PDP MELTDOWN: 58 Reps, more senators back Baraje's nPDP

...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 61961

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2013**

Mr & Mrs

COLUMNISTS:

ROTIMIFASAN

DEAR BUNMI•P.42

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58 Reps, more senatorsback Baraje's nPDP

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OGAGAIFOWODO

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BY EMMANUELAZIKEN, POLITICAL

EDITOR, HENRYUMORU & LEVINUS

NWABUGHIOGU

L A G O S — T H EBamanga Tukur-

led faction of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDPwas on the precipice,

PDP MELTDOWN:

•INEC asked to de-register Tukur's faction

NES—From Left: President Goodluck Jonathan; President of African Development Bank Group (AFDB), Mr. DonaldKaberuka; Agriculture Minister, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina and a farmer, Alhaji Maifida Tafida at the opening of the 19th NigerianEconomic Summit, yesterday in Abuja.

Okorocha backpedalson abortion law 14

Suntai drags TarabaSpeaker, lawmakersto court 9

SENATE: PDP nPDP APC REPS: PDP nPDP APC

47 26 33 144 58+ 137

HOW THEY STAND

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2 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2013

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POCKET CARTOON

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

6—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2013

LIFEWORDSBY PASTOR ITUAH

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Build the trust in people you want them to accordyou. Trust is a two way door; it goes in either way.

YOU have everything you need for completepeace and total happiness right now —Wayne

W. Dyer

Let go of your need to win. Ego loves to divide usup into winners and losers. The pursuit of winningis a sure fire means to avoid conscious contact withthe intention. Why? Because automatically, winningis impossible all of the time. Someone out there willbe faster, luckier, younger, stronger and smarter -and back you go to feeling worthless and insignifi-cant.

You are not your winning or your victories, youmay enjoy competing and have fun in a world wherewinning is everything, but you don’t have to bethere in your thoughts. There are no losers in aworld where we all share the same energy source.All you can say on a given day is that you performat a certain level in comparison to the levels of oth-ers on that day. But today is another day, with othercompetitors and new circumstances to consider. Youare still the infinite presence in a body that’s an-other day or (decade} older. Let go of needing towin by not agreeing that the opposite of winning islosing. That’s ego’s fear. If your body is not per-forming on a winning fashion on certain day, it sim-ply does not matter when you are not identifyingwith your ego. Be the observer, noticing and enjoy-ing it all without needing to win a trophy. Be atpeace, and match up with the energy of intention.Ironically, although you hardly notice it, more ofthose victories will show up in your life as you pur-sue them less.

MASTER TRAINERS—Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed (R) presenting an iden-tification tag to one of the beneficiaries of Master Trainers programme, during the official flag off/interactive session of the accredited master trainers at the state banquet hall, Ilorin, yesterday.

58 Reps, more senators backBaraje's nPDPyesterday, after 58 mem-bers of the House ofRepresentatives publiclyswitched sides to theKawu Baraje New PDP(nPDP). Four moresenators have also joinedthe earlier 22 senators onthe side of Baraje, swell-ing the number to 26pro-nPDP senators.However at press time

last night, PresidentGoodluck Jonathan wassaid to have begun ameeting with 10 gover-nors of the PDP.Besides, the Baraje fac-tion also moved yester-day for the de-registra-tion of the Tukur factionby the Independent Na-tional Electoral Commis-sion, INEC.

The Baraje faction incourt seeking to legiti-mize itself also claimedthat Tukur was not avalid member of theparty and as such not inposition to lead the rul-ing party.The sense of panicamong Presidency andparty officials was exac-erbated after the chair-man of the Board of Trus-tees, BoT, Chief TonyAnenih announced thepostponement till nextTuesday, of the sched-uled peace parley be-tween the aggrievedseven governors andPresident GoodluckJonathan. The anxietywas also not helped bycomments by Anenih that“some of the governorshave genuine griev-ances.”Six governors elected onthe platform of the partyhad walked away fromthe special national con-vention of the party andproceeded to establish aparallel faction of theparty on the basis of al-leged multiple infringe-ments of the rules of theparty and hostilityagainst some of theleading officials.The six governors: AliyuWamakko (Sokoto), SuleLamido, (Jigawa),Murtala Nyako(Adamawa), RabiuKwankwaso (Kano),Babangida Aliyu (Niger)and Ahmed Abdulfatah(Kwara) were joined inthe walkout by formerVice-President AtikuAbubakar. They were toreconnect with GovernorChibuike Amaechi ofRivers State who wasthree months ago sus-pended from the partyby the Tukur leadershipand proclaim the estab-

lishment of the Barajefaction.The peace parley sum-moned by the presidentwith 16 governors in at-tendance last Sundaywhich was expected toresume yesterday failedto hold.Anenih who was at thehead of the peace effortson behalf of the presi-dent said the postpone-ment was to give roomfor the two parties to fur-ther consult on the is-sues earlier raised at thepreliminary meeting.

Some rebel govshave genuinegrievances— Anenih

Anenih, nevertheless,said that some of thegovernors have genuinegrievances.“I believe some of themhave genuine griev-ances; but I have hopethat, once the griev-ances are addressed,they will come back. Iam happy that the PDPhas an internal mecha-nism for effective conflictresolution, and at theend of the day, the prob-lems will be addressedand the PDP will comeout of the crisisstronger,” Anenihstated.Anenih said that thepeace talks will continuenext Tuesday after someparty elders would havefirst met to discuss theissues raised at the firstmeeting.He said: “Part of thewider consultations isthe meeting of selectedparty leaders with ChiefOlusegun Obasanjo onFriday morning and

thereafter, we will meetwith the governors onTuesday, next week.”Anenih, however, didnot articulate the griev-ances of the governorsthough several issueshave surfaced in themedia. Among them arethat Tukur should be re-moved from office, thereturn of the party struc-ture in the states to thegovernors, that thepresident should commithimself to serving onlyone term in office andthe restoration ofAmaechi’s full member-ship of the party.There were also asser-tions that part of the rea-sons for the failure of themeeting to hold yester-day was the President’sreluctance to meet thealleged request by thegovernors that the Eco-nomic and FinancialCrimes Commission,EFCC, should bestopped from further in-vestigations of thestates.It was being alleged,yesterday, that the Presi-dent’s failure to make acommitment on the re-quests by the governorsmay have influencedthem into seeking fur-ther consultations andthus the failure to holdthe meeting as sched-uled, yesterday.The claim of persecutionof the governors also re-verberated in a state-ment issued by the 58members of the House ofRepresentatives inwhich they cautionedthe security agencies towork within the ambit ofthe law in their dealingswith defectors from theTukur-led PDP.

58 Reps backBaraje

The 58 members of theHouse of Representa-tives in a statementswitching loyalty to theBaraje faction, yester-day, said the members ofthe faction doing so arepatriots.In the statement issuedin Abuja, the memberssaid they also stronglycondemned attempts bysome agents of the Fed-eral Government to use

state apparatus to witch-hunt some of the patri-ots for taking the step.

The statement reads:

“We, the members of theHouse of Representa-tives under the platformof the New PDP, herebycongratulate our leaderson the emergence of thenew party.“Although a sizeablenumber of our memberswho could not appendtheir signatures becauseof their unavailability inthe country will do soimmediately on arrival,we the under-signed sa-lute and appreciate thecourage, sacrifice, resil-ience and patriotism ofour leaders namely:former Vice PresidentAtiku Abubakar and thegovernors — RabiuMusa Kwankwaso(Kano); Aliyu Wamakko,(Sokoto); MurtalaNyako (Adamawa); SuleLamido (Jigawa);Mu'Azu BabangidaAliyu (Niger); AbdulFatah Ahmed (Kwara),and Chibuike Amaechi(Rivers), and other well-meaning and eminentNigerians for leadingthe way for the emer-gence of the New PDP.“We are also using thisopportunity to condemnin strong terms attemptsby some agents of theFederal Government touse state apparatus towitch-hunt some of thesepatriots for taking thisbold and courageousstep.“As members of theHouse of Representa-tives, we call on the se-curity agencies andother anti-graft bodies tobe professional in theiractivities and not allowthemselves to be used byanybody no matter howhighly placed for theirpolitical ambitions. Re-member how you wanthistory to judge yourtenures.“We won’t hesitate, how-ever, to use all instru-ments of law within our

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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2013—7

Father of stowaway boy appearsSays wife refused him access to peopleAs DSS releases stowaway kid to Edo govt

The suspects

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

BENIN CITY — THERE wasdrama, yesterday, at Edo

State Government House, BeninCity, when the father of the stowa-way teenage boy, DanielOikhena, who was said to be bed-ridden due to illness, surfacedduring a meeting between Gov-ernor Adams Oshiomhole andthe family.

This came as theDepartment ofState Services, DSS, yesterday,handed over Daniel to the EdoState Ministry of Women Affairsand Social Development but de-nied the mother, Mrs. EvelynOikhena, access to her son.

Mr. Osaigbovo Oikhena, 44, adriver by profession, told journal-ists that contrary to reports thathe was sick and bed-ridden, hewas living separately from thefamily due to a disagreement withhis wife.

He said his wife refused to stayin the house where he could af-ford the rent. Therefore, he de-cided to move out of the house ayear ago to where he could af-ford the rent.

He said: “I decided to comehere today (yesterday) to tell theworld that I am the father of Dan-iel. Initially, when I heard thenews, I thought my son was kid-napped. But my wife said Ishould calm down that wheneverything is okay, she will callme.

My wife refused tomove in with me

“I never dreamt of going to

America, I am not married to an-other woman. My wife refusedto give the DSS my numberwhen they asked for it.

"Arising from my loss of job, Idecided to move to a new apart-ment where I can afford the rentand told my wife that they shouldmove in with me, but she refusedand continued to stay in the three-bedroom flat on 7, EhigiagbeStreet, Ekenwan, Benin City.”

Mr Osaigbovo who said he re-sides at Siluko Road, noted: “Iusually pay my children's schoolfees and provide feeding moneyregularly, contrary to claims thatI abandoned my family.”

He accused the wife of mak-ing it look as if he was dead by

denying people access to him.Meanwhile, De RAUFS, a vol-

unteer group which had indi-cated interest in the welfare ofDaniel was at GovernmentHouse, Benin City. Representedby Yinka Muyiwa, head of legalteam, De RAUFS said it came toEdo State to reaffirm the schol-arship it earlier gave the lad tocontinue his education up to uni-versity level.

DSS releases stowawaykid to Edo govt

The 13-year-old Oikhena hasbeen in the custody of DSS in La-gos before he was released to the

Edo State Government, yester-day.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Oikhena, themother of Daniel, has confirmedthe return of her son to Benin.

She told newsmen in Benin thatshe got a call, yesterday, invit-ing her to the state Ministry ofWomen of Affairs.

She said: “I went to the officeand was told that my child hadbeen taken to DSS. I went thereand saw Daniel. They did notallow me to touch or greet him,but he was looking good.”

She said after a short sessionwith DSS, she was asked to goand wait at the Ministry of Wom-en Affairs.

How Police foiled attempt to rob pharmaceutical firm

ABAKALIKI — THEREwas a mild drama at the

premises of an Abakaliki Mag-istrate court, Ebonyi State, asoperatives of Special Anti Rob-bery Squad, SARS, EbonyiState Command, numberingover 20, besieged the court tore-arrest the Vice Chairman ofIkwo Local Government Area,Mr Sunday Ota and SundayNwaokpokwu.

The duo were alleged tohave been involved in the rapeof two sisters in Ikwo council,last month.

The suspects were arraignedon a three-count charge of con-spiracy, robbery and rape.

The heavily armed SARS op-eratives stormed the court at12:30pm and took positions inthe front and back entrancesto the court after MagistrateGladson Ugbala had orderedthat the name of the vice chair-man be struck off from thecharge sheet on grounds of no-ticeable defeat in the docu-ment.

During the proceeding, thechief magistrate described theinclusion of the name of thevice chairman in the charge asan after-thought and won-dered why his name would bewritten with a pen in a crimi-nal matter.

Ugbala ordered that SundayNwaopkoku be remanded inthe Abakaliki Prisons and ad-journed the matter indefinitely.

Meanwhile, the vice chair-man of Ikwo council was takenaway from the court in a blueSienna car to the Ebonyi StatePolice headquarters.

BY PETER OKUTU

BY EVELYN USMAN, UJUMBANUSI & LINDA

AMALU

LAGOS — OPERATIVES of the Special Anti-Robbery

Squad, SARS, Ikeja, Lagos havefoiled an attempt by an eight-manrobbery gang to smuggle twotrucks of drugs worth over N20million from May&Baker com-pany in Oba Akran area of Ikeja.

Surprisingly, two of the sus-pects were discovered to beguards attached to the company.

Recovered from them wereseven packs of druggedLucozade Boost and anotherdrugged drink which were re-portedly given to other guards,in order to put them to sleep whilethe operation lasted.

Other items recovered were fivedestroyed padlocks of the ware-house from where they at-tempted to remove the drugs, aknife, a saw, a chisel and 84 car-tons of sulphorite and taxamitedrugs which they allegedly suc-ceeded in loading inside their

operational truck before theywere apprehended.

Parading the suspects beforenewsmen at the command’sheadquarters, the command’sspokesman, Ngozi Braide, saidinformation on plan to operate atMay&Baker was received by theoperatives on August 24, 2013.

She said: “At 9 p.m, one of thesuspects came in and cut the keysto the entrance of the company.Before then, they had connivedwith some of the guards andeven gave them some poisonedjuice to give to others who werenot in the know.

"They were promised N200,000at the end of the operation. SARSoperatives waited patiently from6 p.m till midnight when othermembers of the gang came inwith two empty trucks. Theywere caught in the act. They camewith two AK-47 rifles but whenthey discovered that SARS op-eratives were around, they threwthe weapons inside the ware-house.

"Same time last year, same

gang struck in the same companycarting away same drugs.”

How we struck

One of the suspects, OlarewajuSimeon (21) stated that oneJames contacted him on the op-eration.

He said: "But I told him therewas need to speak with the se-curity men before I could getthem a buyer. He later came withone of the security men who de-manded N1 million. At the end,we agreed to pay the securityman N200,000. So we fixed Au-gust 24 for the operation.

"He later came with two othersecurity men who said there wasneed to carry others along be-cause there were over 20 guardsin that premises which housesabout six companies.

"I told them not to worry thatwe would add Rophinal intoLucozade Boost which wouldmake them fall asleep. Thatnight, before we left, they in-formed us that the people had

slept off, that we should come."When I went inside, I cut the

keys. But later, three other peo-ple came and said I must pay N2million because of the number ofcartons I intended to carry. Iagreed. But while loading, weheard sporadic gun shots. All Idid was raise my hands, inform-ing the policemen that we werenot armed.

We carried outlast year’s operation

"We were not armed because wenever expected to have any con-frontation because those whocould have raised alarm werealready asleep.

"We were also responsible forlast year’s operation at the ware-house. That operation was suc-cessful because the guards werealso involved. We were six innumber and at the end of theday, I got N1 million. My sharefor this foiled one would havebeen over N1 million.”

Rape of twosisters: Policere-arrestsuspect incourt

DUTSE — THE Nigeria Security and Civil Defence

Corps, NSCDC, in JigawaState, yesterday, arrested a 23-year-old woman for allegedlydumping her new born babyboy in a toilet in Hadeja townof Hadejia Local GovernmentArea of the state.

The state's corps comman-dant, Mr Muhammad Gidado,told News Agency of Nigeriain Dutse that the suspect wasarrested following a tip-off bypatriotic citizens.

He explained that the sus-pect gave birth to the baby onSeptember 1 around 11.30 p.mand allegedly dumped him inthe toilet.

The commandant said thesuspect alleged that she wasimpregnated by a man who or-dered her to dump the baby.

Woman, 23,nabbed fordumping babyin toilet


SUMMIT: President Goodluck Jonathan (middle), Chairman, Board of Nigerian Eco-nomic Summit Group, Mr. Foluso Phillips(left) and Minister of Agriculture, Dr. AkinwunmiAdeshina, at the opening of the 19th Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, yesterday. STATEHOUSE PHOTO.

ABUJA—PRESIDENTGoodluck Jonathan, yester-

day, promised to provide very lowinterest loans to farmers.

He made the promise whiledeclaring open the 19th Nige-rian Economic Summit in Abuja,where he also launched the YouthEmployment in Agriculture Pro-gramme, YEAP, designed to at-tract more youths into the agri-cultural sector.

He said providing cheaperloans to farmers was part of strat-egies to achieve the transforma-tion agenda of his administrationin the agricultural sector.

The President said: “A criticalsuccess factor to the transforma-tion agenda for the agriculturalsector is access to affordable fi-nance for farmers andagribusinesses.

“Government will continue todevelop innovative financingmechanisms to make agriculturalcredit more affordable.

“A team headed by the Fi-nance Minister is working onhow government can link up withthe private sector and the Cen-tral Bank to make sure that farm-ers get loans at very low interestrates.”

On YEAPCommenting on YEAP, Presi-

dent Jonathan said: “Agricultureas a business holds a bright fu-ture for our country, especially forthe youths. Unemploymentamong our youths is one of thebiggest challenges.

“The time has come to createjobs and create a new founda-tion for Nigeria’s economicgrowth. There is need to getyounger farmers, especiallyyoung graduates and youngschool leavers to take up agricul-ture as a business.

“I am excited that a lot of youngpeople now see agriculture as aviable business opportunity. Inorder to encourage young peo-ple and create another cadre ofyoung dynamic and entrepre-neurial commercial farmers andagro businesses, the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Develop-ment has developed the YouthEmployment in Agriculture Pro-gramme.

“Over the next five years thisprogramme will see the emer-gence of young graduates andschool leavers across the six geo-political zones into commercialfarming and agribusiness.

“They will be calledNagropreneurs. TheseNagropreneurs, through theirbusinesses, will create jobs forhundreds of thousands of Nige-rian youths.

“Let me use this opportunity tocall on all young people to takeadvantage of this opportunity.

“We are paying the huge prizefor the predominant focus on ouroil-led economy to the

Jonathan promises cheaper loans for farmersLaunches Youth Employment in Agriculture ProgrammeTargets rice sufficiency in 2015

ADB President tasks states on agric sector

BY BABAJIDEKOMOLAFE &

EMMANUEL ELEBEKE

abandonment of agriculture. Ourpopulation is too big to dependon other nations for foodimportation.

“This is why we must not fail inthis course. Our target is to be foodsufficient. By 2015, we intend toachieve self-sufficiency in riceproduction.

Agro targets,population explosion

“We have ended corruption infertilizer distribution through pri-vate sector, who now sell directlyto farmers. We have establishednew plants for cassava process-ing across the country.

“Our target is not only to be amajor producer of cassava proc-essed products but a major ex-porter to the rest of the world.

“Our national revolution plan isfurther intended to add value toour priorities and also to our agroprocessed products. We are work-ing to reduce costs in productionof agro products.”

The President, who identifiedpower as an indispensable factorin driving the economy, said thatefforts were being made to repo-sition the power sector and as-sured that the ongoing deregula-tion of the sector will be completedbefore end of the year.

“You cannot talk about agricul-ture without power, finance, ferti-lizer, education and gas. We areusing this summit as a fulcrum todialogue on critical issues aboutthe economy.

“The theme is most apt, espe-cially this time the administrationis determined to unlock the chal-lenge of food sufficiency.”

He debunked the claim that Ni-geria is over populated, sayingthat the nation’s population willnot explode as believed in somequarters.

According to Jonathan, the ad-ministration is working hard tomeet the challenges of populationincrease in the country.

He added that a 30-year stra-tegic plan has been unfoldedby the administration to ensuresecurity of critical infrastructureacross the country.

This, he said, was part of on-going efforts to guaranteesteady growth andsustainability of ongoing trans-formation of the economy.

ADB PresidentMeanwhile, President of Af-

rican Development Bank, AfDB,Dr. Donald Kaberuka, has calledfor more state support for farm-ers in the country.

Speaking during the Presi-dential Dialogue session of thesummit, Kaberuka commendedthe ongoing reforms in nation’sagricultural sector.

He said to expedite the re-forms, it was necessary to pro-vide state support for farmers.

The ADB boss s aid: “Whenthe President asked me to jointhe Presidential Advisory Coun-

cil on Agriculture, I wanted toturn it down, because I don’tparticipate in such advisorycouncils.

“There are 54 African coun-tries, and I cannot be on the ad-versary council of all of them.But I concluded that this one isvery important. It is not onlybecause of Nigeria’s demo-graphic importance, but be-cause if we can succeed here,we can succeed elsewhere.

“I have been around now foreight years in my job. I havebeen to oil exporting countriesin Africa where you see plentyof oil, plenty of poverty, andplenty of opportunities.

“Now that the leadership hereis determined to do somethingabout it, I think we must rallybehind Mr. President.

“The science of making agri-culture work is well known. It isnot rocket science. The policyframework that we need is wellknown, but what we need are

people that recognise that Africamust seize this opportunities ofthe growing population is theworld, not only to feed ourselvesbut to be part of the agriculturalvalue chain.

“I don’t buy the idea that weshould simply promote agricul-ture to feed ourselves. That is notthe point.

“I think we must now seize theopportunities in the global mar-ket. So I am exited in what youare doing here, and I support it.

“I am a firm believer in freemarkets, but when it comes toagriculture, as long as we havean exit structure, it is a correctthing to provide state support tofarmers, provided it is targeted,transitory and it has an exit plan.

“And that includes having in-stitutions that are well run, notpolitically run. Well ran to sup-port the farmers."

“If that is done, institutions likeAfrican Development Bank willrally behind it.”

Delegates discuss Natn'l Confab, unity, security at Uyo Summit

THE call for a national confer-ence, stability and security of

the nation were some of the is-sues that came to the front burner,yesterday, at the political summitorganised by the Nigerian Con-sensus Group underway in Uyo,Akwa Ibom State capital.

Delegates from all parts of thecountry stressed the need for theunity of Nigeria to be strength-ened.

They also made a case for the

enthronement of equity, justice,security and peace for positivesocio-economic and political de-velopment.

They said President GoodluckJonathan should convene anational conference urgently, sothat the 394 ethnic nationalitiescan sit down and agree on theterms of living together in peaceand harmony.

Prominent Nigerians, who at-tended the summit yesterdayincluded Professor BenNwabueze (SAN), Air Commo-dore Dan Suleiman, Chief

Mbazulike Amaechi and Gov-ernor Godswill Akpabio of AkwaIbom State, who was repre-sented by Commissioner for In-formation, Aniekan Umanah.

Others are Dr. ArthurNwankwo, Mr. MichaelOrobator, Mrs Annkio Briggs,Chief Maxi Okwu, Dr. TunjiAbayomi, Dr. Yinusa Tanko, Dr.Ekpo Ekpo Bassey, CharlesNwodo, Ado Ibrahim and Sena-tor Isa Kachako.

There were also SenatorMojisoluwa Akinfenwa, ChiefAyo Adebanjo, Professor Ishaq

Akintola, Mrs Josephine Anenih,Mrs Annkio Briggs, AhmadAminu, Chief Solomon Asemota(SAN), Air Commodore DanSuleiman, Professor KimseOkoko, Dr. Arthur Nwankwo, Dr.Chukwuemeka Ezeife, ChiefGuy Ikokwu and Bala Zakka.

Dr. Mani Ahmad, FaroukUmar, Professor Nat Aniekan,Mr. Yahaya Ndu, Chief MaxiOkwu, Chief Ralph Obioha,Chief Ambrose Owuru, SenatorDangana Ndayako and HajiaRamatu Bala Usman, among oth-ers, were also there.

BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE& TONY NYONG


ABUJA—GOVERNORDanbaba Suntai of Taraba

State, yesterday, commenced alegal action against the Speakerand members of the State Houseof Assembly for refusing to allowhim resume duties as governorafter his return from medicaltreatment abroad.

Suntai, who was previously in-capacitated to carry out his offi-cial duties sequel to his involve-ment in a plane crash, in an origi-nating motion he filed beforeTaraba State High Court, Jalingo,accused the state legislature ofattempting to usurp his positionand constitutional powers.

Suntai had on August 26, trans-mitted a letter to the Speaker ofthe Taraba State House of Assem-bly, notifying him of his returnafter a 10-month absence and hisreadiness to take over his officeas governor.

However, his request was re-jected on the premise that theletter ought to be deliberatedupon by the House of Assemblybefore a decision could bereached on it.

Acting GovAccordingly, the state House of

Assembly directed that theDeputy Governor, Alhaji UmarGarba, whom it had declaredacting Governor, should continueto exercise the powers of gover-nor pending a resolution of theHouse on Suntai’s letter.

Dissatisfied with the action ofthe legislature, Suntai, in a suitfiled through his lawyer, Dr. AlexIzinyon (SAN), yesterday, main-tained that his letter notifying theSpeaker and the House of hisreturn and intention to take overwas not subject to the exercise oftheir discretion to accept or re-ject, saying it is “mandatory” forthem to do so.The suit

Specifically, he urged the court

to determine “whether by virtueof Section 190(2) of the 1999 Con-stitution of the Federal Republicof Nigeria (as amended), the 1stand 2nd Defendants can by pressrelease or debate, interfere with,do anything whatsoever in con-nection with or in relation to theletter transmitted by the Plaintiffto the 1st Defendant pursuant tothe said Section 190(2) of the 1999Constitution of the Federal Re-public of Nigeria (as amended).

“Whether the 1st and 2nd De-fendants can debate the letter ofPlaintiff, dated August 26, trans-mitted to the 1st Defendant and,by press release, direct that theDeputy Governor of Taraba State,Alhaji Garba Umar, should con-tinue in office as Acting Governorof Taraba State till Plaintiff is de-clared medically fit to resume of-fice having regard to the provi-sion of Section 190(2) of the Con-stitution of the Federal Republicof Nigeria 1999 (as amended).”

‘My lettermandatory'

He is also urging the court to“declare that the letter of the Plain-tiff dated August 26, transmittedto the 1st Defendant is absolute,mandatory, immutable and can-not be debated or contradicted byany means whatsoever as the 1stand 2nd Defendants lack any dis-cretion and that upon transmis-sion of the said letter, Plaintiff hasautomatically assumed his pow-ers and responsibilities as Gover-nor of Taraba State.”

Besides, he wants the court todeclare that by virtue of Section190(2) of the 1999 Constitution ofthe Federal Republic of Nigeria(as amended), the 1st and 2ndDefendants cannot by press re-lease or debate, interfere with, doanything in connection with or inrelation to the letter transmittedby the Plaintiff to the 1st Defend-ant pursuant to the said Section190(2) of the 1999 Constitution ofthe Federal Republic of Nigeria(as amended).

“A declaration that the 1st and2nd Defendants’ press release of

August 29 or any other datewhatsoever directing that theDeputy Governor of TarabaState, Alhaji Umar Garba,should continue as Acting Gov-ernor of Taraba State is null andvoid, ultra vires and constitu-tionally void and of no effectwhatsoever.”

Accordingly, he is seeking anorder of perpetual injunction re-straining the 1st and 2nd De-fendants from debating, inter-fering with, doing anything inconnection with or in relationto the letter transmitted by thePlaintiff to the 1st Defendantpursuant to Section 190(2) of the1999 Constitution of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria (asamended).

PDP intervenesMeanwhile, the Peoples

Democratic Party, PDP, made aspirited effort, yesterday, to rec-oncile the ailing governor of thestate with his Deputy, Umar,who has acted as governor sinceOctober last year.

The party held a successfulconsultation with the differentfactions in the state’s ragingpolitical crisis and pleaded withthem to give peace a chance byallowing the governor to re-cover fully from his medical con-dition.

The Hope Uzodinma Fact-finding Committee, which wasempaneled by the party’s lead-ership, flew into Jalingo in themorning and was able to meetwith the critical parties, includ-ing Suntai, his wife, Hauwa, act-ing governor, Umar and mem-bers of the state House of As-sembly before arriving at a po-litical solution to the crisis.

Although the seven-memberpanel met Suntai in secret, theylater held a session with othersat the Governor ’s Office,Jalingo, before making knowntheir verdict on the crisis, whichaccentuated with the attempt bySuntai’s loyalists to take over themantle of leadership from Umarfollowing the return of Suntai.

...arrives at decisionThe committee aligned with

the position canvassed by thestate House of Assembly andthe representatives of the statein the National Assembly thatwhile Suntai remains the gov-ernor, the Deputy Governor,Umar, must continue to actpending when Suntai wouldrecover from his condition.

The bitter struggle betweenforces loyal to the two politicalleaders in the state led to thesack of the State ExecutiveCouncil by the governor’s sup-porters.

The situation forced the stateHouse of Assembly to openly

oppose the takeover of the ad-ministration by Suntai’s men.

They promptly asked the ail-ing governor to return to theUnited States and seek furthermedical attention, while Umarcontinues with the running ofthe state’s affairs.

However, after a closed-doormeeting with the stakeholdersin Government House for abouttwo hours, Senator Uzodima an-nounced that the acting gover-nor would continue to hold thefort for Suntai, who remains thegovernor.

Uzodima, who played downon the problem in the state sincethe return of Suntai, said thatthe state was merely involvedin what he called “little quar-rel” and nothing more.

It’s settled— PDP C’ttee Chair

He said: “We had a little quar-rel in the state, but not crisis assome people may describe it. Wemet with Governor Suntai anddiscovered he is getting betterby the day.

“He (Suntai) has also agreedthat Umar should continue torun the state in acting capacityand we all agreed with him.

“Umar, the acting governorwill be running the governmentin serious consultations withSuntai and we urge all of you tosupport him to succeed in theonerous task.”

Umar told journalists that hewas grateful to PresidentGoodluck Jonathan and theNational Chairman of the origi-nal PDP for taking urgent stepsto resolve the crisis.

He restated his commitmentto work in strict collaborationwith Suntai, particularly on mat-ters of politics and the develop-ment of the state.

Umar said: “Today we havebeen able to tell ourselves thetruth and we have been able toresolve all the differences.”

On the dissolution of the StateExecutive Council by Suntai,Umar said: “I am still in consul-tations with my boss and I willcommunicate to you on the is-sue after our consultations.”

The governor and his deputywere expected to hold the con-sultations last night and the out-

come made public today.

ParticipantsUmar and the Secretary to the

Government, Gavey Yawe, hadearlier received members of theteam at the Jalingo Airport be-fore leading to the crucial meet-ing with stakeholders at the Gov-ernment House.

Before the arrival of the team,Suntai’s wife, Hauwa, hadtouched down at the Jalingo Air-port with chattered plane markedNo.5N-BMR at about 10am.

Another hired private plane,No.9H-ZAT, Hawker 900, withmembers of the National Assem-bly from the state, also toucheddown at exactly 10:25 am.

The NASS members on theteam were Sen. Abubakar Tutare,representing Taraba Central;Jerry Mamwe, representingKarim-Lamido; Lau, Aldo-KolaFederal Constituency; AminuMale, representing Jalingo, Yorroand Zing Federal Constituencyand Ibrahim Tukur, representingGashaka, Kurmi and SadaunaFederal Constituency.

However, in spite of the inter-vention of the PDP fact-findingmission, the Senator represent-ing Taraba South, Sen. Bwacha,and a close ally of Suntai, hadmaintained that members of theHouse of Assembly should re-spect the position of the law re-garding the letter transmitted tothem by the governor.

Police boss suedMeanwhile, a Federal High

Court sitting in Abuja has beenurged to compel the Inspector-General of Police, MohammedAbubakar, to investigate the let-ter sent by the Governor Suntaito the Taraba State House of As-sembly, indicating his readinessto resume duty.

In the suit, No. FHC/ABJ/CS/593/13, filed by Falana Chamberson behalf of Haruna Daniel andBako Ojoda against the policeboss, and Taraba State House ofAssembly, they also asked thecourt to compel the lawmakers toequally constitute a committee toinvestigate the state of the Gov-ernor’s health before he resumesduty.

No date has been fixed for thesuit.

Suntai drags Taraba Speaker, lawmakers to court

Governor Danbaba Suntai of Taraba State.

It's a little quarrel, settled— PDPWe told ourselves the truth— Dep Gov

BY SONI DANIEL,IKECHUKWU NNOCHIRI,ABDULWAHAB ABDULAH

& JOHN MKOM

VISIT: From left— Mr. Paul Olanrewaju, Director-Gen-eral, Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association; IbrahimIgomu, Chairman, Nigerian Textile Garments and TailoringEmployers Association; Sen. Walid Jibril, leader of the del-egation from Textile Manufacturers Association, and VicePresident Namadi Sambo, during a courtesy call on the VicePresident at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday.


Sue NSCDC, Fashola orders OPDBY OLASUNKANMI AKONI &ABDULWAHAB ABDULAH

LAGOS — GOVERNORBabatunde Fashola of

Lagos State, yesterday gave amarching order to the Officeof the Public Defender, OPD,to take legal action against theNigeria Security and CivilDefence Corps NSCDC, forallegedly arresting eight resi-dents of Ejigbo Local Coun-cil Development Area LCDA,whose wells were found to

have been polluted by oilspill from the Nigerian Na-tional Petroleum Corporation,NNPC pipeline in the area.

It would be recalled thatNSCDC officials, last week,allegedly invaded the build-ings at No.17 and 30 AminatuIlo Street, in Ejigbo LCDA,and arrested eight persons,including a landlord and hiswife, a pregnant woman onthe suspicion that they dugtheir well to the level of oilpipeline which runs through

the area.The governor through the

Commissioner for the Envi-ronment, Tunji Bello, had,weekend, condemned the al-leged unwarranted arrest andurged the victims to institutelegal action against NSCDC.

