The Nation Newspaper

Tag: days

  • NNPC: The final days of a behemoth

    NNPC: The final days of a behemoth

    The national oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is currently in the eye of the storm, what with the orchestrated calls for the outright scrapping of the public corporation considered a behemoth that has remained a drainpipe on the economy thus far. In his report Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf examines the issues

    To say that the corporate existence of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is under severe threat is an understatement. Truth is, the over 38 years old corporation, which has had a rather chequered existence thus far and literally surviving on a life-support machine may well be on its way out for good if the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has its way.

    Of course, the reason for this decision may not be far to seek, chief among which borders on the growing level of malfeasance associated with the national oil company over the years by successive governments.

    But how did NNPC, established on April 1, 1977 as a merger of the Nigerian National Oil Corporation and the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel, came to this sorry past? A short anecdote will suffice.

    The unraveling of NNPC

    It is anybody’s guess why the NNPC remains the subject of public interest anytime, any day.

    Although not much was known about its methods and processes due largely to high bureaucracy, the first attempt at unraveling the corporation began few years ago when the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI had revealed that the management of NNPC ran a largely opaque organisation whose guided secret was kept by a few men in the corridors of power.

    A Pandora’s Box

    The first indication that all was not well with the NNPC was made public by the Nuhu Ribadu-led Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force in 2012.

    The Ribadu panel detailed how the Nigerian government and national oil company, NNPC, treat huge oil revenues accruing to the federation as a reserve of money that could be used for illicit purposes without accountability.

    In its 178-page report, the committee had revealed how oil money in the custody of the NNPC was spent on extra-budgetary purposes such as the acquisition of a N2.23billion chopper for the president and a purported sponsorship of the World Cup.

    The NNPC, the committed revealed, also gave out N700.5million in loan to Sao Tome & Principe based on instruction from the presidency. It also made a curious payment of N2.421billion to a foreign company, Royal Swaziland Sugar Company. The reason for the payment is unclear.

    The corporation also claimed to have underwritten a N521million expenses incurred by the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources. This is in addition to the N250million the agency told the committee it spent on court cases involving the ministry.

    The ministry has its own budgetary allocation and it is unclear why the NNPC is paying for its expenses. The nature of some of the expenses are also unclear.

    The committee also found that the NNPC was being used as illegal lender to presidential committees, ministries and parastatals. For instance the corporation claimed it incurred about N20billion on the Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Safety and Security, based on instruction from the presidency.

    The Ribadu committee also disclosed that about $1billion in signature bonuses, discrepancies in payment by the NNPC, and debts from oil companies were unaccounted for by the NNPC and the Department of Petroleum Resources.

    The allegation came weeks after the then Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido, blew a whistle on the NNPC, accusing it of diverting not less than $20billion of oil revenue.

    Expectedly, in its quest to unravel these mounting allegations, the federal government had sought a audit of the NNPC accounts but the outcome was only made public at the end of twilight of the then President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

    Naturally since his assumption of office, President Buhari, himself a former Minister of Petroleum, has met the top hierarchy of NNPC management and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to express his concern over the huge impact of crude oil theft on the country’s economy.

    NNPC’s swansong

    Apparently worried by the corruption that has bedevilled the NNPC, Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, had a fortnight ago called for the scrapping of the corporation as a panacea for putting the country’s oil sector in good stead.

    Delivering a lecture: “Nigeria and the Oil fortune” at the 2015 Wole Soyinka Centre’s Annual Media Lecture, in Abuja, El-Rufai said: “We need a mix of fresh strategic thinking and a firm commitment to reform. We need to define exactly what we want the oil industry to be and to achieve, and then define the structure that can best deliver it.”

    According to him, “An efficient and productive oil sector, able to create jobs, spur industrialisation and earn more revenues requires that we tackle the monster that the NNPC has become.

    “This country can no longer afford to maintain an NNPC that arrogantly, unlawfully and unconstitutionally spends an unhealthy proportion of national oil earnings on itself.

    “We should replace the NNPC with brand new organisations that are fit for purpose, among others, a commercialised and corporatised national oil company and new industry regulators. This new national oil company should be capitalised once and for all, and then freed to fend for itself like other national oil companies do, seeking its financing independently from the financial markets and paying due taxes and royalties.

    “The corruption and nonchalance that have hobbled the NNPC are symptoms that its best days are over. We should give it a deserved funeral so that a new institution, active and nimble, can promptly replace it. NNPC’s subsidiaries and associated companies can be reviewed, restructured and privatised or commercialised as appropriate consistent with national interest and objectives.”

