The Nation Newspaper

Tag: President

  • ADVAN gets president

    •Okeme: ‘we’ll make Nigeria the centre of gravity in advertising

    The Brand Building Director, Unilever, David Okeme, has been elected president of Advertisers’ Association of Nigeria (ADVAN).

    He defeated the Executive Director (Commercial) of Promasidor Nigeria, Onyekachi Onubogu, with a slim margin.

    With the new election, a new set of executives has been elected to take over from the immediate past President, Kola Oyeyemi.

    Others, who also make up the new executive committee include Joan Ihekwaba, General Manager (GM) Marketing UACN Foods as first Vice President; Bimbo Alabi, Marketing Manager SoKlin as second Vice-President;  Bukunola Ogunnusi, PR & Advert Manager,  Toyota Nigeria as Treasurer; Samson Oloche, Marketing Manager (non-alcoholic drinks) NB Plc as Publicity Secretary, while the three Ex-offcios are Toruka Osandukwo Head, Communications UBA; Osamede Uwubamen, Head of Corporate and Investment,  Marketing and communication –Stanbic IBTC and Ibraheem Awelenje, Category Manager Breakfast Cereals and Ediri Ose-Ediale remains the GM/Executive Secretary of the association.

    Speaking with reporters after the yearly general meeting of the association, Okeme said his administration would focus on ensuring that the country becomes the centre of attraction as far as advertising is concerned.

    He said: “In terms of focus, I think the exco will shift the focus a bit and that shift will be moving from being a pressure group to an enabler of growth in the industry. There is a Nigeria market agenda that we have and we are going to leverage on it.”

    He said further: “Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa and when you talk about advertising platform, people tend to go south of the continent but this EXCO will work to make Nigeria the centre of gravity in advertising. These are real big ambitions and we will mobilise our partners to make this happen.”

    Okeme lamented that about $1 million is spent yearly on advertising, adding: “It is a very big investment but if you look at the kind of returns that we get, it shows that growth among our members is between zero and five per cent.’’

    According to him, with the high level of investment that goes into advertising, it was unfortunate that advertisers were not getting the desired returns promising that the association was ready to collaborate and deploy all that is necessary to ensure clients get the desired leverage.

    He said: “So, one of the things that ADVAN we look into is how to leverage on the industry such that we can build greater efficiency in terms of advertising returns,”

  • FIFA: OUK for president; ha, ha, ha!

    Hardball should have aptly tagged this piece: “The great Nigerian hustle”. But true to be told, it is not a Hardball original. It is a timeless line lifted from Time magazine. It was way back in 1994 in an edition reviewing the USA ’94 World Cup tournament.

    Time had spotlighted football super-powers – Brazil, Argentina, Italy, among others. In highlighting Nigeria the reigning African champions, the journal described the Super Eagles’ quest for the World trophy in that memorable but unflattering line, “The great Nigerian hustle.”

    Scalding as that line was, you couldn’t fault it. Then as it has remained now (save for few months of sanity), Nigeria’s football, especially its administration, was one great hustle. It was a game of chance, hit or miss. It was devoid of much thought. Players were like wild berries which were dispersed around the world by some ‘explosive mechanism’. At the advent of every tournament, they were gathered, not unlike wild fruits and assembled for contest.

    More troubling, however, to the likes of Time magazine was that Nigeria would hope to win tournaments against teams and countries which had prepared methodically.

    This immortal line comes to mind again as a result of the current clamour by some acolytes of Chief Orji Uzor Kalu (OUK) for him to join the race for the presidency of the world soccer ruling body – FIFA. OUK was a two-term governor of Abia State, a contractor, businessman and football enthusiast.

    But most remarkably, OUK represents the quintessence of “the great Nigerian hustle”.  We speak of that devil-may-care derring-do; that knack to seek to get results anyhow; that desultory, immethodical mode to seek to solve algebraic problems by bypassing equations and formulas.

