Court Orders Prosecution 5 Of Indicted NASS Members

Transcription

1 FOR GOD AND COUNTRY WEDNESDAY No. 3,067 N200 WEDNESDAY NIGERIA S MOST INFLUENTIAL NEWSPAPER N481BN BUDGET PADDING Court Orders Prosecution 5 Of Indicted NASS Members Says reports of investigation must be made available to the President Police Uncover Illegal Gun Factory In Benue BY HEMBADOON ORSAR, Makurdi The Benue State Police Command yesterday uncovered an illegal local gun-manufacturing factory in Oju local lovernment area of the state. The state commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, who disclosed this while parading the suspects, said he led his men to the site of the factory located at Amyuwogbu-Ibilla in Oju. According to him, the legal factory owner, Abi Odah, was arrested along- CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike (right) and former Rivers State governor, Dr Peter Odili during activities to commemorate the third anniversary of Wike s administration in Port Harcourt, yesterday. PHOTO BY NAN Saraki s Meeting With Health Workers Ends In Stalemate 4 Ex-PDP Spokesman, Adeyeye, Defects To APC Cholera Outbreak: WHO Deploys 39 Staff To Adamawa FG Committed To Completing Abandoned Projects Lai Moh d 4 6 8

2 2 Wednesday, May 30, 2018

3 LEADERSHIP Wednesday, May 30, our stand That N8.1trn Under-remittance By MDAs The high level impunity in the nation s civil service and the extent to which some public office holders engage in sleaze is alarmingly worrisome. But more disconcerting is the fact that the unfortunate scenario appears to be seen as the norm. Recently, the federal government revealed that from 2010 to 2015, some revenue generating agencies under-remitted revenues accruing to the government coffers to the tune of N8.1trillion. The discovery was an outcome of an audit conducted by a reputable audit firm. The result of the audit was the discovery that the agencies failed to remit N8.1 trillion to the federation account. The amount is about six times the N1.34 trillion said to have been stolen by individuals between 2006 and In clear terms, these agencies, due to error of omission or commission, denied the nation the opportunity of enriching its purse, on the average, by over N1trn annually! This amount, without gainsaying it, if judiciously applied to the challenges in critical sectors like power, water supply or health, would no doubt have made meaningful impact. Some of the startling discoveries included the fact that apart from outright embezzlement of funds, some of the revenue generating agencies indulged in very irregular financial activities including paying salaries above specifications spelt out by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission- RMFAC. This newspaper is appalled by this development in which some of these organisations abused existing legislations that permitted their use of a fraction of what they generated as running costs. Hiding under that, these organisations disappointingly frittered away as much as 90 per cent of the total revenue they generated not minding the fact that government is still funding both their capital and recurrent expenditures. Lamentably, we recall that this discovery is coming at a time of serious concerns over the ability of the nation to effectively execute this year s Appropriation Act without borrowing. More than anything else, it is our view that this alarming discovery is reminiscent of the huge differentials between the remittance made by the Joint EDITOR Muazu Elazeh DEPUTY EDITOR Raliat Ahmed-Yusuf GENERAL EDITOR Silas Ezeugwu CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Dele Fanimo POLITICAL DIRECTOR/ STATE HOUSE Jonathan Nda-Isaiah CHAIRMAN Sam Nda-Isaiah EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Christian Ochiama ASS. MANAGING EDITOR George Agba COORDINATOR, EDITORIAL BOARD Suleiman Abdullahi GROUP LTD GMD, LEADERSHIP GROUP Abdul Gombe GMD, LEADERSHIP HOLDINGS David Chinda GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS Dele Fanimo Felicia Ogbonlaiye Geoffrey Essien HR DIRECTOR Solomon Nda-Isaiah CHIEF PROCUREMENT & ASSETS OFFICER Mrs Zipporah Tanko DIRECTOR, HAUSA PUBLICATIONS Mubarak Umar GENERAL MANAGERS Ibrahim Halilu Femi Adekunle Ebriku John LEADERSHIP is a national paper symbolically embedded in the nation s capital. We shall stand up for good governance. We shall defend the interest of Nigerian people even against their rulers, and we shall raise our pen at all times in defence of what is right. These are the values by which we intend to be assessed. We shall never, ever for any reason forget the noble reason of our coming into being: F o r G o d a n d C o u n t r y! Admission and Matriculation Board-JAMB-, under successive regimes and the one made by the administration of the incumbent registrar. Instances like this showed clearly that the nation doesn t even need to engage the services of an audit firm before establishing the fact that something had gone wrong. Following this revelation, we see no reason why managers of government s revenue generating agencies should be allowed to short change the nation in such a brazen manner. We are, on the basis of this, urge the government to apply all due diligence as it unravels the reasons for this under-remittances and factors that gave the agencies the impetus to engage in this worrisome sabotage. We think beyond this audit which of course is the first step, government must be courageous enough to take the next and inevitable step by ensuring that all those found culpable in this high profile sleaze are made to face the full wrath of the law. Anti-graft agencies like the EFCC and indeed, the ICPC including the Code of Conduct Bureau, must swing into action by clinically engaging those who served as chief executive officers of these agencies within the time span covered by the audit. The role played by internal auditors must also be scrutinized so as to ascertain the level of their culpability in aiding and abetting this economic crime against the nation. We believe, without any contestation, that those who piloted the affairs of these agencies, more than anyone else, have questions to answer and as such, should be called upon to offer explanations. In a similar manner, we strongly recommend that government should adopt stiff measures including assets confiscation, to ensure the recovery of all or substantial part of this money. Of course, the bureaucrats-some of whom may still be in service, like the directors and other senior civil servants who may have aided and abetted this under-remittance, must also be made to face the complete weight of the law. But then of course, there is the need for government to extend the audit beyond the time frames, and also, ensure all revenue generating agencies are covered, so that Nigerians can know how these agencies fare. We believe the war on graft must be total and without compassion! No nation develops to its full potentials with the level of financial sleaze being perpetrated in Nigeria. The time to clean the Augean stable is now and so government must strengthen the anti-graft agencies to effectively confront this hydra-headed monster head on.

4 4 NEWS Wednesday, May 30, 2018 Group News Editor: Ekele Peter Agbo ASUU, Others Reject Amendments To TETFund Act BY CHIKA MEFOR, Abuja L-R: Justice Suleiman Galadima of the Supreme Court; Justice Olukayode Ariwoola of the Supreme Court; former CJN, Justice Alfa Belgore ; President Muhammadu Buhari; Chief of Staff to the President, Mallam Abba Kyari and former CJN, Justice Idris Kutigi, during the break-offast with members of the Judiciary at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO BY REMI AKUNLEYAN. Ex-PDP Spokesman, Adeyeye, Defects To APC BY ALO ABIOLA, Ado Ekiti The immediate past national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) Prince Adedayo Adeyeye yesterday defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Adeyeye, who was also a former state minister for Works and governorship aspirant had on May 10, two days after the Ekiti PDP governorship primary announced his resignation from the party. He then disclosed that a number of political parties were wooing him to come to their party since he lost the PDP primary to Governor Ayodele Fayose s anointed candidate, Prof Kolapo Olusola, who polled 1191 votes to beat him to the second position with 771 votes. Adeyeye alleged that Fayose s agenda was to do a third term in office by installing Olusola in a bid to perpetually corner Ekiti s commonwealth. Addressing newsmen yesterday in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, the former spokesman of the socio-political group, Afenifere said leaving PDP was not an easy decision to make, that was a party to which I have rendered invaluable service at the most trying period of its history. According to him, Expectedly patriotic leaders of the party appealed to me to We Are Delivering On Our Promises Wike BY ANAYO ONUKWUGHA, Port Harcourt Rivers State governor, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has declared that his administration over the last three years has delivered an open, transparent and accountable government which has transformed the trajectory of governance from the failures of the past to one that cares and works for the people. He further declared that his administration is delivering on her campaign promises and improving the living standards of the people of Saraki s Meeting With Health Workers End In Stalemate BY PATIENCE IVIE IHEJIRIKA, Abuja The hope for amicable end to the crisis rocking the health sector has been dashed as the meeting between the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and the leadership of the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) ended in deadlock. LEADERSHIP reliably gathered that the leadership of JOHESU had hoped for a favourable outcome of the meeting with the senate president but were disappointed as he urged them to accept the the state through quality projects and programmes. Wike, who spoke yesterday while addressing stakeholders of the state, during the public presentation of his administration s scorecard as part of his third year anniversary, said his administration has judiciously applied scarce resources for the benefit of Rivers people. The governor said through the achievements of his administration, the state has been lifted from the valleys of despair to the heights of hope. He said, It is clear that in the last 15 per cent of N22 billion which the federal government is offering them. According to the source, after series of meetings between the ministers of Health and Labour, Dr Isaac Adewole and Chris Ngige and JOHESU, the union came up with three options, the last of which was to reduce the N22billion correctly calculated by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission to N16 billion, in an attempt to resolve the lingering issue. three years our State has progressed at a rate it has never been. There is no doubt that the foundation that we need to accelerate our development, create jobs and advance our prosperity has firmly been laid. We give profound thanks to God for these achievements, but we also owe everything to you who are truly driving the change process with your unqualified support, encouragement and prayers. Wike stated that improvements in different sectors have changed the fortune of the state and securely placed However, the source said that the federal government, rather than picking one of these options, decided to offer the health workers 15 per cent of the N22billion which is about N3billion. Another source from the Federal Ministry of Health, revealed that the JOHESU leaders may be jailed after a court hearing today. According to the source, there is an indication that JOHESU is being sponsored by the opposition, especially the People s reconsider my decision in the light of my previous services and loyalty to the party. But the issue was never about me as a person. It was about the interest of the very many people who associate with me and more importantly the collective interest and future of Ekiti people. For me politics has always been an opportunity to serve and make contribution towards the development of my community and the nation. it on the pedestal of sustained growth. The governor said, Before we assumed office we made a lot of promises as the bases for seeking your mandate. We have also invested time, efforts and resources to fulfill these promises. Lest we forget, we all know the state of our State, especially the very poor state of our economy before we took over the mantle of leadership. However, despite the challenges, we remained undaunted, focused and determined to make the difference we had promised. Democratic Party (PDP) with the aim of destabilising the present government. Meanwhile, the minister of Health, on Monday, directed the Governing Boards of Federal Tertiary Health Institutions to convene emergency meetings of Boards and order back to work the striking health workers. He added that anyone who fails to resume would be considered to have absconded from duty without leave which is a serious misconduct in line with the Public Service rule Stakeholders in the education sector has again rejected the clamour to amend clause 72a and 73 of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, Act 2011, and expanding of its scope of intervention. Two separate bills proposing the amendments had passed first and second reading at the House of Representatives and came up for public hearing on Monday where stakeholders said no to an attempt to expand the scope of TETFund s intervention to private universities by about 10 per cent of all the 2 per cent company taxes collected; and to federal tertiary health institutions and teaching hospitals by 17.5 per cent of the taxes. Speaking at a public hearing held by the House of Representatives Committee on Tertiary Education Services, the National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi, said private universities are private enterprises which should be contributing to TETFund and not drawing from it. Ogunyemi argued that allowing private universities to benefit from TETFund will violate the essence of establishing the fund which was to get private sector to contribute to funding of education through education tax. He warned that 40 out of the 74 private universities, representing about 54 per cent of private universities, were faith-based and encouraging them to draw from TETFund will open another window of national crisis. The ASUU president also argued on the lack of geopolitical spread of the institutions as over 70 per cent of the universities are concentrated in two or three zones of the country which will further raise eyebrows about government using public funds to support private universities in some geopolitical zones. On the bill to fund tertiary hospitals, he said the National Assembly, in the 2018 budget, actualised the 1 per cent consolidated revenue fund allocated to the health sector as stipulated in the national health act of 2014 which should give the health sector enough fund to take care of teaching hospitals that are strictly under the Federal Ministry of Health. Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the Fund, Dr Abdulahi Baffa, rejected calls for the amendment of the law, stressing that the Act establishing the fund was not broken and does not require fixing. He described the proposal to include federal tertiary hospitals as an anomalous decision taken to soothe the ego of certain individuals who have put medical education in serious jeopardy and by the same token put medical practice in a quagmire in the country.

5 Wednesday, May 30, 2018 Court Orders Prosecution Of Indicted NASS Members BY OLUGBENGA SOYELE, Lagos A Federal High Court in Lagos has granted an order of mandamus compelling President Muhammadu Buhari to direct appropriate anticorruption agencies to commence prosecution of lawmakers accused of padding N481 billion from the 2016 budget. The court headed by Justice Mohammed Idris also directed the president to urgently instruct security and anti-corruption agencies to forward to him reports of their investigations into allegations of padding of the 2016 budget made against some principal officers of the National Assembly. Justice Idris further ordered President Buhari to direct that the report of investigations by security and anti-corruption bodies into the alleged padding of the 2016 budget be published. The judge gave the directive while delivering judgment on a mandamus suit no: FHC/L/ CS/1821/2017 filed by civil society organisations, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP). Also joined, as respondent in the suit, is the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. Justice Idris ruled that President Buhari, in the exercise of his executive powers, has a duty to ensure compliance with the provisions of article 22 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights and that he is expected to use his executive powers for the public good of Nigeria. Article 22 of the African Charter provides that, All peoples shall have the right to their economic, social and cultural development with due regard to their freedom, and that States shall have the duty, individually or collectively, to ensure the exercise of the right to development. The Court also granted an order directing President Buhari to Urgently halt alleged attempt by some principal officers of the National Assembly to steal N40 billion of the N100 billion allocated by his government as zonal intervention in the 2017 budget. The judge also ordered the president to closely monitor and scrutinise the spending of N131 billion (accrued from increased oil bench mark) allocated for additional non-constituen- Police Uncover Illegal Gun Factory In Benue FROM COVER side his son, Kingsley Abi and one Thomas Ode, aka Tommy Tommy. Owoseni who also paraded the three suspects before journalists at Oju Divisional Police headquarters in Oju explained that his men were originally investigating a case of abduction and rape when they stumbled on the discovery. Saraki cy projects expenditure, to remove the possibility of corruption. Giving credence to the suit, Justice Idris further stated that SERAP, being a human rights non-governmental organisation has sufficient interest in the way and manner public funds are being utilized in this country. SERAP had last year filed the suit after the organisation said it received credible information from multiple sources that the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have completed investigations into the allegations of padding of the 2016 budget, completed their reports, and indicted some principal officers of the House of Representatives and the Senate. It also stated that the accounts of some of the principal officers containing allegedly illicit funds have been frozen, and that the case files for the prosecution of those indicted were ready. The suit filed on SERAP s behalf by its counsel, Mrs Joke Fekumo, reads in part: Unless the principal officers indicted in the alleged padding of the 2016 budget are prosecuted and any stolen public funds recovered, the Federal Government will not be able to stop padding of future budgets. Alleged corruption in the budget process will not just melt away or simply evaporate without addressing the fundamental issue of impunity of perpetrators. Addressing alleged corruption in the budg- Gambari Gets New UN Appointment The United Nations has appointed Prof Ibrahim Gambari as a member of independent eminent experts on the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. A statement by Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, where he is the Chancellor said that Gambari s appointment letter, dated May 11, was signed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra ad AI Hussein. The letter reads in part: I write to you on behalf of the United Nations Secretary-General in reference to General Assembly resolution 72/157 of 19 December 2017 in which the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General, António Guterres, to appoint the members of the group of independent eminent experts on the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. This is in accordance with General Assembly resolution 56/266 of March 27, I have the pleasure to inform you that after a thorough consideration, the Secretary General decided to appoint Gambari as a member of the group of independent eminent experts on the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. The other members of the group, appointed earlier, are Mrs Hanna Suchocka (Eastern European States) and Mrs Santos Roland (Latin He said 19-year old Kingsley and his friend, Tommy, 17, were earlier apprehended following an allegation of abduction and rape of a 15 year-old girl. The CP added that while Police operatives were tracing evidence of the crime to Kingsley s home, they found prohibited items in his father s workshop behind their house. The commissioner noted that further search into the activities of Abi who was popularly et process by pursuing prosecution of indicted principal officers of the National Assembly will provide an important opportunity for the Federal Government to reignite the fight against corruption and fulfil a cardinal campaign promise, to show that the Federal Government works on behalf of the many, and not the few, as well as jumpstart economic activities and break the back of the recession. Publishing the report of the investigation of the alleged padding of the 2016 budget, and prosecuting suspected perpetrators are absolutely important to avoid another padding, which the Federal Government can ill afford. The allegation of crime of budget padding against the indicted principal officers of the National Assembly is a gross deprivation of the good people of Nigeria s legitimate wealth and natural resources. We respectfully urge your Lordship to hold that the citizens of Nigeria have been deprived of their natural wealth and the indicted principal members be prosecuted by the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation. Reacting to the judgement, SERAP s deputy director, Timothy Adewale, said the verdict has confirmed the pervasive corruption in the budget process and the prevailing culture of impunity of lawmakers as well as the failure of the authorities to uphold transparency and accountability in the entire budget process and implementation. He said, The judgement is an important step towards reversing a culture of corruption in the budget process that has meant that many of our lawmakers see the budget more as a meal ticket to look after themselves than a social contract to meet people s needs and advance equity and development across the country. This is a crucial precedent that vindicates the right to a transparent and accountable budget process and affirms the budget as government s most important economic policy document, which is central to the realization of all human rights including the rights to health, water, and education. We are now in the process of obtaining a certified copy of the judgment. SERAP will do everything within its power to secure the full and effective enforcement of this important judgment. American and Caribbean States). It is expected that you will effectively take up your functions on May 21, 2018, the statement read. Commenting on the appointment, KWASU Vice-Chancellor, Prof AbdulRasheed Na Allah, said the university was delighted that its global diplomat Chancellor is once again being called upon by the world body to use his experience and talent to serve humanity. KWASU is very proud of this appointment and wishes our global eminent Chancellor continued great services to humanity, Na Allah stated. Prof Gambari was a former Nigeria s UN Permanent Representative and Under Secretary General to the world body. known as a blacksmith revealed he was fabricating dangerous weapons, while disguising them as dane guns for hunters. Some of the locally fabricated equipment use AK 47 prohibited ammunitions, Owoseni said. The suspect, however, denied that all the tools belonged to him despite admitting that he manufactures Dane guns for hunters and has sold many of it to those who patronise him. NEWS 5 Ramadan Timing Day 14 *Towns Magrib Alfijr* Abakaliki Abeokuta Abuja Akure Akwanga Auchi Ankpa Argungu Azare Bama Bauchi Benin Bichi Bida Birnin Gwari B/Kebbi Birnin Kudu 6: Biu 6: Calabar Damaturu Dambatta Daura Dutse Enugu Funtua Gashaka Gashua Gwadabawa Gwandu Gwaram 6: Gombe Gumi Gusau Gwoza Gumel Hadejia Ibadan/Ife Ilesha Baruba Ilorin Jalingo Jama are Jega Jere Jos Kabba Kachia Kafanchan Kafin Maiyaki Kaduna Kano Katsina Kaura Namoda Keffi Kontagora Lafia Lagos Langtang Lau Lokoja/Idah Maiduguri Makurdi Malumfashi Minna Missau Mubi Mokwa Monguno New Bussa Ningi Nguru Ogbomosho Okene Onitsha Owerri Oyo P/Harcourt Potiskum Sagamu Saminaka Sokoto Suleja Shendam Takum Warri Wase Wurno Wukari Yola/Numan Zaria Zuru Cotonnou Ndjamena Garoua Younde *(Source: Society for the Propagation of Islam Kaduna)* *Compiled by Al-Amin Ciroma*

6 6 NEWS Wednesday, May 30, 2018 Anxiety Mounts Over Banks Exposure To Non-Performing Loans BY BUKOLA IDOWU, Lagos Analysts have expressed fears that the rising level of non-performing loans within the Nigerian banking system may lead to yet another crisis in the industry, calling on regulators to do their bit in ensuring stability in the system. The managing director and chief executive of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) had last week warned that weak corporate governance could lead to another banking industry failure. Analysts, however, say the risk of the rising level of non-performing loans in the banking industry is more than that of weak corporate governance. Speaking with LEADERSHIP, analysts stated that while the level of corporate governance in the banking industry had improved, the level of NPLs had become a cause of concern. To Barrister Chukwuemeka Eze, a lawyer and tax expert, while adopting corporate governance has gained momentum amongst entities listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and are monitored by sectorial regulatory agencies, there is still need to shore up compliance. On his part, the managing director and chief executive of Cowry Assets Management Ltd, Johnson Chukwu, said the problem of the Nigerian banking industry is more than corporate governance. He said while there may be a few banks that have breached corporate governance rules on insider dealings, the major challenge for the sector is the issue of non-performing loans. The International Monetary Fund had earlier in the year raised the alarm over the level of non-performing loans in the industry which, it said, had grown beyond 15 per cent, a concern shared by Why Obasanjo s Criticism Of PMB Should Be Ignored APC UK BY MBACHU GODWIN NNANNA, Abuja A leader of the United Kingdom chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Ade Omole, has urged Nigerians not to take former President Olusegun Obasanjo s criticism of President Muhammadu Buhari seriously. He spoke yesterday in Abuja while reacting to Obasanjo s description of the president and the ruling APC government as underperforming. Omole said Obasanjo s criticism of Buhari is full of contradictions when critically examined, adding that the former president s campaign is all about power struggle. According to him, Obasanjo s attacks are personally motivated and an unalloyed attempt to manipulate the masses and the electorate ahead of the 2019 general election. The timing is quite key and it is his personal push to unseat President Buhari; it is easy to criticise any government, Trump and the current British Government are severely criticised every day, he said. He called on Nigerians to continue to support the federal government, saying it was doing everything possible to improve the well being of the people. Omole added that the support of Nigerians is critical to enable the president get a second term in office and consolidate on his developmental initiatives. He said, He deserves a sec- Cholera Outbreak: WHO Deploys 39 Staff To Adamawa The World Health Organisation (WHO) has deployed 39 staff to contain the outbreak of cholera in Mubi North and Mubi South local government areas of Adamawa State. A statement from Chima Onuekwe, the Health Emergencies Communication Officer of WHO, said there are plans to engage additional 15 ad-hoc personnel to boost the medical efforts. Noting that 434 suspected cases had been recorded with 13 deaths as at May 26, Onuekwe described the development as worrisome. He said that WHO is coordinating the response activities, including active surveillance within communities and health facilities, management of reported cases as well as daily review meeting at the Emergency Operations Centre, to ensure timely control of the outbreak. Meanwhile, the Adamawa Commissioner for Health, Dr Fatima Atiku, said that the state is collaborating with WHO and other partners to ensure that the outbreak is contained. Atiku said that the efforts are yielding results as indicated in the decline in the trend of case fatality ratio, which was 17 per cent as at May 12, but reduced to 3 per cent. ond term and we are delighted that he has decided to go for re-election, and we shall fully support his bid. I strongly believe that President Buhari has done more than expected by most Nigerians considering the situation in the country before he assumed office in This APC-led government is making steady progress, especially in the areas of economy, tackling insecurity and corruption as well as power and transportation. Omole further noted that Buhari s approach to the country s economic and security problems was sustainable and long-lasting, adding that he had also earned the support of the international community. international rating agency, Fitch, which predicted that the level of NPLs in the industry would rise more than it did in This concern has also been raised by members of the Monetary Policy Committee of the CBN. The CBN had earlier stopped the payment of dividends to shareholders by Deposit Money Banks and discount houses with huge bad loans and low capital base. Edward Adamu, a deputy governor of the CBN, in his submission at the April 2018 MPC meeting, noted that the NPLs ratio in the industry continues to be in excess of the apex bank s desired level, with banks having difficulty with their foreign currency denominated liabilities (loans) as the exchange rate moved against borrowers as from Although most of the soundness indicators are still within the prudential requirement, it is a matter of utmost concern that these indicators are almost at the threshold of the requirement, he said. Another MPC member, Dahiru Balami, noted that the rising NPLs is, among others, one of the greatest challenges of growth the nation currently faces. Analysts at Vetiva Capital Management Ltd said Nigerian banks would have to navigate a difficult operating environment in 2018, as regulatory actions amid economic challenges cap loan growth. Cowry Assets managing director said, If you look at the sector of the economy that has actually improved in compliance with corporate governance, I think the banking sector is the one that recorded tremendous improvement. I think if there is going to be banking failure, it will not be largely driven by lack of corporate governance; it will be more as a result of He also said the president has worked ceaselessly to restore the morale of the Nigerian military by re-organising and equipping the armed forces. Omole maintained that the president has ensured continued peace in the Niger Delta through consistent funding of the amnesty programme for former militants. Buhari, he added, had also ensured the implementation of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan to boost the country s economic recovery. He stated: He has expended tremendously on capital infrastructure projects nationwide and has ensured effective implementation of the Treasury Single Account the weakness we have in the economy that has led to the worsening of the credit portfolio of banks. There might be threats of some banks failing, but if there is any failure, if there is any bank that is tilted towards failure, it will not be an issue of corporate governance. We had banks that are challenged due to high incidence of insider trading which could be tied to the issue of corporate governance, but after this set of banks, there is a lot more awareness and corporate governance is being driven around the entire industry. We already have a few challenged banks in the system, maybe Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) was referring to those challenged banks that are currently being supported by the CBN which the NDIC feels that, without CBN support, they may not be able to survive. and increased government revenue by over N3 trillion in the last three years. He has also entrenched transparency and accountability in the system and has ensured the implementation of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) system. Meanwhile, ahead of the 2019 general election, the Igbos have been urged to rally support for President Muhammadu Buhari s reelection bid. In an interview with LEADERSHIP in Abuja yesterday, president of Ndi Eze Udo in the 19 Northern states and the Federal Capital territory (FCT) and Eze Udo Airport road, Eze Uche Egenti, noted that it is important for the Southeast to On his part, the chief executive officer, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman, noted that there were other issues confronting the banking industry other than corporate governance. He said the industry was plagued with lack of sovereign governance, adding that the banking industry would thrive better if rules were transparent. Noting that corporate governance in banks was better than what it used to be, he said it is the main responsibility of regulatory agencies to adopt tools and laws that will help strengthen the banking system and facilitate sustained economic growth. Also, Barrister Eze called on regulators to ensure that entities that breach the code of corporate governance are taken to the Investment and Securities Tribunal as a deterrent to other organisations that may want to breach the code. give Buhari support to enable him his anti-corruption fight, which he said was abandoned by previous governments. The monarch who said that President Buhari has achieved more than what the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could not achieved in 16 years argued that Buhari needs a second term for continuity of his policies Eze Egenti who said that there was no alternative to Buhari in 2019 noted that it is by reelecting Buhari that the Igbos stands the opportunity of actualising their presidency in He warned the Southeast zone not to repeat the mistake of 2015 election that shut it out from national politics.