    The governor noted that, “The long and short of the situation of our oil industry is best exemplified by the parallel government called the NNPC. In 2012, it sold N2.77 trillion of ‘domestic’ crude oil but paid only N1.66 trillion to the Federation Account. In 2013, it earned N2.66 trillion but paid N1.56 trillion to FAAC; in 2014, N2.64 trillion (was earned) but remitted N1.44 trillion, while between January and May 2015, it earned N733.36 billion and remitted only N473.2 billion! That means that the NNPC only remitted about 58% of the monies earned between 2012 and the first half of 2015. A company with the audacity to retain 42% of a country’s money has become a veritable parallel republic.”

    On the way forward, the governor said, “Government should review the Joint Venture strategy, with the governing principle being to shift the financing and operational risks to the markets and operators respectively. Government should avoid owing the oil companies, and should more proactively review the terms and implementation of the Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) and concentrate on collecting the royalties and taxes due to it.

    “No one is better qualified to do this than the person that birthed the NNPC through the merger of the NNOC and the Ministry of Petroleum in 1977  President Buhari himself. No one can appreciate the gap between the vision of NNPC’s founding fathers, the beautiful baby of 1977 and the 38-year-old monster it has become better than President Buhari. The NNPC of today must make Chief Sunday Awoniyi of blessed memory squirm in his grave. Something fundamentally decisive must be done to tame this monster.

    “We must have the political will to make all oil industry transactions transparent. There should be clear rules and processes for licensing, concessioning, procurement and contracting. Opaque systems tend to be corrupt, and it is time to shine the light.

    “The president has already taken the commendable step of directing that all revenues be remitted either to the Federation Account or the consolidated revenue fund as required by sections 80 and 162 of the Constitution. President Buhari is, therefore, clear that oil industry revenues will no longer be treated as some slush fund of the Federal Government.

    “It is the national consensus that we arrive at regarding the oil sector that we can finally codify in a new petroleum act, which should be a simply worded, concise piece of legislation that spells out the general governing principles for the industry. Specific matters can then be based on subsidiary legislation, regulations and agreements. Complex and densely worded laws conduce to opacity and should therefore be avoided.”

    Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Hajiya Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, had last Wednesday handed over the dossier on the sharp practices in the Corporation to El-Rufai at the Government House in Kaduna.

    El-Rufai is one of the four governors appointed by National Economic Council (NEC) to investigate the management of the accounts of the NNPC and the Excess Crude Account (ECA) by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The committee of four has a mandate to unravel the whereabouts of the N3.8 trillion not remitted to the Federation Account by the NNPC between 2012 and May  as well as the $2.1bn said to have been deducted from the ECA without proper authorisation by the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC).

    In her presentation on how billions of dollars of oil revenue not remitted to the Federation Account by the NNPC, the NEITI chief said about 160 million barrels of oil, valued at $13.7 billion, were stolen between 2009 and 2012.

    Calling on the Federal Government to privatise the nation’s refineries, Hajiya Ahmed said there was no proof that the $11.631 billion subsidy payment captured from 2005  2012, was remitted into the Federation Account by the Corporation.

    Hajiya Ahmed said: “Crude product swap of $866m was lost from 2009 to 2011 and $82.43m in 2012. Total amount expended on subsidy payment from 2005 to 2012 as captured, $11.631m have been paid to the NNPC. However, there is no evidence this amount was remitted to the Federation Account.”

    Divergent views

    Expectedly, the El-Rufai’s argument for the scrapping of the NNPC did not resonate with a lot of people.

    Specifically, oil workers, under the umbrella of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), said it was clearly opposed to the scrapping of the corporation.

    Speaking on behalf of the group, its scribe, PENGASSAN, Lumumba Okugbawa, said that instead of “kill the NNPC,” the body should be insulated from undue political interference that often distract it.

    Okugbawa noted that corruption issue in the NNPC mentioned by El-Rufai is a problem hindering Nigeria’s growth and development in the oil and gas sector as a whole, adding, that the gov­ernment should deal with the corruption in the system but not to ‘throw away the baby with the bath water.’

    He said that NNPC, cre­ated by an Act of Parliament in 1977 and made up of the holding office, subsidiaries and service units, had been subjected to undue political interference, which hinders its autonomy for effective running and competitiveness in the past six years, noting that, that should not be a yardstick for the scrapping of the corporation as demanded by the governor.

    He said, “If you look at the NNPC as it is today, it has been politicised, with most of its decisions and operations being influenced with political motives and at times, executive fiat. The corporation is so much tied to the apron of the political office holders but not the technocrats that are at the helm of its affairs,” PENGASSAN said.

    Some of the areas of interference listed by Okugbawa include; appointment and removal of the Group Managing Director (GMD), Group Executive Directors (GED) and Managing Directors of NNPC subsidiaries at the whims and caprices of the President, and limited financial autonomy for its operations.

    The unionist said, “NNPC should be a national oil corporation that can compete globally like Saudi Aramco of Saudi Arabia, Petronas of Malaysia, Petrobras of Brazil and Statoil of Norway, among others, given the opportunities and market potentials.

