16042018 - It’s impossible to recover all looted funds—BUHARI

VANGUARD ECONOMIC
DISCOURSE: Experts
split on tax compliance
INSIDE
ZENITH BANK AGM
Chairman, Zenith Bank Plc,
Jim Ovia (right); Group
Managing Director and Chief
Executive Officer, Peter
Amangbo (centre) and
Executive Director, Adora
Umeoji, at the bank’s 27th
Annual General Meeting
held in Abuja at the weekend.
VOL. 26: NO. 63528 MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018
It’s impossible to recover
all looted funds—BUHARI
•Says he hasn’t done badly based on what he met
•No amount of pressure'll stop release of more looters’ list —FG
Gov Badaru
heads
68-member
APC
convention
c’ttee 9
Lecturer
renounces
Nigerian
citizenship,
urges
Buhari to
endorse 8
Young
Nigerian
must lead
the country
in 2019
8
— IBB
Yudala
dissolves into
Konga,
becomes
Africa’s
largest
e-commerce
platform
8
VANGUARD PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR 2017
From left, Chairman of the occasion, General Ike Nwachukwu (Retd), Governor Darius Ishaku of
Taraba State, receiving Award of Vanguard Governor of the Year 2017 from Mr Sam Amuka, Publisher
of Vanguard Newspapers at the Vanguard Personality of the Year Awards, weekend in Lagos.
From left, General Ike Nwachukwu (Retd); Mr Sam Amuka, Publisher, Vanguard Newspapers;
presenting Governor of the Year Award to Mohammed Abubakar, Executive Governor of Bauchi State,
while the governor's wife, Hajia Hadiza Abubakar and Aremo Olusegun Osoba, former governor of
Ogun State (right) look on. Photos: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor and Akeem Salau. More photos on Pages
14 &15.
COLUMNISTS OWEI LAKEMFA SOBOWALE HENRY BOYO
33 31 32
By Olasunkanmi
Akoni & Johnbosco
Agbakwuru
A
B U J A —
PRESIDENT
Muhammadu Buhari
has said it will be
impossible for his
administration to
identify and recover all
looted funds of the
country.
He also said his
administration has not
done badly, compared to
what it met on ground
when he took over
power in 2015.
The President spoke on
a day his Information
and Culture Minister,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed,
Continues on Page 5
5 dead, 50
houses
razed in
Kogi over
cashew
plantation
Mr & Mrs
6

2—VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018

VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018—3

4 —VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018—5
POCKET CARTOON
OSHODI-APAPA ROAD HELL—The hell called Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, from Mile-2 to Apapa
Wharf, yesterday. Photo: Bunmi Azeez.
It’s impossible to recover all
looted funds—BUHARI
Continues from Page 1
said no amount of
pressure and hack
writing would stop the
federal government from
releasing more names of
looters.
President Buhari said
the damage done to
Nigeria’s economy in the
years of plunder was
massive, and that
government was doing
its best to recover some
of the loot, but noted
that it was impossible to
identify and recover all.
The President, who
stated this while
receiving the Buhari
Diaspora Support
Organisation, led by Mr
Charles Efe Sylvester, in
London yesterday, said:
“We will do our best to
justify your trust in us,
and that confidence
won’t be abused.
“I am happy that
people like you are here
on your own, defending
the country. You have
shown courage and
sacrifice. I assure you
that your confidence in
us won’t be abused, we
will do our best to justify
it.”
He noted that Nigeria
was gifted with
tremendous human and
natural resources, but
regretted that “failure of
some of the leadership
we had in the past led to
our not being able to
capitalize on resources to
improve the lot of the
people.”
Noting that wicked
people plundered the
country, and kept
Nigerians poor, the
President added that
looking at the condition
in which the current
administration met the
country, without savings
and the economy badly
vandalized, “we have
not done too badly."
He said further: “If
they had used 50 per
cent of the money we
made when oil prices
went as high as $143
dollars per barrel, and
stabilized at $100 dollars
with production at 2.1
million barrels per day
for many years,
Nigerians would have
minded their businesses.
You could almost grow
food on our roads, as
they were abandoned.
“The stealing was so
much, and they were so
inept that they could not
even cover the stealing
properly. I wonder how
all those things could
have happened to our
country.”
He commended the
group for deciding to
identify with the country,
“when you could have
stayed here, being
comfortable.”
The Coordinator of the
organisation, Charles
Sylvester, said the group
was happy with the
achievements of
Buhari’s administration
so far.
The Buhari
Support Group
He said: “You met a
difficult situation, but
you have overcome most
of them. We are happy
with the agriculture
revolution, the ease of
doing business, the anticorruption
war, the
employment of youths
through the N-Power
programme, and the
blockage of leakages in
the public sector through
the Treasury Single
Account, TSA.
“We are proud of the
speed with which you
recovered the abducted
Dapchi schoolgirls. It
shows you are a worthy
general. We are happy
that you have declared
for 2019. Majority of
Nigerians are happy, but
agents of corruption and
darkness are unhappy.
Continues on Page 61
Nigeria's Current Population: Asset or liability?
By Bose Adelaja, Ebun
Sessou & Frederick Okopie
It means wealth to
me. Government
p o l i c i e s
notwithstanding, I can
make my millions from
the population and get
out of daily complaint
of unfavourable and
obnoxious government
policies. Population is
wealth.
*Oyedele Foluke
olubunmi,
Public servant.
An unengaged youth
will be a menace to
the society. Conversely, an
engaged youth population
is a great asset. With the
current trend in population
pattern, the youths, if not
properly engaged, will
rise against this society.
Half of the 198 million
people are youths that
could help lift our society
to the desired heights.
*Mr Olusesan Ekisola,
Broadcaster
The figure is
incorrect and I
think it is an
assumption and this
is unacceptable to
many Nigerians.
Nigeria Population
Commission should
tell us how it arrived
at such a huge
figure.
*Evang Ola Gospel,
Gospel artist
It’s two-pronged in my
opinion. It’s both
positive and negative.
Positive in the sense that
it connotes a bigger
market for products and
services. It’s a strategic
entrepreneur's dream.
And as it is, we have the
population scale tilting
towards the youths. It’s
a good opportunity for a
nation that can utilise it.
*Miss Ayobami
Adewuyi, Linguist
Do we have the
infrastructure to
cater for this mass?
What will happen
now? I hope various
governments will
rise to the occasion
and do the needful so
that what should be
a blessing don’t turn
out to be a curse.
-Otunba Dayo
Ajiteru Broadcaster
We are still count
ing because many
people are yet to give
birth this year. The population
is no big deal.
The alarming rate of unemployment
suggests
that the government
should see the latest figure
as a call to provide
good governance.
*Mrs. Kofoworola
Onasanya, Public servant

6—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018
:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867058, 08035483885
5 dead, 50 houses razed, as Kogi communities clash over cashew plantation
By Boluwaji Obahopo
LOKOJA—HARVEST from a
disputed cashew plantation,
weekend, led to a fracas that
claimed the lives of five people,
Herdsmen
attack
motorists in
Delta,
injure 5
By Ochuko
Akuopha
O
L E H —
RAMPA-
GING herdsmen, armed
with AK-47 guns and
cutlasses, weekend,
reportedly blocked the
Umuachi-Afor axis of the
Ughelli/Asaba
Expressway, Ndokwa
East Local Government
Area, Delta State,
inflicting bullet wounds
on five travellers.
The herdsmen, who
emerged from a nearby
bush, stormed the road at
about 6.30p.m., shooting
at random for over 30
minutes.
Panic-stricken motorists
travelling from Asaba
were forced to speed off
for refuge at Umuachi-
Ogo community, while
those travelling from the
opposite direction drove to
Kwale and other
neighbouring
communities.
A source in the area
disclosed that those
wounded were travelling
along the road when they
were hit by bullets,
adding that the driver of
the vehicle was also
attacked with cutlasses on
his right hand.
The source said: “People
were running in different
directions before the
Police and soldiers came
to the scene. The
herdsmen exchanged
gunfire with the Police
and soldiers before they
escaped into the bush.”
Contacted, Police Public
Relations Officer of the
state command, Mr.
Andrew Aniamaka, who
confirmed the incident,
said: “There was a
robbery attack on the
highway by herdsmen.
“They attacked
travellers and two of the
victims are still being
treated in the hospital.
“Already, there are
concerted efforts by all the
Police divisions in that
axis towards making sure
that the hoodlums do not
go scot-free.”
with over 50 houses razed at
Aloko-Oguma in Bassa Local
Government Area of Kogi State.
It was gathered that the crisis
erupted following a dispute
between the Bassa Kwomu and
By Paul Olayemi
SAPELE—THE kidnappers
of the popular timber
merchant, Mr. Friday Igbayo,
in Sapele, Delta State, are
reportedly demanding N16
million as ransom for his
release.
Igbayo was kidnapped
penultimate Wednesday by
gunmen at his sawmill in the
Asaboro area of Etamua,
the Igala over harvest at a
disputed cashew plantation.
The Igala claimed the Bassa
Kwomu had earlier killed one
of their members and buried
him secretly without a trace of
the grave, a development
that angered the Igala, who
reportedly mobilised for
reprisal attack.
The reprisal attack,
carried out Friday
Kidnappers of Sapele timber
merchant want N16m ransom
Oguanja, in Sapele, Delta
State. The abductors were said
to have shot into the air before
taking their victim away
through River Ethiope.
According to a relative, who
spoke on condition of
anonymity, the abductors
contacted the family members
via phone on Friday night,
demanding N16 million as
ransom.
The source added “the
Police arrest officers over attack on Police post
By Perez Brisibe
EKU—DELTA State Police
Command said it has
arrested some policemen
attached to the Eku Police Post
in Ethiope East Local
Government Area of the state over
last Saturday’s attack on the post
by a gang of cultists.
kidnappers have been
reaching out and we are
trying all we can to make
them understand that we
don’t have that kind of
money. Where do they
expect us to raise that huge
sum?”
The source then pleaded
with the abductors to
“release my brother; he is a
peace-loving person and I
don’t know why they
morning, was said to have left
five persons dead on the side
of Bassa Kwomu, with 50
houses burnt and property
worth millions of naira
destroyed in the fracas.
kidnapped him. He is not rich
and I don’t know what we will
do now.”
All attempts to contact the
Delta State Police Public
Relations Officer, Andrew
Aniamaka, proved abortive, as
his mobile number could not be
reached.
However, a Police source
confirmed that “we are doing
everything to unwrap this case
and we will be victorious soon.”
MAULUD IN KADUNA: Participants at the 2018 National Maulud Anniversary in Kaduna, Saturday. NAN PHOTO.
5 women arrested for selling Naira notes in Ogun had N1.5m on them
By Daud Olatunji
ABEOKUTA—THE five
women arrested by
operatives of the Ogun State
Police Command in various parts
of the state for allegedly hawking
and selling Naira notes, had over
one million Naira on them.
The state Police Public Relations
Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, in a
statement, disclosed that the
suspects, Toyin, Kehinde, Latifat,
Kehinde and Iyanuoluwa, were
arrested in Ijebu Ode, Sagamu
and Abeokuta areas of the state.
Oyeyemi said they were
arrested during a sting operation
jointly carried out by policemen
of the state command and
officials of Central Bank of
Nigeria, CBN, last week
Thursday and Friday.
He said: “The operation is in
line with Section 21(1) of the
CBN Act 2007, which made
hawking, selling and abuse of
Naira a punishable offence.
“Various denominations of
Naira notes totalling N1,560,000
were recovered from the
suspects, who were publicly
exhibiting their illicit trade.
“The Commissioner of Police,
Ahmed Iliyasu, has directed the
Deputy Commissioner of
Police, in charge of State
Criminal Investigation and
Intelligence Department,
CIID, Aminu Alhassan, to
commence a full scale
investigation into the activities
of these suspects with the
view of bringing to book
others in their shoes and
prosecute them accordingly.
The hoodlums numbering
over 100, armed with
cutlasses, axes and other
dangerous weapons, had
gone on rampage in the
community, attacking and
disposing residents of their
valuables.
The state Police Public
Relations Officer, DSP
“Iliyasu equally warned the
public to desist from any act
capable of soiling, abusing or
destroying the Naira which is one
of the symbols of our national
identity.
“The Commissioner, therefore,
expressed his readiness to work
with all government agencies to
stamp out crime in the state.”
Andrew Aniamaka, who made the
disclosure yesterday, also hinted
that contrary to reports: “No
suspect was freed from the cell as
there was no suspect in custody.
“Some persons believed to be
the master minders of the incident
are being trailed. But until the
suspects are arrested, we can’t say
what the motive of the attack was.”

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018—7
:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews
The Igala, yesterday,
deserted the community for
fear of reprisal attacks by the
Bassa Kwomu.
It was gathered that there
had been a long time rivalry
between both tribes; the
cashew harvest fracas being an
By Ike Uchechukwu
CALABAR—IT was the end
of the road for three
suspected motorcycle robbers as
they were burnt to death by a
mob at the popular Abuochichie
Junction in Bekwarra Local
Government Area of Cross River
State.
An eyewitness, Andrew
Okpeche, said the suspects were
members of a syndicate, which
specialised in stealing
motorcycles and knocking them
into pieces before selling them
to spare parts dealers in Ogoja,
Ikom, Vandikia in Benue State.
He said: “The three of them—
Ironman, Ogar and Olom—
have been in the ugly trade for
long and they have made quite
a fortune from the illicit trade
over the years. But luck ran out
opportunity for both tribes to
unleash their anger on each
other.
Sole Administrator of the Local
Government, Samuel Alumka,
and the member representing
the area in the state House of
Assembly, Sunday Shigaba,
on them yesterday, when they
were caught in the act.
“They also rob people at
gunpoint on the road, especially
during market days because a lot
of people come from far and wide
to buy yams and garri from the
market.
“So they have information, trail
people and rob them of their
cash, besides their motorcyclesnatching
business.
“Two of them were from
Bekwarra, while the third person
was from Obudu. But they
connected well because of their
trade.
“One of them was a father of
three, but we know him as a
notorious criminal because he
started out robbing market
women years back.
“The people of Abuochichie
gave them a long rope by
who visited the community
weekend, appealed to the
warring parties to sheathe
their swords.
Armed soldiers and
policemen have been drafted
to the community to prevent
further clashes.
3 burnt to death in C-River over motorcycle theft
By Esther Onyegbula
A
33-year-old man,
identified as Lukman
Madoti, narrowly escaped
death, last week, after a mob
beat him to a pulp for allegedly
pouring acid on his girlfriend,
Toyin Muyibi, 33, at Akala area
of Lagos State.
Reports said the suspect
poured acid on the face of his
girlfriend after accusing her of
having an affair with another
man in the area.
It was gathered that all efforts
by the girl to reassure her
boyfriend of her faithfulness
failed as the angry man stormed
out of her residence with a threat
to “teach her a lesson.”
Eyewitness account said the
estranged lover later surfaced at
the girl’s 7, Alhaji Lasisi Street
residence and carried out his
threat by pouring acid on her
face.
His action elicited an
immediate reaction from people
around the area, who pounced
on the man.
Vanguard learned that he was
saved from certain death by a
team of policemen, who arrived
warning them several times to
desist from such trade. But
they refused. That was the
reason they were set ablaze
at the junction.”
Police keep mum
Efforts to reach the state’s
Police Public Relations Officer,
ASP Irene Ugbo, were
unsuccessful as she neither
picked calls nor replied
messages to her mobile.
Meanwhile, a Police source
told Vanguard that it was true
that three persons were burnt
to death for stealing
motorcycles.
The source said: “Before our
men got to the scene at
Abuochichie Junction, it was
already too late. They were
burning due to the petrol and
tyres the mob used.
Man escapes lynching after
bathing girlfriend with acid
By John Mkom
JALINGO—CHAIRMAN of
Donga Local Government,
Mr. Nashuka Ipeyen, yesterday,
confirmed the killing of four
persons in an attack at Sabon
Gida hours after soldiers were
withdrawn from the area.
Nashuka also said an
internally-displaced person, IDP,
was killed at Tunari and three
others missing, when they went
to pick some of their valuables
and get some foodstuff for their
families.
He, however, said the
presence of the mobile police
personnel deployed to the area
prevented the attackers from
razing down Sabon Gida village
and appealed to the people to
avoid going into the hinterland
until the security situation in the
area improves.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of
Takum Local Government, Mr.
Shiban Tikari, has described as
laughable the statement by the
Nigerian Army that Mr. Danjuma
America and Danasabe Gasama
arrested in the middle of the
night in Takum recently, were
perpetrators of crisis in Takum
and Ussa Local Government
areas of Taraba State.
Director, Army Public Relations,
Brig. Gen. Texas Chukwu, had
in a statement said Danjuma and
Gasama were arrested on Friday
by troops deployed for Operation
Ayem Akpatuma in a community
in Takum, following a tip-off.
Tikari urged the military to stop
diverting attention from the main
issues of their complicity in the
attacks and killings in the state.
His words: “We have been
the scene and rescued him
from the mob that inflicted
machete cuts on his head and
body.
The severely wounded
girlfriend was rushed to
Gbagada General Hospital,
while her boyfriend was taken
to an undisclosed hospital for
treatment, where policemen
are keeping watch over him.
Lagos State police
spokesman, Chike Oti,
confirmed the attack and
assured that investigations
are still ongoing over the
incident.
IDP, 4 others killed after withdrawal
of soldiers, says Taraba council boss
crying on top of our voices that
the Operatives of Exercise
Ayem Akpatuma were out for
something.
“How come they have not
told Nigerians about the arrest
of the mastermind of the
attack in Jandeikyula in
Wukari council, where over 25
people were killed?
“The Commanding Officer
of the 93 Battalion Takum, Lt.
Col. Ibrahim Gambari, has
withdrawn all soldiers at
various checkpoints in Takum
Local Government. So that is
the type of Army we have in
Takum now.”
Tikari said he had since
tabled his complaint before
the investigative panel on the
alleged collusion of the
military with bandits to kill
people in the state.
It's a peppered matter
... with Emma'nKen (08163121378)
Be warned! Wizkid don't like fathers

8—VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018
:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
Young Nigerian must lead the
country in 2019 —IBB
•Pledges support for Northern Elders Forum
By Wole
Mosadomi
M INNA—FORMER
Military President,
General Ibrahim Babangida
(retd), has again urged
Nigerians to ensure that only
the younger generations were
voted to power in the country.
This came on a day former
Military President also threw
his weight behind the newly
formed Northern Elders
Forum, led by Alhaji Tanko
Yakasai.
Babangida, spoke at his
country home, Minna, Niger
State, when he received a
delegation of YES Nigeria
Movement, led by its
convener, Ali Soyode.
He charged the delegation
to seize the privilege offered
by the next elections to serve
their fatherland at a younger
age.
Babangida, who, had in a
statement in February asked
President Muhammadu
Buhari not to seek re-election
in 2019, urged him to
complete his first term and
allow a new generation of
leaders to take control of the
mantle of leadership of the
country.
He had said: “In the
fullness of our present
realities, we need to cooperate
with President Muhammadu
Buhari to complete his term
of office on May 29, 2019,
and collectively prepare the
way for new generation
leaders to assume the mantle
of leadership of the country."
The statement came on the
heels of a similar statement
issued by former President
Olusegun Obasanjo,
advising Buhari against recontesting
for the presidency
in 2019.
The former military leader,
however, reiterated the need
for the electorate to get their
voting documentations in
order to play their role in the
governance of the country,
just as he pledged to work
with the movement in
achieving its goals.
“I want to commend the
leadership of the movement
for the great works it has
achieved, especially in the
areas of educating the
electorate on their democratic
and political rights and also
supporting existing parties in
identifying potential
candidates for elective
offices,” Babangida said
In his remarks, convener of
the movement, Soyode, said
the aim of establishing the
movement was borne out of
his desire to see a better
political and democratic
system educating the
electorate of their power to
elect, call to accountability of
the elected and having right
people in government
through the exercise of their
votes.
He maintained that the
country was due for younger
generations to lead and have
the elders as the advisory
council.
New Northern
Leaders Forum
formed, visits IBB
Meanwhile, Babangida
has thrown his weight behind
the newly formed Northern
Elders group, led by Alhaji
Tanko Yakasai.
Receiving the new body at
his Hill Top residence in
Minna, yesterday,
Babangida said he would
continue to support any
group with a template that
will ensure the unity and
stability of the country.
He urged the new body to
cut across all political parties,
saying politicians knew what
they needed and should be
well educated in the agenda
of the new body.
He said: “Anything within
the context of one Nigeria is
noble and I will support and
bless what you are doing but
you should be fair in your
dealings with Nigerians.
Speaking earlier, Chairman
of the NLSA, Tanko Yakasai,
said the Assembly’s mission
was aimed at promoting the
cultural and political unity
among all northerners.
He said: “This Assembly is
political but non-partisan. It is
political in the sense that the
doors are opened to all
northerners, irrespective of
their ethnicity, differences of
religious and political belief or
sectional background."
AWARD: Prof. Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman/CEO,
Nigerian Communications Commission NCC (left) and Ahmed Ado
Bayero, Sarkin Dawarin Tsakar Gida, during Technology Development
and Leadership award received by EVC/CEO NCC in Kano,weekend.
Lecturer renounces Nigerian citizenship,
urges Buhari to endorse
ABUJA—A lecturer at
Department of Ceramics
and Glass Technology, Akanu
Ibiam Federal Polytechnic,
Unwana, Afikpo, Ebonyi
State, Mr Victor Koreyo, has
declared intention to renounce
his Nigerian citizenship for
what he called social injustice.
Koreyo in a letter to
President Muhammadu
Buhari, made available to
News Agency of Nigeria in
Abuja, said he was demoted
for a period of eight years by
the management of the
institution and urged the
President to endorse his
request.
NAN discovered that a
directive was given by the
Federal Government in 2007
directing all lecturers to
produce additional
qualification relevant to the job
they do.
It was gathered that the 7th
Governing Council of the
institution gave Koreyo two
years to produce a foreign
institution masters degree in
Ceramic Science and
Engineering or he would be
dismissed from service.
Koreyo from Nasarawa
State, said the management
of the polytechnic refused to
communicate the information
to him in writing.
He alleged that since 2010
till date, the institution had
refused to approve his
application for staff
development opportunity
because the Igbo constituted
principal officers in the school.
He also said several
communications to the
institution from Head of
Service of the Federation,
HOSF, Attorney-General of
the Federation, AGF,
Servicom and others on the
issue were in his favour for
reinstatement.
Koreyo also accused the
Ministry of Education of
allegedly writing a counterdirective
letter to the rector to
disregard the government
directives issued by the
HOSF and AGF.
According to him, this is
social injustice that is not in
line with the 1999 constitution
of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria.
“I love to continue as
citizen of this great nation on
earth. But since I do not have
the financial power or
connection to challenge the
Rector to obey the Federal
Government’s directives in
my favour, I decided to take
this peaceful action.
Meanwhile, the authorities
of Akanu Ibiam Federal
Polytechnic, noted that the
decision of the institution was
in compliance with the
directive of National Board for
Technical Education, NBTE.
Dr Edmond Oyeneho, a
former chairman of Academic
Staff Union of Polytechnics,
Akanu Ibiam Federal
polytechnic, Uwana chapter,
told NAN in Afikpo that the
institution was acting on
instruction.
Oil price rises to $72 per
barrel as political crisis
continues in M-East
By Udeme
Akpan
THE price of crude oil has
risen to over $72 per
barrel in the international
market, following political
risk in the Middle East,
accounting for commercial
oil and gas production in the
world.
Investigations by
Vanguard showed that the
tension in the Middle East
has increased speculation
that commercial oil
production would be
suspended.
Consequently, the price of
Brent, usually used to
benchmark the prices of the
other crudes, rose from about
$67 to $72.58 per barrel in
the market.
A market survey by
Vanguard showed that the
prices of WTI and OPEC
basket stood at $67.39 and
$68.73 per barrel
respectively.
OPEC stated that: ‘’The
price of OPEC basket of 14
crudes stood at $68.73 a
barrel on Thursday,
compared with $68.29 the
previous day, according to
OPEC Secretariat
calculations.
Secretary General of
OPEC, HE Mohammad
Barkindo disclosed that "the
historic Declaration of
Cooperation between 24
OPEC and non-OPEC
participating countries
signed on December 10,
2016 has shown what the
determined efforts of a group
of nations can bring. At the
third joint meeting on
November 30, of 2017 the
Declaration of Cooperation
was amended to continue
throughout 2018."
Yudala dissolves into
Konga, becomes Africa’s
largest e-commerce
platform
By Prince
Osuagwu,
Hi-Tech Editor
LAGOS—TWO
top
Nigerian online malls,
Konga and Yudala,
yesterday, merged to
become Africa’s largest e-
commerce platform.
The decision emerged after
Zinox Technologies, owners
of the Yudala brand,
acquired Konga a few
months back.
Konga, before it was
acquired, was one of
Nigeria’s largest online
malls and Yudala, pioneer
composite e-commerce
company was also a strong
offline and online retail shop.
The merger, which is said
to take effect from Tuesday
May 1, 2018, will see both
companies operate under
the KONGA brand name, to
facilitate operation that can
see them effectively become
the biggest organized retail
and e-commerce/
marketplace outfit on the
African continent.
The strategic decision will
see the new company
leverage the combined
strengths of both platforms to
broaden the scope of
organized retail and e-
commerce in Nigeria and
deliver more value to
customers and merchants.
Chairman of Konga, Mr
Olusiji Ijogun, while
announcing the merger,
stated: “Combining forces to
power the new Konga will
enable us effectively achieve
our goals of platform
expansion and accelerated
growth, as we embark on an
ambitious journey to redefine
the retail ecosystem with the
industry’s most advanced
technology.
“Effective from May 1st,
Yudala will now operate
under the name KONGA,
with dual CEOs in the
persons of Nick Imudia who
will be in charge of online
among others and Prince
Nnamdi Ekeh who will be
responsible for offline."
JAMB conducts UTME in 8 countries
L AGOS—JOINT
Admissions and
Matriculation Board,
JAMB, said, yesterday, it
has recorded a huge
success in the conduct of
Unified Tertiary
Matriculation
Examinations, UTME, in
eight countries, including
UK, Cameroon, Benin
Republic, Côte d’Ivoire and
South Africa.
The board’s Head of
Media and Information
Department, Fabian
Benjamin, disclosed this in
an interview with News
Agency of Nigeria in
Lagos.
According to him, no
fewer than 297 foreign
candidates participated in
the 2018 UTME in the
countries conducted on
Saturday, April 14, under
the supervision of some
foreign nationals, who
came to understudy the
process.
Benjamin said the
foreigners were elated by
what they saw that an
African country could
achieve and sustain such
a feat.
He said: “The
examination was
conducted, yesterday, in
not less than eight foreign
countries under the watch
of some foreign nationals.
“As usual, it was well
attended and very
successful. All resources to
ensure the smooth conduct
of the examination were
readily deployed by the
board.
“We are indeed happy to
have achieved yet another
feat, especially as we had
people who came around
to observe and understudy
the process."

VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018—9
:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
Rescue of Chibok girls, Leah
Sharibu, a must — Saraki
A BUJA—PRESIDENT
of the Senate, Dr.
Bukola Saraki, has called
for concerted efforts by
governments, security
agencies, religious and
community leaders, to
rescue the remaining 112
Chibok girls and Dapchi
schoolgirl, Leah Sharibu,
from Boko Haram’s
captivity.
Saraki in a statement by
his Special Adviser, Media
and Publicity, Yusuph
Olaniyonu, in Abuja,
yesterday, said though four
years had elapsed since the
sad incident of the Chibok
girls’ kidnap, it must not
dampen efforts being made
to see the girls rescued and
reunited with their families
and loved ones.
He noted with sadness
the plight of the Chibok
parents whose girls were
not back and the anxiety
they have endured all
these while.
He called on the parents
to remain steadfast, saying
government would never
relent in efforts to see their
daughters back home
safely.
Saraki said: “As a parent,
I feel the pains of these
unfortunate young girls
from Chibok and the latest
one, Leah Sharibu, from
Dapchi, their parents and
the people and
governments of Borno and
Yobe states over these
harrowing experiences.
“However, all hope is not
lost. We are all involved in
this. Their return will give
us joy while their continued
stay in captiviy will inflict
us with perpetual torment
of failure.
“This is no time for blame
game or passing the buck.
We must all gear up and
work together to see these
girls rescued within the
shortest possible time.
"I believe that the last four
years have given us ample
time to reflect on the
calamity, review our modus
operandi — politically and
militarily — and resolve to
ensure that all Nigerians
are adequately protected.
“Let’s fine-tune the
strategies that have won us
successes and discard those
that have failed us. The
goal and focus must be
clear— to rescue our girls
and all those in forced
captivity in any part of the
country, and ultimately, to
restore our pride as a
sovereign entity.
“This is the time for all
stakeholders to retool and
re-strategize to ensure that
all these girls are not only
rescued but do all in our
power to put a closure to
all cases of kidnapping and
insurgency in this land.”
Saraki called on all
Nigerians who could help
to come to the aid of
government and the
BBOG suspends sit-outs, says FG
plans to frustrate advocacy
By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA— BRING Back
Our Girls, BBOG,
movement has alleged
plans by the Federal
Government to frustrate its
advocacy.
The group stated that on
the eve of the fourth year
commemoration of Chibok
schoolgirls abduction,
personnel of Nigeria Police
Force descended on the
Unity Fountain, venue of its
daily sit-outs in Abuja since
April 30, 2014, and carted
away its chairs.
"Our members who
arrived for the sit-out on
April 13, 2018, were also
manhandled and the
meeting space barricaded,"
it alleged.
A statement by
spokesman of the
movement, Sesugh Akume,
yesterday, in Abuja, read:
“As of this moment, there is
an obvious plan to deny us
access to the Unity Fountain
as a ploy to frustrate our
advocacy, which has been
ongoing for four years.
"A report by online news
medium, Premium Times,
states that the
Commissioner of Police has
once again ‘banned’ us
from holding our daily sitouts
there, despite a
subsisting court order,
which gives us the right to
hold our meetings.
"Our movement is also
aware of the revelations on
April 14, 2018, by a
journalist, Ahmed Salkida,
security agencies on how
to rescue the girls.
He also urged security
agencies to keep people
about the fate of our 112
#ChibokGirls in the hands
of the terrorists, and the
response by the Federal
Government.
"Our immediate response
is that Salkida’s statement
has raised issues too
weighty for the seemingly
insubstantial response by
the Federal Government.
“The Federal
Government claims that it
has officials and
international contacts
assisting in the process of
getting our girls back. It
follows, therefore, that the
Federal Government has
the added responsibility of
making available the
assuring details, which it
has from its officials and
international contacts.
“Meanwhile, as a citizens’
movement anchored on the
rule of law, we shall
suspend our sit-outs while
reviewing the situation and
will hold a press conference
on Wednesday, April 18,
2018. We remain committed
to the fundamentals of our
advocacy.”
Buhari meets Tinubu in London
A
B U J A —
PRESIDENT
Muhammadu Buhari,
yesterday, met behind closed
doors with chieftain of All
Progressives Congress,
APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu,
in London.
The President’s Personal
Assistant on Social Media,
Alhaji Bashir Ahmad, made
this known on his tweeter
handle, @BashirAhmad, in
Abuja.
The presidential aide
posted: “President
Muhammadu Buhari
receives National Leader of
our great party, the All
Progressives Congress,
APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu
(Jagaban) today (yesterday)
in London.”
News Agency of Nigeria,
NAN, reports that President
Buhari, who is on official visit
to London had on
Wednesday met with
abreast of developments
about the issue to avoid the
speculations and talks like
the one insinuating that
many of the girls may have
died.
DISCUSSION: President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya (right) and
Chairman, UBA Plc and Founder, The Tony Elumelu Foundation,
Mr. Tony Elumelu when Elumelu had discussion with the President
on financing infrastructure development and entrepreneurship in
Kenya, at State House in Nairobi,weekend.
Archbishop of Canterbury, His
Grace Justin Welby, in
London where he explained
why he declared his intention
to run for another term in office.
President Buhari had on
Gov Badaru heads
68-member APC
convention c’ttee
•Verified @APCNigeria Twitter
handle sparks controversy
By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA— THE ruling All
Progressives Congress,
APC, has announced a 68-
member national convention
planning committee, headed
by Governor Mohammed
Badaru of Jigawa State.
In the list posted,
yesterday, on its newlyunveiled
website, the party
listed Governor Rotimi
Akeredolu of Ondo State as
vice chairman and Senator
Ben Uwajumogu as
secretary.
Though the party has not
announced the date for the
convention, its National
Organising Secretary,
Senator Osita Izunaso, listed
other members of the
committee as Senator Ken
Nnamani, Governors Rochas
Okorocha, Kashim Shettima,
Aminu Bello Masari, Abiola
Ajimobi, Ibrahim Gaidam,
Nasir Ahmed el-Rufai,
Simon Bako Lalong, Bindow
Jibrilla, Yahaya Bello and
Godwin Obaseki.
Others are Senators
Ahmed Sani Yerima, Adamu
Aliero, Dajuma Goje,
Abdullahi Adamu, George
Akume, Chris Ngige and
Ibrahim Abdullahi Gobir.
The list also includes Mr
Danjuma Attah, Pastor Usani
Uguru Usani, Sen. Ovie
Omo-Agege and a host of
others.
Verified
@APCNigeria
Twitter handle
sparks controversy
Meanwhile, controversy,
weekend, trailed the twitter
handle of the ruling All
April 9, 2018, during
National Executive
Committee, NEC, meeting
of APC declared his
intention to seek re-election
in 2019.
Progressives Congress,
APC, as its National Publicity
Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi,
has said @APCNigeria, a
verified Twitter handle, was
not the account of the party.
The verification tag on
Twitter is given to accounts
with supposedly credible
information. As of January,
only 150,000 users were
verified out of the 330 million
active users on the
microblogging platform.
APC’s handle was hacked
on Saturday and its name
changed to Justin Sun, a
man who claims to be based
in San Francisco, United
States, and the account
traded cryptocurrencies,
including bitcoin and
ethereum.
At some point, the account
was recovered by the
handlers and Sun’s tweets
were deleted, with the APC
logo restored. But Sun took
over the account after some
hours.
In a tweet he posted after
taking over, he demanded to
be paid $100,000 for him to
“shut up” about how the
Twitter handle became his
personal possession, and also
threatened to expose
correspondence in the
account.
“If the President of Nigeria
does not pay me $100K, I’ll
post all the correspondence
here, and the whole world
will see it,” Sun tweeted.
At press time, the handle’s
name had been changed to
John “cAf5e, and is still
trading cryptocurrencies.
“For the umpteenth time,
@APCNigeria is not the
official Twitter handle of the
All Progressives Congress,
APC.
“In several official
statements, we have
disclaimed that handle. We
view this latest development
as a case of criminal
impersonation,’’ Abdullahi
wrote on Twitter.
Free Trade Agreement: Industrial Council
backs Buhari on consultations
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru
A BUJA—PRESIDENT
Muhammadu Buhari’s
decision to suspend Nigeria’s
participation in signing
African Continental Free
Trade Agreement has been
applauded by Industrial
Policy and Competitiveness
Advisory Council.
President Buhari had in
March cancelled a trip to
Kigali, Rwanda, where an
extra-ordinary summit of
African Union was scheduled
to sign the agreement.
The President explained
that the cancellation was to
allow for more consultations
with stakeholders in Nigeria
over the trade agreement.
But the Industrial Council
at its meeting presided over
by Vice President Yemi
Osinbajo, weekend, in
Abuja, received a status
report on the Continental
Trade Agreement and
supported the need for more
consultations before Nigeria
ratifies the agreement.
Minister of Industry, Trade
and Investment, Dr.
Okechukwu Enelamah, told
State House correspondents
after the meeting that
“council reinforced the
importance of consultation,
which was what the President
said.”
He said: “The meeting
agreed with the President
and concurred that more
consultation is the way to go
because the African
Continental Free Trade Area
Agreement will have
implications for us, which we
hope will be positive.”

10 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018
2019: IBB endorses SDP
By Wole Masadomi
FORMER Military
President and
chieftain of Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP,
General Ibrahim
Babangida, IBB,
yesterday shocked many
when he openly declared
support for the the Social
Democratic Party, SDP,
led by former Secretary to
Government of the
Federation, SGF, Chief
Olu Falae.
Speaking in Minna
over the weekend when
the national leadership of
the party visited him at
his hill-top mansion in
Minna, Babangida said
the party was real and
smart, with the zeal to
deliver democratic
dividends to the people.
“If I wasn't too old, I
would have loved to join
the youths vanguard of
your party. I have faith in
the political party, for
what it is and what it
stands for. When I heard
in the news that a party
has come on board, the
:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
Prominent Lagos officials form support
group for Ambode’s re-election
By Emmanuel
Aziken, Political
Editor
LAGOS —
P r o m i n e n t
political office
holders belonging to
the All Progressives
Congress, APC in
Lagos State yesterday
coalesced into a
pressure group named
Ambode Mandate
Support Group, AMSG
with the explicit
determination of
ensuring a hitch-free reelection
of Governor
Akinwunmi Ambode.
The politicians
including council
chairmen, federal and
state legislators and
office holders, however,
affirmed that they were
not by their action
ruling out other
aspirants from
contesting with
Ambode.
While highlighting the
successes of the
governor
in
infrastructure, tourism,
employment generation
and
traffic
management, they,
first thing that occurred to
me was that the name
sounds familiar, so I
made a decision that I
will wait and see how it
plays out.
‘’I was looking at how
SDP will populate itself.
And then the next
pleasing thing that I
heard was that it has
people like Olu Falae,
Professor Jerry Gana and
Professor Adeniran.
“After that I said this
party is real, because
most of the names are
names that I have known
and I have worked with
and for the sake of this
country, so I said the party
is smart to have
convinced all these
gentlemen to come and
join them.
‘’That is why I did not
hesitate to give direction
to those who came to me
to seek advice on which
direction to go.”
Babangida pointed out
that the vision he had for
the country was the same
vision that is shared by
however, vowed to take
back to the governor
public concerns on the
nightmarish traffic
congestion on the Mile
2 – Apapa axis of the
metropolis.
The political
chieftains were led by
the Director-General of
the AMSG, Hon.
Omoyele Sulaimon who
is also the Special
Adviser to the governor
on Communities and
Communications.
Flanked by the
political chieftains,
Sulaimon, a three time
chairman of Bariga
Local Government Area
said:
“After seeing how he
(Ambode) has piloted
the affairs of the state
we were convinced that
it would be necessary to
garner support for him.
We have seen his new
approach to governance
because even when the
country was in
recession this governor
has recognised that
time is money and he
ensured that useful
time is not wasted in
traffic and hence he
those driving the party,
adding that “the security
and well being of
Nigerians are very
important and you have
identified this in your
programme, so Nigerians
must rally round you and
support you to ensure
that this is realizable.”
Babangida urged the
younger generation and
women to give their
support to SDP as it is
“populated by men of
integrity, men who when
they work, they work
well, when they speak,
they speak well.”
Babangida then
advised the leadership of
the party to make its
manifestos public to
Nigerians, so they could be
held accountable.
In his address earlier, the
National Chairman of the
Party, Chief Olu Falae, said
they were in the state to see
General Babangida as part
of the party’s nationwide
consultation to brief him on
the activities of the party and
to solicit for his support and
wise counseling.
ensured smooth traffic.”
However, challenged
on the nightmarish traffic
congestion in the Mile 2
– Apapa axis of the
metropolis, Sulaimon
said that the situation in
that area of the city was
a fraction of the
successes recorded by
the
Ambode
administration in traffic
administration.
Nigeria urged to use
technology to combat
insecurity
By Prince Osuagwu
LAGOS — Hamgad
Security Services
CEO, Hammed Ibrahim
has advised Nigeria to
look beyond manpower in
solving the precarious
security situation in the
country.
Ibrahim said all over the
world, situation such as
Nigeria is undergoing at
the moment required
technological tools to
tackle.
He cautioned that over
dependence on
manpower will fail if the
country does not upgrade
its strategy quickly to
battery and technological
powered safety
equipment.
He said: “Technology
has so advanced that one
can personally protect
oneself even without
hiring a security guard.
Today, with technology
people monitor their
homes or offices from a
distance; get to open
their doors via a mobile
phone and even in an
emergency situation , can
BRIEFING: From left, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Establishments,
Training and Pension, Mrs. Rhoda Ayinde, Commissioner for Information &
Strategy, Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan and Commissioner for Establishment,
Training and Pension Mr. Akintola Benson Oke, during the 2018 Ministerial
Press Briefing in Lagos.
Why I seek contribution of one per cent
of profit to healthcare — DANGOTE
AFRICA’S foremost
entrepreneur, Aliko
Dangote, weekend, in
Lagos, gave insight into
why he was advocating
that private sector
operators in Nigeria
country commit one per
cent of their profit
annually to fund
healthcare services.
Dangote recently
suggested to members of
an expanded National
Economic Council
meeting, the need to have
a trust fund to revitalize
the nation’s public health
sector similar to the
education trust fund
operated by the federal
government and security
trust fund run in some
be sure of getting details
of an occurrence by
planting equipment at
strategic points without
visiting the venue . This
is the kind of solutions the
country needs at the
moment”.
He informed that such set
of security equipment are
what his company is
investing in.
“We all understand that
security is a major drawback
in Nigeria and that created
the opportunity that brought
us here and since we came,
we have been solving
problems” Ibrahim added.
The company which
recently launched security
equipment stores in Lagos
says it is planning to
capture the entire Nigerian
security market space,
including Lagos, Abuja and
Portharcourt.
Ibrahim said the company
was making heavy
investments as a way of
complementing Federal
Government’s efforts at
arresting the scourge of
insecurity in Nigeria, while
also helping to make
Nigeria a safe place for both
locals and foreigners.
states.
He expressed the
conviction that such trust
fund would go a long way
to helping the nation’s
health sector and
improving the people’s
wellbeing in the face of
multiple challenges
confronting the nation
with limited resources
available to government.
Speaking with newsmen
in Lagos on the proposal
for one per cent profit for
healthcare trust fund,
Dangote said, “for Nigeria
to invest in her people,
the same people must
have good health and it
is glaring that
government does not
have enough resources to
execute all healthcare
infrastructure, hence the
need for private sector to
come in. Such fund can be
administered by
government and private
sector together for
maximum impact just as
being done in the
ICAN warns against proliferation
of accountancy bodies
By Providence
Emmanuel
LAGOS — The
Institute of
Chartered Accountants of
Nigeria, ICAN, has
warned against
proliferation of
accountancy bodies in
Nigeria, saying promoters
of these bodies are only
interested in their
personal pockets and not
the profession.
President of ICAN,
Alhaji, Ismaila Zakari,
spoke in Lagos, during
the induction ceremony of
99 members that qualified
for certification in the
Audit, Investigations and
Forensic Accounting;
Financial Reporting
Standards and Insolvency
and Corporate Reengineering
Faculties
education sector.”
Expressing readiness to
offer necessary assistance
to government on how to
come about the trust fund,
he enjoined private sector
operators to be ready to
join hands with
government “to achieve
the overall objective of
improving our public
health sector and turn
around our human capital
availability.”
Dangote has through
his foundation committed
billions of Naira to critical
intervention in the health
sector by building
hospitals and equipping
them.
His Foundation is
currently building the
biggest maternity wards
in Aminu Kano specialist
hospital and state of the
arts Surgical Operating
Theatre and Diagnostic
Centre (SDC), at a cost of
N7 billion, which will
soon be completed.
respectively.
Zakari who described
the promoters of these
accountancy bodies as
comedians, said “only last
month, ICAN was invited
by the National Assembly
to make presentation on
a bill seeking to provide
for the establishment of
Chartered Institute of
Forensic Accountants of
Nigeria and another one
seeking to provide for the
establishment of institute
of forensic and
investigative auditors in
Nigeria. I led a delegation
to the Senate where I
made a presentation in
which I condemned the
bill in strong terms. All
hands must be on deck, if
we are to kill this
mediocrity. We are
hopeful that the Senate
would not listen."

