...towards a better life for the people

N200VOL. 25: NO. 63003

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016**

Presidency gives freshconditions for assent

CMYK

•Confronts NASS with details of distortion•Wants them to rework bill or accept supplementary budget•Senators, Reps divided; to tackle issue tomorrow•FG to borrow N1.884trn from external, domestic markets

Continues on Page 5

Mr & Mrs

COLUMNISTS:

•P.33 •P.32

Women asexpendables

Buhari'scompulsiveleap into adebt trap

VANGUARD AWARDS—Front right: Executive Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, presenting VanguardPersonality of the Year award to former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme at the 2015 Vanguard Awards, while his wife, Dr. HelenEkwueme, looks on. More pictures on Pages 12, 13 & 14.

UBA AGM—From right: Chairman, United Bank for Africa Plc, UBA,Mr. Tony Elumelu; Group Managing Director/CEO, UBA Plc, Mr. PhillipsOduoza and Vice-Chairman, Ambassador Joe Keshi, at the 54th AnnualGeneral Meeting of the bank held in Lagos, Friday.

2016 BUDGET PALAVER:

By Soni Daniel,Henry Umoru,

Emman Ovuakporie,Charles Kumolu,Joseph Erunke,

JohnboscoAgbakwuru &

LevinusNwabughiogu

A B U J A — T H EPresidency has

confronted the leadershipof the National Assembly,NASS, with details ofdistortions orchestrated bythe lawmakers in the 2016budget and asked them tourgently address them inthe interest of the nation.

The Presidency handeddown the plea at a crucialmeeting summoned byPresident MuhammaduBuhari on Saturday nightwith the Vice President,Yemi Osinbajo; Senate

Nigeria remainsbest place to investin the world— DANGOTE 2

•P.48

NFF:FIFA banlooms

2

Our plan torestructure Nigeria'seconomy, by Adeosun

2—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

Our plan to restructure the economy, by AdeosunBy Omoh Gabriel

LAGOS — THE Minister ofFinance, Kemi Adeosun, has

set out the Federal Government’splan to reset Nigeria’s economywith structured borrowing,targeted investment anddiversified growth.

Speaking to some of thecountry’s most influential captainsof industry, in Lagos at the LagosBusiness School breakfastmeeting, the minister told theaudience: “We have inherited a setof conditions that requires us torefine how we collectively worktowards ushering in a new era inNigeria.”

Pointing to the impact of fallingglobal oil prices on the economy,Adeosun said: “In the past, we hadthe means but not the will. Nowwe have the will but we no longerhave the money to invest. Thesafety blanket of oil has beenripped away, laying the povertyof Nigeria’s institutions bare.

“We have spent too many yearstinkering at the edges of ourinstitutions, our infrastructure andour economy and that the mistakesand misjudgements of the last 40years have set our clocks back bydecades.”

A blueprintfor growth

Setting out government’sambitious blueprint for growth,Adeosun said: “We mustcollectively adopt a blueprint thatequips the future generations tobe creative and dynamic, thatallows us to articulate a vision of aNigeria, with a strong educationalfoundation; rich in depth ofknowledge with a breadth of skills,an expansive infrastructurecapable of servicing the needs ofa nation of 150 million Nigerians.”

In an hour long presentation, theminister detailed what shedescribed as an “expansionarybudget for investment andgrowth.”

She told the distinguishedaudience: “We must find themoney, and create a system thatenables targeted expenditure,based on the nation’s priorities.This expenditure will be efficientand impactful, focused on creatingwealth for the majority.”

Outlining N1.8 trillion inborrowing to invest in thepriorities of transport, roads,housing, power and health, theminister said: “We are committedto a countercyclical budgetexpenditure model. This has beena success in other nations,offsetting the risk of recession andcreating an economy which is notbased on either fragile consumerspending or over-reliance on oil.”

The minister used herpresentation to set out the fourpillars of the economic plan:Stimulate economic growth toachieve a real GDP growth of 4.2%in 2017; reduce the cost ofgovernance and strengtheninstitutions to combat corruption,extract efficiencies in publicservice; increase governmentexpenditure on infrastructure and

fund the budget deficit andnegative trade balance costeffectively.

She said the targeted outcomesinclude: Substantial increase ingross capital formation;acceleration of GDPg r o w t h ; i n f r a s t r u c t u r edevelopment to unlock economicgrowth; diversification of theeconomy and growth of the non-oil sector; improvement in theoverall business environment;improvement in key socio-economic indicators and jobs andwealth creation.

However, the minister warnedthose thinking the borrowingwould open the door to renewedfiscal indiscipline that she

planned to continue her“aggressive programme of fiscalhousekeeping.”

She said: “We must safeguardthis borrowing, ensuring that thewastages within the existingsystems are firmly addressed. Wecannot mortgage our future basedon a system that has failed us forgenerations. We must be carefulin our borrowing and prudent inutilization."

A nation ofentrepreneurs

The minister spoke directly tothe hard working men andwomen who run Nigeria’s vitalsmall and medium

sized companies. She said: “We are a nation of

entrepreneurs, and ourentrepreneurs need reliableinfrastructure, skilled employeesand transparent systems andregulation that support them asthey grow. We are introducingsound policies and robust systemsthat will benefit the micro, smalland medium enterprises.

“With courage, discipline andopen minds, we begin ourjourney to build an economywhose resilience is not controlledby oil prices, but by ourdetermination to reset theeconomy and finally give ourpeople the chance they deserve.”

Nigeria remains best place to invest inthe world —DangoteInaugurates $1bn cement plants in Edo

By Naomi Uzor

CHAIRMAN of DangoteGroup, Alhaji Aliko Dangote,

has said he will never shy awayfrom investing in Nigeria'seconomy as his company,yesterday, performed the $1billion ground breaking ofDangote cement plants atOkpella, Edo State.

The new plants are expected toadd six million metric tonnes ofcement per annum to thecompany’s current output,bringing it to 41 million metrictonnes per annum, withpotentialities for 6,000 new jobs.

Speaking during the ground-breaking ceremony, Dangote saidNigeria remained the best placeto invest in the world, adding thata key factor that droveinvestments in an economy wasthe presence of an investor-friendly business climate.

The African richest man notedthat Edo State was today one ofthe most attractive investmentdestinations in Nigeria.

He said: “The economic reformsin Edo State, especially in thearea of tax, innovations in ruralfinance and investment on

infrastructure, have produced anenabling environment that hasfurther provided a platform forfuture growth. All these factorsmade us consider investing in thestate.

“Nigeria is a growing economy.Our developmental challengesare quite enormous and willrequire the combined efforts ofgovernment and private sector toovercome them. It is in this lightthat we are here to contribute ourown quota to transforming theeconomy of Edo State as we havedone elsewhere."

Dangote explained that theinvestment at Okpella, Edo State,was one their several successfulprojects ongoing in parts of thecountry and in more than 15 otherlocations in Africa, in line withtheir Pan-African investmentstrategy.

He said: “Last June, wecommissioned our cement plantin Ethiopia, and in August ofsame year in Zambia andCameroon. We commissioned ourplant in Tanzania in October. Weplan to commission very soon,some of our other African plantsin Senegal and South Africa.

“Also last year, in Lagos, wesigned a deal valued at $4.34billion, with Sinoma InternationalEngineering Company Limited,for the construction of 10additional new cement plantsacross Africa, with one in Nepalin Asia. The combined capacity ofthese new projects will be 25million metric tons per annum.

“By the time all these newprojects are completed in the nextfew years, we will have a totalcapacity of 81 million metric tonsper annum. This will make us oneof the top six cement companiesin the world. We are currentlyconsolidating our cementbusinesses across Africa in orderto reap the benefits of scale. As amatter of fact, our operationaloffshore cement plants havestarted to make substantialcontributions to our grouprevenue.

“By God’s grace, we will allgather here again to commissionthis plant within the next 26months. There is no doubt that thepresence of the plant here willimpact positively on thecommunity, its people and thestate."

MEETING: From left, Senator Ifeanyi Ararume; former Governor of old Anambra State,Senator Jim Nwobodo; All Progressives Congress, APC, Chairman, Enugu State, Dr BenNwoye and APC South-East National Vice Chairman, Chief Emma Enukwu, at the APCSouth-East Zonal Executive Committee meeting, in Enugu, yesterday. Photo: NAN.

Falanathreatens tosue FG overplans toborrow $5.5bn

LAGOS — AN activist andSenior Advocate of

Nigeria, Mr Femi Falana, hasthreatened to go to court if theMuhammadu Buhariadministration goes ahead toborrow $5.5 billion frominternational creditors.

Instead of taking loans toincrease the nation’s debtprofile, the Lagos lawyeradvised the government torecover the $200 billionallegedly withheld by federalagencies and multinationalcorporations.

Falana’s threat wascontained in a letter to theMinister of Finance, Mrs KemiAdeosun, dated April 8.

In the letter entitled,“Request for the Collection ofOutstanding Revenue of $200billion Withheld from theFederation Account or Stolenby Looters,” the lawyer alsowarned the governmentagainst collecting a $2 billionloan from the Chinesegovernment.

Following a report that theadministration had concludedplans to borrow $2.5 billionfrom the World Bank andanother $1 billion from theAfrican Development Bank,Falana said he wroterequesting the government tojettison the plan.

In a previous letter, datedFebruary 12, addressed toMrs. Adeosun, the lawyer saidhe urged the government toexplore alternative revenuesources to fund the 2016budget instead of increasingthe nation’s external debtwhich currently stands at $64billion.

He said: “In particular, werequested the FederalGovernment to embark on therecovery of the revenue of $42billion withheld from theFederation Account from 1999-2012 by some transnational oilcompanies, the NigerianNational PetroleumCorporation and otheragencies of the FederalGovernment.

“In your reply dated March17, 2016, you (Mrs. Adeosun)assured us that the issuesraised in our letter werereceiving the attention of theFederal Government. Wewere, therefore, surprised tolearn that the administrationhad applied to the ChineseGovernment for another loanof $2 billion.

“In urging the FederalGovernment to desist fromtaking the loan of $2 billionfrom China or any othercountry, we are compelled toadvise the FederalGovernment to intensify effortsto recover the nation’s wealthwhich has been criminallydiverted by a handful of localand foreign looters."

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016—3

CMYK

4—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

CMYK

POCKET CARTOONVanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016—5

IT'S UP TO YOUBY AYO ADIO

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

SAYINGS OF OUR PEOPLE

2016 budget: Presidency givesfresh conditions for assentContinues from Page 1

COMMITTED people believe they can achievetheir goals. They can visualize and are

confident of crossing the finish line. It’s up to you.

You don't kick at a tree in the bush from yourliving room.

It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but inourselves — William Shakespeare

MASTERING your destiny begins withidentifying your character strengths, your

gifts – what you inherently know how to do well,often without thinking. Each of us is designed tohave a unique impact on the world around us; whenwe are awake to the impact we can and do have,and consciously focus on enhancing this gift, webecome masters of our destinies.

MEN AT WORK—President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President YemiOsinbajo and Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator UdomaUdo Udoma putting heads together on the way forward for the 2016 Budget,yesterday. State House picture.

President, Dr. BukolaSaraki and the House ofRepresentatives Speaker,Yakubu Dogara, andministers in attendance.

Sources close to themeeting, which took placeat the Presidential Villa,told Vanguard that thePresident used theopportunity of the meetingto review the budget withthe leadership of theNASS and highlightedthe areas of concern to hisadministration.

However, the House ofRepresentatives insistedthat what it did was intandem with PresidentBuhari’s change agenda.

In particular, thepresident complained tothe leadership of thelegislature that the hugesums of money thelawmakers removed fromkey areas of infrastructure,agricultural and socio-economic developmentand added to non-essential areas wouldderail the agenda of hisadministration.

The president was saidto have expressed regretthat it amounted to a slapon his change agenda forthe money meant for thestrategic Calabar-Lagos

Coastal Railway projectand major agriculturalprojects to be removed bythe lawmakers when theadministration was tryingto open up the countryand provide masstransportation scheme forgoods and services.

The meeting was calledafter ministers had spentthe night to rush throughthe details of the budgetwhich the lawmakerstransmitted to thePresidency only lastThursday.

The ministers, it waslearned, came to theconclusion that theirbudget had beensignificantly distorted andthat it would be impossiblefor them to make theneeded change if thebudget was accepted theway it was given to themby the NASS.

For that reason, thepresidency has askedleadership of the NASS totake back the documentand rework it toaccommodate the keynational projects, whichthey removed and toeliminate the onesinserted by them to enablethe president assent to thebudget.

Alternatively, the

president would sign thebudget as a formality andintroduce asupplementary budget toremove the offendingitems and to reflect hiswish for Nigerians.

The distortionsAmong the offending

discoveries in the budgetdetails, which thePresident isuncomfortable with arethe huge sums of moneytaken away from keyprojects and added toconstituency projects ofthe lawmakers, most ofwhich were neverdiscussed or proposed bythe executive.

Other infractionsnoticeable in the budgetdetails are:

* N4 billion removedfrom Ministry of Healthbudget and added toCode of Conduct Tribunal

* Cost of 80 illegal roadswithout designs added toWorks budget, 30 of themnot Federal

* Money meant forWorks, powertransmission, diverted bylawmakers for tricycles,town halls, boreholes intheir constituencies

* 73 illegal projectsadded to Educationbudget – no designsavailable for the projects,and no tenders conducted

* Lawmakers slashedmoney for poor studentsby 50% in Educationbudget and added sameto their statesconstituencies.

Vanguard learned thatalthough the N60 billionmeant for the Calabar-Lagos rail budget was notin the original budget, theBudget and NationalPlanning Minister,Senator Udoma UdoUdoma, successfullydefended and got itincluded in the amendedbudget.

President MuhammaduBuhari, who left Abuja forBeijing, China, last night,to press for more financialsupport for the country,was said to be working onthe premise that theNASS would rework thebudget to meet hisexpectation for assentupon his return within the

week.Lawmakers, especially

those who were schemedout by the leadership inthe sharing of theconstituency projects areupset by the discoveryand are likely to confrontthe beneficiaries as theyresume today for plenary.

Meanwhile, someSenators and members ofthe House ofRepresentatives weredivided, yesterday, overrefusal of PresidentMuhammadu Buhari toassent to the Budget.

For instance, SenatorJohn Enoh and ChairmanHouse of RepresentativesCommittee onA p p r o p r i a t i o n ,Abdulmunin Jibrin,disagreed over theinclusion of the railproject in the budget.

While Enoh said it wasincluded and wonderedwho removed it, Jibrinsaid the Lagos-Calabarrail project was neverincluded.

Our action in linewith Buhari’s policythrust – Reps

This is as manylawmakers from bothchambers shared differentthoughts with the Houseof Representativesinsisting that the budgetwas in tandem withBuhari’s change agenda.

The House ofRepresentatives insistedthat whatever it did wasin line with the principlesof the constitution and thepolicy thrust of PresidentBuhari’s administration.

Chairman, HouseCommittee on Media andPublic Affairs,Abdulrazak Namdas toldVanguard that though theNational Assembly hadthe constitutional powersto appropriate, what wassent to the presidencywas not intended to offendanybody.

Namdas, who said thathe was not going into thespecifics until tomorrowwhen the House willresume for sitting,maintained that what wasdone was in line with thecardinal thrust of theadministration.

Commenting on thedevelopment, a memberof the AppropriationCommittee and memberrepresenting EsanCentral/Esan West/Igueben FederalConstituency of EdoState, Joseph Edionwele,said any omission will becorrected.

According to him: “Itlooks as if we are workingat cross-purposes withthe executive, no, thesuccess of Mr. Presidentis our success. If there isanything like that, it issomething that we canrectify.

He said that theNational Assembly shouldbe commended instead ofbeing vilified, stressingthat the budget documentwas very ‘dirty’ and fullof errors which theypainstakingly tried tomake implementable forthe good of Nigerians.

The member

representing Abi/YakurrFederal ConstituencyCross River State, BasseyEko Ewa, expressedsurprise that the Lagos-Calabar rail project thatwill benefit the peoplewas removed from thebudget.

“I am so surprised tohear this. How will it notbe in the budget? Themoney that wasappropriated to it, whereis it?”

He, however, said thatif the allegation was true,it may have happened atthe compilation stagewithout the knowledge ofthe leadership of theHouse, even as hepromised that lawmakersfrom Cross River Statewill take it up with theleadership.

Enoh, Basseydisappointed

Speaking on the missingrail project, Enohrepresenting Cross RiverCentral Senatorial zonesaid: “Well, you know theNational Assembly cannotremove it. If anything likethat has happened,then Ithink the people to answerto that should be theappropriation people.And I think that is one ofthe problems with,perhaps our procedure ofnot insisting on our ownto look at the detailsbefore it is transmitted.

FG to borrowN1.884trn—DMO

Meanwhile, theDirector General of DebtManagement Office,DMO, Dr AbrahamNwankwo has said thatthe Federal Governmentwould be borrowing N900billion and N984billionfrom the external anddomestic markets,respectively to finance the2016 budget.

He also said theexternal and domesticborrowings are to re-balance total public stockin favour of less costlyexternal funds.

Nwankwo further notedthat the utilization of theborrowing proceedswould be on capitalprojects to support thegrowth of productivecapacity.

He said this at a one-day workshop on DebtSustainability and theChallenge of FinancingEconomic Recoveryorganised by the DMO

for the Nigeria Union ofJournalists, NUJ, inAbuja.

Calabar-Lagos railproject not in budget– Jibrin

However, ChairmanHouse of RepresentativesCommittee onA p p r o p r i a t i o n ,Abdulmunin Jibrin,denied that the Calabar-Lagos rail project wasincluded in the 2016Budget.

Speaking on his tweeterhandle, he said theLagos-Calabar Rail wasnever included. "Howcould NASS haveremoved what was notthere? But the nation isbeing misled. All they,and those spreading thefalse information neededto have done is check theinitial document sent bythe Executive. Executiveseems to favour a top-down approach. But thisis not enough reason tomislead Nigerians on therole of NASS on thebudget."

Nothing unusual— Ali Ndume

Senate Leader, SenatorAli Ndume, said there wasnothing unusual orextraordinary if PresidentBuhari returns the 2016Appropriation Bill to theNational Assembly fornecessary correction oramendment beforeassenting to it.

Speaking withVanguard, SenatorNdume, who noted thatformer PresidentGoodluck Jonathan haddone same in 2014, saidthat the presentgovernment of the APCwas that of change,adding that as a newgovernment, delay mustbe expected, if themistakes of the past mustbe corrected.

Action exposes APC’sdepth of ignorance

– Senator OgbuojiOn his part, Vice

Chairman, SenateCommittee onAppropriation, SundayOgbuoji, said theallegation that theNational Assemblymutilated the 2016 budgetexposed the height ofignorance of governanceby the All ProgressivesCongress, APC-ledfederal administration.

6 — Vanguard, MONDAY APRIL 11 , 2016

CHIBOK GIRLS: Tunde Bakare weeps, saysFG not doing enough

Lagos completesAgo Palace Wayrehabilitation

‘Lagos needs $3.5bn to execute water master plan'

Lagos Assembly to strengthen Primary Health Centres

By Omeiza Ajayi

MEETING: Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose (middle) being welcomed by GeneralAdeyinka Adebayo, retd (left) to the Ekiti Parapo meeting held in Lagos on Saturday, whilethe Chairman of the occasion, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi watches.

PANAMA PAPERS:

SERAP givesCCB ultimatum

ABUJA—FIERY preacher and Senior Pastor of the

Latter Rain Gospel Assembly,Pastor Tunde Bakare yesterday inAbuja, amid tears, chided theFederal Government for doing solittle to rescue the 219 Chibok girlsabducted two years ago.

Bakare, a former political allyof incumbent president,Muhammadu Buhari spokeyesterday in Abuja at a specialsit-out of the

#BringBackOurGirls, BBOG.Pastor Bakare berated past

and present administrations inthe country for their failure torescue the girls saying; “Thewhole nation has failed thesechildren.”

According to him; “Parents,families and friends of our deardaughters, I am here today notjust to speak to you, but to speakto the nation and to the world asone of you. I’m here as a fatherburdened by the captivity of ourdaughters, and I am here as a

friend. I am here to express ourfrustrations and to speak of ourundying hope as we waitexpectantly for the return of ourdear Chibok girls.

“We are not unmindful that theNigerian state failed to providesecurity for our daughters as theygathered to write finalexaminations despite priorintelligence reports thatsuggested they were in danger.

“It is most severely injurious tosee that the fate of our daughtershas been frequently politicized.Rather than rise to the occasionas stakeholders and custodians ofthe security and welfare of the

citizens of this nation, politicalparties and politicians have paidlip service, using our pain andplight of our daughters to scorecheap political points.

‘’We are not convinced that thematter of our daughters has beengiven the needed thoughtfulness.

“We do not believe that thosewho are in a position to act havetaken sufficient actions towardsaddressing the issue or eventowards claiming our anxiety aswaiting parents.”

According to him, the girlswould have been rescued if theywere children of politicians andrenowned pastors.

The sit out marked 712 dayssince the girls have beenkidnapped and part of BBOGGlobal Week of Action to mark thetwo years anniversary of theabduction.

He said that those responsiblefor the rescue of the girls havenot taken sufficient actions in thelast two years that the girls havebeen abducted.

“We do not believe thoseconcerned have taken sufficientactions concerning the rescue ofthese girls”, he said, expressingoptimism that the girls would berescued even as he prayed Godto see to that.

“We believe that they are stillalive, at least no evidence, satelliteevidence that they are in a massgrave. We believe they are alive.It remains a scar on the soul ofthis nation until these girls arebrought back,” he said.

LAGOS—THE LagosWater Corporation, LWC,

will need 3.5 billion dollars toexecute the Water Master Plan toconstruct additional large waterschemes by 2020 to cover the state.

The former Managing Director,Lagos State Water Corporation,LSWC, Mr Shayo Holloway saidthat the current water productionby the corporation stood at 210million gallons per day, MGD.

According to him, this leaves ashortfall or deficit of 330 milliongallons per day, even if the totalwater assets available in the staterun at 100 per cent efficiency.

He said that to address thecurrent water demand and meetthe projection of the near future,the corporation developed a WaterMaster Plan to constructadditional large water schemes by2020.

Holloway said that the planwould involve taking raw waterfrom rivers and lagoons fortreatment purifying it.

“This plan will take the statefrom its current 210 million gallonsper day to 745 million gallons perday, MDG.

“The corporation will need $3.5billion to execute the WaterMaster Plan.

“This is an investment which thestate cannot solely undertake, as

it will take it two-and-half yearsto fund, with every Naira inflowgoing into the water sector only.

“That is why the state seeks topartner with the private sector to

accelerate the development ofwater infrastructure with privatecapital, to make water available,”he said.

He, however, said that the state

LAGOS—CHAIRMAN,Lagos State House of

Assembly House Committee onHealth, Mr Segun Olulade,hassaid that the committee will soonembark on an assessment tour ofprimary health centres in thestate.

Olulade, who spoke in Lagosyesterday said the step wasnecessary to strengthen healthcare delivery at primary level.

“I want to assure you that thiscurrent government is committedto improving health services forall and sundry. “We are alsolooking at ways to strengthen thecapacity of the services at theprimary health centres byequipping them adequately.

“The committee has concludedits oversights to all the state’sGeneral Hospitals, soon we willmove to all primary health centresto know their state and strengthenthem for better services,” he said.

Olulade (APC-Epe II) said thatthe oversight would help the

committee to know how thehealth care services at the centrescould meet the world standard.

According to him, there is nodoubt, the state does not haveenough primary health centrescompared with its population; but

efforts are being made to createmore and enhance theirperformance.

The chairman urged healthcare providers in the state toexhibit professionalism in thedischarge of their duties.

THE Code of ConductBureau has been given

a 14-day ultimatum toinvestigate current andimmediate past high-ranking public officersnamed or maintainingforeign accounts outside thecountry and refer suchofficers for prosecution.

Socio-Economic Rights andAccountability Project(SERAP) who made therequest to Chairman, Code ofConduct Bureau, Mr SamSaba, said the revelation byPanama Paper have shownthe extent to which publicofficers in the country areconcealing their stolenwealth, contrary to the Codeof Conduct for Public Officerswhich prohibits them frommaintaining and operatingforeign accounts.

The statement signed byTokunbo Mumuni, executivedirector, SERAP, noted, theBureau will be doing a greatpublic service byinvestigating the officials andimmediately recommendthose found wanting forprosecution before the Codeof Conduct Tribunal.

While threatening a legalaction for the Bureau’s failureto do what is necessary,SERAP said, “it shall take allappropriate legal actions tocompel the Bureau toeffectively discharge itsconstitutional and statutorymandates in this instance.”

THE Lagos State PoliceCommand yesterday said

it had begun investigations intothe murder of a 65-year-oldwoman, Slifat Ayodele.

The deceased was murderedlast Friday at her Satellite Townabode in Lagos, by unknowngunmen.

But the Commandspokesman, Dolapo Badmus,said a private guard and someother persons with undisclosedidentities have been declared

wanted over the murder.There were conflicting reports

on the circumstances that led tothe murder of Ayodele.

An account said the tragedyoccurred barely two days afterthose declared wantedthreatened to kill the womanduring an altercation betweenthem. Another version claimedthat quarrel ensued betweenthe deceased and a privateguard in the area over failureto pay security levy.

It was gathered that at about2.20pm Friday, unknownpersons stormed her house,where she was killed in cold blood.

THE Lagos StateGovernment is set to

commission the newlyrehabilitated 7.1 kilometer,Ago Palace Way, in Isolo LocalCouncil Development Area,LCDA of the state.

The road, which wascompleted two weeks ago, isexpected to aid motoristsaccessing Festac/ Mile 2area, via Okota road.

The road is complimentedwith, drainage, street lights,and walkway.

Governor AkinwunmiAmbode had paid anunscheduled visit to the areain December 2015, where heexpressed dissatisfaction overthe slow pace of work on theroad and immediatelymobilised and ordered thecontractor to return to site anddeliver the road within thefirst quarter of 2016.

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

By AbdulwahabAbdulah

By Monsuru Olowoopejo government had commenced theimplementation of the masterplan, with the ongoingconstruction of Adiyan Phase 2,being funded by the state.

By Ebun Sessou

Police investigate murder of 56-yr-oldwoman in Lagos

By Evelyn Usman

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016 — 7

PDP wins Ife Central Federal Constituencybye-election

Glo maintainslead as bestdata networkin NCC Febreport

OSOGBO—THEPeoples Democratic

Party, PDP, candidate in theIfe Central StateConstituency bye- election,Chief Dipo Eluwole wasyesterday declared winnerof the exercise held onSaturday and concludedyesterday.

Eluwole, who wasreturned elected with a totalof 5,504 votes, beat theAccord Party candidate, Mr.Segun Fanibe and ‘TilewaSijuade of All ProgressiveCongress, APC, to secondand third positionsrespectively.

The Accord Party, AP,candidate polled 4,790,while APC candidate,garnered 4,587 votes.

Independent NationalElectoral Commission,INEC, had on Saturdaydeclared the rerun electioninconclusive.

The Returning Officer forthe election, Mr. FrancisOladimeji said while

speaking at the collationcentre said: “Election intwo polling units werecancelled. That isAgbedegbe Street, MooreOjaja Unit 02 and MooreOjaja.

“The number ofaccredited voters in the twounits is 872. The marginbetween the first twocandidates is 710 by ourrecord. Following theregulation, where thenumber of cancelled votesis more than the marginbetween the two leadingcandidates, we cannotannounce the winner.”

Osun PDP wantsarrested ballot boxsnatchers unmask

Meantime, the OsunState chapter of the PDP,yesterday urged the statePolice command to makepublic the identities of thehoodlums arrested oversnatching of ballot boxesand voters cards duringthe Saturday rerunelection.

The party in a statement

issued in Osogbo by itsspokesperson, Prince DiranOdeyemi, said “PDP isdemanding details of thoseapprehended because wehad earlier before Saturdayelection accused the APC

By GbengaOlarinoye

Osun PDP wants arrested ballot box snatchers unmasked

A D O - E K I T I —G O V E R N O R

Ayodele Fayose of EkitiStatehas described theproposed increment ofValue Added Tax (VAT)from the current five percent to 10 per cent, asinsensitive to the plight ofNigerians who havealready been traumatisedand impoverished from thebad economic policies of thePresident MuhammaduBuhari-led All ProgressivesCongress government.

Vice President YemiOsinbajo had said on

N A T I O N A Lt e l e c o m s

operator, Globacom, hasagain maintained its leadas the first network ofchoice in the area of newinternet subscriberacquisition in the country.

Latest industry reportfor the month of February,2016, released over theweekend showed thatGlobacom added the mostnumber of new internetusers with a total of 248,593 new internetsubscribers. It grew its data customer base from25,436,244 in January to25,684,837 in February.

Airtel came second with224,037 new datacustomers in Februarywhich saw its total figurerising from 16,855,609 inJanuary to 17,079,646 inFebruary.

However, MTNrecorded a heavy lossduring the month underreview. The networkwhich had in the last 12months recorded steadydecline in its internetcustomer figure lost awhopping 2,614,489million internetsubscribers in February.The total data users on thenetwork fell from38,218,859 in January to35,604,370 in February.

There was a marginalincrease of 52,251 newinternet subscribers forEtisalat as its internetcustomer base rose from15,231,652 in January to15,283,903 in February.

The February figurehas reconfirmedGlobacom as leader in thedata market. In January,the company led in newsubscriber acquisitionwith a total of 354,178,which represented 95%of all new datasubscribers who joinedthe four major telecomnetworks that month.

For the industry as awhole, it was a total lossof 2,194,110 internetsubscribers within onemonth. While there wasa total number of 95.94million data subscribersacross the networks inJanuary, only 93.75million surfed the net inthe following month ofFebruary.

Of this figure, 93.6million were on the GSMnetworks, while only150,125 users were on theCDMA networks,Visafone and Multilinks.

By RotimiOjomoyela

of importing thugs fromLagos”

“The PDP could not haveattempted to disrupt anelection it was winning soconvincingly.”

The party said further that

beside parading thesuspects, they should alsobe prosecuted to serve asdeterrent to others thatmay be planning to engagein such act in futureelections in the state.

VAT INCREMENT: FG imposing more hardshipon Nigeria — FAYOSE

Thursday, in Lagos that thecurrent five per cent VATrate in the country was verylow, and went on to add thatthe Federal Governmentwould increase thetaxpayer base this year.

Reacting through hisSpecial Assistant on PublicCommunications and NewMedia, Lere Olayinka,Governor Fayose said anyincrement in VAT or anyother tax being paid byNigerians at this time willfurther make lifeunbearable for the people.

“Nigerians are sufferingand the little that they have,federal government isplanning to take backthrough VAT increment,this is wickedness!

“Under three months,electricity tariff wasincreased despite epilepticpower supply, N50 stampduty was imposed on bankcustomers for moneyreceived into their accountsvia electronic transfer, cash

and cheques; petrol isbeing sold for as high asN400 per litre and nowthey are talking aboutincreasing VAT to 10 percent, this is the height ofinsensitivity to the plight ofNigerians,” he said.

The governor, wholamented the increase inthe cost of living ofNigerians, occasioned bythe bad economic policiesof the FederalGovernment, said “evenrecent figures from theNational Bureau ofStatistics (NBS) revealedthat prices of food have hita record high and inflationis worsening.

“How can government beconsidering 100 per centincrement in VAT whenbusinesses are folding up,prices of essentialcommodities haveskyrocketed, millions ofNigerians are losing theirjobs and those who are stillemployed are no longergetting paid regularly?''

FALAE GUARD’S MURDER BY

HERDSMEN: OPC wantsBuhari’s intervention

A K U R E —FOLLOWING

the killing of one of theirmembers in Ondo State,the Oodua PeoplesCongress, OPC, weekendasked PresidentMuhamadu Buhari tospeak out and check thecontinued assault onYoruba people by Fulaniherdsmen in the country.