    “If we take a look at NNPC contemporaries in the world, such as Saudi Aramco, Petrobras, Petronas and Statoil, we will notice that their holding governments give those companies freedom to grow and expansion of the companies to the great benefits of the citizenry and their respective governments.

    “Operations and administration of NNPC comes under several masters and conflicting instructions, some of which defy the national objectives and aspirations for setting up the national oil corporation and its subsidiaries,” the union argued.

    Other stakeholders in the petroleum industry admonished the Buhari administration to ensure continued existence of the NNPC, just as they canvassed structural reform for the oil giant.

    In a statement signed by the Centre for Petroleum Information (CPI) in Lagos, it said NNPC holds great prospects for development of the nation’s oil sector.

    The forum’s Chairman, Chamberlain Oyibo, and the Executive Director of CPI, Victor Eromosele, who spoke at a public forum, said “Nigeria will always need a national oil company, by whatever name, to achieve desired goals of the government for the oil industry.”

    While making a case for the diversification of NNPC, Oyibo said other national oil companies like Statoil of Norway, operate on higher profile by engaging in activities in 25 countries, while Petronas of Malaysia operates in 34 countries, but NNPC operating only in one country (Nigeria).

    According to the CPI, for NNPC to operate as a commercial entity and run like other national oil companies as an accountable, commercial entity,  it must be given the freedom to operate and without the undue constraint imposed by remote influence. “NNPC can be efficient and can create substantial value, currently lost.”

    According to the forum, if the dearth in investment in recent years in Nigeria’s petroleum industry, reflected in declining production and static hydrocarbon reserves, is to be reversed, some form of industry-wide restructuring is imperative.

    High turnover of GMDs

    Besides government interference, it is instructive to note that between 2009 and now, there have been five GMDs for NNPC, namely, Dr. Moham­med Barkindo (2009-2010); the late Alhaji Shehu Ladan (April-May 2010); Austen Oniwon (2010-2012); Andrew Yakubu (2012-2014) and Dr. Joseph Dawha (Aug 2014 till date).”

    Commenting on the turnover of CEOs, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, former Minister of State for Petroleum, disclosed that Nigeria’s petroleum policies have always been incoherent, due to the constant change of key officials, in the NNPC and the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR.

    According to him, this instability brought about by the constant changes of key officials is not a recipe for coherent policy making.

    He said, “Petroleum policy is not always entirely coherent due in part to the frequent change of important officials. Since NNPC was created 38 years ago, we have had 16 Group Managing Directors (GMD). In 30 years, from 1977 to 2007, there were nine, average of one every three years.”

    In the view of Chief Amakiri Mike, a public affairs commentator, although the Buhari-led government had not publicly announced the decision to scrap the NNPC, the possibilities exists.

    According to him: “Given the fact that NNPC became the poster boy of anything goes, it is just as well that a structural change is effected on that agency.”

    “I heard a statement by El-Rufai that it is only in Nigeria that one company can bankrupt a whole nation. That’s NNPC. And if that’s the truth, then it means Nigeria has a big problem. So there must be a major overhaul of that body. We cannot continue to condone a situation where a few individuals will continue to hold the rest of over 170 million Nigerians to ransom,” Amakiri said.

    NNPC, he observed, “should be in the level of companies like Petrobras or Petrolas. That was the concept of NNPC. How can a corporation alone spend more than the national budget? Something is definitely wrong somewhere. But we thank God that we have a president who has come on board who is so diligent and incorruptible and his intention is to clean up the mess created by the culture of corruption and we as Nigerians need to give him our total support to help him achieve that goal.”

    As the argument for the scrapping of the good old NNPC goes back and forth, the public waits in bathed breathe what the final decision of the Buhari-led administration would be. NNPC to be or not to be, that is the question.

  • Better days back for teachers?

    Better days back for teachers?

    Nigerian Breweries PLC appears to have rekindled the hope of many teachers, with its N50 million social marketing investment through Maltina Teacher of the Year Award. But how far can it go in promoting excellence in the educational sector, knowing that Cadbury-Schweppes stopped its cause-marketing investment on Bournvita Teachers’ Awards, which it started in 2002? ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI writes.

    The new corporate social investment by Nigerian Breweries Plc, for the promotion of excellence among teachers, is long overdue. The last of such social marketing investment was by Cadbury-Schweppes, which, for over six years, sponored the Bournvita Teachers Award.

    The Cadbury, which perhaps Nigerian Breweries is taking a cue from, rewarded many teachers with training abroad, among other prizes, hence, sparking the spirit of competition among teachers across the country. But since the beverage giant suspended the social marketing investment, many teachers wondered why the multinational brand had to stop what marketing experts had described as a case study in the marketing communication industry.