7 Wednesday, May 30, 2018 NEWS EXTRA 7 Killings: Ezekwesili, 2Face, Rights Groups Demand Justice For Victims BY MAKINDE OLUWAROTIMI, Abuja Lagos State governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (2nd left); Chief of Army Staff,Lieutenant General Tukar Yusuf Buratai (2nd right); General Officer Commanding 81 Division, Nigerian Army, Major Gen. Enobong Okoh Udoh (right) and Alara of Epe, Oba Kamorudeen Animashaun (left) during the commissioning of Forward Operating Base of the Nigerian Army, Epe, Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO BY KOLAWOLE ALIU AI Report On Nigeria Army Biased, Unpatriotic PBM BY TUNDE OGUNTOLA, Abuja A civil society organisation, the Professionals for Better Nigeria (PBN),has described the recent report on the Nigerian Army by Amnesty International (AI) as not only biased but unpatriotic and a smear campaign of calumny against the hard fighting and patriotic Nigerian military. A statement jointly signed by the national coordinator, PBN, Diokpa Obi Iwanka and his publicity secretary, Comr. Chimeze Oyiuke said the recent report on the Nigerian Army was not only malicious, mischievous and a fallacy but a wicked lie from the pit of hell, cooked up allegedly by AI to paint the Nigerian Army as rapists at the camps of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). The CSO alleged that the crime of the Nigerian Army was not allowing the Boko Haram insurgents to override the territory and occupy the Nigerian state. The statement reads in part: The reports by Amnesty International against the Nigerian Army is a systematic ploy and agenda orchestrated in order to change the narrative against the Nigerian Army and win the support of its citizens in the fight against the Boko Haram insurgents. It is on record that whenever the insurgents have an upper hand, the AI says nothing, but when the Nigerian Army is having its way on ravaging and decimating the terrorists, AI comes into the foray, to bash and accuse the Nigerian Army of crimes against humanity. It is obvious that AI has continued to undermine the sovereignty of Nigeria by leading a psychological war on terror against the people of Nigeria while the insurgents are on the battle front to capture the territories. The continued attacks by AI and its cohorts have lend credence to the belief in the public domain that AI have fallen short of its mandate by championing the course of terrorists, defending criminals, and criminalities across the country. PBN stressed that the deliberate blackmail, witch-hunt was unfortunate and mischievously carried out by AI against the Nigerian Army since It said, The said report is not only spurious, wicked and mischievous but a fabricated fallacy by a frustrated human rights body in its deliberate plans to change the positive and proactive narrative of the Nigerian Army and portray it in bad light by undermining its constitutional responsibilities in favour of the Boko Haram insurgents, for its own personal agenda and selfserving. IPOB Sit-at-home: Gov Obiano Directs Workers To Report To Work BY OKECHUKWU OBETA, Awka Contrary to the sit-at-home order issued by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to be observed today throughout the former Eastern region, Anambra State governor, Willie Obiano has directed workers in the state to report at their duty posts or face sanction. To ensure compliance to the directive, the governor directed permanent secretaries and heads of departments and agencies to monitor and compile names of civil servants who failed to come to work today. The governor s directive was contained in a memo signed by the Head of Service of the state, Harry Udu wherein Governor Obiano asked workers in the state to resume work unfailingly today after the yesterday, May 29 Democracy Day public holiday. Meanwhile, the state police command has refuted a newspaper publication (not LEADERSHIP) that more than 2,000 IPOB members took to the streets and roads of Onitsha in Anambra State on a peaceful march to sensitise the public on the sit- at- home order it ordered to be observed today(may 30) Ṡpokesman of the state police public relations officer, Mr Haruna Mohammed, in a statement 2019: PDP Group Backs Former Minister For Presidency BY CHIBUZO UKAIBE, Abuja Ahead of the 2019 presidential election, the PDP Youth and Elders Forum, has thrown its weight behind the 2019 presidential ambition of the former minister of Special Duties and Inter-governmental Affairs, Barr. Tanimu Kabiru Turaki, SAN. The forum also declared that the era of the older generation is over, stressing that it is time for the younger ones to step up and take charge of issues in the country. Coordinator of the forum, Alh Garba Abdullahi, also urged youths to ignore the promise by President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the Not too young to run bill, describing it as an after thought, aimed at hoodwinking them for votes in Turaki whoserved in the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, has since remained a strong loyalist of the former president. We declare our support for Barr. K. T. Turaki, the former Minister of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs. It is no longer news that he is contesting the 2019 Presidential Election, especially with his posters spreading in all the nook and crannies across the country. We thank him for responding to the clarion call from Nigerians and the youths in this country will massively support him. He has showcased himself in previous appointments held at the national levels and we believe in described the publication as fictitious and malicious deliberately fabricated to mislead unformed members of the public and to cause confusion. The statement partly read, The publication is not only fictitious but also mischievously orchestrated by those elements that are not happy with the prevailing peace in the state which the police and other law enforcement agencies are working tirelessly to maintain. his ability to revamp our economy, resuscitate our ailing security apparatus, unite our people and totally rekindle the trust of Nigerians on the affairs of government in Nigeria, Abdullahi declared. The statement further pointed out the abysmal performance of led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration, saying that the government has not lived up to expectation after making series of promises to Nigerians before the 2015 general elections. Former minister of education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili,l and popular musician, Innocent Idibia (2face) were among several prominent Nigerians and human rights organisations who gathered at the Unity Fountain, Abuja Monday to mourn victims of violent killings in the country. At the event organised by non-governmental organisations, including Global Rights and Enough is Enough Nigeria, they called on government to halt the violent killings in Nigeria, prosecute the perpetrators and sack the service chiefs for incompetence. While speaking, Dr Ezekwesili said, All these incessant killings must stop. No amount of natural resources is as important as a human life. We need to stop all these ethnicity, religiosity and come together as one, not minding tribe or religion. It is only then that we can have one voice and force the government to do what they are supposed to do, take action. Also reiterating Ezekwesili s stand, the executive director, Enough Is Enough Nigeria, Yemi Adamolekun, said, Enough is enough of the various killings happening all over Nigeria. The silence of our government is too loud. What we want is for justice to be served against all the offenders; and people who have lost their loved ones should be consoled. Centre Urges PMB To Assent Disability Rights Bill BY TUNDE OGUNTOLA, Abuja The Centre for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) has called on the National Assembly to transmit the Disability Rights Bill to President Muhammadu Buhari for his assent. Speaking during an opening of a training on brainstorming on advocacy and lobby, the executive director, CCD, David Obinna, said over the years, the need to defend the rights of people living with disabilities (PLWDs) has been a cause of concern for many who had used every resources at their disposal to fight that anyone living with disabilities should be treated not with pity but with respect and given a chance to live like others who do not suffer the same fate. Obinna, however, hailed the All Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government for ensuring justice and equality irrespective of physical condition and appointment of persons living with disabilities in the party s hierarchy. He said: We are grateful that the National Assembly has passed the bill, and it is our expectation that the bill is undergoing transmission to the Praesident for Assent, and we are of the opinion that the bill will be assented to, and we have gotten assurances from the Ministry of Women Affairs, from the Attorney General of the Federation.

8 8 NEWS NORTH-EAST, NORTH-WEST Wednesday, May 30, 2018 Youths Hails Appointment Of Woman As Atiku s Political Director BY GRACE FADAHSON, Abuja A Group under the aegis of Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) Northern Youths has hailed the appointment of a female, Dr Baraka Umar, as director, political affairs for Atiku Abubakar campaign organisation. According to the PDP group, Dr Umar s appointment is a clear evidence that the former vice president, Atiku Abubakar and presidential aspirant has women in mind all times. Speaking after an emergency meeting of PDP Northern Youth held at the weekend in Kaduna, leader of the group, Hon. Ibrahim Ahmadu, said the appointment of a woman for such a sensitive position is not only apt, but commendable. While noting that the appointment of Dr Baraka Umar was necessary considering the need to encourage women participation in politics. The PDP youths pointed out that, Women are veritable source of inspiration and that is why the PDP as a party has never toiled with influence and support. PDP was able to retain power for over sixteen years, because the unflinching support of women. Ahmadu further said, We are not surprised that the former vice president, Atiku Abubakar did consider a woman for the sensitive position of such as director political affairs. Islamic Scholar Bemoans High Prices Of Foodstuff At Ramadan BY YAHYA SARKI, Birnin Kebbi A renowned Islamic scholar in Kebbi, Abubakar Mohammad (Walin Kalgo) has condemned the high prices of foodstuff during the month of Ramadan. The scholar who was fielding questions from newsmen in Birnin Kebbi wondered why business owners and food sellers often use the holy month of Ramadan to arbitrarily increase the prices of their items to the public. Many business owners in the country take advantage of the month of Ramadan to increase the prices of their goods not knowing that the month of Ramadan is a blessed month by Allah and Allah enjoined good works, sympathy and charity to the less privilaged ones. God has enjoined people especially the well to do to look upon the needy, the less privileged ones and the orphan with their needs. It is only the greatest of the degenerated human beings who cannot be sympathetic to the needy in the month of Ramadan fast, he said. Walin Kalgo quoted verses of holy Quran and hadith (sayings of prophet Mohammed (SAW) to buttress his call while also calling on the Kebbi State government to as a matter of urgency release grains and other relief materials to both the civil servants and the destitutes in the society because of the Ramadan fast. FG Committed To Completing Abandoned Projects Lai Moh d BY EJIKE EJIKE, Abuja Thursday. We kick started our nationwide is delivering on its promises to The commissioning of tour of FG s projects a few weeks ensure better life for Nigerians, As part of its activities to develop these projects fit into our ago by inspecting ongoing irrespective of what the infrastructure across the country, ongoing agenda to showcase work on the Lagos-Ibadan naysayers are saying. the federal government has the achievements of the Buhari Standard Guage Rail, which is The Administration believes completed, commissioned and Administration, especially in the first leg of the Lagos-Kano that governance is about the handed over three water projects the area of Infrastructure where Standard Guage Rail Project. We wellbeing of the people, and will to the Katsina State government. the Administration has spent an then followed up by touring the continue to pursue projects that Speaking after the unprecedented N2. 7 trillion in Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, where directly benefits the people. commissioning and handing just two years. work has been epileptic until this Also, the minister of Water over the projects, the minister He said the current Administration came into office. Resources, Suleiman Adamu, of Information and Culture, administration was committed Today, we are here to said Water supply for humans Alhaji Lai Mohammed said, The to complete all abandoned commission three key water and animals is crucial for social commissioning of these water projects so as to ensure Nigerians projects, details of which the economic development. Its projects is the second in a week get benefits of government s minister of Water Resources will availability in sufficient quantity by the Buhari administration, investment in infrastructure. provide shortly. What all these and quality is the first step for after the one in Edo State last The minister also noted that show is that this Administration poverty alleviation. Gov Bindow Frees 33 Inmates To Mark Democracy Day BY HUSSAINI HAMMANGABDO, Yola No fewer than 33 inmates, languishing in various jails across Adamawa State have been freed by governor Muhamadu Bindow, to mark this year s Democracy Day in the state. The release of the inmates is with immediate effect, as all legal formalities have been concluded with the Nigerian Prisons Services in the state. Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed (right); Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu (left) and Secretary to the Katsina State Government, Dr Mustapha Muhammad Inuwa (middle) at the commissioning and handing over of Sabke, Dutsi and Mashi water supply schemes and irrigation projects in Dutsi, Katsina State, on Monday. PHOTO BY INFORMATION MINISTRY BY HUSSAINI HAMMANGABDO, Yola The St Theresa Catholic Church has held special mass and procession to seek divine intervention to end the incessant killings in the country. Most Rev Dami Mamza, Catholic Bishop of Yola Diocese, said the procession and mass was organised to pray for reposed of souls killed in Taraba, Benue, A press release by Ahmed Sajoh, commissioner for Information and Strategy, said the freeing of the inmates, was based on the advice of the Advisory Committee on Prerogative Mercy in the state. The breakdown of the freed inmates showed that, Yola prison has the highest number with 14 inmates, Jada prison nine (9), and six inmates were released from Mubi prison. Numan prison had three Adamawa,Borno,Yobe and Zamfara States by crisis. Mamza urged federal government, to deploy more security taskforces to curtail increasing violence in the state as being experienced in other states. Many lives were lost to Boko Haram insurgency, farmer/ herdsmen and kidnapping, hence the need to seek divine intervention to end killings in the country. inmates released and Jimeta prison has one inmate freed from prison custody. Meanwhile, Governor Bindow said this year s celebrations would be law keyed due what he described as security challenges been faced in the state. In a brief broadcast to the people of the state, Bindow said security mood of the state would not allow rolling out of drums in a big way. This is particularly so, for Adamawa Church Holds Special Mass To End Killings This mass is organised not for Christians along, but for all Nigerians including Muslims and traditionalists affected by crisis. The church condemned in strong terms, any form of killings, we should treat ourselves as human beings at all times. The clergy, also urged government to ensure no sacred cows in the implementation of the disarmament processes in the country. the areas that experienced some form of security challenges resulting in loss of lives and property. It is in honour of all those who lost their lives either as a result of insurgent or communal clashes that we are dedicating this year to prayers and supplications to the Almighty. The governor urged the Clergy in the state to organise prayers for the state and the nation at large. Police Arrest 3 For Beheading Corpse Of 7-year-old BY HUSSAINI HAMMANGAB- DO, Yola Adamawa State police command has arrested three suspects for allegedly beheading corpse of a seven year old late Blessing John in the state. The suspects Yunusa Audi, Dauda Babale and Muka ilu Ishaya, were arrested at Tashan-Baba village, in Mapeo in Jada local government area of the state. They confessed to have conspired, exhumed and beheaded the corpse of Blessing one day after she was buried in her village. Confirming the arrest, S. P Othman Abubakar, police PPRO in a phone call said, the suspects were apprehended and found with a fresh human head of late Blessing Johnson in their custody. Ishaya, kingpin of the suspects who is also a local butcher confessed to have exhumed the corpse in her grave and beheaded it for ritual purpose. The suspect confessed that, they were contracted by one, Mr John Bakari of Karlahi village in Fufore council at coast of N5 million Abubakar noted, investigation revealed that Ishaya was contracted by the two suspects.

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10 10 NORTH CENTRAL Wednesday, May 30, 2018 Kogi Speaker Tasks Nigerians To Safeguard Nation s Democracy BY SAM EGWU, Lokoja Speaker of Kogi State House of Assembly, Prince Matthew Kolawole yesterday called on Nigerians to guard the nation s hard earned and uninterrupted democracy as it remained the best option for Nigeria. Kolawole made the call in his message to mark the 19th anniversary of Democracy in the country signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Femi Olugbemi and made available to newsmen in Lokoja. Kolawole noted that in spite of its various challenges, majority of Nigerians still believed in the system as the only form of government that could truly provide the necessary representation the people needed. While urging Nigerians to continue to support and strengthen the system, he implored the opposition not to overheat the polity, urging them to complement the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari by engaging in constructive criticisms devoid of rancour, to move the country forward. The Speaker cautioned the opposition not to play politics with the security challenges in the North Central especially Taraba and Benue States and other parts of the country,stressing that all hands must be on deck to jointly confront the menace of insecurity. Mental Health: Foundation Holds Self -help Group Trainings, Clinics BY PEMBI DAVID-STEPHEN, Abuja As part of its community mental health and development programme, Gede Foundation has held trainings for its mental health selfhelp groups in Mpape and Mararaba over the weekend. This, LEADERSHIP Newspapers understands, would set the trend for the self-help groups (SHGs) to be self-sufficient. The trainings, which coincided with the mental health awareness week, were two-fold and hinged on leadership and advocacy, as well as, referral pathways for those affected by mental illnesses and epilepsy - from the Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) to secondary health institutions such as Karu Behavioural Medicine Unit. The SHGs meet every last Saturday of the month in their respective communities. They have been doing so since inception, in November During their meetings, which the Foundation has observed, they discuss various issues such as bringing more awareness about mental health issues to their communities as well as advocating for more care and support towards their cause. They also counsel each other where necessary and verbally refer cases to the PHC where medical attention is needed. Benue People ll Vote PMB For Second Term Ortom BY HEMBADOON ORSAR, Makurdi BY RAHILA ABDULLAHI, Kaduna The Jama atu Nasril Islam (JNI), has called on mischief makers not to take for granted the leadership of the Nigerian Muslim over the unfortunate crises in Benue State. In a press release apparently reacting to the governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom in an interview he granted recently to an online TV programme, The Osasu Show, in Makurdi, the state capital which has been widely spread by both print and electronic media where he insinuated that the ongoing herders- farmers clashes in his state was a continuation BY OLADIPO MAGAJI, Ilorin Kwara State governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed has elicited the support of all Nigerians in nurturing the nation s fragile democracy to a vibrant, strong and prosperous one. In his Democracy day message signed by his chief press secretary, Abdulwahab Oba, the governor said, all advanced democracies of the world had passed through turbulent times but survived through dialogue and citizens commitment to democratic norms. Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom has said that Benue people will still vote for President Muhammadu Buhari, in the forthcoming elections if his policies and interests are in line with the interest of the people of the state. Ortom, who made this known while briefing journalists on his three years in office to mark this year s Democracy Day averred that, Buhari will come for campaigns, he cannot preempt what he will say and what the Benue people will say. I think people will vote for him if the interest and policies of the president is in line with that of the Benue people.i don t want to speak on anybody s behalf but I think Buhari will come here himself to campaign. On the issue of some security chiefs calling for the rescinding of the law, the governor emphasized that no amount of intimidation from any quarter will make him rescind the Open Grazing prohibition and ranches establishment law. Even though security challenges remain one of the major problems hindering the effective delivery of my campaign promises, this law has come to stay there is no going back whoever wants to stay in Benue and do cattle business must be ready to obey the laws of the land. From January to date,over 495 persons have lost their lives following the attacks by herdsmen on farmers. of the Jihad of the revered Shehu Usmanu Danfodiyo. The JNI Secretary General Shaykh, Khalid Aliyu Abubakar, said the Benue Governor got it very wrong, most likely because of his malicious intent to smear the revered personality of Shehu Danfodiyo who had said in a widely-quoted statement that: Truth is an open wound, only justice can heal it. It should be noted that the Benue state government and the Tiv Traditional Council have overtime been yelling that the Fulani crisis at their end is a continuation of Danfodiyo s Jihad. A case in point As Nigeria approaches another election year, Ahmed called on politicians to abhor hate speeches and incitement of the people against constituted authorities. The governor, who admitted that the state was challenged because of the fall in federally allocated revenue, explained that the ingenuity of his government in reforming the revenue generation platforms had launched the state among few viable states in the country with self-sustaining capacity. He said his government had Over 180,000 are displaced and are taking shelter in 8 different camps across the state while over 500,000 are living with family and friends and some are living in uncompleted buildings. The governor also raised the alarm over imminent famine and hunger in the state following the large number of state farmers who have been displaced from their lands and are yet to go back to their communities. According to him, this year s Democracy Day celebration also will be celebrated in low key,adding that he cannot be celebrating while the people that voted for him are displaced by herdsmen and cannot access their lands, a situation he said has put the country in danger of food insecurity. JNI Cautions Mischief Makers Over Benue Crisis was the March 17, 2014 press statement with Reference Number TTC/P1/2signed by Ber Godwin, Press Secretary to the Tor Tiv and the Tiv Area Traditional Council. We therefore call on all, particularly the Benue state government and its cohorts not to take for granted the leadership of Nigerian Muslims over these unfortunate crises in the name of herders-farmers clashes, particularly at this very critical time when the security challenges in the country are so many. More so, it is Ramadan period, a time we Muslims are enjoined to be cautious and calm in our affairs, he said. Nurture Our Democracy, Gov Ahmed Tells Nigerians invested heavily in human capital development with the setting up of International Vocational, Technical and Entrepreneurial College, Ajase-Ipo, injection of over N2bn to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and other incentives to support the informal sector. He assured Kwarans that all the ongoing developmental projects would be taken to completion levels in a bid to bridge infrastructural deficit and guarantee sustainable economic growth in the state. L-R: Managing partner, Zenera Consulting, Meka Olowola; executive secretary, Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Waziri Adio; Programme Officer, Ford Foundation, Eva Kouka ; SITEI Convener/ Chief Executive, CSR-in- Action, Bekeme Masade and former spokesman to the late president Yar Adua, Segun Adeniyi, during the 7th Sustainability Extractive Industries (SITEI) conference Agatu Crisis: Sheathe Your Swords, Mark Tells Warring Communities BY AGBO-PAUL AUGUSTINE, Abuja Former President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, has called on warring communities in Agatu local government area of Benue State to sheathe their swords and embrace peace. Agbaduma, Abugbe and Aila communities in Agatu, Benue State are reported to have been engaged in a ferocious battle over ownership of land and fish ponds in the area. No fewer than 10 persons have been killed with scores of houses and property burnt. The communities have been deserted as people scampered for safety to neighbouring communities in Nasarawa State. Senator Mark who represents Benue South senatorial district in the Senate, in a press release yesterday in Abuja by his media assistant, Mr Paul Mumeh, appealed to the combatants to sheathe their swords and embrace dialogue to resolve the dispute. Mark said, Resort to self-help as a means of solving any problem is counter productive. Killing one another will only aggravate the situation. We must embrace dialogue as a panacea for peace to reign. I urge security operatives to rise up to the challenge and restore normalcy in the war-torn communities.

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12 12 NEWS SOUTH-SOUTH SOUTH-EAST Wednesday, May 30, 2018 Edo Devt Architecture BY BERNARD TOLANI DADA Stimulates Uyo Economic Growth Aganbi BY PATRICK OCHOGA, Benin City The chief executive officer and chairman, Akogate Ventures, Mr Felix Aganbi, has said that Edo State governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki s development architecture has continued to stimulate economic growth and boost the confidence of local investors in the state. Aganbi, who operates an integrated water factory in the state, disclosed this to journalists in Benin City, Edo State capital. Aganbi said, The governor, who came into power with much expectation from the people in relation to his background and experience in the private sector, has not failed in delivering on his mandate. He has remained professional in his engagements with the private sector. He has been able to prove that individuals from the private sector can come into governance and make a difference. He commended the governor for improving governance in the state, adding, We have seen how he has brought professionalism into public administration. He has been able to show us that if we do the right thing, we will get the support of most people. Obaseki has shaped how government should bring great value to the people. I have great respect for the governor for what he is doing and what he has achieved, he added. Obaseki Tasks NGOs On Public Trust BY PATRICK OCHOGA, Benin City Gov Emmanuel Calls For Peace, Unity In A/Ibom Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel has called on the people of the state to eschew rancour and seek the path of stability as political season draws near. The state governor stated this yesterday in a state-wide broadcast to mark the 2018 Democracy Day and Third Anniversary of his administration. He said his administration in the last three years has witnessed an BY PATRICK OCHOGA, Benin City Edo State governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has commended residents and indigenes of the state for the peaceful Democracy Day celebrations, thanking them for their unflinching support to his administration. Obaseki, who noted that his government is strengthening relevant institutions for democratic consolidation, applauded the serene and reflective mood with which the amazing period of God protection and thanked the people for the mandate given him to lead the state. While enjoining the people of the state to keep faith with Akwa Ibom project and shun divisive tendencies, he said it is through the grace of God and abiding faith in the collective enterprise that has aided in the land mark achievements of his administration. He also harped on the infrastructures he has provided in the state, including the over 1,700 day was marked. He enjoined the people of the state to continue to play their role in deepening democracy by actively participating in the electoral process, which has improved over the years. He said the state government would continue to work for the people, by designing and implementing people-centric policies He assured of equal access to justice, economic growth and development. According to him, This day is kilometer of roads with 35 bridges completed by his administration. Other infrastructures executed include the state secretariat annex and other projects including the 21-story office complex which will house multinational oil companies and change the skyline of Uyo metropolis. Other achievements include the ongoing construction of the second Ibom International Airport Runway and upgrade of the main runway to category two. Three years after, we can look Obaseki Lauds Edo People For Unflinching Support one of extreme significance in our history as a nation as it marks the 19th year of return of power to the people under this republic. I therefore join Nigerians in the celebration. For nearly two decades, our democracy has continued to mature, leading to strengthened institutions, social justice and economic development. Also, as our democracy is being progressively deepened, our electioneering process is getting better, he noted. back and declare with irresistible evidence, soaring hope and inspired faith that that event was not the triumph of Udom Emmanuel, but the victory of Akwa Ibom State. That event was not the end of a race, but the beginning of a revolutionary renewal for our state. And these three years have witnessed an amazing period of God protecting our state like He protected Goshen while Egypt was ravaged by plagues and famines. It has been three years of God s faithfulness, he stated. Noting that improved structures have deepened the dividends of democracy in Nigeria, he said, In Edo, this advancement in our democracy has resulted in better infrastructure, improved education and health care delivery system, and a government that empathises with those dislocated by social crisis, many of whom unfortunately became victims of human trafficking and modern-day slavery but are now being reintegrated into society. Edo State governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has pledged to work with non- government organisations as his administration is open to ideas and public scrutiny. He urged the NGOs to defend public trust. Obaseki gave the assurance when he received the new executive members of Conference of Non- Governmental Organisations (CONGOs), who paid him a courtesy visit at Government House in Benin City, Edo State. He said, Since we are elected to uphold public trust, we will continue to put tax payers money and other resources at our disposal to proper use in our mission to transform and develop the state and make life better for our people. We will not relent in making public, government activities and information for scrutiny, because we have nothing to hide. We will tell you what we have spent on our projects, the governor pledged. He assured CONGOs new executives that his administration would work with the group by ensuring that the group gets free access to government information on demand. L-R: Member, Ad-hoc Committee on petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), Mohammed Sherif; deputy chairman of the committee, Victor Nwokolo; deputy governor of Bayelsa state, Rear Admiral John Jonah and a member of the committee, Fred Agbedi; during a fact finding and verification visit on first hand impact of exploration and production activities in Bayelsa yesterday. Gov Umahi Laments Marginalisation Of South East OBINNA OGBONNAYA, Abakaliki The Ebonyi State governor, Chief David Umahi, yesterday, insisted that the South East geopolitical zone is still facing serious marginalisation in the country. Governor Umahi who spoke yesterday at the Pa Ngele Orunta Township Stadium, Abakaliki during his Democracy Day speech, however, emphasized the need for the zone to constructively engage the federal government on the issue. Umahi who is also the chairman South East Governors Forum noted that the zone is not happy with the way and manner it is being marginalised pointing out that the governors of the five states in the region believe that constructive engagement as being championed by the governors and Ohanaeze Ndigbo was the way to go. He however condemned the method being deployed by Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB and Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State Democracy Day: Nigeria Will Rise Again Peterside BY ANAYO ONUKWUGHA, Port Harcourt The director-general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Adol Peterside, has declared that Nigeria is gradually being placed on the path of greatness and sustainability despite the challenges that have trailed the nation since independence. Peterside, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt yesterday to mark Democracy Day celebration, said the country requires a faithful government that can provide the veritable platform for the citizens to achieve their hopes and aspirations. While stressing that the country may not be where Nigerians expected it to be after nearly 58 years of independence, the NIMASA boss stated that conscious efforts were being made by the President Muhammadu Buhariled administration to put Nigeria on a sure footing. He listed several reforms, programmes and policies being of Biafra, MOSSOB, in opposing the marginalization, which he said is inimical to peace and development of the region. He further condemned the sit-athome order by Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB and Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, for tomorrow in the zone. implemented by the federal government to ameliorate the suffering of Nigerians. Peterside said, I am aware that a lot of Nigerians would have loved the country to be much better than this. But they must also understand that it takes some time, conscious and deliberate efforts to right the wrongs of the past to give the citizens hope and direction.