The Coordinator of OPCin Akure North area of thestate, Ayodele Ige, who wasdeployed with others tosecure the farm of theformer Secretary to theGovernment of theFederation, SGF, Chief OluFalae against incessantinvasion by the herdsmenwas killed weekend whenthe herdsmen againinvaded the politician'sfarm.

The herdsmenkidnapped Ayodele andhis corpse was found some

By Dayo Johnson days later in a pool of waterfar from the farm located atIlado, in Akure North Area ofOndo State.

Ondo State Police Commandhas feigned ignorance of theattack on the Falae's farm andthe killing of the OPC member.

A statement by its statecoordinator, ComradeOgunsanya Pius, issued inAkure said; ‘’The killing hasonce again brought to the forethe danger posed by theherdsmen to their peace-loving host communities.

“The heartless murder ofAyodele Ige, the coordinator ofthe OPC in Akure North LocalGovernment Area of OndoState would not be allowed tobe swept under the carpet likemany of several other innocentpeople killed across thecountry by Fulani herdsmen.

“It is particularly worrisomethat these people havecontinued their killing spreeacross the country without anymajor condemnation by theFederal Government.

CMYK

8—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016—9

NESG queries banks over illegal fixing offorex rate How CBN, few banks fixed interbank rate

Banks make N100/$ round-trippingBy Babajide Komolafe

LAGOS — THE NigeriaEconomic Summit Group

(NESG) has queried the 22commercial banks over what itdescribes as illegal fixing (cap)of the interbank foreign exchangerate.

Among other things, the groupcomplained that the cap on theinterbank foreign exchange ratewas impacting negatively onmember companies andcontravened the ForeignExchange Act of 2004.

The group also alleged that thedevelopment was beingexploited by some banks toengage in unethical practices,such as extorting customers in abid to maintain the stagnation.

Entitled, “Reports by theOrganised Private Sector on theCurrent Practices by Banks in theNigerian Foreign ExchangeMarket,” the query was signedby the Chief Executive of theNESG, Mr. Laoye Jaiyeola.

Copies of the query were alsosent to the Central Bank ofNigeria (CBN), CharteredInstitute of Bankers of Nigeria(CIBN), Financial MarketDealers Quote (FMDQ), OTCSecurities Exchange andNigerian Bar Association (NBA)Section on Business Law.

The query stated: “Ourmembers have brought to ourattention certain issues andpractices in the Nigerian foreignexchange market which areimpacting negatively on theirbusiness activities and theeconomy as a whole.

“We are informed that over thelast year (February 13, 2015 todate), the foreign exchange ratequoted by banks to authorisedsellers (such as, International OilCompanies (IOCs), importers,etc.) has remained consistent atN197/$ regardless of thetransaction amount or timing ofthe transaction.

"Despite recent events in theFX market, which has led toexchange rate volatilities, thepurchase price quoted toauthorised sellers has remainedstagnant, thus not providing atrue reflection of the current stateof the FX market.

“Our members have alsoreported that the apparent cap inFX rates has also motivatedsome banks to indulge inunethical practices, such asextorting customers in a bid tomaintain reconciliation with theperceived rate cap.

“Upon thorough review of theCBN guidelines and circulars, wefind no indication of anyregulatory action/directiveimposing a cap on the rate atwhich banks can buy foreigncurrrncy from authorised sellers.Indeed, Section 9 of the ForeignExchange (Monitoring andMiscellaneous Provisions) Act2004 (The FEMM Act) providesthat 'the rate at which eachtransaction in the market shall beexecuted shall be the ratemutually agreed between theapplicant and purchaser and the

authorised dealer or authorisedbuyer concerned'.

“The foregoing provisionsuggests that the purchase rateought to be based on bilateralagreements and, as such, isinconsistent with the currentpractice of quoting a fixed FXrate.

“Based on the foregoing, werequest an explanation of yourinstitution’s adherence to thispractice, despite no precedent ordirective to this effect. We wouldbe grateful to receive yourresponse within 48 hours ofreceipt of this letter."

How CBN, few banksfixed interbank rate

Investigations, however,revealed that the cap in thepurchase of FX rate in theinterbank market was one of theoutcomes of a secret meetingbetween the CBN and somebanks a few days to the generalelection of last year.

A few weeks to the generalelections, the foreign exchange

market experienced volatilitiesoccasioned by the uncertaintyabout the general election and theexchange rate of the naira. Toaddress these volatilities, theCBN, according to industrysources, held a secret meetingwith the Chief Executive Officersof some banks.

The CBN was said to haveprevailed on the bank CEOs toassist in pegging the interbankrate to a maximum of N2 abovethe CBN rate. The bank CEOswere to direct their treasurers notto trade and the foreign exchangedealers not to deal in the two-wayquote interbank market.

Consequently, the banksinvolved stopped offering two-way quote in the interbank marketand offered only a one-way quote.By so doing, they controlled ordetermined the rate at whichanybody can sell foreignexchange in the market.

Investigation, however,revealed that the arrangementwas informal with no circular ordirective to that effect and it was

supposed to be temporary, till afterthe general election.

But it has remained in force formore than a year due to thereluctance of the CBN to revert tostatus quo. Also, the arrangementcreated opportunities whichmany banks have exploited toeither extort customers or engagein round tripping of foreignexchange

Banks earn N100/$roundtripping forex

Investigations revealed thatthough banks purchase foreignexchange from authorised sellerslike IOCs and exporters at N197per dollar, they, however, sell thesame dollars at exchange rate ashigh as N300 per dollars throughoverseas ATM withdrawal or PoStransaction made by customers viatheir debit Mastercard or debitVisa card.

Confirming this, an importer,who spoke on anonymity, said theexchange rate charged for hisdebit card transactions had alwaysbeen above N300 per dollar.

Presidency, Finance Ministry give conflicting signals onChina loan

By Emeka Anaeto,Economy Editor

LAGOS — A MAJORcontroversy appears to have

surrounded the official trip ofPresident Muhammadu Buharito China as the Presidency andMinistry of Finance gaveconflicting information on theagenda for the meetings betweenNigerian government andChinese officials currently goingon in Beijing, China.

The spokesman for thePresidency, Mr. Femi Adesina,had told Reuters last Wednesdaythat key on the agenda of thepresidential visit was a loanagreement which the President

will sign during the visit.But a top official of the Finance

ministry said no such loan dealwould be signed during the visit.

In the Reuters report, Adesinawas quoted to have, however,declined to disclose the amountinvolved in the loan deal untilthe signing day, adding that therewould also be some bilateralagreements between the twocountries to be signed during themeeting.

The report also indicated thatthe amount could be in the regionof $2 billion.

However, a source close to theMinister of Finance, Mrs. KemiAdeosun, told Vanguard that theminister was not aware of anysuch loan deal with China,adding that no such deal would

be signed by the President duringthe visit.

In its place, the ministry saidNigeria was considering sellingChinese Panda bonds to helpfinance the 2016 budget.

Chinese Panda bond is a yuan-denominated debt instrumentissued by non-China basedinstitutions and sold on China’sdomestic money market to raisefunds for projects and businessesoutside China.

The Finance ministry is alsolooking at selling Eurobonds aspart of government’s internationalarrangements for the 2016 budgetdeficit funding of about N2.2trillion.

On borrowings for the budgetfunding, Adeosun had said inaddition to the above funding

plans, the government waslooking at borrowing, first frommultilateral agencies.

She said: “Our borrowing policywill remain conservative and willsee us access the lowest availablefunds, hence our decision toapproach multilateral agencies inthe first instance, for budgetsupport at concessional rates aslow as 1.5% per annum.

“We have also securedcommitments from Export CreditAgencies that are tied to specificcapital projects, including keyinitiatives in power, transport andother infrastructure, and at semi-concessional rates.

“The balance will be sourcedcommercially to create a blendedcost of capital that’s as low aspossible."

CBN investsN26bn inNiger sugarfactory

By Emma Ujah,Abuja Bureau Chief

ABUJA — THE CentralBank of Nigeria (CBN)

has invested N26 billion inSunti Golden Sugar factory inNiger State and plans moreinvestments in the real sectorsof the economy.

The CBN Governor, Mr.Godwin Emefiele, announcedthis during a tour of the newlycompleted factory, weekend.

“The bank has invested aboutN26 billion in the project of suchmagnitude in order toencourage import substitutionand backward integrationstrategy,” he was quoted assaying in a statement by thebank in Abuja, yesterday.

Emefiele assured that theapex bank was prepared tocooperate with genuineinvestors to support themtowards self-sufficiency in localproduction of essential goodsand the economicdiversification drive of thepresent administration.

According to the CBN boss,such investments would begeared towards employmentgeneration and wealth creation. He, therefore, urgedsmallholder sugar cane farmersin the area to leverage on thepresence of the factory to boosttheir production, as thecompany would now buy alltheir produce.

Speaking earlier, theChairman of the Flour Mill ofNigeria Group, owners of Sunti Golden SugarCompany, Mr. JohnCoumantaros, appreciatedwhat he described as “theuncommon support,” whichthe CBN gave to company,without which the projectwouldn’t have been completedon schedule.

The chairman noted that theN45 billion sugar-refiningproject was expected to createover 15,000 jobs.

LAYING FOUNDATION: Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State (left) and VicePresident Yemi Osinbajo laying foundation for construction of 2,000 afordable housingunits at Amana City, Kumbotso Local Government of Kano State, weekend.

CMYK

10—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

Land dispute: 2 feared dead, villagesacked, 3,000 homeless in Otukpo

By Peter Duru

MAKURDI—TWO personswere feared dead,

weekend, while close to 3,000people have fled their homesfollowing a protracted bloody landdispute between inhabitants ofOndo-Ugboju village and Ogobiacommunity all in Otukpo Local

Government Area of Benue State.Vanguard learned that the crisis

which had lingered over a periodof time was a fall-out ofdisagreements between the localsover the original owners ofOgobia community, a fastdeveloping settlement in theoutskirts of Otukpo town.

According to our source, the

rural dwellers in Ondo-Ugbojuhad persistently laid claims toOgobia community and alsoregarded residents in the area asvisitors, who had no rights ofsales or permanent ownership ofany parcel of land in the town.

“That is just the reason for thiscrisis which led to yesterday’skilling of the two young men, who

were engaged by the OtukpoCaretaker Chairman, IjachiUdeh, to work in his site at Ondo-Ugboju.”

Continuing, the source said:“For a very long time the peopleof Ondo-Ugboju have continuallyclaimed that they owned Ogobiatown and that those residing therewere visitors.

“They also claimed that the‘visitors’ in Ogobia were sellingparcels of land withoutauthorization from the originalowners of the area warning thatany further sales would beresisted.

“However the claims andthreats were resisted by theinhabitants of the fast growingcommunity which is less that 20minutes drive from Otukpo town.They also claim ownership of thearea.

“Their resistance led to thisdispute which has lingered overtime resulting in the death ofinnocent lives and sacking of over3,000 inhabitants of Ondo-Ugboju, rendered homeless.”

Though the Otukpo CaretakerChairman could not be reachedon phone, the Benue State PolicePublic Relations Officer, PPRO,Assistant Superintendent, ASP,Moses Yamu, who confirmed thedevelopment, said the matter wasbeing investigated and arrestsbeing made.

Man stabs friend to death over N2,000 in LagosBy Esther Onyegbula

THE REMAINS of 37-year-old Kamoli Isiaka, who was

stabbed to death by his friendAzeez, last week, at Ololade Streetat Morogbo community, have beencommitted to mother earth at aMuslim burial ground at IyanaIsashi.

It was gathered that the lateIsiaka and his friend, Azeez, hadissue over N2,000 given to themby one Mr. Ololade in theneighbourhood, which led to theformer being stabbed in the neckby the latter.

When Vanguard reporter visitedthe scene of the incident at OloladeStreet in Morogbo community, thefamily and friends of the deceased

had already gone to BadagryGeneral Hospital to retrieve theremains for burial according toMuslim rites.

Before burial, family memberstook the corpse to the Baale ofAyetejuesefo community in Elija,where the alleged suspect fled toafter committing the crime.

According to the deceased step-brother, Alfa, “the man, whomthey named the street after, gaveIsiaka, and two of his friendsN2,000 for a reason yet to beknown. It was while they weresharing the money that Isiakaand Azeez began to fight. Whilepeople who were around tried to

intervene , Azeez rushed into hishouse, picked a bottle, broke itand stabbed Isiaka.

Immediately neighboursaround tried to save isiaka's lifeby taking him to the hospital,unfortunately, he died on the waydue to loss of much blood.”

Fulani herdsmen kill university staff, farmerin Delta

ABRAKA—MEMBERrepresenting Ethiope

East constituency in the DeltaState House of Assembly, Hon.Evans Iwhurie, weekend, said

Perez Brisibe suspected Fulani herdsmenshot dead a staff of the DeltaState University, DELSU,Abraka and a farmer at theirfarms in cold blood at Abraka.

The lawmaker, whilelamenting the menace of someFulani herdsmen in the area,

said one of the victims, Mr.Francis Okotie, 52 and father of8 was a senior staff of theuniversity attached to theuniversity library.

Giving details on the incident,Iwhurie explained that, Mr.Okotie was shot twice, on hisarm and on the back of his headin an execution style at hisplantain and palm oilplantation farm where he hadgone to fumigate.

“It is easy to identify the culpritsbecause they always leavebehind trails of cattle excreta, anddamaged crops by their herds,”he stated.

According to him, the killing ofthe university staff was coming onthe heels of a similar incidentinvolving an indigene of Abraka,Philip Obayendo, who was shotand matcheted in pieces by hisassailants at his farm at Oria-Abraka.

LAWMA staff dies, 3 others injured as vehicleplunges into ditch

By Monsuru Olowoopejo

A-YET-TO-BE IDENTIFIEDStaff of the Lagos State

Waste Management Agency,LAWMA, was, yesterday, feareddead and three others severelyinjured, as the agency’s vehicleplunged into Obadore ditch onLASU-Isheri Expressway.

When Vanguard arrived thescene at about 3p.m., it wasgathered that the vehicle with theinscription, ‘LAWMA Advocacy

Team,’ plunged into the ditchbetween the two lanes of thebridge at about 2p.m.

The vehicle, sources said, wasconveying three passengers (twoadult females and a 12-year-oldmale student) who was expectedto resume with his peers for thethird-term academic session.

The vehicle with number plateEPE 493 AX, eyewitnesses said,somersaulted thrice beforeplunging into the ditch betweenthe LASU-Isheri Bridge. They

added that this led to the studentbeen flung out of the vehicle andsustained severe injuries.

It was learned that the twofemale passengers in the vehiclealso sustained severe injurieswhile the driver was recoveredfrom the vehicle several minuteslater.

A resident of the community,Biodun Adewale, who alsoescaped being crushed by thevehicle, said, “we could not rescuethe driver immediately."

Policeinvestigateallegedmurder ofwoman, 56

THE POLICECommand in Lagos

said it is investigating thealleged murder of a 56-year-old woman, SilifatAyodele.

In a statement by DolapoBadmos, the command’sspokesperson, Ayodelewas allegedly murdered byunknown persons onFriday at about 2.20p.m. inher house at Plot 25, SiteAfsa, Satellite Town.

It stated that a securityguard in the area and someother persons whose nameswere not mentioned hadbeen declared wanted overthe case.

“We are on the trail of oneSuleiman, another nameyet unknown, a securityguard in the area, with hiscolleagues are now at large.

“They are suspected tohave perpetrated the act,”the statement added.

Meanwhile, the corpsehas been deposited at NavyHospital, Satellite Town forautopsy.

Boy, 13,arrested forstealing,cultism

By OlasunkanmiAkoni & Esther

Onyegbula

A 13-YEAR-OLD boy,Opeyemi Johnson,

was, weekend, arrested bythe operatives of RapidResponse Squad, RRS, ofLagos State PoliceCommand, for robbery andbeing a member of thedreaded cult group knownas “Awawa Boys.”

It was learnt that thesuspect and 20 othermembers of the cult groupwere, yesterday morningreturning from a streetcarnival somewhere aroundAgbado Crossing, whenthey reportedly went onrampage and starteddispossessing passers-by ofbags, phones and othervaluable items when hewas arrested.

According to Opeyemi, aJunior Secondary Schoolstudent of a private schoolin Sango, Ogun State(name withheld): ”Ifollowed my cult membersto a carnival at Power Line,Agbado Crossing. On ourway home, our Capol,nicknamed ‘Ijaomode’instructed us to startrobbing anybody we meton our way.”

PRESENTATION: From left: Director, Digital Business, Etisalat Nigeria, Adia Sowho; ChiefProduct and Information Officer, Etisalat, Otuyemi Otule, presenting car keys to EtisalatStar Prize Winner, Callister Ihemegbulam; West Africa Managing Director, TIMWE, BrumeCardoso, and Head, Consumer Protection Council, Lagos, Joshus Nggada, during thepresentation of Etisalat Win Big Promo Prize, in Lagos. Photo: Bunmi Azeez

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016—11

CMYK

NDDC owes contractors N450 billion—Semenitari

Arco vs Agip: Court orders party to be served hearingnotice

By Jimitota Onoyume &Abdulwahab Abdulah

Urhobo SocialClub assuresUPU of supportto restorepivotal roleTHE Acting Managing

Director, Niger DeltaDevelopment Commission,NDDC, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari,weekend, said the biggestchallenge she was facing sinceassumption of office, was the factthat “we are owing so manypeople.”

Mrs. Semenitari disclosed thison Sunday when she featuredon the News Agency of NigeriaForum in Abuja.

She said the commission owedmore than 8,600 contractorsbetween N400 billion and N450billion when she assumed office,but about 600 of them had beenpaid by her administration.

According to her, the paucityof funds coupled with the publicperception of the commissionbecame sources of concern forthe management of NDDC.

She, however, said that thecommission had to deal withboth challenges andreinvigorate the workforce to beable to get to its present state.

Semenitari said: “That is a lotof money. So, the first challengewas, we had so many contractsand and so much debt, so therewas a big hole right there. Thesecond was the perceptionproblem. The commission wasperceived, rightly or wrongly, as

a place you just come, takeyour own share and go. It wasalso perceived to be a corruptplace. And we also had to dealwith the need toprofessionalise the workforcebasically in terms of how youreposition the people. Also, wehad to reinvigorate theworkforce so that people

would have a sense offreshness and a sense of newchallenges because we canget people back on track.”

She assured that better dayswould come for thecommission by the time itsfunding partners paid up theamount they were owing,noting that with payment of

the outstanding money, theprojects the commission washandling would becomevisible.

She added that the latepassage of the budget of thecommission had hamperedproper planning and propermanagement of thecommission.

PDP'll becomestronger in2019 —Wike

FOREMOST Urhobosocio-cultural group,

Urhobo Social Club, Lagos,has assured the interimexecutive of UrhoboProgress Union, UPU, thatthe club will join hands withother well-meaning Urhobosto ensure that the glory andpivotal role of UPU isrestored.

President of the club, ChiefSimeon Ohwofa, gave theassurance when the clubplayed host to the ChiefGabriel Ofotuku-led UPUexecutive in Lagos. The clubpromised to support ChiefOfotuku and his executive toensure that reliable andselfless leaders emerged inthe new UPU executive.

Responding, ChiefOfotuku solicited thesupport of the club inreconciling UPU factions inDiaspora.

Other members of the clubpresent at the meeting wereChief Johnson Barovbe,chairman, board of trustees;Chief Chris Umukoro, firstvice president; PrinceAustine Isire-Enajemo; Dr.Isaac Feludu, secretary; Mr.O. A. Odoh-Tadafe, pastpresident, Snr. EvangelistEmmanuel Evue, also a pastpresident of the club andChief Samson Okuesa,chairman, think tank, amongothers.

Okowa congratulates Jim Ovia, Dafinone overVanguard Personality Awards

By Emmanuel Aziken,Political Editor

PORT HARCOURT—AFederal High Court sitting

in Port Harcourt has ordered thata hearing notice be served onConoco Philips Petroleum NigeriaLimited in the ongoing legal tusslebetween Arco Group Plc andNigerian Agip Oil Company,NOAC.

This came as JusticeMuhammed Liman, who gave theorder, fixed June 14 for thehearing of arguments onoriginating summons, contempt ofcourt and preliminary objectionscanvassed by parties before thecourt.

Justice Liman said: “I also orderthat the third defendant be servedwith hearing notice. I observedthat they were not represented incourt today. “

Arco Group, an indigenous oilservicing company, had draggedAgip, the Nigerian NationalPetroleum Corporation, NNPC,Conoco Philips Petroleum NigeriaLimited, and the NationalPetroleum InvestmentManagement Services to court,praying it to determine whetherunder the Nigerian Content Act,Agip was under obligation toaward maintenance contract ofOB/OB, Ebocha and Kwale gasplants to it or not.

Arco had, in the suit, submitted

that the alleged refusal ofNOAC to comply with theprovisions of Section 3 Sub-Sections 2 and 3 of the NigeriaOil and Gas Industry ContentDevelopment, NOGICD Act,2010, was illegal. The lawencourages the involvement ofmore indigenous participationin the nation’s oil and gasoperations.

It stated that havingsuccessfully maintained the OB/OB, Ebocha and Kwale gasfacilities for many years, it had

the prescribed equipment,machines and skilledmanpower to execute thecontract and further prayed thecourt to grant it several otherdeclarative and injunctivereliefs.

At the resumed hearing of thecase, Friday, Justice Liman saidhe was new to the matter, hencehe should be allowed tofamiliarise himself with all thefiles and details of the case.

He also suggested to counselin the suit that to save time, the

court should take arguments onoriginating summons, contemptof court and preliminaryproceedings on the matter on thesame day which they allconceded to.

Earlier, Mr AkpomudjeAlbert, SAN, who led othercounsel for the plaintiff, ArcoGroup Plc said they hadcommenced contemptproceedings against thedefendant for allegedlydisobeying two orders of thecourt.

VISIT: Chief Simeon Ohwofa, Urhobo Social Club President (6th left), and Chief GabrielOfotuku, Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, interim President-General (7th left), and othermembers of the UPU and the club's executives, during a visit by UPU executives to UrhoboSocial Club in Lagos.

GOVERNOR IfeanyiOkowa of Delta State has

congratulated leading bankerand Chairman of Zenith BankPlc, Mr Jim Ovia and renownedAccountant, Senator DavidDafinone, on their receipt of the2015 Vanguard PersonalityAwards as Businessman of theYear and Lifetime AchievementAwards, respectively.

Senator Okowa, in a statementissued weekend, said the twomen had through their actionscontinued to bring deservinglaurels to Delta State.

The governor in thecongratulatory message issued

by his Chief Press Secretary, MrCharles Aniagwu, extolled theleadership qualities and astutecontributions of the awardees tothe development of Nigeria andDelta State.

He described Ovia, as anillustrious son of Delta Statewhose remarkable contributionto the banking industry inNigeria was legendary andworthy of emulation.

“Mr Jim Ovia is an illustriousson of Delta State in whom weare well pleased. His astutecontributions to thedevelopment of the bankingindustry in Nigeria as well ashis efforts in pioneering thedigitalization of bankingservices in Nigeria no doubt

made Zenith Bank Plc a leaderand pacesetter in the industry today."

Also praising SenatorDafinone, Governor Okowa said:“The Dafinones are known as thefamily with the highest numberof chartered accountants in theworld. The record is yet to bebroken by any family worldwideand it is worthy of emulation. Weare proud to identify with thefamily as Deltans on this LifetimeAchievement Award bestowedon their patriarch by Vanguard.

Governor Okowa also laudedSenator Dafinone for the hugeinvestments in agriculture in thestate and called on well meaningDeltans to emulate theoctogenarian.

By Jimitota Onoyume

PORT HARCOURT—GOVERNOR Nyesom

Wike has expressedoptimism that the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, willbe stronger ahead of the2019 general elections.

The governor who spoke,weekend, at GovernmentHouse, Port Harcourt, asthe Chairman of PDPNational ConventionCommittee, said the party’snational convention wouldset in motion, the machineryfor the party to win morestates.

According to him: “Onething that is important isthat this committee willrevive our party. It will alsoallay the fears of ourmembers over the rumoursthey hear. It is important forus to rebuild PDP to be astronger party. PDP is ourhome in Rivers State. Thisis the only party we knowhere."

12—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

VANGUARD PERSONALITY AWARDSVANGUARD PERSONALITY AWARDSFaces at the Vanguard Personality Awards ceremony at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, last Friday

From left, Dr. Oba Otudeko,Alhaji Lai Muhammed, Minister ofInformation & Culture, receiving award on behalf of PresidentMuhammadu Buhari, and Mr. Sam Amuka,Chairman, Vanguard MediaLimited, during the Vanguard Personality of the Year Awards 2015, at EkoHotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. Photos;Joe Akintola, Photos: Editor; KehindeGbadamosi, Lamidi Bamidele, Bunmi Azeez, Akeem Salau, and AkinwunmiIbrahim

From left, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, former Vice President of Nigeria; SenatorIbikunle Amosun, Governor of Ogun State/Vanguard Governor of the Year,and Dr. Otudeko.

From left, Arc. Ken Ekwueme, Mrs. Lami Ekwueme, Ms. Adaeze Ekwueme, Mrs.Chidi Ekwueme-Onyemelukwe, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, and wife, Dr. Helen Ekwueme.Photo: Emeka Agnam

Mr. Ibrahim Babaganna (left)and Mr Steve Ayorinde, Lagos StateCommissioner for Information and Strategies.

From left, Mr. Jide Ajani, Editor, Sunday Vanguard; Adejuwon Soyinka,Ogun State Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media & Publicity,and Mr. Richard Okotie.

Jim Ovia, Chairman, Zenith Bank Plc, with his wife, Mrs Ovia, displayinghis awards.

Ibrahim Dankwambo,Gombe State governor, displaying his Vanguard Governor of the Year Award,flanked by the chairman of the occasion, Dr. Oba Otudeko (7th right), and other Gombe Stateguests.

Mr. Dele Alake, receiving Vanguard Hero ofDemocracy Award, on behalf of Asiwaju BolaTinubu,National Leader, All ProgressivesCongress, APC.

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016—13

VANGUARD PERSONALITY AWARDS

Chief Ede Dafinone, representing his father, Senator David Dafinone(right) and Erelu Abiola Dosunmu.

Governor Shettima (left) receiving his award from Dr. Otudeko.

From left— General Manager/ Editor-in-Chief, Mr. GbengaAdefaye; Sunday Editor, Mr. Jide Ajani, and AGM, Brands,Mr. Fred Odueme, all of Vanguard Newspaper.

Otunba Gani Adams, Coordinator, Oodua Peoples Congress.

Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State and Dr. Otudeko (middle) with executivemembers of Borno State government.

BELOW: From left— ChiefChris Muroro, Chief JohnsonBaroube and Chief SimeonOhwofa.

Borno State governor's entourage.

From left—Nkachi Ali-Balogun, Bunmi Oke and AlhajiGarba Kankarofi, Registrar/Chief Executive, AdvertisingPractitioners Council of Nigeria, APCON.

LEFT: From left—Deaconess Lizzy Okagbe, Mrs.Dorothy Ufot and Chairman,APCON, Udeme Ufot.

CMYK

14—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

VANGUARD PERSONALITY AWARDS

From left— Former Vice President, Chief Alex Ekwueme,Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State and Dr. Oba Otudeko.

Representative of President Muhammadu Buhari, Ministerof Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed (right) andCorporate Affairs Manager/Protocol, Vanguard Newspapers,Mr. Victor Omoregie.

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State (middle) flanked by his wife, Iara, and Dr.Oba Otudeko, Chairman of the occasion.

From left— Vice President, Yeye Adenike Shobajo; DG, Mr.Muda Yussuf; Deputy President, Mr. Babatunde Ruwase; VicePresident, Chief Olawale Cole, all of Lagos Chamber ofCommerce and Industry, LCCI. Ushers.

From left— Chairman Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Oliver Akubueze; Eze Uche Demgba;Eze Pat Ene and Eze Anthony Elui.

Cross section of guests.

Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State and his wife, Olufunso.From left— Consulate General of Italy, Mr. Vincent Delace, Mr. Andrea

Pompermaier, Mr. Charles Obi and Dr. Celey Okogun.

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016—15

CMYK

16 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

OPINIONNigeria’s secular state questionBy Julius Oweh

•Mr. Oweh, a journalist, wrote fromAsaba, Delta State.

THE separation of religion fromstatecraft is predicated on the time

honoured principle of protecting thefundamental rights of the citizens topractise any religion of their choicewithout let or hindrance. The secularnature of a state is further strengthenedon the score that no religion is adoptedas state religion and the founding fathersof Nigeria were very much aware of thisand so adopted this model in the FederalRepublic of Nigeria. There are Muslims,Christians, African traditional religionadherents and those who do not believein any form of organised religion. Thebeauty of that arrangement is thatnobody is discriminated against on thebasis of religion.

But the vibrations coming from AsoRock and the political and diplomaticdispositions of President MuhammaduBuhari, to say the least, are notcomfortable at all. During a recent visitto Saudi Arabia, the media handlers ofthe president said that Buhari rejectedthe suggestion of the Saudi authority tojoin Islamic coalition against terrorism.But the president speaking to Al Jazeeracontradicted the views of his mediaadvisers, saying that the country has alot to gain by joining the coalitionagainst terrorism and that in fact,Nigeria is already a member of thatcoalition headed by Saudi Arabia. Thisis how the nation helmsman puts it: ̀ We

faceoff between Saudi Arabia and Iran.Furthermore, should Nigeria remain inthe coalition against terrorism, themessage to the Islamic State of Iraq andLevent (ISIL) is that Nigeria is an enemyand that would peak up the co-operationbetween Boko Haram and ISIL. Nigeriawould be worst for it. That is the morereason the Abuja authority in theinterest of the nation should severe anylink with that coalition. Those who wantto fight international terrorism are freeto do so and should not be done under theveneer of Islam. Nigeria is a secular stateand nothing should be done to paint thecountry otherwise.

There are many problems plaguingthe country and the presentadministration should not add religionto it. For long, Nigerians have tried tounderstand why a country whose linguafranca is English has the Islamic motifand Arabic signs on its currency. It’sabout time someone explained therationale behind this to Nigerians. Thepresent administration should notchange the secular nature of the countryand do things that may endanger thepresent religious harmony. And it is nottoo late for Buhari to retrace his steps orthe National Assembly do the rightthing by invoking the necessaryconstitutional provisions to protect thesecular nature of Nigeria.

are part of it because we have gotterrorists in Nigeria who claim that theyare Islamic. So if there is an Islamiccoalition to fight terrorism, Nigeria willbe part of it because we are casualties ofIslamic terrorism”.`

Many Nigerians are taken aback by thesentiments of the president about the socalled benefits of belonging to the groupin a multi religious nation like ours. Thepresident failed to tell Nigerians thebenefits of belonging to such group. Butthe greater danger and politicalimplication is that Nigeria is a memberof military coalition without theapproval of the National Assembly. Thisis a clear breach of the constitution byany stretch of political imagination. The1999 constitution, the fundamental lawthat governs the operations of the presentdemocratic dispensation in Sections 217-219 forbids the president from enteringinto any military pact or deployment ofour soldiers in foreign land without the

approval of the National Assembly. Thesame constitution also maintains `theNational Assembly shall have power tomake laws for the regulation of (a) thepowers exercisable by the President andCommander-in-Chief of the ArmedForces of the Federation. That is the morecompelling reason that the presidentshould withdraw our membership of thatcoalition and seeks the consent of theNational Assembly before entering intosuch military pact.

It is this kind of disposition that madepeople like Governor Ayodele Fayose ofEkiti state to say that Buhari was on theverge of Islamising the country.Speaking recently in Port Harcourt,Fayose warned Nigerians on the loomingdisaster of foisting Islamic theocracy onthe nation. His sentiments: ‘They (APC)have started subtle moves to makeNigeria an Islamic nation but God willstop them. This was done in 1984, itfailed. It would fail again.....Nigeria is afree nation where we proclaim the nameof Jesus Christ freely, and we believe inAllah for those who are Muslims. Thisnation will not be taken for an Islamicnation.

