Mikel John Obi amongst Nigerian top football earners

Joseph Yobo, Mikel Obi and Yakubu Aiyegbeni are Nigeria's biggest earners as they each pocket in excess of two million Euros a year.

MTNFootball.com has again scooped that another top Nigerian earner in football is Spartak Moscow striker Emmanuel Emenike.

Yobo is smiling all the way to the bank because his earnings are free of tax in Turkey, unlike when he was in England with Everton.

"He's on crazy money at Fenerbache and he is also playing week in, week out, which was not the case at Everton at a point," a top source informed MTNFootball.com

That could well explain why several more players from Nigeria have now moved to seek their fortune there - Kalu Uche (Kasimpasa), Raheem Lawal (Adana Demirspor) and Uche Kalu (Caysur Rizespor).

"It is a good place for Nigerians to go to because the football is not bad and the money is good because it is free of any tax," a top agent informed MTNFootball.com

Yakubu has proved himself in the English Premier League by scoring double digit number of goals, season after season and so his decision to cash in on a final pay day in China, where he is reportedly on 100,000 pounds-tax free a week.

His super agent Pini Zahavi has even before the striker's move to China secured his financial future for him.

Mikel is on 80,000 pounds a week at Stamford Bridge, but when he has to pay about 42% of that as tax, it leaves him with a little more than 40,000 pounds a week.

He also received a hefty bonus when Chelsea made history by winning their first UEFA Champions League. But again it was heavily taxed.

Emenike is also on a fabulous contract of about 2.5 million Euros a year, but in Russia he has to pay tax and that way he earns less than his national team skipper.

Spartak have reportedly inserted a buy-out clause of 42 million Euros in Emenike's contract after he extended his deal till 2016.

Defender Taye Taiwo also bagged a super deal when he signed up with Italian giants AC Milan. He was on something like 335,000 Euros a month but tax and limited playing time would have eaten deep into this little fortune.

Taiwo is now on loan in Ukraine, where a player like Brown Ideye is also on a very good contract.

Leadership

Related story: Stephen Keshi drops Obi Mikel and Osaze from Nigerian squad

Electricity supply drops by 1,000 megawatts in Nigeria

Two weeks after the resignation of Prof. Bart Nnaji as Minister of Power and the subsequent promise by the Federal Government to sustain the improvement in electricity supply achieved during his tenure, consumers in most cities have again started to experience frequent blackouts.

THISDAY checks showed that consumers, who were getting used to a marked improvement in power supply in their homes and offices, have in the last one week started complaining about the return to old order.

A survey of households in Lagos, Abuja, Abeokuta, Kano and Port Harcourt, among other cities, showed that electricity supply was no longer reliable as it was about three weeks ago.

For example, many parts of Lagos have been experiencing epileptic power supply for the last one week, with some sections of the city cut off completely from electricity since Friday.

In Kaduna metropolis, for instance, some areas that used to have 18 hours of power supply are now down to eight hours or less.

A resident of the state told THISDAY that the recent review of tariffs has aggravated the plight of the residents of the city.

"With 18 hours of light, I used to pay N5,000 monthly and the money will be carried over to the next month. But since the increase in electricity tariffs, I have been paying almost N11,000, without any carry over to the next month.

The situation was also the same in some parts of Port Harcourt most of last week. "For almost one year, we did not have light until the past three months when we started having light up to four hours. But this time, it is two hours for the past one week," said Ndubuisi, a resident in Port Harcourt.

Another resident in Enugu State and auto parts dealer, Nnaemeka, also told THISDAY that electricity supply, which had improved in the state capital, has been epileptic for the past few days.

He, however, stated that the residents of the city had attributed the worsening supply of electricity in the state to the heavy rains, which have been falling in the area in the last couple of days.

Kano State has also witnessed a significant drop in electricity supply in recent days. A civil engineer, Mohammed Bello, while lamenting the return of epileptic electricity supply, wondered why PHCN had not even issued a statement explaining why output had dropped.

"If it is gas, they should let us know, if it is system failure, they should let us know. They owe us some kind of explanation," he said.

A source with the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), who spoke to THISDAY, blamed the situation on damaged distribution and transmission facilities, which have not been fully repaired.

It was also gathered that the drop in electricity supply was occasioned by the loss of about 1,100 Megawatts of electricity from the national grid.

This development, it was learnt, has fuelled speculation that the workers of the successor companies of PHCN, who have been celebrating Nnaji's exit, have resorted to their business-as-usual work ethic.

THISDAY gathered that power supply, which peaked at 4,321.3MW when Nnaji resigned as minister on August 28, and remained at the same level up until August 31, has continued to dwindle daily, with the system witnessing a partial collapse on September 7.

Shortly before the former minister resigned his appointment, the country achieved a new high in power generation of 4,307.7MW and an additional 170MW, which served as spinning reserve, bringing the total quantum of electricity generated to 4,477.7MW.

This new peak exceeded the record level of 4,237MW achieved on August 6 by 240.7MW.

Before Nnaji was appointed minister in 2011, the first attempt by the country to generate 3,800MW in August 2010 led to the collapse of the system within a few minutes due to the weak transmission infrastructure.

However, it was learnt that the power situation worsened at the weekend as supply dropped to 3,224.3MW on Saturday, after peaking at 4,077MW earlier in the day.

Some of the power stations that were the worst affected by the drop in supply include the Geregu Power Station in Kogi State, which was generating an average of 210MW per day, but dropped to 10MW at the weekend. The drop in power output at Geregu was blamed on shortage in gas supply.

Similarly, the Okpai Power Plant in Delta State, which was generating 466MW per day but has also dropped to 276MW, while Sapele dropped from 180MW to zero.

The Omotosho Power Station in Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State, which is under the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP), also witnessed a drop in generation from 230MW to 167MW. While electricity generated from the Egbin Power Station in Lagos, the biggest power station in the country, dropped from 900MW to 453MW.

A source, however, blamed the drop in output from Egbin to lack of gas, as the turbines are ready to generate about 800MW, subject to the availability of gas.

Power generation from Kainji Power Station also declined to 187MW from 193MW, while Jebba, which was generating 402MW, dropped to 385MW.

Afam IV Power Station in Rivers State has also witnessed a drop in performance with generation falling to 315MW after peaking at 458MW.

With the fall in supply, the highest voltage recorded at the weekend was 347KV at the Benin Transmission Station, while the lowest was 290KV recorded at the Kano Transmission Station.

Sources attributed the drop in output from several of the power stations to the poor attitude to work by PHCN workers and lack of effective supervision.

A power ministry source confirmed this, saying when the former minister was in office he kept the CEOs of all the power companies and their executive directors on their toes.

"You know the ministry had signed service level agreements with all the CEOs and the minister had an effective monitoring mechanism to ensure that output was raised and sustained.

"But without anyone breathing down their necks, most of them are beginning to relax; that may be the reason we are beginning to experience epileptic power supply again. In addition, the dry season is not yet upon us yet, so we should be edging up to 5,000MW by now, not retrogressing," he explained.

Also, the dwindling performance in power generation and distribution has been blamed on the lack of commitment by government, as nobody appears to be in-charge in the absence of a power minister.

Nnaji, during his tenure, was able to whip workers in the sector in line and was the only known minister to have fired top officials of PHCN for non-performance and failure to meet their targets under the service level agreements.

Although President Goodluck Jonathan had directed Minister of State for Power, Mr. Darius Ishaku, to take charge of the ministry after Nnaji's resignation, sources said Ishaku lacks the hands-on experience required to effectively tackle the rot and pervasive incompetence in the system.

Jonathan, while reconstituting two committees on the power sector, last Wednesday, had pledged to sustain the stable power supply in the country, even after the rains.

The two committees, whose reconstitution was triggered by Nnaji's resignation, are the Presidential Action Committee on Power (PACP) and the Presidential Task Force on Power.

Jonathan, at a meeting with members of the reconstituted committees acknowledged that Nnaji's resignation had stalled the meeting of the PACP.