He noted that the “illegal ar-rest” was carried out withoutproper investigation.

However, Fashola, whofrowned seriously at what hetermed “indiscriminate arrestof innocent citizens.”

A team of the OPD, led by

its Director, Mrs. OmotolaRotimi, visited the affectedarea on Monday to interactwith the people arrested byNSCDC.

She also faulted the arrest,disclosing that the governorhad directed OPD to take uplegal action against theNSCDC, explaining thatOPD had since secured therelease of the arrested per-sons, but would be suing fordamages.

The OPD director spokewith the owners of the twohouses who claimed that theyinformed Ejigbo Police Stationwhen they first noticed thatsubstance suspected to befuel was coming out of theirwells instead of water.

They claimed the Police tookthem to NNPC office to makean official report, stressingthat NNPC officials came totake samples from the welland sealed it off with thepromise that they would re-turn on Monday, August 26,2013.

But on Saturday, August24,according to them,NSCDCcame to arrest them and allpleas to them that the matterhad been officially reported tothe appropriate quarters fellon deaf ears.

Support APCfor progress,LCDA bosstellsNigerians

CHAIRMAN OFIkoyi-Obalende

Local Council Develop-ment Area, LCDA, Lagos,RasaK Adeniy, has saidAll Progressives Party,APC, will transform thecountry when voted intopower in 2015, calling onNigerians to rally roundthe party to save the na-tion from further retro-gression.

He equally assuredmembers in the LCDAthat APC structure is fullyon ground and that theyshould queue behind theexisting structure pend-ing when a broader meet-ing will be held, notingthat .APC was now a big-ger family including AllNigerian Peoples Party,ANPP, Congress for Pro-gressive Change, CPCand a part of All of AllProgressive Grand Alli-ance, APGA.

At a briefing, he said“One of the ingredientsfor peace and unity in oursociety is to work underparty leadership that ispopularly elected and ac-cepted by the populace.The party Chairman inmy Local Government isHon. Rasak Ogunleyewith members of the ofthe Executive, during theflag-off ceremony of ourgreat party, we alltrooped out, havingworked assiduously forthe success of the mergerarrangement.”

DANA CENOTAPH: Lagos govt compensates5 landlords

BY MONSUR OLOWOPEJO

LAGOS — Lagos State Government, yesterday, compensated five landlords whose lands

were acquired by the government for the construc-tion of the Dana Cenotaph in Iju-Ishaga, Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area of the state.

This came barely three months after GovernorBabatunde Fashola unveiled the cenotaph, tomark the one year anniversary of the ill fated Danaplane crash of June 3rd, 2012.

The acquired land, according to the governmentmeasured 2,834.917 square metres.

The beneficiaries are: Mr. Isaac Aduroja, PastorDaniel Omowumi, Pastor Ezekiel Akin-Jesu,Alhaja Ramota Akinwusi and Alhaji Wahab

Oshinaya.Although the government did not dis-

close the amount paid to the landlords,vanguard gathered that over N20 millionwas paid to the landlords to part with theirlands.

Permanent Secretary, Lands Bureau,Hakeem Muri-Okunola, who handed overthe cheques to the owners at his office inAlausa Secretariat, said the fund was ap-proved by the state governor, on the basisof the prevailing fair market value withinthe neighborhood where the cenotaph hadbeen erected.

Muri-Okunola said : “The compensationwas paid in accordance with the fair mar-ket value for a plot of land in the localgovernment, which is valued between N4to N5million.”

Nigeria’s USaviationCategory 1status welldeserved— NCAA

BY LAWANI MIKAIRU& DANIEL ETEGHE

NIGERIA CIVILAviation Author-

ity, NCAA, yesterday,said Nigeria wasawarded United States’Federal Aviation Admin-istration, FAA, CategoryI status by United Statesof America in 2009 be-cause of NCAA’s fullcompliance with inter-national civil aviationsafety standard.

Director General ofNCAA, Captain FolaAkinkuotu, explainedthis at the second An-nual Seminar for Fed-eral High Court Judgeson Civil Aviation Law inLagos.

SUMMIT: From left, Country Managing Director, Mr. Niyi Yusuf; Director, Real Sector, Mrs. Juliet Anammah, and Market-ing Lead, Mr. Segun Olalandu, all of Accenture Nigeria, at the opening of Nigeria Economic Summit, in Abuja, yesterday.

OFAAC to disburse 5th phase of micro-creditto 500 beneficiaries

THE ORGANISATION for the Advancement of Anioma Culture,

OFAAC, the cultural umbrella body ofAnioma people, in Delta State, will to-morrow present cheques for the organi-sation’s fifth microcredit loan scheme toover 500 beneficiaries.

The beneficiaries are drawn from thenine local government areas in the DeltaNorth Senatorial District. The event willhold at the Orchid Hotels, Asaba.

The President of the Organisation,Kester Ifeadi, in a statement, said theinitiative, in partnership with Main Street

Bank, since five years ago, had helped toboost small scale businesses withinAnioma communities.

The repayment rate of loan disbursedhas been very encouraging with over 95per cent recorded, a good picture of creditworthiness among the people.

“It gladdens my heart to note thatOFAAC’s little effort through itsmicrocredit programme is contributing tothe growth of rural businesses, employ-ment of Anioma people for poverty reduc-tion and invariably reduced inequalities,”Ifeadi said.

Vanguard WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2013 — 11

PDP crisis can destroy Nigeria — Gov Aliyu

NIGER STATE governor,Dr. Muazu Aliyu has

warned that the crisis rockingthe Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, has assumed a dangerousdimension and if not swiftly ad-dressed is capable of destroy-ing Nigeria.

The governor at a meeting,yesterday, with the PDPstakeholders, in Minna, to in-form them of what transpiredat the party’s National Conven-tion in Abuja, argued that thechallenges confronting the rul-ing party would not only affectit, but the nation as well.

Recalling some of the politi-cal developments and the cri-sis that engulfed the party’sspecial National Conventionthat resulted in seven gover-nors including himself walkingout of the venue to form a splin-ter PDP, new PDP, nPDP, week-end, he faulted the situationwhere persons at the helms ofaffairs intimidated and forcedtheir personal opinions on thepeople without giving room fordialogue and negotiation.

According to Aliyu, “eventhough there are issues, theyshould be discussed and everyone carried along.

Mimiko warns new commissioners over socialpressure

BY DAYO JOHNSON

AKURE — GOVERNOROlusegun Mimiko of

Ondo State, yesterday, swore-in two new commissioners,warning them not to allowsocial pressure to derail them.

The two commissioners areMrs. Nike Ademujimi andOgundeji Iroju, representOkitipupa and Odigbo coun-cil areas of the state respec-tively.

Dr. Mimiko said hisadministartion had zero toler-

ance for corruption and that thenew commissioners shouldavoid undue pressures frompoliticians.

He asked them to abide bythe principles of transparencyand accountability, the hall-marks of his administration.

The governor said the newcommissioners should ensurethat resources of the state werenot wasted and should ensurecontinuous generation of rev-enue by their ministries.

Mimiko pointed out that hisadministration required hardwork, honour and integrity in

the discharge of their duties.The governor told them that

they should work as a teamwith other commissioners andwere not competing for any-thing, but to co-operate andachieve the overall objectiveof government.

He said they were expectedto work towards the continoustransformation of the state.

Mrs. Ademujimi was ap-pointed Commissioner forCommerce and Industrieswhile Iroju was named Com-missioner for Employmentand Productivity.

“In a situation where one per-son wants his opinion to over -rule others, there will be issues.But, when you persuade them,they will see reasons and ac-cept what you said.

“That is the only way forwhich democracy can thrive inthe nation.

“If dialogue fails, we mustgive room for wounds to heal.

This gathering is to inform youof what happened in Abuja.Though efforts are on by eldersof the party to resolve the im-passe with the leaders of thePDP and as soon as they arethrough, we will also let youknow the outcome of their meet-ing.”

Earlier, state Chairman of thePDP, Dr. Abdulrahaman Enagi

told the governor at the meet-ing, attended by representa-tives of the state at both the up-per and lower Houses of theNational Assembly, that theState was solidly in support ofany position taken by the gov-ernor even as stakeholdersawait the outcome of theelders’ meeting.

RESIDENTS, VISI-TORS and investors

in Ekiti State will in thenext few weeks begin toenjoy uninterruptedbroadband services as thestate Governor, Dr.Kayode Fayemi, yester-day, kicked off the firstphase of the Optical Fi-bre Cable laying projectfor Ado Ekiti, the statecapital.

When completed, Ado-Ekiti will be the fourth cityafter Lagos, Abuja andPort Harcourt to have thedigital facility.

Speaking after kick-starting the laying of thefibre optic cable at theFajuyi Park, GovernorFayemi said his cam-paign promise to trans-form the state to a digitalhub was not a gimmickbut a step to make it pos-sible for the state to jointhe world of informationtechnology super high-way and make the statethe number one choice forpeople to live, work andplay.

Fayemiassures ofuninterruptedbroadbandservices inEkiti

Cracks in Ogun APC as CPC backs outof Abuja planned protest

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

ABEOKUTA — A major crack has occurred in

the All Progressives Con-gress, APC, in Ogun State asthe defunct Congress for Pro-gressive Change, CPC, disso-ciated itself from the planned

protest in Abuja today againstthe party’s guidelines for thestate harmonisation committeeof the party.

The defunct CPC in the statewhile briefing newsmen at theparty secretariat, Abeokuta,yesterday, said it was satisfiedwith the recommended guide-

lines on the harmonisation ofthe state APC committee, urg-ing the faction to desist fromsuch move.

State chairman of thedefunct CPC, Mr. OluwoleSmith, alleged that a factionin the new party had beencommissioned by

some politicians to protesth a r m o n i s a t i o n o fthe APC committee.

According to Smith, “as theauthentic CPC caucus in APCOgun State, we want to saywithout mincing words that,this group in APC has no handin the ‘rally’ being planned bysome people from Ogun State,in Abuja, against the recom-mended guidelines by the na-tional interim executive to-wards harmonisation of legacyparties into APC committee atthe state level.

“With this statement, wehereby wash our hands offthe unholy and uncalled-for-rally which we regard asunprogressive and retrogres-sive in its entirety.

“We view this planned pro-test as callous, unwarrantedand undemocratic.

“For too long we have beenkicked around by politicianswho think the only way theycan oil their wheels of self-aggrandisement is to keep usback when progress is beingmade.”

Attempts to get reactionsfrom the defunct Action Con-gress of Nigeria, ACN, in thestate was unsuccessful.

When the Publicity Secretaryof defunct ACN, Mr. SolaLawal, was contacted, hepromised to get back, but at thetime of this report, he had not.

‘Guinea wormfree Nigeriato becertifiedDecember’

BY OLA AJAYI

IBADAN — MINIS-TER of Health, Pro-

fessor OnyebuchiChukwu, yesterday, inIbadan, Oyo State, saidthe World Health Or-ganisation, WHO, certi-fication that Nigeria wasnow free from Guineaworm disease, will comein December.

The minister whospoke at internationalsymposium on “GlobalPerspective in EmergingDiseases,” organised bythe University of Ibadanin honour of a medicalicon, Emeritus ProfessorOladapo OlujimiAkinkugbe who clocked80 years, reiterated thatPresident GoodluckJonathan administrationhad eradicated Guineaworm disease in thecountry.

WHO’s supervisionteam was in Nigeria formore than three weekstrying to see anybodyinfected by the diseasebut it found none.

ROLL-OUT: From left, Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; Group Managing Director/CEO, ipNX Nigeria Ltd, Mr. Ejovi Aror; Special Adviser, Bureau of Infrastructure and Pub-lic Utilities, Ekiti State, Mr. Kayode Jegede; and Executive Director, Finance, ipNX, Mrs.Bimpe Olaleye, during the ground breaking for the Fibre Optic Network Roll-out (Phase1A), in Ado-Ekiti.

BY WOLE MOSADOMI


Etsako monarchs beg for Ozekhome’s releaseBY GABRIEL

ENOGHOLASE

Why we are mum overAmaechi-Jonathanfeud —IYC

BY SAMUELOYADONGHA

Delta Centralbye-election:Urhobo urgedto pickcrediblecandidate

...as kinsmenbemoanabduction

Y ENAGOA—THEIjaw Youth Council,

IYC, yesterday, ad-vanced reasons for its si-lence over the lingeringpolitical feud betweenGovernor Rotimi Amae-chi of Rivers State andthe President GoodluckJonathan, saying thatthe feud was a distrac-tion from the sufferingsof the Ijaw ethnic settle-ments in the state.

A member of the Ijawyouth body and formerSecretary-General of thegroup, Mr. Udengs Era-diri, in an interview inYenagoa, Bayelsa State,said though the feud be-tween the President andAmaechi was considereda master-boy disagree-ment, IYC’s silence wasdue to its bottled-up an-ger against the actionsand poor policies of theRiver State Governmentagainst the Ijaw ethnicgroup in the state.

The Rivers govern-ment, according to Era-diri, had not been fair to

the ethnic nationalitieswith the mass demoli-tion of their homes onthe waterfronts andthrowing Ijaw familiesinto a state of despairand suffering.

Eradiri said: “The Ijawyouths have observedthe reported feud be-tween Amaechi andPresident Jonathan withamusement. IYC is aninterested party andsupports Jonathan. Butwe have observed thatthe crisis is a distractionfrom the core issues ofpoor governance andsufferings of the Ijaw inRivers State.

“We are silent becausewe know the genesis ofthe crisis. We know thatthis is a feud betweenthe master and his boy.This has gone too farand the Presidentshould be left alone andbe allowed to resolve it.The Ijaw people are suf-fering in Rivers State.The Ijaw areas in Riv-ers State are sufferingfrom under-develop-ment. We are not happyabout it.”

BY GODWINOGHRE

SAPELE—A LAW-YER, Chief Andi

Osawota, has urged thepeople of Delta Centralsenatorial district to en-sure that they select a re-sourceful and credibleperson to replace the lateSenator Pius Ewherido inthe forth coming bye-elec-tion in the senatorial dis-trict.

He also said thatamong the aspirants, whohave declared for theseat, he is the best.

Osawota, who gave thecharge yesterday, inSapele, Sapele LocalGovernment Area of thestate, said he had givenadequate information tothe people and enoughnotices to relevant au-thorities in the state andbeyond that only a credi-ble and resourceful can-didate will take off fromwhere Chief Ewheridostopped and that he wasnot only the most quali-fied among the aspirantsbut ready to contest theelection if adopted to doso by his political party,Peoples’ Democratic Par-ty, PDP.

BY EMMA ARUBI

W A R R I — K I N S -MEN of abduct-

ed lawyer and humanrights activist, ChiefMike Ozekhome, SAN,have said that his contin-ued stay in captivity wasgiving them and otherwell meaning Nigerians,grave concern and de-pression and appealedfor his unconditional re-lease.

Appealing under theaegis of Iviukwe Commu-nity Development Associ-ation, ICDA, Warribranch, Delta State, in astatement by its Chair-man, Mr. Iboamoh Ami-anoghena, yesterday, thepeople said ChiefOzekhome had foughtdoggedly against pastmilitary administrationsand even in the currentdemocratic dispensationfor the liberation andrights of the commonman.VISIT: From left: HRM, Eruvwedede III, the Ovie of Evwreni Kingdom; Olorogun O'

tega Emerhor, APC Delta Central senatorial aspirant; HRM, Oharisi III, Ovie of UghelliKingdom; HRM Ovie of Ogor Kingdom and HRM Richard Okorefe I, Ovie of Agbarha-Otor Kingdom, during a consultative visit by Emerhor to the Ughelli North TraditionalRulers Council at the palace of the Ovie of Ughelli Kingdom.

AUCHI—CLOSE to twoweeks af-ter Chief Mike

Ozekhome, SAN, was kidnappedon the Benin–Auchi highway, hispeople in Iviukwe community,Agenebode, in Wepa Wano clanof Etsako East Local GovernmentArea of Edo State, are still fast-ing and praying to God to touchthose still holding him in captiv-ity to release him unhurt.

Chairman of Etsako East coun-cil, Mr. Suleiman Afegbua, whowas in Ivieukwe to commiseratewith the community on the ab-duction of their illustrious son,said: “We have been praying andto give words of encouragementand advice to the family, that iswhy we are here.

“We also paid a courtesy call onthe Okumagbe of Wepa Wanowith his chiefs, urging them topray for the quick release of ourillustrious son. We had gone tomosques and churches beforethen and on Sunday, we were intwo or three churches for prayers,so, also on Friday in the twomosques in Okpella and Agene-bode.

“We are still calling on God, atthis time, to touch the hearts ofthe kidnappers to release our sonuntouched because we are really

worried as it is taking too longand we are urging the securityagents to beef up security and ex-pedite whatever strategies theyhave to secure his release.”

On the situation in Iviukwecommunity, he said: “We are in asober mood because he is knownto all of us and because if thishad happened to any eminentpersonality in that community, weknow the role he would haveplayed. He is a man who, by now,would have gone to the streets toprotest the kidnap. So, that is thesame thing we are doing for himbecause we are all worried.”

as it is the best thing to do.“Nigerians and indeed the Ni-

geria Bar Association shouldrise up to this call to ensure thathe is not harmed in any way andthat he is released even withoutdemanding for money becauseif you intend to do an evil thingor you are in the process of car-rying it out and you change yourmind, you have done a goodthing as far as God is concerned.He will give you credit for that.”

He commended the Edo Stategovernor, Mr Adams Oshiom-hole for what he has done so farto improve security in the state,

just as he appealed to securityoperatives to change their strat-egies to ensure that they areequal to the task of protecting thecitizenry.

Also speaking, a Communica-tion expert and Senior Lecturerin the Department of Mass Com-muication, Auchi Polytechnic,Auchi, Dr. John Edemode, de-scribed as very unfortunate anda contradiction that a man, whohad spent the better part of hislife defending human rightsabuses and staking his life todefend others could be kid-napped.Meanwhile, the

Edo North tradition-al rulers have alsocalled on the kidnap-pers to release himunconditionally.

Chairman of EdoNorth TraditionalRulers Forum, HRM,Aliru Momoh,Ikelebe III, whospoke to Vanguard,yesterday in his Pal-ace, said : “The tra-ditional rulers in EdoNorth are pleadingwith the kidnappersto release him imme-diately. This shouldnot have happened.They should release


CMYK


Okorocha backpedals onabortion law

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

Enugu tobecome oilp r o d u c i n gstate

Commissionertaskscommunityon security

OWERRI—GOVERNORRochas Okorocha, yesterday,

bowed to superior fire power of theCatholic Archbishop of OwerriEcclesiastical Province, His Grace,Dr. Anthony J. V. Obinna, over thecontroversial abortion law.

The governor, who retraced hissteps when he addressed membersof the State House of Assembly,appealed to the lawmakers toimmediately commence the processof expunging the offendingsections of the obnoxious law.

Okorocha said: “I have alwaysloved children. I fell for this law assoon as I saw the safeguards itcontained for the protection of ourwomen.”

According to the governor, a lawis as good as the acceptability bythe people for which it was made.

He used the opportunity toappeal to the lawmakers to repealthe offending sections of the law.

“I make this appeal because mypolitical opponents are waitingpatiently for the outcome of this

unfortunate abortion saga. It isnot worth the trouble to keepthis law longer than necessary.”

He said the law unfortunatelytouched on the sensibility ofchurch leaders, who heclaimed, remained the pillars ofhis administration.

Before anchoring his speechon the abortion law, thegovernor had earlier given arun down of what he termed“the successes of myadministration in the past twoyears and half”.

While saying governmenthad already released N5 billionto the contracting firm handlingthe Akachi Towers, Okorocha,however, expressed regret thatthe project had suffered somesetbacks.

The governor explained:“Over 350 kilometres of ruralroads have been tarred. Allprojects started by thisadministration will becompleted within the tenure ofthis administration.”

Responding, the DeputySpeaker, Mr. DonatusOzoemena, who alsosuperintended over the day’ssitting, said the House wasroundly misunderstood by thecitizenry.

Ozoemena said: “We had thenoblest of intention when wepassed the Bill. It went throughthe processes of law making.We promise to repeal this lawto conform to the wishes of Imopeople.”

Vanguard recalls that thisvexatious law was signed byOkorocha since May 29, 2012,and remained silent until Dr.Phillip Njemanze drew theattention of Archbishop Obinnato it.

Addressing newsmen lastFriday, Archbishop Obinna notonly demanded that theoffending abortion law berepealed but had also held ameeting with his priests tostrategize on how to battle theanti-life legislation.

ENUGU StateCommissioner for

Local Government andChieftaincy Affairs, EmekaAbugu, has urged thepeople of Olido in IgboezeLocal Government of thestate to brace up to the newsecurity challenges facingthe area by rallying supportfor organs that can restoresanity to the community.

Abugu spoke whileaddressing the traditionalrulers and leaders of thecommunity following recentthreats to security of livesand property in OlidoAutonomous Community.

He was at the palace ofthe traditional ruler of thecommunity, His RoyalHigness, Igwe AugustineAgashi, where he warnedthat the only way to reversethe present ugly trend in thehitherto, peacefulcommunity was for allconcerned to pool resourcestogether to fight the evilforces now plaguing theinhabitants.

BY CHINENYEHOZOR

N S U K K A —FOLLOWING the

rich oil wells at Iggah inUzo-Uwani localgovernment area of EnuguState, President GoodluckJonathan has offered todesignate the state an oilproducing area in thecountry.

Chairman, Uzo-UwaniLocal Government Council,Cornel Onwubuya,announced this at a townhall meeting where hepresented a score card of hisadministration in the past 20months.

Onwubuya noted thatPresident Jonathan in ameeting with stakeholdersfrom the area in Abujapromised to designate thelocal government area as anoil producing entity.

NMAcanvassescreation ofsurgeon-general'soffice

BY CHIOMAOBINNA & VICTORIA

OJEME

THE Nigerian MedicalAssociation, NMA, has

called on the FederalGovernment to create officeof Surgeon-General todetermine fitness of publicofficers renderedincapacitated either by ill-health or accidents.

NMA President, Dr.Osahon Enabulele, madethe call at a briefing againstthe backdrop of crisistrailing the assumption ofoffice by Taraba Stategovernor, Danbaba Suntai,who arrived the countryabout two weeks ago after10 months of medicaltreatment in Germany andUnited States.

According to him, thecurrent political crisis inTaraba State would havebeen avoided had the officeof the Surgeon-Generalexisted to conduct anindependent assessment ofthe fitness of the governor.

He said existence of officeof a Surgeon-Generalwould have saved thenation the embarrassmentand distress caused by thecrisis in Taraba State.

PDP crisis 'llnot breakNigeria— Gov Orji

BY ANAYO OKOLI

UMUAHIA—ABIAState governor, Chief

Theodore Orji, yesterday,declared that the crisisrocking the ruling PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,would not disintegrateNigeria, describing it asnormal politicking ahead ofelection year.

According to him, sinceNigeria did not disintegrateduring the civil war, it willnot disintegrate now.

Governor Orji spoke tonewsmen after he arrivedfrom Abuja where series ofmeetings were held byleaders of PDP over thelingering crisis in the party.

Orji said: “Nigeria will notdisintegrate. If Nigerian didnot disintegrate during thecivil war, it cannotdisintegrate right now.”

He described the crisis inthe party as normal inpolitics, and expressed thehope that it would soon beresolved, noting that itwould even make the partystronger.

BY CHRIS OCHAYI

Minister asks engineers to monitor local contentcompliance in contracts

ABUJA—THE Minister of Statefor Niger Delta Affairs, Arc.

Darius Dickson Ishaku, yesterday,challenged the Nigeria Society ofEngineers, NSE, to ensure effectivemonitoring of construction firmshandling major projects in thecountry.

This is with a view to compellingthem to engage Nigerianengineers in line with the localcontent policy of the federalgovernment.

Ishaku, who said this at amaiden lecture organised byInstitute of Appraisers and CostEngineers, revealed that theFederal Government in itsdetermination to provide jobs forengineers, always attachedspecific numbers of engineersto be employed by thecontractor handling a particularproject.

He said it was the duty of theNigerian Society of Engineersto monitor activities of thebuilding and constructionindustry to enforce compliance

with government’s local contentpolicy as it affected theprofession.

The minister, who washonoured with an award ofexcellence for his contributionto the field of cost engineeringin Nigeria, said governmentwas doing its best to promotethe course of engineeringprofession in the country.

According to him, thegovernment of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan is alreadydoing something, with regardsto provision of jobs.

SEND FORTH—From left: Ms Titi Jolaoso, Financial Controller, Vanguard Newspapers;Mr Sheriff Ayinde and Mr Samuel Iroegbulam, Accountant, during a send forth in honourof Mr Sheriff Ayinde, Assistant Accountant, organised by committee of friends at theVanguiard Canal, weekend.


Jega raisesalarm overallegedcampaign ofcalumny

Military in manhunt for remnants ofBoko Haram members

BY KINGSLEY OMONOBI

N33bn police pension scam: EFCC gets court order toseize suspects' property

BY JOHNBOSCOAGBAKWURU

BY SONI DANIEL, REGIONALEDITOR, NORTH

The Ovie of Olomu Kingdom and Chief Emmanuel Edesiri Aguariavwodo at the 22ndBirthday Anniversary of Delta State of Nigeria marked at the Winners Church in Warri, bythe Delta State Government

ABUJA—FOLLOWING thestrategy of soft and isolated

attacks on innocent citizens invillages in the North by BokoHaram terrorists, the military haslaunched a manhunt forremnants of the terrorist group.

Vanguard gathered that theseventh division of the NigerianArmy with headquarters inMaiduguri is spearheading themanhunt with headquarters atMongonu, Yola, and the Multi-National Joint Task Force, Baga,as well as the battalion in Yobe,all working in synergy to stop theisolated attacks.

Sources told Vanguard thatamong the tactics to be employedin dealing with the menace of theterrorists, said to be leader-lessat present, is to lay siege forthem.

It would be recalled that BokoHaram terrorists have carried outisolated attacks on unsuspectingvillagers, despite the demise ofits top two top leaders.

A security source speakingunder condition of anonymity saidthe unco-ordinated attacks wason-going as there was no longera central command for theterrorists, adding that the problemof vacuum created by the deathsof their leaders was beginning tomanifest.

The source said: “The lack of asuccession plan, owing to the factthat troops of the Nigerianmilitary have either snuffed lifeout of their next generationleaders during the dislodgementof the camps in the SambisaForests and Gwozar Hills, amongother hideouts, is a pointer todisintegration of the group.”

Consequently, the source saida directive had been issued fromthe Presidency that the militaryshould go all out for the remnantand leader-less members goingabout attacking, killing androbbing isolated villages andhamlets to try to paint a picturethat Boko Haram was still a forceto reckon with.

Vanguard recalls that in the lastfew days, the sect had attackedvillages in Borno State, killingscores of people, despite thedislodgement of the group fromcamps in the North East.

No fewer than 50 people hadbeen killed in these attacks,leading to questions about thealleged victory claimed by themilitary over the sect in the on-going state of emergency andkilling of Shekau.A senior military officer said: “Theattack on these villages iscondemnable. They are doingthis as a reaction to defeat. Theyare engaging in desperate actionto draw attention to ensure thatthe public still realize their

existence.“But with the level of co-

operation we are receiving frommembers of the public, suchattacks would soon be over.

“Two factors are largelyresponsible for the terrorist attackson those villages in Borno State;one, terrorists operate by cells, withorders coming from the centre anduntil the same centre gives acontrary command or order, thereis no looking back by the cells.

“With the death of Shekau andBama, there is no succession plan

hence they are in disarray andthere is no one to give anothercommand to those cells again.

“Two, some of the remnantswho are aware of the defeat arefighting hard to draw attentionof sympathy to themselves.

“This is why you are hearingall those pockets of attacks butwe are after every one of them,they would be arrested andmade to face sanction of thelaw. What they are doingamounts to treason and wewould make sure they are

arrested.”Reminded of the amnesty

promised by President GoodluckJonathan to the group, thesource said “that is the politicalsolution but since they haverejected it, we would make surenone of them escapes.

“The new Army Command isdoing a lot of work in thatdirection although we are notinterested in celebrating whatthe command is doing for now.At the right time, the militaryauthorities would handle that.”

ABUJA—A Federal HighCourt sitting in Abuja,

yesterday, cleared the way for theEconomic and Financial CrimesCommission, EFCC, to freeze theillicit property of two of the primesuspects in the looting of the PolicePension fund to the tune of aboutN33 billion.

The two suspects to lose theirproperty scattered in many locationsin Lagos and Abuja, are AtikuAbubakar Kigo and Uzoma CyrilAttang, who are alleged to haveused the stolen funds to acquire theassets.

The commission said it got theblessing of Justice Sunday E.Aladetoyinbo of the FederalCapital Territory High Court,Abuja, to take possession of theassets of the two suspects via aninterim forfeiture order issued bythe judge on July 30, 2013.

The order, which is pursuantto section 29 (a) and (b) of theEFCC Establishment Act 2004,is expected to remain in force,pending the hearing anddetermination of the case ofcorrupt enrichment filedagainst them by the anti-graftagency.

Both Mrs. Attang, who wasan Assistant Director at thePolice Pension Office between2005 and 2008, and Kigo, whowas Director of the PolicePension Office before beingmade Permanent Secretary,were first arraigned on March29, 2012, on a 16-count criminalcharge bordering on conspiracyand criminal breach of trustbefore Justice MohammedTalba of the High Court of theFederal Capital Territory,Gudu, Abuja, alongside sevenothers.

46 of the attached property

situated mostly in Lagos andAbuja belong to Attang, whileKigo, whose properties hadearlier been attached, hadanother of his plot of land atGudu district attached.

Among property traced toAttang and covered by theinterim order are : a block of fourflats at 3 Mama Ada Street,Alasia, Ajah, Lagos; a block offour flats at 33 Pamona Street,Sun City Estate, Abuja; Blocksof Flats at 71 Pamona Street, SunCity, Abuja; a piece of land andthree bedroom duplex alongAjah- Epe expressway, Alasia –Lagos; two blocks of threebedroom duplex at 13 & 15Adele Road, Apapa, Lagos; twounits of two bedroom bungalowat Plot E148, Prince and PrincessEstate, Abuja; three bedroombungalow at 44 Main Street,Sun City, Abuja; three bedroombungalow, 8 Pomona Street, Sun

City, Abuja and five bedroomhouse, at 12 Olushola AgbajeStreet, Lekki Phase 1,Lagos.

Other are: five-bedroom house atIkot-Nseten, Ikono, Akwa IbomState; four-bedroom house at IkotEkpene, Akwa Ibom State; Shops1,2 & 3 at Garki 2 Ultra ModernMarket, Abuja; Shops/Office B74& B76,Effab Mall, Area 11,Gark-Abuja; Shops E1 to E5, F6 & F7 atOba Elegushi Market, JakandeEstate, Lekki-Lagos; ShopsD11,C03,C04,C07,C08 & D02 atEffab Mall, Area 11,Garki-Abuja;Shops 174,176,185,186 &187 atIkota Shopping Complex, Ajah,Lagos; a warehouse at 3,Nwanyinkwo Street, Ajah, Lekki,Lagos and a water factory atIndustrial Estate, Idi Iroko Road,Ota, Ogun State.

Also attached are somecompanies allegedly operated andused as conduits by Attang tosiphon public funds.

ABUJA—CHAIRMANof the Independent

National ElectoralCommission, INEC,Professor Attahiru Jega,yesterday, raised the alarmover an alleged sponsoredcampaign of calumnyagainst his person and aplanned public display ofhostility against thecommission by a section ofthe media.

Jega said those behind thealleged planned publicdisplay of hostility againstINEC intended toimplement their plotthrough rented street ralliesagainst the leadership of thecommission.

In a statement through hisChief Press Secretary,Kayode Idowu, Jega saiddespite the plot, thecommission was ready toconduct the 2015 generalelections in the country in afree, fair and transparentmanner, in accordance withthe international bestpractices.

The statement read: “TheIndependent NationalElectoral Commission,INEC, has observed a recentcampaign by partisaninterests in the media to tarthe reputation of itsleadership, particularly thechairman, Professor AttahiruJega."

16—Vanguard, WEDNESNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2013

RATINGS: Jonathan scores 57% inNOI polls

BY MICHAEL EBOH, LAJUARENYEKA, JONAH NWOK-

POKU & PAUL METUH

BY JONAH NWOKPOKU

Pensioners task First Bank on defunct NSITF scheme

Kwara govswears innew OffaLG boss

Cuba Radio,TV festival ‘llstrenghtenbilateral tieswith Nigeria—Maku

ABUJA—INFORMATION Minister Mr.

Labaran Maku has saidthe forthcoming Radio andTelevision Festival in Cubawill provide avenue tostrengthen partnershipbetween Nigeria and Cubain the area of cultural rela-tionship and exchange ofinformation.

The Minister stated thisin Abuja when the CubanAmbassador to Nigeria,Ambassador Hugo ReniRano visited him.

He attributed the slowpace of development indeveloping countries todearth of infrastructure,which he said necessitatedthe need for developingcountries to create moreoutlets for informationsharing and to take ad-vantage of information andcommunication technologyto advance their growth.

