The Nation Newspaper

Category: Sunday Interview

  • ‘Lack of investor confidence affecting economy’

    ‘Lack of investor confidence affecting economy’

    Dele Sotubo is the CEO of Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers, Nigeria’s largest stockbroking firm in value and volume of transactions handled at the Nigerian Stock Exchange. In this interview with Bukola Aroloye, Sotubo speaks on the capital market, the company’s efforts in attracting interest in the market through stakeholder engagements, provision of quality investment advisory services as well as value added services, among other issues. Excerpts:

    The exchange traded fund is a relatively new product in Nigeria, barely three years old, with only three listings including the Stanbic IBTC ETF 30.Do you think the market is sufficiently mature to appreciate this product?

    The market is growing gradually and the exchange traded fund (ETF) will help deepen our market as well as diversify investors’ portfolio and risk. ETF represents baskets of stocks and a simplified method of investment whereby investors have a stake in many companies tracked by the ETF. More awareness towards its benefit will give room for growth. The market will definitely support this product.

    There have been calls for multinational oil and gas companies and telecoms giants to list on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in order to further boost the capital market’s contribution to the GDP. What efforts are market operators like yourself making to encourage telecoms and multinational oil and gas companies to list on the Nigerian Stock Exchange? 

    The listing of these companies will help deepen the capital market. The regulators and operators are currently in discussions with the government on the best way to ensure that these companies list on The Exchange to help deepen the market.

    Beyond that, we will continue to play an active role in listing such companies on the NSE. The listing of SEPLAT, an oil and gas company, on the NSE, is a clear example of our contribution as financial services group to deepening the NSE.

    Since the 2008 market recession, investor confidence has been undermined. Reports suggest that over N793 billion was pulled out of the market by foreign investors in 2014. What needs to be in place to build the interest of local retail investors?

    Restoring confidence in the market after the global melt down will be a gradual process as activities in the equities market is cyclical. Foreign investment withdrawal from the market in 2014 was largely as a result of Macros fall in oil prices and currency devaluation and exchange rate instability.

    Improved macro-economic situation will galvanise investors’ interest and boost retail investors’ confidence in the market.

    The increase in the number of more sophisticated domestic investors such as pension and asset management and insurance companies should drive participation in the medium to longer-term. We believe that the increase in retail investment products such as ETFs will also encourage retail investors participation.

    Your bank won the NSE CEO award as the best dealing member firm, both in volume and value terms, in the capital market in 2014. What do you think inspired this award?

    The award reinforces Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited as the largest stockbroking firm in Nigeria in both volume and value of total transactions executed in 2014. Market data for the year under review showed that Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited achieved a turnover in excess of 24billion units of shares, which represented 11.42 per cent  valued at over N472 billion or 17.55 per cent to lead both the volume and value tables. Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers was also the largest stockbroking house in Nigeria in 2013.

    We were able to provide flows and market intelligence to our clients, which helped us generate trades, coupled with our participation in major primary market transactions.

    We uphold integrity, standard operating processes and professionalism in our dealings. These continuously drive client patronage and great ethical standards.

    We also leveraged on the expertise of our research team in providing value added insights for our numerous clients.

    Lack of adherence to corporate governance remains hotly debated issue in the market. How compliant has your staff at Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers been thus far?

    Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited is known for integrity and professionalism, which comes from strong corporate governance. We have a robust compliance and monitoring team that ensures all rules and regulations are adhered to.

    We will continue to uphold standard operating procedures, actively participate in the market without compromising our values and have every staff understand the company’s position at all times. We have zero tolerance for non-adherence to rules and regulations by staff members.

    Personal account trading rule and code of conduct are in place, which guide the activities of staff.

    The current reforms in the economy, particularly in power and agriculture, have helped to position Nigeria as an investment haven. Are investors showing strong appetite for opportunities in the aforementioned sectors?

    With the recent GDP rebasing and the reforms around the power sector, we see strong appetite from investors, perhaps not on the stock market now. However, investors have shown increased interest in partnering with Nigerians on power projects and to a large extent agricultural transformation.

    The challenging macro-economic environment is likely to slow down the pace of investment on that front as many players wait on the sidelines until the elections are well out of the way and the uncertainty around the fiscal operations of the government has been eased.

    Technology has continued to redefine the operations of the capital market. For instance, the Nigerian Stock Exchange has introduced the X-issuer and X-Gen, which enables remote and mobile trading, among other transformation initiatives. How far do you think technology can shape the stockbrokerage business in the coming years?

    The interesting thing about technology is that it fosters efficiency and productivity. It also drives transparency in the capital market. This can also be a mode through which retail investors can be attracted into the market.

    Many Nigerians using mobile devices can now have access to put their trades through the market. With the introduction of Direct Market Access (DMA) and other similar initiatives, we expect that this will help to improve participation of investors in the capital market.

    There seems to be a general disposition by pension fund administrators to federal government securities, about 40 per cent of PFA’s investments are skewed in that direction, followed by money market instruments. Investment in the capital market is considerably less. Which factors, in your opinion, other than regulation, determine these investment decisions?

    Apart from the perceived low risk appetite of PFAs, which is understandable when we consider the adverse effects of the 2008 stock market crash on portfolio investors, we also believe that the limited number of high quality liquid stocks reduces their options.

    Lack of depth in the Nigerian market makes the available options limited. The preference for capital preservation and guaranteed money market yields also contribute to the low risk appetite for equities.

    Part of the regulation also requires pension funds to report returns on an annual basis, which discourages them from taking the long term view on investments.

    We expect the listing of more quality companies as reforms in sectors such as the power, oil and gas, telecommunication and agriculture increase demand for capital.

    What can investors expect from the capital market in 2015?

    We expect continuous volatility in the equities market as macro concerns linked to the falling oil price and currency drive investor sentiment. The passive position of domestic investor has not helped the situation.

    Despite the bearish outlook, we expect trading opportunities to continue to emerge for short-term investors while longer-term investors take advantage of the falling prices to increase exposure in quality stocks. We also expect the political risk as we approach the general elections to weigh on investor sentiments in the short-term.

    However, we expect to continue to see investors interest in quality names.

  • ‘Ministry must not be on gifts’

    ‘Ministry must not be on gifts’

    Bishop Humphrey Erumaka is the General Overseerof Word Base Assembly. He spoke with Yetunde Oladeinde about life in the ministry, challenges and the forthcoming crusade tagged My unbeatable God.

    How has it been running your church for over twenty years?

    The church clocked20 years in 2014 and it has been a wonderful experience. When we started, we were in a smaller church but we are now in this magnificent building.

