The Nation Newspaper

Tag: threat

  • Sack threat: Oliseh to claim hefty pay-off

    Sack threat: Oliseh to claim hefty pay-off

    Broke Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will have to be ready with a handsome pay-off should they fire the country’s coach Sunday Oliseh.

    Oliseh’s future as Super Eagles coach is shaky after the country’s disappointing show at CHAN 2016 in Rwanda and his unguarded utterances ever since.

    However, top officials have now said going by the contract he signed with the NFF in July, the former Nigeria skipper will be entitled to a big pay-off should he now be sacked just seven months into a three-year contract.

    Another source even hinted that the pay-off could be as much as his pay for three years, which could come down to as much as 180 million Naira.

    “Sunday knows they want to sack him, but he will be waiting for them at FIFA. They have to be ready to pay out his contract sum,” said the source.

    The technical committee of the NFF was inaugurated on Friday in Uyo, but their deliberations at their first meeting have remained top secret to further raise doubts about Oliseh’s future as Nigeria coach.

    “Oliseh was one of the two major items on the agenda of the committee, but very little has been heard about the direction the committee has taken on this matter,” another official disclosed.

    It is now expected that the NFF executive committee will meet soon to discuss the recommendations of this committee.

    The Eagles coaching situation has to be resolved soon because Nigeria face two crucial AFCON 2017 qualifiers against group leaders Egypt in March and the results could well make or mar their qualification chances to Gabon.

  • ‘Political situation in Abia a security threat’

    ‘Political situation in Abia a security threat’

    The Special Adviser on Special Duties to Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, Chief Ukpai Agwu Ukpai, has said that political events taking place in parts of the state within the past one week showed that there is a security threat to the state.

    Speaking with The Nation in Umuahia, Ukpai said that the recent Appeal Court Owerri verdict that upturned the victory of the state governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu of the PDP, in favour of his All Progressives Grand Alliance [APGA] opponent in the election, Dr Alex Otti, has sparked off several protests.

    Ukpai also said that the raiding of the homes of the state Works Commissioner, Mr Eziuche Ubani, at Ovom in Obingwa LGA and Transition Chairman of Isiala Ngwa North LGA, Chief Ginger Onwusibe, at Ntigha within two days by military personnel and operatives of the

    Department of State Security [DSS] has created tension in the state.

    The invasion of Ubani’s and Onwusibe’s residences was allegedly sequel to the report made to the security agencies that some top politicians in the state were stock-pilling arms in their homes. The military and DSS operators, however, said they did not find arms or anything incriminating after their reported hours of searching and ransacking of the homes of the duo.

  • Ad/PR business: Fresh threat for older agencies

    Ad/PR business: Fresh threat for older agencies

    The Nigerian marketing communication industry has experienced monumental growth in the last two decades. Having enjoyed bumper harvest before the current recession, new players have merged to challenge older players’ dominance of the public relations and advertising media segment of the industry. To overcome the new threat, experts and stakeholders urge older agencies to innovate or die, writes ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI

    After decades of boom, the Nigerian marketing communication business has, in recent times, witnessed a downturn.

    From the boom occasioned by the telecoms revolution in the new millennium, which brought the likes of MTN, Airtel, Glo and Etisalat to the era of banking consolidation, the marketing communication industry enjoyed good times until the global economic recession of 2008 and the global oil price fall in 2013 hit the industry.

    With budget cut, more demands from clients, businesses are no longer guaranteed for older business concerns in the sector. In their boom days, only few big agencies in the businesses of public relations (PR), Advertising (Ad)and media buying are top earners that share the biggest businesses. This was the scenario as industry observers say when one big agency loses a business, it goes to another big agency rather than the start-ups.

    However, with growing competition, quest for new ideas, innovation, the paradigm has shifted. The new start-ups that are barely six years in operation now pose a big threat to bigger ones who have been in the marketing communication business for over 10 years. With size no longer determinant of who gets which juicy business anymore, clients are now paying attention to agencies who deliver impact than the razzmatazz.

    For instance, in the creative segment of the industry, start-ups such as Noah’s Ark and X3M Ideas are giving bigger agencies a run for their money.  Dominant players such as Insight Communication, Rosabel, STBMcCann, PrimaGarnet Ogilvy, DDB, Bate Cosse among others now jostle for businesses and industry awards for professional excellence with those earlier regarded as fringe players.

