------------ [100 die in Algerian military plane crash] ------------ PUNCH NEWS WEDNESDAY, 12TH FEBRUARY 2014 [HEADLINES] - 100 die in Algerian military plane crash - I’ll leave Nigeria better than I met it –Jonathan - Mark blocks 11 PDP senators’ defection bid - Biometric registration of bank customers begins Friday - Budget: Reps kick against N700m Villa hospital, others - Defection: PDP regains House majority status - Probability of APC winning 2015 presidential election - FG sets N5tn revenue target for manufacturing sector - Technical assistant won’t sit with Keshi - Cinemas pay me 20% of proceeds –Elliot ------------ [100 die in Algerian military plane crash] ------------ An Algerian military transport plane has crashed in mountains in the north-east of the country with 103 passengers and crew on board, BBC reports. The Hercules C-130 crashed in a mountainous area of Oum al-Bouaghi province, en route to Constantine. One survivor has been found and the search continues, emergency services official Col Farid Nechad told public radio. The plane is said to have been carrying military personnel and family members. Women and children were among 71 bodies recovered from the crash site, public radio reported. The plane’s original departure point is believed to have been the Sahara Desert garrison city of Tamanrasset, 1,500km (950 miles) south of Constantine, but it had made a stop in Ouargla. A source told radio station Ennahar – which has close links to the government and army – that contact was lost with the military plane between Oum al-Bouaghi and Constantine, as it may have been starting to make its descent prior to landing. It crashed into Djebel Fertas mountain, some 380km (240 miles) east of the capital Algiers, senior military official Col Lahmadi Bouguern was quoted as saying on state media. He said bad weather and gusty winds were the probable cause of the crash. The plane was carrying 99 passengers – soldiers and their families – as well as four crew members, a security source told AFP news agency. This is the worst plane crash in Algeria for more than 10 years and the third involving an Algerian military Hercules. An Air Algerie Boeing 737 crashed on take-off from Tamanrasset in 2003, killing all but one of the 103 people on board. (MTN is not liable for this message) ------------ [I’ll leave Nigeria better than I met it –Jonathan] ------------ President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday inaugurated the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan and the National Enterprise Development Programme. He also said the various policies so far put in place by his administration were clear indications that he would leave the country better and stronger than he met it. Jonathan recalled that prior to the launch organised by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, he had inaugurated the Mortgage Refinance Company, the Dry Season Farming and had also hosted a conference on the private sector financing of the power sector. He said all these were borne out of his desire to build legacies that would outlive his administration. Jonathan said, “This year, we have launched the Mortgage Refinancing Company, that is another area that will revolutionarise the housing sector, where people will be able to build their own affordable houses instead of paying rent. “We have also launched the dry season farming scheme and have revolutionised agriculture with our new initiatives that all the players in agriculture including the World Bank are commending the Nigerian programmes and today, we are launching this twin programme – Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan and the National Enterprise Development Programme. “These are clear indications that we will leave this country stronger and better than we met it. “With diligent implementation of these revolutionary programmes that we are launching today, we can tell Nigerians that our country is set for development.” Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, had earlier in his opening remarks, explained that NEDEP was designed to address the neglect that SMEs had suffered in the past. Aganga said his ministry had so far created 10,000 cooperatives societies while his target was to create 50,000 every year and produce one million direct jobs yearly. He said with the present administration’s feat in the cement industry which led to the exportation of the commodity, his ministry was ready to replicate same in 15 other sectors. “If we can do it in cement, we can do it in 15 other sectors. The plan is holistic. We intend to create industrial cities and parks in conjunction with the state governments. We must consume what we produce which means local content is a must,” the minister added. (MTN is not liable for this message) ------------ [Mark blocks 11 PDP senators’ defection bid] ------------ There was a drama in the Senate on Tuesday when five senators announced their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress. But they were immediately ruled out of order by the Senate President, David Mark, who cited a case they instituted against him. The senators, who announced their defection during plenary in Abuja, are Bukola Saraki (Kwara