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16 16 Wednesday, May 30, 2018 newslagosbringing THE SOUTH-WEST TO YOU SMARTNEWS PANDEL Will Rescue Ekiti From Poverty, Slavery Omoyeni BY ALO ABIOLA, ADO-EKITI The candidate of People Alliance for National Development and Liberty Party (PANDEL), in Ekiti state Mr Adebisi Omoyeni has described the party as a viable alternative to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). Omoyeni, who is the former Group Managing Director of Wema Bank, Adebisi Omoyeni, said he and his party will rescue the Ekiti people from the pangs if poverty and slavery. Speaking with newsmen yesterday in his Ikere-Ekiti home country, the former deputy governor said the two parties had failed the people of the state and his new political platform will bridge the gap if given the chance. "We will inspire and make our people to believe in government and leaders once again through this campaign and when we win we shall work day and night to revive the state." While criticising the Fayose-led administration for owing workers salaries, he said "A government that met two salary arrears and increased it to eight months is a total failure. A number of people will form alliance with me, we need to save the state from rabble rousers." w '9m Nigerians Benefit From FG s Social Investment Scheme' BY GEORGE OKOJIE, Lagos Fresh facts have emerged that about nine million people have so far been captured in the Social Investment Programme (SIP) initiated by the President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government. The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohhammed who disclosed this while briefing journalists in Lagos explained the present administration has taken its investment in people, through the Social Investment Programme (SIP), to unprecedented height. He said, All the four components of the N-POWER programme are now up and running, benefiting nine million people directly, that is the N-Power, the Federal Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), home-grown school feeding programme and conditional cash transfer. According to him, the Buhari administration in the past three years saw opportunities where many saw impossibilities, adding that it has surmounted every opposition on its path and promises to Nigerians. While naysayers pretended to be blind to our achievements, Nigerians who are being positively impacted by the good works of Lagos Assembly Not Rubber Stamp Disability Advocacy Group Calls For Inclusive Elections BY CHIKA IZUORA, Lagos The Center for Citizens with Disabilities,(CCD), has identified gaps in the provision of facilities support that would facilitate participation of Persons Living with Disabilities, PWDs in the coming general elections in The groups said except urgent steps are taken by the Independent National Electoral BY FIDELIS UGBOMEH, Lagos The Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, has described VisionScape/Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI) existence in the state as a ghost that is not recognized by the Assembly. Obasa, who said this while responding to questions from participants at the 3rd Edition of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Media and Civil Society Organizations Parley, held at Lateef Jakande Auditorium, Assembly Complex, Alausa, ikeja said Commission, INEC, many persons with various forms of disabilities would be disenfranchised during the elections. Providing insight from a document on a nationwide assessment of provisions for persons with disability in INEC preparation for the 2019 elections in Nigeria, executive director, ED of CCD, David Anyaele observed that empirical studies have shown the Assembly is seriously working hard in ameliorating the problems facing the Lagos environment. According to him, some of the Private Sector Participants are returning gradually adding that in due cause the issue will resolved amicably. Harping on controversy generated by the Land Use Charge, Obasa said the policy was in the interest of the people, stating that the developmental projects going on in the state cannot be achieved without payment of taxes by the residents. The Land Use Charge is all in that challenges faced by PWDs are numerous. According to him, the challenges range from discriminatory, prejudicial and derogatory expressions against PWDs by other voters and electoral staff and others such as distances between homes and polling stations, unorganized and unconducive polling stations exposing people with albinism to the interest of the people. We have all showered encomium on the infrastructural development in the state and this cannot be done without taxation," he declared Obasa add that "There is a committee in-charge of that and in due time, the committee will get back to the House and be rest assured that it would be resolved". He posited that in the last 12 months about 9 bills and 45 resolutions have been passed by the House, saying the legislative arm of government is the back bone of democracy. L-R: Group Head, Corporate Communications & External Affairs, Access Bank Plc, Amechi Okobi; Group Managing Director/ CEO, Herbert Wigwe; Chief Executive Officer, Slum to School, Otto Orondam and Chief Executive Officer, ACT Foundation, Osayi Alile during the bank s visit to Slum to School in Lagos recently. life threatening direct sun rays, rough and or muddy roads, high steps, narrow doorways that hinder maneuvering of wheelchairs, voters with invisible disabilities forced to stand in queues. Anyaele, who was represented by Barrister Kola Ogunbiyi also observed that challenges of accessing information such as lack of sign language interpretation services. President Buhari applaud and appreciate our efforts, from the feedback we are getting. They know that no government in the history of our country has ever done so much with so little. They know and acknowledge the sincerity, transparency and accountability of the Buhari Administration. They know and support the administration's diversification effort, which is paying off. Father, 51, Arrested For Defiling 6-yr Old Daughter BY OGUNTADE ISMAILA, Lagos Moves to checkmate the rising cases of defilement of teenagers by fathers seem to be yielding fruits as a 51-yearold man has been arrested in Lagos for allegedly defiling his six-year-old daughter. LEADERSHIP gathered that the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Lagos Command Edgal Imohimi had been striving hard to ensure such crimes were nipped in the bud. It was learnt that the suspect, Udo Akpan, a resident of Modupe St., off Balogun St., Ikeja was reported to the police by a Faith base organization for putting his fingers in his daughter s private part. Edgal, while confirming the arrest, said the Gender Section of the Command discovered that the suspect brought the survivor to Lagos from Ikot Ekpene in Akwa Ibom State where she was living with her mother sometime in January LEADERSHIP learnt that the suspect usually keep the child with one woman the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) anytime he is going to work. According to the Lagos CP, based on credible information on May 23rd 2018 the suspect came to pick his daughter and the little girl refused to follow him. When asked why she doesn t want to follow her father, she narrated the sexual ordeal she is going through in the hands of her father. The CP said. During interrogation, Edgal said the suspect however blamed his deeds on the devil.

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22 22 INTERVIEW Wednesday, May 30, 2018 Gov Udom s Achievements In Three Years Unprecedented Commissioner Mr Charles Udoh is the Akwa Ibom commissioner for information and strategy. In this interview with GABRIEL EMAMEH, he speaks on how Governor Udom Emmanuel is transforming the state. Today we are talking about seven factories running and we are talking about more that are coming and of course they are going to pay taxes Three years since Governor Udom Emmanuel administration came on board. How has it fared in the discharge of its campaign promises? Governor Udom Emmanuel in 2015 when he was sworn into office, outlined a five point agenda which had to do with job creation, wealth creation, poverty alleviation, economic and political inclusion, infrastructural consolidation and expansion. And then to drive these agendas were three key things; industrialisation, tourism and agriculture. For you to achieve these three, you needed some basic things to be on ground. First you need to have reliable infrastructure in terms of road network, good buildings and a whole lot. You need a serene environment where would be investors would want to come and you need to ensure peace, safety and security of lives and property. So the government of Akwa Ibom State set the machinery in motion to begin to prepare the grounds. He started by looking at what developed countries have done and what they have continued to do and how developing countries like China, Singapore and others have been able to evolve from developing to developed countries, how they achieved their dream of industrialisation. What he simply did was to create the enabling environment for investors to come set up industries and run them like proper businesses where the government can make its own returns from income taxes and job creation and wealth creation for its citizens. So we adopted this approach and as we speak, there are about seven industries that are fully functional. Even when we know the difficulties and process of setting up industries but against all odds, in three years we have been able to set up among others, African largest syringe company. In three years we can boast of the best electricity metering factory in the world, we boast of pencil factory, we boast of toothpick factory, we also boast of paint factory and fertilizer plants. All these are efforts the government has brought about with foreign investors who have found Akwa Ibom State convenient and comfortable to work in. Beyond these, government has also ensured that the governance structure is model towards international standard of transparency, accountability, and integrity because if you don t have that you cannot attract investors to invest in your terrain. This government has ensured that the longest distance from the state capital can now be covered in less than an hour. The government set up a model in building what we call economic roads. These roads were built because the government look at where nerve centres of the state are located from the coastal areas to the northern, eastern and central parts. All these connect both the industrial, agricultural centres and the coastal area where the fish are. So if you add Udoh up all, the length of roads we have built is about 1700km. So we realised that for tourism and industrialisation to survive, we have to build quality roads that will stand the test of time. We are the only state in Nigeria that run its own airport 100%. The Uyo Airport is the only airport in Nigeria that was built, owned, service, maintain and used 100% by a state government without a support from the federal government yet we are the highest oil producing state in Nigeria and the highest contributors into the nation s purse. And on top of that, Ikwa Ibom State is one state where you can t find one single federal government project. In the area of education, today an Akwa Ibom child from conception is being taken care of by the government till he acquires his WAEC certificate. How is that done? Pregnant women are being catered for free in public hospital and once a child is born till that child is five, the government takes care of his medical bill. Government today spends an average of N600,000,000 per annum to take care of WAEC fees because we believe that you cannot build a successful future where the population is not educated.we are rehabilitating and renovating schools across the state and most importantly training teachers to boost the quality of education in the state. One other area is that of sports. We realised the importance of sports and so decided to build sports centres in each of the ten federal constituencies within school premises in the state to ensure that the children go to school and also take advantage of the facilities. We don t just stop there, the state government set up an annual sports festival where all the secondary schools across the state come out to compete for honours. That also exposes them and it is another way of discovering new talents. The immediate impact was that we came out second in the table at the national youth s sports festival. That has never happened before. Also in the space of three years, Akwa United has worn the FA Cup twice. It is unprecedented. That was not accidental, it was careful planning. In the health sector, we have done wonderfully well and the Vice President s visit to commission one of the facilities is an attestation to do that. We are training medical personnel on emergency rescue services. On agriculture, we are one state that since the era of oil boom, agriculture has taken the back seat and we have to encourage people to go back to farm by giving out free fertilizers and others and today we are almost self-sufficient in terms of garri production, rice and the likes. Today we are building green houses to allow grow crops in a control environment. Talking about industries, apart from the one I mentioned earlier, we don t want to be taken unawares when oil dried one day. And so, we have a two million coconut plantation that we started in 2017 and we are currently building a coconut refinery. Ones that come up, it is going to be huge and it is a dual functional thing that can also process palm kernel. We have also discussed with some Mexicans who want to utilise the huge economic potentials of our bamboo that many think are nuisance. All the industries we are building today are industries that tap into the natural resources of the state. We are putting all these and many others together to ensure that we have an economy that is very viable in the future. In time past, payment of salaries wasn t an achievement, but today in Nigeria payment of salaries have become an achievement. In Akwa Ibom State, public servants get their salaries as at when due every month. Sometimes we pay without receiving allocation from the federal government. That includes pensioners. In terms of gratuities, when we came into power, there was a backlog of gratuities and this government would have said I didn t own you that but we went ten years back the line to pay the backlog of pensions and gratuities. As we speak, pensioners get their pensions same day workers get their salaries. In all you have said, you are yet to mention one project left behind by the previous government you are currently building on. What message are you sending to the man who handed over to your principal? Wait let me tell you. What we are doing is building on the sky scraper foundation of the previous government. Now today we are talking about sports. The stadium I made reference to earlier was built by the previous government. The challenge was that you have such magnificent edifice and how do you utilise it. Look at the national stadium in Abuja and Lagos today, so we have to create activities to make sure it works by giving it more face value through proper maintenance utilisation for. Government is a continuum. Lets look at the area of job creation... The way the government is running today, when we talk of job creation, we are not looking at creating job in the civil service. Like when the NBS published last year that Akwa Ibom state has one of the highest rate of unemployment in the country, I faulted it because they didn t take records of those employed in factories, plantations, distribution companies and other industries currently operating in the state. They didn t even take into account the various businesses that these industries have given rise to in their localities. So it is difficult to give an accurate figure because these are employment opportunities created by a value chain. There is this concern about making state financially viable. We would like to know what Akwa Ibom State government under the leadership of Emmanuel Udom is doing to boost the IGR of the state. The strategies the governor is adopting today are strategies that benchmark among the best in the world. How do you make an economy financially viable? Is by setting processes that revolves the structure of governance and takes it into the hands of the private sector and it becomes private sector driven. Take a state like Lagos for example that has IGR that is more than the allocation and income of most states. Why? Simply because every bank for instance in Lagos today make a monthly fund of N100,000,000 for the security of the state. They can afford that because those banks are there and their headquarters are there. ExoMobil for instance takes oil from Akwa Ibom, its head office is in Lagos and it pays more tax to Lagos State. For us to be able to reverse that trend, what do we do? Make the state attractive for investments. Today we are talking about seven factories running and we are talking about more that are coming and of course they are going to pay taxes. They will generate activities that would generate income and tax. I can tell you by next year, the IGR of the state would be much more than what we used to have but first we want to educate the people and let them understand the importance tax. We are making efforts to attract more multinationals to the state and today we are building a twenty-one storey smart building because most of these multinationals have complained that why they can t relocate their headquarters to Akwa Ibom is because there are no smart buildings for them to use as their offices. What is your take on the allegations of no love lost between Udom Emmanuel and his predecessor? In a political arena, you will always find mischief-makers and people trying to insinuate things to create divisions. Let say it clearly that the Governor of Akwa Ibom State is one person who in clear terms has never failed to acknowledge the role of his predecessor. He calls him my mentor, he calls him boss. That is unprecedented that you find a sitting governor calling his predecessor his mentor and boss. That clearly answers all the questions about their relationship.

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24 Galleria Wednesday, May 30, 2018 ENTERTAINMENT &TOURISM EDITOR: ANTHONY ADA ABRAHAM tkmmedia2012@gmail.com SMS ONLY: (+234) Events Arts INTERVIEW K-Pop, BTS Debut First Album On Billboard 200 Chart BY ANTHONY ADA ABRAHAM It s the first K-pop album to top the chart. Korean boy band BTS debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with its latest effort, Love Yourself: Tear. It s the first No. 1 for the sevenmember group, and the first K-pop album to lead the tally. The set, which was released through BitHit Entertainment on May 18, launches with 135,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending May 24, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 100,000 were in traditional album sales. The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the Khloé Kardashian Shares New Mother-Daughter Photo The Keeping Up with the Kardashians reality star, 33, celebrated Memorial Day on Monday in Cleveland and marked the holiday by sharing a new mother-daughter selfie on Snapchat. In the photo, Kardashian has some fun with a filter featuring an American flagthemed pair of ears as she snuggles close to her baby girl, who she welcomed on April 12 with NBA boyfriend Tristan Thompson. Though fans and followers were unable to see True s face, the proud parent did show off her daughter s full head of hair as well as her 6-week-old s adorable floral pink headband and gold and pink patterned blanket. week in the U.S. based on multimetric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new June 2-dated chart (where BTS bows at No. 1) will be posted in full on Billboard's websites on Wednesday, May 30 (one day later than normal, owed to the May 29 Memorial Day holiday in the U.S.). Love Yourself: Tear s first-week sum is a bit bigger than expected. On May 21, some industry forecasters predicted the album would bow with over 100,000 units. By May 24, that forecast grew to over 120,000. Of Love Yourself: Tear s starting sum of 135,000 units, 100,000 were in traditional album sales, 26,000 were in SEA units (equaling 39.1 million on-demand audio streams for songs on the albums) and 9,000 TEA units. As mentioned earlier, Love Yourself: Tear is the first K-pop album to lead the Billboard 200. It s also only the second top 10 for the K-pop genre, following BTS own Love Yourself: Her, which debuted and peaked at No. 7 on the Oct. 7, 2017-dated list. Love Yourself: Tear also logs the biggest week yet for K-pop (both in overall units and traditional album sales). The previous high-water mark was earned by BTS' Love Yourself: Her (31,000 units in its opening frame, 18,000 in traditional album sales). Maltina Teacher of The Year Contest Begins...as stakeholders canvass ways to make teaching attractive BY ANTHONY ADA ABRAHAM Stakeholders in the education sector have emphasised the importance of teachers and proffered solutions on how to attract the best to the teaching profession in order to enhance the nation s growth and development. The stakeholders made their position known at the flag-off of the 2018 Maltina Teacher-of-the-Year in Lagos on Friday. The Maltina Teacher of the Year, an initiative of Nigerian Breweries Plc-Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund, was established in 2015 to identify, showcase and reward outstanding teachers in Nigeria. In a paper to formally commence this year s edition, the Head of Department of Educational Foundations at the University of Lagos, Professor Ngozi Osarenren explained that teachers are invaluable drivers of societal norms and the teaching profession must be respected to attract the best and the brightest. Osarenren, a former Commissioner for Education in Edo State, noted that if Nigeria must be saved from the menace of unqualified and incompetent teachers, the nation must find career oriented teachers who want to do the job for their passion and not because it is the last option available. She listed other factors that could attract the best hands to the profession to include professionalisation of teaching, reasonable and guaranteed salary, job security and competitive entry requirements for wouldbe teachers. On his part, the Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr Jordi Borrut Bel explained that in 2015, the Nigerian Breweries Plc-Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund expanded its intervention in education in Nigeria to teachers through the Maltina Teacher of the Year initiative. According to Borrut Bel, who was represented by the Company s Corporate Affairs Adviser, Mr Kufre Ekanem, said the initiative was hinged on the realisation that teachers seldom get the recognition they deserve in spite of the pivotal role they play in determining the quality of education. He disclosed that so far, the Maltina Teacher of the Year initiative has produced 69 state champions and three overall winners. According to Borrut Bel, the 2018 Maltina Teacher of the Year will get N1 million, a trophy and another N1 million every year for the next five years, and a block of classrooms built at the school where he or she teaches. The first runner-up will receive N1 million and a trophy, while the second runner-up will have N750, 000 and a trophy. In addition, each state champion, including the winner and the first and the second runners-up will get N500, 000. Also at the flag-off, the 2017 Maltina Teacher of the Year, Mr Felix Udochukwu Ariguzo urged the government and other

25 Wednesday, May 30, 2018 GALLERIA 25 Is Falz s This Is Nigeria A Call On Government To Act? He is from an influential family of learned lawyers. A lawyer also who preferred his passion for music what he studied in school. Folarin Falana better known by his stage Falz The Bahd Guy is a Nigerian rapper, actor, and songwriter. He is one musician Nigerians can boast of everywhere and anywhere. In this piece, ANTHONY ADA ABRAHAM writes on his artistry and his recent song which has raised many eyebrows while pointing out sundry issues of national importance. Fela Anikulapo Kuti was a political giant in Africa from the 70s until his death. He criticised the corruption of Nigerian government officials and the mistreatments of Nigerian citizens. He spoke about colonialism as the root of the socio-economic and political problems that plagued the African people. Corruption was one of the worst, if not the worst political problem facing Africa in the 70s and Nigeria was among the most corrupt countries of the time. The Nigerian government was responsible for election rigging and coups that ultimately worsened poverty, economic inequality, unemployment, and political instability, which further promoted corruption and thuggery. Fela s protest songs covered themes inspired by the realities of corruption and socio-economic inequality in Africa. Fela Kuti s political statements could be heard throughout Africa. Kuti s open vocalisation of the violent and oppressive regime controlling Nigeria didn t come without consequence. He was arrested on over 200 different occasions, including his longest stint of 20 months after his arrest in On top of the jail time, the corrupt government would send soldiers to beat Kuti, his family and friends, and destroy wherever he lived and whatever instruments or recordings he had. Even as all these were going on, Femi Falana (SAN) who is a human right lawyer was never stopped standing by him when the need be. He was the personal advocate for the late Kuti. He once revealed during a lecture organised by LEADERSHIP that the decision to allow his son take to music was due to his relationship with the late Fela. He said many people knew the Kuti Family because of the fame of his client. When his son decided to also take to music, even with the disagreement from his wife, he believed that he would be towing the line of the iconic musician who he was once his lawyer and today he hasn t disappointe anyone, churning out great songs with lyrical prowess. Has Falz disappointed his fans? Falz who describes his style of music as Wahzup music infused comic with the contemporary hip-hop in Yoruba accent. He is one of the most gifted rappers In Nigeria till date whose style has endeared him to lots of people. He s a master crafter in the art. And the message in his songs are always inspirational and potrays happenings around us. But he has shown in his latest song that he is here to stay and would remain for a long time with the release of This Is Nigeria, a song cry of what s happening in the country everyday. The visual directed by Prodigeezy has been one of the most trendy videos in Nigeria today. The artiste shows his artistic prowess spitting out bars on the song making it interesting and captivating crazy punchlines. He released it alongside a simple visual where he mimicks Childish Gambino s gesticulation. Falz boldness is one that must be commended by all quarters because most of the issues he raised in This is Nigeria are what the country is going through and lots of Nigeria artistes are scared to tell it as it is. The song talks about corrupt politicians who are well known but are left by successive government to walk free with head held up high. It also present the criminal Fulani herdsmen who are on rampage across the country killing people like chickens without any means of arresting and prosecuting them. On the issue of SARS harassment and injustice to Nigerians, he presented a picture where young men are arrested unjustifiably for just sitting or having a chat while only the rich and affluent could free their children/ ward while the children of the poor remain in their custody or even die. Falz also frowned on politicians and looters who are known but yet are appraised and called upon to contest for elective positions. He also pointed fingers at the police who he alleged in his song that they close by 6pm when people are in need of justice and security. Yahoo boys, the health system, kidnapping, lazy youths issues, recession, transmission, so-called men of God who deceive their members to donate huge sums for a projects,setting up universities that the children of their congregations can t afford or attend. This is Nigeria, where everybody be criminal, politicians wey thief billions no dey go prison o, a verse in the song said. The song might seem to be controversial to the guilty ones but the bitter truth has to be told. This is Nigeria is a song cry to the government and Nigerians to do the needful and change to the better. There must be political will to do the right thing without fear or favour. Falz s This is Nigeria is not just a song but a song cry for everybody to wake up and act now!.

