Monday, october 27, 2014

L-R: Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano; presidential tour guide, Prof. Vincent Anibogu; President, Living Faith Church Worldwide, Bishop David Oyedepo; President, Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor; President Goodluck Jonathan and the Parish Priest of Church of Transfiguration, Mount Tabor, Rev. Fr. Bernard Barbaric, during a prayer session at Mount Tabor, Israel. PHOTO: STATE HOUSE

Vol. 4 N0. 969 Monday, October 27, 2014 N150

P.9

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2>>Mu'azu

...invades market, kills fi ve

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FG considers nationwide ban on Okada P.2

Nigeria solicitsGermanys support forAfDB job

JTF, Southern Ijaw LGC collaborate against oil theft in Bayelsa creeks

BUSINESSTHE SECTION

P.A6 Free inside

Ondo PDP rejects dissolution of exco

Delicate to experiment Muslim-Muslim, Christian-Christian ticket

Umar

OBIORA IFOH AND HAKEEM GBADAMOSI

The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Ondo

State, Hon. Ebenezer Al-abi, yesterday described the dissolution of the partys executive in the state as contemptuous and shocking.

The National Working

Committee, NWC of the party had in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, an-nounced the dissolution of the Ondo State executive

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2>>

2015: Obasanjo cautions against religious bias

Boko Haram abducts 30 boys, girls in Borno

FEMI OYEWESOABEOKUTA

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday cautioned Nigerian politicians against introducing religious senti-ment into the nation's polity.

He said that the move could jeopardise the peace, security and continued ex-istence of the Nigerian proj-ect.

The former president

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2015: Obasanjo cautions against religious bias





Participants during the monthly walking and jogging exercise in Abuja on Saturday. PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1


committee. The party appointed Mr.

Dare Adeleke as the new care-taker committee chairman.

Metuh in the statement said: By this announce-ment, all structures of the party at the ward, local gov-ernment and state levels stand dissolved.

Consequently, a care-taker committee has been constituted to pilot the af-fairs of the state chapter of the party.

The committee has Hon. Dare Adeleke as chairman and Hon. Dare Solomon Osawu as secretary.

The PDP therefore en-joins all its members in Ondo State to continue to work together in harmony, even as we are confident now, more than ever before, of our total domination of Ondo politics, especially with the rejoining of our political family by the hard-working governor of Ondo State, His Excellency, Oluse-gun Mimiko.

But Alabi said the hasty decision by the national working committee of the party has confirmed the level of impunity in the party.

In a telephone conversa-tion, the chairman won-dered why a decision of that magnitude would be taken when a suit challenging the move was pending at a fed-eral high court in Abuja.

The decision is highly embarrassing and shocking to me; for a party such as PDP to go ahead to take this kind of decision is mostly in bad faith and even con-temptuous. One wonders what kind of example the national leadership of the

INUSA NDAHI WITH AGENCY REPORT

About 30 youths, some of them girls aged 11, were at the week-end abducted in Borno State by suspected Boko Haram members.

This is even as Camer-oun said yesterday that its soldiers killed 39 members of the sect in a fierce battle on Friday.

The insurgents were said to have abducted the teenag-ers at Mafa village, 50 kilo-metres east of Maiduguri, the state capital.

A local village chief, Al-haji Shettima Maina, said: The insurgents grabbed young people, boys and girls, from our region. They took all boys aged 13 and over and all girls aged 11 and

more. According to our in-formation, 30 young people were abducted in the last two days.

Another village elder, Mallam Ashiekh Mustapha, confirmed the account.

Both men said 17 people were also killed in a recent Boko Haram attack on the nearby village of Ndongo.

Boko Haram, which has been waging a bloody insur-gency since 2009, has been responsible for waves of at-tacks and abductions.

In April, the Islamist rebel group snatched over 200 schoolgirls from Chibok, triggering an international outcry.

Kidnapping young wom-en and girls as well as forci-bly conscripting young men and boys to fight for Boko Haram is a well-established

tactic by the militants.Some estimates put the

number of women held by the group in the high hun-dreds. Most are believed to be forced into marriages with rebels.

Maina said his village and areas around it were tar-geted in nearly daily raids by Boko Haram, prompting many residents to flee to the city of Maiduguri for safety.

He said he had pleaded for help from the Federal Government but that so far none had been forthcoming.

The sect also yesterday invaded Miringa, a village in Biu Local Government Area of Borno State, killing five persons, while several others sustained injuries.

The sect members were said to have invaded the market where they attacked

traders and buyers, killing the five people.

A ward councillor in Biu, who did not want his name mentioned, confirmed the incident, adding that the gunmen came in two Hilux vans with Islamic inscrip-tion and flags, shooting spo-radically at people during the market hours.

He said five people had been confirmed dead while others who sustained gun-shot injuries were taken to the General Hospital in Biu.

Another resident, Abdu Usman, told our correspon-dent that there was pande-monium in the village as the whole town was deserted following the shootings at the market square.

He noted that apart from those who fled into the bush, many still ran to Biu, add-

ing that normalcy had since been restored as some peo-ple had been returning after security operatives were de-ployed to maintain law and order.

Usman said: At the mo-ment there is rumour that seven people have been killed but many said five people had been confirmed dead while several others were injured.

Whatever it is, this is worrisome. How can some-thing like this be happening when the Federal Govern-ment is telling Nigerians that they are dialoguing with the Boko Haram sect?

Our correspondent could not get confirmation from the police in Maiduguri at the time of filing this report as all the phones of the Po-lice Public Relations Offi-

cer, Gideon Jibrin, were not reachable.

Meanwhile, Camerou-nian troops killed 39 Boko Haram fighters carrying out raids on Cameroons terri-tory, the Defence Ministry said yesterday.

Fridays fighting in the far north of Cameroun near Nigeria also claimed four ci-

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net2 Monday, October 27, 2014News

gave the warning in a state-ment he personally signed yesterday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

Obasanjos letter seems to corroborate a statement credited to the former Head of State and leading presi-dential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, published in one of the national dailies.

Buhari was quoted as saying that he was not op-posed to any political ar-rangement that would

throw him up along with any politician, be it a Mus-lim or a Christian as the presidential candidate of the APC.

The APC presidential aspirant cited the annulled presidential victory of the late M.K.O Abiola and Baba Gana Kingibe in the June 12, 1993 general elections in the purported report.

He had also said that the introduction of religious af-filiation into the body polity of the nation was the idea of political confussionists who are out to "steal from and

shortchange" the Nigerian electorate in the name of religion.

Buhari said what Nige-rians needed was a good government that would rule with justice and equity for all Nigerians, irrespective of religion or ethnic affiliation.

Obasanjo, however, said that politicians' attempt to whip up religious sentiment in the psyche of the elector-ate must not be contemplat-ed by any serious-minded politician.

The former president, however, warned stakehold-

ers in the nation's polity to be highly sensitive and alerted to the peace, security and stability in the political discourse and arrangement in the country.

"Sensitivity is a neces-sary ingredient for enhance-ment of peace, security and stability at this point in the political discourse and ar-rangement for Nigeria and for encouraging confidence and trust," he said.

Obasanjo, while warning political players about the delicate period we are in, said it would be absurd and

delicate for any leader or any political party to be toy-ing with Muslim-Muslim or Christian-Christian ticket at this juncture.

He added that Nigeria could not at this stage erase the spectre and fear of Is-lamisation or Christianisa-tion by the people.

"Disregarding the fact that there are real fears that need to be allayed at this point of our national life will amount not only to insensitivity but also a very bad politics indeed," the ex-president added.

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net 3Monday, October 28, 2014

General Manager, British America Tobacco Nigeria Foundation, BATNF, Ms. Abimbola Okoya (left) receiving the CSR Company for Agricultural Empowerment Award from Personal Assistant to the Director-General, Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi, Mr. Deji Oyediran, during the 8th Annual Lead Awards ceremony in Lagos, recently.

L-R: General Manager, ICT, Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, NSITF, Mrs. Catherine Ugbe; General Manager, Legal, Sir Aderibigbe Adebayo, and Director General, National Orientation Agency, Mr. Mike Omeri, at the Ethics First Roundtable Workshop for staff of NSITF in Abuja, at the weekend.

L-R: Legal Adviser, Bank of Industry, Barr. Emmanuel Onaji; Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa; Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, and Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mrs. Ibukun Odusote, during the signing of memorandum of understanding on rice production, in Abuja, at the weekend. PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA

L-R: Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun; Eruku of Egbaland/Otun of Ijeun, Chief Ebenezer Atanda Abatan; his wives, Mopelola, Toyin and Kemi, during the thanksgiving service to commemorate the 75th birthday celebration of Chief Abatan at St. Matthias Anglican Church, Ijeun-Titun, Abeokuta, yesterday.

National News

TOLA AKINMUTIMIABUJA

In what appeared to be another twist to the lingering cri-sis over the sale of the multi-billion naira Ikot Abasi-based Aluminium Smelting Company of Ni-geria, ALSCON, the BFIG Group, at the weekend, again accused the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, of frustrating its plans to pay for the plant as ordered by an Abuja High Court, on September 30, 2014.