    We have two other branches in Ejigbo and Magodo in Lagos. In addition, work is in progress in Lekki and we have more expanse of land.

    We also have branches in Owerri and Umuahia. In the ministry, I have travelled to all the continents of the world except Russia.

    We have also supported missionary works all over the world. For us, the word of God has kept our church.

    We have stood on the clear veracity of the word. I believe that the ministry is not founded on gifts but the word of God.

    When did the call come for you?

    I trained as a journalist and practised. In 1988, God called me to full time ministry.

    For the first six years, I travelled for the ministry and erected a building where we started from. The word of God is progressing and I never felt like quitting at any point but felt things could get better. Ministry is a journey of faith; you can’t do much without him showing up.

    As an ex-journalist, how many Christian books have you written?

    I have written ten researched books. One of them titled Restoring mandate dignity won the triumphant award in North Carolina. The latest called Book of errors won another award. One of my classics is titled Divine power deposits and the best is called Sustainable friendship.

    Interestingly, one individual has printed over 12,000 copies and shared free.

    What are some of the challenges in the ministry?

    Most of the common challenges are meeting up budget to schedule project dates starring at you. If you start trusting Him,

    He would not abandon you midway.

     How would you describe the state of the nation at the moment?

    The situation appears unstable especially regarding the presidential elections in parts where Boko Haram has exercised damage.

    It is more of a national disaster. I have been to top clergy meetings where we donated money in good measure to send to our brothers in the north. We are doing our best but how much can you help a man who has lost house, family and more?

    When there is peace, things would be restored. There is war, whatever you give is a relief. We need the crisis in the north to stop and we must stop politicising it.

    Despite the fact that there are many churches, unrighteousness is still the order of the day. Why is this so?

    That is not in the absolute sense. Put the other way, you can imagine what would have happened if there are no churches. People do not need the church to be righteous. You have the positional righteousness which you receive from Christ as a free gift. The Bible says he that is righteous doeth good and has right consciousness.

    A Muslim can be right conscious but that does not give him the positional consciousness. When a people in a nation are righteous, then righteousness exalts a nation.

    A lot of people have the positional righteousness but you have to teach them to be right conscious.

    What projects are you working on at the moment?

    At the moment, we are working on our annual festival of power and prayer crusade, which will take place from 4th to 11th January. It is not all about the church but the community.

    It is a period when we open our doors to members of the public. Over the years, a number of testimonies abound to the extent that it is now the community that demands for it. The theme for the next edition of the programme is tagged  My unbeatable God.

    Our God never fails. We have done it for six years and it is usually a time to wait on God to start the year on a positive note. It is better to wait on the Lord because if you do not do it HIS way, you may go round looking for what God has placed just next door  to you.

    Prayer is a two-way thing and it is better to pray and ask for direction. The programme is interdenominational and we have a number of speakers that include Sam Ihenacho from Enugu; Pastor Diallo from Canada and friends from  within the country.

    For music, we have people like Frank Edwards, Sharon and David Moore for our all praise night on Friday. In terms of security everything is intact; we have surveillance gadgets, police and vigilance groups involved.

    What are some of the testimonies from previous programmes?

    Over the years, we have had a number of cases of healing; declarations are made in terms of God’s  blessings and breakthroughs. A number of people who have been married without children come the following year with their own children.

    We also have cases of those who did not come to the programme but they were touched in their homes as well as those who built properties within the year.

    Of course, there are also testimonies about the testimonies about the baptism of the Holy Spirit  and people who also got clear cut instructions that led to relocation.

     If you are the president of Nigeria, what  would you do differently?

    The greatest challenge in Nigeria is poverty and it is orchestrated by corruption. Nigerians are  not lazy but the opportunities and facilities are not favourable.

    In China, people are running factories from their garage but here we have issues with electricity. This leads to restiveness and makes our youth available tools.

  • Lower trade and higher poverty rate are cousins

    Lower trade and higher poverty rate are cousins

    The relationship between trade and poverty is inverted. Countries with higher proportions of global trade tend to have less of poverty. Conversely, countries which contribute the least to global trade have higher poverty rates. This shows the importance of good trade policies in reducing poverty rates and increasing prosperity. Also, this shows why there is intense competition for export markets even by countries that already control significant share of global trade. Little wonder trade facilitation has become an economic policy of great importance.

    Development experts can’t agree more. Jim Yong Kim, the World Bank president, said in a recent statement that, “Trade is a critical component to ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity.” The foregoing therefore suggests that developing countries have to trade their way out of poverty. For African countries to reduce poverty, they must increase their share of global trade. But how to bring this about is anything but easy.

    Trade Challenge

    Sub Saharan Africa is reputed to be the least developed region of the world. The SSA region is also the least integrated into the global economy through trade. Since the 1960s, the share of sub Saharan Africa in international trade has become progressively smaller: less than 5% for all merchandise and 3% for agricultural products in 2010 (World Foundation for Agriculture and Rurality 2012). Trade within the SSA region is also dismal. Tariff and non-tariff barriers have been obstacles to intra-regional trade. Although the higher hurdles are non-tariff barriers, the ECOWAS goal of free movement of person and goods across member countries remains more of a wish than reality.

    Exports from Africa are mainly mineral resources and agricultural produce. With very low industrial base, the commodities are exported to other regions of the world and returned later to the continent as costlier finished products. This trade pattern results in “jobless growth” in the exporting countries when the prices of the commodities are high in the international market. The jobs that are created and sustained during commodity boom are mainly in the countries that “refine” and turn the commodities to finished products through industrial activities.

    But when prices of commodities are depressed, fiscal shocks are transmitted through the trade channel to the exporting countries, with severe human and economic implications. Apart from being pro-cyclical, trade in commodities is generally noted for volatility of current account positions and exertion of pressure on the exchange rate. The persistence of weak or negative growth in Europe and slower growth in China has dented economic growth in countries that depend very much on the export markets including Germany. But this does not build a case against active play in the export markets; it probably asserts the importance of domestic consumption as a cushion during a period of weaker exports.

    Export Diversification

    Having established the role of trade in reducing poverty on the one hand, and the deleterious effects of export of mainly primary products on the other, it therefore means that the way to reduce poverty in developing countries is through export diversification by boosting industrial activities. Gaining a mileage in export diversification does entail formalisation of informal trade. To achieve this, empowerment of small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) is of utmost importance, both in itself and in gaining more share of global trade.

