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  • Agric Bank rolls out Green Cash Card

    Agric Bank rolls out Green Cash Card

    To make life more meaningful, enable access to its facilities by clients and rural farmers, the Bank of Agriculture(BOA) has introduced a Green Cash Card that will give farmers wherever they are access to its facilities.

    Disclosing this to The Nation in an exclusive chat at the bank’s corporate headquarters in Kaduna, the Executive Director, Wholesale Finance, Alhaji Ahmadu Haruna Waziri, said the Green Cash will  key into the cashless policy whereby any of the bank’s clients can transact businesses with minimal cash flow.

    According to him, it is e-banking system whereby all the clients can do their business with the bank in a fast and secured way within a twinkle of an eye “You can use your mobile phone to transact all your businesses. You can also use internet transaction in addition to other e-banking businesses. It is a platform for us to provide our client a viable service at the remotest village you can get mobile telephone. People who are dealing in little flow of cash can easily be reached.”

    Waziri pointed out that “This Green Cash will allow them to access their fund in any part of the country even at the remotest village. We have sent marketers to the field to sensitise the people on the need to key into this concept. Now, we are at the process of recruiting agents that will serve as intermediary between the bank and the farmers. The agents will act as outlet to the services of the bank.”

    He explained that each agent will act like a branch and any customer can visit the agent either to deposit cash or withdraw cash without going to the banking hall. “We have different level of agents and the amount they can deal with. Each branch of the bank will coordinate all the activities of the agents”

    The renowned agribusiness expert said  the first recruitment of the agents will be between one and two per each of the 774 local governments and will be saddled with the responsibility of transacting business with the bank clients without going to ATM stands.

    “The idea is that cash can be transfered to our customers through their phone number. The handling of the physical cash will be minimal. Outside the eco system, all other transactions can be done on the phone. The agent will be categorized into silver, bronze and gold the amount they are handling will determine their category.

    Waziri also stated that the bank is embarking on enlightenment campaign at the grassroots to sensitise  the people on the advantage of the Green e-wallet, adding that when the system is fully operational, it will ease the tension of carrying cash all about for businesses.

    “We are backing it with the type of technology they already know like POS, ATM system etc. You can approach the agent and demand for your balance free of charge as long as you are in the Green Card system, he will oblige. It will also provide other services like buying of air time, utility bills etc”

  • Only election riggers fear card reader -Omoworare

    Only election riggers fear card reader -Omoworare

    Senator Babajide   Omoworare represents Osun East at the Senate. In this interview with Gbenga Aderanti, he speaks on several issues which include the forthcoming general elections and other issues

    15 years after Nigeria returned to democracy, do you think the country has fared better?

    Although there has been shortcomings in our democracy, you can’t compare it with other types of governments, be it military, diarchy, plutocracy, autocracy etc. However, we seem to have chosen some features of democracy like merely establishing the arms of government, that is the legislature, executive and judiciary, etc. and making efforts, really striving to comply with sometimes the most rudimentary and elementary provisions of the Constitution. We have left out the other important ingredients of democracy like enforcement of fundamental rights, rule of law, due process etc. We have also refused to build Institutions that will sustain our democracy; what we have instead are strongmen, albeit mostly civilians, suffering from military hangover. So, in this democracy, we have just been average when we have the opportunity to perfect our democracy, build sound political structures, instill indelible political culture and ensure sustainable political system. With clear headed leadership that is zero tolerant to corruption, that does not only have a sound program but has the political will to see it through, that puts the welfare of the people on the front burner, I am optimistic that democracy in Nigeria will fare better.

    Recently, President Jonathan claimed to be the best president Nigeria ever had and that he will win the forthcoming elections, how will you react to this?

    The assertion that President Goodluck Jonathan is the best president Nigeria has ever had is fallacious. It is the sound bite of sycophants and Mr. President’s palace jesters. Opinion poll has shown that this government is unpopular; it is corrupt, lacklustre and clueless. I think the failure of this government is a function of the lack of capacity and competence on the part of Mr. President. The Federal Government has failed on all fronts. The most basic is security.