The President of the BFI Group, Dr Reuben Jaja, said that attempts by the group to sign the SPA agreement in line with the latest court judgment had been thwarted by the BPE, despite letters forwarded to it for the purpose over the last two months.

Jaja, who forwarded to National Mirror, a copy of the letter by the Groups counsel to BPE, titled Request for Execution of BPEs SPA to Ensure Payment, Pursuant to the Federal High Courts

BFIG accuses BPE of stalling payment for ALSCON

Photo News

September 30, 2014 Or-der, Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/901/201311 confirmed that efforts made by the BFIG management to discuss the SPA terms with the BPE had been re-buffed by the officials.

For instance, the let-ter stated that after sev-eral efforts, including text message sent to the BPEs Director General, Benjamin Dikki, to meet the bureaus management failed, a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Chief Don Etiebet, was asked by the BFIG to meet with Dikki and discuss how the court judgment could be fully complied with.

The company alleged that after Etiebet had discussed with the BPE Director General and he agreed to arrange a meet-ing between the two par-

ties, the BFIG lamented that an email sent by Jaja, requesting for date, venue and time of the meeting was neither replied nor did the Bureau open any formal communication channels on the signing of the Share Purchase Agreement, in accordance with paragraph 1 of the court order.

It stated: On October 10, 2014, Dr. Jaja transmit-ted an electronic mail to you, wherein he outlined the above, and, again, requested the prompt scheduling of this meet-ing. Further, within this email, Dr. Jaja indicated that the meeting was nec-essary to coordinate the initial payment and the arrangements for our re-ceipt of KPMGs audited report for the determina-tion of the final amount that will be due, all in ac-

cordance with the courts judgment.

In another letter dat-ed October 20, 2014, the BFIG, while recalling that the BPE has refused to respond to its enquiry on the SPA, restated its com-mitment to seeing that the September 30th courts or-der was complied with.

Specifically, the BFI Group reminded the bu-reau that by the judgment BFIG was required to sub-mit the initial payment for ALSCON on or before October 24th, adding that the BFI Group is ready, willing and able to make the payment, and would like to proceed to close the transaction at the very earliest opportunity.

It also indicated its readiness to receive the BPEs executed version of the mutually agreed SPA, and proceed to make the

arrangements to comply with the court judgment.

However, BPE in a statement issued on 14th October refuted BFIG Corporations stance on the sale and alleged take-over of the ALSCON by the BFI Group, saying that the Russian Compa-ny, RUSAL, still remains the lawful managers of the plant.

The Bureaus Head, Public Communications, Chigbo Anichebe, stated that the Bureau only hands over Federal Gov-ernment assets to those who bid and fully pay the bid consideration and that BFIG has not paid a kobo.

Anichebe maintained that consequently, BPEs position had long been that BPE performed its obligations under the Supreme Court decision

of July 6, 2012, but BFIG failed to perform its part of the obligations, the re-sult being, in our opinion, that BFIG has no right to the said shares.

The BPE claimed that the decision of Septem-ber 30, 2014 of the Federal High Court in Abuja in BFIGs case against BPE to enforce the Supreme Court judgment was given in error.

That decision is al-ready a subject of an ap-peal and BPE/NCP ex-pects that decision to be reversed in the appellate court.

In conclusion, BPE stands by its position that BFIG, having failed to comply with the Supreme Court judgment of July 6, 2012, has no right to the shares in question or to the ALSCON plant, BPE added.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net4 Monday, October 27, 2014

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net 5Monday, October 27, 2014 News





...party to pay lawmakers back for his emergence as Speaker

PDP to deal with Ihedioha, others over Tambuwal

L-R: National Chairman, All Progressives Congress, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed and presidential aspirant, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, during the partys mega rally in Port Harcourt on Saturday.

party would have sent out at this moment.

To be honest with you, this goes to show or confirm what people say about PDP as a party of impunity, be-cause there is a subsisting order for all parties to main-tain the status quo, he said.

Speaking in the same vein, the Ondo State chap-ter of the party expressed displeasure over the disso-

lution of the state executive council.

The partys Director of Publicity, Ayo Fadaka, in a statement said members re-ceived the news with shock.

Fadaka said in the state-ment that the action was de-signed to further destabilise the party in the state, and de-scribed the action as a clear intention by those we expect to safeguard the interest of the party to outrightly be-

head it. He said members of the

party in the state would con-tinue to work with the elect-ed executive and recognise them, in defiance of the new directive from the national body.

Fadaka said: We con-sider this action a disap-pointment, particularly in view of the fact that there is a subsisting court order bar-ring the NWC from taking

this sort of action.Therefore, we reject it

and affirm our absolute con-fidence and support for the executives from the ward to the state.

We want to remind Abuja that it is by choice that we are members of the party, and that the party is not a prison yard where we are inmates that are bereft of liberty and fundamental rights.

We also declare our defi-ance of this action, and as such will continue to rec-ognise and relate only with our executives at every level.

The prosecution of this action clearly and absolute-ly demonstrates that those who have elected on their own to serve the interest of Governor Mimiko as he decamps to our party have clearly sow a seed of discord that is most certain to ger-

minate very quickly.He, however, called on the

members of the party in the state to remain steadfast, firm and resolute, describ-ing the development as a trying period.

We also call on the gener-ality of members of the PDP in Ondo State to be firm and resolute in this period as we will jointly and collective de-termine, shape and reorder our political destiny."

WOLE OLADIMEJIABUJA

Indication emerged at the weekend that there were moves by the top echelon in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to deal with members of the House of Representa-tives that enthroned Hon. Aminu Tambuwal as Speaker in 2011.

The emergence of Tam-buwal was against the par-tys decision that the posi-tion of the Speaker should go to South-West.

This is even as a group, floated by lawmakers and Nigerians from various walks of life, said they had endorsed Tambuwal to run for the presidency in the 2015 polls because of his track record as an astute politician.

The decision has made some lawmakers, includ-ing the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, who is eyeing the gover-norship seat in Imo State, to seek support for his am-bition everywhere, includ-ing the Presidency.

It was reliably gathered that PDP was ready to pay some of the lawmakers back in their own coin, especially when they re-fused to heed the call of the party.

Some of the partymen who brought the issue for-ward argued that for being disloyal to the party, they should not be given ticket to return or go for higher position.

Some members had decided to go against the PDP decision and colluded with the All Progressives Congress, APC, members to enthrone Tambuwal as the Speaker and Ihedioha his deputy.

Since then, the leader-ship of the House was said to have been confron-

tational with President Goodluck Jonathan and other executive.

The House was said to have made things difficult for the executive with bills or motions which the ex-ecutive had interest were been short down.

Sources close to the PDP revealed that the day of reckoning had come for the party to also deal with them by denying them the PDP ticket.

They also disclosed that governors of all the PDP states had been in-structed to ensure that all the lawmakers found guilty should be dealt with accordingly.

The sources said that Ihedioha might be denied the ticket in Imo State as Hon. Bethel Amadi was being considered, believ-ing that he was a loyal member that could be re-lied on.

It was also gathered that the Jigawa State Gov-ernor Sule Lamido was working toward stopping Hon. Bashir Adamu, who had been pencilled down to take over from Tambu-wal any time he stepped down after his defection.

To this end, Ihedioha, Adamu and other law-makers in this category have been running from pillar to pole for pardon for them to be given the tickets.

Meanwhile, a group under the aegis of Tam-buwal for president, TFC, at the weekend said it had endorsed Tambuwal for the presidential race.

Members of the group, however, chose to speak under anonymity as their identities might generate bad blood.

One of the lawmakers from the South- West said: We know the stuff Tam-buwal is made of and we

from the South and the North will buy his nomi-nation form and ensure he contests.

For now, Tambuwal has the credentials to occupy the number one spot in Nigeria as he has proven to all that he is not a sectional leader but a complete detribalised

Nigerian with a midas touch.

We are backing him with every available non-violent weapon to achieve this dream because we believe that Tambuwal's candidature and eventual victory at the polls will ensure good governance at all levels in Nigeria of

tomorrow. Another stakeholder

from the North-West also spoke in the same vein. "We in the North are sol-idly behind him and will help to guide and guard him to victory in 2015.

It was also gathered that the group clamouring for Tambuwal to run the

presidential race against President Goodluck Jona-than had held several meetings in Lagos before the common position was taken.

The name of the TFC Protem Chairman, Mo-hammed Sanni, however, does not ring bell in the Ni-gerian political landscape.

vilians, the ministry said in a statement made available to AFP.

Boko Haram rebels, who have been waging attacks in northern Nigeria and who kidnapped more than 200 school girls in April, frequently cross into neigh-bouring Cameroun.

Their latest attack tar-geted the village of Glawi, killing four Nigerian refu-gees and wounding one Camerounian, before be-

ing pushed back by defence forces which pursued them until the borders, the min-istry said, adding that a dozen militants were killed by troops.