    How else would one assess the ongoing noisy insistence on OUK vying for FIFA presidency if not an enactment of the good old hustle? FIFA and its current president, Mr. Sepp Blatter, is currently wracked by serious allegations of fraudulent activities. The world body is going through a phase of self-cleansing; the great football house is attempting a rebirth. How then does OUK come into this picture if not to woo opprobrium upon Nigeria?

    Is OUK remotely qualified for this job? Not by any chance. As governor of a wretched state in Nigeria, he shoveled state funds into running a football club (Enyimba FC of Aba) with the sole aim of garnering cheap popularity and massaging an excessively large ego.

    Thus this man spent millions of dollars over eight years to bankroll a football club in a state that lacked basic sporting facilities; a state that lacked basic existential amenities; that was scourged by poverty. He would misplace priorities by committing scarce funds to playing football for eight years.

    Today, some fellas are taking a disgraceful Nigerian joke all the way to the world stage in Switzerland. An awkward league of supporters including former President Ibrahim Babangida, octogenarian politician, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi, tarred CAF executive, Amos Adamu, former footballer, John Fashanu and sports promoter, Felix Awogu.

    Taking the joke even farther, one impetuous supporter said he is the “crazy outsider” FIFA needs. Well, before any ‘crazy’ move is made, let it not be neglected that OUK has a small issue with the anti-graft agency, EFCC. FIFA won’t need that now.

  • Godwin Saviour wins over Oostende president

    Godwin Saviour wins over Oostende president

    Nigeria U-23 star, Godwin Saviour has already won the heart of the millionaire president of KV Oostende Marc Coucke, who described him as “a gentleman and sportsman”.

    KV Oostende staged a massive transfer coup when they won the race for Saviour’s signature ahead of bigger Belgian clubs Anderlecht, Club Brugge and Gent.

    The majority shareholder of KVO Coucke hosted Saviour and his agent, Bertram Ekenwa, to a special lunch at his castle along with his family.

    He praised the agent for the professional manner the transfer transactions came through.

    On his personal Twitter handle, the club boss welcomed the Nigeria star, describing him as a gentleman and a sportsman.

    And the following day, Coucke sat beside Ekenwa to watch Saviour feature in a friendly game for the KVO second team.

    Coincidentally, Saturday was Saviour’s 19th birthday and he played the entire duration of the game, which the KVO second team lost 4-0 to second division Roeselare.

    “I am excited to be here and playing with my teammates was great, though we lost the game. I am very happy to debut, the people around me at the club, the players, coaches and officials are good. They give me hope and confidence,” remarked Saviour after the game.

    “I promise to give my best to the team to get to the top.”

    The youth international said he looks forward to meeting up with fellow Nigerian Joseph Akpala.

    “I have never met him, I watched him play. He is my big brother from Nigeria and happy to have him as my team mate,” he said.

  • President appoints Fowler as FIRS chief executive

    President appoints Fowler as FIRS chief executive

    •Gusau is DG Budget Office

    President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday appointed Dr. Williams Babatunde Fowler as the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

    This was announced in a statement issued by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.

    Fowler will serve as Acting Executive Chairman until his appointment is confirmed by the Senate.

    Before his appointment, Dr. Fowler was the Chief Executive Officer/Executive Chairman of the Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue from 2005 to 2014.

    The statement reads: “He had his higher education in the United States where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Economics  from the University of Wisconsin and a Master of Business Administration degree from the California State University.

    “Before joining the service of the Lagos State Government, Dr. Fowler worked in the banking sector for about 20 years . He was at Credit Lyonnais Nigeria Limited and Chartered Bank.

    “Under his leadership, the Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue achieved a sharp increase in internally generated revenue from an average of N3.6. billion per month in January 2006, to an average of about N20.5 billion per month in 2013.

    “Fowler, who holds an Honorary Doctorate Degree of the Irish International University, is a Fellow of the  Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria and the Business Management Association of the United Kingdom,” it stated

    President Buhari has also appointed Mr. Aliyu Yahaya Gusau as Director-General , Budget Office of the Federation.