    In the last five years, records showed that the start-ups have retained top four positions in the Lagos Ideas Festival (LAIF), a brainchild of Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN). The award reflects how busy the agencies are and how their works stand out from others every year.

    For instance, in last year’s  edition, Noah’s Ark, a creative advertising agency, emerged the overall best. The agency won a total of 10 awards including a Grand Prix, five gold, two silver and two bronze plaques to emerge the number one agency for 2015. The agency beat old generation agencies such as Insight Communications Limited, DDB among others. The agency has been in the top four since day one when it started operation.

    Also, X3M Ideas also remains at the top of the ladder in the creative industry since inception. The agency in the  2015 LAIF demonstrated its unflinching innovative and creative consistencies for an impressive third year running as a young agency. X3M Ideas coasted home with three Gold medals, two Silver and three Bronze to emerge the 4th on the 2015 LAIF medal table.

    The result shows the three-year old agency as the youngest, revolutionary and most consistently improved over the last three years of its entry into the AAAN fold. X3M Ideas as the future-forward marketing communications agency, made its debut at the LAIF awards in November 2013. The agency, which opened shop on August 2012 barely a year then, recorded one gold, two silver and one bronze medals although it entered only part of its works done between August and December, 2013.

    Its second time appearance at the LAIF was two years ago. The agency won two gold, five silver and six bronze medals, carting home an impressive 13 medals, hence it did not only sustain  its initial tempo but showed an improvement over the previous performance.

    Beyond awards, the two leading new generation agencies also edged out big ones at various business pitches. Noah’s Ark also displayed competence against big agencies while pitching for Airtel advertising business. From the five agencies invited for the main pitch after broader credential presentations, Insight Communications, Centrespread Advertising and Noah’s Ark Advertising were selected winners.

    Prior to the selection, the prospective handlers submitted and defended their financial requirements, with a view to availing the client the opportunity to align demands with its realistic budget and financial projection. However, when issues related to finance and the decision to split the account came up, Insight management and Airtel could not agree, hence the need to draft in Centrespread, which was said to have come third in the exercise. To this end, Centrespread and Noah’s Ark are now the handlers of Airtel’s advertising business.

    However, when issues relating to finance and the decision to split the account came up, Insight management and Airtel could not agree, hence the need to draft in Centrespread, which was said to have come third in the exercise.

    In the media buying segment of the market, the big players such as MediaReachOMD, Media Perspective, Capital Media, StarComms Media, MediaComm have lost sleep with the entry of new players-MediaFuse, SBI among others. In a recent report, MediaReachOMD lost multimillion dollar Dano Milk’s advertising business to Vizeum, a media affiliate of Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis.

    The incumbent agency lost the advertising business following a pitch involving Media Fuse’s Vizeum Nigeria, PHD, and MediaReach OMD. Arla Foods, fifth largest milk manufacturer in the world and maker of Dano Milk, said the new agency is expected oversee the firm’s advertising businesses-media strategy, planning, buying-Arla across sub Saharan African markets including Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroun and Cote D’Ivoire.

    The Nation gathered that Arla Foods tested the agencies with a brief to run a campaign for Dano Milk and found Vizeum Nigeria capable of managing the firm’s brand portfolio across sub-Saharan Africa. Transition meetings are expected to take place this month with campaigns planned to begin from the first quarter of this year.

    To create a winning edge against dominant players in the industry, Media Fuse, founded by the former Managing Director of Carat Media Perspective, entered into affiliation with Dentsu Aegis Network, a global marketing conglomerate.  In line with Dentsu Aegis Network’s expansion plans and on-going investment into the African market, Media Fuse after the affiliate venture agreement now operate as Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network, joining the strong network of Dentsu Aegis Network brands in sub-Saharan Africa such as Carat, iProspect, Isobar, Posterscope and Vizeum.

    “With this development, Nigeria and indeed, the West African sub-region is set for fresh impetus in brand building and communication experience with global access to tested tools, capacity building processes and the fiscal discipline that the Dentsu Aegis Network is known for on the global stage,” said Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Media Fuse Dentsu Aegis Network, Emeka Okeke.