Another two groups of the Boko Haram sect entered Cameroun at the same time, but were im-mediately intercepted and neutralised by our defence forces who destroyed three 44 vehicles equipped with machine guns, killing 27 as-sailants, said the ministry

in a statement.The toll issued by the

ministry has not been con-firmed by independent sources. There was also no detail on any casualties suf-fered by the army.

The Camerounian army regularly issues updates on the number of Boko Haram fighters it has killed.

Last week, it said 107 members of the sect were killed during fighting that also saw eight Camerounian soldiers lose thier lives.

President Paul Biya has vowed to totally wipe out the group, after 27 Chinese and Camerounian hostages kidnapped in May and July on Camerouns territory by suspected Boko Haram members were released.

Cameroun shares a bor-der of more than 2,000 ki-lometres (1,200 miles) with Nigeria, where Boko Haram has been waging a bloody insurgency since 2009 in which 10,000 people have died.

OLUSEGUN KOIKI

The Board of Direc-tors of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company, NAHCo, Plc. has sacked the incumbent Man-aging Director, Mr. Kayode Oluwasegun-Ojo, and im-mediately announced a re-placement.

National Mirror gathered that the meeting leading to the sack of Oluwasegun-Ojo

L-R: Former Chief Medical Director, LUTH, Prof. Akin Asibogun; Director, Disease Control, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr. Jemilade Longe; Chairman, Sickle Cell Foundation of Nigeria, Prof. Olu Akinyanju, and Director, MTN Foundation, Mr. Dennis Okoro, during the graduation ceremony of the 17th Genetic Counseling Training Course, in Idi-Araba, at the weekend .

companys succession plan and good corporate gover-nance principles.

The stated added that the company had since conveyed the change to the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, and the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, which is in line with their rules and regulations and applied to publish it to the stakeholders.

In a letter conveying its approval to the board of the company dated October 23, the Nigerian NSE re-portedly stated that it had received your letter dated today, October 23, 2014 in which you notified The Ex-change of the appointment of Mr. Norbert Bielderman as acting Managing Direc-tor of Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc.

Adebiyi added that the letter notified the company that the new information

had been transmitted to the market operators and up-loaded on the NSE X-Issuer.

It added that NAHCo Avi-ance could proceed to pub-lish the information to its stakeholders.

Until his appointment, Bielderman was the Execu-tive Director, Operations, for the company.

Bielderman joined NAH-Co Aviance in May 2010 from Netherlands (Holland). He is an alumnus of the Uni-versity of the Netherlands Antilles where he studied Fiscal Law from 1979 to 1982.

Meanwhile, there are strong indications that the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Au-thority, NCAA, Capt. Muk-tar Usman, may eventually resume as the helmsman of the regulatory agency seven months after his appoint-ment by President Good-luck Jonathan.

by the company started on Friday, October 17, through Monday, October 20.

A source close to the organisation confided in our correspondent that Oluwasegn-Ojo who many felt was popular with the board might have fallen out of favour due to some poli-cies he took recently in the organisation, which some board members felt was not in-line with the policy of the organisation.

Usman may resume as DG NCAA todayThe sack, our correspon-

dent however gathered, took most of the staff of the company by surprise, though many may not have been sympathetic to his removal as they felt that welfare of workers suffered greatly under his leader-ship.

The source said, In fact, we were all surprised when we heard the news because he was close to the board of directors at the expense of the workers and would always do their bidding no matter what. However, most of us were not sympathetic to him for his abrupt remov-al despite that he had not finished his tenure as the Chief Executive Director of NAHCo Plc.

Oluwasegun-Ojo was ap-pointed the Managing Di-rector of the company on June 1, 2011, after the exit of the former CEO, Mr. Sule

Bates.Before his appointment

by the board as the CEO, Oluwasegun-Ojo was an ex-ecutive director, finance and strategic planning for the ground-handling company. As the CEO of the compa-ny, he was entitled to four years, which is renewable at the end of the first tenure.

He has since proceeded on terminal leave, which commenced last Thursday.

But an online statement by the Media Relations, Department of Corporate Communications, NAHCo, Mr. Waheed Adebiyi, stat-ed that the board had an-nounced the appointment of Mr. Norbert Bielderman as the acting Managing Di-rector effective from Octo-ber 23. Adebiyi stated that the Board of Directors at its meeting of October 21 appointed Bielderman as acting CEO in line with the

OBIORA IFOHABUJA

The All Progressives Congress, APC, will hold an extraordi-nary national convention on Wednesday in Abuja to approve amendments to the constitution of the party and also adopt its manifesto for the 2015 gen-eral elections.

In a statement issued

in Lagos on Sunday by its National Publicity Secre-tary, Alhaji Lai Moham-med, the party said the proposed amendments when approved at the national convention will align the partys constitu-tion better with the Elec-toral Act and also allow the APC to function more efficiently.

It also said the conven-tion would adopt the six-

point manifesto that has been extracted from the one submitted to INEC earlier for the purpose of the 2015 general elections.

The manifesto to be adopted at the extraordi-nary convention of our party is specifically for the 2015 general elections. Because of shifting priori-ties, we do not believe that a party manifesto should be one for all time but a

document that will adjust to the changing needs of the people.

In this regard, we have conducted a survey to find out what Nigerians ur-gently need at the moment to raise their standard of living and ensure their se-curity and welfare, which is the raison detre of any government. Based on the outcome of the survey, we have come up with a six-

point manifesto, which we extracted from the one we submitted to INEC earlier.

The six broad priority areas for the APC ahead of the 2015 general elec-tions are National Secu-rity, Good Governance, Human Capital Develop-ment, Economic Develop-ment, Land and Natural Resources as well as For-eign Policy. The issue of job creation, fight against

corruption, infrastructur-al development, health, qualitative education, regular power supply, etc are subsumed under these broad priority areas, APC said.

The party said once the manifesto is adopted at the convention, it would be made massively avail-able to all Nigerians, com-plete with all the details, in many languages.

The Nigerian Navy, NN, in Lagos State said on Sunday that it handed over 23 suspected vandals that were arrested in connection with the re-cent pipeline vandalism at Majidun, Ikorodu, to the police.

This information is con-tained in a statement from the NNs Public Affairs Of-fice, which was made avail-able to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Lagos.

The statement noted that the suspected persons were arrested in connection with the pipeline vandalism in Ikorodu and preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects had a case to answer.

They were handed over to the Inspector-General of Police, IGPs Anti-Pipeline Vandalism Unit at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, for further investigation and prosecution.

The Commander, Ni-gerian Navy Ship, NNS BEECROFT, Commodore Tekeimo Ikoli, who rep-

resented the Flag Officer Commanding, FOC, West-ern Naval Command, Rear Adm. Ilesanmi Alade, handed over the suspect in Abuja.

Ikoli handed the sus-pects over to the represen-tative of the Police Anti Pipeline Vandalism Unit, DSP Empress Omoigue, the statement said.

The statement also stressed zero tolerance of the Nigerian Navy for crimes in the nations mari-time space by the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Us-man Jibrin.

NAN recalls that the Navy in October embarked on an operation code-named `AWATSE, mean-ing SCATTER, in Majidun area of Ikorodu.

As a result of the opera-tion, over 2,000 gallons of petroleum products were recovered from suspected vandals at their hideout in the area and handed over to the Pipelines and Prod-ucts Marketing Company, PPMC.

National News Monday, October 27, 2014

APC holds convention to amend party constitution

Navy hands over 23 suspected pipeline vandals to police

NAHCo sacks MD, Bielderman takes over

adopts election manifesto

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net6

7Mon day, October 27, 2014 NewsNational Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net

Secretariat sets up body to woo voters, says coordinatorMotorists lament activities of hoodlums on Ijora-Apapa expressway

DARE AKOGUN

Motorists and com-muters plying the Ijora-Apapa expressway in Lagos have expressed worry over what they term unprecedented robbery attacks on the road.

Speaking with National Mirror, they said hoodlums had taken advantage of the incessant traffic snarls caused by dilapidated road to unleash terror.

Mr. Abimbola Ayinde, an accountant at Apapa, said that plying the road had been a nightmare to him, saying that he doesnt ply the road from 9.00p.m.

The robbers have become a terror to motorists and oth-er road users, he stated.

According to him, any-one who fails to cooperate with the hoodlums will have himself or herself to blame as they will vandal-

ise the car.The hoodlums might

attack the victim if he or she fails to cooperate with them.

I have reported several times to the policemen on duty at the Apapa area com-mand, and they have prom-ised to take urgent action, yet nothing seems to have been done as the hoodlums continue to operate unchal-lenged, he stated.

Another motorist, Mr. Vincent Shobo, said the hoodlums sometimes dis-guise as beggars to rob their victims of their valu-ables.

They sometimes pre-tend to be beggars and tar-get occupants of posh cars and dispossess them of their valuables.