Maku said: “It will be ourpleasure to continue toshare in this mutual rela-tionship particularly in thefield of information dissemi-nation, exchange of informationand information managementbetween the two countries.

BY DEMOLA AKINYEMI

LAGOS—FIRST Bank pensioners have called on man-

agement of the bank to help themretrieve members’ funds trappedin the defunct Nigerian Social In-surance Trust Fund, NSITF schemeand the National Housing Scheme,NHS.

At a briefing by its new execu-tive in Lagos, the pensioners un-der the auspices of First Bank Pen-sioners Association of Nigeria,called on the management of thebank to review their current pen-sion which they said had mademade life difficult for them.

Reading a communiqué at theend of their meeting before newsmen, the association’s NationalGeneral Secretary, CosmosAligekwe said, “It is our belief thatthe management of First Bank isunduly playing pranks with thelives of pensioners whose collec-tive efforts in the past brought thebank to its present glory.

“We are hereby informing thebank and the general public thatenough is enough. We, the retireesof First Bank have suffered enoughin silence while the bank contin-ues to go public with its fabulousprofits.”

However, the management ofFirst Bank in an unsigned state-ment said: “Management wishesto state that First Bank of Nigeria

LAGOS—THE Nigerian mobile application market

was yesterday valued at over a$1 billion (N160 billion) and alsoviewed as capable of addressingthe unemployment challenges inthe country.

Speaking during a visit to Cor-porate Headquaters of VanguardNewspapers, ahead of its Mo-bile Apps summit, scheduled tohold in Lagos, Mr. UmweniOsamede, Managing Director,70th Precint Limited, said Niger-ia’s mobile apps market was amulti-billion dollar market and ifproperly harnessed could posi-tion the country among the lead-ing economies in the world.

His words: “With a populationof about 160 million people andless than 21 per cent smartphones penetration, the poten-tial of the Nigeria applicationmarket is enormous. The mobileapplication market is a huge rev-

I LORIN—GOVERNOR Abdulfatah

Ahmed of Kwara State yes-terday swore in PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, can-didate, PrinceOluwasegun Olanipekundeclared winner by KwaraState State IndependentElectoral Commission,KWASIEC in the lastweekend’s re-run electionas the new chairman ofOffa local government.

It will be recalled that AllProgressives Congress,APC, did not only reject theresult, but on Mondaystaged a peaceful protestin Ilorin against the decla-ration of the PDP chairman-ship candidate for the elec-tion as the winner of there-run election.

Performing the cer-emony, Governor Ahmedcharged Olanipekun totackle the daunting secu-rity challenges facing thepeople of Offa and its en-virons.

Limited is guided by globally ac-claimed best practices in its rela-tionship with serving and ex-staffthat have been instrumental to

the success of the bank over thedecades. The bank meets its ob-ligations to its current and ex-staff as at and when due, and

Why Akwa Ibom lawmakers arenot fighting Akpabio —Speaker

WELCOME BACK: Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State (middle) acknowledgingcheers from supporters on his return to Minna, after he joined other party leaders to formthe New Peoples Democratic Party, nPDP.

UYO—THE Speaker of theAkwa Ibom State House of

Assembly, Elder Sam Ikon hassaid the reasons why the statelawmakers are not fighting withthe executive arm of governmentis that the interest of both arms ofgovernment is to meet theyearnings of the people, the elec-torate in the state, and not theirpersonal interests.

His words: “As a State Houseof Assembly, the lawmakers tryto ensure that legal and finan-cial frameworks for smooth ad-ministration of the state is laid,not to look for problems where wecan confront the executive and

make gains from it. ”Speaking while declaring

open a three-day workshop or-ganised by the House on Par-liamentary Reporting for Report-ers covering the House, Ikonsaid: “We are in partnership withan administration that is peopleoriented, an administration thatgoes out of its way to ensure theyearnings of the peoples aremet. That accounts for thesynergy, peace and cooperationyou have seen between the ex-ecutive and the legislative armsbecause we have the same goalsand objectives.”

will continue to maintain anopen door policy with all itsstakeholders.”

Nigeria’s mobile app market worthover $1bn —Osamede

enue earner, especially as com-panies are today, putting a largechunk of their advertising spendon digital media.”

He explained that if encour-

aged and supported, applicationdevelopers would position Ni-geria to tap from the about $50billion global mobile applicationmarket.

BY EMMA UJAH, ABUJABUREAU CHIEF

ABUJA—JONATHAN’Sperformance rating soared

to 57 per cent last month, ac-cording to NOI Polls, citing re-sults of its monthly opinionpolls on President GoodluckJonathan’s performance.

“Latest monthly governancepoll result released byNOIPolls Limited has revealedthat almost 6 in 10 (57%) Ni-gerians approve of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan’s job per-formance in the month of Au-gust 2013”, the organisationsaid in the report.

According to the polls, Au-gust’s score indicated a 4-Point increase in the job ap-proval rating of the Presidentfrom the 53 per cent rating inJuly and marked the highestapproval rating the Presidenthas scored since January 2013.

“Furthermore, same as inJuly, the results indicated that(42%) of Nigerians rated theperformance of the current ad-ministration as average. How-ever, there was a slight decline(2-point) in the proportion ofNigerians (36%) that had ex-perienced some improvementsin the power supply in August.

The polls showed that Presi-dent Jonathan’s approval rat-ing in August was highest in

South-East (76%), North Cen-tral (70%) and South-South(66%).

The highest proportion ofrespondents that disapprovedof the President’s perform-ance were from the North-West zone with 31%(28%+3%) down from 40% inJuly, followed by the North-East zone with 26%(14%+12%) down from 31% in

July.The largest number of re-

spondents that were neutraltowards the president’s per-formance was from the South-West zone with 33% up from 26%in July. In addition, more female(60%) than male (54%) respond-ents approve of the President’sjob performance.

The organisation said that theGovernance Snap Poll was con-

ducted in the week of August.The results presented are the

eighth in the monthly series ofgovernance polls conducted byNOI Polls to gauge the opinionsand perceptions of Nigerians re-garding three crucial elements– the approval rating of the presi-dent, the performance of thecurrent administration, and thesituation of power supply inthe country.

BY EMMA ELEBEKE


Who’s afraid of MadamDue Process?

THE nature of governancein Nigeria has changed

and it can only get better, thanksto increased mobile phone andinternet penetration and the‘almighty’ social media! In thehype of the 2011 elections, quitea few government officialsopened social media accounts.Mr President had declared hisintention to run on Facebook; thefirst African President to do so.His Facebook wall was full ofpraises, words of commendationand encouragement and lots ofwords of wisdom and advice onhow to make Nigeria better.

One year in, Nigerians werenot smiling. His wall had becomea gallery for insults and Ministerslike Bolaji Abdullahi had madea quick u-turn from platforms likeTwitter.

Socialmedia

The reason was simple - socialmedia is bi-directional. You speak,we respond. It’s not TV or radiowhere you tell your side of thestory and citizens can’t askquestions or engage.Engagement is fantastic in theorybut very hard to practice. Thereare approximately five millionNigerians (in Nigeria) onFacebook. 10 per cent of thatnumber is more than read allNigerian newspapers on anygiven day. The reach is incredibleand with that, I’ve probably justjustified the millions beingwasted on Facebook adverts topromote Mrs Allison-Madueke

47 countries in Sub SaharanAfrica including Nigeria andnow, as a Senior EconomicAdviser to a number ofPresidents and their cabinets inAfrica through the Open SocietyFoundation’s Africa EconomicDevelopment Policy Initiative.

Like clockwork, every time shechallenges those in governmentby demanding accountability,every attempt is made to malignher name and discredit herintegrity. Never with facts butinsinuations; regardless, shedoesn’t shy away from insistingthat those we have elected toserve us must be accountable. Inher words, “Is it not a tragedy

should have worked favorablyand placed us on the top echelonsof the global economic ladder bynow.”

She then challenged thegraduating students to “...createa new political context in whichcitizens’ demand for goodgovernance and accountabilitybegins to compel those whogovern to persistently makechoices that will more likelyimprove the outcomes ofeconomic management for thelarger number of Nigerians. Youhave the tools needed for massivepolitical and civic education ofyour illiterate peers on theimportance of political rights andparticipation in the politicalprocess.”

While this was the essence ofher lecture, what made the

note that the National Assemblybudget, as a statutory transfer, isa first line deduction beforefunds are allocated to ministries,departments and agencies(MDAs).

The response followedJanuary’s pattern - her claimswere said to be false but no factswere given. The Senate LeaderVictor Ndoma-Egba said, “I don’tknow how she arrived at thefigure. But what is allocated tothe National Assembly is knownto the public. It is another attemptto blackmail the NationalAssembly.” The Chairman of theHouse Committee on Media,Zakari Mohammed had this tosay, “She just made a blankstatement. She has to do it inspecifics. The entire NationalAssembly spends about N150billion annually on staff salary,lawmakers’ emoluments,support staff and all that. That isfor both the Senate and the Houseof Representatives. That is whyshe should get her facts right.”

Needless to say, neither one ofthem had bothered to do theirown research to realize they wereactually confirming herassertions. In turn, sheresponded by requesting for apublic hearing on their budgetaryallocation and remuneration.

Responsivegovernance

While not one to shy away froma challenge, she is also veryparticular that this fight forresponsible and responsivegovernance is for all of us,especially young people whomake up over half of Nigeria’spopulation. Given the fact thatmost of the active users of socialmedia are young Nigerians, sheis definitely speaking to the rightaudience.

Anyone who demandsaccountability and transparencymust also be ready to answerquestions of which they are thesubject. It was, therefore, notsurprising when she waschallenged to disclose her salarywhen she was in governmentsince she was demanding sameof members of the NationalAssembly. An interestingexchange on Twitter ensued:

It is the right of every citizen toask questions and expectanswers from the custodians ofour common wealth. Yes, withNigeria’s military history and thelayering of culture and religionthat makes it disrespectful tochallenge those in authority, it issometimes very difficult forpeople to grasp the idea thatrights and responsibilities ofcitizenship demandsengagement.

However, the tide is changing.50 per cent of Nigeria’spopulation is between 18 and 35years old and for most of them,asking questions is part ofgrowing and learning. Thosewho choose to presentthemselves for public serviceneed to begin to accept this andrealize that it’s not personal.That we challenge how publicfunds are spent requires factual,concise and polite answers; notabuses and insults. We have onlyjust begun.

Enough is Enough Nigeria

promised to host a public hearingon her claims. It is yet to happen.

The most recent incident is froma lecture she gave on Monday,August 19, as the keynotespeaker at a civil societyroundtable on “Cost ofGovernance.” She spoke aboutour unsustainable economicstructure and used budgetaryallocations & transfers to theNational Assembly in herdiscussion on the managementof public finance. Using publiclyavailable data, she showed thatthe National Assembly had spentover 1 trillion naira since 2005(see table). She also referencedThe Economist article of July 18,which stated that at a basic salaryof N2.55 million per month, ourlawmakers were the highest paidin the world! It is important to

headlines was the reference shemade to “the squandering of thesignificant sum of $45 billion inforeign reserve account andanother $22 billion in the ExcessCrude Account being directsavings from increased earningsfrom oil that the Obasanjoadministration handed over tothe successor government in2007.” Full page adverts weretaken to respond to her and shewas called a liar. She thenchallenged anyone ingovernment to a public debate todiscuss her assertions. Thenatural participants would havebeen the Minister of Finance, theDirector-General of the BudgetOffice and the Central BankGovernor. None of them took herup on the challenge, though theHouse of Representatives

as the savior of Nigeria’s oilindustry, but that’s an expose foranother day.

Nature abhors a vacuum. Socialmedia is full of Nigerians whohave questions and want to learn.For a lot of young people whobelieve governance in Nigeriacan be better, Mrs ObyEzekwesili is a mentor and rolemodel. She periodically tweetswith the hashtag#PublicPolicy101 sharinglessons from her time ingovernment, at the World Bankproviding economic policy adviceand development funding for the

that we make it seem that askingthat the right be done ingovernance is sacrilegious?More tragic is conveying theimpression that it is “saintly” tosimply do the right things. No itis not! It simply shows decencyin a just society.”

On January 24, she was at heralma mater - University ofNigeria, Nsukka to give the 42ndConvocation Lecture titled “TheWealth and Poverty of a Nation:Who Will Restore the Dignity ofNigeria?” The lecture raisedfundamental issues about whyNigeria is a resource-rich poor

,

,

c o u n t r y ,s t a t i n g ,“Resourcewealth hast r a g i c a l l yreduced yournation- mynation- to amere parableof prodigality.N o t h i n gundignifiesnations andtheir citizenslike self-i n f l i c t e dfailure. Ourabundance ofoil, peoplea n dgeographyLike clockwork, every time she challenges

those in government by demandingaccountability, every attempt is made tomalign her name and discredit her integrity

Dr. Oby Ezekwesili

CMYK

OPINION


*Mr. Ajose-Adeogun, a commentator onnational issues, wrote from Lagos.

BY AKIN AJOSE ADEOGUNThe bitternes of Femi Aribisala (2)Continued from yesterday's Viewpoints pg

A FITTING culmination to his politicalcareer in this period was the singular

honour that was bestowed on him when hewas selected to move in 1958, on the floorof the House of Representatives, theresolution which formally demandedIndependence for Nigeria in 1960. This wasthe resolution to which the Britishgovernment was favourably disposed andthus acceded to. Chief Enahoro is oftenwrongly assumed to have moved thismotion; his own motion for self-government in 1956 was, in fact, defeatedby the opposition of the Northern People'sCongress. Chief Akintola's 1957 motion forindependence in 1959, was, like ChiefEnahoro's, unsuccessful because the Britishgovernment refused to accede to it.

The second phase of Chief Fani-Kayode'spolitical career commenced in 1960, whenhe entered the Western Nigeria legislaturein August, 1960, as a member of theN.C.N.C. This phase, which lasted till theclose of his political career which endedwith annulment of the 1993 presidentialelection results, presents greater difficultythan the pre-independence phase, and, itmust be conceded, is not as glorious.

However, it started well enough whenwithin a few months he succeeded the lateChief Osadebay as the Leader of theOpposition in the Western Nigerialegislature in November, 1960, even though,he had just joined the N.C.N.C. a few monthsbefore. This appointment was obviously inrecognition of his effectiveness as a

legislator and political leader. Within ashort period, his dynamism and strongleadership revived the Western wing of theN.C.N.C. and restored their falteringmorale. In 1962, when the pro-Awolowofaction of the A.G. sought to remove ChiefAkintola as Premier, he saw this as anopportunity to bring the N.C.N.C. into thegovernment of Western Nigeria and thuscame to the assistance of the smallerembattled pro-Akintola faction of the A.G.by allying the Western wing of the N.C.N.C.to them.

When the pro-Awolowo faction sought, inMay, 1962, to remove Chief Akintola bymeans, which at the time, were legallyambiguous and had no constitutionalprecedent, the N.C.N.C. legislators led byChief Fani-Kayode joined the pro-AkintolaA.G. legislators to forestall in the legislativechamber what appeared to them to be anunconstitutional method of removing thePremier, particularly as Chief Akintola hadearlier filed a lawsuit. A vindictive,intolerant, paranoid and partisan FederalGovernment, seeing an opportunity tobreak the back of their bogey, the pro-Awolowo faction, rushed in with indecenthaste and doubtful constitutional legalityto impose a state of emergency in WesternNigeria. When the so-called emergencyended in January 1963, Chief Akintola wasasked by the Federal Government to forma government without the benefit of a newelection which would have decided onceand for all which faction really commanded

a majority in the legislature. When I tookChief Fani-Kayode up on this, he informedme that as of January 1963, when a coalitiongovernment of the pro-Akintola faction andthe N.C.N.C. was formed, that alliancecommanded a majority in the legislature.It is difficult to accept this as neither a voteof confidence in the Akintola governmentnor new regional elections were ever held.

It may be recalled , however, that ChiefAkintola had pre-emptively challenged

his attempted dismissal when he filed alawsuit in May 1962. He was successful atthe Federal Supreme Court, which thenoccupied the intermediate position theCourt of Appeal presently occupies in thejudicial hierarchy. The pro-Awolowofaction appealed to the Judicial Committeeof the Privy Council, which was then thefinal Court of Appeal for Nigeria.

A powerful Board, which included someof England's finest jurists such as LordsRadcliffe, Devlin and Guest, held that ChiefAkintola had been lawfully dismissed, asthe novel procedure adopted by the pro-Awolowo faction was constitutional. It mustbe conceded that it was a failure ofstatesmanship on the part of ChiefsAkintola and Fani-Kayode that they did notimmediately resign at this point, for theirgovernment had by that decision becomeillegal. Of course, the Balewa-led coalitiongovernment of the N.P.C. and N.C.N.C. mustalso even take a greater portion of the blamefor committing the constitutional

abomination of nullifying this judgementby passing a law, which had retrospectiveeffect from October 1, 1960, abolishingappeals to the Privy Council. This was donein order to sustain their allies in power. Thissingular action destroyed parliamentarydemocracy in the West, and subsequently,in Nigeria.

The primary motive which informed theactions of Chiefs Akintola and Fani-Kayodeand their associates was the desire to takethe Yoruba out of the cul-de-sac they believedthat Chief Awolowo's rigidity had led theminto. Both men had in 1959 evinced apreference for an alliance with N.P.C in orderto prevent the political isolation of theYoruba. Consequently, they also believed inreaching a consensus with the N.P.C in orderto establish a working relationship withthem. This involved refraining from takingactions that the North might considerinimical to its interests - e.g. they wanted toput an end to the political activities of theA.G. in the North and thereby transformthe party into a regional party.

Both men and their associates felt that asa result of the Yoruba's political isolationin opposition, some chauvinistic Igboleaders had seized the opportunity tocompletely efface the Yoruba from the publicservices, while at the same time establishingIgbo hegemony in the country.

Concluded.

OVER the past few months, governmentsacross the country have been giving outcheques to victims of the political riots thatfollowed the results of the 2011 presidentialelection. It is instructive that nobody has beenpunished for the riots that swept many States,where political leaders had openly said theywould cause trouble if certain candidates didnot win.Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State at

an event where victims received cheques said,“Let me take this opportunity to call on thepolitical class in this country to exercise utmostcaution and high sense of responsibility in allour actions and utterances before, during andafter elections. Democracy goes beyond periodicelections and survival of our nation should beparamount in all that we do.”The governor should have mentioned that

mobs that caused the mayhem acted on somepeople’s behalf. They were equipped, theywere fed, they were paid and most importantly,they were assured the law would notinconvenience them.Have we not witnessed mayhem that

descended on Nigeria after the 2011 election?

Punishing PoliticalPunishing PoliticalPunishing PoliticalPunishing PoliticalPunishing PoliticalRascalsRascalsRascalsRascalsRascals

Have we not seen how the crisis has continuedwith extensive bombing and daily killings inthe North?In the South, victims of political violence were

also compensated. Their sponsors arestrutting, boasting of future mayhem; they haveno reason to re-think their destructiveapproach to politics. The high level of impunitywe are seeing is related to not punishing theperpetrators of the 2011 post-election violence.Why is government paying for destruction theycaused without punishing them? Is it acceptableto destroy Nigeria if one does not win anelection? The duplicity in treating issues

creates precedents that make sanctions unjustand unjustifiable.Nigeria must protect itself. The responsibility

lies with leaders, aspiring leaders and all whohave risen to such prominence that the publictake them serious. Their utterances misleadtheir followers and cause more troubles.Every Nigerian has a right to contend for

power within the law. Every Nigerian hasrights to enter into legitimate alliances toaccess power; the constitutional provisions onfreedom of association permit it. What we mustavoid is being so consumed about leadingNigeria that we threaten to set the country onfire, if we cannot actualise the ambition.Laws guide our country. Those who aspire

to lead – and their supporters – must eschewthreats in their ambitions. They should betelling Nigerians what qualifies them to leadthe country and how their leadership wouldimprove the lives of Nigerians.They are better options to threatening more

crises on a country that has been soaked inblood since 2010. Nigerians can also punishthose who threaten their peace by not electingthem.

CMYK

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2013—————1919191919

,

CMYK

,

,

,

Concluded

THERE are very practical butundesirable consequences to

the terrible situation in ouruniversities. The wrong people,staff and students, find their wayinto our universities, the very spacein which we expect to train andprovide leadership for thecountry’s quest for scientific andcultural rebirth and development.What is more, government’s failureto provide necessary infrastructurethat aids university education hasled to the rise of a new crop ofpseudo-academics whose primaryvocation is ASUU unionism. Theyhibernate in the system andfunction more or less like primaryschool teachers and only lie in waitfor when a strike would bedeclared before springing intoaction. They are neither regular inclass nor do they see the need forresearch of any kind. Some holdthe highest degrees possible whileothers remain stuck on doctoralstudies begun many years ago,victims of a skewed system and/orfrustrated supervisors that derivewicked pleasure in consigningstudents into academic limbo.

ASUU and Abuja: ‘NoASUU and Abuja: ‘NoASUU and Abuja: ‘NoASUU and Abuja: ‘NoASUU and Abuja: ‘Noagreement tagreement tagreement tagreement tagreement todaodaodaodaodayyyyy; no; no; no; no; noagreement tagreement tagreement tagreement tagreement tomorromorromorromorromorrooooow’ (3)w’ (3)w’ (3)w’ (3)w’ (3)

Being so brutalised these pseudo-intellectuals are often brutal totheir students and the system.

They lack the clear-sightedapprehension of the challengesfacing university education beyonddesultory mouthing of emptyslogans. Nor do they possess theintellection of ASUU leaders of abygone era. Some have assumedcult status in their domains ofinfluence. Their purpose is tocripple academic activities as soonas government makes anotherstrike inevitable. These are the‘struggle’ entrepreneurs and unionwarriors who have turned ASUUpolitics into private meal tickets.They profit from government’slack of foresight and readiness tolive up to its responsibilities byproviding necessary and adequatefunding for public universities. Theactivities of these kinds of clownscould be curtailed if ASUU strikescould come without pay. But whois to enforce such no-work-no-payrule where the very foundation forthe short-changing of the systemhas been laid right from the verytop by irresponsible governments

and their officials whose greedand criminal pilfering has ruinedeverything? Yet, it cannot bedenied that the fact that people getpaid for job not done encouragesthem to be lazy and irresponsibleand hurt the system they claim ‘thestruggle’ is meant to protect.

In the last two months since theASUU strike commenced, I

have been at a South Africanuniversity of just about 7,000-student population. But thefacilities in this 109 years olduniversity, its academic andmaintenance culture, trump whatyou will find in any of the bestNigerian universities. But in mylocal university, the ASUU was soenamoured of the ongoing strikethat it opposed an academic event,a grant award organised by theirown colleagues to honour some oftheir junior members on doctoralstudies. Many of these individualscannot embark on field trips tocomplete their studies for lack offunding. Yet an opportunity thatcame their way was spurned andthwarted by other members whoclaimed ASUU was on strike. Thesame members ensured ASUU had

no input in the conduct of the post-UTME exam for prospectivestudents, leaving a purelyacademic matter in the hands ofnon-academic staff. I wouldn’t seewhat was wrong in ASUU allowingits members to conduct this eventthat would take just about fivehours at the most. In no distanttime, the same ‘aluta’ warriorswould whine about the poorquality of students offeredadmission.

Like them, we have state officialswho get paid for the wrong job orjobs not done at all. This is comingback to the case of our bloatedbureaucracy of over 40 ministersin Abuja alone without looking atthe states or local governments.Among the ministers are the likesof Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala withdouble designation. There are alsothe substantive ministers and the(junior?) ministers of state- allserving the same president! Thisbloated bureaucracy is a drain onthe economy and makes any callfor sacrifice from any sector of theNigerian public hollow. Surely thiscan’t be a functional bureaucracyin which everybody earns whatthey are paid or Nyesom Wike, theMinister of State for Education,wouldn’t be fighting a proxy battlefor President Jonathan and his wifein Rivers State, while Nigerianuniversities are on strike. He hashad no word to utter about thestrike nor did we hear of his inputall through the variousnegotiations. What is thejustification for such a manremaining in the system? When theuniversities are shut down formonths at a time, we have no rightto complain about teachers whocannot read or graduates onnational service who can’t fill outregistration forms.

To conclude on a personal note:While on research sabbatical at theUniversity of London earlier thisyear, a student I had known back

in Nigeria came to visit. He wasstudying for his masters in auniversity in London. More thanany need for a leisurely visit, hehad very urgent obligations forwhich he needed assistance. Hewas having trouble writing anacceptable proposal for hisdissertation. Only a couple ofmonths before, he had submittedhis long essay which he couldn’thave done without writing aproposal. While working on hislong essay, I had seen him on anumber of occasions andwhenever I asked he had assuredme he was making progress withthe essay. You can then imagine theirony of him being stuck writing,not his dissertation, but theproposal, his work plan, to put itin simple terms.

Among other things he told me,his lecturers had wondered how hegot his degree given his obviousdeficiencies. At the time he cameto me, his supervisor had been sofrustrated she had totally refusedto offer further advice on or readhis work until he made personalefforts of his own. His confessionand discomfiture told me he hadbeen sufficiently chastened for menot to remind him of my warningsand questions only a few monthsbefore. Yet what he experienced,not necessarily in similar terms orto the same degree, is what evenmany of us academics face whenwe travel abroad. This is thetragedy of university education inNigeria, that we are neithercreating competent manpower noropportunities for the nextgeneration. President Jonathan, asa former academic, can make hiscontribution to the reversal of thisdeplorable situation by accedingto the demands of ASUU andfulfilling the terms of the 2009agreement between the union andAbuja.

A YEAR to the 50th anniversary of theMarch on Washington and the

benediction of Martin Luther King’s “I Havea Dream” speech, America reached for abrush, dipped it in white paint and freshenedthe racial colour line of which King’spredecessor, W. E. B. Du Bois, spoke soeloquently 60 years earlier in The Souls ofBlack Folk. I am speaking of the murder onFebruary 26, 2012 of Trayvon Martin, anunarmed 17-year-old African-American boyby George Zimmerman, a White-HispanicAmerican. Martin had crossed the colourline by his sheer presence in Zimmerman’sgated community. Thus, though warned bythe police not to follow Martin, Zimmermanwould sooner damn the consequences, if any,than let a Black boy “get away” with the“crime.” An all-White jury acquittedZimmerman.

Martin’s murder echoes the slaughter ofthe 14-year-old Emmet Till in the aptlynamed town of Money (after all, what wasslavery for which racism was a necessaryideology but the unconscionable pursuit oflucre?) in Mississippi, a state King describedin his speech as “sweltering with the heat ofinjustice . . . [and] oppression.” Till’s crimewas “flirting” with a White woman, CarolynBryant, by “speaking” to or “whistling” ather. Days after the encounter, Carolyn’shusband, aided by his brother, seized Tillfrom his great-uncle’s house where he hadbeen staying on a visit from Chicago, drovehim to a barn, tortured and then shot himthrough the head. Bryant and his brotherwere acquitted of kidnapping and murder.

So has nothing changed in the racialpsychology of America since the genocide

Will America ever erase the colourline?

against Native Americans (the true ownersof the land), Lincoln’s EmancipationProclamation of 1863, the Civil Rightsrevolution of the 1960s? You would be anincurable cynic, an insufferable paranoiac,to deny the monumental progress since theunthinkable days of lynchings and “ForWhites Only.” But you would be a delusionaloptimist, a closet racist, to think thatAmerica is now in a post-racial epoch. Theelection and re-election of Barack HusseinObama, giving him and his all-too-blackfamily occupancy of the White House, isenough to cause such euphoria. Still, theracial cauldron boils over every now andthen for the requisite reality check.

And when it does, we are reminded of thegreat paradox of America’s self-proclamation as the land of freedom, of theconstitutional enshrinement of the equalhumanity of all, stirring sentiments founded,nevertheless, on the twin evils of genocideand slavery. Which leads to the inescapablefact of racism as the political unconsciousof America. For to perpetuate the nationalmyth of being the land of freedom, Americahas, necessarily, to deny its history thatperpetually mocks the claim. The result, toslightly adapt Du Bois speaking of the Negro(African-American), is “a doubleconsciousness”: the rousing declamation offreedom while committing unspeakableatrocities. Thus, two ideologically“unreconciled strivings,” two “warring”claims in one body-politic for a classic caseof trauma and repression.

As with every trauma, the only way to breakits crippling hold on the present and thecompulsion to repeat the original

catastrophe innew, oftenunrecognisable,ways is toacknowledgeit. ButA m e r i c a ’ srefusal toconfront its“ c o l l e c t i v eunconscious,”as Carl Jung

might put it, leaves every person ofconscience wondering how, in the seconddecade of the 21st Century, the great

miscarriage of justice in the Trayvon Martincase could happen. Or maybe not, since ourworld as currently constituted remainslargely divided by the colour line.

In the “unconscious” depths of the mindof White America — and I speak

generally, mindful that about a third of the250,000 thousand that marched onWashington were White people —the Africanor coloured person is inherently inferior. Isthis a cynical view? Well, then, join Toni

Morrison in a thought experiment.In an interview with the Guardian (UK) of

April 13, 2012, Morrison disclosed that sheperformed the experiment, at the age of 17,in an effort to understand the kind of ragethat led some White mothers in the south totry to overturn a school bus carrying Blackchildren. “I didn’t know if I could turn overa bus full of little White kids,” she said. “Ididn’t know if I could feel that… fury. And Itried very hard to. This is what I did: I saidsuppose … horses began to speak. Andbegan to demand their rights. Now, I’veridden horses. They’re very good workers.They’re very good racehorses. Suppose theyjust … want more. Suppose they want to goto school! Suppose they want to sit next tome in the theatre. I began to feel this senseof — ‘I like you, but …’ ‘You’re good, but …’Suppose they want to sleep with mychildren?!”

As her interviewer thankfully informs us,Morrison was by this point “laughingheartily.” Then the clincher: “I had to gooutside the species! But it worked, I couldfeel it. You know; don’t sit next to me.” Thisis the psychic state that keeps the colour linecontinuously whitewashed and bright inAmerica. But it can be erased. America’stantalising promise of one human identity,which affirms the dream of a commonhuman destiny, demands nothing less. Butwill the greatest power on earth even try?

When theuniversities areshut down formonths at a time,we have no right tocomplain aboutteachers whocannot read orgraduates whocan’t fill outregistration forms

To perpetuate thenational myth of beingthe land of freedom,America has to deny itshistory that perpetuallymocks the claim; theresult: the rousingdeclamation of freedomwhile committingunspeakable atrocities

20 —VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2013


CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL SELLING

CBN Exchange rate as at 03/09/2013

114.36 -0.23

106.82 -0.83

2,400.00 -56.00

16.33 -0.04

DOLLAR 154.76 155.26 155.76STERLING 239.8316 240.6064 241.3813EURO 204.8249 205.4866 206.1484FRANC 166.3371 166.8745 167.4119YEN 1.5745 1.5745 1.5847CFA 0.294 0.304 0.314WAUA 233.8924 234.648 235.4037RENMINBI 25.2879 25.3701 25.4522RIYAL 41.2627 41.396 41.5294KRONA 27.4543 27.543 27.6317SDR 234.5078 235.2655 236.0231

112.0 -1.15

Access Bank shifts focus to SME sector…Targets one million phone users

GROUP ManagingDirector (GMD)of Ac-

cess Bank Plc, Mr. AigbojeAig-Imoukhuede has said thatthe bank will be shifting itsfocus to the SME sector as ittargets about one millionmobile phone customers inthe next 12 months.

Imoukhuede disclosed thisat an interactive session withnewsmen where he said thebank will be focusing on theSME sector through a seriesof initiatives and activities thatwill activate developmentacross key sectors of theeconomy.

This, he stated is aimed athighlighting the bank’s com-mitment to economic em-powerment of individualsand growing entrepreneurs.

Aig-imokhuede pointed outthat the bank has identified 13critical segments of theeconomy which are alreadybenefiting from its empower-ment programme, addingthat the bank has created afull division (Business Bank-ing) to support the needs ofthe SME sector in Nigeria.

He noted that the bas icdriver of industry defininginitiatives has also been iden-tified and is set for implemen-tation of about 200 differentinitiatives that would changethe face of banking in Nige-ria.

He said that the initiativeswill be rolled out one-after-theother from this week, whichamongst them is the bank’splanned multi-channel bank-ing platform initiative and ahost of others.

He said that the bank willalso be laying emphasises onpioneering role insustainability and public ad-

vocacy with the adoption ofsustainable banking prin-ciples in Nigeria and beyond.

Aig-Imokhuede, whilespeaking with reporters saidthe bank led the adoption ofInternational Finance Re-porting Standard, IFRS in Ni-geria.

“We are leading the drivefor lending to Nigeria’s real

sector. The bank is in pursuitof health-focusedMillennium DevelopmentGoals, MDGs, and also build-ing capacity in public sectorfor effective public policy out-comes.”

He went further to point outthat the bank is also leadingNigeria corporate bankingwith significant retail growth

M I C R O S O F TCorporation said it

will buy Nokia’s mobile phonebusiness for $7.2 billion, whichamounts to N1.152 trillion.

Nokia in 2011 partnered Mi-crosoft and uses Microsoft’sWindows software to run itsmobile phones.

The deal is expected to closein the first quarter of 2014 andit is subject to approval byNokia’s shareholders andregulatory approvals.