    Gusau’s appointment, the statement said, is effective from August 18, 2015 and is for a term of four years, renewable for another four years, unless he attains the retirement age of 60 years or completes 35 years of pensionable service.

  • NURTW state executives intact, says president

    The President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Alhaji Najeem Usman Yasin, has directed that all the zonal councils, state councils, branch and unit executives in the states should remain intact.

    He said this in a statement yesterday.

    Yasin has been returned unopposed for a second term as the union’s president.

    In the statement, Yasin debunked the rumour making the round, especially in the  Southwest that all the state councils had been dissolved.

    He said:  “All the zonal councils, state councils, branches and unit executives remain intact and status quo must be maintained throughout the federation.

    “All state chairmen must be alive to their responsibilities by ensuring that nobody is allowed to foment trouble in their domain.”

    Yasin appealed to members of the union to remain peaceful. He also called on all security agencies, especially the police, to maintain the peace and order at motor-parks.

  • OAAN gets new president

    OAAN gets new president

    The Outdoor Advertising Agency of Nigeria (OAAN) has elected a new president. He is Mr Babatunde Idowu Adedoyin.

    He replaces Mr. Charles Chijide who has completed his tenure.

    Chijide marked his exit after an election with the inauguration of the association’s house.

    Adedoyin is the Managing Director of Media View Limited.

    Adedoyin won after polling 47 votes to beat Mr. Ladi Sole of Uniksites Nigeria Limited who polled 11 votes.

    Other members of the new executive are Vice President, Mr. Emma Ajufo; General Secretary, Femi Ogala; Treasurer, Atilola Williams; Publicity Secretary, Obi Nnaobi and Mr. Tunde Oyekan as the Assistant General Secretary. The Ex-Officio members are Modupe Lawuyi, Bidwell Okere, and Churchill Nwagwu.

    A member of the American Marketing Association, Adedoyin attended Middlesex Polytechnic (now Middlesex University), Hendon, London where he bagged Higher National Certificate in Marketing Communication in 1980.

    According to Chijide, the completion and opening of the OAAN House is a major achievement, adding: “I really commend the foresight of all my predecessors as they are all men of high-level foresight and they played commendable roles both at different times when they had the opportunity to serve and collectively after their terms to ensure that the dream to have our own House is realised.”

  • President orders release of N5bn to Victims Support Fund

    President orders release of N5bn to Victims Support Fund

    President Muhammadu Buhari  yesterday  directed the Head of Service of the Federation, Mr. Danladi Kifasi, to facilitate the immediate release of the N5 billion pledged by government  last August  to the Victims Support Fund (VSF).

    Receiving   a briefing from the VSF Presidential Committee headed by Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (rtd.) in Abuja, the President also  urged the committee to ensure proper coordination with other government agencies, providing support and assistance to victims of terrorism.

    General Danjuma had told the President that   of the N55.92 billion pledged at the fund-raising dinner for the project  last year, N33.54billion  was still outstanding, including N5billion from the Federal Government.

    He said the VSF currently had N23.33 billion in four bank accounts and that the committee received approval from the immediate past administration to incorporate the money into a trust fund, to “insulate it from political interference”.

    General Danjuma asked the President to use his office to persuade all organizations and individuals to honour their pledges to the committee.

    President Buhari, according to a statement by his  Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, assured General Danjuma and members of the VSF Committee that his administration was taking proactive steps to defeat terrorism in the country.

    He said despite the challenge of acquiring much needed strategic equipment and weapons to confront the terrorists, the Nigerian military had recently gained much ground in its effort to defeat and degrade Boko Haram.

    He added that the full deployment of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), under the auspices of member-states of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, would further boost ongoing military operations against the insurgents.

    Speaking to reporters at the end of his meeting with the President, General Danjuma said the committee” will continue to ask people who pledged to honour their pledges.”

    He  described  the N20 billion as a drop in the ocean compared with the needs  of the victims.