    The government’s view is beclouded by corruption and impunity. Have we forgotten the Pension scam, the subsidy scam of $20 billion, kerosene scam, and so on and so forth?. Nobody was called to question when our innocent job seekers died during the immigration recruitment exercise. Against all dictates of international trade, this government supported the laundering of money to South Africa to buy arms. The economy has been ruined, there is deficit in the balance of our international trade and we keep depleting our foreign reserves because we have not diversified. We import all sorts of goods and these are more than the foreign exchange we exchange the crude oil we export. The government did not make hay when there was sunshine; it did not invest the excess crude wisely and the price of oil has dropped. Yet the same government claims it raised N21 billion campaign fund when Nigerians go to work on empty stomach.

    Are you sure the APC presidential candidate, General Muhammed Buhari, will make a difference considering his age?

    Age has nothing to do with governance. A dire situation requires a drastic solution. If it is an elderly man that can do the job, what a younger man has failed to do, so be it. It is important we even look at the man Buhari. I think the General is on a rescue mission. Nigeria is currently at the precipice of destruction by the cabals and hawks hovering over the Presidential Villa. General Buhari is a man with several positive values, his experience, capacity, integrity and upright posture is needed by the nation at this period in history. He has been tested with public offices in the past and left those offices with legacies, achievements and without any iota or element of corruption.

    The beauty of democracy is that we have had a-6-year tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan and Nigerians are saying the suffering is enough. Nigerians will now put General Buhari on the other side of the scale and juxtapose. We will see a man that is experienced in Buhari. He has been a Governor, he has been a Petroleum Minister and he hasn’t got even a filling station.

    In 2011, your party then Action Congress of Nigeria won all the elections it contested in Osun and also the 2014 gubernatorial election as All Progressives Congress, can this feat be replicated in 2015?

    Why not? We take campaigns seriously and we monitor our elections. However, I think the electorate trusts us. We have delivered on our promises, while the Federal Government has failed woefully in the area of poverty reduction. I understand according to a recent World Bank Survey that Nigeria is ranked 3rd among the world’s top five poorest countries with over 60% of its citizens living below poverty level, contrary to Mr. President’s claim that he has reduced poverty level by 50%. Under the administration of the governor of my state, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, poverty was reduced, Osun is number 2 in this area. Osun has the best employment record. The unemployment ratio has shown consistent down sliding. We have developed infrastructure, built roads, built and renovated schools, we give lunch to elementary students thereby creating jobs and having spiral effect on other agriculture Entrepreneurs. He engaged 20,000 youths. The RLG factory is already producing mobile phones.

    As State of Osun Caucus in the National Assembly, we did joint constituency projects based on senatorial districts, with a view to leaving legacy projects as part of our contribution to the sustainable development of our state. In my senatorial district for instance, the honourable members of House of Representatives and I synergised to construct the multimillion naira Ipetu-Ijesa Waterworks, which will supply water to parts of Oriade, Atakunmosa West and Atakumosa East LGAs. We have built four middle schools and renovated four others. It is important I explain that all we do is recommend the projects, they are executed by Federal Government Ministries, Department and Agencies. I have been pretty active on the floor. I have moved several motions on the floor of the Senate, including the one exposing kerosene subsidy scam. I have not only sponsored bills, I have had my bill on prison decongestion passed in the Senate and is awaiting the concurrence of House of Representatives.

    Your primary election and eventual emergence as the candidate of the party has been trailed with controversy, what actually transpired?

    Let me say that I am most careful when it comes to party issues, most especially when you have an election in purview. I am a party man to the core. I have just gone through a process of smoothening some frail nerves, which is natural before, during and after primaries. It will be most unwise of me to unsettle simmering water, however little the water is. Yes, I hold the utilitarian value of greater good for greater number of people. Yet, everybody is important in the party and you won’t want your utterances to hurt even one party man or woman. The relevant fact is that a screening exercise was initially misinterpreted as primary. The party at a General Assembly chose me, but upon an appeal to the National Executive Committee of the party, a rerun was ordered, which I won. However, I see the entire event as a no victor, no vanquished political battle and power tussle. The party has spoken twice, the party is supreme and its decision is final.

    The PDP is opposing the electronic card reader and advocating for the use of temporary voters card where the PVC is not available, what is your view of this?