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018 — 11
:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
EKITI GOV POLL: I've forgiven
those who betrayed me — FAYEMI
By Rotimi
Ojomoyela
A DO-EKITI—
FORMER governor
of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode
Fayemi, yesterday,
disclosed how he was
betrayed by many of those
he made during his reign
as governor of the state
after losing a re-election
on June 21, 2014.
Fayemi claimed that
some of those he
entrusted with positions
during his administration
were among those
that allegedly sponsored
campaigns of calumny
against his person but
said he had forgiven
them.
Fayemi said this in Ode-
Ekiti when a chieftain of
All Progressives
Congress, APC, Mr.
Makinde Araoye, gave
social security package to
some elders across Ekiti
South senatorial district.
Addressing the
gathering, which consists
of party members,
Fayemi said: “There was
no one that held office in
my government that I
teleguided. I allowed
them to be free and
enjoyed their positions
contrary to what they said.
“I have forgiven those
that betrayed me just like
I apologise to whoever I
must have offended as a
governor because I am a
human being and I can’t
claim to be infallible.”
In his remarks, Araoye
said he organised the
programme as part of the
ways to banish poverty in
Ekiti and make the
people live a normal life.
The philanthropist,
Araoye, who said over
2,500 elders had
benefited from the
programme across six
local governments,
described the policy as a
re-enactment of Fayemi’s
Social Security Scheme,
where 25,000 people
above 65 were paid
N5,000 per month.
Materials distributed
include rice, cash and
other palliatives meant to
cushion the effect of the
hard-biting economic
situation on the
beneficiaries.
Araoye said: “I started
this programme nine
years ago and I have
promised to continue to do
as long as I live. It is not
good for you to do good
to people only when you
want to contest an
election.”
AAUA CRISIS: Akeredolu slashes tuition
fees as NANS kicks
By Dayo Johnson
AKURE —
GOVERNOR Rotimi
Akeredolu of Ondo State
has reduced the 500 per
cent tuition fees of the
students of Adekunle
Ajasin University,
Akungba, Akoko.
The reduction showed
that “returning students
in the Faculty of Law
would now pay
N100,000; Faculty of
Science, N100,000;
Faculty of Social and
Management Science,
N100,000; Faculty of
Education, N80,000;
Faculty of Arts, N80,000
with an option to pay
twice, that is N50,000
and N40,000 per
s e m e s t e r
respectively. Final Year
students across all
faculties are to pay
N70,000 with an opinion
of paying twice, that is
N35,000 per semester.
NANS kicks
However, National
Association of Nigerian
Students, NANS, has
rejected the 50 percent
tuition fees reduction on
returning students to the
institution.
Its National Public
Relations Officer, Idowu
Odebunmi, said: “The
new arrangement by the
state government
indicates that the
students would still have
to pay 200 per cent
increase in their tuition
fees.”
He urged the state
government to consider
the plights of the
students and their
parents by announcing
pocket-friendly fees.
Also, President of
Student Union
Government, SUG,
of AAUA, Olawale
Ijanusi, who announced
the new tuition fees,
said: “This is the lowest
he can go and he urged
every individual that
they should abide by
this.”
In addition, Ijanusi
said: “Sequel to this, the
union is willing and
ready to seek the opinion
of students, the final
decision of the union lies
with the students.”
Meanwhile, Vanguard gathered
that the leaders of the
students have called for
a congress to discuss the
governor’s proposal and
the way forward.
The meeting is to hold
this week and its
resolution would be
communicated to the
government this week.
Irate youths chase away
Ekiti monarch, shutdown
palace
By Rotimi
Ojomoyela
ADO-EKITI — THERE
was palpable tension in
Agbado-Ekiti, Gbonyin
Local Government of Ekiti
State, yesterday, as irate
youths kicked against the
alleged imposition of a
Regent.
Eyewitness account
revealed that the protest
was spearheaded by the
youths, who were joined by
other indigenes, to protest
the alleged imposition of
Bolaji Okunbobade, who
was appointed by the
kingmakers to occupy the
throne vacated by her late
father, the Owa Oro of
Agbado,
Oba
Okunbobade.
Clutching leaves and
placards of various
inscriptions, the irate
youths, who barricaded the
Ado-Ikare Road for several
hours, accused one of the
kingmakers, Chief Kayode
Adeyeye, of unilaterally
choosing Bolaji as Regent.
They alleged that due
process was not followed
and all “critical
stakeholders” were not
carried along in the choice
of Bolaji whom they
described as “illegal
regent.”
Chanting war songs, the
protesters invaded the
palace and reportedly
chased the regent and her
aides from the palace.
The whereabouts of the
regent and her aides were
unknown at press time
while the youths have
sealed the palace.
The community has been
thrown into crisis following
the alleged taking over of
traditional artifacts, shrines,
and duties of sacrifices by
four kingmakers.
The kingmakers’ alleged
action led to tension but the
intervention of the Gbonyin
local government chairman
restored peace.
The leader of the youths
in the community, Mr.
Adeola Odesanmi,
condemned the way and
manner the Regent was
allegedly imposed on the
people calling for the
reversal of the action.
Another youth leader,
Sunday Adeibi, urged
Governor Ayo Fayose to
intervene before the crisis
“completely goes out of
hand.”
Aregbesola advocates tree
planting to address climate
change challenges
O
S
By Gbenga
Olarinoye
O G B O —
GOVERNOR Rauf
Aregbesola of Osun State
has called for overhauling
of forest management to
save Nigeria and Africa
from imminent climate
change.
He said the continued
existence of the black race
on the African continent lies
in protecting and
maintaining the natural
rain-forests.
This was even as the
delegates from 19 African
countries at the African
Forest Forum, a regional
West and Central African
workshop hosted by the
Osun State University and
held in Osogbo, Osun
State, advocated tree
planting to save the
continent from the possible
negative effect of climate
change.
The participating
countries at the forum
include The Gambia,
Ghana, Sierra Leone,
Niger, Benin Republic,
Chad, Senegal, Kenya,
Tanzania, Guinea Bissau,
Cameroon, Liberia, Togo,
Congo, Burkina Faso, Cote
D’Ivoire, Burundi, Rwanda
and the host country,
Nigeria.
Addressing participants
at the state dinner party
organised in honour of the
African Forest Forum
Training Programme on
Modelling Climate and
Applications to the Forestry
Sector Delegates, Governor
Aregbesola said: “It is
unfortunate that we are yet
to revisit our history by
putting all together to
revamp the core values and
resources residing in the
‘great lake region’ as we
forgot that the region has
the socioeconomic
resources to rescue the
entire black race from the
present challenges.
“Though we have begun
forest management since
1890, in spite of this early
knowledge, we have lost 90
percent of our forest
resources, informing us on
the need to be more
conscious and sensitive to
forest development.
“We must begin to
understand that
afforestation remains the
only key to recovering our
lost vast land because the
greatest test to the freak
weather we have in this part
of the world is to plant trees
so as to prevent the possible
havoc from the storms.
“Trees require carbon
dioxide and give us
oxygen, and since we
cannot live for a second
without trees, we must
encourage seriously the
planting of trees as this
move will go a long way to
protect our environment
from possible degradation."

12—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018
:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
Obaseki places 90-day ban on
grazing in two communities
By Gabriel Enogholase
BENIN—AS
an
interim measure
aimed at forestalling further
killings and destruction of
property in Edo State,
Governor Godwin Obaseki,
has placed a 90-day ban
on grazing in Odighi,
Odiguetue communities
and environs.
He also set up a special
taskforce made up of the
Army, Police, Department of
State Services, hunters and
SPDC lauds Otuaro’s
anti-vandalism c’ttee
By Etop Ekanem
M ANAGING
Director, Shell
Petroleum Development
Company, SPDC,
Limited, Mr Osagie
Okunbor, has said Delta
State Advocacy
Committee Against
Vandalism of Oil and
Gas Facilities, chaired by
deputy governor, Mr
Kingsley Otuaro, was a
model for forging
progressive relations
between oil companies
vigilante groups to comb
the bushes and fish out the
herdsmen that have been
terrorising the
communities.
He said, “We have set up
a special taskforce made up
of the Army, Police, State
Security Service, hunters
and vigilante groups to
comb the bushes and
dislodge squatter camps of
killer herdsmen and
ensure no grazing takes
place in Odighi and
Odiguetue communities."
and oil-bearing
communities.
Okunbor spoke when
he led management staff
of SPDC to a closed-door
meeting at Government
House Annexe, Warri,
weekend, with Delta
State Advocacy
Committee, which
Otuaro called to discuss
issues raised by oilbearing
communities at
an earlier conference on
securing oil facilities in
Ogulagha, Delta State.
Senator distributes medical
equipment to health centres
in C-River
By Emma Una
C ALABAR—
SENATOR
Gershom Bassey, the
senator representing the
Southern senatorial district
of Cross River State, has
distributed medical
equipment to primary
health care and medical
centres in the district to
enhance effective
healthcare delivery in the
district.
The items distributed
include surgery apparatus,
deep freezers, power
generating sets, weighing
scales, motor cycles,
medical consumables and
baby cots among others
which were distributed in
batches to the various
health centres.
The senator who began
the distribution of the
equipment in December
2017, weekend delivered
some to Uwet Community
Health Centre in Akamkpa
Local Government Area of
the state. The items were
received by the traditional
ruler of the community, His
Highness, Clement Assia,
who expressed gratitude to
the senator for the gesture.
Mr Usang Bassey, the
Personal Assistant to the
senator on Project
Execution, who handed
the equipment to the
community, charged the
community to take good
care of the items so that
they will serve the purpose
of good healthcare delivery
which is the reason the
items are meant.
Prioritise Petroleum HOSTCOM bill
—Ex-NNPC Group GM
By Davies
Iheamnachor
PORT
HAR-
C O U R T —
FORMER Group General
Manager, Upstream
Investmemt Division,
Nigeria National Petroleum
Corporation, NNPC, Dr.
Joseph Ellah, has said that
priority attention be given
to the Petroleum Host
Community Bill in the
Petroleum Industry
Governance Bill.
Ellah advised President
Muhammadu Buhari not to
sign the bill into law in its
present state, adding that
it would impoverish the
people of Niger Delta.
He also urged
stakeholders in the oil
producing communities to
unite and move against
presidential assent to the
bill, describing the PIB
prsently passed by the
National Assembly as a
legal document aimed at
enslaving the nation.
Ellah spoke in Port
Harcourt, Rivers State, at an
event organised by Claude
Ake School of Government,
an affiliate of University of
Port Harcourt, on
Implication of the new
Petroleum Industry
Governance Bill for
Nigeria, Niger Delta and
Common man.
He said: “This PIB is just
a way they want to legally
sell off all our assets as a
nation. The provisions of
the sections marked as AA,
BB, DD TT and others in
the bill all point to the real
intention of the entire Bill,
privatisation of the oil and
gas resources to one or two
private investors or so
called strategic investors."
He expressed worries
that the process which was
supervised by the Federal
Ministry of Petroleum
Resources did not involve
states and oil producing
communities.
He said: “This PIB is just
a way through which they
want to legally sell off all
our assets as a nation. The
provisions of the sections
marked as AA, BB, DD TT
and others in the bill all
point to the real intention
of the entire Bill,
privatisation of the oil and
gas resources to one or two
private investors or so
called strategic investors.
“The legislative process
which was supervised by
the Federal Ministry of
Petroleum Resources did
not include local
communities and state
governments when the
laws that will govern them
was formulated. It does not
give much attention to the
oil producing communities.
“I am calling on President
Buhari not to sign that bill.
The bill will enslave Niger
Delta people.It will
impoverish Nigerian and
enrich few people.
“I don’t think any
president in the world will
like to sign this kind of bill.
Why would we want to sell
off all our assets?”
Meanwhile, the Director
of the Government School,
Prof. Emeh Ekekwe, who
also added his voice to the
call on the president not to
assent to the bill, noted that
signing the bill would
amount to privatisation of
the nation.
BRIEFING: From left: Alhaji Isiaq Na'Allah, Executive Director, Business
Development; Alhaji Muneer Bankole, CEO; Mr Michael Ajigbotoso, Chief
Operating Officer and Mr Stephen Fevrier, Chief Pilot, all of Med-View
Airline, at a press conference in Lagos. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele.
Gov Emmanuel tasks FCC on proper spread of
infrastructure
U YO—GOV-
ERNOR Udom
Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom
State has charged the
Federal Character
Commission, FCC, to
ensure that oil producing
states benefit more from
spread of infrastructural
facilities.
The governor gave the
charge through his Senior
Special Adviser on Special
Duties, Okpolupm Etteh,
while fielding questions
from newsmen at the end
of a workshop organised by
FCC, weekend, with the
theme “The Provision and
Spread of Socio-Economic
and Infrastructural
Facilities: The Need for
Strategic Partnership with
Stakeholders.
He said: “We do not
understand the spread of
refineries to areas that do
not have crude oil deposits.
A proper spread and
provision of physical
infrastructure in the oil and
gas industry for instance,
should be heavily
concentrated in the states
with huge crude oil
deposits.
“Crude oil deposits, at
least the ones being
explored for now, are
largely deposited in the
South-South region. Today,
Akwa Ibom is the number
one oil producing state. To
our mind, there should be
more refineries and
petroleum-related
infrastructure and facilities
in the South-South region.
“Our state and indeed the
whole of the South-South
region will be very glad to
‘strategically’ partner the
Federal Government or any
of her agencies that will act
in this direction. In
addition, it must take into
consideration the peculiar
needs of the people of a
particular area and the
resources available in the
area.”
Governor Emmanuel also
urged the Federal
Government to take the
issue of security seriously,
saying security must be
considered as the most
needed socio-economic
and infrastructural facility.
“Our reason for saying
this is that the most
important stakeholders in
our country remain the
people that make up this
country. A talk about socioeconomic
and
infrastructural facilities is a
talk about the people of this
country.
“And without the people
and a stable country, we
cannot sit down here and
begin to talk about the
provision and spread of
infrastructural facility
except only to the extent
that the talk will be about
the security of the people
and that of the country."
Group writes CPJ over DSS continued detention
of newspaper publisher
By Samuel
Oyadongha
YENAGOA—
A
peace community
advocacy group, Ondewari
Health, Education and
Environmental Project,
OHEEP, in Southern Ijaw
Local Government Area of
Bayelsa State, has sent a
protest letter to the
Committee for the
Protection of Journalists,
CPJ, over the arrest and
continued detention of
Jones Abiri, the publisher
of a local based tabloid,
Weekly Source by
operatives of Department of
State Service, DSS, in 2016.
Abiri, who is a practising
journalist was arrested on
July 21, 2016 at his Yenagoa
office and kept in the DSS
custody for alleged
involvement in militancy
and without being charged
to court or released.
The Nigeria Union of
Journalists, NUJ, the
umbrella body of Ijaw
youths, the Ijaw Youth
Council and the
newspaper publishers,
under the aegis of Pen
Pushers Association of
Nigeria, PPAN, led by the
National President, Mr
Richard Ogbagie, had
called for the immediate
release or immediate trial
of the arrested Jones Abiri,
without response from the
DSS.
OHEEP, in a statement
yesterday in Yenagoa said
“Jones Abiri is our kinsman
and a practising journalist
and was arrested two years
ago and until this moment,
no single member of his
immediate or extended
family or any member of our
community is aware of
where he is being
detained."

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018—13
:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
Wike flays non-representation of Rivers in FCC
By Egufe Yafugborhi
PORT
HAR-
C O U R T —
GOVERNOR Nyesom
Wike of Rivers State has
faulted the nonrepresentation
of the state
in the Federal Character
Commission, FCC,
charging the body to
address the widespread
cries of marginalisation in
Nigeria.
Wike expressed the
displeasure in Port Harcourt
while declaring open an
FCC workshop to sensitise
South-South stakeholders
on socio-economic and
infrastructural facilities and
strategic partnership on the
change agenda.
Represented by his
deputy, Dr. Ipalibo Banigo,
the governor said: “Rivers
State has been
shortchanged in the
distribution of federal
projects and we particularly
decry the deplorable
condition of the East-West
Road, especially the section
leading to the Onne
industrial hub.
“We enjoin FCC to
address the imbalance in
federal appointments. FCC
should live up to its
mandate by ensuring
fairness, justice and equity
in appointments and
distribution of
infrastructure across the
country.”
Acting Chairman of FCC,
Dr. Shettimar Abba, assured
that the commission was
working to remedy
identified areas where
some states have been
shortchanged in federal
appointments and
distribution of projects.
Abba, while charging
states to also ensure equity
in their distribution of
projects and appointments,
said FCC was designing
programmes to enable it
overcome identified
challenges, especially
effective data collection TO
enhance fairness in its task.
AGM: From left: Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Coronation Merchant Bank Limited,
Abu Jimoh; Chairman, Babatunde Folawiyo; Company Secretary, Cordelia Utuk and Director, Babatunde
Dabiri at the 3rd Annual General Meeting of the bank in Lagos.
PENGASSAN pickets Total E&P over alleged
transfer of employment dept
By Davies
Iheamnachor
PORT
HAR-
C O U R T —
PETROLEUM and Natural
Gas Senior Staff Association
of Nigeria, PENGASSAN,
has picketed Total
Exploration and Producing
Nigerian Limited, TEPNG,
in Port Harcourt, Rivers
State, over alleged removal
of the department
responsible for
employment from Nigeria.
The members of Total E&P
PENGASSAN branch, who
protested in Port Harcourt,
weekend, expressed worry
that the employment
department of the firm had
been removed and moved
to Paris, France, noting that
the development will affect
employment generation.
issues
The protesters, who
preferred speaking on
condition of anonymity
during the protest, called
on the Federal
Government to investigate
the development and
compel the oil giant to
return the department to
Nigeria.
They noted that the union
had related the negative
implications of the said
move to management of the
firm, but regretted that the
company went ahead with
the transfer.
One of the protesters said:
“This is a cry to all lovers of
Nigeria, to all who cherish
the youths of this great
country and who wish a
bright future for the country.
“It should have been
expected that our corporate
partners will support the
laudable efforts of President
Muhammadu Buhari in
creating jobs but Total E&P
Limited has chosen the
other path and has decided
firmly to export jobs,
Nigerian jobs, to other
countries.
“Total has initiated a
scheme, as directed by its
global headquarters, called
Total Global Service, TGS.
Its aim is to centralise all
the job-functions in selected
locations around the world.
“We urge that this move
by Total E&P Nigeria
Limited be thoroughly
investigated and halted by
the necessary agencies.”
Meanwhile, the
management of Total
described the protest as
illegal, adding that the firm
has been in talks on the
issues and wandered why
the union would stage such
protest.
In a statement, Charles
Ebereonwu, External
Relations Manager of the
firm, said: “PENGASSAN
has indicated that its
ongoing, illegal industrial
action is predicated upon
the global implementation
of the Total Group projects
in IST and Finance
Divisions of the company.
“As earlier communicated
to the Association and
hereby re-emphasised,
management is disposed
and willing to dialogue on
the specific areas of concern
as raised by the
Association."
Sanction senators who endorsed Omo-Agege’s
suspension —Delta Central APC
By Emmanuel Aziken,
Political Editor
ALL
Progressives
Congress, APC, in
Delta Central has
condemned the suspension
of Senator Ovie Omo-
Agege and asked the
national leadership of the
party to sanction APC
senators who endorsed the
action.
The Delta Central
populated by the Urhobo
said the suspension was a
violation of the rights of the
people to quality
representation as they
quarrelled with the basis of
the suspension of their
senator.
Addressing a caucus of
the APC and other Urhobo
following the suspension,
chairman of APC in Delta
Central, Olorogun Adelabu
Bodjor, said: “What took
place in the National
Assembly and the
suspension of the senator
representing the Urhobo
people in the National
Assembly, has again called
to question the affairs of the
Senate. Our Senator has
been providing quality
representation to the
people of Delta Central and
we are proud of him.
“By suspending him, if
the Senate leadership
thinks that it will deter him,
they are wrong. The
Urhobo nation is solidly
behind him, we believe in
him and we will give him
all our support at any time
and any day in this whole
process."
Okowa, Oborevwori eulogie
Otuaro at 50
By Festus Ahon
A
S A B A —
GOVERNOR
Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta
State and Speaker of
the State House of
Assembly, Chief Sheriff
Oborevwori, have
eulogised the
leadership qualities
and
astute
contributions of the
state deputy governor,
Mr Kingsley Otuaro,
towards the SMART
agenda of the state
government.
Congratulating the
deputy governor on his
50th birthday, the duo
said commitment to the
growth and
development of the
state had been
acknowledged by Deltans
of all walks of life.
Okowa, in a
congratulatory message
by his Chief Press
Secretary, Mr Charles
Aniagwu, said: “On behalf
of my family, the
government and people of
Delta State, I wish to
felicitate with my deputy
governor, Mr Kingsley
Otuaro, a party stalwart
and leader of inestimable
value, on the occasion of
his 50th birthday on April
13, 2018."
Also, Oborevwori in a
statement by his Chief
Press Secretary, Mr
Dennis Otu, described the
deputy governor as a
humble and dedicated
politician, wishing him
more fruitful years.
Obaseki, Oba of Benin partner
against human trafficking
By Simon
Ebegbulem
B ENIN—THE
Institute for
Security Studies, Abuja,
said weekend that the
synergy between
Governor Godwin
Obaseki and the Oba of
Benin, Oba Ewuare II, in
the fight against human
trafficking, illegal
migration will help bring
the menace to an end in
Edo State.
Directing Staff and
Syndicate Supervisor of
the Institute, Mrs. Angela
Oleseni, who stated this
at a dinner organised for
members of Course 11
Team from the Institute, at
Government House,
Benin City, said only
concerted efforts can
solve the menace of
human trafficking in Edo
state.
According to her, “The
efforts of the Oba of Benin,
and Governor Obaseki to curb
illegal migration and human
trafficking in the state are
highly commendable. The
institute is aware that the
curse placed on traffickers by
the Oba of Benin is part of
the collaboration between the
traditional institution and the
state government to curb
human trafficking in the
state.
“We, however, appeal for
people in the state to support
these initiatives to curb
human trafficking and illegal
migration.”
Obaseki, who was
represented by the state
Commissioner for
Communication and
Orientation, Mr Paul
Ohonbamu, expressed
satisfaction with the
delegates’ work, adding that
the team’s work will guide
policy-making.
Warri-Escravos Seaport:
Ex-lawmaker lauds FG over
approval of dredging
By Onozure
Dania
WARRI —
FORMER
Deputy Leader of Warri
South -West Legislative
Arm and chieftain of All
Progressives Congress,
APC, Delta State, Mr
Thomas Emami, has
commended President
Muhammadu Buhari,
members of the Federal
Executive Council, FEC
and the Managing
Director of Nigeria Ports
Authority, NPA, for the
approval of N13 billion for
the dredging of Warri-
Escravos Seaport in Delta
State.
Emami described the
Federal Government’s
approval as “heart-warming,
reassuring and a vindication
of Itsekiri people’s belief that
respect for the rule of law and
creating enabling
environment will certainly
result in remarkable socioeconomic
and infrastructural
development.”
He thanked President
Buhari for “heeding the call
to run for a second term,” and
enjoined the Federal
Government to immediately
“hit the ground running by
awarding the Warri-Escravos
Seaport project to reputable
companies and make sure
that it is adequately funded."

14—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018
2017 VANGUARD PERSONALITY AWARDS
From left—HRH Oba Adedinu Adebamijo, Asoya of Ile Isoya of Ife Kingdom;
HRH Oba Awosule Tokunbo,Elejesi of Ejesi Land; Aare Gani Adams, Are Onakakanfo
of Yorubaland and Erelu Abiola Dosunmu at Vanguard Personality of the Year
2017 Awards held in Lagos at the weekend. Photos by Joe Akintola, Photo Editor;
Lamidi Bamidele; Bunmi Azeez; and Akeem Salau.
Mr Billy Amuka-Pemu and his wife at the event
From left— Eunice Imategbelo, Tola Omole, Toun Okewole-Sonaiya and Edith
Lawal.
Gbenga Shobo, Deputy Managing Director (left) and Mr. Shola Adeduntan,
Managing Director, both of First Bank Nigeria Plc.
From left—Mr
Kayode Komolafe,
Deputy Managing
Director, ThisDay
Newspapers; Mrs
Funmi Komolafe,
former Labour
Editor; and Ms Titi
Jolaoso, Financial
Controller, both of
V a n g u a r d
Newspapers.
Chief Mike Inegbese and his wife
Hon Pius Sabo (left) and Hon Douglas Yahaya
From left—Mr. Gurama Bawa, Mrs. Victoria Tarfa and Mr. John Okezie.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018—15
2017 VANGUARD PERSONALITY AWARDS
From left— Chief Guy Ikokwu, Dr. Walter Ofonagoro, his wife, and Vice Admiral Allison
Madueke (retd), former Chief of Naval Staff, at the the 2017 Vanguard Personality Awards in
Lagos. PHOTOS: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor; Lamidi Bamidele, Bunmi Azeez & Akeem Salau.
From left—Special Adviser on Finance & Budget, Fatima
Hassan; Special Adviser on Political Matters, Abubakar Bawa,
and Special Adviser on Local Government, Dr. Alfred Kobiba,
all of Taraba State.
From left— Adrew Yoder, Joshua Kempeneep and Dhananjay Jagtap, all
of Phillips Pharmaceutical.
From left— Chief Guy Ikokwu, Professor Joe Irukwu and Commodore
Ebitu Ukiwe (retd).
From left— Ambassador Dele Cole, Mr. Denzel Kentebe and Chief
Ephraim Faloughi, Chairman Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc.
From left— Mr. Tajudeen Akande, President, Lagos Country Club; Mrs
Christiana Ogunnaike and Chief Olayinka Ogunnekan, past President of
the Club.
From left— Ms Adaeze Nwafor, Ms Yeye Rewane and Mrs Sussy Onyiaorah-Osu.
From left— Muhammed Inda, Publisher of Pola & Event Magazine; Abe
Ibraheem and Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire.