    The key problem with informal trade is that it deprives policymakers of the major tool of policymaking, which is data. Informal trade usually takes place off the radar, making data gathering and processing virtually impossible. But policymakers need to know areas where it is important to scale up positive results in trade activities. Understanding the obstacles that confront informal sector operators will aid intervention and will eventually prepare the operators toward making due contribution to fiscal policy by coming under the tax net.

    SME Incubation

    Evidently, the Administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has identified the SME sector as critical for boosting economic growth and job creation. On its part, the Nigerian Export – Import Bank (NEXIM Bank) is aware of the potentials of Nigerian SMEs. They can leverage domestic consumption, using access to over 170 million population to harness opportunities in foreign markets. Accordingly, our interventions are now geared towards such firms that we believe are relatively well-structured to be able to stabilize their operations and then foray into external markets.

    Several programmes under this Administration are incubating the SME segment for a major turnaround. In the traditional areas of providing infrastructure and electricity power, the country is seen to have made big leaps in policy formulation and execution, notwithstanding the milestones that are yet to be reached. Most recent perhaps is the launch of the N220 billion SME fund by the President in August, under the auspices of Central Bank of Nigeria. Specific programmes under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda, infrastructural development for ICT utilization, local content development in oil and gas, the programme of industrialisation as encapsulated in the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) and the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Programme (NIRP) all speak of the resolve of President Jonathan to use the instrumentality of state policy to mediate market performance and SME growth. On-going implementation of the programmes is concomitant with job creation, which is vital for eradication of extreme poverty.

    Unmasking Poverty

    Poverty eradication has once again climbed to the top of global development policy agenda. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have announced twin programmes of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity by 2030. Feelers from post-2015 policy debates suggest that global development goals will focus on eradication of extreme poverty, going forward from next year. In the meantime, reports from some global institutions are making some important prescriptions on poverty reduction.

    A recent publication by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) – Trade Policies, Household Welfare and Poverty Alleviation: Case Studies from the Virtual Institute Academic Network – strongly associates trade and poverty, offering policymakers insights on what it called “pro-poor trade policies.”

    Another new literature which focuses on economic growth – a sine qua non for poverty reduction – reaffirms what we already know: that export diversification is the “gateway” to higher growth. To achieve export diversification however, Chris Papageorgiou, Lisa Kolovich and Sean Nolan, all of the IMF, identify manufacturing of high quality products as a necessity. They suggest therefore that the world has gone past the Chinese industrialization model of producing cheap and low quality products to unleash price competition in the export market. Accordingly, Chris and his colleagues listed human capital, infrastructure, institutional quality, financial deepening and proximity to markets as drivers of export diversification. These are very important recommendations which are familiar but which cannot be overemphasized. I will therefore run commentaries on them in the context of the Nigerian policy environment and readiness for trade as I conclude this piece.

    Quality products: The Nigerian middle class and wealthy Nigerians are noted to be pretty sophisticated. As such, an industrial development model that manufactures cheap and inferior products would be mistargeted at Nigerians with means. Nowhere is this recognized more than in the cable manufacturing industry where Nigerian cables are noted for higher quality than some imported brands. Once known for exporting inferior products, China has been reforming its industrial policy to emphasize the manufacturing of high quality products. This is the direction Nigeria should go to ensure we can trade in the global market of today and not of yesterday.

    Human capital: Within a practical framework, multi-level support for human capital development has been a key goal of this Administration. School enrolment has improved generally. Specific programmes have targeted areas that had lagged behind due to past neglect. Tertiary education is being strengthened to be able to absorb more university candidates. Another area that has benefited from government’s programme of industrial development is vocational education. For example, there are ongoing efforts to develop skills that will support growth in the power sector and automobile production and assembly plants. Also, the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) embeds training for skill acquisitions in the areas of public works, including road construction and maintenance, railway rehabilitation and dredging.

    Infrastructure: The foregoing already highlights the fact that the country is moving in the right direction with infrastructure development. The pace may be slow, but there is no doubt that we will attain a tipping point sooner than later. At that point, it will become more obvious to global investors that so-called infrastructure deficiency in Nigeria represents investment opportunities which are being harnessed. This is a key lesson we have taken from the implementation of the power sector reform.

    Institutional quality:  The truth is evident that Nigeria is building and strengthening its institutions again. As a constitutional democracy, the governance framework is stable and predictable. Market regulators do their jobs without the fear of any political backlash. This is what has helped to put in place a sustainable path for the turn-around of our financial market, since the introduction of reforms in 2004. NEXIM Bank itself is an institution that has been revamped as part of government decision to strengthen public sector institutions and support private sector actors.

    Financial deepening: There is perhaps no other country or jurisdiction that has introduced more far-reaching reforms in its financial market than Nigeria over the past ten years. The proliferation of marginal banks has given way to stronger and sounder private sector financial institutions including “mega” banks. A poorly organized and unfunded pension system has given way for the contributory system that has exceeded N4.5 trillion ($24 billion) in pension asset. Yet regulation and innovation have continued to characterize the Nigerian financial system, including the capital market.

    Proximity to markets: Nigeria is not just a place to set up a business. The country is a big and growing market. Investing in Nigeria is tantamount to connecting to a big market. Nevertheless, the country is also well-linked to the sub-regional markets by all popular means – road, sea and air – except by rail.

    As the country continues to develop capacity for trade through economic diversification, it is expected that the poverty rate will continue to fall.

    – Roberts Orya is Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Export – Import Bank.