Religion is so toxic and combustive thatit should not be mixed with politics orthe governance of a nation. Saudi Arabiais free to practise theocracy but Nigeriashould not be drawn into the diplomatic

The presentadministrationshould not do thingsthat may endangerthe present religiousharmony

Keeping NDDC out of politics

Abia State Governor, Dr OkezieIkpeazu, offered a useful and wisepiece of advice to the Acting Man-aging Director of the Niger DeltaDevelopment Commission(NDDC), Mrs Ibim Semenitari,when she recently visited his of-fice in Umuahia, as part of hertour of the eight states of the Ni-ger Delta.

The Governor pleaded that allstakeholders in the NDDC shouldnot extend the unhealthy politi-cal atmosphere perpetrated by theruling All Progressives Congress(APC) and their rivals, the Peo-ple’s Democratic Party (PDP) intheir struggle for power and con-trol of the states within the oil-rich region.

This call is timely and on point,and we support it without reser-vation. The politics of the 2015general elections, the electoraltribunals as well as the rerunpolls in Bayelsa and Rivers Statesexacted a heavy toll in human

lives and property. Firearms andother dangerous weapons werefreely used; a Youth Corpsmember was murdered and aparty chieftain gruesomelybeheaded.

Leading politicians, particular-ly of the APC and PDP, did notcomport themselves in an exem-plary manner and elections end-ed inconclusively. At the end of itall, the PDP is now in control ofsix of the eight states under theNDDC’s mandate – Abia, AkwaIbom, Bayelsa, Delta, Ondo andRivers – while the APC retainsEdo and Imo States and took overcontrol of the FederalGovernment. This is a dramatic

departure from the past when thePDP used to be in charge of all thestates in the region as well as theFederal Government.

The NDDC’s new helmsmen andstakeholders must learn to cohab-it harmoniously under the newpolitical mix and configuration,eschew bitter politics and un-healthy partisan differences andclose ranks to improve the trackrecords of service delivery in theCommission.

After all, partisan politics is onlya means to an end, the end beinggood governance and delivery ofbenefits to the people. The NDDCis a core service delivery agency.It is not a political outfit, and it

should not be politicised, as thiswill compromise its ability tocontribute its quota to thedevelopment of the region.

We urge the Board of the Com-mission to consult widely amongthe critical stakeholders, especial-ly the state governors, the youthorganisations, oil communityleaders and other legitimate vest-ed interests to ensure minimumdisruption of the activities of theCommission.

We also plead with stakeholdersto adjust to the new political re-alities now steering the affairs ofthe Commission and offer everyassistance to enable them suc-ceed. Grievances should be prop-erly channelled and promptly ad-dressed.

Irrespective of which party is incharge, the NDDC and other stateagencies set up to uplift thequality of life of the people mustcarry out their mandates withoutlet or hindrance.

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APRIL 11, 2016

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Continues on page 18

Trouble is brewing between theFinancial Reporting Council(FRC) and notable shareholder

groups in the country over a draft ruleby FRC spelling out the qualificationindividuals aspiring to the position ofaudit committee chairmen of quotedcompanies must possess.

FRC in the draft rule directed thatsuch persons must be members ofcertified professional accountingbody in the country. The Council basedits argument on the premise that

FRC, shareholders poised for war overaudit committee chair… Audit committee chair must be professional accountant — FRC… It’s not necessary, shareholders declare, demand reversal

By NKIRUKA NNOROM professional accountants are morereliable, saying that their educationand training allow for their judgmentto be relied upon.

However, leaders of renownedshareholder groups have frowned atthe guideline, which they describe asunnecessary and called for immediatereversal. According to them, the FRCrules is in contravention of section359(3) and (6) of Companies andAllied Matters Act, Cap. C20.

Controversial rule/guidelineThe draft rule contained in a circular

titled “Transitional ConcessionsAgreed between the Nigerian StockExchange (NSE) and the FinancialReporting Council of Nigeria (FRC)regarding Rules 1& 2 of the FRC’sRules” published by the NSE on March29, 2016, with reference no:NSE/LARD/LRD/CIR5/16/03/29, statesthus: “Chairman of audit committee,to annual report, financial statements,accounts, financial report, returns andother documents of a financial nature,shall be a professional member of anaccounting body established by Act ofthe National Assembly in Nigeria.”

It, however, states that currentchairman of the audit committee shallbe permitted to attest to accounts offinancial nature regardless of whetherhe is a professional member of anaccounting body or not for the currentfinancial year only.

The FRC added in the circular that"The foregoing concessionaryarrangement shall apply only to entitieswhich in the case of a holding companyshall include its subsidiaries): (i)Which are not currently in court withthe FRC and/or having any of itsdirector(s) currently holding FRCNnumbers that have been suspended bythe FRC. Every subsequent annualreport, financial statements,accounts, financial report, returnsand other documents of a financialnature of the audit committee shall beattested to by a chairman who is aprofessional member of an accountingbody established by Act of NationalAssembly in Nigeria in compliancewith FRC Rule 2.”

Again, the FRC in its ACT No. 6 2011expressly reaffirmed the above positionon qualification of audit committeechairman, warning that certificationsthat do not comply with the Council’spronouncement shall be deemed asnon-compliance with its rule andcapable of rendering the financialstatements misleading. “Appropriatepenalties as provided for in the FRCAct, 2011 and the FRC Guidelines/Regulations for Inspection andMonitoring of Reporting Entities 2014shall apply,” it warned.

Provisions of CAMARelevant sections of Companies and

Allied Matters Act - Section 359 (3 &4), that relate to qualification andexperience of audit committee

VISIT - From Left: Mr Tony Agenmonmen, 1st Vice President &Vice Chairman National Institute of Marketing ofNigeria (NIMN), Mr Yaw Nsarkoh, Managing Director, Unilever Nigeria plc, Mr Ganiyu Koledoye, President &Chairman of Governing Council, NIMN and; Mrs Nsima Ogedi-Alakwe, Brand Building Director, Foods UnileverNigeria Plc,during a courtesy visit by executive members of NIMN to Unilever Head Office in Lagos.PHOTO: Kehinde Gbadamosi

18 —18 —18 —18 —18 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

Cover

Continued from page 17

members, including thechairman provide that: Thechairman of the auditcommittee should be a non-executive director, to benominated by the members ofthe audit committee.

Basically, members of thecommittee should be able toread and understand basicfinancial statements, andshould be capable of makingvaluable contributions to thecommittee. Moreso, membersof the committee shouldpossess a thoroughunderstanding of thecompany ’s business, itsproducts and services, areasonable knowledge of therisks facing the company andthe essential controls thecompany has in place,inquisitiveness anddependable judgment andability to offer new or differentperspectives and constructivesuggestions.

Like any non-executivedirector, audit committeemembers should (at least as agroup) possess a wide rangeof knowledge, skills andpersonal attributes: soundjudgment; integrity and highethical standards; stronginterpersonal skills; and theability and willingness tochallenge and probe.Specifically, audit committeemembers must be able tounderstand the rules and,more importantly, theprinciples that underpin thepreparation of financialstatements.

Shareholders agitateIn his reaction, Mr. Boniface

FRC, shareholders poised for war overaudit committee chair

COLLOQUIUM - From left: Principal Partner, Technique Loss Adjusters Limited, Mr. RalphOpara; Deputy President, Nigerian British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), Mr. Akin Olawore;Chairman, Nigerian Insurers Association and Managing Director, Linkage Assurance Plc, Mr.Gus Wiggle; Director –General NBCC, Mrs. Joyce Akpata and Director–General CharteredInsurance Institute of Nigeria, Mr. Rola Ahmed at the NBCC’s Nigerian Insurance industryColloquium in Lagos.

Okezie, Chairman,Progressive ShareholdersAssociation of Nigeria (PSAN)insisted that a shareholderneed not possess anyaccounting qualification asadduced by FRC to sit aschairman of audit committee,arguing that no requirementlike being an ICAN memberwas attached as pre-conditionsto buy shares.

He said: “FRC has no legalbacking to say thatshareholders should not beaudit committee except theyare ICAN qualified. Thatmeans you must be charteredaccountant before you canserve in audit committee. Wesay no because that law is alienas far we are concerned.Nobody told shareholders thatbefore you buy can shares, youmust possess a degree; youmust be an accountant or anengineer before you buy into

a company.“The law says that

shareholders should nominatetwo or three members to contestin audit committee in anyquoted company, while thedirectors should nominatetheir own members. And all thedirectors nominated in thecommittee must not bechartered accountants. Theycan be from any profession.

The requirement is that auditcommittee members should beable to read and write. Theaudit committee is not auditingaccount; they are looking atwhat the auditors, who areaccountants, have done. Theyare reviewing what theauditors have done; they arelooking at reports written bymanagement.

It is the audit committee thatensures that therecommendations made by theauditors to the managementteam are enforced; that isbasically what they do. Interms of looking at figures, theycan liaise with the auditors whoare paid to audit the figures.”

Continuing, he said: “So,what kind of law is FinancialReporting Council making. Werely on CAMA and FRCcannot make any law for us.Any law today governingshareholders activity is madeby CAMA. The law of CAMAstipulates that if you can readand write and interpret figure,you can be audit committeemembers. That’s all!

So, this law that is beingproposed by the FRC shouldbe discarded; we will fight itat the court of law. It has no

Continues on page 19

Having a greatbusiness ideais only the first step

in the journey to raising yourbusiness empire. Turning yourbusiness idea into a money-making venture requires raisingthe capital necessary to get yourblessing running and thatrepresents the next step ofthousands of other steps. Instarting your own business, themost challenging task you haveto face as an entrepreneur israising money as capital.

The ability to raise money tostart a business is one of thetests you must undergo as anentrepreneur. As daunting as itmay seem, the challenge ofraising money is not as toughas you think. It is no secret thatin your quest to raise money tostart your business you arebound to face a lot of obstacles.It would be very unfair of me topromise you otherwise.However, the good news is thatit can be done as there are somepeople, some institutions andsome organisations willing tolook at investing in start – upbusinesses.

There are many tried andtested ways of raising money tostart your business which havebeen used by many famousentrepreneurs whosebusinesses have becomehousehold names, includingBill Gates (Microsoft), MichaelDell (Dell computers) andRichard Branson (Virgin), toname a few. For maximumsuccess, you would do well touse a combination of differenttactics to employ when youwant to raise capital for yourgreat business idea.

Using feasibility businessIdeas

The first and basic key toraising money is to have abusiness idea that is feasible,that is practicable, and that isworkable. You wonder why? Thefirst question any investor youapproach will ask is this: Howprofitable is your business idea?That is because no investor willwant to put his money in abusiness that is impossible andnot viable. They will also wantto know the expected return ontheir investment and the timeframe within which to recouptheir initial investment. Beforeyou embark on a quest to raisemoney, carry out a feasibilitystudy to determine theprofitability of your business

Turning great Ideas intogreat money

idea.Using a business planAnother prerequisite in the

process of raising money foryour business idea is a goodbusiness plan. One of your firstmoves when you want tosource for funds to start yourbusiness should be to put acomprehensive business plan.Your business plan will includedetails of your background,education, training experienceand any other personalqualities you possess. Yourpersonal qualities andexperience are often regardedas assets to your business.Your business plan should alsoexplain in detail themodalities of how you aregoing to use the money youneed.

It should also explain indetail your proposed businessidea, associated expenditure,the market researchundertaken, and your financialprojection and so on. Aboveall, your business plan shoulddescribe in detail what makesyour business differs from thatof your competitors. What willinterest your investors the mostabout your business planshould state precisely whatany investor should expect asreturns on their investmentsand also, when and how youare going to pay it.

Personality, Appearanceand presentation style

Next thing to consider isyour personality, yourappearance and yourpresentation style. Whenapproaching an investor,remember you have only achance to create an impressionin his or hermind.Therefore,you must beconscious of your appearance,don’t appear rough andunkempt and, please, try tolook professional. In the gameof raising money for yourbusiness, appearance mattersa lot.

Now to your presentationstyle: your manner ofpresentation will determinethe success or failure of yourquest to raise money for yourbusiness idea to your investorswith a high level ofconfidence, because the betteryou are at communicating yourstrengths to them, the betteryour chances of raising money.If you lack communicationskills, read up books on thetopic.

Like any non-executivedirector, auditcommitteemembersshould (at leastas a group)possess a widerange ofknowledge,skills andpersonalattributes

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016 — 19

Cover Story

Continued from page 18

FRC, shareholders poised for war over audit committee chair

power.” He, therefore, calledon the presidency toreconstitute the Board of FRC,saying that it cannot continueto be run as a one-man-show.

Corroborating his views, SirSunny Nwosu, NationalCoordinator, Independentshareholders Association ofNigeria (ISAN) said that therule is uncalled for andthreatened to sue the Councilat the expiration of two weeksultimatum already handed outto it.

“There is difference betweenrules and laws and where thereis clash, the law overrides the

rule,” he said, adding thatprovisions of the Companiesand Allied Matters Act(CAMA) supersede FRCregulation and as such theCouncil should reverse theregulation which he said runscontrary to CAMArequirements.

“Audit committee is a law byCAMA; therefore, they shouldallow the audit committee toappoint its own chairman. Wewill take action. Already, wehave written them and wehave given them 14 days torescind that. If they don’t, weshall be in court,” he declared.

He added: “If accountants inNigeria have become jobless

and need job, they shouldlook elsewhere and not auditcommittee job.”

Contributing, DR. FaroukUmar, President, Associationfor the Advancement of theRights of NigerianShareholders, regretted thatFRC recently rejected theappointment of veryknowledgeable shareholder(who can dissect financialaccounts) from serving aschairman of an audit committeeon account of the new rule.

Expressing disappointmentwith the rule, Umar said: “youdon’t need to be an accountantto read and understand afinancial statement. We reject

the rule in its entirety and willhead to court if the rule is not

US importing Nigeriacrude oil again?

One news item in the international wire service last week caught my attention.It is the fact that the United States of America has turned again to Nigeria

for crude oil. The new twist in the US quest for Nigerian oil is coming on the heelsof the slow down in shale oil fracking in the US. The US oil production has fallen byabout 600,000 barrels a day since peaking in 2015, and imports have filled the gap.

The news looks cheering going by the fact that several tons of Nigerian crudehave been on the high sea looking for buyers. According to the report, refineries

along the US coasts arechoosing to buy imports insteadof local crude. “One of thebiggest winners is Nigeria,which is regaining lost marketshare. Imports from Nigeriasurged to 559,000 barrels a dayin mid-March, compared withan average of 52,000 for all of2015.

The opening up of the USmarket is giving Nigeria a newbeginning with the US in oiltrade. However, it is because theprice of crude has dropped solow that it is no longer profitablefor the US shale producers tocontinue in business. Thecurrent price of crude has madeoil recovery from shale far moreexpensive than imported oil.

The question is: will this bringrelief to Nigeria's dwindlingrevenue? Perhaps, in the lastfew years, Angolan crude hasbeen finding it easier to attractbuying interest than the lightsweet and better qualityNigerian crude, which, until afew years ago, was the preferredchoice for most refiners. But itis not only due to higher pricesand economics that Nigeriancrudes are struggling; a lot hasto do with the customer base ofboth countries. “Angolan crudesrely on countries that aregrowing at a rate of 5 per centto 8 per cent while crudes outof Nigeria rely heavily onEurope, where economies aregenerally on a decline.”

It must have been givingNigeria's oil authority anightmare that the country’sexport crude cargoes everymonth are grappling to attractend-users and refinerydemand, and are instead beingstored on ships and on storageterminals, idling away. It is saidthat bulk of the oversupply in

the Atlantic Basin crude marketis comprised more of Nigeriancrudes. What is furtherworrisome is the fact that a lotof Nigerian crude had beenfloating on the seas and instorage tanks with no home andno destination. But with the USnow buying an average of559,000 barrel per day, Nigeriacan now have a respite.

As a result of the boom inshale oil that the USexperienced in the last fewyears and the crash in crude oilprices, the US Senate lifted itsembargo on oil export. In thethree months since the U.S.lifted its 40-year ban on crudeoil exports, rather than floodingglobal markets, U.S. crudeshipments to foreign buyershave stalled. At the same time,imports into the U.S. jumped toa three-year high in what looksto be a reversal of a year-longdecline in the amount of foreigncrude brought into the Americanmarket.

According to Bloombergreport, “As of March 25, thefour-week average of importswas running at 7.9 millionbarrels a day, 9.8 per centhigher than the year before.“That’s not a one-week blip,”says Tim Evans, an energyanalyst at Citi Futures. “We’reseeing a consistent pattern.”

As it tuned out, the USproducers, who reaped thebenefits of the shale revolution,

no longer enjoy a steep priceadvantage over foreign rivals inselling to domestic refiners.Production has fallen by about600,000 barrels a day from itspeak of 9.6 million in 2015.Curiously, almost the 600,000barrels shortfall from US localproduction is now beingimported from Nigeria. At themoment, refineries are buyingforeign oil to replace the lostU.S. output—and, along withtraders, are storing much of theless-expensive imported oil tosell when prices rise.

According to Bloomberg,“During the early years of theU.S. shale boom, millions ofbarrels of light, sweet crude hadone big problem: no affordable

access to refiners on the coastsof Texas and Louisiana. To tapinto the cheaper oil pooling inOklahoma, pipelines that usedto bring imported oil up fromthe Gulf were reversed to takeshale oil down to the coast.Refiners in Philadelphia andNew Jersey also began buyingNorth Dakota crude instead offoreign oil, moving it by trainacross the country. By October2014, U.S. imports had fallen byabout 40 per cent from a highin 2006.

“Analysts say that West TexasIntermediate crude has to be $3to $5 cheaper than imported oilto pay for those pipeline andtransportation costs. From 2011to 2014, U.S. oil was on average$12.61 cheaper than equivalentforeign oil. The discount slowlynarrowed as pipeline projectswere completed and U.S. crudebegan to flow more freely fromthe middle of the country downto the Gulf Coast.

“A week before the US Senateapproved lifting the export banon December 18, WTI tradedaround $3 below Brent. Overthe next month, the discountdisappeared, and, for the firsttime in six years, WTI traded ata premium to Brent for a fewdays in January. WTI is nowless than a dollar cheaper thanforeign barrels available on theGulf Coast.

The irony of the shale boom,and all the light crude itunlocked, is that it came just as

U.S. refiners were spendingbillions to process heavy oil. “Intheory, there was always goingto be a linkage between freeingup U.S. barrels and replacingthem with foreign crude thatU.S. refiners are better suitedto run,” says Kevin Book,managing director at ClearViewEnergy Partners.

“For some of the weakest U.S.producers with the highestcosts, lifting the ban didn’tmatter because they can’tcompete on the global market,says Abudi Zein, co-founder ofClipperData, which usescustoms data and ship-trackinginformation to estimate globaloil flows. For U.S. producerswith the highest costs, “they’llnever be able to export becauseall of a sudden, they ’recompeting with Saudi Arabiaand Iraq.”

The U.S. is hoarding a lot ofthe imported oil. As of March 25, U.S. commercial crudeinventories hit 534 millionbarrels. That’s near the all-timehigh in 1929, when U.S.commercial storage hit 545 million barrels, as huge oil findscoincided with the beginning ofthe Great Depression. Today,with oil so cheap, producers andtraders are opting to wait forprices to rise instead of selling,especially with the futuresmarket signaling that oil priceswill rise. Traders can lock inthose prices by taking out acontract for delivery a fewmonths down the road”.

How this will help Nigeriashore up its dwindling revenueis not yet clear. But one thing iscertain, return of the US tobuying Nigerian crude willensure that there is a readymarket for Nigeria. The NNPChad better take this chanceseriously.

changed.”

UNVEILING - From left: Mr Segun Macaulay, Vice-Presi-dent, Sales and Distribution; Nitin Anard, Vice-President,Data and Digital Services and Adefemi Adeniran, Head, PublicRelations, at the unveiling of Airtel Smart Speedo in Lagos.

Return of theUS to buyingNigerian crudewill ensurethat there is aready marketfor Nigeria;the NNPC hadbetter takethis chanceseriously

20 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

CMYK

Business & Economy

UNVEILING - From left: Dr Olatunde Aworanti, Registrar/CEO, NABTEB; Dr Doyin Salami,Guest Speaker; Mr Kunle Akinniran, Managing Director, Vatebra; Mr Mike Aigbe, DeputyMaaging Director and Dr Iyi Uwadia, Registrar, West African Examination Council, WAECduring the unveiling of new name for Fleet Technologies Company as Vatebra in Lagos. PhotoLamidi Bamidele.

The Institute of CharteredAccountants of Nigeria

(ICAN) has certified about 30members with the InternationalFinancial Reporting Standards (IFRS)Certification

More so, 15 members were certifiedfor the Forensic Accountant of Nigeriaand Financial and InformationTechnology Consultant respectively.

Speaking at the occasion of theFaculties Joint Induction Ceremoniesfor the 2015 Forensic Accounting;IFRS and Consultancy andInformation Technology Certificationtraining programmes, ICANPresident, Otunba Olufemi Deru,said that the Faculties were createdby the Council in 2001 as part ofstrategies to address the post-qualification specialisation needs ofmembers in response to marketdemand.

According to him, “Over the years,the institute has been producingchartered accountants who havediverse competencies in the practiceof audit, taxation, insolvency,

IFRS: ICAN certifies more members

The Federal Governmenthas stated that the

myriad of problems currentlyfacing the country is creatingan image problem for thecountry.

Permanent Secretary,Ministry of Information andCulture, Mrs. AyotundeAdesugba, who stated this atthe monthly meeting of theNigeria Institute of PublicRelations, NIPR and launchof the Institutes monthlynewsletter, lamented that thefuel crisis and other economicchallenges are denting theimage of the country.

Adetugba, who wasrepresented by the Director,Information andCommunication Technology(ICT), Mrs. VeronicaAdeyemo, called onprofessionals, such as theNIPR to always remember thecountry in their deliberationsand engagement so as helplift the country from theseproblems.

She tasked the NIPR, as wellas other professionalassociations, to proffersolutions to salvaging thecountry ’s image and insolving the problemsconfronting the country.

In his response, Mr. TayoHaastrup, Chairman NIPR,Capital City Chapter, Abuja,promised to support thegovernment in projecting apositive image for Nigeria.

According to him, the NIPRwould introduce programmesand policies that wouldsupport the efforts ofPresident MuhammaduBuhari to present a positiveimage of the country bothlocally and internationally.

He said, “We need anational conference onnational integration, and whatthe present government isdoing would be a very gooddirection for anybody tosupport. Image launderingand policies are veryimportant.

“Let me also tell you that theBuhari is already helping usin the aspect of imagelaundering. He is a man ofintegrity; he is a man thatdeveloped countries believein, and you can see himtravelling here and there;there are receiving him verywell. This is the number onecitizen that is already helpingus to launch and launder ourimage all over the world.

Nigeria facingimage problemsover fuel crisis,others — FG

By MICHAEL EBOH

BY FRANKLIN ALLI

The Central Bank ofNigeria, CBN, hasaverted the closure of

over 200 companies in themanufacturing sector of theeconomy through its recentallocation of foreign exchangeto the affected industries tobring in their raw materials.

Recall that the apex bankhad in a bid to stabilise theexchange rate, in protectionof foreign reserves, followingoil price decline, excluded 41products from access to theforeign exchange market(interbank foreign exchangemarket and Bureau deChange).

This led to inability of some

CBN averts closure of 200 manufacturingfirms through forex access

manufactures to sustainproduction due to lack ofForex to import raw materials

C o n s e q u e n t l y ,Manufacturers Association ofNigeria cried out threemonths ago that if the dollarscarcity persists, an estimated200 of its members out of the1,600 surviving companieswould close down theiroperations by the end of thefirst quarter of 2016.

With the first quarter over,Dr. Frank Jacobs, MANPresident, said: “The goodnews is that CBN has startedallocating forex tomanufacturers. Thought, it isnot exactly what we want butit is better than none. Someweeks ago, we had challengein getting some forex, so I

had a meeting with the CBNGovernor, Godwin Emefiele.

“At the meeting, hepromised that he was goingto make sure thatmanufacturers' requirementsare met although he said hecannot guarantee theirrequirements will be met 100per cent. After the meetingwith the CBN Governor, I metwith MAN members andconveyed the message thattheir requests are beingattended to and they arehappy that although that isnot exactly what they want butthat they are happy thatsomething is happening. Iam very happy about wherewe are today and we hope theCBN will sustain that effort,”he said.

According to him, it was theoutcome of their public outcrythat led the CBN Governor tohave a meeting with “’Me.When he saw the reports, wediscussed at length and hepromised that he wouldensure that manufacturers’requirements are met.”

Fielding question on theway forward, he noted: “Yes,the way forward is we arehappy at present ourrequirements are being met,and our prayer is that itshould be sustained so thatwe can together grow theeconomy.

He stressed that although,the current allocation of forexto manufacturers is not ableto satisfy their demand 100per cent, but at least it is betterthan nothing.

“We are happy that at leastCBN is sensitive to our needsnow even though they are notable to give us 100 per centaccess pending the time whenthe forex improves, and whenthe price of oil goes up andforeign reserve improves.

Like Oliver Twist, in orderto satisfy our raw materialsrequirement, actually, wewant hundred per cent of therequirements because whenyou apply for $100,000 but youwere given $50,000 dollars, itmeans that your production isgoing to be cut into half andcutting your production intohalf would mean that youwon’t be able to work thenumbers of hours you aresupposed to work in a day.That is why we are hopingthat with time they should beable to give us everything wewant. So we are happy thatsomething is coming thatwhen nothing was coming atall. He disclosed that in orderto cut down on dependenceon imported raw materials forproduction, MAN is indiscussion with the RawMaterials Research andDevelopment Council, RMRDC.

BY PROVIDENCE OBUH corporate finance, financial advisoryservices, secretariat services, publicfinance, information technologyamongst others.

“However, developments in themarket place now point to the needfor specialists in these various areasof accountancy. The advent ofglobalisation and the revolution ininformation technology havesignificantly altered the traditionalmode of accounting processes and byextension, the pace, mode and theservice delivery by charteredaccountants.

“The challenges imposed on playersin the economy by these complexchanges have invariably increasedthe premium placed on the skills andcompetences of chartered accountantsresulting in the expansion of theirresponsibilities beyond the traditionalattestation functions.

“It was in response to thesedynamics, the resulting marketpreference for specialists and theneed for post-qualification bymembers that about seven facultieswere created by the Council,” he said.

Deru charged the inductees tocontinue to fly the profession’s flag

of honesty, integrity and excellencewith distinction in their respectivespheres of influence, no matter theodds.

“This noble Institute, in my view, haspioneered various initiatives and maderemarkable progress in various fieldsboth locally and internationally byleveraging on the expertise andingenuity of its members.

“Therefore, except you continue todemonstrate these great ideals andthrive on the virtues of your professionthrough exemplary conduct, we cannotlegitimately claim to be the conscienceof the nation,” he said.

In his remark, Chairman, Board ofAudit, Investigation and ForensicAccounting Faculty, Mr. FrancisMedessou, said that there is a needfor more accountants due to the rise ineconomic and financial crimes in thenation.

“There is a need for more charteredaccountants especially those trained asforensic accountants with skills toinvestigate financial crime andproduce reliable and credible reportswith which they will report theevidence that will facilitate judicialdecisions on matters of fraud andfinancial and economic crimes.”

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016 — 21

CMYK

22 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

CMYK

Banking & Finance

COMPETITION - From left, Group Head, Proposition & Products, Sterling Bank Plc, AdewaleAkinrinde; Principal Consultant, Wiseplanner Consulting, Sam Omole; Group Head, Digital &Transaction Banking, Sterling Bank Plc, Olugbenga Adams; Chief Consultant, HT Limited,Feyikemi Odunuga, and Group Head, Strategy & Communications, Shina Atilola, at thepresentation of the finalists/contestants in the “Meet The Executive” Business Plan competitionorganized by the Bank in Lagos.

STORIES BY BABAJIDEKOMOLAFE

Investors demanded forN2 trillion worth ofgovernment securities in

March, reflecting the level ofidle funds (excess liquidity)in the banking system.

Analysis of trading ingovernment securities, alsoknown as treasury bills, for themonth of March revealed thatthe amount offered by theCentral Bank rose by 31 percent to N762 billion fromN584 billion in February.

Investors demand for N2trnInvestors demand for N2trnInvestors demand for N2trnInvestors demand for N2trnInvestors demand for N2trngovernment securities in Marchgovernment securities in Marchgovernment securities in Marchgovernment securities in Marchgovernment securities in March

Demand by investors, orpublic subscription, rose by 35per cent to N2.09 trillion,while the amount sold rosemarginally by 0.8 per cent toN902 billion from N894billion. However, the amountof treasury bills (TBs) repaidby the CBN dropped by 21 percent to N512 billion fromN644 billion

Further analysis revealedthat investors showed thatwhile demand for freshlyissued TBs, also known asPrimary Market Auction(PMA) rose during the

month, demand for existingTBs also know as OpenMarket Operation (OMO)declined.

Demand for OMO billsdropped by 14 percent toN543 billion from N631billion in February. Theamount offered and sold bythe apex bank also droppedby 25 percent and 43 percentrespectively to N150 billionand N290 billion from N200billion and N510 billion in theprevious month. Similarly theamount of matured OMObills repaid during the month

dropped by 74 percent to N67billion from N260 billion.

Demand for PMA billshowever rose sharply by 59percent to N1.54 trillion fromN914 billion in February. Theamount offered and sold bythe CBN also rose by 69percent and 59 percent toNN612 billion from N384billion. Also the amount ofmatured PMA bills repaidduring the month rose by 16percent to N445 billion fromN384 billion in February.

Recalled that the MonetaryPolicy Committee (MPC) at itsmeeting held on March 22nd,2016 had complained aboutthe amount of excess liquidityin the banking system, sayingit is driving demand forforeign exchange, and hasthe tendency to worsen therising inflation rate.

The Committee said, “Fromthe monetary data, theCommittee noted that theexcess liquidity in thebanking system wascontributing to the currentpressure in the foreignexchange market with astrong pass-through toconsumer prices.

Money market interest ratesreflected the liquidity situationin the banking system.Average inter-bank call andOBB rates, which stood at 0.5and 2.77 per cent on 25January 2016, closed at 4.00and 5.00 per cent,respectively, on March 9,2016. Between January 25thand end-February 2015,interbank call and OBB ratesaveraged 1.43 and 2.68 percent, respectively. This wastraced to liquidity surfeit inthe banking system. Thedeposit money banks were,however, reluctant to grantnew credit because of risingnon-performing loans (NPLs),mainly in the oil sector,amongst other reasons.”

The Bankers Committeehas said that thescarcity of foreign

exchange in the countryrequires adjustment on thepart of every Nigerian.

Addressing journalists at theend of the Committee’smeeting in Lagos onThursday, Managing Director/Chief Executive, GTBank Plc,Mr. Segun Agbaje said thatthe Committee is of theopinion that foreign exchangesituation calls for adjustmenton the part of everybody.

He spoke in company ofDirector, Banking SupervisionDepartment, Central Bank ofNigeria (CBN), Mrs TokunboMartins, Managing Director/Chief Executive, FidelityBank Plc, Mr. Nnamdi

Forex: Bankers Committee calls for adjustments*CBN appoints 2 super agents for financial inclusion

Nwankwo, ManagingDirector/ Chief Executive,Unity Bank Plc, Mrs TolaSomefun and the ActingDirector, CorporateCommunication Department,CBN, Mr. Isaac Okoroafor.

Agbaje said, “The reality onthe ground is that we arecoming from $115 per barreloil price to somewhere aroundN37 per barrel. We all haveto make adjustment. Ourhabits have to change a bitbecause we have less moneyto spend. As corporates, youhave to invest in importsubstitution and developthings locally. We all have togrind now, and make sure weallocate the scarce foreignexchange we have now, tomake the best out of it.

“What we have in Nigeriatoday is a supply problem.And the way you deal with asupply problem is first wehave to cut back on demand,we have to develop importsubstitution so that at somepoint you are able to meet thetype of demand that you have.I am not sure there is anymagic we can perform as acountry other than get yoursupply to meet the type ofdemand that you have.”