That is why I do not give beggars money at nights when I am driving, because they always arm themselves with dangerous

weapons.A food seller, Mama Joy,

also told our reporter that the armed robbers, who were mostly youths, had been attacking residents and shop owners at night after their operations on the road.

The armed bandits do not only operate at nights, even when there are street-lights, but also operate in the daylight.

Barely some weeks ago, two armed robbers snatched a car from a busi-nessman in Apapa area, and this is just one out of the numerous attacks,she stated.

She appealed to the secu-rity agencies, especially the police, to come to their aid to end the menace.

It was also learnt that the areas where the robbers carry out their criminal activities are Mile 2 Bridge and Coconut bus stop.

Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ken-neth Nwosu, when contact-ed on the issue, said: We are on top of the situation. We have not relented on our efforts in ensuring that the state is crime-free.

You know how aggres-sive we have been patrolling these areas. The truth is that the police cannot be every-where at the same time.

Our goal is to keep Lagos safe and we deploy policemen to every nook and crannies of the state to ensure that hoodlums do not take over the city, he stated.

He also appealed to Lago-sians not to hesitate to re-port any criminal activity in their areas to the nearest police station.

The Police Commis-sioner, Mr. Kayode Aderanti, will not condone any form of criminal activities in the state, he said.

Immunisation officers giving vaccines to Imo residents in one of the pentecostal churches, at the on-going immunisation exercise against meningitis and tetanus diseases, organised by WHO and UNICEF in Owerri, yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

FG considers nationwide ban of OkadaCHIDI UGWU ABUJA

The Federal govern-ment may soon ban motorcycles as com-mercial means of trans-port in Nigeria.

The nationwide ban of commercial motorcycles, popularly known as Okada or Achaba, is one of the measures proposed towards adequate provision of safe

and secure transportation in the country at the just concluded annual meeting of the National Council on Transport, NCT, in Abakpa Nike, Enugu State.

Though the ban had taken effect in some states, including Abuja, the Depu-ty Director of Press in the Ministry of Transport, Tai-wo Shobajo, in a statement said the proposition for a nationwide ban was con-

tained in a communiqu issued after the week-long NCT council meeting.

The communiqu was signed by the Minister of Transport, Idris Umar; the Chairman of the council and Kogi State Commis-sioner of Transport and Chairman Communiqu Committee Mr. Abdulra-man Wuya.

According to Shobanjo, the council had in atten-

dance all the state com-missioners of transport, permanent secretaries and directors and officials in the federal and state minis-tries of transport as well as stakeholders in the sector.

According to him, the meeting urged states to henceforth discourage the use of motorcycles as a means of public transpor-tation.

The communiqu reads

in part: All states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, have, therefore, been advised to establish a pub-lic transport system that ensures strict regulation of the operation of public pas-senger transportation sys-tem through a well articu-lated management system for enhanced safety, secu-rity, effective and efficient service delivery.

The states are to also develop master plans for the development of intel-ligent transport system to facilitate the development and management of their transport operations in line with emerging trends and global best practices.

It was also agreed at the council that all commercial vehicles should be prop-erly registered in each state while their enumeration should be carried out peri-odically to enhance safety and security.

To this end, the council has approved a stakehold-ers committee to be headed by the Federal Ministry of Transport with member-ship drawn from the states, Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, and other relevant stakeholders to henceforth oversee classi-

fication of drivers licence, regulate driving schools, issues permits to driving schools and ensure the pre-licence tests of riders of motorcycles and tricycles as it obtains for motor driv-ers among other things.

This years meeting, which had as its theme: Providing safe and secure transportation: Building stakeholders confidence also directed the Federal Ministry of Transport to develop a national mini-mum standards framework on safety and security on the nations inland water-ways.

The council also urged the Federal Ministry of Transport to ensure that the National Maritime and Administrative Security Agency, NIMASA, and Na-tional Inland Waterways Authority, NIWAs Search and Rescue Centres are fully functional to enhance safety and security in the nations waterways.

It also directed relevant agencies in collaboration with other stakeholders to embark on extensive and sustained nationwide safe-ty awareness campaigns to stem incessant boat ac-cidents in the nations wa-terways.

The national secre-tariat of the Peo-ples Democratic Party, PDP, has set up a body, PDP Reloaded, to woo the eligible populace to vote for it in the 2015 elections.

The Rivers state Co-or-dinator of PDP Reloaded, Mr. Ralph Hart, told jour-nalists in Port Harcourt yesterday that the body was working with the state executive of PDP to achieve its objectives.

The aims and objec-tives of PDP Reloaded is to capture the core demog-raphy; the voting strength of the electorate.

By that, we mean, stu-dents, professionals, mar-ket women, people that make up the majority of the private sector, because we believe that govern-ment and the private sec-tor should work hand in

hand for development, he said.

Hart said PDP Reload-ed was a body approved by the national secretariat of the party.

It was designed to re-invigorate the party and make it more appealing to young men and women, students and profession-als, he said.

The coordinator stressed that the body would focus on students and working age group of up to 55 to 60 years who are potential voters.

He said Rivers was very important to the PDP and that the body would work hard to ensure the party won the state next year.

Hart stated that with hard work and coopera-tion by stakeholders, their assignment would be ac-complished to make the party reclaim the state.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net8 Monday, October 27, 2014 South West

Gov. Aregbesola

FRANCIS SUBERU

Residents of Lagos State have expressed satisfaction with the judgement of an Ikeja High Court which upheld the ban of hijab in public primary and secondary schools.

Those who spoke to our correspondent yesterday in a random survey, expressed support for the decision of the court and state govern-ment in respect of the ban.

The state government had banned the use of hi-jab in public primary and secondary schools, on the argument that it was not part of approved uniform for pupils.

Two twelve-year-old girls, under the aegis of the Muslim Students of Nigeria, MSN, Lagos State area unit, filed a petition at the state high court, seek-ing redress and asking for a declaration of the ban as a violation of their rights to freedom of thought, reli-gion and education.

However, the court held that the prohibition of the wearing of hijab over school uniforms within and outside the premises of public schools was not

discriminatory, and does not violate the fundamental rights of the petitioners.

In the random survey, some residents expressed shock over the lawsuit, saying public schools were meant for everybody, and as such, people should learn to tolerate one another.

One of the respondents, Akeem Bewaji, said: We should note that hijab, as envisaged by Islam, is meant for mature females as a rule.

To me, a 12-year-old pu-pil should not bother her-self about that, except in a situation where her patents want her to start imbibing the habit from childhood. I feel that could be done after the school hours.

Another resident, Jude Ashi, said: I am happy with the courts judgement. Hijab has never been part of school uniforms, and so, all students, irrespective of their religious affiliations, must strictly adhere to the dress code.

Yet another resident, Ad-ewale Abimbola, said she expected Nigerians, and Lagosians in particular, to have outgrown religious sentiments that could cause disaffection among the peo-ple.

Lagosians hail ban on hijab

Heavy traffic caused by road maintenance on part of Funsho Williams Avenue in Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO: YINKA ADEPARUSI

Osun State Gover-nor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, has urged the newly elected Chairman of the All Pro-gressives Congress, APC, in the state, Prince Ad-egboyega Famodun, to ensure that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, does not have even 10 per cent of votes in the 2015 presidential election in the state.

This was even as the former deputy governor of Kebbi State, Hon. Sulai-mon Argungu, called on the entire leadership of APC at all levels to work

APCll nail PDP in 2015 Aregbesola

Alaafi n tasks parties on credible candidacy KEMI OLAITANIBADAN

The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi 111, has charged political parties in the country to live up to their responsibilities as agents of pragmatic governance.

The monarch gave the admonition yester-day in his palace while addressing thousands of residents, includ-ing members of the Oyo traditional council (Oyo Mesi) and leaders

tirelessly to grow a politi-cal party and a mass move-ment that would usher in a new Nigeria in 2015.

Aregbesola made the call at the official presen-tation of the new execu-tive councils of state, local governments and wards of the APC in Osun State at the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park in Osogbo.

Famodun was elected the state chairman, Al-haji Isah Azeez, vice-chairman, Alhaji Rasak Salinsile, secretary, Hon. Segun Olanibi, treasurer, Mrs. Kudirat Fakokunde, women leader, Abubakar

Muftau, financial secre-tary and David Akintola Morakinyo, publicity sec-retary

Others elected were Adekunle Ogunsola, legal officer, Oluwole Akinloye, welfare secretary, Saliu Akanni, Osun West zonal chairman, Olasosu Ogun-remi and Osun East, Ad-elakin Adeoye, Osun cen-tral, among others.

The governor admon-ished the newly sworn-in executive to hit the ground running, so as to hasten the exit of PDP from the state.

He said this can be done

by rendering all PDP elec-toral influences insignifi-cant in the forthcoming general elections.

Lagos Speaker, Ikuforiji, reels out 10-point agenda

The Speaker of Lagos State House of As-sembly, Mr. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, a governorship aspirant on the platform of All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday presented his 10-point agenda.