  • Protesters to Jonathan: we want abducted girls back

    Protesters to Jonathan: we want abducted girls back

    Scores march on Fashola’s office

    Chibok elders: Fed Govt has failed us

    Presidency may opt for dialogue

    Scores of indigenes of Kibaku, a community in Chibok, the troubled Borno State town where 234 school girls were abducted by Boko Haram, marched yesterday on Lagos Governor Babatunde Fashola’s office.
    The protesters, including women and children, under the aegis of the Lagos State chapter of Chibok Youth Association, pleaded with Fashola to pass on their grievances to President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State. They should ensure the safe return of the abducted girls, the angry crowd said.
    The leader of the group, Mr. Yahaya Chiwar, said the decision to take their grievances to the governor was due to his outstanding track record in securing lives and property of residents of the state.
    Chiwar said the group was worried that 13 days after the girls were abducted, there had been no news from the government concerning their safety or any chance of their being rescued.
    He added that what was more alarming was that after the parents of the abducted girls searched the Sambisa forest, they located the camp where the insurgents were holding the girls and immediately reported to the appropriate authorities, but were dismayed when no action was taken.
    “Our parents had no choice than to come back home to inform the security authorities where the girls were been kept, but Your Excellency, their parents communicated with us yesterday (Sunday) and there is no information whatsoever that these girls have been rescued or at the process of being rescued.
    “Therefore, we as their brothers and we have sisters in Diaspora, we have resolved that we cannot remain silent; we are here because of your commitment to security of lives and properties in the state. We believe the nearest authority to us is you, who is not only the Chief Executive of the State, we believe we can express our grievances to you and you can forward our grievances to the relevant authorities, particularly to President Jonathan.”
    Presenting a letter to Fashola for onward transmission to President Goodluck Jonathan, Chiwar said: “We believe that you will help us to ensure that our voice will be heard.”
    Fashola, in an emotional voice, praised members of the Chibok Youth Association for their courage and selflessness to stand for their daughters and sisters who were unfortunate victims of the nation’s porous security system.
    He condemned the abduction of the girls, describing it as a clear act of hostage-taking, which is unthinkable and dehumanising.
    “One can only imagine the kind of horror and grief the parents of these girls must be feeling, I am a parent myself and I understand it. If my children are ill, I know the kind of frustration, fear and anxiety that I go through when they are ill, not to mention indescribable emotion that the parents of these girls are going through to know whether they are alive and where they are and what conditions they might be in. even the girls themselves, the kind of fear, it must be a traumatic experience for everyone involved”.
    Fashola, however, cautioned the protesters against nursing the thought that nothing was being done to rescue the girls, saying that it is likely that the authorities might be careful not to take steps that would harm the girls in the process of trying to rescue them.
    He encouraged the parents not to lose hope on the safe return of their children.
    Fashola promised to deliver the letter to President Goodluck Jonathan before the close of work on Monday.
    The presidency is weighing its options on how to rescue the abducted girls by Boko Haram gunmen, The Nation learnt yesterday.
    On the cards is a non-violent option, which will require asking some clerics and Northerners respected by the sect to prevail on its leadership to release the girls.
    There are fears that an outright military onslaught may lead to a high casualty.
    But for the death of his brother, Vice-President Namadi Sambo would have started consultations with some would-be mediators. Sambo’s younger brother, Yusuf, a pilot, died on Sunday in a road accident in Abuja.
    Some of those listed for intervention were said to be excited last night because of their “deep concerns” for the girls.
    “Even within Chibok, intelligence report indicated that some of those who abducted the girls were known to the locals. Therefore, there is possibility that the sect has a network base in the area where the school is located,” a source said, adding:
    “What the government is thinking is how to engage every citizen capable of assisting to rescue the girls. This is one of the options.
    “Some of those who can facilitate link with Boko Haram are already being consulted.”
    Replying to a question, the source added: “The ongoing collaboration with some neighbouring countries and intelligence sharing with international organisations is also another option.”
    Another source, who spoke in confidence, said: “I think the non-violent option might be explored because where the girls are kept is heavily fortified.
    “If the troops storm the place with their fury, it will lead to a lot of things, including tragic losses. At the end of the day, the target of rescuing the girls would not be achieved.”
    Contacted last night, the Director of Defence Information, Maj-Gen. Chris Olukolade said: “The search for the school girls is still on. For operational reasons, we cannot give the details.”

  • ‘Omisore’ll be defeated in his ward’

    ‘Omisore’ll be defeated in his ward’

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s target in the August 9 governorship election is not only to win, but also to defeat Senator Iyiola Omisore of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in his ward, it was learnt yesterday.
    Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Research, Planning and Policy Implementation (Federal Matters) Prince Olusegun Bada said this in Abuja while speaking to The Nation.
    Omisore was, in 2011, defeated by Senator Jide Omoworare of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the senatorial poll.
    Bada said the only place Omisore won in the senatorial election was in his ward, adding: “We are not only looking forward to defeating him in the governorship election. That is an understatement. We are also looking forward to beating him in his constituency and ward.”
    He said Aregbesola had performed excellently and expressed confidence that the governor would be re-elected.
    Bada said: “Even people within the PDP know that their candidate cannot win. You cannot win when you are against the people. Winning an election is based on track record and the records of both candidates are there.
    “Aregbesola has tarred 10km roads in each local government area. He has not spent four years in office and has tarred over 600km of roads. And we are targeting 1,000km.
    “He has done backward and forward linkage with access to agricultural products. He has created an enabling environment for hospitality, and for small scale and manufacturing businesses to thrive. He has made Osun State peaceful for coexistence among various ethnic and religious groups.”

  • Rainstorm ravages Calabar

    Rainstorm ravages Calabar

    Residents of Calabar, the Cross River State capital, are counting their losses after a rainstorm ravaged the city on Sunday night.
    The rain, which lasted over six hours, pulled down houses, blew off roofs and caused floods in many parts of the city.
    A statement by the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) said 350 homes in Calabar South and Calabar Municipality were  affected.
    Most residents, including women and children, spent the night in the open as they watched their property being swept away.
    When our reporter visited some places, there were household items scattered all over. Many were busy scooping water from their houses.
    The flood was caused by blocked drainage and the narrow nature of some channels, which could not contain the high volume of water.
    A widow, Mrs. Theresa Idum, lamented the loss of her house and property. She urged the government to help rebuild her home.
    Mrs. Grace Minika, whose five buildings were ravaged, said water flowed to the compound though a broken wall.
    SEMA’s Director General Vincent Aquah sympathised with the victims and promised that government agencies would tackle the problem.

  • Mark, governors, others condole with Sambo over brother’s death

    Mark, governors, others condole with Sambo over brother’s death

    Some prominent Nigerians yesterday have condoled with  Vice-President Namadi Sambo over the death of his younger brother, Yusuf.
    The deceased, who was 58-year-old pilot, died on Sunday in a ghastly motor accident on the Abuja Airport Road.
    Among those who visited Sambo at his Akinola Aguda House official residence in the Presidential Villa on Monday include the Senate President, David Mark, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio and his Delta State counterpart, Emmanuel Uduaghan.
    Sambo received the male sympathisers inside one of the big halls while his wife, Hajia Amina attended to the female mourners in another hall.
    Others who visited Sambo yesterday included other members of the National Assembly, members of the Federal Executive Council, leadership of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, and leadership of the ongoing National Conference.
    Governors who visited the Vice President also included Idris Wada (Kogi), Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa), Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe), Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara), Ramalan Yero (Kaduna) and James Ngilari (Deputy governor, Adamawa).
    Speaking with State House correspondents, Akpabio described Yusuf’s death as a sad development for the country.
    Rivers State Governor  Rotimi Amaechi, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary David Iyofor, said: “It is most painful to lose someone close and dear to you. I on behalf of my family and the people and government of Rivers state sympathise with you (Vice President Sambo).”
    “We share in your loss and grief. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.”
    Former Governor of Ekiti State Segun Oni also commiserated with Sambo over the death of his younger brother. He described the death as shocking and painful.
    Oni, who reacted to Captain Sambo’s death in a statement, said he was still finding it difficult to believe that such a jolly good fellow and seasoned pilot could pass on very soon.