Mr. Okoroafor however saidthat there has been noticeableimprovement in allocation offoreign exchange tomanufacturers.”

Meanwhile the CBN hasappointed two firms as superagents to drive financialinclusion in the country.

Director, BankingSupervision Department,Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN), Mrs Tokunbo Martinsdisclosed this at the end of theBankers Committee meeting,the name of the super agentsare Interswitch FinancialInclusion Services andInnovatives Limited.

She said, “You will recall thatsometimes past the CBNstarted agency banking. Nowthere are two new agents,called super agents that aresupposed to recruit otheragents that are supposed todistribute financial services atcheaper prices. Hopefully thiswould carry banking servicesto the nooks and crannies ofNigeria at affordable prices.”

The Managing Director,Ecobank Nigeria, Charles

Kie, has disclosed that thebank will adopt top of therange banking technology topush its market penetrationstrategy to become one of thetop three Nigerian banks inthe next three years. Mr. Kiewho assumed leadership ofEcobank Nigeria in Januarysaid rather than build newbranches the bank wouldcontinue to deploy its state ofthe art technology includingsocial media, analytics, andcloud, among others to reachevery segment of theNigerian population.Kie, who was speaking tonewsmen in Lagos,maintained that the bestmeans to achieve penetrationof financial services is not bybranch network but robusttechnology throughalternative channels.According to the EcobankManaging Director, the bankhas no plans to embark onbranch expansion or mergerand acquisition to achievefinancial inclusion inNigeria.

Ecobank todrive efficiency,financialinclusion withtechnology

VISA eGift payment cardhas been launched by

ChamsMobile, a licensedMobile Money Operator inNigeria, in partnership withSkye Bank Plc.It is an online VISA card,which ChamsMobile Kegowsubscribers can send by mobilephone. The eGift card followsthe successful introduction ofKegow’s virtual VISA card inAugust 2015, the first of itskind in the Nigerian market.The eGift card works exactlythe same way, but is mainlyfor sending monetised gifts tofamily, friends, businessassociates etc., in order toeliminate the stress and worryof what to buy for them onspecial occasions. It is anentirely digital payment cardfor online and mobile use,locally and internationally andis unique in that recipients geta full picture of the VirtualeGift Card on their mobilescreen, PC, or tablet.

Chamsmobile,Skye Bankpartner on e-gift payment

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016 — 23

Corporate Finance

To help bridge the gap for qualitative educationfor Nigerian students, Stanbic IBTC Bank, a

member of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc., has donateda state-of-the-art information and communicationstechnology (ICT) laboratory to GovernmentSecondary School, Apo, Abuja.

The donation is in line with the group’s corporatesocial investment and forms part of initiatives toprovide an ideal learning environment for thestudents that will help bolster their learning abilities,Stanbic IBTC said.

The ICT lab comes fully equipped with 14 units ofhigh-grade desktop personal computers, two HPDeskjet 2135 printers, 120GB Smile Internet modemsubscription, a digital projector with screen, fourChannel CCTV system and two 2-horse power air-conditioners. The laboratory also boasts of anultramodern server and a 15 KVA generator and a6KVA inverter system as back-up power source.

At the lab commissioning, Chief Executive, StanbicIBTC Bank, Mr. Yinka Sanni, represented by theHead, Public Sector Group, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr.Yusufu Modibbo, said education remains thebedrock of society and that the Stanbic IBTC Groupcontinues to seek opportunities, through itscorporate social investment arm, for intervention tohelp build a vibrant educational sector in Nigeria.

Stanbic IBTC Bank donatesICT lab to school

STORIES BYNKIRUKA NNOROM

The CharteredInstitute of

Stockbrokers (CIS), hasstruck out the name ofone of its members, MrAdewale Adegboyega,from the members’register for falserepresentation, forgeryand fraudulent practices.

In the same vein,Barrister Alex Ogbebor,CEO, ForthrightSecurities andInvestment Limited, hasbeen suspended from allstock market activities fora period of six monthhaving been found guiltyof three chargespreferred against him.

Adegboyega was de-registered after servingthree month jail termfollowing his convictionby the Chief MagistrateCourt of Lagos State,

Fraudulent practices: CISde-registers erring member,suspends another

sitting at Igbosere,Lagos Island, Lagos onMay 7, 2013 .

Ogbebor, in his ownpart, was found guiltyof writing to run downa competitor, PanAfrican Capital Plc,through deliberatemisinformation.

CIS said in a statementthat Ogbebor failed toobserve high standardsof commercial honour inits business with PanAfrican Capital anddeliberately misled theinstitute throughfalsified facts to gainpersonal advantage overit.

It stated that the twostockbrokers wereuncovered followinginvestigation by CISdisciplinary tribunalwhich investigates andjudges cases ofunethical behavioursamong the members.

Giving details, CIS

said that having beenfound guilty of threecharges preferredagainst him under theCriminal Code Cap C 17Vol. 2 Laws of LagosState of Nigeria 2003,and on completion hisjail term, Adegboyega’scase was referred to theCIS Investigating Panel.

“The InvestigatingPanel reported that theoffences areincompatible with thestatus of a member of theInstitute as they arecapable of bringingdiscredit to the member,his employers and theinstitute, therebybecoming liable forunprofessional conduct.

In his judgement,Chairman, CIS’Disciplinary Tribunal,Mr Oluwaseyi Abe,said the Tribunal upheldthe view thatAdegboyega’s conductwas of such a magnitudewhich warrants strikingoff his name from theregister of members”.

PRESS BRIEFING - From left: The Managing Director, Guaranty Trust BankPlc, Mr. Segun Agbaje; Acting Director, Corporate CommunicationsDepartment, CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor; Director, Banking SupervisionDepartment, CBN, Mrs. Tokunbo Martins; Managing Director, Unity BankPlc, Mrs. Tomi Somefun and the Managing Director, Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr.Nnamdi Okonkwo during the press briefing on Bankers’ Committee decisions.

UBA shareholders task newMD on value addition...endorse 60k dividend

ground.He expressed his

appreciation to thebank’s board andmanagement forgrowing profit andincreasing dividendpayment at a time whenmany other banksrecorded lower profitand had to cutdividends, saying: “thisdividend paymentreinforces the resilienceof the bank amidstchallenging operatingenvironment and alsoshows the quality of thebank’s management.”

In his address, thechairman of the bank,Mr. Tony Elumelu,charged the incomingGMD to put his best footforward, saying: “To

whom much is given,much is expected. Wesuppose shareholdersdividend will increasein your tenure.”

Speaking on thebank’s performanceduring the year,Elumelu said: “2015was a challenging year,yet it was productive.We grew post taxprofits, we madeconsiderable gains inefficiency, we have beenprudent in riskmanagement. Thecollaborative effort ofour supportiveshareholders andhardworking anddedicated staff havecontinued to ensure thatwe profitable results.”

“We recorded N314billion in grossearnings, representing10 per cent year-on-year growth.

Shareholders ofUnited Bank for

Africa (UBA) Plc havecalled on the incomingGroup ManagingDirector/CEO, Mr.Kennedy Uzoka, tocreate unequalled valuefor all stakeholdersduring his tenure.

Uzoka will take overfrom the incumbent, Mr.Philip Oduzua, whoretires on July 31, 2016after successfullycompleting a two termtenure as the helmsman.The shareholders alsoratified the payment ofN0.60 dividends for theyear ended December31, 2015.

Making the call at thebank’s 54th AnnualGeneral Meeting(AGM) in Lagos, theysaid that the bank underOduzua was investors’friendly and urgedUzoka to strive and beatthe record set by hispredecessor.

Speaking on behalf ofother shareholders, SirSunny Nwosu, NationalC o o r d i n a t o r ,I n d e p e n d e n tS h a r e h o l d e r sAssociation of Nigeria(ISAN) appreciatedOduzua for hisstewardship, sayingthat he wonshareholders over to hisside and commandedtheir respect throughouthis tenure.

Commending theoutgoing GMD, he said:“You are wonderful; wedo not even expect thedividends being paidtoday. We wish you wellanywhere you are goingto,” while urging theincoming GMD toensure that he addsvalue to what he met on

Corporate Finance

First City MonumentBank (FCMB) has

continued to empowerfarmers with a view toreducing the level of povertyamong them as part of itsfinancial intermediation rolefor national economicgrowth. This can bebuttressed by the fact thatthe bank’s intervention hasresulted in better access tofinancial resources bydeserving individuals,organisations andcompanies. It has also led toimproved processes, betteroutput and profitability.Much more, it has enhancedconfidence in the ability ofthe financial services sectorto drive economic growth.

First City MonumentBank’s intervention in theagribusiness sector ismaking far-reaching impacton the economy, as attestedto by the Chairman of TractorOwners and HiringFacilities Association ofNigeria (TOHFAN), AlhajiDanladi Garba, when hecommended FCMB for itssupport to the agric sectorand farmers, at anengagement with the mediain Lagos. FCMB had hadprovided funding worthN300 million to TOHFAN forthe acquisition of tractorsthat were distributed tofarmers in Kaduna state.

The Bank also collaboratedwith Doreo Partners tolaunch a support programmefor farmers, known asBabbanGona (or ‘ ’greatfarm”). This is anagricultural franchise

FCMB supports agric sector forsustainable economic growthBy PETER EGWUATU

NASDD OTC Plc,promoter of a trading

network that eases secondarymarket trading of all securitiesof unquoted public companiesin Nigeria, has outlined actionplans in 2016 that will positionit as a more efficient market inAfrica.

As part of the plans, theExchange said it has alignedits system with consensusreached at the 2015 AfricanSecurities ExchangeAssociation (ASEA) conferencewhich includes positioning tobenefit from active investorsacross the globe that arelooking for potential in Africanmarkets to invest.

Speaking at an interactive

NASD OTC positions for greater efficiency, unveils action plans

By NKIRUKA NNOROMforum with Chief ExecutiveOfficers of participatingstockbroking houses in Lagos,the NASD Managing Director,Mr. Bola Ajomale, said theexchange will launch linknotes, market makingprogrammes and PrivateEquity fund in the secondquarter of the year to takeadvantage of funds that areseeking investmentdestination.

The NASD boss said that theExchange would tighten pricestructure within the year andis targeting two to three pricebands for an effective pricediscovery.

“Regarding funds andinvestments wanting to comeinto Africa, we think that theway it is going to come in is inprivate equity and the funds

that want to come in arelooking past the macro. Theyare looking for multiple returns,not percentage returns.

“So, as a result, ahead of theASEA conference whichhappened few months ago, wehave started work on privateequity side; we havecommittees, they are active andworking. We have engagedSEC in the process and we thatin few months time we aregoing to be launching theprivate equity fund,” he said.

According to him, theexchange has identified about100 companies that will beprospected for listing on itsplatform. He added that NASDOTC is in the process of joiningthe ASEA and hopes tocomplete the process andbecome a full member in the

second quarter.On the performance of the

exchange for the first quarterof the year, Ajomale said that16.3 billion shares certificateshave been dematrialised, while144 million units valued atN959 million were traded.

He noted that the marketslowed down after ‘a big jumpin June 2015’, attributing thedecline in activities to theSecurities ExchangeCommission (SEC)’spronouncement that onlycompanies quoted on theNigerian Stock Exchange(NSE) are under its purview.“We hope that this number willjump significantly in the nextquarter, because we are hopingthat SEC will correct thestatement that only stocks onNSE are under its purview.”

Fidson Healthcarerecords N838mPAT

Fidson Healthcare Plchas recorded 18 percent growth in Profit

After Tax , PAT for its audited2015 financial results fromN631million in 2014 toN744million in 2015.

This performance is inspite of a 16 per cent declinein turnover to N8.21billion,which was a result of thechallenges to sales anddistribution faced during thefirst half of 2015 largely dueto the general elections. Theupturn in sales witnessed inthe second half of the yearwas curtailed by the paucityof foreign exchange for theimportation of products andessential raw materials,which severely affectedproduct availability.

The financial results alsoshowed an increase of 6 percent in operating profit fromN1.45billion last year toN1.52billion.

According tomanagement, the increase islargely as a result of thecompany’s cost optimizationstrategy and a reduction inselling and distributionexpenses. The company’scost improvement trend,which it embarked on acouple of years ago, is in linewith its strategy to driveefficiency in the face of achallenging businessenvironment.

There was a 29 per centincrease in finance cost,mainly due to the N2billionfixed-rate Bond issued inNovember 2014, fromN554million to N715 million.This impacted on Fidson’sprofit before tax, whichmarginally dipped fromN870 million last year toN838million – a decline of 4per cent.

The company continues itsfocus on extensive brandbuilding as part of its long-term strategy and will beintroducing a number of newproducts into the Nigerianmarket. This is a directresult of the move to thecompany ’s new WorldHealth Organisation GoodManufacturing Practice(WHO-GMP), where localproduction is being rampedup.

Acccording to a statementfrom the company “A newproduct line – Intravenousfluids – to be added to fiveexisting product lines at thenew factory will enableFidson consolidate itsmanufacturing base in thenear future.”

M M M M R M R

Mr. Ladi Balogun, MD/CEO, FCMBM M M M Mmodel, where farmers aretrained and offeredspecially packaged loans tocarry out their farmingactivities.

The Bank recentlydesigned a series of trainingfor this population of small-holder farmers for all-inclusive agro-financeempowerment with aprimary objective ofeliminating poverty,encouraging agriculture asan alternative source ofeconomic recovery forNigeria.

Mr. Ladi Balogun, GroupManaging Director/ChiefExecutive, First CityMonument Bank Limited,had viewed IFC’sinvestment as a stamp of

Head, Agricultural BusinessFinance, First CityMonument Bank (FCMB),while elaborating the bank’sinterest in Agric financing,asserted that agriculture wasthe first occupation for manfrom creation and will remainthe most vital until the endof days. He stated “at the factthat Agriculture has thepotential to stimulateeconomic growth is no longernews. It is logical to expectthat that agriculturalfinancing will become animportant instrument of economicpolicy for Nigeria, in her effort tostimulate development in alldirections.

“Mr. Gumunyu revealed thatFCMB intends to continue topartner with players in the agricspace with a view to takingadvantage of the manyopportunities it presents andultimately contribute positivelytowards economic growth,employment creation, importsubstitution and economicsustainability”.With regards to the fears by farm-ers that the turn-around time andconditions attached to some creditfacilities could be prohibitive, heallayed the fears, saying it is a pos-itive experience with the FCMBfacility. In his words: “Farmers have a point in complain-ing about slow approval processesas their businesses are season-bound and need timely access tofinance. Most complaints stem fromsome financial institutions not un-derstanding the farmer’s business-es. Fortunately they will not expe-rience this at FCMB as we have ateam of experienced and qualifiedAgric Bankers who do not onlyhave a holistic knowledge aboutagriculture, but its associated busi-nesses, especially the fact that theyare time and season-bound. We arecommitted to providing feedbackto clients on the status of their re-quests within competitive timelinesprovided we are in possession ofall the requisite information whichcan enable us make a decision.

24 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

CMYK

approval on the Bank’sstrategy and commitment togood corporate governanceand risk management. Hesaid, “This partnership withIFC would help First CityMonument Bank achieve ourstrategic growth objectives”.It is indeed comforting thatthe bank’s helmsman, Mr.Balogun reiterated that itsagriculture intervention isreal, and that it is building asolid agric business that is atthe centre of transforming theeconomy. He advised, ‘’if wetruly want to continue em-ploying the growing popula-tion, we need to not onlyfeed Nigeria, but also set oursights on feeding the world.”

In the same vein, Mr.Kudzai Gumunyu, Divisional

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016 — 25

CMYK

Homes & Housing Finance

By YINKA KOLAWOLE

The Nigeria MortgageRefinance Company

(NMRC) was established tobridge the funding cost ofresidential mortgages andpromote the availability aswell as the affordability ofgood housing to Nigerians. Itwill achieve this by providingincreased liquidity in themortgage market throughmortgage and commercialbanks.

The company is driven bysubstantial private sectorparticipation consisting ofcommercial banks, primarymortgage banks, insurancecompanies, private equityinvestors and internationalfinancial institutions throughthe Ministry of Finance. Theaim is to help develop primaryand secondary mortgagemarkets, raising long-termfunds from both domesticcapital market and foreignmarkets to provide accessibleand affordable housing toNigerians. Recall that NMRClast year announced therefinancing of 577 mortgageswith the sale of N10 billionbonds. The 15-year bonds,listed on the Financial MarketDealers Association tradingplatform, is meant to refinanceexisting mortgages that meetspecified underwritingrequirements, according toProf. Charles Inyangete,

US mortgagerates sink to14-month low

Mortgage rates in theUS fell to the lowest

in more than a year, reducingborrowing costs during thepeak season for home buying.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 3.59percent, down from from 3.71percent last week andmatching the level in earlyFebruary 2015, Freddie Macsaid in a statement Thursday.The average 15-year rateslipped to 2.88 percent from2.98 percent, the mortgage-finance company said.

Mortgage rates tracked asharp drop in yields last weekfor the benchmark 10-yearTreasuries, which have fallenon concerns of a slowingglobal economy. As the keyU.S. spring buying seasongets going, low borrowingcosts will help fuel demandfor the short of homes on themarket, according KeithGumbinger, vice president ofmortgage-data companyHSH.com.

“To the extent theyincentivize more wannabehomebuyers into themarketplace, that only putsmore upward pressure onprices,” he said in aninterview Wednesday.

Purchases of existinghomes decreased in all fourmajor regions of the countryin February, led by a 17percent monthly plunge inthe Northeast, as a lack ofinventory limitedtransactions, according to theNational Association ofRealtors.

The average 30-year ratehas been below 4 percentsince the start of the year andis approaching the lowestlevel since 2013. It reached arecord of 3.31 percent inNovember 2012.

Federal Reserve ChairJanet Yellen said last weekthat caution in raising U.S.interest rates is “especiallywarranted” as the globaleconomy presentsheightened risks.

Matthew Pointon, U.S.economist for CapitalEconomics Ltd., said heexpects two Fed rateincreases this year as theAmerican economy showsstrength, leading to a slightrise in borrowing costs. “Theimproving economy andinflationary pressure willforce the Fed to act,” Pointonsaid in a phone interviewThursday. But rates “ willremain low for a long time. Idon’t think mortgageaffordability will be a hugeissue.”

You can learn a lot about a home beforeinspection, thanks to the Internet and yourrealtor’s digital tools. However, sometimes,it is best to ask the agent some questionswhen you’re touring a property beforetaking a decision to buy.

Why is the owner selling?It’s crucial to know who owns the

property, the relationship to the propertyand the motivations. Is it the originalpurchaser or the recipient of a bequest froma will? Though, the agent isn’t obligatedto tell you, he or she might. The answercould reveal issues not included in thelisting description.

Is there a new road planned nearby? Isthe seller experiencing financial difficulty,are there litigation issues, any familydisputes or criminal activity? If the agentdoes reveal, for instance, that the owner isdesperate to close quickly, you might beable to use that to your advantage whennegotiating price.

Type of titleSome homeowners are finicky about

disclosing their title deed on a propertydirectly to buyers for a number of reasons.However, a professional agent would haveseen the document and can attest to itsoriginality before showing the property. Inthat case, ask what type of title it is andwhether or not you will be given theoriginal copies at the point of sale.

Sellers’ timelineDoes the property owner need to relocate

What to ask when buying a houseWhat to ask when buying a houseWhat to ask when buying a houseWhat to ask when buying a houseWhat to ask when buying a houseimmediately for work/green card lottery/business venture? Or are they waiting for thekids to finish the current school year? It’simportant that your timeline for moving into thehome and the owner’s timeline for moving outmatch up.

What, exactly, is for sale?Find out precisely what is included in the

selling price. Are the furniture and fittings partof the deal? What about the adjoining land/compound? Learn whether the appliances andfixtures, such as ceiling fans, are included inthe sale price.

Are there issues with the property?Though, sellers are supposed to reveal most

problems; the norm is that any problems willusually be hidden but a chatty sales agent,neighbour or landlord might reveal more thanis included in the listing. It certainly can’t hurtto ask. Does the house or street flood duringthe rainy season? Is there security and regularpower supply?

The neighboursAsking about the people that live nearby and

their profile is a significant piece of informationin your property search. Is there an ex-Governordown the street, or perhaps a current statecommissioner, diplomat, public servant, businessmogul or first class royalty who lives next door?The standing and status of these personalitiesin the society can significantly affect theattractiveness of a particular neighbourhood.

*Culled from Lamudi Nigeria

How NMRC’s mortgage refinancing works

Managing Director/CEO ofNMRC. But how exactly doesthe refinancing cycle work?

Refinancing cycleNMRC serves as a financial

intermediary between thecapital market and financialinstitutions that provide

mortgage loans to averageworking Nigerians. It willaccess the capital market byissuing long-term bonds, andutilise the proceeds of thebonds issued to provideliquidity to mortgage lendinginstitutions by providing

refinancing facilities securedby the mortgage pool createdaccording to an agreedunderwriting standard.

Initial step is for a borrowerto take out a mortgage loanfrom a participating mortgagelender based on the uniformunderwriting criteria set byNMRC. In return the borrowerwill provide regularrepayments of the loanprincipal plus interest. Theborrower will also providecollateral in the form of amortgage over the property tobe purchased.

Second step is for theparticipating mortgagelenders to refinance the loanswith NMRC. The participatingmortgage lender in turn,provides security over itsmortgage portfolio in favour ofNMRC. It acts as a simpleintermediary betweenmortgage lenders and thecapital markets. By using itssize and credit worthiness,NMRC is able to raise fundsat a cheaper rate.

The third step is for NMRCto raise its own funding byaccessing the capital marketsand issuing bonds. NMRCrefinances the mortgage loansof banks with recourse to thefinancial institutions. It willissue corporate bonds whichdo not involve any passthrough of the credit riskattached to the mortgages.NMRC acts as a simpleintermediary betweenmortgage lenders and thecapital markets. By using itssize and credit worthiness,NMRC is able to raise fundsat a cheaper rate. This isattributable to the stron\gshareholders, strong capitalbase, excellent quality ofassets in its books and the factthat NMRC is regulated byCBN and SEC.

NMRC acts as a simpleintermediary betweenmortgage lenders and thecapital markets

Typical housing estate that requires mortgage financing

26 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

Insurance

Insurers should check theircapital levels as premiums

on policies will probablycontinue to soften this year, asenior Bank of England officialsaid.

Chris Moulder, the BoE’sDirector of general insurance,said the “very tough marketconditions” are likely tocontinue in much the same veinin 2016.

“We see premium rates inseveral lines continue to falland, at the same time,extended terms and conditionsare being accepted,” Mouldersaid in a speech.

Companies have beencushioned by the continuedabsence of significant naturalcatastrophe losses, and prioryear reserve releases, Mouldersaid.

Many business plans atinsurers still, however, containsome element of growth for2016.

“I want to be quite clear thatwe don’t consider this, in itself,to be problematic. It is,however, important that firmsthat are looking to expand incurrent market conditions do soin a responsible andsustainable manner and aretransparent with Boards abouthow they intend to attractbusiness.”

Premiums onpolicy to continuesoftening — BoE

“Insurers lackstandardisation incyber policy”

Cyber insurance hasevolved considerably

since 1999 but commercialinsurers lack standardisation incyber policies and there is nota lot of data available forunderwriters, said AliceUnderwood, Executive VicePresident of Willis Re Inc.

“The data is not all thatrobust at this point in time. Theavailable data depends on loton what people are required toreport. If they don’t have toreport something, they arekind of inclined not to reportit.” Insurers, by contrast, “canmake a decent model of lifeinsurance for individuals basedon how old are you and do yousmoke,” Underwood notedduring a conference session atthe International Cyber RiskManagement Conference.

“The question as an actuaryyou want to know if you wantto quantify something is, firstof all, what the heck is it thatyou’re quantifying?”Underwood said. “In terms ofcyber coverage, what kinds ofthings are covered by thispolicy?

LAUNCH - From left: Executive Director, Public Sector, Union Bank, Ibrahim Kwargana,Director Transformation Union Bank Plc- Mr. Joe Mbulu, Abia State Commissioner for WomenAffairs-lady Mrs. Chinedu Brown , Head of Retail Union Bank, Mr, Carlos Wanderly at theUnionkorrect Product Launch and Branch Unveil of Union Bank, held at 10 Library Road,Umuahia, Abia State.

The challenges ofinfrastructure are a major

impediment to thediversification of the economy.The infrastructural deficienciesof the country areacknowledged and well-documented and the negativeimpact on productivity glaring.Our mineral resources wouldnot have a competitive price tagif the cost of productionremains prohibitive because oflack of basic infrastructure andnecessary incentives. The samegoes for agriculture whichproduce rots away owing toinadequate storage facilities.We should see infrastructurebeyond buildings, roads,electricity, running water, etc.It should also include thenecessary policy framework todrive growth.

The Contributory PensionScheme (CPS) has thepotential to provide thenecessary financial cushion inour drive to build a solideconomy beginning withaddressing our infrastructuraldeficiencies. From a deficit ofmore than N2 trillion in the olddefined benefit scheme before2004, the CPS is closing in onN6 trillion in the amassment ofpension funds even when agreater percentage of this isilliquid as pension funds don’tlie idle in bank accounts. Thisis even with far less than 10%market penetration in thepension industry. In otherwords, less than 10% ofNigerian workers in the formaland informal sectors of theeconomy have enrolled in theCPS. This explains the greatpotential and immensepossibilities of the industry.While savouring theexcitement generated by theremarkable success of the CPS,it is important to note themarked difference between itand the old defined benefitscheme. This is because theword pension in Nigeria hasacquired a pejorativeconnotation as a result of therunaway corruption thatcharacterized the old schemeand still persists.

The various tiers ofgovernment have been eyeingthe pension funds as a possiblesource of funding forinfrastructure and otherdevelopment projects.Interestingly, this includessome states that have yet tocomply with the PensionReform Act 2014, by putting thenecessary structures in placeand enlisting in the CPS. The

Liquidity squeeze andtraction of pension funds

By PADDY EZEALA Federal Government has yet towield the big stick to bringevery state and every workerinto the scheme.

There is no gainsaying thefact that there must be anairtight policy framework forinvestment to ensure that risksare reduced to the barestminimum. Pension funds areheld sacrosanct in view of thefiduciary relationship thatexists between the RetirementSavings Account (RSA)holders and the Pension FundAdministrators (PFAs).

It should be reiterated thatpension funds are well-positioned to play a critical rolein economic development inNigeria. However, excitementmust give way to reason toensure proper application ofthe funds. It is gratifying thatthe investment portfolio in thepension industry has since2010 been diversified to allow

investments in infrastructurefunds and bonds as well asother asset classes such assupranational bonds andprivate equity funds. Beforethen, The National PensionCommission (PenCom)regulation on the investment ofpension assets only allowedinvestment in ordinary shares,money market, corporate bondsand open -and close-end funds.

All these are core asset classes.PenCom has done a marvelousjob in regulating the industryso far.

The question now remainshow funds in this subsector canbe mobilized without thenecessary prudentialsafeguards watered down oreven compromised. TheMinister of Power, Works andHousing, Mr. BabatundeFashola recently at theNigerian Pension IndustryStrategy ImplementationRoadmap Retreat organised byPenCom advocated the use ofpension funds to address theinfrastructural deficiencies ofthe country. In fact, the ministerstated that Nigeria should takethe lead in Africa in usingpeople’s funds to driveinclusive growth. Said he, “Isee a future for Africa led byNigeria, using the resources ofthe people to build a future thatinclude the people.”

Dangote Cement Plc is investing $200million in Cote D’ivoire cement

industry. Dangote Group Executive Director,Strategy, Projects and Portfolio Management,Mr. Devakumar Edwin , who disclosed thisweekend in Lagos, said work has alreadystarted on the new 3 million metric ton perannum capacity cement grinding plant inCote d Ivoire.

He stated that said the Cote Diviore projectwould cost the company $200 million andwould be completed in 18 months.

“The project which has aroused a lot ofinterest from both the government and peopleof Cote d Ivoire, is sitting on over 60 hectaresof land, next to the New Industrial Park in

Dangote investing $200m in Cote d’Ivoire cement industryBy FRANKLIN ALLI Yongbon, a city just outside of Abidjan, the

nation’s capital. “The grinding plants, madeup of two lines of 1.5 million metric tonnescapacity each, when completed, will morethan double the total capacity of local cementproduction in the francophone West Africannation, as the plant would raise total localcement production capacity of the country byover 100 per cent.

“The plant when completed will utilizepower off the grid and provide direct andindirect jobs for over 3,000 people from withinCote d Ivoire and other west Africancountries,” he said.

Mr. Edwin disclosed further that uponcompletion, Nigerian experts would bedeployed to carryout initial training of localmanpower and skill transfer.

The CPS has thepotential toprovide thenecessaryfinancial cushionin our drive tobuild a solideconomybeginning withaddressing ourinfrastructuraldeficiencies

the All Progressive Congress,APC, promised change, theleast people expected werepositive changes with respectto power, fuel, jobs andsecurity. Excuses would not do;certainly not almost a year aftertaking over.

With the uncertaintiesassociated with power and fuelnot abating it is difficult toimagine any sort of rapideconomic progress being made.It is easily demonstrable thatevery economy runs on powerand fuel supply. The twentylargest economies are alsoamong the largest producersand consumers of power andfuel. Additionally, the powerand fuel supply remainuninterrupted 24/7 in everyleading country. This is not thecase in Nigeria as recent eventshave demonstrated.

On March 31, 2016, eight ofNigeria’s power plants wereshut. The nation recorded zeropower generation for hours –driving consumers to eitherstop work or resort to the useof generators. That would havebeen disastrous enough inanother country. But, the totalpower outage occurred at thesame time that Nigerians werestill serving the “economicdeath sentence” pronouncedby the Minister of State forPetroleum who had announcedthat fuel scarcity will linger untilMay. But, even the two monthsdeadline was not categorically

Economic summit: elephant goesinto labour delivers a mouse – 2

We will deliver 10,000MW target, Fashola says.”PUNCH, April 2, 2016, p 8. Thatstatement, already made stale by previous administrations, was uttered on April 1,

2016. Nigerians hope that in three years it would not turn out to be an April fool’s joke. Forthree weeks before the Minister of Power restated that pledge, power supply had averagedless than 2500MW and Nigerians had been treated to the same litany of familiar, and stale,excuses – vandalisation of pipelines, no gas supply, breakdown of systems etc. With alldue respects to Fashola, one might ask where he had lived these past sixteen years. When

stated. Dr Kachikwu had toldus quite clearly that, “I don’twant to put a time frame”. So,even regular fuel supply is notguaranteed by May.

Under those circumstanceswhat could the Summit, whichhad more low points, bediscussing? The nation willhave neither power nor fuel tocarry out its programmesanyway. However, since theFederal government hadorganized an economic retreatand the results of theirdeliberations had beenreleased, there is a need toexamine some of them.

Whoever said that “the morethings change, the more theyremain the same” must havehad the retreat in mind. Fromwhat was released, it was clearthat nobody in attendance atthat retreat had even a modestrecollection of Nigeria’seconomic history. The Summitwould have benefited from theadvice of somebody whoremembers yesterday.

The National AgriculturalLand Development Agency,NALDA, was an initiative of theBabangida administrationwhich failed woefully. The

reasons NALDA failed in the1990s are too numerous torecount here. But, one of my firstcommentaries in theVANGUARD, during IBB’sregime was in relation toNALDA. Then, as now, thepraise-singers and spokesmenof the government had hailed itas a great initiative whichwould solve the problem of foodsecurity once for all. I thoughtdifferently. In fact, the point wasmade then, and is beingrepeated now, that NALDA was,

and is, based on faultyfoundations and that it wouldonly result in massive fertilizerfraud. By the time IBB’sNALDA was laid to rest,virtually no state of Nigeria hadestablished the machinery tomake it work.