    Also, within few months of operation, another media agency, SBI, tagged ‘Next Generation’ agency, has within one year of operation cornered juicy account eyed by bigger agencies. The agency now parades DealDey, Konga, Forte Oil, Techno, Eco Bank, Lafarge, and other multinational businesses as clients despite stiff competition between old and new generation media buying and planning agencies.

    Business pitch in the PR business segment of the market also reveals growing profile of new agencies. Despite that The Quadrant Company (TQC), pioneer PR agencies, remains the most structured PR agency in Nigeria, the agency too is not losing sleep as a result of growing credentials of new players. While the agency appears unruffled with the loss of some accounts such as Etisalat, GE, and Guinness Nigeria among others in the last two years to new and fringe players, it remains a model. Yet, the threat of competition such as Brooks & Blakes, Chain Reaction, Xlr8 and few others remains a big factor.

    Recently, the new agencies displayed their might in MTN, Guinness and Etisalat business pitch. In the pitch for the MTN account, two new agencies – Brooks and Blakes and DKK Associates – emerged winners of the PR Accounts of MTN Nigeria 12 years after it domiciled with Marketing Mix, another older agency.

    The process to appoint new agencies began when nine agencies were invited for presentation. The agencies include, JSP Communications, Mediacraft and Associates, Black House Media, Brooks and Blakes and Lead Communications. Others are; Soulcom Communications, DKK Associates, and the former handlers of the account -Marketing Mix and XLR8. But Brooks and Blakes and DKK eventually won the business.

    Brooks and Blake Nigeria Ltd, a perception management company, according to industry observers, represents the face of the future in the PR community. The agency’s profile shut up few years ago when it was appointed to handle the Diageo accounts. Industry analysts say the success of Orijin, SNAP and Guinness products in the last three years could be linked with the agency. As a result, it has won a few industry awards, including the Marketing World’s PR Agency of the Year. This notwithstanding, some industry watchers are of the opinion that Brooks and Blakes may not have the required structure to sustain the tempo of the MTN brand but the way the agency handled the MTN/NCC fine debacle has convinced market players about the competence of the agency.

    Why are the new agencies winning?

    The Managing Director of SBI Media, Mr. Rotimi Bankole said: “I think ‘bigness’ is relative. For us as SBI, we only consider a company/competitor big if it is able to do the near-impossible advert placement when all odds seem to be in place and at the same time being able to generate savings for the client. We are not intimidated by the ‘bigger names’; rather, they spur us to work even harder. So rather than see this as a competition, we see it as a collaboration of Media Agencies for the greater goal of our industry.”

    Also, the Acting Managing Director of Rosabel, an old generation creative agency, Mr. Clement Omemu, said one of the reasons the start-ups ventured into the business was because they are disgruntled and tired of the norm.

    “This young generation feels there are different ways of doing things. So they become restless and they are tired of doing things the same way. What do they tell us? Doing the same thing the same way all the time is insanity,” he said, adding that if older agencies fail to innovate, they will lose more grounds to the new players.

    Also, the Executive Director, Chain Reaction Nigeria, Mr. Lere Ojedokun said global trend is affecting PR landscape. He said with competition, segmentation and innovation becoming the new lexicon in the industry clients are now demanding for new ideas and constrained by budget.

    Meanwhile, the Executive Creative Director, Insight Communication, Chima Okenimkpe, said many old generation agencies fail to transit to new market realities as a result of lack of insight on the part of the founders. He said though Insight Communication is a second generation agency and over 30 years old, the creative philosophy of the founders have made the agency retain its lead in the industry.

  • Airports security under threat, cab operators cry out

    Airports security under threat, cab operators cry out

    Car hire operators have raised the alarm over security threats at the nation’s airports as a result of the operation of illegal cab operators.

    The Airport Car Hire Association of Nigeria (ACHAN) said unless the government curbed the activities of illegal cab drivers at the airports, security of passengers and facilities around the terminals could be compromised.

    According to them, 98 per cent of missing passengers’ cases are linked to those who boarded unregistered cabs at the airports. Those drivers have been established to have taken passengers to unknown locations.

    The operators said terrorists could infiltrate such cabs to bomb airport facilities since they often  drive close to the arrival halls.