    While Cadbury-Schweppes established the Bournvita Teachers’ Awards in 2002, to promote and celebrate excellence in teaching, award-winning teachers received computer, cash prizes, Cadbury products, and an award certificate, among other, motivational materials, to enhance the chain reaction of such excellence on pupils and students.

    The awards received great acclaim from teachers while it lasted. With positive media reviews and endorsement, the corporate social investment, no doubt, enhanced the brand reputation of Cadbury and also deepened its penetration among teachers who are influencers in the chain of consumer decision process.

    However, since the programme was suspended without any reason from the sponsor of the project, no brand thought of investing their marketing fund on such cause; perhaps, as a result of the huge investment and efforts in enhance a 360 degree marketing campaign for the cause.

    ”Such project requires so much marketing budget and the effort that goes into enhancing participation across the federation is huge,” a Public Relations expert, who worked with Freddie Scot & Associates, the PR agency that managed the campaign, told The Nation.

    However, a new brand in the beverage sector and a top marketing spender, Nigerian Breweries, has announced plans to splash over N50 million corporate social investments on teachers, in a renewed effort to promote excellence among teachers. Using one of its premium Ready-To-Drink (RTD) brand, Maltina, as the platform to deepen the campaign across 36 states, where the Maltina brand is an household name, the initiative, called “The Maltina Teacher-of-the-Year,” is being funded under the Nigerian Breweries-Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund.

    Established as non-for-profit organisation in 1994, foundation through its pool of social marketing funds has driven some of NB’s corporate social responsibility projects in other sectors for sometime but now finds its appalling that the educational sector is in a dire state, hence taken a step further to assist government in alleviating the problems in the sector by instituting “Maltina Teacher-of-the-Year Award” initiative.

    Ohiwerei is the first indigenous Chairman of the leading beverage conglomerate which has been operating in the country since 1946. The Trust Fund started operation with a seed capital of N100 million, to contribute to the development of educational sector in the country. Over the years, the company has used the fund to assist over 20,000 students, built 250 classrooms and 22 libraries in both primary and secondary schools across 49 communities in the country.

    Speaking to reporters in Lagos, the Corporate Affairs Adviser of NB, Mr. Kufre Ekanem, said from the social investment, CSR project estimated at N50million as prizes and incentives yearly to reward innovation, commitment and diligence to duty by outstanding teachers across the country. He added that the award which, the Nigerian Breweries-Felix Ohiwerei Education Trust Fund is sponsoring on the platform of his company’s premium ready-to-drink (RTD) malt drink brand, Maltina is aimed at restoring the pride of teachers and the dignity of the teaching profession.

    Ekanem stated further that the Maltina Teacher-of-the-Year Award initiative is designed to recognie, celebrate and motivate teachers in Nigeria, with a first year focus on secondary schools. “We hope that through this initiative, we can inspire this nation to accord our teachers their deserved credit and bring back respect to the teaching profession in Nigeria,” Ekanem said, adding that the objective of the award is to create an avenue where exceptional teachers will be showcased and rewarded yearly and continuously.

    He explained how the Maltina Teacher-of-the-Year Award project will be executed, the qualification for entry requirements, and a little expose on judging criteria. According to him, collection of application forms has since opened on Wednesday, May 20, 2015 when NB kicked off the project.

    He disclosed further that collection and submission of entry forms for the award will last till Tuesday, June 30, 2015. He said hard copies of entry forms for the award can be obtained from designated collection and submission points as contained in the Maltina Teacher-of-the-Year Award initiative’s flyers, posters and other below-the-line (BTL) advertising materials being circulated across the country. For those who are unable to lay their hands on the hard copies, he advised such interested teachers to download the application forms from the Maltina website, www.maltina-nigeria.com, complete the application and upload to the site or return a printed copy of a completed entry form and submit them via the company’s post office mail box.

    Ekanem affirmed that all applications will be subjected to an intense selection and judging process by an external and independent panel of judges which has been constituted to ensure transparency, credibility and objectivity of the exercise. The five-step evaluation process of the entries received, he noted, will result in 37 state and FCT champions, from among which 37 state champions will emerge from which the Maltina Teacher- of- the- Year will emerge.

    The state champions and national winners will be celebrated at a grand ceremony on Monday, October 5, this year, a day set aside by the United Nations to mark the World Teachers Day.

    According to Ekanem, while first runners up and winners state levels will be rewarded with N500,000 and N750,000, 10 winners from the states who will be shortlisted for the grand finale will also get addition N750,000 each for advancing to the final stage.

    The national winner (who emerged the Maltina Teacher-of-the-Year Award) will get N1 million while another N1 million will be paid into his/her account yearly for five years. The Teacher of the Year will also be sent abroad for training.

    The first runner-up will take home N1 million, while the second runner-up gets N750, 000.  Winners from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) will be given N500,000 each. The school that produces the national winner will also become a beneficiary of infrastructural development projects.