NALDA failed then for onecardinal reason. Theprogramme clashed with theentrenched Land Use Decreeof 1978 – which Obasanjo asmilitary Head of State used toforcefully acquire peoples’ landat Sango Ota for ObasanjoFarms – which was calledTemperance Farms at the time.The states still own the land,and for NALDA to take off, eachstate would have to grant therequired parcels of land in eachLocal Government to theFederal Government. Anybodyin Abuja who thinks that stategovernments are prepared togive up 50,000 hectares of landin each LG must be living in afool’s paradise. The LGs whenIBB established NALDA wereabout 583 in number; now theyare 774. Even before the break-up of some of the LGs, it wasvirtually impossible to obtain10,000, 20,000 or 50,000hectares anywhere to be used

for NALDA’s projects. Furthermore, some states are

more urbanized than others. Inthe 1990s, a question wasasked, and the question isrepeated now. Where in LagosIsland, Lagos Mainland, Ikeja,Mushin, or Apapa can anybodyfind 100 hectares of land forNALDA? The same questioncan be asked of Ibadan,Abeokuta, Akure, Ado-Ekiti,Benin, Onitsha, Enugu,Portharcourt, Aba, Calabar,Uyo, Kaduna, Jos, Kano etc.Any funds to be allocated to thescheme will ab initio amount tocheating for the most urbanizedstates which can never providethe land mass needed toprosecute their ownprogrammes. Bluntly put,NALDA is a basically ruralNorthern programme fromwhich no Southern state canbenefit. Where is 50,000hectares in Abak for God’ssake?

Another programmeborrowed from the IBB era isthe wheat project. Those of uswho were close to thefraudulent wheat project onwhich IBB’s government threwaway hundreds of millions ofnaira can only hope that therewas a typo-graphical error theresomewhere. Only God knowswho persuaded Babangida thatwheat, which is a temperatezone crop, could be cultivated,with comparative advantage, inthe tropical sun.

“

Microfinance

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016 — 27

CMYK

STORIES BYPROVIDENCE OBUH

NECA’s Network ofEnt repreneur ia l

Women (NNEW) hasdescribed the NNEWWomen’s Microfinance BankLimited as a big achievementin 2015 even as it urgedgovernment to ensureconducive environment forwomen owned businesses toflourish.

Meanwhile, President,NNEW, Mrs. LolaOkanlawon, bows out after afive year tenure expired April2016.

Speaking at the NNEWAnnual General Meeting inLagos, Okanlawon, said thatthe year 2015 waschallenging with persistentdifficulties in the businessenvironment.

In addition, she said thatwomen entrepreneurs alsobore the brunt, “nearly everyNigerian, having to grapplewith lowering income, highcost of doing business,multiple taxes and levies,competing financial

NNEW women MfB a big achievement in 2015 — Women Entrepreneurs

...As Okanlawon bows out as Presidentdemands, poor SME-supportsystem, among others.

She pointed out that SMEswith female ownership inNigeria represent about 30 to37 percent which is abouteight to 10 million. To thisend, she said, “Thegovernments, at all levels,need to ensure a conduciveenvironment for business toflourish and the economy togrow.

“But in spite of the seeminggloom, NNEW achieved greatstrides as a business network.Significantly, in March 2015,the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) formally handed overthe certificate grantingNNEW Women’sMicrofinance Bank Ltd a unitlicense. This Bank is the firstof its kind in Nigeria as wellas in the whole of West Africa.

“In 2015 also, NNEWparticipated actively in theUnited Nations IndustrialDevelopment Organization(UNIDO) National QualityInfrastructure Project (NQIP)for Nigeria to support theeconomic competitiveness ofthe trade and investment

sectors in Nigeria,” she said.Also, DG, Nigeria

Employers ConsultativeAssociation (NECA), Mr.Segun Osinowo, commendedthe network, pledgingcontinuous support.

Osinowo who was

represented by the Director,Social ,Economic and LabourAffairs, Mr. Timothy Olawale,advised members of thenetwork to contribute tofunding of programmes toenhance financialsustainability.

He said, “The period of fiveyears was a period whenbusinesses were going

through challenges butthrough synergy andcollective activities, yourbusinesses are waxingstronger. This is why forminggroup is very important.People who because ofsubscription fee refuse to jointhe network have a lot tolose.”

Umuchinemere Pro-credit Micro Finance

Bank (UPMFB) hasprojected a totaldisbursement of N1.5 billionin 2016.

Meanwhile, the bankdisbursed a total of N1, 141,937, 000 in 2015, out of whichN712.4 million micro creditfunds were given to 3,814active poor people while therest was given as other loans.

This is contained in anunaudited managementreport made available byHead of Credit, UPMFB,Mr. Ikechukwu Ngene.

Ngene advised the bank’sloan beneficiaries to ensure

Umuchinemere Procredit MfB projects N1.5bnloan disbursement in 2016

prudent use of the facilities onviable ventures and avoidmultiple borrowing, saying,“Credibility is paramount toborrowing. I am happy thatdespite the hash economiccondition, the bank’s creditbeneficiaries are doing well.”

On the FederalGovernment’s Micro, Smalland Medium Enterprises(MSME) SpecialDevelopment Fund, beingdisbursed, in partnership withEnugu State Government,Head of Public/MediaRelations Unit, Mr. AbuchiAnueyiagu, disclosed that thebank disbursed a total ofN180, 740, 000 to 548

beneficiaries in 2015.Anueyiagu said, “The

gender distribution of thefacilities indicates that therewere more male beneficiariesof the bank’s micro creditfunds than females in 2015.Of the total beneficiaries,2,085 were males while theremaining 1,729 others werefemales. “In the previousyear, there were also moremale beneficiaries of suchfacilities than the females, asthe male beneficiaries in 2014,for instance, were a total of2,300, while the females were1,986. In 2014, the bank gaveout a total micro loans ofN659,700,000 but stepped itup by N52.7million in 2015,”he said.

Even before thebreak-up ofsome of theLGs, it wasvirtuallyimpossible toobtain 10,000,20,000 or50,000 hectaresanywhere to beused forNALDA’sprojects

28 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

e-Commerce

Aviation

Aviation industry contributed $685m toNigeria’s GDP in 2015 — Demuren

By LAWANI MIKAIRU business aviation sector.On the viability of the

business aviation sector, herevealed that there is growinginterest in the use of privatejets and helicopters forIntelligence Surveillance andReconnaissance, ISC,stressing that the NigerianCustoms Service, NCS,recently acquired a CessnaCJ4 jet for border patrol. Somestates have acquired up to fourIntelligence Surveillance andReconnaissance (ISC)helicopters.

He also said Nigeria PoliceForce has a fleet ofsurveillance helicopters inAbuja and Niger Delta. This,he said, would drive demandfor more fixed basedoperations, maintenancefacilities and create jobs.

Demuren gave a statisticaldata of the growth of thebusiness or private jetoperation of the Nigeria civilaviation. He said that in1980s, only 15 business jetswere in operation in thecountry, and in 2006, thenumber grew to 30 and 150 by2015. According to him, thegrowth was further propelledby 305 per cent in dollar

millionaires seen betweenyear 2000-2005. He said “Fiveper cent projected fleetCompound Annual GrowthRate (CAGR).Fifty per cent

business aviation fleet is inNigeria and South Africa.”

On some of the factorsmitigating against the fastgrowth of aviation in Nigeria,

Demuren said doubletaxation and imposition ofduties like the five per centimport duty tax on aircraft isagainst internationalconventions. Nigeria is asignatory to the Cape TownConvention, which does notrequire payment for tax onmoveable assets.

The Rector, NigeriaCollege of Aviation

Technology, Zaria, NCAT,Captain Samuel Caulcrick hascalled for massive investmentin human capital developmentso as to ensure a sustainableair transportation growth. Hesaid the industry must pursue“smart, coordinated, andcooperative manpowerdevelopment strategy “ for thenation’s air transport industry.

Delivering a paperentitled:”The essence of a well-trained manpower to theaviation industry”, at anaviation summit held in Abuja,Capt Caulcrick observed thatthe availability of qualified andcompetent personnel is thepropelling force for thesustainable growth of aviation

NCAT rector calls for improvement inmanpower training

By LAWANI MIKAIRU& DANIEL ETEGHE

in other countries as well asNigeria, adding that it is alsothe path towards excellence insafety and security.

The NCAT boss said, “It is thequality and proficiency of theaviation personnel that cancredibly give birth to a safe airtransport industry, build airtravellers’ confidence, makevaluable contribution to thenation’s Gross DomesticProduct (GDP)”.

According to him the aviationsector in Nigeria contributes0.4percent to Nigerian GDP.He listed the benefits toinclude, ¦ 59 billion directlycontributed through the outputof the aviation sector (airlines,airports and ground services);¦ 34 billion indirectlycontributed through theaviation sector’s supply chain;and ¦ 27 billion contributedthrough the spending by theemployees of the aviation

sector and its supply chain andin addition to ¦ 78 billion incatalytic benefits throughtourism, which raises theoverall contribution to ¦ 198billion or 0.4% of GDP.

In his opening address,organizer of the AirportBusiness Summit and Expo,Mr. Fortune Idu said for theindustry to continue to improvein the delivery of qualitypassengers experience in safeand secured manner, policymakers, aviation professionals,air transport investors and theusers of air transport serviceswill need to meet periodicallyto share information anddeliberate on the future of theindustry and to help directnational policies, planning,programmes and projectstowards improving airportfacilities, air transportationinfrastructures and generaloperations.

In a bid to empower themedium, small and

micro enterprise, MSMEoperators in Nigeria, Nigeria’sonline mall, Konga.com, hasentered into strategicpartnership with the LagosState Ministry of Commerce,Industry and Cooperatives tohost and sponsor the firstMSME Exclusive Fair that willtake place from May 2nd to8th2016 in Lagos.

Speaking at the unveiling ofthe logo for the maiden MSMEExclusive Fair before astakeholders’ forum in theState, the commissioner forCommerce, Industry &

UNVEILING - From left: Director of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Cooperatives,Mr. Hakeem Adeniji; Konga’s Director of Marketing & Customer Experience, Mayowa Adebayo;Commissioner for Commerce, Industry & Cooperatives, Prince Rotimi Ogunleye; Permanent Secretary,Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Cooperatives, Mr. Akodu Olalekan and Industry Manager, Google,Mrs. Jola Aderemi-Makinde at the unveiling of MSME Exclusive Fair in Lagos.

Demand for loan facilitiesand insurance products

through the internet haveincreased significantly by over65 per cent, according to asurvey by online vehiclemarketplace, Carmudi.com.

Carmudi said its severalpartnerships with lendersand insurance providers tomake services available online

Demand for online car loans, insurance hits 65% growthSTORIES BY JONAHNWOKPOKU

especially for online carshoppers have seen over 65per cent subscription for carloans and 35 per centsubscription for autoinsurance.

According to the online cardealer, “Many loan andinsurance providers are nowmaking use of Nigeria’sgrowing internet penetrationand smartphone usage toadvertise their services andconnect with customersdirectly. In 2014, only 2.5

million vehicles had validinsurance meaning thatmore than 85 per cent of the15 million cars plying theNigerian roads were insured.The number was much lowerin 2012 and 2013.

“The last quarter of 2015saw an improvement in thenumber of car insurancepolicies bought by carowners. According to the Nigerian InsurersAssociation (NIA) anestimated 3 million

Nigerians had valid carinsurance at the end of 2015and by the end of the firstsecond quarter of 2016 thenumber of car insuranceholders is estimated to rise by39 per cent.”

Analysts believe that thatthe rise in the number ofinsurance policies could beattributed to the increase ininternet penetration and theuse of mobile and otherdigital marketing andinformation services.

Konga, Lagos partner toempower MSMEs

Cooperatives, Prince RotimiOgunleye said: “The State iscommitted to strengtheningenterprise by bringingtogether and to the foreindigenous brands proudlyfounded, created and ownedby Nigerians and in Nigeria.This is why the Ministry ofCommerce, Industry &Cooperatives is organizing thefirst MSME Exclusive Fair toenhance industrial andcommercial activities in theState as well as promoteeconomic growth anddevelopment.”

In her remarks, the Directorof Marketing & CustomerExperience, Konga.com,Mayowa Adebayo said: “It isthe intention of Konga toempower indigenousentrepreneurs to sell on theKonga Mall. Being the engineof trade and commerce inAfrica, we are determined toprovide market access to atleast 50 per cent of the SMEscurrently available in Nigeria.We will teach them how to sell,how to promote their products,link them with mentors forguidance, support them usingnew media to extend theirreach as we currently deliverto 36 states in Nigeria. Kongawould be equipping them withthe right tools to sell more andshowcase their indigenousproducts to the entire world.

The Nigerian aviationindustry contributed

$685 million to the country’sGross Domestic Product, GDP,in 2015, just as $50 billionwould be needed over the next28 years to grow the sector .These revelations were madeby the Managing Director,EAN Aviation, Mr. OlusegunDemuren, at the NigerianBusiness Aviation Conference2016, held in Lagos.

The conference with theTheme “ Sustaining Nigeria’sPosition on the Africa BusinessAviation Landscape “emphasised the need for Africagovernments to enact enablinglegislations to make aviationcontribute more to theeconomic growth of thecontinent as it has beenwitnessed in other continents.

Demurin said businessaviation, which comprisedchartered and private jetoperators contributed 25 percent out of the total $685 millionthe sector contributed last year. He however added that thereis need for more operators tocome in to the burgeoning

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016 — 29

CMYK

Economy

STORIES BY EMEKAANAETO, ECONOMYEDITOR

Amidst growing concernsover alleged monopoly

status enjoyed by one of theoperators in the Nigerian Oiland Gas Logistics and supplyservices, key stakeholdershave called for regulatoryappraisal of the competitionenvironment.

There are also indicationsthat a policy dialogue wouldbe established by the federalministry of transportation forstakeholders in the maritimeindustry to address thelingering issues of monopolyand trade malpractices.

The indication came withrecent acrimony generated byalleged forceful diversion ofbusinesses to a particularoperator underunsubstantiated governmentdirective.

Last week, an official of theministry told Vanguard thatthe authorities in the ministryas well as the NigerianCustoms Service, NCS, maycall a stakeholders’ meeting toresolve the festering crisis.

He also indicated that theFederal Government ofNigeria would be reviewingthe relevant laws and otherdirectives guiding privatesector operators in themaritime logistics serviceswith a view to ensuring evenplaying field.

Also reacting to a similarcomplaint by the chairman ofJagal Group, owners ofNigerdock and Snake IslandIntergrated Free Zone, SIIFZ,Mr. Anwar Jarmallami,

The Comptroller-General ofNCS, Col. Hameed Alli (Retd)said last week that federalgovernment would look intothe industry competitionissues with a view toredressing any anomaly,

Stakeholders challenge monopoly in oil & gas sector… Policy review may be underway… Nigerdock offers 30% cost reduction

adding that the complaintsearlier made by themanagement of the companywould be scrutinized by topmanagement of NCS who areknowledgable enough toknow the right thing to do.

In his words “our people areknowledgable of what the lawsays and what happens here.We will go back and look atyour claims and addressanything that undermines thesuccess of the industry.

“The idea of change isgetting business on the line oflaw, equity and justice and weshall ensure that happens

here”.According to industry

sources the operators arerestive over the dominantmonopoly in the Nigerian Oiland Gas Logistics and SupplyServices which has existed for20 years, sabotaging thenational economy, conspiringand working against anypotential competitors.

Giving the details of thecomplaints Jarmallami hadtold the NCS boss who was onofficial visit to the companylast that the monopoly hasconsistently and aggressivelyused different governmentinstitutions to compromise,

maintain and entrench itsmonopoly position withimpunity.

He stated that attempts havebeen made in times past to alsouse the Customs. According tohim the net effects of themonopoly’s actions includedriving away investmentsfrom Nigeria, while makingthe oil and gas sector inNigeria the most expensive inthe world, adding extra cost ofbetween USD3 and USD5 perbarrel of oil produced inNigeria which translates toover USD1.5 billion perannum.

Meanwhile Jarmallami hasstated that SIIFZ andNigerdock are open forcompetitive business and weare determined to bring downoperational costs of theirclients by at least 30 per cent.

After a massive leap ininflation for the month

of February 2016 economyanalysts are seeing furtherrise to range between 11.76to 12.1 per cent amidst cost-push rises in consumer pricesacross the country in the lastone month.

Inflation rate had risen inFebruary to 11.38 from 9.6 percent in January, a 1.77percentage point surge, thesteepest in recent times withthe National Bureau ofStatistics and independentanalysts attributing the rise tocost pressures arising frompass-through effects offoreign exchange crises in theeconomy, which in turnpushed import components ofthe inflationary measuresvery high.

This time analysts areseeing the effect of theprolonged energy crises inthe country as majorcontributor to the costpressures in March, leadingto a third consecutivemonthly increase in inflationrate this year.

As a result economists atFinancial DerivativesCompany Limited, FDC, runby one of Nigeria’s notable

Economists forecast March inflation at above 12%economists, Bismark Rewane,stated “we are projecting asignificant increase of 0.7 percent in the March inflationnumber to 12.1 per cent”.

They explained “the monthof March was unique as thefuel scarcity intensified andhigher transport costs filteredthrough to commodity pricessuch as beans, tomato andpepper.

“While our initial time seriesanalysis projected an increaseof 0.4 per cent, the severityand longevity of the prevailingfuel scarcity has distortedprice levels.

“Our retail study showedthat prices of many consumergoods have remainedstubbornly high and in somecases increased in spite ofconsumer resistance.

“The factors that arecontributing to the spike ininflation include seasonality,cost push factors, moneysupply and foreign exchangeshortage.

“These factors whiletransient in nature arebecoming more permanent. Asthese factors grow increasinglyembedded, they are makingconsumers panic.

“Anticipated inflation ismore important because of the

pass through effect ofincreased demand andexpectations of higher priceson current prices”.

FDC economists also statedthat the dichotomy betweenurban and rural prices maypersist given the impact ofrising transport costs andexchange rate pressures onurban prices.

A little more conservative inits own analysis and forecast,economists at FSDH MerchantBank Limited stated “weexpect the March 2016inflation rate to increase to11.76 per cent from 11.38 percent recorded in the month ofFebruary 2016.

“We expect the increase inthe inflation rate to come fromincrease in transportation costand food and beverages as aresult of the shortage in fuelsupply.

They however, added thatother factors that would driveinflation rate are include theimplementation of the newelectricity tariff and the impactof the weak foreign exchangerate on imported goods.

The Food Price Index, FPI,that the Food and AgricultureOrganization, FAO, releasedlast week shows that the FPIwas up 1.0 per cent in March.

The increase recorded in theFPI was because of a strongrecovery in sugar prices andincrease in vegetable oilprices.

The increases in both sugarand vegetable oil were morethan enough to offset theplunge in dairy prices.

FSDH economists stated“our analysis indicates that thevalue of the Naira remainedstable at the inter-bank marketwhile it appreciated at theparallel market.

“The appreciation recordedat the parallel market betweenthe two months under reviewmoderated the impact of theimported consumer goodprices in the domestic market”.

They further informed that“the prices of most of the fooditems that FSDH Researchmonitored in March 2016increased.

“The prices of tomatoes, rice,vegetable oil, beans, yam andmeat increased by 15.56%,11.11%, 7.59%, 6.67%, 4.76%,and 1.11% respectively.However, the prices of onions,Irish potatoes, fish and garrifell by 16.19%, 5.56%, 4.71%and 3.61% respectively”.According to their researchprices of sweet potatoes andpalm oil remained unchanged.

•Ibe Kachikwu, Minster ofState for Petroleum Resources

CMYK

30 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

People in Business

training aspect; programming/system design was not reallymy thing. But the job preparedme for the days ahead. When Ileft the bank,I relocated to theUS and then England. Afterhaving my twins 13 years ago,I came back to Nigeria becauseI was tired of that system.

Relocating to Nigeria:Kuforiji who insists her first

job is being the mother of fourchildren and manufacturer ofplastics is her second job, said:“Before I came back, myyounger sister’s husband saidhe wanted to set up a plasticsfactory from scratch. I had noidea what that entails but I saidif he told me what he wanted, Icould do it because I havealways believed in RichardBranson’s saying that ifsomeone asks you if you cando something, just say yes andthen go and learn. That wasexactly what I did. He hadmassive land and a lot ofmoney to work with. So I tookup the challenge. I saw it as ajob that would be fulfilling bothfinancially and morally.

I relocated and started tobuild. I called all the mentors Ihad in various industries, Iwent on the internet, and gotall the help I could get. One ofthem is Shoga Sonaike who isin charge of a massive plasticsmanufacturing firm in Lagos.He put me under his wingsand taught me a lot.

Cartel:Sonaike told me the secret of

the business. He said it is aman’s world aside from beingan Indians’ world. They hoardthe materials, block access tothose that you can buy mouldsfrom; those that will give youthe parts etc. But I agreed totake up the challenge.

Machines/Moulds/Rawmaterials: I had to go to India

We are supposed tosource rawmaterials fromElemePetrochemicalCompany but theynever haveenough...ImagineNigeria where rawmaterials forplastics are a by-product of our oil ,and we have toimport

If only industries could beprovided with power, a lotof people will enjoy— Mrs Adebisi KuforijiBy EBELE ORAKPO

Mrs Adebisi Kuforiji is the Managing Director/ChiefExecutive Officer of Hindle Plastics Limited, plastics

manufacturing outfit b ased in Lagos. In this chat with Vanguard,the Abeokuta, Ogun State-born computer scientist-turned-manufacturer, speaks on how she ventured into manufacturing,the challenges, and says getting raw materials is very difficultdespite the fact that Nigeria produces oil, their major sourceof raw materials. Excerpts:

Background:Armed with a degree in Computer Science from the University

of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) in 1986, Mrs. Kuforijiworked with Société Générale Bank for nine years before leavingNigeria because she was not really fulfilled. "I thrived on the

and Dubai to get the best ofraw materials and machines.We have different types ofmachines – injection machines,blow-moulding machines forbottles, kegs etc. I bought themachines and two moulds atthat time. The difficult part wasgetting raw materials. We aresupposed to be sourcing ourraw materials from ElemePetrochemical Company butthey never have enough so weimport. Imagine us in Nigeriawhere raw materials for plasticsare a by-product of our oil , yet,we don’t have! And because wehave to get from India, theIndians monopolized themarket and whatever they sayis the cost is what we pay. Wetried to bring in and we hadour fingers burnt. It is a massivecartel; very scary so we buyfrom them unless you don’twant to produce.

A lot of companies userecycled materials which ischeaper but because we makemedical products, we cannotafford to use recycled rawmaterials. We use virginbecause we want them to be asclean as possible. We can userecycled for large jerry cans thatpeople use for fuel.

In less than six months,(November-March), because of

the dollar fluctuations, theprices have doubled. Wecannot pass the cost to ourcustomers for now, so weabsorb it.

Going solo:I had a contract with my

brother in law because youdon’t want businesses to go onfor too long so it doesn’tdestroy relationship. So weagreed that at the end of twoyears, I would have employedthe staff, run the products andensure a proper handover. Isaid: “Look, I love thisbusiness. It’s something Iwould really like to go into.Could we reach an agreement

whereby I can do things thatyou do not do at all?”Incidentally, the plastic firm isjust a small part of hisbusiness group.

He agreed. Nigeria isunbelievable in terms of marketstrength. That was how westarted Hindle Plastics. HindleHouse is where I used to livein England; that was where Ihad my twins so that namegives me good memories.

My first director in the bankbelieved in me and in theproject and encouraged me. Itry to have what we callPersonal NetworkDevelopment; people arealways useful all of your life. Ibrought some other people onboard. Nobody produces sitzbaths in Nigeria except us.When I had my twins inEngland, they gave me sitz bathfor healing rather than thetraditional hot water and cloth.Virtually all teaching hospitalsin Lagos use it and we can'teven meet demand; we don‘thave money.

What happens is that if acustomer orders 10,000 pieces,we source for money to do7,000, deliver, collect themoney and use part of it toproduce the remaining 3,000.

Women:I do not know any other

woman that owns a plastics

manufacturing firm inNigeria. We are very good atselling plastics but I amlooking for women in the fieldand I hope that via thismedium, we will be able tocome together and form afemale plastics manufacturersassociation.

Challenges:Funding is one. A lot of

people want to invest but as abusiness owner, you have tothink of either going for debtfinancing or equity financing.For now, I do equityfinancing. We do not oweany bank. We have acouple of directors thathave invested in thebusiness but I am carefulso that we don’t go pastthe 50% for me and havea case of sharing until youlose control. I have verygood and supportivedirectors. Any time there isa problem, they invest.Each mould, mostlymade of German steel,and weighs minimum oftwo tons, costs N2.5m.

We tried to make onehere but it started to rustafter three months. Theones we get from Chinahave five-year warrantyand it can producebetween 500,000 and onemillion products.

So we just need moneyfrom Bank of Industryand Microfinancecompanies or a companyto give us money and say'ok, use this to run thisparticular project.Return in three or sixmonths.' We don’t havesuch offers.

Selling:Our sitz bath is our number

one product, the others areslow and we have shifted ourfocus to the sitz bath and weproduce the others only onorder.

Power: If only government can

provide power for industries,a lot of families will be fine.We are all suffering. Imaginethe bakery in my area shutdown for two weeks for lackof fuel to power the generator!Let us prioritize ministries, doit step by step, focus on onething first and get it right. Ifsmall businesses can be givenpower at least 12 hours a day,they will manage it. Withouta generator, no factory canfunction in Nigeria. We havea transformer! Why should acompany buy a transformer?But we had to.

Next five years:Our sitz bath weighs 330

grams at N1,500 maximumwhile those in US weigh 170gand go for $10 each. It meansyou are getting what is almosttwice the size, locally madeand of high quality. We shouldlook inwards. My vision is tohave a one-stop shop formedical plastics. Anyone whowants kidney dishes, sitzbaths, test tubes, etc., can goto Hindle Plastics.

•Mrs Adebisi Kuforiji

•The products•Dame Abimbola

Fashola (r) endorsingHindle's sitz bath.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016 — 31

Advertising & Media

As a successful globalbusiness concern,businesses understand

that their actions and visionplay a foundational role inensuring the success of futuregenerations. Theyunderstand that their progressrequire that they invest in theregions and locations wherethey operate, building healthy,resilient communities.

While businesses exist tomake profit, and this isn’tmeant to change as a goal. Thereality is that no organisationoperates in isolation. CSR isabout managing theserelationships to produce anoverall positive impact onsociety.

Since businesses thrive withincommunities they operate.Therefore they should takesome responsibility for thewellbeing of its operatingcommunities and also endeavorto manage the direct andindirect impact of its businessactivities. And this doesn’talways have to be in terms ofmoney, but in terms ofopportunities for advancementand growth.

Based on this premise, FBNHolding has undertakenseveral social responsibilitydrives and more. It’s been nodoubt in the mind of themanagement of the companythat the communities where itspeople live and work have beeninstrumental to its success. Thatmust be why a major aspect ofthe Group’s citizenship is the“Supporting our Communities”platform, which has helped itbuild its various communalimpacts through commitment tothe fundamental areas ofeducation, health, welfare andeconomic empowerment. Today,as one of Africa’s leadingbrands, it appreciates the needfor supporting ideas andenabling the dreams ofindividuals within thecommunities where it operates.

In terms of “EnvironmentalSustainability,” the Group hasendeavored to focus oninitiatives that serve tominimize carbon footprints,

INAUGURATION - From Left: Chairman, Lagos StateChapter of Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR),Olusegun McMedal; Chief of Staff to the President of theInstitute, Willy Ogbidi; and Chairperson, CaretakerCommittee, Ethel Agbeyegbe handing over to the newChairman at the inauguration of new executives of the Chapterin Lagos.

Sustainability as instrument of change for FBN HoldingStories byPRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

while promoting wildlife andbiodiversity conservation andpreservation towards carbonneutrality in partnership withrelevant bodies.

Presently, it is working onthe more comprehensiveEnvironmental, Social &Governance ManagementSystem (ESGMS) as part of itsstructured approach toembedding sustainability andminimizing adverseenvironmental and socialimpacts.

Riding on its rich traditionof giving back to society and

nurturing intellectualdevelopment, which dates asfar back as 1978, when theGroup started the NationalEssay Competition wherewinners gain automaticemployment among otherprizes, FBN Holdings hascontinued to impact lives,operating through specificstrategic programmes.

In partnership with the LagosEmpowerment and ResourceNetwork (LEARN) and JuniorAchievement Nigeria (JAN),FBN Holdings has beendriving career counselling &

Financial Literacy for youngones through the Future Firstprogramme, designed toempower students ofsecondary schools between theages of 13 and 17years.Through their collaborationwith JAN, the Group has beenproviding students with thetools and knowledge requiredfor long term financialindependence, availing seniorsecondary school students ofpractical business experiencethrough the organization andoperation of an after-schoolbusiness enterprise.

Another Community Supportinitiative of the Group is theFirstBank InfrastructuralDevelopment programme,which has been promotinginfrastructure development inschools and hospitals, inrecognition of its importance inimproving the quality of life.

In recent years, theprogramme has seen it supportprojects like the Faculty of ArtsBuilding at the University ofPort-Harcourt, theEntrepreneur Centre at theUniversity of Abuja, the SportsPavilion for Queens College,the Squash Court for KingsCollege, an AdministrativeBlock for Jesuit MemorialCollege, a Red Cross Clinic inIbadan, the Langbasa PotableWater Projects in Eti Osa LocalGovernment Area of LagosState, a 500-seater lecturetheatre for the FederalUniversity of Technology Akureand a Solar Lightening Projectin Kirikiri Town, Apapa, Lagos.

Since the Lekki Gardencollapse incident

occurred, sentiments havebeen wiped, there’s beenblames and counter blames,yet no one invests to lose itovernight, and expects toremain in business.

Whichever way, the LekkiGarden brand has had its ownimage bashing via the incidentthat occurred in March 2016.

However, its contribution asa Small and Medium

SMEs role and Lekki Garden brand valueEnterprises, SMEs cannot beover-looked with the major rolethey play in economicdevelopment of countries,particularly in developingcountries. For example, formalSMEs contribute up to 45percent of total employmentand up to 33 percent of nationalincome, that Gross DomesticProduct, GDP in emergingeconomies. These numbers aresignificantly higher wheninformal SMEs are included.

According to estimates,600million jobs will be needed inthe next 15 years to absorb thegrowing global workforce,mainly in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. In emergingmarkets, like Nigeria, mostformal jobs are with SMEs,which also create 4 out of 5 newpositions. Even though financeis a key constraint to theirgrowth; without it, many SMEslanguish and stagnate.

A World Bank Group studysuggests there are between 365-445 million micro, small andmedium enterprises, MSMEsin emerging markets: 25-30million are formal SMEs; 55-70million are formal microenterprises; and 285-345million are informal enterprises.

Meanwhile, with Nigeriastanding at 17 million housingunits deficit currently, andchances are that thegovernment will not be able tofulfill its campaign pledge toprovide 1 million units forNigerians yearly, the countrycannot afford to run down anyof the big players in the industryparticularly if the company hasno history of collapse or poorquality delivery until now. Thiswas the view of a structuralEngineer, Samuel Ekulumbaand Sons.

Airtel Nigeria, has unveiledSmartSpeedoo, a revolutionary

service that allow customers experience realdata while browsing at affordable tariff andenjoyingfree megabytes.

Airtel Smart Speedoo, which can beactivated using *141#, was unveiled in Lagos,the Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel, AhmadMokhles, said the company is passionateabout creating innovative mobile Internetplatforms, value offerings and opportunitiesthat will help telecoms consumers in Nigeriastay connected and be fully empowered tofulfil their dreams.

“Airtel Nigeria is intensely interested indemocratizing data tariff and we have takena huge step forward in this journey in line

Airtel unveils Smart Speedoo…Offers free surfing

with our major objective of becoming theprovider of first choice for mobile Internetservices,” Mokhles added. Speaking on howAirtel Speedo works, Vice President, Data &Digital Services, Airtel, Nitin Anand, saidcustomers using Smart Speedoo enjoy low ratein addition to free data the more they browse.

