FG presses fresh charges against Justice AdemolaPage 7

N200

The

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016 VOL 40 NO. 21,325 www.punchng.com

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FG bans importation of vehicles through land borders

Pages 4 & 5

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Five things you didn’t know WhatsApp could do

The Punch Newspapers @mobilepunch @+Punchng1

• Buhari

FG presses fresh charges against Justice Ademola

Page 7

... accuses judge of receiving N8.5m car gift from lawyer

... charges him with using N175m proceeds of crime to buy property

– Page 3

Kidnappers murder, dump Dangote worker’s corpse inside gutter

• Bello

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I’ll mourn death of common sense in Nigeria on January 20 –Soyinka

I will not abandon APC, says Bola Tinubu

0

Adeosun, Emefiele back BoI scrapping, bank kicks

Page 24Page 7

• L-R: Chief of Air Staff, Pakistani Air Force, Air-Chief Marshal Sohail Aman; Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Mr. Barnabas Bantex; Chairman, Senate Committee on Air Force, Senator Duro Faseyi; a former Governor of Gombe State, Senator Danjuma Goje; representative of the Chief of Defence Staff, Danjuma Sheni; and Nigerian Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, at the handover ceremony of the Super Mushshak Aircraft presented by the Pakistani Air Force to the Nigerian Air Force, in Kaduna... on Monday. Inset: Super Mushshak Aircraft. Photo: NAN

... stops 571,000 tonnes of rice from entering Nigeria

Buhari needs $30bn loan to succeed, says Odigie-Oyegun

CBN to sell dollars to fuel importers

2 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016

Should FG try Ibori after release from UK prison?Vox pop

ThE first issue we have to look at is that the government cannot be barred

from prosecuting anyone, provided that the allegations and claims that are made are not identical with what he (Ibori) has been prosecuted, convicted and sentenced for. There is a principle in law known as ‘double jeopardy.’ This applies when you have been tried and even sentenced; and in this case, he is serving the punishment. But if you raise the issue all over again, it becomes a double jeopardy. The essence of taking someone to court is to punish the suspected offender. There are sanctions for whatever illegal actions a suspect may have taken. However, the moment someone has been punished for an offence, he cannot be punished again for the same offence. If per chance, there are issues that may not have been canvassed or tried before, it becomes a fresh matter. So, the critical issue here is that if they want to prosecute him again, they should spell it out. Is it for what he has been tried for in the past or are there

• M r . K e h i n d e E l e j a , ( A S e n i o r Advocate of Nigeria)

•Mrs. Nella Andem-Rabana, (A Senior Advocate of Nigeria)

IT is common knowledge that James Ibori was tried and convicted for offences

relating to money laundering by a court in the UK. He was sentenced to a prison term which he is about to complete. Legally speaking, that is not a defence or a bar for him from being prosecuted in Nigeria because the composition of the offences in the two jurisdictions is not the same. Therefore, the Federal Government may proceed, legally speaking, to prosecute James Ibori for the offences with which he was charged in Nigeria.

•Compiled by Chukwudi Akasike, Mudiaga Affe, Success Nwogu and Afeez Hanafi

IF an offence has been committed, especially now that it borders on corruption, it is

incumbent on the Federal Government to try the suspect in view of the anti-corruption stance of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. Ibori is serving a prison term abroad because he committed an offence against that country’s laws. After that, he has to come back to Nigeria and face the offences he allegedly committed here and, if found guilty, he should be convicted and sentenced.

Nothing stops the Federal Government from prosecuting him. It is not going to be double jeopardy. He is serving a jail term there for the offences he committed there. He also needs to come here to serve his term if he is tried, convicted and sentenced. I disagree with the notion that he has been tried in the United Kingdom and should not be tried again in Nigeria. That will not be double jeopardy. He needs to face the law.

My personal opinion is that if he does not face the law, human rights groups must rise and tell Buhari that Ibori must be prosecuted. He must face corruption prosecution in Nigeria. My personal opinion is that even if the Federal Government did not go ahead to prosecute him, the civil society groups and the NBA should rise up. The civil society has a duty as the watchdog of the society to campaign for a just society. We do not want selective prosecution.

•Mr. Rafiu Balogun, (National Legal Adviser, Nigerian Bar Association)

•Chief Onueze Okocha (A Senior Advocate of Nigeria)

•Wahab Shittu (A lawyer)

•Chief Wole Olanipekun (A Senior Advocate of Nigeria)

For example, in the UK, he was tried for offences relating to money laundering. He was convicted and sentenced to prison. In Nigeria, he was alleged to have looted the resources of Delta State, which was under his care as the governor of the state. Remotely, you would want to say, there is a connection but in reality, the two jurisdictions are different.

Recall that at some point in this country, he was arraigned in court. He was discharged for some technical reasons and I am aware that the matter is still on appeal in the Court of Appeal. So, if the appeal now turns out in favour of the Federal Government, there will be no bar for him from being prosecuted in Nigeria. I am speaking from the prism of the law.

Whether it would amount to humiliation or not is a political consideration. We want to leave that to the government of the day to determine. But legally speaking, there is no bar in him being tried in Nigeria. If he becomes suspicious that he might be tried in Nigeria and decides to stay in UK after his release from prison, it is his right to stay back in the UK. But we should not forget that there are some laws which confer mutual rights and privileges to the two nations with regard to the extradition of persons standing trial or people who are supposed to be standing trial. If the Federal Government is inclined to explore that option, of course, that could be used to bring him back to Nigeria to face trial. But I think that will be dependent on the outcome of the Court of Appeal.

The NBA and civil society groups must ensure that all alleged corrupt people are prosecuted. There must not be sacred cows anymore. Even now, judges are being prosecuted; there is nothing new again. Let all corrupt people be prosecuted. Let Ibori, when he comes back, face prosecution in Nigeria. This is my personal opinion.

fresh issues? For as long as it is not the same issue, the Federal Government has the right to prosecute whosoever has violated any of the laws.

TRyING him (Ibori) on the same offence or offences would mean

going against the principle of double jeopardy. Double jeopardy is a principle that stipulates that no man should be tried twice for the same offence. If you have been tried once for an offence and you have been acquitted or convicted, you should not be tried again for the same offence.

If what you are trying him for in Nigeria are the same offences he was convicted for in the UK, I think that we should forget about his prosecution in Nigeria. But if it is for different offence or offences, the Federal Government is free to do so.

If Ibori is to be tried again; I don’t know whether it is for the same offence which he had been tried before. If it is for the same offence, then it is not allowed in law. But if it is for a different offence, they can go ahead with such a trial.

I think it will be wrong to try him on the same set of facts for which

he has been convicted. But if there are new, compelling facts for which he has not been tried, the state is at liberty to look into those facts and then prosecute. Generally, I think he has gone through a lot of travails. His image has been battered. He was not the only one who was convicted. His wife, girlfriend and lawyer were also convicted. I think he has suffered enough.

Again, we must look at the politics of Ibori’s travails. Even though the generality of Nigeria may consider him to be a villain in terms of the offences he was alleged to have committed, in his village, he is adjudged a hero. If there are no new facts, I will not advise that he should be further prosecuted in Nigeria.

IF he is found wanting he should be tried. If there are things he

needs to answer, he can be tried. I have no objection if there are grounds to try him. But if there is no ground, why should the government go into a futile venture? Even if he is tried, the law is there to take its course. Everything about the case will be determined by the court. If the court says it is not proper to try him, the position will stand. And if it is proper, then the law will take its course.

3TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016

Gadget smartWith Ozioma Ubabukoh

[email protected]

Five things you didn’t know WhatsApp could do

will appear.

GIFsThe messaging app has rolled out support for GIFs

support for iOS users with the latest version of the app. The 2.16.16 update allows you to send videos (six seconds or shorter) and Live Photos and GIFs. You can search the Giphy library to search for GIFs to send to your friends on your WhatsApp.

TagYou can now tag others in the contacts within a

WhatsApp group. You will be able to do the tag even if the people have muted the conversation. You can avail this feature by typing @ and click on the contact you wish to tag from the appearing list.

Picture editIn the new update of WhatsApp, you can doodle on

as well as edit on the photos before sending them to your friends. When the conversation tab is opened, you can tap on the camera button and click on the image from the camera. You will get a few icons on the top right, and you can choose to either crop the photo, draw a doodle, enter a text or a sticker to the photo. Then the picture message is ready to be sent.

Most viewedThere is an interesting feature in WhatsApp, although

sadly it is only available to Apple devices as of now. Android owners may have to wait for a while. If you have iOS, you can go to ‘Settings’ and then select ‘Account’ and then ‘Storage Usage’. There, you will be able to see the total number of messages at the top of the page and also a list of chats, which are ranked according to the number of messages sent to the number. This helps you see who is your ‘best friend’, as in, to which contact have you spoken the maximum number of lines.

#Quick factWhatsApp’s success story

EARLIER this year, WhatsApp announced that it had a user base of more than one billion; that is, one in seven

people on earth.People all over the world have been using WhatsApp

for numerous purposes. The popular messaging app, since then has added a host of new features with improved speed, security, reliability and simplicity. With such a huge user base, it is one of the most popular messaging apps.

WhatsApp has also just added a video-calling feature to the app after a series of beta tests. A rise in the app called Snapchat and its Stories feature, from Instagram to Facebook, and now even WhatsApp has tried to clone it. In the new WhatsApp’s Beta app on iOS and Android, there is a new ‘Status’ tab where the ‘Stories’ can be put and seen before it disappears 24 hours later. The new ‘Stories’ feature is only available to a select few who operate on a jailbroken Apple device or a rooted Android smartphone.

The messaging app just updated its messaging app on iOS and has made it possible for users to send and receive GIFs. Though a bit late to the game, it actually does a little more than just supporting animations. Users can send GIFs stored in the device memory as well as search Giphy’s large library and find animations to make your chats interesting.

All these new features to stay relevant in the ever-changing tech world have made WhatsApp even more popular. The company earlier announced that it manages over 100 million voice calls every day on the app, that makes it more than 1,100 calls per second. It has even upgraded the desktop versions of the app. Here are five latest features that you can try out in WhatsApp:

Video callingWhatsApp just confirmed that it is rolling out the video

calling feature across Android, iOS and Windows. You will now be able to see ‘Video Call’ and ‘Voice Call’ choices when you tap the top dialler button. A new dialog giving the option between a standard voice call and a video call

•Source: google.com

WhAtSApp Messenger is a proprietary, cross-platform, encrypted instant messaging client for

smartphones. It uses the Internet to make voice and video calls; send text messages, documents, PDF files, images, GIF, videos, user location, audio files, phone contacts and voice notes to other users using standard cellular mobile numbers.

Facebook acquired WhatsApp, based in Mountain View, California, in February 2014 for approximately $19.3bn. By February 2016, WhatsApp had a user base of over one billion, making it the most popular messaging application at the time.

Before WhatsApp was founded, one of the co-founders Jan Koum (Brian Acton is the other co-founder), briefly lived with help from welfare after migrating to the United States with his mother. And not too long ago, employees “wore blankets for warmth and worked off cheap Ikea tables” in a nondescript office building, Forbes recounts.

WhatsApp also went through a period where all the expenses were running out of Koum’s bank account, which eventually ran dry, something that was later solved with outside funding and incredible growth. When the paperwork was finalised, Acton and Koum signed the deal at a nearby social services office where Koum used to pick up food stamps. He now stands to make billions from the deal.

•Source: google.com


metro ... City, Crime, Courts 08185225745, 08055126196

Anna Okon and Samson Folarin

An employee of Dangote Industries Limited, Istifanus Bello, has

been killed by suspected kidnappers.

S o u r c e s t o l d o u r correspondents that Bello’s corpse was found in a gutter in Ogun State, adding that one of the kidnappers alerted

Kidnappers murder, dump Dangote worker’s corpse inside gutter • We have three suspects, say police

a member of the public to where the corpse was.

Bello was believed to have been kidnapped three weeks ago, but news of his murder got to his family members on Monday.

Sources close to the family told our correspondents that Bello was the company’s Human Resources Manager before his death.

PUNCH Metro learnt

that on the day that he was kidnapped, the manager had gone with a team to pay ransom for the release of some expatriates who had been kidnapped.

It was learnt that on getting there, the kidnappers collected the money and abducted him.

A close friend, who pleaded not to be named, said Bello showed him some video recordings of his negotiations with kidnappers.

Speaking to sympathisers who visited her on Monday, Bello’s wife of 20 years, Amina, said the husband was the best, adding that he was a friend and father to their children.

She said, “Bello was a lovely person; if he was not in the house one day, the children would be asking after him endlessly. now I do not know what to tell the children because he was a lways chatting with them on the social media. When he was abducted, the children asked me to tell them where he was because all his activities on social media ceased and the children said it was unlike him.

“On the 20th anniversary of our wedding, he told me that I was the best woman, adding that I was the only one

who understood him. He has never for one day hurt me; he always said if I was not happy, he would not be happy.”

A source in the Dangote Industries, who confirmed the kidnap, however, reacted

to the news of Bello’s murder with surprise.

When contacted, the firm’s Head of Media, Mr. Tony Chiejina, who said Bello was very close to him, also reacted with surprise to the news of

his death. He told our correspondent

that he would make some calls and get back.

He had yet to do so as of press time.

Bello’s lengthy profile on

Samson Folarin

TRAgEDY struck in t h e T a k u m L o c a l G o v e r n m e n t A r e a

of Taraba State after some

Robbers kill retired police officer, wife, two otherssuspected robbers shot dead a retired police officer, Joseph Tsafa, his wife, Cecelia, and two others.

PUNCH Metro learnt that one other victim was in a

critical condition and receiving treatment in a hospital in the state.

Our correspondent learnt that the retired policeman, who had become a pastor, had

attended a religious conference with his wife in Jaki, Kwande LgA, Benue State, on Friday.

They were on their way to Taraba State on Saturday when they reportedly met a roadblock mounted by the robbers.

A member of the publicity team of the conference, Ben Dzwa, said Joseph and his wife were with three others, when they were attacked in their car.

He said, “He left the event venue on Friday with his wife, Cecilia, who was the woman leader of NKST Nachi-Bali Consistory Women Fellowship, and Atese Anum (another pastor’s wife) for Zaki Biam, where they spent the night.

“On Saturday, the couple set out for the Bali LgA of Taraba State where they were based. In Katsina-Ala, they assisted two women who were heading towards their direction, making their number five in the vehicle.

“At about 9am on Saturday, they passed gidan gawa, along Katsina-Ala-Takum Road in Taraba State. There

Afeez Hanafi

TWO employees of YSR Limited, a manufacturing company in Badagry, Lagos State – Adebayo Alabi and Kayode Timothy – have been brought before an Igbosere

Magistrate’s Court for allegedly defrauding some customers of the firm to the tune of N11m.

The defendants were arraigned on three counts of stealing and forgery before a magistrate, Mr. B.A. Sonuga.

The police said the defendants had presented themselves as owners of the firm to their unsuspecting victims and promised to help them mold some machines.

Alabi, 40, and 30-year-old Timothy were said to have collected the sum from the customers sometime in October 2016 and reportedly assured them of getting the machines soon.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the complainants petitioned the Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, Lagos State, when the defendants could not produce the machines or refund the sum.

They were apprehended and subsequently brought to the court by a police prosecutor, Sergeant O. Innocent.

Innocent told the court that the offences were punishable under sections 278, 312 and 409 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

The charges read in part, “That you, Adebayo Alabi and Kayode Timoth, sometime in October 2016, at YSR Limited, Badagry, Lagos, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did conspire with each other to commit felony, to wit: obtaining money by false pretences.

“That you, on the same date, time and place, in the aforementioned magisterial district, did present yourselves as the owners of YSR Limited, which you know to be false, and obtained the sum of n11m from customers of YSR company, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 278 (1) (9) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.”

The accused pleaded not guilty and elected summary trial.The magistrate, Sonuga, granted them bail in the sum of

n500,000 with two sureties each in like sum.Sonuga asked the prosecutor to verify the sureties’ residential

addresses and evidence of tax payment to the Lagos State Government.

The case was adjourned till January 31, 2017.

Employees arraigned for defrauding

customers of N11m

•Igbosere Magistrate’s Court File photo•Bello Photo: File

•Scene of the incident Photo: Idoma Voice


08185225745, 08055126196

Kidnappers murder, dump Dangote worker’s • We have three suspects, say police

the professional network portal, Linkedin, described him as the Human Resources M a n a g e r o f D a n g o t e I n d u s t r i e s L i m i t e d , a graduate from the University of Maiduguri and the Lagos State University.

He said he was a member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management and had a certificate in International Negotiation from Bonn Univers i ty , Australia. He added that he was a former investigator with the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency, among others.

He also described himself as “a very versatile human asset who began his early career in criminal justice administration in 1990 as a law enforcement officer.”

The Force Public Relations Officer, Donald Awunah, confirmed the incident, adding that three of the k i d n a p p e r s h a d b e e n arrested.

Awunah explained that the suspects were arrested in Ogun, Lagos and Kwara states, saying they confessed to the crime.

He said, “What happened was that five expatriates of the company were kidnapped and the company went

into negotiation with the kidnappers.

“The victim was detailed to pay the ransom. The kidnappers, after taking the ransom, seized and killed him.

“They had demanded N100m, but they were paid N5.6m. So, it is probable that they were not satisfied with the money.

“Following the incident, the Inspector-General of Police ordered the Critical Investigation Unit to swing into action. The team was able to arrest the kidnappers and recover the corpse of the deceased in Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State, where they had their hideout.

“The three suspects –Abubakar Gide, Abdulahi Saliu and Babuga Adamu – were arrested on November 27 and December 3, 2016, at Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State; Epe, Lagos State, and Ajase Forest, Kwara State. Three AK-47 rifles were recovered from them.”

Awunah urged members of the public to exercise restraint in paying ransoms to kidnappers, adding that security agencies should always be carried along during negotiation to avert loss of lives.

Robbers kill retired police officer, wife, two othersis a portion of the road that is bad and vehicles must slow down to avoid accident; so, they also slowed down. It was on the road that some armed young men came out of the bush and ordered them to stop and they obeyed. The robbers demanded money

from Joseph. Nobody knows what really happened that led to shooting. They just shot him and his wife, who was in the front seat.”

Dzwa said the corpses of the couple had been deposited in Zaki Biam.

The Taraba State Police

Public Relations Officer, David Misal, confirmed the incident, adding that a total of four people died in the incident.

He said, “The incident happened around 8am on Saturday. It was an armed robbery attack. While they were on the road, some armed

robbers blocked the road and also fired at the vehicle. As a result, two died instantly, including a retired police officer. His wife also died. Two others died later, while the fifth occupant of the car is in a critical condition and receiving treatment at a hospital.”

Afeez Hanafi

TH E L a g o s S t a t e Police Command has arrested a security

guard, Haruna Abubakar, in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, for allegedly killing his friend.

PUNCH Metro learnt that Abubakar and the victim, a herdsman, whose name had yet to be ascertained,

Guard kills friend, dumps corpse in bush

worked on a farm in the area.It was gathered that

Abubakar and the victim were on the farm on Saturday w h e n a d i s a g r e e m e n t ensued between them. The altercation was said to have led to a scuffle, during which the 28-year-old suspect hacked the herdsman to death.

Our correspondent learnt

that Abubakar dismembered the deceased, packed the parts in a sack and dumped them in a bush.

A s o u r c e , w h o h a s knowledge of the incident, said the deceased’s brother, i d e n t i f i e d a s A d a m u , reported a case of missing person to the police when the victim did not return home from the farm on the day.

“A police team went to the farm and some persons provided useful information, which indicted the suspect. He was arrested based on the tip-off and he actually confessed to killing his friend,” the source added.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Office, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the incident.

S h e s a i d t h e s t a t e Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, had directed that the case be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, Yaba, for investigation and prosecution.

She said, “The command, upon discreet investigation and intelligence gathering, arrested the suspect. The victim, aged 27, was his friend and co-worker.

“They had an altercation which resulted in a physical fight and in the process, the suspect attacked the deceased with a dagger, cut him to pieces and dumped him in the bush.

“The clue gathered by the police led to the arrest of the suspect who later confessed to the crime and led operatives to the scene where the body parts were recovered.”

THE police in Ekiti State have rescued three kidnapped victims unhurt in different

operations carried out in the state.The state Police Public Relations

Officer, Alberto Adeyemi, stated this in a statement on Monday.

The statement read in part,

Command rescues kidnapped victimsKamarudeen Ogundele,

Ado Ekiti

“On December 2, 2016, at about 5.50pm, one Lola Akintunwa and her driver, Soji Jegede, who were kidnapped along Igbara Odo/

Ogotun Ekiti Road on November 30, 2016, were rescued unhurt and without paying a ransom after a massive manhunt launched by the police.

“The two victims have been reunited with members of their

respective families. Investigation is still in progress, while efforts are on to arrest the kidnappers.”

Adeyemi also said one Adeyomoye Alabi, who was kidnapped in her residence on Adehun Street, Ado-Ekiti, on November 25, 2016, at

about 8.30pm, was rescued by the police and had been reunited with her family.

“She was rescued by a team of police detectives in the Lazora area, opposite Fayose Market, Ajilosun, Ado-Ekiti.

“Efforts are on to arrest her abductors,”he said.

AS t h e Y u l e t i d e approaches amid the c u r r e n t e c o n o m i c

recession, some operators of event centres in Lagos State have lamented low patronage by clients.

The managers of some social event facilities in the state told the News Agency of Nigeria that they had never had it tough in all the years that they had been in the business.

The Facility Manager, Eagles Club, Surulere, Mr. Olawale Azeez, said in the past, the centre was usually fully booked for one event or another.

“This year, we have not had much patronage because of the economic situation in the

country.“We used to have receptions

or activities on week days and Christmas period, but none this time.

“The patronage for wedding receptions is scanty. We have not seen much of it this season,’’ he said.

At the Eko Club Events Centre, Mrs. Kemi Oyebode, the Administrative Secretary, told NAN that the economic recession had taken its toll on the facility.

O y e b o d e a d d e d t h a t Yuletide was usually a busy period for them when the going was good.

“The patronage is quite low. About two years ago, we were always on our toes; we

were fully booked and tried to squeeze in events, but not anymore.

“Sometimes, people engage our in-house caterers and we also provide drinks.

“But if the people organising the event don’t want in-house caterers, they can bring in theirs.

“Many people are not renting halls as frequently as they did because of the situation in the country,’’ she said.

The Manager of the Nigerian Ports Authority hall, Rufus Adewoye, said the recession might force some of the events centres to fold up because of low patronage.

“There was a time our facility was usually filled up with

people. Most times, the invite read ‘strictly by invitation’ and some people were prevented from entering the hall.

“But today, we have a terrible situation in the country and it is affecting our business. In spite of the low patronage, we still try to stay afloat,’’ he said.

NAN reports that events centres in Lagos are in different shapes and sizes, and the location of the facility usually determines what the clients would pay to use the place.

Some of the facilities are usually located in highbrow neighbourhoods which are the usual destinations of choice for affluent members of the society.

Events centre operators’ lament low patronage

Ovie Okpare, Warri

A fashion apprentice, Blessing Alex, has been found dead

in a well after she was reportedly forced to abort h e r t h r e e - m o n t h - o l d pregnancy.

The incident was said to have occured in Iselle-Azagba community in the Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State.

A s o u r c e t o l d o u r correspondent on Monday that the deceased, who hailed from Ikoto town in the Ini Local Government Area of Cross River State w a s d i s c o v e r e d t o b e pregnant for one of the villagers, but her parents insisted that she removed the foetus.

I t w a s l e a r n t t h a t Blessing, who had gone missing for about 10 days, was found dead in the well in the community on Saturday by members of the community vigilance group.

The deceased was to be attached to a sewing i n s t i t u t e f o r f u r t h e r training when she was allegedly impregnated by her boyfriend who is an indigene of the community.

Another villager, who identified himself simply as Uche, said the incident had thrown the community into mourning.

He added that many thought that the girl might have committed suicide as a result of her parents’ stance on her pregnancy and the depression she s u f f e r e d a f t e r i t w a s aborted.

“Not too long ago, the victim, who was living with her father and stepmother, aborted her pregnancy.

“ I t w a s l e a r n t t h a t she was force to remove the foetus because the f a m i l y m e m b e r s w e r e not comfortable with her relationship with the man who impregnated her.

“Since then, she had not been herself both in composure and behaviour until she was found dead,” a source disclosed.

When asked to state the extent of investigation, the Delta State Commissioner of Police, Zanna Ibrahim, said he was not aware of the incident.

Female apprentice found dead

inside well after abortion

•Abubakar Photo:AfeezHanafi


newsphoto

•L-R: Managing Director, United Capital Trustees Limited, Ms. Tokunbo Ajayi; Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Akinyemi Asade; Managing Director, STL Trustees Limited, Mrs. Funmi Ekundayo; and Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Finance, Mr. Tairu Ogunleye, during the 6th Annual General Meeting of Lagos State Bond, series 2, in Lagos... on Friday. Photo: Saheed Olugbon

•L-R: Executive Director, Business Development, First City Monument Bank, Mr. Adam Nuru; Divisional Head, Risk Management FCMB, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Olaiya; a guest, Mr. Lanre Akoni; immediate past Group Head, Risk Policy Admin and Monitoring, FCMB, Mrs. Valerie Akoni; Executive Director, Service Management and Technology, Mr. Nath Ude; and Chief Financial Officer FCMB, Mrs. Yemisi Edun, during the send-off organised by FCMB for Mrs. Akoni in Lagos ...on Saturday. Photo: FCMB

•L-R: Human Resources Director, Nigerian Bottling Company, Grace Omo-Lamai; Chairman, National Executive Council of the Nigerian Conservation Council, Chief Ede Dafinone; Legal, Public Affairs & Communications Director, Nigerian Bottling Company, Sade Morgan; and Chief Executive Officer, Rihago Auction Limited, Seye Morgan, at a dinner organised by the Nigerian Conversation Foundation, co-sponsored by Nigerian Bottling Company in Lagos... on Monday. Photo: NBC

Sesan Olufowobi

ThE Petroleum Tanker Drivers has stopped night

operations by its members.It attributed the incessant

explosions caused by oil tankers to the poor state of the roads and lack of efficient policy formulation.

The National Chairman of the PTD, Salimon Oladiti, stated this at the end of a three-day ‘Basic Skills Development Training Workshop for Units Elected Officers in Lagos Zone,’ in Apapa, a statement said on Monday.

he explained that the decision was part of the measures to reduce tanker accidents, adding that the association had directed its members to stop night operations, especially at Yuletide, because of bad roads.

h e a l s o u r g e d P T D members to exercise extreme caution on the road during

Sesan Olufowobi

ThE Rector of the Lagos State Polytechnic,

Mr. Samuel Sogunro; his predecessor, Mr. Olawunmi Gasper; and the Chief Executive Officer of Starco Insurance Plc, Dr Shakiru Oyefeso, have called for more funding for the educational sector.

They said tertiary institutions had yet to actualise the vision of the founding fathers due to inadequate funding.

The trio spoke at the annual dinner and maiden award night of the Lagos State Polytechnic Alumni Association.

Oyefeso said it was not too much for the federal and state governments to set aside 25 per cent of their annual budgets for the educational sector.

he also advocated that anybody below the age of 70 should be made to acquire some form of education

Samson Folarin

ThE Lagos State Traffic Management Authority

on Monday appealed to residents of the state to adhere to traffic regulations to avert loss of lives as the year drew to an end.

Officials of the agency moved round major highways in the state to sensitise residents to the importance of road safety.

The Chief Executive Officer of LASTMA, Chris Olakpe, said more than 4,000 workers of the agency, including top management staff, would be deployed in Lagos to ensure that no one violated the law during the Yuletide.

he said, “We want to ensure there is no accident during this period. We are advising everyone to keep

PTD stops night movement of tankers

the day time, saying, “It is better you are late, than to die in accident.”

The National Publicity Secretary of the PTD, Atanda Adebayo, said, “One of the causes of tanker explosions and deaths recorded in the process is the bad condition of roads across the country.

“The reason Apapa is congested with tankers is because there is high concentration of oil depots and sea ports in the area. The movement of big vehicles to the depots and the ports put pressure on roads, which lead to infrastructural decay.

“When the roads become bad and there are no immediate repairs, the tankers cannot ply them easily. This is a problem.”

Adebayo noted that the training was aimed at building the capacity of members in security and safety on the road and relationship with members of the public.

Rector, others want more funding for education

to reduce illiteracy in the country.

Sogunro, who was honoured with an award along with others, lamented that funding had limited research in the institution.

“however, we have achieved a great feat with the limited resources we have,” he added.

Gasper, in his contribution, lamented that tertiary institutions in the country had yet to become places where employers of labour were created.

he said, “If the tertiary institutions have lived up to their billings, we should not have the high rate of unemployment that we have in the country.”