This Day

Related story: Power minister Prof. Bart Nnaji resigns

Nigerian pension fund found stashed in UK bank

An investigative panel set up by the Federal Government to audit existing financial activities around the controversial Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, Superannuation Pension Fund has uncovered about £2,204,814.18 million company's total pension sum stashed away in a bank in the United Kingdom (UK).

The money which has been lodged in the UK's Barclays Bank for close to 21 years was said to have accumulated from pension deposits for expatriate workers of the utility by its officials long before it metamorphosed into PHCN.

Chairman of the eight-man government audit panel on PHCN pension, Mr. Joseph Ajiboye who is also a former Auditor General of the Federation, AuGF, said however that the panel could not ascertain if officials of PHCN had continued to remit pension and gratuity deductions to the said foreign account considering that the last expatriate pensioner of the utility is reported to be late.

Presenting the report of the investigation yesterday to the Minister of State for Power, Mr. Darius Ishaku, Ajiboye explained that its consideration of various financial audit activities of the in-house pension scheme of the company showed that its failure to fund the scheme was based on an excuse that it has perpetually operated at commercial loss, especially within these periods.

He noted that financial audits of the scheme from 1990 to 2010 which it studied in a bid to ascertain transactional trends in the account showed that from 1990 to 1999, a total of N1, 787,919 billion was paid out as pension and gratuities to workers while N51, 279,940,138 was paid out in the years 2000 to 2010.

The panel's report also indicates that PHCN has in the past 21 years failed to fund its in-house pension scheme, thus putting the future of its retiring workers in jeopardy. The report disclosed that currently the electricity behemoth has no money to fund the pension scheme.

It also discovered that some of PHCN assets which were assigned to fund the pension scheme had been purportedly sold off.

According to Ajiboye, the financial documents studied by the committee showed that a total of N5,367,859,138 was paid out as pensions and gratuities to PHCN workers within these periods, adding that an actuarial sum of N107 billion was equally set aside by the utility as contingent sum.

The immediate past Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji set up the panel with a 30-day lifespan to investigate the status of pension in the power sector vis-à-vis the pension laws, identify officers involved in any act of misconduct in the management of pension as well as review pension matters in the Agari committee report.

This was following allegations of illegal operation of and deductions from an in-house pension scheme that runs contrary to extant pension laws in the country,

The panel was also expected to recommend measures to guard against occurrence of similar incidents in the future as well as sanctions against culprits.

The report said PHCN has for years operated an in-house defined pension scheme codenamed "the superannuation pension fund", with only the management and leaders of its trade unions as its trustees; this arrangement however runs contrary to provisions in the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2004 which came into operation in 2007, and has however been frowned at by the Federal Government.

According to Ajiboye, "When we looked at all the financial statements that had been audited as far back as 1990, we found out that between 1990 and 1999, the total pension and gratuity paid under the superannuation fund was N1,787,919 billion, both gratuity and pension were less than N2 billion paid and it is understandable because of the low level of salaries and wages paid in the 90's.

"From 2000 to 2010, the total pension and gratuity paid was N51, 279,940,138 and so for the 21 years running, the total gratuity and pension paid under the superannuation fund to all pensioners was N5,367, 859,138, that is all that has been paid since 2010 and these accounts had been audited and confirmed as real and applicable figures."

He further noted that, "We had an issue of N107 billion which was an actuarial valuation and was a contingent liability; it is not as if any money was paid out of that.

"We also spoke with the National Union of Pensioners who gave us a historical background of the scheme which they traced to the ECN and the Niger Dam Authority and how the issue of 25 percent arose; we have a paper from them that shows that there was no deduction of the percentage from the salaries of any worker up till April this year, they also showed evidence that when the ECN and Niger Dam were collapsed into one, they all decided to maintain one scheme but it was not contributory.

The panel further observed that "certain properties were given to the superannuation fund to bring income in addition to whatever PHCN would contribute but unfortunately we found out that one of the properties in Kado Abuja was purportedly sold and we didn't find out if there was any money remitted from such sale.

"Another one is a storey building in Lagos that was ceded to the Federal Inland Revenue Services by PHCN because it was owing taxes that it could not pay. The recurrent expenditure of PHCN is not provided by the government but its capital expenditure.

"We found out that a total of £2,204,814.18 million of PHCN pension money is still in London laying idle as accumulated monies from pension deposits for expatriate workers of the former ECN and Niger Dam Authority; we understand that there have been efforts to retrieve the money that is lying idle in the Barclays Bank," Ajiboye stated.

The panel however recommended amongst other things that a full audit of accounts of PHCN successor companies be carried out to ascertain their levels of accountability with funds given to them by the Market Operator.

Ishaku in his remarks, expressed gratitude to the panel which he noted had done a thorough job that will quicken outstanding negotiations with PHCN unions on the privatisation exercise.

Vanguard

Video - Sacked Air Nigeria staff protest

Former staff at Air Nigeria say they've been unfairly sacked.

The airline announced it was shutting down operations on Wednesday, and fired nearly 1,000 people.

Related stories: Lufthansa suspends services to Air Nigeria

Nigerian government lifts suspension on Dana Airline

Compensation begins on bereaved families of Dana Air victims

Nigeria third best amongst African nations in 2012 Paralympics

As the 2012 Paralympic Games rounded off in London on Sunday, no fewer than 10 African countries made the medals table, winning a total of 112 medals over the 11 days of the Games, Aug. 29 to Sept . 9.

African nations' performance at the Games represented a marginal improvement over their performance at the last Paralympic Games in Beijing, China, in 2008, where only eight nations made the medals table.

The 10 African countries notched up 112 medals, made up of 38 gold, 36 silver and 38 bronze medals.

Nigeria, which led Africa's medals table from the beginning of the games, was beaten to the third place by Tunisia.

Tunisia, now Africa's number one at the end of the Paralympic Games, won 19 medals - nine gold, five silver and five bronze, to beat South Africa, which had 25 medals - eight gold, 12 silver and seven bronze medals - to the second position.

Nigeria, which placed third with 13 medals over all, had six gold, five silver and two bronze.

Nigeria, however, ended up the Games' overall number one winners of the Power lifting event, from where it won 12 of its 13 medals.

Algeria placed fourth with a total of 19 medals - (4-6-9), Egypt had 15 (4-4-7), Morocco (3-0-3), Kenya (2-2-2),

Others are: Namibia (1-1-0), Angola (1-0-1) and Ethiopia (0-1-0). (NAN)

Vanguard

Related story: Nigeria wins gold and sets new world record in paralympics

Central Bank says 5,000 Naira note will reduce inflation

The Central Bank of Nigeria and its agents have been very active, as should be expected, in promoting the merits of the proposed N5000 note. To this end, the apex bank also set out to dispel what it alleges to be disinformation regarding the proposed exercise.

In its widely published one-page advertorial titled, False Rumours on Currency Restructuring, CBN refutes the reported vote of N40bn set aside for this exercise. It is not clear why the CBN waited so long before it refuted the widely quoted value of N40bn in the media; regrettably, however, the apex bank still failed to reveal the estimated cost projection for the project, so that its cost/benefit can be appropriately publicly evaluated.

Central Bank was also eager in its advertorial to confirm that the contract for the proposed currency restructuring has not been awarded. In reality, the issue of contract award is neither here nor there, since CBN appears to have made up its mind, in spite of public opinion.

In earlier press releases, CBN indicated that the concept and designs were completed locally at minimal cost. CBN's cause might probably have been better served, if it had also transparently declared the originating cost as well as the expected savings on the cost of currency management in the country.

Nonetheless, it will be hard to fault the public's lack of confidence on any promise of benefits from such cost savings; for example, the adoption of the cashless programme was touted to reduce banks' operation cost by over 30 per cent, so that ultimately, the banks could support the real sector with single-digit borrowing cost. Inexplicably, this expectation has remained unfulfilled!

Incidentally, in the advertorial under reference, CBN recognises that our currency management costs are influenced by frequency of usage and poor handling. However, CBN's belief that a promo campaign would, on its own, lead to greater respect for the naira and better currency handling, is however, patently unfounded. In truth, adoption and respect for currencies everywhere is based on the recognition of the purchasing value of the currency unit.