Central); Aisha Al – Hassan, (Taraba North); Magnus Abe (Rivers South-East); Wilson Ake (Rivers West) and Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West). They are also among the 11 members of the upper arm of the National Assembly, who forwarded a letter to Mark informing him of their defection to the opposition APC. Several efforts by the senators to make the Senate leadership read the letter had failed. Saraki started the process of formally announcing their defection on the floor of the Senate when he raised a point of order, and cited Section 15 of the Senate Standing Orders 2011 as amended. The orders have to do with privileges of senators. He reminded the Senate president of the letter by the aggrieved senators, including himself, which had not been read on the floor. He mentioned Senators Abdulahi, Abe, Ake, Al-Hassan, Shaba Lafiagi, Ibrahim Gobir, Jibrilla Bindowo, Danjuma Goje, Ali Ndume, Umar Dahiru and himself as the lawmakers listed in the letter. Saraki, a former Kwara State governor, explained that all the affected senators and their supporters had already obtained the APC membership cards. He expressed concern over Mark’s failure to read the letter, saying his action was preventing their formal movement to a party of their choice. The Senate President, however, ruled him out of order by drawing his attention to the fact that the matter was pending in court. But Saraki disagreed with him, pointing out that the issue before the court had to do with their prayers that the Senate leadership should be stopped from declaring their seats vacant and not their defection. Mark again maintained that, “Since the matter is in court, I cannot act on it, therefore, I rule you out of order.” At this point, the Senate Minority Leader, George Akume, raised a point of order under section 14 of the Senate Standing Orders. He argued that the affected senators should be allowed to exercise their right to join the party of their choice. He said, “This is a legislative house and our privileges are guaranteed. This Senate should not rule the issue raised by Saraki out of order. This matter has dragged on for a very long time and we cannot stop people from associating with whoever they like.” The Senate president also ruled Akume out of order because his line of argument was on the same issue raised by Saraki. Mark’s position did not go down well with Akume, who accused him of infringing on the right of the senators to freely associate with any group of their choice. He said, “As the Minority Leader, our rights are being breached because the affected senators are moving over to our party. They have the right to move. You are the presiding officer, we have raised a fundamental issue. “The court order is not being properly interpreted. We have discussed this issue in closed session. Saraki has said the matter pending in court has nothing to do with the issue of defection, so why are they being prevented from moving?” Mark disagreed with the submissions of Akume and insisted that since the matter in contention was in court, he would not act on it. He said, “Senator Akume, this matter is in court and I shall make no further comments on it because I would not want to go contrary to our standing orders. On the same issue, the affected senators took me to court and you are pleading privilege, asking me to rule on it.” ------------ Continues ------------ Senator Anthony Adeniyi intervened in by pleading with Mark to read the letter and lay the matter to rest once and for all. But he was also overruled by Mark. Immediately, Senators Adamu, Al-Hassan, Abe, and Ake took turns to announce their formal defection to the APC. Mark would also not let that stand as he ruled them out of order by citing some legal implications. The drama continued when attempts by Senator Ehigie Uzamere (APC, Edo Central) to announce his defection to the PDP was frustrated by Mark, who failed to recognise him when he persistently raised his hand. Attempts by Senator Olufemi Lanlehin, to draw the attention of Mark to the frustration of Uzamere, under order 25 (f) , was also ruled out of order by Mark. The Chairman, Senate Committee on Information, Media and Public Affairs, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, told journalists after the session, that none of the 11 senators had defected as far as the Senate was concerned . He said, “We resolved within the Senate to maintain the dignity of the upper chamber. In that wise, everything was done today openly and without rancour. “We have to give kudos to the Senate and its president for handling the matter in a manner that Nigerians are very proud of.” Abaribe, who admitted that senators had the right to express themselves, stressed that procedures must be followed in doing so. He said, “Our rules are very clear, when a matter is in court, we cannot discuss it. The hands of the Senate President are tied, he cannot do otherwise and if he does otherwise, it would be contemptuous of court. “Therefore, while not saying that the matter has been laid to rest, we can say sufficiently that the matter has now been handled in such a way that all sides are aware of their rights and things are going on smoothly in the Senate. “As far