The National President of the alumni association, Mr. Muyiwa Olugbile, said the association had inaugurated N500m endowment fund meant for the improvement of the infrastructure in the school.

LASTMA sensitises Lagos residents to road safety

safe and drive to stay alive. Every motorist must drive within the ambit of regulation. It is important that people drive with their seat belts fastened; they must avoid distractions when driving.

“Minors must always be at the back and not in front of the driver; and they should be well strapped. If you drink, don’t drive and if you drive, don’t drink. These are the issues at stake so that everybody will stay alive and help reduce the level of carnage on our roads.”

Olakpe said other security agencies would join the agency to ensure compliance with traffic rules, urging the cooperation of motorists.

The General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Bashir Braimoh, said the agency had decided to intensify its sensitisation campaign to effect attitudinal change in residents.

Ade Adesomoju, Abuja

The Federal Government has preferred fresh charges against

Justice Adeniyi Ademola of a Federal high Court in Abuja and his wife, Olabowale, who is the head of Service of Lagos State, before a high Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Maitama, Abuja.

The prosecution amended the charges it filed on December 1, 2016 bringing the original 14 counts down to 11.

While some of the old counts have been dropped, fresh ones including receiving a car worth N8.5m as gratification from a senior lawyer, Mr. Joe Agi, and being in possession of two rifles without valid licences have been preferred against the judge.

The trial judge, Justice Jude Okeke, on Monday, fixed December 13, 2016 for the arraignment of the defendants.

Like the old set of charges, Justice Ademola and his wife were accused in the fresh counts of conspiracy and receiving gratification of N30m from Joe Agi and Associates between March 11 and March 26, 2015.

The prosecution also accused the judge of “dealing with property subject matter of an offence” by transferring N85m and N90m, totalling N175m to Franco Dan Parker on February 24, 2014.

Both offences were said to be contrary to section 24 of the Corrupt Practices and other related offences Act, 2000 and punishable under the same law.

The judge was also accused of attempting to receive gratification in the sum of N25m from one Sani Shaibu Teidi on February 21, 2014.

he was also said to have, on January 5, 2015, in his capacity as a public servant, “corruptly received from Joe Odey Agi, a BMW Saloon 320i valued at N8,500,000, through your son, Ademide Ademola, as gratification in the exercise of your official functions as the judge of the Federal high Court of Nigeria”.

The offences relating to gratification were said to be contrary to section 8(1) (a) of the Corrupt Practices and other related offences Act, 2000.

The judge was also said to have, on October 7, 2016, had in his possession “one Pump Action Rifle with serial number AVAR MAGNUM 6084 without a valid licence and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 3 of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, 2004”.

he was said to have, on the same date of October 7, 2016, had in his possession another Pump Action Rifle with serial number AVAR MAGNUM 6284 without a valid licence.

In the last count, he was accused of having in his possession on the same date of October 7, 2014, “35 rounds of live ammunition (cartridges) without a valid licence and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 3 of the Robbery and

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fG presses fresh charges against Justice Ademola

i’ll mourn death of common sense in nigeria on Jan. 20 –Soyinka

Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, 2004”.The defendants were scheduled to be

arraigned on Monday but they were absent because they had not been served with the charges.

Justice Okeke adjourned the matter till December 13, 2016, after the defendants’ lawyer, Mr. Jeph Njikonye, volunteered to accept service on behalf of his clients.

Lead prosecuting counsel, Mr. Segun Jegede, had told the court that bailiffs attempted to serve the couple with the charges but they were said to have travelled to Lagos.

he said he was going to ask the court to give an order for service on the defendants through substituted means but that was no longer necessary as the defence counsel had approached him before the proceedings commenced and volunteered to accept service on behalf of the defendants.

Jegede urged the court to grant leave to serve the defendants through their lawyer on the strength of section 382(5) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.

Although Njikonye expressed readiness to accept service on behalf of his clients, he said was not aware of attempts to

serve the couple personally and, as such, section 382(5) of the ACJA was not applicable in the matter.

The defence lawyer, however, submitted that the court under its inherent powers could grant the leave for service.

Justice Okeke, in his ruling, said record showed that a court bailiff attempted to serve the defendants in Abuja, on December 2, but were said to have travelled to Lagos.

he proceeded to grant leave enabling the defendants to be served through their lawyer as provided for under section 382(5) of ACJA.

Earlier, the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Umar, announced that the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, had authorised Jegede to lead the prosecution team.

The DPPF said, “The Attorney General of the Federation, in exercise of his power under section 174 of the constitution and section 104(2) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, has authorised Mr. Segun Jegede to lead the prosecution of this case.”

Jegede is a former prosecutor at the

United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

According to online encyclopaedia, Wikipedia, Jegede worked at the UNICTR for over a decade.

his work at the UNICTR “mainly revolved around the investigation and prosecution of some of the known masterminds of the egregious crimes committed during the Rwandan genocide”.

The Rwandan genocide, which lasted about 100 days in 1994, was a mass slaughter of the Tutsi ethnic minority group in Rwanda by the hutu ethnic majority group.

Jegede was also said to have had a stint at the Federal Ministry of Justice as a state counsel before going into private legal practice and subsequently establishing his own law firm in 1988.

Upon taking over the case from the DPPF on Monday, Jegede announced that he was going to withdraw the old charges filed on November 14, 2016, and replace them with the set filed on December 1, 2016.

Justice Okeke granted the prayer and struck out the old charges filed on December 1.

Gbenga Adeniji

NOBeL laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has disclosed his

intention to hold a private funeral on January 20 when the US President-elect, Donald Trump, will be inaugurated.

Addressing a news conference on what he titled, ‘The green god and the idolatory of mutants,’ in Lagos, on Monday, Soyinka explained that the funeral would, however, mourn the death of common sense in Nigeria and not bewail the citizens of the US over their choice of president.

“Our common sense is totally lost. I am embarrassed sometimes that I occupy the same nation space with some people,” he said.

Many Nigerians had been looking forward to the day the Nobel laureate would publicly tear his Green Card because he had promised to tear the card if Trump won the US presidential election.

Soyinka, however, noted that Nigerians had no right to query his personal decision on the tearing of his Green Card.

he said, “Where is the arrogance coming from? What right do they have to tell me that I have no right to take a decision in a particular way? I never took orders from (the late) Sani Abacha, why should I take orders from you? Let us have a little respect and spirit of tolerance. I can decide whether

to use a garden shell or scissors for my Green Card. What is the business of any Nigerian to challenge me on my decision? Barbarians have taken over the country using the anonymity of the Internet. They sit somewhere writing about me, questioning the right of me to express myself.”

Soyinka, who said he got the Green Card during the National Democratic Coalition years without requesting it – when the exigencies of the time necessitated it – said it was absurd for people to ask him to produce a video showing he tore it.

“I am not an entertainer. Why should I entertain you on that? I am a dramatist. When I say I have done something, Ogun is my guiding spirit on it. Maybe I should be exiting Nigeria and not the US. People that one dedicated one’s life of struggle to can be so slavish in mentality to query the right of their champions to freedom of expression,” he added.

According to him, it is his personal business and not anyone else’s if he wants to leave the US and the way he plans to do it.

he said, “If I decide to leave the US, it is my personal decision and not that of the millipedes of the Internet, who claw at any excuse. I don’t know what the excitation is. Why do Nigerians tend to weep more than the bereaved? Trump is not really my business. he has been elected. he should do his work. There are born-again humans

in all areas, why not in politics? even the stock exchange reacted to Trump’s election. I also reacted in my own way. There is freedom of expression. We have far too many illiterates in this country.’’

The playwright, who said he might consider WOLEXIT 2 – a word he coined on his planned exit of the US – added that he would relocate the residency of the Soyinka Foundation outside Nigeria.

“It is a significant decision on my part in response to the stupid melodrama. Exit can take two forms; internal or external. I can stay put in my private Green Belt – the one I have named the Autonomous Republic of Ijegba,” he stated.

On whether he was reacting angrily to the Green Card brouhaha because Nigerians had never queried his personal decisions, Soyinka said it was wrong to say that.

he recalled that his former students such as Profs Femi Osofisan and Biodun Jeyifo always took him up on issues.

Besides, he advised President Muhammadu Buhari to be wary of sending congratulatory messages like he did to the outgoing President of The Gambia, Alhaji Yahya Jammeh, for conceding defeat to the incoming President, Mr. Adama Barrow.

he stated that Jammeh, who ruled for 22 years, represented sit-tight African leaders.


There are different plans that a parent can

have to assist in planning for the children’s school fees.

While some may take the form of salary loan from the bank, others may be to open education plan or simply to invest in some portfolios in the bank.

School fees plans can be attractive investments but you should always talk to a financial adviser before you commit.

School fees plans are a way to save that is usually promoted and usually offer some kind of protection. While they are intended to provide for school and university fees, the money can be used for other things if you choose, according to www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk.

If you decide to invest

in portfolios in the bank to ensure funds are available for the school fees, there are three main options:

Capital schemes: Investing a lump sum in a guaranteed fund usually guarantees that you will at least get back your original investment. however, not all plans will have a guarantee. The earlier you invest (when your baby is born, or even before, is best), the more chance you have of making money on the investment.

Income or regular savings schemes: You make regular monthly or annual payments to a savings scheme. Again, the earlier you start saving, the more money your investment can earn.

Combined schemes: You invest a lump sum at the start of the plan and top it

up with regular or irregular payments over a short term.

You can equally open a bank account for the children from when they are still quite young.

Children’s savings accounts are much the same as adult ones and are offered by banks. There are a few variations, but mostly they are simple, safe cash accounts that usually pay some interest.

having their own savings account makes children more money aware and can encourage them to develop good savings habits as grown-ups.

Until your children are old enough to stash away some pocket money or birthday present cash themselves, you can save a little for them every month. Set up a standing order to

BAnkS offer savings accounts designed specifically for children. These accounts offer children an

opportunity to learn about how banks work, and they also make it easy for children to save money. You may begin to save money for your child using this type of account. however, you may want to switch your savings for college to another account as soon as you have the minimum to open a higher yield savings account. here are five advantages for having your children open a child’s savings account at the bank, according to https://www.families.com.

*There is no minimum balance required for children’s savings accounts. Many banks do not have a minimum that must be met before interest begins to accrue on the accounts as well. This can be encouraging to children, because they begin to see money added to their accounts simply because it is in the bank.

*It will help your children to become familiar with how a banking account works. Many banks still offer passbook savings accounts. This means that your children will learn how to record deposits and withdrawals, before opening a current account.

*Your children should receive a statement monthly or quarterly. This is an excellent opportunity for you to teach your children how to reconcile a statement to their accounts. It is fairly easy to reconcile a savings account.

*Once your child has a job, he/she can begin making deposits and withdrawals on his/her own at the bank. This is one more step to financial independence.

*You are teaching your children to save money at an early age. By depositing the money, they will learn to plan for future purchases (which includes a trip to the bank to access the money). This is one skill that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.

OpenIng children’s savings account is

one of the best ways to teach a child about money, hopefully encouraging them to invest part of their pocket money in the account. It gets them into the habit of saving at a young age and can provide them with funds for the future to use eventually

on a major outlay like a deposit on a home, for university or their first car, according to https://www.uswitch.com.

Usually, children have to reach a certain age to open a savings account in their own name; before that, an account would have to be opened by a parent or guardian on

their behalf. Depending on the account and the provider, the parent or guardian usually continues to administer the account until the child is old enough to do it themselves, which can be until they are in their teens.

There are certain stages when children can

take over control of their savings account. This will depend on the account, the account provider and when it seems appropriate for them to do so, there’s no one set rule. however, they may not have access to the money until they are 18.

A child savings account allows you to deposit and withdraw money

when you wish, making it like a children’s bank account. These accounts are ideal for saving and for encouraging the habit of saving. however, you may be able to get a higher interest rate with other types of children’s savings accounts.

There are different types of savings accounts

for children. There is the type where you tie up your child’s savings for a fixed time, typically one or two or three years. The advantage of these accounts is that they generally pay a higher rate of interest, provided you don’t need to withdraw any money during that time.

Opening accounts for children

Planning your children’s school fees with bank products

build up a lump sum for them over a few years.

One thing about the education account for children is that they are designed to encourage regular saving. You have to save money in the account every month and you may not be able to take it out easily.

They usually pay a higher rate of interest than instant and easy access accounts.

These accounts offer a great way to learn how to manage money and help get kids into the savings habit.

Saving for a child today is a wonderful gift for their future. not only can they start their adult lives with some savings in hand, but getting kids involved early with savings also helps them learn important lessons about money.

09055512063 (sms only)

[email protected] Nike

personal

Advantages of children’s account

8 TUeSDAY, DeCeMBer 6, 2016


•L-R: Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh; Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; and President, African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, at the opening of the African Economic Conference in Abuja ... on Monday. Photo: NAN

Ramon Oladimeji

Th E E c o n o m i c a n d F i n a n c i a l C r i m e s

Commission on Monday re-arra igned a former Commander of the military Joint Task Force, Operation Pulo Shield, in the Niger Delta, Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Atewe (retd.), for an alleged fraud of N8, 537,586,798.58.

The retired military officer was re-arraigned on 22 counts of money laundering alongside a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Patrick Akpobolokemi.

S t a n d i n g t r i a l w i t h Atewe and Akpobolokemi before Justice Saliu Saidu of a Federal high Court in Lagos are Kime Engozu and Josephine Otuaga.

The defendants were first arraigned on May 27 on 11 counts but the EFCC amended the charges to 22, leading to their re-arraignment on Monday.

Atewe, Akpobolokemi and the others were accused of siphoning N8.5bn from NIMASA sometime in 2014 using six companies.

The companies allegedly used by them to divert the money were listed as Jagan Trading Company Ltd., Jagan Global Services Ltd., Al-Nald Ltd., Paper Warehouse Ltd., Eastpoint Integrated Services Ltd. and De-Newlink Integrated Services Ltd.

In one of the counts, the EFCC claimed that Atewe diverted N170.3m out of the funds earmarked for Operation Polo Shield in the Niger Delta to acquire

Adelani Adepegba, Abuja

NO fewer than 43 workers of the Police Service

Commission stormed the agency’s headquarters in Abuja on Monday, to enforce the order of the National Industrial Court, directing

Peter Dada, Akure

ThE chairmen of the 18 local government areas

of Ondo State, under the auspices of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria, have pledged to support the governor-elect of the state, Chief Rotimi Akeredolu.

Akeredolu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, won the November 26 governorship election in the state after defeating 26 candidates of other political parties.

I n a s t a t e m e n t o n Monday by the chairman of the association, Mr. Bayo Alarapon, the Ondo ALGON congratulated the governor-elect on his victory in the election.

The council chairmen, who are all members of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state, also commended the electorate throughout the 18 council areas as well as other stakeholders for allowing peace to reign during the election.

Alarapon stated, “The association notes that as the

EFCC re-arraigns army general, Akpobolokemi for N8.5bn fraud30,000 units of shares titled ‘MTN Linked Units’.

The retired military officer was also accused of using part of the operation’s funds to acquire properties measuring 50 hectares at Kuje, another measuring 13.032.10 square metres along Kubwa, and another in

Plot MF62 outer Northern Expressway, Cadastral Zone, Abuja, in the name of his company E.J-Joe Ltd.

T h e E F C C f u r t h e r alleged that Atewe acquired properties worth N763.3m in Lugbe, Kuje, among others, between 2014 and last year, using stolen funds

from Operation Polo Shield. T h e E F C C , i n t h e

charge, alleged that Engozu and Otuaga made cash transactions in excess of the threshold stipulated by the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act), without going through any financial institution.

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e prosecution, Engozu received a cash payment of $22.5m on November 7, 2014, while Otuaga received $527,500 on October 31, 2014.

The defendants were said to have violated Section 18(c) of the Money Laundering Act 2012, for which the EFCC

Workers besiege police commission to enforce court judgment the agency to regularise their appointments.

T h e w o r k e r s , w h o besieged the commission along with a court bailiff, demanded that the PSC complied with the judgment, which ordered it to pay them their first 28 days allowance, remuneration

third tier of government, which is closer to the people at the grassroots, the local government will continue to give meaningful representation and good governance to the people at all times.

“The association reiterates that the people of the state will continue to be grateful for all the giant strides of the present administration in the state, under the leadership of Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, in repositioning the state to a viable position amongst the comity of states in the country.”

Alarapon called on all stakeholders to embrace p e a c e a n d a l l o w t h e development to continue in the state during the reign of Akeredolu.

h e n o t e d t h a t development and progress could only happen in an atmosphere devoid of v io lence, rancour and lawlessness.

Also, a businessman, Mr. Kola Alabi, has urged the people to support Akeredolu to ensure optimum success in

and allowances from the date of their employment till date.

The c la imants were engaged by the erstwhile chairman of the PSC, Parry Osayande, in April 2013, but the Mike Okiro-led board of the commission, which took over, did not pay their salaries on the grounds that their appointments did not conform to the civil service rules and regulations.

The aggrieved workers had instituted a suit against the commission and Okiro at the NIC, Abuja, and got a judgment in their favour following the failure of the PSC to file a memorandum of appearance within the stipulated time.

Justice E. D. Isele, in his ruling, dated October 18, 2016, described as illegal the refusal of the commission to pay the workers their salaries and allowances.

Justice Isele added that it was a violation of the provision of Section 10(3)(b) of the Police Service Commission Act, 2001, Rules 040102 and 130105 of the Public Service Rules and the Police Service Conditions of Service paragraphs 4.1(c) and 4-2(e).

The court restrained the commission from further refusing to pay the claimants their salaries and allowances, harassing, suspending their employment without due compliance with the extant provision of the law

regulating the claimants’ employment.

The judgment read in part, “The 1st and 2nd defendants (PSC and Okiro) are hereby mandatorily directed to pay the claimants forthwith their first 28 days allowances, salaries, allowances of equivalent rank in the Civil Service of Federation commencing from the date of their employment to when the claimants’ employment is properly determined in accordance with the provisions of the law regulating the claimants e m p l o y m e n t w i t h t h e defendants.”

T h e h e a d , l e g a l section of the PSC, Tijani Muhammed, who met with two representatives of the workers and their lawyer, Olufemi Adedeji, promised to convey the court order t o t h e c o m m i s s i o n ’ s management.

he advised the workers to come back after two weeks for the decision of the board, noting that the commission was willing to obey the court order.

“I need to convey the order to the board, which would meet and take a decision on it. So, I would advise that you come back after 10 working days, during which the decision of the management would be conveyed to you, but I assure you that something would be done about the situation,” Muhammed stated.

Ondo LG chairmen, Alabi urge support for Akeredolu

news

John Alechenu, Abuja

ThE National Chairman of the All Progressives

C o n g r e s s , C h i e f J o h n Odigie-Oyegun, has said the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration is left with no option but to borrow to revive Nigeria’s ailing economy.

Buhari’s plan to borrow an estimated US$29.9bn from foreign lenders has been rejected by the Senate and opposed by some leading Nigerian economists.

O d i g i e - O y e g u n s a i d Nigeria needed to borrow i n o r d e r t o i n v e s t i n infrastructure and grow the economy.

The party chairman was quoted to have said this after receiving a lifetime achievement award from the Warri Choral Society at the Muson Centre in Lagos.

This was contained in a statement from his office in Abuja on Monday.

Odigie-Oyegun stated, “If you read the newspapers, you hear the President being advised to pump money into the economy.

“So, the question is, where is the money coming from? Simple, it has to come from somewhere, including borrowing – both internal and external.

“To get this country going again, you have to pay contractors. Some contractors have not been paid for four, five, six, 10 years.

“So long as the borrowing is done, not to pay salaries, which the President Buhari administration will not do, but invested to create opportunities, solve our problems of power and things like that.”

On the anti-graft war, Odigie-Oyegun described the war as a task that must be accomplished, saying corruption was at the core of the nation’s problems.

he described corrupt people as “immoral and lacking in ethics,” adding that Nigeria must rid itself of corruption and its attendant consequences in order to make progress.

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, in his remarks at the event, described the APC chairman as “a man, who has, by the divine intervention of God, changed the face of politics in our country.”

Buhari needs $30bn loan to succeed, says

Odigie-Oyegun

administering the state. Alabi said, “There is more

to be done; winning is one thing, success in governance is another, no governor can succeed without the support of his people not just for the purpose of election but throughout his tenure. The people of Ondo State should keep supporting the governor-elect. his success is your success.”

Alabi, in the solidarity m e s s a g e t o A k e r e d o l u described him as a seasoned p r o f e s s i o n a l a n d a n administrator with requisite competence and experience to transform the fortunes of the state.

“Akeredolu’s emergence is a victory for democracy, for Nigeria and the good people of Ondo State,” he said, adding, “I thank the people of Ondo State for their resolve in keeping faith with the APC, a development that underscores the people’s appreciation of the pragmatic leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari as he steers the nation out of the rot, decadence and resultant economic quagmire.”

said they were liable to be punished under Section 13(3) of the same Act.

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them.

Justice Saidu adjourned their trial till February 3 and 20, 2017 for trial.

news10 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016

John Alechenu, Abuja

ThE National leader of the All Progressives Congress,

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has reiterated his commitment to

John Ameh, Abuja

MEMBERS of the house of Representatives and

other major stakeholders were divided on Monday over the digital rights protection bill before the National Assembly.

The new piece of legislation seeks to guarantee the fundamental human rights of citizens to have access to the Internet and other digital platforms, but especially the protection of privacy of personal data.

It also deals with issues relating to abuse of the Internet, including hate speeches, child pornography and use of digital platforms for “character assassination.”

The bi l l , which was sponsored by Mr. Emeka Ujam, aims to promote the rights of Nigerians to use the Internet but also provides for “due process” to be followed before the personal data of individuals can be accessed.

But, at a public hearing on the bill by the house Committee on human Rights, stakeholders disagreed over several provisions of the proposed legislation.

The committee is chaired by a member from Plateau State, Mr. Edward Pwajok (SAN).

For instance, the Paradigm Initiative observed that the bill was good for Nigeria because it further strengthened the fundamental human rights of citizens already entrenched in the 1999 Constitution.

The Chief Operating Officer of the group, Tope Ogundipe, however, stated that in promoting those rights, the bill sought to protect the privacy of Nigerians on online platforms.

Chukwudi Akasike and Kamarudeen Ogundele

AhEAD of the legislative rerun in the Rivers State,

Governor Nyesom Wike has raised the alarm that his Chief Security Officer has been withdrawn.

Wike said his CSO was withdrawn on Monday alongside several other policemen from Government house, Port harcourt.

The governor added that the Police high Command on Monday effected the transfer of 500 senior and junior police officers from the state.

he spoke at Khana Local Government Area when he led the Peoples Democratic Party candidates to campaign at Babbe, Ken Khana and Nyor Khana districts.

Wike, who claimed that

Rasheed Bisiriyu

Th E F e d e r a l R o a d Safety Corps has denied

claims that its personnel will begin to carry arms to protect themselves against attacks by errant and violent motorists while on duty.

There were reports on Friday credited to the Corps Marshal of the FRSC, Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi, indicating that the Federal Government had given approval to the corps to allow its personnel to bear arms following an increase in violent attacks of its operatives during patrol.

This generated uproar among the people as the issue dominated discussion i n t h e p u b l i c s p h e r e throughout the weekend.

But the FRSC said on Monday that there was no iota of truth in the reports that it had distributed arms to its personnel and urged members of the public to disregard what it called a rumour.

It also said in the statement issued by its head of Media Relations and Strategy, Mr. Bisi Kazeem, that the road marshals were not about to bear arms.

It stated that the corps marshal “was misquoted when he decried the number of his personnel that had been k i l led by errant motorists avoiding arrests,” which he said would have been avoided if the marshals were to bear arms.

I t sa id even though the FRSC operatives had been undergoing regular arms training at different intervals from 1992, the corps had no plans to arm them as part of their patrol operations.

It also stated that it had never been the priority of the corps under the leadership of the past and present corps marshals to implement the provisions of the amended FRSC Establishment Act of 2007, which permitted road traffic managers to bear arms like other security/para-military agencies.

The FRSC said, “It was pictures of officials of the corps that had undergone arms training that the same mediums misquoting the corps marshal are using to support the claim that the corps now bears arms.”

It quoted Oyeyemi as urging all motorists to obey traffic regulations and desist from harming operatives of the corps whom he said were only out to prevent road crashes.

Over 70 personnel of the FRSC road were killed in 2016 as a result of violent attacks by motorists on road marshals in the course of duty on highways.

No plan to arm road marshals

now – FRSCI won’t abandon APC, says Tinubu

the governing All Progressives Congress.

Tinubu, who made his views known via a series of tweets on his twitter handle @Asiwaju Tinubu, on Monday, also

denied links to the formation of a new party.

The party leader said he would not abandon the ruling party, which he laboured to build.

T i n u b u n o t e d t h a t irrespective of mistakes that had been made, he remained committed to the “ideas that fuelled” the creation of the APC.

The former Lagos State governor added that he had devoted his life to building the party, stressing that the national purpose of the APC “is bigger than the desire of any individual.”

In one of the tweets, Tinubu said, “This is a party I laboured with others to build. We would not abandon it for another. Millions of Nigerians who voted are watching and praying.

“I have devoted my political life to achieving what has been achieved. My heart is too much for the people and my mind too fixed on establishing a positive historic legacy… rather than engage in destructive pettiness.”

h e a d d e d , “ T h i s government, the APC, is for the betterment of the people and the national purpose is bigger and more important than any individual’s desires.

“In our journey to national betterment, plans and policies will be made, then amended. Mistakes will occur and then corrected…

“Achievements will be had and replicated. Through it all, I, Asiwaju will remain true to the progressive ideals that fuelled the creation of the APC.”

The latest statement from Tinubu is coming on the heels of reports linking him to plans to form a mega party.

There has been no love lost between Tinubu and the APC’s National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, since the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as the President of the Senate.

The relationship was further strained after the Ondo State APC governorship primary. Tinubu in a scathing letter demanded for the resignation of the party chairman whom he accused of several acts of malfeasance.

In response, the party chairman said the party leader was misinformed and that his letter was based on faulty foundation.

Reps, stakeholders disagree over new digital rights billA former Minister of

Education and Coordinator of the BringBackOurGirls campaign group, Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, also supported the bill.

According to her, citizens are entitled to the privacy of their rights online the same way they do off-line.

“This bill is fascinating, being a product of a partnership between the National Assembly and the citizenry...

“In this country, people have decided that they can libel anybody and nothing can be done about it,” she added.

however, the National Information Technology Development Agency kicked against the bill on the grounds that the Internet aided citizens

to have unrestricted access to information and to freely participate in governance.

The agency argued that any attempt at controlling access would be better achieved through “international cooperation and treaties” rather than direct legislation.

The agency advised the committee to widen the scope of negotiation on the issue by engaging more stakeholders.

In addition, it noted that many provisions of the bill merely duplicated extant laws, which would invariably lead to conflict of implementation.

The National human Rights Commission opposed the bill outright.

For example, the commission said Section 6(4) of the bill,

which provided that “right for private data should follow due process,” would not stand.

The commission stated, “This section will trample upon the fundamental rights of Nigerians.

“What constitutes the legal procedure? It should be clearly defined...

“The bill does not really define what is harmful Internet or digital content.”

T h e N i g e r i a n Communications Commission raised similar observations, including saying that existing laws such as the Nigerian Communications Act, the Cyber Crimes Act and the National Security Agencies Act, among others, had already covered some aspects of the bill.

Police have withdrawn my CSO, Wike allegesthe police were partisan and plotting to compromise his security, added that he was looking up to God and the youths to protect him.

“Does the Inspector-General of Police vote in Rivers State? The APC can take the IG. For me, I will remain with the people,” Wike said.

he charged youths in areas where elections would hold to monitor the results from polling units to the collation centres, adding that they must resist anyone trying to smuggle in cooked results.

The governor declared Wednesday to Friday as fasting days for the December 10 the rerun elections would hold and urged the people of the state to use the three days to pray for peaceful and credible elections.

however, several calls to the State Police Public Relations

Officer, Mr. Nnamdi Omoni, to react to the governor’s claim were not answered.

Also, a text message to his mobile phone was not replied as of the time of filing this report.

Reacting to the reported transfer of Wike’s CSO, the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, called on the international community to intervene and protect the opposition parties in Nigeria from the oppression of the Federal Government.

The governor said the indices in the country had shown that the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration would go to any length to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.

Fayose said the withdrawal of the CSO and several other policemen, a few days before the December 10 rerun elections into the National and State Assemblies, had exposed

the ulterior agenda of the Federal Government through the police authorities.

he said, “There is an election scheduled for this weekend and the Federal Government through the instrumentality of police transferred the Chief Security Officer of Governor Nyesom Wike, this is an indication that there is a game plan to suppress the opposition ahead of the election.

“It is becoming glaring that there is a possibility of his (Wike) life being threatened and the readiness of the APC to rig the election at all costs.