In a situation, for example, where N50, the least note denomination, under the proposed restructuring, cannot even purchase one finger of plantain, it is most likely that the funds spent in the production and promotion of the new N20, N10, N5, N2 and N1 coins would be money down the drain!

It is also surprising that CBN identifies the possibility of more precise rounding up as an advantage of the proposed new coin profile; this is, undoubtedly a tongue in the cheek claim, as the new profile has already inherently rounded up primary kobo denominations!!

Nigerians who can remember clearly recognise that coins fell out of favour because they lost any meaningful purchasing value, and it was no surprise when they ultimately found favour with metal brokers. Besides, it is clear that the initial cost of production and destruction of the existing currency profile has not been consciously captured as added cost to the projected expenditure on the new currency structure.

Furthermore, the apex bank's advertorial maintains that "currency restructuring does not cause inflation in any form whatsoever, as it will not increase money supply." This observation, of course, is unassailable, if all things remain equal; in other words, so long as the velocity or the speed of spending money remains the same, there will be no increase in money supply.

If on the other hand, the N5000 note, for example, is speedily offloaded on receipt in order to unbundle the value, there is no doubt that the velocity of currency in circulation would increase and create the same impact as increase in money supply; so, CBN's claims that the N5000 note will not induce inflation needs to be qualified!

Inexplicably, the CBN advertorial further stretches the argument on inflation, when it suggests that "currency restructuring may actually help in tackling inflation"! If indeed reduced inflation rates coincided with the introduction of higher denomination notes in the past, the apex bank has not provided evidence that the drop was the direct result of higher denominations introduced.

Indeed, any insistence of a causative relationship will be an outright contradiction of CBN's open admission that inflation is the product of increase in money supply, as the converse of that is that lower inflation rate is the product of reduction in money supply.

In other words, if higher denominations do not increase money supply, CBN cannot also prove that higher denominations will reduce money supply and lower the inflation rate, especially when it is incontestable that the proposed higher denomination, in conjunction with the cashless programme and coin profile, will ultimately increase the velocity of money in circulation with the same result as increasing money supply.

Vanguard

Related story: Video - Nigeria introduces new 5,000 Naira bank note

Nigeria draw with Liberia in Nations Cup qualifier

The Super Eagles Saturday night played a 2-2 draw with the Lone Star of Liberia in the first leg of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match in Monrovia.

After the hosts shot into an early lead in the 5th minute through Tonia Tinsdel, the AFCON ticket seeking Eagles responded with brilliant exchanges between the forward line marshalled by the trio of Ikechukwu Uche, Victor Moses and Emmanuel Emenike.

That soon paid off in the 15th minute as Nosa Igiebor cashed on a loose rebound ball from Emenike's effort to equalise for Nigeria.

The Eagles then seized the moment, temporarily putting the Liberians under intense heat.

Twice Uche had the chance to score but missed. Chelsea new boy, Moses was however hacked down in the box in the heat of pressure that ensued in a goal mouth melee. Uche effortlessly put the resultant penalty kick into the wrong side of Nathaniel Shirman in goal for the Liberians

What would have given the Eagles a clear advantage in the dying minutes of the first half was blown by Uche. After rounding the Liberian keeper and having only an empty net to tap the ball into, shot wide.

On resumption for the second half, the pep talk by Coach Stephen Keshi did not appear to do any magic.

The Liberian forward trio of Tisdell, Sekou Jabateh Oliseh and Zah Kranger ceaselessly piled pressure on the Eagles.

A pile driver fired by Kranger beat Vincent Enyeama but hit the upright and rebounded for the Nigerian keeper to grab. Another effort scored by the Liberian was adjudged to have been fired from an off-side position.

Deep into the game, Oliseh who had turned Juwon Oshaniwa and Godfrey Oboabona into his toys, walking through them with relative ease, grabbed an equaliser that sent the entire 40,000 capacity crowd at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium into frenzied celebration.

He tapped a lob from the right flank beyond a badly positioned Enyeama. The hosts then began to push deep into the Nigerian half to keep every Nigerian present at the stadium on edge.

The decisive return leg that would determine whether will again miss another AFCON is slated to hold in the weekend of October 8 or 9 in Calabar.

This Day

Israel commences mass deportation of Nigerians

In what looks like a crackdown on immigrants in their country, Israel has started a massive deportation of Africans comprising mainly Nigerians in what they called 'operation clean up'.

In the last few weeks no fewer than 50 Nigerians have been deported from the middle east country for reasons ranging from what they termed illegal stay, work permit and other flimsy excuses.

Due to the recent series of offensive and racist statements made by Israeli politicians, African diplomats in Israel are afraid to walk down the street, said African ambassadors in Israel during a meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon.

The meeting, which was attended by the ambassadors of Angola, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia and the Ivory Coast, was recently held in the Foreign Ministry's offices in Jerusalem, Yedioth Ahronoth, an Israeli newspaper reported.This was after the wife of the Ghanian ambassador was arrested by Israeli police where she was on shopping in Tel Aviv.

Israeli's claim that immigrants are responsible for the ongoing series of rapes and muggings committed in their country is a way of calling a dog a bad name in order to hang it.

Reports from Tel Aviv where most of the immigrants live show that most of them now hide inside their apartments without going to work for fear of being arrested while on the street. 'Many Nigerians living in Israel are very law abiding and go their normal businesses' said an official of the Nigerian community who doesn't want his name in print.

The recent crackdown has seen Isreaeli authorities arresting Nigerians with families and taking them to detention camps sometimes with their very under aged children where they face harsh punitive measures and untold hardship before being deported to their country.

To worsen the situation, the Nigerian Embassy officials have never intervened in this ugly incidents being meted on Nigerians, our source revealed Mr Iweka [real name withheld] from Enugu state said he has been living in Israel legally since twelve years working in a restaurant but was deported on the orders of his employer who wouldn't want to pay his accumulated gratuity.

He was arrested in his apartment by over twenty security agents and chained both legs and hands and bundled into a van even after showing them his valid papers and driven to prison. His lawyer took his case to court and after spending two months in the prison under harsh conditions was deported without concluding his case. He described is ordeal as a racist, barbaric and unhuman.

Member of the Israeli Knesset Shlomo Molla (Kadima) has warned that, "The State has failed to do its diplomatic due diligence .No one wants to migrate here if they're doing well... It doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to send them back, but these events - abusing them like that - that's wrong.

"I've seen case where people where physically hurt. If that's not incitement - what is?" he wondered.

Member if Israeli Knesset K Dov Khenin (Hadash) read testimonies given by teens suspected of assaulting migrants, detailing the violent abuse they had perpetrated. He further deplored the government's actions against them.

Vanguard

Related stories: Austria plans to deport 1,000 Nigerians

Man kills wife with machete

A man who was identified by the police as Sunday Eze (Jnr) has reportedly matcheted his wife to death at the University town of Nsukka in Enugu State.

Eze, alleged to be a native of Agbani Nguru in Nsukka Local Government was said to have killed his wife following a slight misunderstanding he had with her.

Vanguard sources said at Nsukka that the suspect allegedly killed his wife lon Tuesday night in the presence of their only child Onyebuchi Eze, 11. The suspect was alleged to have rebuffed pleas by the child not to kill his mother.

The kid who received a deep cut in his hand in attempt to prevent his father from killing his mother is a form five pupil of a primary school in the area.

The suspect was however said to have had a mental problem before the incident. It was alleged that the suspect had threatened to kill his wife each time they had any disagreement.

Police sources quoted the 11 year old boy as stating that his parents had quarrels that night before his father used his matchet and killed his ‘’mummy,’’ adding, ‘’I rushed him and pleaded but he did not listen to me. He stabbed my mother severally both on the head and legs and on seeing that mummy is dead, he asked me to go to his elder brother’s residence, and tell them what has happened while he also moved to the nearby neighbours to inform them.’’

According to the police sources, Onyebuchi complied as directed by his father only for the assailant to escape into the bush for three days before he was caught by a search party in the community.

The search party headed by one Christopher Ejike Onah alias Papa Nsukka, was said to have apprehended the suspect after ransacking all the nearby bushes and villages.