as the Senate is concerned, there has been no movement yet. It is the legal opinion sought by the Senate leadership that played itself out on the floor of the Senate today (Tuesday).” Abe said, “There is a problem in the Senate and we believe that Senator Mark has over the years, proved himself as an astute statesman, democrat and politician. We still believe that our defection is a problem that has a political solution. “What we need to do as senators under our leadership is to look for a solution that will satisfy the desires of individual and the citizens of this great country.” Al–Hassan said she left the PDP because justice was not done to her. She said, “I had cried too many times that I am suffering injustice, persecution, and intimidation in my state. I had written the national leadership and the national secretariat of the PDP so many times and nothing happened. “Therefore, I decided to move to the APC where I can get justice. We submitted a letter which the Senate president said he was not going to read because there is a pending court injunction.” (MTN is not liable for this message) ------------ [Biometric registration of bank customers begins Friday] ------------ The Bankers’ Committee on Tuesday rose from its 315th meeting and announced that the biometric registration of bank customers would commence on Friday. As a result, all Deposit Money Banks will on that day commence the registration of their customers’ details, including their fingerprints. The Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, briefed journalists at the end of the bi-monthly meeting held in Lagos. He said the biometric identification system would help the fight against fraud and money laundering, and also enhance the protection of bank customers. “The banking industry, under the auspices of the Bankers’ Committee, has been working to improve the Know Your Customer requirement. The idea is to fight fraud, money laundering and ensure a better customer protection. The initiative will be launched this Friday, February 14,” Wigwe said. He said the banks, in collaboration with the CBN, had been working on the initiative for a long time, adding that necessary infrastructure had been put in place to ensure the smooth rollout of the biometric scheme. “There will be teething problems, but we will learn from it. The biometric initiative is being pursued by the Bankers’ Committee,” the Access Bank boss said. The Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Mr. Ugochukwu Okoroafor, said the biometric system, when fully operational, would help to improve credit in the economy and boost the nation’s macro-economy. Okoroafor said, “Nigeria runs on cash; there is no identity. We don’t know who is who. We are now going into identity confirmation. We can now create a credit system that will power our economy. “Banks don’t want to lend because of identity issue. We want to move Nigeria from cash system to credit system that has identity.” The central bank also announced that its Cash-Lite policy would go nationwide by July1. The Head, Shares Services, CBN, Mr. Chidi Umeano, said the development would help to modernise the nation’s payment system. He said, “Statistics show that there has been a shift from the traditional cash-carrying system to electronic form of payment. For instance, there is the Nigerian Electronic Fund Transfer, Nigerian Instant Payment, Point of Sale terminal and Mobile Money. “As of yesterday (Monday), the value of transactions carried out using the NEFT was N153bn; Nigerian Instant Pay, N37bn; PoS terminals, N50m; and Mobile Money, N12m, totalling N190.62bn for a single day.” The CBN had two years ago introduced the cash-less policy in Lagos and Abuja, but last year added six other states. Meanwhile, the Group Managing Director, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Mr. Bisi Onasanya, provided reasons why the Bankers’ Committee agreed with the CBN on its decision to increase the Cash Reserve Requirement to 75 per cent from 50 per cent. The monetary measure had negatively impacted on the banks’ bottomlines. Onasanya said in the face of dwindling external reserves occasioned by decreasing oil revenue, the central bank had limited measures to achieve exchange rate stability. This, he said, informed the committee’s decision to go along with the Monetary Policy Committee on the latest monetary tightening measure. Onasanya said, “The Bankers’ Committee looked at the global economic environment and its impact on Nigeria. We looked at the United States tapering, global crisis and the resolution of the crisis in Iran, and the impact of the outflow of portfolio investment out of Nigeria.” (MTN is not liable for this message) ------------ [Budget: Reps kick against N700m Villa hospital, others] ------------ The 2014 budget debate by the House of Representatives resumed on Tuesday with members kicking against the votes for some subheads planned by the Federal Government. Such votes include the N971bn earmarked for fuel subsidy, N700m for a hospital in the Presidential Villa and the N63bn voted for amnesty programme and N7bn for National Conference. Among the lawmakers that raised the issues were the Chairman, House Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa; the