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27 Wednesday, May 30, 2018 NEWS business MONEY CAPITAL MARKET INSURANCE INTERVIEW ANALYSIS INFLATION RATE (%) August September October OPEC Mulls Pumping 1m Barrels Of Oil Daily BY CHIKA IZUORA, Lagos Following concerns of possible crude oil supply shortfalls Into the market, high level talks is currently going on among key members of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), to agree on production hikes as the organisation meets in June. Meanwhile, oil prices were mixed in early yesterday, but remained under pressure from expectations that Saudi Arabia and Russia would pump more crude to ease a potential shortfall in supply. Brent crude futures were up 57 cents, or 0.76 percent, at $75.87 a barrel after settling at their lowest since May 8 at $75.30, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 80 cents, or 1.18 per cent, at $67.08 a barrel. It finished the last session at its lowest closing price since April 17 at $66.47 per barrel. Investors have started pricing in the likelihood of Saudi Arabia and Russia increasing crude oil production, ANZ Bank said in a note. However, doubt remains, with any agreement to be finalised at the June OPEC, meeting. Concerns that Saudi Arabia and Russia could boost output have put downward pressures on oil prices, along with rising oil production in the United States. Saudi Arabia and Russia have discussed raising OPEC and non-opec oil production by some 1 million barrels per day to make up potential supply shortfalls from Venezuela and Iran. The OPEC are due to meet in Vienna on June 22. Meanwhile, record crude oil volumes from the United States would head to Asia in coming months, nibbling away the market share of OPEC and Russia. U.S. oil production has surged by more than 27 percent in the last two years to million barrels per day (bpd). That puts the United States ahead of top exporter Saudi Arabia, and only Russia pumps out more, at around 11 million bpd. Group Business Editor Bayo Amodu Business Editor (Lagos) Chima Akwaja Assistant Business Editors Kingsley Alu Tony Awunor Correspondent Chika Izuora Reporters Festus Okoromadu Mark Itsibor Mbakaan Kwen Bukola Idowu Olushola Bello Abah Adah Chika Okeke INTER BANK LENDING RATE (AS MAY 25) RATE CHANGE (%) O/N M M M President Muhammadu Buhari presenting the 2018 National Productivity Order of Merit (NPOM) Award to the managing director, Seven-Up Bottling Company Limited, Mr Ziad Maalouf, in Abuja, recently. Electricity: Manufacturers Seek FG s Intervention In N29bn Tariff Dispute With Discos, NERC The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has appealed to the federal government to resolve its N29 billion electricity tariff dispute with the Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). Director-general of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, made the appeal in Lagos, yesterday. Ajayi-Kadir made the call while assessing the three years performance of President Muhammadu Buhari s administration, its impact on the manufacturing sector and setting agenda for the coming year. He urged the federal government to assist in settling the dispute out of court by picking part of the N29 billion debt. According to him, the dispute arose because the Discos and NERC (allegedly) failed to abide by the new Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO 2015) that was subsisting at that time. By the last count, I was told that cumulatively manufacturers owe the Discos N29 billion and that is absolutely a crazy figure. We want the government to intervene and find an amicable solution to the issue so that the 2,000 megawatts that manufacturers ought to benefit from would be released and not hindered by this court process. The government can also pick up part of the bill as a matter of urgency to bail out the sector, Ajayi- Kadir said. NAN recalls that the dispute arose when MAN directed its members nationwide to ignore the new MYTO The association later went to court to obtain an injunction restraining NERC and DISCOs from implementing the new tariff regime. MAN said that the tariff was too expensive for manufacturers and would lead to closure of many businesses. Besides, the director-general said the eligible customer policy evolved by the government might not have the desired impact on the manufacturing sector due to the unresolved N29 billion debt issue. He said that the policy would not work because MAN was told that for it to access the eligible customer scheme it must have a no debt bill with the Discos. NAN recalls that the policy was targeted at enabling consumers purchase power directly from the Gen- Cos, instead of depending wholly on the Discos. Ajayi-Kadir said that although these measures were meant to assist the manufacturing sector, the government should ensure factors militating against their workability, such as the debt issue, were tackled. According to him, The current administration has done a lot, but still we expect the government to work more on allowing these initiatives to work, particularly in the areas of power. It is a dilemma for us in the manufacturing sector because the cost of power is high and we have inadequate supply. I believe that government should work more on generation, particularly distribution. The Discos are challenged and they have enumerated quite a lot of challenges that are militating against their effective performance. The government needs to remove the impediments with the Discos by intervening in the process of out of court settlement and also help them with their distribution challenges, Ajayi-Kadir added. Business 101 with MBAKAAN KWEN PRODUCT PACKAGING DESIGNS FOR START-UPS Finding the right packaging for your product is not only important for establishing your product and brand, but also for its overall success in the marketplace. Start-ups have it especially difficult when developing their very first product packaging. Faced with a myriad of factors such as time and budget, startups must be deliberate when launching their product into market. JohnsByrne highlighted some important tips to guide start-up companies in achieving a perfect packaging for their products thus; STUDY YOUR INDUSTRY: While it may be tempting to say that your product is unique and will stand above the rest no matter what, it s important to study your industry and identify the common denominator when it comes to packaging your product. From consumer expectations to packaging requirements, your industry will dictate a bit of what your packaging will or should look like. DEFINE YOUR MARKET: Getting your product to market is perhaps the biggest hurdle for start-ups. But before you even hit the market, do you know who your market is? Just like no two packages are alike, no two markets are alike. Are you trying to reach the mass market or the luxury market? Each market establishes certain expectations and barriers for entry. By defining your target market early on, you can better identify your packaging needs and design your packaging accordingly. KNOW YOUR PRICE POINT: The price of your product is probably one of those pieces of information that you ve dwelled over for a long time. Make it too high and you might not have any takers. Make it too low and you might be losing money. Knowing your price point early on is key to developing a package that is not only appealing but also profitable. A product that retails for a little amount will require a very different packaging than a product that retails for a large amount. QUOTE OF THE DAY While there may be a few banks that have breached corporate governance rules on insider dealings, the major challenge for the sector is the issue of non-performing loans. Managing director and chief executive of Cowry Assets Management Limited, Johnson Chukwu Chukwu

28 28 NEWS/BUSINESS Wednesday, May 30, 2018 L-R: Chief executive officer, All On, Dr. Boer Wiebe; vice president, Marketing, Lumos Nigeria, Olufemi Ashipa; project manager, SolarPlaza, Lydia van OS and associate principal, Crossboundary, Femi Fadugba at The Solar Future Nigeria 2018 held at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, at the weekend. FG Agencies Remit Over N650bn Operating Surplus In 2 Years More than N650 billion has so far been remitted as operating surplus into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) in the last two years, according to the acting chairman, Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC),Mr Victor Muruako. Muruako made this known, while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Tuesday in Abuja. He said it was part of the FRC s mandate to ensure that scheduled corporations under the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) 2007, remit 80 per cent of its operating surplus into the CRF. According to him, through the commission s intervention, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has complied with the FRA, and has within the first quarter of 2018 remitted about N49.7 billion to the CRF. He said that under the present administration, there had been a lot of improvement in payment of operating surpluses, adding that more corporations were added to the schedule in Part of what we have done is to recommend the increase of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), under our schedule. Before, they were 31 but since December 2016, the minister of finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, approved the inclusion of 91 organisations, bringing the total number to 122. We are engaging those 122 agencies and there has been a lot of improvement in the independent revenue of the federal government, he said. The chairman also said that in ensuring accountability in federal government s capital projects, it undertook verification of selected federal government s capital projects in We have been able to bring to the fore some of the challenges some of the projects have and some have not been completed. We did our report based on what we saw on the field and as a working document, it would go a long way in ensuring that the mistakes of the past are avoided. This is also to support the president s drive for citizens to get value for their money, by ensuring proper project monitoring, accountability and judicious use of funds released, he added. Muruako also said that part of the commission s mandate was to ensure a uniform standard of calculating operating surpluses to ensure that discrepancies between agencies annual accounts were resolved. He said that before now, scheduled corporations had challenges identifying what constituted operating surplus. Muruako, however, said that as part of its achievements, the commission in 2017 formulated, developed and released a template for calculation of operating surplus. It is one document that is already resolving a lot of issues concerning operating surplus and we will train accounting officers of various MDAs on how to use it. By the time we train them, which we hope to do in June, it will go a long way in bringing in more funds into the CRF, he explained. To make for easier planning of the budget, he said the commission was also on the verge of developing a template for Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF). Invest In Infrastructure, Capital Market Operators Urges FG Capital market operators on Tuesday urged the federal government to focus more on infrastructure development to boost local employment and consolidate the achievements of the past three years. The operators stated this in an interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, while appraising the three years of President Muhammadu Buhari s administration. Former president of Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), Alhaji Rasheed Yussuf, said that government should invest more in power, roads and railway. Yussuf said the challenges in the past were due to low oil production, low oil price and low foreign reserves which led to recession. He said these three critical economic conditions depressed the economy, but that the government had been able to evolve the appropriate economic policies to deal with them. According to him, the government used the ban on 41 items to stimulate local production, and urged the government to sustain the ban to strengthen the growth and development of the economy. Yussuf said Nigerians needed to understand that they must pay a price for the economy to improve accordingly. If you are moving from an importoriented economy to export-oriented economy, you will see unemployment along the line because you have adjusted the employment circle. There is no way we will not go through pain given the economic situation we went through in the last three years because there is a complete change of economic situation. If we develop our own local capacity, we will be better off than being import dependent. Being import-dependent means we are providing employment for foreigners. If we can develop our own, it means we are providing employment for our own people, Yussuf said. According to him, government has managed to do its best in economic management. He, however, tasked the government to invest heavily in education and health to improve economic growth. If you have a healthier and welleducated population, the economy will grow better, Yussuf said. He said Nigeria needed national economic goals that every government must focus on irrespective of the political party in power instead of changing economic goals regularly. Managing director, APT Securities and Funds Ltd.,Malam Garba Kurfi, said the government should come out with robust economic policies that would touch all aspects of the economy including power and transport to address unemployment. Kurfi said the government should tackle insecurity in the country to boost investors confidence. APM Terminals Boosts Nigeria s Export By 15% BY YUSUF BABALOLA, Lagos APM Terminals Apapa increased Nigeria s manufactured export by up to 15 per cent corresponding to a value of about $500 million (N152.5 billion) from 2006 to 2009, according to the report of an impact assessment study conducted by Denmark-based consulting firm, Quantifying Business Impacts on Society (QBIS). The study titled Nigerian Trade Stimulator How APM Terminals in Nigeria have impacted trade, creating jobs and ensuring a sustainable business environment was conducted by Mette Dalgliesh Olsen and Thomas Westergaard-Kabelmann. The study further stated that the $500 million increase in manufactured exports has been associated with the creation of about 255,000 jobs and a contribution of $1.6 billion to the country s gross domestic product (GDP). The report indicates increasing Foreign Direct Investment impact in the country and increased non-oil exports, in line with the ambition of the Federal Government. This impact originates from a 50 per cent improvement in Nigeria s liner shipping connectivity in the period from 2006 to 2009 that the study finds primarily is attributable to the Apapa terminal. Thus, Apapa s higher terminal capacity and efficiency made it more attractive for shipping lines to call Apapa and immediately increased the number of liner shipping services calling Apapa from eight to 22, while economies of scale among others were boosted by bigger container vessels. In the years following APM Terminals takeover of Apapa, the number of export countries rose from 82 to 144, while manufactured export value soared from $0.7 billion in 2006 to $4.7 billion in 2009, the report stated. Our Inspection At Industrial Sites Not Witch Hunt -SON BY OKECHUKWU OBETA, Awka The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has stated that its regular inspection at industrial sites and warehouses of local manufacturers was not intended to witch- hunt or kill any industry but to assist local manufacturers ensure that the quality of their products met global standard. SON s deputy director/ group head, Chemical Technology, Lekki operational office, Mr. Agboola Samuel Afolayan, gave the clarification when he led a team of officials of the organisation on a routine inspection tour of Sea Horse Industries, Ozubulu, Ekwusigo local government area of Anambra State. He stated that local manufacturers were the engine of the country s Stanbic IBTC Pensions Asset Hits N2.53trn BY CHIKA IZUORA, Lagos Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers, has said it was adopting most strategic initiatives provided by new industry frameworks to strengthen its leadership in the pension industry. The company said it would take advantage of multi fund structure scheduled to take off this July as well as the micro pension initiative being perfected by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) to further grow its assets. In a brief remark at a media parley in Lagos, chief executive officer of the company Mr,. Eric Fajemisin, said the company s current assets under management was in excess of N2.53 trillion and over 1.6 million retirement savings account holders nationwide. Fajemisin also revealed that the company has from inception paid N66.5 billion to 37,772 retirees economy because in addition to making the cost of goods cheaper, they are the greatest employers of labour. One of the priorities of SON is to promote locally- manufactured products because that is where the economy rests. In other to ensure that Nigeriamade products compete favourably in the global market, Afolayan stated that the organisation has mandated a team of its officials in every state who visit local manufacturing companies at regular intervals to inspect their operational facilities, adding when they find out an area where the manufacturer is making a mistake, they will guide the management to correct it to ensure that the quality of the products is maintained. thus making it the largest fund administrator in Nigeria. He said with the country s total pensions assets under the contributory pension scheme in excess of N7.94 trillion as at March this year, the industry provides huge opportunities for growth. The industry in while he recalled has paid about N8.44 billion to 223,051 retirees for both programmed withdrawal and annuity, while the number of contributors have increased to 7.82 million as at December He said the proposed micro pension scheme is one initiative with great potential capable of landing the industry into its next phase of growth. Regardless of the inherent challenges, the micro pensions scheme has the capability to deepen asset accumulation in Nigeria considering that 70 per cent of Nigeria s working population operates in the informal sector.

29 Experts Urge FG To Decentralise Power Generation, Resolve Distribution Bottleneck BY MBAKAAN KWEN, Abuja Some experts in the power sector yesterday expressed divergent views on President Muhammadu Buhari s Democracy Day speech on power supply, asking Federal Government to address distribution bottlenecks. They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a separate interviews in Lagos that although the power sector had witnessed increased generation and massive investment in transmission sector, there was no improvement in distribution. The stakeholders then urged government to decentralise the power generation chain and assist DISCOs in refurbishing their distribution transformers for more effective electricity supply to end users. In the speech, President Buhari had said his administration was committed to lawful interventions to ensure that operators in the business of electricity distribution lived up to expectations of Nigerians. The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), says the sector has improved tremendously under the present dispensation. Deputy director/ head, Corporate Affairs of NAICOM, Mr Rasaaq Salami, said this in an interview in Abuja on Tuesday. Salami said the sector was hitherto being faced with the problem of delayed payment of claims, lack of awareness, low penetration, low contribution to the nation s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and limited distribution channels for insurance products among others. BY CHIKA IZUORA, Lagos The International Energy Agency (IEA) and the African Union (AU) have entered into a strategic partnership towards a more secure, sustainable and clean energy future for countries across the African continent. The joint commitment was cemented through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed last Wednesday, May 30, 2018 President Buhari said: In the area of power generation, Nigerians from all parts of the country continue to report better power supply and less use of generators. This underscores the effectiveness of the methodical plan to deliver incremental and uninterrupted power supply to our homes, markets, offices and factories. The country achieved 5, MW representing the highest peak of power generated onto the national grid and delivered to customers in December, With new facilities, repairs and rehabilitations by Government and private investors, generation capability now exceeds 7,500 MW. This Administration is committed to lawful interventions to ensure the operators of the distribution business live up to expectations especially in the areas of distribution capacity, service delivery, collection efficiency, and metering to eliminate contentious estimated billing. Immediate past National He said during the period under review, the commission realised that those challenges were not such that could be handled by it alone but through a collective effort. According to him, the commission then set up an Insurers Committee which is akin to the Bankers Committee. This committee was to provide a platform where all Chief Executive Officers of insurance companies would meet with the management of NAICOM to come up with suggestions/ways of tackling the sector s challenges. One of the key outcome of that Friday in Paris by Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA s executive director, and H.E. Dr Amani Abou-Zeid, the African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy, ICT and Tourism. The MoU provides a general framework for cooperation on activities and projects that advance shared interests in areas of energy security, energy statistics, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable Chairman, Nigerian Institution of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (NIEEE), Emmanuel Akinwole, said recent investments gave transmission sector capacity to evacuate energy from Generation Companies (GENCOs). But there is more to be done to get the supply to Nigerians. The Distribution Companies (DISCOs) have been stagnant with no investment since 2013 when the sector was privatised. Most of the transformers and cables that distribute power supply to consumers are decayed, this has resulted to Nigerians sleeping in darkness. My advice is that Federal Government should assist the DISCOs with soft loan to replace those decay equipment. Unless this is done, all efforts of the present administration might not be seen by consumers who are still in darkness due DISCOs decaying installations, he said. L-R: Chairman, board of trustees, Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, AAAN, Mr. Ayo Owoborode and member board of trustees, AAAN, Mr. Udeme Ufot, during Ufot s inauguration as a member of the board of trustees of AAAN in Lagos, recently. NAICOM Confirms Tremendous Improvement By Insurance Sector In 3 Years committee is the rebranding project that the industry is about to embark on which will sell and promote insurance as a product to the Nigerian public. We had a budget of over N300 million for that to which the commission has contributed about N40 million, the campaign will be begin by June 1, and that will do a lot to the industry. Salami said the committee would on May 30, finalise a document tagged: Insurance Industry Strategic Plan which according to him will change the insurance environment of the country. IEA, AU Sign Pact On Sustainable Energy Development In Africa economic development. It reflects the IEA s strong commitment to global engagement on energy access and sustainable development, and to working closely with emerging economies to find solutions to energy and environmental challenges. There is a saying in Africa if you want to go fast, you go alone; if you want to go far, you go together, said Abou-Zeid. Echoes Of Voluntary Assets And Income Declaration Scheme In this article, MARK ITSIBOR presents up to date picture of the operational framework and gains of federal government s Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme Why tax amnesty? Was it well thought out? How will the Scheme help to restore lost confidence on the government and who really benefits from the Scheme? Those were some of the questions that trailed the launch of the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) on June 29, 2017 by Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo on behalf of the federal government. The popular opinion then was that the call to voluntarily pay tax was a ploy to further raise and divert public funds. That notion that dominated public mind was understandable. Despite the huge funds that were available to past governments, Nigeria and majority of Nigerians were still overwhelmed by hunger, unemployment, lack of infrastructure, epileptic power supply and a host of other social issues that took public confidence away from government. plains why many were quick to wish aside the introduction of a revolutionary and bold reform initiative VAIDS, with a label, as one of some government policies without benefit on the economy. But events have proven that the initiative that allows tax payers to regularise their tax status relating to previous tax periods, without incurring penalties is one of the most outstanding steps taken so far by the current administration. VAIDS came as a rescue force for the government to move her economy from a mono economy to a literarily diversified and revenue guaranteed one. Prior to introduction of the policy, Nigeria s tax compliance record was very poor with only about 14 million out of an estimated 70 million economically active Nigerians paying their taxes. This has become more compelling, given Nigeria s Tax Revenue-to- GDP ratio of 6 per cent, which has remained one of the lowest in the world in comparison with countries in Nigeria s peer group. The robust implementation of VAIDS has seen an increase in the number of tax payers from 13 million before the assumption of Office by the incumbent Administration to 14 million in 2016 and 19.3 million in It is instructive to note that some local and foreign companies are now disposed to the VAIDS initiative, and have started to regularise their tax status. The VAIDS policy has indeed helped to increase monthly nonoil revenue by about 20 per cent in recent time. The sum of N billion was generated from Value Added Tax (VAT) in last month of April alone. Apart from the rising oil price, VAIDS accounts for a chunk of the sum of N24.5 billion that was removed from the total revenue received for the month of April and saved in the Excess Crude Account (ECA), bringing NEWS/BUSINESS 29 the balance in the ECA to $1.911 billion. The Federal Ministry of Finance is strongly convinced that the overall objective to increase compliance and open up a sustainable Chanel of revenue inflow are being attained. Based on that conviction and appeals of professional bodies and individual taxpayers, the amnesty period was extended at the expiration of its initial nine months period for the defaulting taxpayers to regularize their tax with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). The amnesty time was extended to June 30th this year, after which the federal government has vowed to drag defaulters to the noose. FIRS Chairman, Babatunde Fowler who said VAIDS is for all Nigerians old enough to pay tax. It will speed up development of the country, has the support of President Muhammadu Buhari who said, while announcing extension of the amnesty period that a Fresh Executive Order would be made to give legal backing to the new timeline. That alone is a signal that the federal government means business. For the President, Nigeria s growth needs are such that every Nigerian must do his duty to his nation, to his neighbour, and to himself. And For a nation of people who are competitive and driven, it is not a pride that we are the lowest performer in tax to GDP, not just in Africa, but in the world. The message to those who have the knack for hiding monies overseas, evading taxes by manipulation, and other unwholesome practices is that, it has never developed a country, and for Nigeria to attain her true potential, these must stop, President Buhari was quoted as saying in the statement. A detail review of the entire system of taxation in Nigeria today using the scope of VAIDS would show that FIRS and the tax authorities are doing a lot of enforcement based on reports of properties and businesses being sealed for non-payment of tax apart from the continues campaign on tax awareness. For instance, Vice President Osinbajo on 6th of July, 2017 flagged off Tax Thursday campaign to educate and enlighten the general populace on their tax responsibilities. In the eyes of the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, those who believe that the Federal Government needs to be more daring in implementing the rules on taxation, also need to consider the other side of the coin. If we allow them (tax officials) to just go and be sealing and destroying properties, it will discourage business. There must be a process. In some cases, the tax officials get it wrong and may have to retrieve. And some cases they get it write. In some cases when you see a property sealed up and later unsealed, it s because they ve paid. So, it doesn t necessarily means there is soft peddling. I think the FIRS are doing quite an excellent job of driving the enforcement narrative.

30 30 E-BUSINESS L-R: HRE, MTN Nigeria, Esther Akinnukawe; head teacher, St. George s Girls School, Ikoyi, Mrs Ola Oladoja; chief executive officer, MTN Nigeria, Ferdinand Moolman; head teacher, St. George s Boys School, Ikoyi, Mr Ade Ajulo and director, Special Duties, LGEA Eti-Osa, Mr Abiola Olugbenga, during MTN Nigeria s visit to St George s School, Ikoyi for Children s Day in Lagos, at the weekend. PHOTO BY KOLAWOLE ALIU ISPON Seeks Legislation To Curb Foreign Software Addiction STORIES BY CHIMA AKWAJA, Lagos The Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) has decried the addition of software by Nigerian government agencies and the banking sector saying it would push for a legislative backing to strengthen local software development in other to reverse the present condition. Speaking at a media briefing at its 2018 annual general meeting held in Lagos at the weekend, Olorogun James Emadoye, outgoing president of ISPON said technology was already driving diverse facets of our lives as a people and would continue to take over even more aspects of our daily activities. Hence the need for us as a people to localise with indigenous technology if we are to achieve our desired growth as an independent nation. Emadoye, who wrapped his tenure as president of ISPON said, In the last two years of my time at the saddle of ISPON s leadership, one of the major challenges we have found and consistently tackled is the preference for foreign software by government and private firm, even when indigenous software are available and better suited for our clime and environment. The preference for foreign software, even when indigenous software are available and better suited, is causing us to lose job, foreign exchange and killing the IT industry. IT currently contributes about 11 per cent to our gross domestic product (GDP), second to the agriculture. Hundreds of thousands of jobs are being lost due to our foreign software addiction. Take the financial services sector as an example: GIFMIS at OAGF is powered by a software from Estonia; IPPIS at OAGF is powered by a software from USA: ITAS at FIRS is powered by a software from Canada; BVN at NIBSS is powered by a software from Germany; RTGS at CBN is powered by a soft- ware from Sweden; and most of the software in Nigeria banks are India and Jordan, etc. Imagine that most, if not all, the software used in the banking and other industries were developed in Nigeria. How many companies could have been created? How many people would be working to develop, sell and support those solutions? he said. The incoming president of ISPON and managing director, Precise Financial System, Yele Okeremi said as a population we need to understand that the wealth of a nation is dependent on its human capitals. The government of the day if they want to fight corruption, the easiest thing is automation. They raised the alarm that a member of ISPON, SystemSpecs, which is doing so well for Nigeria through TSA is not being celebrated or recognised. We heard they have not been paid. They are being squeezed out rather than being entrenched. In other climes, government would promote the Remita solution and position it as a net export and foreign currency earner. The ISPON leadership said that local software enterprise should be encouraged by ensuring sanctity of contracts and the value of intellectual property; positioning local software as a potential foreign currency earner; active patronage of local software by businesses and governments at all levels; get legislative backing to strengthen local software development. The software developers also called for developing more talents to improve software quantity and quality in Nigeria urging the federal government to become as futuristic. Government should be at the lead, and not only should they support the ICT industry, they should also intentionally support made-in-nigeria software and discourage acts that undermine the growth and advancement of the sector, they added. Telcos To Raise Tariffs Over Cybersecurity Fund Levy Telecommunications service providers in the country have threatened to raise the tariff of services and products provided to its more than 150 million subscribers should the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) go ahead and implement the collection of 00.5 per cent levy on all electronic transactions into a National Cybersecurity Fund account. National president of ATCON, Olusola Teniola, said the eventual implementation of the levy would cripple if not render useless government and private sector efforts to speed up the broadband penetration in Nigeria, noting that ATCON has a mandate to protect telecom investment in the industry from undue pressure from the government in the form of yet additional burden to its our members who are already overtaxed by all tiers of governments. Speaking at a press briefing held at the association s headquarters in Lagos, Teniola said the businesses which are to be affected include: GSM service providers and all telecommunication companies; Internet service providers; banks and other financial institutions; insurance companies and Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). ATCON believes any premeditated actions that are capable of killing the telecoms industry must be eschewed by all tiers of governments in Nigeria as the perceived benefits of imposing this levy on aforementioned businesses have the direct capability to erase if not destroy the achievements that have been made since the telecoms sector was liberated. We therefore advise government review this directive as it would affect some macro-economic elements such as loss of employment and we as Industry will have to increase prices to cover the collection, processing and pass on these costs to the 150million subscribers, he said. Wednesday, May 30, 2018