“It is unfortunate that the most populous black nation in the world is being run like this. Perhaps, those that brought President Muhammadu Buhari didn’t envisage these indices of an oppressed nation.”

• L-R: Director, Directorate of Prisons, Venerable Samuel Ifeyemi; Mrs. Oluranti Ademowo; her husband/Archbishop of Lagos and Dean, Emeritus, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Most Revd. Ephraim Ademowo; and Deputy Controller of Prisons, Ikoyi Prisons, Mr. Julius Ezugwu, during the annual Archbishop’s visit to Ikoyi Prisons in Lagos...on Monday. Photo: Stanley Ogidi


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• L-R: Assistant Comptroller-General of Immigration, Nigeria Immigration Service, Mr. Yahaya Inusa; Comptroller of Immigration; Mr. Olusola Ajisafe; and Assistant Comptroller-General of Immigration, NIS, Mrs. Juline Fariku, during the decoration of Ajisafe as comptroller of immigration in Abuja...on Monday. Photo: Olatunji Obasa

Godwin Isenyo, Kaduna

Th E K a d u n a S t a t e Government on Monday

officially released the White Paper on the December 15, 2015 clash between the Nigerian Army and the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, otherwise known as Shiites.’

The clash left 347 persons dead and scores of others injured.

Following the clash, the state government established a Judicial Commission of Inquiry headed by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba.

Friday Olokor and Godwin Isenyo

ChRiSTiAn youths have threatened to resort to

self defence any time Fulani herdsmen attack any village in the Southern Kaduna Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

They premised their threat on the alleged complacency or complicity of the security agencies and politicians in the attacks.

According to them, since Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State has claimed that the Fulani terrorists killing Christians were foreigners, the Federal Government should close Nigeria borders with Chad, Cameroon and Benin Republic without delay.

They also urged the Kaduna State House of Assembly “ t o i m p e a c h E l - R u f a i immediately” for allegedly conniving with terrorists to kill Nigerians.”

Operating under the aegis

Gbenga Odogun, Lokoja

PEnSionERS in Kogi State have lamented the

suffering they are undergoing due to the nonpayment of their 10-month pension arrears.

Consequently, the state branch of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, has declared a seven-day fasting and praying so that God could intervene in their affairs.

T h e p e n s i o n e r s included all state and local governments’ retirees and retired primary school teachers who were being owed 10 months’ pension arrears.

A s ta tement by the NUP chairman, Chief Onuh Abdullahi, said the pensioners would pray for all retirees, particularly those that have not been able to access their pension for many months.

“The praying and fasting will start on Tuesday, December 6, 2016 and will end at the local governments’ branches of the NUP on Monday, December 12, 2016 at noon.We will pray to God to sustain us and open doors of favour for us since the government has failed to take of us in our old age,” Abdullahi said.

The chairman added that the prayer session would focus on asking God “to

Kaduna labels Shitte insurgent group, justifies mass burial Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s

Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Samuel Aruwan, announced the content of the White Paper at a press conference held at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House, Kaduna on Monday.

The White Paper justified the mass burial of the Shiites members, which it said was in conformity with the “burial law of the state.”

The White Paper also rejected any suggestion that the burial of the victims did not conform to the law.

of Christian Association of Nigeria (Youth Wing), the youths, who condemned the plan by the governor to compensate Fulani herdsmen for their lost cattle as well as sponsoring them as delegates to meet Fulani leaders outside Nigeria, condemned the verbal attacks being launched against the President of CAN, Dr. Samson Ayokunle by El-Rufai.

The National President of YOWICAN, Daniel Kadzai, in Abuja Monday also described as untrue, the claims by El-Rufai that the masterminds of the attacks “who organised themselves and came back for revenge” in Southern Kaduna and Plateau State came from outside Nigeria.

The governor was said to have while debunking the comments of the CAN President, attributed the killing of Christians in Southern Kaduna communities to

“Government observes that its officials complied with the Burial Law of the State. Section 7 sub-section 1 of the Burial Law Cap 20 Laws of Kaduna State Government 1991 requires the burial of persons who die in this type of circumstances within 24hrs,” it stated.

I t a d d e d t h a t i n circumstances such as the clash between the Army and the Shiites, dead bodies could be buried in a mass grave.

“ T h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n section of Rule 115 Geneva Convention also states that in

bandits claiming that “the same Fulani are killing Fulani in Zamfara State.”

While warning him to stop playing politics with the killing of Christians, Kadzai said the unfortunate condemnation of the CAN President over the killing of Christians had further exposed the governor’s refusal to come to terms with realities for political reasons.

He said, “Whether the Fulani terrorists are from Nigeria or not, we the Christian youths agree that there is a deliberate and calculated attempt to cleanse Christians in Nigeria. Thus, we call on all Christians to resist attacks.

“In conclusion, we call on the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, to respect the CAN President and know that Christians have the right to self defence, especially where there is complacency or complicity on the part of security operatives and politicians.”

circumstances of this nature, dead bodies could be buried in a mass grave,” it added.

Also, according to the White Paper, the Judicial Commission of Inquiry’s view on actions taken to clear structures at the scenes of the clashes, were unacceptable, affirming that the “debris at the Hussainiyya Baqiyatillah and at the residence of Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky were removed on the grounds of Public Health and safety.”

On the demolition of the El-Zakzaky’s residence and place of worship, it added that “all

the IMN buildings that were demolished were constructed without statutory title and building permit as required by the Land Use Act and Section 26 of the KASUPDA Law No.12 of 2015.”

The said laws, it said, empowered the agency (KASUPDA) under sections 46 and 48(2) to demolish any building which did not comply with the legal provisions.

It added also that all the structures so removed violated either the provisions of the Land Use Act or the KASUPDA Law or both.

It, however, acknowledged the fact that the sad events of December 12 to 14 of 2015 led to needless and avoidable casualties, noting that “they are the product of a legacy of lawlessness, and must never be allowed to recur.

“Decades of neglect by governments and the security agencies of their obligations for vigorous law enforcement and the protection of constitutional rights have bred a dangerous sense of impunity and disregard for citizens and lawful authority,” it said.

The White Paper also acknowledged that the Nigerian Army abided by its rule of engagement and further observed that the Judicial Commission of Inquiry failed to take into account the years during which the activities of the IMN in Gyallesu had threatened peace and security in the state.

It said for all intent and purpose, “the IMN is an insurgent group and ought to be treated as such,” noting that “the sheer numbers of IMN members congregating in Zaria from across the country that night, with many bearing arms, was such that the Nigerian Army was in no position to accurately determine how armed and organised they were and had to be concerned on what their intention for Zaria was.”

T h e K a d u n a S t a t e Government, according to the White Paper, reiterated that it would not foreclose engagement with any of its citizens; “but it will do its duty to enforce the law and will not compromise the prerogative of the state to defend the rights and liberties of all its citizens.”

It added that the right to freedom of worship was a cherished constitutional right but noted that the constitution did not bestow on anyone or group “the right to curtail the rights of others or to apply the right to faith in a way that diminishes or inconveniences others.”

It said the government would not tolerate any insistence that religion or religious rites could only be practised as acts of public nuisance and in wanton violation of the rights of others.

“Every group and individual must abide by the law. There is no opt-out from this civilised duty,” the White Paper said.

Kogi retirees declare fasting over 10-month unpaid pensionstouch the heart of our leaders so that they can pay the desired attention to the plight of senior citizens who have spent their useful years in serving their fatherland.”

Abdullahi directed retires who would participate in the spiritual exercise “to pray that they will live to enjoy the fruit

of their labour before they go back to their Maker.”

“We will also pray for the peace of God which passes human understanding to reign in Kogi State now and always and ask God to heal all pensioners that have one health challenges or the other and also for the repose

John Ameh, Abuja

SUSPEnDED member o f t h e H o u s e o f

R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s , M r . Abdulmumin Jibrin, may come under fresh probe by the House after another petition against him was submitted on Monday by the Anti-corruption Unit of the National Youth Council of Nigeria.

In the fresh petition, the group provided details of five foreign bank accounts Jibrin is alleged to operate in violation of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Section 7 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, which “prohibits public officers from maintaining or operating accounts in any country outside Nigeria.”

The council also petitioned the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation; the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission; and the CCB, demanding the prosecution of Jibrin.

The petition to the House was addressed to the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, and presented to the Chairman, House Committee on Ethics/Privileges, Mr. Nicholas Ossai.

The Coordinator of the unit, Mr. Ifeanyi Okonkwo, presented the petition to Ossai at the National Assembly on Monday, just as Jibrin in a swift response, accused the NYCN of spreading “lies.”

Jibrin, a member of the All Progressives Congress from Kano State, was suspended in September after lawmakers accused him of running a “campaign of calumny” against the leadership in his N40bn budget padding allegations against four principal officers.

According to the petitioners, Jibrin allegedly opened and operated the foreign accounts while serving as a member of the House.

The address used in opening the accounts was named as 81, Cotswold Gardens, London, NW2, 1PE.

The accounts are “Barclays Bank International Account, SC 204744 AC 33471268; Barclays Bank Reserve Account, SC 204744 AC 43707164; Barclays Mortgage Account, SC 204744 AC 94030664; Barclays Bank Euro Currency Account, SC 204744 AC 52339433; and Barclays USD Currency Account, SC 204744 AC 74521222.”

In addition to the accounts, the group produced Jibrin’s asset declaration form, wherein he wrote to the CCB that he owned only one four-bedroomed bungalow in Kaduna, which he bought in 2008 at the price of N150m.

The lawmaker also filled in the form that he owned only one car, did not own a farm, undeveloped plot, ranch or factory.

‘Jibrin operates five foreign accounts’

of the souls of the departed pensioners,” he added.

Though he said the retirees would pray to God to guide the state government under the leadership of Yahaya Bello, the NUP chairman urged the governor to “do all within his power to settle our pension arrears.”

Killings: Kaduna Christians threaten to resort to self defence


I want to thank those who reached out to me

last week. I was touched by your honest emails about this condit ion called sickle cell anaemia.

I th ink, f rom your response, the major issue is getting your condition c h e c k e d m e d i c a l l y . Please, if you are living with the condition, see a doctor and get a blood test done. This is very important.

Also, sickle cell anaemia sometimes brings about other complications, such as stroke, hip problems, vision problems, stomach problems, depression, e t c e t e r a . W h a t e v e r medical condition you might be suffering from as a result of the disorder, get it checked out by a professional doctor.

I w a n t t o d w e l l briefly on the issue of discrimination in the workplace. I could relate to emails on this because yours truly has also been discriminated against. I believe that nowadays there is a law against discrimination in the workplace However, let us push the law aside and look at the human and compassionate side of things.

What if that person is your blood relation? Would you discriminate a g a i n s t h i m o r h e r ? As a country, I hope employers will and can do better for people with sickle cell anaemia in the workplace.

In mid-summer, I felt

pain in my left thigh and before I knew what was going on, I was dragging that leg painfully across my apartment. I knew that a full blown crisis was looming. I sent text messages to a few close friends and relatives of mine, to let them know what was going on.

After two days of taking morphine, codeine and other painkillers that I could lay my hands on, the pain got worse. I knew I had to go to hospital.

One of my sisters called me and I told her that I needed to go to hospital immediately. She quickly spoke to her daughter on the phone and asked her to come over to my place.

We were able to call an ambulance and I was taken to the same hospital that I usually went to each time I had a crisis.

Now, where I live, the hospital has improved and keeps improving. Normally, I go for my h a e m o t o l o g y c l i n i c check-up every quarter and rarely get admitted for a full blown crisis. I have found out that the hospital now has a haemotology pain clinic, which is open every day from morning till night. I think this is great for those who work.

I was given my first morphine injection within 10 minutes. An hour or two later, I received another injection. I had four injections for the day. By that time, I was totally drugged up and the pain had eased off slightly before I went home.

I was back in the pain clinic the next day and I was made to go through the same process. After resting at home on the third day, I went back for my last morphine injections on the fourth day, knowing after that I could look after myself at home. Thankfully, since then I have not been to the pain clinic.

During my three days visit to the hospital, I saw people coming and g o i n g f r o m t h e p a i n clinic. I knew that some of them were coming from work and it was great to see this going on. When I was working full-time, there was only the option of admission whenever I fell ill. I got by-passed on promotion because of being sick most of time.

The management of sickle cell anaemia cannot remain the same. Medical doctors are trying to find a cure for the disease and

SOME vegetables are best for your health when eaten cooked rather than raw. Cooking vegetables can

neutralize enzymes that would cause digestive problems and remove anti-nutrients, which can interfere with the assimilation of vitamins and minerals. Cooking also kills potentially harmful bacteria. Try poaching, steaming, stir-frying, grilling or roasting your vegetables -- according to the American Heart Association, these are some of the healthiest cooking methods.

Cook your cruciferous vegetablesSome folks, however, experience gas and bloating from

difficult-to-digest sugars found in raw cruciferous vegetables. These sugars become easier to digest once cooked. Those with thyroid conditions should avoid raw cruciferous vegetables as well. Until cooked, cruciferous vegetables contain thyroid inhibitors that can worsen thyroid conditions.

Boil your beansUncooked or undercooked beans contain high amounts of

glycoprotein lectin, a toxin that can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea within three hours of consumption. The severity of the symptoms is directly related to the amount of the toxin ingested. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as few as five raw kidney beans can result in illness. A serving of uncooked kidney beans can have up to 70,000 units of the toxin, but fully cooked they have less than 400 units. Fully cooking beans is a simple process: Soak them in water for at least five hours, change the water and then boil the beans until they are soft.

Avoid raw potatoesYou can get away with munching on raw potatoes,

but it isn’t great for your health. According to Utah State University, raw potatoes -- particularly green ones -- can have a high concentration of a dangerous toxin known as solanine. Raw potatoes also contain anti-nutrients. Though you can remove most of the anti-nutrients by peeling the potatoes, some still remain in the flesh. In addition, the uncooked starch in potatoes can result in digestive problems, gas and bloating. For the most benefit and the least risk from your potatoes, bake, steam, saute or otherwise cook them.

Cooking other vegetablesSome vegetables are more beneficial for your health when

eaten cooked, despite being perfectly safe to eat raw. For example, asparagus has more cancer-fighting antioxidants once cooked, cooking tomatoes allows you to absorb more lycopene and cooked mushrooms have more bioavailable potassium. The beta-carotene in cooked carrots is easier to absorb, and your body derives more iron, calcium and magnesium from cooked spinach. Unless you have a specific reason to avoid the raw form of a vegetable, include both raw and cooked varieties in your diet.

–healthyeating.sfgate.com

When pain starts, please visit the hospital

HEALTHWISE ... personal health, fitness, diet & weight issues 08163528868

08116759793@ [email protected]

better ways to manage the pain. I found out that the fact that doctors and nurses were willing to give me morphine without my shouting the ward or Accident and Emergency ward down very uplifting.

Back in those days when I used to be sick a lot, some 20 years ago, doctors were reluctant to prescribe morphine to people with sickle cell because of the tendency to depend on the drug.

I have heard people say that patients become addicted to morphine, which is known in the street as heroin. Al l I k n o w i s t h a t w h e n I am in pain , I need morphine.

Someone emailed me and asked about the type of snacks that are good for people with sickle cell anaemia. This week, try and have less of that cake and biscuit. H o w a b o u t e a t i n g more roasted plantain, roasted yam, ground n u t s , c a s h e w n u t s , coconut, cocoyam chips, sandwiches, scotch eggs, akara, plantain chips, fruits (fresh and dried) and roasted corn.

Also form the habit of carrying a bottle of water with you always. I know water is bland, but you can add some lemon or lime, mint or ginger or just infuse the water.

I can be contacted on [email protected] or check out my blog – www.howtolivewithsicklecell.co.uk

Nigeria may face nutrition problems in 2017 – ReportBukola Adebayo

TH E 2 0 1 6 F o o d Sustainability

Index published by The Economist Intelligence Unit has predicted that Nigerians may face severe nutrition crisis in 2017.

The New Index report, which ranked Nigeria 24th out of 25 countries for the nutritional health of its population, noted that nutritional problems were more pronounced in the North-East due to the confl ict between Boko Haram insurgents and

the army.The index research

manager , Maria-Luiza Apostolescu, urged the Federal Government to improve on the health outcomes of her citizens by implementing policies that will boost agricultural output .

A p o s t o l e s c u s a i d , “Despite major nutrition c h a l l e n g e s , N i g e r i a h a s h u g e p o t e n t i a l f o r i m p r o v i n g h e a l t h outcomes of its population t h r o u g h p o l i c i e s a n d nutritional programmes.

There is also room for improvement in terms of agricultural sustainability, especially ensuring that l a n d o w n e r s h i p f o r smallholders is respected and enforced, which would incentivise farmers to invest in more sustainable farming practices that w o u l d s a f e g u a r d s o i l quality and preserve water resources.

“ A d d r e s s i n g t h e s e challenges will make a m a j o r c o n t r i b u t i o n to Nigeria ’s ef forts to reach the Susta inable

Development Goals since nutrition and agriculture influence so many social, e n v i r o n m e n t a l a n d economic factors”.

The new index identified undernourishment and micronutrient deficiency as some of the nutritional challenges in the country.

According to the report, V i t a m i n A d e f i c i e n c y affects 29.5 per cent of the population, impairing immunity and causing blindness, while one-third of the nation’s children under five are stunted.

Vegetables you shouldn’t eat raw

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• L-R: Corporate Communications, Marine Platforms, Carol Agbaroji; Director, Book Buzz Foundation, Lola Shoneyin; Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai; Chief Finance & Administration Officer, Marine Platforms Limited, Baji Nyam; and Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Andrew Nok, during the donation of 100 mini libraries to primary schools in Kaduna...Monday. Photo: Marine Platforms Limited


Leke Baiyewu, Abuja

ThE Federal Government on Monday expressed its

reservations on the plan by the Senate to scrap the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency and replace it with the Federal Roads Authority.

The government however b a c k e d t h e p l a n n e d reintroduction of tolls on federal highways across the country.

The Senate, acting on a bill sponsored by its Chairman of the Committee on Works, Kabiru Gaya, (APC, Kano South) in October 2016, had

Fidelis Soriwei and Chukwudi Akasike

CO R P m e m b e r s a r e avoiding to participate in

the legislative rerun election scheduled for Saturday in Rivers State.

Investigation revealed that corps members who are being contacted to serve as ad hoc staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission are refusing to participate in the election because of fear of possible violence during the election.

A source who confided in our correspondent said that the corps members were not showing the usual enthusiasm to participate in the election because of the accusations and counter-accusation between the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike , and INEC.

The source said, “Corps members being contacted by INEC to participate in the Rivers rerun election are showing reluctance to serve in the election.

“A good number of them are afraid that there could be violence during the election, and these are young men and women who don’t want to get killed because of some election.”

When our correspondent contacted the Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of INEC, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, he

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari and the Senate

President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on Monday commiserated with the family of a former Minister of Commerce and Industry, Chief Bola Kuforiji-Olubi, who died on Saturday at the age of 80.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, in a statement said Buhari who recently received the former minister and first female Chairman of the United Bank for Africa at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, also extended heartfelt condolences to the government and people of Ogun State, the banking industry, Kuforiji-Olubi’s friends and professional

Ade Adesomoju, Abuja

ThE Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter

Onnoghen, said on Monday that the National Judicial Council was more poised than before to restore confidence in the judiciary.

The acting CJN, who doubles as the Chairman of the NJC, said the council was also ready to defend the independence and the integrity of the third arm of government.

Justice Onnoghen spoke in Abuja during the swearing in of Justices Paul Galinje and Sidi Bage, to the Supreme Court bench.

This increased the number of Justices of the Supreme Court from 15 to 17.

The NJC has recently come under fire for allegedly shielding corrupt judges following the recent raid on the houses of some judges accused of corruption by the operatives of the Department of State Services.

Speaking at the swearing in ceremony on Monday, Justice Onnoghen said the NJC would restore confidence in the nation’s judicial system and would continue to amend its rules as the need arose.

The acting CJN urged the two new Justices of the Supreme Court, not to despair over the challenges the judiciary was currently going through but to rise to defend the independence and integrity of the institution.

he said failure of the judges to defend the judiciary would mean failing Nigerian citizens who had hope in the institution.

ThE management of hi-Impact Planet Amusement

Park and Resorts has donated a police post to the Nigeria Police Force.

The police post, located within the amusement park, will accommodate men of the armed mobile police, has started a 24-hour patrol of the area from December 1.

The Deputy General Manager of the amusement park, Miss. Ufoma Ogodo, made this known on Monday in Ibafo, Ogun State, while taking delivery of some newly acquired security gadgets.

She noted that the gadgets included 3D full body and baggage scanners, which had the capacity to detect even the smallest metal either in the body or hidden in any part of a baggage.

“As part of our determination to ensure security of life and property of our guests, the management, in addition to other security measures put in place, acquired these scanners with a view to preventing people with sinister motive from coming to the park with harmful and dangerous objects. With these scanners in place, such objects will be detected,” Ogodo said.

‘NJC ready to reform judiciary’

Hi-Impact Planet

FG backs tolling, rejects Senate move to scrap FERMAresolved to repeal the Act establishing FERMA and replace it with the FRA.

The move, the upper chamber of the National Assembly alleged, was due to the apparent lack of capacity of the road maintenance agency to handle the task of road management in the country.

Gaya, in his opening address, explained that the public hearing was to hear the views of all stakeholders.

In his presentation at a public hearing organised by the committee on the bill on Monday, the Minister of

Works, Power and housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), however, cautioned the Senate over the move.

he stated that FERMA had become a brand, which should not be changed.

The minister said, “We welcome the idea of creating road fund. We also welcome the idea of creating a maintenance agency. But we think – and this will be details of the substance of the presentation that I will make – that all of the recommendations that have been made for maintenance should be embodied in the

agency that government has already created, which is FERMA.

“Repeal the existing FERMA law, re-enact it and put all of the new things we want to create (in the FRA) inside it instead of creating a new agency because FERMA was set up for maintenance in the very first place.

“It has acquired the name; it has acquired the brand; we can build on that brand instead of creating a new brand. People who managed brands like this change their drinks but they don’t change their names.”

Fashola supported to the move by the Senate to reintroduce toll policy on federal highways in the country as a way of raising funds for their maintenance.

he said, “There is the need to institutionalise the maintenance of road assets but, much more importantly, there is the need for increased awareness and advocacy for users of our road assets; that roads are not permanent assets in that way.

“They (roads) are wearing assets; they are assets that diminish once we start to use them and so, from the day the road is opened and we start to ply it, it begins to deteriorate and, therefore, not only must we maintain them, we must use them carefully; we must use them consciously with the intent to get the best out of them.

“There has been a toll policy already in Nigeria since the Federal highways Act in 1971 with deployed tools but for some reasons we stopped it.

“In other to attract the investments that will enable us to achieve private capital inflows into infrastructure, two things for me are very instructive. The first is the cultural change from our existing mindset and our experience at sub-national and at national levels.”

Gaya, in his lead debate on the bill, had said the FRA, as a replacement for FERMA, would serve as a semi-autonomous road agency, which would be responsible for the professional management of federal roads in the country, including planning, design, construction, rehabilitation and maintenance.

This, he stated, would end the duplication of functions between FERMA and the highways Department of the Federal Ministry of Works.

Gaya noted that the country had established the Maritime Authority , the Inland Waterways Authority and the Airports Authority over the years, while the “road,” which was the most essential link for all other transport modes had no authority.

Gaya pointed out that Nigeria’s federal highway network of 34,000 kilometres constituted part of the nation’s assets.

“Nowhere in the world is such a long stretch of roads administered within a bureaucratic structure,” he said.

According to him, the passage of the bill will bring permanent solutions to the challenges of funding and management of roads in the country.

The senator noted that the creation of the FRA was in line with international road management practices, adding that Ghana, which once had many agencies for roads, had eventually brought them together under the Ghana highways Authority.

Corpers refuse participation in Rivers rerun electionsaid that it was only the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Rivers that could comment on that.

Reacting, the state REC, Mr. Aniedi Ikoiwak, said the job of corps members was voluntary, adding that those who did not want to work with INEC on election day were free to opt out.

Ikoiwak argued that some of the corps members’ parents might have told them not to take part in the rerun election, adding that such a situation

would not affect the exercise on Saturday.

The state REC, however, pointed out that INEC would get more ad hoc workers from other government’s agencies if there was shortage in the number of corps members needed for the job on Saturday.

“From the beginning, the NYSC work is on a voluntary basis. We know that some of them might have been told by their parents not to be part of it (election).

“But if we have problem of shortage of manpower, we will complete them with workers from other government’s agencies and institutions,” he stressed.

Oyekanmi also agreed that most parents would be inclined to discourage their children from participating in the election because of what he described as the inflammatory comments by the Rivers State Government that plans had been perfected to rig the election.

Buhari, Saraki mourn ex-minister Kuforiji-Olubicolleagues over the loss.

T h e s t a t e m e n t r e a d , “President Buhari recalls that during his October 20 meeting with the banking and accounting guru, where he congratulated her on her 80th birthday, she was warm and hearty.

“He affirms that the then first female President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, served her nation and humanity with all her God-given strength and talent, noting that the multiple professional, national awards and fellowships she received were well deserved.

“As a distinguished economist and manager who scored many firsts in breaking the glass ceiling in both private and public services, the President believes that Otunba Kuforiji-Olubi will be remembered for redefining

the place of womanhood in Nigeria’s development and inspiring others.

“President Buhari prays that the Almighty God will grant her eternal rest, and also comfort all her loved ones.”

Kuforiji-Olubi, had on October 20 paid what she called a ‘thank you visit’ to Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Saraki, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, described Kuforiji-Olubi as a consummate administrator who discharged her duties with passion during her lifetime.

he said while “it is sad that our dear mother has taken her final journey at age 80, the purpose-driven life she led would continue to inspire present and upcoming generations, particularly women.”


•Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty, Oba Ewuare II (left) and a former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, during Gowon’s visit to the monarch in Benin, Edo State...on Monday. Photo: Alexander Okere

Olusola Fabiyi, Abuja

ThE Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led Peoples

Democratic Party on Monday described the statement by the Kano State Governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, that having free and fair elections in the South-South region of the country was abnormal, as a veiled threat that the forthcoming electoral reruns in Rivers State will be manipulated by the All Progressives Congress.

The PDP asked Ganduje, who doubles as the chairman of the APC Rivers State Re-Run Election Campaign Committee, to tender an apology to the people of the region.

It added that the abnormality of elections in that region was due to the win-at-all-cost attitude of the APC.

The party also added that the statement was an indictment against the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The Kano State governor had while answering questions from State House correspondents on Friday on the preparation of his party, the APC

Chukwudi Akasike, Port Harcourt

BARELY five days to the legislative rerun

in Rivers State, Governor, Nyesom Wike, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission of overheating the polity.

The governor, who spoke on Channels Television Programme, Sunrise Daily on Monday, alleged that some actions of the commission indicated that it (INEC) was working for a particular political interest and political party.

He said his public statements against INEC and the police were backed by incontrovertible facts and intelligence in his possession, adding that the INEC and the police had failed to deny his

Alexander Okere, Benin

A former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon

(retd.), on Monday paid a courtesy visit to the Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty, Oba Ewuare II, at his palace in Benin, Edo State.

Gowon, who was accompanied by a delegation, was received by the Oba and several palace chiefs at about 3pm.

While welcoming him

Ovie Okpare, Warri

IMA Niboro, a former Presidential spokesman

for ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, on Monday dumped the Peoples Democratic Party and joined the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Niboro, who is the immediate former Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria, was first received into the party by the APC chieftains in Ughelli South Local Government before he was later admitted into the party by the state chairman of the party, Prophet Jones Erue.

He said he decided to join the ruling party because there was a huge gap between the state government and the APC-controlled Federal Government, and his intention was to bridge the deficit infrastructural underdevelopment in the state.

The former Jonathan’s aide while being received by the APC chairman at his private residence in Airport Road, Effurun, Uvwie Council Area of Delta State, decried what he described as “poverty everywhere” in the state.

He said, “Our state lack development, there is poverty everywhere. It is appalling that children are dropping out of schools because their parents cannot afford their school fees. It is not a sudden switch, I have studied the situation in the last 18 months as it concerned my ward, local government, community and even my state.

Niboro added, “There is no synergy between Delta State and the Federal Government and we cannot achieve that synergy when we are working at cross-purposes.”

He promised to use his connection to attract infrastructural development to the state.

Erue, while presenting a membership card to the former presidential aide, described Niboro’s defection to the ruling party as a ‘great addition’ that would help the party rescued the state from the PDP.

Erue told the former NAN MD and his supporters to bring their wealth of political experience to bear “as we prepare to rescue the state from the ruling PDP in the 2019 governorship election in the state.”

But reacting to Niboro’s defection to the APC, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s spokesman, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, told our correspondent on the telephone that the ex-Jonathan aide’s comment on high infrastructural decay and high poverty level in the state were false and did not reflect the true situation in the state.