Deputy Minority Leader, Mr. Suleiman Kawu; and Rafikat Onobamiro. Dabiri-Erewa, in her contribution, noted that the government had through this year’s budget again proved that the large amount it spent on the maintenance of the nation’s refineries in 2013 was a waste. According to her, the N971bn voted for fuel subsidy is a clear pointer that the refineries are still not working. She added, “The N971bn voted for fuel subsidy is way too high. Are they saying that the refineries are not working after a large amount was spent on their maintenance in 2013? “This provision for fuel subsidy should be reviewed. “They are also going to spend N700m on a hospital in the Villa when ordinary Nigerians have no access to health care. “What about the national conference? They want to spend N7bn; we have to review all these proposals.” Another lawmaker, Betty Apiafi, supported the speedy passage of the budget, but she called for the urgent passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill as well. She said, “Oil revenue will continue to leak until we pass the PIB. The NNPC is no longer accountable and the solution lies in the PIB.” There were other lawmakers, including Mr. Sunday Karimi, who urged the House to pass the budget without delaying it. Karimi cited the budget of the education sector, saying that the 14 per cent provision this year was closer to the 26 per cent recommended by UNESCO for countries globally. He also said there were 26 federal roads adequately covered by the budget. Kawu, who queried the N912bn budget deficit, observed that while the sum total of the budget was N4.6tn, government’s revenue projection was N3.7tn. “Mr. Speaker, it is very obvious that there is a huge deficit here. Therefore, we have to critically examine this budget and review a lot of the provisions”, Kawu added. In her contribution to the debate, Onobamiro wondered why N63bn would be voted for amnesty programme in the Niger Delta when water provision for the whole country has a vote of N37bn. “We are faced with a situation of insecurity in this country; look at the money they voted for the Army, Navy and the Air Force, it is too small. Budget of the whole Air Force is not enough to buy one aircraft for their operations. “But, here we are, government is spending N63bn on youths and ex-militants in the Niger Delta alone. What about unemployment challenge facing the entire country?”, she asked. Another member, Mr. Abubakar Momoh, said the budget came with a high borrowing cost of over N700m. “The money budgeted for debt servicing is high; there is also the issue of highways like the Lokoja-Benin Highway, there is no adequate provision for it. “At best, the paltry sum budgeted for that road can only complete three kilometres”, he said. Before the debate commenced, the six-member advisory committee, which the House set up on Tuesday last week to guide it on whether members should debate the budget or not, submitted its report. The committee confirmed that the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, breached the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007. It said the minister breached the Act by failing to attach the details of the budget of the 31 government agencies listed under the law to the 2014 budget currently before the National Assembly. ------------ Continues ------------ The committee noted that Okonjo-Iweala failed to comply with the provision of Section 21(II) of the Act, which requires that the details of the budget of the agencies be attached to the nation’s budget for consideration by the National Assembly. Among the agencies considered as “big earners and spenders,” are the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Ports Authority. The report observed that what the minister attached to the appropriation bill was the “summary” of the budget of the agencies and not the detailed breakdown as required by law. “As a committee, the documents attached to the budget do not fulfil the requirement of the Act because they contain just the summary. “Section 39 of the Act even says a breach of the Act is criminal”, the Chairman of the committee and chairman, House Committee on Rules/Business, Mr. Albert Sam-Tsokwa, told the House. However, the committee recommended that the budget debate should go on “in the national interest” so long as Okonjo-Iweala provided the details before the budget passage. The committee argued that in spite of the established breach of the Act, the House would not stop the budget debate because it was equally an obligation under Section 81 of the 1999 Constitution for the House to pass the budget. Sam-Tsokwa spoke further, “The breach of the Act was by the minister; there was a clear breach and the minister has to properly provide those details in compliance with Section 21 of the Act. “It is the conclusion of the committee that the budget debate will go on for national interest while the minister complies with the law.” Ruling on the report, the Speaker, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, said the point of order raised by a member of the All Progressives Congress, Mr. Emmanuel Jime, was “sustained.” It was Jime’s point of order that stalled the debate