31 agriculturewednesday, May 30, 2018 NEWS INTERVIEW ANALYSIS All correspondence to: COMMODITY PRICES AGRIC Commodities Crude Oil Brent Natural gas Gasoline Heating oil Ethanol Gold Silver Palladium Platinum Corn Soybeans Wheat Cotton Rice Canola Cocoa 2, Rubber Orange Juice Coffee Lumber Oat Wool 1, Sugar Live Cattle Lean Hogs Beef Feeder Cattle Copper % Cobalt 34, , Lead 2, Aluminum 1, Tin 21, Zinc 2, Nickel 10, Molybdenum15, Steel Iron Ore Coal Baltic Dry CRB Index LME Index ABUJA 50kg Stallion Rice- 22,000 25kg Stallion rice- 14,500 2 kg Semovita- 3, Litres Kings Groundnut Oil- 12, Litres Palm Oil Kg Iron Beans- 19,000 70kg Red Beans- 18,000 70kg Millet- 10, kg Guinea corn- 10,000 70kg Maize- 15,000 60kg Garri- 13,000 Nigeria, Others To Empower Smallholder Maize Farmers In W/Africa BY CHIKA IZUORA, Lagos In a deliberate move to intensify the production of certified seeds and to increase the productivity of smallholder maize farmers in West Africa, about 80 stakeholders involved in the implementation of the Stress Tolerant Maize for Africa (STMA) project, convened at International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, IITA, where they initiated a way forward to improve on maize production. The 2018 work planning meeting provided an opportunity for participants from the four West African countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Mali, and the Republic of Bénin, to discuss the best approaches to promote certified seed of multiple stress tolerant maize varieties in Africa, while motivating seed companies to serve farmers more effectively and efficiently. The four-day annual workshop was attended by maize breeders, scientists, researchers, seed company representatives, policy makers, extension agents from the national agricultural research systems (NARS), the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC), CIMMYT, and IITA. The workshop aimed to provide a platform to discuss progress made in the previous year, devise measures to overcome challenges in the execution of project activities, and draw strategies for implementing partners work plans for May-Guri Saethre, IITA deputy director-general, research for development (R4D), lauded the stakeholders on the progress made in maize research and encouraged them to keep upholding IITA s legacy. IITA and its partners have done a good job in the improvement and release of maize varieties. These have resulted in tremendous progress. For your research impacts to be felt by more farmers, please, endeavor to secure a second phase for this project when it ends, to enable you continue the good work you are doing. I commend you all to use this opportunity to deliberate and synergize efforts to ensure sustainability of improved maize production in Africa, Saethre added. The STMA project seeks to develop maize cultivars with tolerance and resistance to multiple stresses for farmers, and support local seed companies to produce seed of these cultivars on a large scale. STMA aims to develop a new generation of over 70 improved stress tolerant maize varieties, and facilitate production and use of over 54,000 metric tons of certified seed. In his presentation on the role of STMA in the transformation (planting for food and jobs [PFJ]) agenda of the government of Ghana, Robert Asuboah, from the Grains and Legumes Development Board, Ghana, stated that maize stands out as the main beneficiary crop of the PFJ campaign in Ghana. AfDB Mulls Climate Change Fund For Africa s Agriculture BY CHIKA IZUORA, Lagos The African Development Bank (AfDB) has observed weak response to Africa s climate change challenges even when the continent contributes just about 2-3 per cent of global warming saying it will extend disaster risk financing to grow the continent s agriculture. President of the Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, and the bank s Board of Governors disclosed this during a high-level session on Climate and Disaster Risk Financing focusing on the Role of the African Risk Capacity (ARC) and the Africa Disaster Risk Financing Programme (ADRiFi) last week in Busan, Korea. The high-level session, part of the 53rd African Development Bank Group Annual Meetings in Busan, Korea, provided a platform for African Ministers of Finance, the Economy and Planning, who form its Board of Governors, to extend ongoing discussions between the bank and regional member countries on the importance of disaster risk financing solutions in building resilience and protecting development gains. The action will see to improved agriculture activities in the continent. ADRi- Fi aligns with the Bank s 10-year strategy by enhancing resilience and response to climate shocks in regional member countries by improving the management of natural disaster risk and adaptation to climate change. The Bank s Board of Governors Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State looks on as a representative of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, Musa Bala presented food items to an internally displaced person, during the flagg-off of the Foundation s 2018 Ramadan food distribution scheme in Borno State, yesterday. shared a common resolve and readiness to galvanize efforts and resources to help regional member countries improve their capacity to plan, prepare, and respond to extreme weather events and natural disasters so as to safeguard food security for Africa s vulnerable populations. The livelihoods of more than 70 per cent of Africans depend on farming. A critical component of the High 5 Agenda of the African Development Bank is Feed Africa and hinges on unlocking the potential of agriculture. Most agricultural activity in Africa is rain-fed, making it susceptible to the vagaries of climate change and natural disasters. ARC deploys innovative mechanisms and customized financial tools to help member countries reduce the risk of loss and damage caused by extreme weather events and natural disasters in a timely, cost-effective, objective and transparent manner. Since its first financial affiliate was established in 2014, ARC has issued policies to eight governments over four drought risk pools. These countries have paid $54 million in premiums (95 per cent of which has come directly from national budgets) for a total coverage of approximately $400 million over the period. ARC has further paid out $37 million to countries affected by drought whose policies were triggered (Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal). These funds have been used to support over 2 million people and 1 million livestock. Sharing his excitement for the partnership with the Bank and especially the ADRiFi programme, ARC director-general, Mohamed Beavogui, expressed optimism that more African member states will be able to participate in the insurance pool when the Bank makes premium-financing support available to them. The ability of Africa to fully provide parametric insurance against extreme weather events and other natural disasters is a critical next step towards achieving food security on the continent and reducing the current over reliance on the international humanitarian financing system for support. In his opening remarks, Adesina stated that Africa contributes no more than 2-3 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions, but suffers disproportionately from the negative impacts of climate change. All across Africa, you see today the high frequency of droughts. Africa has been shortchanged by the climate financing architecture. Therefore, we need instruments that will help mitigate climate risks. Pledging Bank support for ARC operations, he encouraged others to follow suit. It must not be only about the African Development Bank, he said. We want more stakeholders to join and more partnerships to make sure that the financing mechanism is there. The future of Africa depends on the actions we take today. And we have to have a sense of urgency. If we pump in the alliance and partnerships needed, countries will be able to insure themselves of risks. Reiterating the challenges of climate change in Africa, especially the continent s vulnerability to droughts, floods, tropical cyclones and outbreak and epidemics, ARC Chairperson Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala stated that ARC is about African countries taking charge of their own issues and finding ways to finance their response efforts and broader resilience and development. We cannot remain a continent that is reliant on the generosity of the broader development community. She highlighted the critical role the ADRiFi will play in promoting disaster risk financing on the continent and how countries can access both capacity building and premium financing as part of their long-term resilience building efforts. The bank and ARC formalized their partnership In March 2017 to strengthen their technical collaboration towards enhancing the risk management infrastructure and policy across Africa while supporting countries in building resilience against climate shocks. Following requests from regional member countries for premium financing support, the bank proposed the ADRiFi programme, which will run from , as a comprehensive, sustainable solution for risk transfer within the broader context of disaster risk management.

32 32 AGRIC NEWS Wednesday, May 30, 2018 This Space is for Sale For Details Contact Food Security: UNSC Kicks Against Attacks On Civilians, Farms BY CHIKA IZUORA, Lagos R-L: Deputy director/group head, Chemical Technology, Lekki Operational office of the Standard Organisation of Nigerian ( SON), Mr. Agboola Samuel Afolayan and chairman / chief executive officer, Sea Horse Industries, High Chief Ebuka Onunkwo at the laboratory room of the industry at Ozubulu, Ekwusigo local government Area of Anambra state during the routine inspection visit to the company, recently. FAO, FG Boosting Partnership To Transform Agriculture BY KINGSLEY OPURUM, Abuja The Food and Agriculture of the United Nations (FAO) has boosted its partnership with the federal government to expand its support towards transforming the country s agricultural sector, which is in line with the administration s plan for economic diversification. Speaking to journalists at the one-day meeting held in Abuja recently, country representative of Food and Agriculture of the United Nations (FAO), Suffyan Koroma bemoaned the failure of the federal government to implement, regulate and monitor food standards in the country. Koroma said that Nigeria is a member of International Standard Setting Body but has not participated when food standards are set because it does not attend meetings. Food standards as I try to explain are international standards that have to be related to what you do at the national level. Nigeria is a member of International Standard Setting Body. How those standards are interpreted and translated to local products and how those standards are implemented. This is what the critical element is; how producers and processors are aware of different standards. There is no sufficient understanding of the standards. How do you implement them is the critical element. The standards are available. There has to be credibility in policy; when government commitment has to follow through. Everybody here agrees that is the largest challenge they face; it s how you will get that commitment because it is the government that has to implement those standards. The private sector and international agencies can help but the government is the custodian of those standards because it has to do with the health of the people. When people are sick because of cholera, it costs a lot of money; so, those standards are government standards that need to be regulated, monitored and implemented by government itself, he said. Nigeria s difficulty in exporting rice While acknowledging that Nigeria has attained 95 per cent of reduction in rice importation and may soon achieve self-sufficiency in rice production, the FAO Country Rep reeled out Nigeria s difficulties in exporting rice to other countries. He noted that the country may not do very well in exporting rice to other countries because what Nigeria produces and consumes is parboiled rice, which will be difficult for it export rice to other West African countries and beyond. He said, FAO has been working with Nigeria for the last 40 years formally on rice development, with small-scale irrigation and all kinds of aspect of rice. So, for the FAO, when we see that the government and the private sector are taking over the functions that we normally do, we move backwards and let them fill in the space. The government is talking about self-sufficiency in rice; with the figures, we are saying that it has attained 95 per cent of reduction in importation, which means that production has really improved. Now, is Nigeria going to start to export rice? But when you look at the value chain picture that I showed on this line, Nigeria basically is between the first and the second level; the value of rice is in the third and fourth. If you want to sustain self-sufficiency in rice, it has to go beyond table rice. It has to be other derivatives of rice, that will then provide income and show that there are opportunities, and these are areas FAO can help the government not only in the production of rice but also in the type of rice seeds. FAO sets standard for the seeds as well. So, we can support the government in attaining self-sufficiency and maintain it. This is one of the reasons we are here in this meeting to receive what are those priority areas that we could start looking at within the next three-fives. Now, you ve attained 95 per cent import reduction, it means you are going to start exporting. What type of rice market is there? What Nigeria produces is mostly parboiled rice. Nigeria is the only country that consumes parboiled rice in West Africa. Other countries do consume parboiled rice but not like Nigeria. They do consume broken rice, polished rice, Carolina rice and so many other different varieties of rice that are consumed. Unless you are able to see what those markets demand, you will not be able to a sustainable rice industry. This is where we can help Nigeria in doing that because we are present in all those countries, so we can bring those lessons here in Nigeria. Capacity building for women and youths The vice president of All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Daniel Okafor stressed the need for a capacity building centre to train women and youths in agriculture. He said, There is need to build what we call a small school or centre where we will do the training for the youths because very soon, we will all retire. It is going to be women and the youths that will take over. We want to partner with individual, government organisations and FAO in the area of building capacity for our women and youths. Another thing is we don t have any vehicle that can move our products to its final destination. We need assistance in that area. Government bureaucracy and lack of private investment In his remark, the senior special assistant to the president on the Economic Recovery Growth Plan Implementation (ERGP), Dr. Effiong Essien has attributed some of the problems to the bureaucracy of government and private investors lack of interest in agriculture. Dr. Essien said that FG is working hard to address some of the issues that discourage private sector from investing in agriculture. He said The economic Recovery Growth Plan was meant to be able to remove inter-agencies issues and bottlenecks that allow businesses to put down their investments and create jobs. We see the potentials of the private business operators have in this country in terms of creating jobs. It is the reason in which it was formulated to be able to bring the government officials as well as the core team members from the priority sectors and also bring in the investment community and individuals and big companies into one room. And we have done that successfully for six weeks and we have able to crack some of the inter-agency issues to businesses to put down their investments and create jobs. In that way, we have been able to understand what the expectations of the private sector operators are and also be able to resolve them. We have what we call central steering committee including all the sector ministers whom we are targeting. So basically, the government is asking the private sector what are the issues that we could remove to allow you to put down your investments in those sectors. So in that way, we are beginning to resolve some of the inter-agency issues. The U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a resolution that for the first time recognizes the link between conflict and hunger and strongly condemns the use of starvation as a method of warfare. The resolution calls on all parties to conflict to comply with international humanitarian law that bans attacks on civilians and critical civilian infrastructure including farms, markets, water systems and other essential items to produce and transport food. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recently reported that the number of people who are food insecure is on the rise for the first time after decades of decrease and that the main cause is conflict. The U.N. World Food Programme reported in March that between 108 million and 124 million people in conflict situations suffer from severe malnutrition. Lise Gregoire Van Haaren, the Netherlands deputy ambassador, told the council after the vote that the resolution was a landmark text and a significant step toward making the use of starvation as a method of warfare a crime of the past. Innocent civilians suffering from hunger due to the consequences of war are at the heart of this text, she said. It clearly acknowledges the fact that conflict can lead to food security and recognizes the need to break the vicious cycle between armed conflict and food insecurity. For thousands of years, combatants have used sieges, the burning of crops and scorched-earth operations as battle tactics, including in the U.S. Civil War in the 1860s and Indian wars during the 19th century. More recently, the Syrian government, especially, and rebel groups have besieged towns and cities during the seven-year Syrian war, leading to severe malnutrition and in some cases death from starvation. The resolution stresses that trying to starve civilians in conflict is prohibited by international law. The measure, which was sponsored by the Netherlands, Kuwait, Ivory Coast and Sweden, authorizes an early-warning system for hunger in conflict. It asks the secretary-general to report swiftly to the council when the risk of conflict-induced famine and widespread food insecurity in armed conflict contexts occurs. The resolution also urges all parties to conflicts to uphold international humanitarian law and ensure safe and unimpeded access to deliver food and other aid to civilians in need. It also reiterates that Security Council sanctions resolutions can be used against individuals or entities obstructing the delivery of humanitarian assistance, or access to, or distribution of, humanitarian assistance. Muhannad Hadi, the World Food Programme s regional director for the Mideast, North Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Europe, said the agency is extremely happy with the resolution and hopes its effect will be felt by the men, women and children the agency serves all over the world who are the true victims of the conflicts. He described seeing a woman with a child poking through a garbage pile at the same time as a dog looking for something to eat in Yemen s capital, Sanaa, when he was there about 10 days ago. As a human being and also as a father, as a parent, that really broke my heart, Hadi said at a news conference. This is the example that any warring parties need to look at before they decide to go into an armed conflict. Who pays the price of any armed conflict? This is the big question.

33 TCN Accuses GenCos Of Submitting Fraudulent Figures BY FESTUS OKOROMADU, Abuja The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), has refuted claims of electricity generation companies (GenCos) that over 50 per cent of power generated in April 2018 was rejected by the national grid thus causing huge loss to them. A statement issued by the general manager, Public Affairs, TCN, Mrs Ndidi Mbah revealed that GenCos submitted fraudulent data in order to get paid for capacities they do not possess. A large number of power plants submitted fraudulent generation capacities and not able to deliver when asked to do so by National Control Center Wednesday, May 30, 2018 (NCC). This is done in order for them to get paid for capacities they do not actually have. According to her, many GenCos due to greed, destabilised the grid through illegal practices in order to collect more money from the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET). Explaining how it is done, she said, They do so through false capacity declarations, unwillingness to put their generators on effective frequency response, delay in executing NCC s dispatch instructions, intimidation and blackmail of NCC operatives etc. The allegation of rudeness and military method by NCC staff is wholly unfounded and baseless as NCC operators are trained in communication skills. Speaking on recent allegations by the executive secretary of Association of Power Generation Companies, Dr (Mrs) Joy Ogaji, she said, The average dispatch for the power plants for April is about 78 per cent of actual available generation capacity which is much higher than the figure of less than 50 per cent being claimed by Ogaji. Mrs Mbah stated that TCN has not procured spinning reserves yet because most power plants have not satisfactorily placed their units on frequency response as required by Grid Code. BY MBAKAAN KWEN For the third year in a row, Paga has been presented an award by the Nigeria Inter- Bank Settlement Systems Plc (NIBBS) for the mobile money operator s outstanding performance in achieving the highest transaction count on the Global Mobile Regulatory & Monitoring Platform in 2017, and named Top Mobile Money Operator. According to the company, Paga, which is licensed by CBN, continues to pave the way as the leading mobile money operator in Nigeria today. CBN recently announced its SANEF initiative, partnering with Paga amongst others, to grow the reach of agents providing financial services to 500,000, in order to ramp up inclusion for all Nigerians. Of all the MMO s, NEWS/BUSINESS 33 Paga Receives Award For Highest Transaction Performance From NIBBS Paga has the largest reaching agent network, with over 15,000 transacting agents serving their dedicated communities, the company said in a statement. According to the chief executive officer of the company, Tayo Oviosu, When I started Paga in 2009, I set out to solve two problems make it easy to send money to anyone, and to deliver financial services to the unbanked and underbanked. Since launching our service to the market in 2012, we have realized that our journey to solving these problems is making life possible for Nigerians, every single day. We are very grateful that our platform has earned the faith and trust of the people, and we continue to be your number one platform for mobile money transfers. L-R: Vice President, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Engr. Tasiu Gidari-Wudil; former president of the Society, Engr. Ademola Olorunfemi; president, NSE, Engr. Adekunke Mokuolu; chairman, Momas Electricity Metering Manufacturing Company Limited (MEMMCOL), Engr. Kola Balogun and the National Executive Committee member of NSE, Engr. Chinyere Igwegbe, during the commissioning of the new Momas Metering School held at the MEMMCOL factory, Orimerunmu Village, Mowe, Ogun State. CSCS Pays Shareholders 70 Kobo Dividend Per Share BY LUSHOLA BELLO, Lagos The Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, has declared 70 kobo dividend pay-out to shareholders for the year ended December 31, The shareholders at the 24th annual general meeting (AGM) held in Lagos gave their approval to the final dividend of 70 kobo per share which amounts to a total dividend of N3.5 billion representing a 233 per cent increase over last year s dividend pay-out of N1.05 billion. Speaking on the 2017 financial scorecard, chairman, Board of Logistics Firm Acquires N1bn New Trucks For Operations BY YUSUF BABALOLA, Lagos An indigenous logistics firm, SIFAX Haulage has acquired 20 brand new and new trucks worth over N1billion for its operation. SIFAX Haulage, a subsidiary of SIFAX Group, said the trucks are European trucks with 420 horse power rating. While 10 of them are 6 by 4 double axles, the others 10 are triaxle flatbeds with 48 tonnage capacity. The brand new trucks will Directors of CSCS Plc, Mr. Oscar Onyema, said that despite the economic realities that were not encouraging in the light of plunging oil revenues and sustained shortage of hard currency in the nation s foreign exchange market leading to a tough economic experience at the beginning of 2017, CSCS emerged with a strong performance for the year across all metrics. We attribute our performance to better economic macro story, the Investors and Exporters FX Window, our sound corporate governance model, focus on implementing strategic initiatives, skilled workforce and complement the 55 trucks already in use by the company, thereby bring the company s fleet size towith 75 trucks. While speaking at the formal commissioning of the trucks, general manager, SIFAX Haulage& Logistics Limited, Mr. Adewale Adetayo, the company s decision to expand its fleet is a statement of intent by SIFAX Group to deliver a better service to its clients and become an undisputed leader in the industry. technology. The Group s gross earnings grew to N8.7 billion in 2017 from N6.2 billion in 2016, which accounts for 41 percent Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y) growth. This earning was driven by decent revenue numbers from our core business and proper management of our investment portfolio. At the end of the year, profitbefore-tax stood at N5.66 billion in 2017 from N3.72 billion in Total assets stood at N32 billion in the year under review from N27 billion in 2016, representing a 18 per cent growth Y-o-Y, he said. He said: The acquisition of these new trucks is a clear demonstration of the unfettered commitment of the management of SIFAX GROUP to the strategic goal of repositioning SIFAX Haulage & Logistics Limited for greater productivity. This commitment is part of the companywide strategy of strengthening all the subsidiaries with the requisite capacity and capabilities to deliver on the corporate objective of delivering best value in all sectors we operate. Verve, GhIPSS To Expand Use Of EMV Cards, Tokens BY CHIMA AKWAJA, Lagos In a strategic move to expand the acceptance of Verve cards across Africa, the largest Pan- African payment brand, Verve International has announced its partnership with Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Limited (GhIPSS) for wider acceptance of Verve EMV cards and payment tokens in Ghana. The partnership will allow Verve s about 37 million customers with its payment cards and tokens withdraw cash on ATMs and make purchases on PoS terminals of GhIPSS partner commercial banks, savings and loans institutions, e-zwich agents and merchant aggregators in BY KEHINDE SALLAH, Lagos Chain Reactions Nigeria, one of Nigeria s leading public relations firms and the West Africa s Partner of Edelman, the world s largest PR firm with presence in 65 countries across the globe, announced that they will unveil the report of the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer tomorrow. Edelman Trust Barometer is the annual global trust and credibility survey conducted by Edelman Intelligence, the independent research arm of the Edelman global network. The survey consists of 25-minute online interviews whereby respondents are asked questions on how much they trust the four Ghana. CEO, Verve International, Mike Ogbalu III said Verve is committed to Bank of Ghana s drive to grow secured electronic payments and deepen financial inclusion in Ghana. This is in line with Verve s goal of providing seamless, borderless payment solutions to facilitate intra- Africa trade and financial exchange. We are working in partnership with processors, domestic and regional switches, merchants, merchant aggregators, fintech companies and government institutions. This partnership with GhIPSS is a major leap forward in achieving this goal he said. Firm To Unveil 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer Report mainstream institutions of society like government, business, media and nongovernmental organisations to do what is right. Since 2001, Edelman has been measuring trust in these four critical institutions of society across 28 countries, but this year is the first time Nigeria has been included in the survey. The inclusion of an exclusive deck on Nigeria by Edelman Intelligence is on the heels of the significant impressions recorded last year when Chain Reactions hosted the presentation of the 17th edition of the annual global survey in Lagos, the first time ever in the history of Nigeria and since the survey was established in 2001.

34 34 politics today REPORTS ANALYSES REVIEWS INTERVIEWS GROUP POLITICS EDITOR: MUYIWA OYINLOLA (SMS ONLY ) Wednesday, May 30, 2018 How Kano Assembly Speaker Evaded Impeachment Plot Recently, the move to change the leadership of Kano State House of Assembly created a scene reminiscent of theatrical performances. In this report, ABDULGAFAR OLADIMEJI looks at the drama that still got many talking in the ancient city. The secret impeachment moves had suffered setback even to the chagrin of the proponents as the secret plans of the actors got leaked out to the target On Tuesday 15th May, at about 11am, the 24 unrepentant and pro-impeachment lawmakers led by the erstwhile speaker, Kabiru Alhassan Rurum, decided to invade the Assembly complex, moving in a motorcade and they arrived armed with a new mace. Though short of the required 27 signatories to form the simple majority to unseat the embattled Speaker, the furious lawmakers at the gate of the Assembly complex, proceeded to pronounce the removal of some Principal Officers, namely the chief whip, Hon. Labaran Abdul Madari (Warawa constituency) and deputy majority leader, Hon. Muhammad Bello Butu-Butu (Rimin Gado/Tofa constituency). The group announced Hon. Abdullahi Iliyasu Yaryasa (Tudun Wada Constituency) as the new chief whip, while Hon. Ayuba Labaran Durum (Kabo constituency) emerged as new deputy majority whip. The group further affirmed its confidence in Hon. Abdulaziz Garba Gafasa (Ajingi constituency) who they avowed should continue as the majority leader; Hon Kabiru Dashi, they said would hold forth as deputy majority leader. The combination of security personnel drawn from officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC) were not excluded from the theatre acts, they were engaged in a near fisticuffs with the lawmakers, who accused the security operatives of infringing and obstructing them from exercising their constitutional responsibility. Unknown to unsuspecting Kano residents widely known to be meticulous traders but not politically naive, the aggrieved members of the Kano State House of Assembly were neck deep into a surreptitious move to stage a political drama that would have shaken the very foundation of government in the state. They had mustered a venom that would shut down the workings of their leader, the Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Yusuf Abdullahi Ata, in a self styled Gestapo way. Hon. Ata who represents Fagge constituency was so lucky that the venom invested knife of his colleagues was spotted and information filtered into his ears. The secret impeachment moves had suffered setback even to the chagrin of the proponents as the secret plans of the actors got leaked out to the target, who hurriedly put up his defence mechanism to save his head from the shinning blade of his aggressors. To save the day, mobile police personnel were drafted to seal off the Assembly complex to the surprise of many who were in touch with activities of the house. Many had wondered on whose instruction did the police officers acted by sealing off the Assembly complex. Ganduje Ata The distraught members in justifying their surprised move accused the Speaker of high handedness, dictatorial tendencies and for allegedly engaging in act of misappropriation, and like a disgruntled school boy, lateness which leads the House to late sittings. A member of the House of Assembly, who spoke to LEADERSHIP on the condition of anonymity revealed that 24 out of the 40 lawmakers of the House had signed the impeachment notice against the embattled Speaker. The source alleged that Rt. Hon. Yusuf Abullahi Atta, was guilty of misconducts and kept treating his colleagues as inferiors. Immediate past speaker of the state House of Assembly and member representing Rano constituency, Rt. Hon. Kabir Alhassan Rirum, alleged that, the incumbent Speaker in efforts to evade impeachment, scrumptiously directed the House to proceed on recess under the pretense of observing the Holy month of Ramadan. Rumours were also rife that the Speaker, courtesy of his loyalists, removed the mace and relocated the legislative symbol of authority like a pen to an unknown safe haven to prevent the venom filled lawmakers from injecting and paralysing his power of control of the Hallowed Chamber of the Kano State House of Assembly. Rt. Hon Kabi Alhasan Rirum, was allegedly tipped to be the mastermind behind the efforts to oust the incumbent Speaker of the House, with the intention to stage a come back to the plump job he vacated 11 months ago. His resignation as speaker was said to have been triggered by claims of misappropriation of funds and bribery scandal. Rirum, when quizzed over the ongoing efforts to exit his successor said, We have the needed quorum to go ahead with our impeachment moves because we cannot allow this act of dictatorship. Stern looking police personnel kept vigil at the assembly while the political theatre lasted. Visitors under any guise were barred from entering the Assembly complex, as the complex was under police blockade for 72 hours, members of staff were also denied access into the complex. Twenty-four hours after the mace went missing, and the Assembly complex was still under the police siege. The angry faction of the House converged at the gate of the complex, where they announced the sacking of some principal officers of the House. Spokesman of the aggrieved group, Hon. Bappa Dan Agundi, while addressing journalists on the impasse, said, 24 members had signed the impeachment notice against the Speaker. When contacted to comment on the plot to unseat him, the Speaker, who obviously escaped sudden loss of job went philosophical, saying, As a\ Muslim who believes in destiny, I will accept my impeachment in good faith, in everything, there is a starting and ending point. If Allah has designed it that my time is up, nobody will extend it by a second. And if it is not time, nobody can remove me from office, that is my belief. My happiness is that I did not steal anybody s money; so, if today, they remove me from office, I will leave, but nobody will accuse me of stealing. I have a constituency that I am representing. Governor Ganduje to the rescue As the crisis continued to degenerate and was creating an atmosphere of uncertainty in the state legislative machinery, the Kano State governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, resorted to mediate over the matter, appointing himself a peace maker with one mandate to save the state from a political debacle and finding a way out the crisis. Ganduje, same Tuesday night summoned a reconciliation meeting at the Kano State Government House. The concerned parties honoured the invitation of their state chief executive, and after series of vituperations, a truce was reached. The House convened on Thursday as announced, with 36 members out of the 40 lawmakers in attendance. The plenary session which lasted for over one hour, flagged off at about 11: 29 am while all parties were fully represented. The Speaker, while addressing the plenary held in the aftermath of the impasse said, I received information that a new deputy majority leader and the chief whip have been appointed to the House in persons of Hon. Muhammad Bello Butu Butu and Hon. Baffa Dan- Agundi of Kano municipal constituency as the new chief whip, Hon. Sanusi Bataitya to serve as deputy majority leader and Hon. Ayuba Labaran Durum to serve as majority whip. The deputy speaker then stood and announced his resignation which he said he did in the interest of peace. The former speaker and alleged arrow ahead of the impasse, Rirum, was nominated and voted in as the new deputy speaker, by members in attendance. He was immediately administered with the oath of office. Keen watchers of the development have continued to made their comments on the impasse that rattled the state legislature. Many are of the opinion that permutations are clear that the crisis would sooner again rear its ugly head. Kano based constitutional lawyer, Barrister Umar Suleiman, while reacting to the crisis, said, there is no outright constitutional breach in all that transpired while the impasse lasted. He however, queried the way and manner the police got involved in the crisis. He further queried that on whose instruction were the police acting, when they sealed off the Assembly complex? He further expressed worries over the state governor s summoning the members of the House of Assembly to a reconciliation parley session, saying this could be described as interference by the executive arm of government. He added that this singular act is in contrast to the spirit of the Separations of powers as enshrined in the constitution.