    “If really the war stops tomorrow, already those displaced are really looking for support to go back to their homes and this N20 billion is nothing,” he added.

    Also yesterday, President Buhari  declared that  with the formation of a stronger regional coalition, Nigeria and neighbouring countries now have an increased capacity to deal effectively with Boko Haram and other terrorist groups.

    Receiving Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Buhari  reaffirmed his belief that the full activation and deployment of  the Multi National Joint Task Force which had been established under the auspices of the Lake Chad Basin Commission would lead to the speedy defeat and elimination of Boko Haram.

    With the Command and Control Centre of the Nigerian military now in Maiduguri, Borno State, he said that the morale of troops in the front-line states had improved significantly.

    “You can tell the Secretary-General that we are doing our best and our best will be good enough for the nation and the sub-region,’’ President Buhari told Dr. Ibn Chambas.

    Against the background of upcoming elections in Cote D’Ivoire, Guinea and Burkina Faso, the President also called on the United Nations to assist African countries in the acquisition and use of innovative technologies to ensure more credible elections.

    “When citizens recognize that their votes count, it will boost their confidence in democracy and their countries’ electoral systems,” he said.

    Recalling that in the last general elections in Nigeria, the Independent National Electoral Commission used smart card readers to authenticate prospective voters, President Buhari observed that while Nigeria could afford the use of such technology in its elections, other African countries may require support and assistance from the international community.

  • Opposition backs President’s anti-graft campaign

    Opposition backs President’s anti-graft campaign

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has supported President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign. But, the opposition yesterday warned that due process must be followed.

    In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, the party warned against using the campaign as a guise “to victimise innocent citizens and curtail the freedom of Nigerians”.

    The PDP said the clarification became necessary to remove any misconception that the party was against Buhari’s decision to probe some past government officials, who are mainly members of the PDP.

    The statement said: “The PDP supports the decision of the Federal Government to fight corruption in our country. However, we make bold to state that it should not be used as a guise to victimise innocent citizens.

    “Democracy has come to stay in Nigeria and no citizen, irrespective of political, religious or ethnic affiliation, should be denied access to due process and the rule of law .

    “In the same vein, we want to state categorically that the anti-corruption war, whilst targeted at the immediate past administration, should not by any means be blind to the impunity of the present leaders of the country, either in terms of borrowing and spending without recourse to the statutory arms and organs of government and dictates of transparency and accountability, or in terms of nepotism in appointments in key institutions, such as INEC and the DSS.

    “The anti-corruption effort must not be blind to the corrupting of the security system resulting in the intrusion by over-zealous operatives on issues bordering purely on politics; the hounding, arrest and detention of Resident Electoral Officers and members of election tribunals in Rivers, Akwa-Ibom and other PDP states.

    “Furthermore, we make bold to state that he who comes to equity must come with clean hands. In that regard therefore, we advice members of the APC blowing the horn ahead of the cart to keep quiet because many of them have been major beneficiaries of corruption and sleazes associated with themselves and their allies, especially one of them who as a disguised errand boy of a well known APC leader is a major beneficiary of the largesse of perpetrators of corruption.

    “Apart from Mr. President, who for now, is not associated with any sleaze or corrupt activity in this democracy, most APC leaders are still those who as governors, ministers and labour leaders have been the worst corrupt set of Nigerians ever to bestride the political landscape of the country.

    “It is a great miscarriage of perception therefore for APC leaders who are perpetrators of sleazes and corrupt acts to attempt to deceive Nigerians with imaginary holiness in this anti-corruption war by the President.

    “Consequently, we counsel Mr. President, as the leader of the APC to remove the log in the eyes of his party while we support his commitment to remove the speck from the eyes of others”.

     

  • President plans to name oil thieves

    President plans to name oil thieves

    PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that his administration is close to ending the sharp practices in the oil and gas sector. The perpetrators will be named, he said.

    He also spoke of his ongoing search for “decent”, “patriotic” and “selfless” politicians and technocrats who will be ministers. The President has promised to name his ministers in September.