last week, as he had observed that the budget was in breach of the Act. Tambuwal ruled that the report would guide the House as members debated the budget. The speaker had blamed the rush with which the budget was sent to the National Assembly without the details of the agencies on the jostling for political positions ahead of 2015. But, he assured Nigerians that the House members would not forego “patriotism” or “lose their heads” like those jostling for power. The debate will continue on Wednesday (today). (MTN is not liable for this message) ------------ [Defection: PDP regains House majority status] ------------ The Peoples Democratic Party on Tuesday regained its majority status in the House of Representatives following the defection of five members of the All Progressives Congress to the PDP. The PDP, which had earlier lost the majority status in the House to the APC, now has 178 lawmakers to APC’s 168. Although the APC also gained one member from the PDP on Tuesday, the latter is now in the majority. The APC had moved to 172 members on December 19, 2013 after 37 PDP lawmakers defected to the party. The APC lawmaker who defected to the PDP on Tuesday were, Mr. Lawan Shehu-Bichi (Kano); Mr. Abdulsalam Asamu (Kano); Mr. Sani Dangaladima (Zamfara); Mr. Ibrahim Shehu-Gusua (Zamfara); and Mr. Umar Bature (Sokoto). The member who defected to the APC from PDP was Isa Ashiru from Kaduna State. Speaker of the House, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, read letters the lawmakers wrote individually, informing their colleagues of their decision to change political parties. Members of the PDP reacted to the development with wild jubilation. Some members of the party were so excited that they rushed to Shehu-Gusua and carried him up. For a few minutes, there was disorderliness on the floor of the lower chamber as members ran to the Majority Leader, Mrs. Mulikat Akande-Adeola, scrambling to shake hands with her. They were also seen congratulating the Deputy Majority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor. Akande-Adeola’s seat was most threatened when the APC had a slim majority control over the House until the latest development. The APC came short of effecting a leadership change in the House three weeks ago but were restrained by the court injunction obtained by the PDP against change in the leadership of the House. (MTN is not liable for this message) ------------ [Probability of APC winning 2015 presidential election] ------------ The All Progressives Congress has started with a momentum as a radical opposition party in Nigeria. Relatively, it seems to have achieved some visibility nationwide, especially in the media. It has also succeeded in antagonising the ruling Peoples Democratic Party on many issues and has attracted many prominent politicians from the ruling party including five governors and a former Vice-President recently. The party has also caused sizeable apprehension in the National Assembly and in the process “harvested” many senators and members of the House of Representatives into its fold. As a political party that had only recently commenced formal membership registration, this is no mean feat. However, it must go beyond all these if it intends to successfully displace the PDP and form government at the centre in 2015. Here are three steps it must take urgently and two others that it must stop taking if its desperation to upstage the PDP will be realised. The first step it must take towards rebranding the party will be to allow the big wigs to retreat to the background.Politicians like Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Gen. Muhamadu Buhari, Chief Tom Ikimi, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, Chief Bisi Akande, Chief Timipre Sylva, Dr.Ogbonnaya Onu, Aminu Bello Masari, among others are enormous assets to the party. In fact, they are the party’s backbone and can be said to be the sources for the initial impressive take-off velocity that the party has got. Though they bring on the table considerable strength and following, they cannot be the face of change that Nigerians need at this time. And I say this for every politician that falls into their category; they are considered as part and parcel of the country’s problem and so it will be difficult for Nigerians to trust these same people to provide the solutions to the problems. Some of them have tainted political past and are currently carrying one baggage or another.The APC must get these men to willingly withdraw to the background and allow new faces to market the party to Nigerians.This does not mean that the powers these men wield in their various constituencies will not be useful at this time, but the fact remains that the alternative party that Nigerians will have confidence in must not be driven overtly by those who are believed to have contributed to the current impoverishment that the people are suffering. The second step will be to rid the party of anything tribal or religious in their ranks. It may be pure propaganda but the fact remains that many Nigerians feel strongly that the APC or some elements within its fold may be promoters of ethnicity and religious politics. That toga still hangs over the party