalgovernment did a salutaryjob. All cases of the EVDwere narrowed to the indexcase of the Liberian thatbrought the virus into thecountry. The containmentstrategies and efforts give usa lot of comfort and restoredour people’s confidence thatwe have a government atwork.

Apple planningnew iPads inmid-October

PRESENTATION: Mrs Oluwakula Taibat a beneficiary, MR. Michael Ola Dawodu Perma-nent Secretary Deputy Governor’s Office Alausa Ikeja, Prince Gbolahon Lawal Hon. Commis-sioner for Agriculture and Co-Operatives, H.R.M Oba Akeem Adesanya, Mr Kayode Opeifa,Hon. Commissioner for Transport Lagos State, H.R.M Oba Aderibigbe Asunmon, Alayandeluof Odo Adandolu and Chief M.K Oduyebo the Regent of Agbowa- Ikosi During the 2014Artisans fishing inputs service delivery programme, at the Local Government Primary School,Ikosi-Agbowa. Photo by Ovadje Elliot.

Apple Inc will unveil thenext generation of iPad

tablets around mid-Octobereven as the company bolstersits product lineup ahead of theholiday shopping season.

Chief Executive Officer TimCook is working to shake upthe iPad line as sales of thetablets, Apple’s second-biggest product by revenue,have declined for two straightquarters. The company hasn’tintroduced a new iPad sincelast October, and consumershave instead been shifting tosmartphones with biggerscreens.

The Cupertino, California-based company begins sellingits new, larger-screen iPhone6 and 6 Plus in stores in theU.S. last week. The phoneswere unveiled last week alongwith a smartwatch and newmobile-payment system asCook seeks to build out thecompany’s key products andmove into new categories.

Apple’s suppliers recentlystarted manufacturing anupdated 9.7-inch screen iPad,and were also set to enterproduction of a new version ofthe iPad mini, people familiarwith the plans said last month.Suppliers are also preparingto manufacture Apple’slargest-ever iPad, with a 12.9-inch screen, with productionslated to begin by the firstquarter of next year, peoplewith crude.

Eshoppaz unveilsBuchi as BrandAmbassador

Nigeria’s recentlylaunched online retail

store, Eshoppaz, in a move toboost its presence in themarket has unveiled Nigeria’sgospel reggae singer, Buchias its brand ambassador.The Chief Executive Officer ofEshoppaz, DarlingtonOnokerhor at the unveilingsaid, the e-retailer settled forBuchi as a brand ambassadorbecause he is one of the mostrespected celebrities in thecountry, for the quality of hismusic, his message, and hischaritable work.“We are excited to have himon our team, and herepresents all that we stand forat eshopppaz - excellence,passion and people. Buchi'sambassadorship has officiallykicked off, as we announce hisgesture to be the face ofeshoppaz.com.


Banking & Finance

The InternationalMonetary Fund(IMF) has

announced the release of itsfinancial access survey whichincluded global financialinclusion and introduction ofdata on mobile moneyindicators.

The fund stated that its fifthannual Financial AccessSurvey (FAS), is the mostcomprehensive global sourceof data on access to, and useof, basic consumer financialservices by households andnon financial corporations.For the first time, the surveyincludes data on mobilemoney indicators. The 2014FAS round was againconducted with financialsupport from the Ministry ofForeign Affairs of TheNetherlands, while the Bill &Melinda Gates Foundationprovided funding to capturedata on the use of mobilemoney services.

According to IMF “The FASprovides geographic anddemographic data worldwide,offering a strong quantitativeunderpinning to thetheoretical literature linkingfinancial inclusion andeconomic growth. Thepositive correlation betweenthe increase in the use ofcommercial banks services (ameasure of financialinclusion) and the increase inGDP per capita (a measure ofeconomic growth) isespecially noteworthy whencomparing financial inclusiontrends. Among Africancountries reporting data oncommercial bank depositors,for instance, depositors per

IMF’s 2014 financial access survey debuts,considers mobile money indicatorsBY PETER EGWUATU 1,000 adults experienced a

five-fold increase from 2004 to2013, while simultaneouslyachieving a 40-percentgrowth in real GDP percapita.”

“Financial inclusion hasgained prominence in theglobal discussion on growthand poverty reduction,” IMFStatistics Department DirectorLouis Marc Ducharme said.“We welcome the opportunityto be a global leader inproviding much-needed dataon an increasingly criticaltheme.”

The newly-expanded FAS isalso capturing indicators onaccess to and use of mobilemoney services. Over the past

decade, the emergence of‘mobile money’–the practiceof sending, receiving, andstoring money using mobilephones–has improved thelives of populations thatgenerally do not usecommercial banks, evenwhen access to moreconventional banking modelsremained difficult.

The enhanced 2014 FASprovides a quantitativefoundation to assess thetransformational role ofmobile money in financialinclusion. For example, theresults of the 2014 FAS roundfor Kenya show a dramaticincrease in the number ofactive mobile money accounts

in recent years. In 2007,mobile money accountsrepresented just 30 percent ofdeposit accounts incommercial banks, but by2009, they surpassed thenumber of commercial bankdeposit accounts. At the sametime, the number of mobilemoney transactions increasedby more than 130 times, fromclose to 5.5 million in 2007 tomore than 700 million in 2013.

The FAS is also an officiallyrecognized data source forthe G-20 Basic Set of FinancialInclusion Indicators endorsedby the G-20 Leaders at theLos Cabos Summit in June2012.

BY PETER EGWUATU

Qatar National Bank(QNB) hasacquired additional

11 per cent stake (common)sharers in EcobankTransnational Incorporated,ETI.

This deal came after itacquired an initial 12.4 percent stake (common andpreferential shares) in ETIrecently.

“That QNB could acquire abigger stake in ETI was apossibility, as observed fromits acquisitions in othermarkets. What was somewhatsurprising, however, was thepace at which the bankconcluded the acquisition ofits recent stake, announcing

Qatar National Bank acquires more stakes in Ecobankdeals valued at $573mn intotal within less than twoweeks” Vetiva Researchstaged.

Continue Vetiva stated “Weestimate the first deal waspriced at 1.2x FY13 P/B, an18% premium to the market;while the recent deal of$283mn for 2.05billion shareswas priced at 1.3x FY13 P/B, a16 per cent premium. Webelieve the arrival of aninstitutional shareholder suchas QNB provides ETI withdeep pockets should it needto raise more capital in future,which we think remains apossibility. What weunderstand from ETImanagement is that its idealscenario is not to have anyperson or institution control

more than 20 per cent of thegroup’s capital, and this hasbeen made clear to both QNBand Nedbank (Hold, TPZAR248, CP ZAR228), whichholds convertible debt. Thatsaid, we do not think thisprecludes either of theseparties, or indeed an externalparty, from exceeding thisthreshold. Looking at ETI’sarticles of association, we notethat a mandatory offer to allother shareholders for morethan a 50 per cent controllinginterest would be triggeredonce a consolidated directand indirect shareholding of24.99 per cent is reached byany shareholder. While therehas been no officialconfirmation of the exactsellers to QNB in the recentdeal, we doubt PIC and the

IFC were involved, based onour discussions withmanagement. We estimatethree key shareholders nowcontrol c. 57 per cent of ETI’scommon shares pre Nedbankconversion and top-up.”

According to Vetivaanalysis, “We estimate thatpost Nedbank’s conversionand top-up to a 20 per centshareholding, QNB’scommon shareholding dropsto 17 per cent from 21 per centbut rises to 19 per cent after itconverts its preferred sharesto common shares.

With QNB now raising itsstake in ETI further, ouroriginal assumption that theendgame for Nedbank iseventually to take a majoritystake in the SSA bankinggroup is fading.

UBA, Verve toreward cardholders

United Bank for Africa(UBA) Plc inpartnership with

Verve International haslaunched an offer tagged“UBA Verve Rewards” inwhich cardholders could wine-cash, free airtime, Nokiamobile phones and up toN35,000 cash back

Cardholders who use theirUBA issued Verve cards toinitiate a minimum of five POSor VAS (value added service)transactions on the ATMworth N1, 000 or more willstand a chance to win N1,000airtime.

Cardholders who dotransactions worth N2,000 ormore on these channels standa chance to win N3, 000airtime plus mobile phones.

Value added Services(VAS) on an ATM is whenUBA customers use the ATMto pay for transactions likephone bills, cable TV bills ortransfer funds from their UBAbank account to another.

Also a minimum of 40customers, who on a monthlybasis, initiate a minimum offive POS transactions or Webtransactions valued at aminimum of N10, 000 or morewould win N5, 000 top up ontheir e-Cash account.

FXTM becomefastest growingECN Broker Asia2014

International forex broker,Forex Time (FXTM) hasonce again been

recognized as an influentialplayer in the forex industry,winning two awards fromGlobal Banking & FinanceReview: “Fastest GrowingECN Broker Asia” and “BestPartner Program Asia”. Thesetwo awards acknowledge therapid growth of Forex Time inAsia and are testimony to thecompany’s commitment toprovide outstanding customerservice and support totraders.

Global Banking & FinanceReview is one of the bankingand finance industry’s mosttrusted resources, providing abalanced view of informationand independent news for thefinancial community. Since itslaunch in 2011, the GlobalBanking & Finance ReviewAwards program has grown toencompass the entire bankingand financial spectrum,placing it among the world’stop industry honors.

SEMINAR/AWARDS - From left: Representative of D-G, NCAA, Engr. Kayode Isiaka Ajiboye,Permanent Secretary, Delta State Liaison office Lagos, Mrs. Augustina O. Onokpise receivingan award on behalf of Governor of Delta State, while MD/CEO, Aeroconsult, Engr. BabatundeObadofin looks on during the Aeroconsult Aviation Safety Seminar & Awards on SustainingSafety in the Nigerian Aviation Sector, in Lagos.

CMYK


Banking & Finance

SEMINAR - From left : Managing Director/CEO, Greenwhich Securities Limited, Mr. KayodeFalowo; Chief Executive Officer of The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar Onyema;Managing Director/CEO, Partnership Investment Company Plc, Mr. Victor Ogiemwonyi andPresident, Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), Mr. Emeka Madubuike atthe Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) and Association of Issuing Housesof Nigeria (AIHN) “Mergers and Acquisition as an option for Recapitalizing the StockbrokingIndustry” seminar in Lagos.

The Central Bank ofNigeria, CBN hasmade available the

sum of N2billion to beaccessed by small scaleentrepreneurs in Benue state,under the Micro, Small andMedium Scale Enterprises,MSMSEs, developmentscheme.

Governor Gabriel Suswam ofBenue state, who is a memberof the National Council onMSMSEs made this knownshortly after inspecting thestate’s swine artificialinsemination breedingproject, at the Akperan OrshiCollege of Agriculture,Yandev, AOCAY, Gboko.

“I urge small scaleentrepreneurs to takeadvantage of the facility to

CBN releases N2bn to MSMEs

BY PETER DURU enhance their businesses andalso boost economic activitiesin the state.” Suswamadvised.

The Governor said, “WhenI started the swine project,many persons mocked mygovernment, but see what wehave here today, we haverecorded a majorbreakthrough in the area ofartificial insemination andbreeding of high grade swinefor sales across the country.

“The breakthrough hasmade the institution the firstin the West African sub-region to embark on theartificial means of collectingsemen from swine and massproducing it for sale to swinefarmers.”

Suswam said thatgovernment would sustainthe programme and work

towards making the projectthe best in Africa. In herspeech, the Benue SwineProject Manager, Mrs.Iveren Aku said someorganisations in Nigeria andabroad had indicatedinterest to partner theinstitution in the area ofprocessing and exportation.

She disclosed that the pigscould grow to a size of 150to 250 kg in size making italmost four times the size ofthe common breed found inthe country. Mrs. Aku saidthe feat was made possibleby Governor GabrielSuswam who in 2011approved the purchase of 18pure breed swine made upof stocks of Land race, Largewhite and the Duroc for thecollege.

Interswitch TransnationalHolding, a pan-African integrated

payments company hasacquired a majorityshareholding in PaynetGroup, an East African multi-institutional paymentsprovider. The partnership willenable Paynet Group combinebusinesses with Interswitch,as the existing shareholdersof Paynet Group will becomeshareholders of Interswitch.

Group Managing Director /Chief Executive Officer ofInterswitch, Mitchell Elegbesaid: “To build a successfulpayments business,customers are looking fortrust, scale, efficiency and aproven track record ofexecution. This partnershipwill significantly expand ourfootprint in East Africa anduniquely position Interswitchin the market. The newbusiness will providecomprehensive solutions forregional and internationalbusinesses looking to takeadvantage of growthopportunities in Africa.”

“Paynet have done a greatjob at building an innovativeand trusted paymentscompany in East Africa andwe are confident thatbetween us we can drivegrowth by continuing toprovide payment solutionsthat are highly tailored to theAfrican market. BernardMatthewman will remain asChief Executive of the Paynetbusiness and we intend toleverage the strength ofPaynet’s existingmanagement team. “

Also speaking, BernardMatthewman, CEO ofPaynet, who stays on as theCEO of the company notedthat payments market in EastAfrica is moving rapidly intoan era where specificproducts are required forsectors like transport, health,government and countypayments as well as the movetowards secure Internetbased payments. Paynet hasbeen looking for a partnerthat has both products andexperience in these areas sowe can rapidly deliver themin the most efficient manner.Interswitch has the mostcomprehensive range ofproducts of any provider wehave seen in an emergingmarket and this alongsidetheir existing presence inUganda provides us withadditional strength as wecontinue to grow in EastAfrica.”

He went to say that thetransaction creates an unriva

Interswitch acquires majority stake in PaynetBY PRINCVEWILLEKWUJURU

led payment infrastructureacross East and West Africa.The new combined networkwill connect over 100financial institutions, Paynet’sexisting shareholders willbecome shareholders ofInterswitch

The deal, which is subjectto regulatory approvals,comes at a time when bothgovernments and privateinstitutions across Africa arelooking to cashless solutions

and financial inclusion toaccelerate economic growthand drive business efficiency.

Both companies hademphasised that the deal willenable both companies to takeadvantage of fast-growingEast-West Africa trade andcontinue to provide theircustomers, both businessesand government, with atrusted partner. The newcompany will create anunrivalled payment

infrastructure acrossEast and West Africa,uniting financialinstitutions on a singlenetwork, integratingtransaction solutionsseamlessly intobusinesses, and creatinga secure and convenientway to make cross-bordertransactions. The newcombined network willconnect over 100financial institutions inWest and East Africa.

The Central bank ofNigeria, CBN kept the

benchmark unchanged at arecord high, whileconsidering it may tightenfurther, the monetary policyto control inflation.

The CBN Governor,Godwin Emefiele toldreporters in Abuja on Fridaythat the interest rate was heldat 12 percent.

He said that, “Half of thetwelve members of theMonetary Policy Committeevoted to raise commercialbanks’ cash reserve ratios.”

The direction for policy inthe short to medium termwould be either to retainthe current tight stance ofmonetary policy or furthertighten, he said. “The keyrisks include the possibility ofcapital reversals as theFederal Reserve’s quantitativeeasing in the U.S. finally ends inOctober 2014 amidst dwindling oiloutput and declining oil prices,domestic security challenges, andupward-trending headlineinflation.”

Five MPC members voted toincrease the cash reserve ratioon private-sector funds from 15percent, while one wanted toincrease the public-sector ratefrom 75 percent. The MPCconcluded by agreeing to retainboth rates.

However, the Naira rose 0.2percent to 163.29 against thedollar on the interbank marketas of the close of business onFriday, paring its decline in thepast month to 0.7 percent.

CBN mullstighter monetarypolicy, retainsinterest rate

Alibaba in talkswith Snapdeal toenter India

Chinese e-commerce giantAlibaba is in talks with

online retailer, Snapdeal toenter India, the EconomicTimes reported last week.Alibaba, whose shares are setto debut on the U.S. marketon Friday this week in whatcould be the world’s largestever initial public offering,has discussed with Snapdeala possible investment in theIndian company, but adecision has not been reachedyet, the daily reported.Snapdeal, in which RatanTata, the former chairman ofIndia’s salt-to-steel Tataconglomerate, holds a stake,is also attracting attentionfrom Japan’s largest e-commerce company RakutenInc and telecommunicationsfirm SoftBank Corp.


Corporate Finance

LAUNCH - From left: Mr. Waheed Olagunju, Executive Director, Small and Medium Enterprise,Bank of Industry; Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa, MD/CEO; Alhaji Mohammed Alkali, Executive Director,Large Scale Enterprises and Mr. Kenneth Effah, Executive Director, Corporate Services, at thelaunch of the Cottage Agro Processing (CAP) Fund by BoI, in Lagos. Photo Lamidi Bamidele.

The Chief ExecutiveOfficer of theNigerian Stock

Exchange, NSE, Mr. OscarOnyema, has said that highnumber of fringe playersamong stockbroking firms inNigeria has continuallyrendered the brokerage firmsunattractive for foreignpartnership.

Delivering a paper on‘Benefits of a ConsolidatedStockbroking Industry’, at theAssociation of IssuingHouses of Nigeria, AIHN’sworkshop in Lagos, Onyemasaid that high number of verysmall members also rendersthe broker business modeleconomically non-viable formost players, which leads toseveral issues regardingprofessionalisation of themarket.

At the present, he said thateach of the top 10 players(which constitute 60 percentof both volume and valuetraded in the market)accounts for $1.7 million ofthe revenue distributionamong the brokers, while theremaining 297 (40 percent)account for paltry $39k perbroker.

He said that the Exchangein conjunction with theSecurities and ExchangeCommission, SEC, hasadopted a two prongedapproach to maintain the

‘Fringe players renderbrokerage firms unattractivefor foreign partnership’

Stories byNKIRUKA NNOROM

stability of the Nigeriancapital market and tostrengthen the operator.

These, according to him,include introduction ofminimum operatingstandards (MOS) by the NSEand minimum capitalrequirements by the SEC,saying that enforcement ofthese two standards are

imperative for the success ofthe Exchange in meeting itsstrategic objective to be theleading exchange in Africa.

With the new minimumstandard to be rolled out,Onyema said that thestockbroking firms would bebetter equipped to play on theglobal sphere and wouldencourage high retail

penetration and institutionalflows.

It would engender brokercapabilities throughintroduction of innovativeproducts and services, aswell as professional andresponsible research, headded.

“The new standards willcater for all three classes ofdealing members (brokerdealers, brokers and dealers)and address five broad areasof concentration and theobjective is to transformmarket operators now withminimum operatingstandards in a concisemanner that is both easy tocomprehend andimplement,” he said.

“In addition to aconsolidated brokerageindustry, it is imperative toconsider other factors thatwill drive efficiency in theNigerian capital market. Suchfactors include expandinginvestor reach, bothinternationally anddomestically, elevating brokercapabilities, strengtheningthe regulatory framework andensuring clear vision andeconomic viability of thebrokerage industry,” Onyemaadded.

He stated that goingforward, the target is reducethe number of stockbrokingfirms to around 100 to 50members and to also achievea competitive broker marketwith large players providingvalue added services (e.g.analysis, coverage, roadshows ) as the NSE’sdistribution channel locallyand internationally.

Stanbic IBTC Asset ManagementLimited, SIAML, has called on

domestic investors to take advantage ofits on-going N1 billion initial public offerfor the Stanbic IBTC Exchange TradedFund (Stanbic IBTC ETF 30) to invest ina low cost instrument that will deliver therequired market return from the NSE 30Index of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 is designedto track the performance of the NSE 30index which comprises the top 30companies listed on the NSE in terms ofmarket capitalisation and liquidity. Theindex serves as the flagship benchmarkfor the stock market as it represents 92per cent of the NSE’s market capitalisationand the will replicate the price and yieldperformance of the index.

SIAML is currently offering 10 millionunits of the Fund at N100 each at par toinvestors. Application for the offer openedon Monday, 15 September 2014, and isscheduled to close on Wednesday,October 15, 2014.

Investors can make a minimumsubscription of 10,000 units and multiplesof 5,000 units thereafter.