    We should give kudos to Professor Atahiru Jega for bringing sanity and departure from the Professor Maurice Iwu and its magical election era. Jega regardless of his capacity and human deficiency will be remembered for adding an unusual dimension into our politics especially with this never before used card reader. This is a step in the right direction towards advancing our system to accommodate electronic voting. The sanity and credibility that this will bring is scary only to those whose stock in trade is manipulation of elections. To those of us who believe in maintaining social contract and delivery of electoral promises, we will never fear the card reader. As for the PVC and the fact that some electorates have not gotten theirs, our system is just developing and struggling to attain perfection. We can only hope to get better and develop to a stage as in advanced democracies where voters’ registration is a continuous exercise such that as soon as a citizen attains the age of 18, he or she gets a notice from the electoral commission to come for capturing and card issuance.

  • Mamora: Jonathan’s playing ethnic card

    Mamora: Jonathan’s playing ethnic card

    Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora is the Deputy Director-General (Operations) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Organisation. In this interview with Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN, he speaks on the poll’s shift, preparation for the elections, APC’s chances, hate campaigns, insecurity, failed anti-graft war and the endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan for a second term by Afenifere. 

    Having toured the whole country as a member of the APC campaign committee, how would you assess the mood of the nation?

    Judging from what I personally witnessed during our campaign tour, the entire country appears ready for the change we are talking about. The enthusiasm, the excitement, the willingness and readiness with which the people have welcomed us, embraced us so far to me bear eloquent testimony to their desire for change. Everything points to the fact that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration has outlived its usefulness. The generality of the people are yearning for a new lease of life which the APC is offering.

    What is your reaction to polls shift announced by INEC?

    What is crystal clear to me is that whatever they are doing, whatever the pretences they are making, it is obvious to me that it was not borne out of genuine love for Nigerians, but for their selfishness and the desire to hold on to power. All they are interested in is to cling on to power by any means possible. Why is it now that they are pushing for polls shift? When we know from the grapevine that it is all delay tactics to frustrate Nigerians who are enthusiastic and the excitement of the people who had fixed their gaze on February 14.

    They wanted to diminish the enthusiasm of the people to vote out the PDP government. They cannot weep more than the bereaved. INEC is constitutionally empowered to determine issues pertaining to elections. It is supposed to be impartial and independent. The subterranean move by President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP was geared towards scuttling the electoral process. It was a sad reminder of the prelude to the annulment of June 12, 1993 presidential election, which started with the inglorious activities of Association for Better Nigeria (ABN) under Arthur Nzeribe. It is a de ja vu coming into play this time around.

    But, President Jonathan has denied influencing INEC in the decision to shift the polls. Do you agree?

    It was obvious from the way they went about it that President Jonathan and his campaign organisation forced the polls shift on INEC. If you look at the chronology of that perfidy; the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, had indicated that they were ready to provide the security to hold elections, but less than two weeks after, the National Security Adviser Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) went to London to ask for postponement not because of security, but the logistics associated with the distribution of Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs). Prof. Attahiru Jega responded that there was 70 per cent distribution of the voter’s cards in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe and said he will be willing to extend collection up to February 14. Few days later, the PDP came up with a demand for poll shift by six weeks. The military followed suit by saying they cannot provide security for the polls until after six weeks. INEC had no choice but to succumb to the pressure.

    The decision to ask for the postponement was not based on altruism. It was concocted to hoodwink Nigerians. It was based on compulsion and deceit to achieve their diabolical end. What the PDP has done is not just to commit fraud; they have also succeeded in raping the country and the generality of Nigerians. They are doing all this because they realise the day of reckoning is at hand. Their time is up. It is a case of a drowning man clinging to any available object to remain afloat.

    If the elections were to hold tomorrow, what are the chances of the APC?

    If the elections were to hold tomorrow, the APC will win. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and his running mate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo will win hands down. I can assure you that if the elections were free and fair, devoid of illegal use of security apparatus and the votes properly counted, the APC will be victorious. Our chances are as bright as day light. The PDP knows; that is why they are showing this level of desperation: the hate campaign, propaganda assaulting our senses and sensibilities on daily basis, particularly on electronic and print media. They are making issues out of Gen. Buhari’s certificate, his late wife and daughter. They have descended so low in their desperation to cling on to power. The hate campaign against Buhari is unprecedented in the history of electioneering campaign in this country. These are nothing but evidence of desperation. The more they attempt to denigrate him, assassinate his character or pull him down, the more his popularity soars.