Ex-Jonathan’s spokesman, Ima

Niboro, joins APCRivers rerun: PDP attacks Ganduje over comments

towards the reruns, said, “You know in that part of the country, having free and fair elections is not normal and we have to make it normal this time.”

Reacting to Ganduje, the spokesman of the Makarfi-led PDP, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, said, “This statement coming from the governor is not

only unfortunate, it is ridiculous and absurd to say the least. It is highly unbecoming of a governor to make such an unguarded statement that denigrates the people of the whole state and the South-South region in general.

“The statement is also a veiled threat that the coming election in Rivers

State will be manipulated as usual by the APC, using the INEC and the security apparatus of state.

“If free and fair elections have been ‘abnormal’ in the region according to the governor, it is due to the manipulation and the win-at-all-cost attitude of the APC.

“This desperation of

the APC to win at all cost was exposed by the recent decision of the Court of Appeal which upturned the re-run election in Opobo/Nkoro State Constituency of Rivers State in favour of our candidate, Mr. Diri Adonye, wherein the Appeal Court emphatically stated that the election was massively rigged.

Wike accuses INEC of overheating polityallegations against them.

Wike recalled that INEC had suspended election in eight local government areas during the March 19 reruns in the state, including Tail Local Government Area, alleging that the commission concocted results in favour of the APC four months later.

The governor observed that INEC did not list Tai LGA as one of the areas where rerun would be held, describing the action as unbecoming.

Wike also accused the police of being partisan, saying, “They have assigned Special Anti-Robbery Squad personnel to APC candidates without assigning any to PDP candidates. These SARS personnel have been assigned to the APC candidates for them to intimidate PDP

supporters on the election day.

“I have written to the Inspector General of Police five letters that the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations, Steven Hasso, and the Commander of SARS, Akin Fakorede, have threatened to kill me. But the Inspector General has not replied even one letter.

Reacting, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the State, Mr. Aniedi Ikoiwak, said INEC was not heating up the polity.

...Police to withdraw politicians’ orderlies

Friday Amobi, P’Harcourt

OPERATIVES of the Rivers State Police

Command on Monday

said it would withdraw police orderlies attached to politicians in the state during the December 10 reruns.

The operatives, who spoke during a meeting with stakeholders in Port Harcourt, also said it would not allow any police officer to go close to the polling units with guns and ammunition.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Francis Odesanya, said the police would provide a level-playing field for all political parties in the election.

Odesanya said the police command would ensure that hoodlums did not have their way, stressing that the law would punish perpetrators of violence during the exercise.

He said, “This meeting is important to enable stakeholders to conclude all arrangements to ensure that the election is free, fair, credible and violent-free.

“All security escorts attached to the politicians will be withdrawn till after the elections. No security will be allowed to move to the polling units with gun.

“This is one election the police are taking seriously because we want to prove to the world that we are capable of providing security. The police will not give in to such laxity in security again. We will not fold our hands and watch criminals hijack the process. “

He added, “I warn all politicians to maintain the peace. Anyone who causes violence will be visited with the full weight of the law. The hoodlums who have been given fake security uniform will not have the chance to wear them.”

Gowon visits Benin monarch, urges prayer for Nigeria

news

Ikoiwak, who spoke in a telephone interview with our correspondent, said “INEC is not heating up the polity. How can we heat up the polity when we have continued to advise politicians to bring down the tension.”

When contacted to react on the governor’s allegation that two top police officers threatened to kill him, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Francis Odeanya, said he was not aware of such an allegation or threat.

to Benin, Oba Ewuare II commended the former head of state for his “gentle military style” and his contributions towards the unity of the country.

The monarch, who informed the former military leader that the post-coronation activities were still ongoing, said that Gowon is a statesman who is always welcome at the palace.

He assured him that the palace and the Bini

people would always pray for the country and promote national unity.

Gowon said, ”I wish him (Oba) all the very best and wish him a joyful and successful reign for the good of the people, not only of his kingdom, but of the whole of the state and, of course, Nigeria, as his predecessors have done.

“I know his father; he was very close to me. And, therefore, I wish that his reign would be as successful

as his reign and wish him well for the good of all of us.”

He also noted that he had been in the state since Friday to pray for the South-South region and the entire country through the ‘Nigeria Prays’ initiative.

Gowon said that God had solved many of the challenges facing the country through prayer and urged Nigerians not to relent in making their contributions through prayer.

S’South/S’East


editorial Letters meant for this page should not be more than 150 words long, and e-mailed to: [email protected] Such letters must con-tain writer’s full names (not initials) and address, and be typed double-space. Writers may no longer send letters in paper format.

LETTERS

SHOULD the Senate have its way, the ongoing recruitment of 10,000 policemen would use quotas

based on local government areas. This bizarre twist is the culmination of intrigues and interference by the legislature in a responsibility reserved by law for the executive arm of government. The executive should resist the intrusion, stick with the laid-down procedures and conclude the assignment quickly and transparently.

To address the rising security challenges facing the country, the Federal Government had proposed to recruit 10,000 new hands into the Nigeria Police. It is also in fulfilment of a campaign promise by President Muhammadu Buhari to provide opportunities for the 24 per cent of our youths reported by the National Bureau of Statistics to be jobless.

It has been a keenly watched process, not least because cynical officials have used such recruitment in the past to extort money from applicants through fees and scratch cards. Politicians, including legislators, have also been accused of cornering the few available slots for their children, wards and associates. The Police Service Commission, which is handling the task, has mercifully been prevented this time from extortion.

The intrusion began when the Senate Committee on Police complained that the criteria being applied for the recruitment were “irregular.” It asked the PSC to suspend the recruitment, which the latter did. First, approval for the 10,000 new hires was given by Buhari over a year ago. Ordinarily, one would have welcomed the Senate intervention as a check on the PSC. But subsequent horse-trading among the senate committee, PSC and Police HQs has brought out the disturbing attempt to pervert the federal character principle. According to reports, the Senate has “instructed” the PSC to recruit nine youths from each of the 774 LGAs of the country. This represents the overturning of the long-established federal character practice where recruitment into the armed forces, police and paramilitary agencies is undertaken on the basis of state quotas. Years of northern-dominated military rule paved the way for unfair creation of LGs that today gives the 19 states of the North a big advantage compared to the South. The lopsidedness is revealed in the 44 LGs in Kano State and another 27 in its sister state of Jigawa that was carved out of it in 1991. Yet, Lagos with an estimated population of 21 million remains at 20.

LGs are not federating units; states are. The Senate and complicit officials dishonestly seek to beguile the unwary that it is promoting community policing, but their hypocrisy is exposed when it is considered that Bayelsa with all its security ills, has only eight LGs, meaning that if the illegitimate LG quota system is allowed, it will get far fewer policemen than Gombe, which has 11.

However, it is odd that the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has swallowed the Senate’s excuse hook, line, and sinker, saying last week that recruitment would be done on LG basis. The argument for his capitulation is weak, since he anchors it on the number of LGAs in a state. Should the Nigerian Defence Academy now recruit on LG quotas?

In similar federations such as India and Malaysia, recruitment into the federal police is based on state quotas, not on the absurdity of local government areas. LGAs become relevant only when the much-needed state police system takes off and states can use LG quota system for their police formations. Nigerians are not deceived: this is a disingenuous ploy by legislators, government officials and vested interests to put their own nominees in the Force.

But when giving the order, Buhari had expressly mentioned the equality of states. Mike Okiro, Chairman of the PSC, had also earlier emphasised the urgent need to recruit constables, cadet inspectors and assistant superintendents of police with equal intake of cadets from each of the 36 states.

Nigeria continues to be ill-served by lazy, selfish and sectional lawmakers. It is surprising that Buhari, Dambazau and Okiro are surrendering their constitutional executive power to senators. The National Assembly is constitutionally empowered to pass laws and have oversight over executive bodies; but it does not have the power to take over the work of PSC or issue orders and redefine recruitment criteria outside the law. It cannot instruct the PSC or any other executive body.

Dambazau should declare his stand: we hope he will be objective and stand by equity, reason and national interest. The unity of Nigeria, fragile at the best of times, is constantly being tested by such brazen assaults on fairness and justice. Senators should be responsible and stop further alienation of significant sections of the polity by brazen manipulation.

The Nigeria Police needs urgent reforms and reorientation, featuring a new type of leadership. There should be an immediate independent staff audit since the police cannot even give an accurate head count. While Okiro, a former IG, says the Force has 286,901 personnel, the current IG said that the staff strength was 338,490 and required 116,510 more to reach its optimum. In the recent past, a figure of 370,000 police personnel had been bandied about. In this era of cost-saving, Buhari and the Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, should demand a fool-proof staff audit before releasing funds to the Force.

The PSC should, in the meantime, ignore any illegal intrusion into its work and stick with the time-tested quota based on equal number of recruits from each of the 36 states.

ThE elections of 2015 could not have sufficiently defined Nigeria’s political future like 2019 may.The nation has never been so divided like it’s today

under President Muhammadu Buhari. One of the reasons being that as a leader, Buhari appears to lack the skills and diplomatic wisdom to administer complex and knotty matters.

he came along with roughly charted leadership objectives, and more, with a personal weakness of insularity. By training and persona, he has a narrow world view.

Would you put blame on him? The military only came into active political participation in Nigeria owing to the woeful performance of the political class. It was due to the abuse of the political system that threw up mediocre elements from all corners to try their hands in Nigeria’s leadership.

Buhari was one of such those candidates who surfaced from the subterranean slug of Nigeria’s leadership failures. he came to power in 2015 as a democratically elected president.

In responding to Nigeria’s challenges, Buhari reached down yet again to his customary military habits of gun-shootings-the command structure approach, which is most likely to impair the character of any democratic society. he succeeds with it, and the aftermath is a nation cut into fragments of regional hostilities, angst, and loss of goodwill in his capacity to lead a united country.

here we are, at sea, in the middle of a broken society, a thoroughly despondent mass of anguished Nigerians, and a divided political class bereft of creative ideas. The rash of civil agitations across the country is simply the echo of the level of disenchantment within the rank and file of the civil society.

This sums up Buhari’s achievements in the last one year and it’s looking likely that he has already lost the plot, the initiatives to rebound Nigeria.

The country may be moving into a political future that is significantly altered. Many Nigerians are feeling more and more insecure within Nigeria and about Nigeria, even from afar, setting off huge feelings of national and common social distrusts, perhaps an attitude arising from practice and endorsements of nepotism and favouritism by the current administration in many fronts.

Another, a blind and unskilful handling of the economy, and other sundry matters of national priority.

Nigerians are likely to be confronted with feelings of apathy in the coming elections in 2019, and in the coming political dispensation, having had spells of disappointing leadership performance under Buhari and his predecessors. They are likely to come out with fragmented visions of Nigeria, a frightening memory of hardship and sufferings. And mostly, an insecure electoral climate.

Some grave national events that shaped 2016 like the shootings of pro-Biafra protesters in Aba and Onitsha in the South-East by Nigerian soldiers, unlawful detentions, prejudiced handling of the Fulani herdsmen menace, militarisation of the Niger Delta conflicts, could probably set down this administration as one political misadventure.

Come 2019, Nigeria will be up and against a citizenry dogged by cynical visions. The rise in ethno-national agitations is rife.

What should bother Buhari’s administration but sadly doesn’t, is how to steer Nigeria back to course, and salve the wounds of its afflicted people. The lack of creative communications and inspiring, coordinated information management by his appointed mouthpieces further exposes the citizenry to the motif of self-isolation. Nigerians look to an inspiring voice of hope, an effective leader-led synergy built on trust and mutual understanding of a common national vision. But these are apparently not present.

What is left of Nigeria is in the hands of its masses-the prime movers of its destiny. Nigerians have the genetics to redeem Nigeria by their enormous gift of doggedness.

After nearly 20 years of democratic experimentation, Nigerians would have learnt by discernment, to rightly choose leaders with honest intents and right capacities to lead a right.

They need to look ahead, and draw from the present context an enriching political wisdom to vote into power candidates who can represent their best deserving.

Buhari’s administration has ample opportunity to rekindle hope in the hearts of the people by retooling its leadership architecture.

Playing filthy games with police recruitmentBuhari and Nigeria’s

political future

• Steve Orji, London, United [email protected]


viewpoint

depend on wholly for economic upturn.When a nation is in economic crisis calling for the injection of

stimulus into the economy, the private sector usually first comes to the mind of government because they are believed to have established structures and possess an inherent degree of efficiency that can utilise the stimulus to cause economic upturn through increased production and employment. However in Nigeria, we have a private sector economy that has no root. There is no industrial root; no educational, research and development, integrity, work ethic, patriotic roots. The claim to efficiency of the private sector is exaggerated. We have the example of the privatised electricity generation and distribution. The level of efficiency and service delivery seems to be worse under the private sector compared to when the facilities were run by a government agency. The consistent poor service of the mobile telephony companies in Nigeria is another evidence of gross ingrained efficiency of our private sector. The private sector in Nigeria does not have robust structure that can be used to resuscitate the economy. We have the evidence of the Central Bank Governor that the scarce foreign exchange made available to the private sector was not used for production but in importing manufactured goods from other countries for sale; meaning that they did not generate additional employment from production. There is also evidence that our private sector is corrupt, unproductive and unpatriotic. The example of the fuel subsidy fraud by the private sector is an open secret. They engage in corruption which undermines government programmes designed to induce greater productivity and increased employment. An example here is the Federal Government’s Export Expansion Grant which in response to pressure from the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria was designed to encourage increased export of locally produced goods to diversify foreign exchange earnings and generate more employment. An investigation inaugurated by the Federal Ministry of Finance showed that huge fraud was perpetrated in this scheme as the Nigerian private sector floated companies that produced nothing but claimed foreign exchange as subsidy.

There is additional evidence that previous subsidies of the private sector had borne no fruit. This can be exemplified by the subsidies that had been provided for our banks whose effect was not felt by the public but it rather deepened the feeding bottle mentality of the banks fastening their mouth on the teats of the

THERE appears to be a consensus that the Federal Government will need to stimulate the economy by pushing more money

into the society. Government itself has stated that its recovery programme will be private sector-driven; and through some social safety net measures such as the school feeding system and direct employment of teachers. There is no doubt that a multi-pronged approach will need to be taken to make life more bearable for the people and set the foundation for a truly diversified economy. This article recommends that a large fraction of the stimulation should be done through the people and not the so-called private sector. This position is premised on two reasons. One, the formal private sector in Nigeria is inefficient, unimaginative and complicit in the corruption-induced quagmire in which we have found ourselves and therefore cannot be relied upon as the major driver of (re)building the national economy. Secondly, at this stage of our national development and given the conundrum in which we have found ourselves, the state should participate more directly in programmes that will rescue the economy by involving the people. The aim of government is the welfare of the people and not profit.

The Nigerian private sector is part of the nation’s problems in significant ways. The private sector usage in Nigeria means the formal or organised private sector engaged in big time industrial, construction, banking and service provision employing masses of people. The Small and Medium Scale enterprises as being conceived mimic the formal private sector and hope to transform into it; thus, they are conditioned to have the same mentality. The critical feature of the private sector is that it is profit-driven; that is that making profit is its only goal. This drives its efficiency and ruthlessness. If they do not make profit at the level they envisage, they attack their employees and may even close shop. The number of industrial concerns that have re-located from Nigeria during economically difficult times is instructive. We can also recall here when the backward integration to agriculture was the vogue by industrial concerns in Nigeria. Once they could not make success/profit from it, they back tracked. The private sector establishments are private concerns and they are not about patriotism irrespective of what they mouth. While they are entitled to their modus operandi, the point being made is that they are birds of flight that no nation in the type of difficulty Nigeria is will

Stimulating the economy through the people (1)Poju Akinyanju

Amnesty vs Nigerian Army: Who is telling the truth?

The Nigerian Army and the international human rights group, Amnesty International,

have a long history of engagement. While the army as a fighting force engages with the nation’s enemy and has a responsibility to protect Nigeria’s territorial integrity, Amnesty is a non-governmental organisation focused on human rights with over seven million members and supporters around the world.

The stated objective of the AI, according to the information on its site, is “to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated.” The group was founded in London in 1961, following the publication of the article, “The Forgotten Prisoners”, in The Observer on May 28, 1961, by the lawyer, Peter Benenson.

Since its existence, the group has been drawing attention to human rights abuses and campaigns for compliance with international laws and standards. It works to mobilise public opinion to put pressure on governments that let abuse take place. The organisation was awarded the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize for its “campaign against torture,” and the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights in 1978.

Amnesty works in various parts of the world, but it is in its engagement in Nigeria that the group has met with the most resistance. When Boko Haram began its terror campaign in the North-East zone of Nigeria in 2009, the Nigerian Army was drawn into the conflict to defeat the sect and restore peace in a region where it had gained foothold in its bid to establish a caliphate.

Since 2009, the Boko Haram terror war is reported to have claimed about 20, 000 lives. But the Nigerian Army has also been accused

national treasury as the implementation of the Treasury Single Account has exposed. Finally, a reason why the government should look beyond the private sector in stimulating the economy is that there is evidence that nations in our stage of development and with the type of crisis we have on hand who invested in the people directly through increased state-directed economic activities were able to build economic structures that rescued the nations and became enduring. The economic mode employed by, for example, Britain, China and Russia (USSR) at the stage of building the base of their development is different from what they employ now. Mouthing or aping the practices in economies that are at a different stage of development and with character totally different from ours will always result in frustrations, even catastrophes. Consequently, government should design programmes that will stimulate the economy through direct involvement of the people. There is a myriad of possibilities in this regard if Government puts its mind to it. This article makes two suggestions.

The first suggestion is that the government should establish new farm settlements. This is not a novel concept in Nigeria. Part of the strategies of the Awolowo-led administration in the then Western Region was the establishment of such settlements which provided employment, produced food for the people and served as a focal point to modernise agriculture. The Federal Government should establish one farm settlement per state; each state three farm settlements, one in each senatorial district; and each Local Government (with some grant aid from the Federal Government) one settlement each. This will give us 918 farm settlements. If on the average 100 farmers are settled in each settlement, we will pull 91,800 persons off the unemployment pool. The settlers will be drawn from the pool of unemployed university graduates of Agriculture, Engineering and Science and those with diploma and certificates in these areas. Any other unemployed person with a flair for farming may be considered. If we provide that each settler will have access to five hectares of land to farm, we will put additional 459, 000 hectares under cultivation (some variation for the riverine area and completely urbanised local governments will occur here). This is a complex but straight forward scheme whose implementation can begin within six months of initiation. The governments will have to acquire the land and do the initial clearing. We may have a residual structure for this in the NALDA.

ensure that the rule of engagement is observed by both sides of the conflict. In several reports, the group has indicted both the army and the Boko Haram sect for gross human rights violations.

While the international community has condemned Boko Haram brutalities, the military has also been condemned for rights violations. This has prompted arms embargo especially by the United States.

Since 2009, apart from those that have been killed in suicide bombings or kidnapped by Boko Haram, the army has been reported to have extrajudicially murdered those suspected to be members of Boko Haram or have sympathy for the group. In several reports, Amnesty documented what it alleged to be human rights violations committed by the Nigerian troops.

In its November 2012 report entitled, “Nigeria, in the cycle of violence”, AI reported how the brutal actions of Nigeria’s security forces in response to Boko Haram’s campaign of terror were making an already desperate situation grow worse.

The report documented the atrocities carried out by Boko Haram as well as the serious human rights violations carried out by the security forces in response, including “enforced disappearance, torture, extrajudicial executions, the torching of homes and detention without trial.“

The cycle of attack and counter-attack has been marked by unlawful violence on both sides, with devastating consequences for the human rights of those trapped in the middle,” Amnesty had reported. Hundreds of people accused of having links to Boko Haram were said to been arbitrarily detained or killed by the Joint Task Force.

In 2013, AI again reported the deaths of hundreds of people in detention facilities run by the JTF. It called for investigation to be carried

out as a matter of urgency. In the report, AI said it received credible information from a senior officer in the Nigerian Army that over 950 people had died in military custodies in the first six months of 2013 alone.

Most of the deaths were said to have occurred in facilities used by the military to detain people suspected of being members of or associated with Boko Haram. A large proportion of the deaths was reported to have happened in Giwa military barracks, Maiduguri in Borno State and Sector Alpha, commonly referred to as “Guantanamo” and Presidential Lodge in Damaturu.

In 2014, gruesome video images released by Amnesty and testimonies said to be have been gathered from victims by the group provided fresh evidence of war crimes, including extrajudicial executions, and other serious human rights violations being carried out in the North-East by the army and Boko Haram.

The footage had revealed graphic evidence of multiple war crimes of detainees having their throats slit one by one and dumped in mass graves by men who appeared to be members of the Nigerian military and the “Civilian Joint Task Force”, state-sponsored militias. It also showed the aftermath of a Boko Haram raid on a village in which the armed group killed nearly 100 people. Again in 2014, a report titled, “Welcome to Hell Fire”, detailed the use of torture by the Nigerian military. In a 2015 report entitled, “Stars on their Shoulders, Blood on their hands: War Crimes Committed by the Nigerian military”, Amnesty indicted some top army generals whom it said committed grievous war crimes.

The group called on the Nigerian government and the United Nations to investigate the alleged crimes. Amnesty had reported, “The Nigerian military, including senior military commanders, must be investigated for participating, sanctioning or failing to prevent the deaths of more than 8,000 people murdered, starved, suffocated, and tortured to death.”

In February 2016, AI condemned the Buhari government for the reinstatement of Maj. Gen. Ahmadu Mohammed whom it had indicted in the 2015 report along with eight other senior commanders for their alleged criminal responsibility in war crimes including the deaths of more than 8,000 of detainees. Amnesty also indicted Boko Haram too.

Strikingly, the Nigerian Army’s response to the reports has been characteristic. It has always denied the allegations and labelled the group as a destabilising agent. So, who is telling the truth? As a citizen, I believe the AI reports present the opportunity for soul searching. It offers the army to review its engagement. I believe the army is not infallible. Given their antecedents in Odi and Zaki Biam and onslaughts against IPOB and Shiites, where scores of villagers and protesters were killed in reprisals, the army must re-strategise to be a modern fighting force that respects the rules of engagement and minimises collateral damage while protecting the human rights of locals caught in conflict situations. Amnesty as a group must also realise the difficulties of fighting a terror war. It must also seek to be partners in the war against terror. But it must never fail in its duty to expose human rights violations. We build a better country when security forces respect human rights and protect the vulnerable in our midst.

Final word…Dear readers, as you read this piece today, it

will be the last time this column will appear in this great paper. I must admit it’s been an exciting four years of engaging with the issues in our country. In these past years, I have written and engaged with you. I have made friends and there are also those who have disagreed with me. But in the end, our country has always benefitted when we debate the issues and the superior argument wins. I thank the management of PUNCH newspapers for the opportunity to have been part of an amazing team of writers. So long!

Twitter: @bayoolupohunda

of extrajudicial killings in its campaign to flush out the terrorists. In the course of the conflict, Amnesty International has worked in the North-East to

[email protected] Olupohunda

To be concluded• Prof. Akinyanju is of the Department of Microbiology,

University of Ilorin. ([email protected])


viewpointWhy Dasuki, Kanu, El-Zakzaky may never be tried

OnE thing that has been clear since last year’s inauguration of Muhammadu Buhari as nigeria’s President is that he

does not feel comfortable with the way the judiciary and the legislature overrule him on many issues. Left to him, the moment he pronounces anyone guilty, that person should be jailed. And if he does not like any law of the land, he should be able to amend it or repeal it and proceed as he wishes without having to get the permission of the national Assembly.

Unfortunately, that is not the situation. And one can see that the President does not feel happy with this situation.

In August, Buhari asked for emergency powers to tackle the economy. That did not sail through. Some devil’s advocates have even asked that the constitution be suspended to give him a free hand to rule the nation.

next week (December 14), it will be one year since the nigerian Army invaded the homes of members of the Shia Muslims in Kaduna, shot a minimum of 347 dead, and took away the leader of the group, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, and his wife. For that one year, neither the government nor the army has uttered a word about the whereabouts of El-Zakzaky or why he is being detained without any legal backing. But most curiously, in that one year, El-Zakzaky was never charged to court, neither did the government obtain a court order authorising it to detain him for security reasons in line with the constitution. He was just taken away, locked away and kept out of circulation as “His Excellency” pleases.

Last week, following a case filed by El-Zakzaky, the court ordered that he be released unconditionally within 45 days and that a house be built for him in addition to a payment of n50m damages to him. These are some of the reasons Buhari does not like the courts and the national Assembly. When he tries to do things “in the national interest,” these two arms of government come up with their own decisions that run counter to his views. This was how he wanted to borrow $29.96bn in October and the national Assembly shot it down. Imagine such effrontery! Questioning and thwarting the plans of the President!

Similarly, a former national Security Adviser, Col Sambo Dasuki (retd.), was arrested on December 1, 2015 over the alleged misappropriation of the funds meant for arms procurement, while

[email protected] 0809-8727-263 (sms only)

Azuka Onwuka Mr. nnamdi Kanu of the Indigenous People of Biafra was arrested on October 14, 2015. One year after, there is no concrete sign to show that the Federal Government is keen on seeing them tried in the law court. It seems the Federal Government is more concerned about ensuring that their cases are delayed as long as possible. Therefore, the government employs tactics like amending the charges, dropping some counts, adding fresh ones, and asking for endless adjournments. Given the weight of the accusation against Dasuki and the hoopla that has been raised about it, one would have thought that the government would be eager to start the court case, so as to quickly find Dasuki and all his accomplices guilty and jail them, to serve as a warning to everybody. The same goes for Kanu and the weight of accusation against him.

But it seems the government does not want to try them. It just feels satisfied having them locked up and denied any opportunity to get bail, no matter how many times the courts grant them bail. In addition, the Federal Government has applied to have veiled witnesses appear against the two. One wonders what it is hiding that it cannot try these two with witnesses who are not masked, given its claim that it has a mountain of evidence against them.

Why is President Buhari not eager to see these men face trial in a court of law? The reason is simple. He is not certain that the court will find these men guilty. In his media chat last year - the only one in his 19 months in office - he made it clear that these men were guilty. If the court finds them innocent and discharges them, that will not make him happy. So, the only alternative is to personally “punish” them by keeping them in detention as long as he is in office, to teach them a lesson, while demonising them by periodically releasing information that paints them in bad light.

Given his antecedents with court orders, it is unlikely that Buhari will obey last week’s order made by the court on El-Zakzaky. He will find a way around it, and it will be justified by those who make it their duty to justify anything the President does.

But one thing that cannot be denied President Buhari is his ability to speak as his mind thinks, without trying to be politically correct or diplomatic. Buhari is an open book that is easy to read and understand. That is why in close to two years, he has only had one media chat in nigeria. But any time he travels out – especially to the Western Hemisphere – he is compelled to address people and respond to their questions, and such forums usually produce one statement considered as a gaffe. That was how gaffes about those who gave him 97 per cent vote versus those who gave him five per cent arose as well as the gaffe on his wife belonging to

his kitchen, his sitting room and the other room. But in nigeria where he can avoid live interviews or ex tempore speeches, he avoids them because his blunt comments may run against public opinion.

Buhari’s democratic and human rights record since last year has been abysmal. The recent indictment of the nigerian Army under his watch by Amnesty International on the killing of 150 IPOB civilians was another dent on his record. The report showed that soldiers shot at civilians who had gathered to pray, killed those who were already injured and arrested, and poured acid on some injured people to intensify their pain and hasten their death. IPOB said that contrary to the 150 reported killed by Amnesty International, 2,000 of their members have been killed in the last one year by security agents. The Shiites have been killed in similar fashion since last year. And all this is happening in a democracy under a civilian President.

Interestingly, when IPOB members were being killed last year, some Shiites justified it or kept quiet because IPOB members were Igbo and Christians. now that the killings have affected them, they have begun to raise their voices against the killing of civilians. Many other nigerians who are neither Igbo nor Shiites are either justifying the killings or looking the other way. In line with the “Turn by Turn nigeria Limited,” coined by Chief Bode George during the first term of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as president, who knows when the killings will be their turn? It may be students protesting. It may be mothers protesting. It may be people protesting electoral fraud. Then the silent nigerians will find their voices.

It reminds us of the famous poem by Martin niemöller on the systematic, group-by-group repression by the nazis:

When the nazis came for the communists,I remained silent;I was not a communist.When they locked up the social democrats,I remained silent;I was not a social democrat.When they came for the trade unionists,I did not speak out;I was not a trade unionist.When they came for the Jews,I remained silent;I wasn’t a Jew.When they came for me,there was no one left to speak out.