Nokia, once the world’sdominant handset maker, hasfailed to close a yawning leadopened by Apple and Samsungin the highly competitivemarket for smartphones andwill now concentrate on itsnetworking equipment unit,navigation business andtechnology patents.

Nokia’s Canadian bossStephen Elop, who ranMicrosoft’s business softwaredivision before jumping toNokia in 2010, will return to theUS firm as head of its mobiledevices business.

He is being discussed as apossible replacement forMicrosoft’s retiring CEO SteveBallmer, who is trying toremake the U.S. firm into agadget and services companylike Apple before he departs,though it has fallen short so farin its attempts to compete inmobile devices.

Nokia, which had 40 percentof the handset market in 2007,now has just 15 percent, andonly three percent in smart-phones.

Shares in Nokia surged 39percent to 4.10 euros yesterday.While up from their decade-lowof 1.33 euros hit last year, theyare still only a fraction of their

2000 peak of 65 euros.After yesterday ’s

gains the company isworth about 15 billioneuros, a far cry from itsglory days when itpeaked at over 200billion euros.

Yesterday ’s dealincludes an agreementto license Nokia’spatent portfolio for 10years. Without it,Nokia’s devices andservices businesswould have beenworth about 3.7 billioneuros, the companiessaid.

However, there areindications also thatMicrosoft shares inFrankfurt were downabout 5 percent, asinvestor are saying thatNokia was being soldfor peanut.

BRANDMASTER CLASS: From left: Marketing Director, GlaxoSmithKline Africa, Reuben Onwubiko; Head, Marketing, NokiaWest Africa, Deborah Shepard; President, Junior Chamber International Eko, ’Jide Adeyemi and Managing Director/Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Noah’s Ark Communications, Lanre Adisa, during the 3rd edition of BrandMasterClass sponsored by Nokia, in Lagos.

Microsoft to acquire Nokia’s handsetbusiness for $7.2bn

By PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU

By PRINCEWILLEKWUJURU with agency

reports

potential of 87 per cent profitin Nigeria and 13 percent inother branches in parts of Af-rica.

“We want Access Bank to beseen as a tier 1, customer fo-cused Bank which is alreadythe 2nd largest Customerbase with 6.5million cus-tomer base. The second withAutomated Teller Machine,ATMs/POS,” he retorted.

In related development, theGMD said that in three monthstime: “We are going to launcha solution that will allowyouths to have a company, ifsay for example, you want tolink all the balances with allyour accounts, say ten bankaccounts, in those banks peo-ple are paying money for saysale of newspaper and every-day you want to leave a bal-ance of only N1 million inthose bank accounts, you canmove any amount overN1million to your major ac-count.”

Continuing, he said, “Youcan do that, because the bankis going to launch a solutionthat will allow you in 60 daystime, from your computer takemoney out of all your bankaccount and consolidate inone without paying an extrafee.” You will have to give theinstruction from day one, thatis how this thing is done inthe world today, but this is amajor achievement from thebank, this is another first fromthe bank.”

“What our plan says is thatby 2015 ,we are going to bethe world’s most respectedAfrican bank, a multi channelbank.We want to move frombeing Nigeria’s corporatebank leader and by 2015 tar-get being a high performingNigerian diversified bank” heassured.

22 —Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2013

CMYK

NAICOM decries low financialliteracy in Nigeria

COMMISSIONERfor Insurance, Mr.

Fola Daniel has decriedthe persistence of lowlevel financial literacy inNigeria and some otherAfrican countries whichis the cause of lowinsurance penetration insuch places.

Daniel said, “It is awell-known fact that

insurance is not verypopular in our sub-region for variousreasons amongst whichare; low level offinancial literacy, lack ofadequate awareness ofinsurance mechanismand poor perception ofthe industry.”

According to Daniel,insurance practitioners

need to come together totackle the menace.

It will be recalled thatManaging Director ofR i s k g u a r d - A f r i c aNigeria Limited, Mr.Yemi Soladoye said thatthe future and solidity ofthe Nigerian insuranceindustry can only comefrom market expansion.

Soladoye said that theconcentration on

premium growth, asagainst market expansionby insurance operators isinimical to growth.

He said operators oftenfocus on how to raisetheir yearly premium,abandoning the need tocreate expansion throughgood services and peopletailored products.

He said, “All theoperators want is toensure that their

premium for this year ishigher than what it waslast year, and they areready to spend anythingto achieve that. If theirmarket position last yearwas number six and theymove to number five thisyear, their board wouldapplaud their effort, notminding the cost.

“The companies cost ofdoing business isindeed very high; theclaims ratio is quite low.These are pointers to thefact that insurancecompanies needsomething new andbetter.

“The issue ofunhealthy competitionwill be getting worseuntil they look for better,cost effective and non-volatile distributionchannel. This can beachieved bybankassurance which isinsurers havingcollaboration with banksto grow their retailbusinesses. It alsomeans engaging instrategic alliances withorganisations, likeShoprite, Megaplazaand others,” Soladoyesaid.

He also urgedoperators to initiatecollaboration withcooperative societiesand other relevantbodies to deepeninsurance penetration.

The finance chief ofZurich Insurance,Pierre Wauthier,

named Chairman JosefAckermann in hissuicide note, thecompany confirmed lastweek as it pledged toinvestigate whether hehad been put underundue strain before hisdeath.

The insurer has beenthrown into disarraysince company veteranWauthier was found deadat his family’s lakefronthome and thesubsequent resignationof former Deutsche Bank(DBKGn.DE) bossAckermann three dayslater.

Ackermann, one ofEurope’s top financiers,quit after Wauthier ’sfamily shared thecontents of the letter withsenior executives at thefirm, a source toldReuters. Wauthierexplicitly blamedAckermann in the notefor putting him underpressure, said thesource, who declined tobe named because of the

Insurance sector grappling with inadequateinfrastructure — WIGGLE

M A N A G I N GDirector of

Linkage Assurance Plc,Mr. Gus Wiggle has saidthat the insuranceindustry is grapplingwith inadequateinfrastructure andunstable weather whichexposed insured assetsto natural disasters such

Zurich Insurance CFO nameschairman, Ackermann in suicide note

sensitivity of the subject.Ackermann has

described theallegations as“unfounded” but said hewould leave to avoiddamaging Zurich’sreputation. He took overas chairman last year.The insurer saidAckermann had made apersonal decision toleave.

Sources said

Ackermann andWauthier had clashedahead of the company’ssecond-quarter resultsin August over how theywere presented.

Wauthier, finance chiefsince 2011, mentionedthe presentation of theresults in his suicidenote, a company sourceadded.

In a conference call

with investors, thecompany said there wasno link betweenWauthier ’s death andZurich’s financialperformance. “We standby everything we said atthe half year,” ChiefExecutive Martin Sennsaid.

Acting Chairman Tomde Swaan said thecompany would

investigate thecircumstances leadingup to Wauthier ’s death.

“The board sees it asits prime responsibilityto look into the questionas to whether there wasundue pressure placedon our CFO,” he said,adding that he was notaware of anyinappropriate behaviorby Zurich’s boardmembers.

as floods.According to him the

current performance ofthe industry has notbeen sufficient for it toreach the critical massnecessary to make thedesired impact on theeconomy.

Wiggle said that theNigerian Insurance

Association, NIA, wasreviving the NigerianOil and EnergyInsurance Pool toimprove the industry’soil and energyunderwriting capacity.

According to Wiggle,the Association hadcompleted and starteddeploying the first phase

of the NigerianInsurance IndustryDatabase (NIID) MotorInsurance Moduleadding that delay inclaims payment hadreduced as its memberscontinued to live up totheir obligation ofprompt claims paymentto policy holders.

A Financial StabilityBoard (FSB) peer reviewof U.S. regulation foundgaps in oversight ofsystemic risk, insurancefirms and financialinfrastructure.

The report called onthe United States todevelop the Treasury-led oversight councilinto a “systematic,analytical andt r a n s p a r e n tm a c r o p r u d e n t i a lframework” that bettercoordinates the work ofits member regulators.The 10 agency heads inFinancial StabilityOversight Council havenot always seen eye toeye.

“Given the complexand fragmented U.S.regulatory andsupervisory structure,”the FSB stated that italso looked to addressoverlaps or gap in rolesand responsibilities ofthe agencies. Such gapswere identified in theinsurance sector run byindividual states, and itrecommends movingtowards a more federalstructure. Bettersupervision of financialmarket infrastructures(FMIs) such as swapcentral counterparties isalso sought.

The review examinedprogress by the U.S. insupervisory areas ofmost importance forstability. The FSBreviewed if there iseffective regulatorycoordination andinformation sharing withother countries. It foundgood overall progress byU.S. authorities inmeeting ther e c o m m e n d a t i o n sissued by theInternational MonetaryFund in 2010. These wereissued under theauspices of countryreviews in the FinancialSector AssessmentProgram (FSAP).

The FSB is aninternational group ofnational authorities in 24countries, responsible forfinancial stability. It isused by the Group of 20major countries to ensurethat agreed reforms areproperly and consistentlyimplemented. All FSBjurisdictions includingthe United States havecommitted to undergo anFSAP assessment everyfive years andcomplement that with anFSB peer review two tothree years later. The newreport is the FSB review.

BRIEFSBRIEFSBRIEFSBRIEFSBRIEFSUS financialregulation hasgaps in riskoversight,insurance

NCRIB MEMBERS EVENING: From left: Deputy President, Nigerian Council of Registered Insur-ance Brokers (NCRIB), Mr. Ayodapo Shoderu; President, NCRIB, Laide Osijo and Group ManagingDirector, Cornerstone Insurance Plc, Mr. Ganiyu Musa at the August 2013 edition of NCRIB Members’Evening, hosted by Cornerstone Insurance Plc, in Lagos.

STORIES BY ROSEMARY ONUOHA


Reliance on insurance brokersalone not healthy —SOLADOYEM a n a g i n g

Director ofRiskguard

Africa Nigeria LimitedMr. Yemi Soladoye, haswarned that reliance onbrokers alone to marketinsurance products onbehalf of insurers couldlead to marketstagnation andunhealthy competitionin the sector.

Soladoye said, “Theissue of unhealthycompetition will begetting worse, untilinsurance operators lookfor better, cost effectiveand non-volatiledistribution channels.

According to him,adoption of otherdistribution channels isnot a matter of ‘if theylike’ but a matter of mustsaying that it iscompulsory because theyare already feeling thebite of the narrowdistribution outlet thatthey are using at themoment.

“Most of theproblems insurers face -high cost of doingbusiness, premiumreduction, unhealthycompetition, are allmanifestation of the factthat they are usingnarrow distributionmethod. If you have analternative, you wouldbe able to do businesson your own terms, butwhen you do not havealternative, you have toachieve whateveranybody tells you. Thatis the problem with theoperators for they are notcreating alternativedistribution outlets forthemselves,” Soladoye

The new ManagingDirector and CEO of

the New York Institute ofFinance, United Statesof America, Mr. PatrickFitzgerald has asked forcollaboration with theNational InsuranceCommission, NAICOMin the areas of trainingand manpowerdevelopment.

Fitzgerald and theRegistrar of theInstitute, Currie Marciapaid a working visit tothe NAICOMHeadquarters in Abujalast week and wereaccompanied on the visitby the immediate pastPresident of CharteredInstitute ofStockbrokers, Nigeria,Mike Itegboje.

According toFitzgerald, students ofthe Institute turn outbetter informed,educated and connectedat the end of eachprogramme. He notedthat because

New York institute seeks collaborationwith NAICOM

stated.According to

Soladoye most problemsin the insuranceindustry is amanifestation of therefusal by the operatorsto adopt retail as abusiness policy. Hecalled on the boards ofinsurance companies, toas a matter of urgency,compel theirmanagement team to

adopt retail marketing.He said the operatorsare into the problem ofunhealthy competitionbecause they boxedthemselves into a verynarrow distributionoutlet, which is brokeringmarket, adding that pricebecomes the onlycompetitive strategybecause people are notadding value. He notedthat clients are asking for

reduced price every yearbecause they are yet tosee any competitivestrategy from theoperators, stressing thatinsurance companies,concentrate on premiumgrowth, as against marketexpansion.

“The future and thesolidity of the operatorscan only come from marketexpansion. All theoperators want is to

ensure that theirpremium for this year ishigher than what it waslast year, and they areready to spend anythingto achieve that. If theirmarket position last yearwas number six and theymove to number five thisyear, their board wouldlaud their effort, notminding the cost.

participants in theInstitute’s trainingprogrammes come fromdiverse backgrounds, itgives them theopportunity toconsumate cross-borderrelationships andcontacts that are in mostcases mutuallybeneficial to both theparticipants and theirr e s p e c t i v eorganisations.

He said that hebelieves the Commissionwill benefit immenselyfrom the institute’shands-on /prac t i ca lapproach to learning asthe importance ofinsurance is growing ata great speed across theglobe and thoughtNigeria could takeadvantage of theinstitute’s learningprogrammes to get to thesame level like itscontemporaries in otherjurisdictions.

While welcoming the

team to NAICOM, theDeputy Commissioner,Finance andAdministration of theCommission GeorgeOnekhena thanked theteam for the visit,adding that theCommission iscommitted to trainingand development of itsmanpower as it is key toeffective supervision ofthe insurance industryand alignment with

international bestpractices. He said theCommission is pleasedto hear that the instituteis focusing on Africa andassured the team ofNAICOM’s readiness tocollaborate with theinstitute.

He said “TheCommission will beinterested in what kindof services you are readyto offer and how suchservices would impact

positively on ouroperations. Of course wehave needs to equip ourstaff with a lot of skills,especially in the areas offinancial analysis whichis very key to us andrisk management. Thelearning needs in theseareas are very huge so,we shall need as muchassistance as we couldget.”

The New YorkInstitute of Finance isthe training arm/division of the New YorkStock Exchange in theUnited States ofAmerica.

BRIEFSBRIEFSBRIEFSBRIEFSBRIEFS

MORE than 30,000car owners will

receive more than $15million in refunds afteran investigationuncovered improperfinancing of tyre andrim insurancepremiums by some ofAustralia’s largest carfinanciers.

The AustralianSecurities andI n v e s t m e n t sCommission (ASIC)inquiry began whenBMW Australia Financenotified the regulatorof a National CreditCode breach andrepaid $1.39 million to2466 customers.

Other companies thatwill refund more than$1 million includeEsanda ($5.3 million),Capital FinanceAustralia ($2.7 million),Yamaha Motor ($1.48million), BOQ Credit($1.26 million) andToyota Finance ($1.01million).

The credit code allowsthe financing of carcover premiums for oneyear only, ASIC says.Any longer andcustomers can payundue interest onpremiums and beunfairly locked intolong contracts with oneinsurer.

“These businesseswere quick to respondonce it was brought totheir attention,” ASICDeputy Chairman PeterKell said.

The financiers havetaken steps to repay themoney and will changetheir systems to preventfurther breaches. “If wefind there are carfinanciers that havefailed to respond to thisissue, we will act quicklyand decisively withstrong regulatoryaction,” Kell said.

Tyre and rim insurancecovers wheel damageincluding puncturesand blowouts. ASIC sayssuch damage is notusually included ins t a n d a r dcomprehensive motorvehicle policies.

Car financiers torefund $15m afterASIC crackdown

ALMOST 80 per centof consumers fear

governments will leavethem to foot the bill fordamage fromearthquakes, floods orother natural disastersover the next 20 years,according to a globalsurvey by Swiss Re.

“The findings are acall for better co-operationbetween government andthe private sector,” the

Consumers wary of catastrophic costs— Swiss Rereinsurer’s Group ChiefRisk Officer David Colesaid.

“It’s vital to preparesystematically for thefuture and make societiesmore resilient.”

About 27 per cent ofrespondents think theirgovernment’s disasterpreparedness is “bad” or“very bad”. The survey,held by Gallup for SwissRe’s 150-year

anniversary, questioned22,000 people across 19markets in April andMay. It measuresconsumer perceptions ofrisk linked to issues suchas climate change,natural disasters, energyand food supplies.

Many respondentswant political leaders tostep up mitigationagainst natural disastersand to promote energy

efficiency.About 58 per cent

think climate change willcontribute to futurenatural disasters “to agreat extent” or “to someextent” and 26 per cent“to a small extent”. Some75 per cent will userenewable energy if it ismade available and 91per cent wantgovernments to betterpromote energyefficiency.

WORKSHOP: From left: Head, Benefits and Insurance, National Pension Commission (PenCom),Lana Loyinmi; Acting Director-General PenCom, Mrs Chinelo Anohu-Amazu; President, PensionFund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), Dave Udeanu and Director, Inspectorate NAICOM,Thompson Barineka at a workshop on annuity and group life insurance, in Lagos.

STORIES BY ROSE-MARY ONUOHA


,

,AWARD: From left: Mr Jose Priesto, President/CEO, Business Initiative

Directions (BID); Prince Emma Ajayi, Chief Executive Officer, SwissBiostadt Limited and Mr. Graig Miller, President QC 100 at the presenta-tion of international star for leadership in quality award, Gold Category, toSwiss Biostadt at the BID 2013 quality awards in Paris.

IT was indicated in the first part lastweek that government’s performance

should be based on the quality of socialinfrastructure government provides andthe value the public derive from usingthe social infrastructure. Also, the valueof any social infrastructureencompasses its costs and how itfunctions in use. The week before thatwe asked whether we should stopadvance payments on contracts.

Our next example compares a schoolbuilding project executed by anentrepreneur with a similargovernment project and the comparisonshows how government can improvevalue delivery on its projects. Theentrepreneur’s school was a buildingon four levels which was erectedduring the period between the end ofeach school year and thecommencement of the next school year.The ground floor level to first floor slabwas completed during the first schoolholiday and the building was put intouse on resumption after the holiday.The first floor was added during thenext school holiday and subsequentlyput into use after the holiday. The othertwo floors were added in similarmanner. The entrepreneur thusobtained value at each stage of theproject over four years.

In contrast to the above, I haveobserved a government project in which12 classrooms are being added to anexisting school under the MillenniumDevelopment Goals, MDG, scheme.The project had a 36-week completionperiod but has attained about 80%completion after three years. The start-stop-start again sequence of activitieson the project suggest that funds havenot been readily available for theproject. No benefit has been derivedby the school for the expenditure onthe project to date. It would have beenbetter if the construction contract wasstructured in such a way that a block offour classrooms would be completedand put into use before the next blockof four classrooms is added and so on.

There has been a significant failurein the provision of public housing bygovernment. Again, arrangementsmade for housing projects often do notgive appropriate value. If an individualwishes to build 100 housing units andthe funds initially available would cover10% of the project costs, the individualwould apply himself to building 10housing units before proceedingfurther. However, with government,contracts would be awarded for all the100 housing units at the start and 10%or more of the contract sum would bepaid to the contractor as advancepayment. We may end up with 100foundations under construction for thehousing units and these units maynever be completed if additional fundsare not made available. Thegovernment should adopt the sameapproach as the individual and startwith 10 housing units.

There have also been efforts to providehousing units through public-private

Budgets, project executionand budget performance (2)

partnerships. The government providesthe land for the housing units whilstthe private developer raises the fundsand builds the housing units. Thecomplaint from the public hasinvariably been that the housing unitshave not been affordable to all but thehighest income earners. The highinterest rates charged for the projectfunds and the period over which theinterest is charged are largelyresponsible for the high prices at whichthe housing units are offered to thepublic.

The Lagos State Government,LASG, for example, has a home

ownership scheme in which mortgagesare granted to persons purchasinghousing units built by the public-private partnership route. In order tobring down the sale price of thehousing units, allotment of the unitsshould be carried out beforeconstruction starts and each allotteeshould be asked to make a downpayment of 20% of the price of a

housing unit. The mortgage companyshould pay the remaining 80% of thesale price into the project account. Thisis not the usual mortgage process butgiven that the mortgage company isowned by LASG, guarantees should begiven by LASG to the mortgagecompany that the housing units wouldbe completed within a year. All thefunds required are available at the startof construction and there is a firm basisfor the guarantees.

The economic well being of thecountry is measured through the GrossDomestic Product, GDP, andgovernment should provide socialinfrastructure so as to improve thecontribution made by the population tothe GDP. Budgets are made for one yearat a time but projects may require twoor more project years before they couldbe completed. The situation sometimesarises in which funds for a projectwould be readily available from thebudget in the first year and the fundsprovided in subsequent years wouldnot be adequate for the completion ofthe project. Projects should becompleted within schedule. Budgetand financial arrangements to make thispossible will be considered next week.To be concluded.

FBN Capital attributes Mobil Oil’sPAT growth to gross margin

FBN Capital Equity Research hasattributed Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc’s

second quarter Profit after Tax (PAT) togrowth in gross margin.

In its analysis on Mobil Oil’s secondquarter results ended June 30, , FBNCapital, stated “Higher risk-free rate offsetsincreases to our Earning Per Share (EPS)forecasts: Following Mobil Oil Nigeria’sbetter-than-expected second quarter (Q2)2013 results which showed that PAT grew111 percent year on year (y/y) primarilydue to gross margin expanding by 595basis points (bps). We have raised ourEPS forecasts by around 26 percent onaverage over the 2013-14 period.

“In spite of the increase to our EPSforecasts, our new price target of N135.8is 6.9 percent lower, because of ourdecision to increase our risk-free rate to13.0 percent (previously 11.0 percent);yields on government paper have climbedthrough the year.

Although our price target implies anupside potential of 21.2 per cent fromcurrent levels, relative valuation is lesscompelling. The shares are trading on a2013E Price Earning (P/E) multiple of 11.8times for 7.6 percent EPS growth in 2014.

This compares with the 9.3 times 2013average P/E multiple for our coveragenames in the sector. Year to date (Ytd),the shares are up 2.5 percent,underperforming the index by 26.7percent. We have kept our neutral ratingunchanged.

The FBN Capital said: “AlthoughMobil’s Q2 2013 sales were down 21.1per cent y/y, Profit Before Tax, PBT andPAT advanced strongly, by 110.3percent y/y and 111 per cent y/y. to N1.5billion and N1.0billion respectively.

Trends across the Profit and Loss (P&L)were generally supportive, with thecompany’s gross margin expanding by595bps y/y to 13.7 per cent - this wasthe key driver behind the strong PBTgrowth.

Ecobank’s CEO to give up$1.14m bonus as bank probescorporate governance

ECOBANK Transnational Inc(ETI)’S Chief Executive Officer,

Thierry Tanoh will relinquish a $1.14million bonus for 2012, as the lenderreassesses corporate governance af-ter allegations of fraud by a seniormanager.

Jeremy Reynolds, a spokesman forLome, Togo based-Ecobank said byemail sent to Bloomberg , yesterdaythat, the Executive Director of Riskand Finance, Laurence do Rego willmeet the board next week about fraudallegations she made to Nigeria’s Se-curities and Exchange Commission(SEC) last month. Do Rego said shehad been pressurized to write off debtsowed by a business that’s chaired byEcobank chairman, Kolapo Lawson;and also to manipulate the bank’s re-sults for 2012.

The bank which operates in more

African countries than any other, willappoint external advisers to reviewgovernance, ‘’while the bank doesn’tagree with Do Rego’s allegations,”she has the opportunity to elabo-rate and present her evidence to theBoard”, he said. While Ecobank in-vestigates a possible mis-statementof her Qualifications which wasmade when she joined 11 years ago,Do Rego is not attending work at thebank. But according to the FinancialTimes report on the 29th of August,she didn’t lie about her Qualifica-tions.The new allegations againstEcobank, came after the Nigeria’scapital markets regulator met withthe Board last month. ChairmanLawson came to an agreement overhis outstanding debts with theAsset Management Corporation ofNigeria (AMCN), a governmentagency created to buy lenders’ bad

By PETER EGWUATU

By ZINO MAGBEGOR WITHAgency Report

There has been asignificant failurein the provision ofpublic housing by

government.Again,

arrangementsmade for housingprojects often do

not giveappropriate value


DIARYDIARYDIARYDIARYDIARY

PreviewPreviewPreviewPreviewPreviewNew inventions

shaping life and living

Select ICT eventsSelect ICT eventsSelect ICT eventsSelect ICT eventsSelect ICT events

INSIDE

CMYK

Titan's new

UAV stays

airborne for

five years

THE Solara unmanned,high-altitude aircraft fromTitan Aerospace designedto run entirely on solarpower for an unbrokenflight time of up to fiveyears.

The Solara was devel-oped to offer an alterna-tive to typical satellites,which are expensive tomanufacture and tolaunch, and can also notbe reclaimed once they'vebeen put into use. TheSolara is designed withsolar panels on its tail andwings, which allow it togenerate enough powerduring the day to store foruse at night. It can carrya payload 20,000 metersinto the air then keep itthere for up to five yearswithout needing to refu-el, and it can also bebrought safely back downto the ground for repairsor simply to recover thecargo.

,

,

EDITED by Adekunle Adekoya

ITEXPO West2013. Holds 27-29

Aug 2013 in LasVegas, USA.

Design & Manu-facturing Midwest2013. Holds 10-12

Sep 2013 in Chica-go, USA.

Middle EastTelco World Summit

2013. Holds 23-24Sep 2013 in Dubai,

UAE.

P & T EXPOCOMM CHINA

2013. Holds 24-28Sep 2013 in Beijing,

China.

CRM-expo 2013.Holds 24-26 Sep2013 in Stuttgart,

Germany.

UNLESS Nigeriaadopts the indig-

enous, home-grown ap-proach by discouragingimports, her ability tomanufacture technolog-ical products will remaina potential.

High Commissioner ofPakistan to Nigeria, Mu-hammad Ashraf Saleemstated this when he vis-ited the National Infor-mation Technology De-velopment Agency, NIT-DA in Abuja.

Pakistan, he said, hasa data management sys-tem as good as what ob-tains in developed econ-

omies, adding that Ni-geria can develop its in-formation and communi-cations technology andagricultural sectors, ifthe country has the po-litical will to ban impor-tation of technology andagro products fromabroad.

With the aid of rightpolicies and legislationin place, he insisted thatNigeria has all it takes toleapfrog from herpresent status to an en-viable level in the world.

According to him, Ni-geria will not be able tomanufacture ICT prod-ucts, until government

makes importation lessattractive and put inplace policies that willmake local brands tothrive.

"Pakistan has achievedalmost 100 per cent peo-ple carrying a very mod-ern card fitted with theSIM on which they car-ry along with them alltheir biometry and eve-rything.

``Our passports aremachine readable. Allour boarders and all theentry and exit points inPakistan are having con-nectivity; anybody enter-ing, coming out; his datacan be found very con-

veniently."I think Nigeria needs

technology for crime con-trol, to know the locationof people. Technologycan be very beneficial incrime control.

"Identity and securitymanagement for securi-ty are the prime areaswhere Pakistan and Ni-geria can cooperate rightaway,’’ said the envoy.

Saleem, who arguedthat technology is not anexclusive preserve of anycountry, said that Niger-ia should make use of itand develop its economy.

“Pakistan is today, oneof the top countries inthe area of ICT, becausewe decided to stop im-porting technology andthis gave us the oppor-tunity to develop on ourown.

‘‘We adopted homegrown tech approachwhich suited what weneeded. Through this,we have been able to

Etisalatslashestariffs for2013 Hajj

BY EMMA ELEBEKE

BY EMEKA AGINAM

MOBILE phoneoperator, Etisalat

Nigeria, has disclosedthat from September 1stto November 30th 2013,its new and existing cus-tomers travelling to Sau-di Arabia to perform theholy pilgrimage wouldenjoy discounted rateson local calls in SaudiArabia, calls to Nigeria,SMS and data servicesrespectively.

Director, Business Seg-ments, Etisalat Nigeria,Lucas Dada in a state-ment said the EtisalatHajj Promo will give cus-tomers on the networkgreat discounts on outgo-ing calls to Nigeria atN30 per minute, localcalls within Saudi Arabiaat N30 per minute andN20 per SMS, with adata package for as lowas 1 kobo per KB for allpay as you go data plans.

He added that all in-coming calls and SMSreceived in the holy landduring the promo periodwill be totally free ofcharge.

According to him, thepromo which is in itsfourth year was designedto help customers stayin touch with their fami-ly, friends and businessassociates in severalplaces across the globeincluding Saudi Arabiaat a very low cost.

“The Hajj Special ena-bles customers to seam-lessly and convenientlystay connected to familyand friends while per-forming Hajj by provid-ing heavily discountedrates on calls to Nigeria,local calls in Saudi, SMSand data services,” hesaid.

Under the promo, cus-tomers can also conven-iently travel with re-charge cards as well asreceive e-top up.

I urge you to also adopt this approach andwill advise you to stop importing IT from thedeveloped countries because they would nev-er give you what will make you develop your

economy. They would always love that youkeep on coming back to them to buy more.

This is not how you can grow the sector

The bottommounted freezer,from Samsung

How Nigeria's ICTindustry can grow, byPakistani envoy

Magical side ofgrowing Nigeria'seconomy

Continues on Page 30

Nigeria, other Africancountries record 781mmobile subscription inQ2

NITDA tasksOEMs onproduct quality,after-sales serv-ice

MEETING: From left, Mr Will Anyaebunam, MD/CEO, Beta Computers; Mr Ibrahim Balogun, MD,Brian Computers; Mr Emeka Ezekwesili, Head of Research, National Information Technology Devel-opment Agency, NITDA and Dr Ashiru Daura, Acting D-G of NITDA during an interactive meeting ofthe agency and local OEMs in Abuja.

CMYK


The bottom-mounted freezer,from Samsung

GLOBAL leader indigital home

appliances, SamsungElectronics West Africahas introduced into theNigerian market theBottom MountedFreezer refrigerator .

The product automati-cally adjusts coolingspeed in response totemperature fluctuationsfor greater energyefficiency. It comes witha new Digital InverterCompressor thatstrengthens durabilityand improves energyefficiency and coolingperformance by automat-ically adjusting acrossfive speeds of RPM(revolutions per minute)in response to coolingdemands.

Due to frequent dooropenings, hot plate offood or outside tempera-ture changes, thecompressor of theproduct reacts to eitherrapidly provide cold airor slow down to reduceunnecessary energyconsumption.

Main featuresThe new product offers

a Grab’n Go saucebasket that can bedetached and moved forcooking or enjoying ameal, and a top LEDthat illuminates therefrigerator’s interiormore brightly thanconventional models.

It also has a CoolSelect

zone which allowsconsumers to control thecompartment's tempera-ture with a simple-touchbutton display, maximiz-ing freshness andallowing the space formulti-purpose use,keeping vegetables andmeat fresher far longer.

Of course, the no FrostTechnology prevents icebuildup on the inside ofthe freezer wall andprevents water dropformation in the refriger-ator that can leavestains. Backed with oneyear warranty, theinnovative technologyworks to strengthen thedurability and extendthe life of the refrigera-tor.

“In many ways, therefrigerator is at theheart of the kitchen,experiencing a lot ofphysical demands andactivity throughout theday,” Product Manager,Refrigerators, SamsungElectronics West Africa,Manmohan Chandroth,said, adding that, “In

addition to smalltemperature changesthat come fromfrequent dooropenings, we alsothought aboutsituations in which ahome’s electricitysupply may beunstable with spikesand power cuts.

“This will damage arefrigerator overtime. And if it breaks,it causes a hugeamount of stress andtakes significanttime, money andeffort to fix or re-place. At Samsung,we pride ourselveson always thinkingahead to what ourconsumers will need,and our new BottomMounted FreezerRefrigerator thought-fully delivers onproviding realsolutions withunprecedentedtechnology, durabilityand design,” headded.

— Emeka Aginam

BY EMEKA AGINAM

FOR those who readthis column, I wish

to recommend that themain story on the pagepreceding this be readfirst, and recall previousoutings of this column onthis issue, which is that ofrealistically jump-startingthe Nigerian economyand kicking it, screaminglike a new born-baby intothe 21st century.

Like many others whofeel sufficiently con-cerned, there is no wayVision 20-2020 can be re-alized without at least fif-ty per cent of everythingwe currently import beingmade here in Nigeria byNigerians for Nigeriansand the export market.The way we are going,especially importing pe-t r o l e u mproductswhile werefuse torefine thecrude weh a v e ,no th ingmuch willb eachievedo u t s i d ethe un-e n d i n grhetoric ofour rulers.

In thestory onthe pre-c e d i n gpage I referred to, theHigh Commissioner ofPakistan to Nigeria, Mu-hammad Ashraf Saleemvisited the National Infor-mation Technology Devel-opment Agency, NITDAin Abuja, where he saidthat his country “adoptedhome grown tech ap-proach which suited whatwe needed. Throughthis, we have been able tomanufacture many ICTproducts by ourselves.”

You will agree with methat we do not need thePakistani envoy to tell uswhich path to tread, orwhat to eat, for that mat-ter. Nigeria is blessedwith abundant human re-sources, which, if proper-ly deployed in the last 50years of our independ-ence, would have takenus beyond the moon, andmade this nation of greatpeoples the one to be re-spected most in theworld.

I recall President Good-luck Jonathan’s Buy-Ni-geria directive, an-nounced by InformationMinister Labaran Makuat the end of a cabinet

meeting just weeks beforethe general elections of2011. If that directive hadbeen given the tenacity ofpursuit and enforcement,it would have begun withforeign-brand computersvanishing from govern-ment offices. Just imagineif all federal MDAs areusing computers made inNigeria by Zinox,Omatek, Brian, BetaComputers and the oth-ers, they would havetransformed, in just twoyears into gigantic corpo-rations. Even then, moreOEMs would havesprung up, generatingthousands of jobs for theever-energetic Nigerian!But what do we have? Lipservice, that’s what!