Speaking at the Investors Forum inLagos, the Chief Executive Officer,

SIAML woos investors over Stanbic IBTC ETF 30Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited,Mr. Olumide Oyetan, said that applicationhas been made to the NSE to admit theFund in its Daily Official List and wouldbe listed for secondary market transactionsas soon as the necessary regulatoryapprovals are secured.

He explained that investors could investor dispose of units of the Fund by buyingor selling in the secondary market orthrough creation and redemption of theunits in the primary market, adding thatcreation and redemption of the Fund couldonly be done by the Fund Manager whenit is in excess of 500,000 units and couldbe redeemed either in kind or cash orcombination of both.

He noted that the Fund is expected toearn dividends from securities held andwould pay out substantially all of its netearnings to its unit holders. Also, all theunit holders would be entitled to a shareof the Fund’s distribution, he said.

He assured that working together withthe stockbrokers, SIAML would ensure thatthere is enough liquidity on the Fund,while assuring that the company would updo all within its power to publicise theFund and achieve improved activities onETFs on the Exchange.

Fidelity Bankintroduces instantairtime recharge

Fidelity Bank Plc’scustomers can bid

goodbye to scratching ofrecharge cards and the useof internet connection to topup phone airtime as the bankhas redefined conveniencewith the introduction ofInstant Recharge.

Known for keeping itscommitment which is furtherexemplified by its “we keepour word” mantra, InstantRecharge is testament to thebank’s resolve to makeinnovative services availableto its customers regardless oftime and location. A customerusing this service can top upairtime anywhere, anytimeon the phone numberregistered with the banksimply by dialling*322*070*<Amount>#. The top up amount is debiteddirectly from the customer’saccount. Top up is instant,available 24 hours a day, 365days a year and compatiblewith all mobile networks inthe country.

Sunlight detergentengagesconsumers throughcommunity wash

Unilever Plc hasengaged various

communities across thecountry with the SunlightCommunity Wash Campaigneven as it promisesconsumers a clean and freshwash experience with its 2-in-1 Sunlight Detergent.

The Community Wash Trainstarted at Ehanlencommunity in Uhele-Ekpoma, Edo State and thenmoved to Udoko community,Ondo Town, Ondo State;Oba-Oke communty inOlorunda, Osun State; O keho community, Kajola Oyo State and, OwuCommunity in Abeokuta,Ogun State.

These communities werefull of life as residentsthronged out to have a feelof the event which had inattendance key personalitiesfrom the communities.Having used differentdetergents, theyacknowledged Sunlightdetergent’s attribute ofsensational cleaning and allday fragrance.

In Udoko community, OndoSouth West LGA, theplayground of Saint PetersPrimary School played host tomany residents of the areawho participated in thecommunity wash.

26 —Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

CMYK

Corporate Finance

AWARDS - From left: Dapo Otunla, General Counsel, Notore Chemicals Industries Limited;Gbenga Oyebode, MFR, Managing Partner, Aluko & Oyebode, Winner of ESQ 2014 Law Firm ofthe year award, Nankunda Katangaza, Head of International Policy, Law Society of England andWales; and Lere Fashola, Chief Executive Officer, Legal Blitz and ESQ Legal Practice Magazine atthe ESQ Nigerian Legal Awards 2014 organized by Legal Blitz at Civic Centre, Lagos.

two new flagship hotels inIkoyi, Lagos and PortHarcourt, as part of itsbroader expansion plans.

Transcorp Hotels is thehospitality subsidiary ofTransnational Corporation ofNigeria Plc (“Transcorp Plc”)and owns and operates theTranscorp Hilton Abuja andthe Transcorp Hotels Calabar.The company’s vision is to bethe premier hospitalitycompany in Africa, creatingmaximum and sustainablevalue for stakeholders, as wellas to build Africa’s choicehospitality assetsunderpinned by excellenceentrepreneurship andexecution.

Mr. Valentine Ozigbo, theManaging Director and CEOof THP, noted “Nigeria’shospitality industry isexperiencing significantgrowth, with major demandfor expanded capacity andenhanced quality and service.THP is ideally positioned, asthe existing owner of thelargest number of hotel roomsin Nigeria, and partneredwith one of the world’s mostprestigious hotel brands,Hilton Worldwide, to leveragethis demand. The proceeds ofthis offer will be used to fundthe development of two newTranscorp Hilton hotels, onein Ikoyi, Lagos, and thesecond in Port Harcourt, withboth due for completion in2017. We are delighted to beable to offer the Nigerianpublic the opportunity toparticipate in our futuresuccess. This offer reiteratesour commitment to creatingsustainable value for allstakeholders. “

THP will leverage its uniquepartnership with the Hiltonbrand and strong customerbase to provide an excellentguest experience and achievesuperior returns from the newassets.

Mr. Emmanuel Nnorom, thePresident and CEO ofTranscorp Plc, the parentcompany, remarked that theexisting shareholders andmembers of the public shouldbe excited by this positivedevelopment to open upownership of what is widelyregarded as the most strategicpiece of real estate in Nigeriaand share in the fortunes ofthe company that is alreadyknown for its impeccable trackrecord, healthy financials andstrong corporate governance.

The offer for subscription willopen on September 24th andclose on September 30th 2014.

Transcorp Hotels approvesNSE listing, IPO

Stories ByPETER EGWUATU

The Board of Directorsof Transcorp HotelsP l c ( f o r m e r l y

Transnational Hotels andTourism Services Limited)

THP has endorsed plans toconduct an Initial PublicOffering (IPO) and list thecompany ’s shares on theNigerian Stock Exchange,NSE.

The decision was takenweekend at the company’sCompletion Board Meeting

held in Abuja. It was agreedthat the company will offer800,000,000 ordinary sharesof 50 kobo each at N10.00 pershare for subscription. Theproceeds of the offer will beused to part-finance itsexpansion projectsspecifically the construction of

First Bank Nigeria has stated that it willcontinue to innovate and

modernise in order to retain its leadingposition in the banking sector.

The bank, which recently marked its 120years of establishment has retained itsposition as the number 1 Bank in total grossearnings, total assets, total loans and totaldeposits in Nigeria’s financial servicesindustry while maintaining unparalledreputation for leadership, strength, andstability.

Since 2009, when the present GroupManaging Director, GMD/CEO, Mr. BisiOnasanya took over the leadership of FirstBank, the institution has won severalawards.

Onasanya was recently recognised in theBusinessDay Banking Awards 2014, as theBank CEO of the Year for the secondconsecutive time. At the BusinessDayAwards 2014, First Bank also won the BestBank in Retail Banking and Best Bank inPrivate Banking Awards. For twoconsecutive years, 2011 and 2012, he wonthe Ai SRI 50 CEO of the Year by AfricanInvestor Capital Markets Index SeriesAwards. He was the 2011 PearlOutstanding CEO of the Year in the PearlAwards, CEO of the year in the EMEAFinance African Banking Awards 2012 and

First Bank leverages innovation toboost performance

the Nigeria Elite Business Awards 2013.Under Mr. Onasanya’s leadership, FirstBank became the first organisation toimplement and obtain certification inSeptember 2010 and recertification on theISO/IEC 27001:2005 standard in May2013. The bank is also the firstorganisation to implement and obtaincertification on Business ContinuityManagement in BS 25999 standards.

Onasanya has established a solidreputation for solid performance and soundjudgment in First Bank and is committed todriving the Bank’s ongoing transformation,growth and modernisation plans. He haschampioned several initiatives to positionFirst Bank as a leading financial servicesgroup in Sub-Saharan Africa whilstpromoting the growth of the African financialservices industry as a whole.

The bank has spread its tentacles all overNigeria, sub-Saharan Africa and in theinternational business climate to ensure asynergy that would foster development inall its business communities. First listed onthe Nigeria Stock Exchange in 1971,Nigerians were allowed to buy into its hugefinancial potential and has since remainedthe people’s bank driving its interactionswith a high level of corporate governanceand responsiveness to stakeholders.

Access Bankemerges best localbank in 2014

Access Bank Plc, hasfurther consolidated its

position as a service focusedbank in Nigeria by beenadjudged the “Best Local Bankin Nigeria 2014” by EMEAFinance Magazine.

The award recognizes theimpressive achievements madeby Access Bank over the pastyear. The Bank recorded asuccessful bond offering in Junewhich raised $400million ofadditional capital to financegrowth of the loan book, as wellas impressive financial resultswhich demonstrate strongprogress made in earnings anddeposit growth. Access Bank’sChief Executive, HerbertWigwe, said “We are honouredto receive this award. It is aformal recognition of the talents,expertise and hard work of allour staff and I want to take thisopportunity to thank them”.

“In the last ten years AccessBank has grown from a start-upto being the fourth largest bankin Nigeria but we have alwaysremained true to our guidingprinciple of serving thecustomer first and foremost. Wewill continue to strive forexcellence in all that we do,” headded.

The NEPAD BusinessGroup Nigeria

(NGBN), weekend, unveiledGraduates’ EmployabilityImprovement andDevelopment Initiative(GEIDI) to address theproblem of unemploymentamong young graduate’s.

GEIDI is an interventionfrom NBGN that intends toequip unemployed Nigeriagraduates with both technicaland entrepreneurial skills toaddress the observedmismatch in graduate trainingand those skills required inindustries for enhancedemployability and selfreliability.

The six months programmedesigned to be an annual eventis being organised incollaboration with the NigeriaOpportunities IndustrialisationCentres (NOIC), Bank ofIndustry, Small and MediumEnterprises DevelopmentAgency of Nigeria (SMEDAN)and other partners.

NEPAD businessgroup opens GEIDIto addressunemployment

By PROVIDENCE OBUH


Commodity Index Micro-Finance

Sept. 12 - Sept. 18, 2014

In order to drive theprocess ofdevelopment for

Small and MediumEnterprises (SMEs) subsector, a lot of worksneed to be done in termsof building capacity, saidIndustrial TrainingFund.

In a paperpresentation, titled;“Prospects andChallenges of SMETraining in Nigeria,”Director General/ChiefExecutive, ITF, Mrs.

ITF hinges SMEs developmenton capacity buildingStories byPROVIDENCE OBUH

Juliet Chukkas-Onaeko,said that in spite of thepossible contributions ofSMEs to economicgrowth, there are stillchallenges facingtraining for them, due tothe interrelationshipbetween inadequateeducation and training;national insecurity;absence ofinfrastructural facilities;high cost of training,among others.

According to Chukkas-Onaeko, “21st CenturyNigeria has numerouseconomic developmentchallenges, but it ispoised for greater

achievements in not solong future. It is not justabout Vision 20:2020.More than that; it isbecause of the sheerquantum of resourcepotential Nigeria isendowed with! Nigeriaindeed is the nextdevelopment andinvestment destination.

“With the right policiesand the commitment toimplement them, whichis evident in the presenta d m i n i s t r a t i o n ’ sintentions andp r o n o u n c e m e n t s ,Nigeria’s SMEsdevelopment will nottake long to be realised.Yet, a lot of work needsto be done, especially interms of building thecapacity to drive theprocess of SMEdevelopment.”

For the unemployedgraduates, she said,“With the highunemployment rate inthe nation, it is clear tograduates that they mustnot wait for Governmentto provide jobs for them.They have to developtheir own capacity tobecome self-employedand even employ others,”she said.

Indian banking andfinancial services

software powerhouse,Nucleus SoftwareExports has rolled out anew credit and loansystem to enable banksin Africa improve itslending capabilities andimplement a robust andeffective processes andprocedures.

The company isworking withJohannesburg based,Ubank, the communitybanking and loanprovider to implementFinnOne, a market readylending technologysolution product.

Nucleus Softwareprovides IT products andsoftware solutions toglobal banking andfinancial servicesindustry, while FinnOneis the flagship product ofNucleus Software, anintegrated applications,designed to provideoperational support, riskmanagement anddecision-making supportto banks and financialservices companies.

In a statement, ChiefExecutive Officer,Nucleus Software,Mr.Vishnu Dusad, saidthat with more than 22customers in eightcountries, the companyhas a long term focus onthe vibrant growingAfrican banking market.

“It will increaseUbank’s lendinge f f i c i e n c i e sexponentially, and growits current portfolio to 1.5million accounts by 2017.

Indian bank introducessoftware to facilitatelending in Africa

“The FinnOne lendingsolution will enhance andimprove any creditprocess, includingportfolio managementand collections that willensure achievement ofoperational efficienciesand a reduction ofoperational losses,”Dusad said.

Visa in collaborationwith Apple has

introduced “VisaToken Service” tofacilitate and secureconsumer payments withnew Apple devices.

The product works byreplacing sensitivep a y m e n taccount informationfound on plasticcards with a digitalaccount number or“token” that can be safelystored on mobile devicesand used in stores and inapp purchases.

Chief Executive Officer,Visa Inc. Mr. CharlieScharf said, “Combiningthe trust, scale andsecurity of Visa paymentswith Apple Pay willaccelerate adoption ofmobile payments.

“The combination ofnew digitalexperiences from Applewith new networkcapabilities from Visaprovides forg r e a t p a y m e n te x p e r i e n c e s a n denhanced security for

Visa, Apple introduces productto enhance payment

millions of Visa accountholders, merchantsa n d f i n a n c i a linstitutions.”

He said thatparticipating financialinstitutions will be able toadd Visa debit and creditcards to Apple Pay,Apple’s new paymentservice, enabling theircustomers to make easyand secure purchases.

He added that Visa willroll out the service tofinancial institutions inphases, initiallysupporting earlyparticipants in the ApplePay launch, and thenextending the serviceavailability to all itsclients.

Apple Pay helpsyou make purchasesin some highly visitedstores and with just thetouch of a finger, using thenew iPhone 6 and otherApple devices. “Visaaccount holders willcontinue to receive all ofthe rewards, benefits andsecurity offered by Visacredit and debit cards.

CMYK

28 —Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2014


CMYK


CMYK

Homes & Housing Finance

The agreement toconcession thereclamation and

infrastructure development ofthe second phase of FESTACTown in Lagos to a consortiumof private developers isexpected to lead to thedelivery of 50,000 housingunits and earn the FederalGovernment N30 billion overa 30-year period.

Minister of Lands, Housingand Urban Development,Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi,disclosed this at the signingof the public-privatepartnership (PPP) dealbetween Federal Ministry ofLands, Housing and UrbanDevelopment and MessrsNew FESTAC PropertyDevelopment CompanyLimited (NFPDCL) for thedevelopment of 1,126 hectaresof land in the largely swampyarea to produce 7,000 servicedplots complete with standardinfrastructure and all essentialservices. The concession is torun for a period of 30 years,after which the concessionairewill transfer ownership to theFederal Housing Authority.NFPDCL is a Special PurposeVehicle (SPV) made of fourcompanies - Fung TaiEngineering Limited, PWNigeria Limited, SCC(Nigeria) Limited and EnergoNigeria Limited.

But the concessioningagreement has drawn mixedreactions from stakeholders,with some professionals in thebuilt environment saying itwill lead to proper planningwhile some residents are waryof the additional pressure onthe already overstretchedinfrastructure.

A property developer whopleaded anonymity said thedevelopment would behijacked by money bags,noting that the land shouldhave been used for massdevelopment of affordablehousing using theinstrumentality of the NigeriaMortgage RefinanceCompany. He added thatgoing by the over-subscriptionfor the 10,000 mortgages thatthe Federal Governmentrecently launched, moreNigerians would havebenefitted if the land hadbeen tailored towards suchpurpose. However, an estatesurveyor, who also does notwant to be named, hailed theconcessioning. According to

FESTAC Phase II concession to earnFG N30bn, deliver 50,000 houses•Mixed reactions as residents fear infrastructure breakdown

Stories byYINKA KOLAWOLE

ALTERNATIVE HOUSING - Two storey building with 11 rooms made up of offices, crèche,reception, training areas and toilet units constructed with containers by Tempohousing Nigeria(THN) for a church in Lagos, delivered in 7 weeks.

him, it will lead to properplanning and monitoring ofthe development of the townand thereby eliminateincidence of illegal occupancyand the ‘Omo onile’syndrome. He howevercautioned that necessarychecks must be put in placeto curb land speculation.

Most residents who spokeon the matter expressed fearthat the development will putfurther strain on theinadequate infrastructure inFESTAC town. They notedthat currently, the road

network in and out of the townare few leading to traffic buildup during rush hours, addingthat with the newdevelopment the situation isbound to be worse if moreoutlets are not created. This,according to them, is inaddition to lack of public waterand incessant power supply.

“Amazing, 7,000 plots to besold in FESTAC area? Verysoon, everyone will eitherhave to walk to the office orride bicycles. As FESTAC is atthe moment, more connectingroads are needed as urgent as

yesterday. Now I can’t see anyplans to fix that here,” arespondent noted.

The minister has howeverallayed the fear ofinfrastructure breakdown,assuring that the money to begenerated from the deal wouldbe ploughed back into therehabilitation of the firstphase of the town.“Government earnings fromthe project are estimated atN25.765 billion as premiumfor 30 years of concession andan additional N150 millionground rent annually.

The Nigeria Mortgage RefinanceCompany has mandated full

implementation of the IntegratedPersonnel and Payroll Information System(IPPIS) for civil servants to make themeligible for mortgage refinancing.

Chief Exective Officer, Mr. Sonnie Ayere,said full implementation of the IPPIS bycivil servants are additional requirementsunder the company ’s uniformunderwriting criteria for mortgage Loansto comply with the eligibility criteria forNMRC refinancing.

NMRC, in a statement, said that it wasin furtherance of its role to develop themortgage market by standardisingmortgage practice in Nigeria that thecompany recently published a revised draftof its Uniform Underwriting Criteria forMortgage Loans.

The statement titled, “Access to HousingFinance: IPPIS Compliance Mandatory for

Mortgage: NMRC mandates new payrollcompliance for workers

NMRC’s Refinancing of Public ServantMortgage Loans”, issued by Ayere stated:“As part of its role to develop the mortgagemarket by standardising mortgage practice,NMRC recently published a revised draftof its Uniform Underwriting Criteria forMortgage Loans advising that primarylending institutions must conform beforeany mortgage loan is granted to a borrowereligible for NMRC refinancing.

“Some of the additional requirements arethat mortgage repayments must be madeby deduction from income at source to helpreduce credit risk and improve investorconfidence in the mortgage sector. Thisrequires the implementation of electronicpayment systems for salary remittances.Accordingly, as part of the minimumcriteria, public service organisations mustenrol civil servants on the IPPIS platformin line with the eligibility criteria forNMRC refinancing.”

UK mortgagebanks spark pricewar with rate cuts

A fresh mortgage pricewar has broken out, with

a string of big lendersslashing their rates in recentdays.

Metro Bank, Halifax,Barclays, NationwideBuilding Society, HSBC,Virgin Money, SkiptonBuilding Society and Norwichand Peterborough BuildingSociety are among those tochange their rates.Meanwhile, Virgin Moneyhas launched a new rangethat allows people to fix in forone year longer than the usualfive-year deals and protectthemselves against theprospect of interest ratesrising for a prolonged period.

The mortgage battle comesdespite expectations that theBank of England will soonmove its base rate off itshistoric low of 0.5 percent,pushing up costs forborrowers.

But David Hollingworth,Head of communications atLondon and CountryMortgages, said that swaprates, the interest rates whichlenders use to price loans,have been on a downwardpath.

“Swap rates have beenfalling back and it seems themarkets feel it’s going to betoo soon for the base rate torise before the end of thisyear now.

US mortgage ratehits 4.23%

Average long-term U.S.mortgage rates surged

last week to at its highest levelsince the week ended May 1,though it is still at a historicallylow level. Mortgage company,Freddie Mac, said thenationwide average for a 30-year loan jumped to 4.23percent from 4.12 percent theprevious week. The average fora 15-year mortgage, a popularchoice for people who arerefinancing, rose to 3.37percent from 3.26 percent.