    President of ACHAN, Chief Stanley Worlu Dike, said the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN)  should put urgent measures in place to curtail their operations as they have increasingly infiltrated major airports in the country.

    Chief Dike urged FAAN to provide office spaces for ACHAN members since the association complements the efforts of government in providing job opportunities for young Nigerians.

    Chairman, Board of Trustees of ACHAN, Alhaji Muili Yinusa, said the military location at the General Aviation Terminal 1 in Lagos has become a safe haven for such unregistered operators.

    He said: ” A lot of illegal vehicles operate from the military location at the GAT and when they steal passengers’ luggage or property, the victims run down to look for the Chairman of ACHAN”

    Alhaji Yinusa urged FAAN to cancel the proposed ‘Pay As You Go’ policy the airports management authority is planning to impose on ACHAN members.

    “We pay millions of naira to FAAN annually, so we are supposed to enjoy certain privileges as other concessionaire.”, he added.

  • Quacks threat to architects, says Ige

    Quacks threat to architects, says Ige

    Former Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development in Osun State, Mr. Muyiwa Ige, an architect, has said the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) Act 2004 can stamp out quacks from the profession.

    Ige, a two-time chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) Oyo State Chapter, regretted that quacks’ activities were posing a threat to the jobs of qualified professionals in the industry.

    Presently, he said, registered architects are less than 4,000 and  over 6,000 associate members, excluding several unregistered architects. And with the country’s population of 170 million and a housing deficit that is hovering between 18 million and 20 million, architects are in huge demand.

    “This shows that there are a lot of opportunities for architects in Nigeria and as a result of this, I am of the opinion that architects must take their rightful place now,” he said.

    Ige, who is the son to Nigeria’s assassinated Attorney-General and minister of justice, Chief Bola Ige, is  seeking election to become the new Third Vice President of the NIA at its biennial general meeting scheduled for November 21. He said the age long rivalry between  architects and their foreign counterpart is nowhere to be found now  as architects have performed more excellently over the years.

    “There is no competition with foreign architects because there is nothing that they know that we don’t know better. The truth of the matter is that the ARCON Act states that only architects registered in Nigeria can practice. Yes, foreign architects are coming in because the world is a global village but they must have a Nigerian architect on the minimum as a director of the company,’’ he explained.

    He promised to be in the vanguard of ensuring that the institute grow membership with young architects who will end up being the future of the institute.

    “If i win the election as the Third Vice President on November 21,  I will ensure that all my energy is used to elevate the institute till I eventually become the President in 2021. I will make sure that I will be at the vanguard of growing membership and ensure that young architects come to the fore and take their rightful position in the built environment. Issues like registration of young architects and that of registration of schools are going to be adequately addressed,” he assured.

  • People making secessionist threat should shut up, says Kwankwaso

    People making secessionist threat should shut up, says Kwankwaso

    •Senator seeks education for Fulani herdsmen 

    Former Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has asked Yoruba leaders threatning to secede over the kidnap of former Secretary to the Government of Federation Chief Olu Falae to “shut up”.

    Kwankwaso, who is a senator, said at the weekend that the call was misguided and politically motivated.

    He stressed that no zone could be an island, adding that what the Fulani herdsmen that were being asked to leave Yoruba land needed was education on how to go about their cattle-rearing business.

    He spoke in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital at the weekend as a special guest at the Silver Jubilee Celebration of the set of 1965-1971 of Government College, Ibadan. The event witnessed the inauguration of two sets of pre-fabricated staff buildings donated by Vitafoam Nigeria Plc to the institution.

    The former governor said: “The issue of conflict between the farmers and Fulani herdsmen is not common to the Southwest alone. It is not even common to Nigeria. It is all over the sub-region.

    “On the issue that we are talking about, education is very important. If all Fulani are given opportunity to go to school, I don’t think they will risk their lives and their animals going into the bush, where there are reptiles. I think the key thing is education. The Fulani should be educated.

    “I am a Fulani. My parents settled down many years ago. My father went to school and I have been to school. My children have gone to school. Now, I don’t think I will get cattle and go into a forest; that is education for you.