“When a customer uses up to 10mb at 1kobo/kb, Airtel gives him 10mb free. And when hisusage gets to 50mb, the browsing rate dropsto 0.5kobo/kb, then he gets 50mb free. Whenthe customer’s usage reaches 100mb, the ratedrops further to 0.2kobo/kb and he is given100mb free,” Anand explained.

Anand further noted that this cycle continuesevery month, thereby giving Airtel customersthe FREE SURF experience.

Pampers winsMoms confidence

Pampers Baby-Dry, fromProcter & Gamble, P&G

Nigeria, has won theconfidence of nursing mothersfor delivering on its promise ofsuperior dryness and comfort.

This was the outcome of aspecial event tagged ‘MomsKnow Best’ held for selectmothers and hosted byPampers brand Advocate, Tiwain Lagos penultimate week.

The event was a learningscene for no fewer than ahundred mothers who sharedmotherhood tips andexperiences with others.

Many of the moms expressedtheir satisfaction on the usageof the improved Pampersdiaper saying that it gives theirchildren the needed comfortand soothes their skins. Oneof such is Mrs. Anike Sholankeone of the moms who attendedthe event from Bauchi statesaid that ever since sheswitched to Pampers Baby Drysome months ago, it providesthe needed comfort for herbaby.

In her words: “To say I lovePampers Baby Dry for my babyis an understatement. After mybabies developed rashes fromusing another diaper, I decidedto switch to Pampers. Sincethen I believe there are nodiapers that compare toPampers baby dry when itcomes to versatility andaffordability, Pampers BabyDry delivers ultimate comfortto my baby.

Giant vitaminwater hits Nigeria

Giant Vitamin Water, abreakthrough product

with a range of variants is nowavailable in the country. Thebrand, which is the first of itskind in the Nigerian beveragemarket has formally beenunveiled in Lagos.

The product, from the stableof Giant Beverages Limited, ismade from demineralizedwater, infused with natural fruitextracts, vitamin and mineralsunlike carbonated drinks madefrom chemical compounds andsugar. It does not containartificial flavours, colours andpreservatives.

According to the MarketingManager of the company, Mrs.Bose Ogunyemi, Giant VitaminWater comes in one bottle sizeof 500ml but 6 delightfulvariants - Blackcurrant-Acai,Lingonberry-Boysenberry,Pineapple-Passion, Orange-Lime, Lemon-Balm, andPrickly Pear-Kiwi.

Each variant, according toher has blend of vitamins andfruit extracts to deliverrefreshing and naturallytasting hydration.

32 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

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

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

(0805 220 1997)

Business & Economy

CMYK

The Enugu Stategovernment is set to attract

prospective investors to takeover the operations of identifiedstate owned companies andcorporations, for which theEnugu State Investment Summit(ESIS) scheduled to hold fromApril 12 – 14, 2016 will providea platform.

The summit is an initiative ofthe Enugu State EconomicAdvisory Committee, which wasset up by Governor IfeanyiUgwuanyi in June 2015 to adviseand guide the state on the besteconomic policies that would

Enugu investment summit to repositionstate's economyBy YINKA KOLAWOLE

help to engender sustainableeconomic growth.

A statement Ike Chioke, theSummit’s Director-General,noted that the summit will serveas a catalyst to reposition theeconomy of the state in a mannerthat the living standard of thepeople will be uplifted. He addedthat the summit is a platformthrough which the governmentof Enugu State seeks tocollaborate with the privatesector to promote enterpriseand improve economicproductivity. Minister of Power,Works & Housing, BabatundeRaji Fashola, SAN; Minister ofIndustry, Trade & Investment,Okechukwu Enelamah; and

Minister of Foreign Affairs,Geoffrey Onyeama, have all beenconfirmed as speakers at thesummit.

The three-day summit with thetheme, “Beyond Oil: FosteringInclusive Economic Growth &Sustainable Development”, willbring together local andinternational business leadersand investors, bankers,financiers, the diplomaticcommunity and the academia toexplore Enugu’s rich potential –and the entire South-East – in awide range of industries includingagriculture, solid minerals andmining, power generation anddistribution, infrastructure andreal estate development, tourismand hospitality, education, ICT,media and entertainment.

In a recent discussion withsome media

practitioners, I ‘innocently’asked the innocuous questionof who actually owns thereported foreign reservebalance of about $27.8bn?Expectedly, the response wasa spontaneous chorus of“Nigeria of course”!

But, then I quickly remindedmy audience of an incidencein far away China just aboutthree years ago, when formerPresident Jonathan and Co-ordinating Minister of theEconomy, Ngozi OkonjoIweala, visited Beijing withthe prime objective of seekinga $1.5bn ‘soft’ loan, toIMPROVE our decayedtransport infrastructure.

Incidentally, Lamido Sanusi,the incumbent Governor ofCBN was also in PresidentJonathan’s delegation, albeit,apparently, for a differentpurpose. Indeed, in responseto questions from journalists,Sanusi noted that, he wasseeking to diversify CBN’sforeign currency reservesaway from dollar holdings,and the Chinese Yuan wasconsequently beingconsidered as a possibleoption. In essence, CBNwould exchange part of itsexisting dollar reserves forYuan. Thus, in farcical twist,Chinese Bankers whoexchange their Yuan forSanusi’s dollars, could alsoturn around and offer thesame dollars, plus additionalcost of borrowing toJonathan’s delegation; insuch event, Nigerians wouldhave been sold a dummy,which will, inexplicably, stillbe celebrated, as a testimonyof Nigeria’s credit worthiness!Surely, it would be totallyinappropriate, for Jonathan’sdelegation, to have traversedthe world in search of dollar

Buhari’s compulsive leap into a debt traploans, when our own CBN isequally in possession of idledollar reserves which earnminimal or nil returns.

Ultimately after thepreceeding narrative, I againasked my audience, about theownership of the present$28bn reserves? Notsurprisingly, this time,everyone chorused something to the effect that “the CBN obviously owns thereserves”. However, news ofPresident Buhari’s imminentvisit to China in search of a$5bn foreign loan, despiteCBN’s presents custody ofalmost $30bn, largely idlereserves, clearly evokesmemories of theembarrassment of theJonathan/Okonjo Iweala/Sanusi earlier misadventurein China in 2013.

Surely, it would be moreresponsible management, withless risk to our sovereignty toborrow $5bn directly from ourown CBN, than to expose thenation to increasing debtaccumulation, at a time whenwe already require up to35kobo from every Nairaincome earned to serviceexisting debt annually. Surely,It is clearly irresponsible tocompulsively seek additionalloans (whether domestic orexternal) without firstshedding the ‘excess fat’,mischievously, deliberatelycouched in the 2016 budget.Indeed, President Buhari’spatriotic concern that we donot stumble into anotherignoble debt trap, should haveadvised against furtherborrowing until a thoroughaudit of ongoing capitalprojects have been completed,to determine their viability andpotential for positive socialand economic impact.

Indeed, the President’s menshould have meticulouslysieved the wheat from the

chaff, with these projects andsaved the Nation, the agonyof losing hundreds of billionsof Naira already spent onprojects which are then simplyabandoned for political or selfserving reasons.

Similarly, it is also pertinentto interrogate why thesustenance of an unwieldydeficit and borrowing plan inthe 2016 budget remainssacrosanct, when indeed, theprojected revenue shortfallcould have been funded fromnon debt sources, such as theelimination of the allegedfraudulent components of the

persist.Furthermore, if Buhari’s

government must borrow fromthe domestic market, whyaren’t such loans, obtainedwith minimal or nil cost fromthe trillions of idle Naira deposits, that CBNcontinuously borrows andwarehouses as sterile funds toreduce the burden ofsuffocating Naira spendingvalue in the system, despitethe inordinate cost of suchcounterproductive loanaccumulation.

Similarly, the CBN’srelatively substantial dollarreserves, which currently earnlittle or no yield, could alsohave provided a ready, andless risky source of raising theprojected $4.5bn foreign loanrequired to partly fund the2016 budget. Indeed, theresidual reserves in CBN’scustody after such deduction,is still, i.e much more than thereserve base of most AfricanCountries, with the exceptionof Algeria and South Africa.

Nevertheless, the misguidedpublic perception still persists,that it is more economicallyredeeming for billions ofdollars to remain as idlereserves, with CBN ratherthan to apply same to fundbudget deficits and alsoeliminate the risk of borrowingexternally at shylock rates, thatmay eventually mortgage oursovereignty. Indeed, CBN hassuccessfully promoted thisodious propaganda over time,to engender public perceptionthat reserves in CBN’s custodyare to be primarily dedicatedto defending the Nairaexchange rate in the currencymarket. This tragic faux pas isso distressing, because theprocess through which CBNaccumulates it’s so called“dollar reserves”, is itself adisenabling framework thatdeliberately pressurizes theNaira exchange rate against

the dollar, even when our forexearnings grossly exceed ourexpectations.

Nonetheless, we must ask,the question, which businessCBN operates to consolidateits billions of dollar reserves?Instructively, these reserves,are consolidated wheneverCBN captures the nation’scrude oil dollar revenue andthen proceeds to freshly createand directly substitute Nairaallocations to the three tiers ofgovernment. Consequently,the higher the crude price andoutput, the bigger, also willalso be the related forexearnings and the moreburdensome inadvertently also, will be the volume andvalue of Naira substituted andinjected into the money marketto precipitate a disenablingmarket paradigm with thedefining feature of too muchNaira persistently chasingrations of dollars andrelatively less supply of andgoods and services, toinvariably induce thedisenabling prospect of aweaker Naira exchange rateand spiraling inflation.

Invariably, therefore,fortuitously increasing dollarrevenue, will translates toincreasingly bloated,distortional and disenablingexcess Naira liquidity, but thisprocess ironically expands thecache of dollar reserves fromwhich CBN regularly auctionsdollar rations in a Naira surfeitmarket; ultimately the Nairaexchange rate becomes aproduct of monopolistic pricesetting by the Central Bank,which also invariablyunilaterally determines theNaira exchange rate.

Worse still, in the guise ofdefending the Naira exchangerate, the CBN’s dollarauctions ultimately ironicallyfavors the highest Naira bidsagainst the dollar andtherefore further depreciatesthe Naira.

Save the Naira, SaveNigerians!

budget and the capture of thesignificant revenue accrualsfrom loot so far recovered fromcorrupt public servants.

So who are the ‘smart’ civilservants who sold Buhari, thedummy of the highest everbudget deficit, despite thestark reality of dwindlingrevenue? Furthermore, whatadvised the decision to borrowover a third of the budgetrather than to responsibly, cutour coat according to our cloth,so as not to compound ouralready oppressive debtburden, especially whenadditional borrowing mayagain become imperative tosustain expenditure in 2017,if very low crude oil prices

In essence,CBN wouldexchange partof its existingdollarreserves forYuan u

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016—33

CMYK

Send Opinions & Letters to:opinions1234@yahoo.com

Understanding Oshiomhole’sUnderstanding Oshiomhole’sUnderstanding Oshiomhole’sUnderstanding Oshiomhole’sUnderstanding Oshiomhole’sindustrialisation policyindustrialisation policyindustrialisation policyindustrialisation policyindustrialisation policy

By John Mayaki

*Mr. Mayaki, is executive director,Media&Public Affairs, Governor'soffice, Edo State.

AS is usually the case withteenagers leaving home for

the first time, when I went to theuniversity, I was adventurous.During my first semesterholidays, rather than go homein Lagos, I went with my newfound friend, Edmond Enaibewhose home was in PortHarcourt. From Port, I travelledto my ancestral home, Patani tosee my maternal grandmother.There was no East-West Road inthose days, and a journey fromPort Harcourt included going byroad, crossing a river by boat,and completing the journeythrough bush paths bymotorcycle.

Of course, there was no cellularphone. Although Patani had atelephone exchange, in almostall cases, you had to go to its officeto make or receive calls. So Iarrived unannounced. Nextday,I must have woken up by5am and was surprised mygrandmother had gone fishingon the Forcados River. She left amessage that my breakfast wasin the kitchen. Some hours later,she was back with her catchwhich she dropped on her way tothe farm. In the afternoon, she

WWWWWomen as eomen as eomen as eomen as eomen as expendablesxpendablesxpendablesxpendablesxpendablesreturned, prepared lunch, andwas soon on her way to themarket to sell her farm products.

I was to discover that this washer daily routine. She was noyoung woman, and I asked howshe coped. A smile played aroundher lips; this has been herpattern since teenage hood. Thatwas before she got married;before my mother was born!

In my tribute to my motherwhen she passed away on April3, 2013, I wrote: “Even as a child,I thought I knew her suffering;she was typical of many mothersin those days when I was growingup in Obalende, Lagos; they wokebefore cock crow and you neverknew when they retired to bed.They were engaged in all sorts oftrade and a seemingly endlessrace to make ends meet… Ideveloped my pro-womenadvocacy from watching ourmothers struggling to ensure abetter future for their families,especially we their children.”

Women are the bedrock of thehome; they hold the familytogether and guarantee ourcollective future. That is why theslogan ‘Build a woman, build aNation’ is a truism. Any

conscious country would notonly fanatically protect children,but would give the girl-childspecial attention in upbringing,training and education.

These are my beliefs; you cantherefore imagine my pain whenunder-aged girls in our countryare being kidnapped, raped andsometimes impregnated byadults known to law. I believe inthe right of everybody to hold hisor her own opinion, and I amready to engage in debates. But Iam not sure I will have thepatience to debate with anyhuman being who rationalisesuch criminality under the guiseof tradition, culture, religion orprotection of his ethnicity. As Iwrite, there are still childrenunder such bondage and I thinkthe first steps should be theirrescue and the sack of all officialsincluding police, security andstaff of the National Agency for

the Prohibition of Trafficking inPersons (NAPTIP) who are foundto have been negligent inrescuing victims and bringingculprits to book.

There is the case of Miss LucyEjeh, who was a 15-year old pupilof Government Girls’ College,Talata Mafara, Zamfara Statewhen she was abducted onOctober 31, 2009. She was foundthree days later in the house ofan adult, Alhaji Awaisu and allefforts by her father, Mr. DavidEjeh to secure her freedom failed.He said he wrote NAPTIP onNovember 13, 2009, and inseven years, the agency hasfailed. On January 28, 2010 hepetitioned the Office of theInspector General of Police (IGP)Mr. Ejeh has a copy of thispetition with theacknowledgement stamp of theIGP’s office dated February 3,2010; in over five years, thehighest police authority in theland is unable to rescue a girlwhose location and abductor isknown! In a country with theChild Right Act, a constitutionthat provides 18 as the age ofconsent and laws againstabduction and kidnapping, it iscriminal for such cases to dragon. There is no fundamentaldifference between a girl like EseOruru being kidnapped andforced into marriage by anindividual, and the Chibok girlsbeing abducted, married or soldoff by a terrorist group like BokoHaram.

However, it is not all aboutlaw and order, it is a mindset thatsees the woman as an object, atoy, a commodity, a necessarypart of home furniture which canbe acquired legally, or evenillegally.

It is therefore not surprising

that the Senate on March 15,2016, threw out the “GenderParity and Prohibition ofViolence against Women” billpresented by Senator AbiodunOlujimi, Ekiti South. The billhad sought marital equality,education and job rights forwomen. Thirteen days earlier,while contributing on the floorof the Senate on the need to buylocal goods, my friend, SenatorDino Melaye likened women tocommercial goods. He said: “ Wewill also move in order toencourage the production ofmade-in-Nigeria products, beginto talk about made-in-Nigeriawomen…We must as a people stoppaying dowries in dollars andpounds. It is time for mycolleagues here to become born-again and start patronisingmade-in-Nigeria women.” Hehad actually mentioned aleading politician who marrieda non-Nigerian which made hiscontribution more disagreeableas families should be a ‘no-go-area’ in politics.

It is this mindset that wouldhave informed Senate Leader AliNdume making women the buttof jokes. On March 8, 2016, whilecontributing to a debate onInternational Women Day,Senator Ndume said, “As a signof respect and love for thewomen, I urge all men, unlesstheir religion prohibits, to marrymore than one wife.” Stretchingthe joke further, SenatorSulaiman Nzif, Bauchi North,seconded the motion.

But women are notexpendables to be used anddiscarded; they are nocommodity to be sold or boughtoff the shelf; they are themainstay and guarantee of asustainable society.

IT may not be possible for agovernment to build industries across

the state and turn the economy aroundwithin a short time of eight years. Thereare however quick-wins that a seriousgovernment can undertake to achievestunning results to the acclaim of afamished people. In other words, there areopportunities that a government canexploit immediately they presentthemselves to boost the living standardsof the people. These opportunities willalways present themselves in the life ofevery administration and whatever anadministration makes of suchopportunities depends on thatadministration’s policy thrust as poweredby its economic team, if any.

Bottomline is, even a bad situation canbe quickly turned around by agovernment that thinks on its feet. Thatis what Governor Adams AliyuOshiomhole has succeeded in doing in Edoin his little more than seven years of beingin charge. Today, the result is there forall to see.

The governor had stated from the onsetthat governments have no businessrunning industries but creating theenabling environment for investors.Indeed, he had stated that his primaryfocus was to ensure that businesses thrivethrough the creation of enabling climate.Today, the proof of that conventionalwisdom is the avalanche of private sectorindustries dotting the entire length andbreadth of Edo State – thanks to the vastlyimproved environment for doing businesswhich his policies have brought about.

As they say – the proof of the pudding is

in the eating. That the industrialisationpolicies are impacting positively on thesocio-economic landscape of the state is nolonger in contention. The fact thatmultinationals like Dangote Group ofCompanies, Yong Xing, Wells Farms, BuaGroup, Azura power among others haveregistered their presence in the state goesbeyond mere acknowledgement of thechanging times but of the immensepossibilities in the future. To be sure, someof these investments come under public-private-partnership initiative of the stategovernment; others are wholly privatesector driven. Together, the state is thericher for it.

Never mind that dearth of statistics hasremained the bane of the nation, it isprojected that no less than 100,000 jobopportunities have been created over thecourse of the last seven years under theOshiomhole administration. These jobs cutacross the public and private sector justas they straddle information andcommunications technology, health andsocial welfare and other sectors of thestate’s economy. Some of the jobs directlycreated are in the Information andCommunication Technology Agency, theBoard of Internal Revenue, Edo State

University, Central Hospital. Theseagencies among others, have employedand continue to employ thousands ofyouths many of whom would haveremained in the labour market were theseopportunities not opened up to them. Thatis not all. The state government isretooling Central Hospital to a Five-StarHospital; it is building a new universityall of which would further boost economicactivities of the state and its people.

Today, the state can count its chicks inthe spin-off from private investmentpromotion. Wells Farm alone for instance,promises to employ over 80,000. DittoBua and Dangote both of which are alsolooking at employing thousands of youthsjust as Okpella Cement factory hasemployed several youths and stillcounting. Yong Xing and Azura powerhave also employed and will continue toemploy youths in their thousands. Add tothis the fact that workers in the publicservice are earning salaries as at whendue; the pensioners are of course not leftout. Taken together with the newlyengaged workers in the various companiesall of whom are now contributing activelyto the economy, the state’s rising profileunder its current helmsman is betterappreciated.

This is where the effects multipliercomes in. To bring the picture of theconcept clearer home, it refers to theincrease in final income arising from anynew injection of spending. In simpleterms, if the beneficiaries of the differentopportunities being created in the state,for example, opt to complete the buildingof their new houses with their salaries,the project injects extra demand andoutput into the economy of the state.Imagine that not a few businessesincluding architects, suppliers of blocks,sand, water, iron rods, wood etc. willbenefit directly or indirectly from thebeneficiaries’ expenditure. The buildingof a new house, in other words, generatesa new flow of income which includes wages

and profits. The workers in turn engagedrycleaners or washer men, lessonteachers, mechanics, artisans amongothers. They pay rents, if they are notbuilding their homes. As for companiesthat have opened up in the state, theirvarious host communities will benefit notjust in terms of tremendous exposure butalso in terms of increase housing needs andother infrastructure.

As would be expected, the net effects ofthe development will extend beyond thefrontiers of the state to neighbouringstates. After all, economists will arguethat when income is spent, the spendingbecomes someone else’s income which inturn stimulates another wave of demandand supply spawning investment byindividuals, construction firms andbusiness entities, not least saving byhouseholds – and ultimately the nationalGDP. The resultant boost in the GDP iscalled the multiplier effect.

Truth is – it seems fairly easy toappreciate the direct impact of thephysical engagement of the workers interms of their salaries and wages. This is afar cry from the multiple impactsspawned by the hospitable environmentdeliberately promoted by the Oshiomholeadministration. It is in the understandingof the linkages that justice is done to theOshiomhole legacy.

Today, economic potentials of Edo Statehave grown to humongous proportions –thanks to the creative policies of theOshiomhole administration. Asideattracting investors to the state, there isno doubt that the foundation for the futurehas been firmly laid. In years to come,citizens of Edo State will certainlyremember the Oshiomhole years not justin glowing terms but specifically as thegolden years of its industrialtransformation.

It is in theunderstanding ofthe linkages thatjustice is done tothe Oshiomholelegacy

However, it is notall about law andorder, it is a mindsetthat sees the womanas an object, a toy, acommodity, anecessary part ofhome furniturewhich can beacquired legally, oreven illegally

34 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

OPINION

CMYK

Grazing reserve is ethnic imperialism

A reset for Nigeria-South Africa relations

By Chukwudi Enekwechi

WITH a population of about 53 million people anda GDP of close to 350 billion US Dollars, South

Africa is considered as a buoyant economy.Additionally, as an emerging economy with requisitetechnological know-how, South Africa will by all meansrepresent a suitable partner with Nigeria in our questfor growth and national development. With theprecarious economic situation of Nigeria arising fromfall in oil prices, the seeming renewal of economic cumdiplomatic relations between Nigeria and South Africawill greatly impact positively on the country.

It is therefore illustrative that the South AfricanPresident Mr. Jacob Zuma's state visit to Nigeria incompany of over 150 businessmen and potentialinvestors is instructive. Nigeria as a country is in asituation where in her bid to diversify her sources ofrevenue, is exploring other areas, especiallymanufacturing, mining and agriculture. Incidentally,these are the major areas of the emerging economicblueprint of the President Muhammadu Buhariadministration and they are in tandem with thecapacity of South Africa as a potential partner to deliverto Nigeria.

There is no doubt that President Buhari’s economicblueprint for Nigeria which will include eliminatingbottlenecks to businesses and offering incentives toforeign investors is beginning to yield desired result. Mr. Enekwechi, a journalist, wrote from Abuja.

THE All Progressives Congress (APC)Federal Government led by

President Muhammadu Buhari appearshell-bent on imposing the establishmentof grazing reserves across Nigeria in spiteof the many unpalatable implications itwill unleash on unsuspecting Nigerians.On Thursday, 31st March 2016, I wrotean article on this column entitled:“Ranching, yes; grazing reserves, no!”The article called attention to what wasthen speculated as intentions of theFederal Government to launch thisobnoxious policy aimed at handing overlands belonging to indigenouscommunities to Fulani cattle owners inthe guise of establishing “grazingreserves”.

Now, the masquerade has beenunmasked: the Minister of Agriculture,Mr. Audu Ogbeh, has disclosed thatPresident Buhari has directed him toimplement the programme. Accordingto him, he will start it from the North,where he will establish 50,000 hectaresof grazing reserves. Then, he will importhis beloved Brazil grass to feed the cattle.When he is done with that, he will, inhis own words: “move South”.

With the Fulani herdsmen now settledin their newly-acquired grazing lands,perhaps without paying a kobo or evennegotiating with landowners andobtaining their express permission to usetheir land, the herdsmen will stopinvading communities, destroying thefarms of poor villagers, killing,maiming, kidnapping, raping anddehumanising innocent Nigerians.Nigeria will become self-sufficient inanimal and dairy products, andeverybody will live happily ever after.That is the picture Ogbeh and hispaymasters are painting for us.

However, we have very strong reasonsto suspect that the establishment ofgrazing reserves is an ancient agenda ofethnic imperialism which dates back tothe Fulani Jihads that Islamised theNorth about two hundred years ago.

I read an interesting article by one Dr.Gundu of the Department ofArchaeology, Ahmadu Bello University,Zaria. He gave a useful insight into thegrazing reserves phenomenon, whichshould jolt our complacently ignorantcountrymen, especially those from theSouthern parts of the country. Gundu’sarticle is entitled: History Class OnGrazing Reserves: “Why FulaniHerdsmen Want Your Land”. It tracesthe historical experiments in the Northto impose this policy and an outcome ofit in some parts which you will not wantrepeated in your local community.

According to Gundu: “Grazingreserves and stock routes are known todominate Fulani demands on thecountry and all leading presidential

candidates in previous elections in thecountry since 1999 have committedthemselves in writing to the Fulani onthe issue of grazing reserves”.

Gundu also observes that the idea datesback to colonial times. The Britishcolonial masters, who handed overpower to the Fulani (the overlords of theNorth) had toyed with the idea ofgranting them this wish but did nothave enough time to do so. So, when theSardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji AhmaduBello, became the Premier of theNorthern Region, he established the firstgrazing reserves and “”stock routes” inSokoto, Katsina, Zaria and BauchiProvinces in 1965.

An angle of it will interest (and warn)you. Today’s Southern Kaduna was partof Zaria Province, so Ahmadu Bello siteda grazing reserve in Kachia (a Christianpart of old Zaria Province which theUsman Dan Fodio Jihadists were unableto Islamise). He settled his ethnic Fulaniherdsmen there. They became knownas Kachechari (or Fulani’s of Kachia).Though the indigenes still regard themas “visitors”, these Fulani’s who havebeen settled in this territory for 50 yearsnow demand a chiefdom, which will

officially confirm their ownership of theland that belongs to Kachia people. Tilldate, it is a source of tension betweenthe two sides, and the “herdsmen” havebeen armed to assert their “ownershiprights”.

President Buhari is, by posture anddisposition, first of all Fulani/Muslimbefore any other thing. He essentiallymodels himself as the modern-dayAhmadu Bello, a prince of the SokotoCaliphate (though Buhari is no prince).Gundu notes that when General SaniAbacha was the Head of State and Buhariwas his highly privileged cohort and theExecutive Chairman of the PetroleumTrust Fund (PTF), he put pressure onAbacha to revive Ahmadu Bello’sgrazing reserves scheme. This, however,could not take off before Abacha died.

It is also on record that PresidentBuhari, a well-known cattle businessowner, was (and maybe still is) theGrand Patron of the association Fulanicattle owners and herdsmen, theMinyeti Allah. In fact, he once led adelegation of his members to formerGovernor Lam Adesina of Oyo Statewhen clashes between Fulani’s andindigenes in Oyo state to loss of manyFulani lives. He is quoted to have askedGovernor Adesina: “why are your peoplekilling my people?”

So, it should not come to anyone as asurprise that, as President of Nigeria,Buhari will be pushing this policy in thisday and age when nomadic pastoralismhas gone out of fashion except inbackward climes in Africa and Asiawhere some elements among theMongols, Fulanis and Masais are stilltightly clinging to their ancientcultural lifestyle.

It is also not surprising that some stategovernors in the North, like Kano andPlateau, have already offered toparticipate in the grazing reservesproject. Kano, in fact, boasts that it wasthe one that revived the idea. If Kano

Our reset with South Africa wherein her President ledsome of the country’s biggest businessmen on a statevisit to Nigeria signposts a new dawn in our bilateralrelations with South Africa.

Since 1999 the number of major South Africancompanies operating in Nigeria has risen to about 120.What this translates to is that both countries’ relationshave become more robust and has the potential toimprove. It is estimated that at least eighty bilateralagreements have been signed by both countries to boosttrade, investment and diplomatic relations.

Nigeria with a population of about 173 million peopleand gross domestic product of nearly 521 billion USDollars offers the South African businesses a hugemarket for her products and services.

It is equally remarkable that the South Africangovernment is offering its support to Nigeria in the

South Africa especially during the years of anti-apartheidstruggle. Gladly, the South African president during hisaddress to the joint session of the National Assembly hadacknowledged the role of Nigeria in helping his countryin their years of struggle for emancipation from theclutches of apartheid.

It is also pertinent to note that the new interest beingdeveloped in Nigeria by South Africa is easily traceableto political and economic reengineering being carriedout by the President Muhammadu Buhariadministration. The openness and sincerity thepresident has brought to bear in statecraft has greatlyrestored the confidence of the international communityto Nigeria.

South Africa as a country is famous for itsadvancement in technology. In this regard, Nigeriastands to benefit from South Africa’s experience inmining, auto assembly, metal work, machinery,textiles, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizers, foodstuffsand commercial ship repairs. It is worthy of note thatSouth Africa is the world largest producer of platinumand chromium.

In the desire of the Buhari administration to diversifyNigeria’s economy, there is no doubt that South Africa’stime-tested knowledge in mining will be of immensevalue and advantage to Nigeria. With the visit of SouthAfrican President to Nigeria, and considering theirhuge investments in Nigeria, it is expected that on thebasis of reciprocity, that measures will be put in placeto balance trade between both countries.

and other Northern states where Fulaniherdsmen have ancestral homes andlegitimate titles to land prefer toestablish reserves rather thanencourage cattle owners to set upmodern ranches, so be it.

If Plateau has opted for it afterherdsmen slaughtered men, women andchildren (especially babies) in isolatedcommunities for more than ten years, Ihope Governor Simon Lalong hasconsulted his people and secured theirapproval to do so. I know, for sure, thatBenue State Governor, Samuel Ortom,has vowed his state will not be part of it,but politicians are like chameleons.Whatever he does, he must implementthe wishes of his people.

That is the bottom line of this matter.Every state governor, whether they areof the APC or PDP or any other party,must consider the implications ofcreating and handing over lands forgrazing reserves to Fulani cattlebusinessmen and their armed militias.It simply means you have convertedthem to automatic indigenes of yourstate. If that is what the people of yourstate want then go ahead.

Otherwise, you will be setting theperfect scenario for future wars betweenthe children of the indigenes and theFulani “visitors” in years to come.Fulani herdsmen will not always beallowed to continue to terrorise otherNigerians unchecked. A time will comewhen people could take matters into theirhands, even if it means confronting thelaw enforcement agencies which arereluctant to enforce the law and protectthose being attacked in their communallands. Buhari will not always be thereto guarantee the safety of those hewishes to foist on indigenouscommunities through this ethnicexpansionist policy.

The only sensible alternative, I restate,is to create a national policy to covertherdsmen into ranchers. Ranching is abusiness – big business. Modernisedanimal agriculture is an essential partof our drive for employment, economicdiversification and self-sufficiency infood. We must plan big for it and make itattractive for as many Nigerians aspossible to venture into it. Animalagriculture does not have to be anexclusive ethnic occupation orpreoccupation.

Ogbeh and his paymasters areblundering into a foolish and explosivelyrisky national policy whichconsequences they may not be aroundto shoulder. They must be stopped bywell-meaning Nigerians and people ofgood will before they plunge thiscountry into another Sudan Darfur.

A word is enough for the wise!

war against terrorism.Already, Nigerian defenceofficials have signedagreement with their SouthAfrican counterparts for thedeployment of that country'sSpecial Forces to assist in thewar against terrorism.

This reset of bilateralcooperation appears to be areciprocal action for Nigeria’smany decades of support to

Ogbeh and hispaymasters areblundering into afoolish andexplosively riskynational policywhich consequencesthey may not bearound to shoulder

It is expectedthat measureswill be put inplace tobalance tradebetween bothcountries

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016 — 35

Chairman, Troyka Holdings

CMYK

Biodun Shobanjo

BIODUN Shobanjo is themost revered marketing

mind in Nigeria. His big ideashave helped to establish modernNigerian marketingcommunications. He producedmany of Nigeria’s most famousand sophisticated campaignswith a style, wit and convictionsthat helped mold an industry.

As the founder of TroykaHoldings; Nigeria’s biggest andmost sophisticated marketingcommunications group, BiodunShobanjo finds that retaining thebenchmark of being Nigeria’snumber one marketing grouphasn’t been much of a pressure:“We were clear about what wewanted to do and how we weregoing to do it.