Mortgage rates often followthe yield on the 10-yearTreasury note. The 10-year notetraded at 2.62 percent onWednesday, up sharply from2.54 percent a week earlier. Itwas trading at 2.63 percentThursday morning. Bondyields rise when bond pricesfall. The increase in the yieldon the benchmark Treasurybond was stoked by speculationin financial markets that theFederal Reserve mightabandon its nearly 6-year-oldpolicy of keeping short-termrates at record lows.


CMYK

E-Commerce

With all of onlinem a r k e t i n gcomplexities, all

marketers are really chasingone goal - to increaseconversions. The challenge ofchasing conversions,however, is that everyconsumer is different andrequires a different approach.For instance, one consumermay conduct a search for anLED television and purchasethe first item that appears inGoogle’s Product Listing Ads,while another consumer couldconduct the same search butcontinue to do more researchlike checking out consumerreviews or promo codesbefore making their finalpurchasing decision. Analystsbelieve that this is why it isessential for marketers toapproach conversion fromdifferent steps during theiracquisition efforts, four ofwhich are highlighted below.

The first step is attention. Inthis stage, it is believed thatmarketers should aim tocreate awareness around theirbrand and attract theattention of their audience.There are a variety of waysbrands can generateawareness in the attention

Strategies that drive conversionfor online retailers

Stories ByJONAH NWOKPOKU

stage. This could be in formof incentive. Research hasshown that incentive leadsmany consumers to proceedbeyond window shopping.However, it is also importantthat brands that are trying togarner more attention for their

brand, only promote theircompany to like-mindedaudiences.

Secondly, to successfullypush consumers through thesales cycle, marketers need tomaintain consumer attentionwith interesting, helpful orinformative content.

This is as important asmaking effort to convince

consumers that they desire aparticular product. In thisstage, marketers are aimingto convince consumers thatthey want or desire a specificproduct or service. Forexample, it is likely that aretailer knows that aconsumer loves a particularproduct because of hisbrowser history and online

behaviour. Because of thisinfo, the retailer delivers avideo ad in a Twitter feed ofthe customer which is relevantto the kind of product thecustomer loves. In this case,the retailer is certain that, notonly is the ad relevant, but italso fits into the desire stagebecause the video offersreasons why that retailer ’sbrand is better than others.

The last but not the least isaction. To increaseconversions, marketers mustlead consumers toward takingaction during this stage.

Nigeria’s online marketplace,Kaymu.com.ng has further

expanded to mobile marketing with thelaunch of its mobile app last week.

Kaymu said the mobile app isdesigned to make online shopping inNigeria even easier and moreconvenient, with features that enablesellers to list products and buyers toselect from a wide variety of productsat a glance.

According to the marketplace, the appwill offer a wider product assortment,fast and intuitive navigation, and easier

Kaymu intensifies marketing with mobile appbuyer and seller account management.

Kaymu Nigeria’s Managing Director,Evangeline Wiles said, “Mobilemarketing is very quickly,revolutionizing the buying and sellingprocess in Nigeria. With peopleconducting transactions via messagingapps like Blackberry Messenger andWhatsApp, the launch ofthe Kaymu.com.ng mobile applicationon different platforms will provide aneven more structured platform for salesto be conducted on the go”.

This move is to tap into the

astronomic growth in mobile inNigeria. It will be recalled that theNigeria Communications Commissionrecorded over 65 million mobileinternet subscribers in Nigeria as atbeginning of the second quarter of thisyear. Also, according to a 2013 reportby McKinsey Global Institute, 58percent of Nigerians living in citieshave access to an internet-enabledmobile phone, and urban Nigeriansare more than twice as likely as theaverage African internet user toconduct transactions online.

CMYK



CMYK

Men in Businesswith CHIOMA GABRIEL

By CHIOMA GABRIEL

H e has never doneanything else butbusiness. His

experience traversed from tel e-communications to shipping and nowpublishing, properties andcomputers.

Okey Tobi-Williams Dimoji ispopular in his line of business withheadquarters in Anthony Village ,Lagos where a street is named afterhim.

The graduate of University ofNigeria, Nsukka is currentlyundergoing his P.hd programme inthe same University after an eight yearsojourn in the United Kingdom wherehe ran a shipping business. Here, hetalks about his business experience.

Excerpts.

What is your business story?Really, I have a media background.

Both my first and second degree werein Mass Communication. I started mybusiness with telecommunications.Before the advent of GSM, we were aleading telecommunication companyin Nigeria. The company then wascalled, ROYAL STRIDE Nigeria LTD.I would say that we laid the foundationfor the take off of GSM in the country.Of course, this is an age of publicrelations and every one will like to berecognized, so, we are also into publicrelations and publishing and wehandle events for people. We weredeep in telecommunication in Nigeriaand ushered in the GSM business.

Explain how you ushered in theGSM business?

Before the GSM came into Nigeria ,there were a lot of noise about itscoming and a lot of people lookforward to its coming. Apart fromMTEL, which was a major player,there were nothing like, MTN,ETISALET, AIRTEL and others. MTELthen had something they called agentsand you must be accredited before youcan play a role then. We were one ofthose agents and then at that point,we had almost about 15 branches inthe country. And before the advent ofGSM, we had serious seminars wherewe invited most of those networkproviders. But then, somewhere alongthe line, most of those agents who wereaccredited by MTEL at that time werealready used to a certain regime inwhich the network provider forinstance was not a player in theretailership of their services. A lot ofpeople thought it was going to be thething. But then, when the GSMnetwork came, the game was quitedifferent. They became marketers. Alot of agents as well because of their

I threw away SIMcards worthmillions of Naira— TOBI-WILLIAMS DIMOJI

anticipation of what GSM was goingto be went to borrow money from thebanks to support their business.Unfortunately for them, these bankswere supporting the networks. UntilCBN sanctioned them, the banks wereselling GSM inside their bankinghalls. So, you go around to borrowmoney from a bank to do business andyou go back there next time to discoverthat the bank was doing the samebusiness that you are doing. At the endof the day, the networks did not playthe roles the way they were beingplayed under the MTEL era. Theresultant effect was that you foundyourself competing with the networkproviders who have not as at that timestreamlined what their operations wasgoing to look like. It is only now thatthey have found their level and ofcourse, have streamlined everything.

For someone like me at a time, oneof these network providers did whatthey called, “Buy One, Get One Free,BOGOF”. What we did was that webought a bundle of mobile phones withSIM cards and paid like N20,000 andbefore you know what was happening,the prices of SIM cards were crashing.Sometimes, you got stuck with the onesyou have. And if you notice, when GSMcame for the first time, SIM cards were

sold for N10,000, N5,000, N2,000 thenbut now, they are sold for N100. Someof us were hoping that there was goingto be an official scarcity sort of so thatwe could sell and recover our moneybecause in those days when there wasan official scarcity of goods, you couldrocket your prize. But this thing keptcrashing until it was sold for N100. Thisaffected 100% of all the former agentsand that was why they all crashed.

Including your business?Yes, we had to pull out because the

thing affected everybody. Just like I

that required my presence, so I wasthere for eight years. But then,Nigeria is our country and we cannotbe in another man’s land for ever. Thatis why I have decided to come back.The business is still there and we arerunning that with a goodmanagement but I have decided toinvest in some other things too.

What other things are you intonow?

I am into publishing. Now, that ismy course of study in the University.We are also into public relations andadvertising under the company name,Wesley & Bryan Limited. Publishingis something I studied for sevenyears. I have a BA and an MSC inMass Communication. I have also,enrolled to do a PHD programme inUniversity of Nigeria, Nsukka.

I saw a copy of Computer VillageWeekly published by you? What is theinspiration for it?

I noticed that a lot of things goesinto the market which the majornewspapers in the country would notbe able to capture. The market is abillion dollar market and I discoveredthat the main stream media might notbe able to cover a lot of their activities.That was why we decided to float that.It is meant to capture what goes theresince that is where majortelecommunication companies in thecountry comes to market theirproducts. So, we feel that as long asyou use a mobile phone or acomputer, you cannot do without thecomputer village. So, the paper is sortof a community paper.

How would you compare runninga business in Nigeria to running abusiness abroad?

Of course, there are a lot ofadvantages about being in Nigeria todo your own thing, whether you likeit or not. Here you meet your oldschool mates, your acquaintances, youalso, meet people who are veryconnected to people. And don’t forgetthat Nigeria is a developing countryand this means that you have a chanceto be part of that development. So,when you are in a country like Nigeriathat is developing, you should knowthat we are not just a developing

said, the networkproviders were as atthat time trying tostreamline themselvesand have a goodframework under whichthe agencies couldwork. So, those who arereally surviving now arethose who were neverpart of the formerNITEL era.

How much did youlose during this period?

We lost a lot of money.I remember throwingaway over N2 millionworth of SIM cardsbecause, we boughtthese phones and SIMcards and before youknow what washappening, the pricescrashed.

Why did you not sellthem at give-awayprizes then?

There was thisconstant hope thatthings would changebut they didn’t. Theykept crashing and youdidn’t know what thenext day would looklike. It was only recentlythat anybody who wantsto enter into the

business knows what he or she isgoing in for. Even at that time, thenetworks were finding it difficult tooperate. That was why networks likeECONET has undergone so manychanges. Afterward, we moved on to

so many things. I was in UK for eightyears and I ran a very successfulshipping company. The business is stillthere in the UK.

Why did you decide to leave a verylucrative business like shipping in UKin the hands of other people to comeback to Nigeria?

Nigeria is my country and they sayhome is haven. Shipping is a very vastarea and it all depends on the branchof shipping you’ re doing. I am doinginternational shipping. The branch ofshipping I wanted to do was the one

country but we have resources. Thereare lots of developing countries thatdo not have resources but Nigeria is adeveloping country with resources.

The important thing is for you tosimply sit down, analyze the countryand ask yourself, where you can keyin. It is not going to be that easybecause the country is not just an easyplace. But by the time you are able tounderstand the place and key inproperly, every other thing will fallinto place.

,

,What we did was that we bought a

bundle of mobile phones with SIMcards and paid like N20,000 and beforeyou know what was happening, theprices of SIM cards were crashing.


CMYK

People in Business

Background After obtaining his

Higher National Diploma(HND) in Marketingfrom the Institute ofManagement andTechnology (IMT),Enugu in 1997, Ajoiyiwent on to the Universityof Calabar where heobtained a Post-GraduateDiploma in Management.Not done yet, Ajoiyi whois a member of theChattered Institute ofMarketing (CIM) UnitedKingdom, member,National Institute ofMarketing of Nigeria(NIMN), AssociateMember, NigerianInstitute of Management(NIM) etc., proceeded toESUT Business School inEnugu where heobtained a Master’sdegree in BusinessAdministration,specializing inMarketing all in his bidto sharpen hisentrepreneurial skill andbe on top of his game.He worked with CadburyNigeria PLC so manyyears before moving toInbisco Nigeria Limited

What we doAccording to Mr. Ajoiyi,

Inbisco NigeriaLimitedprovidesNigerians with “safe,delicious and affordablefood products such ascandies, chocolate,wafers, biscuits, cookiesetc., mostly to the delightof Nigerian children aswell as children all over

Nigeria needs better enforcementagainst fake, unregistered products— EMEKA AJOIYI

By VERA SAMUEL ANYAGAFU

Mr. Emeka Ajoiyi is the CountryManager, Inbisco Nigeria Limited,the commercial arm of Mayora Group.

Noted for his remarkable business inclinationswhich came to light at a very young age, Ajoiyiwas determined to reach the skies.

Shortly after his university education, heventured into entrepreneurship, thenmanufacturing of a good number of foodproducts in the country.

His voyage into manufacturing of quality foodproducts in Nigeria endeared him to manyother notable food products manufacturersacross the world.

In this chat with Vanguard, he opens up onhis journey into manufacturing, what he thinksabout the sector, why he became CountryManager, Inbisco Nigeria Limited, and lotsmore.

Excerpts:

,

,

the world.”Job creationHe said the business

which is less than threeyears old, currentlyemploys about 40qualified Nigerians.

“It is also providingsecondary employment toalmost 1000 citizens ofthis country. This is apartfrom the quality andaffordable food brandsthat Nigerians enjoy fromthe stables of Inbisco.

ChallengesSpeaking on the

challenges facing thebusiness, Ajoiyi regrettedthat despite being a goodcorporate citizen thatcomplies with allregulations especiallydeclaration andremittance of taxes,Inbisco Nigeria, likeevery business has itsown challenges.

“Every business comeswith its own start-upchallenges. In our owncase, we had enormouschallenges starting upthe business in Nigeria.

First was cost of funds.It is unattractive toborrow from withinNigeria when comparedto other parts of theworld and this puts thebusiness under a lot ofpressure.

Another issue is start-up regulatorybureaucracies that forceone to skip timelinesmore than once; there islack of credible data to

aid commercial planning.Finding the right peopleto employ is alwayschallenging although ourbusiness is more of anequal opportunity type ofbusiness and does notdiscriminate against anyset of individuals. Oncean individual is qualifiedin his/her field, he/shehas the chance ofbecoming relevant to hissociety.

“There is also themarket challenge or thechallenge of competition.

It is rather funny thatyou never get to meetthese challenges the wayyou left them the day

before. Thankfully, ourproducts are of massappeal for all ages andsocial economic classes,”he said.

Sourcing raw materials“We never had much

constraints in this regardand on many occasions,we source abroad as weare looking forward toconsistent supplies herein the country.

Business regulatoryrequirements

“Being a food company,all our products gothrough NAFDAC

registration.This forms part of the

initial regulatoryrequirements we complywith before bringing anybrand to the market.”

While appealing togovernment to assistbusinesses by providingbasic infrastructure,Ajoiyi said: “Ingeneral, I think we needto emulate somecountries ininfrastructuredevelopment especiallypower. We also need toform strong institutionsthat can confront ournational challenges asthey occur.

The importance ofsecurity to investmentcannot beoveremphasized.

For the food industry inparticular, there is needfor better enforcementagainst fake andunregistered productentry and distribution inNigeria. The market iscurrently flooded withfood products that no onecan attest to their safetyand unsuspectingconsumers are mostly atrisk,” he stated.

•Emeka Ajoiyi

For the food industry inparticular, there is needfor better enforcement

against fake andunregistered product entryand distribution in Nigeria


CMYK

Tax Matters

Risk profiling can be defined as an evaluation of an

individual or organization’swillingness to take risks, aswell as the threats to which acompany or organization isexposed. The risk profile willoutline the number of risks,type of risks, and potentialeffect of the risks. This outlineallows a business to anticipateadditional costs or disruptionsto operations. It alsodescribes how those risks willaffect the operational strategyof a company.

TAX RISK MANAGEMENTRisk has been defined in the

European Commission’sguide on risk management fortax administration (fiscalguide) as: “Anything negativethat can affect theorganization’s ability toachieve its objectives.” Onthis basis, ascertaining theobjectives of the organizationin question is critical to thequestion of risk management.The objectives of taxpayersand the tax administrationwill not be identical and willsometimes conflict, althoughat other times they mayoverlap.

Corporate taxpayers mayhave a range of tax strategiesdepending on their taxphilosophy. Most largecorporations will want tobalance profit maximizationwith other objectives, whichinclude the reduction of riskssuch as unsatisfactorycompliance which mightretain reputation and the costof dispute to the revenueauthorities. They will alsowant to steer clear of too muchvolatility a reported profit,since this is disliked by themarket. What they consider tobe the correct balancebetween these factors willdepend on the overallbusiness and risk philosophyof the board of directors asfiltered through to the taxdepartment. The risk outlinedwill be dealt with by internalrisk management and controlof decision making within thecontext of broader controlsexercised by the company.

From the perspective of taxadministrators, the relevantrisk is the institutional risk ofthe revenue authority notachieving its objective of taxcollection. Four broadcategories of risk for therevenue authorities andgovernment have beenidentified. These areunrelated to the risk that theexpected level of revenue willnot be collected. They havebeen identified as: i. Registerrisk the risk that tax yield isreduced by inaccuracies in taxregistration; ii. Filling risk -the risk that the tax yield willbe reduced by failure oftaxpayers to file their returns;iii. Payment risk - failure to

Effective strategies andtechniques of riskprofiling of a company

pay amount due; and iv.Declaration risk - wherereturns are incorrectdue to errors or adeliberate act. Allthese risks have tobe tackled withlimited resourcesso those resourcesmust beallocatedefficientlyto wherethey willhave theb e s timpact.

It is thelast oft h e s er i s k swhich isof greatest importance inrelation to large corporatetaxpayers. The vast majorityof corporations will wish toensure that they have goodsystems in place for reportingand paying the tax which theybelieve is properly due withinthe law. The key risk for thetax authority lies in systemfailures and also in the areasof uncertainty and lack ofagreement in relation to theamount tax payable. In thiscontext, the risk borne by thetax authorities may beconsidered by them to includethe risk of what the fiscalguides calls “barelylegitimate tax avoidance.”

There will be grey areaswhere the corporate

taxpayer may believe that itsactions are within the law butwhere the revenue authoritytakes a different view. Thereis a risk to revenue authoritiesof collecting less tax than theyexpected on theirinterpretation of the law, evenif their interpretation comesout to be incorrect accordingto the court. It may be seenby the tax authority ascreating a tax gap.

COMPONENT OF RISKPROFILING FOR ACOMPANY TO BEOBSERVED BY THE TAXOFFICER.

1.0 Background information;This is the basic informationconsidered by the tax officer.

Tin Numbere.g. 00000001-00

Name of Companye.g International NigeriaLimited

Turnovere.g N42,373,115,000

RegisteredAddress e.g. K m16, Yasmin road/ HalifaExpress Way, Dutse, JIgawa.

Date of Incorporation e.g. 29th August 1995

Date of commencemente.g. 1st November 1995

Nature of Business e.g.Provision of oil field transitand supply base facilities tothe oil and gas Industry.

Accounting Datee.g. 31st December

Accounting Yeare.g. 1st January – 31st

DecemberShare Capital (Authorized

and Issued)YOA

e.g. 2012 2011Director’s Report Attached

YesAuditors Report Attached

YesLast Tax Audit e.g.

2008 – 2010 YOA (CriminalInvestigation)

1.1 Auditor & TaxConsultants

AuditorKhairat Muhd & Co.

Address6th Floor, Sadiq House, 15bMuhd Abubakar Street,Gwarmai.

Phone234 (1) 22222222

[email protected]

Change of AuditorNo

Old AuditorNo

Date of ChangeNo

Tax ConsultantKhairat Muhd & Co.

Address6th Floor, Sadiq House, 15bMuhd Abubakar Street,Gwarmai.

(III) Equity Debt Ratio =equity/debt X 100/1 = %

Equity: - means anythingbelonging to owners of thebusiness

Total Debt: - long timeliability + current liability

(IV) Net profit Turnover =net profit/turnover x 100/1 =%

(v) Current asset/Currentliability = current assets/current liabilities X 100/1 =%

(VI) Liquid Assets ratio oracid test ratio

= current assets-stock/current liabilities x 100 /1 =%

(VII) Gearing Ratio =Equity Ratio. Therefore,Gearing Ratio = Equity/Assets x 100/1 = %

Turnover: This is toascertain whether there is achange in the level ofturnover between the last yearand the year under review;and to determine the level ofchanges thereon inpercentages. Also comparethe business turnover with theindustrial average.

Cost of Sales/Direct Cost:This is to ascertain whetherthere is a change in the levelof cost of sales between theprevious year and the currentyear and the level of changesthereon. Also to compare thebusiness cost of sales and thatof industrial average.

Admin/ OperatingExpenses: This is to identifythe changes in the admin/operating expenses of theyears and make comparismbetween the current year andindustrial average.

Operating expenses:-Total operating expenses to

line of industry average: -This is to make compriseswith that of industry average.

Salary and wages to line ofindustry average: - This is tomake comprises with that ofindustry average.

Interest on loan/Bankcharges to line of industryaverage: - This is to makecomprises with that ofindustry average.

Repairs and maintenance toline of industry average: -This is to make compriseswith that of industry average.