Mr AshrafSaleem ofPa k i s t a nmade thegood pointthat we willnot be ableto manufac-ture ICTp r o d u c t suntil gov-e r n m e n tmakes im-portation ofthose prod-ucts less at-tractive andput in placepolicies thatwill makel o c a l

brands to thrive.Mr Saleem should

know; his country andIndia stubbornly refusedto be coerced by the Westinto dropping nuclear ca-pability ambitions andsuffered sanctions as aresult. Thus, what theycould no longer importbecause of sanctions, theynow make. In retrospect,those who sanctioned Pa-kistan turned out to be herbest friends!

In about 15 months,elections will hold, andINEC will need new,more computers. We aretrying to do a national IDproject. We are trying togive computers to ourchildren in schools. Weare building IT parks.Everybody is buyingsmart phones and tablets.But we are importing allof them. I think we are try-ing to sail to England ina canoe; we won’t getthere, and that’s not acurse. We must rethinkand retool our system fromthis analog approach andget truly digital in ourthinking and ways of do-ing things.

Magical side of growingNigeria's economy

,We mustrethink andretool our

system fromthis analog

approach andget truly digit-

al in ourthinking andways of doing

things

According to CRF Institute Top Employ-

ers in Africa Index, Mi-crosoft has been certifiedfor the second year run-ning as one of Africa’sTop Employers in 2013/2014 for its operations inKenya, Nigeria, Egypt,and South Africa.

This makes the compa-ny part of the CRF Insti-tute’s Top Employers inAfrica Index along withthe first class of certifiedmultinationals.

According to the CRFInstitute, Microsoft hassuccessfully demonstrat-ed its excellence in theapplication of its HumanResources policies andpractices across all of thecountries where it oper-ates, and this is the keycriteria for certification.

Although doing busi-ness in Africa does havesimilarities to other dy-namic emerging marketswhere infrastructure andavailability of technolo-gy can be limited, Mi-crosoft has a fundamen-tal belief that no matterwhere it is in the world,the brand needs to stayconsistent.

This means, that whatis available to employ-ees in the US or Europeis available to employ-ees in Africa.

“We strive to make our

Microsoft rated top employer in Africa

programs, processes andoverall way of workingwith our employees firstclass,” Cherise Mendo-za, HR Lead in West Eastand Central Africa andIndian Ocean Islands,said.

“As we grow on thecontinent, we work con-tinuously with our 10 000partners across Africa toensure the best possiblereach and impact. We areconstantly adding to ourteam of dedicated peo-ple on the ground whotruly understand the Af-

rican economic and busi-ness environment, thisis what makes the differ-ence,” Mendoza, said.

According to Mendoza,in February this year,Microsoft launched itsmulti-million dollar 4AA-frika initiative, a new ef-fort through which thecompany will activelyengage in Africa’s eco-nomic development toimprove its global com-petitiveness.

“This forms part of ourvision to give more peo-ple and businesses in

Africa access to technol-ogy at a more affordableprice.

“To achieve this vision,we have made a signifi-cant investment in ourtalent pool, to allow us toenable businesses in Af-rica to realise their fullpotential through inno-vative technologies,”Mendoza, said, addingthat Microsoft as a glo-bal organization hasbeen able to instill a cul-ture of performance ex-cellence in its employ-ees.

AWARD: NCC's Head of Human Capital, Mrs. Maryam Bayi (right) andMr. Geoff Truman, expert on leadership and management during the pres-entation of award for HR Training and Development Manager of the Year2013 from the British International Leadership and Management (BIILM) toMrs Bayi, recently.

CMYK

VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2013 — 27


JOEL Obi has said he hopes to use his loan moveto Parma to relaunch his once promising career andmake a return to the Super Eagles.

Obi, whose career has been hampered by recur-ring injuries, told Brila FM he hopes to get moreplaying time and do well with Parma.

”Moving to Parma is a good move for me. This willgive me chance to play regular football. They actu-ally wanted a permanent deal, but we settled for aloan deal,” he said.

“I will prove my worth and use my move to Parmato get back to the Eagles. I have not played for a yeardue to the injury. I am happy with the deal.”

The left-sided midfielder last featured for Nigeriain November 2011, same year he made his debutagainst Sierra Leone in Lagos.

Obi has not enjoyed regular first-team football ac-tion since his return from a long injury lay off.

He joined Inter Milan in 2010 and has played 38matches with a goal credited to him.

Joel Obi plans Eaglesreturn with Parma

• Joel Obi

NIGERIA will be expected to beat “disrespectful” Malawi on Saturday to reach the

final stage of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers nextmonth.

The African champions set the pace in Group Fwith nine points, followed by Malawi with sevenpoints. Namibia are on five points, while Kenyaare bottom of the standings on three points.

Malawi therefore need to win to go ahead ofNigeria in the qualifiers, while the home team onlyneed a draw to march on in their quest to featureat Brazil 2014.

When both teams first met in the reverse fixturein June last year, Malawi forced a 1-1 draw in adramatic final flourish in Blantyre.

Malawi have launched a mind game in whichthey have demanded for a replacement of the ref-eree and that the southern coastal town of Calabarwas unsafe and not suitable to stage a match ofthis magnitude.

The mind game has also seen FIFA demand anexplanation from Nigeria over comments attrib-uted to coach Stephen Keshi about their Belgiancoach Tom Saintfiet, who incidentally was ap-pointed Nigeria technical director but never gotto take up the job because of local opposition.

Brescia forward Nnamdi Oduamadi was firm thatEagles will go all out to silence the Malawiansthis weekend.

”We are not underrating them, I know they havebeen preparing for the game even playing prankson us. Their coach has been boasting they will

am not underrating them, but we dserve some respect. If they think thwant to come to Calabar to embrass us, we are ready to disgrace thand we will prove that on the pitc

Nigeria are yet to lose to Malawfull international level as the Eaghave claimed victories four timfrom previous meetings includin1978 All Africa Games clash.

They also welcome back severatheir top stars like EmmanuEmenike, Vincent Enyeama aMikel Obi, who missed last montfriendly in South Africa, which thwon 2-0 in Durban.

We’re ready toextinguish theFlames — Oduamadi

come to Nigeria to upset us,that’s just his wish but we aremore than ready to silencethem,” he said.

“We are taking the game asa cup final. They will havenothing to say by the time wehammer them big time.”

Oduamadi added: “I am notdisputing their potentials, I

2014 WORLD CUPQUALIFIERS

Wikki FCmanagement sacksTechnical Adviser

The management of Wikki Tourists FCof Bauchi on Monday announced the

sack of the Technical Adviser of the club,Yakubu Maidajin, Chairman of the club,Sule Chindo, who spoke through the Me-dia Officer of the team, Usman Osculator,told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)in Bauchi that Maidajin’s appointmenthad been terminated for poor performance.

“Following the poor performance of WikkiTourists FC in some of its home matches,the club’s management, after deliberatingon the matter on Monday, decided to re-lieve the Technical Adviser of his appoint-ment with immediate effect.

“The Chief Coach, Abdullahi Pele, hasbeen directed to take charge of affairs ofthe club and ensure that Wikki Touristsimproved on its performance,” he said.

The Chairman described as unaccept-able, the conceding of home defeat in threematches in the current Globacom Premierleague.

Mba’s Bastiamove collapses

Sunday Mba’s proposed move toLigue 2 outfit CA Bastia is off after

Warri Wolves rejected the Corsican club’soffer. The Nigeria international was un-veiled by Les Noirs and given a squadnumber ahead of his expected arrival, buthis Nigerian club have pulled out of thedeal at the 11th hour.

The €250,000 offer was set to be paid inthree separate installments over thecourse of the next two years, with an ad-ditional €100,000 should Bastia earn pro-motion to Ligue 1 in either of the follow-ing two seasons.

Wolves, however, have rejected the dealand the 24-year-old is now set to return tothe Nigerian Premier League club afterthe international break.

An unnamed club official confirmed thatthe deal is dead in the water, saying: “Theoffer has been rejected and there will beno deal between us and them for SundayMba.”

Enugu BestFarmers dare

Golden Eaglets

First Best Farmers (FBF) soccer academy under the aegis of Dr. Mrs. Ify

Nwobosi would have a foretaste of thefirepower of the National Under-17 teamtoday; in a friendly match slated to hold4pm at the practice pitch of the U.J EsueneStadium in Calabar. The match would bethe Golden Eaglets’ 21st domestic friendlymatch and it promises to be a spectaclewith FBF spoiling for battle.

“First and foremost, we want to use thisopportunity to commend the good job youguys are doing with the Golden Eaglets,”the soccer-loving President of FBF, Mrs.Nwobosi was quoted as saying.

”Playing against the Golden Eagletswould give our players needed exposureas we prepare for a training tour soonand we are ready to give a good accountof ourselves against your boys.”

Real reject Unitebid for Khedira

Manchester United areported to have failed wit

40 million euro bid for Real MadriSami Khedira.

Both United and Chelsea habeen linked with the German intnational after he was believedhave been made available fotransfer this summer.

But it seems Real Madrid – wtoday unrelieved world record siging Gareth Bale – are holding ofor more money for the 26-year-o

•Stephen Keshi •Tom Saintfiet


The Gunners need astriker – Parlour

ARSENAL’s failure to land a striker in the transfer window has been somewhat gilded over with

the signing of Mesut Ozil.The former Real Madrid attacking midfielder was

the biggest deal of the transfer window deadline day,signing for the Gunners for a club record £42.5 mil-lion. It was just the signing that all Arsenal fans hopedfor but it has somewhat papered over the need foranother striker at the Emirates Stadium according tomany pundits, including former Gunner Ray Parlour.

Parlour told Talksport: “The only problem I’m wor-ried about is the forward line. Giroud was excellent atthe weekend. I thought he played ever so well againstTottenham.•Parlour

TOP-ranked defending championSerena Williams defeated US 15th

seed Sloane Stephens 6-4, 6-1 Monday toreach the US Open quarter-finals, aveng-ing a loss that ousted her from the 2013Australian Open.

Williams won eight of the last nine gamesto advance after 87 minutes to a last-eightmatchup against Spanish 18th seed CarlaSuarez Navarro, who upset German eighthseed Angelique Kerber 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).

“It will be a tough match,” Williams said.Williams, who at 31 could become the old-est US Open women’s champion, andStephens had not played since the 20-year-old prodigy beat the four-time US Openchampion 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in an Australian Openquarter-final last January.

“It definitely felt like a bigger match be-cause Sloane is such a great player, but Ihad to stay focused in the moment,” Williamssaid. “I just tried the whole time to do whatI wanted to, stay calm and stay relaxed.”

The Williams-Stephens relationship wasstrained after Stephens accused the 16-timeGrand Slam champion of being disrespect-ful and using intimidation tactics and mindgames with her yells of “Come on”, but bothwomen said before the match that souredfeelings had been repaired.

In the match, both apologised to each otherfor wind-blown ball tosses that they did nothit. And when they met at the net after matchpoint, Williams told Stephens, “I love youso much”.

Stephens said she was simply outplayedby the world’s best.

TOMMY Robredo stunned RogerFederer with a straight-sets win in the

fourth round of the U.S. Open Monday.Robredo capitalised on an error-ridden

and wasteful performancefrom the 17-time GrandSlam champion to clincha 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, 6-4 win atFlushing Meadows.

“I kind of feel like I beatmyself, without taking anycredit away from Tommy,”Federer told reporters.“Clearly he was makingsure he was making manyballs. It was up to me tomake the difference and Icouldn’t.

“I kind of self-de-structed, which is very dis-appointing, especially ona quicker court. Your servehelps you out. You’re go-ing to make the differencesomewhere. I just couldn’tdo it. It was a frustratingperformance today.”

Federer converted justtwo of 16 break points andcommitted 43 unforced er-rors to go with his 45 win-

ners.Robredo was consistent with 31 winners

and 26 unforced errors, and made the mostof his opportuni-ties—converting fourof seven breakpoints.

The exit isFederer’s earliest atthe U.S. Open since2003—when he alsoexited in the fourthround—and secondearly departure at aGrand Slam this yearafter a second-roundloss at Wimbledon.

Federer startedpoorly and threeunforced errors in theopening game sawRobredo break, onlyfor the Swiss great torespond in the fourthgame to make it 2-2.

Robredo claimedhis second break for5-4—a game afterFederer squandereda chance—but wasunable to close it out.

Federer upset, loses in straight sets

U.S. OPEN 2013:Sweet revenge for Serenaagainst Stephens

•Serena

•Oduamadi

Federer

CWG Sales Academygraduates students


One of the top ratedFederal Universi-

ties in Nigeria, the Ah-madu BelloUniversity(ABU) Zaria,has engaged the servic-es of DATAFLEX a lead-ing ICT solutions andservices company in thecountry in the supplyand support of Dell ThinClient at the universityfor computer based test.

The DELL Thin Clientis a computing devicethat could act as a Virtu-al Desktop hence usingthe computing power re-siding on networkedservers.

This System from DELLis a highly efficient andcost effective device witha centralized manage-ment system that pro-vides some security ben-efits for any organiza-tion. The Dell Thin Cli-

ABU partners Dataflexon omputer based test

One of the leadingPan-African Infor-

mation and Communica-tion Technology (ICT)Company, ComputerWarehouse Group, re-cently graduated anoth-er set of students fromthe Sales Academy inLagos.

The graduating stu-dents of the 2013 firstsession have successful-ly completed 6 weeks ofintensive classroomwork, practical trainingand live project attach-ments.

Speaking at the event,James Agada, the ChiefTechnology Officer of thecompany highlightedthe importance of salesin business growth.

According to him, theworld can only be ruledby people who have theselling skill, because weall have something to of-fer but your ability to con-vince others to buy iswhat makes the differ-ence. Thus, the Salesacademy creates the av-enue to impact its stu-dents with the requiredselling skill that will en-able them excel in theircareer.

“Considering the roleof ICT in the economyand its growth rate, rais-ing human capital thatcan sell the value appro-priately to the users be-comes imperative. Con-trarily, so many freshgraduates lack the re-quired skill for immedi-ate employment espe-cially in the IT field. Itwas on this heel thatCWG has established theSales Academy to bridge

ents will be used for theComputer BasedTests(CBT) purposes ofthe institution.

In presenting the sys-tems to Prof AbdullahiMustapha, the ViceChancellor of ABU Zar-ia, Danjuma Attah; Re-gional Director for DA-TAFLEX thanked the VCfor the opportunity giv-en to DATAFLEX to pro-vide the service to theinstitution.

‘At DATAFLEX, we arecommitted to providingsuperior service to ABUZaria and in working inclose relationship withour Global partner DELL,you can be rest assuredof our commitment toproviding the best inclass service to AhmaduBello university’.Attahsaid.

GRADUATION: James Agada, Chief Technology Officer, CWG (middle), flanked by Mrs OlapejuAyo-Fisher, Head, Human Resources/Admin, CWG (left) and Stephen Albert, Business DevelopmentManager/Sales Academy Coordinator, CWG (right) with students during the graduation ceremony inLagos.

the gap”, he explained.While congratulating

the graduands, hecharged them to give at-tention to the knowledgethey have acquired fromthe academy as they arenot common.

CWG Sales academyformerly called DCCSales Academy emanat-ed from DCC Networks,the Communication divi-sion of Computer Ware-house Group in 2012with the mission to pro-vide experiential knowl-edge on selling of ITproducts and services forfresh and experiencedgraduates who wish tohone their selling skills.

However, it becameCWG Sales Academythis year in order to pro-vide a holistic salestraining in the three dis-ciplines of IT; Hardware,Software and Communi-cation for the students.

Both the alumni fromDCC Sales Academy andthe graduating studentsfrom CWG Sales Acade-my were glad to give tes-timonials of the impact ofthe academy on their ca-reer.

Sogbamu Segun andExcel Chukwuewubeboth alumni of DCCSales Academy sharedtestimonials of the trans-formation they have ex-perienced in their ca-reers and life as a resultof their participation inthe academy while threegraduating students;Oluwatobi Ojomo, Olay-isade Adekunle andDamilola Oluwatunmiseon behalf of the gradu-ands also shared testi-monials on their experi-ence at the academy re-spectively.

BY EMEKA AGINAM

manufacture many ICTproducts by ourselves.

‘‘I urge you to alsoadopt this approach andwill advise you to stopimporting IT from thedeveloped countries be-cause they would nevergive you what will makeyou develop your econ-omy. They would alwayslove that you keep oncoming back to them tobuy more. This is nothow you can grow thesector.

``Indigenous ap-proach is always good.We at times, I think Pa-kistan has been verylucky because we aresubjected to many sanc-tions because of our nu-clear programme andthose sanctions wereblessing to us becausewe have started produc-ing our own things. Thatis why we need to coop-erate to move forward,’’said Saleem.

Responding, acting Di-rector General of NITDA,Dr Ashiru Daura, saidthe partnership is com-ing at the right time, es-pecially, when the agen-cy has been promotinglocal content in order tostrengthen the ICT sec-tor.

He expressed opti-mism that the proposedICT partnership with Pa-kistan would surelyserve a mutual benefitand specifically impartpositively on the Nigeri-an economy.

In his remarks, thePresident, Nigeria Com-puter Society, ProfessorDavid Adewumi said theimportance of the part-nership to the economy

cannot be overempha-sised and commendedNITDA leadership forthe way and manner ithad pioneered IT pene-tration and developmentin the country.

He said that NCS is

How Nigeria's ICT industry can grow, by envoy

Continues from Page 25 ready to further NITDAon how to accelerate thepace of IT developmentin the country, sayingthat the worthy goal ofNITDA are in line withthe core objectives of theSociety.

He however, urgedNITDA to seek forstronger partnership thatwould build an inclusiveand globally competitiveand prosperous Nigeria,that will be the envy ofother African nations.

THE National Information Technology

Agency, NITDA hasagain restated its commit-ment to promote and op-timize the qualitative pro-duction capacity of the na-tion’s indigenous Origi-nal Equipment Manufac-turers, OEMs.

The agency said theidea is in a bid to achieveNigeria’s IT Local Con-tent inclusion, adoptionand patronage of localOEMs.

The Acting Director-General of NITDA, DrAshiru Daura made thisknown during an interac-tive meeting between themanagement of NITDAand some representativesof Original EquipmentManufacturers, OEMs inAbuja at the weekend.

Daura stated that NIT-DA is ever committed toensure adequate devel-opment of local capacity,in line with Nigeria’s ITcontent development ini-tiative.

He noted that a robustperformance framework isbeen put in place by NIT-DA, through the supportof the Ministry of Com-

NITDA tasks OEMs on productquality, after-sales service

BY EMMA ELEBEKE munication Technology, toensure makers of localOEMs deliver high qual-ity products of interna-tional standards with KeyPerformance Indicators,KPIs put in place in orderto measure their efficien-cy in the market and con-sumer satisfaction.

As part of NITDAs aimof achieving the lofty ob-jective, the Acting Direc-tor said that the agencyrecently at the secondNational Council on Com-munications Technology(NCCT) held in Akure,Ondo State presented amemorandum on theneed for the patronage oflocal OEMs, while theNCCT in its final commu-niqué adopted theprayers of NITDA by rec-ommending that all statesand the Federal CapitalTerritory should promotethe Student ComputerOwnership Scheme byencouraging the adoptionof local OEMs for the pro-gramme.

He identified lack ofdependable warranty andnon-existent after salesservices as some of thechallenges affecting thepurchase and usage ofsome locally made PC

brands.He stressed the need for

strict compliance with theinternational standardOrganization, ISO9001:2008 standard certi-fication for sourcing andprocuring of computerhardware from localOEMs for which there islocal capacity for manu-facturing, assembling,testing, deployment andmaintenance.

In addition, he advocat-ed that local OEMS con-tracting to supply anystate-wide ICT projectsmust have first level con-tact centres to handle cus-tomer queries, addingthat all local OEMs con-tracting to supply anystate-wide ICT projectsmust have regionally lo-cated fulfillment centresas well as regionally lo-cated return/repair work-shop capable of handlingafter sales service andadequate warranty serv-ice issues.

The NITDA boss howev-er, urged stakeholders in-cluding States and LocalGovernment Areas to helppush for the developmentof Local Content as a sub-stantial source of revenueearning for the country.

CMYK

VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2013 — 31


THE global mobilesubscription would

hit 9 million by 2018 andNigeria, South Africaamong other Africancountries are major part ofthis realisation with cur-rent standing of about 781million in mobile sub-scription.

This was revealed in thesecond quarter statistics ofEricsson's Mobility reportreleased in Stockholm,Sweden at the weekend.

Nigeria led the pack ofthe African countries, in-cluding South Africa andKenya, by adding about20 million new subscrip-tions in quarter two of2013.

The Continent rankedthird in the report afterAsia Pacific and China,which presently have 1.28billion and 1.17 billionmobile subscriptions re-spectively.

With about 105 millionnet additions of mobilesubscription across theglobe in Q2 2013, West-ern Europe; Central andEastern Europe; India;Middle East; Latin Amer-ica and North Americaadded one million; sixmillion; eight million; sixmillion; and four millionnew subscribers respec-tively.

The report also disclosedthat the global mobile sub-scription was expected togrow six per cent from2012 to 2018, reachingnine billion, higher thanthe population of theworld, presently pitchedat about seven billion.

Nigeria, other African countries record 781mmobile subscription in Q2BY PRINCE OSUAGWU The report, which cur-

rently puts global mobilesubscriptions at 6.5 billionas at the end of June, not-ed that world wide mobilepenetration reached 91per cent, “however, theactual number of mobilesubscriptions is around4.5 billion, since manyhave several subscrip-tions.”

According to Ericsson’sHead of Strategic Mar-keting and Intelligence,Patrick Cerwall, Chinaalone accounted for 30per cent of net additions,adding 30 million sub-scriptions; Indonesia add-ed nine million; Indiaadded eight million;Bangladesh added fivemillion; Nigeria added

four million in terms ofnet additions.

Indeed, statistics fromthe Nigerian Communi-cations Commission(NCC) put the country’sconnected lines at 181million with active linesnow 120 million.

Nigeria's four GSM op-erators including MTNNigeria; Globacom; Air-tel and Etisalat current-ly shares 117 million ac-tive lines; while theCode Division MultipleOperators includingVisafone; Starcommsand Multilinks battle for2.56 million subscribers.The Fixed Wired andWireless operators share382,678 lines. This iseven as Nigeria’s tel-

edensity is presently at 85.3per cent.

Cerwall however notedthat mobile subscriptionshave grown around sevenper cent year-on-year andtwo per cent quarter-on-quarter basis. He contend-ed that, there was a largedifference between thenumber of subscriptionsand subscribers.

He attributed this to thefact that many subscribershave several subscriptions,with reasons including us-ers lowering their trafficcost by using optimizedsubscriptions for differenttypes of calls; maximizingcoverage and having dif-ferent subscriptions formobile PCs, tablets and formobile phones.

HIGH speed broadband internet and

data services provider,Swift Networks, has an-nounced that 500 volun-teers will test-drive itsbrand new Long TermEvolution (LTE) networkin preparation for itslaunch in Lagos.

in the first instance.SWIFT has built the LTEnetwork on the spectrumresources of the Direct OnPC which it acquired re-cently, enabling it to over-lay the ultra-fast LTE net-work over its current 4GWIMAX network to offerhigher access speed to itscurrent and future cus-tomers.

Wireless spectrum is afinite resource and LTEuses it more efficientlythan other technologies,creating more space tocarry data traffic and serv-ices and to deliver a bet-ter network experience. Itdelivers at least 10 timesfaster download speedthan 3G and 4 times thatof WIMAX 4G networks.

“This will be Nigeria’sfastest and most reliable4G LTE network; we willnot rush this launch andwill take every care to en-sure that we get it rightthe first time. Getting themost aggressive usersfrom our current custom-er base to test-drive it willenable us to debug andfine-tune it to meet theexerting demands of ourtarget customer base”, ac-cording to Mr. Chukwu-ma Okoye, the Chief Op-erating Officer of SWIFT.“These volunteers whohave been on our networkfor at least three years willgive us feedback on theseveral performance met-rics we are tracking in-cluding download andupload speeds, networklatency and uptime. Theywill also ghost call the

Swift Networks plansLTE launch with 500volunteersBY PRINCE OSUAGWU

Call Centre as part of thepredetermined perform-ance indicators that areimportant to our marketsegment. These customershave been with usthrough our Pre-WiMAXand current 4G networksand bring along theirtreasured comparativememory of our services”,he said.

According to PhilipSonibare, Assistant Gen-eral Manager, ConsumerSales and Marketing atSWIFT Networks, “wecontinue to see the de-mand for true broadbandinternet skyrocket in Ni-geria and our 4G LTE net-work rollout starting fromLagos responds to whatcustomers want from theirbroadband internet expe-rience — faster and morereliable services backedby 24x7 customer care,”

When activated, the newLTE network will bringkey benefits to the market,including the capability ofdelivering internetspeeds of up to 10 timesfaster than 3G. Customerscan download, uploadand stream audio and vid-eo content without buffer-ing as well as make highdefinition phone calls.Gamers will also gamefaster than ever before.

SWIFT said it will offerseveral new LTE mo-dems, including WIFI ca-pable indoor modemswith telephone ports andmobile multi-user WIFIenabled versions for peo-ple on the go. All thesewill enable LTE internetand data speeds on PCs,Laptops, smart phonesand tablets, either athome, office or in transit.

LTE technology offerslower latency, or theprocessing time it takes tomove data through a net-work, such as how long ittakes to start downloadinga webpage or file onceyou’ve sent the request.

THE 2013 CSTDWeek has ended in

Abuja, with stakeholdersin the space science andtechnology industry urg-ing for a stronger collab-oration among majorplayers in the industrythat would aid easy ac-tualization of indigenouscapability to design, fab-ricate, test and launch ofa space systems in Ni-geria.

The two day event, en-titled: Achieving theBenefits of Space viaCorporate Partnership,was organised by Centrefor Satellite TechnologyDevelopment, CSTD.

Stakeholders seek collaboration on space systemsBY EMMA ELEBEKE It is an annual event

which provides plat-form for the Centre tomeet policy makers,government agencies,private sector,academia, engineeringand science communi-ty to brainstorm on pos-sible areas of collabora-tion, towards the maxi-mum utilization of thecountry’s space assetsfor sustainable develop-ment and economicgrowth.

The conference alsoexplored the benefitsthat could be accruedthrough long lastingpartnerships with bothpublic and private or-ganizations and how to

strengthen the existingbonds for commercializa-tion of research findings,development and educa-tional purposes.

Some of the topics dis-cussed at the conferenceinclude: telecommunica-tions and navigation; se-curity and monitoring op-erations; education andworkforce; energy andenvironment; emergencyand disaster relief; remotesensing and GIS; policyregulatory roles in tele-communications and com-merce, banking, public-private partnerships.

Participants at the occa-sion reasoned that takingan in-depth exploration ofthe technical, regulatory,

economic and marketingissues affecting the sat-ellite industry for currentand planned serviceswill help in charting theway forward towardsachieving greaterheights.

Chief Executive ofCSTD, Dr. SpencerOnuh, in his welcomeaddress said that theworkshop became neces-sary as it would stir a sol-id interaction betweengovernment and corpo-rate bodies andacademia to establish afirm relationship be-tween various sectors.

Dr. Onuh said the cent-er was prepared and canboast of highly skilled

man power that can bemobilized to actualizethe dream of manufac-turing satellites locallyin the country, andcalled on government toprovide the enabling en-vironment.

“CSTD is ready to in-digenously design andmanufacture satellites inNigeria if challengedwith the right climate ofoperations. It might in-terest you to know thatone of the countries en-gineers and scientiststhat were trained inSSTL along with our en-gineers and scientistshave successfully de-signed and manufacturesatellite in their owncountry,” he said.

BRIEFING: Secretary of State in the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Mr Gunnar Oom, flankedby ministry Ambassadors, Inger Ultvedt (left); Anders Johnson (immediate right) and Wictoria Aman-dustin, Deputy Director at Minister's office (far right) as the State Secretary briefed African Journalistson Sweden's mission to harmonise trade relations between his country and the Sub-Saharan Africancountries, in Stockholm, Sweden last week. Photo: Prince Osuagwu.

CMYK

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2013————— 33 33 33 33 33

CMYK

34—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 201334—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 201334—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 201334—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 201334—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2013

Share your problems and re-lease your burden. Write now to

Dear Bunmi,Vanguard Newspapers, P.M.B

1007, Apapa, Lagos. [email protected]

He doesn't know I fancy him

My wife is a terrible cook

Too young for marriage

Confused widower andhis son

’

‘

Dear Bunmi,Around last Christmas, my

world fell to pieces when mywife of eight years was killedin a car crash. Not only haveI lost my soul mate, but oursix-year-old son has been leftwithout a mum. I just don’tknow how to handle things.

Daniel, by e-mail

Dear Daniel,The first and most important

thing your little boy needs islove from you, so give himloads of affection. Answer hisquestions as he asks them, so

he’s getting information whenhe’s ready. Reassure him thatmummy hasn’t gone becauseof anything he did, whichsome children fear.

And don’t think you have to‘cope’ with your own feelingsof loss in private. Childrenneed to know that adults feelgrief too, so it’s fine to cry to-gether. Finally, seek the sup-port of friends and relativesand encourage your son to in-teract with relatives in his agebracket. I wish you the best ofluck.

Dear Bunmi,I am an undergraduate in

love with a Youth Corper. Wemet at the university and loveeach other. I am only 20 andreading medicine, so I havea long way to go.

My partner is thinking ofmarriage. I’d had two abor-tions before but he now sayswe should be thinking of get-ting married now that he’s fin-ished his studies. Some of myfriends tell me early mar-riages have advantages asyou have your kids early. Butapart from the fact that myparents could kill me if I havea shot-gun wedding, I am notready though I think I mightbe pregnant again. Should Ihave an abortion?

Mariam, by e-mail

Dear Mariam,The first thing you must do

right now is get a pregnancytest done to see if your fearsare justified. You can’t makeany decisions until you havethe facts. Any of the clinics

should do a pregnancy test ifyou don’t want to use facili-ties at your teaching hospital.You could even get one ofthese do-it-yourself kits fromthe chemist. They’re usuallyaccurate.

If you are pregnant, youhave three basic choices: Con-tinue the pregnancy and getmarried, be a single parent orend the pregnancy now byhaving yet another abortion.For your sake, I hope thispregnancy is a false alarm asfrequent abortions are bad foryour reproductive system. Youappear to be living in fear ofyour partner’s reaction whichmakes me wonder if the rela-tionship is really as secure asyou would like to believe it is.

You’re still very young to besaddled with major decisionslike marriage.

Make appreciable progressin your education as yourman has done. A couple ofyears wait wouldn’t kill astrong and stable relation-ship.

Dear Bunmi,I used to scoff at the adage

that the way to a man’s heartis through his stomach but mywife is making me do a re-think. We’ve been married formore than 10 years and have

three lovely children. Mywife has been a good wife andmother.

I have a very successful lawpractice and she does goodbusiness selling fabrics andjewellery. My grouse is that

her cooking leaves a bad tastein the mouth.

Most of the time, she has atrained caterer come to thehouse to do the week’s shop-ping for foodstuff and storeenough prepared food in thedeep-freezer to feed an army.This is all well and good butyou know how PHCN is; andwhenever the generatorbreaks down, meals become anightmare.

I’ve asked her to makemore effort at cooking, butapart from simple fry-ups likedodo and chips, her stews aresomething else. She told meshe’s tired and doesn’t knowwhat else to do. She is think-ing of getting a live-in cookand paid for by her but I stillfeel bad that she doesn’t loveme enough to want to knowhow to cook.

Nduka, by e-mail

Dear Nduka,Is it really the end of the

world that your wife can’tcook? Just as some women arepetrified at sitting behind thewheels, a few find experi-menting in the kitchen a bitdaunting. You said she is agood mother and wife, andhas even offered to employ alive-in cook paid for by her. Ifthis is not love, I wonder whatit is? Your wife has readilyadmitted her short comings inthe kitchen and is willing tomake up for it. If you’re a defthand at cooking, helpingonce a while might challengeher.

Dear Bunmi,I’m 24 years old and up un-

til about a year ago, I hadstrong views about gettingmarried. I promised my self Iwouldn’t settle down until Iwas at least 28. But now myattitudes have changed dra-matically and I think I havemet the perfect man for me.We have been very goodfriends for about three yearsand we live next door to eachother.

He is in his late twentiesand he is good looking, car-ing and very considerate -infact he’s what you’ll call a per-fect gentleman. Keeping myhands off him is agonising. Iget jealous if he talks about

other women and miss himterribly when he goes away.He doesn’t have a girlfriendand I just can’t stop thinkingabout him. I’m afraid that if Itell him how I feel it will jeop-ardise our close friendship.On the other hand, if I don’tsay anything how will I everknow if he feels any affectionfor me? Should I open up orkeep these feelings to myself?