    “The key thing is, whether in the North or Africa, Fulani are all over. They call themselves Fulani in this part of the world. But in other places, they call them different names. So, education is key. They should be educated. They should be settled. Of course, by that, they will develop the modern way of keeping livestock.”

    He added: “If you go to developed countries, you don’t see animals running about. It has to do with underdevelopment. If you go to Niger, Chad, Cameroon and all these places, they get Fulani roaming about, endangering their lives, endangering their own animals and it is not good for anybody, the economy and the security. But that is for the future.

    “But for today, I think it is important for government to provide facilities because we require their services. Facilities like grazing areas for the cattle and other facilities to make sure that we manage the situation.

    “In the North, we used to have all these grazing areas. We used to have cattle ranch, where they go from place to place without going into the farm. Probably because of the population now and other issues, all these places are being taking by farmers. Therefore, it becomes very difficult for any cattle to roam or go to places without going into farms.

    “So, it is not only peculiar to the Southwest. We just have to have a lot of understanding of the situation. Some of the issues being raised by the people, especially politicians, do not help anybody. If you sack the Fulani from here or you fight them, maybe it is because you are here. If you are a Yoruba man based in Kano, I don’t think you can contemplate sacking the Fulani.

    “I am from Kano, but right now I am in Ibadan. Where you are is your home. Today, Ibadan is my home. God forbids; if something bad happens here, it will affect me. If it happens in my village, I am not there. They won’t see me. But for today, I think it is important for government to provide ranching facilities such as grazing sites, because we require their services.

    “It now calls for understanding among Nigerians.   To that extent, therefore, politicians should stop over-blowing the issue.

    “All Fulani should be given opportunity to go to school.  These Fulani should be educated.  I am one of them.  I am Fulani.  Had I not been educated, imagine what I would have been today; I probably would have been in the forest.”

    He canvassed a quick return of boarding facilities to all public schools in the country as well as compulsory education for the Fulani.

    “This will go a long way in reawakening confidence in the national polity,” he said.

    Dignitaries at the event included Oyo state Governor Isiaq Abiola Ajimobi, represented by Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education Mrs. O. A. Makanjuola; Group Managing Director of Vitafoam Nigeria Plc. Mr. Taiwo Adeniyi; National President of GCI Old Boys Association Chief Abiodun Jolaoso; Principal of GCI, Rev. Oladele Olusola; Chairman, Sunshine Oil and Chemical Industries Limited Basorun Rotimi Obeisun; Chief Executive of Jogor Centre Femi Babalola, among others.

  • Cultism: Threat to our future

    SIR: Recently, there was a report that members of an unidentified secret cult burnt down the properties said to belong to the father of a leader in a rival cult group, in Ogijo Lagos. On that eventful day, the victim narrowly escaped death. It is worth noting that this is neither new nor news for student in tertiary institutions. In fact, inhumane activities perpetrated by cultists are almost becoming routine, not because it is natural but because our government and society have done very little to stop this multifaceted menace called cultism.

    Cultism is a social ill trending not only in universities, polytechnics and college of educations, but also in secondary and primary schools within the country. Just like every other association common to man, secret cults are birthed from group of people sharing same or similar ideology, goals and objectives.

    Of course nobody is against the freedom to association in as much as it does not contravene the freedom to life of another person. Conversely, many Nigerian youths join fraternities with a burning desire to acquire fetish power, guns and ammunition which are used to exercise control and inflict harms on victims.

    Many lives have been wasted , innocent people maimed , properties destroyed, and our future leaders lured almost daily into this deadly associations like Buccaneers, Eiye, Daughters of Lucifer to mention but a few. And as if that is not enough, members even boastfully announce their influence over female and male students of their choice. Lecturers as well as administrative officials in the tertiary institutions are not left out too.

    This social menace has eaten too deep into a bleeding society seeking to recover from diseases like corruption, terrorism, insecurity, unemployment, illiteracy and symptoms of economic recession. All hands must therefore be on deck to eradicate this menace from its very root. Enough of the clarion calls which are specifically directed to the government alone, as though government is the deus ex machina that will always save the day.

    The family, as the first agent of socialization must first paddle against the tide of cultism. Virtues, respect and dedication to the cause of humanity, must be taught at the home front. Parents must instil self-worth and confidence in their wards because many have fallen into traps of secret cult in search of identity and to make-up for the vacuum created by their busy career parents. Essentially, parents must be alive to their responsibilities in providing support for their wards from childhood to adulthood.