16—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018
:Vanguard News :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
Methodist Church asks S’East govs to
revive Nkalagu cement factory
•Says value of human life depreciated under APC govt
By Chimaobi
Nwaiwu
N
N E W I —
METHODIST
Church Nigeria, Diocese of
Onitsha (Eastern Gateway)
has called on South East
governors to join hands
together to revive the
Nkalagu Cement Factory,
as it is capable of creating
thousands of jobs for
unemployed youths.
It said that the Nkalagu
Cement Factory should not
be allowed to suffer the
same fate suffered by the
old Anambra Motor
Company, ANAMCO,
assembling plant in Enugu
which used to be the pride
of the South East.
Methodist Church
Nigeria also called on the
Federal Government to find
lasting solution to the
killings by herdsmen and
Boko Haram insurgents,
saying that “never in the
history of Nigeria has value
of human life lost its
essence like in the current
Federal Government of the
All Progressives Congress,
APC.”
The Bishop, Methodist
Diocese of Onitsha, Rt. Rev.
Livinus Biereonwu
Onugha made the call in
his address at the 16th
Annual Diocesan Synod of
the Church, titled,
“Strive for Peace and
Holiness” held at All Saints
Methodist Church, Ukpor
/Oraukwu Street Fegge,
Onitsha, Anambra State.
Bishop Onugha also
called on the chairman of
South East Governors
Forum to explore an
avenue to interact with
business men and women
of South East extraction to
seek ways and means they
can be of help to each other.
He said: “May I strongly
appeal to the South East
Governors to revive the
Nkalagu Cement Factory.
I feel so bad to hear that
ANAMCO Enugu has
been sold. Chairman of
South East Governors
Forum should explore an
avenue to interact with
business men and women
of South East to seek ways
and means to help each
other.
“We can without the
Federal Government make
the South East industrial
hub to attract the
international community.
No doubt, we can do it and
I'm proud to be an Igbo man
for God can also be called
an Igbo man. He is loving,
accommodating, creative,
enterprising, truthful and
that is the Igbo man.
"Methodist Church
Nigeria condemns in its
entirety, the violent
activities of killer herdsmen
and wonder why a
government would sit and
watch her citizens
Why Nigeria can't develop vaccines for
lassa, typhoid fevers—Prof Agwale
By Dennis Agbo
ENUGU—A Virologist,
Prof Simeon Magaji
Agwale has stated that
Nigeria has the capacity to
develop vaccines for
tropical diseases such as
lassa fever, typhoid fever,
malaria and the likes.
Agwale lamented that
Nigerians are dying of
illnesses that the country
has the capacity to eradicate
or at least combat
successfully, stressing that
there was no reason for
Nigerians to suffer such
sicknesses when they can
produce vaccines for
ailments that are peculiar
to the country and her
surroundings.
He noted that such
vaccines cannot be
developed in Europe or
America since they don’t
suffer the diseases.
Agwale who spoke
weekend, as a guest
lecturer at the 12th Public
Health lecture series of the
Association of Medical
Laboratory Scientists of
Nigeria, MLSCN,
identified "lack of political
will by government as
responsible for the inability
to establish a vaccine
factory in Nigeria."
slaughtered on daily basis
without any measure to
check the incessant and
barbaric brutal killings.
“How can the cry of
families and communities
be left unheeded by the
president whose
responsibility as the
Commander -in –Chief is
to protect lives and
properties of her citizens?
Why should a president
who is fair to all label an
unarmed group of people
terrorist against the outcry
of the international
community, only to keep
dead silence on the
activities of herdsmen who
carry automatic weapons to
kill, maim and sack
communities out of their
ancestral homes and yet,
have not been declared
terrorist group”
VISIT: From left—Executive Director, Commercial Banking, Union Bank,
Adekunle Sonola; Divisional Executive, Union Bank, Rosemary David-
Etim; and Owelle Rochas Okorocha, Executive Governor of Imo State,
during the Bank’s courtesy visit to the Government House
Only 25% of medicines used in Nigeria are
manufactured locally—Pharmacists
By Chioma
Obinna
NIGERIAN industrial
Pharmacists
weekend, decried absence
of medicine security in the
country, saying “only 25
percent of the total
medicines used in the
country are indigenously
manufactured despite
government policy that 70
per cent of medicines
should be manufactured in
the country.
Announcing its
forthcoming 21st Annual
National Conference billed
to hold in Kwara, 17th
April through 20th April,
2018, the industrial
pharmacists under the
auspices of Association of
Industrial Pharmacists of
Nigeria, NAIP, urged
government to enact
policies that would
guarantee medicines
security.
Speaking, the National
chairman, Pharm. Ignatius
Anukwu who described the
environment in which they
practice as ‘strangulating’
said water was the only local
content that goes into
medicines produced in
Nigeria while other
materials are imported.
Anukwu who noted that
Nigeria depends largely on
imported medicines for
about 80 per cent of
medicinal needs, declared
that government has failed
to give adequate protection
to indigenous
pharmaceutical companies.
He said: “The
government has not given
the industry reasonable
patronage over the years.
Where they did, the
companies have been owed
for months, or even years.
As we speak, some of the
companies have been owed
for five years for supplies
made to government.
“Notwithstanding,
Nigeria Pharmaceutical
industry has a potential
market value of between
U$800 million and more
than U$2billion annually.”
Imo has been sidelined by
Ministry of Niger Delta
—Okorocha
O
W
By Chinonso
Alozie
E R R I —
GOVERNOR
Rochas Okorocha of Imo
State yesterday said his
state has been neglected
since the Ministry of Niger
Delta was established.
Okorocha's claim was
made known to newsmen
in Owerri through his
Chief Press Secretary,
Sam Onwuemeodo, when
the Minister of State for
the ministry of Niger Delta,
Professor Claudius
Omoleye Daramola visited
him at the Government
House.
As captured by the
release, “Governor Rochas
Okorocha says Imo State
has suffered total neglect by
the Ministry of Niger Delta
since it was created and
noted that the only project
of the Ministry in the state
is the long abandoned Skill
Acquisition Centre located
at Ohaji/Egbema Local
Government.
“Vice President Yemi
Osinbajo had promised
that the Skill Acquisition
Centre would be changed
to a University of Science
and Technology and no
action has been taken on
that.
“It would have been to the
credit of the ministry and
would have equally
assisted to arrest the chaotic
situation of restiveness in
the region.”
The release quoted
Daramola to have said that,
“we are in the state to
commission a project, the
Oil Palm Processing Plant,
which he said has been
completed,
“The project to be
commissioned will add
value to the lives of people
living in that area.”
Resist being used by politicians,
Archbishop Obinna urges women
O
W
By Chidi
Nkwopara
E R R I —
NIGERIAN
women have been advised
to stoutly resist the
temptation of being used by
overbearing politicians to
achieve their selfish aims.
The Catholic Archbishop
of Owerri Ecclesiastical
Province, His Grace, Dr.
Anthony J. V. Obinna who
gave the advice while
preaching during a
concelebrated Mass at the
Maria Assumpta
Cathedral, Owerri, also
pleaded with them to
overcome their ever
growing passion for
fashion.
“Fashion, money and
power are vanities, which
will vanish one day. It is
more important to take care
of the soul than the body
because when death
comes, it shatters the
human body”, Obinna
said.
The Archbishop appealed
to women to “be beautiful
in the grace of God by
keeping their bodies holy”,
adding that they should
remain faithful to their
husbands, “even when
your husbands are not
faithful”.
While saying that some
women commit adultery to
pay their husbands in their
own coins, Obinna
however cautioned that the
practice is completely
wrong.
“This is completely
wrong. You don’t retaliate
in sin for the sake of your
soul. Everybody will die but
not every soul will die”,
Obinna cautioned.
Violence mars Ofala celebration
in Nteje community
By Chimaobi
Nwaiwu
NNEWI—CRISIS and
palpable tension
Saturday marred 2018
Ofala festival of Igwe
Roland Odegbo of Nteje
community in Oyi Local
Government Area, home of
the popular Nollywood
actor Chief Pete Edochie.
Igwe Odegbo and Chief
Charles Anaduaka, all
claimant to the office of the
traditional ruler of Nteje are
for many years locked in a
legal tussle over who
becomes the authentic
monarch for the
community.
The crisis worsened when
hundreds of protesting
community members,
mainly youths took over the
major road linking the
community to the Enugu-
Onitsha federal highway
and the rest of Anambra
East-Anambra and West
council areas, chanting
wars songs critical of Igwe
Odegbo and the Anambra
State Government.
The protesters carried
very large white coffin and
placards with inscriptions
against the state
government and those
suggesting that Ofala
festival by Igwe Odegbo
was illegal since the battle
for who is the traditional
ruler of the town is still
pending in court.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018 — 17
:Vanguard :@vanguardnews :@vanguardnewsNEWS HOTLINES:
45m Nigerians now on high
speed internet – DANBATTA
By Emmanuel
Elebeke
K ANO—THE
Executive Vice
Chairman of the Nigerian
Communications
Commission (NCC), Prof.
Umar Danbatta has said
that 45million Nigerians
are now on high speed internet
access across the
country.
Prof. Danbatta disclosed
this during the Kano
Heroes’ Award ceremony
at the weekend, where he
was conferred with the Science
and Technology Development
award
organised by Destiny
Channels Broadcasting
Network.
With eight months left to
achieve the 30 per cent
broadband target set by the
National Broadband Plan in
2012, he said the Commission
has been busy implementing
the 8 Point Agenda
of his administration
among which is achieving
the 30 per cent broadband
target by the end of 2018.
Senator re-assures constituents
of dividends of democracy
By Olasunkanmi
Akoni
LAGOS—IN fulfillment
of his campaign
promises Senator
Gbenga Ashafa, has reiterated
his commitment
to deliver dividends of
democracy to the people
in his constituency
aimed at adding values
to lives.
Ashafa, representing
Lagos East Senatorial
District, made the remarks
during an inspection
tour of various intervention
projects he
sponsored in the 2017
budget, within the senatorial
district.
The senator, who
wished the funding had
come earlier, seized the
opportunity to reiterate
his commitment to ensuring
that the people of
the 98 wards of Lagos
East enjoy the benefits of
democracy in the tangible
form.
Ashafa stated that “This
is just an inspection tour
of the projects requested
by my constituents
which I facilitated in the
2017 Appropriation Act.
I would have hoped that
the projects were completed
earlier but then
the funding for some of
the projects just came
recently, as I have been
informed by the contractors
on site.”
Notable All Progressives
Congress, APC
Party faithful in attendance
included: Elder
Lateef Sangosanya
(L.G.A Chairman), Mrs
Funke Ogun (Woman
Leader), Hon.Sulaiman
Yusuf( Former
Executive.Secretary and
Youth Leader) and Otunba
Nurudeen Yusuf.
He informed that Nigeria
is now on 22 per cent
broadband penetration,
which implies that 45 million
Nigerians are on a high
speed internet access at the
moment.
“We are busy
implementing each item of
the 8 Point Agenda. For
facilitating broadband
penetration, we are at 22
per cent, which means 45m
Nigerians have access to
high speed internet.
“We have the target of 30
per cent reach at the end
of this year, according to the
National Broadband Plan.”
“On protecting and
empowering the consumer,
we dedicated the year 2017
to the consumer and
through that campaign, we
have sensitised consumers
all over the country, how
they can protect themselves
from unsolicited text
messages by sending
HELP to the code 2442.
“We have equally through
this campaign of protecting
and empowering the
consumer sensitised
consumers about the toll
free number 622, through
which they can lay
complaints about quality of
service they are receiving.
These are the processes we
have recorded success in
two of the 8 items of our
agenda. But we have made
good progress in every item
of the 8 Point Agenda.”
On the award, Danbatta
said it was appropriate to
recognise contributions of
leaders who had exhibited
integrity and sacrifice in
their service to humanity
and to project them as role
models for the younger
‘Medview not indebted to anyone'
By Lawani Mikairu only part of efforts to jig its international service
T
operations
providers as rumoured ,
HE Managing This explanation was adding that Med-
Director, Med-View made by Bankole in a View “had paid to the tune
Airlines, Alhaji Muneer media briefing in Lagos to of $9,000,000 (Nine Million
Bankole weekend said the debunk the recent Dollars)to Gatwick
airline was not indebted to publication by an online Authority, Menzies and
its service providers media that the airline World Fuel in the United
including the international was currently owing Kingdom alone”.
ones. He also said the salaries and other service According to him , the
airline was financially providers . He explained airline decided to
solvent as the recent that the airline is not temporarily scale down its
rationalization of staff was indebted to any of its operations as two of its
aircraft are currently
undergoing major checks at
a repair facility abroad. This
explains why it has
concentrated on domestic
flights and London
operations, adding that it
will return to all its routes
once the planes are back to
Nigeria from the checks.
Bankole said: “if you owe
a foreign service provider
you will not last six months.
Reason is that the
antecedents of the past and
many airlines have come
and did not last six months
then left a bad taste in the
mouth. So what they told
us is that we must have a
commitment to give
3months.

18 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018
ON Thursday, March 29, 2018, the
Vice-President, Professor Yemi
Osinbajo, flagged off the
construction of the Lekki Seaport,
which the Lagos State Government
is championing in partnership with
some foreign investors.
The elated VP, while pledging the
full support of the Federal
Government to see the project to
logical conclusion in 2021, counted
the blessings the new facility will
bestow on Lagos, the nation’s
economic capital, and the nation as
a whole.
The seaport is expected to be one
of the deepest in West Africa with
carrying capacity to become the hub
of port operations within the region.
The promoters of the project also
promised to provide a wide-access
port channel that will enable the port
handle vessels which no other port
currently situated in Nigeria can
handle. It is also expected to provide
As we welcome Lekki deep seaport
up to 170,000 jobs directly and
indirectly.
Certainly, the Lekki Seaport, which
is one of the many ambitious projects
embarked upon by the Lagos State
Government in its dogged
determination to lift the metropolis
to a world-class business and
tourism city, is a welcome
development. We hope that all
partners and stakeholders will
pursue its accomplishment with
single-minded commitment as it will
be a giant leap for the Nigerian
economy.
We, however, hope that with the
coming on-stream of this facility, the
ports in Apapa which are owned and
operated by the Federal Government,
will not be abandoned to their fates.
We raise this concern because even
now that the Apapa ports are still the
main non-oil revenue source for the
national economy, there is very little
footprint of effective governance
there. Traffic gridlocks, which have
bogged down economic activities for
years, have remained intractable as
tankers, trailers and trucks from all
over the country simply descend on
the axis and choke it to a standstill.
In addition to that, the surrounding
districts like Olodi Apapa, Ajegunle,
Amuwo Odofin, Satellite Town,
Kirikiri and others, hardly receive the
attention of the Federal and Lagos
State governments in terms of
maintenance of its amenities.
These two port zones and the
prospective port facilities at Badagry
should complement one another for
the interest of the economy.
We, once again, call the attention
of the Federal Government and state
governments to the need to also
ensure that port and inland container
terminal facilities in other parts of the
country are fully activated to take the
heavy traffic burden off Lagos. This
will also spread economic prosperity
and make life much easier for
business operators and other
stakeholders.
The even development of ports and
container terminals in all parts of the
country will help integrate the nation
and give Nigerians a sense of
inclusion.
By Nate Schenkkan
ON Thursday morning, six Turkish
men who were living in Kosovo
suddenly disappeared.
That afternoon, a Turkish state news
agency published photos of the six
looking disheveled and standing next
to Turkish flags; it wasn’t clear where
the pictures were taken. The news story
accompanying the images said the men
were high-ranking members of the
Gulen movement, a former ally of the
Turkish Government that officials now
accuse of trying to overthrow the state
since 2013. The report claimed that the
men had been “arrested” in an operation
between Turkey’s National Intelligence
Organisation, MIT, and Kosovo’s
intelligence agency, and that they had
already been brought back to Turkey on
a private plane.
But were they? For more than two days
after the first public reports of the arrests,
it was unclear whether they were in
Turkey or still in Kosovo but somehow
in Turkish custody. Only on Saturday
morning were they clearly confirmed to
be in Turkey. As the alleged deportations
began to look increasingly like outright
abductions, they have become a real-time
example of the threat posed by Ankara’s
flagrant disregard for international
norms. Countries that host Turkish
citizens all over the world should be on
notice that Ankara’s efforts to track down
its opponents overseas poses a threat to
their domestic rule of law.
In the first reports, Turkish and
Kosovar officials claimed that the men
had been deported to Turkey. Yet, their
lawyers were never given access to
them, and neither country’s authorities
OPINION
Turkey’s threat to domestic rule of law
gave proof of their location or condition
to the men’s families in Kosovo. That
fuelled rumours that they might still be
in the country, perhaps inside the
Turkish Embassy or at the airport in
Pristina, the capital. Their rights have
clearly been violated. They were
detained without access to a lawyer or
the ability to contest the reasons for their
detention and deportation. And they
were in custody of a country where ill
Countries that host
Turkish citizens all over
the world should be on
notice that Ankara’s
efforts to track down its
opponents overseas poses
a threat to their domestic
rule of law
treatment and torture of the
government’s opponents are common.
The Pristina abductions are merely the
latest episode of Turkey’s global purge,
the government’s campaign to pursue
its opponents all over the world, which
began in 2014 but has accelerated
dramatically since the coup attempt of
July 2016. In this time, Turkey has
repeatedly resorted to extra-legal means
to target its perceived opponents abroad.
Media monitoring shows at least 15
countries on three continents where
Turkey’s pressure led to arrests or
deportations. In five countries, Turkish
citizens who had sought asylum were
sent back to Turkey before their request
was processed, a violation of
international law. In at least three other
countries, Turkey’s intelligence agency
appears to have been involved in
operations to extra-judicially abduct
people from other countries to Turkey.
Turkey’s media has also previously
reported about the formation of a special
MIT team to hunt Gulenists abroad.
Kosovo’s Prime Minister, President
and Chairman of Parliament initially said
that the operation was conducted without
their knowledge. The Minister of
Interior and the head of Kosovo’s
intelligence have already been
dismissed, but the crisis may not stop
there, as the events call into question
the integrity of state institutions among
Kosovars and the government’s
subordination to foreign powers. The
opposition has called for a parliamentary
investigation into the events. On
Saturday, Turkey’s President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, denounced Kosovar
Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj and
called on Kosovo’s citizens to bring him
to account for having the gall to object
to a Turkish operation on Kosovo’s
territory.
The idea that Turkish intelligence
would brazenly abduct its citizens from
a country with which it has putatively
good relations is a shocking offence
against both international human rights
standards and bilateral norms. Turkey’s
allies are once again witnessing just
how Ankara values its bilateral
relationships. The practice of taking
citizens of its allies as hostages — as
Turkey has done with Germany and the
United States — was bad enough. Now
Ankara is demonstrating its willingness
to abduct Turkish citizens from a friendly
country’s territory.
The Pristina events also throw into
sharp relief the implications of Turkey’s
global purge for the dozens of countries
all over the world where accused Turkish
dissidents have gathered — a group that
may number in the hundreds of
thousands, given the guilt-byassociation
criteria that Ankara is
applying domestically and abroad in its
“anti-terrorism” operations against
academics, Kurdish activists, journalists
and the Gulen movement. With reports
of Turkish intelligence activities in
multiple countries, including other
kidnapping plots, governments should
become much more willing to offer
Turkish citizens asylum and must look
very skeptically upon Turkish
government requests for arrest and
extradition.
In his first speech referring to the
operation, Erdogan applauded the
Kosovo operation, saying: “Wherever
they may go, we will wrap them up and
bring them here, God willing. And here
they will be held to account.” Turkey is
seemingly willing to violate international
law to do just that. Every country where
Turkish citizens seek refuge should be
mindful.
•Mr. Schenkkan, works for Freedom
House and directs the Nations in Transit
project, an annual survey of democratic
governance from central Europe to
Eurasia.