He was said to have attempted to kill himself with a screw driver which gave him a very deep cut in the throat.before he was arrested on the third night, looking frail and haggard.

The suspect told Vanguard that his late wife was responsible for his mental problem even as he further claimed that she died during a scuffle with him on the fateful night.

“I was told by my diviner that my wife has a hand in my mental problem which causes me internal heat at intervals,’’ the suspect further told Vanguard.

Vanguard

Boko Haram attack telecoms facilities

Gunmen attacked and damaged many mobile phone masts belonging to MTN and Airtel in Kano and Maiduguri yesterday, disrupting telecommunications in parts of the two cities, Daily Trust learnt.

In what appeared to be coordinated attacks on telecom installations, at least eight MTN masts were destroyed and its office burnt in Maiduguri between Tuesday night and early morning yesterday, while attackers detonated an explosive in front of a cell phone tower in Bauchi.

No one was reported killed in the attacks, which are likely to be blamed on a sect that has waged a campaign of violence in the North because the sect in February issued threats against mobile telecom companies.

In Maiduguri, residents said about 10 gunmen hit the MTN office around 2am yesterday and chased away private security guards on duty, before setting fire to the building.

The gunmen also damaged telecommunication masts belonging to MTN at Bolori, Ngaranam, Dala Alamdiri, Adam Kolo, Limanti, Gwange, Bayan Quarters and West End areas.



"Some young, about ten of them, armed with guns came to this place in the night and ordered the security men out of the place before they set the office including the mast ablaze," a security guard for one of the companies close to the MTN office said.

A spokeswoman for MTN confirmed to Daily Trust that some of MTN's installations were damaged in the North.

"We confirm that like all the other major telcos, some of MTN's installations in northern Nigeria have been damaged by unknown persons," spokeswoman Funmilayo Omogbenigun said.



"All the relevant government security agencies have been informed and we are receiving their full co-operation."

Airtel was not immediately available for comment.

Spokesman for the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno State, Lt. Col Sagir Musa, confirmed the attacks on facilities of telcos but said he will brief the media later on the incident.

When our reporter visited the burnt MTN office, it was found destroyed and no staff was seen around.

Residents of the affected areas said there was no mobile telephone reception after the incidents.

The attacks appeared to scare telecommunication company workers in the city as they all locked their offices.

In Kano, men on motorbikes destroyed MTN and Airtel mobile phone masts in Hotoron Hangama and Sharada industrial estate early yesterday.

An official of MTN, who does not want to be named, told our correspondent that the company's Hotoron Hangama base station went up in flames around 7am.

"It is obvious that the fire was set by someone because we hardly encounter such fire incidents at our stations," he said.

Witnesses reported seeing two men on a motorcycle setting the facility on fire.

A security guard attached to one of the industries in Sharada said the Airtel base station was burnt by two attackers.

Meanwhile, security was beefed up around telecommunication installations in all parts of Kano yesterday.

When contacted, spokesman for the Kano State Police Command, ASP Musa Magaji Majiya, said a fire incident was reported at MTN base station in Hotoro but was put out immediately by guards. H said the command did not receive any report about the incident affecting Airtel mast in Sharada.

In Bauchi, one person was injured when an explosive went off apparently targeting a mobile telecom installation on Tuesday night. The Police said they diffused another bomb elsewhere in the city.


Spokesman for the Police in Bauchi ASP Hassan Mohammed Auyo confirmed the incidents but did not give details.

In his reaction, chairman of Association Licensed Telecommunications of Nigeria (ALTON) Engr. Gbenga Adebayo said attacks on telecom facilities could affect the quality of service.

No one claimed responsibility for the attacks as at last night, but the Jama'atu Ahlis Sunnah Lid Da'awati Wal Jihad otherwise known as Boko Haram in February threatened to attack telecom companies over alleged collaboration with security agencies that led to the arrest of some of their members.

Daily Trust

Video - Nigerians fight government in court over contested land

Hundreds of thousands of Nigerians living in informal settlements face having their homes demolished.

Authorities say the households were built illegally on government land, but the people who live there argue they are the legal owners. Now they are taking their claim to court.

Al Jazeera's Yvonne Ndege reports from Mpape, the largest settlement in Abuja, the capital, facing demolition.

Related story: Video - Thousands homeless after forced eviction from Makoko

Nigerian government lifts suspension on Dana Airline

The Federal Government has lifted the suspension of the operating licence of Dana Airlines. A statement by Media Aide to the Aviation minister, Mr. Joe Obi said the decision followed "government's satisfaction with the air-worthiness of the airline after a rigorous technical, operational and financial audit of the airline.

"By this development, Dana Airline is free to resume its normal commercial flight operations."

The statement said government will continue to strengthen its oversight and regulatory functions "to ensure that all airlines operating in the country, including Dana adhere strictly to safety procedures as required by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Act and all other relevant local and international regulations that ensure and promote sustainable air safety."

The operating licence of Dana Airlines was temporarily suspended following the crash of one of its aircraft on June 3, in Lagos that killed 146 passengers and 7 crew members, as a safety precaution.

Daily Trust

Related story: Compensation begins on bereaved families of Dana Air victims

Nigeria ranked behind Ghana and Kenya by World Economic Forum

Despite a series of reforms to improve the economic conditions and business competiveness in Nigeria, the country still trails smaller African countries like Ghana, Cameroun and Kenya in global competiveness.

The Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) Index 2012-2013 released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) indicated that Nigeria ranked 115th out of 144 countries assessed - behind Ghana, Kenya and Cameroun, which ranked higher at 103rd, 106th and 112th positions respectively. Only Benin Republic trailed Nigeria with a ranking of 119th while South Africa ranked 52nd globally, making it the most competitive in Africa.

The GCR Index, which assessed the competitiveness landscape of 144 economies, providing insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity, indicated that after some deterioration in the rankings in recent years, Nigeria has moved up to 115th place this year due to improved macroeconomic conditions which reflected a positive government balance and a drop in inflation.

According to the report, despite a slight improvement since last year, the institutional environment did not support a competitive economy because of concerns about the protection of property rights, ethics and corruption, undue influence, and government inefficiencies.

The security situation in the country was also considered dire and having worsened since last year. Additionally, Nigeria received poor assessments for its infrastructure (130th) as well as its health and primary education levels (142nd).

On IT infrastructure, the report pointed that Nigeria was not harnessing the latest technologies for productivity enhancements, as demonstrated by its low rates of ICT penetration.

However, despite these weaknesses, the report noted that the country has a number of strengths on which to build, including its relatively large market (33rd), which provides its companies with opportunities for economies of scale as well as sophisticated regional standards (66th), with some cluster development, companies that tend to hire professional managers, and a willingness to delegate decision-making authority within the organisation.

Ghana ranked 103rd this year, having moved up an impressive 11 places since last year, on the back of improvements in the basic requirements of its macroeconomic stability and health as well as educational outcomes.

The report noted that Ghana traditionally displayed strong public institutions and governance indicators, especially in regional comparison, along with increased government regulation, though sizeable deteriorations in all indicators dragged down the country's score in the institution's pillar to 75th place (from 61st last year). Education levels also continued to lag behind international standards at all levels, labour markets are still characterized by inefficiencies, and the country is not harnessing new technologies for productivity enhancements (ICT adoption rates are very low).

South Africa was ranked 52nd this year, remaining the highest-ranked country in sub-Saharan Africa and the third-placed among the BRICS economies. According to the report, the country benefited from the large size of its economy, particularly by regional standards (it ranked 25th in the market size pillar).

It also does well on measures of the quality of its institutions and on factor allocation, such as intellectual property protection (20th), property rights (26th), the accountability of its private institutions (2nd), and its goods market efficiency (32rd).

Particularly impressive is the country's financial market development (3rd), indicating high confidence in South Africa's financial markets at a time when trust is returning only slowly in many other parts of the world.

South Africa also does reasonably well in more complex areas such as business sophistication (38th) and innovation (42nd), benefitting from good scientific research institutions (34th) and strong collaboration between universities and the business sector in innovation (30th).