  • Anambra 2013: Ngige stands tall

    Anambra 2013: Ngige stands tall

    It is election time once more in Anambra State. Once more, an array of men and resources are on parade before the electorate. The stakes are high; so high for some people. For some others, however, it is an opportunity to make a political statement. Anambra is a state that is in a class of its own. It parades men and resources; men found among the best and among the worst. It is unique. Its uniqueness can sometimes be found in the absurd. But there is no gainsaying that it is an unqualifiedly great and interesting state of the federation.

    In governance, Anambra has seen it all: the great, the crooked, the mediocre and the sly. Little wonder, the generality of the people have grown cynical of governments. Among the persons jostling to govern Anambra come March 17 2014, three have become more visible in the pack. That is not to say that the rest are neither qualified nor are they not campaigning. The election at the moment can be zeroed down to a contest between Senator Chris Nwabueze Ngige of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Willie Obiano of the All Progressives Grand Alliance and Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah  of the Labour Party. Among the three, Senator Ngige unarguably stands tall.

    For Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah, the election is much more than a contest; it is a fierce fight for survival; a make or mar battle. Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah has, so to speak, decisively hinged his future on the contest. First, he ran his company to a near state of bankruptcy in the build up to the campaigns. The banks had to blacklist him, designating him a persona non grata so far as credit facilities are concerned. The Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) had to take away his company, Capital Oil and Gas Limited, from him, to save it from the hands of the banks. He had to relinquish the management of the company to AMCON for two years as a compromise decision after AMCON unsuccessfully sought to take away the company from him for good. The Assets Management Company (AMCON) has since confiscated and offered his private jet for sale. His worries are not yet over: Mr. Cosmas Maduka of Coscharis Motors Limited is on his neck for a multibillion naira deal gone awry while the subsidy committee is looking for a way to do him in.

    For Mr. Ifeanyi, success at the November 16 poll would mean freedom from many woes. Freedom from AMCON, Coscharis, subsidy and sundry woes. It would offer him the accoutrement of power, among them immunity and the many benefits that come with gubernatorial power in Nigeria.

    If there is a man is dire need of that election, he arguably qualifies for one. Accordingly, Mr. Ifeanyi has given in his best in the contest. He was the first of the contestants to flag off his campaign with live coverage on a national television and an impressive attendance. He has assiduously worked his way among the fold of the big three in the contest – no mean feat.

    Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah is rumoured to be the highest spender among the gladiators in the gubernatorial contest. This is rather a bewildering happenstance at the backdrop of the fact that his company was tottering to bankruptcy. Apparently, he was going up while his company was going under.  This is another wonder of the world; African wonder.

    Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah is incontrovertibly generous. He doles out largesse to all and sundry save his workers who are said to be owed for many a month. At any rate, we hope that his management skills would be better than that applied at Capital Oil and Gas if he wins the governorship. Anambrarians cannot afford to have Anambra State taken over by AMCON.  It is better imagined than experienced.

    For Chief Willie Obiano, the stakes are not really that high. He is the anointed godson of Mr. Peter Obi who has a lot to protect and a lot more to keep in place. Chief Willie Obiano, so to speak, is an extension of his reign; a third term by proxy. For Mr. Obi, it is a battle of life and death. A lot is at stake. He is into the race like a moving train ready to bulldoze any opposition in his way. He has bruised Chief Victor Umeh into reconciliation. He bulldozed Rochas out of APGA and gave Soludo a clean upper cut.

    He has literally constituted his fancies into the budget of the state as he extra-budgetarily doles out state funds like Father Christmas. The defeat of Obiano means the requiem of APGA. It implies an imminent review of the Obi administration by a different government. It means a searchlight on the grey areas of his administration. The future of Fidelity Bank is at stake. Fidelity Bank, where Obi was chairman and is the highest shareholder, has benefitted so much from the government of Anambra State. A different government in Anambra State means bad business for the favoured bank.

    Mr. Peter Obi, above all, has his nemesis, Dr. Chris Ngige, to contend with. Ngige is one politician in Anambra State that has kept Obi ill at ease.

    For Chris Nwabueze Ngige,  however, the contest is a quest for the fulfillment of prophesy. At the twilight of his administration in 2006, Dr. Ngige had  prophesied that he would return to complete the work he started. The contest is a contest of ideology. It is a quest to fulfill his blueprint for infrastructural development of Anambra. It is a battle of legacies: his vision of Anambra versus Mr. Peter Obi’s vision of Anambra. Ngige had fought hard against money politics and god fatherism in Anambra.

    While the triumph of Mr. Ifeanyi Ubah would mean the triumph of money; the triumph of Chief Obiano would mean the triumph of god fatherism.

    As the date draws nigh, the stakes are high and getting higher. The choices are clear: money, god fatherism and radical infrastructural development. Anambrarians have a date with destiny come November 16, 2013.

     

    — Ebo, wrote in from Awka

  • ‘We have invested heavily in Nigeria’

    ‘We have invested heavily in Nigeria’

    On the sidelines of this year’s CNN Multichoice African Journalist of the Year Award held in Cape Town, South Africa, Nico Meyer, CEO, MultiChoice Africa, shed light on the company’s activities in Nigeria in a chat with selected journalists. FESTUS ERIYE was there.

    How would you assess your operations in Nigeria?

    We have been operating in Nigeria for the last 20 years and our philosophy is partnership. This has worked very well in Nigeria. In terms of employment, we have a further philosophy of employing local management and local staff to ensure that we are able to get a proper understanding of what happens in a country. It is wrong for us to stand back and an assume that the entire continent is the same. This is because each country has its own peculiarities. From the investment perspective, we have done a lot in 20 years. We have set up multiple offices and we have been running the satellite business. The satellite business creates employment opportunities, both direct and indirect. You have installers, the informal retailers and sellers as well as the super dealers.

    Running an operation like MultiChoice Nigeria creates a lot of opportunities in the country. Over and above that, we have also developed the industry quite significantly. Let’s take content development, for instance. We have set up studios in the country. The setting up of studios has provided a springboard for new content development. This has helped Nollywood and assisted the export of its products to the other parts of the continent. We have invested in studios like the M-Net Studio and the Supersport Studio. We also have plans to expand the studios to ensure the set-up is much bigger.