IT is a tough task for anyone to defend Pastor TB Joshua these days. Just when you think the

worst is over for him, he plunges into more self-destruct. His latest misadventure was needless. Though many nigerians keenly followed the US presidential election, I am not sure anyone expected any significant change in our fortunes or misfortunes no matter who won. We liked the drama, the twists and turns, the scandals, the accusations and counteraccusations, the debates and permutations. In some way, the US election reminded us of what we are not. The transparency and perhaps the entertainment value provided us some respite from the gloom and doom that have become our reality.

But for Joshua, this was an opportunity to shine and redeem an image that has taken a bashing on many fronts in recent times. Obviously relying on polls and media coverage that gave it overwhelmingly to the Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, the man of God as we call them here declared that God had showed him that the next President of the United States would be Clinton. To be fair to the prophet, he really did not categorically mention the name Hilary Clinton. What he said was that a woman would win. So, I have been trying to make excuses for our embattled prophet but I must confess that the more I try, the more my logic flies in the face of common sense.

So, what if Joshua was merely speaking in parables? Do we not know that men of God do not speak literal language? Are we not aware of the several parables Jesus told which even confounded the supposedly learned Pharisees and Sadducees of his time? Has it not occurred to many of us that Joshua might have been speaking in parables when he said a woman would win the US election? Maybe, the prophet’s message was that we might have a sitting male President in Donald Trump but the buttons of power would be pushed behind the scenes by a

Osagie Ogunbor

TB Joshua and his Us election predictionwoman - maybe Melania, his wife, or Ivanka, his daughter. Did we not see that Ivanka sat in at his recent meeting with the Japanese leader? Maybe, this is what the prophet meant when he said we do not operate at his spiritual frequency and therefore cannot understand spiritual messages laden in parables. Well, this prophesy did not sound like a parable. Joshua said a woman would win. He did not say a woman would wield great power over the sitting president. If that was the case, why didn’t he say so especially as he knew he was talking to spiritual infants that need spoon feeding. Again, does Trump’s personality suggest in anyone’s wildest imagination that he would be a puppet for anyone? Far from it. So, my argument that this prediction might have just been a parable of some sort clearly falls flat against any reasonable logic. But I did not give up.

So, what if the man of God was merely referring to the popular votes which won? In this case, his explanation might be that the US Electoral College was unknown to the spiritual realm where he operates. In fact, Joshua toed this line in the face of social media backlash after it emerged that Clinton had lost. The argument was not only laughable, it worsened a bad situation as many thought it was proof of how naïve these so-called religious leaders think we are. How can a man who was so specific to the point of predicting that the female winner of the election would have problems working with the US Congress when she assumes office, then turn around with this electoral versus popular vote nonsense?

As I thought more about the US Electoral College system, it dawned on me that maybe, we have been too hasty in concluding that the election had been won and lost. Technically, the votes of the people do not directly elect the President of the US. It is the Electoral College electors that elect the President. Since the election results were announced, there’s been

some talk about a possible revolt by the electors in the Electoral College who will formally vote on December 19. What if 37 electors decide to desert Trump to deprive him of his majority Electoral College lead? Joshua would have been proved right. But wait a minute, even in the event of a most unlikely Electoral College revolt, the Presidency would not automatically be handed over Clinton but it would deprive Trump of 270 votes and then throw the election to the GOP-controlled House of Representatives. Will the Republicans throw away this lifetime opportunity and proclaim Clinton, President? Well, this is quite possible in dreamland, not today’s America.

In my desperate bid to defend the prophet, I asked myself more questions. What if this prophet truly heard from God and somehow God changed His mind? Have we not read in the Bible of instances where God sent prophets to deliver a particular message only to change His mind and cause the prophet much embarrassment?

Jonah was one such prophet. We all know the popular Sunday School story of how Jonah tried to avoid prophesying to the people of nineveh but got swallowed by a fish that eventually berthed him on the shores of nineveh after three days and three nights. Jonah eventually delivered God’s message to the people of nineveh that they will be destroyed for their wickedness and sinful life. It did not happen. The people prayed and even compelled all their animals and pets to fast. God spared them but Jonah was so embarrassed that he begged God to take his life for “it is better for me to die than to live,” he said (Jonah 4: v2)

As if Joshua was reading my mind, he was recently reported as telling his congregation that God simply changed his mind following the prayer of the American people. The Republicans heard that a notable cleric in nigeria had prophesied a Clinton victory. So, just like the

people of nineveh declared total prayer to avert the wrath of God, the Trump camp declared total fasting and prayers to avert a Clinton victory. How ridiculous. So, in the last three weeks, Joshua has given three explanations of the same prophecy. First, he tried to deny the reality that he had goofed by making the popular votes argument; then, he declared that we do not operate in his spiritual wavelength and cannot therefore understand his message. The latest is that God changed his mind after one group of supporters prayed.

These must be tough times for the cleric’s Public Relations and reputation management team. It is about time they told him to keep quiet and save what’s left of his depleting personal brand equity. It is tough enough to defend a prophet who claimed he could see the winner of the US election but could not even foresee the collapse of parts of his church building which led to the death of several worshippers and then he turned around and blamed the tragedy on a hovering aircraft within the church airspace.

As illogical as this hovering aircraft argument sounds, the teeming worshippers at the Synagogue may have swallowed it hook line and sinker. Just as they would have swallowed the popular votes theory, the story about God changing His mind and anything else that proceeds from the mouth of Prophet Joshua. They would tell you how a prophet is with honour except in his home; how the Lord commands us to “touch not His anointed and do His prophet no harm”. And don’t be surprised if these are some of the most popular biblical verses in your church. Our religious leaders know their flock and they strategically propagate these self-serving verses for a reason. It’s the only way they can get away with murder.

• Ogunbor wrote in from Lagos via [email protected]

economyFG bans importation of vehicles

through land borders

business &

NSE All-ShArE INdEx AS At MoNdAy, dEcEMbEr 5, 2016

OPENING – 25,740.83CLOSING – 25,743.03

5 Oil prices as at December 5, 2016

ExchANgE rAtES

ICE Brent $54.96 + 0 . 5 0Nymex $51.92 + 0 . 2 4DME Oman $52.12 + 0 . 3 9Natural Gas $3.65 + 0 . 2 1

Flight scheduleFirst NatioN airways

Los – abj (MoN – Fri) 0650; 0930; 1145; 1600 0650 (saturdays)1145 (saturdays)1145 (suNdays)1600 (suNdays)abj – Los (MoN – Fri) 0900; 1130; 1340; 1830 0900 (saturdays) 1340 (saturdays)1340 (suNdays) 1830 (suNdays) Lagos – Port Harcourt 1445 (MoN – Fri) 1615 (saturdays)1445 (suNdays) Port Harcourt – Los 1650 (MoN-Fri)1820 (saturdays)1650 (suNdays)

Medview Airlines

los-Abv: 07:00; (Mon-Fri)los-Abj: 8:50; (Mon-Fri)los-Abj: 12:00 (Mon-Fri)los-Abj: 15:30 (Mon-Fri)Abj-los: 09:00 (Mon-Fri)Abj-los: 14:00 (Mon-Fri)Abj-los: 15:00 (Mon-Fri)Abj-los: 18:30 (Mon-Fri)los-Abj: 10:00 (sAt)los-Abj: 15:00 (sAt)Abj-los: 17:30 (sun)Abj-los: 18:30 (sun)Overland airways

SCHEDULE (WEEKDAYS)

LAGOS-ILORIN 0715HRS DAILY

ILORIN-LAGOS 1730HRS TUE & THUR

ILORIN-LAGOS 1830HRS MON,WED & FRI

IBADAN-ABUJA 0745HRS DAILY

ABUJA-IBADAN 1600HRS DAILY

ILORIN-ABUJA 0830HRS DAILY

ABUJA-ILORIN 1600HRS TUE & THUR

ABUJA-ILORIN1700HRS MON,WED & FRI

ABUJA-BAUCHI 1330HRS MON,WED & FRI

BAUCHI-ABUJA 1500HRS MON,WED & FRI

ABUJA-AKURE 1000HRS MON,WED & FRI

AKURE-ABUJA1130HRS MON,WED & FRI

ABUJA-JALINGO 1100HRS MON,WED & FRI

JALINGO-ABUJA 1300HRS MON,WED & FRI

WEEKEND FLIGHT SCHEDULE ROUTE SATURDAY SUNDAYLAGOS-IBADAN 0800HRS N/AIBADAN-LAGOS 1730HRS N/AIBADAN-ABUJA 1000HRS 1430HRSABUJA-IBADAN 1500HRS 1300HRSILORIN-ABUJA 0915HRS 1100HRSABUJA-ILORIN 500HRS 1700HRSLAGOS-ILORIN 0800HRS 0930HRS

ILORIN-LAGOS 1630HRS 1830HRS

DaNa air scHEduLE

Los-abv

8:01, 12:06, 13:05, 14:04, 16:29 (MoN-Fri)9:00, 13;05, 16:29 (suN)8:01, 12:06, 16:29 (sat)abv-Los 9:54, 10:53, 14:13, 16:02, 18:18 (MoN-Fri)10:53, 11:07, 18:18 (suN)9:54, 14:13, 18:18 (sat)

cbN (dEcEMbEr 2, 2016) buyINg SEllINg

Euro 323.8512 324.9165WAuA 411.2056 412.5583$ 304 305SWiSS 300.4546 301.443₤ 383.7696 385.032CFA 0.4741 0.4941

•L-R: Managing Director, Planet Projects Limited, Biodun Otunola; Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun; Secretary-General, Union of African Public Transport, Yssoufou Cisse; Training Director, International Association of Public Transport, Kaan Yildizgoz; and Head of Consulting, TfL, Michael Flynn, during the First International Rail Conference in Lagos …recently. Photo: Planet Projects

anna Okon

From next month, importation of vehicles through the land borders

will be prohibited, according to a new prohibition order issued by the Federal Government to that effect. The prohibition order covers all new and used vehicles.

A statement issued on monday by the Nigeria Customs Service indicated that the ban was sequel to a presidential directive restricting all vehicle imports to the seaports with effect from January 1, 2017.

The restriction on importation of vehicles follows that of rice, whose imports through the land borders had been banned since April 2016.

In the statement signed by its spokesperson, mr. Wale Adeniyi, the NCS advised importers of vehicles through the land borders to utilise the grace period up till December 31 to clear their vehicles landed in neighbouring countries’ ports.

The Federal Government had disclosed at a forum of the automotive industry on Friday that it would ban the importation of vehicles through land borders and enforce the presentation of roadworthiness certificates on such vehicles from their countries of origin before allowing them into Nigeria.

T h e D i r e c t o r - G e n e r a l , National Automotive Design and Development Council, mr. Aminu Jalal, who said this on behalf of the government, added that it was a means of controlling the influx of used vehicles, popularly called ‘Tokunbo’, into the country.

Stakeholders in the automotive industry had earlier called for strict regulation of the importation of vehicles, noting that poor

implementation of the auto policy introduced in the last quarter of 2013 by former President Goodluck Jonathan administration was driving down the volume of their products.

The auto policy prescribed the

imposition of 70 per cent tariff on imported cars, both old and new ones.

While importers of new cars are currently paying 70 per cent of the cost of the vehicles as import duty,

owners/importers of Tokunbo cars pay 35 per cent. The government has yet to enforce the implementation of the 35 per cent import duty on used cars, which ought to have commenced last year.

INSIDE

pages: 29, 30 & 34

page: 25money pages: 26 & 27stocks

infotech

23TUESDAY, DECEmBEr 6, 2016

’Femi asu

A new pipeline project to bring Nigerian gas through Africa to

Europe has been launched by the sovereign wealth funds of Nigeria and morocco in the latest attempt to link the country’s vast gas resources with the European market.

The Trans-African Pipeline would be developed jointly by the moroccan sovereign wealth fund, Ithmar Capital, and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, the partners said on monday.

The governments of Nigeria and morocco on monday announced that they would jointly develop a new regional gas pipeline “connecting the two countries, bringing the resources of Nigeria to morocco, its neighbours and Europe.”

“The pipeline will run an estimated 4,000 kilometres along the west coast of Africa and the countries through which it runs and the exact route will be determined as the project moves forward, based on further research,” a spokesman for Ithmar told S&P

...stops 571,000 tonnes of rice from entering NigeriaOkechukwu Nnodim, abuja

ThE Federal Government on monday announced that 571,000

tonnes of foreign rice warehoused in neighbouring countries were being targeted for the Nigerian market for the Christmas and New Year season, but vowed to stop their entry.

It also stated that Nigeria recently took delivery of 110 rice mills in its bid to enhance local production so as to commence the exportation of white

rice from next year.The minister of Agriculture and

rural Development, Chief Audu ogbeh, who disclosed these in Abuja, stated that some of Nigeria’s neighbours, particularly the republic of Benin, were not moving goods within the region as required by relevant treaties.

he, however, stated that the Federal Government would henceforth check all i l legal movements of food and non-food items into Nigeria from the neighbouring countries.

ogbeh said, “What they do is that they import goods, station themselves at our borders and then smuggle them into Nigeria. For instance, the republic of Benin doesn’t eat parboiled rice. They eat white rice. But all the rice that comes from the borders into Nigeria is parboiled.

“I have a list now of all the ships that left Thailand in the last seven weeks and they’ve arrived; 571,000 tonnes of rice waiting to enter Nigeria for Christmas. But we won’t allow that. We have to review the treaty in the region, because we are at the losing end. Why are we doing this? It is because this rice is not definitely grown in the republic of Benin.”

he added, “They bring tomato paste and chicken not produced in the republic of Benin and because the Nigerian market is so huge, that they want to exploit it. But no economy out of sympathy should damage our own and we should not out of sentiment allow anybody to do things to us, which we can’t do to them.

“When Dangote was trying to ship his cement through the republic of Benin to Togo, it took him one year

to persuade them.”ogbeh reiterated that the country

would start exporting rice from next year, as he stated that 110 mills had been acquired to make this a reality.

he said, “We can make it happen. We have just brought in 110 rice mills of different capacities. Some can do 100 tonnes, others 50, 40, 20 and 10 tonnes. We are going to give them to cooperative organisations and rice millers all over the country to enhance their milling capacities.

“We have another 12 rice mills to come in maybe next year so that the milling capacity is strong enough for us and we too will begin to export white rice to West Africa.”

on the issue of possible famine in Nigeria from January next year, the minister stated that the government was prepared and promised that the country would not experience such.

The minister stated, “We want to put it quite clearly that there is no danger of famine in the country, because the government will not allow that to happen. We are already taking steps to make sure that Nigerians don’t go through any such harrowing experience. There has been some panic over the massive purchase of grains from many of the big grain producing fields in some parts of the country.

“This fear was heightened by emirs and chiefs in the North, who met with us on Tuesday last week and raised the same anxiety. It is true that for the first time in our history, we are witnessing an extra-ordinary purchase of our grains from the West, North and Central Africa. We are even getting demands from as far as Namibia; they are asking for grains in large quantities of up to 37,000 tonnes of maize.”

Nigerian, moroccan wealth funds sign gas pipeline deal

Global Platts.“morocco and Nigeria are eager to

work with all countries in West Africa to ensure their economies and people benefit from the project,” he said.

It is unclear exactly the route the pipeline will take, though the developers foresee it following the coast. Following the coast, however, will mean a route that will need the participation of up to 13 other countries.

The shortest route to Europe will be via Niger and Algeria to morocco for further pipeline supply to Spain.

The spokesman said the routing had yet to be finalised, but that talks were expected with countries in the region.

The two sovereign wealth funds announced the signing of a strategic partnership agreement and a memorandum of Understanding that would see the two countries cooperate on bilateral investment for the first time in recent history.

“The project will strengthen energy exports to Europe, linking Nigerian gas to the European energy market through morocco,” Ithmar said.


economybusiness &

•L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Red Star Express Plc, Mr. Sola Obabori; recipient of the Fellowship of the Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria and Director, Red Star Express Plc, Mr. Isaac Orolugbagbe; his wife, Modupe; past President, SCGN, Dr. Christopher Kolade; and Divisional Managing Director, Red Star Express, Mr. Charles Ejekam during the annual President’s Dinner and induction ceremony of SCGN in Lagos...recently. Photo: Red Star Express

’Femi Asu with agency report

AS the scarcity of the United States dollar

continues to hamper the importation of petroleum products by marketers, the Central Bank of Nigeria has asked banks to submit bids for a “special currency auction.”

The auction is targeting fuel importers to meet demand for matured letters of credit, Reuters quoted traders as saying.

Traders said the CBN sent a message to the banks on Monday to submit backlog dollar demands from fuel importers by 3.00pm for a special intervention.

Fuel shortages often occur in the country during festive periods such as Christmas and Muslim holidays.

Traders said the government wanted to ensure that fuel retailers had enough products, so it was channelling dollars to them and also to avoid shortages, which in May crippled banking, airline and telecom services.

CBN to sell dollars to fuel importersThe country consumes

45 million litres of petrol a day, or roughly 280,000 barrels, which will require the market to provide some $18m a day.

Importers cover about 30 per cent of this, with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation covering the rest, which is a big strain on the market for dollars.

A top official of one of the marketers’ associations told our correspondent that many of the traders had continued to depend on the supply from the NNPC as they could not access dollars to import.

“I know a few of the marketers are still importing directly, but not as much as we would have loved to see. A good number of them are still depending on the NNPC cargoes. We are definitely not importing as much as we should,” he said.

It was not clear at what rate the central bank would sell the dollars. In May, the government agreed a deal with international oil companies in the country to sell their dollars directly

to fuel importers to end months of scarcity partly caused by a currency shortage after it hiked fuel prices by 67 per cent, using an exchange rate of N285 per dollar.

The naira, which has been stuck at around 305

per dollar on the official market for more than two months since the CBN in June abandoned its dollar peg of 197 against the currency, eased to 314.90 at 11:15am on Monday. It was quoted at 484 on the black market.

Nigeria is in its deepest recession in 25 years, worsened by falling crude output as militants attacked oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta, and global prices remain low, choking off dollars needed to fund imports.

FG to meet workers’ union over NAICOM crisis

...to review Stamp Duty Act

The Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service, Technical and Recreational Services’ Employees has been involved in industrial dispute with the management of the commission.

The dispute led to the shutdown of the NAICOM headquarters twice this year, the first in March, while the second took place on November 23.

The union also wrote a petition to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, alleging mismanagement and breakdown of governance and administrative structure in the commission.

The development made

the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Alhaji Mahmoud Dutse, to intervene by summoning the management of NAICOM to a meeting last week Thursday.

Apart from for the allegation of mismanagement of funds and abuse of office by the management, the workers also called on the government to investigate the reason for the delay in migrating from the Compliance-Based Supervision to Risk-Based Supervision.

A top government official, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity as he was not officially permitted to speak on the matter, said that next

week’s meeting with the union would be presided over by Dutse.

The official said, “You will recall that there was a meeting last week at the Finance ministry with the management of NAICOM, which was presided over by the Permanent Secretary. It was made clear in that meeting that all the allegations levelled against the management by the union would be independently investigated.

“The ministry has heard from the management team during last week’s meeting, and the next phase now is to meet with the workers’ union to enable them to substantiate their allegations.”

Ifeanyi Onuba, Abuja

ThE Ministry of Finance will next week meet

with the workers’ union in the National Insurance Commission over the petition written by it alleging mismanagement in the organisation.

The meeting, according to sources in the ministry, is a follow-up to the one earlier held last week with the management of the commission.

It was gathered that the need to meet with the union officials was to enable them to substantiate the allegations levelled against the Commissioner for Insurance, Mohammed Kari, and some members of his management team.

The dollar shortage has caused many companies to halt operations and lay off workers, compounding an economic crisis.

The country has four refineries but decades of neglect mean it needs to import petroleum products.

Adeosun, Emefiele back BoI scrapping, bank kicksThE Bank of Industry has

kicked against the current move by the Senate to scrap it and establish the National Development Bank in its place.

The Acting Managing Director, BoI, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, made this known on Monday at a public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions on the establishment of the NDB.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; and the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, however, backed the Senate on the move.

A bill seeking to establish

Leke Baiyewu, Abuja the NDB had passed second reading in the Senate on October 12.

Titled: ‘A Bill for an Act to establish the National Development Bank, 2015’, and sponsored by Senator Ibrahim Gobir, it seeks to repeal the BoI, the Bank for Commerce and Industry Act and the National Economic Reconstruction Fund Act.

The bill further seeks to bring the total assets of the organisations under one body to be called the National Development Bank.

Olagunju, in his presentation, insisted that the BoI was already fulfilling the mandate of the proposed development bank.

The BoI boss stated that what was needed was more

funding of the bank by the Federal Government so as to increase its support to the real sector rather than duplicate functions with the establishment of another bank with a similar purpose.

Olagunju said, “We are of the opinion that the BoI, as presently constituted, is fulfilling the mandate envisaged in the proposed legislation by supporting genuine entrepreneurs. Therefore, it should be left to continue its operations as it is. The merger envisaged in the proposed bill has already taken place.

“The BoI should be provided with more capital to be able to further support the real sector instead of duplicating functions by

creating new development finance institutions, bearing in mind the failure of similar DFIs in the past, such as the NBCI, NERFUND, People’s Bank, Community Banks, etc.”

he added, “We advise that the National Assembly should support industrialisation by enacting legislation that will help create an enabling

environment for business to thrive, such as an amendment to the Land Use Act, tax incentives for SMEs and establishment of industrial parks.

“This will substantially address the demand challenges of finance for SMEs in Nigeria, as vagaries of the business environment have been making the sector

unattractive to private and public lenders.”

however, Adeosun, who was represented by a director in Ministry of Finance, Christopher Gabriel, said the ministry strongly supported the bill, adding that the proposal was in tandem with the economic reconstruction efforts of the Federal Government.

Everest Amaefule, Abuja

ThE Federal Government plans to review the Stamp

Duty Act, 2004, investigation has shown.

On the strength of the Act and a Central Bank of Nigeria directive to Deposit Money Banks, the banks have been

deducting N50 on every deposit into current accounts of N1,000 and above across the country since January.

however, ruling on an appeal filed by Standard Chartered Bank against Kasmal International Services Limited and 22 others, Justice Ibrahim Saulawa and four other justices of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Judicial Division, held that the Stamp Duty Act, 2004 did not impose a duty on the banks to deduct N50 on deposits.

According to the Appeal Court, electronic transactions were not covered in the Stamp Duty Act of 2004.

The ruling of the court has not stopped the banks from deducting the stamp duty on deposits of N1,000 and above. however, based on the ruling of the court, our correspondent learnt that the Federal Government was seeking a review and an amendment of the law.

I n v e s t i g a t i o n b y o u r correspondent showed that apart from amending the law to specifically accommodate electronic transactions, the Federal Government was also seeking to include the payment of stamp duty on deposits made

into savings account. The CBN had in a circular

in January mentioned only deposits made into current accounts, thereby excluding savings accounts. The current thinking is that expanding the duty to savings accounts will increase the money that the government can make through it.

Another purpose of the review of the Act is to legitimise the funds that the government has already amassed through the stamp duty. however, the concern among top government officials is how an amendment of the law can be made to apply retroactively.

The thinking in government circles is that the banks will not be honest to return the deductions that have already been made from the accounts of their customers if they are directed to do so.

Our correspondent had reported that the government was in the process of hiring forensic auditors to determine how much had already accrued through the duty as it did not trust that the banks had been faithful in remitting all the deductions to the Stamp Duty Account domiciled in the CBN.


moneyFG close to appointing banks

’Femi Asu with agency report

ThE Federal Government is close to appointing banks to

help underwrite the country’s first international bond since 2013 as the government deals with the worst fiscal crisis in 25 years.

Standard Chartered, Citi and Stanbic IBTC have been in talks with officials to arrange the Eurobond sale, according to sources close to the deal.

V i c e - P r e s i d e n t Y e m i Osinbajo has last week said the government hoped to conclude the sale of a $1bn Eurobond by the end of the first quarter of 2017.

The recent rise in global crude oil prices, coupled with expectations that Nigeria was making progress with plans to arrange loans from bilateral

and multi lateral lenders such as the World Bank, is expected to strengthen the country’s position in global capital markets after years in the cold.

T h e F i n a n c i a l T i m e s reported that a successful debt sale would mark the end of a year of repeated setbacks for Nigeria, adding that prices for existing debt had fallen sharply as investors had shied away from the country, unsettled by militant attacks in the Niger Delta.

Efforts by the country to tap the bond market earlier this year had been frustrated by volatile oil prices, currency weakness after the peg was abandoned in June and the government’s failure to implement further reforms demanded by the international community.

The head of Research at Ashmore Investment Management, Jan Dehn, said that even after the government abandoned its currency peg, there was a perception among investors that the naira could weaken further — leaving them reluctant to lend the country “hard” currencies such as dollars.

“People did not trust t h e c u rre n c y , ” h e s a i d . “ I t ’ s a d i f f icul t process for the country. [President Muhammadu] Buhari inherited a lot of problems including the difficulties with Boko Haram, the economy and the falling oil price.”

In spite of the removal of the currency peg, the official exchange rate remains far higher than the rate at which the currency changes hands in the black market.

Nigerian bankers and economists say the central bank is still managing the currency instead of allowing it to float freely.

But Kevin Daly, portfolio manager on the emerging market fixed-income team at Aberdeen Asset Management, says the rise in oil prices and move towards reform means there was scope for the country to tap debt markets. “Nigeria has very little external debt,” he added.

N i g e r i a f i r s t i s s u e d international debt in January 2011, tapping markets once again in mid 2013 to raise $1bn of five- and 10-year debt.

The yield on Nigeria’s bond due in 2023 jumped from 6.6 per cent almost 10 per cent earlier this year. It was said to be trading at 7.8 per cent.

Oil production in the country has fallen sharply as attacks on energy infrastructure curtailed supplies and compounded the effects of the price of its main export falling dramatically early in 2016.

T h e v a n d a l i s m a n d production challenges meant that the country was granted an exception to the recent OPEC agreement to cut output for the first time since the global financial crisis, the report stated.

ThE Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria,

Charles Kie, has said the bank wi l l cont inue to support projects that impact positively on the lives of the people and economic development of the country.

Kie stated this at the inauguration of Abia Retail Shopping Mall in Umuahia, Abia State where he was represented by the Team Lead, Medium and Local Corporates, Commercial Banking, South East, Jovita Okeahialam.

According to a statement, the bank has a deliberate policy to finance projects that stimulate development and have direct bearing on the people.

It said this was the motive behind the bank’s decision to be one of the financiers of the Abia Shoprite.

Kie said, “We find it quite fulfilling to be part of this project. This shopping mall will no doubt promote commerce, enhance peoples’ lives and, as a matter of fact, bring development to the state in general. We will continue to support such

ThE Chairman, United Bank for Africa Plc,

Mr. Tony Elumelu, has described entrepreneurship as the most secure route to sustainable development, calling on African leaders to create youth business champions.

he also called for a shared approach to African development, stressing that it was “the only route to achieving sustainable economic development, pol i t ica l s tabi l i ty and economic prosperity on the African continent.”

Elumelu stated this at the Tunisian government’s International Investment

Ecobank restates commitment to development projects

initiative on the continent.”The Managing Director, Abia

Retail Mall, Mr. Chuka Okoye, lauded Ecobank for being one of the key financials of the projects, stating that the bank’s support to developmental projects in the country and the state, in particular, was quite commendable.

h e c o m m e n d e d t h e support of the Abia State G o v e r n o r , D r . O k e z i e I k p e a z u ; t h e f o r m e r governor, Senator Theodore Orji; Chief Sam Onuigbo and his team members for making it possible for the project to be completed.

he assured them of good quality products in the mall and urged people to patronise it.

Also speaking at the event, Ikpeazu said the mall would be a hub of opportunities for people all over the world to do business.

he urged that made-in-Abia products such as shoes and bags be displayed alongside foreign ones, saying that the products w o u l d a t t r a c t m o r e customers because of their quality.

Elumelu wants leaders to create business champions

C o n f e r e n c e , w i t h 1 5 delegations representing the United Nations and several countries, including Germany, Canada, France, Q a t a r a n d A l g e r i a i n attendance, according to a statement from the bank.

S t r e s s i n g t h e n e e d t o e n c o u r a g e y o u t h engagement, he said, “It is imperative for African le ad e rs t o imp l e me nt growth policies that will see the youth as catalysts to development, thus avoiding the socio-economic crisis as experienced in Tunisia and other countries in Africa in past years.”

T h e U B A c h a i r m a n

p r o m i s e d t o s u p p o r t T u n i s i a ’ s e c o n o m i c t r a n s f o r m a t i o n b y investing in young aspiring entrepreneurs through his Tony Elumelu Foundation, w h i c h c h a m p i o n s entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs across the African continent as the catalyst for sustainable growth.

he pledged to help c a t a p u l t T u n i s i a n entrepreneurs into the next generation of top African business leaders through the $100m Tony E l u m e l u F o u n d a t i o n E n t r e p r e n e u r s h i p Programme.

for Eurobond sale


marketNSE daily activity summary (equities) 05/12/2016

Volume: 175.058 millionValue: N3.144bnDeals: 3,048

AT A GlAnCE Index: 25,743.03 Mkt cap: N8.855tn

capital


Stoires: Stanley Opara

GUinnESS nigeria Plc, Vitafoam nigeria Plc and

Red Star Express Plc emerged the top three losers on Monday at the close of trading on the floor of the nigerian Stock Exchange, as the All-Share index appreciated marginally.