Debtors & CreditorsDoes the company have

high amounts of debtors andcreditors in it accounts for theperiod under review? Thegross amounts may increasedby some % of the previousyears’ figure.

Related Party TransactionDoes the company have

huge amounts stated in thedebtor and creditors figure asamounts owing and due toassociated company. If yes thefigures should be criticallyreviewed as this might be ameans to transfer fund toassociated companies.

Phone234 (1) 22222222Email

[email protected] of tax

consultant No.Old Tax ConsultantNo.

Risk Items: Date ofcommencement ofbusiness:- This means,the date the companystarted operations Sizeof business:- Thismeans the capacity ofthe business in terms ofturnover, level of taxassessed, number ofstaff, number ofbranches and or

subsidiaries Change in taxconsultant: - This meanswhether a company haschanged the existing taxconsultant to another one e.g.from Muhd & Co. to Abba &Co. Change in auditors: - Thismeans whether a companyhas changed the existingauditor to another one e.g.From Zarewa & Co. To Yesmin& Co.

Qualification in audit report:- Any report called qualifiedaudit report means that thereport is not acceptable for taxreturn purposes. Therefore,the analysis should indicatethe qualification or otherwiseof the report.

Accounting systemcomputerized:- This is toindicate whether the companyis using of computerizedsystem of accounting recordsor not Accounting systemmanual:- This is to indicatewhether the accountingsystem of the company ismanually computed or notTaxpayer ’s compliancesubmission of returns(timeliness):- this is toindicate whether the taxpayeris complying withsubmission of tax returns asand when due. Result ofprevious tax audit exercise(additional taxes):- this meansto indicate whether a taxaudit exercise was taken inprevious years or not.

(I) Cost of sales=opening stock + purchase –closing stock or cost of sales= purchases. Therefore, costof sale turnover= Cost ofsales/turnover x 100/1 = %

(II) Tax assessed Turnover= Tax assessed/Turnover x100/1 = %


Interview

Shina LOREMIKAN isa seasoned humanand workers’ rights

activist who has struggled onsocial-based issues,including democratic andconstitutional processes, forover two decades alongsideprominent civil rightsactivists such as BarristerFemi Falana and the late Dr.Beko Ransome-Kuti, etc. TheCoordinator of theCampaign Against Impunity,he has also worked as theSecretary of the Campaignfor Democracy and HumanRights (CDHR), and is withthe Consumer RightsAdvocacy Network ofNigeria. In this interview, hetackles one of the importantconcerns of the consumer inNigeria…

You have been on a

campaign against piratemarketing in the alcoholicbeverages industry, whichinvolves two of the biggestplayers in the sector. What isyour concern with this?

Thank you very much. It’sgood that you observed thatthis act of pirate marketinginvolves two heavyweights inthe alcoholic beverageindustry, with one seeking togain an edge over the otherthrough unfair practices.Naturally, in marketing thereis competition, particularlybetween or among those whooffer a similar range ofproducts and services, whichcater to about the same needsor wants.

Every company isstruggling to gain a largermarket share and henceprofits, but one should not

Regulators must protectconsumers by firm and fairregulations — LOREMIKAN

seek to gainadvantage over thecompetition throughunscrupulous orunderhand means.That definitelyviolates certaincodes, principlesand legislation thatprotect themarketing of goodsand services in thecountry. All cannotbe said to be fair inwar, as even theGeneva Conventionhas clauses that seekto protect groupslike prisoners andthe weak during thephysical acts ofcombat betweennations. That is basically ourconcern.

We have a situation inwhich one of the two majorbreweries you referred to hasembarked on a conscious anddeliberate programme of de-marketing the other, which isits close competitor in thealcoholic beverages sector.This situation leaves me withno option but to describe the

affected competitor as the‘assaulted brewery,’ becauseof the perceived underhandmethod by which theaggressor brewery goes intomeeting with major retailoutlets across the country andinducing them with juicyincentives not to stock,display or sell the products ofthe assaulted brewery.

We reliably gathered thatsome of the incentives offered

i n c l u d eb r a n d e dpromotionalmaterials likerefrigerators,c o o l e r s ,seating sets,l a r g e r

discounts on sales andregular supply of crates offree products. This becomes aconcern for us becauseconsumers are beingmanipulated and coerced intoswitching allegiance, out ofnecessity or availability, andmade to patronise brands ofbeer and malt drinks thatmight not have ordinarilybeen their first choice. This is

an unfair creation of artificialscarcity.

How did you get to knowabout this?

The Consumer RightsAdvocacy Network of Nigeria(CRANN) is a coalition ofNGOs and civil societygroups who have cometogether to monitor andintervene in trends relating tohow consumers in Nigeriaperceive or are satisfied withthe goods/services beingoffered across board bycorporate organisations andother levels of entrepreneurs.We came about as a result ofa general climate ofdissatisfaction with a lot ofgoods and services in Nigeria,and due to the observationthat there is a generalweakness in regulation that

makes several organisationsor entrepreneurs getaway with the provision ofbad products/services.

We operate throughsupport for the activities of

our different memberorganisations onc o n s u m e r - b a s e d

issues, and we also have anoffice where people can reportincidences that infringe theirrights as consumers. Once wereceive genuine complaints,we take these up with therelevant organisationsinvolved and seek redress.

We became aware of thisissue of pirate marketing inthe alcoholic beveragesindustry because many peoplecomplained to us in their

capacity as consumers andpotential consumers. Equally,a number of complaints camethrough our memberorganisations from variousparts of Nigeria.

Can you expatiate onhow this has become

an issue for consumer rightsadvocacy?

Essentially, within mostmarketing spaces, the sanctityof the consumer’s ability tochoose from a range or varietyof products is usuallyguaranteed and protected bylegislation. The consumers’space for choice shouldordinarily be expansive andprotected, and mostorganisations offering goodsand services are generallyaware of this, which is why wehave fair competition andanti-competitiveness laws inour legal books in Nigeria.However, it becomes insidiouswhen a corporate organisationendeavours at de-marketingits competition by offeringthose manning thedistribution channelsincentives as a way ofmonopolising the market andearning more revenue at theexpense of competition.

It is like turning marketinginto a crude war strategy,instead of a refined strategythat promotes products, growstheir brand identity, andensures their success withina context of fairness. Ourposition is that even if ourhardworking marketers ofproducts have hard-pressing

targets, they must still striveto win by fair means.

We strongly believe this tobe highly unethical, as itnarrows the space for choicein what ought to be an openand free market place. Whyshould the consumer beforced to compromise his orher choice and patronise onlywhat is available? For us atCRANN, unethical marketingpractices leaves the consumerunsatisfied and short-changed, and is a corporatecrime that needs to beaddressed in very strongterms. It must be stopped toallow for the growth anddevelopment of the alcoholicbeverages sector and theNigerian economy, and as away of ensuring investorconfidence in our country.

Does this sort of marketingportend negativeconsequence for the nationaleconomy in any way?

Certainly, Anti-competitivemarketing always has verynegative consequences forany economy that fall victimto it because it killscompetition and entrenchesmonopoly. This is bad forsectoral growth anddevelopment, while alsojeopardising the livelihoods,incomes and tax-payingcapacities of the numerouspeople who are part of theincome-chain tied to the otherlevels of the competition,which is the alcoholicbeverage industry in thiscase. Sadly, it is this sectortoday, but it might be anotherone tomorrow, as people,including marketers arealways looking out to replicatemodels that appear to work,whether it is ethical or not.

So, how do you think thatthis situation can be resolvedand justice granted to theorganisation you refer to asthe ‘assaulted brewery’?

This is clearly a case forregulation, signifying aplaying ground that is notlevel, where the underhandpractices of certainorganisations are notsanctioned or penalised.There is need for fairness inmarketing practices,predicated on allowingindustry players in the sectorfreedom to operate on a levelground, according to thesame rules and on equalterms, while guaranteeingappropriate and unbiasedregulation by concernedagencies.

This necessitates firm, fair,acceptable and impartialregulation as a way ofchecking the tendency ofcorporate bodies to act inunethical and unscrupulousways. Only efficientinstitutions promote growthand development in theeconomy, and the country asa whole.

•Shina LOREMIKAN

•Shina LOREMIKAN


Advertising

In a chat with the ChiefExecutive of the LagosState Signage and

Advertising Agency, LASAA,Mr. George Noah, hediscussed several issues in thesignage industry and the effortof the agency at making surepractitioners in the Out-of-Home, OOH industry andsignage users are notstrangled by its regulation,thereby providing a levelplaying ground for the partiesPrincewill Ekwujuru records.

Compliance levelIn compliance when you feel

that perhaps things are tooexpensive then it is alwaysvery difficult for people tocomply on their own. Secondly,our rates are now competitivewith those of the states aroundus. I think we are even cheaperthan Ogun State. Before now,people used to go to OgunState and other neighbouringstates to register their vehicles.And you know for vehiclebranding, the law states that ifyou brand in any state, you areallowed to drive your caranywhere in the federation. So we have to be competitive.So there was no need foranybody to go Oyo State or toDelta State to go and registertheir vehicles. When in actualfact we are as competitive asany other. And so, wereduced and at the same timethere was a lot of compliance,and so we were able to increaseour revenue by 300 per cent.

Mobile ad revenue growthI think it’s explanatory

enough. If I tell you that weincrease our revenues by 300per cent, and if you take justthe average value of what ourrates are, about N3000, I thinkyou can compute that. Weincreased our revenues by 300per cent by even dropping ourrates.

Political era and postersremoval

We are working on a projectnow where we would havedesignated areas where youcan paste posters and nobodywould remove them. It issomething that has been triedin Holland, some parts ofChina and so on, where youdesignate specific areas andyou are allowed to do that, andbeyond that the enforcementwill come after you. So that’sone of the things we areworking on. In the 57 LocalCouncil Development Areas,LCDAs, we are going to deployin all the local councils now,anybody that wants to pasteposters, you are allowed to dothat in that place. We did thepilot scheme in Surulere. So we

Our reduced rates attractedcompliance — LASAA boss

are going to deploy I all thelocal governments now.

Review and complianceWhat we’ve decided is that

we would have people that willmanage those thingsthemselves. And there wouldbe a token, remove and paintand all sorts, but there will beno special fees for pastingposters in those areas otherthan what the group decidesis enough to maintain thatparticular place. We don’t wantto make any revenue from that.It is just for us to make sure wehave sanity within theenvironment. But with politicsit becomes quite very difficult.

We have posters and thingslike that everywhere, but weare hoping to have a meetingwith all the political parties andbrief them on how we want thisto be done, and I hope theywill comply.

Regulator and operator

We have about 25billboards from a total

of about 950 in the state. Thesewe use mainly to propagatewhat the state governmentdoes. Once in a while youmight find a few things hereand there, it is those who havehelped the state in one form orthe other, and I don’t see how

that can be competition. If yougo and look at all the billboardsthat we have 99 percent ofthem are mainly stategovernment stuff.

Dedicated billboardsWhen people do projects with

the state, and the need to createawareness or they arepartnering with the state, wehave a dedicated billboardsthey can use for such purposes.I’ve had this said many timesthat we are not competing withpractitioners, the fact remainsthat we don’t charge, we don’ttake money from anybody forusing the boards. So I don’tknow where the competitioncomes from. It is thepractitioners that tend to usethis word as if we are takingbusiness away from them. Andthat is not true.

Relationship with OAANWe have a very good

relationship with the OutdoorAdvertising Agency of Nigeria,OAAN. I work very closelywith the President of OAAN,when we have things that weneed to discuss, we sit downand discuss. As a result of theconference and exhibiton thatwe did, I had the opportunityof visiting differentstakeholders, AdvetisersAssociation of Nigeria,ADVAN, Media IndependentAssociation of NigewriaMIPAN, CIPON all those whohave something to do withoutdoor, I went out and for thefirst time, made contact witheach and every one of them,and my refrain was we need towork together to ensure that wedo our jobs very well.

*George Noah

The final leg of the completelyredefined Amstel Malta

Showtime event series, which took placeat the Unilag Indoor Sports Hall, Lagos,is undoubtedly the most brilliant displayof art to be seen in this part of the worldin recent times.

The first of its kind concert tagged “TheRush” which premiered in Enugu lastmonth, was a magnificent expression ofa young man’s journey to success withartistic displays by ballerinas, singers,actors, dancers, rappers, fire eaters,jugglers, instrumentalists, comedianse.t.c put together to deliver anoutstanding theatrical performance.

The drama piece featured renownedNigerian entertainers: Sound Sultan,Phyno, Gordons, Art director, Ice Nweke,celebrated dancer, Ukalina, lead actor,Bobby and a host of others and also fiveyoung talents selected via auditionswhich includes: Singing duo (male and

The Rush: A display of Art in redefinedAmstel Malta Showtime

female); Instrumentalist duo (a violinistand a guitarist), a dance team of four, acomedian and a rapper.

One of the talents, an 20 year-oldviolinist who entered for the audition aspart of a duo but made it through withouthis partner, was filled with so muchexcitement when he spoke about hisexperience. According to him, “ All of thesestill seems like a dream to me. Initiallywhen I was selected and my partnerwasn’t, I felt very downcast but I stillwouldn’t trade this experience foranything. I can’t even begin to say exactlyhow I feel because I’m still short of wordsbut I’m so thankful to Amstel Malta for thisgreat opportunity and for believing in mytalent” he said.

Just as was seen in Enugu, a few otheryoung talents who also impressed thejudges but didn’t make it to the top fiveslots, got the chance to perform during theshow.

AAAN, NIPR, PBG,want confab every10 years

Fresh from the justconcluded 2014 National

Conference in Abuja, delegatesfrom advertising and publicrelations sub-sector of theeconomy and fourteen otherProfessional Bodies GroupPBG, have called on theFederal Government toformulate a document thatwould ensure the countryholds national conference at 10years intervals. In a proposalsent to the President of theFederal Republic of Nigeria,Goodluck Jonathan and signedby the Chairman, ProfessionalBodies Group 2014 NationalConference, Segun Aina, theGroup said in order to establisha framework for continuallystriving to evolve better andmore inclusive Nigerian societyin which every citizen is aproud and committedstakeholder, aninstitutionalized NationalConference Process isimperative.

According to Aina “This willremove the “now-or-never”syndrome that characterizesdiscussions at conferences asissues not resolved at aparticular conference can bereconsidered at a futureconference.

Happy Hourrefreshes with 3new variants

In order to satisfyconsumers’ demand

beyond the existing offerings,Chi Limited has introducedthree new variants of ChiHappy Hour into themarketplace. The new variantsare Apple Peach Pear, Guavaand Kiwi Mint Lime. Accordingto the company, the newvariants, just like the existingones (Tropical, Peach, etc), arespecially blended fruit drinksthat are guaranteed to exciteand offer choices to itsconsumers.

Unveiling the new variants attheir head office in Lagosrecently, Chi Limited assuredconsumers that each pack ofChi Happy Hour is full of tastyfruitiness that is guaranteed tokeep the consumer refreshedand satisfied. The new variantsare sure to offer consumersmore choice for refreshmentfrom an engaging brand.

Several studies conductedhave revealed consumer ’spreference for a healthy andrefreshing alternative tocarbonated soft drinks and theintroduction of these newvariants is clearly based onunderstanding of this currentreality.

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. ReporterEbele Orakpo - Energy ReporterIfeyinwa Obi - Maritime ReporterRosemary Onuoha - Insurance Reporter

CONTRIBUTORSPrincewill Ekwujuru - Media/MarketingNkiruka Nnorom - Capital MarketJonah Nwokpoku - E-CommerceNaomi Uzor - IndustryProvidence Obuh - Micro FinanceLAYOUT - Graphics Department

Business & Economy

I would like to bring to yourattention, the urgent needto upgrade the

equipment, training andlogistics of our Armed Forcesand Security Services to enablethem more forcefully to confrontthis (Boko Haram) threat”. “Forthis reason, I seek theconcurrence of the NationalAssembly for externalborrowing of not more than$1bn, including governmentto government arrangementsfor this upgrade”.

The above is an excerptfrom a letter dated July 15,2014 to the National Assemblyfrom President GoodluckJonathan on the urgent needto contain the Boko Haraminsurgency, which hasallegedly claimed over 13,000lives since the insurgencybegan in 2009, and whichaccording to the ‘HumanRights Watch’ has also led toabout 2500 deaths this year.

Inspite of PresidentJonathan’s anxiety, theNational Assembly delayedconsideration of the content ofthe letter until Parliamentresumed from its extendedrecess almost two months afterreceipt of the President’sURGENT loan request; thislacuna may be indicative ofthe National Assembly’s ownperception of the Boko Haramthreat as probably less urgentthan was connoted in theExecutive’s letter of July 15th.

Nonetheless, Boko Haramhas, meanwhile, stepped uptheir assault from the regularpillage and reckless killings ofinnocent civilians to the opendeclaration of IslamicCaliphates in seemingly“conquered territories”!

Evidently “there have beenwidespread criticisms of thePresident’s proposal asNigerians across politicaldivides have questioned theexpenditure of trillions ofNaira to contain Boko Haramin recent years”.

$1bn for ‘BH’: Loan orsupplementary appropriation?

,,

Conversely, in defence of the$1bn loan, Mike Omeri, theDirector General of theNational Orientation Agency,noted that “it is not out of placefor a country to re-enforce itsmilitary capabilities,” and “theloan being sought” accordingto Omeri “is not just toprosecute Boko Haram war, itis to re-enforce the ArmedForces”. That the ArmedForces are poorly motivatedand ill equipped may not beuntrue, if we consider mediareports of grievances of ourtroops and combatants;indeed, the recent assault bysome soldiers on theircommanding officer, wasapparently triggered by thesight of the rifled corpses oftheir comrades who wereslaughtered by anunexpectedly better equippedrag tag army of insurgents.

Nonetheless, some criticsof the $1bn loan request haveurged the National Assemblyto reject the proposal; forexample, the Chairman ofLagos State House Committeeon Strategy, Security andPublicity, noted that “as longas corruption thrives, anymoney borrowed would besquandered by fewindividuals.” The HumanRights Writers’ Association, isalso equally concerned thatthe proceeds of the loan maygo the same way as theallocation of N76bn for thefailed CCTV project for Abuja.

Notable Lawyer andactivist, Femi Falana has alsodemanded for acomprehensive audit of theexpenditure of over N3000bnallocated for security between2010 and 2013. Other loancritics have also suggested

rightly or wrongly that theproceeds of the $1bn loanwould be deployed to foot theexpenses of the electioneeringcampaigns of Mr. Presidentand the PDP for 2015elections!

Conversely, the ArewaConsultative Forum hasexpressed through itsSecretary, Anthony Sanni that“the Group was in support ofany measures by thegovernment to end theinsurgency, because the issueof security of lives andproperty is the primary

responsibility of anygovernment”.

Furthermore, a human rightactivist and Chairman ofColiation Against CorruptLeaders Comrade DeboAdeniran also noted that “withthe present security situation inthe country, any right thinkingperson should support anymeasure that will curb theinsurgency.”

However, since theresumption of the NationalAssembly from recess last week,

the debate on the $1bn loanrequest is yet to commence inearnest; evidently, if earlyrelease of the sum of $1bn willactually be pivotal to tip the waragainst Boko Haram, then theNational Assembly cannotfirmly insist that the Presidentshould first justify the judiciousapplication of 2014 defencebudget of N960bn and overN3tn also appropriatedbetween 2010-2013, as theprocess of a thorough auditand investigation may becomeprotracted and give room forfurther murderous pillage andconsolidation of Boko Haram’sexpansion in the North-East,with dire consequences for oureconomy and our country.

In such event, the situationmay have gone beyondredemption or may indeedrequire much more than the$1bn currently sought byPresident Jonathan toultimately checkmate BokoHaram. In any case, someanalysts may argue that it isinconsistent to quibble about amere $1bn when we gleefullyexpend over $12bn to subsidisepetrol prices in place of thewidely canvassed realisticpossibility of earning billions ofdollars annually from a salestax on petrol.