By Babajide Komolafe
Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018 — 19
Credit to private sector rises by N633bn in February
Credit to private sector rose by
N633 billion to N22.6 trillion
i
n
February, surpassing credit to
the government which rose by N161
billion to N4.29 trillion during the
month.
The above, which indicates increased
willingness by banks to lend to
....As banks lose N96bn current account deposits
...CBN to sustain liquidity mop-up
businesses and households,
contradicted the trend in January,
when credit to the private sector fell by
N300 billion while credit to the
government rose by N284 billion.
Analysts at Lagos based Cowry Asset
Management Limited attributed the
increase in credit to government in
February to investors’ preference for
safe assets.
“The increase in credit to the
government was, in part, informed by
the sustained preference for safe assets
by lenders despite the moderation in
yields since the inception of the year
as Federal Government planned to
restructure its debt profile in 2018”, they
said.
Meanwhile, banks lost N96 billion
current account deposits in two
months, January and February.
According to the Depository
Corporation survey for February
released by the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) last week, banks’ demand
(current account) deposits fell for the
second consecutive months by N34
Continues on Page 20
MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018
Vanguard Economic Discourse:
Experts divided on tax compliance
… VAIDS unlikely to generate more revenue for FG– Agusto
By Yinka Kolawole, Nkiruka
Nnorom, Rosemary Onuoha &
Elizabeth Adegbesan
• Kyari Bukar
•Bode Agusto
Financial experts, economists and
other leaders of thought that gathered
at the 2018 Vanguard Economic
Discourse have disagreed on the level
of compliance by Nigerians with
regards to tax payment.
They also expressed divided opinion
on the ability of the federal
government to generate more revenue
from the Voluntary Assets and Income
Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) recently
launched by the government to enforce
tax compliance.
Speaking on the theme of the
Discourse: “Economy in Rebound:
Pitfalls, Trajectories and Resetting”,
Dr. Bode Agusto, the keynote speaker,
said that one of the ways the
government would fix the economy is
by enforcing tax compliance and
relinquishing its control over
infrastructure spending.
Agusto said that the drive by the
federal government, FG, to improve
tax compliance and consequently tax
revenue through VAIDS will not
suffice as the bulk of the benefits will
go to states.
Continues on page 20
Coronation Merchant
Bank’s gross earnings rise
66% to N25.2bn
PAGE.22
Bargain hunting activity
to continue this
week
PAGE 27
Nigeria population
advantageous if government
pays adequate remuneration
— Issa Aremu
PAGE 26

20 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018
FINANCIAL VANGUARD
Continues from page 19
He urged the government to
go after owners of small
businesses that evade tax,
even as he said that
compliance on personal
income tax is largely lacking.
He stated: “In the UK, one
percent of companies pay 80
percent of corporation tax. In
my opinion, the concentration
in Nigeria might be higher. I
believe that the top one
percent of companies in
Nigeria are largely compliant
with respect to Company
Income tax, CIT. ‘‘This means
VAIDS is unlikely to generate
significant additional
sustainable revenue for the
federal government.
Although improved
compliance will improve FG
revenues as well, she still
needs to cut her costs.’’
Disagreeing with him,
Muda Yusuf, Director
General, Lagos Chamber of
Commerce and Industry, said
that tax payment should be
approached from the
perspective of the economic
structure.
“This economy is a dual
economy. When I say dual, it
is principally the formal sector
of the economy and informal
sector of the economy. The
formal sector of the economy
is over taxed. When you talk
of taxation, it is not just about
the conventional tax, company
tax, etc. Businesses pay a lot
of levies and fees annually.
“These things put a lot of
burden on businesses. We
have a situation where we
have almost 50 percent of the
informal sector who are not
captured in the taxation policy
or in the tax length. We have
a few informal sector
percentage providing tax
revenue to support the
economy. The issue therefore
is about broadening the tax
length and making sure that
we get the other segment of
the economy to also be on
board,” Yusuf said.
Speaking in defence of the
Nigerian workers, Comrade
Issa Aremu, who is the
General Secretary, National
Union of Textile, Garments
and Tailoring Works of Nigeria
as well as the vice president
Industrial Global Union,
African Region, said:
“Nigerian workers pay taxes,
and the taxes are deducted at
source, it is automatic. We pay
as we earn, PAYE.”
Tony Okpanachi, Managing
Director, Development Bank
of Nigeria, DBN, empahsised
the need to make the teeming
youth population more
productive if the government
hoped to generate additional
tax from them.
In his words: “If you look at
the demography and the
composition of the population,
you we will discover that most
of them are youths.
“So, if you want to talk about
increasing government
revenues, increasing taxes to
• Patience Oniha
This means
VAIDS is unlikely
to generate
significant
additional
sustainable
revenue for the
federal
government.
Although
improved
compliance will
improve FG
revenues as well,
she still needs to
cut her costs.
be able to fund some of the
national projects, you also
have to make them
productive such a way that
they are able to contribute in
their own way to be able to
pay their taxes.”
VAIDS
Speaking on the ability of the
government to generate more
revenue via VAIDS, Agusto
said: “To improve tax
compliance and consequently
tax revenues, the government
has embarked upon a
Voluntary Assets and Income
Declaration Scheme (VAIDS).
In my opinion, the bulk of the
benefits of this scheme will go
to the states and not the FG.
This is because the greatest
tax evaders are individuals
and the relevant tax
•Issa Aremu
authorities for the
administration of Personal
Income Tax in Nigeria are the
states.
“The major federally
collectible non-oil taxes are
Value Added Tax (VAT),
Companies’ Income Tax (CIT)
•Muda Yusuf
and Import Taxes. States and
Local Governments receive 85
percent of VAT and import
taxes are contingent upon
ability to find US Dollar to
fund imports. With weak crude
oil prices, the supply of USD
is short. CIT is contingent
upon profits, the economy is
struggling and corporate
profits have suffered.”
In her submissions, Mrs.
Patience Oniha, Director
General, Debt Management
Office, DMO, said: “Talking
about tax, I think the informal
sector is about 60 per cent of
the GDP, if the figures from the
National Bureau of Statistics,
NBS, are accurate. So,
certainly there will be some
revenue that will accrue
under the VAIDS, from
entities that are registered as
companies but haven’t been
paying tax may be due to the
fact that enforcement has not
been as aggressive as it is
now. So, I believe both the FG
and state governments will
get some money from there.
‘‘On lowering corporate tax
rate so that probably
companies can have more
retained earnings and invest,
we saw that tried in the
United States recently. Some
of the big entities increased
the wage per hour but at the
same time some of them laid
off some workers. So there are
some mixes there that we
should look at in that.”
Speaking further, she said
“On government securities
being tax free, we actually
pushed for bonds issued by
corporates to be tax exempt
and they are actually tax
exempt. So the issue is, why
is all of that money, despite
the benefits of government
reducing its borrowing in the
domestic market, not getting
to the real sector to create jobs
and stimulate growth?’’

FINANCIAL VANGUARD
Continues from page 20
Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018 — 21
Credit to private sector rises by N633bn in February
billion in February to
N9.16 trillion. In
January, banks’ demand
deposits dropped by N64
billion to N9.2 trillion.
Thus, banks lost N96
billion in demand
deposits in the first two
months of the year.
The Depository
Corporation survey for
February showed Broad
Money increased by
0.79 percent month-onmonth
(m-o-m) to N24.02
trillion in February 2018
as a 7.89 percent m-o-m
increase in Net Domestic
Assets (NDA) to N9.62
trillion partially offset a
3.46 percent m-o-m
decrease in Net Foreign
Assets (NFA) to N14.40
trillion.
On domestic asset
creation, the increase in
NDA was driven by a
4.11 percent increase in
Net Domestic Credit
(NDC) to N26.91 trillion,
offset by a 2.13 percent
m-o-m increase in Other
Liabilities (net) to
N17.29 trillion in the
month under review.
Further breakdown of
NDC showed a 2.88
percent m-o-m increase
in Credit to the Private
sector to N22.62 trillion,
that constituted 84
percent of the NDC,
accompanied by 11.17
percent increase in
Credit to the Government
to N4.29 trillion.
On the liabilities side,
increase in Broad Money
followed a 1.81 percent
m-o-m increase in Quasi
Money (near maturing
short term financial
instruments) to N13.29
while Narrow Money fell
to N10.78 trillion (of
which Demand Deposits
fell by 0.35 percent to
N9.16 trillion) in 2018.
Meanwhile, Reserve
Money (Base Money)
increased m-o-m by 6.38
percent to N6.45 trillion
as bank reserves rose m-
o-m by 10.49 percent to
N4.17 trillion while
Currency in circulation
fell m-o-m by 0.42
percent to N1.94 trillion.
Cost of funds to rise as
CBN sustains liquidity
mop-up
Cost of funds in the
interbank money market
will rise this week as the
CBN is expected to
sustain its aggressive
liquidity mop-up
operations to address
excess liquidity which
persisted in the market
last week.
Last week, the market
experienced inflow of
N476 billion from
matured treasury bills,
TBs, which prompted
further decline in cost of
funds. Consequently
average short term
interbank interest rate
dropped by 251 basis
points (bpts) to 1.21
percent last week from
3.8 percent the previous
week.
Data from FMDQ
revealed that interest rate
on Collateralised
lending (Open Buy
Back, OBB) dropped by
134 bpts to 2.33 percent
last week from 3.67
percent the previous
week.
Similarly, interest rate
on Overnight lending
dropped by 108 bpts to
2.92 percent last week
from 4.0 percent the
previous week.
In a bid to contain the
excess liquidity in the
system which rose to
N1.1 trillion on
Thursday, the CBN
offered and sold N500
billion worth of
secondary market (Open
Market Operations,
OMO) TBs.
Analysis of the OMO
offer revealed increased
investors’ apathy for
short dated bills and
preference for long dated
bills. While the N100
billion worth of 112-Days
bills offered was grossly
subscribed as investors
demanded for N1.2
billion, with stop rate at
12.2 percent, the N400
billion worth of 245-Days
bills recorded huge
oversubscription as
investors demanded for
NN963.9 billion worth of
bills, with stop rate at
13.99 percent.
This week, while there
will be an inflow of
N263.37 billion from
maturing TBs, which is
more than expected
outflow through primary
market TB sale of N58.49
billion, the CBN is
expected to offer and sell
more OMO bills so as at
bring the volume of
excess liquidity to
appropriate levels.
In their projections for
this week, Cowry Assets
analysts stated: “This
week, T-bills worth
N263.37 billion will
mature via both primary
and secondary market
which will more than
offset the treasury bills
worth N58.49 billion to
be auctioned via the
primary market; viz: 91-
day bills worth N5.85
billion, 182-day bills
worth N29.25 billion and
364-day bills worth
N23.396 billion. Hence
we expect sustained
ease in financial system
liquidity with
concomitant moderation
in interbank rate. This,
however, should warrant
increased OMO auctions
in order to mop up excess
liquidity.”
Naira depreciates as
I&E turnover drops by
8.5%
On the foreign
exchange scene, the
naira depreciated in the
parallel market and in
the Investors and
Exporters (I&E) window
last week.
In the parallel market,
the naira depreciated by
N1 as the parallel market
exchange rate rose to
N363 per dollar last week
from N362 per dollar the
previous week.
In the I&E window, the
naira depreciated by 31
kobo, as the indicative
exchange rate of the
window rose to N360.32
per dollar last week from
N360.01 per dollar the
previous week.
Financial Vanguard
analysis also showed that
volume of dollars traded
in the window dropped
by 8.5 percent to $1.17
billion last week from
N1.28 billion the
previous week.
The CBN however
sustained its weekly
intervention in the
foreign exchange
market, as it injected
$210 million through the
interbank foreign
exchange market.
According to the apex
bank, $100 million was
allocated to the
wholesale segment,
while the SME window
and invisibles each
received $55 million.
•Depository Corporation survey
•Exchange rates
•Interbank Interest rates
C
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22 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018
FINANCIAL VANGUARD
Unity Bank boosts youth
empowerment with UniFi
L-R: Executive Director, South, Temisan Tuedor, Executive Director, Business Development &
Compliance, Usman Abdulqadir and Executive Director, Finance & Operations, Ebenezer
Kolawole-all of Unity Bank Plc during the launch of UniFi - a Youth Banking product at University
of Lagos.
Coronation Merchant Bank’s gross earnings rise
66% to N25.2bn
By Adaeze Okechukwu
CORONATION Merchant
Bank Limited said its
gross earnings rose by 66
percent to N25.2 billion for the
financial year ended December
2017 from N15.2 billion in 2016.
Chief Executive Officer of the
investment bank, Mr.
Abubakar Jimoh, disclosed this
during the company’s third
annual general meeting held
in Lagos last week.
Jimoh explained that growth
was “driven primarily by the
strong performance in core
revenue lines,” noting that the
bank also recorded 67 percent
growth in its interest income
which rose to N22.4 billion from
N13.4 billion in 2016,
demonstrating high quality of
earnings and sustainability of
its core business.
However, this did not result
in an improved net-interest
margin. The net interest
margin remained relatively
unchanged due to the interest
expense component, which
shot up by 167 percent to N14.4
billion from N5.4 billion in
2016.
In addition, the company’s
Profit before Tax (PBT) fell
marginally to N5.1 billion from
N5.3 billion in 2016. This was
in spite of the 57 percent
increase in non-interest income
which stood at N2.8
billion, buoyed by gains on
investment securities.
Jimoh noted: “We make
deliberate effort to increase our
exposure to obligors who fall
within our risk acceptance
criteria in target economic
sectors. We will continue to
maintain a disciplined and
prudent approach in our
exposures to dollar based
assets in line with our overall
risk management framework
and evidenced in our growth
in loan book of 42 percent
which increased from N22.7
billion to N32.3 billion with
zero non performing loans,
NPL.”
With respect to declared
dividend, Chairman of the
bank, Mr. Yinka Folawiyo,
during the AGM, proposed
dividend of 30 kobo per
ordinary share which was
approved by the shareholders.
This 100 percent increase in the
dividend per share to 30 kobo
from 15 kobo, will increase the
company’s dividend
payout ratio to 32 percent from
15 percent in 2016. Thus, the
company will make a total
dividend payment of N1.5
billion this year.
Folawiyo added: “While
general economic conditions
and the regulatory environment
remain tight, we believe that
our new business and lending
Dr. Uche Olowu’s
inauguration has been slated
for next month at an Investiture
ceremony at the Bankers house,
Victoria Island, Lagos.
Before his election as
President, Dr. Uche Olowu has
been the Institute’s fir st vice
president and chairman, Board
of Fellows/Practice Licenses of
the Institute. He is a seasoned
professional banker and astute
scholar with over 30 years
cognate experience. He has a
Masters degree in Business
Administration (MBA) in
Management from Rivers State
University of Science &
Technology (RUST), Port
Harcourt, where he
By Elizabeth Adegbesan
UNITY Bank Plc has
introduced a new
product, UniFi, aimed at
creating empowerment for
youths nationwide.
The bank also presented
three winners of the UniFiers
initiative cheques of N500,
000 seed capital, with the
winners representing each of
the three themes of the Unifier
namely: the humanitarian,
builder and lanterns.
Speaking to Journalists on
the sidelines of the cheque
presentation event held at the
University of Lagos,
Lagos, Executive Director
Unity Bank, Ebenezer
Kolawole, who represented
strategies, embedded risk
management culture and
continuous cost savings will
enable us stand firm
throughout this period. In the
coming years, we will focus on
the disciplined implementation
of our growth strategy to drive
efficiency in all segments of our
business leveraging financial
technologies (fintechs) and
process re-engineering.”
CIBN reconstitutes governing council, elects
Olowu as President
THE Chartered Institute of
Bankers of Nigeria,
CIBN, has elected new
national officers to steer its
affairs for the next two years.
At the head of the newly
constituted Governing Council
as President/Chairman of
Council is Dr. Uche Messiah
Olowu, FCIB, a banker of
repute. Other officers elected to
assist Dr. Olowu in the task of
running affairs of the Institute
are Mr. Bayo Williams
Olugbemi, FCIB who emerged
the first vice-president; Mr.
Kenneth Onyewuchi Opara,
FCIB, 2 nd Vice-President and
Prof. Pius Oladeji Olanrewaju,
FCIB, National Treasurer
ACUSTOMER of Union
Bank of Nigeria, UBN Plc,
Julius Ijibadejo, has emerged
the proud winner of a brand new
MG3 car in the final draw of the
bank’s centenary anniversary
customer promo, which kicked
off last year.
The lucky winner, who is a
trader based in Oshogbo, was
presented with the car at a
ceremony which took place in
traditionally capped it with a
Doctor of Philosophy degree
(Ph.D) in management-
Organisational Behaviour.
the Managing Director, Unity
Bank, Mrs. Tomi Somefun,
said: “UniFi is a youth
product and we are trying to
create it as a kind of product
to empower the youths. At a
time like this in the history of
Nigeria, I think we really have
to find a platform to build up
our youths from the cradle,
and thus give them
empowerment from the life
after education.”
On his part, the General
Manager, Products and
Channels Directorate, Mr.
Bonaventure Okhaimo
explained that the UniFi was
one of the bank’s innovative
ways of assisting the youths
in achieving their dreams.
“It is a youth banking
proposition that is focused on
using digital channels to
achieve your dreams. As
much of what we are doing,
we also have an initiative that
we call UniFiers. The
UniFiers is built around three
different themes,
humanitarian, builder and
lanterns. Out of these themes
we have a lot of people
putting in their plans on
social media and people vote
for them and we have a
winner in each theme. Each
of these winners is having a
seed capital of N500, 000. The
winners will be unveiled and
will be given their cheques.
“We are taking this product
around the country. The first
batch is to run in about six
universities. We took it from
University of Lagos. We are
going to launch the product
in six geopolitical zones and
we hope that at the end of it
all we have also added our
input on the growth of the
youth.”
FirstBank’s Verve offers free
petrol in card promo
IN partnership with Verve
International, First Bank of
Nigeria Limited has
announced a promotion to
reward its customers for using
their FirstBank Verve card to
purchase petrol at selected
Oando filling stations in Lagos.
FirstBank Verve Card holders
would receive free extra litres
Union Bank rewards customer with brand new car
Dopemu, Lagos.
The customer promo which ran
all through last year when the
bank celebrated a century of
operations in Nigeria, saw Union
Bank giving out three brand new
cars as well as other prizes
including flat-screen television
sets, generator sets, microwave
ovens, shopping vouchers and
airtime to several of its customers
across the country.
Speaking concerning the
customer promotion, Paul Aseme,
Head of Retail Segments, UBN
Plc, stated, “We ran the customer
promo as part of efforts to thank
our customers for their
commitment to us as a bank. They
remain the focus of our business
and we are committed to
partnering with them as they work
to achieve their goals and
ambitions.”
of petrol each time they use
their FirstBank verve cards to
purchase a minimum of N3,000
worth of petrol, The selected
Oando petrol stations where
the promo will run are the
Maryland, Marina, Alapere
and Ojodu Berger stations.
The promo which will run
from Thursday to Monday
every week between 8 a.m. and
8 p.m. will end on Monday,
May 21, 2018.
Verve Card is a secure debit
card which allows the cardholder
to conveniently meet
day to day financial needs like
the payment for goods and
services, airtime recharge, bill
payments, funds transfer
amongst others. It is accepted
at all ATMs, POS/Web/Mobile
Channels, Firstmonie Agent
Kiosks, and Bank branches
connected to the Interswitch
network in Nigeria.

C
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VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018 — 23

24 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018
FINANCIAL VANGUARD
Bargain hunting activity to continue this week
•As investors gain N31bn
By Nkiruka Nnorom Limited, said: “Despite
C
subsisting weak sentiment, we
APITAL market operators maintain our near term positive
have said that low prices outlook on the market. Hence,
of value stocks will increase the in the coming week, we expect
likelihood of bargain hunting market performance to be
in the stock market this week. driven by increased bargain
This is even as investors hunting as already witnessed
recorded N31billion gains
following a week of mixed
trading.
The market had extended its
bearish trend at the beginning
of the week with the All Share
Index, ASI, falling by one By Peter Egwuatu
percent on Monday. However,
F
on Tuesday and Wednesday, IRST City Asset
the ASI appreciated Management Limited
considerably due to bargain (FCAM), a member of FCMB
hunting in Dangote Cement Group Plc, has recorded an
Plc, International Breweries Plc impressive 244.44 percent
and FBN Holdings Plc. subscription in its Initial Public
Nonetheless, profit taking Offering (IPO) Legacy Bond.
activities resumed on Thursday The result of the IPO, which
with the ASI sliding but the has been approved by the
week was rounded off on a Securities and Exchange
positive note with the Commission (SEC), implies
benchmark index recording that the Fund attracted
another gain, resulting in 0.21 US$6.111million, which
percent increase for the week. represents an over-subscription
Making projections for the of 144.44 percent above the
week, analysts at Cordros US$2.5million offered to
Capital said: “Stillstrengthening
macroeconomic the offer period from January
prospective unit holders during
fundamentals and declining 8, 2018 to February 14, 2018.
fixed income yields continue to This is an indication of the
strengthen our medium-tolong
term outlook for Nigerian confidence in the Legacy USD
high level of investor
risky assets, while relatively Bond Fund and FCAM.
lower prices of value stocks The Legacy USD Bond Fund
buoy likelihood of bargainhunting
in the short term.” vehicle registered with the SEC
is an open-ended investment
Also Afrinvest Securities and managed by FCAM. It
GTBank grows balance sheet
by 3.9% — Agbaje
GUARANTY Trust Bank,
GTBANK Plc has
grown its balance sheet size
by 3.9 percent in the financial
year ended December 31,
2017.
Group Managing Director/
CEO, Mr. Segun Agbaje,
disclosed this to stakeholders
after the just concluded
Annual General Meeting,
AGM, in Lagos, stating: “The
bank’s balance sheet
remained strong with a 3.9
percent growth in total assets
and contingents as the bank
closed the year ended
December 2017 with total
assets and contingents of
N3.845 trillion and
shareholders’ funds of N625.2
billion.
In terms of assets quality,
Non-Performing Loan, NPL
ratio increased to 7.7 percent
in December 2017 from 3.7
percent in December 2016
largely as a result of
classification of a single
exposure within the Nigerian
telecommunications industry.
However, non-performing
loans would moderate to 4.6
percent, which is below
regulatory threshold, if we
exclude this name from NPL
this week.
According to analysts at
Meristem Securities, investors
are expected to take position on
some counters that shed
significantly last week.
Meanwhile, investors gained
N31 billion last week after the
market capitalisation of listed
equities rose to N14.784 trillion
from N14.753 trillion the
previous week, representing
0.21 percent increase.
Similarly, the ASI advanced by
0.21 percent to close at
40,928.70 points from 40,841.14
points. Sector performance was
largely bearish as only two of
FCAM’s Legacy Dollar Bond Fund IPO records
144.44% over subscription
ratio computation. Overall,
asset quality remains stable
with adequate coverage of
119.6 percent, while capital
remains strong with Capital
Adequacy Ratio, CAR of 25.7
percent.”
On the backdrop of this
result, he stated that Return
on Equity (ROAE) and Return
on Assets (ROAA) closed at
35.4 percent and 6.2 percent
respectively.
Commenting further on the
financial results,Agbaje, said;
“2017 was a pivotal year for
the bank. We delivered a
strong result in a challenging
environment; achieving
record growth in earnings,
carefully managing cost
margins and leveraging our
digital-first customer-centric
strategy to deliver world-class
services that are simple, cheap
and easily accessible.”
“The result demonstrates the
fundamental strength of our
franchise as well as the
progress we are making in
transforming our organization
into a platform in which our
customers could build their
businesses, connect with their
consumers and access all the
resources that they need to.”
gives investors the opportunity
to invest in US Dollar
denominated fixed income
securities on a continuous
basis. It also provides flexibility
with respect to the timing of
investments in, and
redemptions from the Fund.
The objective of the Legacy
USD Bond Fund is to generate
stable income over the longterm.
The Fund is being
managed as a unit trust
scheme designed for investors
seeking an efficient way to
earn stable income in US Dollar
to invest in a portfolio
comprising of high quality,
registered, and tradeable US
Dollar fixed income securities.
In a statement, FCAM
disclosed that a total of 67
applications for 6,111,000 units
were received with none of the
applications found to be
invalid. Details of the
applications and allotment of
the Offer, according to FCAM,
shows that 17 applicants
purchased the minimum
number of units of 5,000.
In his comments, the Chief
Executive Officer of FCAM,
Mr. James Ilori, said: “We are
delighted at the level of
participation of the investing
public, in the Legacy USD
Bond Fund Offer. The Fund
provides an excellent
opportunity for investors to
regularly save in US Dollar
and has now re-opened to new
and existing investors. FCAM’s
internationally trained
investment team will manage
the Fund in line with the
investment objective of income
generation. We remain
committed to creating
additional value for individual
and institutional investors.”
EY set to hold audit
committee forum
ERNST & Young Nigeria
(EY), has concluded
arrangements to bring together
banks’ audit committee
members across board, as part
of efforts to brainstorm on
governance related issues
bringing into perspective the
evolving demands of business,
regulators and investors alike.
The Audit Committee Forum
with an agenda ‘The future of
Governance - Digital,
technology and innovation’,
holds on Wednesday, April 18,
2018 in Lagos.
Speakers, who are mainly
experts in financial sector, will
the five sectors closed in the
green. The oil and gas sector
led the gainers chart, rising by
3.8 percent buoyed by buy
interest in Seplat Petroleum
Development Company Plc,
which rose by five percent
during the week
The industrial goods sector,
followed, appreciating by 1.3
percent on the back of two
percent and 0.7 percent
increase in Dangote Cement
Plc and Lafarge Africa
respectively. On the flipside,
the banking and insurance
sectors were pulled down 2.2
percent and 0.8 percent
respectively as a result of
losses in United Bank of Africa,
UBA’s shares, which fell by 10.5
percent and Zenith Bank Plc,
which also nose-dived by 4.4
percent, while Aiico Insurance
also fell by 4.4 percent.
Similarly, the consumer goods
sector plunged by 0.7 percent
following sell offs in Unilever
Nigeria Plc, which depreciated
by 13 per cent.
be looking to unpack issues
around the role and
responsibilities of the Audit
Committee members and how
their roles have evolved in
recent time. Other areas of
interest to zero in on will be the
impact of digital technologies
on internal audit with specific
focus on ways technological
innovation is changing the
internal audit function.
Speakers will also take a deep
dive into International Finance
Reporting Standard IFRS 9 and
other developments impacting
financial instruments
accounting, among others.