    The award has generated an unprecedented interest from teachers across the country. Reports from collation centres across the country indicate that hundreds of secondary school teachers are enthusiastically submitting entries for the coveted award.

    The CSR/Sustainability Manager, NB, Emete Tonukari, said the social investment is aimed at promoting excellence in the sector.

    Beyond the investment on teachers, the yearly teachers’award is expected to also leverage Maltina brand exposure, especially with the  endorsement it received from the Federal Ministry of Education.

    Speaking during the visit of Nigerian Breweries Plc’s management team to the Ministry in Abuja recently, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry,  Dr. MacJohn Nwaobiala said the Ministry is happy with NB for initiating such social marketing project.

    “We commend Nigerian Breweries for introducing Maltina Teacher of Year, a reward programme that seeks to recognise, reward and train teachers. It is our hope that this effort by Nigerian Breweries will encourage other corporate organisations to identify and support the Ministry’s programmes geared towards development of the education sector in Nigeria,” he said.

    Nwaobiala, who welcomed the Nigerian Breweries Management team led by Ekanem to the Ministry as part of sensitisation for the Maltina Teacher of the Year project, added: “The Maltina Teacher of the Year programme because it aligns perfectly with our vision to bring back the glory days when teaching was a respectable profession and people took pride in teaching. We all must join hands to bring dignity and prestige to teachers if we want to see improvement in our education system.”

    He pledged the Ministry’s support to ensure the success of the programme. He called on teachers nationwide to take advantage of the Maltina Teacher of Year to improve their career.

    While the aim of the project is understandable, experts believe Maltina, a premium brand from the staple of Nigerian Breweries will enjoy massive exposure for as long as the brewer sustains the project.

  • Aaron Samuel out for 10 days

    Aaron Samuel out for 10 days

    Guangzhou R&F striker Aaron Samuel has hinted that he will not be fit for his club’s next game in the Chinese Super League (CSL) against  Chongqing Lifan.

    The 21 – year – old had to make way for Watford attacker Odion Ighalo in the second half of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Chad on Saturday, and there had been suggestions that he had torn his muscle.

    When quizzed on his condition, Aaron Samuel told allnigeriasoccer.com on Sunday morning : “It is nothing serious, it’s just a cramp. I hope to resume training in the next 10 days.”

    So far this season, the ex-Dolphins of Port Harcourt starlet has featured in 8 CSL games, scoring twice .

  • Buhari’s first 100 days in office

    Buhari’s first 100 days in office

    SIR: It is a tradition that leaders of countries from around the world do celebrate their first 100 days in office. The first 100 days of a new leader of a country is crucial and determines how his administration will be. In Nigeria, the first 100 days of Mohamadu Buhari, if elected, will be celebrated by Nigerians.

    In my opinion, the following will likely be among the first major effects of Buhari’s first 100 days in office.First, after his swearing-in on may 29 if he emerged victorious in the March 28 election, petroleum, kerosene and other oil products will stabilise and be abundant in the market. This is because the scarcity of the products is deliberate and unnecessary. Also, filing station owners will be afraid to close their stations for no reason as they are aware that Buhari was once a petroleum minister and he is well conversant with the nature of the market.

    Secondly, general availability of products and service will manifest in his first 100 days. From network services, power providers, civil service, marketers and retailers etc, God willing, everything will start to be doing well as they all fear Buhari because of his anti-corruption stand.

    Thirdly, there will be relative currency stability, security and discipline. This is due to the fact that, most of the corrupt government officials and business tycoons will run into exile or quickly jettison their corrupt practices. Corruption is directly related to security. Most of the money budgeted for security in Nigeria is mis-used by corrupt government officials. Of course, the naira will stabilise against the Dollar relatively.

    Fourthly, respect for the office of the President, other official government positions and confidence in governance will greatly increase. This is because Buhari is courageous and will not tolerate controversy and corruption.

    Lastly, Nigeria’s image and the respect for Nigerians will be redeemed. The world will respect Nigeria because it has good leaders voted in by the people. The world will respect Nigerians for their maturity, peaceful and legal change of a corrupt government. That will be in the first 100 days.

    That will not be the only thing to happen God willing. Among some other things to happen are: There will be no office of the first lady, no extravagant spendings in Aso Villa; unity and trust among Nigerians will start to increase, and there will be no claim and counter claim by different government officials and agencies. I can’t wait to see Nigeria change.

     

    • Comrade Abdulbaqi Aliyu Jari,

    jariabdubaqi@gmail.com

  • Emerhor promises N10b jobs fund in 100 days

    Emerhor promises N10b jobs fund in 100 days

    •‘APC is the only alternative party for state’

    Delta State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate Olorogun O’tega Emerhor has said he will establish a N10 billion empowerment fund for youths, if elected in the February 28 election.