Thus, in view of the presentexpansionary threat of BokoHaram, it would be useful ifPresident Jonathan couldimmediately access the $1bnfunding, with an assurance thattangible success would beachieved against theinsurgence, while the NationalAssembly simultaneouslycommences thoroughinvestigations on theapplication of the defencespending in 2014 and the N3tn

budgeted for security between2010-2013.

Instructively, however, theprovision of the $1bn fundingneed not be in accord withPresident Jonathan’s requestfor an externally denominatedloan; there is in fact no valid ordefensible reason why we mustseek for such loan which willcome at a cost and furtherdeepen our already oppressivedebt burden, when in fact, wehave over $5bn currentlydomiciled, idly, in an ExcessCrude Account, which isironically unknown to ourConstitution; furthermore, itseems reckless and uncaring topursue a $1bn loan at any costwhen we currently celebrate anidle foreign reserves base ofover $40bn with the CBN.

Indeed, if we adopted thedebt option for the requested$1bn, we may inadvertentlyborrow at a cost from thosesame institutions in which our“Excess” crude deposits andCBN reserves are domiciledwith minimal yield! Besides,the process of acquiringexternal loans is not akin to adumb and ready ATM, withimmediate cash provision, asthe application process forloans is traditionally moreextended.

In reality, our Excess CrudeAccount and CBN reserves areas perfect for immediatefunding requirements as anAutomatic cash dispenser ifyour account is already funded.So why go through thehumiliation of borrowing whenyou own relatively healthyreserves? The NationalAssembly must not bebefuddled to approve therequest for $1bn external loanto combat insecurity; instead, itwould certainly be moreappropriate to enact asupplementary appropriationbill to debit our ECA or CBNreserves accordingly.

•Save the Naira, Save

Nigerians.

”

Executive Secretary andChief Executive Officer of

the Nigerian Shippers’Council, NSC, Hassan Bello,has said that the Council isworking with relevantgovernment agencies to put inplace the legal regulatoryframework for it to functioneffectively as port economicregulator.

Bello who disclosed this inhis office in Lagos, said that theCouncil recently met with the

Regulatory framework for Shippers' Councilready soon — Bello

By GODFREY BIVBERE Nigerian MaritimeAdministration and SafetyAgency, NIMASA, NigerianPorts Authority, NPA, NigeriaCustoms Service, NCS, theAttorney General of theFederation and others to workout the modalities for theframework. He explained thatthe Council has been engagingin consultation with all therelevant stakeholders in theindustry to ensure that all ofthem are in agreement whenfull enforcement commences bythe NSC. Bello said that the

consultation has taken them tothe NCS, NPA, CBN, Ministryof Finance, NigerianImmigration Service, NIS, onthe side of the government andall the other criticalstakeholders in the sectorincluding terminal operators,shipping companies, freightforwarders, truckers, etc.

The Shippers’ Council bosssaid the consultation wasnecessary because they want tobe as transparent as possiblewhen the enforcementcommences.

In reality, ourExcess CrudeAccount andCBN reservesare as perfect fori m m e d i a t ef u n d i n grequirements asan Automaticcash dispenser ifyour account isalready funded

BRIEFS

Pope Francis decries ‘perverted’extremists on Albania visit

Climate change summit: Thousandsjoin global protests

PROTESTS in many countries to demand urgentaction on climate change have kicked off, with

over 2,000 marches taking place around the world.The People’s Climate March has been organised to

call for action to curb carbon emissions ahead of theUN climate summit in New York next week.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets inAustralia while protests are also getting under way inEurope.

The climax will be a march in New York, attendedby UN chief Ban Ki-moon.

He will join thousands of people on the streets ofManhattan, including business leaders, environmen-talists and celebrities.

Hollywood actor Leonardo DiCaprio will also attend,having been appointed as a UN representative onclimate change last week.

In Australia, organisers said up to 20,000 peoplehad turned out in Melbourne to call on Prime Minis-ter Tony Abbott to do more to tackle climate change.

Kenya marks anniversary ofdeadly Westgate mall attack

KENYA is marking a year since the attack on aNairobi shopping centre, in which at least 67

people were killed.A memorial plaque with names of the victims was

unveiled ahead of a candle-lit vigil being held lateryesterday..

The siege at Westgate lasted four days, with CCTVfootage showing terrified shoppers fleeing the gun-men and cowering behind counters.

Somali Islamist group al-Shabab said it carried outthe attack in response to Kenya’s military operationsin Somalia.

Relatives of the victims laid wreaths at a garden inthe forest where 67 trees were planted after the at-tack.

Interfaith prayers were held at the site as a memo-rial plaque with names of the victims on was un-veiled.

•Pope Francis said he had wanted to visit the Balkan nation because it had“suffered very, very much”

Nationalist leader says Scotstricked out of independence

DEFEATED Scottish nationalist chief AlexSalmond accused Britain’s political leaders on

Sunday of tricking Scots out of independence after adispute about how and when to give them morepowers.

Salmond, who is stepping down as leader of the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) afterfailing to persuade Scots to leave the United Kingdom,accused Britain’s three main political parties of winninglast Thursday’s referendum by 55-45 percent bymaking a false promise of new powers.

“I think the vow was something cooked up indesperation for the last few days of the campaign andI think everyone in Scotland now realizes that,” saidSalmond, referring to a pledge by Prime Minister DavidCameron and other leaders before the vote to rapidlyexpand Scottish autonomy in the event of a “No”.

“It is the people who were persuaded to vote nowho were misled, who were gulled, who were trickedeffectively,” Salmond told BBC TV, saying he thoughtthe last-minute promise had swayed the referendum’soutcome.

POPE Francis hasdenounced extrem-

ists around the world for“perverting” religion tojustify violence during avisit to Albania.

Tens of thousands ofAlbanians attended anopen air Mass celebratedby the pontiff in thecapital, Tirana.

He praised the “peace-ful coexistence” of religionsin the country, where aMuslim majority livesalongside Catholics andOrthodox Christians.

Meanwhile, securitywas tight for the visit amidrumors of a jihadist plotagainst him.

During a meeting withtop Albanian governmentofficials, Pope Francishailed as a “precious gift”the mutual respectbetween Muslims andChristians in the country.

“This is especially thecase in these times wherean authentic religiousspirit is being perverted by

extremist groups andwhere religious differenc-es are being distorted,” hesaid.

“Let no-one considerthemselves to be the ‘ar-mour’ of God while plan-ning and carrying out actsof violence andoppression!” This is seenas an apparent reference to

Islamic State militants whohave seized large swathesof Syria and Iraq,persecuting differentreligious groups there.

In a speech to the lead-ers of Albania’s religiouscommunities, Pope Franciscontinued the theme,saying: “No one must usethe name of God to com-

Ukraine crisis:Thousandsmarch inMoscowanti-war rally

mit violence.”“To kill in the name of God

is a grave sacrilege. Todiscriminate in the name ofGod is inhuman,” headded.

Security was stepped upfor the visit amid amidreports that extremistsmight pose a threat but theVatican played down fearsof a plot against the Pope.

This is the Pope’s first tripto a European countryoutside Italy since he tookoffice in 2013.

KURDISH militants in Turkey have issued a newcall to arms to defend a border town in northern

Syria from advancing Islamic State fighters, and theTurkish authorities and United Nations preparedyesterday for a surge in refugees.

About 70,000 Syrian Kurds have fled into Turkey sinceFriday as Islamic State fighters seized dozens of villagesclose to the border and advanced on the frontier townof Ayn al-Arab, known as Kobani in Kurdish.

Carol Batchelor, the United Nations refugee agency’s(UNHCR) representative in Turkey said the real figuremay be more than 100,000 as Turkey faces one of thebiggest influxes of refugees from Syria since the warthere began more than three years ago.

“I don’t think in the last three and a half years wehave seen 100,000 cross in two days. So this is a bit ofa measure of how this situation is unfolding and thevery deep fear people have about the circumstancesinside Syria, and for that matter Iraq.”

A Kurdish commander on the ground said IslamicState had advanced to within 15 km (9 miles) of Kobani,whose strategic location has been blocking the radicalSunni Muslim militants from consolidating their gainsacross northern Syria.

Kurds issue new call to armsagainst Islamic State in Syria


TENS of thousands ofpeople marched in

Moscow in protest againstRussia’s involvement in theUkraine conflict.

People were chanting“No to war!” and “Stoplying!” Similar rallies aretaking place in StPetersburg and otherRussian cities.

Ukraine accuses Russiaof arming rebels in the eastand sending Russiantroops across the border.Moscow denies this.

It would be recalled thatmore than 3,000 peoplehave died in fighting sinceApril. A truce was agreedon 5 September but therehave been repeatedviolations since then.

The fighting began afterRussia annexed Ukraine’ssouthern Crimeapeninsula in March - amove condemned byUkraine and the West.

Demonstrators - withboth Russian andUkrainian flags - aremarching from PushkinSquare to SakharovBoulevard in centralMoscow.

CMYK


CMYK


9 arrested over fakeFIRS jobs, promotion

1,000 Nigerian professionals forNew York summit

NO fewer than 1,000young Nigerian

professionals areexpected to attend aninternational summitorganised by theNigerian YoungProfessionals Forum,NYPF, September 27 inNew York. The NYPFchairman, Mr. MosesSiasia, who disclosed thisin Abuja, said that theessence of the summitwas to pool ideas on howto foster sustainable socio-political and economicdevelopment of thecountry.

He said that the summitwas taken to New Yorkbecause of the largenumber of youngNigerian professionalsresident in the US, noting,“The agenda of thesummit is to bringtogether well selectedNigerian youngprofessionals residing theUS to brainstorm on howto engender accelerated

development in Nigeria.“The summit will be a

strategic platform on howyoung people canobjectively network inusing our wealth ofexperience andknowledge to fostergrowth and developmentin Nigeria. “We all knowthat a lot of youngNigerians are makingwaves in the US in variousaspects of humanendeavour. It is sad to notethat while Nigeriastruggle to grow many ofits best brains are beingutilised in the diaspora.”

The NYPF boss furtherexplained that summitwas geared towardmotivating Nigerianyoung professionals inUS to return home andcountry. According toSiasia, the theme of thesummit is, “Harnessingthe Potential of YoungNigerian Professionalstowards AcceleratedDevelopment in Nigeria.”

SECURITY officialsworking with Federal

Inland Revenue Service,FIRS have arrested ninesuspects in connection witha fake recruitment exerciseinto the service.

The suspects are beinginvestigated for allegedforgery of documents,impersonation of officials ofFIRS and other federalministries, agencies andbanks officials, deceit ofmembers of the public andfor soliciting for money forpromotion of FIRS officials.

The suspects werealleged to have employeda vast network of websites,email addresses,computers, telephone linesand bank accounts spreadover different parts of theFederal Capital Territory,FCT, and received moneyfrom members of the publicon a non existentrecruitment into the FIRS.

Some of the suspectspromised they will facilitatethe promotion of severalFIRS officials and sent textmessages to spouses,relatives and personsconnected to FIRS staff.

Luck, however, ran out ofthe suspects when amember of the gang sentan SMS solicitingpayments from a very seniorFIRS staff to facilitate theofficial’s promotion.

Sources close to theinvestigation confirmed thatsuspects’ operational items:telephone lines, severalSMS cards andcommunication equipmentwere retrieved from thesuspects’ residences in thecourse of the investigation.

Other items reportedlyretrieved from the suspectsinclude bags containingassorted documents,including FIRS staffrecords, a Toyota Carina 11,assorted complimentarycards, polythene bagcontaining bank depositslips and album ofphotographs as well asdocuments from severalministries and FederalGovernment agencies.

The FIRS recentlyconducted an onlinepromotion examination,which ran simultaneouslyin several locations acrossthe country. More than2000 staff participated.Participants knew theirresults immediately theyfinished answering thequestions.

FIRS announced inseveral newspaperpublications and on itswebsite, www.firs.gov.ng,that it is not recruiting intothe service for now.

A statement published onthe FIRS website and whichis still running on the FIRSwebsite as at yesterdayreads in part:”This is toinform the general publicthat FIRS is neitherrecruiting nor replacingunfilled positions within itsworkforce. Please note thatemployment into the FIRS,will be advertised innational newspapers aswell as on the FIRS websitewww.firs.gov.ng. Membersof the public are herebystrongly advised to avoidbeing deceived ordefrauded byunscrupulous and dubiouscharacters”.

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Continues on page 47

THE presumptive nomineeof the Peoples Democratic

Party, PDP, President GoodluckJonathan fresh from his adoptionby the leadership of his party, lastThursday, moved out from thecomfort and cheers of the elitisthangers on in Abuja to meet realNigerians in a campaign rallythat was couched in the form of asensitisation rally of the party.

Two hours after the rally andsix kilometres away from the PDPrally which took place at theTafawa Balewa Square, anenduring political foe of thepresident and the leadingpresidential aspirant in the AllProgressives Congress, APC,Atiku Abubakar was himselfensconced in a strategic meetingwith youths drawn from differentsectors of the society.

Atiku had drawn attention tothe meeting on his facebook pagelast Thursday when he invitedyouths not selected for themeeting to post questions to himthrough facebook on issuesfacing the society.

Campaignofficials

Why and at what point Atikuscheduled his meeting with theyouths and online bloggers wasa matter that Vanguard wasunable to draw from campaignofficials of the former vice-president at the weekend. Butwhether Team Atiku scheduledthe intellectually stimulatingmeeting of last Saturday as acounterpoise to Team Jonathan’sboisterous affair remains in therealm of speculations.

The aura of invincibility wasalmost around the president lastSaturday as the presidentdeplaned in Lagos, which is atthe moment the engine of theopposition.

Remarkably, the oppositionleader Asiwaju Bola AhmedTinubu, chieftain of the APC hadreturned to his Lagos base lastweek following a cantankerousexchange between his surrogatesand his mortal enemies in the

state chapter of the PDP over hisstate of health. The PDP in Lagoshad accused the APC in Lagosof collaborating with the Lagosstate administration of twistingwhat it claimed to be facts on thestate of health of the formergovernor alleging that Tinubuwas gravely sick of an unknownailment. It was an accusation thatwas seriously rebutted by theTinubu camp which released lastweek released a picture of theopposition leader in a hearty andhealthy state deplaning on hisreturn.

Tinubu’s return and Atiku’sextended stay in Lagos raisedissues among some concernedsections in the polity over thealleged rapprochement betweenthe two political gladiators whofell out more than six years ago.

Party sources claim that Atikumade up with Asiwaju once heentered into the party and hadalso played crucial roles in theprovision of logistics in therunning of the opposition party.

The prospects of the twopolitical heavyweights knitting tobarricade the Jonathanbandwagon was of little botherto Jonathan and his associates atthe Tafawa Balewa Square last

Saturday as Jonathan expresseda confidence that betrayed thetroubles the country is presentlyfacing in some sections.

Jonathan in LagosThe rally themed ‘South West

sensitization and unity rally’ wasflooded by serving Ministers fromthe South west, party leaders,elders, members and supporters,who defied the rain to showpresence.

It was especially anopportunity for the manygubernatorial in Lagos State tosell themselves to supportersahead of the party’s primaries.

They took turns hounding theopposition and throwing supportfor the adoption of the presidentas the party’s sole presidentialcandidate.

Aspirants from other states inthe Southwest were alsorepresented but were not as vocalas the agents of the 15gubernatorial aspirants in Lagos.

Firing the first salvo, theminister of State for the FCT, MrsOlajumoke Akinjide, who spokeon behalf of the body ofSouthwest ministers, assuredJonathan of their unalloyedloyalty and further promised tomobilise for him (Jonathan)

when the campaign gatherssteam.

Akinjide, accompanied bySenator Musiliu Obanikoro,Prince Dayo Adeyeye, DrAkinwunmi Adeshina, MrsOmobola Johnson and AlhajiJeilili Adesiyan, said “yourministers are here to testifybecause we work with you

bane of the party in the regionwas now over. That assurancewas delivered by a member of thePDP Board of Trustees, ChiefBode George who said “we wantto reassure you that all is well inthe South west PDP.”

We’ll deliver for Jonathan —Fayose

Speaking on behalf of the South

2015: How Jonathan,Atiku wooed Lagos

•From Left; Chief Olabode George, Arc Namadi Sambo, Vice President of Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan, and DrAdamu Mu'azu, National Chairman of Peoples Democatic Party, [left] during the South West rally

THE nation’scommercial capital,Lagos was the focus of2015 presidentialpolitics last weekendas two of the majorcontenders from thecountry’s two leadingpolitical partiesdescended on themegalopolis

By Emmanuel Aziken,Political Editor, Dapo

Akinrefon and CharlesKumolu

west, Ekiti State Governor-elect,Mr Ayodele Fayose assured thepresident of the region’scommitment in securing theirvotes in next year’s polls.

Fayose said “your adoption isall you need to win a second termand it will come with ease. Weexpect your name to bring goodluck to Nigeria. We want toassure you we will deliver thesouth west the help of ourpeople. I also want to assure youthat results from the South westwill be shocking in 2015 “.

Jonathan deserves second

everyday. We are here to say thatyou have shown love to theSouthwest.”

That assurance follows earliertrepidation from the ministersand Team Jonathan of thehostility from the Southwest PDPon account of what partymembers had in the pastcomplained as the failure of thepresident to appoint partymembers in the region to highpositions in the administration.

Besides, the rally was also anopportunity to reassure thepresident that the historicalinternal battles that had been the

Party sources claim that Atiku made upwith Asiwaju once he entered into the partyand had also played crucial roles in theprovision of logistics in the running of theopposition party

,

,


term — ObanikoroMinister of State for Defence,

Senator Musiliu Obanikoroexplained that the President hasdone well and therefore deservesa second term to continue withhis Transformation Agenda.

Obanikoro said the party in thewest has resolved to “work forthe re-election of PresidentJonathan and we are committedin working for him so that he cancontinue with the good works hehas started not only in the southwest but in the country. With allthe good things he has done, hedeserves a second term.”

We’ll recapture South west —Mu’azu

In his remarks, the PDPnational chairman, Alhaji AdamuMu’azu expressed the party’sreadiness to take over the Southwest.

I won’t disappoint you —Jonathan

But Jonathan expressedgratitude to the members of thePDP in the region for giving himthe right of first refusal to as theparty’s sole candidate for nextyear’s presidential polls.

Jonathan said “Let me sincerelythank the leaders of our party;from the chairman, committeemembers, our governors, ourNational Assembly members, ourBoard of Trustees members, andall members of the party for givingme the right of first refusal of thepresidential ticket.”

“When the party leadersendorsed me, by thatendorsement I have the right offirst refusal. That is what is donein advanced democracies,” thepresident said as he mouthed thesame words that his agents had

two years back echoed inpushing for his unanimousadoption.

"There are no dictators in thePDP. There is no one that is sopowerful to determine whobecomes councillor, localgovernment chairman, StateHouse of Assembly member,House of Representativesmember, senator, governor, andeven president, in the PDP. Thedecision is by the people, for thepeople, and that is why the PDPwill continue to do new thingsand give right leadership”, hesaid.

Atiku stormsLagos

The scene at Eko Hotel andSuites, a few kilometres away,was a far cry from the shovellingand screaming that attended thePDP rally.

Looking energetic, Atikuwalked into the African-AsianHall of the hotel at 7:28 pm amidstanding ovation from guests.

Deviating from the pattern inthe country, where VIPs walkmajestically to their seats, theformer Vice President, whoappeared spirited on a blackshort sleeves native attire, had ahand shake with every onepresent as he walked to thepodium. The gesture signalledthat the interaction would takeplace in an atmosphere ofsimplicity andunpretentiousness.

Originally scheduled tocommence at 7: pm, the eventkicked off 35 minutes behindschedule as a result of the latearrival of Atiku. With anaudience of predominantly

Continues from page 46

2015: How Jonathan, Atiku wooed Lagos

youths, the host, Miss MercyAbang of the Nigeria Newsdesk,introduced the former numbertwo man to the House.