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018 — 25

26 —Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018
FINANCIAL VANGUARD
Nigeria population advantageous if
government pays adequate remuneration
— Issa Aremu
By Princewill Ekwujuru
The Vice President Global
Union, African Region,
Mr. Issa Aremu , at the
second edition of the
Vanguard economic discourse
last weekend titled,
“Economy in Rebound:
Pitfalls, Trajectories and
Resettings”, said that the
Nigerian population can be an
asset if government pay
workers adequate and proper
remuneration.
Aremu also stated that if
government channels its
spending properly the
Nigerian population is an
advantage.
Though Aremu expressed
excitement with the keynote
speech by Bode Agusto, he
disagreed with some parts of
the speech particularly on tax
payment, where Agusto
argued that Nigerians do not
pay taxes.
In defence of the Nigerian
worker, Aremu stated:
“Nigerian workers pay taxes,
and the taxes are deducted at
source, it is automatic. We
pay as we earn, PAYE.”
On infrastructure deficit
Aremu said Nigeria has to reinvent
railway. “The railway
By Emma Ujah and Godfrey
Bivbere
Managing Director of
Development Bank of
Nigeria, DBN, Mr. Tony
Okpanachi, has disclosed
that the bank is partnering
•Issa Aremu
We are partnering with global development banks for long
term SMEs funding — Okpanachi, MD Devt Bank
•Tony Okpanachi
present in Nigeria now was
made possible by Lord
Luggard, and he ended
building it in 1911. The
number of years spent
building it was 15 years. Over
a hundred years later we are
having 189 million people
without railways.
with development banks
across the globe to make long
term loans available for Small
and Medium Scale
Enterprises, SMEs, in the
country.
Okpanachi made this
“Luggard did it in 15 years
but the Federal government
have not been able to improve
on that. It is now we are trying
to re-invent the rail from
Ibadan to Abuja. Railway is
cheaper, it carries more
people and we are also free
from hazards on the road.”
disclosure in Lagos last
weekend at the Vanguard
Economic Discourse.
The DBN boss explained
that the setting up of the bank
which is expected to run like
a private sector enterprise, is
with the intention of growing
SMEs in the country.
He noted that SMEs in the
past was responsible for over
60 percent of the employment
opportunities created in the
country and as such, it is
imperative to focus on the
growth of that segment of the
economy.
He explained that already
some of these global financial
institutions have signed up
to partner with the bank and
others are expected to sign
up in the coming months.
Commenting on the
keynote speech by Bode
Agusto at the Economic
Discourse Okpanachi said: ‘‘I
join the other speakers to say
that population could be an
asset or a liability but for me;
from the perspective of a
youthful population in
Nigeria being an asset.
“I think the prescription to
population control is just
being simplistic because we
are already in there. So if you
talk just replacing yourself no
matter the way you look at it
Why foreign investors avoid
Nigeria —Yusuf, LCCI boss
Nigeria’s quest
to attract
foreign investment
inflow may continue
to be a mirage
unless contractual
obligations and
agreements are
respected by the
government, Muda
Yusuf, Director-
General, Lagos
Chamber of
Commerce and
Industries, LCCI
said.
Speaking at the
Vanguard Economic
Discourse, held in
Lagos last weekend,
Yusuf said that the
history of
compliance to
contractual
agreement
•Muda Yusuf
especially from government, is
not a good story and infractions
incurred by the government
discourage investors.
“I will like to stress the
importance of respect for
contractual obligations or
agreements. This economy
needs a lot of private capital,
either foreign or domestic,
especially in the infrastructure
the population is still going
to grow.
“We are already in it, what
are we going to do or where
do we go from here? That is
the perspective I am going to
look at it. So if you look at the
demography and the
composition of the
population, you we will
discover that most of them are
youths.
“So, if you want to talk
about increase in government
revenues, increasing taxes to
be able to fund some of these
projects, you also have to
make them (the youths)
productive such that they are
able to contribute in their
own way to the economy and
be able to pay their taxes.
“That is why I think we
should be able to look at
which areas of the economy
that will create employment
more and that is where the
Micro and Small scale
enterprises come to bear.
“If you look at it, almost
over 60 percent of the
employment was created by
that sector. So an institution
like the Development Bank of
Nigeria, DBN, is set up to
focus strictly on that segment
of the economy is a decision
in the right direction.’’
space. The history of
compliance to contractual
agreement especially from
government is not a good story.
We have had issues. How
successful is the PPP (publicprivate
partnership)
arrangement in the country?
“We had the concession on
Lekki – Epe road, which did
not work as expected. We had
the Lagos – Ibadan expressway
concession. We had the MM2.
There were issues in all, even
the NLNG. Only recently the
NLNG Act was amended and
some clauses were inserted,
which were not there initially.
‘‘All these things have a way
of discouraging flow of foreign
investments. We need to build
some confidence in that regard
so as to augment whatever
government has in terms of
finance,” he said.
Speaking further, Yusuf said
‘‘We also need to worry about
our institutions. Institutions are
very critical for the quality of
policies that are formulated.
They are very critical for the
quality of implementation.
Yusuf also expressed concern
over what he sees as failure in
the financial intermediation in
the banking system in the
country.
He stated: ‘‘The essence of
banking is to ensure the
mobilisation of resources from
the surplus end of the economy
to the deficit end of the economy.
But what you find in the
Nigerian economy is that there
is so much deficit in terms of
funding the SMEs, the
manufacturing space, the
property market, the
infrastructure space etc.
‘‘At the end, it is so difficult to
get the surplus fund from the
banking system to flow to that
space. That is the major
challenge that we need to fix so
that we can get the banking
sector to be more supportive of
the economy.
C
M
YK

FINANCIAL VANGUARD
Lending to real sector non-existent
despite release of N400bn by FG
— Oniha, DMO boss
Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018 — 27
Nigerian economy would be
better with private sector
— Agbaje
By Rosemary Onuoha and
Cynthia Alo
Director General of the
Debt Management
Office, DMO, Ms. Patience
Oniha, has said that Nigerian
banks are still refusing to lend
money to the real sector despite
that the federal government’s
release of about N400 billion
into the economy last December
to redeem some government
securities.
Speaking at the Vanguard
Economic Discourse in Lagos
last weekend, Oniha said that
with more money available in
the system and interest rates on
government securities down
from 18 percent to 14 percent,
lending to the private sector is
still non-existent.
Oniha said, “Since December
last year, in terms of releasing
capital into the economy, we
had redeemed about N400
billion of government securities
and those monies are in the
system. What should bother us
is, with more money available
in the system, with interest
rates on government securities
down from 18 percent to 14
percent at most, what is
constraining lending to the
private sector? Is it that the
banks are not willing to take the
risk? We have released money
and the interest rates have
come down, then what is it that
is constraining the flow of
capital at lower rates? Rates
have dropped and to the real
sector that is where production
will come from and I can assure
you that is one of our
objectives.’’
On the federal government’s
economic blueprint Oniha
stated: ‘‘One perspective is to
achieve sustainable growth,
however I agree that we are
just in the process of
recovering. I think a very
critical element is how to
diversify the economy.
‘‘There were talks on
infrastructure as well as oil and
gas but I think diversifying the
entire economy is important.
While we add labour to the
resource we need, agriculture
and manufacturing are very
key sectors in terms of
diversifying the economy.
‘‘Infrastructure will improve
production and so on; hence
we need to focus on
diversifying the economy in
the medium to long term. How
much can we produce to
consume and then export as
well and I think that is where
the journey is, where growth
and employment would come
from.’’
Addressing issues of the
nation’s debt the DMO’s boss
said, ‘‘In terms of total debt over
revenue, let me be upfront, the
narrative has changed as far as
Ms Patience Oniha
the Debt Management Office,
DMO, and the Ministry of
Finance are concerned. We are
not talking of debt to GDP
again, rather we are talking
about how to reduce debt
servicing to revenue ratio. That
is the strategy, hence that old
language has since shifted.
‘‘When you aggregate total
debt to revenue, permit me to
clarify that all of the debts are
not due in one day. So present
revenues are not under threat
of being wiped out because we
have debt to service. We have
some of them running over 40
years probably. So aggregating
total debt to revenue is not a
good measure of debt being
sustainable.
‘‘So the strategy is about
reducing the interest expense
on debt and making more funds
available to the economy.’’
Economic, institutional
reforms needed to stimulate
recovery — Bukar
PARTICIPANTS at the
Vanguard Economic
Discourse yesterday called on
the Federal Government to
adopt an economic and
institutional reform that will
open up the economy with a
view to attracting local and
foreign investors.
Chairman of the Discourse
and lead panellist, Mr. Kyari
Abba Bukar, who is also the
chairman of the Nigeria
Economic Summit Group,
NESG, in his opening remarks
said that the reforms should be
such that it will have a short,
medium and long term impact
on the citizenry.
Specifically, Bukar said that
some critical issues like power,
rail network and the productive
sector must be revived if the
economy must grow.
He said “2016, Nigeria
recorded the worst economic
recession in the history of the
country. In 2017, we had the
process of recovery, I am not
going to say we recovered, we
went into the process of
recovery and we are still on it.
Those two years especially, the
key factor primarily is on tax.
This should raise concerns
about certain quality of growth
in this country.
“Without doubt, there would
be growth in 2018. However,
the conversation today, is how
inclusive is that growth is
going to be like, for the short,
medium and long term and
what measures are required for
this country to achieve
sustainable, broad based, high
growth trajectory.”
He advised the federal
government to look at a way of
increasing production,
according to him, the
productive sector needs to be
revived and “we need to have
the private sector play its.”
•Opeyemi Agbaje
An eminent economist and
Managing Director of RTC
Advisory Services Limited,
Opeyemi Agbaje, has
recommended privatisation of
public enterprises as the solution
to services failures in the
institutions and sectors they are
involved in.
He was speaking at the
Vanguard Economic Discourse
last weekend where he noted
that most of the public
enterprises lacked sound
corporate governance which had
led to collapse of many of them.
He stated: ‘‘60 percent of
Nigeria banks failed because
they were state own. Clearly,
the standard, performance and
the impact of industry have
improved with privately own
banks.
‘‘We use to have many hotels,
oil marketing companies owned
by government, where are they
now? The broadcast sector was
all owned by the government,
then we were all watching NTA
all over the country, do you want
to return to that? Did it serve us,
Daily Times, did they serve us
well?
‘‘You can understand the
connection between the
prosperity that has happened in
several industries particularly oil
marketing, telecommunication
and others, because of the
privatization.
‘‘The reality is that, it is private
capital that developed our
economy.’’
But commenting on the issue
of inefficiency of public
enterprises the Director General
of the Debt Management
Office, DMO, Ms Patience
Oniha, stated: ‘‘In terms of
government divesting from
some institutions, the point to
be made is that if those entities
are profitable, then they should
remain public enterprise.
However, if they are not
profitable and are not being run
properly because of a huge
government presence and if
pulling out some of the
government resources there will
make us better and still deliver
revenue to the government as
dividends, then government
should divest. That is what the
Liquefied Natural Gas, LNG,
model is.
‘‘The reason why we are
borrowing to fund the budget is
because we are not generating
enough revenues so our
expenditures are more than our
revenues. Secondly, if we are
able to manage our investment
in some of the national assets
and able to pull out some of the
capital arrangements then let
them run as businesses and get
dividends. Those monies will
come into the budget by
financing the budget and the
deficit will be less.
‘‘In the 2018 budget, there is
provision like that for some
reduction and that’s why if you
check the 2018 budget before
the national assembly, the level
of new borrowing is lower
because there is arrangement to
reduce the government
investment, so am on board with
that provision.’’
C
M
Y
K

28 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018 — 29

30 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018

FINANCIAL VANGUARD
When will the age of aviation
begin in Nigeria? - 2
“As a strategic weapon, time is the equivalent of money,
productivity, quality or even innovation.” George Stalk, Jr.
Stalk should have added
raw materials and
infrastructure as well as
knowledge to the list of variables
providing national economic
advantage. The last century was the
first in global history to discover that
vast mineral resources, large
population alone no longer result
in any advantage. Knowledge has
moved to the fore-front among the
list of variables countries must
have. China and India had become
the two most populated countries
before the beginning of the last
century. But, they did mot emerge
as two of the leading economic
powers until late last century. It was
only when they invested in
education and became more
innovative that they raced past
some of their former colonial
masters and now talk as equals to
even the United States of America.
Among the factors in their favour
is the pervasive respect for time.
Africans in general, and Nigerians
in particular, still remain in the Dark
Ages with respect to our
understanding and regard for time
as an economic input. That explains
why no meeting, however important
or high level starts on time. Even
functions over which Buhari will
preside invariably start with “we
apologise for starting this meeting
late….”. Never mind that the same
thing will be repeated the next day
and every day thereafter. So
ingrained is our disregard for time,
we have even institutionalized
what we call African time – as if a
minute in Nigeria is no longer sixty
seconds. Nothing is done on time
and there is no remorse when
delays occur.
Of all economic sectors,
transportation is one that has been
created since men traded with one
another – either within nations or
across borders – specifically with
time savings as the primary
objective. Whether on road, water,
rail or by air, mankind had adopted
various means of getting his goods
to the market faster that his legs
could carry him and he has
discovered the benefits of getting
the products there on time. Some
have even defined Marketing,
which is what every business is all
about as “Right Product, Right Price,
Right Promotion and at the Right
Time.” A lot of Made In Nigeria
goods suffer competitive
disadvantages with respect to
imports on account of our national
failure to harness time properly and
incorporate its judicious usage into
our marketing plans.
While all means of transport
primarily aim to save customers
time, aviation is the sector which is
inherently the most time-saving.
That partly explains why it
continues to grow annually as a
sub-sector. It is also not surprising
that the leading twenty economies
are also the largest users of air
services. China, the second largest
economy now has the biggest
aviation sector because it is also the
world’s largest producer of goods
needing to be transported.
The closest rival to air transport
among all the means of carrying
goods is the railway. But, with the
exception of bullet trains now
traveling at up to 400kph, no other
means of transport can rival air
services. Consequently, global
investors in the aviation sector
operate with only one axiom in
mind. The customer patronises the
airline because he wants speedy
delivery of services; and as much
as possible at the time of his choice.
Implied in that assumption about
the basic air transport consumer
need is the penalty for failing to
recognize that need and to strive at
all times to satisfy it.
FINANCIAL VANGUARD
By global, including best African
standards, the Nigerian aviation
sector is a dismal failure. The last
thing Nigerian airlines and the
Federal Government agencies
established to support it care about
is customer satisfaction. What the
Civil Aviation Authorities care the
least about is improvement of
travelers’ satisfaction. A good
example will illustrate the point.
Three of the last Ministers of
Aviation have measured their
success, not in terms of getting
flights to depart and arrive on time;
but, in terms of how many contracts
they have awarded. The confusion
The consequences
of this faulty
process of
thought can be
observed by going
to any of our
airports and
spending a day
there
between means and ends could not
have been more total.
The consequences of this faulty
process of thought can be observed
by going to any of our airports and
spending a day there. The first thing
the visitor will notice is that no airline
departs or arrives on time. Not,
even the first flights of the day –
which elsewhere in the world are
always the most reliable. That is bad
enough.
What happens as delays occur
is even more indicative of the
contempt Nigerian airline operators
Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018 — 31
have for their customers. At best,
an announcement is made about
“flight delayed for so many
minutes”. The time elapses and
something strange frequently
occurs. There will be no
announcement for a long time.
Then another delay is announced.
Sometimes the delay can occur for
more than two hours; and the
situation gets worse as the day
progresses.
March 30, 2018 was date several
passengers will never forget. It was
the day President Buhari was
starting a two-day official visit to
Lagos State. The visit created havoc
in the nation’s two busiest airports
and exhibited Nigerian airlines in
their worst light. I have no idea when
Buhari finally flew out of Abuja; but
all first flights out of Abuja were
delayed for more than one hour
after his departure. I understand
that flights into Lagos were also
stopped for over one hour after the
President touched down.
Then, the announcements
started about delays for one hour;
followed by further delays for one
hour. By mid-day all the intending
passengers for Lagos on two or
three flights were sitting at Abuja
waiting for flights. It turned out that
the shortest delay was for four
hours!!
The main reasons for the delay
were “shortage of operational
aircraft” – meaning that passengers
are delayed because the airlines
which booked them had no respect
for their time. This again was not
without unpleasant consequences
for some passengers. Those
intending to travel abroad out of
Lagos invariably missed their flights
and nobody needs to be told how
painful that can be. Meanwhile, the
airlines which got them stranded
in Abuja and who got them to miss
their flights out of Nigeria
disclaimed any responsibility for
their predicament.
Even Nigerian passengers were
not all comfortable. A candidate for
a job whose appointment was fixed
for one o’clock in the afternoon
should be forgiven for thinking that
booking a 7.30 am flight was a
sensible thing to do. The
announcement of a “further delay
for one hour” made at 11.30 am
brought hot tears without restraint.
He had waited six months for the
opportunity.
The most baffling thing about this
incident was the fact that Buhari’s
visit to Lagos was planned and
announced weeks before and all the
airlines should by now be
conversant with the procedures.
Was it too much for the managers
of Air Peace, AREO
CONTRACTORS, Arik, Medview,
DANA etc to have alerted all
booking agents as well as those
booking on-line of the difficulties
they would encounter on that day
and to discourage those not on
emergency flights to delay their
trips for another day?
Great brands and their
companies – NESTLE,
COCACOLA, TOYOTA,
MERCEDEDS, MICROSOFT --
endure by providing satisfaction to
the greatest number of their clients.
Without exception, Nigerian
airlines are dishing out pain to the
vast majority of their passengers.
Few people would patronize them
if they have other choices. They
should consider themselves lucky
that Buhari declined to sign the
continental free trade agreement.
One taste of Ethiopian or South
African airlines on our domestic
routes and all our airlines would
have been plucked from the skies.
LAST LINE: Nigerian airlines
apparently don’t train their staff to
handle such an emergency as that
of March 30, 2018. I can help them.
The first to try it will grab a good
chunk of the market share.
MICRO-FINANCE
Raising capital base will not undermine confidence in
MfBs – MD Alekun MfB
By Providence Emmanuel
The Managing Director,
Alekun Microfinance Bank,
MfB, Mr. Joshua Ukute, in
this interview, spoke on
various issues affecting the
subsector, including the
National Collateral Registry
and the expected increase in
capital base of MfBs
Excerpts
Do you see the National
Collateral Registry making
significant impact on the MfB
sub sector?
The collateral registry
introduced by the Central
Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and
the Federal Government is
going to have a positive impact
on the microfinance subsector
because the business of
microfinance is such that the
people we serve are at the
bottom of the pyramid and
most of them do not have
tangible collateral. In the past,
most MfBs have had to lend
against the goodwill of the
borrowers, against their
personal guarantees and most
times against stocks and
movable collateral. And
because in Nigeria, tracking
of collateral has been a
challenge, lending against
movable collateral has also
been a challenge in this
industry, hence the
introduction of collateral
registry. How this works is,
once you have movable
collateral that has economic
value to you, you take it to the
MfB and the MfB takes a
charge against the collateral
and lends against it. The
collateral is therefore
registered such that no other
person, microfinance
institution or other institution
* Joshua Ukute
can lend against same
collateral. Also disposal of
such collateral is secured
because anyone that buys
such collateral would need to
go and do a search of such
collateral before he/she buys
it. Once a charge is against
such collateral, it cannot be
sold and once MfBs and their
practitioners know that
movable collaterals are
secured and cannot be easily
sold or diverted. Then they
can always lend against these
movable material. Collateral
registry would impact
positively on the MfB
subsector.
Do you agree with plans to
raise minimum capital
requirement for MfBs?
For the introduction of new
capital requirement for MfBs
to operate, well, it is still a
rumour until it becomes
reality. However, whether it is
MfBs or Deposit Money
Banks, DMB or any other
business, we all know that the
effect of inflation and foreign
exchange would definitely
affect business. So any
business operating in Nigeria
in the last five or 10 years
should expect that the effect
of inflation over the years and
the foreign exchange
instability would affect
business. We are still waiting
and if eventually the rumour
becomes truth, we would
know how to manage that.
Don’t you think confidence
is about to be eroded?
I do not see the proposed
recapitalization for the
remodeling of the MfB
subsector affecting confidence
on the industry because our
services would still go on, we
would still serve our client.
The confidence would not be
eroded in any way.
Why is the sub sector still
lacking enough funds to
operate?
There are various
intervention funds that are
put in place by the different
government agencies, such as
the Micro, Small and Medium
Enterprises Development
Fund, MSMEDF, funds from
the Bank of Industry, BoI,
there are various intervention
funds.
C
M
Y
K