    Our religious institutions must also gird up their loins in the teachings of love and peaceful co-existence.

    Administrators and security agencies should however, not relent in their effort to wipe out cultism from our college of educations, monotechnics, polytechnics and universities. There should be regular monitoring of all unregistered clubs and associations on campus with prompt and in depth investigation into likely cultism activities. Also orientation programmes should be frequently organized to dissuade youth from joining this bandwagon.

    The government most also note that it is this mushroom secret cults that translate to multifaceted monsters like the extremist Boko Haram sect. There is need to save our youths and our future.

     

    • Modupe Elegushi,

    Lagos.

  • Poultry farmers compensation under threat

    The Federal Government may suspend the payment of compensation to poultry farmers whose farms were infected by Avian Influenza (AI) pending when substantial progress on bio-security and other containment measures are put in place  by the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) and state veterinary services.

    The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Arc. Sonny Echono who spoke at a meeting held with stakeholders in the poultry industry at the Ministry’s Headquarters in Abuja, said about N380million had already been paid to about 138 farmers, while N643million has been totally committed as compensation to 246 poultry farmers. He said the sum of N476million is still required for the payment of compensation to the remaining 250 poultry farmers.

    A statement endorsed by the Director  of Information, Tony Ohaeri expalined that the Federal Government has noted with concern the unencounraging disposition of the PAN in the states in assisting the state officials in all the efforts aimed at curtailing the spread of the disease. He said such co-operation was needed in the creation of adequate sensitisation and awareness among the poultry farmers.

    Echono strongly emphasised the need for sensitisation on the control of AI in birds, proper adherence to on farm bio-security, registration of farms with State Directorate of Veterinary Services, non-transportation of birds indiscriminately without the authorisation of the state veterinary services. He insited that poultry farmers must adhere to government policy of non-vaccination against the disease and enforcing the restocking policy on affected farms.

    The Permanent Secretary said the ministry in collaboration with USAID and Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) had conducted series of trainings and capacity building workshops on AI for federal, state and local government officials, state extension workers, private veterinarians, surveillance agents as well as poultry farmers and PAN officials.

    Echono solicited the support of stakeholders in the renewed efforts aimed at controlling the spread of the AI virus, saying the role played by each stakeholders in the industry in controlling the disease becomes very critical to the overall success in the containment effort. He therefore called for an effective and efficient state veterinary service and enforcement of mandatory regulatory functions to contain Bird Flu outbreak and other zoonotic diseases in the country.

    Echono attributed the new outbreaks of between July and September in Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Enugu, Abia, Rivers and FCT to non-compliance to bio-security measures in farms, disregard to public policy on the citing of poultry farms and other enforcement protocols which he said were expected to be implemented by the state veterinary services.

    He said the ministry plans  to come up with modalities that will ensure that the burden of payment is borne by both the federal, state and local government areas and the farmers.

    He advised poultry farmers to safeguard their investment through the adoption of insurance policy as a way forward since Federal Government now sees agriculture as a business.

  • No Boko Haram threat in Ondo, says govt

    •Army: we didn’t arrest suspects 

    The Ondo State government and the Headquarters 32 Artillery Brigade, Nigerian Army, Akure have described as untrue, a report that suspected Boko Haram members were arrested in the state.

    Commissioner for Information Kayode Akinmade, in an interview with reporters in Akure, said the state remain the safest and most peaceful in the country.

    Akinmade said there was no record of any arrest as reported with the police and the military

    He added that the security meeting, which the report was hinged on, was a routine monthly security meeting, which the governor had since ordered must hold between the chairmen of local government areas and heads of security agencies in their locality.

    He mentioned that there are series of such security meetings that hold regularly at different levels on the governor’s instruction to ensure the maintenance of peace in the state.

    Akinmade said: “It is misleading and unfortunate that some people will allude the reason for a regular meeting on security matters in the state to the imaginary influx of  Boko Haram members.

    “The meeting is not new as it has been holding before now and it will continue to hold  because it has proved useful in the course of ensuring adequate security in the state.”