Ufuoma, by e-mail

Dear Ufuoma,You really don’t have to

throw this man to the groundand swear your undying lovefor him, you know. Feelingscan be displayed withoutgreat declaration. Add a new

element to the friendship youalready have - buy him alovely decoration for his roomfor instance, or a book on oneof his interests, or offer him asmall personal courtesy thatwill make him look at you ina slightly different way. Askhis advise about one of your‘problems’ or about a newhairstyle. Ask him if he’d liketo go to a movie, or some-where off your usual beatenpath. Make a gesture that willplace the ball in his court andgive him a chance to respondin his own way. Remember,most people do not lead theirlives by taking big leaps butsimply by going gently withthe flow.

Dear Bunmi, Because of the type of

friends I keep, and our life-style, I’m in terrible debt. Ihave a thriving business andit’s not that I spend a lot onmyself per se. But I’ve run uphuge debts trying to keep upwith the various aso-ebi Ibought for my friends’ numer-ous social engagements.

As things are, I don’t evenhave my rent which is duesoon and I haven’t got a cluehow I’m going to survive.Thanks to the current powercrisis, my business is also suf-fering.

A lot of my friends know howbad things are but they haverefused to help me when Iasked for financial help fromthem. I was always very gen-erous with them. I can’t be-

I can no longer copewith my friend's lifestyle

lieve they’re being so selfish.Mandy, by e-mail

Dear Mandy, It seems to me as if you’re

very laid-back about money.The good side of that is you’regenerous to your friends. Thebad side is it means you letyour spending get out ofhand. Your friends are obvi-ously much more carefulabout money and don’t in-dulge in every aso-ebi, as youdo and they don’t lend moneyto others. It’s nothing per-sonal, it’s just the way theyare, in the same way asyou’re easy come, easy go.

Don’t feel too bad about yourfriends. Instead, ask them tohelp you learn how to budgetso this situation doesn’t occurin future again.

If you arepregnant, you havethree basic choices:Continue the preg-

nancy and get married,be a single parent or

end the pregnancy nowby having yet another

abortion


“One good thing about music –when it hits you, you feel no pain”-Bob Marley

ON a recent transatlantic flight acommotion started two seats

ahead of mine.The famous American gentleman I’d

greeted on boarding had developeda sudden medical emergency. Thedesert trolley was rushed away and acrowd surrounded his seat.

With calm trepidation, I left my seatto offer assistance.

Two Doctors had responded to thePurser ’s call. One had ordered highdose aspirin and the other a device tocheck blood pressure, neither of whichhad arrived.

Apparently, this celebrity patient,whom, for privacy and confidentiality,I shall call “Mr X”, had complainedof sudden onset left arm pain.

I introduced myself to the physiciansthen offered my US business card tothe patient.

“What is this?” the first Doctorsnapped. “I find this inappropriate tobe giving your card to a man clearlyhaving a heart attack!”

Even if Mr X was having a heartattack, he was alive enough to beaccorded all necessary client protocolbefore thrusting your services on himat the behest of the flight attendant.

Ignoring my respected colleague’scomment, I asked Mr X for hispermission to render my services.

“Thanks for the introduction, Doc.”

Left arm pain

he tapped my card and waved hisheadphones. “I was just listening tosome music when it all started.”

I discovered two painful spots in MrX’s left upper trapezius musclebetween his shoulder and neck.

These are tight nodules called“trigger points”. They form within anaffected muscle causing pain thatradiates away from the source. Triggerpoints are often symptomatic of acommon condition called MyofascialPain Syndrome.

Unable to inject, I chose to massagethe points.

This worsened the pain. Mr Xgroaned.

My displeased colleague, the onewho had ordered the double doseaspirin, whispered in my ear. “You aregoing to kill this man by dislodgingthe clot in his arm!”

“There is no clot in his arm”, Iwhispered back.

He complained to the Purser whosimply ignored him.

Within minutes, to the joyful reliefof the patient, the pain subsided. Irequested extra shoulder support forhis chair and, jokingly, delegated twofemale flight attendants to massagehis arm on a rotating shift. For amoment, the Purser believed me. MrX chuckled.

Over the past 30 years I have hadthe fortune, or misfortune, ofencountering many non-hospitalsituations such as this and evenpublished an article “Fight or flight –

The GoodSamaritan”,in a UKjournal backin 1996. I willoccasionallyshare someof theses o m e t i m e sh u m o r o u s ,s o m e t i m e sc h i l l i n gexperiences

in the life of this Column.(Left) Arm Pain - Can be mild or

unbearable, sudden or chronic (over3 months), from the fingers to theshoulder, may be unilateral orbilateral, can be dull, sharp shooting,constant or episodic.

Causes

Causes can be divided into thosedue to trauma or injury, to

individual behavior and to diseases.An evolving heart attack is the most

dangerous cause of left arm pain.However this is less common, and willlikely be associated with otherfindings.

Trauma includes fractures, nerveinjury, strains and sprains of muscles,ligaments and tendons in the shoulder,arm, elbow, forearm, wrist and hand.

Behavioural causes include stress,posture (sitting or sleeping), somemedications and food. Spicy orpeppery foods can cause gasdistension in the gut which can causeleft arm pain.

Diseases of the bones, muscles,tendons and the nerves themselves

are very common causes. Theseinclude joint arthritis, spondylosis inthe neck, radiculopathy, diabeticneuropathy, tumors in the thoracicoutlet and tendinitis (tennis elbow,golfer ’s elbow/shoulder).

Left arm pain can occur as acomponent of myofascial painsyndrome (Mr X), fibromyalgia orfollowing a stroke.

Often causes are multiple.

Treatment

Treatment of (left) arm pain dependson its cause(s).

Physical therapy (Mr X’s massage)PsychotherapyAcupunctureRelaxation therapy (Mr X)Behavioural therapy (Mr X’s

shoulder support)Drugs - paracetamol, non steroidal

anti-inflammatory drugs, localanaesthetics, and sometimes strongnarcotic pain medicines may beneeded.

Mr X’s had an acute exacerbation ofa chronic problem. Pain medicationmust address both states.

NATURE really does havethe best cures for ill

health in the form of herbs,vegetables and fruits.One particular fruit that doeswonderful things for humanhealth is the cucumber, whichnot only does great things forthe innner body but it isbeneficial for the body'sexterior as well.Apart from being a fruit thatis great to eat, cucumber hasother awesome uses.

NutritiousCucumbers are a great

source of B vitamins. Apartfrom that, they are made ofabout 95 percent water,making them a great fruit tohelp hydrate the body. Whenthe body gets good hydration,it can eliminate toxins, whichis good for the kidneys andliver as well.

With their skin they possessthe most of the amount of dailyvitamins that a body needs, itis a good idea to eat them assnacks.

Anti-carcinogenicCucumbers contain

lariciresinol, pinoresinol, andsecoisolariciresinol; these are

called lignans, and they workin combination to help thebody fight off cancer. So,cucumbers have the ability tohelp fight ovarian cancer,breast cancer, uterine cancerand prostate cancer.

Anti-diabeticCucumbers can also help

with other issues as well.There is a hormone found incucumbers that can help thepancreas produce insulin.Since that is a huge issue withdiabetic patients, cucumbers

potassium, fibre, andmagnesium, they can help aperson regulate their bloodpressure.

Cucumbers are very rich ina vitamin called silica thathelps promote health, becauseit can give strength toconnective tissues such as

EVERYONE gets a sorethroat now and then. Here

are simple remedies that willmake you feel better quicklyand efficiently.Echinacea: This wonderfulherb comes in tea and supple-ment form and has beenproven to work with the sameefficiency and quickness as theover the counter alternatives.You can buy it just about any-where.Sea Salt Water: Many of ushave heard tales of garglingsalt water to improve a sorethroat. It works like a charm!.Gargling salt water can sootheyour throat.Turmeric Tea: Turmeric is anatural healer for a lot of ail-ments, but one thing it doeswell is cure a sore throat. Why?It’s packed full of vitamins thathelp boost the immune systemand cleanses the body.Apple cider vinegar: Add thisto tea with a little bit of honeyand you’ve got a soothing warmdrink that is sure to knock outyour sore throat in a pinch.Steaming: This certainlyhelps. Take a warm shower, sitin the bathroom with the steamin full effect, or do a “steamtent” over a bowl of hot waterto feel the relief.

Eat cucumber for soundness of mind, bodyand soul

have been done that provethat cucumbers are also goodfor digestion, reducescholesterol and controls bloodpressure and even helps withhangovers.

Fibre in cucumbers are veryeffective in ridding the bodyof toxins from the digestive

could bebeneficial

joints. Since that isthe case,

to people who have diabetes.There is also a compound incucumbers that can help lowercholesterol levels, andbecause cucumbers are rich in

cucumberscan help

people whosuffer with

ailments such as arthritis pain,joint pain and gout.

Good for digestionFor weight loss and

digestion, thanks to its lowcalorie and high watercontent, cucumber is an idealdiet for people trying to loseweight. Numerous studies

5 simplesore throatremedies

system, aidingdigestion and

p r e v e n t i n gc h r o n i c

constipation.

Relieves badbreathTake a slice of

cucumber and pressit to the roof of your

mouth with your tonguefor 30 seconds, the

phytochemcials will kill thebacteria responsible forcausing bad breath.

Promotes joint healthPromotes joint health,

relieves gout and arthritispain -Cucumber is anexcellent source of silica,which is known to helppromotes joint health bystrengthening the connectivetissues.

When mixed with carrotjuice, relieves gout andarthritis pain by loweringuric acid.

• Cucumber

BY SOLA OGUNDIPE


08102479985 By Bartholomew Madukwe([email protected])PEOPLE SPEAK

On boy found on airplane's wheel well

Deltacommunitiessuefor peace

I am using this oppor-tunity to appeal to thegovernment of my be-

loved Nigerian to con-sider this innocent boyand find a way to helphim achieve his goal.Maybe this boy has some-thing in his brain that re-quires better facilities tobring out.— Mr. RicksOkororie, Businessman.

I think he should betaken to a psychiatristfor check up. Then if he

is certified to be mentallysound, the governmentought to make the boy be-lieve there is hope in thiscountry by providing himfree education and sup-port till he is able to standalone.— Miss DeborahAwodi, Broadcaster.

WHAT a shame. Alittle boy of thatage could beat

the whole security at theairport? The governmentshould do somethingabout the security of thiscountry. I must say the boymust have been exposedto foreign movies. A lot offoreign movies.— MissChika Dike, Student.

THE boy is a phe-nomenon. He didn’tdie. God has plans

for him, and he also brokeat least Nigerian record.He, truly, is a brave one.I think he deserves anhonour and a good edu-cation. Our governmentwon’t see this act as oneworth harnessing.— Mr.Ig Bond, Businessman.

WOULD anybodybe happy to seethis boy in the

street with gun, shootingpeople and collectingtheir belongings?Please, consider this boyand help him, because hewas looking for a way tosurvive. That’s all.—Miss Glory Moses,Teacher.

DANIEL was reallybrave and coura-geous. He’s a gen-

ius! His name should bewritten in the GuinnessBook of Records. Let theAviation Minister pickhim up and train him. Be-sides, why did the policehold him like a crimi-nal?—Mrs Masodi Mary-Jane, Businesswoman.

UGHELLI—THE peo-ple of Olomu King-

dom, Ughelli South Lo-cal Government Area,Delta State, have agreedto settle all pending dis-putes in the kingdom.

The ReconciliationCommittee of the king-dom, which made thedisclosure in a state-ment, yesterday, recom-mended that all courtcases be withdrawn withimmediate effect.

This was contained ina statement by the Com-mittee’s Chairman, ChiefS a m u e lOboramowhoyere, andSecretary, Chief M.Mukoro.

It also recommendedthat the “Ohworode ofOlomu shall conferchieftaincy titles on de-serving sons, daughtersand non-indigenes ofOlomu Kingdom, recom-mended to him afterscreening and foundcreditable by the screen-ing committee for his in-formation and necessaryaction.

“The sons and daugh-ters to be conferred withchieftaincy title will,prior to the conferment,take date from theOdjenigbonvwan ofOlomu to entertain allthe Olomu chiefs in hiscompound in Olomu.”

The statement addedthat the recommenda-tions are subject to ap-proval at a general meet-ing of Olomu Kingdom tobe held in the house ofthe kingdom’s President-General.

BY FESTUS AHON

Desperadoes threaten Edo APC, saysparty chieftain

BENIN—A Chieftain of AllProgressives Congress,

APC, and former Chairman ofCongress of ProgressiveChange, CPC, in Edo State,Mr. Godwin Erhahon, yester-day, alleged plots by peoplehe described as “desperate”governorship aspirants in thestate to cause division in thenew party.

He warned that if such per-sons do not refrain from suchdestructive activities, theywould never get the supportof the people.

Erhahon, who was reactingto the crisis rocking PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, at thenational level, said: “It is thewill of the Almighty God thatthose that gang up to exploitand mislead the people shallscatter.

“So nobody should expectPDP to come out from this cri-sis no matter how Mr. Fix ittries to fix the problem.”

Noting that APC was waxingstronger in the state, followingits formation, Erhahon said thatthe leadership was doing all itcould to ensure the parties thatmake up the new party get fairshare of the offices.

He said: “We are doing ourground work and we appealto APC supporters from thethree legacy parties to remainunited and not to allow des-perate governorship aspirantsto create rancour and bitter-

ness among us.“Whoever attempts to ex-

clude any member of thelegacy party shall be treated

as one that does not believein the merger and therefore,should expect not to lead themerger party he does not be-lieve in.

“We are happy that Gover-nor Adams Oshiomhole is car-

rying the legacy party along.Those who are trying to un-dercut the governor and theother members of the legacyparty will end up cuttingthemselves out of relevance inAPC.”

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

Ex-militant leaderscall for PPMC boss' sack

EX-MILITANT leaders un-der the aegis of Phase II

Generals have renewed theircall for the removal of the Man-aging Director of the Pipelinesand Product Marketing Com-pany, PPMC, Prince HarunaMomoh, on grounds of ineffi-ciency and for working contraryto President Jonathan's transfor-mation agenda in the petroleumsector.

The ex-militant ‘Generals’ ina statement by its leader “Gen-eral’ Okunbiri J., a.k.a. Forest

Dog, said that the call becamenecessary as PPMC, a sub-sidiary of Nigerian NationalPetroleum Corporation,NNPC, under the manage-ment of Haruna Momoh, hasderailed from its mandate,thereby, shortchanging Nige-rians of regular and adequatesupply of petroleum productsacross the country.

He attributed his ineffi-ciency to what he describedas “undeserved promotion inPPMC,” which did not follow

due process in line with civilservice rules, describing thePPMC MD as an enemy of thepetroleum sector.

He added that his removalwould definitely pave way fora better and efficient PPMC.

Okunbiri maintained thatthere was need for a changeof the management of PPMCto achieve the transformationagenda in the petroleum sec-tor, which is key to the rapiddevelopment of all sectors ofthe country’s economy.

Delta guber aspirant promises poverty eradication

FG tasked on flood-prone Delta communities

DELTA State gubernatorialaspirant on the platform of

Peoples Democratic Party, PDP,Chief Peter Okocha, yesterday,said that his mission in DeltaState was to restore develop-ment through schemes thatwould eradicate poverty andthe creation of the right envi-ronment for businesses to

strive.He added that he would re-

suscitate the life and commu-nal livelihood of the peopleof the state.

In a chat with Vanguard,Okocha said if elected gover-nor of Delta State, his admin-istration will touch on five spe-cial areas, which include 13percent derivation from oil andgas production, roads and wa-

terways system, rail transporta-tion, security and erosion.

He said: “Communities andlocal governments, where oiland gas are explored and ex-ploited suffer so much frompolluted land, water, rivers,swamps, ponds among others.

“As governor, I shall hold theoil companies responsible forcleaning up of oil spills on landand waterways, while thereshall be stakeholders’ participa-tory approach in utilising theserevenues through the restruc-turing of Delta State Oil Produc-ing Areas Development Com-mission, DESOPADEC.

“The development of DeltaState will be boosted throughthe construction of specialisedsystem of rings roads withcompass networks of North-South and East-West Roads tolink rural communities.”

BY GBENGA OKE

YENAGOA—FEDERALGovernment and its agen-

cies have been called upon togive Bayelsa State communi-ties and other flood-pronecommunities in the country

special attention to enablethem mitigate the annualproblem.

Chairman of Bayelsa StatePost Flood Management Com-mittee, Chief FrancisDoukpola, who made the ap-peal at a one-day workshop onFlood Preparedness and Man-

agement in Yenagoa, said“every community in BayelsaState is located either by ariver, creek, canal or ocean,making them vulnerable tothe impact of flood, erosionand landslide.”

He added that the perennialoccurrence had subjected the

BY SAMUELOYADONGHA


Ex-militants give FG ultimatumon unpaid allowances

BY SIMONEBEGBULEM

Group calls on Jonathan's critics to supporttransformation agenda

BY FESTUS AHON

Nigeriansurged toimbibe goodvalues

UGHELLI—NIGER Delta ex-militants Phase II leaders,

yesterday, issued a one monthultimatum to the Special Adviserto the President on Niger DeltaAffairs, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, torelease the unpaid allowances tomembers of the various camps inthe phase or risk another round ofcrisis in the region.

They also raised alarm over non-implementation of the leaders’entrepreneurship training,

lamenting that the amnestyoffice has been sending someof the boys for training withoutnotifying their leaders.

Speaking with newsmen inUghelli, Delta State on behalfof the leaders, ‘General’Owonama Edward and‘General’ Charles Akatakpo,decried the omission of somemembers in the monthlypayments.

He said: “We have beenexperiencing a situation wheresome of the boys will receive

their salaries in a particularmonth and have their namesomitted the next. We areinsisting that the pendingallowances should be paid.”

Reiterating that the leaders ofthe phase II were not beingrecognised and carried alongby the amnesty office, they said:“we the leaders are beingtreated like nuisance by theamnesty office, why? Theyshould work with us on theimplementation of the leaders’entrepreneurship training.”

FORMER vice chairman,Burutu Local Government

area of Delta State, Mr.Sunday Feke, has called onNigerians to imbibe goodvalues for the development ofthe country.

He noted with concern that“Nigerians dwell so much onwrongs and mistakes of thepast, which is a waste of time,energy and resources.”

Represented by Mr OtuAkanyo, while receiving theLegacy of True LeadershipNational Award from AfricaLeadership News Magazine,Merit Award House, Abuja, heopined that there was need torebuild trust and confidence,and see beyond the trial andchallenges of today, which arenormal in development.

BENIN CITY—THENational Business and

Technical ExaminationsBoard, NABTEB, yesterday,released the results of the2013 May/June NationalBusiness Certificate, NBC,and National TechnicalCertificate, NTC,Examinations, disclosing that5,108 candidates weresanctioned for examinationmalpractices.

The Registrar/ChiefExecutive of the Board, DrOlatunde Aworanti called onthe National and stateassemblies to pass laws thatwould ensure theimplementation of modernand well equipped technicalcolleges in all the localgovernment areas in thecountry, with a view to boosttechnical education.

A breakdown of the results,showed that a total of 106,573candidates enrolled for theexamination nationwide but103,753 candidates sat for theexamination.

He added that out of the103,753 that sat for theexamination “28,230representing 27.2 per centobtained credit passes in fivesubjects and above includingMathematics and Englishlanguage.

69-yr-oldwoman asksFHA to refundN74,000housing fund

BY FESTUS AHON of several coaches andconstruction of additionalstandard gauges.

The pilot delivery of

containers of goods from Lagosto the North is salutary after 35years of inactivity of the RailwayCorporation.

BY EGUFEYAFUGBORHI

PORT HARCOURT—AGED Mrs. Beatrice

Oduda has asked the FederalHousing Authority, FHA, torefund the N74,000 shecommitted to the NationalHousing Programme, NHP, 20years ago.

Oduda told Vanguard inPort Harcourt, Rivers Statethat at 69 and grappling withill-health, she has lost hopeof owning a house throughthe NHP and all she wantedwas a refund of her hangingpayment invested in theprogramme.

Explaining her case withreceipts detailing herpayments, Oduda said thatshe had suffered untoldhardship trying to retrieve hercommitment to the housingprogramme.

She said: “In 1994, I saw anewspaper advertisement bythe FHA, asking people toapply. I needed a house, so Iapplied. I paid N74, 000 andgot a receipt with registrationnumber 054002. Since then, Ihave been waiting to see thehouse they promised.

“In November 2012, Itravelled to Abuja to find outwhat was going on. A ladynamed Hauwa assisted me toopen a file, but all I want nowis my money back. I can’t waittill eternity for the NHPassisted home. Let me havemy money now that I am stillalive.”

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

Tracking downbandits istough work— POLICE

ASABA—TRACKINGdown the bandits

involved in the bank raid inIssele-Uku, Delta State,recently, has been a herculeantask for the state policecommand as the intensivemanhunt to apprehend thefleeing thieves has remain amirage.

Speaking with Vanguard,the state Police Public RelationsOfficer, PPRO, Mr. LuckyUyabame, said “no arrest yetbut we are not relenting. Weare still searching for them butas at now, no arrest has beenmade.”

Uyabeme had toldVanguard on the day the raidtook place that “we are trailingthe robbers. We are on theirtrail. We have even trailedthem to Edo State.”

NABTEBreleases 2013May/Juneexams results

VISIT—From left: Mrs Oyemeachi Mrakpor, member, representing Aniocha South LGAof the Delta State House of Assembly; Mrs Roli Nere Uduaghan, Delta State First lady; MrsElizabeth Essien, South-South PDP Zonal woman leader; and Mrs Felicia Adowei, DeltaState PDP women leader during a visit by the South-South PDP women on Mrs Uduahan,wife of the Delta State Governor in Asaba. Photo: Henry Unini.

BY NATH ONOJAKE

Utuama tasks youths onmeaningful ventures

A S A B A — D E P U T YGovernor of Delta State,

Professor Amos Utuama, SAN,has called on youths to channeltheir energies towardmeaningful ventures,especially by being selfemployed rather than engagein criminal activities that willruin their lives.

Professor Utuama spoke atthe opening ceremony of the15th annual conference andsynod of the West PresbyterianYoung Peoples Association ofNigeria/Benin/Togo with thetheme; Triumphant Faith inAsaba.

Represented by Special

Adviser to the Governor onReligious Affairs, Rev.Godspower Agbuduta,commended the organisers ofthe conference, stressing theneed for youth empowerment toenable them not only becomeself reliant but employers oflabour.

"The youth empowermentscheme of the PresbyterianChurch is timely", he said,adding that it would enableyouths to receive empowermentthat will help them break newgrounds and attain selfactualisation.

The moderator, Synod of theWest, Rev. Nnanna Odege,urged the youths to remainfocused.

CMYK

UGHELLI—NATIONALCoordinator of Campaign for

Good Governance, Prince ObaroUnuafe, yesterday, expressedworry over the spate of criticisms,President Goodluck Jonathan’spolicies are subjected, appealingto Nigerians to allow him to carryout his transformational agenda.

Unuafe in a statement, said: “theCampaign for Good Governanceis worried about critics ofJonathan’s policies and wishes tonote that these outbursts are borneout of sheer personal malice or adesire to play politics with thecollective destiny of Nigerians.

“It is easy to see some remarkableachievements of the Jonathan’sadministration. The plannedprivatisation of Power HoldingCompany of Nigeria, PHCN, andthe successful bidding by severaldistribution companies (DISCOS)and other generation companies(GENCOS) is revolutionary asNigeria is set to repeat the feat ofthe telecommunication industry.

“The railway sector has alsoreceived a boost with the delivery


BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

Imo abortion law evil, says Anglican Bishop

LAP, Anambragovt to holdsummiton values

BY CHARLES KUMOLU

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

BY BARTHOLOMEWMADUKWE

NEIGHBOURHOOD CRIMINALS:Imo Police slam LG chiefs, monarchs

....As SANs back Okorocha on new law

Former VC seeks additionalstate for S-East

OWERRI—THE palpableanger generated by the

abortion law in Imo State isgrowing by the day as theBishop of the Anglican Dio-cese of Egbu, Rt. Rev.Geoffrey Okorafor, has con-demned the law as extremelyevil.

The Anglican cleric, who

AWKA—IN an effort tore-order societal val-

ues and ethics to createthe enabling environmentfor businesses to thrive,League of Anambra Profes-sionals, LAP, is organisinga parley to bring issues tothe front burner.

The summit, whichcomes with the partnershipof Anambra State Govern-ment in Awka, will featureAviation Minister, PrincessStella Oduah, as speaker.

Other guests includeGovernor Peter Obi, whowould be the chief host; DrEmmanuel Egbogah,former Presidential Adviseron Petroleum Matters; DrJoseph Ikem Odumodu,DG, Standards Organisa-tion of Nigeria; Prof.Boniface Egboka, VC,Nnamdi Azikiwe Univer-sity, Awka; Mrs. NgoziMelifeonwu, Chairman,Anambra State Civil Serv-ice Commission; Dr IfeanyiOkoye, MD, Juhel NigeriaLtd and Chief OsitaChidoka, Corps Marshal,Federal Road Safety Com-mission.

LAP President, Mr.Chike Nwegbe, who dis-closed this at a briefing inLagos, said: ‘’The LAP2013 Summit aims to re-store and endear coresocietal values withoutwhich investors cannot putdown their money, andemployment and produc-tivity cannot improve pov-erty, and the best of thestate’s human resourceskeeps migrating to otherparts of the country, leav-ing behind the weakestmembers of society todrive the developmentand governance.

OWERRI—IMO State Police Command has lashed

out at traditional rulers, soleadministrators of local councilsareas and religious leaders forfailing to report the activitiesof neighborhood criminals tothe police.

The Police Public RelationsOfficer, PPRO, Mrs. JoyElemoko, a deputy superin-tendent of police, DSP, madethe command’s position knownduring a press briefing inOwerri.

“A a well known criminal,Chizuru, alias Point One, in-volved in the kidnap of UgoezeJoy Nwaokeke, is living andmoving freely in the locality,even when he had been de-clared wanted by the police,”the PPRO said.

Mrs. Elemoko recalled withgrief that despite adequate in-formation on Emeka Osueke,alias Ogbanje, the suspect stillsneaked into Umunoha,Mbaitoli local governmentarea of the state and nobodycared to alert the police.

“Emeka Osueke, who wasinvolved in the kidnap andgruesome murder ofthe Managing Director ofNaija Plaza Hotel, Oguta,sneaked into Umunoha,

U M U A H I A —FORMER Vice Chancel-

lor of Abia State University,Uturu, Professor Samuel Igwe,has called on the National As-sembly to invoke the doctrine ofnecessity to create an additionalstate for the South East Zone asconstitutional procedure toachieve same was too cumber-some.

Giving a lecture in Umuahia tomark the 22nd Abia State anni-versary celebration, Igwe saidsince creation of new statesthrough constitution review hadbecome extremely difficult, thelawmakers should use the prin-ciple of doctrine of necessity togive the South East zone anotherstate to bridge the imbalance in

L AGOS—FOLLOWINGGovernor Rochas Okorocha’s

signing into law last week ofAbortion Bill passed by the StateHouse of Assembly, Professor ItseSagay, SAN, and Chief EmekaNgige, SAN, yesterday threw theirweight behind Imo State Govern-ment’s decision, despite opposi-tion from people of the state.

However, some lawyers kickedagainst the abortion law, saying itwas against the Christian faith,especially as it would encouragetrafficking of human embryos.

Sagay, a professor of law andhuman rights activist, held that

where he planned to launchfurther attacks on innocent citi-zens but for the timely inter-vention of the police. His lat-est victim would have been oneMrs. Uche Ejiogu.”

On the upsurge of criminalactivities in parts of the state,

Elemoko said: “Ohaji area ofthe state is now on a circle ofred alert, having been identi-fied as a den of criminal ele-ments responsible for thespate of armed robbery attackson innocent citizens.

“This prompted the Commis-

sioner of Police to invite allroyal fathers and other highlyplaced individuals for a stra-tegic meeting. Earlier in anoperation tagged Puff Adder,six notorious hoodlums werearrested. This operation ison-going.”

made his view known whilereacting to the controversiallaw, said the legislation, as faras the church was concerned,was a sin against God.

He opined that from the man-ner the law was coined by thelawmakers and signed by Gov-ernor Rochas Okorocha’s ad-ministration was a clear indi-cation that the government waspromoting and legalizing pros-titution.

“Imo State is entirely a Chris-tian state. The governor and

the legislature must guardagainst betraying the confi-dence the people reposed inthem,” Bishop Okoraforwarned.

Meanwhile, as the contro-versy surrounding the abor-tion law rages in Imo, theCatholic Archbishop of OwerriEcclesiastical Province, HisGrace, Dr. Anthony J. V.Obinna, said he had nothingpersonal against GovernorOkorocha but said he wouldbattle the governor against

bad policies.“It is not true that I am per-

sonally opposed to GovernorRochas Okorocha. Thechurch is only bent on oppos-ing bad policies,” ArchbishopObinna said.

He recalled that the churchhad always taken toughstance against past adminis-trations, including militarygovernments, each time theycame out with anti-peoplepolicies and programmes.

the legalization of abortion in ImoState was for the best.

His words: “Right now, is thereno abortion in Nigeria, even whenthere is no law that is providingsome exceptions as Imo State lawis trying to do? I think the legali-zation of abortion is for the best.

“The criticism shows either lackof thinking or lack of humanity.The law is very clear, you are onlyentitled to abortion when the per-son is raped and when the per-son is assaulted, when the per-son’s life is endangered if she isgoing to bear the child.”

A member of the Body ofBenchers, Chief Emeka Ngige,SAN, noted that legalizing abor-tion was neither here nor there,

since in recent time, nobody hadbeen charged to court for pro-curing or abetting the procure-ment of abortion.

He said: “I cannot recall in re-cent time when any person hasbeen charged to court for pro-curing or abetting the procure-ment of abortion. To that extent,the law has been moribund. Sothe repeal of that moribund lawmakes no difference.

“In other climes, the lawagainst procurement of abortionhas been amended to allow pro-curement when the life of themother is threatened. So in ef-fect, Imo State Government didno wrong in its repeal of thelaw.”

BY ANAYO OKOLI the number of states in each ofthe nation’s geographical zones.

“There are six geo-politicalzones. Four have six states; onehas seven while the South Easthas five. Don’t forget that ournational revenue is shared on thebasis of states and local govern-ments which leave the South Eastreceiving the least. That is notright.

“All we are saying is why don’tyou (Legislators) invoke the lawof necessity and create one addi-tional state in the South East, atleast, for purposes of equity andfairness.

“Since the unfortunate civil warended, we were told the sloganwas no victor, no vanquished. Letthem put it into practice,” Prof.Igwe said.

FACILITY TOUR: From leftt: Sales Manager, Mr. Odusile Olufemi; Sales Director, Mr.Felix Aighobah and Packaging Manager, Mr. Sola Aladelo, all of Euro Global Foods andDistilleries Limited, during a media facility tour of the firm, at Ota, Ogun State, yesterday.Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

CMYK


SUMMIT: From left, Mr. Ezewele Edward, Executive Director; Mr. OsamedeUmweni, MD/CEO, and Mr. Olowookere Gbolahan, Executive Director, allof 70th Precinct Ltd, during their courtesy visit to Vanguard Media Ltd, inLagos, yesterday, on its APPS Summit scheduled for November 5, in Lagos.Photo: Biodun Ogunleye

BRIEFING: From left, Mr. Martin Mabuto, General Manager, Marketing andSales, MultiChoice Nigeria; Miss Beverly Osu, Mr. Melvin Oduha, Big BrotherAfrica Housemate, representing Nigeria and Mr. Obinna Aniche, GeneralManager, Brands Airtel Nigeria Limited, during press briefing/reception inhonour of ex-Big Brother Afica Season 8 participant, tagged "The Chase" byMultchioce Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria Limited, at Protea Hotel, Victoria Is-land, Lagos. Photo: KEHINDE GBADAMOSI

MEETING: From left, Deputy President, National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE,Ekiti State Chapter, Mr. Oluwaseyi Olatunde; President, NULGE, Ekiti State, Mr. Bunmi Ajimoko;Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Prof. Modupe Adelabu; Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi,and state NULGE Secretary, Mr. Adebayo Victor, during a stakeholders' meeting inside the Gov-ernor's Ofice, in Ado-Ekiti.

VISIT: From left, Dr.Taofik Folami, Special Adviser on the Environment; Mr. LateefIbirogba, Commissioner for Information and Strategy; Hon. Abiodun Mafe, Chairman,Mosan-Okunola Local Council Development Area; Mr. Tunji Bello, Commissioner forEnvironment, and others, during the Commissioner for Environment's visit to Aboru-Arigbanla Blocked Carnal, at NNPC Pipeline, Mosan Road, Abesan Estate, in Mosan-Okunola LCDA, for Monthly Environmental Sanitation, in Lagos. Photo: Bunmi Azeez

PROGRAMME: Cross section of the Lagos EmpowermentAnd Resource Network students, L.E.A.R.N, at a Skill Ac-quisition Training class, weekend, as part of the on-goingFree Summer School Programme for Children organ-ised by L.E.A.R.N, the non-profit organisation of the FirstLady of Lagos State, Dame Emmanuella AbimbolaFashola.

TRAINING: From left, Deputy Director, Directorateof Food Safety Evaluation, Mrs. Sylvia Ajoku; Di-rector, Food Safety Applied Nutrition Directorate,Mrs. Ogo Mainasara and Manager, African GrowthOpportunity, AGOA, Mrs. Ogor Ifeoma, during the40th monthly training programme of AGOA, at thetraining centre of Bank of Industry, Marina, La-gos.