rightly or wrongly. In Nigeria, such issues matter. Other political parties might have started using these two points as frontline reasons for their negative publicity against the APC and they will likely convince many people. Considering that no political party can form government at the national level by winning votes from any one region only, the APC must remodel itself along the lines of religious neutrality and inter-ethnic inclusivity. More so, there have been several events over the last few years that have made tribal and especially religious issues very sensitive. The “deportation” of some “destitute” South-Easterners by the Lagos State Government was interpreted by many as a targeted aggression against a particular ethnic group. It was an avoidable gaffe linked to an APC run state government. That feeling contributed partly to the poor outing of the APC candidate in the recent governorship elections in Anambra State. Apart from the half-hearted apology rendered by Governor Babatunde Fashola, no effort has been made to remedy the public relations deficit created by that singular incident through any targeted outreach to the families of those affected. ------------ Continues ------------ On a related note, the seriousness of the party’s condemnation of the Boko Haram insurgency in parts of Northern Nigeria is fairly unclear. As the insurgents continue to target worship centres among others, they inadvertently provide potent opportunities for outreach. To attract widespread support, the APC must be seen as a tribally & religiously inclusive platform. As a party that expects to contest elections and win by popular votes from the masses, one would have expected it to rise & condemn every attack by insurgents and even provide relief materials, by so doing come clean of some of the accusations from its political opponents. The third step the APC must take is to articulate an alternative programme & market such aggressively to the Nigerian people beyond its resort to criticising the PDP at will. The promise of a progressive state and the doctrine of a social contract anchored on a social democracy, all sound good but they are a bit vague for an ordinary Nigerian to connect to. A greater part of the preamble on its website re-echoed the daily frustrations & lamentations of an ordinary citizen. However, this will not be the basis for the mass mobilisation for an opposition party that is preparing to take over power. There needs to be very concrete strategies on how the promise of change it promises will be actualised and operationalised. In the “manifesto” on its website, the party promised seven cardinal programmes though it listed eight items below the statement. How could such error escape its vigilance? The best way to sell the APC quickly is to show the performance of governors currently serving under the party’s platform. If it can show convincingly that its elected officials are already delivering “change”, then it will be easier for Nigerians to believe that it will do more at the federal level. Furthermore, it could start test-running some of its policy proposals in the various states so that it can get concrete feedback for improvement. Nonetheless, there are a few steps the APC must stop taking henceforth. It must stop over-antagonising President Jonathan. Its current intense antagonism and resentful criticisms may turn out to be counterproductive. It portrays the party as one that is only desperate to displace the President whether or not it can provide an alternative. It is rather raising public sympathy for the ruling party on the one side and on the other giving Jonathan the opportunity of realising his mistakes early enough and making amends. The elections are around the corner. At least the Independent National Electoral Commission has released the timetable. Every party should go to the drawing board and do some rigorous thinking and planning. If the APC feels that the ruling party has failed, it should catalogue its failures, present them before Nigerians, and tell us why its own party will be different. Period! Many political observers and analysts alike are already feeling that the only reason politicians can defect back and forth from the ruling party to the opposition is because there are no fundamental ideological differences between the two parties. If this is true, then people will begin to feel that they will be better off staying with “the devil” they know. The APC should prove them wrong. My final point will be to suggest to the APC to caution its leaders and members to discontinue making provocative statements that unnecessarily heat up the polity. Such actions lead to confrontations with security agencies and do not add any electoral value. This is a time to deploy superior political tactics to woo the electorate. To confront a party in power and hope to displace it is not a kettle of fish. The incumbent government may appear incompetent in a way that has made many Nigerians angry. However, to harness that anger into a positive electoral outcome will require a lot of work. (MTN is not liable for this message) ------------ [FG sets N5trn revenue target for manufacturing sector] ------------ President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday said the Federal Government expected the manufacturing sector to earn about N5tn in revenue annually following the inauguration of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan and the National Enterprise Development Programme. Jonathan, who said this during the inauguration of the NIRP and NEDEP at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, described the plan as the most ambitious and comprehensive road map that would transform the nation’s industrial landscape, boost skills development, enhance job creation and conserve foreign exchange. He said, “The goal of the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan is to increase the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the GDP from the present four per cent to more than 10 per cent over the next five years. This will boost the annual revenue earnings of the Nigerian manufacturers by up to N5tn per annum. “The NIRP is the most ambitious and comprehensive industrialisation programme because it is based on the areas where Nigeria has competitive and comparative advantages such as agriculture and agro-products, metals and solid minerals, oil and gas, and construction and light manufacturing services. It has identified those sectors where Nigeria can be number one in Africa and top 10 globally.” The President stressed that the NIRP would address all the major physical constraints towards industrialisation, improve the nation’s investment climate and promote the patronage of made-in-Nigeria products. He explained that the NEDEP would help to reposition the MSME sector as the major driver of job creation and inclusive economic growth, adding that the Federal Government would continue to promote the patronage of made-in-Nigeria products through the implementation of its local patronage policies and programmes. Jonathan said, “The NEDEP is designed to develop and grow the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises because all over the world, the MSMEs are primary drivers of employment. With the successful implementation of the National Enterprise Development Programme, Nigeria will attain her dream of inclusive economic growth.” “A survey conducted by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria and the National Bureau of Statistics in 2010 showed that we have about 17 million MSMEs, employing over 32 million people. If each of these 17 million MSMEs employs additional one person, we will create additional 17 million jobs, thereby reducing unemployment in our country.” The President added, “The NIRP and NEDEP will give additional impetus to our Transformation Agenda by ensuring value addition, enterprise development and industrialisation. “On our own part, the Federal Government will continue to support local manufacturers by buying vehicles that are made in Nigeria. And as long those vehicles are produced in this country, the Federal Government will buy them. So, we also encourage the state governments to support the patronage of made-in-Nigeria products in their states.” In his welcome address, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, said the holistic and integrated nature of the NIPR and NEDEP had provided synergy and necessary linkages with other development plans of the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the government and the private sector, adding that the ministry would partner all the stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the programmes. “The NIRP and NEDEP are both holistic and integrated. This means that they are joined at the waist with other MDAs. The NIRP and NEDEP adopt inclusive structures, which bring in other government agencies and the private sector to ensure adequate policy synergy,” Aganga said. (MTN is not liable for this message) ------------ [Technical assistant won’t sit with Keshi] ------------ The foreign technical assistant the Nigeria Football Federation is planning to engage for the Super Eagles will not sit on the bench with the Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, it has been learnt. The NFF and Keshi have been at loggerheads over the the football house’s plans to hire the services of a foreign coach for the national team, with the former insisting that the coach needed a technical assistant to put up a creditable performance at the Brazil 2014 World Cup. But former Eagles captain Keshi demanded the reinstatement of his former assistant, Sylvanus Okpala, who was dismissed by the federation after the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations victory. A member of the NFF Technical Committee, Victor Ikpeba, in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Tuesday, explained that the federation was only trying to help the national team perform at the World Cup. He added that the job of the assistant would be more of spying on the Eagles’ opponents and not sitting on the bench with the technical crew during games. “The federation is only trying to help. When we talk of a technical assistant, we are talking about someone that can spy on our opponents. It’s something that is done all over the world,” the 1996 Olympic Games gold medallist said. “We need to explain things properly to