35 Okorocha Urges Politicians To Apply Wisdom BY EMMANUEL MGBEAHU- RUIKE, Owerri The governor of Imo state, Rochas Okorocha yesterday expressed apprehension over the emergence of democracy in the country before a state, saying that this had imposed various challenges on the nation and her citizenry. According to him, while democracy in the western world, especially in United States of America has continued to flourish based on established moral values and ability to serve, that in Nigeria is driven by sheer sentiment anchored on tribalism, geographical and religious backgrounds even as national power has become a national cake. The governor who spoke at an interactive session with newsmen to mark the 2018 democracy day celebration in Owerri raised the alarm that religious sentiment had derailed democratic process in the country hence we do not see democracy as it should be. Here, the Boko Haram sect and Hausa/Fulani herdsmen continue to torment us and we have not come together to fight these monsters. Some people see the Boko Haram issue and that of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as Hausa and Igbo affairs but this perception cannot help us. The governor who faulted the conception of zoning of political offices in the state by some individuals noted that the primordial sentiment of zoning has left the state in perpetual bondage. He advised politicians angling for elective positions to tread softly and to play the game according to the rule in order not to overheat the system. I am marking a state of equilibrium in the politics of Imo state and I urge all politicians warming up for the 2019 elections to embrace peace and to go about their activities in line with the guidelines provided by INEC because the beauty of power is the restraint in the abuse of power. Okorocha who recalled his miraculous victory at the polls in 2011 and in 2015 and the circumstances that emboldened him to join the APC urged politicians from the opposition parties who recently defected to the APC to abide by the constitutional registration provisions of the party. He dismissed the local government, ward and state congresses of the party held in the state by some aggrieved APC members as a sham, insisting that he still remains the pillar and leader of the party in the state. On the Crises in his Party APC arising from the Congresses, the governor said the Challenges will surely be dealt with by the new leadership of the Party that will succeed the current one. Yet, the only credible option is still APC and we must work harder to bring succor to the people. Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi acknowledging cheers from jubilant residents of the state during the 2018 Democracy Day cerebration held at the Michael Okpara Square, Enugu, yesterday. PMB s Democracy Day Speech Hollow, Says PDP BY CHIBUZO UKAIBE, Abuja Wednesday, May 30, 2018 The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the Democracy Day address by President Muhammadu Buhari as uninspiring, hollow and full of false performance claims, noting that it reflects his aloofness from the plight of Nigerians The PDP while describing the address as the worst since President Buhari took office in 2015, said it was garnished with a list of phantom projects and executive regurgitations, inherently designed by his handlers to sway Nigerians and divert attention from the many failures of this administration. National publicity secretary of PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement added that The few Nigerians who bordered to listen to the address were miffed that, in the most insensitive manner, Mr. President failed to show the littlest empathy to millions of citizens groaning under the worst form of poverty, starvation and economic hardship occasioned by his misrule. The party added noted that President Buhari s aloofness to the plight of Nigerians is manifest in all the lines of the speech, stressing that it didn t address issues agitating the minds of Nigerians. In fact, no line in the supposed Democracy Day Address had any inclination towards justice for victims of abuse of human rights, reported executive high-handedness, illegal arrests and detentions, extra-judicial executions as well as victims of killings and daily bloodletting in Benue, Taraba, Zamfara, Kaduna,Plateau, Borno, Kogi, Yobe and other parts of the country, by insurgents and marauders. Mr. President, on Democracy Day, had no words of assurance on the unrelenting violation of our constitution; assault on the National Assembly and erosion of personal freedom of citizens. The President said nothing on the humonguous corruption going on under his administration, where APC leaders and cabal at the Presidency have stolen over N10 trillion, mainly from a sector under his direct supervision. PDP also noted that the fact that the President had no committing words towards the conduct of free, fair and credible 2019 general elections, apparently overwhelmed by the avalanche of his public rejection ahead of the polls. Incredibly, Mr. President s handlers chose to subject him to a fantasy trip, making false performance claims with phantom projects, muddling up economic statistics DEMOCRACY DAY and ended up worsening his already diminished public perception. This is exactly why the PDP had earlier advised President Buhari not to border to address Nigerians on Democracy Day. The PDP notes that Nigerians have reached a consensus that the 2018 Democracy Day celebration is the last for the Buhari Presidency and the APC. Our citizens have endured under the misrule of the APC, keeping their hopes in the 2019 elections to get back our democracy on the platform of the repositioned PDP. In solidarity with Nigerians, the National Working Committee of the PDP has already held a meeting where it reviewed the circumstances and will formally address Nigerians on the issues of misrule of our nation in the last three years, the party said. Nigerians Are True Heroes Of Democracy Bello BY SAM EGWU, Lokoja Kogi State governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello described Nigerians as true heroes of democracy as he felicitates with them and the great People of Kogi State on the occasion of 2018 Democracy Day. In a Statement signed by Director-General, Media and Publicity, Kingsley Fanwo, the governor congratulated the people on the attainment of 19 years of the Fourth Republic which began with the adoption of the Fourth Republican Constitution on May 29, Bello explained that though the quality of leadership and the nation s fortunes during the period should definitely have been better, Nigerians should nevertheless be proud that the country continues to extend her longest period of multi-party Democracy since Independence. The governor noted that during this period, baring slight differences in electoral schedules due to Judicial interventions, the country and the 35 States, excluding the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja which naturally do not elect Governors, have successfully transmitted power through the ballot box, from government to government, and from one party to another, a record 4 times. Governor Bello described successful transitions as one of the most critical incidents of a deepening Democracy, stating that beyond the chronological significance, Democracy Day, 2018 must be seen as a reminder that Democracy is work in progress and though much work remains undone in the nation s quest for greatness, plenty has also been achieved. The Kogi State helmsman noted that given the inherited challenges, the last 3 years under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari with the All Progressives Congress (APC), as ruling Party has been the most challenging and at the same time the most rewarding period of Nigeria s Fourth Republic. Bello who was sworn into office on January 27, 2016 noted that the two and a half years of his Administration has been dedicated to carrying out desperately needed reforms, admitting however that his task in cleaning up the Civil Service and Pensions administration in the state would have been faster, and less painful on everyone, if he had inherited structures from previous administrations, no matter how minimal, to help kick-start the process. He pointed out that those states in the federation which had seen incremental development during the Fourth Republic were those where visionary administrators worked hard to lay enduring foundations for their successors to build upon. The governor promised Kogites that success would be much easier for those who will succeed him in office in the fulness of time as he was working hard to put the state on autopilot towards rapid development through the automation of government processes and institutions. We ve Reduced Cost Of Running Govt el-rufai BY AZA MSUE, Kaduna Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-rufai yesterday said the people are the heroes of democracy just as he paid tribute to Nigerians who have sustained the country and its governance since In his broadcast on the occasion of Democracy Day, el-rufai, noted that there have been many challenges and tensions in the past 19 years, but people have persevered, firmly rejecting the discredited claims of unelected messiahs. The governor, while saying democracy is the achievement of people added that Nigerians have learnt to make their voices heard clearly at the ballot box. el-rufai noted that, in 2015, the democratic defeat of incumbents that had been happening at the sub-national level since 2003 was finally extended to the federal level. According to the governor,in the last three years, his administration has reduced the cost of running government placing the interest of the people at the POLITICS NEWS 35 heart of governance agenda. el-rufai, noted further that the present leadership in the state introduced the Treasury Single Account, commenced Zero-based budgeting and aligned the fiscal and calendar years. In a democracy, the people are the masters, and no one in Nigeria can doubt that. Citizens have taken active control of choosing who their leaders should be. From those they have chosen, the people expect service and leadership, not the sort of cowardice, policy vacuum, absence of values and intellectual bankruptcy that masquerades as populism. People choose leaders to lead them to a better place, not maroon them in complacent backwardness. In Kaduna State, our people have this month provided a ringing endorsement of the programmes of our APC government. The local government elections of May 2018 showed that the people of Kaduna State are far ahead of the legion of political contractors that have for so long placed their own interests ahead of the people s.

36 36 NATIONAL NEWS Wednesday, May 30, 2018 Coy Embarks On Campaign Against Underage Drinking BY ONYEANUNA ONYEDIKA- CHI, Abuja In further demonstration of its commitment to the responsible use of alcohol in society, 28 schools in Lagos, Nigeria, have benefitted from an innovative corporate social responsibility project by Guinness Nigeria Plc tagged, SMASHED. The SMASHED Project is a live theatre/drama performance delivered to year olds (SS1-SS3 students) in government and private schools across Lagos State by professional actors, along with followup interactive workshops. The initiative took into consideration the Nigerian culture by engaging young people in a safe and motivational learning environment, enabling them to understand the consequences of underage and binge drinking. Speaking at the event, managing director/chief executive officer, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr Peter Ndegwa, stated that the company s Underage Alcohol Education Programme is aimed at reducing the incidence of alcohol related harm amongst young people. Between the ages of 14 and 17, young people are most vulnerable to different societal burdens such as peer pressure and the need to fit in; this sometimes causes them to make uninformed decisions, Ndegwa said. According to him, schools are an important setting for interventions aimed at shaping behaviour among the youths because no other community institution has as much continuous and intensive contact with young people. And this is why Guinness Nigeria decided to implement the SMASHED programme in 28 government and private schools across Lagos State, Mr Ndegwa reiterated. Zamfara Hisba Empowered To Prosecute Offenders BY UMAR MOHAMMED, Gusau Worried by high rate of social vices in the state, Zamfara State government has provided a legal framework empowering state Hisba commission to effect investigation, arrest and prosecution of persons allegedly committing vices. Assenting to the bill of the state House of Assembly on the powers of the state Hisba Commission, Governor Abdul-Aziz Yari said the government was seriously concerned with rampant cases of vices in the state. He attributed the current insecurity to the high rate of social vices being committed in the state. According to him, the new legal framework for the Hisba Commission would empower the members of the commission to arrest and investigate suspects. He said with such powers vested on the Hisba commission, its operatives now have mandate to arrest and prosecute offenders without hindrance. Oyo Attracted $61m Direct Foreign Investments BY ADEBAYO WAHEED, Ibadan Oyo State governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi has disclosed that more than $61 million (N22.4bn) has been attracted to the state as foreign direct investment in the last seven years. The governor declared that his administration had delivered dividends of democracy to the people of the state in the last seven years. The governor s, Special Adviser, Communication and Strategy, Mr. Bolaji Tunji in a statement issued in Ibadan, gave his administration a pass mark, particularly in infrastructure Shehu Sani Expresses Mixed Feelings On PMB s Administration Senator Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna Central) has expressed mixed feeling on the three years administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Sani, who is the chairman, Senate Committee on Domestic and Foreign Debts, said in an interview in Kaduna Sponsor Of #NotTooYoungToRun Bill Tipped To Succeed Okorocha BY ADEBIYI ADEDAPO, Abuja The member of the House of Representatives, representing Oshodi/ Isolo federal constituency II, Hon Tony Nwulu has been favoured by a group of Imo youths to run as governor. A group of Imo youths under the aegis of Imo Renewal Youth Movement conveyed the message during a courtesy visit to the lawmaker at the National Assembly. State coordinator of the movement, Mr. Chukwu Kelechi, while delivering his message noted that Imo youths from the three senatorial districts have endorsed Nwulu s aspiration. We are tired of recycling old names in Imo State politics, we want a youthful governor and we have all endorsed Hon. Nwulu. Incidentally he is the sponsor of the #NotTooYoungToRun bill, there must be something the people of Oshodi/ Isolo see in him, but we are appealing to them to please release him to his home state, the coordinator said. Nwulu in his response challenged the youths to mobilise themselves in support of his aspiration. I will heed to your call, and I wish to let you know that, when elected, the leadership is going to be decentralised. But you must assure me that come 2019, you will vote and protect your votes and none of you will be used to perpetrate violence, he said. He however assured that young Nigerians would dominate 70 per cent Minimum Wage Will Not Be Ready By September FG BY MICHAEL OCHE, Abuja Workers expecting quick passage of the new minimum wage currently under negotiation may have to wait longer. This is because the federal government yesterday said contrary to earlier expectation, the minimum wage will not be ready by September of The tripartite committee negotiating the new minimum wage had earlier set end of third quarter for the actualisation of the bill but minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige told journalists yesterday that the September date was just a date development, security, education, agriculture and health care. According to him, his administration has built more roads than all the previous administrations combined since the inception of the Fourth Republic. He listed some of the completed roads to include the dualisation of strategic township roads in Ibadan such as Toll Gate interchange- Challenge; New Garage-Toll Gate Interchange and Onireke-Jericho- Aleshinloye- Dugbe-Agbarigo road, as well as dualisation of major township roads in Oyo, Ogbomoso and Iseyin. Ongoing roads include Eleyele- yesterday that in spite of visible achievements, the administration scored low in some areas. The nation under this government has recorded achievements in the areas of fighting corruption, self-sufficiency, economy and completion of projects. to conclude negotiation on the issue of minimum wage. According to Ngige who spoke to journalists at his residence in Abuja the committee on the new National Minimum wage, at the conclusion of its report in September will present its report to the government for deliberation and approval before an executive bill is sent to the National Assembly on the issue. The minister also raised concern on capacity of states to pay a new minimum wage. LEADERSHIP recalls that some states of the federation are still Ologuneru-Eruwa road, dualisation of Saki township roads, Idi-Ape-Basorun- Akobo-Odogbo Barracks Junction road; as well as the expansion of Oke Adu-Iwo road. He did not leave out the construction of the Mokola flyover, the first to be done by any civilian administration in the state, as well as the revived Ibadan Circular Road project, which had remained a dream in the last 15 years. He added that the first phase of the project had been awarded to ENL Consortium Limited at the cost of N70 billion, under a build, operate and So, if we look around very well, we will realise that this present administration has delivered on its campaign promises and has also lived up to the speech delivered during the inauguration three years ago. Sani, a human right activist, however, struggling to pay the current minimum wage of N18,000 and also raised such concerns during the public hearing on minimum wage held in the six geopolitical zones of the country. According to Ngige, in the course of the zonal public hearings, many state governments made different submissions ranging from N22,000 monthly to N58,000, adding that the governors were also of the believe that for the new minimum wage to become effective, the current revenue allocation formula will have to be reviewed in favour of the states and local government. L-R:Managing Director, Collingwood Learning, United Kingdom, Mr. Chris Simes; Sustainable Development and Alcohol in Society Manager, Guinness Nigeria, Mrs Titilola Alabi; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Guinness Nigeria, Mr. Peter Ndegwa; Assistant Director, Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs), Federal Ministry of Health, Mrs Amadi Dorothy; Corporate Relations Director, Guinness Nigeria, Mrs Viola Graham-Douglas, and Founder/CEO, Rue 14 Studios, Lagos, Ms Keke Hammond, at the official launch of the Smashed Project, held in Terra Culture, Lagos. transfer arrangement. The governor also said the infrastructure upgrade included the urban flood management initiative targeted at checking the reoccurrence of the 2011 flooding in Ibadan, which consumed many lives and property. He said the government had also tackled the perennial water shortage, which residents of Ibadan had been experiencing, by carrying out wholesale rehabilitation of Asejire Waterworks and also recently flagged off rehabilitation works on the Eleyele Dam, which was badly hit by the 2011 flood disaster. scored the administration low in the areas of respect for human rights and the protection of human lives. He also expressed concern over alleged attempt by the executive to encroach on the separation of power principle enshrined in the country s constitution. of his cabinet, if elected. I am overwhelmed by this request, no-one wants to be called when things are bad, everyone prefers when it s good. Anyone who is called upon to come and serve Imo will be weary, if the person really believes in true leadership, he said. Nwulu alleged that Imo State had been ran aground by visionless leaders, adding that only integrity, dedication and determination can rescue the state. He said further that some states are also of the view that the minimum wage should be maintained at the current N18,000 in view of the inability of some states to pay the current wages. He said that even though it was not an easy task, the committee was making progress in its assigned responsibility, pointing out that it was in order to carry everybody along, including the states and private sector, that six governors were selected to be members of the committee as well as representatives of the organised private sector.

37 NCWS Makes Case For United Nigeria BY BLESSING BATURE, Abuja Wednesday, May 30, 2018 NATIONAL NEWS 37 The president of the National Council of Women s Societies (NCWS), Dr. (Mrs.) Gloria Laraba Shoda, has called on Nigerians to continue to work together for a united and strong democratic country. While congratulating Nigerians for another successful marking of Democracy Day, Dr Shoda enjoined them to continue to have faith that Nigeria will flourish and thrive as a vibrant nation. She said that in spite of some unpleasant incidents that have ravaged the country in recent times, Nigerians are strong and resilient people; noting that although in some parts of the country especially in the Middle Belt there have been difficult and sad periods, Nigerians should stay optimistic and committed towards building a better, stronger and greater nation. According to her, Nigerians sacrificed greatly to attain democracy and we should never forget the fallen ones who paid the supreme price for the rest of us, hence we should continue to strive towards remaining as one people who strongly believe and will uphold the tenets of democracy. Through our patriotic actions, we must continue to seek ways to entrench democratic values in our communities, she added. She also implored Nigerian women to continue to support and uphold their homes and local communities which, serve as cradles for nurturing and raising coming generations. Firm Trains Youths On Positive Thinking, Entrepreneurship Devt BY JULIANA AGBO, Abuja A business solutions firm, Aquarian Consults, yesterday, organised a one-day positive thinking and entrepreneurship development Masterclass for upwardly mobile youths based in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The training which was facilitated by the group executive director, MRS Holdings Ltd Lagos, Amina Maina, had trainees drawn from several tertiary institutions. Maina tasked the youths to believe in their abilities and see obstacles as opportunities to make advancements in life. According to her, Positive thinking is something that has to come from within an individual. Youths have to believe in themselves and be confident. They may have obstacles and challenges but they don t have to let those hindrances stop them from translating their dreams to reality. She urged business and political leaders across the country to invest more in youth mentorship. BY RICHARD NDOMA, Calabar The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, yesterday, warned Nigerians to stop the habit of making hate speeches which are capable of tearing the country apart. Onaiyekan, gave the warning while preaching at the handing over and dedication of Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church, WMD: Dano Set To Break Guinness Book Of World Records BY HANNAH ONI, Lagos In its strategic move to promote milk as a source of good nutrition in Nigeria, Dano milk said it would break the Guinness Book of World Records, as it prepares to celebrate the 2018 World Milk Day (WMD) in Nigeria, on June 1. Beyond setting a new record in NIMC, NOA Partner On National Identity Card BY ERNEST NZOR, Abuja The National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, is collaborating with the National Orientation Agency, NOA, towards sensitising Nigerians on the need to enroll for National Identity card. The director general, NIMC, Mr Aliyu Aziz, stated this during a press briefing in Abuja. He said the partnership is informed by the fact that many Nigerians, especially at the grassroots, are unaware of the ongoing and continuous national identity cards registration by NIMC. Aziz said, We will involve the state and local governments in getting biodata of the citizens. We are also collaborating with banks across the country to get Bank Verification Number of citizens to enrich our database, about three million of them are being processed. He said that additional 50 million Nigerians would be enrolled before the end of 2018 while revealing that the organization would scale up the number of registration centres from 900 to 4,000. Director General of NOA, Dr. Garba Abari said, The identity number should be the main thing not the card, because the number is what make the difference. We have to take the campaign to the grassroots because when it comes to getting bio-data of citizens, some people begin to suspect that it is for Group Hails PMB For Curtailing Corruption BY TUNDE OGUNTOLA, Abuja A political group, Mayokun Ilo Campaign Organisation (MICO) has commended President Muhammadu Buhari s efforts in stemming the tide of corruption in the country. Acknowledging that Nigeria s potentials are limitless, in a statement signed by Engr Mayokun Ilo on behalf of the campaign organisation, it urged government at all levels to take advantage of the national and built by Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba and wife Amaka, in his hometown, Akparabong, community in Ikom local government area of Cross River State. The cleric stressed that it was not just enough to build the beautiful edifice which Ndoma-Egba claimed was a fulfillment of a promise that he made when he was 11 years old saying that as a Christian he had no option other than to fulfill the promise. the segment, Dano milk is keen on intensifying conversations on milk drinking and healthy living. The record will be set at a special World Milk Day celebration in Lagos with key members of the public such as office of the First Lady Lagos State, representatives of the Ministry of Health, State Ministry of Education and Nutrition international support it enjoys to reform Nigeria and make the nation great. Ilo who is a gubernatorial aspirant under the APC platform in Ogun State, said democracy all over the world has proven to be the most sustainable system of government, adding that Nigeria is seen to be blessed having gone through 19 years of uninterrupted democratic governance. The statement reads in part, In the same vein, the administration of Senator Ibikunle Amosun in Ogun State is The cleric said, The church of God is supposed to be a sign and instrument of what great things God is doing in our world. Our church should be a sign of the goodness of God so that anybody who has seen the church will say this is how God s community should be. This is particularly important today when religion has almost become something else. With harsh language, hate speech, and always Society of Nigeria on June 1. Speaking on the significance of the event the managing director, Mads Burmester said, One of our creative steps to boosting the 2018 World Milk Day is a Guinness Record event that will not only serve as a means to engage our customers but also emphasize the importance of milk to the human body. We celebrating seven years of purposedriven governance. On this memorable occasion, I extend heartfelt greetings to people of Ogun State in particular, and Nigerians in general for tirelessly steering a democratic system of government despite daunting national challenges. Democracy has given us the most inspiring opportunity to transform Nigeria into the nation we desire. What we celebrate today is an outcome of huge sacrifices made by Nigerians of all walks L-R: Chairman, Thompson and Grace Investment Ltd, Isaac Thompson Amos; vice chairman, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unltd, Udom Inoyo; Film maker, Wilfred Ukpong; Ute Huschert and President of German Film Producers Association, Mr. Wolfgant Jo Huschert, at the presentation of an award by Nigerian Ambassador to Germany, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar in Abuja, recently. Onaiyekan Warns Nigerians Against Hate Speech believing it is just me and my religion, others are finished. The Christian faith, particularly the Catholic church, is wonderful but please let us not forget that God has given us a wonderful community. We must be signs and instruments of his mission on earth. We should be found to be constantly there working for peace and love. Not just thinking only about how we can be saved, how we can prosper against others. No. will be partnering the Nutrition Society of Nigeria (NSN), Lagos State Ministries of Health and Education to initiate and drive conversations this year with #RaiseAGlass and #NourishNaija. According to the marketing manager, Ifunanya Obiakor, Dano is championing the World Milk Day celebrations as a foremost advocate of dairy political purpose or taxes. We are poised to change this perception; sharing flyers and talking on TV and radio alone is not enough. Talking to them directly by their own people will help convince them, he said. According to him, the information about outlets for enrolment was also important, adding that people come from far distance to the NIMC headquarters because they are not informed about other outlets. of life. Ogun State under the leadership of SIA has become a reference point of excellence among the comity of states through the development-centre policies of the modern day architect of New Ogun, aimed at improving the quality of life of the citizenry. I celebrate with all Nigerians for the milestone and urge us to see a glorious nation ahead. Happy Democracy Day. parties at the same time, it is criminal.