He presented the agenda while declaring his gover-norship ambition to party members at the Lagos Tele-vision (LTV) Blue Roof in Ikeja.

`À few weeks ago, I told my friends and staff in the Lagos State House of As-sembly that I will be run-ning for the governorship.

`Ì am, by the grace of God, the longest-serving speaker, not just in Lagos, but in Nigerias history.

``My dear people of La-gos, I believe that the time has come for us to consoli-date the gains of good gov-ernance.

``The time has come for us to re-articulate the vi-sion of the founding fathers of Lagos, and re-energise the people of this great city.

`Ì intend to build on the achievements of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Gover-nor Babatunde Fashola, to make Lagos a truly global city.

`Ì am also presenting my agenda for the transforma-tion of Lagos -My 10-point Cardinal Programme.

`Ì believe, when imple-mented, this will consoli-date the gains of the past, as well as help us to build a new future that will make Lagos as global city.

He added: ``My 10-point cardinal programme con-nects all the critical areas of the political, economic and social lives, and pro-vides a synergy between these different sectors.

of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the four local government caretaker areas of Afi-jio, Atiba, Oyo-East and Oyo-West, who besieged the palace to show their solidarity for the mon-archs son, Akeem, who is contesting for Oyo fed-eral constituency seat.

Adeyemi said politi-cal parties should, as a matter of priority, or-ganise debates for in-cumbents running for second terms in office, as well as new aspirants, in order to ensure that credible and dedicated candidates determined to serve the people were given the mandate.

The monarch stated: During the debate, the incumbents must tell the public what projects have they had been able to do for the well being of their constituents.

A committee of re-

doubtable characters should be set up to go and monitor where those projects are located, and if it is otherwise, those serving political office holders have no right to represent the people again.

Also, those aspiring to serve must equally tell the public how they in-tend to impact positively on the lives of their peo-ple. This is the reality of modern politics and pragmatic governance.

He said if such steps are adhered to by the po-litical parties, it would prevent most aspirants who have no clear-cut and result oriented pro-gramme of action for the people, but only with the ulterior intention of treasury looting and ill-gotten wealth, to the detriment of the teeming impoverished populace.

Adeyemi warned that

unless political parties brace up and refocus their operational modes, there may not be an end to brazen impunity, monumental corrup-tion, alarming poverty, as well as unemploy-ment, characterised by irresponsible leader-ship.

He also implored the people to refrain from derogatory utterances and untoward acts dur-ing political rallies, but to exhibit the concept of Omoluabi, an integral part of Yoruba culture and tradition.

He presented a cash of N2.2m to his son, and a sum of N500,000 to a member of the state House of Assembly rep-resenting Atiba state constituency, Waliu Ad-ekunle Alagbom, for the purchase of expression of interest form of the APC.

Adeyemi, Alaafin of Oyo

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net 9 South WestMonday, October 27, 2014

Participant during the village square meeting of National Health Insurance Scheme in Ibadan, at the weekend.

Police recover N2.2m recharge cards from robbers

ASUU leads talks on education review

PDP positioning for victory in SWest Zonal chairman

ABIODUN NEJO ADO EKITI

The police in Ekiti State have recov-ered GSM recharge cards worth N2.2 million from a gang of armed robbers that attacked a telecommunications company in the state and carted away cards worth N4.1million and other equipment.

Commissioner of Po-lice, Mr Taiwo Lakanu, said the culprits invaded Card Mega System Lim-ited in Ilawe Ekiti about midnight on August 22 and stole the cards, items like Toshiba laptop computer and a variety of GSM phones valued at N178,000.

Lakanu said operatives of the Special Anti-Rob-

bery Squad, on receiving a distress call, pursued the robbers, engaged them in a gun duel and in the pro-cess recovered part of the stolen goods.

The police commission-er, who spoke while parad-ing some suspected armed robbers in Ado Ekiti at the weekend, said the po-lice had asked the affected company to block the PIN numbers of the cards that were yet to be recovered to prevent unsuspecting members of the public from using them.

Among the suspects pa-raded was one Femi Abe-gunde, who was said to have robbed some victims of a sum of N662,000, gold, lace, phones and Automat-ed Teller Machine, ATM cards.

The police boss said the feat was achieved with the aid of a vigilance group at Olorunsogo in Ado-Ekiti on September 4.

Lakanu said the com-mand had also arrested 35-year-old Abraham Kay-ode for allegedly defiling an eight-year-old primary three pupil on Septem-ber 28, under the guise of sending her on errand.

He said that investiga-tion revealed that the sus-pect had been an alleged serial paedophile.

The command also ar-rested one Shuaibu Ojo at Emure Ekiti on October 12, for allegedly breaking into a residential building and raping a 17-year-old girl.

The commissioner promised to make the state a no-go-area for rob-

bers in compliance with the directive of the Inspec-tor General of Police, Mr Suleiman Abba, that lives and property of every Ni-gerian must be protected, regardless of where the person lives.

He added that his men had improved on intelli-gence gathering mecha-nism as guide in taking proactive actions in tam-ing criminals.

However, protection of lives and property is the responsibility of all, hence I have been meeting with relevant stakehold-ers to garner their support in the task at hand. I have met with Bankers Forum, Hoteliers Association, Drivers Unions and Inde-pendent Petroleum Mar-keters, he said.

OJO OYEWAMIDE AKURE

Supporters of the for-mer head of State, General Muhamma-du Buhari (retd), under the aegis of the Buhari Soli-darity Group, BSG, have begun to woo delegates in Ondo State, to ensure he clinches the presidential ticket of the All Progres-sives Congress, APC.

The groups coordinator in the state, Bola Ilori, said the party was committed to winning the 2015 Presiden-tial election with a popular and credible candidate.

Ilori noted that all the

KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

Stakeholders in the nations education sector, led by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, will, from today, con-verge on Abuja to review the education system.

A statement signed by the Chairman Planning Committee and former ASUU President, Dr. Dipo Fashina, and made available to journalists in Ibadan yesterday, said the national education summit is aimed at re-structuring the educa-tion system in the coun-try.

According to him, the one-week educa-tion summit which will end on Friday has as its theme, Towards a Sys-tem of Education for Liberation in Nigeria, stating that it is being put together by ASUU, National Association of Academic Technolo-gists, NAAT, Non-Aca-

demic Staff Union of Educational and Associ-ated Institutions, NASU, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universi-ties, SSANU, in collabo-ration with the federal and state Ministries of Education and civil soci-ety groups.

The former ASUU boss said for the coun-try to be a stakeholder in the global system, it must restructure its ed-ucational system to pro-mote development.

While maintain-ing that the summit will review the educa-tional system in the country with a view to restructuring it to liberate Nigerians, he said the present edu-cational system is one sided, promoting the interests of the worlds powers, who colonised Africa, making the need to develop an edu-cational system, which can serve the interests of Nigerians a neces-sity.

Group woos Ondo APC delegates for Buhari

ABIODUN NEJOADO EKITI

National Vice-Chair-man (South West) of the Peoples Dem-ocratic Party, PDP, Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe, has assured of resounding vic-tory for the party in the geo-political zone in the 2015 elections, in view of its on-going re-positioning in the Southwest.

Ogundipe said the party had in recent times been doing well in elections, par-ticularly in Ekiti and Osun states.

The PDP chieftain, who spoke in Ado-Ekiti yester-day on the recent election of new zonal leaders of the party, promised an all inclu-sive leadership that would take the party to higher lev-els, saying the resurgence of the party had begun with the Ekiti victory.

Ogundipe said: We did not perform poorly in the Osun governorship poll which followed that of Ekiti where our opponents played dubious game that is known to us, which the court will look into.

I am happy that our

APC presidential aspi-rants were credible peo-ple, but that Buhari was the best among them.

He stated that the for-mer Head of State was the only one among the aspirants who had proven his strength and popular-ity by securing 12 million votes in the 2011 Presiden-tial election.

The coordinator, who spoke during the weekend at a meeting with the par-tys automatic national delegates from the state, further lamented the situ-ation in the country.

Ilori, who is the Special Adviser to Governor Rauf

Aregbesola of Osun State on Environment and San-itation, emphasised the need for someone with in-tegrity to take the helm of leadership in order to re-alise the dream of a new and better Nigeria.

Urging the delegates not to be discouraged by the financial incapacity of Buhari, he said the as-piration of the former military leader was a col-lective project of all con-cerned Nigerians.

He disclosed that indi-viduals had been contrib-uting money to keep the project alive and moving.

He said: We are talk-

ing about a man of integ-rity. It would have cost over a million to bring this people together or-dinarily but you can see that people are here with-out asking for money.

That is the Presidency we want to do; that is the presidential election we want to run. People will make their own personal contribution to the proj-ect just as people con-tributed for this meeting today.

I want to assure you there will be more con-tribution to ensure that Buhari becomes the presi-dent. Makanjuola

members and leaders across the zone have seen the need to work together as a team and they are clos-ing ranks. We can see that in our Mega Rally in Abeo-kuta, Ogun State. Already, the APC people are jittery.