Sounding apologetic Atikuregretted his late arrival,attributing it to the perennialtraffic gridlock in Lagos.

"I have to apologise to you andeveryone in the society forcoming in late. You all know thetraffic situation in Lagos. Ipromise to make it up to you,’’he said amid approval from theaudience.

On that note, what turned outto be a robust intellectual parley

school. I was freely educatedfrom primary up to the universitylevel. In fact I was paid to go toschool then. That is the greatestthing this country has done forme. And I don’t think I will everpay back enough. There is theurge to continue to serve until Ican serve no more. There is theurge to continue to pay back untilI can pay back no more. So I amnot driven by naked ambition, Iam driven by the urge to giveback to the nation.’’

Dismissing doubts that hisdefection to the APC waspropelled by the relentless desirefor the party’s presidential ticket,Atiku said, the APC remains theonly viable alternative for thecountry.

Expatiating he said, "APC forme is the last bus stop. I havealways believed in a two partysystem for this country. You needto understand how we cameabout to establish the PDP. Whenwe fought the military to quitgovernance and democracy wasallowed to return, most politiciansfrom both sides of the dividedecided to form a very big party.’’

My last bust stop"The intention was to form a big

party that would withstand themilitary in the event they decidedto come back, because we werenot convinced that they would notcome back. I knew it was goingto be a matter of time before ourvarious political inclinationsbegin to divide us. PDP was notrespecting internal democracywhile impunity was the order ofthe day. Of course you knew mylegal battles in the PDP. I waspushed out.’’

‘’We now established the AC.The PDP came back to me thatthey were going to ensureinternal democracy, I came back

more jobs for Nigerians. Mybusinesses are being run withoutme. I have created no fewer than50, 000 jobs in Nigeria. And wehave also created jobs in Angola.Recently we have also done samein Mozambique. So, we are alsodoing very well continentally.’’

Asked what would happen ifhe does not get his party’s ticket,given speculations that APC hadconcluded on fielding GenMohammadu Buhari (rtd), hesaid, "I will definitely supportwhoever emerges as the APCcandidate if I don’t emerge. Iwant to see APC succeed."

North will not vote for PDPSpecifically, he said it would be

disservice to Nigerians foranyone to advocate an automaticticket for Buhari.

"Asking me to not contest isasking me to give up on Nigeria.The North will not vote for thePDP because the party has failedeverybody. This period presentsan opportunity for change. Beforenow the PDP was big and theabsence of a viable oppositionthen allowed the party to becomemonstrous. But now with the APCthere is choice. There is no wayNigerians can vote for the PDPin 2015," he added.

Continuing, he expresseddoubt at the ability of theIndependent ElectoralCommission of Nigeria, INEC,to conduct a free and fairelection.

On why he has allegedlyavoided visiting the UnitedStates said: ‘’I used to visit theUnited States when my familywas there. My family is no longerthere. I visit any country if thereis reason for it. Last year I wasgiven a visa to visit the US but Idid not make the trip.”

We 'll crush insecurityin one month

Queried on the manner the waron terror is being persecuted, theformer Vice-President gave a voteof no confidence on thepresidency. He said: "A numberof reasons have been adducedas responsible for insurgency.Some said the region was themost backward region in thecountry, with widespread povertyand illiteracy. But these are notreasons why people should takearms and start killing innocentNigerians. There is povertyeverywhere in this country. Thereis unemployment everywhere. Iwant to recall that a similarsituation arose in Yobe State whilewe where in office. And it did nottake us more than a month tocrush that insurgency. I think themistake we made after crushingthe insurgency, was not goingback to the people to know whythey took up arms against thecountry. We failed to listen tothem and provide solution towhichever grievance they had.

Today, there is a recurrence.There is failure of leadership inthe war against terrorism in termsof capacity."

•Atiku: In warm handsakes with bloggers in Lagos

commenced with rapt attentionfrom everyone around.

The session which was veryparticipatory and engaging, sawthe presidential aspirant, beingdrilled by Abang on probingissues.

The questions which came in ano holds barred manner, centredon politics/governance, economy,security, education among others.

The audience also hadopportunity of quizzing Atiku,who appeared at peace withevery question.

Perennial aspirantAsked why he appears to have

become a perennial presidentialaspirant, Atiku said: “There isso much fixing to be done in thiscountry. Essentially I think I owethis country service. Unlike all ofyou, no one paid for me to go to

only to discover that it was thesame PDP. Then came theformation of APC. They visitedme in my house and I went roundconsulting with my politicalassociates whether joining theAPC was something we shoulddo. The result was anoverwhelming decision to jointhe APC. My return to APC isfinal."

From Abang, came anotherposer, suggesting that Atikuought to have concentrated oncreating wealth than contestingfor the presidency again.

But an Atiku, who seemed athome with the question,responded thus: ‘’I don’t thinkforgetting about the presidencyand focusing on my businessalone is right. The right attitudeis to create more businesses and

,

,Tinubu’s return and Atiku’s extended stay

in Lagos raised issues among someconcerned sections in the polity over thealleged rapprochement between the twopolitical gladiators who fell out more thansix years ago


,

,OPINION

By Kayode ojo

*Mr. Ojo, public affairs commentator , wrote from Lagos.

I NEVER met retired Col. BenjaminAdekunle. But I had an encounter

with him, which I will narrate, to giveyou an insight into the strange man hewas.

On March 17th 2006, Mr. Peter Obi,the candidate of the All ProgressivesGrand Alliance (APGA) for the 2003election was sworn-in as the duly electedgovernor of Anambra State. It was aremarkable triumph of good over evil.The Uba family, who were the appointedpolitical agents of then PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo in Anambra State,had failed conclusively to hijackAnambra, even though Obasanjo usedevery abominable trick, including theabduction of their non-conformistflunkey, Governor Chris Ngige; and theuse of Nigerian security forces to burndown the government house and otherpublic buildings.

I wrote an article celebrating theshaming of the devil. I describedObasanjo as a man given to cowardlybehaviour. He ordered the flattening ofOdi in Bayelsa State, the destruction ofZaki-Biam in Benue State and sent anAssistant Inspector General of Police,

Col. Adekunle: we rememberCol. Adekunle: we rememberCol. Adekunle: we rememberCol. Adekunle: we rememberCol. Adekunle: we rememberdifdifdifdifdifffffferentlyerentlyerentlyerentlyerently

Raphael Ige, to supervise the abductionof Governor Ngige in Anambra State.But when Alhaji Sani Yerima, theGovernor of Zamfara State, forcefullyand illegally declared full sharia andriots swept through Arewa North like anatural disaster, Obasanjo went toKaduna and decided to weep instead oftaking his usual strong arm measures.He made his famous prediction thatsharia would "fizzle out". Obasanjo fearsand respects the North but wheneverthere is a drop of the pin in any part ofthe South and Middle Belt, he becomesa ten-star army general. That is my ownidea of cowardice.

I said so in my write-up. It was aMonday. Later that day, at around4.00pm, my phone rang. I answered:

"Good afternoon. Whose is on the line?""Ezigbo nwanne m. Kedu kwa

nu?"(my dear brother, how are you)came a deep, clear voice from the otherend. For every word I uttered in English,he answered back in impeccableAnambra dialect of Igbo, which he spokesmoothly without an accent. He

introduced himself: "I am BenjaminAdekunle" (no Colonel or General or anymilitary title).

"The Black Scorpion?" I asked."By the grace of God", he answered

back.He went on to tell me that what I wrote

Obasanjo was a watered-down "gospel

truth". He used a lot of unprintablewords to describe the man who took overfrom him as the head of the 3rd MarineCommandos that did much to stop theactualisation of the breakaway Republicof Biafra during the civil war. Heaccused Obasanjo of lying with hisbiographical stories of the civil war. Hewent on and on. The journalist in metook over, and I persuaded him to giveme a date for a full interview.

"With all pleasure", he boomed.He gave me his address in Surulere,

Lagos and asked to come three dayslater, a Thursday. On the appointed day,I was at his gate on schedule. I knockedand no one answered. I called his line.He did not pick it. I waited at the gatefor about thirty minutes. Just when I wasabout to get into my car and go, a ratheryoung man of about 20 years old cameout of the gate and introduced himselfas Col Adekunle's son. He told me hisdad wanted me to leave. That he didnot talk to the Press!

When the news of Adekunle's passingat 78 was announced recently, it barely

gathered traction as a piece of news.However, on resumption of the NationalAssembly from vacation, the Leader ofthe House of Representatives, Hon.Mulikat Akande, who representsOgbomosho, Adekunle's hometown inOyo State, officially brought the newsto the Green Chamber. Since Adekunlefought for the federal side during thewar, the Speaker of the House ofRepresentatives, Aminu Tambuwal,asked his colleagues to stand and honourhim with a one-minute silence. As theHouse rose, some Igbo Reps membersrefused to comply. Their grouse was thatAdekunle was a "war criminal" whoallegedly killed a lot of defencelesscivilians. In fact, he was quoted in somewritten works of boasting he would "killeverything that moves" in "Iboland".

Following this event, a big fight(predictably) ensued across the social

media forums between Igbo and Yorubacommentators. These fights are alwaysbreaking out whenever a historic figuredies on both sides. It happened whenChief Chukwuemeka OdumegwuOjukwu and Professor Chinua Achebejoined their Creator. When Obasanjo,Prof. Wole Soyinka, Generals YakubuGowon and Theophilus Danjumaeventually go, you can be sure of morefights among these, mainly youngpeople, most of who do not properlyunderstand the full underpinnings of ourhistory and why people played the rolesthey had to.

What happened in the House of Repswas unfortunate, but I fully understoodit. When it comes to the events thatculminated in the civil war and theiraftermath, we can never feel the samewhen we remember. Nigeria wonindependence in 1960, but in 1966, the

crises that followed the independenceoverflowed after the January 1966military coup. A civil war was foughtwhen the East (Igbos) declaredsecession. The war was a gang-up ofthe rest of the country and their foreignbackers to force the Igbos back toNigeria. Those, like Adekunle, whoplayed prominent roles at the war fronttowards "keeping Nigeria One" qualifyas heroes of the Nigerian civil war.

The Igbos who felt the heat of the warwill, naturally, not be amused when suchpeople are being celebrated because, forthem, one man's war hero is anotherman's war criminal. It is an interplay ofdemocracy that while one side iscelebrating their war hero the other sidechooses to abstain.

The Benjamin Adekunle story is freefor all. If he was your hero, celebrate(or mourn). If he was not, put him wherehe belongs. Personally, as far as eventsof those days were concerned, I wouldrather honour Col. Adekunle Fajuyi asa true hero and man of great example(who chose to go down with his visitingboss, General Aguiyi-Ironsi, rather thanjoin his murderers) than an BenjaminAdekunle who derived demonicpleasure from killing defencelesspeople.

In any case, look at the One Nigeriathey fought for, where everyone is cryingtears, sorrow and blood, irrespective ofwhich side they belonged. More thanforty years after the war, Nigeria is yetto recover from the rapacity of those whofought to keep it one. They waged amindless war on its resources andcondemned its future. Was this whatAdekunle, who returned from the warfront to a life of recluse, fought andjoyfully killed for?

And I am wondering: if Adekunlehated Igbos so much that he was readyto kill everything that moved during thewar, why did he so gleefully go out ofhis way to impress me with his excellentmastery of the Igbo language, evenwhen he did not know me personally?Why did he call me ezigbo nwanne m(my dear brother)? Perhaps, the devil isnot as black as he is painted? Orperhaps, for Adekunle, bygones werebygones? Or normal hypocrisy?

So, if Adekunle was willing to call mea brother in spite of everything, wheredoes that leave those of you killing oneanother over the social media?Most ofyou are the youth of this country. Is thishow you are going to live in Nigeria afterthe Ojukwus, Gowons, Obasanjos,Murtalas, Danjumas, Joe Achuzias, AlexMadiebos and the other protagonists ofthe war, are phased out?

What happened in the House of Reps wasunfortunate, but I fully understood it. When itcomes to the events that culminated in the civilwar and their aftermath, we can never feel thesame when we remember

CHAIRMAN of the Independent National ElectoralCommission, Professor Attahiru Jega, has landed

himself in hot water. Coming off the remarkable successesof the Ekiti and Osun gubernatorial elections, Jegamisjudged the mood in the country and proposed thecreation of 30,027 additional polling units, with a lopsideddistribution of 21,615 in the North and a mere 8,412 in theSouth of the country. Of course, many Nigerians of Southernextraction are rightly enraged as they suspect that, inproposing the new polling units, Jega is acting out aNorthern script to rig the 2015 general elections.

One of the more coherent objectors to Jega’s new pollingunits is the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly (SNPA). Ina number of public publications, the group is demandingJega’s resignation for “obvious inclination to ethnicchauvinism and protectionism.” The SNPA also say theyare opposed to the process of creating the new polling units“as it lacks any fundamental basis.”

Considering that Jega hitherto enjoyed widespread respectand significant goodwill, the call for his resignation by agroup whose chieftains include former Vice President AlexEkwueme and South-South Leader Chief Edwin Clarkdeserves careful scrutiny. This is more so as Jega, if ratherbelatedly, has defended himself, saying: “For the avoidanceof doubt, the Commission has not yet created the additionalpolling units. It has simply approved the framework andguidelines to facilitate the creation of these additionalpolling units by the Resident Electoral Commissioners andthe state officers of INEC.”

Be that as it may, the SNPA is still insisting on Jega’sresignation. According to the group, Jega’s explanationsare “Characteristic of an unrepentant, arrogant, insensitive

Jega and the conundrum of new Polling UnitsJega and the conundrum of new Polling UnitsJega and the conundrum of new Polling UnitsJega and the conundrum of new Polling UnitsJega and the conundrum of new Polling Unitsand impervious dictator.” The SNPA further argues that:“Contrary to the averment of Prof. Jega that no polling unithas been created and allocated, it is reported (NigerianPilot of Wednesday, September 10, 2014, pp.16) that theResident Electoral Commissioner of Zamfara State, a statewhose registered voters has been grossly depleted by half asa result of the Automated Fingerprint Identification System(AFIS) [emphasis by SNPA] has already inaugurated aCommittee to distribute Jega’s additional 1,163 pollingunits for the state.”

What is most striking in this issue is that Jega himself hasconceded that, following the use of AFIS, the total numberof registered voters in the country has actually reduced. Inhis words: “At the end of the general registration of voters in2011, the Commission announced that the data of 73. 5million eligible voters had been captured – warts and all;that is, including the records of multiple (Emphasis: not“ghost”) registrants. At the conclusion of data de-duplicationwith the Automated Fingerprint Identification Software(AFIS), by which cases of multiple registrations wereeliminated, the figure came down to 70,383,427 registeredvoters.”

In view of Jega’s own submission, it is only logical toquestion the need for additional polling units when the totalnumber of registered voters in the country is now actuallylower than it was before AFIS. This is where the wholematter takes a befuddling and somewhat sinister turn. Thepost-AFIS reduction of registered voters is at the heart ofthe commonsensical and ethical conundrum which Jegafaces in his irrational yearning to create new polling units.

At this juncture, any discerning mind begins to wonder if inreality Jega is not guilty of the “ethnic chauvinism andprotectionism” he has been accused of. For, on the face ofit, Jega’s desire to increase polling units in the country —and disproportionately favour the North by an alarmingmargin while doing so — flies in the face of sound reasoningand shows a shocking disconnection with reality when theINEC chairman himself reports a lower number of registeredvoters after the AFIS cleanup.

Furthermore, it is pertinent to once more recall that Jegarecently received kudos from the majority of Nigerians forholding credible gubernatorial elections in Ekiti and Osunstates. In both instances, no single complaint was reportedabout overcrowding at the polling units, one of the spuriousreasons Jega has tardily advanced for proposing additionalpolling units. Considering his stature and position, Jegawould have fared better if he had simply owned up to hiserror rather than offer such an untenable explanation forhis gaffe.

The question now is: what needs to be done? With only afew months to go before the electioneering season of 2015is well under way, it is simply not realistic or prudent to goshopping for a new INEC chairman now. For that reason,the best cause of action is for Jega to apologise to theNigerian people for his misguided attempt to compromisethe 2015 elections before a single vote has been cast. Moreimportantly, he should jettison the idea of new polling unitswhile the status quo ante must be retained.

Vanguard, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2014—————4949494949

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By Gab Ejuwa

Abuja and challenges ofinfrastructure

Mr. Ejuwa, a journalist, wrote fromLagos.

By Rogers Ochela

*Mr. Ochela, wrote fromAbuja.

A CURSORY glance at the powerequation in Delta State reveal a

startlingly remarkable political puzzle; andthis is the glaring inequality in thedistribution of the most juicy politicalappointments in the littoral state. As amatter of historical fact and figure, fromthe Western Region through the MidwesternRegion, Midwestern State (later BendelState) to Delta State, the Delta SouthSenatorial District has not had a taste of theoffice of Governor or Deputy Governor. ThePioneer Governor of Midwestern Region,Chief Jereton Mariere, hailed from DeltaCentral (1963 - 1966). The Premier ofMidwestern Region (1963 - 66), Chief DennisOsadebe was from Delta North. TheMilitary Governor of Midwestern Region(1966 - 68) Maj – Gen David Ejoor was alsofrom Delta Central.

The Deputy Governor of Bendel State(1979 - 83), Chief Demas Akpore also hadthe same roots (Delta Central). And so didthe Deputy Governors of 1983, Chief PatrickOdiete and Chief Ray Inije. The man whodoubled as the Deputy Governor of bothBendel State and the state when it changedto Delta State, Chief John Dike Edozien,hailed from Delta North (1987 - 91). TheFirst Executive Governor (1992 - 93), ChiefFelix Ibru is from Delta Central, while hisDeputy Chief Simeon Ebonka is from DeltaNorth.

Both the Second Executive Governor(1999 - 2007) Chief James Onanefe Iboriand His Deputy, Chief Benjamin Elue, arefrom Delta Central and Delta North,respectively. Thus, the conspicuous absenceof the citation of Delta South happens to bea circumstantial evidence of the much–touted marginalisation of the Isokos Itsekiriand Ijaws of the Southern enclave, made all

the more so as the southern communitiesallege to be the economic mainstay of thelargely coastal state, allegedly contributingas much as 97.3% of the revenue accruableto the state.

Deriving mainly from the foregoing, andperhaps naturally too, is the sentiment fromthe southern communities that, come 2015,there should be a distinct power shift fromthe Central and North towards the long –suffering South. Although despite the factthat this marginalisation seems to have beenacknowledged and ventilated mostunemphatically by politicians of thefavoured divide, there seems to be nogeneralised assert to the methodology, oreven the desirability of addressing thescreaming anomaly in the forthcomingelection year, especially considering theconflict interplayed by the great imperativebridging the yawning gap between theNorth, the Central and the South on the onehand and the greater need to ensurecredibility of candidacy, on the other, thrownup by these convergent and divergent forces.As if all these were not enough, the issue ofzoning, which the PDP through ChiefNwaobosi seen to have installed, but whicheven party members seem to continuallybicker over, happens to be the last straw thatbreaks the proverbial camel’s back, fuellingspeculation as to who qualifies to occupyGovernment House Asaba next year.

Yet, at the last count, as many as politicaltitans of the state extraction, Mr. Tony Abah,Professor Sylvester Monye, Dr FestusOkubor, Chief Peter Okocha, AmbassadorGabriel Oyibode, Victor Ochei, SenatorIfeanyi Okowa and the Amazon, Dr. NgoziOlejeme, all of the PDP, seemed to haveprimed their political guns in shooting forthe coveted post. Even rumour has it thatComrade Onuozourie Macaulay, thearticulate SSG, is expected to stake his claim

in the make-or mar 2015 governorshipelection, possibly to be the incumbent's ManFriday of continuity, or following in the footstep of his boss who was in government forlong before becoming governor, first as aCommissioner for Conflict Resolution andlater as SSG.

It is actually in respect of this that I would love to ponder on the need to redress

the injustice meted out to Delta South overthe years.