Overall, this year's report findings showed that Switzerland topped the rankings in the Global Competitiveness Report for the fourth consecutive year. Singapore remained in second position with Finland, in third position, overtaking Sweden (4th). These and other Northern and Western European countries dominated the top 10 with the Netherlands, Germany and United Kingdom respectively ranked 5th, 6th and 8th.

The United States (7th), Hong Kong (9th) and Japan (10th) completed the top 10. The Report emphasized persisting competitiveness divides across and within regions, as short-termism and political deadlock continue to hold back the economic performance of many countries and regions.

Looking forward, productivity improvements and private sector investment would be key to improving global economies at a time of heightened uncertainty about the global economic outlook, the report said.

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Nigerian navy rescues hijacked oil vessel

The Nigerian Navy says it has rescued the oil vessel, MT Abu Dhabi Star, hijacked by pirates off the Nigerian territorial waters early on Wednesday morning.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the vessel, which was carrying products belonging to Exxon Mobil when it was hijacked on Wednesday at about 3:00 a.m, had a 23-man crew.

Confirming the rescue, Lt.-Cdr. Jerry Omodara, spokesperson, Western Naval Command, Apapa, told NAN that the naval personnel had taken over the ship and were currently ferrying it to Lagos.

Omodara said the details would not be provided "until when the rescue team arrives".

He said that the navy had deployed a helicopter and two patrol vessels to search for the vessel and rescue the crew members in good condition.

The Nigerian Navy had last week chased another oil tanker allegedly hijacked within the country's territorial waters but was later found off the coast of Ondo State with the Russians crew heading for Cotonou.

Nigeria and Benin Republic last year commenced a joint patrol of their territorial waters.

Leadership

First Lady Patience Jonathan in German hospital due to food poisoning

Foreign news agencies yesterday quoted unnamed Presidency sources confirming the story of First Lady Patience Jonathan's medical trip to Germany, which was first reported by Daily Trust on Monday.

The Associated Press and the Agence France Presse reported that Mrs. Jonathan has been receiving medical treatment for the past 10 days in Germany for food poisoning.

In the first newspaper report of the First Lady's illness, Daily Trust reported on Monday that 55-year-old Mrs. Jonathan took ill and travelled abroad last week.

But a spokesman for the First Lady, Mr. Ayo Osinlu, told Daily Trust on Sunday that she went abroad to "take a moment's rest" and not for medical attention.

AFP yesterday quoted a Presidency source as saying: "It is true that the First lady is ill. She was flown to Germany for medical treatment some 10 days ago. Initially it was for food poisoning that we know of, but we learnt that she underwent surgery last week. I really don't know yet the purpose of the surgery."

The source added that she had been expected to return to Nigeria last week, but "the German hospital is insisting on her full recovery before her discharge."

The Associated Press said a government official told the agency that Mrs. Jonathan fell sick about 10 days ago, following her hosting a summit of First Ladies from across Africa.

As her case of food poisoning worsened, she was flown to Germany for medical treatment, the official said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity as information about Jonathan's illness had yet to be officially made public, despite numerous newspaper reports and rumors circulating on the internet.

President Goodluck Jonathan has made no public comments about his wife's health.

Daily Trust

First Lady Patience Jonathan Undergoes Surgery in Germany

First Lady, Mrs Patience Jonathan, who was flown out for medical treatment over a week ago, has undergone surgery in a German hospital for ruptured appendicitis, sources told THISDAY Monday.

The hospital, the source said, performed the surgery on her last week and she is now recuperating.

Although the presidency said she travelled abroad to rest, sources privy to her trip, said she was flown to the German hospital where she was diagnosed of ruptured appendicitis, necessitating the surgery.

Mrs. Jonathan was said to have been accompanied on the trip by a medical personnel from the Presidential Villa, and a few of her aides.

THISDAY gathered that the decision to fly her abroad followed her deteriorating health condition in Abuja, after she was initially treated for "food poisoning."

It was learnt that Mrs. Jonathan, shortly after returning from a trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), took ill, prompting the invitation of the First Family's medical personnel to attend to her.

She was said to have been treated for food poisoning for four days, "but her condition kept worsening by the day," the source said.

By the fifth day, President Goodluck Jonathan was said to have yielded to the suggestion that she be flown abroad for "thorough treatment."

It was not certain if the inability of the president's doctors to treat her was because of faulty diagnosis or insufficient facilities.

According to the source, "the trip was therefore hurriedly, but discretely arranged, after a German hospital, suspected to be Horst Schmidt Klinik in Wiesbaden, Germany, had been contacted".

By last weekend, she was said to have regained "full consciousness" on her sick bed and was willing to return home.

THISDAY checks, however, revealed that the hospital authorities are insisting on her full recovery before discharging her.

"They say she has to be completely stable before she can be discharged, because they are still observing her, although the worst seems to be over now," the source said.

When contacted, Special Adviser to the president on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said he was unaware of the first lady's condition.

Similar efforts made to reach the first lady's spokesman, Mr. Ayo Osinlu, were unsuccessful as he did not pick calls to his phone nor respond to text messages sent to him.

But an online forum had quoted him as saying the president's wife travelled abroad for a "moment's rest".

This Day

Drug trafficker attempts to smuggle cocaine in roasted chicken

Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the weekend arrested a man suspected to be in possession of 2.655 kilogrammes of cocaine hidden inside roasted chicken.

According to the agency the arrest was made at the Murtala Muhammed international airport in Lagos during the inward clearance of passengers on a Turkish Airline flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

NDLEA put the street value of the seized drug at about N24 million.

The NDLEA Airport Commander, Hamza Umar who gave the name of the suspect as Vincent Chegini Chinweuwa described the seizure as remarkable.

“We discovered 2.655kg of cocaine hidden inside roasted chicken. It is a remarkable seizure because no one would have imagined cocaine worth several millions inside roasted chicken,” Mr Hamza said.

“During interrogation, the suspect said he thought that the drug will not be detected. In his words,” NDLEA said.

According to the agency, the suspect said: “It took me three days to pack the cocaine inside the roasted chicken. I was confident that the drug will not be detected. I have been living in Brazil since 2006. Life has been stressful because I cannot even visit my wife in Nigeria due to lack of money. I wanted some money to start any business of my choice back home. Unfortunately, I was disappointed upon arrival in Lagos”.

The agency’s spokesperson, Mitchell Ofoyeju said the suspect who hails from Imo State will soon be charged to court soon.

Channels TV

Nigerian wins best player at Arsenal FC International Football Academy

Benjamin Ibrahim Attah, one of Nigeria’s representatives at the just concluded Airtel, Arsenal International Football Academy in Accra, Ghana has emerged the Overall Best Player (Male Category) at the soccer clinic, which attracted talented youngsters from Ghana, Uganda and Zambia.

Attah was decorated with a medal in recognition of his outstanding performance at the Foccer camp by UEFA-Certified Arsenal Coaches, Paul Sevier and Robert Grant.

Speaking during the closing ceremony of the seven-day football clinic, Sevier said Attah was a special player that demonstrated all the attributes of a great footballer during his stay at the foccer Clinic.

“Attah brought with his talent an outstanding personality, character and attitude. Even when he had a minor injury that prevented him from participating in training sessions for two days, he was always cheerful, encouraging all the players in the pitch. He has a very warm and great personality.”

Sevier added: “Attah also has an amazing talent as a goal-keeper. He is shown that he truly understands what it takes to be an exceptional goal keeper. Talents like Attah should be encouraged in their professional career.”

In his response, Attah attributed his success to God. “I thank God for this recognition and I will continue to work very hard as a footballer. I also thank Airtel and Arsenal for providing me with this great opportunity to improve my talent. I am, indeed, very grateful,” he said.

Arsenal legend, Ray Parlour also used the opportunity of the closing ceremony to encourage and advise the players, urging them to take their practice sessions very seriously.

“I signed for Arsenal when I was 11 and played at the first team level for 12 years. One thing that kept me going was the fact that I took my practice sessions seriously. I also demonstrated passion, determination and constantly looked for opportunities to improve.

“I am encouraging all the African young talents at this football clinic to take their training sessions seriously. And when you make your first team debut in International Football, never look back. Just keep improving and listen to your coaches,” Parlour remarked.