The PDP is waxing stronger in Ondo and Oyo states. We are not relaxing. The ruling APC has been rejected by the people of La-gos State and we are sure of a resounding success there as well, he said.

He urged all PDP mem-bers to continue in the spir-it of oneness and support the party leaders in the task of moving it forward.

The zonal chairman as-sured all PDP aspirants for the 2015 elections of a level playing field in the prima-ries to ensure emergence of popular candidates.

National Mirror www.nationalmir-10 South East Monday, October 27, 2014

as PDP chieftain flays Agbaso for dumping party

DENNIS AGBOENUGU

Immediate past Com-missioner for Com-merce and Industry in Enugu State, Dr. Jude Akubuilo, has revealed why it is necessary for Governor Sullivan Chime to take over the position of Enugu West senatorial district other than Sena-tor Ike Ekweremadu who,

by 2015, would finish a 12-year stretch mandate from the same district.

According to Akubuilo, aside that Ekweremadu has run out of ideas, there is a zoning formula in Enugu west senatorial district which Chime as pacesetter would take over.

Akubuilo also carpeted arguments against Chimes recent appointment of Mr. Victor Atuonwu as the new

Chief of Staff for govern-ment, stressing that non-indigenes have held high ranking positions in other parts of the country, more so when Atuonwu has held other positions in Enugu State government and lived all his life in the Coal City.

Akubuilo, who was not happy that people mostly talk about roads as Chimes major achievements, dis-closed that Enugus econo-

Former Anambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi (left) and Archbishop Christian Efobi, during the one year memorial service of Hon. Uche Ekwunifes mother, Lucy Okoli-Ogudebe, at St. Barnabas Anglican Church, Igboukwu, yesterday.

CHRIS NJOKUOWERRI

The National Vice-Chairman, South-East, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Austin Akobundu, has chided former leader of All Progressives Grand Al-liance, APGA, Chief Mar-tin Agbaso, for dumping the PDP, from where he left to APGA, when the lead-ership needed him most. This is even as Agbaso has debunked the allega-tion that Governor Rochas Okorocha gave him N300 million as compensation for his assistance.

Akobundu rather commended the Deputy Speaker, House of Repre-sentatives, Chief Emeka

Ihedioha and Senator Hope Uzodinma for sup-porting the party finan-cially and morally during the crisis period particu-larly after losing the 2011 governorship election to Governor Okorocha who was then in APGA.

Welcoming Agbaso back to PDP fold at the party state secretariat, Owerri, the Imo State capital, at the weekend, Akobundu, acknowledged that Agba-so was a pioneer member of the PDP before dump-ing it to seek solace in APGA where he support-ed Okorocha to defeat the PDP in 2011.

Akobundu, while com-menting that the National Working Committee had given Agbaso waiver to as-

pire to any position of his choice, however expressed happiness that leaders like Ihedioha and Uzodin-ma put up hard work to re-turn the party to position of honour while leaders like Agbaso left the party because of certain injus-tice.

We are happy to wel-come you back because with you coming back to our fold, your presence will strengthen the party to drive away the man who stole our mandate in 2011, he stated.

Earlier, Agbaso apolo-gised to Imo people and asked them to forgive him for helping to install Gov-ernor Okorocha, saying he was deceived to believe that Okorocha was a bet-

Okorocha never gave me N300m

Why Chime should replace Ekweremadu in Senate Akubuilo

ter candidate. We read him wrong, I now know him better, he said.

At an interactive ses-sion with reporters later, he challenged the gover-nor to produce the bank statement or transaction of any of his companies where it was stated that he (Okorocha) gave him N300 million as settlement. It was designed to blackmail me and my family.

While castigating the governor of wasting mon-ey on white elephant proj-ects, he promised to tackle the problem of youth un-employment in the state by providing employment for the teeming population of unemployed youths in the state.

ALIUNA GODWINABAKALIKI

The senator repre-senting Ebonyi central zone, and one of the top governor-ship contenders on the platform of Peoples Dem-ocratic Party, PDP, Barr Paulinus Igwe Nwagu, has stated that there is no zon-ing of governorship in the state.

Nwagu disclosed this at the weekend in Abakaliki, while officially declaring his interest to run for the 2015 governorship election. He warned there must be no imposition of guber candidate in the election, insisting that there is no zoning of governorship po-sition in the state.

According to him, It is only candidates that are popular and accept-able to the people that the PDP should feature in the forthcoming 2015 election;

Guber: We dont have zoning in Ebonyi Nwagu

Chekwas accuses PDP, APC of corruption

my is so strong having been transformed from a sleepy civil service state to sound economic empire.

He noted that the gov-ernor has total and over-whelming control of the PDP structure in the state, adding that time has gone when persons sit down in Abuja and write results. Chime is the only person in the race for Enugu West Senate, Akubuilo stated.

party that can fight cor-ruption like no other; PDP and APC cannot fight cor-ruption. If APC or PDP tells you that they can fight corruption, know they lying against them-selves because they are corruption themselves.

PDP and APC leaders are same people who set the politics and economy of this country in coma-tose. They are made up of people who have been re-cycled over the years.

In UPP, we have no indicted persons in our leadership. So, we will offer Nigerians two op-tions: that of remaining the way we are by voting either PDP or APC and the option of a change to see something different in terms of good gover-nance, fighting corrup-tion, providing employ-ment and reaching out to the grassroots.

Chief Okorie

credible candidate does not come by imposition or through the back door. In Ebonyi since 1999 till date, we have always presented a candidate that is acceptable to the people.

The lawmaker, who also stated that his ambition is divine, pledged to cater for all the outstanding needs of the people.

As far as my campaign is concerned, there is no zoning in Ebonyi State. I urge the people of the state to vote for me as the next governor in 2015 and I as-sure the people that I will move the state from Egypt to Israel. I will not disap-point the people; but will re-store the hope of the people.

I want to inform you that I have completed all the party processes. After due consultation with God, I was convinced that this project is divine. I have purchased the interest and nomination forms, complet-

ALIUNA GODWINABAKALIKI

The National Chair-man of the United Progressives Par-ty, UPP, Chief Chekwas Okorie, has accused the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and All Progressive Congress, APC, of lacking the capacity to fight cor-ruption in the country.

Okorie spoke at the weekend in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital during the inauguration of the newly constituted executive members of the state chapter of UPP.

He noted that politi-cians in PDP and APC were themselves those that put the countrys poli-tics and economy in coma-tose.

Okorie explained that UPP will provide Nigeri-ans the option of a change and remaining the way they are by voting out PDP or APC for the UPP in 2015.

He noted that UPP is a progressive platform that is mobilising all the pro-gressive forces against the reactionary forces of PDP and APC as accord-ing to him, PDP and APC are two sides of the same coin.

His words, Nigerians should expect political

OSAHON JULIUSYENAGOA

The Bayelsa State Po-lice Command has recovered the corps-es of three policemen killed by sea pirates last Friday in the troubled waterways.

The fate of the other six people abducted by pirates in other parts of the state are, however, unknown.

The command was said to have launched a manhunt for the gang responsible for the killings and attacks on the waterways.

The dead policemen, led by an inspector, were escort-

ing a barge belonging to the Nigerian Agip Oil Company along the Santa Barbara River when they were at-tacked.

The pirates were said to have opened fire on the po-licemen, abducted them and impounded their boat, but after taking them deep into the creeks, they allegedly killed the policemen and the tugboat driver, who is also suspected to be a policeman.

The news of the killing of the policemen threw the Marine section of the Bay-elsa State Police Command and the command head-quarters into mourning.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Valentine Ntom-chukwu, who was said to be greatly disturbed by the in-cident, directed the marine department to recover the bodies and the gunboat im-pounded by the pirates.

Investigations revealed that the leadership of the marine police stormed the waterways, combat-ready, to recover the boat.

However, the pirates were said to have gotten a wind of the reprisal from the police, and they shifted base from their location.

The police were also said to have recovered the bod-

AMOUR UDEMUDE ASABA

The Delta State Inde-pendent Electoral Commission, DSIEC, has declared the 22 chair-manship candidates of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in last Saturdays council polls as winners.

It also canceled Ndokwa East results and declared Ethiope East poll inconclu-sive.

Declaring the results yes-terday at DSIEC headquar-ters, Asaba, the commission stated that the result for Ndokwa East was cancelled following some violence in

the area, while the Ethiope East council poll was incon-clusive.

The names of the coun-cils won by PDP include Warri South, Oshimili South, Ughelli North, Uk-wuani, Warri South-West, Oshimili North, Ndokwa West, Udu, Okpe, Ika South, Bomadi and Warri North, Isoko North and Ughelli South.

Others are Uvwie, Anio-cha North, Ika South-East, Patani, Sapele, Ethiope West and Burutu.

As at press time, the re-sult for Isoko South was be-ing awaited.