And once we were able putall the blocks in place; all I didwas just sit down and see howthings would turn out. And Idare say that while it may looksimple, the critical challenge wasfinding those building blocks interms of people. And I guess Iwas lucky in finding the rightpeople who are doing anincredibly great job”.

Parentcorporation

Troyka is the parent corporationthat owns voting stock in eightmajor communications firmscomprising Insight Advertising,The Quadrant Company,Optimum Exposure, MediaPerspectives, Hot Sauce, PromoWorld, Thiinkshop, and AllSeasons Media.

The journey began in 1979when he founded InsightCommunications which hassince gone on to earn thereputation of being Nigeria’sbiggest and most creativeadvertising agency.

A decade later, he initiatedTroyka as a holding company:“When we started out 36 yearsago, nobody gave us achance,but through dint ofhandwork and innovation, wewere able to do thingsdifferently.

Then, finding the right peoplewho will do that in anenvironment where you don’thave too many skillful people isalso very challenging because tobe at the cutting edge of thisbusiness, one needs acombination of knowledge andskill. Also, in terms of currency,you must know what’s going onall over the world since the clients

that we work for don’t benchmarkus against what’s happeninglocally but against the bestinternational standards and thatreally puts a lot of pressure onus.

That said we have faced all thechallenges and realized that theeasiest way for us to continue tomaintain our position is to keepinvesting in our staff. That is why‘never ending training’ is thesecret of our success”.

Airing frustration at the lack ofquality in creative advertisingtoday, Shobanjo says that toaddress the decline inadvertising standards, pastcreatives must play a bigger roleat nurturing other talents tosucceed them just as theirattitude to technology mustchange: “ I find that quite anumber of our people on thecreative side of things easily getburnt out.

That is, after putting in anumber of years, they all go intoretirement. I know of top creativeadvertising personnel in the UKwho have put in over 35 years onthe job and who are still playingactively in the business. And notonly are they still very active butalso making such strong effortstodevelop other talents who’llhopefully surpass them. Nowlook at this market; in the past 35years, which creative talents doyou know of that have replicated

themselves? Even the schoolsare not helping matters eitherbecause they are not producingcreative talents for our ownindustry”.

“Thinking creatively from aconsumer perspective is adifferent ball game entirely sosomebody must talk peoplethrough how that evolves. Thatis missing; that is the challengethat the industry has and theseare some of my concerns for theindustry”. Since being on the job,the ability to leverage thediversity of creative thoughtacross the broad spectrums of hiscommunications firms in order toenhance productivity andinnovation has become a distinctcompetitive advantage: “Thebeauty of our group is that thereis a DNA that everybody falls inline with. And so you’ll find thatonce that is accepted as the normit then rolls out across the group.That’s why when you talk aboutcreativity in what we deliver, it iscreativity not just from thepoint of view of telling astory on television; it’salso creativity inthe way thatmedia buyersbuy media forc l i e n t s .T h e r emust becreativityin theplans theylay out forc l i e n t sand in theway theybuy media.

The bestway that Ican define

it is that things must be done insuch a way that a consumer canconnect with our services. That’sthe essence of creativity”. Interms of how the group hasleveraged digital media as partof the creative process, Shobanjosays he thought that wassomething that was applicable onthe business side but quicklyrealized that today consumers’lives are entirely digitized: “Ithink that digital has become away of life for consumers and Ididn’t quite understand it at apoint in time and when Ieventually did the big questionwas how to reach them becausea lot of them can do what we donow.

Creativeagency

It therefore behooveseverybody in the entire spectrumto understand the role of digitaland how we can use it as aplatform to reach our consumers.Even clients on the advertisingside of the business wantsolutions that transcendmainstream media. Therefore,whether you go to our creativeagency or our media agency, youfind that they all understanddigital”.

“Infact, a lot of our staffareGoogle certified so theyunderstand the language andthey can use it to communicatebecause we are in the businessof communication”. Just as therole of digital media in effectivemarketing communications isbeginning to take shape inNigeria, the explosive growth inadvertising spend by majorglobal brands in Africa has reallyupped the ante for some countrieson the continent. Back home inNigeria, Shobanjo think thereverse is the case: “The totaladvertising spend last year was150 billion Naira.

That’s not a lot, giventhe size of the

N i g e r i a nmarket of

1 7 5million

people where 78% of whom arevery young. When compared towhat obtains in other countries,the market here is still relativelysmall. So, when you convert ourtotal advertising spend in dollarterms at the black marketexchange rate, how much do youthink that is?

Even if we are to use the officialexchange rate it’s still not as muchas a billion dollars.Now, whenyou situate that to what a countrylike Ghana spends onadvertising, not to talk of SouthAfrica then you will get the pointthat I’m trying to make”.

He goes further to explain thatthe reason why advertisingspend in Nigeria is not as highas it ought to be is because mediarates are too low: “For the size ofthis market, the first question toask is: what is the figure of largestcirculating newspaper in Nigeriatoday”.

“Is there any Nigeriannewspaper that circulates 50,000copies per day? Even at that, howcould a newspaper becirculating50,000 copies in a country thathas 175 million people? That’swhere the problem comes from.These are the issues and whennewspapers don’t deliver largenumbers, advertisers won’t payhigh rates.

Proudestachievement

And now, newspapers have justincreased cover prices to 200.The implication of that is thatcirculation will drop and that’sgoing to be another issuealtogether”. In a quest toconsolidate on his legacy inNigeria’s marketingcommunications industry, TroykaHoldings recently entered into anequity partnership with PublicisGroupe, a French multinationaladvertising and public relationscompany, headquartered inParis.

The terms of the milestone dealmakes Publicis a part-owner ofTroyka with a 25 per cent equityholding. The Nigerian agencynetwork will on the other handbecome the sole representativeof the global network in Nigeria.That means they will fullywarehouse the Publicis brands asits full-fledged partner inNigeria.

“What we have is an equitypartnership situation. They arepart owners of Troyka; it naturallymeans that Troyka, as a memberof the Publicis family, will inheritall the assets and liabilities thatPublicis has in this market”. Thejoint venture with the world’sfourth-largest agency is BiodunShobanjo’s proudestachievement. In many ways, itsignals the birth of an initiativethat he’s certain will outlive him:“Over the past 36 years we’vebuilt some very dynamiccompanies and when you reflecton these things you find thatagain history is replete withwonderful ideas and companiesthat Nigerians have built and assoon as the founders of thosebusinesses die, those businessesflounder and die as well. I thinkthat we need to turn what we’vedone into institutions that willoutlive us and Troyka’spartnership with Publicis Groupeis one route to doing that”.

Art of Legacy

We need to turnwhat we’ve doneintoinstitutions thatwill outlive us andTroyka’spartnership withPublicis Groupe isone route to doingthat

Date/ Place of Birth: 1944, Kwara StateInsight Grey, Azzagai, Optimum Exposure,Media Perspective, Mediacom, The QuadrantCompany and Halogen Security, Hot Sauce,Education: British Institute of Public relationsand the British Institute of Marketing

BIO BRIEFS

BiodunShobanjo

36—VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 201636—VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 201636—VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 201636—VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 201636—VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

PANAMA LEAK: British PM publishes taxdetails as pressure grows

BRITISH Prime Minis-ter David Cameron has

released details of his incometax affairs for the past sevenyears in an attempt to defusecriticism of his investment inan offshore trust run by hislate father.

Cameron became the firstBritish leader to documenthis financial affairs hours af-ter he told a meeting of ac-tivists from the ConservativeParty, which he leads, thathe was wrong to have beenso slow to acknowledge hisinvestment in BlairmoreHoldings.

His father Ian, a million-aire stockbroker, organisedthe Bahamian investmentfund with help from the Pan-amanian law firm MossackFonseca, which was the sub-ject of a massive documentleak last week.

The three-page summaryof the prime minister's earn-ings and tax payments since2009 showed on Sunday thatCameron made $15,297 (atthe time) in profits from the2010 sale of his stake in

Blairmore shortly before hebecame prime minister.

His wife recorded an equalshare of profit, allowing bothto narrowly avoid paying cap-ital tax on the shared gain.

The documents, put togetherby English accountancy firmRNS and published by Cam-eron's Downing Street office,show that Cameron paid£75,898 ($107,230) on tax-able income of £200,307 (morethan $280,000) in the most re-cent tax year.

His 2014-15 income includ-ed a prime minister's salaryand expenses of £150,356,

£46,899 from annual rental ofthe Cameron family home,and £3,052 in interest earnedfrom savings on deposit in aLondon bank. Cameron alsoannounced plans on Sundayto create a so-called "taskforce" to scrutinise the in-volvement of UK consortiumsand individuals in funds andcompanies registered byMossack Fonseca.

It was also disclosed thathis mother gave him a£200,000 gift after his father'sdeath which could potential-ly avoid inheritance tax, hisaccounts show.

Indian temple fire kills over 100

A massive fire hasswept through a

temple in the southernIndian state of Keraladuring a fireworks dis-play, killing at least 106people and injuringmore than 350 others.

The fire broke out onSunday morning, offi-cials said, when a sparkfrom the show ignited aseparate pile of fireworksthat was being stored atthe Puttingal temple com-plex in the coastal town

of Paravur in Kollam dis-trict.

Thousands of peoplewere packed into the tem-ple when an explosionwas heard at about 3amlocal time. The blaze thenspread quickly throughthe building, trappingpeople inside.

Local TV channelsshowed footage of hugeclouds of white smoke bil-lowing from the temple,as fireworks continued toexplode in the night sky.

Kerala's Home MinisterRamesh Chennithala toldReuters news agencythat 60 of the 100 deadhad been identified whilethe number of people ad-mitted to hospitals in Kol-lam and the state capitalhad risen to 383.

Al Jazeera’s Divya Go-palan, reporting fromDelhi, said daily celebra-tions were being held inthe country to mark aHindu festival.

BRUSSELS ATTACK: Bombers initially planned to hitFrance

THE suspected surviving bomber in the

Brussels attacks has ad-mitted the group was ini-tially planning a new at-tack on France, Belgianprosecutors say.

Mohamed Abrini saidthe group had decided toattack Brussels insteadafter the arrest of fellowsuspect Salah Abdeslam.

He also reportedly ad-mitted being the thirdbomber in the airport at-tack, fleeing without set-ting off his device.

Gun and bomb attacksin Paris on 13 Novemberkilled 130 people.

A further 32 were killedin the attacks on an air-port and metro station inBrussels on 22 March.

Both attacks were

claimed by the IslamicState group, based in Syr-ia and Iraq.

Abrini, who was arrestedin Brussels on Friday, re-

portedly told interrogatorsthat the arrest of Abdeslamon 18 March had prompt-ed the plotters to changetrack.

Chad votes as Idriss Deby eyesfifth term

THE people of Chadhave voted in a pres-

idential election widelyexpected to deliver Pres-ident Idriss Deby a fifthterm in office.

Mr Deby, who tookpower in a coup 26 yearsago, is seen by Westerngovernments as a bul-wark against Islamistmilitants in central Afri-

ca.In the run-up to the

election, security wasstepped up, with protestmarches banned and ac-tivists imprisoned.

Despite Chad's new oilwealth, half its 13 millionpeople live in poverty.

The opposition boycott-ed the last election in2011, allowing Mr Debyan easy victory, while

this year his chances ofwinning again have beenstrengthened by frac-tures in the opposition.

One prominent opposi-tion activist, NgarlejyYorongar, was bannedfrom standing.

A referendum in Chadin 2005 scrapped aclause restricting presi-dents to two terms butMr Deby says he will re-instate it if re-elected.

Tight race expected in Comoros presidentialrunoff

VOTERS went to thepolls in the Indian

Ocean archipelago of theComoros on Sunday in aface-off between the cur-rent vice president and aformer coup leader whoruled the country for sev-en years.

The second round ofthe presidential electioncomes after Vice Presi-dent Mohamed Ali Soil-ihi - known as Mamadou- won the first round inFebruary with 17.88 per-cent of the vote.

The two other contend-ers are the governor ofGrande Comore island,Mouigni Baraka, whogarnered 15.62 percentin the first round, and1999 coup leader Colo-nel Azali Assoumani,who took 15.10 percent.

Voting started calmlyjust after 0400 GMT, with

people lining up at poll-ing stations watched bya discrete police pres-ence.

Assoumani is seen asMamadou’s main rivalafter he was endorsed by

the opposition Juwa par-ty, which has no candi-date in the secondround.

The Juwa party splitover the endorsement,

Staff evacuated from Libyan oil fields dueto militant threat

STAFF have beenevacuated from three

oil fields in eastern Lib-ya because of fears of at-

tacks by Islamic Statemilitants, but productionhas not been affected be-cause the fields are shut,

oil and security officialssaid on Sunday.

Islamic State militantshave launched frequentattacks on Libyan oilfields and terminals inrecent months, damag-ing facilities but not tak-ing control of them.

Unlike in Syria andIraq, Islamist militantshave never controlled oilfields in Libya, but offi-cials worry this couldhappen in the future,along with existing ma-terial and human dam-age.

Mohamed al-Manfi,an oil official based ineastern Libya, said theWafa field had been com-pletely evacuated andthe Tibesti and Baydafields were partiallyevacuated after securityforces warned of possibleplanned attacks.

National Card unveiled forCommonwealth citizens

HOPE has risen for thecitizens of 54 Com-

monwealth Nations in theirbid to have British citizen-ship enhancement status aswell as protection from un-lawful arrest, unlimitedtravel restriction in Britainand her territories.““Thisrevelation was made by theCommonwealth LiberationParty (TCLP) during theparty’s launch of BritishCommonwealth NationalCard (BCNC) recently inLondon.

The initiative which wasbacked by the UniversalDeclaration of Human

Rights (UDHR) 1948 willafford all members of Com-monwealth Nations, auto-matic British subject status.

According to ProtectorateIdentity Commission, anagency of TCLP, some of thebenefits embedded in be-ing a holder of the BritishCommonwealth NationalCard includes: “The Pro-tection of the Identities ofCommonwealth Citizensand Non-CommonwealthCitizens and their Rights ofRecognition in the globa-lised sustenance of eco-nomic relations”.

US 2016: Sanders beats Clintonin Wyoming caucuses

BERNIE Sanders haswon the latest stage in

the battle for the Democrat-ic nomination in the USpresidential poll by secur-ing victory in Wyoming.

The state's 14 delegateswill be awarded propor-tionally. Mr Sanders haswon seven of the latesteight states.

However rival HillaryClinton maintains a clearlead in the overall race.

Both are concentratingtheir efforts on the keyNew York primary laterthis month.

In the Republican race,Ted Cruz won a cleansweep in Colorado.

In state assemblieswhich culminated on Fri-day, Mr Cruz won 21delegates and a further13 at the Colorado Re-publican Convention onSaturday.

Cameron and his mother who gave him a £200,000 giftafter his father's death.

President Dhoinine whose completion of a five-year term in the archipelago is seen as a sign ofgrowing stability in the Comoros

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016—37

CMYK

38—VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

REMARKABLY, the twojoint winners, President

Muhammadu Buhari and his

VANGUARD AWARDS: When Buhari,Jonathan renewed faith in NigeriaLAST Friday’s Vanguard Awards ceremony may have come and gone but theexpressions of the joint winners of the Personality of the Year, 2015 wouldindicate abiding faith in the Nigeria project

By Emmanuel Aziken,Political Editor

predecessor Dr. GoodluckJonathan were awarded thejoint top recognition for theirabiding faith in Nigeria. Buharifor his resilience and abiding

faith in democracy, usingdemocratic means to seek thepresidency three successivetimes before making a score.Dr. Jonathan on the other hand

was honoured for his faith andacceptance of democracy as thewill of the people especially inthe light of his historicacceptance of the result of the

2015 presidential election.Against the background of

the fact that both men had notbeen seen on the same publicplatform since the May 29, 2015transition, the VanguardAwards presented a boldopportunity for the two men topublicly express themselves onthe same stage.

Given the increasinglydiscordant tone in the land,especially fanned by thedetermination of the new AllProgressives Congress, APCled administration to forgeahead with its programmes,Vanguard’s decision to bringBuhari and Jonathan togethermust have been a masterstrokein the eyes of many pundits.

Democraticinstincts

That the award committeevested the two men with the topprize was mainly centred ontheir democratic instincts andnot based on other extraneousfacts outside the pace andpattern of democracy.

Remarkably, nature andofficial commitments combinedto rob the galaxy of Nigeriansthat were gathered for theawards ceremony at the highbrow Expo Hall of Eko Hoteland Suites, Lagos last Fridaythe opportunity of seeing thetwo men together.

President Buhari’s trip toChina seemed to have derailedhis scheduled encounter. Dr.Jonathan on the other hand washeld back in Yenagoa, BayelsaState by the funeral ceremoniesof Chief DipereyeAlamieyeseigha, the firstcivilian governor of BayelsaState under whom, Dr.Jonathan served as deputygovernor.

The fitting excuse, however,did not stop the two men fromsending worthy

Continues on page 39

PRESIDENT Buhari used theopportunity to address issuesconcerning his alleged slowresponse to the pains in the land.Speaking through Mohammed,the president assured Nigeriansthat he is feeling the pains of theordinary masses. The assurancecame just ahead of the reportedprotest against the visit of Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo to Kano.

AS a government that waspropelled into office by the

power of the people, we cannot

President Buhari

our countrymen and women today, in thesense that it has taken years ofmismanagement, corruption and inefficiencyto get to this sorry pass, we make no excuses.After all the people voted for us so we cancorrect the mistakes of the past and enthronegood governance. We are doing just that. Butwe want our compatriots to realize that 16years of rot cannot be cleaned up overnight.It is much easier to destroy than to build. Butwe are determined to rebuild our country and

Ex-President JonathanFOR President Jonathan the

opportunity was one for him toinform Nigerians of his next stepsafter his well applauded exit frompower. Pointing at his future inhuman capacity development,the former president said:

I WISH to end this remarksby again thanking Uncle

Sam and the Management ofVanguard for this honour andrecognition.

I also wish to let Vanguard andthe wider media know that I willbe seeking your cooperation as Iembark on a post-presidential lifeof working with Governments inAfrica, private sector as well ascivil society to inspire more co-operation and commitmenttowards improving our societiesand making a change in the livesof the ordinary people in ourvarious countries. This will be thefocus of my foundation whichwould be launched soon.

It is important to note that thework of the foundation will bemore potent in two key areas.

First, is to work for goodgovernance in our continent bypromoting transparent, credibleelections and peaceful transitionsas a means of strengthening ourinstitutions and fostering politicalstability.

The foundation would also beworking to encourage young

Continues on page 39 Continues on page 39

•Jonathan•Buhari

but feel the pains of our compatriots, and we deeplyempathise with them. We are working round theclock to ease the pains of Nigerians, and the effortsof the government have started yielding fruits aswe seek to make the petroleum products availablenationwide, restore gas supply to the powergenerating firms, reflate the economy and putNigerians back to work.

We understand that Nigerians have startedquestioning whether this indeed is the CHANGEthey voted for, while some have even gone as faras saying that by voting for our party, Nigerians

have entered one chance.Well, I can tell

Nigerians that ourCHANGE AGENDA isreal, and that indeed,they will get the changethey voted for. Nigerianshave not entered OneChance, because the OneChance drivers and theirconductors have beendriven out of town.

While we cannot butprovide context for thechallenges being faced by

CMYK

VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016—39

JUST like a captivatingmovie. That is how a visibly

impressed, and indeedoverjoyed, guest described theVanguard Personality of the YearAwards 2015 which held Fridaynight at the prestigious Eko Hoteland Suites in Lagos. The likeningof the event to a potentially boxoffice hit movie was quite apt.And why not? It flowed frombeginning to the end like a well-scripted movie boasting anengaging story line, impressiveplot treatment, propersequencing and creativelydirected by a master of the art. Agreat credit to the organisers.

Indeed, it came across as a bigand impressive show that did notfail to elicit rapturous effusion ofpraises from most of those whoattended it. First, was the grandlayout of the event venue thatsparkled and glowed with colourand glamour.

This was complemented by thecarnival-like atmosphere createdby the impressively attiredparticipants, especially the guestswho more or less represented aroll-call of who is who in themedia, in politics andgovernance, business andindustry, entertainment,including Nollywood, musicindustry and the rapidlyexpanding world of comedy.

Indeed, fashion was in fullexpression, with the menstrutting around in sartorialelegance while the younger of thewomen cat-walked and swayedseductively in their skimpy andflamboyant wears as they madea bold statement that world offashion is theirs to conquer.

Culturaltroupes

For the older women, maturitydemanded that fashion isexpressed with elegant poise.

The arrival of the awardees wasnot without its own fanfare. Someof them came accompanied bycultural troupes whosedrumming, singing and dancinglent a festive air to the entireprogramme. Among thesepraise-singing cultural groupswere two Igbo cultural dancetroupes, the Ugonabo Umuojiand the Obieziokwu.

The former came with somemasquerades in tow and drew alarge crowd of curious onlookersduring its performance. The latterwhich was an all-women groupled by Mrs Ndidi Acholonu cameat the instance of High ChiefJohn Nwosu, the Eze Ndigbo ofMushin, Lagos, aka Obieziokwu1 of Mushin to lend support toSecond Republic Vice President,Dr Alex Ekwueme, who washonoured with a LifetimeAchievement Award.

According to Mrs Acholonu,the dance troupe was on hand tojoin Vanguard to celebrate anicon, one who has contributedimmensely to the developmentof Igboland and Nigeria ingeneral.

Inside the hall, a musical group,

VANGUARD AWARDS: An entertaining celebrationof excellence and achievements

By Mike Ebonugwo

the Sharp Band, entertained theaudience with some popular hittracks of yesteryears. Soonenough the event took off rathersmoothly with the comperesconfidently on the driving seat.One of them, Helen Paul akaTatafo, did not waste time indisplaying her comedy signatureof speaking in a mimicry of anaïve eight or ten-year-old girl.

Her trade mark comical pitchwas considered necessary for aceremony that had on parade asaward recipients some of the mostcelebrated and influentialpersonalities in politics,

governance and the corporateworld. At least to dilute the

boredom of long-drawnspeeches which fortunately wasnot the case during the event.Indeed, Tatafo lived up to herbilling in this regard as shetheatrically engaged her partnerin comical arguments ordisagreements about the night’sproceedings.

The laughter her theatricsengendered soon heightenedwhen ace stand up comedian,Kofi, was invited on stage. Hewas soon in his elements as hemade rib-cracking jokes of thelingering fuel scarcity in thecountry among other

developments of nationalconcern.

The musical interludes, withdifferent musicians performing,also accentuated the dramaticrelief which the audience somuch craved. Performances byHarry Song, Kycee, Olumide andhome boy, Finest were loudlyapplauded.

Perhaps more so wasOlumide’s moving rendition ofDoris Day’s famous number, QueSera Sera which obviouslyappealed to the gathering like acherished anthem as many ofthem sang enthusiastically alongwhile the performance lasted.

Juicy meatof the feast

The cultural dance groups alsotook their turns to perform,especially when some of theaward recipients were called outto be honoured. They also clearlyleft their mark in the hearts ofmembers of the audience whoenthusiastically applauded theirefforts.

But even as the audiencesavoured the performances andbasked in the entertainment theyoffered, all knew that thepresentation of the awardsremained the juicy meat of thefeast. And they did not have longto wait for this.

It all began with former OgunState governor, Olusegun Osobabeing invited to present SenatorDavid Dafinone with the LifetimeAchievement Award which wasreceived by one of the famousaccountant’s sons.

representatives. Alhaji LaiMohammed, the minister ofinformation and formerspokesman of the APC was onhand as a fitting representativefor the president.

President Jonathan was alsorepresented by Prince DayoAdeyeye who served in the

Jonathan cabinet as minister ofstate for works.

The award ceremony onFriday, April 8 was a nightwhen leading elements in theprofessions combined with oneanother to rekindle theNigerian I can do spirit.

The Vanguard Awardceremony also brought to lightthe willingness of Nigerians to

melt their various differenceswhen opportunity so demands.Outside the hall, Igbo culturalgroups easily intermingledwith cultural groups from thefar north in a seemingdismissal of the divisivenessthat have recently attendeddealings between some of thecountry ’s leading ethnicgroups.

When Buhari, Jonathan renewed faith in Nigeria

Continues from page 38

to make life more abundant for our people.Change is a process, and that process has

begun. We commend Nigerians for theirperseverance. We urge them not to lose theirconfidence in the ability of this Administrationto bring about the much-needed change.

The pains of today are temporary, and willsoon give way to abundance joy as we putour country firmly on the path of sustainablegrowth and development.

President Buhari Ex-President Jonathan

men and women in Africa to develop businesses oftheir own as a way of mitigating the dire joblesssituation among our teeming young population.

The foundation’s idea of promoting youth andwomen entrepreneurship will centre aroundbuilding their capacities, sharpening their businessskills and assisting them to access take-off grants.

That way, we will be able to set up micro, smalland medium enterprises of their own while placingless emphasis on paid employment.

It flowed frombeginning to the endlike a well-scriptedmovie boasting anengaging story line,impressive plottreatment, propersequencing

•Award Winners -From left, Mr Dele Alake, representing Bola Tinubu, Kashim Shettima, Governor, Borno state, IbrahimDankwwambo, Governor Gombe state, Adams Oshiomhole, Governor, Edo state, Dr Alex Ekwueme, Former Vice Presi-dent, Mr Sam Amuka, Publisher Vanguard Newspapers, Dr. Oba Otudeko, Chairman of the occasion, Alh. Lai Moham-med, representing President Muhammadu Buhari, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Governor, Ogun state, Chief Dr. Mrs NikeAkande, President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Jim Ovia, Chairman, Zenith Bank plc, Prince DayoAdeyeye, representing Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and Chief Ede Dafinone, representing David Dafinone

Continues from page 38 Continues from page 38

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40—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016—41

CMYK

Enugu govt, Fulani herdsmen agree on c'ttee to curbviolent clashes

Imo Speakercalls for regulareye tests

By Chidi Nkwopara

AWKA—THE N90billion shopping mall

built by Anambra StateGovernment, in collaborationwith a private investor inOnitsha is to becommissioned Friday nextweek.

The construction of theproject began 30 months ago,and by yesterday those whorented the shops wereputting finishing touchesand getting ready to startbusiness after thecommissioning.

The mall is one of the threeinherited by the WillieObiano administration fromhis predecessor, Mr. PeterObi. The other two arelocated at Awka and Nnewiand would be completedbefore the end of this year,according to GovernorObiano’s Special Adviser onEconomic Planning andBudget, Mr. Mark Okoye.

The Mall has a land sizeof 40,000 square metres,with gross built area of18,000 square metres andgross letable area of 12,000square metres. It also hascapacity to accommodate 450cars.

N90bn Onitshashopping mall forcommissioningFriday

By Vincent Ujumadu

By Emeka Mamah

FULANI herdsmenoperating in parts of Enugu

State and the state government,yesterday, agreed to set up a jointstanding committee to entrenchlasting peace and harmonybetween the host communities andthe herdsmen and also curbcriminalities suspected to beperpetrated by the herdsmen.

The decision was a majoroutcome of a crucial meetingbetween the herdsmen andGovernor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi atGovernment House, Enugu,convened by the governor who hasbeen seeking ways to arrest thegrowing insecurity generated byfrictions between the herdsmenand members of their hostcommunities.

Governor Ugwuanyi, whoplayed host to the herdsmenoperating under the aegis ofMiyetti Allah Cattle BreedersAssociation of Nigeria, South- Eastzone, who came in their numbers,explained the reason forconvening the meeting, saying itwas to forge a better relationshipwith the cattle breeders and curbon-going frictions between themand their hosts, especially in viewof the recent clash betweenFulanis and the people of acommunity in Awgu council area

of the state.The governor told them that

“this meeting has beensummoned essentially forpurposes of entrenching peacein Enugu State. It will, however,dwell on recent happenings inthe state which are not onlyposing a significant threat topeace and the security of livesand property of our people butare also threatening to spiral outof control.

“We are all witnesses to the

rising wave of undesirableincidents and criminal activitiesin the state particularlykidnapping, armed robbery andclashes between Fulaniherdsmen and farmers in somerural communities in EnuguState."

The chairman of the cattlebreeders, Alhaji Gidado Sidikki,in his address, enumeratedincidents that have constitutedsources of estranged relationsbetween them and their hosts

and appealed to the governor todo all within the ambit of hispowers to reverse the situation.

“We are aware that suchincidents are currently promotinga sense of insecurity andrestiveness among our peopleand if not promptly andeffectively checked, could leadto a breakdown of law and orderas well as avoidable butpotentially lethal clashesbetween groups or communitiesin the state."

NERC commissions Awka, Abakaliki forum offices

By Emeka Mamah

THE Nigerian ElectricityRegulatory Commission,

NERC, will commission twoadditional Forum Offices in theSouth-East in line with itsmission to promote and ensurean investor-friendlyenvironment as well as meet thequest of Nigerians for safe,adequate, reliable andaffordable electricity.

The forum offices which areunder the jurisdiction of theEnugu Electricity DistributionCompany, EEDC, includeAwka, Anambra State andAbakaliki, Ebonyi State.

The Minister of Labour andEmployment and formergovernor of Anambra State, DrChris Ngige, will commissionthe Awka Office on Thursday,April 14, 2016, while hiscounterpart in the Ministry ofPower, Works and Housing,Babatunde Fashola, SAN, willcommission the Abakaliki officeon Thursday, April 28.

The commissioning will bringthe total number of ForumOffices within the EnuguElectricity DistributionCompany, EEDC, coveragearea to three including Enugu,with the Zonal Office in Owerri,Imo State.

A statement by the Head, Com-munications, EEDC,Emeka Eze, stated that “thesetting up of the forum officesby NERC is to ensure thatelectricity disputes are resolvedand that customers have a sayin what affects them as customersof electricity providers.

“With the commissioning ofthese additional offices,customers can now lodge theirelectricity complaints at any ofthe NERC offices at the followinglocation/address: AbakalikiForum Office: 3 EzekunaCrescent, Off Nsugbe Street,Abakaliki, Ebonyi State. "

OWERRI—THE Speakerof Imo State House of

Assembly, Chief Acho Ihim,has appealed to the citizenryto embrace regular eye teststo avoid what he termed “theincreasing but avoidable lossof vision among the people.”

Chief Ihim, who also doublesas the Vice President,C o m m o n w e a l t hParliamentary Association,African Region, made the call,weekend, at Umuozu HealthCentre, Nwangele LocalGovernment Area of the state,while flagging off the free eyescreening exercise organizedby one of the communicationsnetwork providers in thecountry.

“The eye is the window ofthe entire body. Withoutfunctional eyes, a person willbe thrown into total darkness”,Chief Ihim said.

According to the Speaker,with good eyesight, one candistinguish between food withadequate oil and one withoutoil, stressing that it wastherefore imperative for allImolites to check their visionregularly.

By Emeka Mamah &Chimaobi Nwaiwu

IPOB, Igbo youths, women fault DSS claim onkilling of northerners

ENUGU—THE IndigenousPeople of Biafra, IPOB, Igbo

Youths Movement, IYM and theIgbo Women Association, IWA,yesterday denied the claim by theDepartment of State Services, DSS,that five northerners were killedand buried in a forest in Abia State,saying that it was a ploy by theFederal Government to engineeranother round of mass killing ofIgbo in the north.

They made this known in threeseparate statements madeavailable to Vanguard in Enugu,adding that it was “not in thecharacter of IPOB as a non-violentorganization to kill innocentpeople.”

According to them, the FederalGovernment, “with apredetermined agenda to cloakIPOB in the garment of violentorganisation deliberatelydesigned such propaganda inorder to ignite ethnic cleansing.”

Another plot to kill KanuAlso yesterday, the Indigenous

People of Biafra, IPOB, againalleged that it has uncoveredanother plan by the AllProgressives Congress, APC-ledFederal Government toassassinate its leader, Mr. NnamdiKanu, in Kuje Prison through the

help of Boko Haram detainees.IPOB, in a statement by its

Media and Publicity Officer, MrEmma Powerful, said theFederal Government, theDepartment of State Services,DSS and officials of Kuje Prisonheld a meeting where theyagreed that they will use BokoHaram detainees to eliminateMr. Kanu.