The Airtel/Arsenal clinic is part of the strategic partnership the renowned club side entered with Airtel Africa for her five African markets which include Nigeria, Ghana, Zambia, Uganda and Rwanda.

On the strength of the partnership, Arsenal would offer technical support to the Airtel Rising Stars football development initiative by providing UEFA- trained coaches to assist with training budding talents in each of the five Airtel-Arsenal countries at Arsenal Coaching Clinic for up to 50 footballers.

Nigeria had five representatives at the International Academy. They are: Gift Nevo (Best Goal keeper in the female category), Rafiat Awheda (Golden Boot winner and Most valuable Player, Female category), Ibrahim Benjamin (Best Goal Keeper, Male category), Yakubu Gambo, (Most Valuable Player, Male category) and Bilyaminu Sani (Golden Boot winner, Male Category).

They were all selected by officials of Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria (YSFON) at the National Finals of the Airtel Rising Stars (ARS) U17 Tournament for Boys and Girls held last month at the Agege Township Stadium in Lagos.

Vanguard

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Video - Nigeria introduces new 5,000 naira bank note

Nigeria's new 5,000-naira banknote, worth five times as much as the previous largest, has earned scorn from money changers well aware than at least 100 million citizens earn less than 160 naira per day. Likewise, economists question how the introduction of a new note dovetails with government plans to begin making Nigeria a cashless society next year. But the central bank says the country's booming economy and middle class, in addition to bank costs for handling so many small notes, make the new 5,000-naira bill a good idea.

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USA lists Nigeria as priority in visa issuance

The United States (US) mission in Nigeria, has disclosed that Nigeria, along with Brazil and China, are now priority in the issuance of visa to applicants.

US Consular Officer, Patty Neary, made this known yesterday in Abuja during the monthly press briefing, where he said Nigeria is now a priority alongside Brazil and China, adding that, time for issuance of visa will be reduced.

Neary stated that as a priority country, Nigeria will be given more officers and more staff to facilitate issuance of visa. She further said in the 2012 fiscal year, the US has processed over 40,000 visas, compared to the year 2011, while also saying that the US has increased the figures by 11 percent.

According to Neary, "Majority of those visas have been issued. Nigeria became a priority nation in 2012, following the recent upsurge. We are absolutely committed to facilitating legitimate travels and to do that, you need to help us."

On the issuance of student visa, Neary added that the US wants Nigerian students to study in the US, but that they have to plan ahead. Her words "They should apply 120 days before their studies begin and we encourage them to apply as soon as possible. Service fee must be paid and come, prepared to speak to us. Our goal is that every qualified student visa applicant is able to begin his or her program of study on time. Good reasons for choosing a US school should be given rather than coming to tell us about the school building, library and all that."

Neary also said there was no need to pay a tout to assist in the processing of visa, saying applicants should rather go on the internet and pay $160 for visa.

"We can't stress enough, the need for all of you to make your own appointment individually because of its importance. You do not need anyone, you do not need a company to help you process your visa," she said.

Daily Trust

President Goodluck Jonathan promises better standard of living in 2013

President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, promised Nigerians improved standard of living by 2013 in his bid to deliver democracy dividends.

Jonathan made the promise at the inauguration of the SAB-Millers Brewery, in Onitsha, Anambra State, according to News Agency of Nigeria.

President Goodluck Jonathan official visit to Anambra State Thursday 30/8/2012. President Goodluck Jonmathan, Gov Peter Obi Opf Anambra State, Mrs. Bianca Ojukwu And Minister Of Works, Chief Mike Onolememen at the unveiling Of Dim Odimegwu Ojukwu statue in Onitsha. Photos-State House

He noted that in spite of the challenges facing the country, the private sector was still making massive progress, noting that the Federal Government would continue to support the private sector Operators and provide infrastructure to assist them.

"I want to commend this company for what it has done; I also want to commend others for what they are doing considering that fact that within this period as a nation, we know we have our challenges.

"But this administration is totally committed to changing things; we have challenges in terms of road infrastructure, power; we have that also in security and others.

"I know all these are major handicaps to the development of industry in the nation; but even under these situations the companies are trying and doing well.

"We promise you that we would change things and make sure that the private sector blossoms in this country because that is the only way we can create jobs.

"Our transformation agenda is going on, in a partnership between government and the private sector; that's' why even in our economic management team we have people from the Federal Government; state governors are there, Governors Peter Obi and Murtala Nyako and of course key captains of industry from the private sector."

Jonathan also noted that Nigeria's population of 160 million people, 70 per cent of which was made up of the youth, made it an attractive investment destination for investors.

He praised Governor Obi for deploying his private sector experience to attract investment to the state.

"I promise SABMiller breweries investors that they would not regret their investment in the country as young people under the age of 35 constitute 70 percent of the country's population and we are not under any restrictions to what they could eat or consume."

Governor Obi, in his address promised that the people of the state would support and stand with Jonathan having overwhelmingly voted for him in the 2011 Presidential elections.

The governor said with the level of private sector investments springing up, the state was fast becoming the home of Africa's greatest entrepreneurs.

Mr Mark Bowman, Managing Director of SAB-Miller Africa, expressed gratitude to the Anambra and Federal governments for creating the enabling environment for the brewery to thrive in the country.

"We are grateful for the support and infrastructure you have assisted us with and we promise that the company would deliver on its promises of job creation."

It will be recalled that SAB-Miller Breweries had invested $100 million (N15 billion) on building a green-field brewery in Onitsha in 2011.

The brewery is the highest direct investment by any group or company in the history of the South-East geo-political zone.

The factory, which is expected to produce beer and malt for a start, has 12.5 per cent share owned by indigenous entrepreneurs and 10 per cent share owned by Anambra Government.

The brewery is expected to directly employ about 750 youths and indirectly engage 4,500 people, especially through its subsidiary distribution company Interfact Nigeria Ltd.

The brewery would be taking advantage of the largest market in West Africa - Onitsha Main Market - as well as 1.5 million residents excluding thousands of visiting traders daily.

Meanwhile, Anambra State Government had announced that it would provide tax cuts and infrastructure to the brewery and other industries within the Onitsha industrial harbour.

Vanguard

Nigeria wins gold and sets new world record in paralympics

The medal that eluded Team Nigeria during the London 2012 Olympics came tumbling in Thursday as Nigeria's Paralympians begun their quest for medals and also to redeem the image of the country as a super power in sports. Team Nigeria's outing at the main Olympics was colourless.

Yakubu Adesokan of Nigeria celebrates setting a new world record and gold in the Men's 48kg Powerlifting on day 1 of the London 2012 Paralympic Games at ExCel on August 30, 2012 in London, England.

Yakubu Adesokan struck the goldmine yesterday in a refreshing manner in Powerlifting where he also sent the World record crashing with his amazing 178 kg lift in his men's 48 category which was over three times his body weight.

Adesokan's feat was celebrated by the country's flagbearers in London Thursday as they hoped to win more medals. And back home, it was a double joy for the country that watched gleefully on television as the Falconets dumped Mexico 1-0 in a nail-biting quarter-final thriller to berth into the semi-final of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup semi final.

Sports Minister and Chairman of National Sports Commission, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi heaved a sigh of relief yesterday when the cherry news came and urged the Nigerian heros and heroines not to relent in their efforts to win more medals.

"The Minister is happy with the feat of Yakubu Adesokan in winning the first gold for Nigeria at the Paralympics and also over-joyed at his feat of breaking the World record. "It is one thing to win gold and another super feat to break the World record", the Minister's Special Adviser on Media, Julius Ogunro quoted the Minister.

Adesokan was a full 10kg ahead of silver medallist Vladimir Balynedc of Russia, while Taha Abdelmagid of Egypt claimed bronze with his 165kg effort.

Vanguard

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USA to assist Nigeria in combating HIV with $500 million

The U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Terence McCulley, on Monday in Abuja said his country had supported Nigeria with a grant of 500 million dollars in the fight against HIV/AIDS and other related diseases since 2005.

McCulley said this at the inauguration of the Defence Reference Laboratory by Mrs Olusola Obada, the Minister of State for Defence, at the Mogadishu Cantonment.