    We are aware of other things they have lined up. If they have their way, they will truncate the electoral process and democracy. They are working hard, but they will fail, because the message of hope the APC is bringing to this country is unstoppable.

    Are you worried about the role the media is playing in the electoral process?

    What I expect of the media as the fourth estate of the realm is to sift the chaffs from the grains, enlighten and educate the people. I expect some adverts and documentaries should have been censored. The regulatory agencies the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) and Nigeria Press Council (NPC) seem to have abdicated their responsibilities and that is why many television stations and newspapers have thrown ethics to the wind. The NTA appears to have been in an unholy alliance or part of the conspiracy to malign Gen. Buhari in the hate campaign.

    Are you surprised that Afenifere directed the Yoruba people to vote for President Jonathan?

    It is unfortunate that the Afenifere is no longer what it used to be. It is a shadow of its old self. I can’t be bother about the directive that is coming from the Afenifere. I know that the Afenifere does not and cannot have that power to determine who the entire Yoruba people would vote for. May be I need to remind you that I as Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, between 1999 and 2003, I was Convener of the Afenifere restructuring group in 2002, when Pa Abraham Adesanya was the leader. Following the submission of our report, the inability to implement it was the beginning of the crisis in Afenifere.

    Well, the Yoruba of the younger generation have since left the old Afenifere bloc to form the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), which to all intents and purposes is more vibrant and has a better understanding of the yearnings and aspirations of the Yoruba, as encapsulated in the Yoruba agenda. No wonder the ARG has distanced and dissociated itself and condemned the directive to vote for Jonathan and the PDP.

    I am happy the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), a credible association, also distanced itself from that directive. That tells you that the Afenifere cannot in any position determine how the Yorubas should cast their votes.

    Don’t you find a contradiction in the statement of President Jonathan that his generation has failed and his quest for another term?

    It is an admission of failure. He should bow out. It was the same Jonathan who once said he would only do one term as president and that if he could not change the country in four years, it will not matter if he’s there for 100 years. If after six years, the man is seeking for re-election; it is left to Nigerians to shine their eyes. Jonathan’s administration is known for catalogues of broken promises.

    How would the APC tackle corruption if it takes over the rein of power?

    What the APC promises is that under Buhari, we will do it differently. That is part of the message of hope we bring to Nigerians. One of the important pillars of democracy is the rule of law. Enthronement of the rule of law is what we want to make possible as against the rule of impunity. There can be no progress without applying sanctions against people who breach the law. That is accountability. When people know they will be called to account, they will do the right thing. The APC will not witch-hunt. People will be answerable through due process.

    It appears Nigerians are more divided along ethnic and religious lines than they were in 2011. Do you agree?

    Never in the history of this country has it been so divided along ethnic and religious lines than under the PDP and the Jonathan Presidency. The hallmark of the PDP and Jonathan Presidential Campaign Organisation is whipping up ethnic and tribal sentiments in electioneering campaign. You will recall that Femi Fani-Kayode accused the APC leadership of being essentially Islamists when it is convenient for him to do so. The Vice President, Namadi Sambo, was quoted recently to have accused the APC of being largely Christians; that the party has established 5,000 churches. You can see the divisive game being played by the Jonathan camp. Happily, it was a Muslim northerner that replied Sambo, saying that he would not be swayed by that kind puerile argument. Nigerians have made up their minds on whom to vote for, irrespective of religion or tribe.

  • Ameobi, Anichebe on Eagles’ card

    Ameobi, Anichebe on Eagles’ card

    • Nigeria interested in taking Newcastle star to South Africa

    NEWCASTLE UNITED striker Shola Ameobi could be given a big decision to make in January after Nigeria expressed their interest in taking him to the African Cup of Nations in South Africa.

    The Magpies will already be without Cheick Tiote in January and potentially the early part of February for the tournament. And having watched Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba see their hopes ended, it looked like they were in the clear to have a clean bill of strikers at the start of 2013.

    But Nigeria head coach Stephen Keshi said Monday: “Shola is a good striker and he has a chance to be on the plane to South Africa I’ve been watching him closely and he’s got something unique. He will definitely bring something different to the attack. I have Shola and [Everton striker] Victor Anichebe in my striking plans.”