Meanwhile, the chair-

man of the commission, Mo-ses Ogbe, announced that chairmanship candidates of the PDP in two council areas of Ethiope West and Patani were returned unop-posed as none of the opposi-tion political parties fielded candidates for the areas,.

He stated that there would be run-off elections in the eight wards of Ethiope East.

Ogbe also stated that PDP councillorship candidates for the 20 wards in Patani local government area were returned unopposed, follow-ing the failure of the opposi-tion political parties to field candidates for the seats.

While commending the

PDP declared winner in 22 Delta councils

commission for tak-ing the bull by the horns to conduct a peaceful election across the 25 councils, the commissions boss stated that from reports we got from the 25 local govern-ments across the state, I can say categorically that there was peaceful election in all the areas, except a few areas where some miscreants at-tempted to disrupt the pro-cess.

Well ahead of time, we distributed the non-sensi-tive materials and we also received the sensitive mate-rials and deposited them at the Central Bank of Nige-ria, CBN.

DENNIS NAKUPORT HARCOURT

Pension Transitional Arrangement Direc-torate, PTAD, has told retirees under its cover that the days of fraud in the payment of pensions are over.

It assured pensioners of a fraud-free regime.

The directorate was es-tablished in 2013 to take care of the pensions of civil servants, police and paramilitary services, in-cluding the Nigeria Prisons Service, Customs, as well as treasury-funded parastat-als since 2007.

Director-General of PTAD, Mrs. Nellie May-shak, gave this assurance during a stakeholders sen-sitisation workshop on pen-sion management under the Defined Benefit Scheme in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Mayshak lamented that some retirees, especially former police officers of more than five to ten years, were yet to receive their pensions.

The PTAD DG,,who wept at the occasion over the plight of pensioners in the country, said that while such category of persons received little as salaries

Directorate assures pensioners of fraud-free system

Monarch charges Senate leader on state creation

L-R: Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah (rtd); wife of the governor, Rachael; Governor Seriake Dickson; the cel-ebrant/State PDP Chairman, Col. Sam Inokoba (rtd), and his wife, Helen, during a book launch to mark the 66th birthday of Inokoba in Yenagoa, on Saturday

RICHARD NDOMACALABAR

The paramount rul-er of Boki in Cross River State, Otu Fredalin Akandu, yester-day charged Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, to be proactive with issues and deliberations on the floors of the Senate, especially those bordering on the cre-ation of Ogoja State.

The monarch gave the charge while receiving the senate leader at his palace during a courtesy visit to declare his inten-tion to go for fourth term in the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly, representing the central senatorial district of Cross River State.

Akandu praised the senate leader for being vocal and vibrant, partic-ularly on issues and de-liberations that had to do with the recovery of the ceded Bakassi Peninsula

on the floor of the House.My senator, you have

done us so much good, and I want you to go and complete the job which you started. Go and com-plete the job. We are talk-ing of Ogoja State, who will do it for us?

Giving power to a new person is like mov-ing backward, instead of moving forward.

It is an abomination for a child to tell his fa-ther to stand up and give him a seat; what about the Bakassi problem in the senate, who is han-dling it? If you were not there, nobodyI used to watch you on the screen during deliberations on the floor of the house, he said.

Responding, the sen-ate leader said he came to seek permission to en-able him inform the peo-ple of Boki of his desire to go back to the National Assembly in 2015.

Police recover corpses of slain policemen

Abba, IGP

when they were working, their pensions had been de-nied them unduly.

She, however, said that PTAD was working towards ending the suffering of pen-sioners in the country, add-ing that pensions would no longer be delayed.

Mayshak stated that the establishment of PTAD was part of the transforma-tion agenda of President Goodluck Jonathans ad-ministration.

Recalling that pension funds were hitherto put in private pockets, she said the digitalisation of pension management had removed any possibility of fraud in the system.

Also, the National Presi-dent of Nigeria Union of Pensioners, Dr. Abel Afo-layan, expressed gratitude to PTAD for inheriting and addressing pensioners problems.

Represented by the unions National Vice Presi-dent, Tubonimi Sukuye, he listed the problems facing pensioners as non-payment of federal gratuities from 1976 to date; short-payment of pensions, sudden stop-page of monthly pensions without any reason and non-payment of deceased pensioners benefits to their next-of-kin.

ies of the four people killed, and the gunboat seized by the pirates.

The bodies were trans-ported to Yenagoa and were immediately upon arrival deposited at the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre mortuary in Yenagoa.

National Mirrorwww.nationalmirroronline.net 11Monday, October 27, 2014

Ndokwa East result canceled, Ethiope East inconclusive

South South

North National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net12 Monday, October 27, 2014

FCT community builds police station

Amaechill answer for his actions against Jonathan, wife

L-R: Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps, Plateau Command, Mr. Sunday Maku; representative of Commissioner of Police, Mr. Danchiki Samon; representative of Controller of Prisons, Mr. Bonkat Nanewat; representative of State Commissioner for Transport, Mr. Chollom Monday; Head, Standard Organisation of Nigeria, Plateau, Mr. Qasseem Yahaya and representative of State Comptroller of Immigration, Mrs. Christiana Isah, during commencement of Ember Months Campaign, in Jos on Friday. PHOTO: NAN

The Landlords As-sociation in Jikoyi, a satellite commu-nity in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, said it had built a police outpost in the settlement.

Chairman of the asso-ciation, Mr Rufus Ebegba, disclosed yesterday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Abuja.

Ebegba said the project, which cost the community about N2.5 million to com-plete, was ready and would be handed over to police authorities shortly.

He explained that the project was a support to the police to enable them to effectively discharge their duties in the commu-nity.

According to him, apart from necessary facilities in the building which in-cluded two cells, toilets and bathrooms, we also provided a television set and two motorcycles.

Ebegba, who did not

WOLE OLADIMEJIABUJA

The All Progressive Congress, APC, members in the House of Representatives have concluded plans to challenge the eligibility of President Goodluck Jona-than in court.

Hon. Nasiru Sule Garo,

representing Gwarzo/Ika-bo Federal Constituency of Kano State, hinted that the group is working to ensure the president is prevented from re-contesting.

He said: People are ready to go (to court); we are just waiting for him to declare. For now, he is not a candidate; he is just being endorsed like during Aba-

APC Reps set to stop Jonathans re-election

disclose the date for the in-auguration and hand-over of the building, said that fund for the project was generated through contri-butions by the landlords.

He stressed the need for support to the police to enable it to effectively control crime, especially in the face of the growing trend of burglary and rob-bery in various communi-ties.

He also said that the gesture was to engender police-community rela-tions for effective commu-nity policing in the area.

This gesture is also to complement govern-ments effort in equipping the police. It is part of the support the community could render in the pro-vision of welfare to the force.

The police are a vital institution and we are out to support the govern-ment to ensure security of lives and property of our citizens, he said.

ROTIMI FADEYIABUJA

The Presidency yes-terday said a day of reckoning would surely come when Gover-nor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State would answer for all his actions and false allegations against Presi-dent Goodluck Jonathan, his wife, Patience, and the Federal Government.

A statement issued by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, warned Amaechi that there are legal, constitutional and moral limits to political rascality beyond which he would not be allowed to go without repercussions.

The statement said the

ties and caused him to to-tally lose touch with reality, Governor Amaechi must know that his claims and al-legations are untrue.

We can only assume therefore that he is delib-erately spewing malicious falsehood in a desperate ef-fort to incite the people of Rivers State and Nigeria against his assumed politi-cal foes.

We warn him that there are legal, constitutional and moral limits to politi-cal rascality beyond which he will not be allowed to go without repercussions.

He should also know that Nigerians are aware of the truth and will never be fooled or swayed by his ar-rant opportunism and anti-Jonathan rantings.

Nigerians know that while Mr. Amaechi falsely accuses others of corrup-tion, he cannot show or ex-plain to the people of Rivers State what he has done with the billions of naira that has accrued to the state un-der his tenure.

They also know that while Amaechi continues to falsely accuse the Jona-than administration of having done nothing for Rivers State, he has reck-lessly squandered huge state resources on dubious, vain-glorious projects or self aggrandizement.

Nigerians will know too that while he falsely alleges that Rivers and other states have not received funds due to them from the federation account, the only outstand-

chas regime when selfish individuals were coming out to say that Abacha was the sole candidate of every other party.

He noted fresh agita-tion to contest Jonathans eligibility on the Supreme Court ruling on former Adamawa State gover-nor Boni Haruna, which quashed his re-election bid after completing the tenure of his predecessor and an-other four years.

By the Constitution of Nigeria, I dont think the President (Jonathan) has any right for now to con-test. He has been sworn in twice and our constitution says that a person shall oc-cupy office of the president for two terms of four years

which makes it eight years and this president has oc-cupied this position for two years and he contested election and he is occupy-ing for four years which makes it six, he added.

And if he seeks re-election now, it means he is going to be sworn-in for the third term, that one too can be contested and is he going to serve for two years and then we do another election or is he going to violate the constitution and serve for four years, which would make him the president of Nigeria for 10 years. So there are a lot of questions that need to be clarified by the court before he even contests for that position.