    In technology, we are very proud of what we have done. We started way back in the 90s with digital satellite TV. That was a springboard for digital migration. It was our foundation to bring in digital content to Nigeria. It is important for us to be leaders from in technology. That is why we bring the best technology to any country where our services are offered. We invest heavily in new technology.

    We have adopted DVB-T2 standard, which has proved to be the leading technology. We have also brought products like the PVR, which allows our consumers to record content. We have similarly invested heavily in networks. We have launched our mobile services in Nigeria and we continue to set up terrestrial sites all over the country to bring in new technology and make things easier for the consumers to consume content. There are a lot of things we have done over the last 20 years and we continue to improve in terms of our service delivery. We have continued to expand our call centres as well as introduce improved payment methods.

    We appreciate that it is sometimes very difficult for somebody to get to a particular pay point to pay for our service. One thing that is true about Nigeria is the propensity of people to use mobile devices. I am not just talking about smartphone devices, but also audio devices. So, we have been working hard to make payment easier for consumers. This, we are doing along with InterSwitch so that people can make mobile payments. Our drive has always been to make things easier for the consumer and I think we have been relatively successful in achieving that.

    It is believed that the cost of subscription is higher in Nigeria than in other parts of the continent. Why is this so?

    This is not true. I want to use a very good example. Let’s take a decoder which we import into Nigeria. I want to contrast that to, for instance, with East Africa. In East Africa, we want to promote the digital migration. For that, we were exempted from paying import duties on decoders. For the decoders that we bring into Nigeria, we pay 20 per cent import duties. So, you can see the difference. You can see the challenge that I have. On one product, I pay 20 per cent in one country. On that same product in another country, I pay nothing. We have always been keen to work with government. We say to them, for instance, if we are going the way of digital migration, consider also exempting us from import duties. Our business is not the sale of hardware. In fact, we very often would subsidise hardware going into various countries because our business is really about content. So, using that example, you can understand that I have a challenge with what is particular to a country. Now, there are many other taxes.

    But it is important to us bring the price to a level that is attractive to the consumer. As such we don’t have a single price across the continent. We look at all these different dynamics in determining the price. But the price in Nigeria, talking about subscription, is not the highest In Africa, certainly not.. Even then, we continually have been working to keep the price low. One thing I think is very important is content. I buy local content and I also buy international content. International content obviously comes with a price. All these are brought into the offering that we bring to the consumer.

    Shouldn’t the price of your subscription be lower in Nigeria, given its huge population of subscribers?

    It does not exactly work that way. Let’s take CNN for example. I pay per subscriber. If I have a hundred subscribers on this side, I will pay for the hundred subscribers at the same rate that I will pay for, let’s say, 10 subscribers elsewhere. So the fact that we have a much bigger size somewhere does not necessarily mean much. It is not the case that Nigeria will attract a much higher fee per subscriber. Those fees are still the same. The import of a product is almost like a one on one relationship. If I bring decoders into and Nigeria, a much bigger market, I will bring many more decoders into the market. But each decoder still attracts import duty.

    I think the benefit we have in Nigeria is that when you a large subscriber base, some of the overhead costs incurred in the country get reduced. The cost per subscriber is comparatively less in Nigeria than in smaller countries.

    In what country do you have the largest number of subscribers?

    We have completely separated the South African business from the African business. We have completely separated the CEOs. We have a separate CEO for the African business and another for the South African business. We even use different satellites to service the two different businesses. So, the two core structures are completely separated. There are some commonalities like the billing system, but it is quite limited in terms of common cost that we have for the two businesses. The content in Africa is also different from the content we broadcast in South Africa. So we look at the African business as a separate leg from the South African business. Though they have common shareholders, they are completely separate.

    Now, in terms of which of the 50 countries that we operate is our largest market. It is simply determined by the number of consumers that we have in each country. Nigeria is a very big market for us, so we focus on the country. A lot of our investments actually goes to Nigeria. That is why, in terms of studios, it is where our biggest investment lies. In term of network roll-out, that is where we put the most money. I think the fact that we have been in Nigeria for the past 20 years shows that we believe in Nigeria and that is why we continue to invest in the country.

    For a long time, you had the field all to yourself. Now the Chinese are here with StarTimes. What do you make of their arrival?

    We have always welcomed competition and it is a crazy statement to make. What it does is that it makes the industry grow up and that is what we are interested in. The more the players, the more the market and the more opportunity it is for growth in the country. Competition makes the quality of content grow. That is hugely beneficial to us. If you have a very small industry, it is very little content that comes out of it. Competition actually helps the industry to grow and that is exactly what is happening in Nigeria. Nollywood content is growing, so we started AfricanMagic. As it grew, you saw other operators coming on stream and even content providers. It started in Nigeria and now we’ve taken it to the continent. The vision we have is to take around the globe. The stronger the content, the better the industry.

    We have the PVR technology which allows you to record content. We are also going to bring Box Office to Nigeria. Box Office is not only going be international content; I also want to take the best of Nollywood and also put that into the offering. This, again, gives content producers the opportunity to continue to expand. This is what helps the industry to become stronger.

    Many are of the view that you launched GOtv as a response to StarTimes…

    Let me talk a bit about our strategy. If you look back, when we launched our satellite service, it was perceived to be catering for the higher end of the market, with the price ranging from $70 to roughly $100. But there is big component of the market which we still want to address and that component is the low end of the market. It desires a more affordable product, a product much easier to install. I think our plan around GOtv is to make available much affordable product and one that is easier to install. This product will address a much bigger slice of the population.

    How is your organisation coping with the piracy of its content?

    Piracy is something that has been there for a very long time and we are aggressively fighting it. Piracy has evolved overtime from the approach of simply connecting a cable to the highly sophisticated system used to distribute pirated signals. It is quite prevalent in the market. The distribution of pirated signals has also evolved overtime. Now, it has started on mobile devices. But as the pirate has evolved, so have we and we are aggressively attacking what the pirates bring to the market. I think the important thing to understand is that piracy is really bad. It is bad for the industry because if you have piracy in a particular market, it will completely destroy the broadcasting of content in the market. This is because producers will produce content, but will never be able to monitor the content because that content will easily find its way unto a pirate network. And if all the content is for free, it will completely destroy the industry that we actually want to grow. It is fundamental for us to conquer piracy.

    Piracy is almost like a game. It flares up, we bring a counter-measure and it dies down. But again, it flares up and it dies down. What is important is the counter- measures we adopt.

    In Nigeria, movie producers have had cause to complain that they do not get what is due them from the screening of their films. How are you handling this?