He said the laboratory, which is the first of its kind in the sub-region, was funded from the grant.

"The Reference Laboratory Programme is part of our $500m assistance to Nigeria since 2005 when the partnership began between U.S. Department of Defence and your Ministry of Defence.

"The partnership between U.S. Department of Defence (DOD) and Nigeria's Ministry of Defence (NMOD) through the Walter Reed Programme (WRP-N) and the Emergency Plan Implementation Committee (EPIC) has grown strong," he said.

MCculley said the partnership was evidenced by the commissioning of a world-class Defence Reference Laboratory (DRL).

According to him, the DRL was a critical piece for health care, enabling world-class diagnostic and laboratory monitoring services for military personnel and civilian population living in the surrounding communities.

He said the DRL would continue to grow, improve health care for the community it served and become a centre for excellence in Nigeria and West Africa sub-region.

In her remarks,Obada said the commencement of full activities at the DRL would lead to great improvement in the handling of HIV programmes and ultimately translate to better care for those living with the virus.

Obada, who was represented by Dr. Evelyn Ngige, said the establishment of the DRL was in line with Mr President's Transformation Agenda in the health sector through strengthening of indigenous capabilities and a drastic reduction on dependence of facilities abroad for similar services.

"Expectedly, this facility will promote the health of our troops, thereby ensuring their combat fitness for International Peace Support Operations and internal security challenges, " she said .

The minister commended the U.S. government for the support and urged the professionals that would be making use of the laboratory to justify the confidence reposed in them.


"But the beauty of the programme is that in all the 24 sites where we have in Nigeria where we treat our troops, civilians are also taken care of and the communities near the barracks also benefit from the programme, " she added.

Also speaking, Maj.-Gen. Tahir Umar, the Chairman of Emergency Plan Implementation Committee, said the success of the sites operated by EPIC across the country had led to the need to provide a laboratory that would be able to assure quality control of all programme sites.

Umar said the establishment of the laboratory was made possible through the funding by the U.S. Defense Department and the Ministry of Defence.

Leadership

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Power minister Prof. Bart Nnaji resigns

Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji, on Tuesday resigned from office amid controversies and allegations of conflict of interest in the privatisation process.

Besides being at loggerheads with Power Holding Company of Nigeria’s workers on sundry issues, he was said to have interests in two firms that submitted bids for the Afam Power Plc and the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc.

The PUNCH learnt on Tuesday that Nnaji must have been pressured into resigning from the Federal Executive Council by the Presidency because of fears that the issue of conflict of interest could damage the credibility of the privatisation process, which has local and foreign investors as bidders.

The privatisation of 17 electricity firms is scheduled to be concluded in two months’ time.

Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan said he had accepted the resignation.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the President thanked Nnaji for his services to the nation.

It was gathered that it was when it was established that Nnaji had interest in two firms, Skipper Nigeria Limited and Eastern Electric Nigeria Limited, that the National Council on Privatisation chaired by Vice- President Namadi Sambo, decided to cancel the technical bid evaluation process conducted for the two firms.

The NCP had last Friday named seven firms as the successful bidders for five generation companies.

According to Chairman of the National Council on Privatisation’s Technical Committee, Mr. Atedo Peterside, the successful bidders qualified to take part in the financial bidding slated for September.

The preferred bidders for Ughelli Power Plant are Phoenix Electricity, Transcorp Consortium and Ampiron Power Distribution Limited.

Two bidders, CMEC Energy and GPN Nestoil Power Services Limited, were named for the Sapele Power Plant.

Only one firm each emerged successful for Geregu, Kainji and Shiroro Power Plants. They are Ampiron Power Distribution Limited, Mainstream Energy Solution Limited and North South Power Company Limited respectively.

He explained that the seven firms were chosen after scaling the 750 pass mark for the bidding process which involved submission of bids by pre-qualified bidders.

There was speculation that the NCP had been silent on the bidders that were prequalified for the Afam Power Station because of the conflict of interest that had arisen during the privatisation process.

A national newspaper had reported that Nnaji, a member of the NCP by virtue of his position as Minister of Power, had told the council that O & M Solutions of Pakistan, a member of one of the consortia bidding for Afam, had worked as a contractor for Geometric Power.

Nnaji further notified the NCP that Geometric Power had a minority stake in Eastern Electric Nigeria Limited, which had submitted technical and financial bids for Enugu Distribution Company Limited on July 31.

He also reportedly informed the council that owing to his position, he had notified President Jonathan of his company’s bid for Enugu Distribution Company, and brought it to their attention that although he had an interest in Geometric Power, he had resigned from its board and transferred his shares to a blind trust.

Following this disclosure, Nnaji was said to have excused himself from the consideration of the report of the technical bids.

Having been informed of Nnaji’s direct and indirect interest in two companies being privatised, the report said the council decided to cancel the technical evaluation that had been conducted for Afam and disbanded the evaluation team.

Reacting to the issue of conflict of interest few hours before his resignation, Nnaji said he had voluntarily on Friday, August 24 , 2012, informed other members of the National Council on Privatisation at a meeting, which considered the report on the technical evaluation of bids for generation companies. He said he had revealed to the committee that a company with which he was associated before he joined the government in 2010, was a client of a member of a consortium interested in acquiring majority shares of the Afam power plant in Rivers State.

A statement from his office then said, “The minister consequently applied to be excused from all deliberations at the meeting, and he maintained his ground despite the insistence of some of his colleagues.

“The minister ought to be commended for exemplary commitment to transparency, probity and the common good. If most public officers had been behaving like Professor Bart Nnaji , there would not have been trust deficit in Nigeria over the decades in respect of the relationship between the people and those in government. The unprecedented domestic and international investor confidence in the

Nigerian power sector is directly traceable to the personal and professional integrity of the process drivers like Professor Nnaji.

“We welcome wholeheartedly the decision of the National Council on Privatisation that bids for the Afam plant be evaluated all over again because justice should not only be done but also seen to have been done by all and sundry.’’

Before he finally threw in the towel, the former minister had also been at the receiving end of the war declared by workers of the PHCN.

The workers had opened a can of worms on some financial transactions allegedly carried out by Nnaji which reportedly drained the purse of PHCN.

They had given the embattled minister a seven-day ultimatum to explain what he did with the money running into millions of naira which they claimed was withdrawn from the firm’s coffer.

Vice-President of the National Union of Electricity Workers Employees, Mr. Etete Ntukuben, last Friday, called for a probe, not just of the PHCN superannuation account, but the entire account of the PHCN.

Ntukuben said that investigators should be brought in to take a critical look at the withdrawals by the former minister from the account of the PHCN.

“Let us have a holistic look at the PHCN account apart from the pension account; we should take a look at the minister’s withdrawals.

A lot of millions of naira have been withdrawn and given to soldiers and policemen in the guise of security maintenance,” he said.

PUNCH

$400 billion USD looted from Nigeria since independence

Former World Bank vice president for Africa Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, yesterday disclosed that $400 billion of Nigeria's oil revenue was either stolen or misappropriated since the country's independence in 1960.

Ezekwesili stated this while presenting a paper captioned, "Corruption, National Development, The Bar and The Judiciary" at the ongoing 52nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Abuja.

Ezekwesili also noted that while oil accounted for about 90 per cent of the value of Nigeria's exports over 80 per cent of that money ended up in the hands of 1 per cent of the population and stressed that the fight against corruption and demand for good governance must go beyond the actions or efforts of the government.

She said: "In fact, results reveal that as much as 20 per cent of the entire capital expenditure will end up in private pockets annually. The negative effect of corruption was starkly demonstrated by the fact that based on current track record. Nigeria will miss all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) targets set in 2000 in spite of its natural and human resources. There is no doubt that at the heart of any progress towards meeting these goals is the quality of governance at all levels of government, yet the general perception is validated by the revealed large scale corruption in the petroleum sector especially, but not limited to the management of the subsidy scheme by all the relevant agencies of government."