According to the law-maker, the President Jona-thans re-election bid can be likened to the case of former Adamawa State governor, Boni Haruna, who the court stopped him from seeking re-election after completing Atiku Abubakars tenure.

His words: If that is the case, remember the case of Boni Haruna. He was not elected as the gover-nor of Adamawa State. He was the deputy of Atiku Abubakar and they were elected just like Jonathan was elected with Umaru Musa YarAdua and he was sworn in and served four years.

He said: Boni Haruna now came out and con-

tested in Adamawa and won election and it was the same court he went to contest and the court said he could not contest election because he had al-ready served for two terms which means two interpre-tations on the same judg-ment. So that can still be contested.

While reacting to the re-cent endorsement of Jona-than by the PDP national officers and governors, the Kano-born lawmaker who frowned against the endorsement of Jonathan noted that some aggrieved PDP members who were willing to contest the pres-idency may also challenge Jonathans eligibility in court.

immunity which Amaechi currently enjoys notwith-standing, the governor should be under no illu-sions: A day of reckoning will surely come when he will answer for all his ac-tions and false allegations against President Jona-than, the First Lady and the Federal Government.

The Presidency further said that the governor should stop trying to make Jonathan the scapegoat for his woeful performance in Rivers State and look to his own very apparent failings and incompetence.

The statement stated, Governor Rotimi Amae-chi took his obnoxious willingness to denigrate the highest office in the land in a reckless bid to

advance his selfish politi-cal interests to a new level of irresponsible and ras-cally behaviour yesterday (Saturday) in Port Har-court with his totally false and baseless vituperations against President Jona-than, the First Lady and the Federal Government.

It appears from the governors completely un-founded and off-the-mark allegations that he had to-tally lost all sense of propri-ety, decorum and responsi-ble political behaviour and resorted to unacceptable demagoguery, libel, black-mail and incitement of pub-lic disorder

Unless his unbridled ambition and desire for self- promotion have completely befuddled his mental facul- Gov. Amaechi

ing allocation was for Sep-tember, which was released to all states well over a week ago.

The governor should stop trying to make Presi-dent Jonathan the scape-goat for his woeful perfor-mance in Rivers State and look to his own very appar-ent failings and incompe-tencies.

L-R: Coordinator, Emeka Ihedioha Campaign Organisation for Isiala Mbano LGA, Prof. Obioma Iheduru; Director-General, Barr. Chris Okewulonu, and Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, during his consultation visit to Isiala Mbano on his 2015 gubernatorial bid, at the weekend.

Ill reconcile herdsmen, farmers in Benue Biem AZA MSUEKADUNA

Former Permanent Secretary, Bureau of Internal Affairs and Special Services, and governorship aspirant under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr. Hingah Biem, has said he would adopt secu-rity strategies that would sustain the ongoing recon-ciliation between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in Benue State if elected as governor in the 2015 poll.

Biem, a former Director General, Information and Culture under later Gov-ernor Moses Adasu, was among the four governor-ship aspirants endorsed by the MINDA Tiv Tra-ditional Councils. Those screened and selected by

the monarchs were: Biem (Gwer), Samuel Ortom (Guma), Terhemen Tar-zoor (Makurdi), and Felix Atume (Gwer West) local government areas, the po-litical bloc warming up to govern the state.

Addressing journalists and thousands of his sup-porters shortly after pur-chasing the expression interest and nomination forms at the PDP Nation-al Secretariat in Abuja, Biem said his quest to govern Benue was in re-sponse to calls by people from various segments of the state to sustain the transformation drive of the current administra-tion.

Biem,a veteran journal-ist said the Zone C Idomas equally have the legiti-mate rights to contest the

governorship, adding that he is not against their as-piration and agitation to govern the state but his component within Tiv is also deprived.

He said if elected, his administration will open up land development scheme, stressing that farmers will be encour-aged to form cooperative groups for establishment of small industries for fin-ished products.

he said: Benue State as Food Basket of the nation, we need to encourage our

BOLADALE BAMIGBOLAOSOGBO

An aspirant for Osun Central Ssenatorial dis-trict seat in next years na-tional assembly election, under the Peoples Demo-cratic Party, PDP banner, Chief Oludaisi Aina, yes-terday rose in defence of President Goodluck Jona-than, saying no living or dead Nigerian would have achieved as much as Mr President has done under the condition of contrived violence created for him.

Speaking during the continuation of his consul-tations with political and religious groups in Osogbo, Olorunda and Irepodun

WALE IBRAHIMLOKOJA

A Peoples Democrat-ic Party, PDP, aspi-rant to the House of Representatives seat of Ajaokuta federal con-stituency, Aloysius Okino, has promised to give qual-ity representation to his people.

Okino made the pledge yesterday while speaking in a chat with journalists in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, saying his quest to seek the mandate of his people was borne out of his desire to attract devel-opment to his area which he noted has eluded them for too long.

Lamrnting the collapse of critical federal infra-structures in the area, including the moribund Ajaokuta Steel complex, Okino pointed out that the area requires a vi-brant representative that can draw the attention of the government to their plights.

He said: The non func-tional status of Ajaokuta

farmers to concentrate on certain crops that will give value to agriculture. The state will lead the country in the way of generating rev-enue without relying on oil.

My intention to contest is not based on personal ambition but rather in con-sideration of the interest of majority of people in the state. 32 years experi-ence has sufficiently pre-pared me for leadership in the state, because I know the problems of our people.

I have the capacity if given the opportunity

council areas of the state, Aina said the disclosure by the self-styled Australian negotiator, Stephen Davis, that opposition party is working against the re-lease of the Chibok girls, has further lent credence to the fact that the insur-gence being experienced in some parts of the North is contrived to derail the Jon-athan Presidency.

He further alleged that the same opposition party has been castigating Jona-than and the PDP over the abduction of the girls, pos-iting that Nigerians are coming to the realisation

Steel Complex and the to-tal collapse of Ajaokuta-Adogo-Okene road among others is a source of wor-ry to me. Government has a lot of things to do with very limited resource. So we need someone with the requisite experience and vibrancy to draw the attention of the Federal Government and not a bench warmer.

Accordingly, Okino said he intends to do things differently by working closely with the relevant ministries to bring the needed development to his constituency.

Promising to work in synergy with the federal and state governments to bringing down to the barest minimum, youths unemployment in his con-stituency, he pledged not to betray the confidence repose in him by the peo-ple, saying that his posi-tion as current chairman of Ajaokuta Local Gov-ernment has exposed him to the needs and aspira-tions of his people.

toprovide for the Benue people.

He maintained that if given the mandate, he would provide security of life and property, espe-cially as it relates to Fu-lani herdsmen and Benue farmers for permanent reconciliation, adding: The invasion of the state by Fulani herdsmen was very unfortunate, but Governor Gabriel Sus-wam has sufficiently ad-dressed the issue and now there is relatively peace in the state. As I speak to you

of how desperate those that want leadership of the country are becoming.

Aina, who is chairman of National Root Crops Re-search Institute, Umudike, averred that despite the security challenges, the structures for development the present administration is putting in place are en-during and predicted that with the intervention of the Federal Government in aviation, agriculture, defence and education sec-tors, the country will wit-ness huge leap in terms of development in the next few years.

now, herdsmen are back in Benue and living side by side with our farmers. Series of meetings have being held between herds-men and farmers. We will provide security so that herdsmen and farmers will continue to live in peace with one another

Earlier, National Or-ganising Secretary of the PDP, Malam Abubakar Mustapha, said the party would provide level play-ing field for aspirants seeking to fly its banner in the 2015 polls.

He promised to build at least a vocational centre in each of the three federal constituencies in the sena-torial district where youths and interested individuals can learn various voca-tions, if elected senator, adding that on completion, the trainees would be given necessary implements to start their businesses.

On agriculture, Aina said he has already identi-fied certain crops where the state has comparative advantage and listed cassa-va and maize as two crops that his agricultural pro-grammes would focus on.

No one couldve done better than Jonathan under prevailing circumstances

PDP aspirant pledges quality representation at NASS

PoliticsNational Mirror

www.nationalmirroronline.net 13Monday, October 27, 2014

Why Jonathan deserves second term Utchay

Mr. Princewill Utchay is former National Coordinator, Jonathan: Breadth of Fresh Air. He speaks about the newly formed Abia 17, his passion for progress in Abia State and why Nigerians should give President Goodluck Jonathan a second term. Excerpts:

Youre getting more actively involved in the politics of your state. What is prompting you to really go that far, especially considering that you have been a successful businessman?

In the last election, I was the national coordinator for Jonathan: A Breath of Fresh Air and I engaged in that because I knew Goodluck Jonathan was the right person to back at that time and I did that successfully nationwide.

We didnt just promote his candidature or sing praises, we actually went down to the grassroots to find out their thinking and reasoning to vote for any candidate at that time was, and we found out that the people were calling for Jonathan as their candi

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