    Emerhor also said his administration would provide over one million jobs for the teeming unemployed youths and women in the first four years of his tenure.

    The APC candidate spoke at the weekend at his campaign rallies in Uvwie, Warri South and Warri South-West local government areas.

    He said the party was the only alternative that would deliver Delta State from years of misrule under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Emerhor urged youths, women and the elderly to get their permanent voter cards (PVCs) to enable them vote for the APC in all the elections.

    The APC candidate said the party had better programmes to improve the people’s lives.

    He said: “APC is the alternative party. Nigerians want Gen. Buhari. Or else, ask why the government of the day is asking for the postponement of the elections.

    “I have been in the private sector. We know how to use money. In four years, we must take out a minimum of one million youths and women from the labour market. We will set aside N10 billion for empowerment fund to start our youths and women financially within my first 100 days in office. We intend to set up social security for the elderly.

    “How do we turn this underdevelopment? Your PVC is your power. Go, vote and protect your votes. Wait and make sure your votes are counted.”

    Delta State APC Chairman Jones Erue said Emerhor was an ‘A’ list professional in his career.

    The chairman assured the party’s supporters that hewould give “first-class government leadership to Delta”.

  • NFF TO TECHNICAL COMMITTEE: Seal Keshi’s deal in 7 days

    NFF TO TECHNICAL COMMITTEE: Seal Keshi’s deal in 7 days

    • An Emergency Congress slated for Thursday, 31st July

    THE Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has instructed its technical committee to seal a deal with Super Eagles chief coach, Stephen Keshi, for another four years in the next seven days and report their findings to the executive committee at an unspecified date.

    The executive committee members stated categorically that they were still interested in retaining Keshi’s services for the Super Eagles, stressing that: “The Executive Committee mandated the Technical Sub-Committee to open channels of communication with Mr. Stephen Keshi with a view to extending his contract, as the NFF is still interested in working with him. The Technical Sub-Committee is to report back to the Executive Committee within ONE WEEK.”

    The executive body revealed further that subsequent financial dealings with Super Eagles’ players and coaches must be done before the commencement of such international competitions to avert the show-of-shame that dogged Nigeria’s participation at the Brazil 2014 World Cup competition, where Nigeria was eliminated by France 2-0 in the Round of 16.

    “Henceforth, all financial issues with players and officials must be thoroughly deliberated upon and agreed ahead of major matches and competitions, to avoid the kind of embarrassment brought upon the nation at the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals in Brazil, when players boycotted training sessions before the Round of 16 match with France.”

    “An Emergency Congress of the Nigeria Football Federation will be convened in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja on Thursday, 31st July, 2014 to ratify the impeachment of Alhaji Aminu Maigari from the NFF Executive Committee.”

    The Executive Committee commended world football–governing body, FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for their keen interest in the development of Nigerian football and pledged that the country will continue to abide by the dictates of FIFA and CAF Statutes and FIFA–approved NFF Statutes.

    “The Executive Committee thanked Nigerians from far and near for their patience and understanding during the crisis period and reiterated that concerted efforts that are geared towards the development of football in Nigeria, are on.

    It remains to be seen if the NFF executive body will be in office when the decisions raised in the comunique are taken with a few days to the NFF’s elections, where a majority of those at Thursday’s meeting would be shocked at the polls.

  • Heartland declare three days of mourning for the late Eke

    Heartland FC of Owerri are mourning the death of their former defence ace, Godwin ‘Goddy’ Eke, and have declared a three-day mourning period in his honour.

    Eke was confirmed dead by the Aladinma Hospital in Owerri on Tuesday after a sudden illness.

    He was a key member of the club between 1984 and 1992 when it was known as Iwuanyanwu Nationale Football Club.

    Heartland General Manager Prince Okechukwu Ibe, while bemoaning the sad news of the former player’s demise, said Eke belonged to a proud and golden era when Iwuanyanwu Nationale straddled the African continent, bearing the football dreams and aspirations of our nation.

    “We are indeed saddened by the news of Goddy Eke’s demise, more especially when it happened very suddenly. Goddy was a great footballer, a genius at work when it came to defense roles, when he played in Heartland – known then as Iwuanyanwu Nationale.

    “He served with diligence and dedication and it was from here that he played himself by merit into the Flying Eagles and later, Super Eagles,” Prince Ibe said.

    “On behalf of the management and staff of Heartland FC, I condole with the family especially his lovely wife and children.

    “On our part because of what he represents for the club and the entire football community here, we offer three special days of mourning as we pray to God to accept his gentle soul.”

    Eke was in the Iwuanyanwu Nationale team that won the Nigeria Division One and Professional League titles five times, two FA cups in 1988 and 1989, African Champions League Finalist in 1988, and also represented Nigeria at the Pre-Seoul Oympic Tournament In 1988.