The equities market began the week on a positive note, as ASi advanced by 0.01 per cent, bringing the year-to-date return of the index to -10.12 per cent.

However, volume traded declined by 74.89 per cent, w h i l e m a r k e t t u r n o v e r advanced by 78.78 per cent. Market breadth was negative as 15 stocks advanced against 25 decliners.

T h e n S E m a r k e t capitalisation rose to n8.856tn from n8.855tn, while the ASi closed at 25,743.03 basis points from 25,740.83 basis points.

A total of 175.058 million shares worth n3.144bn were traded in 3,048 deals.

Forte Oil Plc led the gainers of the day after a share price increase of 10.24 per cent to n71.94. Other top gainers were Tota l niger ia Plc , Oando Plc and Transnational Corporation of nigeria Plc, which appreciated by 10.11 per cent, 7.80 per cent and 7.04 per cent, respectively.

Sector performance, as

Guinness, Vitafoam, Red Star top losers, index appreciatesmeasured by the nSE indices, showed that the oil and gas sector and food/beverages sector rose by 3.67 per cent and 0.04 per cent, respectively.

marketcapital

However, the industrial, insurance and banking sectors declined by 1.45 per cent, 1.16 per cent and 0.57 per cent, respectively.

HOnEYwEll Flour Mills Plc’s integrated food

complex in Sagamu, Ogun State will drive productivity in the company and boost shareholders’ value.

T h e c o m p a n y , i n a statement, said the structural expansion would help the company s trengthen i t s operation and cushion the effects of the current economic challenges.

V i c e P r e s i d e n t Y e m i Osinbajo, recently visited the Honeywell foods and agro-allied industrial complex to inspect ongoing developments, where the Chairman of the company, Dr. Oba Otudeko, unveiled its transformation initiative to accelerate nigeria’s quest for self-sufficiency in food production.

The project, for which c o n s t r u c t i o n a c t i v i t i e s commenced in 2014, the company reiterated, would see Honeywell invest about n64bn to develop a world-class integrated facility where economies of scale and scope would be leveraged to drive down costs and provide

Honeywell agro-allied facility to boost shareholders’ value

nigerians with more affordable food products.

T h e c o m p a n y h a s commenced work on the first three phases of the complex - initially with the construction of a pasta plant; followed by a sorghum flour mill and an animal feed mill.

“All factories will utilise local grains, tubers and oil seeds as raw materials to boost farming activities and agriculture in execution of Honeywell’s backward i n t e g r a t i o n a n d i m p o r t substitution strategy,” the company said.

Following a detailed tour of the site, Osinbajo had commended Honeywell ’s patriotic efforts at reducing food imports and creating employment in the a l l -important food manufacturing and agriculture sectors of the economy.

He reiterated the Federal Government’s resolve to work with and support private sector players who demonstrated commitment to value addition and job creat ion in the economy.


technologyinformation

Why has your company continued to produce high-end mobile devices despite the economic

recession? High-end devices are now the leading device in the mobile

market industry, so we have to move with the tide of the industry. However, we are not forgetting our source, which is the low-end device. If we produce low-end devices alone, we will lose our customers who are craving for high-end devices to send e-mails, transact business and carry out other activities. We will continue to provide products that cover all segments in the Nigerian market.

Investigation shows that the economic recession in the country has affected the sale of mobile devices in the market. how is Tecno coping with this development?

The Nigerian economy is facing very big challenges, and it is obvious because the prices of phones have increased and the demand for smartphones has drastically decreased. Before now, our consumers normally will change their phones at least twice a year, but everything has changed now. Consumers now want more affordable phones. The economic recession has affected our sales; consumers now go for feature phones and smartphones between the range of N25,000 and N30, 000.

As a financial expert, how do you think Nigeria can come out of the recession?

Nigerians are very resilient and I have no doubt that the country will soon move out of recession. The government should invest in infrastructure and support the development

Economic recession has affected smartphone sales – Duan

The Country General Manager, Tecno Mobile, Eason Duan, speaks to OZIOMA UBABUKOH on how the company is managing recent after-sales complaints from consumers, among other issues

of the Small and Medium Enterprises; these will lead to wealth creation for the country and then boost the economy.

What is the company’s long-term market strategy

in Nigeria? Nigeria is one of our biggest markets on the continent; so,

we are committed to creating employment and contributing our quota to economic growth. Tecno has developed a blueprint of long-term strategy in the market and in years to come, we will be implementing this strategy to sustain our market dominance.

Is anything being done to correct the perceived

negative image of Tecno among Nigerians? We have our research and development team always taking

feedback about of our products from end users and we try to produce phones that are tailored towards what the Nigerian consumers need. However, don’t forget that our products come with a whole lot of features that are comparable to our global competitors, yet people don’t have to rip their pockets to purchase these products. They are affordable mobile devices. This has made it possible for Nigerians to have access to products that can help them do whatever they want to do on their mobile phones. These are the factors that have brought us to the level we are in today.

Many Nigerians do not fancy Tecno smartphones

because they are seen as not of high quality. Why is this so?

Tecno products are made with quality materials; these products also undergo approval processes of the regulatory bodies and government agencies in the country before they are sold in the Nigerian mobile device market. Before these phones are sold, we carry out several quality assurance tests to make sure that we are not bringing substandard products into the Nigerian market while keeping them affordable. We want to see that more Nigerians use quality and affordable mobile devices to enhance their lifestyle wherever they are and whatever they do.

Tecno consumers’ complaints about after-sales

service have not been pleasant. What could be the problem?

We are aware that after-sales service is key and a winning factor since we entered the Nigeria mobile market. Our partner for after-sales service is Carl Care. We have over 95 centres in Nigeria with over 100 well-trained engineers to deal with after-sales services. We also have 12 months warranty for our products and we make sure that any problem with Tecno products is resolved within 72 hours. We have one of the largest service centres for mobile phones in the country. You need to take a trip to our facility in Lagos. We have very comfortable offices for the repair of defective products and we have many spare parts for these devices in the country.


A new mobile app with the capacity to cut down

on activities of vandals and energy thieves in the electricity industry has been introduced into the country.

At the inaugurat ion of the software in Abuja, the acting Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Dr. Anthony Akah, said the use of the software would enable electricity distribution companies in the country to record a significant decline in power theft and vandalism.

Akah, who was represented at the event by the Deputy G e n e r a l M a n a g e r , Engineering and Standards, Mr. Abdul Mohammed, said the app would transform the manual reporting system that was already established in the electricity industry by NERC.

The software, Hawk Eye, developed by Web Assets Nigeria Limited, enables electricity distribution

Firm introduces app to curb vandalism, power theftcompanies to address challenges of infrastructure, such as vandalism resulting from the theft of transformer parts and loss of revenue due to power theft, according to the firm.

Hawk Eye would enable mobile phone users to report different types of crimes including service complaints.

With this, users could select crime types, capture and send videos, images or text messages of the crime, the firm said, adding that the crime report would be directed to the responsible s e c u r i t y a g e n c i e s f o r immediate response.

The Chairman, Web Assets Nigeria Limited, Mr. Kayode Aladesuyi, said about 30 per cent of power loss in the country was attributable to power theft.

He expressed appreciation to the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, whom he said insisted that the software available for download on Google App store should be

made free for every user in the country.

Aladesuyi also said that the software would be applicable to other areas including security and financial crimes as it could be used to send reports to the Economic and Financia l Cr imes Commission.

He said, “We are excited

to launch this project with Eko Electricity and Abuja Electricity. The industry needs user support to arrest the issue of power shortage; close to 30 per cent of power shortage in the country is due to utility theft, vandalism against power infrastructure.

“For most customers complaining about utility

rates, they should keep an eagle eye on neighbours illegally tapping into utility poles. This is a chance for each of us to key into the present administration’s change agenda to upturn our security alertness.”

The Managing Director of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, Mr . Ernest

Mupwaya, expressed the confidence of the company in the new software to assist in checking crimes in the power sector.

He also said that the company was addressing the issue of dilapidated electricity distribution infrastructure in rural communities within the company’s area of coverage.

PAN African Tower Company Limited has pledged to

serve over 70 per cent of mobile network operators in Nigeria and help to deepen broadband penetration in Africa.

The company said its major focus was on broadband penetration given that most African governments depended on it for growth and improvement of Gross Domestic Product.

Africa will need over 100,000 additional towers in the next five years to bridge the current gap in service quality,

which will enable companies to roll out the 4G Long Term Evolution and 5G broadband technologies.

However, Pan African Tower Company said it would have up to 35,000 mobile towers within the next five years to bridge the gap.

“This will be achieved through creative(not traditional) sale, leaseback of tower sites and modern build-to-suite with green technology at a very low cost, thereby taking advantage of the current advancement in technology and alternative energy

solutions,” the company’s Executive Director, Sohail Haider, said.

He said, “This will offer unparalleled value to mobile operators, in terms of low lease rate, to hedge against African currency volatility against dollar. It will help them match most MNOs’ revenue currency, which is mostly local and, by extension, value to telecoms consumers.

“With a projected portfolio of about 35,000 towers, Pan African Tower Limited will be the biggest tower company on the African

Tower firm promises to deepen broadband penetration continent with a holding company in Seychelles. This will be a relief to the MNO who are currently operating under high operating cost due to dollar-based lease payment for mobile towers across Africa, from the existing independent tower companies with old technologies and outdated business models.”

Haider added that it would “help Africa accelerate the much needed growth, create healthy competition and deliver value for stakeholders, most especially telecoms consumers.”

Ozioma Ubabukoh

• Duan

technologyinformation30 TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016

Ozioma Ubabukoh

MUlTiChoiCE has expanded its religion

genre on GOtv with the addition of Dove TV, the official television station of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

Introduced on December 5, 2016 on GOtv, Channel 83, Dove TV is available to GOtv Plus, Value and Lite subscribers in Benin, Ibadan, Lagos and Port Harcourt cities.

“Dove TV broadcasts w h o l e s o m e f a m i l y entertainment with high ethical values that appeal to children, the youth and the

Dove TV makes debut on GOtv

Ozioma Ubabukoh

ChipS Bits and Bytes has commenced a

nationwide training for teachers and academic instructors on how to use a new electronic technology and power solution in eradicating examination failure, especially among pupils, through a content-based interactive solutions.

The firm said that it


ThE Federal Government will soon set up a

technology development bank, the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, has said.

onu said this while briefing journalists in Abuja on the outcome of his trip to portugal and Argentina where he signed Memoranda of Understanding with the two countries for collaboration in science and technology development on behalf of the country.

The minister said the technology bank would help to fund science, innovation and technology-based start-ups in Nigeria.

According to him, the bank will be funded from the proposed National Research

Tech firm trains teachers in new e-learning technologypioneered the solution about 10 years ago and had since then silently resolved issues around e-learning for its vast clients.

Its Managing Director, Tunji Ola, said that no pupil should ever fail examination in Nigeria again, if the 21st century teaching methods were used.

According to him, the firm brings to schools a

solution that automates the entire teaching and learning process, which transforms schools from the regular white board marker and notebooks into an electronic interactive board and student-teacher computer experience.

“The most exciting part is the absolutely engaging, interactive and impactful e-contents for learners of all ages,” ola said.

“We also provide sustainable power solutions, inverter solutions and solar power systems for classrooms, hostels and offices within school,” he stated.

he said that the technology had a profound effect on every aspect of life, “and so, schools are investing wisely in the acquisition of technology to drive the teaching and

learning process, therefore, making learning more stimulating, enjoyable, productive and relevant for today’s digital learners.”

ola also said, “With our systems support solutions, we provide preventive, corrective and routine maintenance of systems and peripherals. All our deployments are sufficiently supported with teacher training and monitoring.”

According to him, Chips Bits and Bytes has been privileged to have served over 500 schools across the nation since

the development of the solution about 10 years ago.

he stressed that the desire of the firm was to see Nigerian schools fully equipped to meet global standards.

ola listed some of the schools already benefitting from the technology as Trinity international School, Ofada; Access Schools, Calabar; Karis School, Magodo, Lagos; hopespring Foundation School, Port Harcourt; Bloombered Schools, Port Harcourt; and Diamond Private School, Ikoyi, among others.

Govt to set up technology bank and Innovation Fund to assist Nigerians and inventors to bring their innovations to the market.

He said diversification of the nation’s economy without a strong science and technology base was not sustainable.

The minister also disclosed that a draft bill establishing the Science and Innovation Fund was ready to be presented to the National Council on Science and Innovation.

Onu said, “Diversifying the economy without science and technology will not make that diversification sustainable and it will not also make it competitive.

“It is only science and technology, research and innovation that can help us to be competitive because once we are competitive, our

efforts will be sustainable. “We in this ministry have

decided to find ways we can quickly close our technology gaps. The bank can only come into existence when we have the National Research and Innovation Fund because it is the fund that will establish

the bank.”The minister regretted

that the nation spent only about 0.22 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product on science, innovation and technology and expressed hope that the new bank would address the challenge.

Ozioma Ubabukoh

A Pan African web hosting company, Web4Africa,

says it has moved its web hosting services to Rack Centre, the Nigerian carrier neutral premium data centre collocation company.

Accredited by the Internet Corporation for assigned names and numbers, and the Nigerian internet Registration Association, and founded in 2002, Web4Africa offers web hosting, virtual

Web4Africa moves web hosting services to Rack Centre

Ozioma Ubabukoh

hUAWEi Technologies and Fortis Project

Limited have commenced the construction of an information and Communications Technology centre in the Eti-Osa East Local Council Development Area of Lagos State, which will aid young people to acquire computing skills.

Speaking at the inauguration of the project, the Sole Administrator of the Eti-Osa East LCDA, Mr. Tunde Ayeni, said that the centre would equally help the youth in their studies, “especially when they have to carry out researches.”

he said that the completion of the project would reduce gaps that were created as a result

Huawei, Fortis build ICT centre in Lagos community

of unemployment in the locality, saying, “Through the acquisition of skills in computing and related areas, the youth in Eti-Osa will easily become employable or better still, self employed.”

He commended Fortis Project Limited and Huawei Technologies for deeming it fit to undertake the construction of the skills acquisition centre.

The Managing Director, Fortis Project Limited, Mr. Dotun Adebayo, said the ICT centre would provide the people with a 21st century learning environment and propel them to excel in their chosen fields of studies.

He thanked the management and employees of Huawei for making this to happen through its Corporate Social Responsibility platform.

The Public Relations Manager, huawei Technologies Nigeria Limited, Fancy Hongjuan, said, “We will not just continue to drive the growth of the ICT in Nigeria, but we will ensure that we adequately give back to the society.”

elderly. “It also includes live

coverage of all the Holy Ghost services, annual conventions and Holy Ghost congresses of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

“other ministrations of the general overseer from countries around the world can also be watched from time to time, as well as series of ministrations from anointed men of God. Subscribers will watch the 2016 Holy Ghost congress from December 5 t0 10,” a statement from MultiChoice said.

Speaking on the latest development, the Managing

Director , Mult iChoice Nigeria, John Ugbe, said the introduction of Dove TV was in line with the company’s efforts to deliver programmes that its customers would love.

“We are pleased to have Dove TV launch on GOtv packages. By launching this channel across all GOtv packages, including GOtv Lite, which costs only N400 monthly, we are fulfilling our promise to make quality programming more accessible.

“We believe that this addition to the growing list of channels on GOtv will enrich the lives our subscribers,” Ugbe said.

private server hosting, domain names and related services to clients worldwide.

With presence in Rack Centre, Web4Africa said it was the first hosting company to offer web services physically from Nigeria from a Tier iii data centre with comprehensive

global connectivity.The Managing Director,

Web4Africa, Mr. Oluniyi Ajao, said, “Rack Centre has provided a cost-effective carrier-neutral environment with 100 per cent uptime since launch and the hosting of the internet point of Nigeria at Rack Centre.”

•L-R: Smartphones Business Lead, Lenovo Technologies West Africa, Mr. Manoj Rajasekharan; Head, Regulation and Monitoring, National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Lagos Zonal Office, Chief Jude Ughwujabo; Chief Executive Officer, Slot Systems Limited, Mr. Nnamdi Ezeigbo; and Head, Lagos Office, Consumer Protection Council, Mr. Joshua Ngadda, at the inauguration of Lenovo’s first brand store in Nigeria, Lagos ...on Thursday. Photo: Segun Bakare


ThE Federal Government must resolve the power infrastructure shortcomings in the country and formulate

good broadband policies to attract N3tn investment in data centre deployment, analysts have said.

Data centres are critical to the provision of faster and cheaper Internet connectivity and President Muhammadu Buhari as well as the Ministry of Communications have said approximately 300 of such centres are required to support affordable Internet services and software applications in the country.

The President and the ministry believe the development of data centres will also help to stop data hosting overseas, which aids capital flight.

However, findings from our correspondent showed that a world class data warehouse would cost between $20m and $30m. This means that Nigeria currently requires an investment of approximately N3tn for its planned 300 data centres.

Foreign Information Technology companies such as Google Incorporated, Microsoft Corporation and Oracle, at various fora, have said they will be willing to invest in this area.

The companies, however, expressed concern that five years after the landing of fibre optic submarine cables on Nigeria’s shores, the country had been unable to speed up the pace of wholesale fibre access due to the absence of a broadband policy that would promote infrastructure sharing and competition.

“Technology firms, such as Google, are interested in investing hugely in data centres if Nigeria can address the power challenge and speedily tackle the issue of last mile connectivity and distribution capacity, so as to spread available bandwidth capacity across the entire country,” says the Communications Manager, Anglophone West Africa, Google, Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade.

The Director, Business and Strategy, Kits Technologies, a data centre infrastructure provider, Taofeek Okoya, says stable power supply is critical.

he explains, “Yes, broadband infrastructure is important, but power is even more critical. Today, Nigeria is still struggling with unstable power supply. Importantly, data centres consume a lot of electricity.

“Nigeria is, indeed, a huge market and the potential here is enormous for local and foreign IT companies. As I speak, there are lots of data centre initiatives ongoing in the country. A lot of banks and government agencies are building data centres.”

Poor power supply hinders N3tn nvestment in data centresThe prolonged struggle to overcome

the power crisis is a major obstacle to broadband penetration in the country, OZIOMA UBABUKOh writes

technologyinformation

Okoya adds that it is important for data centre owners to build competent human capacity to manage their high cost infrastructure.

Data centre deployment, according to analysts and market watchers, is big business, capable of creating wealth and job opportunities.

A large data centre may have from 100 to as many as 300 onsite employees, and give impetus to Nigeria’s online business community to provide innovative services cost-effectively.

A senior executive at Microsoft West Africa says massive investments will be ploughed into data centre deployment over the next few years if the government plays its expected role.

“hopefully, when we get power and broadband right, then technology firms like Microsoft can concentrate on bridging Nigeria’s and indeed Africa’s digital divide. Data centres will also create a lot of employment for Nigerians directly and indirectly,” says the executive, who spoke anonymously because he is not authorised to speak on the issue.

One company interested in the development of data centres in Nigeria is undersea cable operator, Seacom.

Already, Seacom has partnered Microsoft, providing Ethernet links between its Information Technology infrastructure and Microsoft’s Azure and Office 365 data centres around the world.

Now, a Microsoft ExpressRoute partner, Seacom believes its deal with Microsoft will help Nigerian organisations that are migrating some or their entire business applications and IT infrastructure to the cloud with faster and reliable connectivity with Microsoft’s Azure platform.

The absence of the requisite data centres in the country has caused local users to rely on data centres in other parts of the world to access services such as those provided by Azure.

“Since Microsoft does not yet have Azure data centres in Africa, a dedicated, high-quality connection to Azure services hosted in Europe or other parts of the world can ensure a smoother, faster experience for the end-user,” the undersea cable operator says.

Meanwhile, the rise in the availability of international bandwidth connectivity from underwater fibre optic cable systems has attracted many foreign ICT companies into the country. Data centre deployment is one area expected to witness a boom in the coming years. But the absence of last mile broadband connectivity, technical know-how and expertise continue to slow down progress in data centre deployment.

Giving her perspective on what needs to be done to address Nigeria’s Internet access problems, the Chief Executive Officer of MainOne Cable Company, Funke Opeke, says, “We really need to agree to a commercially viable framework for infrastructure sharing with incentives for the incumbent operators to share their proprietary networks.”

The interest of data centre operators in the Nigerian market is evident in activities in the country in recent years.

Since 2011, Google has aggressively marketed its cloud platform and services to corporations in the country.

Microsoft launched its global Office 365 cloud solution in Nigeria in June 2012. And Dell visited the country recently in a bid to promote Dell servers or local data warehousing initiatives.

Mobile network operators have not been left out of the party, as MTN Nigeria has introduced a variety of enterprise cloud-based services, supported by its state-of-the-art data centre.

Also, Gateway Communications, a pan-African service provider with the largest Multi-protocol Label Switching cloud in Africa, bought by Vodacom in December 2008, introduced its cloud services to the Nigerian market. Besides, indigenous firms are increasingly looking at collaborating with global vendors with experience in cloud system and data centre development.

According to a report, Internet Solutions West Africa invested N1.65bn ($10.5m) over a two-year period (2009 to 2011) in building two data centres in Lagos, covering a combined space of 125 square metres. It further invested N225m in upgrades and expansion of its Victoria Island, Lagos in 2011.

Resourcery Nigeria, another local IT firm, established its own Cisco Unified Computing System in the country, targeting telecoms companies and banks. In addition, TTC Technologies is collaborating with the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, to build private clouds for corporate customers.

All that is needed now to encourage more investment, according to analysts, is a stable power supply and a viable framework for the industry.

•L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Top 50 Brands Nigeria, Mr. Taiwo Oluboyede; Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Ferdi Moolman; General Manager, Corporate Affairs, MTN Nigeria, Ms. Omasan Ogisi; and Project Coordinator, Top 50 Brands Nigeria, Mr. Boluwatife Ibrahim, at the presentation of the 2016 ‘Most Valuable Brand’ recognition award to MTN Nigeria in Lagos... on Friday. Photo: MTN

RED Hat, a global provider of open source solutions,

has announced the appointment of Converge Global Concept Technologies as its first premier partner in West Africa.

Converge Global Concept Technologies is an Information Technology services organisation that specialises in the deployment of mission-critical technology systems, solutions and services.

As a premier partner, the organisation will benefit from Red Hat’s deep open source expertise and technical skills, according to a statement by the Red Hat.

With a particular emphasis on Red Hat’s cloud and middleware portfolio, Converge Global Concept Technologies said it aimed to give Nigerian and other West African businesses a multi-platform, scalable and more secure route to the cloud.

It said on its website, “Open source is now so much more than Linux, and has been tried, tested and is trusted by many of the world’s biggest companies. For example, 100 per cent of commercial banks in the Fortune

500 rely on Red Hat. “Red Hat and Converge

Global Concept Technologies look forward to helping local businesses in West Africa to explore the potential and reap the benefits of open source.”

It added, “The new collaboration will make available a wide range of innovative, private and hybrid cloud solutions such as Red Hat OpenStack

Platform, Red Hat CloudForms and Red Hat OpenShift, backed up by Red Hat’s enterprise-grade security, support and training.”

In November, Red Hat hosted a seminar for chief information officers from leading Nigerian organisations, which focused on how open source was enabling organisations to address challenges such as cost, complexity, lock-in

from proprietary vendors, and migration to the cloud.

The General Manager, Converge Global Concept Technologies, Akan Jacobs, said, “While many organisations in the region are familiar with Red Hat in the Linux context, they may not be as familiar with the business advantages that its product leadership in the middleware and cloud space confers.”

Red Hat appoints first W’African premier partnerOzioma Ubabukoh

the epileptic power supply problem using off-grid solar installation.

Speaking during an in-house training session in Lagos for resellers and installers, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Cloud Energy Photoelectric Limited, Theophilus Nweke, observed that the difficult times faced by the Nigerian economy demanded that indigenous alternative energy solutions companies must find innovative ways to provide constant electricity required to drive productivity in Nigeria.

Availability of power,

he said, “must be the core approach in the task to pull the country out of recession.”

he added that “the promo provides quality and discounted solar technology products that enable uninterrupted work.ý”

According to him, Nigerians must complement the efforts of the government by changing their attitude to the use of available power.

Nweke, who noted that Nigerians had a culture of waste in relation to energy consumption, said that the Solar harvest Promo aimed at making consumers energy-self-sufficient.

Ozioma Ubabukoh

CLOUD Energy, a solar technology firm, is offering

Nigerians this yuletide period a lightning promo, which will see it light up about 5,000 homes across the country.

The firm, which indicated that it had started training engineers and installers, said the promo would run from October 1, 2016 to January 31, 2017.

It stressed that the Solar harvest Promo was designed to make solar products available and affordable to complement the genuine efforts of the three tiers of governments at solving

Cloud Energy to light up 5,000 homes

businessinternational

The United States stocks rose Monday morning,

led by gains in bank stocks, sending the Dow Jones industrial average to another record high. Other major indexes are also up but still below their own all-time highs, hosted.ap.org reported on Monday.

european stocks were mostly higher, but Italy’s market fell after Italian voters rejected constitutional changes, dealing a major setback to Premier Matteo Renzi.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 93 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 19,263 as of 10 a.m. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index jumped 14 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 2,206. The Nasdaq composite climbed 45 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 5,300.

Banks resumed their post-election rally and are trading at their highest levels since early 2008. Goldman Sachs gained $4.44, or 2 per cent, to $227.80, a nine-year high. While stocks traded lower overall last week, banks are on a four-week winning streak since the election.

Banks are benefiting from rising long-term interest rates in the bond market, which will make it more profitable for banks to lend money. Bond prices fell again early Monday, sending the yield on the 10-year Treasury note up to 2.45 per cent from 2.39 per cent late Friday. That’s the highest level since July 2015. That yield is used to set interest rates on many kinds of loans including home mortgages.

Stocks that pay big dividends, l ike uti l i ty companies and household products retailers, traded lower. Those stocks are often seen as similar to bonds, and investors are less attracted to them when bond yields rise. Utilities were the only industry group in the S&P 500 to decline early Monday.

Italian voters rejected proposed constitutional

TRaDING began Monday on a new cross-border

stock link between hong Kong and the neighbouring Chinese city of Shenzhen, widening access to China’s markets for global investors, hosted.ap.org reported on Monday.

T h e l o n g - a w a i t e d S h e n z h e n - h o n g K o n g Stock Connect link allows international investors to buy and sell 880 high-growth small and midcap stocks traded on the exchange in the southern boom town of Shenzhen via the hong Kong exchange.

a similar link between hong Kong and China’s main exchange in Shanghai was launched two years ago but has shown only a mediocre performance, with investors rarely hitting daily limits on

FaR from the Las Vegas Strip, MGM Resorts

International opens its $1.4bn MGM National h a r b o u r c a s i n o a n d resort just outside the nation’s capital this week, advertising a gambling f loor “bigger than the White house” and an art collection that includes a large welded collage by Bob Dylan, hosted.ap.org reported on Monday.

But don’t expect Vegas glitz, neon flamingos or ancient Roman replicas here. Jim Murren, chairman and CeO of MGM Resorts International, describes the design as “intentionally monumental,” meaning that the area’s first casino-resort was designed to complement Washington’s iconic landmarks.

The location in Oxon hill,

Dow hits another record as bank stocks increase

changes to the national constitution on Sunday, causing political and economic uncertainty for europe’s fourth-largest economy. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said he would resign. Italy’s FTSe MIB index fell 0.9 per cent.

Benchmark U.S. oil rose 46 cents to $52.14 per barrel in New York. Oil hasn’t closed above $52 a barrel since July 2015. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained 60 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $55.06 a barrel in London.

among energy stocks, ConocoPhillips picked up $1.25, or 2.6 per cent, to $49.37 and hess rose $2.12, or 3.7 per cent, to $60.04.

On Sunday the army Corps of engineers denied a permit for the Dakota access oil pipeline in North Dakota. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe and its supporters argue that the proposed route for the pipeline threatens the tribe’s water source and cultural sites. It’s the last major piece of construction on the 1,200-mile, $3.8 billion pipeline.

The companies involved in the pipeline criticized the decision and it’s not clear if the government’s position might change when the Trump administration takes power in January.

The companies connected to the pipeline traded lower Monday. energy Transfer equity gave up 38 cents, or 2.3 per cent, to $16.10. energy Transfer Partners lost $1.26, or 3.7 per cent, to $33.12 and Sunoco Logistics shed 82 cents, or 3.6 per cent, to $22.36. Those two companies recently agreed to combine.