38 38 NATIONAL NEWS Wednesday, May 30, 2018 PMB Will Hand Over On Next Democracy Day - Secondus BY CHIBUZO UKAIBE, Abuja The national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday predicted that President Muhammadu Buhari is celebrating his last Democracy Day today as the country cannot afford him further if our democracy and nation are to survive. Prince Secondus prayed that Nigeria should never have a non-democrat like President Buhari have access to power. The PDP national chairman, in a statement signed by his media aide, Ike Abonyi, said Nigerians are anxiously looking forward to the opportunity to dispense with the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC) and the President. Secondus who expressed sympathy with Nigerians for finding themselves in what he called a horrible situation, charged them to take their destiny in their hands by collecting and properly using their PVCs to save democracy and indeed save Nigeria by voting out the APC. The statement reads, If Democracy must survive in our country we must do away with APC and Nigerians are ready and willing to do just that because they cherish democracy as the best form of government. Going by their poor record of performance in the last 36 months, and the determination of Nigerians to put the country in the right footing, this is the last Democracy Day this President will mark. Their agenda now is to intimidate, harass and scare opponents to create a Police state with the aim of turning the country into one party state but it must be resisted by Nigerians who passed similar road before and came out victorious. RTEAN President Applauds PMB Administration BY ERNEST NZOR, Abuja Executive national president, Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria, RTEAN, Alhaji Musa Shehu Isiwele has applauded the performance of President Muhammadu Buhari s administration for the past three years. Speaking to newsmen in his office in Abuja, Isiwele, said that the president s fight against corruption has revealed many that looted Nigeria s money which should be used to better the lives of the ordinary Nigerians. He urged President Buhari to continue the fight against corruption until all the money looted from the nation s treasury is recovered and is used to reposition the economy of Nigeria. He said, President Buhari has performed excellently for this period of three years, especially in the areas of fighting corruption, power supply among others. I must commend him and I also give him kudos for that outstanding performance. 2019: Shiekh Gumi Urges Electorate To Vote Out Unproductive Politicians BY ISAIAH BENJAMIN, Kaduna As the race to 2019 general elections gathers momentum, a famous Kaduna Islamic scholar, Sheihk (Dr) Ahmad Abubakar Mahmud Gumi has called on the electorate to ensure that only politicians with track record of performance are voted into positions of leadership at all levels of governance. Sheihk Gumi stated this as a National Day Of Mourning: IPOB Cancels Sit-At-Home Order BY OKECHUKWU OBETA, Awka Radio Biafra broadcast at 7am, yesterday, monitored in Awka, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Lagos and Owerri has announced the cancellation of sit-at-home directive issued by the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) on the Ndigbo on May 30, 2018 to commemorate a 9mobile Moreblaze Wins 3 Top Cristal Awards BY ERNEST NZOR, Abuja Leading telecommunication company, 9mobile, has earned more international recognition with the advertising campaign for its reloaded data service, moreblaze, winning three top awards at the just concluded African Cristal Awards in Marrakesh, Morocco. 9mobile shone brightly at the prestigious African Cristal Festival as moreblaze won three bronze awards in the Film African Cristal - Media Category; Film African Cristal - Telecommunications Category; and Film African Cristal - Brand Entertainment & Content for TV/ Cinema Category respectively. The annual African Cristal Awards also dubbed African Cristal Festival, rewards the best advertising campaigns created and broadcasted over the African continent on any media. Commenting on the awards, Vice President, Marketing, 9mobile, Adebisi Idowu, said the African Cristal Awards affirmed the unwavering commitment of 9mobile to creativity, which reflects in its continuous development and offering of innovative products and services typified by the trailblazing moreblaze data offering, and complementary advertising campaign. As a leading telco in innovation, 9mobile is committed to leveraging technology to continue to offer its customers products and services that creatively empower them to exceed limits and solve everyday problems. 9mobile moreblaze typifies this commitment; we have demonstrated to Nigerians that it is possible to enjoy uninterrupted, superfast browsing and online streaming experience 24/7 without burning a hole in your pocket, SDP Suspends Deputy Chairman Over Anti-Party Activities BY GRACE FADAHSON, Abuja The Social Democratic Party, SDP, has suspended its national deputy chairman, Abdul Ahmed Isaq for 10 months for anti-party activities and financial misappropriation. A statement from the SDP ward chairman of Badarawa/Malali, Kaduna, Yunusa Sani Mohammad, said, The leadership of Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Badarawa/Malali Ward has suspended the party national deputy chairman, Abdul Ahmed special guest at the flag off of a weeklong free medical /eye surgery outreach for residents of Kaduna metropolis organised by a former House of Representative member, Hon Usman Shehu Bawa popularly known as Shehu ABG in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and Graceland Health Care Development Foundation for Kaduna residents. The Islamic scholar challenged the national day of mourning. According to a statement issued by Radio Biafra director, Mazi Ezenwachukwu Sampson Okwudili, following the removal of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu as director, and sequel to the acceptance of the authority of Ohaneaze Ndigbo as the supreme body that speaks for and on behalf of the Ndigbo, the sit-at-home order would not hold Ishaq base on the following reasons: anti-party activities and financial misappropriation. The party said his suspension from his ward was ratified by all the Ward s Executives (Excos) present at the last Ward Exco s meeting. Following this development Abdul Ahmed Ishaq is expected to stay away from any activities of the party for the period of ten months from 29th of May The leadership of Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Badarawa/Malali Ward appeals to all stakeholders of the party, wealthy individuals in the society to emulate Shehu ABG s gesture in touching the lives of people particularly the less privileged. According to him, rather than government spending funds on projects that has no direct impact on the citizens, projects such as provision of medical assistance among others would be a better option. He therefore called on the without the approval of Ohanaeze. He added that the Biafra struggle has been hijacked by some criminal elements bent on causing bloodshed and confusion in Igboland. The criminal group is hell bent on harassing and intimidating the Ohanaeze leadership led by Chief John Nwodo. IPOB supreme council therefore both at the ward, local government, state and national level to see his suspension as part of the beauty of democracy since is in line with our party s constitution. The ward chairman, Comrade Yunusa Sani Moh d who signed the suspension, said he hope to meet the National Working Committee of our party soon with all valid documents and other petitioners. His suspension has shown the level of internal democracy, discipline and respect for constituted authority, A cross section of students during the 2018 Space Ambassadors Scheme Science and Technology Workshop organized by the National Space Research and Development Agency in Abuja recently. electorate to ensure that people of questionable characters, some of whom have plunged the country into the present hardship and sufferings are not voted in The free medical/eye surgery outreach with over 2,000 persons benefitting took place at the Primary Health Centre Ungwa Shanu and Primary Health Centre Badarawa all in Kaduna north local government area of the state. wish to disassociate itself from the group currently led by one Comrade Emma Powerful, who has since been expelled by IPOB leadership, and is hereby warned to desist or face IPOB revolutionary justice, the broadcast concluded. It urged all people to go about their normal and lawful business activities as the sit-at-home order has been cancelled. he stated. Idowu added that the awards also spoke to the commitment of the telco to continuously deliver excellent service and also achieve positive growth, in spite of the challenging operating environment. Moreblaze is an affordable bestin-class high-speed broadband internet access and youth-centric data package that enables Nigerians to experience true browsing freedom void of defragmentation and channel noise, especially with video and audio experience real time. at all level in our great party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Our party strongly believes in the rule of law, zero tolerance to corruption and impunity. The ward chairman, had through a query letter dated 15th May, 2018 to the suspended officer said, Our party the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Badarawa/Malali ward, Kaduna has received a petition on your involvement in anti-party activities and shoddy financial dealings which is detrimental to the corporate existence of our great party and also amount to its sabotage.

39 Wednesday, May 30, THE capital NATION S NEWS AROUND THE CAPITAL CITY Kwali LG Boss Reassures Support For Distribution Of PVCs BY CECILIA OGEZI Chairman of Kwali area council, Hon Joseph Shazin has assured the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Council s support and assistance in the distribution of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) in the area. Shazin also disclosed that a committee has been set up to assist the INEC officials in the discharge of their duty, adding that there isthe need to sensitize people on the exercise. Earlier the INEC electoral officer, Ibrahim Umar, had explained that the meeting was necessitated by the need to have voters carddistributed effectively in the area council. Umar disclosed that the distribution is to be done in four centres,namely Kwali Central, Peyi Kundu, Yangoji, and Yebu Wako which, according to him, are the main registration centres with other wards attached to them. He also disclosed that the commission has received the delivery of PVCs registered between April and December 2017, adding that registration for 2018 would continue until the 27th of next month. The electoral officer noted that there was need for adequate sorting of cards and correction of names, adding that some PVCs might not be available in the batch in their possession. 2019: APC Chieftain Seeks Support For PMB s Re-election Bid BY IGHO OYOYO A political stalwart in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and former envoy to Gambian High Commission, Ambassador Ayuba Ngbako, has called on FCT indigenes to support the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari in Ngbako, who made the call when some indigenous youth leaders from various communities of Abuja paid him a courtesy visit, noted that President Buhari has demonstrated passion by including the indigenes in his government policies. He recalled that President Buhari was the first president of Nigeria to change district names in the territory from foreign names to indigenous names and also created nine local governments for the FCT in 1984 before it was trimmed down to four in Ngbako said that if FCT indigenes will come out en-masse to support President Buhari in 2019, he foresees the possibility of Buhari appointing a minister from FCT indigenes, approving a development commission for the FCT and having the integration of FCT communities passed into an act. He continued: The FCT youths should stop complaining and start seeing President Buhari as one of our own and learn how to channel our challenges through the FCT minister, Malam Bello Muhammed, who since inception of his resumption, has responded positively to many of our genuine calls. FG Should Establish Price Control Board Oba Yoruba BY DAVID ADUGE-ANI Oba Yoruba of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), HRM Oba (Dr.) Olusegun Salau has called on the federal government to establish a price control board to check the rising cost of goods and services in the country. In an interview with LEADERSHIP yesterday, Salau noted that President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, in the past three years, has made efforts to reduce the cost of goods and services by investing massively in agriculture, to ensure abundant food, as well as building of other infrastructure. The monarch, however frowned that despite these efforts, the cost of food stuffs and other essential materials in the markets have remain above the reach of the common man in Nigeria. He believes that the establishment of the price control board would check the high cost of goods and services, which he attributed to the handiwork of saboteurs, who do not want the present administration to succeed. My advice to the present administration is that they should establish a price control board to look into the high cost of goods and services in the country. I believe that there is an element of sabotage in the production, distribution and sales of local rice. Everybody is suffering. For instance, we are still buying a bag of local rice (50kg) for N18, 000, which is the same price we pay for the imported rice. If the effort of the administration in ensuring the production of local rice in the country is anything to go by, then the price should not be so high. Salau also advised Nigerians to support the second term bid of President Muhammadu Buhari to enable him consolidate on the achievements of his administration, adding, We should not spoil the good things he has done in the past three years. Candido Flags Off Sanitation, Community Dev t Initiative BY TARKAA DAVID Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon Abdullahi Adamu Candido has flagged off the environmental sanitation and community development initiative (ESCDI), to address environmental issues in Jabi axis of the council. Represented by the supervisory councillor for environment in (AMAC), Hon Murtala Usman Karshi, Candido explained that the decision became Members of National Democratic Solidarity Group (NDSG) during walk for free, fair and credible 2019 election, as part of activities to mark the 2018 Democracy Day in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO BY THEOPHILUS AKOR. necessary due to the fact that many illnesses today is as a result dirty and unsanitised environment. He pledged to ensure that the initiative yields success in making sure that the Jabi community is a model for others to emulate. Speaking earlier, the Esu of Maje, Chief Adams Jatau said the flag off ceremony of the environmental sanitation and community development initiative is demonstration vision being materialized, due to determination and commitment. This flag off shows that the efforts of our coordinator and PRO has not gone in vain, they had a vision and that vision has come to reality despite the daunting challenges, he said. Jatau also called on the residents to support the initiative to achieve a healthy environment because it would yield better life for the community. I urged everyone, who has a vision not to let it die. This initiative has materialized, because the people behind it never gave up on their dreams, he said. The coordinator of the initiative, Grace Richardson, explained that the project began 10 years ago with the drive to ensure safe and healthy environment for the community. Grace called on stakeholders in the environmental sector to support the initiative to rid the community of poor sanitation and enshrine a healthy and hazard-free community for all. MOSSAEX Inaugurates Leadership Clubs In Schools BY TARKAA DAVID Coordinator of Mobilisation of Schools and Students for Academic Excellence (MOSSAEX) project, Chidi Chukwuma Kelvin, has inaugurated the Petitkelvin Leadership Club in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Inaugurating the project at the weekend, Kelvin explained that the MOSSAEX project aims to motivate students for academic excellence, by conducting debates and quiz competition in schools and reward excellent performance. He noted that the move is to take cover by educating the children on what leadership entails and prepare them for leadership roles, adding that it would contribute to making Nigeria education sector great. We understand that education without extracurricular activities like debates and quiz competition deprives students the opportunities of exposure and interrelationships. We decided to inaugurate Petitkelvin Leadership Club to produce the youngest leader in the next 13 years. The coordinator also disclosed that about 60 schools, across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that participated in the competition would be used as pilot schools for the club. Also speaking, the wife of former vice president Atiku Abubakar, Mrs. Amina Titilayo Atiku commended the efforts of MOSSAEX project coordinator, adding that educating the Nigerian youths will address the challenges of drugs and other youths restiveness. Amina noted that education is the in thing in modern era and urged youths to embrace education for them to be able to harness their potentials, just as she called on government and other well meaning organisations to create awareness about the harmful effect of drugs abuse on the youths.

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44 44 ISSUES Wednesday, May 30, 2018 Benefits Of Polling To Elections In Nigeria BY MFON EYOMA There is virtually no other field of human endeavour where the prediction of outcomes is as critical as in today s big-budget politics. Polling is specialized research and typically conducted by large consulting firms and academia through telephone surveys and questionnaires that target population samples based on demographic and psychographic criteria. Polling most probably started in 1824 with exit or Straw Polls; impromptu interviews conducted by Newspapers with voters as they left the polling booth. However, George Gallup, who founded the American Institute of Public Opinion and The Gallup Poll in 1936 is credited as the father of scientific polling. The Gallup Poll was soon followed by The Public Opinion Quarterly of Princeton University in 1937, The Roper and Crossley Poll (FORTUNE Poll) in 1941, and the American Association for Public Opinion Research in Since then, pollsters have become an integral part of campaign teams, notably, Louis Harris (Harris Poll), in General Eisenhower s campaign in 1952 and Dr. Richard Wirthlin who became the first semi-official pollster when he joined President Reagan s White House staff as an adviser. More recently, UK s YouGov was founded by Stephan Shakespeare and Nadhim Zahawi in May Besides the well-established global research firms such as Gallup, YouGov and Pew, universities like Quinnipiac and Monmouth and broadcast media such as Reuters/Ipsos, ABC News/Washington Post,CBS/Tech Republic and CNN have large research consultancies or partner themselves to run polls. The need for polling in politics was underscored by Abraham Lincoln (U.S. President, ) when he famously declared, What I want to get done is what the people desire to have done, and the question for me is how to find that out exactly. Polling focuses political discourse on a topical issue and helps politicians assess public opinion and guide policy. In advanced democracies, the ballot routinely incorporates polling for so much public opinion on other issues that it can be rightly considered a national or state referendum. In the U.S. General Elections of 2016 voters were polled on other issues ranging from the economy, terrorism and supreme court appointments to gun control, immigration and abortion. Polling creates the avenue for public participation and a sense of involvement in governance especially when leveraged by an honest politician such as Abe Lincoln in the preceding paragraph. In fact, polling and freedom are so inseparable that dictators never risk independent opinion surveys. Besides its obvious application in the developmentof campaign strategy, polling is useful for formulating political ideology andpublic policy in a nascent democracy such as ours, and because they can be conducted for any purpose, they are a veritable tool not only in politics but also in business. Polls provide raw data that Predictive Analytics and Audience Insight tools analyse to understand the preferences and motivation of consumers and voters. Predictive Analytics is a pattern-recognition application that identifies behavior and unique behavioral connections. The Audience Insight app reveals, says Alexander Nix, CEO of data mining firm Cambridge Analytica in a recent interview, core personality traits and motivating triggers. Although Cambridge Analytica has been scandalized for its unauthorized mining and unethical use of personal data, the benefit of its technology in politics and commerce is hard to ignore. An online poll can reach a wider audience than traditional telephone surveys. With mobile devices and the internet, an online poll is just as easy to send to respondents in China as in Europe. This is of particular advantage in the global economy age where companies looking to expand into a new market would like to test public reaction to their product first. Political polling generally follows the sophistication of electoral systems and communication infrastructure of a country. Nigeria as an independent country is only 58 years old and our democracy is even much younger having been truncated for the larger part of those years. Our electoral system is still manual, and our telephone and postal systems were too poor to support traditional research methods of telephone surveys and questionnaires until about Our manual electoral system was further compounded by widespread irregularities and outright fraud so that ballot papers were not only unreliable by inaccessible to psephologists for any meaningful post-election analysis. Consequently, Nigeria did not begin to benefit from polls and surveys until the Internet and telecom boom which really began in With improved ICT infrastructure and the growth of Social Media, several organisations have contracted research firms to conduct online surveys mostly for purposes of testing new products and markets but the political polls niche is still untapped. Media organisations often run snap or call-in polls on topical political issues of the day to augment their news coverage but these are opaque efforts that do not show any relationship between the few participants and the larger populace from which a general trend may be gleaned. PollBook is a new platform to run polls, debate and vote on topical issues and mobilize support for popular action. It can leverage the Internet and New Media to generate public interest in politics especially among the millennials and then translate that interest to actual participation in the ballot and real actions that force policy and change. We have replicated the electoral system of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and designed the Register of Voters to capture details such as age, gender, religion, political affiliation, educational standard, occupation, state of origin, state of residence etc. Under the state of origin and state of residence we have further identified the voter by her local government area, ward, state and federal constituencies and senatorial districts. Nigerians abroad will be able to select their country of residence from a dropdown and equally participate in the polls. When we analyse poll results by these fields, we re able to predict a candidate s chances at the general elections with more reliable intelligence. All registration fields are non-mandatory but although non-registered or partially-registered users may also vote in the polls, we will know and disclose their numbers separately in our poll results. Currently, voters are restricted to fixed locations on Election Day but our system is deliberately more inclusive to generate the data required for a sustained and robust political discourse. For the candidates, our analysis of the results narrows the field to gain the intelligence required for political strategy and where more reliable data is required, we can verify a representative sample of voters through and phone calls. So now, if we run a poll to determine the approval rating of say, the president, we will not only find out if people are at all interested in rating the president but we will know the number and demographics of the participants and determine the success and reliability of the polls by the turnout of voters. Traditional polls have been long suspected of manipulation because they re not so transparent with their results, choosing to present them only in vague percentages with no indication of either their sample size or selection criteria. By creating an online Voters Register and mounting a sustained effort to drive participation, PollBoo can demystify polling. Eyoma is a pollster and CEO of Datavision Limited, an ICT company. Benue: Between Dangote Cement Plant And Peace In Host Communities BY SAMSON KUKWA YANOR Before Jacinto Miranda Leyva, the present Plant Director of the Dangote Cement Plc in Gboko Plant came on board, the relationship between the host community with the company was tensed and frosty. There was no mutual understanding between the company and the immediate host community of Mbayion. The tension had reached a peak in March, 2014 when seven youths were shot dead by soldiers drafted to guard the factory as was established by relevant authorities. The Company had actually been in existence for long and with no need to bring in soldiers to safeguard it, but the build-up of distrust between the locals and the management of the factory, accompanied by tension made the management to reach out for more security measures. Naturally the community bears the negative environmental effects of the mining.the company wasn t doing enough to ameliorate the suffering of the communities. The dam created by the company cause streams in the communities to dry up, earlier than usual. Many houses at Tse-Kucha, the Gboko surburbs that near the factory have had their seeming quakes due to the vibration from the blast of limestone at the factory. The quarry site which looks hideous and considered by many as expectant disaster is situated close to the busy Makurdi-Gboko- Katsina-Ala road that links the agrarian state to the north-eastern and eastern parts of the country respectively. Though the company have engaged in some form of corporate social responsibility (CRS) to the host community, the people felt it was grossly inadequate and not commensurate to what should be obtained, considering the company s status and the quarterly published turn-over. But worse, the host communities are shortchanged and deeply felt betrayed in the area of employment and job opportunities offered by the company. The host community is accusing the company of not respecting the constitutional quota to host communities in job placement, both at the higher and lower cadre of the workforce which is considered a deliberate way of neglect. The management on its own part have considered the host community somewhat insatiable and implacable. But since the coming of Miranda Leyva, the case is different. He changed strategy from maintaining the hostile stance especially the use of force by soldiers on the civilian populace which resulted to deaths. Now, he employed diplomacy and an all round public relations management strategy. The accumulated tension which was built to a frenzied level has peacefully lowered. The host community is however pleased, but not surprise when the company initiated and sponsored a youth soccer competition recently. Christined the Jacinto Levya- Mbayion Unity Cup Competition, no corporate social responsibility or community project by the company has so far matched the soccer tournament. It fostered the needed unity and mutual trust and cordial relations which is now restored. The Universal Basic Education (UBE) Primary School Amua, venue of the second edition of the competition attracted a mammoth crowd of enthusiastic youths, men, women and children, as well as the management of the Dangote Cement PLC Gboko plant. People had come from far and wide, and within the host community to watch the finals of the Jacinto Levya unity cup. Realistically, the jubilant and ecstatic attendance flashed in one s memory the defunct BCC Lions of Gboko. Benue Cement Company (BCC) now Dangote Cement Gboko Plant used to have one of the most formidable football teams on the African continent - the BCC Lions Football Club of Gboko. As it were, many youths from the state rose to represent the nation in the Super Eagles squad and remarkably played for different countries in the premiership leagues. In attendance during the tournament, Mr. Jonathan Torkuma Kunde, a seasoned administrator and Assistant General Manager (AGM) Special Duties whose office directly oversees community relations, is former chairman of the Gboko local government area where the company operates, and an indigene of Mbayion, the immediate host community. The most restive segment of the host community are the youths. Before now, there was always one agitation or the other by the youths. Now, with the soccer tournament, tension is diffused through a hand of friendship extended by the Plant Director and that hand of friendship has been accepted by a once wary and suspicious host community. Perhaps, it can be said that the Dangote Cement Company and the host community through the peaceful efforts of Jacinto Levya and Mr. Jonathan Kunde have gradually succeeded in ensuring peace and tranquility. Yanor, a member of Yion Development Association (YIDA) writes From Gboko, Benue State.