    Buhari, who spoke on his vision for a greater Nigeria on “Good Morning Nigeria”, a Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Abuja, pragramme, said oil was still being illegally exported by July 3.

    He said the Federal Government was working assiduously to expose those behind the reported under-dealings in the oil sector, promising to update members of the public on the government’s investigation into the matter.

    According to him, the government’s aim is to identify and prosecute all those found culpable. Shipping documents are being compiled for onward submission to countries of destination of stolen crude oil from Nigeria.

    His words: “The search continues; up to the third of this month (July 3), our crude was still being illegally lifted by people who are in government. We are trying to get these documents. We are getting the cooperation of the international community.

    “We are going to make sure that those who perpetrated this theft against Nigeria are faced with facts very soon and are taken to our courts.

    “We’ve got the cooperation of some of the countries of the destinations of our crude (oil) and we are discussing with them.

    “We have to maintain high confidentiality so that we don’t risk some of the loyal Nigerians that are helping us to trace the destinations of this stolen crude and then the accounts into which the monies are being paid instead of the Federal Governments account.”

    Buhari said his administration was studying the recommendations on how the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) should be reorganised.

    He described his recent trip to the United States (U.S.) as very successful as he was able to extract the commitment of President Barack Obama to assist and support the country in tackling its economic and security challenges.

    He said the U.S. and European countries had also pledged to assist Nigeria by putting in place a security mechanism in the Gulf of Guinea to check oil theft.

    Responding to a question on the quality of his Federal Executive Council (FEC), the President politicians and technocrats would make the list of nominees for ministerial appointments.

    He said: “From what I have seen so far, we need really patriotic Nigerians – Nigerians that can work very hard, knowledgeable, experienced, committed Nigerians – to be in charge of ministries.

    “A lot of the institutions of Nigeria – important institutions – were compromised. Everybody was for himself and God for all of us; it’s most unfortunate.

    “We have the people, educated people, experienced people but everybody seemed to be working for himself – how much he could get as much and as quickly as possible.

    “We have to look for technocrats and we have to look for politicians and certainly we have to look for decent people in this class to give them the responsibility of being in charge of ministries and important parastatals (agencies).”

    On the leadership tussle in the National Assembly, Buhari urged those behind the dispute to search their conscience and abide by the party’s decisions.

    He urged Nigerians to cooperate with his administration to develop the country and warned that no part of Nigeria would be allowed to operate on its own.

    The President added that Nigeria “must remain one”.

  • President endorses agric transformation agenda

    President endorses agric transformation agenda

    The Federal Government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) has received support from President Muhammadu Buhari, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Arc. Sonny Echono, has said.

    Echono, who spoke during a courtesy visit to the ministry by the Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG) and Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), explained that the president urged the ministry to set up four committees on areas that need improvement.

    The committees include: committees on the resuscitation of cotton, textile and garments industry in Nigeria; operationalization of federal government storage facilities and revitalization of agricultural extension services in Nigeria and the establishment of grazing reserves and stock routes for farmers.

    Echono, who was represented by the Director of Agriculture in the ministry, Mr. Damilola Eniayeju, added that minor changes would be introduced in areas they are needed by a new minister.

    Echono said: “He appreciates what we are doing in his statement. He even sets up four committees on areas which he feels we should come up with for improvement. These are cotton production, silos and grain storages, grazing reserves and stock routes and the areas of extension services supports.

    “These are areas which we believe we need to upscale and upgrade to help our farmers. We will wait until we have a new minister. If there are going to be policy change, it will not be that much. Because I believe that if you have arithmetic of one plus one, it has to be two.

    “If you are not doing the right thing, definitely there will be a lot of changes, but if you are doing the right thing and they can support the system in a way that will make food security available for all, that is the best way to go.”

    Earlier in his remarks, the President of AGRA, Dr. Agnes kalibata, stated that AGRA was formed with a vision of developing agricultural technologies in close communication with farmers.