In a related development, it wouldcertainly be interesting to explore theMacaulay option as a disquisition of thezoning formula of his party, especially onwhether or not it ties in with the Uduaghan'sdynamics of visionary post-oilconceptualization of gubernatorialimagination and its adroit execution with aview to shoring up the state’s fortune in apotentially non-oil setting.

To start with, the prospect of ComradeMacaulay emerging as Governor in 2015is an inherently seductive andsimultaneously logical one. It is pertinent,in principle, especially given the fact thatthe other contenders are relativelyinexperienced.

To start with, Macaulay has demonstratedthat he is more of a brilliant, philosophical,issue-based administrator and political

conceptualist, rather than a sentimentalzoning – card – carrying demagogueexpounding ethnic chauvinism and sectionaljingoist rabble rousing. How do I mean?Had this brilliant ex-journalist been madeof stuff other than the rational and thecommon-sensible, he would have been theone to latch up to the marginalisation andby that fact, zoning gambit offering agubernatorial option foregrounded onextraneous and obtrusive geographicalfactors rather than on brilliant imaginationtempered by proven capability. Others in hisshoes would have demonstrated their desireby flying the sentimental kite sky – high.

However, in expressing his position onzoning, published in the dailies, Macaulayexhibited the cognitive ability of the avantgarde philosopher king, as he lambasted theprimordial mindset, prefering effectivestatesmanship above all else, thusenlightening his older and moreexperienced party patriarchs in the process.

Furthermore, Delta South needs to becompensated at last for the litany of errorsof omission or commission that seemed tohave deliberately passed up its nationals forthe exalted posts of Governor and DeputyGovernor. This expediency does not,however, have to sacrifice personality andmerit on the altar of mere political equityand justice, which would have amounted togood cause without corresponding merit andsituational relevance. However, where goodcause meets merit, the ground is laid for aspectacular performance matrix.

Now Delta South not only has a justifiedclaim of being marginalised, it presently hasa man who adequately fits the bill as agubernatorial imperative for redress.

Finally, and certainly most instructively,the much-publicized post-oil politicalengineering canvassed by GovernorUduaghan finds ready objectification in thecerebral personality of Comrade Macaulaywho has over the years imbibed its essenceand necessity from his boss.

Comrade Macaulay's 2015 bid

TRULY, before anysettlement, town or

community could be termeddeveloped, such must have asurfeit of infrastructural facilitiesin place. Putting the same issuein different words, a city devoidof infrastructure is like an Oba(king) without a crown. Thisexplains why experts haveidentified infrastructure deficitas a major constraint to Nigeria’sdevelopment. So, to address thisproblem, successivegovernments had introducedvarious policies aimed atbridging the gap.

That is the case with theFederal Capital Territory, FCT,where the administration ofSenator Bala Mohammed hasbeen working assiduously since2010 to provide basicinfrastructure for the territory. Andboy! He is making a huge successof it. These projects have in turncreated employment opportunitiesfor thousands of Nigerians.

The world over, infrastructureprojects are by their nature,social investments, especially indeveloping climes like ours. Thatis why the World Bank’s estimatethat African governments faceinfrastructure investmentdeficit of $93billion annuallycalls for serious concern from alland sundry.

To resolve this issue, somestakeholders have canvassed fora speedy passage of the“Development Planning andProject Continuity Bill”

currently before the NationalAssembly, which would make itmandatory for everygovernment in Nigeria tocontinue the implementation ofprojects initiated by the pastadministration(s).

When passed into law, the Billwould also make developmentplanning compulsory for all tiersof government in Nigeria as ameans of creating coherence andmeasurable targets indevelopmental initiatives by allgovernments to facilitate theexpeditious achievement of thegoals set out by government.

In the FCT, in order to make lifemeaningful for the citizenry, theBala Mohammed-ledadministration has been workinground-the-clock to provide roads,bridges, sewages, potable water,housing, schools and hospitals forboth indigenes and residents of thenation’s capital city. In this regard,the entire FCT has been dividedinto districts, which have also beengrouped into development phasesto wit: phases 1 to 4. These are tomake provision of these essentialfacilities easier, orderly andfaster.

Phase 1 district has all thedistricts with the exception ofGuzape fully developed withinfrastructure. The districtsinclude Asokoro district(Cadastral Zone A04); CentralBusiness (Cadastral A04); Garki1 District (Cadastral Zone A03),Guzape Cadastral Zone A09);Maitama District (CadastralZone A05 and AO6); Wuse District(Cadastral Zone AO3) and Wuse

11 District (Cadastral Zone AO3).Similarly, Phase 2, which has

most of the districts developedinclude: Durumi, Utako, Jabi,Wuye, Kado, Mabuchi, Katampe(& Katampe Ext), Jahi,Dakibiya, Kaura, Duboyi,Gaduwa and Dutse.

Phase 3 has Gwarimpa,Galadima, Dakwo, Lokogoma,Wumba, Saraji, Kabusa, Okanji,Pyakasa, Nbora and Karma.

Phase 4 district, which is stillbeing developed include

Karsana, Sabon gida, Idu,Idogwari, Kaba, Kajini, Ketti,Shertti Cheche, Waru-Pouma,Gwari, Bude, Chafe, Jaite,Mamusa, Burum and Purfun.

Above all, there are suburbandistricts. These are districts thatare not within the FederalCapital City, FCC, but because oftheir proximity to the FCC, haveattracted some development, withthousands of those who work in theFCC residing there. These includeKubwa, Gwagawalada, Karu,Jikwoyi, Lugbe, Chika,Kuchigworo, Mpape and Dei-Dei.

Apart from tackling theproblematic issue of landracketeering, the Abuja light railand the Abuja-Kaduna railway

projects (Lots 1A and 3) embarkedupon by the incumbent FCTadministration is expected to becompleted by the first quarter of2015, which will transport a totalof 700,000 passengers daily. Whilethese projects are equally expectedto create thousands of businessopportunities, plans for mono-railproject have reached an advancedstage.

Provision of engineeringinfrastructure worthN61,194,747,645.00 throughPublic-Private-Partnership, PPP, forKatampe District is currently on-going, while that of Kagini 1District is estimated atN52,609,879,284.47 andMaitama Extension Districtexpected to gulpN23,650,000,000. Thesemassive projects will provide70,000kilometres of roadnetwork of diverse categories,including bridges, culverts,drainage systems, water, sewage,electricity and communicationfacilities.

To actualise this noble vision, theFCTA has entered into series ofagreements with InfrastructureConcession and RegulatoryCommission, ICRC, which is aspecial agency of the FederalGovernment set up to boostinvestment in infrastructure by theprivate sector through PPP.

It is a well known fact that theconcept of PPP in the provision ofsocial infrastructure is all aboutleveraging the capacity and theskill, nay efficiency, of the ‘’privatesector to enhance delivery of socialservices such as education, health,shelter and security.’’

A lot has equally been achievedin the area of provision of potablewater with the recentcommissioning of completedwork on Tanks 1 and 6 with40,000 cubic centimeters

storage capacity; reconstructionand expansion of the country’smost modern 10-lane multiplecarriage way super-highways:the Umaru Musa Yar’adua(Airport Road) expressway; theOuter Northern (MurtalaMohammed) Expresswayotherwise known as the Zuba/Kubwa/City Centre highway aswell as the dualization of theNyanya-Abuja Expressway.

In the same vein several majorinter-changes at AYA; Banex-Jahi/Mabushi link; Gwarimpa11 Junction-Kado/Life CampJunction; Karmo/Utako havebeen completed andcommissioned by PresidentGoodluck Jonathan.

To extend development tosatellite towns, theadministration, following theapproval of the President, has re-established the FCT SatelliteTowns Development Agency,STDA. With this agency as ahandmaiden, the administrationhas extended its Midas touch tothe satellite towns as epitomizedin facelifts given to rural roads.

Above all, the most audaciouspolicy of the FCT administrationis the land swap policy premisedat ceding lands to private investorsin lieu of provision of criticalinfrastructure for Abuja city centreand adjoining districts andsatellite towns. No doubt, if thecurrent efforts are sustained, Abujawill certainly become one of themost developed capital cities in theworld in the foreseeable futuresuch as Kuje-Gwagwaladaexpansion road project; GitataBypass; Karshi-Apo Bypass;Gwagwalada-Dobi connectionand Bwari Township roads andSunrise- Guzape Bypass, etc.

No doubt, if thecurrent efforts aresustained, Abujawill certainlybecome one of themost developedcapital cities inthe world in theforeseeable future

Now Delta South notonly has a justifiedclaim of beingmarginalised, itpresently has a manwho adequately fits thebill as a gubernatorialimperative for redress


Edo State Governor, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, flanked by Mallam Mohammed Garba, President,Nigeria Union of Journalists (right) and Mr. Desmond Agbama, Chairman, NUJ Edo State (left)during a courtesy visit by the National Executive Council of the NUJ to the Governor

I was posted to Rivers for Police duties—Rivers Police CommissionerBy Jimitota Onoyume

Delta low cost housing to alleviate workers sufferings,says Akpeki

Assembly crisis: PDP lawmakers wantedstate of emergency in Edo —Ogienwonyi

PORT HARCOURT— THEnew Commissioner of

Police in Rivers State, Mr. DanBature, has described asuntrue, allegation by the stategovernment that he was postedto the state to plant a memberof the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, as governor in the 2015general elections.

Bature said, weekend at thePolice headquarters onMoscow Road, Port Harcourt,that his posting to the state wasstrictly for police business.

Appealing for the cooperationof residents in the fight againstcrime in the state, the policecommissioner said he willcontinue to take steps to rid thestate of criminal elements.

Bature who also spoke on hissuccess in rescuing a lady, whowas abducted in AkukuToruLocal Government Area of thestate recently, added that threeof the kidnappers wereapprehended by his men.

He said,“I have deliberatelydecided not to respond toGovernor Rotimi Amaechi’sinsinuation that I was posted to

the Rivers State Police Commandon the behest of Mrs. Jonathanto enthrone Amaechi’s successorat the 2015 gubernatorialelection at all cost. I don’t thinkthere is any reason for me torespond to comments made bythe governor as regards mypostings. For the records, I cameto Rivers State on a normalmandate. I came to Rivers Stateon a clear mandate. I came

because there was a vacuumcreated by the promotion of myboss, Assistant Inspector General,AIG, Tunde Ogunsakin.

“The comment about my postingto Rivers State is highlyembarrassing because policeposting should not be matter thatshould be discussed on the pagesof newspapers. My posting isessentially a national duty.Comments about my posting to

Rivers State are veryembarrassing. Comments aboutmy posting are misleading. Icame to answer national dutyand I intend to be veryprofessional and provide levelground for all. Whateverinformation about my posting,whatever you have read was toprovoke me. My posting wasnormal and I insist it wasnormal.”

ASABA—DELTA StateCommissioner for

Housing, Chief PaulinusAkpeki, has said that the 150housing units being built by thestate government for low cadrecivil servants in the state waspart of government effort to solvethe accommodation problems of

By Festus Ahon workers.Governor Emmanuel

Uduaghan had last yearapproved N614.9 million for theconstruction of phase 1 of theproject, comprising 150 housingunits for workers.

Conducting a delegation fromthe Federal Ministry of Housingled by the Assistant Director

(Architectural Science), AkinolaSaura, round the project site inAsaba, the state capital, Akpekisaid the houses were beingsubsidized for low cadre civilservants in the state.

He said “At the time weconceptualized the project, manyin the government of GovernorUduaghan, had thought it wasgoing to be one of those failedprojects. Initially, we placed it onOwner-Occupier Basis (OOB) butnow that we have developed itright to this level, we have workedout a system that will make itOwner-Occupier Mortgage

(OOM).” He added that thestate government will not makeabove N200,000 on each unitafter commissioning.

Speaking after the inspection,Akinola Saura commendedGovernor Uduaghan forembarking on the project, whichaccording to him, will providelow cost houses for civil servantsin the state.

Akinola expressed hope thatthe project comprising one-bedroom, two bedrooms andthree bedrooms flats, which areat roofing stages would soon becompleted.

A GOVERNORSHIPaspirant in Rivers State,

Dr. Silva Opusunju, hasoutlined his vision to harnessthe abundant economicresources of the state to createmore opportunities for thesustainable development of thestate.

The former House ofRepresentatives member saidthat his experiences in privateand public sector institutions,domestic and internationalspheres of human endeavours

Opusunju joins Rivers guber race, outlines vision

By Hugo Odiogor had equipped him with thecapacity as change agent in hisdetermination to transform RiversState. Opusunju who is the latestaspirant to join the race, said hewants to bring public sectorexperience into governance,adding that he will re-industrialisethe state and make it a safe placeto live.

Other key components of thevision espoused by Opusunjuinclude the reintroduction ofpolicies to drive re-industrialisation andentrepreneurship programmesconsistent with the experiences in

the 70s and 80s. He said “Nonation-state or people haveachieved any modicum ofgreatness without excellence inindustrialisation, science,technology and innovation.”

He said his team believes thattechnological advancement wasnot the exclusive preserve of theWest and its filial cousins,stressing that he will re-industrialise the key sectors ofthe economy of the state andincrease its manufacturing baseto create jobs and opportunitiesas part of an effort to secure asustainable future and growth.

2015:Okudolorguns forWarri SouthConstituency

WARRI — AS the2015 general

elections draws closer, aformer aspirant for WarriSouth Constituency II seatin Delta State House ofAssembly and chieftain ofPeoples Democratic Party,PDP, Chief VincentOkudolor has indicatedinterest in re-contesting theconstituency seat in thecoming polls.

Okudolor, who camesecond in the polls duringthe PDP primaries in 2011,made his intention knownat the PDP Secretariat,Warri, before a large crowdof his supporters.

Describing himself as aserious Warri boy,Okudolor, promised that ifgiven the mandate torepresent Warri SouthConstituency II come 2015,he will not disappoint hisconstituents.

He added that hissupport “base cuts acrossthe entire 12 electoral wardsin Warri South LocalGovernment.”

In his response, WarriSouth PDP Chairman, Mr.Amah Agbajoh, said that itwas the right of ChiefOkudolor to contest theWarri South constituency IIseat, noting that “there willbe big surprises inconstituency II very soon.”

By Simon Ebegbulem

BENIN CITY-FORMERMinister of State for

Works, Chief ChrisOgienwonyi, weekend, saidthat the intention of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,lawmakers in the state Houseof Assembly was to plunge thestate into crisis that would leadto the declaration of a state ofemergency by the FederalGovernment.

He said that the plot hadfailed, commending the 15 AllProgressives Congress, APC,lawmakers in the House forwhat he described as thematurity with which theyhandled the crisis. Ogienwonyisaid, “If not, our state wouldhave been at war today butthank God the evil plot failed.”

He stressed that rather than“continue in reckless andfrivolous allegations, the PDPshould support the governor’sdevelopmental strides becausewe are all in this state and for10 years flood was washingaway our houses because thePDP never did anything aboutit. Let us be mature when we

see a good thing rather thanplay rubbish politics that willnot help our people.”

DIRECTOR Generalof the Ithihikpebe

Campaign organisation,Mr Ambby Okuhor, whoalso is the nationalcoordinator of DeltaRenaissance Movement,has been lauded for hisselfless efforts to ensurethat good governance wasenthroned in Delta Stateand the country at large.

Secretary General ofDelta RenaissanceMovement, Mr ElohorEdivri in a statement, saidthat Okuhor has done somuch to install the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP inthe state and contributedsubstantially to the successrecorded by thegovernment of DrEmmanuel Uduaghan inthe state.

In a goodwill message tomark Okuhor birthdaycelebraion, DRM notedthat without the input ofgreat minds like Okuhor,square pegs could andwould have been in roundhole in government.

Group laudsPDP chieftainover goodgovernance

L E I S U R ETHOUGHT FOR TODAY

VIRGINIA

KAPTAIN AFRIKA in “Pretty Lunatic’ By Andy Akman

[email protected]

TERROR MUDA in “Never say goodbye” By Lanre Kehinde

HOME & ABROAD By Lawrence Akapa

By Richard Eromosele

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLINGASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLINGASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLINGASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLINGASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLINGSend ySend ySend ySend ySend your datour datour datour datour date and place of bire and place of bire and place of bire and place of bire and place of bir th tth tth tth tth to the Aso the Aso the Aso the Aso the Astrtrtrtrtrologicalologicalologicalologicalological

Counselling, PCounselling, PCounselling, PCounselling, PCounselling, P.M.B 1.M.B 1.M.B 1.M.B 1.M.B 100000000007, Apapa, Lagos7, Apapa, Lagos7, Apapa, Lagos7, Apapa, Lagos7, Apapa, Lagos

YOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAY

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139

VIRGO: Romantic attractions through your career/business lines may become a little stronger than before.But your best bet now is to utilize your closeness toinfluential people to better your career line.

LIBRA: Although others may try to oppose your brilliantideas it indicated that you will laugh last today, especiallyif you refuse to be intimidated. Love and listen to yourspouse.

SCORPIO: The language that will appeal to you moretoday is hard work, and whoever is coming with idea ofjoining the band wagon of merry making may be talkingto the wrong channel. Watch your health.

SAGITTARIUS:Young-at-heart among you are in for anexciting day when both excitement and satisfaction cango together. Enterprising business personalities amongyou will smile. Take your health seriously.

CAPRICORN: Naturally you are the ambitious type andgood opportunity to exhibit your innate ability will comeyour way. Please try not to neglect your domesticresponsibilities; be more family minded.

AQUARIUS:Opportunity to consolidate on progressmade yesterday will come. This is a good day to makepractical your new ideas at work. Lovers will smile. Newattractions while on the move indicated.

PISCES:Although tomorrow will prove more successfulfor you, here is a day you can enhance your financialprospects through practical and ambitious approach fromyou. Be more family minded.

ARIES:If you are already committed emotionally, it isbetter you discourage new romantic attractions while onthe move or else you find yourself at cross roads soonerthan you can imagine.

TAURUS:Whatever happens success will crown yourefforts today. Yet you will need to keep both yours andother people secrets because of another day. Utilize yournew ideas and take good advice.

GEMINI: Your close friends and other influentialpersonalities are willing to assist you to make it asuccessful day. You are becoming more irresistible to themembers of your opposite sex. Be more loving.

CANCER:Conjunction between the Sun and Mercury inyour Star Sign will enhance your brilliance to thebetterment of your cause. Back your hopes and wishesalong your career line with practical approach.

LEO: This is a good day to seek good advice fromprofessionals, especially if what at hand is legal related.Both your present and immediate future should be takenmore seriously.

Basic Characterisiticsof Capricon

RULER = AMBITIOUS SATURN-THE LAW.QUALITY = CARDINAL.ELEMENT = EARTH.SYMBOL = THE GLORIOUS MONTAIN GOAT.GROUP = FEMININE.ZODIACAL POSITION = THE 10TH.Because they rarely day dream, Capricorns are set of practicalpeople. This is because Capricorn is ruled by Saturn - the planetof Career, material things and sceptics. Although, the spirit ofpessimism often times tempt the Capricorns, to succeed theywill need to develop strong will that is indispensable toachievements of higher order because, series of challenges willcome his/her way before he/she finally makes it to the top. MostCapricorns are forced to shoulder many responsibilities earlyin life. Career building comes first in Capricorn’s priority listswhich often leads to enviable Career achievements thatguarantee recognition. And another name for Capricorn isPATIENCE. Yet, Capricorn can appear mean in the businesscircle. And He/She will tell you that seriousness and businessare synonymous. Above all, Capricorn is endowed withleadership capacity.Capricorn ‘s quality is Cardinal, element is the Earth. TheCardinal aspect makes a natural leader with strong ability forhard work. Natives of Cardinal signs crave for action and stronglydesire prominence and often times make success of their love ofaction and desire for importance through relentless efforts.The earthly connection with Capricorn further confirms innateability for hard work and practicality in your nature. Saturn isthe planet of hard task, delay, depression, frustration but rewardafter so much struggles.Being a difficult teacher, Saturn usually takes its natives throughmany different tasks, challenges and delay. All these are meantto teach Capricorn born person the virtues of patience and hardwork. However, Saturn usually brings its natives recognitionand reward. However, the cautious side of Saturn alwaysmanifest in all Capricorns and it is needless to say that they areusually cautious type of people but it is necessary for them towatch that side of their characteristics as they often push theircautious side too far and most of the time it results to blackmood.