IPOB said: “In the meeting,they agreed to use some

acclaimed Boko Haram leaderswho were arrested and kept inan unknown prison but will bebrought to Kuje prison afterbeing taken to court, where theywill be remanded in the sameprison with Mr Kanu and begiven weapons to attack himand claim he insulted themwhich led to physical combatthat claimed his life.

“Another game plan,according to our intelligence

arm, revealed that the Boko Har-am fighters will break into whereMr Kanu is presently being de-tained in Kuje prison to assassi-nate him by strangling him todeath and afterward, escapingfrom the prison and then gov-ernment will claim that the BokoHaram attacked the prison to freetheir members who were de-tained in the masterminded jailbreak,” said IPOB.

VISIT: From left: Mr. Tony Ojobo, Director, Public Affairs, Nigerian CommunicationsCommission, NCC; Prof. Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice-Chairman, NCC; Johan Jemdahl,Managing Director, Ericsson; Mr. Usman Malah, Chief of Staff to Danbatta and Mr. ShiletsiMakhofane, Head, Government and Industry Relation, Ericsson, during the courtesy visitby Ericsson to the Commission.

42—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

Financing our future

WRITING this, my thirdarticle on the economy,

I’m keenly aware that thequestion Nigerians wantanswered is: what is governmentdoing to address our economicchallenges? The first thing tostate is that there are no quickfixes, but our strategy is clear andthe expected outcomes are prettycompelling. Our immediateeconomic imperative is to providea Keynesian stimulus to reflatethe economy. The 2016 focus isunderpinned by a desire toradically reposition Nigeria’seconomy. This administrationbelieves very strongly that theprevious direction was far fromoptimal. We are pursuing a freshdirection consistent with ourbelief in building a resilienteconomy.

The strategy itself is worthreiterating. The 2016 Budget isbeing debt funded and theborrowings are targeted at thefinancing of capital projects toaddress the infrastructure deficit,create jobs and build the platformfor optimisation of the non-oileconomy that will see Nigeriaprosper. To this end, we havecommenced an aggressiveprogramme of fiscalhousekeeping: increasingrevenues and reducing recurrentexpenses. This will ensure thatwe move towards our objectiveof financing recurrentexpenditure from revenue, ratherthan borrowing as obtainedbefore now.

intentioned and cannot bedismissed without carefulanalysis, given our antecedentsas a nation. I am in agreementwith those who argue thatNigeria should not borrowsimply because its debt to GDPlevel is low enough toaccommodate such borrowing.There must be a clear businesscase backed by justifiablebenefits. I believe that Nigeriahas such a case at the presenttime. Simply put, we need capitalinvestment to grow our economy.At 13% debt to GDP, we comparefavourably with the threshold of30% for developing economies.Our low debt to GDP ratio is notexactly a positive attainmentbecause it is accompanied bycritically low level ofinfrastructure investment. It isactually a false economy. Lowcapital formation is a risk which,if uncorrected, hinders futureeconomic growth and this isalready evident.

Borrowing, as we propose, willincrease debt to GDP to 16% andstill leave us significantly lowerthan our peer group includingGhana at 70%, South Africa at 50%(2015) and Angola at 31% (2014).Appropriate levels of fiscal deficithave been used to grow many ofthe most successful globaleconomies.

Economicmultiplier effect

As ours develops, our sourcesof revenue will grow, diversify,and become less susceptible toexternal shocks. Our need toborrow will reduce accordingly.It’s important to note that capitalspending creates an asset, andthis gives a return over time inthe form of growth. Infrastructuralprojects such as rail and roadscreate jobs, generate taxes andstimulate further spending. Thisis the economic multiplier effectthat capital spending brings.Therefore, while an increase inpublic spending may create adeficit in the short term, theresultant increase in productivitywill lead to a higher rate ofeconomic growth and greater taxrevenues. According to theInternational FinanceCorporation (IFC), for every onebillion US dollars invested ininfrastructure in developingeconomies, between 49,000 and110,000 jobs are created.

Our borrowing policy willremain conservative and will seeus access the lowest availablefunds, hence our decision toapproach multilateral agencies inthe first instance, for budgetsupport at concessional rates aslow as 1.5% per annum. We havealso secured commitments fromExport Credit Agencies that aretied to specific capital projectsincluding key initiatives in power,transport and other infrastructure,and at semi-concessional rates.The balance will be sourcedcommercially to create a blendedcost of capital that’s as low as

By Kemi Adeosun

possible. We are addressing therelatively high debt service torevenue ratio which saw 28.1%of our 2015 revenues devoted todebt. This will be done througha systematic restructuring ofinherited debt portfolio into aprofile that is aligned with ourmedium term outlook as well asan increase in our revenues.

Borrowing is not our primaryfocus. Increasing our InternallyGenerated Revenue is criticalbecause it is sustainable; andbecause much of the fundscollected went unremitted toGovernment – something we aretackling now.

Revenue collectionprocesses

Our Revenue Team holds dailyrevenue sessions with MDAsduring which clear targets are setand agreed; monitoring andevaluation are continuous. Weare deploying cash-less revenuecollection processes in our highearning agencies to ensuremaximisation of our receipts. Weare working through TreasurySingle Account balances with aview to identifying monies thatcan potentially be used to fundthe budget and reduceborrowing.

Other costly leakages are beingblocked. We have completed adetailed review of tax and dutywaivers and discovered that insome cases, Nigeria lostsignificant revenues and withlimited benefits. We are set tobegin consultations withstakeholders on a revised policyaligned with the best interests ofNigeria.

Furthermore, we areidentifying funds that can bereleased from hitherto untapped

sources, including idle andunderutilised government assetsthat have commercial potentialincluding real estate. To this end,Ministry of Finance Incorporated(MOFI) is to become aprofessionally operated AssetManager, rather than a passiveholder of government assets. Itwill be actively managed to‘sweat’ Nigeria’s very valuableglobal asset portfolio. This willgenerate earnings and constituteadditional budget funding.

Gradually and with therequisite safeguards, we willauthorise the investment of partof the estimated N6Tn currentlyheld in pension funds into keyinfrastructure that will provideworkers with higher returns ontheir pension funds whileenhancing capital formation andeconomic growth. Nigeria’s firstever Project Tied InfrastructureBonds are being designed.These are novel structures thatwill see borrowings tied tospecific revenue generatingprojects, bringing private sectorfinancial discipline to the projectstructuring and delivery process,thereby improving value.

Our first quarter-plannedrelease of N350Bn is ready andis sure to have significant impact,in addition to exploringopportunities to reduce contractprices. Our conditions for releaseof funds are clear and themandate is a simple one: todefine and agree the number ofNigerians to be engaged as aresult of this funding. Priority willbe given, without apology, tothose creating jobs andopportunity for Nigerians. Thislevel of investment,predominantly capital, exceedsthe total capital spend for thewhole of 2015 and the tempo willbe sustained until the greenshoots of recovery begin to

There issufficient diversityof opportunitywhich our capitalinvestment canunlock

another to fill it back” - is anextreme example and suggestsan economic benefit inseemingly pointless activity. InNigeria’s case, the activity to betriggered will be a fullyproductive one. We will pay menand women to meet our criticalneeds in power, transport,housing, agriculture, solidminerals, health and education- and lay the foundation for acollective future that is morepositive than our current situationmay suggest.

One of Nigeria’s greateststrengths is the resilience of herpeople. Even beyond our shoresit is widely acknowledged that ifyou can survive in Nigeria, youcan thrive anywhere. Our abilityto overcome obstacles and ouringenuity in exploitingopportunities, are legendary; oureconomic policy will ensure moreof us succeed in creating wealth.

Sufficientdiversity

There is sufficient diversity ofopportunity which our capitalinvestment can unlock. We willalways celebrate the emergenceof billionaires, of course, but werecognise that a thousandmillionaires have greater fiscalimpact. Therefore, where thenumber of private jets was toutedin the past as a measure ofsuccess, we will take pride in thenumber of people lifted out ofpoverty, and the number of newjobs created. The idea thatNigeria can succeed this time is,for some, unthinkable. But forthose of us privileged to be partof this determinedly patrioticteam led by PresidentMuhammadu Buhari, it is andwill be possible.

Mrs. Kemi Adeosun is theMinister of Finance

KEMI ADEOSUNKEMI ADEOSUNKEMI ADEOSUNKEMI ADEOSUNKEMI ADEOSUN

In addition, we have signalledthrough our financial decisionsthat we are moving away fromoil. Government investment in oilwill be limited. We are invitingprivate sector participation in thefunding of cash calls for our JointVentures rather than tapping theFederation Account. This isguaranteed to improve our cashflow. As I have stated previously,oil is important but oil is notenough. Therefore, if faced withan option to invest borrowedfunds in our railways or poweror fund oil cash calls, we willstrategically fund non-oil. This isin the knowledge that there areprivate sector solutions to thefunding needed for oil, but fewsources other than governmentfor investment in physicalinfrastructure.

The debate about whetherNigeria should borrow is well

appear.J o h n

MaynardKeynes’famousquote onf i s c a lstimulus- thatw h e neconomiesa r edepressed,“Governmentshouldpay oneman todig ah o l eand pay

President BuhariNigeria

VIRGINIA

KAPTAIN AFRIKA in “Pretty Lunatic’ By Andy Akman

dadadekola@yahoo.com

TERROR MUDA in “Never say goodbye” By Lanre Kehinde

HOME & ABROAD By Lawrence Akapa

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YOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYBy Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016 — 43

L E I S U R ETHOUGHT FOR TODAY

By Richard EromoseleLIBRA: Pressure that came your way suddenly will giveway unexpectedly, today, to the betterment of your course.The more financially ambitious you are today, the betterfor you. Be steadfast.

SCORPIO: You sincerely believe in intelligent argumentor discussion. And if you allow your ability to be diplo-matic come to play today, you’ll be better for it. Enjoyyour love life.

SAGITTARIUS: You’ll tend to become both creative andpersuasive to the administration of others. Then thosewho’ve been resisting secret love may slip suddenly andbecome excited.

CAPRICORN: Even if opposition persists, supports youare getting from the influential people will be enough tosee you through. Yet, the more cooperative you are thebetter.

AQUARIUS: Your creativity quotient within your work-ing arena will today be enhanced. You’ll be blamed if youkeep official issues secrets from your challenges at work.

PISCES: After a few tension soaked days, you’ll havethe needed opportunity to look through windows of theworld and have your way as well. Magnetic and/or magicdays is predicted for lovers today.

ARIES: Even if you continue to work under pressure viaincreased workload, you will have good results to showfor your efforts today. Be steadfast.

TAURUS: Promise made to genuine personalities shouldbe kept if not because of today but for better tomorrow. Bereasonable and clean.

GEMINI: Those of you willing to let go hard feelings atwork are for a progressive day to the betterment of yourfinances. Let go yesterday, move ahead.

CANCER: Once again, you’ll have the needed opportu-nity to assert yourself to the administration of others. Bothlove and financial success can be yours with efforts. Rea-son with your tried and trusted friends.

LEO: You can make it a successful day with positiveapproach on your part. You will be in a better position todefuse tension within your working arena. Try to be moreambitious.

VIRGO; Yes! You’re not scared a bit even, when opposi-tion and/or competition come your way but, if you give into diplomatic approach, you’ll fare better today.

What’s my Horoscope?

Dear Joshua,Kindly tell me how the planets lined up when I was born

and the day of the week I was born but don’t publish mydate of birth.. Please tell me my full horoscope

Anonymous, Nigeria.

Dear Anonymous,You were born on a Sunday.

YOUR HOROSCOPE DATADay of Birth = SundaySun Sign = Scorpio. Sun in Zero Degree of ScorpioMoon Sign = Libra: Moon in 5th Degree of LibraMercury in 12th Degree of ScorpioVenus in Zero Degree of SagittariusMars in 1st Degree of AquariusJupiter in 29th Degree of CancerSaturn in 10th Degree of ScorpioUranus in 27th Degree of CancerNeptune in 25th Degree of LibraPluto in 26th Degree of LeoNorth Node in 8th Degree of CapricornSouth Node in 8th Degree of CancerNo planet in earth spar sign, one in available, two in

fire, three in air, four in cardinal, fixed and water starsigns hosted five planets each.

PHYSICAL INFLUENCE = 50%NON-PHYSICAL INFLUENCE =50%PLANET AT HOME = NONEANALYSIS OF THE HOROSCOPE DATAYou are both an intelligent and emotional person. And

as there was planet at home when you were born, toomany ideas will always struggle for prominent place inyour mind, thus decision making is difficult but most times,your intelligence comes to the rescue.

Certainly, you appear to other as a gentle person whocan be mistaken for soft fellow but your inner-self is thepersonality with a steel like will power.

You are the consistent type who may find it difficult tochange once you have made up your mind as indicated bydistribution of the planets as written out in paragraphtwo of this exercise.

One major challenge you have been battling for a verylong time is constant worries, some times, necessarily andthe other time, uncalled for, as indicated by conjunctionMercury and Saturn formed when you were born.

Limiting YourExpectationRECENTLY, a

journalist ac-costed me andwanted to knowfrom me what myexpectation is con-cerning the newgovernment. Myanswer simply is:

I expect nothingspecial. Before youcrucify me, let meask you. Haven’twe been havingnew governments

in Nigeria? Gov-ernment come andgo but our prob-lems don’t just re-main, they get big-ger and bigger.

Over the years, Ihave learned notto expect muchfrom governmentas well as individu-als. My policy is:blessed is he thatexpects nothingfor he shall not bedisappointed.

44—Vanguard,44—Vanguard,44—Vanguard,44—Vanguard,44—Vanguard, MONDAY, MONDAY, MONDAY, MONDAY, MONDAY, APRIL 11, APRIL 11, APRIL 11, APRIL 11, APRIL 11, 20162016201620162016

VanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardCLASSIFIED

EZE—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Opara ChimezieEze, now wish to beknown and addressedas Opara ChimezieEzekwesili. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

SUNDAY—I, formerly

known and addressed

as Rebecca Sunday,

now wish to be known

and addressed as

Eyerike Rebecca. All

former documents

remain valid. General

public please take note.

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ERUVWESEMEWHANRA—I, formerly knownand addressed asRobert ComfortEruvwesemewhanra,now wish to be knownand addressed asAsiughwu Comfort. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

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O G O D O G B O — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissOgodogbo Ejoke Tina,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Aruwa Ejoke Tina. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

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My correct name isGeorge KonfaaOribrimate , but it waswrongly written asGoerge OrisOribrimate on some ofmy documents. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

Correction of NameI, Essilie Peter Ubihereby confirm that thenames Edify Peter Ubiand Ubi Essilie Peter asthey appear on some ofmy documents refer toone and the sameperson. All formerdocuments remainvalid. Access Bank,NYSC and generalpublic please take note.

Confirmation of Name

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Addition of Name HOUNZA—I, formerly

known and addressed

as Hounza Jacob, now

wish to be known and

addressed as Samuel

Jacob. All former

documents remain

valid. General public

please take note.

EBOTA—I, formerly

known and addressed

as Miss Cecilia Ebota,

now wish to be known

and addressed as Mrs.

Cecilia Alemeke. All

former documents

remain valid. General

public please take.

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TUNDE—I, formerly

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now wish to be known

and addressed as

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The names, UsehUruemuesiri Godwinand Useh Godwinbelong to one and thesame person but nowwish to be known andaddressed as UsehUruemuesiri Godwin.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

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A K A N D E — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissO l u w a t o y i nOluwakemi Akande, now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.O l u w a t o y i nOluwakemi Oyewo.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016 — 45

FIFA, Sports Vanguardgathered yesterday, may bebreathing down onNigeria for taking its caseto ordinary courts. FIFAfrowns against takingfootball matters to lawcourts for the resolution offootball matters.

A very senior Nigerianfootball stakeholderinformed us yesterday thatthe World soccer-rulingbody would make its standknown on the Nigeriancrisis today.

‘’The court case sackingNFF President, MelvinAmaju Pinnick happenedlate on Friday andthey(FIFA) don’t work atthe weekend. Definitely,tomorrow(today) you willbe hearing from them’’, oursource said.

The source regretted thatthe U-23 team would be

Dream Team

excluded from the drawsas well as the seniornational team, the SuperFalcons from the 2016Africa Women Cup ofNations in Camerounwhich begins onNovember 19 and end onDecember 3.

“It’s going to be thebeginning of more miseryfor soccer fans aseverything related tofootball in Nigeria will beclamped by FIFA’’, thesource regretted.

Also, former Scribe ofNFF Sani Ahmed Torowarned yesterday that thecourt ruling in Jos was aviolation of article 68 ofFIFA Statutes. ‘’FIFA willdefinitely hammer us byinvoking articles 14 and 70of their statutes’’, theformer House ofRepresentative membersaid.

Continued from B/P 45

the France international,who has also been linkedwith possible moves toEurope’s elite clubsincluding Real Madrid,Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.

But Mikel’s rep hasdismissed the idea as thedefensive midfielder wasrecently offered a newcontract, which he’s stillmulling over.

“If Chelsea have plans tosell him, they will not offerhim a new contract. It isnormal paper talk and nottrue,”Mikel’s rep said.

“Mikel remains a playerof Chelsea and wants tofinish up the season beforeweighing his options.”

MikelContinued from B/P 45

the competition was in2011.

Mfon Udoh gaveEnyimba the lead afternine minutes from thepenalty spot.

The home team piled onmore pressure in search ofmore goals so that thereturn leg in Sousse willonly be a mere formality.

They doubled theiradvantage in the 55thminute through MfonUdoh for his sixth goal of

the competition. The strikertapped in from close rangeoff a long-range drive byDare Ojo.

This was after AlayaBrigui had almost drawnEtoile level in the 50thminute, but IfeanyiAnaemena cleared hisgoal-bound effort.

Etoile suffered anothersetback after defenderGhazi Abderrazak was sentoff in the 71st minute afterhis second booking fordissent.

Enyimba

Continued from B/P 45

T O T T E N H A Mmaintained their

Premier League titlechallenge with a thumpingvictory over ManchesterUnited.

Having seen Leicesterbeat Sunderland earlier,Tottenham scored threegoals in six second-halfminutes to stay sevenpoints behind the Foxes.

Dele Alli slotted in frominside the area and Toby

Alderweireld headedhome, before ErikLamela’s sweet strike.

Anthony Martial drovestraight at Hugo Lloris aftera weaving run, to registerthe away side’s only shoton target.

Kick-off was delayed byhalf an hour as the Unitedteam bus was stuck inLondon traffic en route toWhite Hart Lane.

Spurs thump Man U 3-0

Oluwafemi Joshua dethrones world heavyweight boxingchampion

CHARLES Martinhas lost his

International BoxingFederation (IBF) title toNigerian-born Britishboxer Anthony Joshua intheir title bout Saturday.

The bout which tookplace at the 02 Arena in London saw a moreconfident Joshuasnatching the heavyweight title at the secondround after stunning theformer champion.

Joshua was on thefront foot from thebeginning and had Martinrattled in just the firstround.

The 26-year-old then

caught Martin with a counter right hand,sending him crashing tothe canvas, before landinganother big right for aknockout win.

Champion Martin, whowas making the firstdefence of the title he wonin January, entered the ringwearing a tall crown, a fur-trimmed, velvet cape anda smile. But the smile soondisappeared.

Some thought previouslyunbeaten Martin, 29,would trouble Joshua withhis southpaw stance – hewas the first left-handerJoshua had faced in thepaid ranks – but he barelythrew a punch in anger.

IOC/NOC advanced spor tsmanagement course begins in Lagos

THE 3rd IOC/NOCAdvanced sports

management course willbegin in Lagos from Tuesday12 through Thursday 14.

According to the ProjectOfficer, Deborah Chidobi,the course which is meantfor State Directors of Sports,Directors of sports inuniversities and other highcalibre sports administrators

will be held at CommandGuest House, 26 ChildAvenue, Apapa, Lagos.

The course which involvesserious academic work willrun for five sessions whichwill be divided three dayseach with the lastpresentation of case studies/projects.

This makes a total of 15residential days for the fivesessions. The course is to beanchored by InternationalOlympic Committeeapproved Course Directorsand National Coursefacilitators; Prof ClementFasan and Mr JonathanDyagas.

Rowing course ends

THE NOC/OlympicSolidarity Technical

Course in Rowing came to acolourful end yesterday.

The 3-day train the trainerscourse started on 7th -10th April2016 and was aimed atdeveloping Rowing sports inNigeria. Experts from the BritishRowing and UK Sports,conducted the course.

Twelve coaches were trainedto identify more coaches as wellas athletes. They were alsocharged with the responsibilityof popularizing the sport inNigeria

As part of their developmentalprogram they are scheduled tovisit and inspect Unilag Lagoonfront Akoka, Bics boats club, Lekki,Lagos and Jabi Lake, Abuja.They are also expected visit the

British High commission and theHonourable Minster of Youthand Sports, Solomon Dalung.

The second session of theNOC/Olympic SolidarityTechnical Course in Rowingtakes place in October at SailingClub, Navy Town, Ojo.

Zenith WBL: 18 teams hit Asaba for second phase

THE second phase of theZenith Bank

Women Basketball Leaguestarts today (Monday) at thebasketball court of the AsabaTownship Stadium, DeltaState as the race for the final-8 playoff gathers momentum.

The flagship Nigerianwomen league organised bythe Nigeria BasketballFederation (NBBF) willinvolve all eighteen clubs thatmade up group A

and group B.Defending champion,

Dolphins basketball club willlook to consolidate its grip ofgroup-A as it will battle againsteight other teams in the group

which comprises of four-timechampion, First Deepwaterbasketball club, currentlyplaced fifth in the group withthree wins from eight gamesplayed at the first phase inAbuja.

Other teams in group-A arehost of second phase DeltaForce, Nigeria Customs, GT2000 of Kaduna, ZamfaraBabes, AHIP Queens ofKano, Oluyole Babes ofIbadan and NigeriaImmigration.

Leading group-B isNigeria’s most decoratedwomen team, First Bankbasketball club with six titlesof the Zenith Bank Womenleague, the Elephant Girlsare set to continue from where

they left off from the Abuja-First-Phase but might facesome opposition fromrejuvenated IGP Queens ofLagos.

CHAMPION... Oluwafunmi Joshua displays his new World Heavyweight belt.

VanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardCLASSIFIED

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UMBA—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Mr. Moses PaulUmba now wish to beknown and addressedas HRH Moses OkaforNgele. All documentsbearing former namesremain valid. Thegeneral public shouldplease take note.

OBIEZE—The entirefamily of ObiezeOseloka IkechukwuHenry and IfeomaChizoba wishes to beknown and addressedas Success OselokaIkechukwu Henry andSuccess IfeomaChizoba. All formerdocuments bearingObieze remain valid.General public pleasetake note.

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This is to confirm thatthe name(s) OnahSunday Chisom andOnah Sunday Kingsleyrefer to one and thesame person. That Inow wish to be knownand addressed as OnahSunday Kingsley. Allformer documentsremain valid. FirstBank Plc and thegeneral public pleasetake note.

Confirmation of Name

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CMYK

46 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

Pinnick is still NFF President — Keyamo

WE published a storyyesterday reflecting

the view of FestusKeyamo, NFF’s attorney,on the Jos court ruling inrespect of the NFF crisis.

Below is the fullstatement by FestusKeyamo.

“We are solicitors to theNigerian FootballFederation led by AmajuPinnick. We are alsosolicitors to the Defendantsin suit No. FHC/J/CS/77/2016: Between YahayaAdama & Anor. V. Maigari& Ors.

Our attention has beendrawn to several mediareports to the effect that theFederal High Court sittingin Jos sacked the Board ofthe Nigerian FootballFederation (NFF) led byMr. Amaju Pinnick andinstalled Mr. Chris Giwa asthe new Chairman of theNFF. This is nothing buttotal and completefalsehood. We areconstrained to issue this

statement to set the recordsstraight owing to thesensitive nature of footballadministration in Nigeria.

For the purpose of clarity,at no time did theHonourable Court orderthe installation of one ChrisGiwa as Chairman of theNFF as neither Chris Giwanor Amaju Pinnick areparties to the present suitin JOS. It is therefore adistortion of the Order ofthe Honourable Court toassume that Chris Giwawas ordered to resume asthe Chairman of the NFF.The Supreme Court ofNigeria has held timeswithout number that nocourt of law can issue anOrder against a person thatis not a party in a suitbefore a court withoutjoining or hearing from thatparty. And no court of lawcan also install a party inan office who is not beforethe Court praying for suchan Order. The said ChrisGiwa is not a party before

the case at the FederalHigh Court and the CourtNEVER made an Orderinstalling him as NFFPresident. It is like thebizarre case of the proxiesof a loser in an electionsuing only INEC withoutjoining the other victoriousparty in the case. How cana Court of Law or Tribunalremove the victorious Partyfrom office without joininghim or even making apositive Order to thateffect? It is simply a legalimpossibility.

What the so-called ChrisGiwa is attempting to do isnothing but sheerbrigandage and we shallbe writing to all authoritiesconcerned to arrest andprosecute him if he daresto take the laws into hishands. The Minister ofSports must not also aidthis sheer madness.Whoever wants to removeAmaju Pinnick andmembers of the NFF boardfrom office must approachthe court to join them as

parties and must seek clearand positive Ordersagainst each and everyoneof them. The public and allfootball lovers must ignorethis storm in a tea cup.There is simply NOCOURT ORDER removinganybody from office.

To set the records straight,sometime in 2014, oneYahaya Adama andObinna Ogba commencedan action against AlhajiAminu Maigari and threeothers challenging theconvening of the OrdinaryGeneral Assembly and thesubsequent electionconducted into the variousoffices of the NFF on 30thof September, 2014. In thecourse of the proceedings,the Court made threedifferent Orders as follows:

1. The Court first issuedan Order dated 19thSeptember, 2016,restraining the Defendantsfrom proceeding with theCongress

2. The Court later issued

an Order dated 23rd Dayof October, nullifying orsetting aside the purportedelection conducted into theExecutive Committee/Board of the NFF

3. Finally, the Courtmade an Order dated 30thOctober, 2016, setting asideall the previous Ordersmade above

Please, find attached aCertified True Copy of thelast Order made.

The last Order was madejust before the case waswithdrawn and struck outon the 30th October, 2016.

However, in December,2015, Messrs YahayaAdama and Obinna Ogbaagain applied to theFederal High Court for arelisting of the Suit and therestoration of

“....... all Orders madeby this Honourable Courtin suit no. FHC/L/CS/77/2014 before this suit wasstruck out by thisHonourable Court on 30thOctober, 2014.”

Gentlemen, it is the exactprayer as stated above thatthe Court granted onFriday, April 8, 2016. Whatthis clearly means is that

the court also restored itsfinal Order made on the30th of October, 2014, asstated above before thecase was struck out, that setaside all the previousOrders made, especiallythe one nullifying the NFFelection held in Warri on30th September, 2014. Infact, the court could nothave granted the Plaintiffsa final Order at aninterlocutory stage. Anyonewho feels otherwise shouldgo back to Court.

In any event, we aredissatisfied with the re-listing of the case and aMotion or an applicationurging the Court to setaside its Ruling has beenfiled and is pending beforethe Court. The Defendantshave also lodged anappeal against the Rulingof the Court and have alsofiled an application for stayof further proceedingspending the determinationof the Appeal. It isexpected that as lawabiding citizens, no stepswould be taken by anyparty to frustrate thejudicial process.”

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016—47

CMYK

England - PremierLeague

Italy - Serie A

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-4548355. Advert Dept Hotline: 01-4544821. Abuja Advert Hotline: 09-2921024. E-mail: editor@vanguardngr.com, news@vanguardngr.com, letters@vanguardngr.com. Advert:advertproduction@yahoo.com

Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: MIDENO BAYAGBON. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

How to Play Sudoku

Place a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line canhave two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (alsonine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within abold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1through 9. This means that no number can appear twicein any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, divisionor multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

FRIFRIFRIFRIFRIDDDDDAAAAAY'S ANSY'S ANSY'S ANSY'S ANSY'S ANSWERSWERSWERSWERSWERSTTTTTODODODODODAAAAAY'S PUZZLEY'S PUZZLEY'S PUZZLEY'S PUZZLEY'S PUZZLE

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2016

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDA C R O S S1 Attic (6)5 Plan (6)8 Shorten (8)9 Even (4)10 Obese (3)12 Furze (5)15 Ocean (3)17 Scull (3)18 Spout (3)19 Writing-fluid (3)20 Similar (5)21 Moose (3)22 Finish (3)23 Vehicle (3)24 Brown (3)26 Happening (5)29 Bow (3)33 Visit (4)34 Stealing (8)35 Disclose (6)36 Tolerate (6)

D O W N2 Fragrance (5)3 Discourteous (4)4 Dance (5)5 Clothe (5)6 Yielding (4)7 Clearing (5)10 Swoon (5)11 Symbol (5)12 Class (5)13 Elevate (5)14 Expel (5)15 Strict (5)16 Enquired (5)25 Astound (5)27 Essential (5)28 Din (5)30 Proprietor (5)31 Adhesive (4)32 Greedy (4)

ACROSS: 1, Canal 5, System 8, Parch 10,Choice 11, Avid 14, Malice 15, Reached 18,Ton 19, Den 21, Rent 23, Level 24, Clan 27,Dim 29, Cad 31, Lenient 32, Editor 34, Dune35, Idiocy 38, Arson 39, Reveal 40, Geese.

DOWN: 2, Ash 3, Apiece 4, Lac 5, Sham 6,Sailor 7, Modest 9, Receded 12, Vat 13, Dine16, Evil 17, Devil 20, Nemesis 22, Noon 24,Clever 25, Acid 26, Nature 28, Divine 30, Don33, Real 36, Dog 37, Cos.

Sunderland 0Leicester City 2Liverpool 4Stoke City 1Tottenham Hotspur 3Manchester Uted 0

Empoli 2Fiorentina 0Napoli 3Hellas Verona 0Sampdoria 2Udinese 0Torino 2Atalanta 1

Sporting Gijon 0Celta Vigo 1Valencia 2Sevilla 1Zaragoza 2Mallorca 1

Spain - Liga

Nigeria – NPFLRangers 1 Ifeanyi Ubah 0Ikorodu Utd 0 Sunshine 0El-Kanemi 2 Shooting Stars 0Kano Pillars 2 Nasarawa Utd 1Plateau Utd 2 Giwa FC 0Warri Wolves 1 MFM FC 0Akwa Utd 2 N/Tornadoes 0Heartland 2 Rivers Utd 1*Abia Warriors 1 Lobi Stars 0

Dream Team risks expulsionfrom Rio as FIFA hammer looms

By Tony Ubani

AS Nigerians come togrips with the ouster

of the Super Eagles fromthe African Cup of Nationsholding in Gabon nextyear, more misery and painawait soccer fans asSamson Siasia’s DreamTeam(U-23) may beexcluded from the draws ofthe football event of the RioOlympic Games whichholds on Thursday at theMaracana Stadium, Brazil.

Following the annoyingrumbles from the court inJos that sent dangeroussignals to the world thatNigerian football isengulfed in confusion,

Chelsea’ll not sell Mikel – AgentOBI Mikel will not be

sold by Chelsea inthe summer to fund a movefor Juventus star PaulPogba, according to arepresentative of the

Udo’s hat-trick fires Enyimbaover Etoile du Sahel

MFON Udoh fired ahat-trick for

Enyimba Sunday to take abig step towards featuringin the group stage of thisyear’s CAF ChampionsLeague after they defeatedEtoile du Sahel fromTunisia 3-0 in Port Harcourt.The last time Enyimbaplayed in the money-spinning group phase of

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Nigeria captain.Reports had claimed thatthe Stamford Bridge sidewill sell Willian, Oscar andJohn Obi Mikel to pay forContinues on Page 45

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•Mikel

•Udoh

EXCEPTIONAL...Koffi Nti of FC Ifeanyi Ubah (red)jumps over Nnamdi Anyasodo of Rangers during theNPFL match on Saturday, Rangers won 1-0.