    Insisting that there was no threat to the peace of the state, he  said adequate measures were being taken to ensure security of lives and property, adding that “there is round the clock screening at every entry point to the state by joint security patrols”.

    Urging the people to go about their normal business without fear, he assured that “Ondo has what it takes to maintain its most peaceful status as the various arms of the security agencies have been cooperative”.

    Also, the Assistant Director, Army Public Relations of the Artillery Brigade, Captain Ojo Ifedayo Adenegan, in a statement, said: “The news story was not true, as no Boko Haram suspects were arrested anywhere in Ondo State”.

    The statement reads: “The Commanding Officer 323 Artillery Regiment Lt. Col. W. O. Ubi was in a sensitisation forum with the members of National Union of Road Transport Workers and other security agents at Ikare Akoko, where he had an interactive session on the need to be vigilant and keep the security informed on any suspected persons or actions that could lead to the threat of security in the state.

    “During the interactive session, he only recalled an effort by a commercial driver at Ifedore, who alerted soldiers at a check-point on some suspected persons who were later arrested and handed over to the appropriate authority for further investigation. That was in June.

    “We were surprised that such an advice could be misquoted. Therefore, we are once again informing the general public that no arrest of Boko Haram suspects anywhere in Ondo State.

    “We are using this medium to appeal to the general public to discard such untrue information and go about their normal legal business and be assured that the security agencies in the state will continue to secure the state.”

     

  • Threat and tariff

    Threat and tariff

    • NERC and the power firms still have a lot to do to give Nigerians light at fair prices

    Last week, the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) spoke of its plan to revoke the licences of power generating companies that failed to meet up with their licensing obligations. At a licensing ceremony for four new entrants into power generation sub-sector, chairman of NERC, Sam Amadi, told his audience: “We have no choice but to revoke some licences. That is the only way that we can send the signal to people across the world to come and invest in Nigeria … For somebody with a piece of paper that is not performing, it remains a piece of paper. We have no choice but to make sure that potential investors deliver what they are supposed to deliver”.

    He would also inform: “Every licence has key performance indicators that are included in the terms of the licence. And it is also expected that within the first six months to three years, each licensee is expected to reach certain thresholds…”

    Ten years after the coming of the Power Sector Reform Act 2005 seems about time to separate the wheat from the chaff. Sanctions – or the threat of it – would seem the natural order of things if only to get things going in the beleaguered sector. The irony of course is that NERC that failed to sift the serious from the hordes of opportunistic players looking for fast and easy money has become the drum major for sanctions.

    Beyond that is the question of why only   a few out of the motley crowd of 124 licences awarded for power generation since 2006 have managed to plod on. Obviously, the sheer number of defaulters would tend to suggest a more serious problem than the simple invocation of legalism would indicate. In other words, much as we acknowledge the rules as carrying the obligations to meet up with key performance indices, the question is whether identifying the hordes of laggards for punishment is all there is to the problem. This point obviously bears stating given the frustrations daily voiced out by operators about the challenging regulatory environment, particularly the failure of the Federal Government to guarantee minimal conditions for their smooth and effective take-off.

    The challenge for NERC therefore becomes one of sifting of the black legs from investors with genuine operational issues, to ensure that players live up to their obligations and to adopt global best practices.

    That takes us to a related issue – the latest firestorm over tariff reviews being planned by the Distribution Companies (DISCOs). Yet again, we see the DISCOs and NERC as merely playing to type in willfully ignoring what is really at issue between the electricity consumer and the DISCOs. As far as we are concerned, what  the DISCOs should be after is fair and equitable returns on investment. As for the electricity consumer, he wants to see equity in pricing and value delivery which unfortunately he is not getting under the estimated bill regime defined more by the rule of the thumb. In short, the consumer wants to pay only for the units of electricity consumed which is only possible when he is availed of smart, pre-paid meters. It seems strange, utterly unimaginable that the DISCOs would seek to further extend the skewed and inequitable electricity market under which consumers are charged arbitrarily in spite of their failure to provide this basic item. For NERC, we say that this is hardly the time to play the ostrich; rather, it is time to assume the role of effective, even-handed regulator as contemplated by law. There is hardly a better place to start than getting the DISCOs to put timelines to the provision of pre-paid meters.