Retrieve YourselfI guess you know

what the word‘Retrieve’ mean.This simply meansto get backsomething from theplace it is now,especially a place itought not to have

been.Many of us have

lost it all – ouridentity, our values,our self esteem, ourpersonality, ourvision, self worth

etc. If you have lostall of this what canyou do? Get backyour personality.Get back your self-esteem. Be the manor woman you aredestined to be. Be

the person you arecreated to be andunleash yourself onthe world.

Be the best Goddestined you to be.Retrieve yourselffrom whoever youhave subsumed itbefore.



CMYK

,

,

Who are these courtjesters, for God’s sake!

INCIDENTALLY, the expression “court jester” hasno relationship with a court of law. Rather it is a

term used in the Middle Ages to describe aprofessional CLOWN (capitals mine ) employed toentertain kings and queens and noble men…..

Today, I find no term apt enough to describe a groupof men who are hell bent to have their way to thedetriment of the collective good of this country.

There are millions of Nigerians out there who willinsist that this is not a laughing matter, given theseriousness of their actions, despite their laughableactions.

When on September 9,World Football Governingbody FIFA dispatched what could be termed a FINALwarning to Nigeria, they wrote: “…we would alsoinform you that should the electoral process be affectedby any interference or mishap, the case will be referredagain, and without prior notice or warning to theappropriate FIFA bodies for immediate suspension ofthe NFF until the next FIFA congress…………” howdelighted we were to witness some fresh breadthreturn to the football house after it had been fouledagain and again by individuals oblivious of the statutesgoverning football administration world wide.

As you are reading this, no one has come forwardwith the agenda, list of attendance, motions movedand names of individuals that allegedly voted Mr Giwainto office that is why I am always sickened when asection of the media confer on him the sacredappellation of “president”

To cut a long story short, at FIFA’s instruction heduly vacated office, the NFF executive Committeeunder Maigari met, fixed an extraordinary meetingof the congress for September 20 in Warri, and off wewent, determined to restore sanity to our embattledfootball house.

I must confess that I was expecting a stormy session,a couple of absentees and protests……yet I arrivedWarri to meet “real” members of the Nigerian footballfamily, a congress that was 44 members strong,chairmen and delegates that back slapped, laughedheartily and exchanged banters as if nothing had goneamiss.

Surprisingly, Friday night, rumours filtered in thatcertain individuals had gone to a Jos court ( Jos Again?)to obtain an injunction stopping the congress fromholding. Unbelievable!

In Warri we had the who’s who in Nigeria’s football,stake holders all. Who , for God’s sake were thesecourt jesters? I exclaimed.

The football family met and considered it for therumour that it was, after all no one had been servedany court notice. The Congress day was a Saturday,and no one expected the court to work on a week end.Even the electronic delivery of the so called court orderwas done by counsel of the plaintiff and not anauthorized court bailiff, I was briefed.

Congress venue, the entrance of NFF President

Aminu Maigari was loudly applauded, the speech ofthe honourable Minister delivered by Dr Bolaji OjoOba calling for “…..everything possible be done toprotect the sanctity of football as it will be criminal foranybody to tamper with it ………” was given astanding ovation while that of the DG National SportsCommission delivered by Mallam Alhasan Yakmut wasreceived with resounding acclaim.

Then came an unbelievably well organized, orderlyand meticulously delivered Congress where all thedelegates spoke with one voice, Elected members ofthe Electoral and Electoral Appeal Committee, agreedon date and venue of the Elective Congress, promisedto move forward from now on and pledged theirservice to the country’s football development.

This is for those who believe “FIFA should ban us”.Those who have failed to realize that should FIFAban us, anytime we want to come back, we will alwaysreturn to status quo in terms of congresses to set aroad map and hold elections.

Those who say FIFA should ban us for us toreorganize our football have failed to mention thoseand how football will be reorganized in a vacuum.

Those who say FIFA should ban us do not know thatif they do, CAF will pull us out of the Nations CupQualifiers, bar the Falcons from Namibia, stop theprogress of the Golden Eaglets and the Flying Eaglesfrom their qualifying matches and ground our refereesand match commissioners, cancel our developmentalseminars and courses for organization, referees andsports medicine…..

Those who say FIFA should ban us, dogs in a manger,

selfishness personified ready to plunge this countryto a pariah status for their own selfish ends “if wecannot get what we want, then let FIFA banus”……court jesters.

Between now and September 30 when the electionwill hold, they are advised to keep clear of our football.On behalf of the youths of this country we warn themto desist from doing anything that will impactnegatively on the football fortunes of this country,because not only will history be harsh on them, it willhaunt them for life. A stigma they will not appreciate.

These are the same people we advised to desist fromtaking football matters to regular courts as it HASNEVER WORKED .The same people that saw reasonand went to the Court of Arbitration For Sports (CAS)only to have their case thrown out for lack of merit.

In Warri, Nigeria’s supreme soccer ruling organ, theCongress spoke. In ten days time we are expected toreturn to Warri to elect our next set of leaders and Irest convinced that in the same peaceful manner withwhich the extraordinary congress was delivered, soshall the Elective congress be concluded, with footballas the overall winner. AMEN.

THOSE NATIONAL HONOURSLast Friday, the Federal Government release a list of

those approved for National honours among them 39sportsmen and women including the Golden Eaglets andtheir coaches.

It is curious and sad that whereas some staff of the NFF,who are backroom staff of the team will be national honoursrecipients yet Alhaji Aminu Maigari, chairman of the NFFand his board have been neglected in this consideration.

I can tell the story of the Golden Eaglets, how, fromscratch, this team was nurtured to stardom by the NFFand today that same NFF has been shoved aside.

Am I surprised? When Nigeria won the Nations Cup inSouth Africa I arrived Aso Rock to discover that no seathad been reserved for the NFF board, no wonder thenthat when members of the team were honoured by varioushonours and cash prizes Alhaji Maigari and his boardwere denied their due. Maigari stands tall as one of themost successful, if not the most successful footballfederation President ever.

After winning the Nations Cup, the World U17 Cup,playing to the final of the World U20 Women World Cuptwice…..with other continental diadems over a short periodof four years,he watches in amazement as all his teamsare honoured but not him!

For how long will this injustice continue? Not for long.I believe that sooner than later, the Maigari executive, itsmanagement and committees will be appreciated andrewarded.

The Good Book tells me that no matter how harddetractors try, what belongs to you, though it linger, waitfor it, it will surely come. Habakkuk 2:3

See you next week…

In Warri we had the who’swho in Nigeria’s football,

stake holders all. Who , forGod’s sake were these court

jesters?


AS the minutes ticktowards the kick off

of the highest rankedScrabble Competition inthe world, the GodswillAkpabio InternationalScrabble Classics, thehost Association has con-firmed the arrival in Uyoof the 24 custom-madetrophies and medals inall the categories even asthe Five Star Le meridi-an Hotel venue of theClassics has been con-firmed.

Chairman of the AkwaIbom State Scrabble As-sociation Mr Ufot Ebongsaid weekend that thisbeing the Eight edition,quality and standardscannot be compromised.“In association with thenational body, do not for-get that this is the eighttime we are hosting thisevent and it keeps on

Akpabio Scrabble Classics: Trophies arrive Uyoimproving by the year.This year will definitelybe better.

‘’We have taken deliv-ery of the 24 trophies andmedals that will be pre-sented to the different cat-egories of winners andare set to roll….”

He also spoke on the 7committees set up by hisAssociation and ex-pressed satisfaction withwhat they have achievedso far. “ it boils down towhat I said earlier. Themen and women workingwith us come to the tablewith lots of experiencegarnered over the years.

“We have committees tohandle accommodation,equipment, protocol, en-tertainment, transporta-tion, and so on, while thenational body is respon-sible for Prizes, publicity,technical and WESPA rep-

resentation. This is an in-ternational tourney andnothing will be left tochance “ he said.

On his part, Boardmember and chairman ofthe Technical sub commit-tee, Mr Umar FarukBaba-Inna has confirmedthe closure of registration.“ Yes it ended last Friday.We are in the process ofcollation and by Monday( today ) we will give youthe number of entries inall the categories and thetotal number. Some reg-istered on line, others bymail, while some still, didthrough the state body, sowe will put all together.We are good to go…” heconfirmed.

The 8th Godswill Akap-bio International ScrabbleClassics will be declaredopen by His ExcellencyGovernor Godswill Akpa-

bio on Thursday, Septem-ber 24, 2014. The Gover-nor, a versatile scrabbleplayer has the tradition oftaking on the WorldChampions and beatingthem on opening day.

Russian championsCSKA Moscow are nowsecond on the leaguetable with 18 points aftereight games.

The former VVV Venloforward scored the onlygoal of the match in the33rd minute when hefired in a shot fromoutside the box to sendthe home fans intocelebration.

“I am so happy anddelighted to have scoredthe goal that gave usvictory in the match. Itwas a derby and it wastough,” Musa said.

He dedicated the goalto his mother for hersupport.

“The goal is for mysweet mother. She hasalways been there for me.She encouraged me a lotin my choice of career,”he said.

Ahmed Musa thrilled withMoscow derby winner

ON-FORM strikerAhmed Musa is

thrilled to have scored thewinner for CSKAMoscow in 1-0 win overcity rivals LocomotivMoscow yesterday.

CELEBRATION... CSKA, Moscow Nigerian star AhmedMusa celebrates with his coach Igor Cherevechenko afterscoring.


CMYK


Man U

Ryan Giggs and Lou-is van Gaal, right, lookdejected after Man-chester United crumbleto a 5-3 defeat.

Football, bloody hell.It was difficult to thinkof anything other thanthat famous Sir AlexFerguson quote to sumup a truly remarkablematch. From being 2-0ahead early and 3-1 upwith less than half anhour remaining, Man-chester United conced-ed five times on a chas-tening day when theywere run ragged byJamie Vardy a strikerwho, almost three yearsago to the day, was sentoff for Fleetwood Townin a Conference gameagainst KidderminsterHarriers.

By the time the fourthofficial signalled thatthere would be six min-

Continues from BP utes of added time,Leicester ’s supporterswere chanting “ wewant six” and Louis vanGaal was wearing thehaunted expression ofman who could not be-lieve what had unfold-ed in front of him.

A £150m summerspending spree has de-livered a galáctico for-ward line for United butsomebody forget tomention the defencecould do with a helpinghand. United were ashambles at the back.Leicester, to their im-mense credit, took fulladvantage.

A humiliating defeatfinished with Unitedplaying out the finalseven minutes with 10men after Tyler Black-ett brought down Var-dy just as the Leicesterstriker prepared to pullthe trigger.

Uchegbulam

Vanguard that theattitude and votingpattern of the delegatesmust not be like thetypical Nigerianpoliticians who areusually swayed byconsiderations otherthan merit.

He justified his stance.“The quality of the FAwill determine thequality of football in thecountry. It is pertinent toalso know that thegrowth of Nigerianfootball is in the handsof the delegates. That iswhy I am urging them todo a good job.”

He admitted that he isone of the candidates forthe NFF Presidency butwas quick to add that hewas not in anyway goingout of his way to achievevictory at the poll.

Continues from BP “If they feel I not goodfor the job, let the bestcarry the day,”Uchegbulam said,adding, “it is not a do ordie affair.”

He insisted thatdelegates must considerthe candidates’ qualityand knowledge of thegame before castingtheir votes.

He said after all theyhave have passedthrough in recent times,delegates must vote foran FA that will fight forthe game and for theautonomy of the FA. “Wehave the opportunity toreposition the game inthe country and indeed,we must usher in a newera that wil truly see theFA independent evenwhile recognising therole of government inthe affairs of football.”

down Diego Costa.Costa then struck a post

before Lampard, on as asecond-half substitute,volleyed James Milner’scross beyond ThibautCourtois with five minutesleft to give the PremierLeague champions anunlikely equaliser.

Manuel Pellegrini tookthe surprise step ofhanding EliaquimMangala something of abaptism of fire. TheFrenchman made hisdebut in place of MartinDemichelis as one of fourchanges from

LampardContinues from BP Wednesday’s defeat to

Bayern Munich.Diego Costa’s

hamstrings held upenough to see him leadChelsea’s line, bumpingDidier Drogba back to thebench after a lacklustreshow in their ChampionsLeague draw withSchalke.

The Spain striker’s firstcontribution to the contestwas a full-blooded 50-50with Vincent Kompanythat saw him come offsecond best after YayaToure had forced the firstsave of the game out ofJoe Hart.

I want to improve on our achievements – Umeh

Striker Costa looks to get his foot on the ball in mid-air as City’s Fernandinho and Mangala look on inthe opening stages

AS the September30 election into

the Nigeria FootballFederation ExecutiveCommittee of theNigeria FootballFederation draws near,outgoing First VicePresident, Chief MikeUmeh sees himself in apole position ahead ofother contestants for theNFF presidency.

Umeh has the uphill

BY JACOB AJOM task of warding off whatis expected to be stiffcontests from the likes ofAmanze Uchegbulam,Amaju Pinnick, TaiwoOgunjobi, Shehu Dikkoand Dominic Irofa to theNFF hot seat. But theAnambra FA Chairmansaid he is not cowed bythe calibre of the othercontestants, pointingout that he had theadvantage of being theincumbent VicePresident. “As the

incumbent VicePresident, I should bethe number onecandidate then otherswill follow,” Umeh saidin Lagos yesterday.

He hopes to ride on theback of theachievements of theAminu Maigari-ledboard to the securevictory at the poll,pointing out that “we asa board were very luckybecause we surpassedthe achievements of allthe boards before us.”

Continuing, the formerChairman of Rangers

International FootballClub of Enugu said, “Ihope to dwell on ourachievements becausethey were areas we did

very well and certainlythere were others thatneeded improvements.SoI hope to improve onour achievements.”

FOR its genuine commitment to grassrootssports development coupled with robust sporting

calendar, Greensprings School has once again beingnominated second time for the school sports award cat-egory of the prestigious Nigerian Sports Award.

Announcing the nominees for this year’s award, Gen-eral Manager, Unmissable Incentives Limited, KayodeIdowu noted that the panel received overwhelming nom-inations for the 2014 editions of the award from mem-bers of the public adding that it was a tough job collatingbefore the selection of the top 3 nominees for each cate-gory.

Greensprings has been nominated alongside, Toybatinternational School, Lagos and St. Barnabas, Ilorin forthe school sports award.

Since winning the maiden edition of the award lastyear, Greensprings has remained committed to sportsdevelopment with its annual school sports forum .

Greensprings, others get nominationfor Nigerian Sports Award

•Umeh

NFF fire report readynext week

BY JUDE OPARA,Abuja

UNLESS there is asudden change

of plan, the muchexpected report of theFederal Fire Service(FFS) on the fireincident that ravaged theaccounts section and theoffice of the generalsecretary last month willbe out this week.

A source at the NFFsecretariat told SportsVanguard that earlierlast week; most of thetop management staff ofthe football house wereat the office of the FFS

in continuation of theinvestigation to unravelthe real cause of the fireincident.

The source furtherexplained thatthroughout last week,most of the junior andintermediate staff alsovisited fire service officeto make furtherexplanations on all theyknew of thedevelopment.

“Most people thinkthat the fire incident hasbeen swept under thecarpet as usual but Iwant to tell you thatinvestigations have beenongoing and in factthroughout last week,many people includingthe management, seniorand even junior staffhave been visiting thefire service and by theend of this week theywill come out with theirreport” our sourceadded.

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-4548355. Advert Dept Hotline: 01-4544821; Abuja: 09-2341102, 09-2342704. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. Advert:[email protected]

Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: MIDENO BAYAGBON. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

How to Play Sudoku

Place a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line canhave two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (alsonine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within abold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1through 9. This means that no number can appear twicein any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, divisionor multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

YESTERYESTERYESTERYESTERYESTERDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSTODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLE

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

VANGUARD, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2014

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDACROSS4 Platform (5)7 Shrivel (6)9 Container (3)10 Performed (3)12 Chief (5)13 Cheese (4)15 Cabled (5)17 Death (6)19 Sea-eagle (4)20 Instrument (5)22 Cushion (3)24 Feared (7)27 Stray (3)28 Banquet (5)31 Minus (4)33 Sibling (6)35 Cogs (5)37 Prod (4)38 Started (5)39 Longing (3)41 Creeper (3)42 Meal (6)43 Tale (5)

DOWN1 Slumbering (6)2 Fleet (6)3 Finish (3)4 Identical (4)5 Deal (5)6 Righteousness (8)8 Bird (4)11 Inequality (9)14 Repair (4)16 Peruse (4)18 Additional (4)21 Concern (8)23 Adroit (4)25 Gaelic (4)26 Intense (4)29 About (6)30 Supposition (6)32 Step (5)34 Hut (4)36 Jealousy (4)40 Pinch (3)

ACROSS: 1, Fast 4, Out 6, Grid 9, Lid 10,Diseased 11, Apex 14, Ore 16, Dealt 19,Deserved 21, Beret 23, Rigorous 24, Tutor27, Err 31, Wild 33, Indicate 34, Tee 35,Beer 36, Lad 37, Numb.

DOWN: 2, Arid 3, Tier 4, Observer 5, Tidy 6,Glare 7, Rip 8, Ideal 12, Adept 13, Asset 14,Orb 15, Eerie 17, Abhor 18, Tress 20,Degraded 22, Tor 25, Unite 26, Order 28,Pill Scan 30, Stem 32, Lee.

NPFL ResultsKaduna Utd 4 Crown 0Enyimba 4 Bayelsa 0Sunshine 3 Abia Warriors 1Pillars 1 Akwa United 0Dolphins 2 Gombe 0El Kanemi 2 Heartland 1Giwa FC 3 Taraba 0Nembe 2 Lobi 1Rangers 1 Wolves 0Nasarawa 2 Sharks 0

EPLEverton 2 Crystal Palace 0Leicester 5 Man Utd 3Man City 1 Chelsea 1Tottenham 0 West Brom 1Aston Villa 0 Arsenal 3Burnley 0 Sunderland 0Newcastle 2 Hull City 2QPR 2 Stoke 2Swansea 0 Southampton 1West Ham 3 Liverpool 1

SERIE AMilan 0 Juventus 1Cesena 2 Empoli 2Chievo 2 Parma 3Genoa 1 Lazio 0Sessuolo 0 Sampdoria 0

Man U stunned by LeicesterCity in 8-goal thriller

Lampard shocksChelsea

FRANK Lampardcame back to

haunt Chelsea as 10-man Manchester Cityrallied to earn a share ofthe spoils after adramatic encounter atthe Etihad Stadium.

Andre Schurrle

applied a clinical finishto Eden Hazard’ssuperb cross to give theBlues the lead on 71minutes, shortly afterPablo Zabaleta hadreceived a secondbooking for bringing

WAYNE Rooneywas powerless to

prevent ManchesterUnited throwing away a3-1 lead at Leicester City.

Let the best run Nigerian football – Uchegbulam

DEJECTION - Ryan Giggs and Louis van Gaal, right, look dejected after Manchester United crumbledto a 5-3 defeat against Leicester City yesterday

ONE of thecandidates in

the September 30 NFFelections, AmanzeUchegbulam has

challenged delegates tothe forthcoming electivecongress to eschewsentiments and elect thebest leaders for

Nigerian football as thatwas the only pointer tothe growth of the gamein the country.

Uchegbulam who is

Chairman of the ImoState FootballAssociation told Sports

Continues on Page 55



shekau feared killed in konduga attack

Documents

lagos state

troopsin konduga

lagos schools nowresume

acancerous way

killedin konduga attackp

rivers state

withpositive people

better life