    I think the fact that you have seen how AfricaMagic has grown shows you how this has been addressed. We continue to get more and more content from producers. I think producers are very comfortable with working with us in terms of producing content and making it available on our platforms. We have many platforms and as such, they have more opportunities to bring content.

    What has your company done in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility?

    MultiChoice Nigeria is a strong supporter of the Sickle Cell Foundation – Nigeria. We have done many things in terms of giving back to the society. The biggest one is the Multichoice Resource Centre (MRC) project, which we have built in schools and have trained teachers to use them. We have built over 300 of such in 21 states. We also provide content, instructional materials, television sets and TV recorders to ensure that the children learn. Channels like Discovery Channel and History Channel are provided within a framework to enable the training of teachers as well as to get the children educated.

    We have also been part of the ‘Adopt a School’ programme in Lagos State and we continually support several causes around the country.

  • ‘I can run Anambra with my money and achieve 50 percent success’

    ‘I can run Anambra with my money and achieve 50 percent success’

    Controversial businessman, Ifeanyi Ubah, is defying all the odds to forge ahead with his campaign to be governor of Anambra State in the November 16 gubernatorial election on the platform of the Labour Party. He talks about his oil business and plans for his people in this interview with Waheed Odusile.

    How would you assess the Peter Obi administration in Anambra State?

    For me, I can judge the government as a government that is not accountable to the people, and I will tell you why. Any government that its state assembly would ask to submit two years audited account and it failed to give it immediately has some skeletons in the cupboard. But it happened in Anambra State. It took the Accountant-General of the state two months to produce 2011 audited accounts of the state and up till date we have not received 2012 reports. It is very bad. It is not a government that is close to its people.

    I heard the governor in America (recently) and he said so many good things, (how) he is getting money from the World Bank, getting money from this and that, for me I challenged him. I told him, look, when you get all this money, tell Anambra people this is what I collected and this is what I used this money to do, then it gives value to people. But if you are getting this money and it is getting into your pocket, how would I be clapping for you, because the poor man on the street is not feeling the money?

    We from Anambra do not need too much of help, we can help ourselves, all we want is a level playing field where we can have government touching the lives of people. If you give any Anambra man N10 million (ten million naira) today, be sure that in six months he will give you N30 million (thirty million naira), but we don’t want N10 million that if you produce N30 million the bank will take N20 million.

    If that is the situation on ground, how do you intend to turn things around to the benefit of Anambra people?

    If I am in government, I would be giving quarterly reports every three months. This gives room for you to be giving people hope of freshness (in their government). You don’t leave any stone unturned because you bring out everything that happens within a quarter, but if you leave it to extend to six months, one year, two years, three years, that means you’ll even forget a lot of things. It doesn’t even help. It is just like if somebody doesn’t conduct local government election and you think you are doing yourself good. You are not doing yourself any good, you are just chasing people away from their government. Now tell me who in Anambra State today can access government? Nobody. You can’t access government because the man on the street who wants to talk to his local government chairman doesn’t know who to talk to because he didn’t elect the local government chairman. So, if you want to say I want to talk to my local government chairman to go and tell the governor some things, there is no chairman because the chairman there is a puppet.

    But some people would say Governor Obi has done well …

    The man that would tell you that Governor Obi has done well is somebody that is from the Obi family. But go to the streets in Anambra and the real people would tell you (how he is doing). How can you tell me that a governor that has not shown me the audited report of my state for two years is doing well? Even the one that his Accountant-General presented to the state assembly, they indicted him.

    In specific terms, in which areas do you intend to make a difference in the lives of the people of Anambra State?

    I want to bring government closer to the people; they deserve to have government close to them. I want to do local government election; it is one of our problems. Another problem is that they (the government) are not good managers of money; they don’t know how to make money. As a governor, you must be enterprising, you must know how to create money. You can see, Lagos today does not depend on federal allocation; that is government, they are working. I must be fair to you, Governor Fashola is working, Jigawa State governor (Sule Lamido) is working.

    But why do you think you are in a better position to do this for Anambra? In essence why do you want to be the governor?

    Nobody is doing it. I am tired of all this nonsense (going on in governance in Anambra State), it is irritating me. I am going to give my people everything because that is my final constituency. It is irritating me.

    Some people would ask who is Ifeanyi Uba.? Really, who is he?

    Ifeanyi Uba is a humble poor boy that grew up from the ghetto, but God has blessed me, there is no doubt about it and my yesterday doesn’t matter anymore. Ifeanyi Uba is a man that has the love of his people in his heart. Ifeanyi Uba is a practical human being. Ifeanyi Uba is a man of Anekwuekwu Anememe (what you say is what you do, a man of his words). That is Ifeanyi Uba.

    What exactly should the people expect from you if you become the governor,? that break it down- not just that I want to give my people everything, or I want to bring government closer to the people.

    I want to promote trade, but before I promote trade, I want people to feel safer in Anambra because it is not just about the internal (local) people but also about expatriates. The in-thing today is that anybody coming to Nigeria must Google (search for information on the internet) to know the state he is going to. So, I want to be part of that (making Nigeria safer). And also if we love our country Nigeria, then the total restructuring of Nigeria should not be left alone to the presidency or the people at the federal level. A state can start promoting Nigeria, no state is promoting Nigeria. No state is helping the federal government (to make Nigeria safer). The responsibility of making Nigeria safer should not be left in the hands of President Goodluck Jonathan alone.

    So, I would want to see how I can go in and see how I can help our president (in this regard), he is a good man.

    Some would argue that Ifeanyi Uba, who can’t even run his own businesses now  wants to run Anambra State, that how can he run Anambra State if something as private to him as his businesses, he can’t run it?

    They are blind people because they are uninformed. If I don’t have good thoughts about my business, my business will not continue to hold its strong position in the downstream sector of the Nigerian economy. And let me even say something, Capital Oil is not the only company in Ifeanyi Uba’s Group; Ifeanyi Uba has over 15 companies in his Group, even in the Oil and Gas sector, Capital Oil is not bigger than some of my companies in the downstream. Why are people trying to run me down?  You are just bringing about 10 per cent of a man and you are talking about that. Let me say that Capital Oil and Gas that even people are talking about is still holding a firm command in the downstream sector of the economy. The problem is not about not running it very well. If government policy does not support business, there is no way that business can stand. If you claim that you were going to be selling rice in your restaurant and they (government) ban the importation of rice, will you sell that rice again?