CONFERENCE: From left, Mrs. Poet DeborahMagbegor, President, World Express Design; ChiefBeatrice Ubeku, Country Focal Person of West AfricanWomen Association, WAWA, in Nigeria, and CEO/Founder, Women Care Association of Nigeria, and Dr.Henry Boyo, Head of Physics Department, University ofLagos, during WAWA's First International Conference2013 and Exhibition and Workshop, at ECOWAS Secre-tariat, Onikan, Lagos. Photo: Bunmi Azeez

WORKSHOP: From left, Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. SamuelOrtom; Director General, Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON, Dr. Joseph Odumodu; Gen-eral Manager, Lagos State building Control Agency, Mr. Abimbola Animashaun; and President,Building Collapse Prevention Guild, Kunle Awobodu, during SON Sensitisation Workshop onsandcrete blocks manufacturing and allied products, in Lagos.

VISIT: From left, Jess Castellote of Pan Atlantic University; MD/CEO, HeritageBanking Company Limited, Ifie Sekibo; Vice Chancellor, Pan-Atlantic Univer-sity, Prof. Juan Elegido, and Executive Director, Enterprise/Institutional Bank-ing, Heritage Bank, Robert Mbonu, during a courtesy visit by officials of theuniversity to Heritage Banking Company Limited Head Office, in Lagos.


PDP crisis, divine intervention— CNPP

Lagos guberaspirantmakes casefor Jonathan'ssecond term

BauchiAssemblywants twocontractorsblacklisted

Shettima swears-in Acting Grand Khadi of Borno

Suleimanempowerswidows inOwhelogboLG

BRIEFING—Executive Chairman, Plateau Independent Electoral Commission,PIEC, Mr Peter Dalyop (M), briefing newsmen on the election time table for Plateau LocalGovernment Elections in Jos, yesterday. With him are commissioners of PIEC, Mr IliyaShanding (L) and Mrs Mariya Isa. Photo: NAN.

LAGOS—A PEOPLESDemocratic Party, PDP,

governorship hopeful in La-gos State, Mr Owolabi Salis,has advised the party to al-low President GoodluckJonathan contest the 2015presidential election underits platform, saying Jonathangoing for a second term willperfect the nation's democ-racy and diversity as a na-tion.

Salis, who was supposedto contest for the NationalPublicity Secretary of theparty at the Special NationalConvention in Abuja beforethe election was suspended,gave this advice at a pressbriefing on the fallout of theconvention, yesterday, inLagos.

Salis said: Jonathan is theleader of our great party andthe President/Commander-in-Chief of the ArmedForces. Therefore, since heis eligible to contest, theparty should allow him with-out any dissent. It is not aconsensus of Nigerians thatpower must shift elsewhere.You cannot enforce an agree-ment with the head of an in-stitution.

"Jonathan is the head ofPDP. Rotational democracy,as being canvassed by otherstakeholders in the Nigerianpolity, is undemocratic anddoes not bring value. WhatI think that we should do toreform our democratic sys-tem is to entrench diversity-based democracy. It willbring equity, curb electoralfraud and stop ethnic andreligious crisis.”

On the crisis in the partyand fallout of the special na-tional convention, Salis said:“The crisis in our party, thePDP, can be likened to arevolution taking place inthe party, which I think willeventually shape the party."

ISOKO—AYEBO ofIyede kingdom,

Isoko North Local Gov-ernment Area of DeltaState, Chief FeliciaSuleiman, has kick-started an empowermentscheme for widows inOwhelogbo area of thelocal government.

According to Suleiman,the desire to embark onthe empowermentscheme for widows wasborne out of her desire tohelp humanity.

She said the choice ofwidows as the targetgroup is because this setof women who lost theirbread winners were pass-ing through hard timesand the least she coulddo was to put smiles ontheir faces.

"In Isoko where I comefrom, it is mandatory forhusbands to buy clothesfor their wives, but sincethe husbands are nomore, somebody muststand in the gap", shesaid.

BY PETER DURU

MAKURDI— THE Conference of Nigerian Po-

litical Parties, CNPP, has de-scribed the crisis rocking theruling People’s DemocraticParty, PDP, “as God’s divine in-tervention to liberate the ordi-nary Nigerian from years of dep-rivation, repression andmaladministration by a classthat has held Nigerians cap-tive.”

The Benue State chairman ofCNPP, Baba Agan, who spoketo Vanguard, yesterday, inMakurdi, the Benue State capi-tal, said “what we are seeing inthe acclaimed biggest party inAfrica is a clear indication thatit is only God that rules in theaffairs of men. Nigerians aresuffering in the midst of plentyand those ruling us have nottaken it upon themselves to as-siduously address these painsthe people are living with.

"We daily hear of so muchmoney coming into the country,yet it has not translated to a bet-

ter condition of living for theordinary man in the streetsand you think God is happy?

"We are not saying thatthose leading the revoltwithin the party are betterbut the laud celebration thatgreeted their action from Ni-gerians clearly shows thatthe people are happy withthe steps they have taken.

”Nigerians are goingthrough suffocating hard-ship and our leaders are liv-ing in affluence without re-gards for the feelings of thepeople, but with this devel-opment there could be res-pite at the end of the day.

"You must understand thatif those at the helm of affairsare doing well, majority ofNigerians would havekicked against the revoltwithin the party; but that isnot the case at the moment;look at what is happeningin Rivers and Taraba statesand elsewhere and you’llbegin to ask yourself some

basic questions. I recall viv-idly that there was a time abarrel of crude oil sold at theinternational market for aslow as $20 and Nigeriansnever faced the kind of hard-ship they are confronted withtoday.

”It clearly shows that thethose at the helm of affairsand currently in control ofthe PDP have lost touch withthe people and fully legal-ized corruption in Nigeriaand by so doing made us amockery before the interna-tional community. I urge ourleaders to visit aneigbouring countries likeGhana which was severalyears behind Nigeria interms of development. Butgo there today and you willlament our situation in thiscountry, all because of badleadership and they thinkthat God will not hear the cryof the masses. The truth isthat the end of PDP has fi-nally come.”

BY NDAHI MARAMA

M A I D U G U R I —ABUBAKAR Imam

has been sworn-in as the Act-ing Grand Khadi of Borno Stateby Governor Kashim Shettima,in line with the 1999 constitu-tional provision.

The provision stipulates thatthe most senior Khadi be ap-pointed when a vacancy exists

before a substantive GrandKhadi is finally appointed.

Speaking, GovernorShettima reiterated the sig-nificance of Sharia to thepeople of the state and urgedthe Acting Grand Khadi tobe fair and just in the execu-tion of his assignments.

He commended KhadiAbubakar Imam for the wayhe had been doing his duty

in the past and assured ofthe maximum cooperation ofhis administration in ensur-ing that justice was accessi-ble to all.

According to him, “Imight be your Governor butbe fair with anything to dowith me without regard tomy position. Borno is nowthe land of Emergingpeace”, he said and advo-

cated equal treatment to all ir-respective of their religiousbeliefs.”

On his part, the Chief Judgeof Borno, Justice KashimZanna, said the appointmentof Khadi Abubakar Imam as theActing Grand Khadi was a con-stitutional requirement undersection 276 (4), adding thatSharia was important to thepeople.

BY SUZAN EDEH

B A U C H I — T H EBauchi State

House of Assembly hasasked the state govern-ment to blacklist ChinaZhangou and Sino RichField construction compa-nies for allegedly failingto execute projects givento them in the state asspecified.

The House gave the di-rective, yesterday, whileaccepting a report of theSpecial Committee con-stituted to investigate thecause of delay in the ex-ecution of on-goingprojects in the state.

A report submitted bythe Chairman of the com-mittee, Alhaji BokojiAliyu Bobo, said the pay-ments made to the con-struction firms were morethan the approved mobi-lization requirements.

According to the Chair-man, “we noticed thatthere was lack of capac-ity and commitment inthe execution of theprojects. Apart from thefact that all the projectswere not properly ex-ecuted, the constructionfirms were paid morethan the approvedamount”.

CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE

We heartily rejoice with our patriots and eminent Nigerians led by former Vice President Atiku AbubakarGCON, and the Governors of Kano State, Alhaji Rabiu Kwankwaso, Aliyu Wammako, (Sokoto), Murtala

Nyako (Adamawa), Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Muazu Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Abdul Fattah Ahmed (kwara), andChibuike Amaechi (Rivers), for the bold, swift and courageous step to reposition the People’s Democratic

Party under a new leadership.

We congratulate the new chairman, Alhaji Abdulahi Kawu Baraje, the Deputy Chairman, Dr Sam Sam Jaja,National secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinola and other members of the National Executive Committee for

their emergence as leaders of our great party.

By this decision that no doubt provides a soothing balm that will calm frail nerves in the party, you havewritten your names in gold and will be remembered in our political history as men that stood to save the

party and Nigeria's democracy.

We therefore, pledge our unfettered loyalty to the Barage led PDP National Executive.

Alh Abdulahi Kawu BarajeNational Chairman

Dr. Sam Sam JajaDeputy Chairman

Prince Olagunsoye OyinolaNational secretary

SIGNED:1. Sen. Bello Hayatu Gwarzo2. Sen. Mohammed Ali Ndume3. Sen. Ahmad Zannah4. Sen. Abdulahi Adamu5. Sen. Abdulahi Danladi Sankara6. Sen. Abdulmumini Mohammed Hassan7. Sen. Umaru Dahiru8. Sen. Ahmed Mohammed Maccido9. Sen. Muhammad Shaaba Lafiaji10. Sen. Simeon Sule Ajibola11. Sen. Abubakar Bukola Saraki

12. Sen. Magnus Ngei Abe13. Sen. Wilson Asinobi Ake14. Sen. Danjuma Mohammed Goje15. Sen. Saidu Ahmed Alkali16. Sen. Ahmed Hassan Barata17. Sen. Bindowo Umar Mohammed Jibrilla18. Sen. Aisha Jummai Alhassan19. Sen. Ibrahim Abdulahi Gobir20. Sen. Bashir Garba Mohammad.21. Sen. Abdulaziz Usman22. Sen. Isa Galaudu



IF those that wanted tosnuff life out of the

philanthropic and amiablepopular transporter andChairman of Young Shall GrowMotors, Chief Vincent Obian-odo, had succeeded, his lastwords on earth could havebeen the wild exclamationwhich he uttered as soon asthe hoodlums started firingvolleys of bullets into his car,penultimate Tuesday.

Sources said the armed po-lice Inspector who was in frontof the vehicle he was driving,a Lexus SUV, revealed that assoon as the gun-totting hood-lums blocked the Chief ’s carwith theirs and started pump-ing bullets into it, bewilderedChief Obianodo who was ear-lier trying to dim his vehiclelight for them to have easypassage exclaimed loudly inIgbo language; ‘DikeAnaaaaa’ (The great man isgone).

Sources said that after hewas hit on the left shoulder,the transport magnet laid flaton the steering wheel as bul-lets were flying left, right andcentre. That cry seemed tohave spurred Inspector of Po-lice Simon Ogbueshi, who wassitting in front of his vehicleto action as he quickly react-ed by releasing volleys of bul-lets from his own weapon to-wards their attackers.

Savinggrace

A police source said the In-spector of Police is attached toB.OPs, Patrol and Guard at theLagos State Police command,Ikeja and has been workingwith Chief Obianodo for twoyears, as a guard. The sourcewho described the action of theInspector as ‘the only savinggrace ‘ said as soon as the ban-dits blocked Chief ’s car withtheir own, they came out fir-

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN (left) with Chairman/ Chief Executive Officer ofYoung Shall Grow Motors Limited, Chief Vincent Obianodo, who is recuperating after the attack byunknown gunmen.

How Young Shall Grow boss

•Fingers point at popular auto-dealer in Lagos•The police officer that saved his life•What could have been the chief’s last words•Family wants transfer of investigation from Festac police

By IFEANYI OKOLIEand UJU MBANUSI

A similar but different ball

•Slain CP Chinwike Asadu

IN March 2, 2013, a similarscenario played out in the

coal city of Enugu after whichthe visiting Commissioner ofPolice, Kwara State, Mr.Chinwike Asadu was brutallymowed down..

The approach of his attackerswas significantly similar to thatof those that attempted to killChief Obianodo last week inLagos. Late Cp Asadu was onthe wheel together with threearmed police officers. He wasapproaching his residencewhen the gun-totting hoodlumsblocked his car with theirs,approached and dragged himout of the car before noticing thatthe policeman at the back of the

•CP Umaru Manko - time for

car was carrying an AK47 rifle.Infuriated by the sight of dan-ger, they subsequently opened

their bullets, and subsequentlythe Inspector engaged thehoodlums in serious exchangeof fire. After sometime, he pre-tended as if he was dead andjust laid on top of the chief.At that stage, one of the attack-ers came out from their vehi-cle and approached that ofchief with a view to finishingwhat they started, not know-ing that the Inspector was

car, his legs slipped and he fellinto a ditch.

“The ditch is so deep that itswallowed both the Inspectorand his gun. While inside theditch, he was still making fran-tic efforts to accomplish hismission while the attackersconcentrated on firing at boththe Chief ’s car and his backup pick up security van occu-pied by two other policemenand Chief ’s driver. Unfortu-nately, they succeeded in kill-ing the police constable in thebackup car and the driver be-fore the Inspector managedand raised himself from theditch and also released anoth-er round of bullets into theirvehicle thereby shattering theback windscreen.

That was why the attackersquickly jumped into their carand sped off. It is believed thatsome of them might have beenbadly injured after the ex-change of fire and could nothave gone far if the chief ’s se-curity aides had received backup from the police.

“The Police from Festac di-vision only approached thescene of the shooting afterthey saw the Inspector in uni-form coming out from the

ditch. They were then showntwo of the attackers who weregunned down with theirheavily loaded weapons. Sixloaded magazines were seeninside the bag of the first deadsuspect. Interestingly, whilepolicemen were still goingthrough the contents of hisbag, his phone started ringingstridently. It was also recov-

ered by the police. The braveInspector who has served theforce in different states of thefederation for over 32 years isfrom Udenu L.G.A in EnuguState and is married with twochildren. Luckily, he had onlya sprain on the leg after thedeadly encounter.”

Investigations carried out byCrime Alert revealed that the,

,ing towards the two cars in theconvoy.

According to him, “That ex-clamation from the chiefmoved the police Inspectorand he quickly used his bodyto act as a protective shieldagainst that of Chief Obian-odo. He said he took that riskbecause he could not think ofallowing the transporter to bekilled like a chicken. That waswhy he covered the chief whohad already collapsed on thesteering after he was hit by

closing in on him. As soon ashe approached their car, thegallant Inspector releasedseveral shots into his largeframe and he laid dead,clutching his AK 49 fully load-ed gun. His gang membershowever, tried to sustain thefiring and at that stage, the In-spector devised a new strate-gy. He tried to quickly slipout of the car, aim at their driv-er and demobilize their vehi-cle. Unfortunately, as he wasdiscreetly stepping out of the

Investigations carried out by Crime Alertrevealed that the first attacker that wasgunned down is a popular auto dealer atAmuwo odofin area of Lagos State and isreputed to be seen frequently in police cir-cles in the area

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2013 —43

was attacked

ame in Enugu

re thereby killing the Cp instant-before spraying bullet shots ate armed policemen at the backthe car. His guards miraculous-survived the attack after sustain-g varying degrees of injuries.The only difference however, isat while the security aide withe CP waited for the attackers toreak havoc before attempting to

ave his own life in spite of hisantage position, that of Chiefbianodo, Inspector Simon Og-

ueshi, exhibited exceptional brav-y by, not only protecting his bossith his frame, but reacted sharp-and shot dead, one of the attack-s that was approaching, armedith an AK49, to finish the job oflling his boss.

first attacker that was gunneddown is a popular auto dealerat Amuwo odofin area of La-gos State and is reputed to beseen frequently in police cir-cles in the area.

Close associates of thewounded Chief intimatedCrime Alert that he was flownout of the country last Mon-day in an air ambulance toUSA. The Chief was reportedto have asked his aides afterhe recovered from the shockin a private hospital in Apa-pa, “why did they want to killa man like me that is feedingnot less than 10,000.00 Nige-rians?

Would they be able to feedall these people?” The asso-ciates also disclosed that a topOba in Lagos State presently

holidaying in London, playedpositive role in flying ChiefObianodo out of the countryfor better medical attention.

They also said that the tra-ditional ruler was shockedwhen he learnt of the allegedrole played by the police inFestac, both during and afterthe incident, and promised totake it up with police authori-ties .

According to one of his as-sociates, “we pleaded passion-ately with the respected Obato help us and transfer thecase out from Festac becausewe have no confidence in get-ting justice there.

Crackingof the case

We know that the commis-sioner of Police is a no-non-sense officer and he is notaware of the goings on in Fes-tac police area, so we pleadedwith the Oba to intervene onour behalf and we know thatCP Manko, going by his trackrecords, must crack this casein no distant time, if taken outfrom Festac.”

Meanwhile, Crime Alertgathered from Police sourcesthat Lagos State Police boss,Umaru Manko has given thepolice in Festac matching or-ders to round up perpetratorsof the act or face sanctions.

Sources said he assured allconcerned that there will be nohidden agenda and nobodyhas the power to cover up any-thing in the case.

A 32-year-old herbalist,Okula Bamiwola and one

commercial motorcyclist (popu-larly called Okada rider),Whenayon Kikisuhu, 28, havebeen arraigned before anEbute-Metta Chief MagistrateCourt, Lagos, on a four-countcharge of kidnapping, stealing,and conspiracy.

The accused persons chargedby men of State Criminal Inves-tigations Department, Panti,Yaba, Lagos, were said to beresidents of Tande area of Ajara,Badagry, Lagos, and Idojori,

Herbalist, Okada rider dockedfor Kidnapping

Ago-Shasha, in Ipokia LocalGovernment Area, Ogun State.Crime Alert gathered that thealleged offense was committedon July 16, 2013, at about 2pmin Badagry, when one TimothyWuse, 27, was contacted by theaccused persons for hiring ofhis motorcycle. The story tooka different dimension whenWuse’s whereabouts could notbe ascertained after the deal.

According to the prosecutor,Inspector Clement Okuoimose,the accused persons are alsofacing charges relating towitchcraft and juju, adding“when Wuse and his motorcy-cle could not be seen or traced,leading to the notion that the

two accused persons might havekidnapped him, the case wasreported to the police atBadagry division, before it wastransferred to SCID for investi-gation.”

The prosecutor said the al-leged offenses committed by thetwo accused persons contra-vened Sections 130, 269, 285and 409 of the Criminal Law ofLagos state of Nigeria, 2011.However, when the plea of theaccused persons was taken,they pleaded not guilty to all theoffenses. The presiding magis-trate, Mr. O. O. Olatunji, sub-sequently granted them bail inthe sum of N100, 000, with twosureties in the same like sum.

The matter was adjourned tillSeptember 25, for mention.

Tension high in Nsukka asgunmen kill Hausa indigene

TENSION was high at the Universitytown of Nsukka, last Sunday, following

the wicked killing of an Hausa man, AminuMohammed by two gunmen. Crime Alertgathered that the two armed men simplyidentified as Emeka Nnamani (a.k.a Catiga)and Ifeanyi Okorie (a.k.a One Window), stillat large, had walked into the shop of oneDauda Umaru who was a battery phonecharger.

They reportedly demanded to take theirphone which was being charged but thedeceased did not allow them. He pleadedwith them to wait for the shop owner,Umaru, to come back to give them theirphone. It was learnt that the two gunmenignored his pleadings, shot him on the headand threatened to shoot any person whoventured to accost them. The two shotsporadically into the air while fleeing thescene.

By CHINENYEH OZOR, Nsukka The incident took place along the popularslaughter road, Nsukka where the shop owner,Umaru, is suspected to be dealing also on Indianhemp. The victim, Aminu Mohammed wasrushed to Bishop Shanahan Hospital, Nsukkawhere he was confirmed dead.

Meanwhile, a spokesman of the HausaCommunity in Nsukka, Alhaji Azaga describedthe incident as strange, saying that Hausapeople have been enjoying peaceful co-exist-ence in the annals of history of the Communityin Nsukka spanning over 30years.

According to him, “The killing of AminuMohammed is very unfortunate; he was a victimof circumstance. I plead with my people not totake laws into their hands but to allow Police tocarry out a full scale investigation into theincident and persecute the killers of the victim.

Enugu State Police Public Relations Officer,Ebere Amarizu said the Police has commenceda full-scale investigation into the incident whilemanhunt on the fleeing suspects has beenintensified.

PHOTO SPEAK(L-R) Dr Henry

C.Lee, ProfessorBabajide Alo,DVC, Academicand Research,University ofLagos, CP TundeOgunsa-kin of theSpecial Fraud Unit(SFU), represent-ing Sir MikeOkiro, ChairmanPolice ServiceCommission on a5-Day ForensicWorkshoporganised byUniversity ofLagos inconjunction withNEBRASKAInstitute ofForensic Sciences,USA and INQABABIOTIC, SouthAfrica

•The ditch along 3rd avenue junction where the Police In-spector slipped into during the firing.

By BARTHOLOMEWMADUKWE & MICHAEL

NWOPOKE

44—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2013

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

MANY had lookedforward with

expectation to the possibleclash between Senator ChrisNgige and his predecessor inthe Senate, Senator AnnieOkonkwo in the APCprimaries.

However, just three or soweeks to the primaries donelast Monday, SenatorOkonkwo stepped down fromthe contest and took upposition as the chief campaignmanager for the Ngigecampaign.

On why he decided to takethe position, SenatorOkonkwo who is also the

BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE

Why I steppeddown for Ngige— Okonkwo

Deputy National Chairman ofthe APC said: “I am theDeputy National Chairman ofthe party in charge ofsouthern Nigeria. What thatmeans is that my jurisdictioncovers about 18 states and ofcourse we are laying thefoundation of APC. It wasreally difficult as a party man,the man at the helm of affairsto leave it and come to governthe state.”

“It is all about service. Iconsidered that my position inthe national hierarchy of APCwould serve our people betterin terms of structuring theparty which is better thancoming to Anambra Statewhich is just one of the states

I control. So, I decided tosupport a candidate whom Ibelieve if we can all give oursupport, will transformAnambra State. That is why I

decided to lead the campaignof Senator Chris Ngige, tomake sure that Anambra statewill become the first state Iwill deliver to APC beforeother states will follow.”

•Okonkwo: I am satisfied for now

A NON-GOVERNMENTAL

Organisation, Conference ofNigeria Registered Voters,CNRV is threatening tomobilize the public againstthe candidates of the APC,Senator Chris Ngige andAPGA, Mr. Willy Obiano onthe allegation that both menemerged through allegedlyfraudulent primaries.

The group in a statementissued by its nationalchairman, Barrister JezieEkejiuba said the two menwere imposed on their partymembers by godfathers in theparty.

Ekejiuba was, however,quiet on the emergence of thecandidates of the two othermajor parties, PDP and LP,Comrade Tony Nwoye andChief Ifeanyi Ubarespectively.

“APC manipulated theprimaries result with pre-written results by the APCleadership to fulfill the APCformalities,” he said in astatement yesterday.

“This is the secondimposition. The firstimposition was by APGA thatmanipulated its primaries toimpose Willy Obiano.Conference of Nigeriaregistered voters (CNRV) willmobilise registered voters toreject both APC candidatesenator Chris Ngige andAPGA candidate Mr. WillyObiano,” he said.

Groupmobilizesagainst Ngige,Obiano

THE erstwhile factionalchairman of APGA, Chief

Maxi Okwu surprisedpolitical watchers in AnambraState when he announced inAwka that Dr. Chike Obidigbo,one of the party ’sgovernorship aspirants whocould not make it at thescreening level is thecandidate of the party for theNovember 16 election.

The event took place at ahotel in Awka and manyloyalists of Obidigbo, anindustrialist, were presentduring the presentation.

Mazi Okwu's wonder in APGA!Okwu said the special

congress to elect thegovernorship candidate wasin line with Sec 11(11:4) ofthe party’s constitution andcode of conduct.

There was no officialreaction by APGA at presstime, but some of the memberswho were aware of thedevelopment dismissed itwith the wave of the hand.

However, Chief Chris Eze,who was secretary of thecommittee that screenedObidigbo pointed out thatafter a careful and criticalappraisal, he (Obidigbo) came

out tops. According to him, it is not

proper to sacrifice such highcaliber personality on thealter of sentiments..

The aspirant went ahead topoll 452 votes and was sodeclared elected as thecandidate of the party.

FOLLOWING the recentreport that a former

governorship aspirant of AllProgressives Grand Alliance,APGA, Prince Chinedu Idigohas transferred his structureto the party ’s candidate,Chief Willy Obiano, anorganization that calles itselfthe APGA Integrity Forum,AIF, said yesterday that theformer aspirant has no

Idigo has no structure to handover to Obiano — APGA Forum

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

•Obiano: APGA

structure to hand over toanybody.

National President of AIF,Mr. Nnamdi Oguekwedescribed the claim as illconceived, adding that it wasaimed at scoring cheappolitical goals.

“We are aware that if thereis any structure to collapseinto APGA, Mrs. UcheEkwunife and Chief PaulOdenigbo are in betterpositions to do that,”Oguekwe said.WORRIED by the statement

made by the formerAnambra State chairman of thedefunct of the Congress forProgressive Change, CPC,Prince Chuba Ikeagwu thatmembers of the former partyhave moved to the newlyregistered Peoples DemocraticMovement, PDM, the candidateof CPC for Onitsha federalconstituency in the 2011elections, Akunwata ChukaModebe said yesterday thatthere was no iota of truth inIkeagwu’s claim.

Speaking with VanguardPolitics, Modebe said membersof the defunct CPC in all the 21local government areas of thestate are happy belonging to AllProgressives Congress, APC,which has nominated SenatorChris Ngige as its governorshipcandidate.

He said: “CPC is an integral

We're with Ngige — ModebeBY VINCENT UJUMADU part of APC in Anambra State.

The former CPC chairman candecide to join any group he wantsto, but he cannot decide for theteeming supporters of CPC. Theparty and its members inAnambra State dissociatethemselves from the statement bythe former chairman.

“We support APC and itsgovernorship candidate, SenatorChris Ngige and we hold thereport of the defection as falseand a calculated attempt todistract from the emergence ofNgige.”

ANAMBRA State became aguinea pig for the newly

registered APC to test itsinternal democracycredentials.

After some dithering arisingfrom the refusal of Mr. GodwinEzemo to step down for thepopular Senator Chris Ngige,the party conducted a two waystatewide primary lastMonday using the famedOption A4 system.

The use of Option A4according to the formergovernor of Kano State,Mallam Ibrahim Shekaru wasto bring democracy down tothe grassroots.

Shekarau was the chairmanof the electoral panel whose

APC dazzles with Option A4

•Ngige: APC

work ended with SenatorNgige beating Ezemo in theelection conductedsimultaneously in all 326wards.

Shekarau said the processwas chosen by APC to test thepopularity of the twocandidates in the state and toreduce corruption in thesystem.

His words: “We are not likeother political parties wherethey fight to select theircandidates, what APC isdoing is showing the way forothers to follow, ours is not ado die affair, APC doeseverything in an open anddemocratic process."

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN,POLITICAL EDITOR

CMYK

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2013 —45

IS it true that you arecontesting the 2015

governorship election?Yes I’m running. In fact about

three weeks ago, before Itravelled out of the state, I hadinformed the state executive ofthe People’s Democratic Partyof my intention to put myselfforward to run for the office ofGovernor of Benue State.

What is the Governor ’sposition on your decision torun?

Well I must tell you that I’vebeen to the Governor, my bossto inform him.

I didn’t go to him forendorsement, I only asked forpermission to allow me consultand he graciously permittedme. I know that some peoplehaven’t come out yet. Some ofthe people who are going toaspire are still bidding time.

Don’t forget that everythingis still a year from now and inany case, some people havecome out to say that they havebeen endorsed by the Governor.

Governor Suswam has notendorsed anyone to succeedhim. How can a man endorsemore than one aspirant at atime?

Permissionto consult

But in any case if they saythey have been endorsed, itmeans they are lucky, but I didnot ask for endorsement, Iasked for permission to consult,which was granted by my boss.

Would you sustain thelegacies of the Suswamadministration or seek totrudge your own path?

No, I’ve been a member of theSuswam’s administration. I’vebeen largely responsible forwhat has gone on in the lastsix years, but suffice it to statehere that when the need tocontinue and carry on withwhat we already have, I willcontinue but when there isneed to make changes I’ll doso.

Other sections of the stateaside the Idoma section of thestate are also laying claims thatit is their turn to produce thenext governor of the state. So,how far do you think you cango?

I think I know where you areheading with the question, andthat has to do with the issue oftribalism and politics. The issue

Benue: My plans after Suswam — Lawani, Dep gov

BY PETER DURU

IN this interview, the Deputy Governor of Benue State, Chief Steven Lawani, spoke on his relationship withGovernor Suswam, and why he has decided to joined the race to succeed him in 2015 and other nagging issues.Excerpt:

•Lawani

of whether I would enjoy thesupport of other parts of the

state if I pick my party ’snomination. I think I would.

Everything has its time, sevenyears ago nobody thought thata black man would emerge thePresident of the USA, but thatis the reality today. We have tostart somewhere in Benue Stateas in other states where themajority hold sway.

You were generally expectedto run for the Benue Southsenatorial seat. So, whathappened to change yourmind?

The general opinion has beenthat this administration hasbeen largely successful, andI’ve been part of the team andsuccess story; and I think thatI can continue in the samevein.

SOME people havenicknamed you to be the

mouthpiece of GovernorAkpabio as you often sing hispraises. What is therelationship between you andGovernor Akpabio?

I am not the mouthpiece ofGovernor Akpabio but I am aninterested person who isenjoying the dividend ofdemocracy in Akwa Ibom Stateand I am one of the

governor without any quarrel.What is the magic?

The magic? I have said itbefore and I will say it again.You know that I ran the samePDP primaries with thegovernor.

He was the one who won.After which I went back to mybusiness. But he came callingand asked that I should comeand be his running mate. Iknow what it meant to be adeputy governor. I did notcome here to be co-governorbecause I was not even elected.

I am a deputy. That is thewhole thing. It is more or lessto advise and give yoursupport.

Akpabio’s uncommon plans for the Senate — James

BY LAJA THOMAS

MR. Bassey James, is Chancellor of Akpabio Centre forLeadership Development (ACLD) through which he aims toproject lessons from Governor Godswil Akpabio’s legacies inAkwa Ibom State. He recently spoke to newsmen on sundryissues concerning Akwa Ibom and its leadership. Excerpts:

Continues on page 45

beneficiaries of goodgovernance.

Millions of people in AkwaIbom State are saying the samething just that most of themdon’t have access to the media.Citizens and residents of thestate are spreading themessage of hope, faith andunity which is what ourgovernor represents.

The story in Akwa Ibom haschanged; the lifestyle of thepeople has changed, we nowsing a new song, there are

peace, joy and developmentsin the state. Our governor hasdone so much and that is whyeveryone in the state is singinghis praises.

How is the ACLD sustained?ACLD is a household name

in Nigeria today especially inthe South South region. We arealso in diaspora and people areembracing the concept becauseof the personality of GovernorAkpabio and his ideologies. Hehas demonstrated goodgovernance in public serviceand so when you have asellable material, you have noproblem taking it across theworld. Everywhere we go withthe concept, people embrace itand indigenes of our state arealready ambassadors of

ACLD. The lovers of good

governance are promoting theconcept and we are happy tobe the one driving theideology. So many people areinterested in what we are doingand the movement of Nigeriatoday is great because we havesomeone who is governingwith a very high sense ofresponsibility.

The concept is all aboutleadership which GovernorAkpabio has given to AkwaIbom State. I am using thismedium to invite the world toAkwa Ibom State and they willfeel a sense of belongingbecause our governor is adetribalized Nigerian.

,,

The general opinion has been that thisadministration has been largelysuccessful, and I’ve been part of the teamand success story; and I think that I cancontinue in the same vein

Don’t forget that in the lastsix years I’ve been playing thenumber two role which waspurely advisory. But if I havethe chance to be the pilot, Iwon’t say it would besomething too different; but myexperience in governancewould to a large extent placeme on a better stead to improveon what we have achieved sofar.

Despite being older than thegovernor you have in the lastsix years remained loyal the

My duty means that I standfor him when he is not around.

He can also delegate aresponsibility to other topfunctionaries of government,that is what obtains in otherstates.

But if he enjoys my trust, thenhe can trust me to work withhim even when he is aroundand when he is not aroundbecause I’m not after his job asobtained in other states. I amhere to deputize for him andnothing more.

46—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2013

SOME people like OrjiUzor Kalu claim President

Goodluck Jonathan willtruncate the chances of the Igbopresidency if he contests in 2015.Do you agree?

They are entitled to theiropinions so far they fall withinthe ambit of the law. Orji Kaluand people who share his viewscan also test their popularity.

Orji Kalu can speak for himselfor any platform of his, but not onbehalf of Igbo people neither canI speak for the rest of the Igbopeople. The Igbo are wiseenough to cast their votes wherethey feel they are best protected.I sincerely believe that ifJonathan declares an interest tocontest for the presidency in2015, a majority of the Igbo willvote for him based on hisscorecard in office and for thesake of continuity. It is also in thestrategic interest of Nigeria thatJonathan seeks second term.