The dollar rose to 114.33 yen from 113.67 yen. The euro rose to $1.0731 from $1.0660.Outside of Italy, european stock indexes were mostly higher. Germany’s DaX added 1.2 per cent and France’s CaC-40 gained 0.7 per cent. In London the FTSe 100 advanced 0.2 per cent. asian stocks mostly fell. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 retreated 0.8 per cent. The South Korean Kospi gave up 0.4 per cent and the hang Seng in hong Kong lost 0.3 per cent.

New cross-border stock link widens access to India

MGM Resorts opens $1.4bn sleek casino outside Washington

35TUeSDaY, DeCeMBeR 6, 2016

trading volume.hong Kong’s top leader

and the exchange’s chairman marked the occasion by banging a gong in a ceremony connected by live video link to their counterparts in Shenzhen, where officials rang a bell to kick off trading.

Market response was muted in early trading, with the Shenzhen all-Share index down 0.4 per cent while the hang Seng slipped 0.3 per cent, in line with other asia market declines.

“If Shanghai Connect was our baby step on the first step, Shenzhen connect is our second step. Now we can walk and we can begin to run. So this indeed is a historical moment,” said Charles Li, chief executive of market operator hong Kong exchanges and Clearing.

With a market value of $3.3 trillion, Shenzhen’s exchange rivals Shanghai’s in size and is the world’s eighth biggest. While Shanghai is home to many huge state-owned enterprises, Shenzhen’s bourse is dominated by small, fast-growing private companies in up-and-coming sectors such as technology and health-care. It often is referred to as China’s Nasdaq.

“We believe Shenzhen is the largest untapped market in the world and, not surprisingly, investor knowledge is fairly limited,” hSBC’s Steven Sun and Bruce Pang said in a recent report.

Foreign ownership of Shenzhen-listed companies is minimal, at less than 1.2 per cent. In hong Kong, a former British colony controlled by China that has a financial system open to international investors, it’s 46 per cent.

Maryland, just across the Potomac River from Virginia and next to Washington is also central to its appeal. a plaza with a reflecting pool offers sweeping views of the water and the capital city’s monuments across the way.

With three major airports n e a r b y , M G M h o p e s to attract international t r a v e l e r s v i s i t i n g Washington as well as U.S. tourists coming to see their nation’s capital, particularly those from the Southeast. This will be Maryland’s sixth and biggest casino, but Murren said there are only a handful of casino-resorts on the east Coast that have as much to offer as this one. “This was designed and is programmed to draw people into the state and not simply to be a casino,” Murren said.


Samuel Awoyinfa, Abeokuta

Th E R e c t o r o f t h e Ogun State-owned D.S

Adegbenro ICT Polytechnic, Itori, in the Ewekoro area of the state, Dr. Alfred Fatade, has called on the Federal Government to put an end to the discrimination against holders of the higher National Diploma in the country, by releasing the White Paper on the BSc/hND dichotomy.

Fatade made this call on Monday, while fielding questions from journalists

Release white paper on BSc/HND dichotomy, rector tells Buhariduring a briefing on activities lined up for the first-ever combined convocation ceremony of the institution and 10th year anniversary of the institution.

The rector noted that it was high time the discrimination was removed to enhance technological development in the country.

W h i l e h e f r o w n e d on the craze for paper qual i f icat ions , Fatade advised that emphasis should be on skill acquistion and development.

he said, “Efforts were made by the administration

o f f o r m e r P r e s i d e n t Olusegun Obasanjo and it proclaimed the end to the dichotomy. But lack of White Paper frustrated the pronouncement, while a similar proclamation made by President Muhammadu Buhari this year has yet to be implemented.

“Unti l that i s done, the discrimination will

•L-R: Head of Africa Regional Headquarters of the International Professional Managers Association,UK, Prof. Feyi Sobanjo; Minister of State for Trade, Industry and Investment, Aisha Abubakar; and Global Chair of IPMA-UK, Prof. Allan Sensicle, during the presentation of IPMA-UK Fellow Licence to the minister at the IPMA 2016 induction ceremony in Lagos ...on Saturday. Photo: IPMA

continue.”Fatade, however, urged

the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, release the White Paper on the hND/BSc dichotomy for proper implementation.

The rector said that t h e f i r s t c o n v o c a t i o n ceremony of the school since inception in 2006 would come up on Saturday,

with 3,874 graduating in OND programmes in seven different courses.

Fatade said the officials of the National Board for Technical Education, Kaduna, would be visiting the institution between December 14 and 17, in c o n n e c t i o n w i t h t h e accreditation of six hND courses and six new OND

courses.he said the institution

h a d a p p r o v a l f o r t h e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f promotion for the backlog of staff from 2010 to 2016.

he, therefore, said that the polytechnic was ready to offer courses in multimedia technology and forensic accounting, if eventually given approval by the NBTE.

Femi Makinde, Osogbo

ThE Alumni Association of the Obafemi Awolowo

University, Ile Ife has unveiled its plan to build a multi-billion naira hostel for the students of the university.

OAU alumni plans N15bn hostel projectSpeaking at an event

organised to mark the 9th Great I fe Alumni International Reunion last Saturday, President of the association, Mr. Segun Oke, said that the project would cost N15 billion.

Oke also said that the association decided to embark on the project i n o r d e r t o e a s e t h e accommodation problem of the students, stating that the Federal Government could not do everything needed to

make the university one of the best in the world.

h e n o t e d t h a t t h e association had renovated virtually all the existing hostels on campus, while renovations were also carried out at the Faculty of

Agriculture lecture theatre among others.

he said, “The alumni association will ensure that the welfare of Obafemi Awolowo University students are adequately taken care of.

“We have set machinery in motion to construct a N15bn hostel to ease the accommodation problem of the students.

“Besides, no fewer than 100 students annually benefit from the scholarships given to outstanding students of the institution by the association.”

Also, hundreds of people, Oke added, benefitted from the free medical treatment organised by the alumni as part of the activities to celebrate the reunion.

he disclosed that the association had put in place a body saddled with the responsibility of ensuring harmony among workers, management, students and members of the university community.

Mudiaga Affe, Calabar

ThE Senator representing the Cross River Central

Senatoria l Distr ict in the National Assembly, John Owan-Enoh, has awarded scholarships valued at N70m to 700 university students and other beneficiaries, as part of his educational support programme.

The beneficiaries were drawn from the six local government areas in the senatorial district, namely Abi, Yakurr, Obubra, Etung, Ikom and Boki.

A breakdown of the categories in the 66 electoral wards showed that 60 postgraduate students got N100,000 each, while 660 undergraduates received N50,000 each.

Also , 1 , 320 senior secondary school pupils received N15,000 each and 111 pupils in the junior category got N5,000 each, while more than 1,000 candidates seeking admission into higher institutions were given N6,000 each.

Presenting the cheques to the beneficiaries in Ikom on Sunday, Owan-Enoh said that the gesture was aimed at assisting the beneficiaries in the pursuit of their academic careers.

h e s a i d t h a t t h e programme was part of his responsibil i ty and sacrifice to the people of the constituency, despite the economic recession.

Owan-Enoh said, “I am not doing this because I have so much money; but because of the love, sacrifice and a sense of responsibility to the people of my constituency.

“I am indebted to the people of the Central Senatorial District, who toiled with me and kept

faith during the time of my campaigns.”

The senator said that each of the 66 wards had equal number of beneficiaries and advised the beneficiaries to make proper use of the opportunity.

Speaking on behalf of the local government areas, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academics, University of Calabar, Prof. Florence Obi, described Owan-Enoh as an excellent performer.

W h i l e c o m m e n d i n g the lawmaker for the gesture, she cal led on the beneficiaries to take advantage of the support to fulfil their dreams.

Senator gives varsity students, others N70m

Folashade Adebayo

Th E C h a n c e l l o r , Landmark University,

Kwara State, Dr. David Oyedepo, has said that the academic community can proffer a solution to the problems of drought in Africa. he also listed the insecurity of lives and property as a problem to be tackled on the continent.

O y e d e p o s a i d t h i s recently during the seventh m a t r i c u l a t i o n o f t h e university held at Omu-Aran, Kwara State.

A d d r e s s i n g t h e 6 6 4 new students, he said that the vision of having an institution dedicated to

agriculture was for them to solve the challenge of famine on the continent.

he said, “This is why Landmark University is poised to work at solving the glooming food crisis on the continent. Our vision is to spearhead an agrarian revolution on the continent. To this end, every student of the university, the discipline of each one notwithstanding, is allocated a piece of farmland, which they are expected to cultivate till harvest time. We have a passion to see this change take place in our land and our time.’’

he urged the new students to start planning their future

from the outset, adding that nothing extraordinary occurs by happenstance.

“You must have a vision of the role you see yourself playing in this whole thing and you must adequately prepare yourself during your stay at Landmark. Remember, there is nothing extraordinary on its own. It is your extraordinary input that makes it so. Therefore, work on yourself as much as you can, in order to make the most of your future,” he said.

In her address, the Vice -Chancellor of the university, Prof. Aize Obayan, urged the pupils to be hardworking and ready to succeed.

“I can assure you that we are unrelenting in our quest towards becoming a l e ading wor ld c lass u n i v e r s i t y . I t i s a l s o gratifying to note that our cutting edge infrastructure has earned the university a reputation and prestige f r o m d i s t i n g u i s h e d individuals and reputable organisations within and outside Nigeria.

“We vow to maintain discipline as our watchword. We want to assure al l matriculating students and indeed all students of Landmark University that we will remain in covenant with you regarding this,” she said.

Famine, insecurity are Africa’s greatest challenges — Oyedepo

educationhigher


educationhigher

Ramon Oladimeji

A n o n - g o v e r n m e n t a l o r g a n i s a t i o n , A c e

Char i ty , has sa id the responsibility of educating youths cannot be left to the government.

It said this was what informed its vision of lending support to the

Government alone can’t fund education – Group

development and increment of the quality of education for underprivileged people all over Africa starting with Nigeria.

To this end, Ace Charity said it had recently completed 12 functional libraries to be commissioned in various states before the end of the year.

A statement on Monday by the organisation quoted its founder, Kiki James, as saying this during its 2016 fundraising dinner held on November 26 at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.

J a m e s s a i d t h e organisation was raising money to enable it to carry on with its work of providing access to literacy not only in Nigeria but in other African countries.

L e a d i n g o t h e r discussants at the event was an educationist, Mrs. Bolaji Osimi, who noted that though education was critical to the nation’s social and economic development, the country was not yet doing enough to address the problems confronting its education system.

Osimi was quoted as saying that the level of illiteracy was still high in some Nigerian states with Zamfara State having 97 per cent illiteracy rating.

“The panel of discussants c o n c l u d e d b y a s k i n g all stakeholders to come together to tackle the educational issues facing the country as it is now clear that the job cannot be left to government alone,” the statement read in part.

Folashade Adebayo

THE Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo State, is

set to hold an international conference on the lives and activities of people living in the coastal part of Yorubaland.

According to the Provost of the college, Prof. Olukoya Ogen, the conference, which is in partnership with Insa Nolte of the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, will begin today at the college.

In a statement on Monday, Ogen, a Professor of History, said the conference with the theme, ‘Community, Trade and Religion in Coastal Yorubaland’, would beam a searchlight “on one of the most neglected but strategic part of Yorubaland.”

Speaking on the scope of the conference, Nolte, who is the President of the African

Adeyemi college, Birmingham varsity partner on Yoruba studies

Studies Association in the UK and Visiting Research Professor to Osun State University and Adeyemi College of Education, said it would focus on the Yoruba-speaking areas which are shaped by their proximity to the Lagos Lagoon, the coastal stretch between Lagos and Warri, and the waterways connecting them.

S h e s a i d , “ C o a s t a l Yorubaland has produced communities whose fortunes were largely independent of these centres and, so, the people aligned themselves wi th separate economic and religious networks and strategies. They were also shaped by the movement of slaves and their traders, and other factors such as plantation a g r i c u l t u r e , l e g i t i m a t e commerce, modern economic activities and a wide range of religious practices.”


class

WhEThER in oral or written communication, the basic rule of plurality is that once the subject is more than one,

the verb it attracts should be plural. The logic sounds so simple that the choice of plural verbs in the following sentences is understandable:

The girls have something in common.I don’t know why coaches like to chew gum.

But the deal is not always as simple as that. The reason is that certain words or expressions present themselves as plural nouns or noun phrases, yet they must be treated as singular. As a result, it is wrong to use plural verbs with them.

Jide, together with his brothers... (a) is (b) are ... here.Neither of the children ...(a) has (b) have ... come. Five hours ...(a) is (b) are ...not enough to do the job.

In the above contexts, the temptation to select plural verbs is high. After all, each of the subjects either flaunts an ‘s’, which normally indicates plurality, or has a semblance of a compound subject in which you often encounter and:

The dramatists need money.

Handling as well as, together [email protected]; 08163939335Akeem Lasisi

english

Answers to last week’s assignment1. I don’t like … manner of approach.(a) his (b) his’ (c) he’s he is2. Can you … more examples?(a) site (b) cite (c) sight (d) sit3. Give me another …,pls.(a) pack (b) park (c) perks (d) parks4. I hope you are … well over there.(a) faring (b) fairing (c) fearing (d) farring

Those who got all the answersIronkwe Alozie, Rivers State; Olutola Anuoluwapo, Opeyemi Aminat, Ibadan; Ofiyesinka Ebi, Akure; Henshaw Ekanem, Lagos; Olajide Timothy, Bashiru Alarape, Ibitoye Amos, Adefemi Jacobs, Kafar Adewale, Ajayi Oluwaranti, Nwamara Adunola, Ademola Fasooto, Emmanuel Echo, Makurdi; Tunde Olayiwola, Dare Adediran, Gbade Ogundeji, Aransiola Oluwole, Alani Ige, Ekunode Taiwo, Olayinka Ojo, Oluwafemi Wilson, Olafioye Amao, Abuja; Johnson Ojo, Lagos; Eyitayo Oginni, Tosho Bello, Ilorin; Chukwudi Ihenacho, Lagos; Samuel Abbey, Lagos; Kingsley Ifeoluwa, Akure; Hussainat Dawuda, Titus Musa, Abuja; Olorunda Abel, A. B. Adejumo, Iseyin; Kazeem Alimi, Ibadan; Henshaw Daniel, Fisayo Durojaye, Ibadan; Adeyeye Aderonke, Olabisi Olateru Adedoyin Adeylu, Atoyebi Adeola, Ibadan; Akapo Success, A. T. Perepou, Bayelsa; George Oluwatosin, Temitope Busayo, Akure; Iyanda Foluke, Lara Adigun, Muhammed Tajudeen, Don Benedict, Owerri; Peter Inyang, Uyo; Ganiyu Salami, Lagos; Johnny Mouka, Lagos; Sylvanus Aburime, Dare Olufade, Owo; Timothy Olufayo, Ibadan; Olanma Joseph, Ibadan; Effiong Archibong, Salihu Anas, Abuja; Egoma Iloku, Melissa Ike, Boluwatife Afere, Timothy Nwaiwu, Akande Akeem, Jonathan, Obudu, Cross River State; Toyo Humpe, Abduwakili Ashafa, Segun and Adedokun. Olanrewaju Olamude, Dare Solomon, Suarah Ishaq, Hohnbull Blakinogho, Happiness Sam, Regina Alloy, Moshood Afolabi, Esther Nnaji, Emilius Awoyale, Ibukun James, Tajudeen Raji, Oluwadapo Isaac, Akodu Mudasiru and Bolaji Akitiroti.

Others who did wellAbiodun Elesin, Epe, Lagos; Hassan Ibrahim, Solate Hakeemah, Are Festus, Olokpa Sunday; Olatunju Kwathar, Oludele Gbemiga, Abeokuta; Ken Lawson, Lagos; Oladipo Isaac, Lagos; Odukunmoju Tajudeen, Friday Ishioku, Adigun Ganiyat, Ayo Olukayode, Olanrewaju Ibrahim, Sanusi Sidikat, Gbadamosi Adesuyi, Sayeed Adeegbe, MondayAdeniyi, Irebami Oyedeji, Alasan Samuel, Monsuru Azeez, Olugosi Olusola, Oyebamiji Eluwumi, Oladimeji Omowumi, Oluke Iretiogo, Amolese Halimat, Ademolu Adeniyi, Japhet B. V.Gani Oladipo, Destiny Pam, John Adesile, Femi Soyoye, Daniel Fregene, Ayuba Gabriel, Abuja; Oni John, Gbeliho Julius, Ogunbiyi Oluwaseun, John Daniel, Abuja; Ojo Victor, Ilasa-Ekiti; Kondosile Abdukaeem, Olatunde Akinwande, Titilola Ilori, Hakeem Adigun, Olugbenga Adu, Orun Akin Gandonu, Ekiti; Uche Usile, Delta State; Uche Dede, Lawala Fathia, Caroline Adeboyeku, Iyanda Habeeb, Adebayo Folashade, Ogun State, J. J. Okey, Ibadan; Suleiman Jubril, Abuja; Adeniyi Ademidun, Ota, Ogun State; Gift Uturu, Ikene; Oluyemisi Ayinla, Ibadan; Akinwande Kareem, Popoola Mariam, Ibadan; Orimolade Damilola, Oyinbo Godspower, Arepo Mustapha, Omosehin Tunmise, Adeliyi Adegoke, Douglas Peace, Akinselure Deborah, Ondo; Clement Adeyinka, Ibadan; Oluwadarasimi Obayemi, Sesan Taiwo, MD Favour, Abuja; Adegboye Adeniyi, Akinsuroju Taiwo, Bamgboye Arafat, Lawal Damilola, Baba-Bala Katsina, James Blessing, Obiorah Praise, Oni Precious, Toyin Fabusoro, Bayo Adekoya, Abigail Okon, Ojo Babatope, Erijiyan-Ekiti; Funsho Suleiman, Kareem Mohammed, Bello Adunni, Olawale Ayodeji, Alex iHilary, Esiobu Chris, Babawale Nurudeen, Richard Uche, Lagos; Egwuatu Anthony, Ogunmokun Temidayo. Ogbonna Nwachukwu, Christopher Orok, Leziga Mittee, Adeyinka Isaac, Azeez Sodiq, Olayombo Abodunrin, Rasheed Sanusi-Dere, Roy Adeyinka, Kehinde Faloye, Joy Udeh, Abubakar Ibrahim, Moshood Kolapo, Akinyemi Paul and Taiwo Katibi.

Homework1. Five of the men ... University of Ibadan.(a) Chose (b) chooses (c) choses (d) has chosen2. Neither Philips nor James ... the programme.(a) attends (b) attend (c) are attending (d) have attended.3. Omotola as well as the other actors... to be commended.(a) deserves (b) deserve (c) is deserving (d) were deserve

Five hours is not enough to do the job.

As well as, together with etc

Clauses in which as well as, together with, in conjunction with, along with appear very much look and sound like compound phrases joined with and. As a result, many people erroneously give them equal status as the and-phrases. In terms of meaning, it truly indicates that both or all the people or things joined by as well as and the likes perform the action. But there is the grammatical understanding that they are not as strong as and, and that the emphasis is on the first and main person or thing and not on the one brought in after as well as etc.

This means that it is the first subject that is grammatically recognised. As I once pointed out in one of our lessons, there are occasions that common sense will not work when you are dealing with language. This may be one of those situations. Therefore, when you are dealing with these expressions, always go for singular verbs:

Mr. Ade, as well as Professor Ojo, come here regularly. Wrong.

Mr. Ade, as well as Professor Ojo, comes here regularly.

Seven men and two women are coming.But this does not apply to the questions.Hence,

the correct statements are: Jide, together with his brothers, has gone.Neither of the children has come.

CorrectThe coach, together with the

players, is to blame.The coach, together with the

players, are to blame. Wrong. Dr. James, along with

his wife, has to be here early. Correct.

Dr. James, along with his wife, have to be here early. Wrong.

Daniel, in company with Jayne, is attending the meeting.

Globacom, in partnership with NFF, sponsors the National League. Correct

But you must not over-generalise as far as the peculiar rule is concerned. That you see as well as or together with in a sentence does not automatically mean that it is a singular verb that should follow it. If the first word – noun or noun phrase etc. – is plural, the verb that should follow must be plural, that is, the one without an s:

The children as well as their mum have gone. (Correct because the children is plural on its own.)

The children as well as their mum has gone. (Wrong because the emphasis should be on children, which is plural.)

So, what are your choices in the following?

Omotola as well as the other actors deserve/deserves to be commended.

The actors as well as Omotola deserve/deserves to be commended.

A series ofA series is to be treated as

singular even if it introduces plural nouns. The reason is that the emphasis is on the phrase, which can stand alone without the expression it introduces:

A series of meetings has been held. Correct.

A series of meetings have been held. Wrong.

A series has been issued. Correct.

A series have been issued. Wrong.

One of the boys, any of the boys etc.

Close to the above are expressions in which emphasis has to be placed on words that indicate quantities and not the quantities they project. These include one, either, neither, any and none. Singular verbs should be used with them because they are singular nouns or pronouns as the case may be:

One of the policemen has been sacked. (Not have because it is one of them, not all.)

Either of the (two) guests has left. (With or without the addition of two, either always indicates two, which means one of the two.)

Neither of the two guys comes regularly. (Not a single one out of the two.)

Either of the (two) chaps is okay.Neither of the (two) chaps is okay.Any of the (three, four, ten etc.) drivers is to go.

Again, you must note that if the initial noun or pronoun is plural, the verb to follow should be plural:

Two of the boys have left.Some of the girls come regularly.Neither the girls nor the boys are to be punished.

Note that none, especially in modern usage, selects both singular and plural verbs:

None of the boys has come. CorrectNone of the boys have come. CorrectUncountable plural nounsSome nouns may refer to a quantity that is more than one,

but they do not take plural verbs. The reason is that they are uncountable nouns. Although I hope that we will treat them separately some day, it is good we mention them here too. Some include salt, equipment, furniture, information and advice. You should use singular verbs with them:

She bought a lot of salt. But I think the salt is more or less a waste.

The company says it has imported a lot of equipment. The equipment has been inspected by the minister.

In both examples it would be wrong to say, because the quanti-ties involved are much, plural verbs should be used:

The large quantity of salt she bought are a waste. Wrong.The equipment have been inspected. Wrong. And it is also wrong to add s to equipment, information, advice

and others – no matter the quantity you have in mind.Lastly, however, if you use counting or measurement expres-

sions such as pieces of or five bags of with the non-count nouns, then you go for plural verbs:

The information he gave is false. Correct.The pieces of information he gave me are false. Correct.The three cups of salt she bought are a waste. Correct. The three batches of equipment have been inspected by the

minister. Correct.Of course, you can also use some with uncountable nouns.

He gave me some adviceThe teacher gave us some information.

Note on HomonymsA reader called my attention to a definition of homonyms

that is more comprehensive than the one I gave during last week’s lesson: ‘Homonyms are words that sound the same or alike but have different meanings.’

Although several other authorities define the concept so, I agree with the observer that the definition should not leave out similarities in spellings. hence the amendment thus: ‘Homonyms are words that are spelt or sound the same or alike but have different meanings.’ Other details given during the lesson are, however, valid.

Thanks a lot to the reader.


literaryAwe, Adeleye-Fayemi lead Efuru@50 celebration

Chux Ohai

REnownED his tor ian and co-founder, women’s

Research and Documentation Centre, Prof. Bolanle Awe, and Mrs. Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi – wife of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi - were among the guests who gathered at the University of Lagos to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of Flora nwapa’s first novel, Efuru, recently.

Adeleye-Fayemi chaired the opening conference, the first of a five-day event organised by the family of the late writer and coordinated by Dr. wale okediran, in collaboration with the Association of nigerian Authors; while Awe delivered

the keynote address before an audience comprising members of the academic staff and students of the host university, writers, critics, literary enthusiasts and

schoolchildren.For Adeleye-Fayemi, the event

provided an opportunity to pay tribute to Flora nwapa, who she described as one of the few African writers that helped to sustain her passion for literature.

In her opening address, the former First Lady of Ekiti State acknowledged nwapa’s significance in African literature and the contribution of her writing to the emancipation and development of women, especially in nigeria.

with regard to two of the novelist’s most important books, Efuru and Idu, she noted that, unlike the works of most of the male writers of her time, nwapa’s writing focused on the tribulation, triumphs and real

dilemmas of African women, who struggle for survival within the context of the traditional and contemporary societies.

She said, “nwapa’s message from these two works centre around the happiness and fulfilment of women in African societies. The fact that her heroines seem to be so strong, yet unhappy, is a metaphor to describe women who live for the benefit of society, only to be judged fit or unfit and forced to live within strict confines, ruled and contradictions.”

Awe’s keynote speech, which began with a revelation that she was Flora nwapa’s junior by two years at the CMS Girls’ School in Lagos and a description of the late writer’s personality, was more or less a submission on the significance of ‘Efuru’ in African literature and the history of women participation in the development of the country, as well as its relevance to the nigerian society, 50 years after its publication.

She said, “nwapa has given all of us, especially the women-folk, a good example of what a nigerian female pioneer looks like. She broke the glass ceiling and scaled heights that were previously inaccessible to nigerian women by becoming a published author, a publisher in her own right, an activist in government and in administration.”

Awe noted that nwapa, through her epic novel, resented the second class position to which the British colonial administration had consigned the women, just as she painted an idyllic picture of a

Chux Ohai

Patrick Maidoh’s novel, titled The Protagonist, is a

reminder of the days when the dreaded campus secret cults used to be the subject of many muted conversations among undergraduates of higher educational institutions in nigeria and a thorn in the flesh of many parents, who lived in perpetual fear for the safety of their children and wards.

The sad thing, as reflected in ‘The Protagonist’, is that despite concerted efforts to wipe it off existence, cultism has continued to thrive in the country’s secondary and tertiary institutions.

Although Maidoh lives and works in the United Kingdom, far removed from the fictive locale of the novel, the memory of a past steeped in violence, drug and alcohol abuse is too deep and heavy to be waved aside.

New book unfolds tale of dreaded campus cultsDescribing the novel as

the product of this compelling need to raise the alarm over the continued existence of campus secret cults, in an interview with our correspondent, he says, “we have a major problem in our hands and we have allowed it to fester for too long. now is the time to start taking the issues of gang culture and violence among our youths seriously so that we don’t lose the next generation of nigerians.

“Coming from a background that is similar to the type portrayed in the novel, it becomes necessary for me to reach out to all those that have the power to stop this beast known as cultism from doing further damage to the society.”

The plot of this familiar tale of youthful adventurism is woven around Raymond Ukadike, the third son in a family of seven, who spends most of his formative years striving to be relevant in the eyes of his own parents and older

siblings. Like most youngsters of

his age, he is conscious of his father’s overbearing influence at home and, therefore, struggles to be in his good books. But, each attempt to ingratiate himself with his father nearly always ends disastrously.

Raymond’s enrolment in a boarding school, specifically in Dominion College, might be a ploy by his father to aid his transition to a disciplined and well behaved young man. Unfortunately, it turns out to be a regrettable miscalculation by the elder Ukadike. Rather than remould his son’s character, the boarding school environment provides the fulcrum for his further deterioration.

At Dominion Col lege, Raymond hooks up with the likes of Bongo, olisa, Kanayo, Chisco, BBC (Born before Christ), and Big Joe and thus begins an

•Maidoh

•Nwapa

•L-R: Former Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Emeritus Professor Ayo Banjo; PhD graduand, Monday Ekpe; and a former Vice-Chancellor, University of Benin, Prof. Grace Alele-Williams, at the 68th convocation ceremony of UI...recently

society where women exercised enormous economic power and were deeply respected for it.

“As we celebrate Efuru and the writer, whose life showed that a woman can be an achiever, even in the villages, we are presented with a challenge that this country belongs to us all and we can each contribute

in a meaningful way to its development. There should be no second class citizens.”

Papers were also delivered and a quiz competition was held at the event. Eletu odibo High School, which beat three other secondary schools to emerge the winner of the contest, was presented with a prize

adventure that ushers him into a world dominated by prostitutes, alcoholics, drug addicts and other social misfits.

Cultism, no doubt, is still a recurring decimal in nigeria’s education sector and no other book has captured its existence as much as ‘The Protagonist’ has done. with regard to Raymond’s gradual descent into a life of crime, violence and drug addiction, the novel appears to indict the family for failing in its duty as the basic socialising agency in the life of an individual.

Maidoh clearly writes from the point of view of an eyewitness, who has felt the sting of cultism, first, as a schoolboy and an undergraduate of a nigerian university.

“A great deal of childhood experience is reflected in this book. But, my concern is that readers should not miss the message that the novel is trying to spread. It is talking about the need for parents and guardians to guide and help the youth to find relevance in the society,” he says.

The author says that the primary motive for writing the book is to let the youth, their parents and other people who are involved, in one way or another, in the upbringing of the younger generation, to understand that cultism poses a very serious threat to the stability and progress of the nigerian society.