Poor governance of public resources and assets in Nigeria she added is worsening at every level of government, institutions of state, the private sector and is engulfing the wider society and said a more significant impact of corruption is on the government bottom line and in the teacher-less, desk-less schools which only hint at the extent of the problem in Nigeria.

Ezekwesili revealed that "a study by the World Bank, showed that annual worldwide losses due to corruption amount to between one to four thousand US Dollars while the Global Financial Integrity estimated that between 1970 and 2008 Africa lost more than $854 billion in illicit financial outflows, an amount which is far in excess of official development inflows.

"Another report of the Transparency International (TI) put the amount of bribes companies paid politicians and other public officials in developing and transiting economies annually at $ 40 billion in 2009 and consider that Africa would constitute a major part of since we know the continent's ranking on governance in the lower regions of the TI's corruption perception index," the former minister stated

She stressed that civil society organisations like the NBA and the nation's judiciary and non state actors can play a significant role in making public budgeting more transparent and accountable and engage in the various stages of the budget process that can strengthen the oversight process and accountability in the use of public resources.

She revealed: "An independent judiciary and the bar is important for preserving the rule of law and is, therefore, the most important facet of good governance. The judicial system has an important role to play ultimately in ensuring better public governance. There is no area where the judgment of the Supreme Court has not played a significant role in the governance of any nation whether in environment, human rights, gender justice, education, minorities, police reforms among other.

"The rule of law, one of the most significant characteristics of good governance, prevails in India for example, because India has an independent judiciary that has been sustained owing to the support and assistance from an independent bar which has been fearless in advocating the cause of the underprivileged and the deprived.

So my last words is "who among you is ready to let character be their destiny? Count me in should you need a slightly learned friend" she declared.

Leadership

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President Barack Obama declares Nigeria is world's next economic giant

United States President Barack Obama has declared Nigeria as the world's next economic success story, stressing that this was one of the major reasons why his government was committed to helping the country build strong democratic institutions and remove constraints to trade and investment through the African Growth and Opportunity Act.

Making this declaration at the ongoing US-Nigeria Trade and Investment Forum, an event organised by the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDOA) in Washington DC, yesterday, Obama who was represented by Ambassador Eunice Reddick, said that his country expanded opportunities for Nigeria to effectively access markets and diversify its economy beyond a narrow reliance on natural resources.

"As we support these efforts, the Diaspora can play an important role in contributing to a strong, vibrant and economically prosperous Nigeria" he noted.

Obama said his country was investing in Nigeria's success because it recognises her as a strategic center of gravity, whose success would as well be Africa's success.

The US leader also made it known that his government would encourage Nigeria in the area of private investment in the power sector as well as other sectors to help seal the promise of growth and opportunity for all Nigerians.

He added that the US government would also work to strengthen Nigeria's agriculture sector, which employs nearly 70 per cent of the country's population, by encouraging improvements in infrastructure that would facilitate agricultural growth.

America would help to liberalise Nigeria's trade policies to foster regional trade, reform the customs system to bring it in line with global best practices, and also encourage policy reforms to enable private investment in agriculture.

Speaking on the US-Nigeria Bi-national agreement, Obama said that the joint Commission has grown into a forum for frank, high-level conversations in which both nations have seen substantial reforms and mutually reinforcing initiatives implemented in Nigeria.

His words: "Some key outcomes of the Bi-national Commission so far have been successful integration of civil society into the electoral process prior to the 2011 elections, sustained and elevated dialogue with energy sector officials on energy policy, reforms to increase investment, and agreement to support the development of a civil affairs training centre in the coming year."

"Energy and Investment, the subject of one of the four working groups of the Binational Commission, is critical to Nigeria-s present and future"

Leadership

Arrests made of general's daughter murder

A Yaba Chief Magistrate’s Court, Lagos, was filled to capacity on Monday as the police arraigned four suspects for the murder of Cynthia Osokogu, daughter of Maj-Gen Frank Osukogu (retd.), on July 22, 2012.

The accused – Okwumo Nwabufo (33), Ezike Olisaeloka (23), Orji Osita (32) and Maduakor Chukwunonso (25) – were charged with eight offences.

Nwabufo and Olisaeloka are students while Osita and Chukwunonso are pharmacists.

Some of the charges levelled against the accused were murder, rape, robbery, administering an obnoxious substance to the deceased without her consent.

The charge sheet read in part, “That you (accused persons) and others at large, between 9pm on July 21, 2012 and 12pm of July 22, 2012 at Room C1, Cosmilla Hotel, Lakeview Estate, Amuwo Odofin, FESTAC, Lagos, in the Magisterial District, conspired among yourselves to commit felony to wit; murder and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 231 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2011.

“That you (accused persons) and others at large, on the said date, unlawfully killed Cynthia Osokogu by administering her with an obnoxious substance known as Rohpynol Flunitrazepam tablets via a Ribena fruit drink, binding her hands with chain, padlock and taping her legs, neck and mouth, giving her fist blows and several human bites, tortured and strangled her to death, thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 221 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

“That you (accused persons) and others at large on same date and place did unlawfully have sexual intercourse with one Cynthia Osokogu without her consent and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 258(1) of the criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.”

The accused persons were also charged with robbing the deceased of her BlackBerry phone, passport, driving licence, shoes, hand bag, artificial sex toy vibrator, three wristwatches, four rings, three pairs of earrings and other properties.

Mr. Chukwu Agwu, the police prosecutor, prayed the court to remand the accused persons in prison custody.

The Magistrate, Mr Olalekan Aka-Bashorun, said the accused persons should be remanded in prison custody pending the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The case was adjourned till October 3, 2012.

A mini-drama however unfolded outside the court room as journalists and members of the public scrambled to take pictures of the accused persons.

The lawyer of the pharmacists, who refused to identify himself, tried to prevent our correspondent from taking pictures.

“The pharmacists are not killers. Their charges were only mixed up with those of the other two suspects (Nwabufo and Olisaeloka),” he said.

Meanwhile, the Osokogu family has said Cynthia would be buried on September 7, 2012 at Bebe, Ovia Agbor, Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State.

Mrs. Joy Osokogu, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Jos, Plateau State that her daughter was “very industrious, hardworking and a respectful child.”

She advised youths to be very cautious of making friends with people that they do not know.

She said, “Youths should be very careful, especially when they are making friends on the social media. Like we have seen in the case of my daughter, such friends may have ulterior motives.”

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Stephen Keshi drops Obi Mikel and Osaze from Nigerian squad

Super Eagles' Head Coach, Stephen Keshi has called up Skipper Joseph Yobo and Russia-based power-playing forward Emmanuel Emenike, as well as eight other overseas-based players for next month's final 2013 African Cup of Nations qualifying match against Liberia in Monrovia.

At a meeting in the NFF Secretariat in Abuja yesterday, the former libero briefed the NFF Technical Sub-Committee on his conviction about all players on the list and it was duly approved.

Also listed are goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, defenders Efe Ambrose and Elderson Echiejile, midfielder Obiora Nwankwo and forwards Victor Moses, Ahmed Musa and Ikechukwu Uche.

Effervescent midfielder Nosa Igiebor and in-form marksman Brown Ideye complete the list of 11 players, who will team up with the home-based players that played a 0-0 draw with the Mena of Niger in an international friendly in Niamey last week.

Chairman of the NFF Technical Sub-Committee, Barrister Chris Green, said after the meeting: "Coach Keshi gave his reasons for inviting each of the players and we all agreed with him that these players are in good form presently and will do the job for Nigeria against Liberia."

INVITED FOREIGN-BASED PLAYERS

Goalkeeper: Vincent Enyeama (Maccabi Tel Aviv, Israel)

Defenders: Joseph Yobo (Fenerbahce, Turkey); Efe Ambrose (Ashdod FC, Israel); Elderson Echiejile (Sporting Braga, Portugal)

Midfielders and Forwards: Nosa Igiebor (Real Betis, Spain); Obiora Nwankwo (Calcio Padova, Italy); Victor Moses (Wigan Athletic, England); Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow, Russia); Ikechukwu Uche (Villarreal, Spain); Emmanuel Emenike (Spartak Moscow, Russia); Brown Ideye (Dynamo Kyiv, Ukraine).

Vanguard

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