    After his exit from the club in 1994, Eke went into coaching and rose to the position of Zonal Sports Officer with the Imo State Sports Council.

  • Onazi resumes training in 20 days

    Onazi resumes training in 20 days

    Reports suggesting that Super Eagles’ captain, Ogenyi Onazi will resume full training with Lazio next weekend are incorrect, Team Doctor of the Biancocelesti, Stefano Salvatori, has told Italian media.

    The Nigeria international sprained his ankle in the second round World Cup fixture against France last Monday, and will have to spend one month on the sidelines, starting from the date he sustained the injury, June 30.

    “Onazi? News was spread that he had a fracture. I have had the opportunity to hear from him almost immediately, to confirm this news.

    “The information was not logical. Fortunately that has been cleared; he is now in Nigeria and is doing physiotherapy,” Stefano Salvatori told Lazio Style Radio 100.7.

    He continued: “Recovery times that Eddy has given me are short, but I think he has a very optimistic view. There was a problem, maybe it will not be two weeks, but a little bit more.

    “He will be back in Rome next week, we’ll see him as soon as possible. It made me realize that FIFA and the Nigerian Federation are concerned to ensure that all expenses related to the injury are covered.”

    21-year-old Eddy Onazi has spent the last three and a half years with Lazio, first turning out for the youth team before he was promoted to the main team and offered a professional contract around this time two years ago.

    He still has a contract running with the capital outfit until June 30, 2016, despite reports linking him with teams in England.

     

  • The next ten days

    At the beginning of this sacred month, 11 days ago, an analysis was done in this column classifying the 30 days of Ramadan into three segments. The first segment was said to contain the first ten days during which the blessings of Allah come to the faithful Muslims freely and in abundance. Except for meeting that segment with faith and good intention, there is no special spiritual duty qualifying one for rewards therein. That segment ended yesterday paving way for the second segment that begins today.

    As from today, fasting Muslims, all over the world, will start working for the master key to Paradise (Al-Jannah) through forgiveness. That is the essence of this second segment of the month of Ramadan. During this period, Muslims are expected to intensify worship (Ibadah) by spending their days and nights seeking Allah’s forgiveness and by chanting glorification (Tasbih), gratitude (Tahmid), forgiveness (Istigfar) and testimony to the oneness of Allah (Tahlil). But despite all these, such forgiveness is neither automatic nor absolute free. Some conditions are usually attached to it.

    One of such conditions is that one must admit his misdeeds and repent on them. The second is that he should voluntarily and genuinely seek forgiveness and the third is to resolve never to return to such misdeeds again. To seek Allah’s forgiveness during that time, a Muslim should follow the counsel of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) on prayers. The Prophet was reported to have said that “if you want to speak with Allah, make your request while prostrating. And if you want Allah to speak with you recite the Qur’an”.

    No one who abides by the above conditions and follows the Prophet’s counsel on the methodology of praying will ever be disappointed. Allah is both a promising and fulfilling God. He never reneges on His promise. In Qur’an 2:186, He promises thus: “…And when my servants ask you (Prophet Muhammad) about me, tell them that I am closer to them than their jugular vein. I answer the prayers of whoever seeks my favour if he prays to me (without any intermediary). So, let them expect my favourable response and trust in my ability to grant such favours so that they may be rightly guided”

    The second ten days of Ramadan are not just to consolidate on the blessings of the first ten days they are also to prepare the fasting Muslims for the last ten days when they are expected to be fully emancipated from the evil machinations of Satanic. Those ten days are like a candle which no wise person will ever allow to burn out without utilizing it.

  • Days of Lazarus

    Days of Lazarus

    On Sunday, I read the story of Lazarus and the rich man, and wondered why no one has observed it as a parable on Nigeria. Mind you, the Bible refers to two Lazaruses. One of them died and enjoyed the gift of resurrection from the Trojan spirit of the Christ. The other was the man of sores and crumbs who was transported to the bliss of Abraham’s bosom. The first was reported as a true story in the scriptures, the other of the ulcerous sore was a parable from the Lord himself.

    Nigeria is the Lazarus of the parable. I daresay that the rich man in the story is also Nigeria, a Nigeria of oil whose table abounds with the aroma and sights of the choicest delicacies. The rich man also is like the rich among us, dressed in glamour outfits, with the top brands on earth, carted in excess luggage in first class in some of the tony airlines that bustle through the clouds.

    Their gates are high and impregnable portals. But the rich man is Nigeria with lots of jewelry and bluster and contempt and palaces here and there. Their mansions compare in frills and ostentation with the marble redoubts of upscale neighbourhoods anywhere.