Nigerians. The assistant is definitely not going to sit with Keshi on the bench. All I have heard in the media is just to create confusion. There was never a time we talked about a technical adviser for the national team. “We are number one in Africa and we are doing everything possible to ensure that the team succeeds at the World Cup. That is why we are doing everything to see how the team and Keshi can succeed.” The former AS Monaco striker added that the technical committee had a meeting with Keshi before the African Nations Championship in January to brief him on the plans of the technical committee. Ikpeba said, “There is no way anyone would want the coach to fail. We spoke with him before the commencement of CHAN and we suggested ways to support him. “We know Argentina, but we don’t know much about Bosnia and Iran. So, we need someone, who can embark on a spying mission of these countries for us. When we play Mexico next month in the US, our World Cup opponents are certainly going to be around to spy on us. But we don’t have anyone like that. “We won the Africa Cup of Nations doesn’t mean that we are perfect. We want to go to Brazil and do well and make things difficult for our opponents.” (MTN is not liable for this message) ------------ [Cinemas pay me 20% of proceeds –Elliot] ------------ Actor and producer, Desmond Elliot, speaks on his gain and losses in Nollywood, JAYNE AUGOYE writes As the Nigerian film industry continues to attract international attention by the day, many filmmakers say it is time they began telling ‘our own stories’. While funding and a general apathy towards adapting notable historical stories, such as Chinua Achebe’s Things fall Apart or works on the Nigerian Civil War, into cinema still prevails, some producers are managing to explore some other relevant areas. For actor-turned-director, Desmond Elliot, the Nigerian cultural space is indeed a breeding ground for great stories yet untold in spite of several impeding issues. Elliot, who recently shot an epic biopic titled Apeye: A Mother’s Love, cites funding as a major stumbling block. He says, “I will love to do a Sarduana or an Awolowo story but all these require a lot of money. I can’t use my personal funds. How will I get my money back? At the same time, I may have to really convince the executive producer to invest his money in such a project. “I love to do epics but these are not your everyday kind of movies. I think it is high time filmmakers began to do indigenous stories that border on our heritage and history as a nation.” Even as some stakeholders still regard the $200m Entertainment Fund intervention by the Federal Government as being inaccessible, Elliot has been lucky to grab a piece of the bounty. He is one of the few Nollywood practitioners to have openly declared so. The Chief Executive Officer of FilmHouse, Kene Mkparu, is the first person that did so about three years ago. Elliot, who refuses to divulge the value of the money, says it is strictly meant for capacity building. “Some other members of the Directors’ Guild of Nigeria and I have been able to access the money for training abroad. I don’t know if I am in the right place to say this, but the second set of funds they will be disbursing will be for film production. I am waiting for the distribution because my company is into that line of business and we have about nine stores around the country,” he reveals When he released another work, Finding Mercy, into the market late last year, little did he know that pirates would go to work from the day the film hit the public domain. While this is not the first time he would be encountering such, this one appears to have hit him hard. “It is so terrible because normally it takes just a day for a movie released in Lagos to get to Abuja. But I was shocked to my marrows to discover that it was already in Abuja hours after its release. “I don’t even talk about piracy any longer because I am tired of talking about it. But something needs to be done. I now know what piracy is all about. It is terrible. You won’t believe that of all the 20 films I have shot so far, I have only been able to break even in just about 10. Despite these challenges, I will keep doing films because I love it,” he says. Having spent 14 years in the industry, the Economics graduate of the Lagos State University appears to have found love in the arms of directing. While he admits learning the tricks of the art from fellow filmmaker, Lancelot Odua Imaseun, Elliot says he is fulfilled. However, in spite of the glitz and glamour that is associated with showbiz, things are indeed not as rosy as they may appear to the layman. In fact, just like many other people, stars ‘also cry’. “As a producer, I only get 20 per cent from proceeds in the cinema from a film run for eight weeks. So, how am I going to get encouraged? I can’t shoot a very standard epic or biopic movie with N10m or N15m and remember that an average shoot costs as much as N500, 000 a day. So, for now, we will keep doing our regular films till the industry improves,” Elliot notes. 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Posted on: Thu, 13 Feb 2014 07:42:37 +0000
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