45 Wednesday May 30, 2018 ISSUES 45 JOHESU Strike, Health Ministry And Matters Arising BY ISMAILA JIKA Since the strike embarked upon by members of the Joint Health Sector Unions, JOHESU, entered the seventh week, thousands of patients on admission have been ejected from various hospitals wards across the country; forcing their family members to pay through the noses as they scramble to evacuate them to private hospitals. JOHESU began the strike on April 17, 2018 following the federal government s alleged failure to honour the agreement reached with them on 30th September While the Honourable Minister of Health at various meetings has maintained that the federal government has not been in default after considering all issues, JOHESU contended this and went on to publish the said agreement in the Daily Trust Newspaper of Saturday May 5, Going through the said published agreement reached on September 30th 2017, two things are clear. Either JOHESU is building its castle on a foundation of lies or the leadership of the Union does not understand simple English. Article two of the published agreement on the upward adjustment of the salary scale stated: the meeting noted that two different figures had been submitted to the NSIWC on separate occasions. It was observed that the figures are no longer realistic due to lapse of time. The NSIWC should therefore do a fresh computation based on new data consistent with the present reality. The FMOH is expected to make available necessary and required data to NSIWC to enable fresh computation. The newly computed figures will be forwarded by NSIWC to the FMOH for onward transmission for processing by the high level body of the government and thereafter to FMOH. This process Reforms: Pulling Down Multi-billion Naira Fraud Industry In Bayelsa BY FIDELIS SORIWEI When taking over the baton of leadership in Bayelsa in 2012, the Governor of Bayelsa, Henry Seriake Dickson, promised the citizenry a meticulous adherence to effective management of the resources of the state. He was firm in his declaration that the Restoration Administration would have no place for profligacy and a simmering culture of waste in the state. To show the magnitude and depth of his commitment to financial accountability and transparency, Dickson signed the Bayelsa State transparency bill into law. To him, the pursuit of transparency and accountability must flow from the Creek Haven seat of governance in the state. The law mandates the governor to brief the state on receipts from the Federation Account, internally generated revenue and expenditures in the state. In what was clearly a marked breakaway from a cruel tradition of the past, the governor affirmed his determination to ensure that revenue coming into the state were not shared to service the vast appetite of the elite political class to the detriment of the development of the state. Dickson vowed that funds coming into the state would be effectively utilized to address the challenge of development bedeviling the state entrusted into his care in should be completed within five weeks. Any intelligent or interested person would easily know that this section has not called for a circular and has not indicated that money has been approved. It only talked about processing by the high level body. It is therefore difficult to fathom that what is to be processed by HLB would be considered to be an approval for an allowance. I simply believe that what JOHESU is doing is to stampede and blackmail the Federal Government into paying an allowance that is yet to be approved. They have also gone ahead to turn this scenario into doctors versus non doctors affair which is most unfortunate. The Medical and Dental practitioners on the other hand, are covered under the umbrella of the Nigerian Medical Association, and it is to know that the former government, under Goodluck Jonathan, had entered into an agreement with the NMA on January 14, 2014 to maintain relativity in the Sector. The minister disclosed that government was doing everything possible to end the on-going strike, saying, Government has addressed 14 out of the 15 demands put forward by the union. He hinted that when the Buhari-led government came on board, JOHESU approached us that they had an agreement with government but we discovered that there was really no agreement with government. He noted that even when the late Honourable Minister of State, for Labour and Employment, Barr. James Ocholi, SAN, intervened in their matter, he demanded JOHESU to produce the claimed agreement but none was produced; as there was none. What they were able to provide were minutes of meetings held previously and we told them that no responsible government will implement minutes of previous meetings. Fourteen of the 15 point demands have been addressed over the last one and half years. The only one After four years of presiding over the affairs of the state, Dickson took the route avoided by his predecessors to take on ingrained corruption in the civil service. He holds the view that the desired development of Bayelsa must be anchored on a civil service that is vibrant and productive. He was fired by a compelling desire to introduce reforms to reposition a civil service that was in custody of a seemingly ineradicable rot and widespread fraud. Dickson was worried and genuinely too that Bayelsa State which is rated the least populated in the country has the largest civil service after Lagos and Kano! At his reelection for a second tenure in office in 2016, Dickson commenced a tortuous process of the implementation of the public sector reforms with the intent to free Bayelsa from the jugulars of payroll crooks and save endangered funds for development. It did not take too long for the multi sectoral public reform panel set up by the governor to come up with damning discoveries of large scale employment and financial fraud in the public sector. The civil service was replete with cases of people benefitting from multiple employments, persons working as senior civil servants with fake, computer generated certificates, those benefitting from indefensible promotions in a brazen violation of civil left is the salary adjustment, which we are currently meeting on, but JOHESU had always vehemently refused the government adjustment offers. In the recent past, we also saw in the print media, where the NMA president, warned the federal government against acceding to the demands by JOHESU, saying that doctors did not join the strike as the industrial action was targeted at medical doctors. He also spoke in defence of the health minister saying, he should not be held responsible for an agreement that was entered before he became Minister. The reactions across the states also show similar anger by the doctors. In Kaduna state, JOHESU strike has been described as a gang up against the Nigerian people and government for the purpose of sabotaging the genuine efforts being put in place to ensure a lasting peace and development of the country s health sector, noting that, JOHESU had refused to come to a tripartite round table discussion with the Ministry and NMA, where all grey areas among the Associations and Unions could have been resolved. This strike is an act of sabotage to health development and service delivery to Nigerians, and should not be condoned by Nigerians. It would be recalled that the National Industrial Court had last week ordered striking members of JOHESU to suspend the on-going strike and return to work. Justice Babatunde Adejumo gave the order after listening to the submissions of Mr Okere Nnamdi, in an ex-parte motion filed by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO). The NGO Incorporated Trustees of Kingdom Human Rights Foundation International, in the motion, prayed the court to order the workers to resume work and go back to the negotiation table. Justice Adejumo, who is also the President of NICN, ordered Minister service rules, pension fraudsters, age falsifiers, ghost workers, beneficiaries of inherited employments among others. Dickson was resolute in the bid to knock off ghost workers, over aged personnel, primary schools kids, dead workers, and Diaspora workers all drawing salaries from the state coffers. Two years of sustained hard work engendered by a painstaking implementation of the ongoing reforms and verification exercises introduced by the governor, have yielded some results. The total wage bill of the state which was put at over N5 billion and N1.7 billion in the eight local government areas in 2012 have been drastically reduced to about N4 billion including salaries of political appointees. Dickson also disclosed in a meeting of the State Executive Committee in November last year that Bayelsa was losing N1 billion per month to the payroll syndicate in the state. Dickson vowed that his administration would not embrace the sustenance of a status quo of fraud and outright criminality against Bayelsa and her citizens. We have lost almost one billion Naira per month to payroll fraud. We have to clean up this payroll mess. We have a little internally generated revenue, we have a difficult terrain, we have no support from the federal government, from corporate players who are milking us but are not helping us.. Dickson had said of Health as well as Minister of Labour and Employment, among others, to immediately set-up a committee to address issues raised by the health workers. The judge ordered that the parties should arrive at an acceptable and amicable solution in the interest of Nigerians who are bearing the brunt of the strike. The judge also ordered that the President and Vice President of JOHESU, should attend such negotiations. He said that the negotiations should take into consideration the provisions of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission Act. Respondents in the suit are the President and Vice President of JOHESU and National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission. In the meantime, the incorporated Trustees of Kingdom Human Rights Foundation International had threatened to file contempt proceedings against JOHESU President Mr. Josiah Biobelemoye, if he failed to call-off the nationwide strike. The group while insisting that the Minister of health should not be blamed for the industrial action, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to proscribe the Joint Health Sector Union, JOHESU, as an illegal association. In asking Buhari to proscribe JOHESU, the group called on Mr. President to invoke his powers under Section 1 of the Trade Disputes (Essential Services) Act. Briefing newsmen in Abuja on Friday, Executive Director of organisation, Mr Kingdom Okere, who was visibly angry, said the strike was illegal, unconstitutional, wicked, callous, a criminal breach of trust and ill-conceived. Okere stated that it was irresponsible and inhuman for JOHESU to embark on strike to demand for upward review of CONHESS salary scale, and employment of additional health professionals following similar demands by medical doctors. Apart from demanding the proscription of JOHESU, the group also threatened to commence contempt proceedings against officials of the Union if they fail to obey the court order and resume work by close of office on May 18. The reactions from JOHESU have always been inappropriate. They move from the standpoint that the court injunction was fake, then later they said they were not served but it is interesting to note that they have responded to the same court ruling by filing notice of appeal as well as stay of execution on which they are contesting issues in the same fake proceedings. It will be honourable for JOHESU to come out of these series of lies and go back to work by obeying court order given by the National Industrial court which is a court of competent jurisdiction. We are also glad to hear that the Nigerian Health Institution Chairmen, representing the committee of Chairmen of Teaching and other tertiary health institutions led by their protem chairman, Dr. Sam S. Jaja have also intervene in a bid to ensure that there is peace in the health sector. It is public knowledge that efforts are being made by the Federal Ministry of Health to strategise and ensure a harmonious working relationship among all health workers including doctors. This, we know, involves the setting up of a committee on critical labour issues affecting the health sector. All stakeholders must cooperate with government, and support the Minister of Health and his team, in bringing about a lasting solution to all the challenges in the health sector. Jika sent in this piece from Kano State With the emergent discovery of large scale fraud involving billions of state funds, the panel being coordinated by the Deputy Governor of the State, Gboribiogha Jonah, took the first major step to withhold the salaries of 4,204 suspected fraudsters from the payroll in November, The withheld salaries were paid into the Unpaid Salaries Account. Those affected include 1,329 local government employees, 2184 from the Primary School Education System and 707 from the pension payroll. However, the government constituted a judicial commission of inquiry under the leadership of Justice Doris Adokeme to hear complaints emanating from the implementation of the reforms as a deliberate bid to prevent the punishment of innocent workers. Yet, no less worrisome is the preliminary report by the State Government Committee on Civil Service Reforms in February, 2018 that over 8000 civil servants got their appointments through an illegal system of inheritance in the state. The names of the affected workers were smuggled into the payroll as replacement for their friends, parents and relatives who retired from the service. The panel also uncovered 500 administration officers in one local government area, (Sagbama) and 5000 non academic staff in the Niger Delta University and the other five stateowned tertiary institutions in Bayelsa. While the state awaits the final report of the panel on the mind boggling payroll debacle in Bayelsa by the end of May, 2018, the chairmen of the eight local government areas told a bewildered citizenry that the councils have recorded a wage bill reduction of N3.912 billion per annum as a direct consequence of the reforms. A preliminary report released by the committee also shows that the reforms have worked the additional magic of reducing the monthly salaries of teachers in the councils from N1.320bn to N1.027 bn per month. One critical outcome of the implementation of the ongoing reforms is the deployment of redundant workers to other agencies of goverment where they would have the opportunity to make input to the development of the state. As, it is, with all genuine reforms, there have been complaints and indeed outright blackmail orchestrated by the well-organized payroll syndicate to demonize the reforms. It is indeed a fact beyond contradiction that the ongoing reforms introduced by Governor Dickson signals the end of a cruel culture of entitlement and a regime of financial terror perpetrated by a greedy band of unscrupulous characters to the detriment of Bayelsa and her citizens. Soriwei is special adviser, (Media Relations) to Bayelsa State governor

46 46 world NEWS North Korea Envoy To Hold Talks In US On Summit A senior North Korean official is headed to New York for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the latest indication that an onagain-off-again summit between President Donald Trump and North Korea s leader may go ahead next month. We have put a great team together for our talks with North Korea, Trump said in a Twitter post yesterday. Meetings are currently taking place concerning Summit, and more. Kim Young (sic) Chol, the Vice Chairman of North Korea, heading now to New York. Solid response to my letter, thank you! Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the ruling Workers Party s Central Committee and formerly head of a top North Korean military intelligence agency, will meet with Pompeo later this week, the White House said. The United States continues to actively prepare for President Trump s expected summit with leader Kim in Singapore, it said in a statement. The North Korean envoy was scheduled to fly to the United States on Wednesday after speaking to Chinese officials in Beijing, South Korea s Yonhap news agency said. The talks show that planning for the unprecedented summit, initially scheduled for June 12, is moving ahead after Trump called it off last week in a letter to the North s leader, Kim Jong Un. A day later, Trump, who frequently exchanged insults with Kim Jong Un before they began talking about a summit, said he had reconsidered and officials from both countries were meeting to work out details. Tanzania govt Wins Court Case To Impose Online Regulations Tanzania s government won a court case yesterday against bloggers and activists who sought to block the enforcement of tough, new online content regulations that require them to be registered and declare their financial backers. Earlier this month, six human rights watchdogs, media organizations and bloggers successfully applied for a temporary court injunction against the rules. But the government overturned that injection at an appeal hearing on Tuesday in a case that activists have condemned as an attack on free speech. Following this ruling... owners of social media platforms that are used to disseminate news such as blogs, online TV and radio are required to continue with the registration process and observe ethics Hungary Aims To Criminalise Aiding Illegal Migration In Stop Soros Bill Individuals or groups who help migrants not entitled to protection to submit requests for asylum or who help illegal migrants to gain status to stay in Hungary will be liable to jail under a new bill submitted to parliament yesterday. In a separate bill, the government proposed amending the constitution to state that an alien population could not be settled in Hungary and foreign citizens could live in Hungary only if permitted by the national authorities. It also said that foreigners who sought to enter Hungary via a third country in which they were not directly exposed to persecution would not be outlined in the relevant regulations, government spokesman Hassan Abbasi said in a statement. The new rules require bloggers to pay a registration and license fee of up to $900 and disclose details of shareholders, share capital, citizenship of owners, staff qualification and training programs, as well as a tax clearance certificate to obtain an operating license from the regulator. Bloggers convicted of defying the new rules could be fined at least 5 million shillings ($2,200) or face imprisonment for a minimum 12 months, or both. Digital activists say the rules are the latest crackdown on dissent and free speech by President John Magufuli, who was elected in 2015 on pledges to speed up economic growth and rein in corruption. entitled to asylum. The proposed legislation, which was immediately condemned by the U.N. refugee agency, is part of rightwing Prime Minister Viktor Orban government s campaign against the EU s migration policies and against George Soros, a Hungarian-born U.S. financier known for funding liberal causes. The text of the legislation, known as the Stop Soros bill and posted on parliament s website said: Those who provide financial means... or conduct this organizational activity (for illegal immigration) on a regular basis will be punishable with up to one year in prison. Egypt s Sisi To Visit Sudan In October Amid Tensions Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-sisi will visit Khartoum in October to seal several bilateral deals, Sudan s foreign minister said yesterday during a visit to Cairo, at a time of fraught relations between the neighbors. Sudan banned the import of Egyptian farm produce last year over alleged use of pesticides and is in a longstanding dispute over territory in Egypt s south that Khartoum says is Sudanese. For its part, Egypt fears Sudan will support Ethiopia in its bid Italy s central bank warned yesterday the nation was only a few short steps from losing investors confidence, as financial markets suffered the biggest selloff in years on fears that repeat elections would become a proxy vote on euro membership. Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco raised the alarm as investors dumped Italian bonds, causing the biggest one-day leap in shortterm market interest rates in almost three decades, and as the head of state sought to install a stopgap government. We must never forget that we are only ever a few short steps away from the very serious risk of losing the irreplaceable asset of trust, Visco said. South Africa s parliament passed a national minimum wage bill yesterday by an overwhelming majority, part of an effort by President Cyril Ramaphosa to tackle strikes and wage inequality. The measure, opposed by the official Democratic Alliance (DA) opposition party, will see millions of workers earn 3,500 rand ($277) a month. It was initially meant to be introduced earlier in May in a bid to boost the economy. The bill will be sent to parliament s upper house for ratification and becomes law once it is signed by Ramaphosa. Supporters of the minimum wage say it will reduce inequality and stimulate economic growth as workers spend more. to quickly fill a reservoir behind the mega-hydroelectric dam it is constructing on the Nile. Cairo is concerned the dam could wreak havoc on its sensitive water supply but Sudan has supported it because of its need for electricity. (Sisi s) visit will be to partake in the (bilateral) high joint committee and there are a lot of agreements that will be completed, Al-Dirdiri Mohamed said. He did not give a date for the visit or details of agreements that may be signed. Italy Central Bank Raises Alarm Over Political Crisis Malaysia s new government has promised to release a long-awaited report into the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 as a privately funded underwater search ended yesterday. Flight MH370, carrying 239 people, vanished enroute from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, becoming one of the world s greatest aviation mysteries. President Sergio Mattarella has designated former International Monetary Fund official Carlo Cottarelli as prime minister to calm political and market turmoil, which Italy s two antiestablishment parties blame on the head of state. Cottarelli, 64, is set to announce his cabinet on Tuesday after a meeting with the president at 1430 GMT, two days after Mattarella had vetoed the two parties choice of a eurosceptic as economy minister in their wouldbe coalition government. The 5-Star Movement and the far-right League, the biggest winners from inconclusive elections in March, abandoned plans to take power after the Critics say it could lead to increased unemployment, already at record highs, because some employers won t be able to afford higher wage bills. Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant said the bill could address the perennial wage inequality and poverty in South Africa. I am very pleased that the journey towards addressing the plight of the lowest paid workers in the labor market has reached this milestone, Oliphant told parliament. The minimum wage bill was one of a raft of labor-related bills passed by parliament and which has drawn criticism from some trade unions worried that policies aimed at preventing prolonged The government of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said last week that U.S. seabed exploration firm Ocean Infinity, which had scoured the southern Indian Ocean for the aircraft since January, would end its hunt on Tuesday. The previous administration of Najib Razak, who was defeated in a stunning election upset on May 9, had promised up to $70 million Wednesday, May 30, 2018 Sisi president s move, switching immediately to election mode. The 5-Star called for him to be impeached. The euro zone is watching the turmoil in its third-largest economy with concern: French President Emmanuel Macron defended Mattarella s courage and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke of the need to observe rules governing the euro zone. Investors believe Cottarelli will fail to pass the 2019 budget, triggering elections in the autumn when 5-Star and the League could win yet more seats. The campaign is likely to center on the ideas of the parties preferred economy minister, Paolo Savona, 81, who South African Parliament Approves National Minimum Wage Bill and violent strikes contained in the bills would dilute worker rights. Thousands of union members protested against the proposed minimum wage in April, saying it was inadequate. However, labor federation Cosatu, the country s biggest union which is also part of the ruling alliance with the African National Congress, welcomed parliament s decision. The minimum wage of 20 rand per hour will see the wages of 6.4 million South Africans rise. This is equal to 47 percent of workers and will directly benefit half the nation, Matthew Parks, Cosatu s parliamentary coordinator, said in a statement. MH370 Families Await Report As Search Ends For Missing Plane to the Texas-based firm if it found the plane within 90 days. Malaysia s transport minister, Anthony Loke, said a full report into MH370 s disappearance would be published in the near future, but he did not give a date. I can assure you the final report will be published with full disclosure. There will not be any edits, or anything hidden, he told reporters late on Monday.

47 sports Wednesday, Supreme Court Verdict: Stay Action On Election Plans, Dalung Tells NFF The Nigeria Football Federation has been urged to shelve all plans for elections into the next board and concentrate on the forth coming FIFA World Cup in Russia. The Minister of Youth and Sports Barrister Solomon Dalung made the remark in Port Harcourt after the Super Eagles were held to a 1-1 draw by visiting Simba of DR Congo in a farewell/ friendly game at the Adokiye Amesiemeka stadium. The Minister noted that the Federal government has invested so much towards qualifying and achieving a respectable World Cup result, stressing that a call for purchase of forms and setting up of an electoral committee at this time was a distraction to the team s preparation. He added that the elections should be suspended pending the outcome of legal advice from the Attorney- General on the decision of the Supreme Court s verdict on the leadership crises in the federation. The NFF should put everything concerning elections and electoral committees on hold and concentrate on the World Cup preparation which is more important to the passion of the country. The country has invested so much right from the campaign for a ticket till date so we cannot afford any distractions in the name of elections. The World Cup and elections cannot be pursued concurrently. Therefore all issues on the next elections into the NFF board should be suspended pending the outcome of legal advice from the Attorney- General on the decision of the Supreme Court on the current crises in the Federation. Barrister Dalung called the attention of the Federation to the Supreme Court s verdict and warned that calling for elections without legal advice from the Attorney-General will further generate confusion and distraction. He advised that all efforts should be tailored towards mobilizing support for the team to the World Cup which is the most important and paramount thing to do at this time. WORLD CUP PMB To Send Forth Eagles Today BY SALIFU USMAN, ABUJA President Muhammadu Buhari will this morning host Russia 2018 World Cup bound Super Eagles at the Presidential Villa to a send-forth party before the Eagle s departure to London for their crucial friendly match against England s Three...Rohr, Mikeal Eulogise NFF On Investment Seminar Super Eagles Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr and Team Captain Mikel John Obi have eulogized the leadership of Nigeria Football Federation for the seminar on wealth creation and portfolio management that afforded players and officials with fresh knowledge in financial management and business opportunities, yesterday in Abuja. Franco-German Rohr, who has lost only one competitive match since taking charge of the Eagles 22 months ago and will lead the three time African champions at this year s FIFA World Cup finals, commended the NFF for the move as he noted that no condition is permanent. In life, things do change and sometimes, the changes are not what we planned or prepared for. I pray for all these players to have long, injury free careers but even then, you can only play for an average of 17 years. I played for 17 years. I wish I got this kind of guidance and advice when I was still playing. Captain Mikel Obi said: Since I started playing for Nigeria, this is the first time I am witnessing this kind of seminar. I appeal to all my colleagues to take serious the lessons from this program. We must plan for the days that our bodies will no longer be able to withstand the kind of rigours they go through now. I have learnt a lot Lions at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaji Melvic Pinnick, disclosed while speaking to newsmen shortly after Wealth Investment Seminar organized for the players and officials of the Super Eagles squad at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, yesterday. from here that I will personally apply to my life. President of Nigeria Football Federation, Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick opened the session at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, alongside Mr. Olufemi Obaleke, Executive Director of WAPIC Insurance Plc. Pinnick minced no words in telling players and officials that in as much as they have been making and will certainly make some money around the forthcoming FIFA World Cup, only He said the president, as the father of the team is excited about their progression to the World Cup and would officially send the team forth before leaving for Russia. President is a father to the team. He is excited about the team and he would official send them forth, he Why Super Eagles Struggled Against DRC Balogun Super Eagles Germany base defender, Leon Balogun has explained why the national team struggled in friendly game against Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday. According to him, the Super Eagles held five gruesome training sessions before the match with the Leopards, which made them fatigued, and they could not put in their best performance. If you think about the fact that most of the players were very tired today from last day s training, then the performance was all right, Balogun wise financial decisions and sensible investment moves could create sustainable wealth that would spare them of any regret in the future. We put together this seminar knowing that it would be of immense benefit to all members of this team. Our care for you should not end on the field of play. We are family and must have one another s back always. Please take away good lessons from here so that tomorrow, you would not become liability to anyone or the society. stated Of course, there s always room for improvement, but this has been the first game after a long and hard week of training, so I think we can be satisfied with the outcome. Balogun says he is looking forward to the World Cup but his immediate focus is on the upcoming friendly against England at Wembley. I am very excited; it s getting closer, closer and closer. For now, I am just looking forward to the next preparation match, which is England. This is also an amazing atmosphere, scenery of the stadium of Wembley. I am sure once we get to Russia the goose bumps and all the excitement will be released, he said. On his targets and message for Nigerians: To be as successful as possible. My message to Nigerians is to thank you for all the support you have given us so far, and continue believing us. Give us your prayers and hopefully we can reward you. May 30, 2018 THE said. According to today s session will take place at the Federal Executive Council chambers at 10am, just before the commencement of the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting, saying it would be an opportunity for the country s leader to meet with and wish the team well. NFF chieftains told thenff.com that Wednesday s session would take place at the Federal Executive Council chambers at 10am, just before the commencement of the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting. Youth and Sports Minister, Barrister Solomon Dalung will present the country s ambassadors to President Buhari, hours before they are due to fly to London. From London, the delegation will fly into Bad Tatzmannsdorf, a city in Austria where they will spend eight days at the world renowned Avita Resort before flying to Russia. In-between the final camping in Austria, the team will play a final pre-world Cup friendly against the Czech Republic at the Rudolf Tonn Stadium (just outside Vienna) on Wednesday next week. Speaking on the team readiness for the World Cup in Russia, Pinnick said the players and their handlers are well motivated to do the nation proud in Russia. So far we have played four friendly matches and you can see the team spirit. Everybody is happy and I think there is no cause for alarm. Everything we are doing is to motivate the team and even talking about their future is motivation and it show that we care about them so that they can bring in their best and enhance our fortune in Russia.

48 NIGERIA S MOST INFLUENTIAL NEWSPAPER SPACE FOR SALE AMUSEMENT PARK WHEN HUNGRY, EAT YOUR RICE; WHEN TIRED, CLOSE YOUR EYES. FOOLS MAY LAUGH AT ME, BUT WISE MEN WILL KNOW WHAT I MEAN FOR GOD AND COUNTRY LIN-CHI WEDNESDAY No. 3,067 N200 SPACE FOR SALE Ray Morphy When I was in s e c - ondar y school, I had so much hope, so much optimism and so much belief in this nation called Nigeria! I believed so much that I bought language textbooks on Hausa and Yoruba. I assumed it was proper to know and speak as many Nigerian languages as possible! Indeed, my generation believed in Nigeria. Why wouldn t we believe? Our country was saving lives with ECOMOG, our country was lending to nations including South Korea and China! Sparkling roads were being built, industries were springing up, car manufacturing was happening in at least four plants. Tractors, trucks, trailers, were rolling off assembly plants and in football, we were tops! We had so much to look forward to as Nigerians! Then rulers could be trusted and respected. Alas! Everything suddenly turned around for the worst! The hope and optimism simply melted away leaving Nigerians bewildered and in shock! Everywhere one turns these days in our country, despair stares one in the face. From Zamfara to Zaria, from Lagos to Lapai, from Aba to Abaji, the story is the same. It is a story of failed governments at all levels. Wednesday Column No local government in any part of Nigeria is functioning as it should, no state government is functioning at above 30 per cent of capacity, talk less of the federal government. These are facts and they stare us in the face daily. And I am not talking about parties or politics, I am not here to discuss politicians, I am discussing the reality of the decay and retrogression of Nigeria since 1960 till date! Thankfully, any sane man can see and smell our rottenness. In no other country have I seen heaps of refuse as part of road furniture or road decoration! We seem to be comfortable with wrong things, if not, why do we ourselves dump refuse on streets and gutters? Why do we ourselves destroy our own roads and our own schools? The other day, a spritely old man who was my father s classmate in primary school visited me. He had not advanced beyond primary but you need to listen to his erudite conversation. He was well informed, he was well spoken and he was well mannered. And all this he picked up and maintained merely from the primary school he attended over 70 years ago. Compare this gentleman to the primary school certificate holders of today. Can you really? Can you even compare him with the secondary Nigeria Can Be Great Again! Buhari or for that matter university graduates? Yet it is we ourselves who destroyed education in our country. It is we with our greed and selfishness. Imagine a society that encourages exam malpractice? Imagine a country that subverts the training of its young. Have we forgotten that education is the greatest social and upward mobility catalyst, yet we have destroyed it thus robbing our nation of a glorious future. Is it now any surprise that Nigeria is considered a failed country worldwide? Is it now a surprise that top universities use Nigeria as a Guinea pig in their study of failed nations and failed leadership? A nation so blessed yet so poor and corrosive raymurphy4451@gmail.com, only sms or WhatsApp that we can be considered a blight on humanity on the same scale with Haiti and Congo! Yet, we, a nation that has everything. A country that once lent money to South Korea. A country that was once a shelter for South Africans and many Indians. Today, we are the butt of jokes. The other day, we saw Bill Gates at a lavish and opulent wedding ceremony. The looks on his face told us clearly what was on his mind. This is a man who reportedly paid off our debts to Japan, this is a man who reportedly has spent $1.5 billion of his own money fighting poverty in Nigeria, yet he was a guest at a wedding that was the most opulent he had ever attended and in a country that is reputedly the pov- erty capital of the entire world! When are we going to get it right? When are we going to stop losing trillions to medical tourism? When are we going to wake up to the fact that without work, harvest is a fallacy and a dream. We need to work on our country. We need to re-educate and rededicate ourselves. Nobody can claim that they are happy with the horror called Nigeria. A horror in which about 30 people lost their lives as collateral damage at the Offa robbery! A country in which human life is as lowly regarded as a rat s life! I won t even bother to compare a human life with a cow s life anymore since thousands of humans have been wasted annually by those who claim to do so because they lost their cows! We have slid so much that no head has rolled at the story that policemen negotiated with robbers and collected N400, 000 rather than arrest the robbers. If they had done so, nobody would have died at Offa. Yet, no official response, no official rebuttal and no government reaction. It is as if Nigerians are now like grass to be mowed and killed by any lawless person with a gun or machete! Yet we expect foreign nations to take us seriously. We expect South Africans not to murder Nigerians at will when we have told them by our actions that Nigerian lives are worthless. Yet this country can be great again. This country can recover. But first, our values must rebound, our sense must return. We must dethrone leisure and money and hubris. We must look ourselves in the face and tell ourselves the truth. Those in power must quit preaching and start doing. Those in office must stop destroying and start building. They must stop looting and enjoying and get back to work. The ordinary Nigerian is a workaholic. It is the elite who are bungling the chances and opportunities of this nation with their lack-lustre syphilitic and uninspiring performance in office. As the election season arrives, Nigerians must with one resolve elect the best amongst the lot starting from the local government to the highest office of the land. Aluta Continua. GHANA MUST GO Nigerian commits suicide in South Africa to avoid arrest That bad? News LEADERSHIP (ISSN X) is published in Abuja by LEADERSHIP GROUP LIMITED, 27 Ibrahim Tahir Lane, Off Shehu Musa Yar Adua Way, Utako District, Abuja. Advert: (Abuja), (Lagos) News: P. O. Box 9514, Garki II, Abuja. Lagos Office: 34/36 Adegbola Street, Anifowose, Off Oba Akran, Ikeja. info@leadership.ng, advert@leadership.ng, newsroom@leadership.ng