32 — Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018
(08052201997)
The Minister of State for
Petroleum Resources,
Ibe Kachikwu noted,
recently that government’s
annual expenditure on fuel
subsidy has risen to over N1.4
Trillion, primarily because of
the proliferation of illegal petrol
stations and tank farms in close
proximity to Nigeria’s borders
with her ECOWAS neighbours.
The above title was first
published in January 2014. A
summary of this piece follows
hereafter. Please read on:
“This week, we will closely
examine the implications of the
sum of $8.49bn (about N1.4tn)
that NNPC confirmed that it
retained legitimately as fuel
subsidy between January 2012
and July 2013! We may recall
that the National Assembly had
approved “an additional sum
of N161.6bn to augment the
initial N881bn voted for
subsidy in 2012; thus, total fuel
subsidy approved for 2012 was
presumed to be about N1.05tn
(i.e. more than 20% of the total
budgeted expenditure of
N4.7tn) for that year.”
Inspite of the above
oppressive outlay on subsidy,
Reginald Stanley, the
Executive Secretary of the
Petroleum Pricing & Regulatory
Agency (PPRA), has elatedly
observed, in media reports,
that the N1.05tn consolidated
subsidy appropriation in 2012
was a major improvement on
the highly controversial total
subsidy of N2.09tn in 2011!
The PPRA Secretary, however,
cautioned that the 2012 subsidy
outlay of N1.05tn did not
include subsidy on kerosene;
consequently, total subsidy
would exceed N1.05Tn, if
kerosene claims were also
captured! However, the recent
confirmation by the Financial
Director, Bernard Otti, that
NNPC, additionally, internally,
also absorbed $8.9bn (N1.4tn;
or N75bn monthly) without
overt legislative approval, may
FINANCIAL VANGUARD
By Naomi Uzor
In a bid to boost the
country’s self-sufficiency
in wheat production, Flour
Milling Association of Nigeria
(FMAN), made up of Dangote
Flour Mills, Flour Mills of
Nigeria, Honeywell Flour,
Dufil, and Life Flour have
donated 50 units of multi-crop
thresher machine worth N70
million to Wheat Farmers in the
country.
Speaking at the presentation
of the machines in Lagos, the
Group Managing Director of
Dangote Flour Mills, Mr.
Thabo Mabe, said that the
equipment would deepen
mechanised farming in wheat
production, increase volume of
Kill subsidy before it kills us!
suggest that the total actual
subsidy expenditure for 2012
could possibly be closer to
N3tn, especially, when subsidy
claims for kerosene are
captured. In this event, total
subsidy outlay may have been,
outrageously, equivalent to
over 60% of the total federal
expenditure budget of N4.7tn
in 2012! Consequently, if
possibly, well over N3tn is
frittered on subsidy, in addition
to interest and service charges
of about N600bn paid on
Central Bank’s largely
unproductive borrowings are
also captured, this would imply
that the equivalent of over 75%
of total budgeted spending
were simply applied to
intangible and unproductive
objects in 2012, even when
total actual infrastructural
expenditure, including
allocations for health and
education, was inappropriately
below N1.3Tn.
It is therefore, worrisome that,
in 2012 subsidy payments may
have exceeded the seemingly
outrageous 2011 value of
N2.09tn! Incidentally, fuel
subsidy projections were not
overtly captured in the actual
text of the 2013 budget;
nonetheless, there is no reason
to believe that total subsidy
expenditure for 2012 actually
fell below the N3tn, allegedly,
expended annually in previous
years! It is distressing, also,
that fuel subsidy outlay for 2014
will not be any different;
consequently, subsidy, Federal
government and CBN’s
projected debt service charges
of about N600bn, may exceed
N3.6tn, in sharp contrast to the
relatively paltry projected total
capital expenditure of N1.5tn
in the legislated budget of
N4.6tn in 2014!
Furthermore, with naira
exchange rate currently under
severe downward pressure,
subsidy claims alone, may
actually exceed N3tn in 2014.
This is because, naira
exchange rate depreciation has,
historically, been the real driver
of domestic fuel prices and
ultimately rising subsidy
values! A simple example will
demonstrate this reality; “if
international FOB market price
of PMS is, for example, $1,
then by extension, with
$1=N160 in 2013, this would
be equivalent to N160/litre
(plus about 10% for freight and
port charges)! On the other
hand, if the naira exchange
rate falls to N200=$1, while
official pump price remains at
N97, this would imply that the
naira subsidy component must
increase!
“Conversely, if the naira
exchange rate strengthens to
N80=$1, for example, this
implies that PMS would
similarly sell at N80/litre plus
freight and clearing charges;
i.e. well below the existing
official price of N97/litre.
Consequently, government will
earn about N10/litre as sales
tax, rather than a subsidy
It is therefore,
worrisome that,
in 2012 subsidy
payments may
have exceeded
the seemingly
outrageous
2011 value of
N2.09tn!
expenditure of over N40/litre as
is currently the case!”
Regrettably, no increase in the
number of functional refineries
will change this reality! (See
“The Avoidable Oppressive
Burden of Fuel Subsidy”
(www.lesleba.com)
Consequently, our economic
management team may have
inadvertently boxed itself into
a dilemma, as we seem
incapable of reducing the price
of PMS and kerosene
consumption, despite the very
heavy leakages from massive
cross border smuggling.
Meanwhile, government, has
understandably, shied away
from another confrontation with
the masses, particularly after it
survived the charged and
volatile social tension, of the
January 2012 pro-subsidy
strike! Worse still, the
unyielding burden of systemic
cash created by CBN's
substitution of fresh naira
supply for dollar revenue will
always guarantee that naira
exchange rate will remain
challenged, and petrol prices
will therefore never fall and
erode the related erstwhile
subsidy values!
In this event, we may not
require a soothsayer to correctly
predict, as I have consistently
maintained, that inclusive
economic growth, with rapidly
enhanced social infrastructure
will remain clearly
unattainable, so long as rising
debt service charges and fuel
subsidy payments continue to
account for the lion’s share of
budgeted annual national
expenditure!
We must therefore, be
forewarned that, unless we
“kill” fuel subsidy expenditure,
unrestrained fuel subsidy
payments may ultimately “kill”
us! The choice, therefore is,
Dangote Flour, others, boost wheat production
wheat produced and reduce
cost of wheat in the market.
He lamented that 70 per cent
of wheat used by flour millers
are imported despite huge
potentials in the country’s
wheat sector, adding that the
multi-crop threshers would
enhance yield, empower more
farmers and save foreign
exchange.
“The important thing on our
engagement is to try to assist
Nigeria to start developing
wheat farming in large quantity
and to ensure sustainability in
terms of wheat farming,” he
said.
Also, the chairman, Flour
Milling Association of Nigeria
(FMAN), Mr. John
Coumantaros, who was
represented by Group
Managing Director, Flour Mills
Nigeria Plc, Mr. Paul Gbededo
said that the presentation was
a demonstration of the
association's commitment to
continuously support wheat
farmers and Federal
Government's agriculture
promotion agenda.
“There is no gainsaying that
self-sufficiency in the
production of wheat in Nigeria,
will have an unprecedented
impact on the Nigerian
economy through attainment of
food security, poverty reduction
and of course save much
needed foreign exchange,” he
said.
He said FMAN signed an
MoU with Wheat Farmers
Association of Nigeria in 2016
to purchase all available wheat
grain produced by farmers in
line with agreed quality
parameters and prevailing
market prices.
“In 2017, FMAN fulfilled its
promise by purchasing over
2,400 metric tons of wheat
valued at N469 million and in
2018, even before the start of
harvest, we have purchased
over 1600 metric tons of wheat
valued at N237 million.
“FMAN established a N20
million Research and
should Nigerians endure abject
poverty despite increasing
wealth accommodation for our
serial economic predators or are
we ready to resolutely demand
that only policies that would
bring about salutary mass
social welfare are pursued? Are
we ready to embrace such
change with the adoption of a
monetary payments strategy
that will induce a stronger naira
exchange rate below N97/$1 i.e.
the rate of exchange that would
presently totally eliminate
subsidy as per earlier example
explained above?
Indeed, a progressive
upward evolution of the naira
exchange rate to around N80/
$1, will expectedly, not only
eliminate fuel subsidy, but will
also enable government, just as
in the UK and elsewhere, to
earn a minimum sales tax of
about 10% per litre; i.e.
minimum revenue of over
N350m/per day, in place of
N40/litre subsidy for the 35
million litres of fuel allegedly
consumed and smuggled from
Nigeria daily!
Consequently, in view of the
increasingly suicidal impact of
fuel subsidy payments on our
economic growth and social
welfare, no well-meaning
Nigerian can sincerely stand
on the sideline, especially if
President Jonathan and the
legislature remain,
unfortunately, lethargic about
this reform; particularly, when
there is a real possibility that
our present oil revenue inflow
can induce a stronger naira
rate and actually precipitate
much lower fuel prices, devoid
of any subsidy component, if
the dollar revenue from crude
oil sales are infused into the
domestic economy via dollar
certificates warrants, rather
than the current poisonous
system of creating fresh naira
supplies as allocations for
distributable dollar revenue
every month!”
ECONOMY
Development Grant to the
Lake Chad Research Institute
to conduct research into
enhanced wheat farming
technology and modern
agronomy practices aimed at
improving wheat varities with
good yield,” he said.
Gbededo said that the
association would continue to
invest effort and resources on
initiatives that would improve
local supply chain, ensure
access to quality wheat at decent
price and ensure that bakers
and confectioners were not
burdened.
A representative of Honeywell
Flour Mills, Mr Rotimi Fadipe,
said that the local production of
wheat has increased to about
one million metric tons.
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Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018 --33
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The partnership of sardines
and sharks
THE new Head of European
Union, EU, Delegation to
Nigeria, Mr. Ketil Iversen Karlsen
was at the State House, Abuja on
April 5, to present his Letter of
Credence to President Muhammadu
Buhari. His main message was that
the Economic Partnership
Agreement, EPA, between the EU
and the Economic Community of
West African States, ECOWAS, was
designed to accommodate and
protect economies that would find it
difficult to compete. He told
President Buhari: “We are hopeful
that there will be a signature on the
agreement.’’ He was referring to
Nigeria’s refusal since 2000, to sign
the agreement with the Europeans.
It is worthy to note that former
Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo,
Umaru Yar’Adua and Goodluck
Jonathan were not convinced by the
EU’s sugarcoated tongue and had
despite tremendous pressures,
refused to sign. President Buhari was
also not going to break faith with
the Nigerian and African people. He
pointedly told the super envoy that
Nigeria will not sign the agreement
because there is the need to protect
its economy, especially the industries
and small businesses which
currently provide jobs for majority
Nigerians. He also stated that the
agreement would expose Nigerian
indust ries and small businesses to
external pressures and competitions,
which could lead to factory closures
and job losses. Additionally, he said,
Nigerian industries currently, cannot
compete with the more efficient and
highly technologically-driven
industries in Europe.
One should add that the EPA which
would open our markets to unfair
competition from Europe, would
despite the EU’s promises, turn
Nigeria into a dumping ground.
Some may argue that it is a free
market, and that we should compete
with European companies. But
fielding a six-year old child in a 100-
metre race against Hussein Bolt
cannot be called a ‘competition’.
Like former President Thabo Mbeki
of South Africa said in relation to
the EU and Africa, putting a
heavyweight boxer in the same ring
as a featherweight cannot be said to
be ‘fair competition.’ He had pointed
out that the sharp inequalities of the
international economic system
which weighs heavily in favour of the
Europeans, does not allow for a level
playing field and that what this calls
for is differential treatment for
developing countries, not
competition.
Both African leaders are quite right.
Let us take the agriculture sector for
instance. Since 1962, the Europeans
have put in place, the Common
Agricultural Policy, CAP, which they
say, is designed "to improve
agricultural productivity so that
consumers have a stable supply of
affordable food (and) to ensure that
EU farmers can make a reasonable
living." To achieve this, it heavily
subsidies European farmers to
compensate for ‘falling incomes, a
The EPA negotiation
process itself is
unfair; while the 28
European countries
negotiate as a single
entity or bloc, the
EU sliced Africa into
five different
negotiation
partners; Central
Africa, East and
Central Africa, the
East African
Community, the
Southern African
Development
Community,
SADEC, and
ECOWAS
depleted workforce and an influx of
goods from foreign markets.’ On the
average, the EU spends 40 per cent
of its budget on these subsidies. In
2015, British farmers alone were
paid 13 billion Euros as subsidy. Yet,
the EU insists that Africa cannot
subsidise its farmers because
subsidies are bad and violate the
World Trade Organisation rules. So
in an open competition, African
agriculture and farmers would be no
match for the Europeans. Under the
EPA, Nigerian farmers and
pastoralists will simply be crowded
out of the market and the people will
become far poorer than they are now.
The EPA negotiation process itself
is unfair; while the 28 European
countries negotiate as a single entity
or bloc, the EU sliced Africa into five
different negotiation partners;
Central Africa, East and Central
Africa, the East African Community,
the Southern African Development
Community, SADEC, and ECOWAS.
Sometimes, the EU bloc picks on
individual countries to sign. This was
what it did to Ghana and Cote d’Voire
who were forced into signing
“Interim “ agreements. It has been
more brutal with some regions and
countries. Sir Ronald Sanders,
former Antigua and Barbuda High
Commissioner to the United
Kingdom and former ambassador
to the World Trade Organisation who
likened the EPA to a case between
sharks and sardines, narrated the
experience of his country: “My own
country, Antigua and Barbuda, is a
small twin-island country of only 170
square miles with a permanent
population of about 90,000 people.
In October 2008, despite our small
size, we individually signed the
CARIFORUM EPA with the
collective EU-28.” To understand
that what happened between the EU
and Antigua is a rape, we would need
to appreciate that in comparison to
the tiny underdeveloped country, the
EU is 28 countries, 1,707,642 square
miles with a population is 511.81
and a GDP of US$18.526 trillion.
Nigeria realises that if it signs the
EPA, it will become a dumping
ground, its banks, companies and
services will be unable to compete
with European ones and that its
industries will be denied the public
patronage that helped European
companies to develop.
Back in 2016, in order to entice
Nigeria to sign the EPA, the then
Ambassador/Head of EU delegation
to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Michel
Arrion told Nigerians to quickly sign
the EPA as the EU and the 28
member-states have agreed to give
a minimum of 6.5 billion euros for
every five years as “development
assistance.” But this was rebuffed. In
fact, the Manufacturers Association
of Nigeria, MAN, statistics that
showed that if tariff is removed as
provided under the EPA, Nigeria
alone will lose an estimated $1.3
trillion. It said if Nigeria signed the
EPA: “companies which have
already started investing in
production of raw materials and
intermediate products would be
forced to close down. Nigeria will
perpetually continue to be exporters
of unprocessed raw materials and
importers of processed goods.
Nigeria would then become an
extension of EU market.”
The EU is desperate to get
Nigeria’s signature on its EPA
agreement because without Nigeria,
EPA in West Africa will be ‘Brought
In Dead’ (BID). Apart from being
the largest economy in Africa,
Nigeria which hosts the ECOWAS
Secretariat, is also the West African
economic power house. The
ECOWAS Secretariat statistics
reveal that: “The main active
countries in trade are Nigeria, which
alone accounts for approximately 76
per cent of total trade followed by
Ghana (9.2 per cent) and Côte
d’Ivoire (8.64 per cent). The trade
surplus of the region…is attributable
to Nigeria ($58.4 billion) and Côte
d’Ivoire ($3.4 billion) when all other
countries have a deficit in the trade
balance.”
As former Central Bank Governor,
Charles Soludo argued, the EPA is a
re-enactment of the 1984-85 Berlin
Conference, where 14 European
countries balkanized and parcelled
out Africa as colonies. The only
difference, he said, is that this new
agreement “will be signed by free
people, under supposedly
democratic regimes, and in contexts
where the African people again have
neither voice nor choice.” It is better
Nigeria champions African
partnership, trade and integration.
By Marcus Iheanyi
WORDS making the round is that
Governor Rochas Okorocha is
shocked that the people of Imo State are
unhappy that he is planning to foist his son-inlaw
on the state as his successor come May
2019. For the governor who believes he has
done his best to serve his people well, all he is
expecting from them is gratitude and nothing
less. But only a man with the mind-set of
Owelle Okorocha will be shocked that the
people want nothing more to do with his style
of governance, especially not through a puppet
or proxy after he failed to deliver on the
improved welfare he promised Imo people
before he was elected.
A sore point for the people of Imo State is the
way and manner government under Okorocha
has handled road construction in the state and
the issue of compensation to owners of
damaged property. The Okorocha years made
road development an ecological issue causing
damage in the affected areas and worse still,
damage to private property and the necessary
compensation that should follow has not been
properly administered; thus, making such
matters subject of nebulous speculations and
road construction a near unwelcome
development feature for most communities.
For instance, did road construction not
become a thing to dread in Orji/Okigwe road,
Orlu road, Egbu road, Mbaise road and
Egbeada road? When the old owners of the
Egbeada market who had market stalls,
demanded a proper documentation of the
owners/occupants of stalls at the market prior
to demolition and reconstruction, did all
entreaties to the governor not fall on deaf ears
for alleged private interests in the allocation
of the proposed reconstructed stalls? When the
people bemoaned their plight, including the
Ekeukwu market catastrophe, did the governor
Imo's renewed hope for 2019
not aggravate it by deliberately abandoning
the evacuation of refuse on Douglas Road, and
to rub in the insult, the spokesperson of
government was on radio boasting thus:
“Government deliberately abandoned the
refuse along Douglas Road, Owerri to get back
at Owerri people who have been battling the
State Government over the relocation of the
market.” Was the same puppet/proxy that the
The people of Imo State
must look beyond these
tainted hands who have
demonstrated by their
performance that their best
is not good enough for Imo
people
Owelle is planning to foist on Imo people not
one of the chief executors in all these miseries
that befell the people of Imo State?
The hope which surrounded the euphoria
with which Imo people mandated Owelle
Okorocha to improve their welfare and provide
them with an ambiance that should enable
them enhance their capabilities have been
dashed. From hope, the welfare of Imo people
have declined into chronic cumulative
regression. Instead of the promises of better
pay and improved welfare, Okorocha
delivered delayed and diminished wages and
turned pensions, from a dignified retirement
for long and diligent service to one’s state into
a curse where deserving retirees are subjected
to the indignity of negotiating to collect
fractions of benefits that others had previously
taken for granted. The Imo people do not owe
Okorocha or his proxies an extended
followership. They are well in their rights from
the benefit of experience to reject and
denounce any attempts to extend the miseries
they currently endure. Imo people, therefore,
have the right to the hope of an audacious new
beginning in May 2019 and willing to make
new bold plans to reach for greater
development heights and the top of their
potentials.
An audacious hope for a new beginning in
May 2019, distant from any proxy links, tied
to the apron strings of the outgoing governor
will ensure that the complete subordination
of Local Governments will recede into the past,
from the current practices where the
Constitution is defied and local government
elections were not conducted for seven years.
It will be a complete departure from executive
recklessness which purported to have
monarchical powers to sack the head of the
judicial arm in Imo State without reference to
the constitutional and other statutory positions
which are clearly laid out. It will bring an end
to the indignity of lack of full-time employment
for Imo youths. It will end the agony over how
Imo State will overcome its water supply
issues which the current government has only
paid lip-service to. It will indeed usher in a
renewed hope that the extortionist levies and
taxes currently administered by the state will
wear a human face and there will be value for
money for what will be paid.
After the sub-optimal delivery of the outgoing
government in Imo State, the people do not
want to remain in perpetuated anguish
bemoaning the lengthy list of failed promises
and embarking on another journey of deceit
through a proxy. They want renewed hope,
however audacious. They want a fresh start
that will surely make the Okorocha years
bygone years. This is why the people now wish
to look beyond the Okorocha compound for
new aspirants.
The people of Imo State want to encourage
people with new but workable vision who are
forthright and with a track record of diligence
and honesty that can be tracked, like Sir
Stanley Amuchie. I was very excited to find
that such a credible man will be one of the
possible choices for Governor of Imo State
for the 2019 race. I recall his exceptional
brilliance years ago in the University of Benin
which earned him a First Class degree. Over
the years, he has carried on that diligence and
excellence into the financial sector, where he
has risen to the top echelon of management. I
have also observed over the years similar
endeavours on his part in philanthropy in the
Church and town unions and social causes at
grassroots level.
That is the type of clean break the people of
Imo State will be hoping to make in 2019,
having people with private sector values and
orientation in service delivery to assume
leadership positions. Let the failed promises,
dashed hopes be a thing of the past so that
Imo people can expand their possibilities in a
new horizon. Such revival of hope cannot
occur with those who have a track record
embedded in the outgoing government. The
people of Imo State must look beyond these
tainted hands who have demonstrated by their
performance that their best is not good enough
for Imo people and therefore look up to others
with renewed hope and promise like Sir
Stanley Amuchie .
•Dr. Iheanyi, a scientist, wrote from
Owerri, Imo State
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08070524223
Dr. Chike Nathan
Okechukwu, a USbased
Nephrologist
and author of the book,
“Children of the Fallen
Sun”, in this interview with
Ebele Orakpo, employs
quite some medical
metaphors, arguing that the
Nigeria-Biafran Civil War is
a symptom of a disease
which still persists, and
until Nigerians deliberately
discuss it in healthful terms
and apply the right
medication, the problems
will remain.
Why Children of
the Fallen Sun instead of
the Rising Sun as defunct
Biafra was called Land of
the Rising Sun?
First, it is a fictional account
of a family that was caught
in the net of a conflict that
they had no hand in the
making and the real thrust
of the book is to show that
regardless of who is right or
wrong, (which is not what I
try to portray in the book
because it is different from
most of the books about the
war), what I am more
concerned about is the result/
effect it had on a regular
person like you or me; people
who had no hand in its
creation. Whether you are
on the side, or think you are
right or wrong, it still has a
consequence. We are all
children of the fallen sun
regardless of our ethnic
group. The characters in my
book are both figurative and
literal and at the same time
metaphorical for the
consequences of the war on
each and every one of us.
Even when the ‘war’ is over
and the sun has fallen, there
is a consequence that
endures almost indefinitely.
In this case, this is a family
that was torn apart by the
war and the boy who is the
protagonist has been
damaged psychologically,
scarred, a scar that continues
to haunt him even into
adulthood. As a society, even
though the war seems to
have been over 48 years ago,
it almost seems as if it was
just yesterday that the war
ended because there are
consequences of the war and
until we are able to talk
about it, heal from it, it will
continue to haunt us for a
very long time.
How did you make the
jump from a physician to a
writer?
Somebody once said that
each of us has a book in him
to write. I don’t know if this
was that but it took me a
long time to write this book
because as you know, I
practise medicine to which I
devote every single minute.
So I usually write in the
middle of the night when
everyone else is asleep. I
have a science side of me
which did medicine and an
artistic part of me. I love
literature, a love that was
The Civil War ar is a symptom
of a primary y disease
– Dr Okechukwu, author of Children of the Fallen Sun
*Dr. Chike Nathan Okechukwu...Nigeria is almost like a
convenient moniker that we attach to ourselves.
introduced to me by my
father who was a lover of
literature. So despite being
a physician, I had this thirst
to write prose and poetry. In
the past, I have had some of
my poems published and it
is only a natural transition
from writing poetry to
writing prose.
How many poems have
you written?
I have written close to 100
poems though not all are
published yet. My favourite
is called Christmas. In the
poem, I tried to point out
how with all the celebrations
that happen at Christmas,
we all seem to have lost the
true meaning of Christmas.
What did you set out to
achieve with the book?
A number of things! We all
know the history of the Civil
War so it is not to educate
anyone about the war itself.
The purpose of the book is
to show that there are scars
that have been left on all of
us. An example was our hero
whose scar seems to endure
forever, refusing to heal. It
also points out that despite
having had the most
traumatic significant event
in our lives as a country since
our birth, very few people
discuss the war in what I call
healthful terms.
We don’t teach the war in
school. This is the most
I think that what
I call the
original sin, the
disease that led
us to the war and
neardisintegration
is
the continued
strife that
currently exists
significant thing we have ever
experienced collectively as a
nation. We don’t address it in
our national forum without
getting angry about it and so,
we don’t have a space that we
can all begin to talk about and
heal from it.
Like reconciliation period?
Yes, but there has been no
period of reconciliation. So I
first asked myself what caused
the war. Is our conversation
about the war the right way? I
believe we all think Nigeria
started from the war; that is
wrong. I think the war is
simply a symptom of the
primary disease. We fought
the war and it’s gone away but
it really hasn’t gone away, we
all still live on a day-to-day
basis with our own stories in
our own heads about what
caused the war. The Yoruba
has his story in his head, the
Igbo has his story in his head,
the Hausa, Delta, Middle
Belt- all have their own
stories.
Each person believes he is
right but they can’t all be
right. So until we have a
period of reconciliation
where everybody’s story is
heard openly almost like
what we do in church,
confess; until we’ve had that
period where we can all feel
safe, we cannot heal. We will
always, we, our children and
grandchildren and their
children, will be haunted by
this war the same way the
hero is haunted – forever.
And if we truly want to cure
that disease so that our
children are not scarred by
it, we have to start talking
about it to find the safe space
for us to discuss it.
So what I try to do in this
book is to use fictional
account, as vivid as it may
be, and inserted some
historical facts of the war and
at the same time, help all of
us focus not on the war itself
but on that account, and by
talking about it, you could
begin to ask: ‘Oh my God,
could this have happened?’
May be if we begin to talk
about the story, you can
discuss this with anybody
from any ethnic group, it
allows us to begin to talk
about the war in a term that
is healthful. I live in America
and I had lived in the UK.
They fought the First World
War (1914- 1918) and Second
World War (1939-1945) yet,
they still talk about the wars
every single day. There is a
movie almost every other
year on the Second World
War you will think that every
story that has to be told had
been told but they keep
telling it because that is the
way they have chosen to heal
and to honour those who
died.
I am hoping that we can get
to a point where we begin to
take baby steps discussing
the war. We may not talk
about who is right or who is
wrong but we may begin to
say ’Oh my goodness, I read
that book, did you see that
vivid image? Even that
allows two different people
to have some platform to
discuss the war.
I am a Nigerian and have
lived in Nigeria, America
and England. I have noticed
that what has helped me
become who I think I am is
the fact that I have been able
to see every human being for
the humanity they have.
I think that what I call the
original sin, the disease that
led us to the war and neardisintegration
is the
continued strife that
currently exists - the problem
with corruption, voting in
people we are unhappy with,
feelings of marginalisation,
inequitable sharing of the
national wealth, etc. I think
the basic problem is that
collectively, we do not see
ourselves first as Nigerians.
Nigeria is almost like a
convenient moniker that we
attach to ourselves. We
believe first in our ethnic
groups and that. To be
honest with you, yes, we
were that way, but our
colonial masters helped
foster that division. That
initial problem which has
remained unchanged and
unchecked and continues to
be enhanced and reinforced
by the different things we do
has caused every problem we
have. A Yoruba child does
not feel he belongs in
Anambra State, An Igbo
child feels ostracised in
Lagos State, a Hausa child
will feel he is not a member
of Cross River State. When
we don’t feel we are part of
one country, then we have
multiple countries in one and
our allegiance is not to the
bigger country but to our
ethnic groups.
The reason why I feel the
travelling around has helped
me is that if we indeed wish
to have one unified country,
I am not saying we should
have that, I am just saying if
that is our wish, to see us
thrive, join the developed
nation and push forward and
become everything we can
be, then we have to begin to
see the collective as our
principal vision. We don’t
have to dishonour our ethnic
origins. We must honour our
ethnic origins because it
can’t be taken away from us,
but it has to be in addition
to the collective.
So the book shows that the
war is a symptom of a disease
(that is still not healed) and
we see our hero has these
traumas and whenever he
encounters a difficult
situation, he relapses.
That is almost like Nigeria.
Things may seem to be going
well but once we have a little
challenge, we quickly go back
to square one.

VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018 —59
08070524223
Goethe Institut’s innovative Mobile
Museum bound for Senegal
Stories by Prisca Sam-
Duru
THE Molue Mobile
Museum
of
Contemporary Arts,
MMMoCA, project titled
Stretched Terrains,
according to Goethe-Institut
Nigeria Director, Friederike
Moschel, involves a group
of young artists from
Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory
Coast, Senegal and
Germany.
Moschel who spoke during
a press conference in Lagos
said the bus which has been
changed into a mobile
museum would go from
Lagos via Benin, Togo,
Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali
and arrive in Senegal right
at the opening of the 13th
International Biennial
DaK’Art in May.
Stretched Terrains is an
intensive Mobile artist
residency project in a bus
which has been transformed
into a rolling art space. It
examines diverse public
spaces as communication
zones of social, economic
and political interaction as
it travels the approximately
10,000-kilometre road trip
via some West African
countries to the 13th edition
of Dakar Biennale in
Senegal.
From Lagos, joining Berlinbased
Nigerian artist,
Emeka Udemba, who is the
curator of the project are
Monsuru Alashe and
Gabriel Goller (Germany),
who is also in Lagos. The
other artists will be picked
up. Moschel hinted that
during the trip, artistic
ideas will be developed
while finished projects will
be presented on the return
journey at the Goethe-
Institut offices along the
way.
Moschel further said that
everything has been done to
make the trip as comfortable
for the artists as possible.
Goethe-Institut insisted that
each of the artists travelling
has health insurance. Food
has also been provided and
a mechanic for the vehicle.
She, however, said that it is
an adventure and the artists
travelling would expectedly
meet some challenges. They
will, for instance, be
expected to cook their own
food.
Indeed, Alashe who made
the first trip said they had
met with some challenges
but that from all indications,
this would definitely be a
much better trip.
Presenting an overview of
the project, Udemba said
MMMoCA stands for Molue
Mobile Museum of
Contemporary Arts which
began in 2004. The concept
is to interrogate the idea of
having a space within the
Lagos metropolis that is not
restricted to a certain part of
the city but creating a
platform
where
contemporary art can be
seen and enjoyed
everywhere in the city.
Two years ago, said
Udemba, it was decided
that the MMMoCA would
be used as a platform to
connect artists along the
West African coast. The first
trip, he said, was successful
with artists connecting
across West Africa.
Gabriel Goller from
Germany who was at the
press conference will be
travelling from Lagos. Also
on the bus from Lagos will
be Willie Schumann, a filmmaker
and freelance
journalist, Ray Claver Agbo,
Souleymane Konate, and
Dame Diongue.

60—Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018—61
It’s impossible to
recover all looted
funds—BUHARI
Continues from Page 5
“The same God, who
healed you when you
were ill, will grant you
victory in the 2019
elections. You are a
General who does not
fear combat, either with
Generals or non-
Generals.
"We declare our love
and support for you. You
are fixing the faulty
foundations of our
country and second term
is when you will build
the enduring structure.”
List of looters
Meanwhile, the
Federal Government has
assured Nigerians that
no amount of pressure,
including the antics of
hack writers and threats
of litigation, will prevent
it from releasing more
names of alleged looters
of public treasury.
In a statement issued in
Lagos, yesterday, the
Minister of Information
and Culture, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, said since
the release of the first two
lists of alleged looters,
there had been overt and
covert attempts to
intimidate and blackmail
the Federal Government
into discontinuing the
release of more looters’
names.
"Hack writers have
inundated the social and
traditional media with
articles casting aspersion
on the lists, while some
newspapers have even
resorted to writing
editorials against the
Federal Government over
the release of the lists.
"Most of the write-ups
have accused the
government of
politicising the anti-graft
war by releasing the lists.
We strongly disagree
with them.
"We do not have the
power to try or convict
anyone. That is the
exclusive preserve of the
courts. But we have the
power to let Nigerians
know those who turned
the public treasury into
their personal piggy
AKUJOBI
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss
Akujobi Chinonye
Ursla, now wish to be
known and addressed
as Mrs. Nnorom
Chinonye Ursla. All
documents bearing
former names remain
valid. The general
public should please
take note.
banks, on the basis of
very concrete evidence,
and that is what we are
doing," he said.
Alhaji Mohammed
said the government had
always known that
corruption will fight
back, fast and furious,
hence it was not
surprised at the hiring of
hack writers to attack the
very idea of naming and
shaming the looters, or
the hysterical threats of
litigation.
"All the fuss about
politicising the anticorruption
fight is aimed
at preventing the
government from
releasing more looters’
names and at the same
time muddling the
waters.
"But 1,000 negative
write-ups or editorials
will not deter us from
releasing the third and
subsequent lists. For
those who have chosen
to give succour to
looters, we wish them
the best of luck with their
new pastime," he said.
The Minister said the
pressure being mounted
on the government over
its decision to expose
looters was not
unexpected, adding that
"we know where the
pressure is coming from.
"However, the die is cast.
We will not stop until we
have released the names
of all those who have
looted
our
commonwealth. Those
who have not looted our
treasury have nothing to
be afraid of."
He challenged anyone
who felt that he or she
had been wrongly
accused to seek redress
in court, rather than
engaging in
exhibitionist sophistry.
Alhaji Mohammed
also reminded Nigerians
that it was the PDP that
dared to challenge the
Federal Government into
releasing the list of PDP
looters, hence the
argument that the list
only contained the
names of PDP members
falls short without
p r o p e r
contextualization.
He said: "We are not
underestimating the
desperation of the
looters, but we wish to
assure Nigerians who
are justifiably outraged
at the mindless
plundering of the
nation’s wealth also of
our determination not to
back down.
"Nigerians must know
those who have wrecked
the country and
mortgaged the future of
their children."
ADUBA
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss
Edith Ukamaka Aduba,
now wish to be known
and addressed
as Mrs. Edith
Ukamaka Abu. All
former documents
remain valid. General
public should please
take note.
GIDEON
I, formerly known and
addressed as Gideon
Emmanuel, now
wish to be known and
addressed as Ekong
Gideon Emmanuel. All
former documents
remain valid. General
public should please
take note.
ORHERHE
I, formerly known and
addressed as Ogaga
Orherhe, now wish to
be known and
addressed as Kehinde
Ogaga Godspower. All
former documents
remain valid. General
public please take note.
IWUOHA
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss
Iwuoha Chinyere
Eucharia, now wish to
be known and
addressed as Mrs.
Eluma Chinyere
Eucharia. All former
documents remain
valid. General public
please take note.
IBRAHIM
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss
Ibrahim Sakirat Hope,
now wish to be known
and addressed as Mrs
HopeTamarauare
Lakode. All former
documents remain
valid. General public
please take note.
LORETT
ORETTA
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss
Gbada Rume Loretta,
now wish to be known
and addressed as Mrs.
Emerhirhi Gbada
Rume. All former
documents remain
valid. General public
please take note.
ANYIKWA ANYASO
ASO
I, formerly known and I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss addressed as Miss
Anyikwa Ijeoma Joy Ugonna Anyaso,
Oluchi, now wish to be now wish to be known
known and addressed and addressed
as Mrs. Yagazie as Mrs. Joy-Justin
Ijeoma Oluchi. All Ugonna Ukaegbu. All
documents still remain former documents
valid. General public remain valid. General
please take note. public please take note.
ATORI
I, formerly known and
addressed as Doris
Atori, now wish to be
known and addressed
as Doris Okiemute
Oghoro. All former
documents remain
valid. General public
please take note.
OKIEMUTE
I, formerly known and
addressed as
Oghoyone Okiemute,
now wish to be known
and addressed as
Oghoyone Okiemute
Henry. All former
documents remain
valid. General public
please take note.
OBI
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss
Obi Uchechukwu
Shalom Chineze, now
wish to be known and
addressed as Mrs
O k e r e m g b o
Uchechukwu Shalom
Chineze. All former
documents remain
valid. General public
take note.
JUNIOR
Confirmation of name
My correct name is Junior
Walter Atirene but in my
BVN. My name is written
as Onome Atirene.
Fdelity Bank and the
general public should
please note that both
names belong to one and
the same person and all
former documents remain
valid.
NWEZE
I, formerly known and
addressed as Nweze
Amarachi Faith, now
wish to be known and
addressed as Ngwuobinna
Amarachi
Faith. All former
documents remain
valid. General public
please take note.
AJIWE
I, formerly known and
addressed as Ajiwe
Amarachi Chinyere,
now wish to be known
and addressed as
Ukaegbu Amarachi
Chinyere. All former
documents remain
valid. General public
please take note.
OBIKE
I, formerly known and
addressed as
O l u o m a c h i
Obubelebra Obike,
now wish to be known
and addressed as
Oluomachi Obubelebra
Ibude. All former
documents remain
valid. General public
please take note.
NUNU
I, formerly known and
addressed as Tosan
Oritseminorne Nunu, now
wish to be known and
addressed as Mrs.
Oritseminorne Tosan
Dayo Ukuti. All former
documents remain valid.
University of Port -
Harcourt, University of
Benin and General Public
please take note.
OSAZE
Confirmation of Name
In my first bank account
my name is written as
Osayiobase Goodluck
Osaze. But in my
documents and other
bank records my name is
written as Osayiobase
Mathias Osaze. The
general public and First
bank should please note
that both names belong to
one and the same person
and all former documents
remain valid.
ARINOMOR
I, formerly known and
addressed as
Arinomor Prince
Adarighofuan, now
wish to be known and
addressed as Ayigbe
Prince Adarighofuan.
All other documents
bearing either name
valid. General public
take note.
OHALETE
I, formerly known and
addressed as Ohalete
Chimezie Constance,
now wish to be known
and addressed
as Mrs. Owoade
Mofoluso Chimezie
Constance. All former
documents remain
valid. General public
should please take
note.
UWEH
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss
Uweh Francisca
Ewere, now wish to be
known and addressed
as Mrs. Johnson
Francisca Ewere. All
former documents
remain valid. General
public please take
note.
EFEURHOBO
I, formerly known and
addressed as
Eseoghene Efeurhobo,
now wish to be known
and addressed as
Eseoghene Okatta. All
former documents
remain valid. General
public please take note.
UJE
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss Uje
O. Deborah, now wish
to be known and
addressed as Mrs.
Enegide O. Deborah.
All former documents
remain valid. General
public please take note.
EJUETAMI
I, formerly known and
addressed as Miss
E j u e t a m i
Oritseweyinmi Irene,
now wish to be known
and addressed as Mrs.
Iwere Oritseweyinmi
Irene. All former
documents remain
valid. General public
please take note.
DAVID
Confirmation of Name
This is to confirm that the
names, Henry David
Oluwaseun and Henry
Oludaisi Oluwaseun refer
to one and the same
person, but now wish to
be known and addressed
as Henry Oludaisi
Oluwaseun. All former
documents remain valid.
General public please take
note.

62 — VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018
City crowned EPL champions as
United slip at Old Trafford
MANCHESTER City
have been crowned
Premier League champions
after bottom club West Brom
beat Manchester United 1-
0 at Old Trafford.
United were looking to
keep City’s wait for the
Premier League as lengthy
as possible following their
win last weekend, but started
in ponderous form.
West Brom went closest,
with Jake Livermore forcing
an excellent save from
David de Gea in goal,
though Ander Herrera
should have had a penalty
when Craig Dawson tripped
him.
In the second half,
Mourinho removed Paul
Pogba for Anthony Martial
Neymar:
I’ll be fit for
World Cup
Brazil star Neymar said
yesterday he is “recovering
well” from a foot injury and
is on schedule to be ready
for the World Cup.
The Paris Saint-Germain
striker had surgery in
March on a cracked fifth
metatarsal in his right foot.
Neymar told a TV Globo
variety show that he feels
no pain, but he cannot put
his injured foot on the
ground without an
orthopedic shoe. He arrived
on stage using two walking
sticks.
“There is still a month left,
but I am recovering well. It
is all according to plan,” the
Brazilian said. “I feel no
pain; I am stepping little by
little. I cannot walk freely
without the shoe, but I am
in treatment, I am working
out at the gym too. I am
preparing well.”
The striker is widely
expected to be on Brazil’s
final squad list that will be
announced on May 14 in
Rio de Janeiro by coach Tite.
Juve fans target
ref Oliver’s wife
Police are investigating
threatening text messages
sent to the wife of Premier
League referee Michael
Oliver.
Oliver awarded a lastminute
penalty as Real
Madrid knocked Juventus
out of the Champions
League on Wednesday
and was criticised by Italian
keeper Gianluigi Buffon
and some Italian media.
BBC Sport understands
Oliver’s wife Lucy - a
Women’s Super League
referee who also officiates
men’s non-league football
- had her mobile number
posted on social media
after the game, which led
to the abusive texts.
with little over half an hour
remaining, searching for
what seemed a likely
eventual winner.
Jay Rodriguez’s header
from close range, as WBA
started to get hints of a
famous bid for survival,
meant that United paid for
their lacklustre efforts and
should have sent United into
a panic to rescue some
dignity.
Instead, WBA claimed
only their second win in 32
games as United huffed and
puffed, creating nothing,
and giving up the title in
sorry circumstances.
Benitez congratulates Newcastle for
escaping the drop
RAFA Benitez has
declared Newcastle
United’s Premier
League safety - but insists
that there is still
plenty of hard work to
do in the final five
games of the campaign.
After the 2-1 win over
Arsenal, Benitez rewarded
his side with two
days off after the Magpies
surpassed the 40-
point mark and cemented
their place in the top
10 of the division.
Speaking directly after
the game, Benitez said:
“I think we are safe with
41 points.
“It’s a massive
achievement for the
players, the city and the
fans.
“I want to congratulate
everyone.
Benitez added: “Obviously
I am really
pleased because it was
important for us to
achieve that, and the
way that we did it, every
single player, every
fan, every member of the
staff, I haver to congratulate
them because it has
been a fantastic achievement
in a very difficult
season.
“We started learning
without too much experience
for some players
in the Premier League,
and little by little we were
growing and especially
in this second part of the
league, the team has
grown in confidence.
Italy wanted me to play for them — Obi
Obi
TORINO midfielder
Joel Obi has revealed
that he turned down the
chance to play for Italy at
youth level and waited for
his chance to represent
Nigeria.
The 26-year-old, who
looks likely to make the cut
for the Super Eagles’ 2018
World Cup squad, made his
international debut for the
country of his birth in
February 2011.
Obi has played his football
in Italy since 2005,
representing
Internazionale, Parma and
his current club.
“With my family we try to
speak Igbo at home but I
prefer speaking Italian.
When I get to Nigeria I speak
broken English and with my
Igbo friends I prefer to speak
Igbo,” Obi told Kwese
Sports.
“All my life, style was in
Italian football. When I was
14 or 15 years, I had the
opportunity to play for the
Italian youth team but I
waited because I believe I am
from Nigeria and I have to
play for my fatherland.
“Finally I got the call from
the Super Eagles and I was
very happy. I was only
focused on Nigerian
national team.”
Obi started both of
Nigeria’s friendlies against
Poland and Serbia last
month.
Nwosu, Ajunwa for Athletics Masters wellness
talk, check up
FORMER Green
Eagles captain,
Henry Nwosu, ex-
Falcons goalkeeper, Ann
Chiejiene and Olympic
gold medalist Chioma
Ajunwa are among
retired stars confirmed
for a one-day one day
symposium and free
medical check-up for
former internationals
and sports stakeholders
at the Media Centre of
the Teslim Balogun
Stadium tomorrow
(Tuesday).
The programme, which
TALE OF TWO CITIES ... Pep Guardiola celebrates
while Jose Mouriho groans
is put together by
Nigeria Athletic
Masters (NAM) and the
Lagos State Sports
Commission, is themed:
‘Health and Wellness for
50 years and above’.
Salah, Firmino, Mane as good as
Ronaldo, Messi says Van Dijk
M SALAH OHAMED
and
his Liverpool attacking
co-stars are as good as
Cristiano Ronaldo and
Lionel Messi.
Salah, Roberto
Firmino and Sadio
Mane have softened the
blow of Philippe
Coutinho’s January
departure by forming an
unstoppable alliance up
front for Liverpool this
term.
The trio have 82 goals
and 37 assists between
them this season. And
Van Dijk admits Ronaldo
and Messi now have
company when it comes
to being the best
attackers in the world.
Cech blasts Gunners for
Newcastle defeat
PETR CECH says Arsenal failed to make enough chances
to beat Newcastle before suffering defeat at St. James’
Park yesterday.
The Gunners got off to a positive start when Alexandre
Lacazette converted Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s cross to
put them a goal to the good.
Ayoze Perez levelled things up for Newcastle in the 29th
minute though and Arsenal failed to get themselves back in
front.Matt Ritchie struck midway through the second half
to hand Rafa Benitez’s side a win that moves them into the
top half of the Premier League.
“At 1-0 up we were in control and doing really well,” said
the Arsenal stopper.
“We tried to find an opening and a winning goal but we
didn’t create enough in second half.
“The second goal sums up our away form this season and
we made a number of mistakes which led to the goal.”
Arsenal’s defeat means they remain on 54 points going
into their final five games of the season. They take on fellow
Europa League hopefuls Burnley at the Emirates on Sunday
May 6.
Moses Simon prefers Belgium
than warming bench in England
SUPER Eagles striker, Moses Simon said he would
rather remain in Belgium than move to an English
Premier League club that will keep him on bench.
Simon who has spent four seasons with Belgian side KAA
Gent has been linked to a move to Liverpool.
The 22-year-old Moses said he is aware of some interests
for him, but maintained he needs regular first-team football
wherever he will move to.
“I want to go to where I will more or less be playing
regularly. I don’t wish to sit on the bench,” he told a Belgian
newspaper.
Still on a move, the winger’s club said they will be ready
to sell him, but it has to be for the right offer.
Birmingham to host 2022 Games
COMMONWEALTH Games Federation (CGF)
President Louise Martin thanked the
organizers, volunteers, various levels of
government, athletes and sponsors for their input
to the Games before handing the flag over to the
next hosts.
English city Birmingham were awarded the next
Games in 2022 after original hosts Durban were
stripped of the multi-sport event for failing to meet
CGF deadlines.
“Congratulations Gold Coast, congratulations
Queensland and congratulations Australia,” Martin
said before the flag lowering ceremony. “You have
truly delivered a golden Games for the
Commonwealth.
Konyegwachie cries foul
NIGER’s Boxing coach to the Commonwealth
Games, Anthony Konyegwachie is leaving the
Gold Coast with sour memories of what he said would
have been golden moments for the sport.
As athletes and officials bid bye bye after the closing
ceremony brought to an end the events of the
Commonwealth Games, Konyegwachie said he was
leaving with bitter experiences.
“All together it was a beautiful experience but the beauty
of the organization was not taken to the venues. I feel
bad that my boxers were robbed in their events. That is
the ugly part of the Games. They favored some countries”,
a livid Konyegwachie said.
Aruna quadri loses to Gao Ning of singapore,
wins silver
SINGAPORE’s Gao Ning, who suffered
shattering defeats in the 2010 and 2014
Commonwealth Games, beat Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna
11-7 11-8 5-11 3-11 11-9 11-5 in the men’s singles final
to collect his second table tennis gold of the day.
“It was one of those matches where sometimes you
win, sometimes you lose. It could have gone either way.
Today I felt very calm,” Gao said.

VANGUARD, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018—63

Vanguard, MONDAY, APRIL 16, 2018
TODAY’S PUZZLE
Sudoku
YESTERDAY’S ANSWER
TODAY’S CROSSWORD
QUICK CROSSWORD
YESTERDAY’SOLUTION
ACROSS
1 Scarcity (6)
4 Go aboard (6)
8 Muscular strength (5)
9 Expressed in speech (7)
10 Brought about (7)
11 Worth (5)
12 US state (3,6)
17 Out of condition (5)
19 Non-religious (7)
21 Tormented (7)
22 Damp (5)
23 Detective (6)
24 Branches (6)
DOWN
1 Brides (anag) (6)
2 Forsake (7)
3 Pick-me-up (5)
5 Reasons for action (7)
6 Spring month (5)
7 Chaffed, teased (6)
9 Disrobed (9)
13 Garment worn by divers
(7)
14 Shouting (7)
15 Commotion (6)
16 Free of charge (6)
18 Distress signal (5)
20 Small jazz band or
dance band (5)
How to Play Sudoku
Place a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have two
of the same number).
Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (also nine lines
from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within a bold block (nine
blocks) contains number from 1 through 9. This means that no
number can appear twice in any block, column or row.
No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, division or
multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.
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