    Lazarus is a mere beggar and remains at the gate. When the flamboyant rich man has finished his meal, the crumbs drop on the beggar’s hands, the Lazarus, who represents the majority of Nigerians. He is the metaphor of the abject underclass of the day. He waits for the rich to take the most of the oil wealth. After that, he settles for the crumbs of federal allocations, of oil subsidy windfalls, of contracts awarded but not executed, of excess crude largesse, church and mosque offerings and tithes, of salaries not paid because they were tucked aside in the bank to generate interests for months.

    The crumbs cannot pay school fees, house rents, food or pay for minimal medical fees. They are the real Nigerians. The Lazarus and the rich man story says that we live in a society of great social chasm. When Lazarus died, he goes to Abraham’s bosom, which some bible scholars call heaven, but they have no evidence of that because Christ said no one had ascended into heaven before he came on earth. So I see it as a fantasy for Lazarus. Lazarus goes to a better place, while the rich man goes to hell burning with fire.

    I see the story of Lazarus going to hell to mean the consequence of the mismanagement of resources in this country. Nigeria, as it is, stands as a dead wasteland like the first Lazarus, who died and waited for the benignity of Christ’s miracle. The rich man had all the abundance but the riches are of no benefit for the poor. They keep him hungry, and his legs are full of sores and dogs lick the sores for nourishment.

    The rich in Nigeria do nothing for the poor among us. How many Nigerians with their fabled wealth have endowments for the poor in universities or scholarships for the indigent in primary and secondary schools? How many donate equipment to hospitals or adopt wards or devote money for specific disability care in this country? All we see is the obsession with the top brands peddled in Manhattan or London or Paris.

    That is the story of the rich man. But if, eventually, the rich man went to hell, why did Lazarus go to a better place in Abraham’s bosom? Was poverty, therefore, a good thing? I see it differently. The death that takes place is the revolution. The death was the end of the order of things that created the class chasm between the all-powerful, well-heeled rich man and the Lazarus who is the wretched of the earth. When the revolution came, the rich man cried to Abraham, who was the revolutionary, and begged for a drop of water from Lazarus who was in the lap of luxury. But he was denied. The illusion was that the rich man thought he did Lazarus a favour by giving him crumbs.

    That is also the tragedy in Nigerian society today. We have millions who slave but their employers think they work. They merely survive. They toil to justify their pride. If you work merely to live another day, then you are no better than the Lazarus of the pestiferous sores.

    The Lazarus of the real story is Nigeria of today awaiting resurrection. As a nation of the 1950’s and 1960’s, we were a half-made, half-born society. From the 1970’s, we retreated to a coma, and later died since the 1980’s. We are looking for a miracle like Lazarus.

    But Lazarus the dead cannot become Lazarus of the Abraham’s bosom without a pursuit of justice, or a revolution, or without an Abraham. Abraham, for the purpose of this essay, implies a revolutionary leader. The half-born society of the 1960’s was full of promise. At that time, we beat Indonesia, Australia, India, South Korea and Brazil in many indices. We did not have the epaulet of the rich man of the parable: oil. We had groundnuts, palm produce, cocoa, enough to usher in an era of prosperity. That society died when oil came.

    The rich man was a metaphor for deadness because it was an embarrassment of riches. In those years, Nigerian ruler General Yakubu Gowon said the problem with Nigeria was not how to make money but how to spend it. Our state has never known the value of money. That is why the Secretary to the Government of the Federation is trying to galvanise money in the name of a phony centenary glee to build a gate, a city like Dubai, roads, schools, etc. The Government announced this as though we just started the project Nigeria, and we had never needed to renew our cities, build roads, and schools and other nonsensical projects to fritter away the wealth that belongs to our Lazaruses.

    All the countries that were behind us have had their Lazarus moments. They went through years of miracle while we slept. Governor Kayode Fayemi, the enlightened governor of Ekiti State, engaged this theme in a recent lecture on rebranding, and demonstrated how some of these countries have overcome their anomies. They did that through vision and industry, through the work of a dedicated citizenry inspired by the example and tenets of thinking elite. India is a high-tech miracle, China is on the verge of topping America as the world’s biggest economy, Brazil jolted a generation of about 30 million people out of poverty, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore were labeled Asian tigers. Even next-door neighbour Ghana, which once poured its refugees into our bosom, now educates a generation of our children.

    As Governor Fayemi noted, these are not perfect societies. India reels from sectarian woes and ineffable poverty. China is entangled in democratic barbarities. Japan still snorts with cultural drawbacks in the work place in spite of its world-class brands. Class chasms still dog Brazil and terror pangs rankle Indonesia.

    Lazarus the dead will not become Lazarus of Abraham unless we address the challenges of waste and inequality among us.

    Revolution will not come when we celebrate these rich men and see our sores and crumbs as gestures of divine kindness on which we celebrate our tithes in churches and zakat in mosques. Meanwhile, the pastors, soldiers, businessmen and politicians mock us with crumbs like the rich man.