    Now let me put it in proper perspective. Capital Oil and Gas has no problem at all and if people are saying that (it has problem) then they should go to the company to know if there was any problem. The (so called) problem Capital Oil has is that it cannot repay its debt based on the fact that the asset is ten times more than even its liability. In asset we are five, ten times more than our liability, so you cannot even call the company a bankrupt. In America Chrysler Motors, General Motors, Citi Bank, they are under, they have even filed for bankruptcy, still they are working and (the USA government) government is supporting them.

    In Nigerian, we are not doing that. If AMCON comes in… Ok, take TINAPA for instance.  Today, can you say TINAPA was a bad business? No. It was because government has failed to dredge TINAPA and nobody can come and invest in TINAPA. Will you carry the cargo on your head to go and drop in TINAPA? It must come through water.

    We built Capital Oil up to its present enviable status based on deregulation, in line with government’s preferred deregulation and when government didn’t put up that deregulation which the president implemented, but unfortunately they abandoned the man in the middle of the sea. If deregulation was to take root in Nigeria today, Capital Oil might even be bigger than Dangote. I am telling you the truth. Because by virtue of our status, we hold the biggest structure in the downstream. In waterways, we hold 60 per cent of the waterways in the downstream. In dispensing capacity, nobody has come half of us in the whole country. In terms of storage, in terms of fleet, we have up to 20 ships floating in front of Capital Oil today doing nothing. For two years nobody has turned the engines on and all these equipments were bought for deregulation. And government today is giving us allocation and the allocation they are giving us is not up to three percent of our capacity. So, how can I survive because I can’t trade on my own, on what government is giving me in terms of allocation?  It is not up to three percent of our capacity. I will challenge whoever that would come and say we did not run Capital Oil very well. So, it is politics and it is only in politics that people can use such for political gains. If you say Capital Oil is not running well, I will challenge government and I will sue government.  I would sue government and I will win because it (deregulation) is a government policy and not because of the president. It was government policy and it was being implemented, but some of these governors, when the heat was on, they couldn’t support the president.  Meanwhile, they were there telling the president to do deregulation.

    It is all about history now but  for me, I am quiet about it and anybody can say whatever he likes, but for me you can’t say I didn’t run Capital Oil well but other companies (in the Group) are running well.

    What exactly is the problem between you and Coscharis?

    Coscharis, issue is one that Anambra politics brought somehow along the line and it is political. And it has been corrected.

    The election is around the corner, how would you rate your chances?

    I am winning. Are you doubting me? Everything is working well. I am waiting for the day they will swear me in.

    What is your relationship with the Villa?

    I’ve always had a good relationship with the Villa, mutual relationship with the Villa. I am one of the Villa’s anointed. They are all our fathers.  You can never say the president hates you. Any Nigerian that does not have one with the Villa should work hard to have good relationship with the Villa. I am one of the Villa boys. I am not in an opposition party.

    But your party, the Labour Party, is not part of the federal government?

    Labour is a part of everything. We don’t have a presidential candidate, so, Villa (President Jonathan) is our presidential candidate. We don’t have a presidential candidate in the Labour Party. Have you seen a politician saying he is a presidential aspirant/candidate in the Labour Party? And so, it is until the day we have a presidential candidate (in Labour Party). So, for now Villa is our party, our candidate.

    Why were you shopping for ticket in parties before you eventually got the Labour Party’s nod?

    I didn’t shop for ticket. I was waiting for God’s direction. God said this is the party (Labour) you will go to, that all these parties with a lot of holes… you could fall into a trap. I saw the holes (in PDP) and I ran away but unfortunately some of my colleagues (like) Charles Soludo entered and the hole swallowed him. But for us that are streetwise boys we escaped the hole and today I am a candidate within the next 30 days. Every Nigerian should give me kudos for that, a first timer, I am in the contest and if they call first, second and third, they will call me.

    Having been part of Anambra politics in the last seven years, according to you, will it be right to say you are a godfather and…

    I am a holy father in Anambra politics and I will tell you why. I have never been involved in any government contract. I have helped a lot of people to gain political mileage. I am part of every  political process, in fact winning elections in Anambra State because my people love me and I have always been delivering my town Nnewi. You cannot win election in Nnewi without using Ifeanyi Uba, without calling me because I need to assess you and feel that you want to give my people the best. With due respect to my mentor, Mr Cletus Ibeto, you can’t talk of Nnewi politics without Ifeanyi Ubah, outside Mr Ibeto.

    That means you are tired of being a holy father, now you want to…

    If the holy father is blessing boys and they don’t want to change; you are blessing people and they don’t want to change. I now say let me even get involved, let me wear the regalia and go and preach. That is why you see me here because I have a mandate, I have a vision, there is something pushing me to go and change a lot of people (things). There is no more room to play.

    You have been promising a lot in your campaign. Can you achieve all of them in four years and where would the money come from?

    I will even do more. It is just for my people to trust me and give me the mandate. If I don’t deliver, they shouldn’t vote for me again.

    But where will the money come from?

    I am a money maker, a magician trained by God. In fact, let me tell you something, if I can gather all my resources, what God has blessed me with, I can do 50 percent of Anambra without anybody’s money. If I gather my worldwide resources and I am given a free hand to change Anambra, I promise you that I will do 50 percent of what is in my manifesto without touching one kobo of Anambra State government.

    From your purse?

    I am telling you the truth.

    That would be fantastic.

    May be people are underrating me. If I gather my resources and I have the seal of government without collecting one kobo from federal government, I will complete 50 percent of everything in my manifesto without one kobo. And to prove a point, I can challenge you that I can run Anambra government without security votes till I raise the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of Anambra State from a mere N300 million to N5billion monthly, quote me. In life you challenge yourself.

    Is it true that Madam at the Villa is the one behind you?

    No. She is my mother and she is the mother of every Nigerian. You see, Anambra people are trying to put problem between me and the Villa. Madam is the mother of every Nigerian and people should give that woman respect. She is the mother of this country. We have seen first ladies that were not outspoken in Nigeria; we have seen first ladies that have not done 30 percent of what she has done. That woman is a real woman.  Go and check among all the first ladies in Nigeria who is more loved than any other first lady. If they say your mother is doing well, won’t you want to embrace her? And now that I don’t have a mother, my mother is dead, I adopted her.

    What would be your message to Anambra voters, come November 16?

    That Ifeanyi is a man God has blessed from a very humble beginning to where I am today, and I decided to leave where I am today to do what no one has ever done. That I don’t have a godfather, but my godfathers are Anambrarians, the poor masses, the widows, the Okada riders, the Keke NAPEP people; that I am coming to Anambra to stay with them, to be practical with them, to give them values of governance, to give them a quarterly statement about their government, to change their lives, to give them security, to give them employment, to touch their lives and to give them hope.