FUNKY HUSBAND

NAUGHTY BY NATURE

leisureBy Femora

FAMILY CIRCLE By Neearo

By Tayo Olujimi

Solution to Friday’s puzzle

Today’s Puzzle

Puzzle No. 1576

Sudoku doesn’t require any special maths skills or calculations. It is a simple and fun game of logic — all that ’s needed are brains and concentration.

There is really only one rule to Sudoku: Fill in the game board so that the numbers 1 through 9 occur exactly once in each row, column, and 3x3 box. The numbers can appear in any order and diagonals are not considered. Your initial game board will consist of several numbers that are already placed. Those numbers cannot be changed. Your goal is to fill in the empty squares following the simple rule above.

How To PlAY SUDokU

Ed Bradley(1941-2006)

ACROSS6. Hevolunteered to be transfered to Saigon to cover this war. He also spent time in Phnom Penh coveirng the war in Cambodia.7. In 1971, he moved to Paris. Initially living off his savings, he ran out of money, and began working as a __ for CBS News, coving the Paris Peace Talks.8. His middle name.10. Bradley had been a season ticket holder to the New York knicks for over 20 years. on November 13, 2006 they honoured him with a moment of ___.13. His profession.16 He died of complications of this condition at the Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan on the 9th of November 2006. He was in company of his longtime friend, Jimmy Buffet.17. He was born on the 22nd of this month during world war ll.18. His mother’s first name. Following a divorce when little Ed was two. She worked two jobs to make ends meet, and raised him. DOWN1. He had his left ear ____ in 1986 and says he was inpired to do it after receiving encouragement from liza Minnelli following an interview with the actress.2. He never had children, but was married to Haitan- born artist Patricia ___ who he met at a museum where she worked as a tour guide.3. His nationality.4. He was the first black ____ to cover the White House, and anchored his own news broadcast.”CBS Sunday Night with Ed Bradley.5. on the show, Bradley was know for his sense of style, and he was the first (and thus far, the only) male correspondent to regularly wear this on air.9. Birth state.11. He was the only child of ___ American parents.12. During his earlier career he covered the - fall of ____14. Best known for his CBS News television magazine-60 ____ which he anchored for 26 years.15. Bradley was a big fan of the Neville brothers, and he performed on stage with the quartet, and was know as the ‘the __ Neville brother’.

Solution to Friday’s Puzzle 1575

2 9

5 8 1 4

3 6 8

3

1 4 9

9 2

8 5 6 2

3 9

5 7 8

7 2 4 8 6 3 9 1 5

6 1 9 7 5 2 4 8 3

8 5 3 1 9 4 6 2 7

1 8 6 5 4 9 3 7 2

9 3 7 2 1 8 5 4 6

2 4 5 6 3 7 1 9 8

3 6 2 9 7 1 8 5 4

4 7 1 3 6 5 2 6 9

5 9 8 4 2 6 7 3 1


sports

Patrick Osueke

LAgoS Country Club, Lagos, won the grand

Master Kofi Anani Under-17 Taekwondo Tournament, which took place at the badminton section of the club on Saturday.

The host club won two gold, one silver and three bronze to come first, followed by Millennium Taekwondo team, who got one gold and two silver, in the second place. Festac Town club came third with one gold in the 20-team competition.

Evangeline Okoduwa of Lagos Country Club won gold in the senior girls’ category.

okoduwa, who was excited at her achievement, attributed it to hard work and dedication to the sport.

Idris Adesina

NigERiA on Monday crashed out of the

doubles and singles events of the 2016 ITTF World Junior Championships in South Africa.

After finishing 17th and

So U T h A m e r i c a n football confederation

CoNMEBoL agreed on Monday to award the C o p a S u d a m e r i c a n a t o B r a z i l i a n c l u b C h a p e c o e n s e , w h o s e team was wiped out in a plane crash while heading to the final, AFP reports.

“CoNMEBoL awards the title for the 2016 C o p a S u d a m e r i c a n a c h a m p i o n s h i p t o Chapecoense,” including the $2m in prize money, the confederation said in a statement.

The unsung club was having a fairy tale season until the charter plane flying it to the biggest match in its history ran out of fuel and smashed into the mountains in northwestern Colombia a week ago, killing 71 people.

The team were heading to play the first leg of the final against Colombian club Atletico Nacional in the city of Medellin.

Nacional responded to the crash by calling for Chapecoense to be granted the Copa Sudamericana, the second highest club football title in South America.

The confederation said it had heeded Nacional’s request in deciding to hand the title to Chapecoense.

It awarded Nacional its CoNMEBoL Centenary Fair Play award.

“There is no greater demonstration of the spirit of understanding

LI O N E L M e s s i h a s reportedly urged James

Rodriguez to leave Real Madrid once and for all to showcase his talent, according to The Sun.

The Barcelona icon is said to have sought out the former Puskas Award winner following Saturday’s 1-1 El Clasico draw and told him to move on.

Messi said to Rodriguez that he needed to find a new

World t’tennis: Nigeria suffer further humiliation18th in the boys and girls’ team events respectively, Nigerian table tennis players crashed out of the boys’ doubles, the girls’ doubles and the mixed doubles.

Nigeria also could not progress beyond the group stages of the boys and girls

singles qualifying rounds. In the boys’ s ingles

group matches decided on Monday, Nigeria’s Azeez Solanke finished bottom of Group 10 with two points to crash out. He lost 4-0 to South Korea ’s Cho Daeseong and 4-2 to Italy’s Bressan Luca. In Group 13, Falana Tobi also finished last after losing to China’s Xu Yingbin and Egypt’s Abdel Aziz Youssef. Amadi Omeh lost in Group 14 to Taipei’s Lin Yun-Jun and Canada’s Hazin Jeremy. Akanbi RI lwan won a match in Group 20 against Ndwabasini Ezile of South Africa but could not qualify for the main draw.

In the girls’ singles group matches, Esther Oribamise finished last in Group 6 after losing her two matches while Agnes Onoja also failed to win a match in Group 13 against players from Germany and Chinese Taipei. Alimat Ayinla also finished bottom of Group 16 after losing 4-0 each to Belgium’s Lung Lisa and Sweden’s Holmsten Ellen.

In the boys’ doubles Round of 64, Omeh and Solanke lost 3-1 to Belgium’s Darcis Thibaut and Devos

L a u r e n s w h i l e U S A ’ s Alguetti Adar and Liu Victor defeated Nigeria’s Akanbi and Falana 3-1. Also in the girls’ doubles Round of 64, Spanish duo Enriquez Yolanda and Niguez Marina got the better of Nigeria’s Ayinla and Onoja in three straight sets.

In the mixed doubles event preliminary rounds, Nigeria’s pair of Akanbi and Ayinla lost 3-0 to USA’s Alguetti Adar and Guan Angela while the pair of

Falana and Onoja were defated 3-2 by Spaniard Gracia Ana and Italian Amato Antonino and the pair of Oribamise and Amadi also lost 3-0 to De Nodrest Leo and Guinsel Oceane of France.

But the pair of Nigeria’s Solanke and Algeria’s Nasri Malissa defeated Hong Kong’s Cheng Pak Hei and Liu Ki 3-1 but exited in the Round of 64 after losing 3-0 to England’s Jarvis Tom and Brazil’s Takahashi Bruna.

Messi urges James to leave Realclub to get regular football and prove to the world again he could justify a huge transfer fee, according to Sportskeeda.

Rodriguez was once again left on the bench in the showdown between Spain’s biggest sides.

Bernabeu boss Zinedine Zidane preferred Mariano Diaz as a late replacement for Mateo Kovacic in the middle of the park.

SunSport reported that Manchester United’s Anthony Martial could be crucial to Rodriguez’s future.

The Red Devils winger – who became the world’s most expensive teenager when bought for £36m last season – is wanted by Barcelona and Real Madrid.

But Jose Mourinho - who is in the middle of a tax avoidance storm and suffered more bad

news when conceding late one to draw 1-1 against Everton last night - could try to swap the Frenchman for Rodriguez in a straight deal.

M o u r i n h o k n o w s Rodriguez, who did not play under him at Real, is unsettled and could exploit the situation.

However, Zidane has poured cold water over a possible move, saying, “He (Rodriguez) is going to stay here.”

Meanwhile, Barcelona striker Neymar is suffering from muscle fatigue but no serious injury after Saturday’s 1-1 draw with arch rivals Real Madrid, the club said on Monday.

The Brazi l star was substituted just before Sergio Ramos’s dramatic late equaliser in El Clasico and had complained of pain in his right leg.

•James

Plane crash team awarded titleand fair play. . . than the consideration and respect shown by Atletico Nacional to its brothers in Chapecoense Football Club,” the statement said.

The small Brazilian city of Chapeco held a massive funeral on Saturday for

its team after the victims’ coffins arrived home, each draped in the club’s green and white flag.

A minute’s silence for the team was scheduled to be held before every Champions League and Europa League game this week.

Lagos Country Club win Kofi Anani tourney

The sponsor of the event, Kofi Anani, said the competition was organised to keep children busy.

He said, “I started this t o u r n a m e n t l a s t y e a r t o m a r k m y b i r t h d a y a n d I t h a n k G o d f o r adding another year to my years.

“I decided to start this one-day tournament last year because there was no taekwondo championship around for children under the age of 17. I believe that this is the only way to catch them young and to identify young talent in taekwondo.

“I am happy with the number o f c lubs and schools all over Lagos and Ogun states who turned up for this event and I hope that by next year, it will be bigger.”

•Liverpool’s Emre Can (left) with Sunderland’s Victor Anichebe during their Premier League match at Anfield in Liverpool…on November 26. Liverpool won 2-0. Photo: AFP

REAL Madrid forward Alvaro Morata is back in full training ahead of Wednesday’s crunch Champions

League game at home to Borussia Dortmund which will decide who wins Group F, Reuters reports.

The 24-year-old joined his teammates on Monday for the first time since he suffered a hamstring injury in Spain’s 2-2 draw with England in a friendly at Wembley on November 15.

Brazilian right-back Danilo and Portuguese defender Fabio Coentrao sat out Saturday’s 1-1 Liga draw at Barcelona with minor muscular problems but also took part in Monday’s session.

Cristiano Ronaldo trained separately indoors but the Portugal forward is expected to start against Dortmund.

Zinedine Zidane’s Real side have already qualified for the round of 16 but must beat leaders Dortmund, who are two points ahead, at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium to win the section.

Real are six points clear of Barcelona atop La Liga and will equal the club record of 34 games unbeaten in all competitions set in the 1988-89 campaign if they avoid defeat on Wednesday.

Morata back


sportsOlawale backs Nigeria to win African beach soccer

times. The Sand Eagles are

currently camped in Badagry with 19 players and Olawale told our correspondent that the country would win the competition with experienced players like E n y i m b a ’s Ik e c h u k w u Ibenegbu and Victor Tale.

“Nigeria are forces to reckon with in beach soccer in Africa and I believe that hosting the competition will be an added advantage for the Sand Eagles to go for the trophy,” he said.

“The players are currently in camp and I am impressed

with some of the names in the camp. The coach has also done well by including young boys into the team. That will help build another set of players for the future of the team.”

He added, “I believe that with the experience of players like Moskito (Ibenegbu), Tale and Abu Azeez, the Sand Eagles will challenge for the title and qualify for the World Cup as well.

“The group is a tough one for Nigeria but I believe that they can get out of it and go on to win the title for the third time. The early camping will help the new players to learn from the experienced ones and it will all be for the better of the team.”

Idris Adesina

FORMER captain of the Super Sand Eagles,

Isiaka Olawale, has backed the team to win the Lagos 2016 Beach Soccer African Cup of Nations.

Nigeria, who are hosting the competition for the first time, will play in Group A alongside Egypt, Ivory Coast and Ghana. The competition will hold between December 13 and 18 at the Eko Atlantic City.

Nigeria have won the competition twice while Senegal have won it three

•L-R:Head of Marketing, Promasidor Nigeria, Mr. Festus Tettey; three top winners of the Loya Milk Swimming Competition for Secondary Schools, Torisheju Tosin, Enrico Vander Merwe and Toki Popoola; and the Category Manager, Dairy, Promasidor Nigeria, Mr. Ayodeji Abiodun, at the end of the tournament in Lagos…on Saturday.

SpORT’s highest court on Monday rejected the appeal of former FIFA president Sepp Blatter against a six-year ban signalling

the end of his efforts to clear his name, AFP reports.The 80-year-old former football powerbroker was ousted over

a two million Swiss franc ($2m) payment to UEFA boss Michel platini which the Court of Arbitration for Sport called an “undue gift” that could not be justified.

Blatter called the verdict “incomprehensible” but also acknowledged that he has come to the end of the road in his fight to clear his name.

“I will not be appealing in a Swiss court,” he told AFP, turning his back on what would have been his last legal recourse.

Earlier, however, he maintained that guilt had not been proven.“It is difficult to follow it, because the principle of jurisdiction

— culpability has to be proven by prosecution — was not applied,” Blatter said in a statement.

“Nevertheless I look back with gratitude to all the years, in which I was able to realise my ideals for football and serve FIFA,” added the Swiss official widely condemned by critics during his 18 years as head of the world football body.

The payment made to platini in 2011 for work carried out a decade earlier without any contract led to the downfall of both men. platini had been expected to take over from Blatter, but has also seen multiple appeals rejected by tribunals and courts.

Blatter could face more trouble as he remains under investigation by Swiss prosecutors over the payment and for the way in which the 2018 and 2022 World Cups were awarded to Russia and Qatar, respectively.

Sepp Blatter loses ban appeal

ZLATAN Ibrahimovic says Manchester United have to “fight more” if they are to start turning draws into wins, Skysports

reports.United have won just one of their last five Premier League

matches, with the remaining four all finishing as draws.The most recent of those came at Goodison park on Sunday

when a late Leighton Baines penalty denied Jose Mourinho’s side all three points.

Ibrahimovic, who scored his eighth league goal of the campaign to put United in front on Merseyside, admits United need to sharpen up if they are to improve on their current standing of sixth in the table, 13 points behind leaders Chelsea.

“I scored but in the end it only got me and the team one point,” the 35-year-old told United’s website. “I would prefer not to score but win the game.

“We have to fight more and do more to get the three points we need.

“It was very disappointing obviously because the last couple of games in the league have not had the outcome that we wanted especially after a good performance.”

‘United must fight’


Tuesday Basel v Arsenal 8.45pm PSG v Ludogorets 8.45pm Benfica v Napoli 8.45pm Kiev v Besiktas 8.45pm Barcelona v Gladbach 8.45pm Man City v Celtic 8.45pm Bayern v Atlético 8.45pm PSV v Rostov 8.45pm

Wednesday Leverkusen v Monaco 8.45pm Tottenham v CSKA 8.45pm Legia v Sporting 8.45pm Real v Dortmund 8.45pm Brugge v Copenhagen 8.45pm Porto v Leicester 8.45pm Juventus v Zagreb 8.45pm Lyon v Sevilla 8.45pm

sports

Idris Adesina

Fo R M E R N i g e r i a midf ie lder , Just ice

Christopher, has praised Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr for believing in young players.

He also commended the German coach for selecting his team based on the players’ current form.

The Eagles boast good young players such as Kelechi Iheanacho, Alex Iwobi , Wil fred Ndidi , Musa Mohammed and Oghenekaro Etebo.

The Eagles are currently topping of Group B in the Russia 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

Christopher told our correspondent that the t e a m h a d g a i n e d t h e confidence to play any team and emerge victorious.

“I have always said that the future of the Eagles lies in young players and that is what we are seeing in the Eagles of today – a team that has the youthful burst

of energy to face opponents,” he said.

“The previous Eagles’ coaches experimented with different players but they couldn’t trust the young players we had then enough to build the team around them. The bulk of the young players Nigeria have both at home and abroad today are doing well. Once this is happening, the national team will be solid.

“Now that the coach is selecting his team based on the players’ current form and fitness, the Eagles will continue to do well and very soon they will return to the top as the best team in Africa. The team has the confidence to face any team and conquer them.”

The former Belgium-b a s e d p l a y e r , w h o represented Nigeria at the Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup, added, “The coach just needs to continue to believe in the players and test them in friendly matches. That will create some fear in other

teams when they want to play Nigeria.

“Also, the home-based players should work on hard to convince the coach to

invite them. The national team has now become competitive because the coach believes in players that can get him the result

he wants. I believe the best players in the domestic league will be rewarded with places in the team if they improve.”

ATLETICO Madrid can make club history at

Bayern Munich on Tuesday as the Spaniards look for a record sixth group stage win with both teams through to the last 16, AFP reports.

Diego Simeone’s team arrive in Munich as the only side with a 100 per cent record in Europe after five wins from five.

The Group D leaders are six points clear of second-placed Bayern, who they beat 1-0 in Madrid in September, thanks to Yannick Carrasco’s first-half winner.

Only five teams have achieved the feat of winning all six Champions League group stage games: Real Madrid (twice, 2011/12, 2 0 1 4 / 1 5 ) , A C M i l a n (1992/93), PSG (1994/95), Spartak Moscow (1995/96) and Barcelona (2002/03).

Bayern have their own record run to maintain in Munich as their 4-1 victory

over PSV in October was their 14th straight home win in the Champions League – a competition best.

The match at Munich’s Allianz Arena is a dead rubber and regardless of the result Atletico will progress as group winners with Bayern second.

B u t t h e B a v a r i a n s have a score to settle after September ’s defeat in Madrid and semi-final exit last season at the hands of Atletico and Antoine Griezmann.

Atletico lost last season’s final to neighbours Real in Milan on penalties having squeezed past Bayern in the semis.

Madrid beat Bayern 1-0 at home and although the Germans won the return 2-1 in Munich last May, Griezmann’s crucial away goal knocked the Bavarians out on a night when Thomas Mueller and Fernando Torres had penalties saved.

SERGIO Aguero’s four-match suspension has been

confirmed by the Football Association following his dismissal in Manchester City’s loss to Chelsea, AFP reports.

C i t y s t r i k e r A g u e r o was shown a red card for a dangerous two-footed foul on Chelsea defender David Luiz, which led to a bust-up between players and coaches from both teams in the final moments of Saturday’s Premier League clash at Eastlands.

T h e A r g e n t i n a international, who has scored 16 goals this season, will now miss league fixtures against Leicester, Watford, Arsenal and Hull.

A g u e r o h a s a l r e a d y missed three games through suspension this term for elbowing West Ham’s Winston Reid and his latest absence is a major blow to City’s title challenge.

Fernandinho was also sent off for shoving Cesc Fabregas during the incident, with City’s Brazilian midfielder banned for three matches, as indicated on the disciplinary pages of the FA website on Monday.

Chelsea won the game 3-1 to move three points clear at the top, but both clubs may

Loya Milk but also by identifying with a sport that promotes this promise.”

He added, “We are aware that swimming is a 360-degree sport that involves all parts of your body, and it helps to maintain a healthy weight, healthy heart, control your muscle and above all, a fun exercise for growing children.”

Other schools that featured in t he t ou rname nt w e re Dowen College, Greensprings

SUPER Falcons defender Osinachi Ohale says

she is delighted that the team defended their Africa Women’s Cup of Nations

title in Cameroon.Desire Oparanozie’s late

strike helped Nigeria beat hosts Cameroon to win the trophy for the eight time.

“We feel great winning the African title for the eighth time, I’m certain the feeling will linger warmly in our memories for a long time to come,” supersport.com quoted Ohale as saying on Monday.

“It was not an easy achievement, it was tough and it has shown that we have been working very hard.”

The Rivers Angels star added, “Of course, nobody will want to be blamed for errors in their department and that was why I defended as if my life depended on it.

“However, I could not have achieved much without the cooperation of the entire backline, midfield and other players who actually made the job a lot easier for me.

“It’s a great feeling of self-accomplishment for me and my teammates.”

Ohale tipped the Falcons to dominate the continent for a long time, saying the

team would work hard to achieve more success.

S h e s a i d , “ O t h e r countries have been working hard to unseat us but champions will always be champions.

“We will not sit back on our 2016 AWCON victory but continue to work even harder to be champions.

“We know that other Afr ican countr ies are strongly coming up the ladder but we will not hurriedly give up the title even at Ghana AWCON 2018 and beyond.”

Atletico Madrid set for Bayern clash

•France’s Marie Minko (right) in action against Poland during their Women’s European Handball Championship match in Kristianstad, Sweden ...on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Aguero gets four-match ban

Justice praises Rohr’s faith in young players

School, Halifield Schools, ST&T Regency international School, Supreme Education Foundat ion, Queensland Academy, Grace High School, Avi-cenna International and Honeyland College.

The principal of Chrisland Schools F. Vander Merwe expressed his delight at the tournament and urged other companies to organise similar competitions for pupils.

Falcons not ready to surrender title yet – Ohale

face FA disciplinary action for a failure to control their players.

CH R I S L A N D S c h o o l s , Lagos, on Saturday won the

10-school Loya Milk Swimming Competition tagged Loya Swim Meet.

Chrisland ruled the 25m freestyle, 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle events.

The tournament, which took place at the Grange School in Ikeja, Lagos, was organised by Loya Milk to boost swimming in secondary schools in the country.

Cash prizes worth over N1m and other rewards were given to the participants.

The Category Manager, Dairy, Promasidor Nigeria, Mr. Abiodun Ayodeji, said at the event, “At the heart of this brand, is improving the well-being of children in Nigeria, and this is achieved not only by providing the best nutrition in

Chrisland Schools win Loya Milk swimming

Champions League

•Ohale

CHELSEA’S Victor Moses has been named the English

Premier League African Player of the Month of November by organisers New African Soccer, AfricanFootball.com reports.

The Super Eagles winger e d g e d K e n y a ’ s V i c t o r Wanyama of Tottenham

and fellow Nigerian Victor Anichebe of Sunderland to win a second straight award in two consecutive months.

Moses has flourished in a new right wing-back role under Chelsea manager Antonio Conte and has been instrumental in his team being top of the Premier League.

New African Soccer in a statement, congratulated the Nigeria winger but a l s o m e n t i o n e d t h e competitiveness of the November award, especially in the votes.

‘Victor Wanyama, also a one-time winner of the award, put up a strong showing and this was rightly justified, considering his role in Tottenham Hotspur’s early surge which made them the last to be beaten in the League. His move from Southampton was a positive one,” Tunde Adelakun, CEO of New African Soccer noted.

Moses wins another award

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016 www.punchng.com

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I was growing up in Ondo State in the early 40s through the 50s, I observed three major traits about my people. (1) They

were very hardworking. (2) They embraced agriculture as much as they did education, using funds accruing from agriculture to send their children to school. (3) they abhorred cheating, either of, or by, others.

So deep-rooted in the people’s moral conscience was this last trait that stealing was viewed as an abomination. That’s why, in those days, it was possible for farmers to hang their produce by the roadside and put a certain amount of money in a calabash below it. Buyers would match the money and take the produce. While today’s unmanned supermarkets are being driven by technology, my people’s unmanned markets were driven by moral conscience.

this ethical standard has been assaulted time and again by politicians. That’s why Ondo voters often fought vigorously for their mandate, notably in 1965, 1983, and 2007. the methods employed in the fight have changed over time. It was by sheer physicality (killings and property destruction) in 1965; by a combination of physicality and litigation in 1983; and largely by litigation in 2007.

It is against this background that I have consistently advocated the need to move away from thuggery and violence. The advocacy was underscored by my personal experience of thuggery in my hometown early this year, as politicians began to strategise for the 2016 governorship election.

These observations and experiences led to my intervention in the struggles for the governorship ticket of the two major political parties in the 2016 governorship election (see, especially, “Ondo politics: the good, the bad, and the ugly?”, The PUNCH, October 18, 2016, and “Why Ondo should not burn”, The PUNCH, November 1, 2016).

Those who were not pleased with my interventionist essays ignored the historical background I just sketched above. Whether my intervention meant anything to the electoral process matters no more. What matters is that the election had come and gone with minimal violence, and there was no post-election violence.

rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) of the All Progressives Congress won so convincingly that any attempt to litigate his victory would amount to a waste of scarce resources and precious judicial time.

With the election behind us, it is time to move forward as the future of Ondo State is now at stake more than ever before. The bleakness of the state’s future is underscored by a lot of debt to be paid far into the future; several months of arrears of salaries and entitlements owed to workers and pensioners; unsustained attention to agriculture; the absence of manufacturing industries to absorb the increasing number of graduates from the state’s four higher institutions; and dwindling resources to meet these obligations. That’s why anyone who wishes the state well should join hands with the incoming governor so he can hit the ground running, without any distraction, from day one.

In what follows, I provide an outline of what needs to be done

education has not been that lucky. But for interventionist workshops for teachers of English and Mathematics, perhaps Ondo students would still have continued to perform poorly in school leaving certificate examinations. More teachers need to be hired; more needs to be done on capacity building for teachers; and greater attention should be paid to curriculum development at primary and secondary levels, including the supply of reading materials.

Perhaps, the greatest educational albatross for the state is the quartet of higher institutions – three universities and a polytechnic. For quite some time now, the state has not been able to meet its financial obligations to these institutions. A two-pronged strategy of cost-cutting and fund generation must immediately be put in place. there is no space here to go into the details.

What needs to be emphasised here is that the state can no longer sustain the illusion of free primary and secondary education and low tuition in the higher institutions. The funds are simply not there. Besides, all over the world, and especially in the United States with which I am most familiar, universities have continually increased tuition and other fees to make for shortfalls in state subventions. Today, in many American public universities, internally generated revenue, largely from tuition, has outstripped state subvention.

true, increasing tuition has become a serious political issue in Nigeria, because politicians made it so. Nevertheless, it is now necessary to increase tuition in all higher institutions in the state, and it is possible to achieve if the appropriate personnel are deployed, if proper consultations are held with major stakeholders, and if the right methods are used.

The lip service often paid to industrialisation during election campaigns at least demonstrates its importance. True, industrialisation is capital intensive; but the state could at least begin with alliances with the Bank of Commerce and Industry, private partners, and foreign investors to set up appropriate factories to process locally produced raw materials across the state. If the Ile-Oluji Cocoa factory could surmount infrastructural challenges and keep producing, then it is worth emulating.

Finally, the most immediate challenge for the incoming governor is the payment of salaries. Whatever arrangements are being made regarding the payment of salary arrears, it is important for the incoming governor to make the regular payment of salaries a priority. The starting point is to eschew wasteful spending and explore avenues for generating more revenue. Above all, the civil service needs to be pruned and political appointments kept at the barest minimum in order to reduce the state’s wage bill.

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In the event that a PUNCH journalist demands such, please send your complaint(s) to [email protected] or 08168214977.

“I can tell you for free, if the Senate today approves that we can borrow $30bn, honestly, no one will lend to us. It should be approved and I will like to see how you will go to the international market with an economy that has five exchange rates”

–The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi, on the management of the economy

Ethical Complaints?

Salvo

in four major areas which touch directly on the people’s lives and livelihood. They are: agriculture, health care, education, and industrialisation. True, the outgoing governor did all he could in these sectors before running into the brick wall of dwindling resources, much more still needs to be done.

Investment in agriculture, the mainstay of the state’s economy, should go beyond maintaining a tradition. It is also an investment in food security and a means of creating employment

at higher prices in other locations. I have a similar reaction to the sale of yams by farmers in Owo Local Government Area, who even have no means of preserving their products. Why not improve on the agro-industry initiative of the outgoing government to create employment? How about establishing factories for processing yam and plantain into flouxr? And what about investing in semi-mechanised agriculture to increase production?

True, Governor Olusegun Mimiko excelled in certain specific areas of health care, particularly the reduction of maternal and infant mortality, by establishing the Abiye and Agbebiye programmes and the Mother and Child Hospitals. He also established a complex of facilities that formed the nucleus of the University of Medical Sciences in Ondo.

Unfortunately, however, this was achieved at the expense of other health care facilities throughout the state, especially primary care facilities and the State Specialist Hospitals. the incoming governor should make up for these deficiencies in order to sustain health care in the state over the next four years.

the education sector needs special attention. the outgoing government focused on primary and tertiary education, with much less attention to secondary education. the mega schools and free buses for primary school children are laudable projects to be maintained and improved upon. However, secondary

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• Some beneficiaries of Ace Charity at a fundraising in Abuja... recently. Photo: Ace Charity

the future of ondo State

Blatter loses ban appeal

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niyi akinnaso

for the teeming youth population. Attention should be given to the creation of agricultural value chains for major products, especially cocoa, yam, and plantain. Apart from the Cocoa Product (Ile-Oluji) Limited, which processes only a fraction of the state’s cocoa produce, there are no other notable or functioning factories to process other agricultural products.

That’s why I cringe when trucks line up every five days at the Atosin end of Alade Market in Idanre to move tonnes of plantains to sell them

FG presses fresh charges against Justice AdemolaPage 7

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