How strategic is it?A convention of rotational

presidency is emerging. From1999, for instance, it started withthe South-West, where OlusegunObasanjo did two tenures. Itrotated to the North-West.Unfortunately Musa Yar’Aduadied in office. The powerautomatically by law devolved toJonathan.

Rotationalpresidency

He completed the tenure andran on his own and won. Theimportant thing that hashappened is that the presidencymoved from the South-West to theNorth-West and then to theSouth-South.

Rotational presidency is anecessary Nigerian invention toaddress Nigeria’s differences. Itseeks to build a homogenousnational entity. If the contest isleft for numerical strength as it isclaimed, it might not have goneto the South-West.

Obasanjo would not havequalified because he did not evenwin in his ward as the PDPconstitution stipulates. These aresacrifices that we have to makefor the national unity. WhenYar’adua died, the rotation wentto the South-South which is intandem with the rotationalprinciple. When Jonathan serveshis second term, it will go to anyother zone where it has not goneat least in the current democraticdispensation. It can go to theSouth-East or the North-East. If

Jonathan’s 2nd term ’llensure stability — EdeogaONE-TIME spokesman of the House of Representatives and currentlySpecial Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on National AssemblyMatters, Hon. Chijioke Edeoga weekend spoke with selected journalists onvarious national issues. Excerpts:

rotational presidency is adopted,the acrimony that goes with thecontest will be eliminated.

Rotational presidency will alsoaddress the issue of some peoplewho feel that they are entitled tosome political offices in thiscountry. There are also somepeople who feel alienated fromNigeria because they feel thereis a particular limit they canaspire in the Nigerian polity.Rotational presidency will createa conducive atmosphere whereevery Nigerian can aspire tobecome president.

You are a lawyer. Can’trotational presidency beenshrined in the Nigerianconstitution?

It is an evolving convention. Aconvention is also a legal precept.A convention practised overtimebecomes not really a law in termsof written, but acceptable by

everybody.Law-making has various

stages. If something happensovertime and it is not resisted, itbecomes a convention. There arepeople in this country, mainlyfrom the North-West and theSouth-West, who want to truncatethe emergence of this convention.

The position of the South-Westin this matter is understandablebut not excusable. The South-West, under Obasanjo, had itsturn of eight years. The South-West governors, under theplatform of the Alliance forDemocracy, created an enablingenvironment for Obasanjo tocomplete his second term.

If the rotation endures, it willreturn to the South-West whenother zones had done theirs.There are elements in the South-West who will not allow thisscenario to play out. They were

the same people whorelinquished their gubernatorialpositions for Obasanjo.

Today they have evolved fromthe Action Congress of Nigeriato the All Progressives Congress.They now agitate that thepresidency is up for grabs.

They are the same persons whoare putting pressures on Riversstate governor Chibuike Amaechito do unto Jonathan what theyrefused to do unto Obasanjo.

That is the duplicity inNigeria’s political situation. Butif they help in truncating it, it willcreate a situation of fluidity. Themost important thing for them isthat the system has beentruncated, then other factors willcome into it.

Even the attack of religiouspolitics that the APC levelledagainst Jonathan is somethingthat is in ACN or the APC as it isnow called. The APC is nowtrying to zone the position of thevice president to either the South-South or the South-East.

Recall also that the days whenthe Igbo aligned with the Northand accepted the position of vicepresident, the South-West mediakept attacking the Igbo as takingthe crumbs from the northerntable.

Rememberingour history

But now it is the same South-West that plans to zone to theSouth-East or South-West thesame position which theyderided the Igbo. We mustremember our history.

What is your take in the recentdeportation of the Igbo by theLagos state government?

I have a lot of soft spot for TundeFashola, so I don’t want to makenegative comments about him,more so with some restraints hehas shown in this matter. It isevident that he has realised thathe has erred.

There is nothing in his historythat indicates that he is headedin that direction, so people areentitled to their mistakes once ina while. It is not a reason whywe should create loopholes for

rabble-rousers to begin to buildmountains out of a molehill.

It is not only in the South-Westthat the Igbo have becomemigrants, they have becomemigrants all over the worldbecause the home environmentis no longer in consonance withtheir entrepreneurial abilities anddrives.

Where are the cashewindustries, Niger Gas, GoldenGuinea, Premier Breweries anda host of them? They have beendestroyed. Our leaders havefailed to move things to the nextlevel.

However, some of them, likeSullivan Chime of Enugu state,are doing well in the provisionof infrastructure. We have to buildon that. We must thank Jonathanfor creating an internationalairport in the South-East. It willboost the economy once again.The Igbo’s movement outsidehome is a result of home notbeing conducive for self-actualisation.

Conducive forself actualisation

Even the entrepreneurs whonow throw their resourcestowards political contests shouldredirect them. It is not only inLagos, the Igbo are also beinghounded in the North. Where isthe home to run to? It is thedilemma of the Igbo people inNigeria. The South-East regionhas buried the industries thatAzikiwe and Okpara created.

What is your reaction to thedeclaration of GovernorSullivan Chime that an Nsukkaman will succeed him asgovernor of Enugu State?

There is also in Enugu Statean emerging convention aboutrotation of the gubernatorialposition. It started fromChimaroke Nnamani who didtwo terms for the Enugu-Eastsenatorial district and thenSullivan Chime, who is currentlythe incumbent, and about toround off his two terms in office.He is from the Enugu-Westsenatorial zone.

Akpabio’s uncommon plans for the Senate — James

What will become of ACLDafter the expiration of thetenure of Governor Akpabio?

After 2015 ACLD will stillstrive just like the ideologies ofother world great leaders.People are still talking aboutAwosim and they will continueto preach his ideologies as faras Yoruba nation still exist. Weare talking about the ideologiesof a governor who hasperformed exceptionally welland Africans all over the worldare proud of him.

You can’t question what willhappen after 2015 in AkwaIbom State because our

and outside Nigeria workingon the partnership and are

ready to work with us. Hispersonality will bewholesomely displayed in thatcenter.

People don’t need to worryabout 2015 because we knowour governor is going to theSenate and there we will seegreat demonstration ofgovernor and outside thesenate you will see a greatwisdom.

We are reaching peoplethrough the mass mediabecause we want to tell thewhole world about the deedsof our governor. This is ourcontribution to promote goodand responsible governance inNigeria.

•Edeoga

•James

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN,POLITICAL EDITOR

Continues from page 44 governor has laid structures inground and we will continueto talk about his ideologieseven beyond 2015.

Come 2015 while in thesenate, our governor willspend more time travellingaround the world speaking oninternational projects andprogrammes.

He will be more useful in2015 than he is now. He willbe the most sought-afterAfrican in a couple of years. Wehave taken the bull by the hornby erecting an internationalconference center and in acouple of months; activities atthe center will be almost on adaily basis. We have friends in


that he could now leavethe hospital. which indi-cates the progress he hadmade,” Zuma said.

“He remains critical butstable, responding totreatment,” at his home,the president added.

It is the first time Zumahas commented on hispredecessor’s status sinceMandela was releasedfrom hospital at the week-end.

MORE than two mil-lion Syrians have

now fled their war-rav-aged country, accordingto the UN refugee agen-cy, marking the nearly 10-fold increase from a yearago.

BARACK Obamaportrayed his plans

for US military action inSyria as part of a broaderstrategy to topple Basharal-Assad, as tougherWhite House rhetoric be-gan to win over scepticalRepublicans in Congresson Tuesday.

And bolstered by hismeeting with key US law-makers Tuesday, Presi-dent Barack Obama’schances of successfulvotes in Congress nextweek looks stronger as heheads for Europe in thehope of persuading moreworld leaders to back hisstrategy.

Also Tuesday, UN Sec-retary General Ban Ki-moon cast doubt on U.S.and French intelligenceon the alleged chemicalattack in Damascus andwarned against a U.S.military intervention.

“We should avoid fur-ther militarization of theconflict and revitalize thesearch for a diplomaticsettlement,” Ban told anews conference at U.N.headquarters in NewYork on Tuesday. “Wemust consider the impactof military intervention,”which he said could in-crease bloodshed. Banalso said U.S. force inSyria would be “lawful”only if it were in self-de-fence or with SecurityCouncil approval. “Thatis a principle of the Unit-ed Nations,” he said.

However, stressingthat Washington’s prima-ry goal remained “limit-ed and proportional” at-tacks, to degrade Syria’s

Syria: Obama plans regime change

chemical weapons capa-bilities and deter theirfuture use, Obama hint-ed at a broader long-termmission that may ulti-mately bring about achange of regime.

“It also fits into a broaderstrategy that can bringabout over time the kindof strengthening of theopposition and the diplo-matic, economic and po-litical pressure required –so that ultimately wehave a transition that canbring peace and stability,not only to Syria but to theregion,” he told seniormembers of Congress ata White House meetingon Tuesday.

House Majority LeaderEric Cantor echoed thoseconcerns in a statementreleased after the meet-ing, saying, “America’s

credibility is on the line.”“A failure to act when

acting is in America’s in-terest and when a redline has been so clearlycrossed will only weakenour ability to use diploma-cy, economic pressureand other nonlethal toolsto remove Assad and de-ter Iran and other aggres-sors,” Cantor said.

Cantor, a staunch sup-porter of Israel, warnedthat the violence in Syriais spilling over into othercountries and threatens toimperil U.S. allies in theregion. “It is not just anabstract theory that theSyrian conflict threatensthe stability of key Amer-ican partners in the re-gion,” he said. “It is a re-ality.” Cantor didn’t men-tion Israel by name.

Other lawmakers, in-cluding the chairman ofthe Senate Select Com-mittee on Intelligence,Sen. Dianne Feinstein,and the ranking memberof the House PermanentSelect Committee on In-telligence, Rep. DutchRuppersberger also saidthey would support mili-tary action.

The comments suggestObama’s strategy of seek-ing authorization fromCongress before attackingSyria, one of the biggestgambles of his presiden-cy, could pay off.

Rep. Eliot Engel (D.,N.Y.), the ranking mem-ber on the House ForeignAffairs Committee, saidhe couldn’t speak for allwho attended the meet-ing but that there ap-peared to be “generalconsensus” among con-gressional leaders to sup-port the president’s call

for action in Syria.The president’s meet-

ing came as part of anadministration-widepush to get Congress toback military strikesagainst Syria. Later Tues-day, members of the pres-ident’s cabinet, includingSecretary of State JohnKerry and Secretary ofDefense Chuck Hagel, aswell as Gen. MartinDempsey, chairman ofthe Joint Chiefs of Staff,took questions about theadministration’s strategybefore the Senate ForeignRelations Committee.

At the beginning of hismeeting with lawmakersin the White House Cab-inet Room, Obamapraised Congress. “Con-gress as a whole is tak-ing this issue with thesoberness and the seri-ousness it deserves,”Obama said. Asked if heis confident Congresswill support authorizingstrikes against Syria,Obama said, “I am.”

The apparent change ofemphasis appeared toresolve some of the polit-ical deadlock on CapitolHill on Tuesday, asHouse speaker John Boe-hner and a series of oth-er Republican leadersannounced that theywould back the presi-

THE Israeli defenceministry confirmed it

had launched a Sparrowtarget missile at 9.15amlocal time. It said the testof the Arrow anti-missilesystem was successful.

The exercise was con-ducted jointly with theUnited States, accordingto Israel. However, aspokesman for the USnavy European headquar-ters told Reuters: “No mis-siles were fired from USships in the Mediterra-nean.”

Russia sounded thealert, saying its radars atArmavir, near the BlackSea, had detected thelaunch of two ballistic “ob-

Israel test-fires defence missile

Syria's refugees hit 2m — UN

•Netanyahu

judicial body.Parliamentary Deputy

Speaker Joyce Laboso is-sued the order for the“special sitting of the as-sembly”, with parliamentto meet tomorrow.

However, even shouldKenya choose to leave theICC — the first countrypotentially to do so — itwould not affect upcom-ing trials since legal pro-ceedings have alreadystarted.

On Tuesday, the ICCtrial opens of Vice-Presi-dent William Ruto onthree counts of crimesagainst humanity for al-legedly organising 2007-2008 post-election unrestthat killed at least 1,100people and displacedmore than 600,000.

Kenya debates exit from ICC

AHEAD of the No-vember 12. trial of

President Uhuru Kenyat-ta in The Hague-basedInternational CriminalCourt,the country’s par-liament was recalled yes-terday to debate endingmembership of the World

•President Kenyatta

ELEVEN supportersof Egypt’s ousted

President MohammedMorsi have been sen-tenced to life in prisonafter being convicted ofattacking the army.

The men were accusedof wounding soldiers,sabotaging armoured ve-hicles and burningchurches during riots in

Morsi supporters get life jail

the port city of Suez lastmonth.

Forty-five others re-ceived five-year sentenc-es, while five were acquit-ted.

The riots followed adeadly crackdown by se-curity forces on two pro-Morsi protest camps inthe capital, Cairo.

Zuma hails Mandela's discharge

NELSON Mandela’s discharge after

nearly three months inhospital showed that hehad made “progress,”South African PresidentJacob Zuma said yester-day , adding the 95-year-old was responding totreatment.

“I think we feel verygood that he reached apoint where the doctorswho were treating him felt

BY VERA SAMUELANYAGAFU

AN indictment wasunsealed yesterday

in federal court in Brook-lyn, New York, charginga Nigerian citizen withproviding material sup-port to a designated for-

US court indicts Nigerian for aiding Al Qaedaeign terrorist organiza-tion, al-Qaeda in the Ara-bian Peninsula (“AQAP”),and using high-poweredfirearms in furtherance ofthat crime.

The United States iscurrently seeking the ex-tradition of the defen-dant, Lawal Olaniyi Ba-

bafemi, also known as“Abdullah” and “AyatollahMustapha,” from Nige-ria. At the request of theUnited States, the Nige-rian government thereaf-ter commenced extradi-tion proceedings againstthe defendant in July2013.

•Key US lawmakers back strike, UN warns

•President Barack Obama (2 left) with US key lawmakers at the meetingyesterday.

jects” in the area, firedfrom the central Mediter-ranean towards the east.

A Syrian source toldLebanese television thatnothing had been detect-ed by its early warningsystem.

In addition to the twomillion Syrians living asrefugees, another 4.25million people have beendisplaced within thecountry since the conflictbegan in March 2011, UNfigures show.

dent’s call for military au-thorisation from Con-

gress. House majorityleader Eric Cantor wasmost explicit, calling forthe US to take sides in the“sectarian proxy war”against Iran.

48 —Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2013

WHEN we track thethieves, we arrest them and

destroy the stolen products. Wedestroy, we destroy,” that was therefrain from Major General BataDebiro, Commander, OperationPulo Shield as he describes theoperation of the agency againstoil thieves and other illegalbunkering criminals in the NigerDelta creeks.

The silence in the Jasmine Hall,Eko Hotel and Suites, venue ofthe recently concludedconference on oil theft and illegalbunkering as the Major Generalspoke was more of disapprovalthan indifference. “There has tobe a better way of getting this jobdone without hurting theenvironment further,” aparticipant whispered to no onein particular. This reporter heardand nodded in agreement. It wasobvious from the MajorGeneral’s tone and language thatthe problem at hand needed adifferent approach. This was theposition of Dr. Ade Abolurin,Commandant General, NigerianSecurity and Civil DefenceCorps,NSCDC, but not before hemade the hapless state ofNSCDC public. “We are helpless,handicapped and ill-equipped.

N/Delta environment degradation: When oil theft,illegal bunkering take centre stage

Chairman, Presidential AmnestyProgramme, Kingsley Kukunoted thus: “While severalestimates have been maderegarding the cost to the nationaleconomy in lost revenue andpipeline repair, no one hascalculated the cost to theenvironment and the livelihoodof the people of the Niger Delta.No one has calculated the costof restoring the environment; butextrapolating from the cost ofaquatic life in the Gulf of Mexicofollowing the BP Gulf Coast spillof 2010, the cost to the NigerDelta will amount to more thanone trillion dollars”.

Kuku found a ready ally in Mr.Nnimmo Bassey, anenvironmentalist, who hazardeda 30-year clean up plan in Ogoniland alone, adding that “themoney from oil cannot restore the

environment”. Bassey was of theview that given the present stateof degradation of the Niger Deltaregion, no oil company shouldgo offshore if they have notcleaned up onshore. Accordingto him, it was important that thequantity of oil being stolen isknown because “it’s no rocketscience to meter the quantity ofoil been produced”. In hissummation, oil theft is from threeangles: from collusion, agenciesand illegal refineries.

Internationalinvolvement

But transnationalcompanies would swear theyhave nothing to do with it. In anApril 2013 report by Royal DutchShell PLC, the company stated:”Rising incidences of oil theft inNigeria’s oil producing NigerDelta come at a significantenvironmental cost”.

In its sustainability report, theAnglo-Dutch oil major said itsNigerian unit, Shell PetroleumDevelopment Company, SPDC,experienced 137 spills as a resultof sabotage and theft last year,with the volume of oil lostamounting to 3.3 thousandtons.

“This was an increase in bothvolume and numbers from 2011,as the scale of oil theft in Nigeriareached unprecedented levels,”it stated in the report.

In an open letter published in

the report, SPDC’s ManagingDirector, Mutiu Sunmonu, saidthe problem of oil theft in theNiger Delta has reached“unprecedented levels” andputs enormous strain on thecompany’s staff as well as costingthe country billions of dollars ayear in lost revenue.

He added that the Nigeriangovernment puts the volume ofoil stolen significantly above the150,000 barrel a day estimategiven by the United Nations in2009.

“It may never be possible toassess the exact figures, but it’sclear that a well financed andhighly organised criminalenterprise exists on aphenomenal scale...most of thestolen oil ends up in ocean-goingtankers that transport it torefineries in other parts of WestAfrica, Europe and beyond,” Mr.Sunmonu said.

Cummulativeannual spill

“We urgently need moreassistance from the Nigeriangovernment and its securityforces, other governments andother organisations,” Mr.Sunmonu said.Whether they accept culpabilityor not the fact of the case is thata conservative waste/leakage/spill rate of 10% which amountsto a crude oil spill rate of 40,000barrels per day, amounting to a

cumulative annual spill volumeof about 14.4 million barrels ofcrude oil spilt into the Niger Deltaenvironment as a result of thecrude oil theft enterprise has leftthe region more devastated thanever before.

This accounts for communityleaders screaming themselveshoarse, demanding a moreproactive approach to dealingwith the problem. The devastationhas left many Niger Deltacommunities furtherimpoverished since their meansof livelihood (fishing andfarming) have been ruined byconstant spills, leakages andactions of various securityoperatives.

It was against this backdrop thatthe conference decided thatpipeline be encased in aminimum depth to protect themagainst vandalism; establish jointmini-refineries to absorb illegalrefineries and engage localcommunities as well as fund theimmediate clean up of the NigerDelta.

Conference also decided thatsecurity agencies have a role toplay. The agencies were enjoinedto enhance security sectorcollaboration with communityparticipation, enhanceintelligence gathering systemwith advance electronic andcommunity input, stop the unsystematic destruction of illegal oiltheft facilities which compoundsenvironmental damage.

It may never be possible to assess the exactfigures, but it’s clear that a well financedand highly organized criminal enterpriseexists on a phenomenal scale...most of thestolen oil ends up in ocean-going tankersthat transport it to refineries in other partsof West Africa, Europe and beyond

,

,

Oil thieves or illegal bunkering operators?

“

BY JUDITH UFFORD

Other stakeholders look down atthe Corps as if we are notsupposed to be there. We arresttrucks but our personnel areimprisoned and beaten. We aresuffering in the hands of fellowstakeholders simply because wewant to protect the people, “ hesaid.

Oil theft, he disclosed, is in thehands of a cartel. “It has beeninternationalised, it is no longerlocal because they haveinternational contacts”. As hemade his final summation, Dr.Abolurin noted that the problemof oil theft does not need militaryapproach. He got a goodapplause for that remark. No, hewasn’t playing to the gallery. Theaudience saw enough from theOperation Pulo Shielddocumentary to know that therewas urgent need to tackle the

issue of oil theft in a moresustainable manner given thealready devastated state of theNiger Delta environment.

Speaking earlier in an addressof welcome, Special Adviser tothe President on Niger Delta and


Can an old song createlight out of darkness?

We envisage 10,000 megawatts byDecember 2014; with our short term,long term and immediate strategies thatwe have in place, in addition to workingassiduously with other stakeholders inthe power sector

FOR the umpteenth timea people living in

darkness have been promisedthat gloom will give way to lightby December 2013. Ordinarily,the pledge would have elicitedunrivaled enthusiasm across thecountry, given that light wouldfinally shine in a land overshad-owed by darkness, but the re-verse is the case.

Reason: The pledge of im-proved power generation anddistribution, is now worth ten apenny. At a time when the 6,000megawatts promise in the lastdispensation is yet to translateinto improvement in the powersector, Nigerians were yet againtold that come December thisyear, Nigeria would experiencean improved power supply.

This, according to the Minis-ter, would guarantee 18 hours ofuninterrupted power supply inevery part of the country.

“We envisage 10,000 mega-watts by December 2014. Withour short term, long term andimmediate strategies that wehave in place, in addition toworking assiduously with otherstakeholders in the power sec-tor, we will get there. We havethe NIPP work going on, and theNiger Delta Power Companycoming up for commissioning byDecember 2013; we look forwardto 10, 000 megawatts come De-cember 2014,’’ Nebo stated whilebriefing the leadership of thePeoples Democratic Party ,PDP,on the activities of his ministry.

Nebo’s pledge was also re-ech-oed by the Minister of State for

Power, Hajiya Zainaib IbrahimKuchi, who said the power gen-eration will peak at 10,000megawatts by the end of Decem-ber 2013.

This promise, nonetheless,raises questions, and doubtshave continued to trail its possi-bility given an unbroken historyof failure at fixing the sector.

‘’We are used to such prom-ises. Every administrationcomes with pledges but we con-tinue to descend into darkness.The Minister might have goodintentions but the system thathas undermined every good in-tention in the power sector mustbe demobilised,’’ a formerChairman Power Projects, Mr.Abdulateef Kadiri, toldVanguardFeatures,VF.

Dream of a rejuvenatedpower sector

However, findings revealed that the pledge by theMinister requires an indepthscrutiny to determine if he wassaying the usual or if the reali-sation of the dream of a rejuve-nated power sector has come.

Accordingly, it was gatheredthat the latest move would bedriven by massive involvementof the private sector.

This, VF was told, would beachieved through the Independ-ent Power Projects ,IPPs, whichhas brought with it great expec-tations. Disclosing this, the Man-aging Director of Power Solu-tions, an independent powercompany, Dr. SilasChukwukadibia, said: ‘’The ini-

tiative marks the determination ofthe Ministry to ensure that Nige-rians have the ownership of thescheme with some foreign, directinvestments. This signals thatthere will be a synergy in build-ing consortiums, while the IPPsaddress matters concerningpower requirements.’’

He further said: ‘’The oil sectorhas become an albatross as it hasovershadowed other sectors inNigeria. But as the Minister onceobserved, the power sector willsoon become Nigeria’s bridaleconomy. Thus, the current moveto unravel various potentialities inthe sector by the Power Ministryis appealing. This singular effortwill also change the destiny of Ni-geria for good because the antici-pated meteoric increment in themegawatts will become Nigeria’sspringboard in jobs creation, andgeneral private sector develop-ment.’’

However, further checks showedthat the current rejuvenation ef-forts is not unconnected withPresident Goodluck Jonathan’sresolve to solve the perennialpower quagmire.

‘’Jonathan’s vision inunbundling the Power HoldingCompany of Nigeria, PHCN, into18 companies to enhance produc-tivity and efficiency has proven tobe the best decision ever taken.The creation of the Nigerian BulkElectricity Trading Plc has alsobrought light in achieving Niger-ia’s electricity dream in the nearfuture. It would be recalled thatJonathan inaugurated the CEOand board of the Nigerian BulkElectricity Trading Plc in August

10,000MW capacity by the year2020. The power firm also plansto build packaging facility withlocal contents for small aero-de-rivative turbines in Nigeria whichwill promote job creation.’’

Not done with his optimismabout the future of the sector, hesaid: ‘’The Federal Governmentalso entered into an MOU withthe Exim Bank of the UnitedStates to provide an investmentopening of about $1.5 billion forinvestors willing to invest in theNigerian power sector. There hasnever been a time when suchsumptuous amount of money wasever provided by the US EximBank for a specific sector inAfrica.’’

When asked why he is sooptimistic despite challengeswhich have made past policiesunfruitful, he said: ‘’One basichindrance, according to Nebo,has been the transmission chal-lenges which make attempts atputting 5000 megawatts into thetransmission network unwork-able. But the milestone in therenewed electricity quest is theeffort at repositioning various Ni-

gerian Independent Power Plantsas well as the Niger Delta PowerCompany which is billed for com-missioning in December thisyear. Records show that this willgenerate 10, 000 megawatts inDecember 2013.’’

As the December target drawsnear, it is still left to be seenwhether the promise wouldbecome a reality.

Ten distributioncompanies

Meanwhile, VF gathered that the unbundling of thePower Holding Company ofNigeria ,PHCN, has beencompleted. Further findingsshowed that the FederalGovernment wiould hand overprivatized successor firms of thePHCN to private investors onSeptember 21, 2013.

Ten Distribution Companies,DISCOs and five GenerationCompanies, GENCOs, havebeen handed to the successorcompanies that rose from thebalkanisation of the defunctPHCN. The companies are thosewhich completed the payment ofthe 75% balance on their bid pricefor the companies.

Power Minister, ProfessorNebo, said as at the deadlineperiod, all preferred bidders hadpaid up, except the Enugu Dis-tribution Company, while the pre-ferred bidder for Sapele PowerStation had made substantialpart-payment.”

He made this disclosure in a,

,statement signed by his mediaassistant, Kandel Daniel.

The statement said: “The com-pletion payment now entitles thepreferred bidders to take fullpossession of the 15 PHCNunbundled entities (10 distribu-tion companies and five genera-tion companies)” .

Nebo described this develop-ment as a great milestone in thePower Sector Reform Roadmapthat should give hope to all Ni-gerians and inspire confidencein government’s power reformprogramme and PresidentGoodluck Jonathan’s Transfor-mation Agenda.

Nebo also reassured Nigeriansand investors of government’sresolve to pursue thetransformation agenda to the end,and monitor the emerging tran-sition market, in order to protectthe interest of both the citizensand the investors.

He said the stability of thenational grid was being en-hanced to ensure effective trans-mission of any quantity of powerbeing generated in the newdispensation.

2011,’’ a former Marketing Di-rector with the defunct NEPA,Alhaji Gambo Gobirawa, told VF.

He, however, cited the comingof the Energy Efficiency andEnergy Conservation LightingScheme as one of the few indi-cations that it is no longer leapservice in the sector.

‘’ I can tell you that anothergiant stride in this sector whichhas made the environment con-ducive for the private sector par-ticipation in the power sector isthe coming on board of a credit-worthy off-taker of power, NBETPlc,’’ he stated, adding: ‘’Thefirm has become the springboardin boosting the morale of thepower generating companiesthat they will be paid for powerproduced. The administrationalso flagged off the Energy Effi-ciency and Energy ConservationLighting Scheme.’’

Energyefficient bulb

Gobirawa further explainedthus: ‘’ The goal of this project isto encourage the use of energyefficient bulbs and lightingsystems which is capable ofmassive energy conservation. Towrap it up, the Jonathanadministration entered into anMOU with worldwide leaders inthe power sector, GeneralElectric.’’In addition, he said:‘’The deal indicates that the Gen-eral Electric will invest about 15percent equity in power projectsin Nigeria. This rounds up to

BY CHARLES KUMOLU

10,000 MW CHALLENGE:

CMYK

50 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 4, 2013

58 Reps, more senators backBaraje's nPDP

powers as provided bythe Constitution of theFederal Republic of Ni-geria, 1999 (asamended), to stop thisand bring anybody foundwanting to book.“We wish to state that bythis statement, wepledge our loyalty andsupport to the New PDPunder the able chairman-ship of Alhaji AbubakarKawu Baraje, the DeputyChairman, Dr Sam SamJaja, National secretary,Prince OlagunsoyeOyinola and other mem-bers of the National Ex-ecutive Committee.“We congratulate themand wish them the verybest as they steer the af-fairs of our party to pro-vide level-playing fieldfor all Nigerians.”

Members who signedthe statement include:

Abdullahi Balarabe,Abdulmumin Jibrin, AliAhmad, AbdullahiMuhammad Wamako,Abdullahi MuhammedRico, Abdulmalik UsmanCheche, Adamu Bashir,Ahman-Patigi Aliyu,Ahmed Zerew, AishatuAhmed Binani, AiyedunAkeem Olayinka,Alhassan Ado Garba,Aliyu Madaki, AliyuShehu, Aminu Shagari,Aminu Sulyman, Aminu

Tukur, Andrew Uchendu,Asita Honourable, BashirBaballe, BlessingNsiegbe.Others were: DakukuPeterside, DawariGeorge, FaruqMuhammed Lawan,Gibson Nathaniel, GogoBright Tamunu, HaliruZakari Jikantoro, HassanAdamu, HussainNamadi, Ibrahim Ebbo,Ibrahim Tijjani Kivawa,Issa Bashir, KabiruAchida, KhabeebMustapha, MauricePronen, MohammedSabo, Mpigi Barinada,Muhammad AhmedMukhtar, MuhammadIbrahim, MuhammadSani Kutigi, MukhtariMuhammad, Musa Ado,Musa Sarkin-Adar,Mustapha Bala Dawaki,Mustapha Mashood,Ogbonna Nwuke, RafiuIbrahim, Sa’adNabunkari, SaniMuhammed Aliyu,Shuaibu Gobir, SokonteDavies, Sufiyanu Ubale,Umar Bature, UsmanWada, Yusuph DunariSule, Yusuph Galambi,and Zakari Muhammed.

nPDP wants PDPde-registered

Meanwhile, court papersfiled by the Baraje factionseeking recognition asthe de facto leadership of

the party obtained byVanguard yesterday indi-cate that the faction isINEC to deregister theTukur faction for alleg-edly infringing Section222 (d) of the Constitu-tion.The provision requiresany political party mak-ing changes to its consti-tution to notify INEC atleast 30 days before theamendments.The Baraje faction is al-leging that changesmade in the 2009 consti-tution of the party werenever submitted to thecommission and that sub-sequent changes madein the 2012 constitutionupon which the 2013 con-vention was held werealso not submitted toINEC.The provision states thus:222. No association bywhatever name calledshall function as a party,unless(d) any alteration in itsregistered constitution isalso registered in theprincipal office of the In-dependent NationalElectoral Commissionwithin thirty days of themaking of such altera-tion;In its statement of claimsin its case against theTukur leadership filed atan Ikeja, Lagos HighCourt, the Baraje factiondeposed thus:“It will be recalled thatthe 2009 PDP constitu-tion was amended which

brought about the 2012PDP constitution.“Evidence has surfacedto prove that strangeclauses which were notpart of the proposedamendments were in-serted into the originalproduced version of the2012 constitution andthose alterations werenot approved by theparty convention and theNational Executive Com-mittee thereby makingthe document a forgeddocument which isinvalid.“The forged 2012 consti-tution was not equallyfilled before INEC as re-quired by the constitution,thereby making the PDPconstitution upon whichthe 2013 convention washeld an invalid documentand the outcome of thatconvention invalid, as itwas held with no validconstitution.“The proof of these evi-dence can be seen in theapproved memo by thePDP NEC upon which theamendment was done inthe 2012 and the originalversion of the PDP consti-tution filed with INECwill as well prove theseviolations.”The Baraje faction is alsoclaiming that Tukur is nota valid member of theparty and as such not in aposition to hold the officeof chairman or presideover the national conven-tion of the party as he didlast Saturday. According

to the claims, Tukur wasexpelled from the party in2001 and after that wasneither formally readmit-ted nor given a waiver toallow him hold office inthe party.“Exactly on the 31 May,2001, the PDP NEC afterits meeting held in Abujaexpelled eight members ofthe PDP in accordancewith the PDP constitutionwhich gives the NEC thepowers to discipline NECmembers who breachesthe constitution.“They were expelled afterNEC considered andadopted the report of theIro Dan Musa-led PDPDisciplinary Committee.Alhaji Bamanga Tukur,Don Etiebet, AishekJarma, Ume-Ezeoke,Emmanuel Ibeshi, HarryMarshal and GbengaOlawepo were the onesexpelled from the PDP.“Note that Article 10(b) iiiof the PDP 2009 constitu-tion and Article 8(17) ofthe 2012 amended consti-tution which holds thatany member of the partywho loses his membershipby expulsion can only re-turn to the party with theapproval of the party ex-ecutive at his ward, stateand national levels, whoshall give him a waiver.“Since the expulsion ofBamanga Tukur in 2001,he has not complied withthe above requirements ofthe PDP constitution,

meaning that his pur-ported participation at the2012 convention where hewas elected was a fraudand invalid, as he is notyet a member of theparty.”

Wantsconventiondeclared illegal

The faction is also askingfor last Saturday’s conven-tion to be declared illegalon the claim that illegaldelegates voted in theconvention, a claim com-pounded by another claimthat the Tukur executivefailed to give the requisite21 days notice to INECfor the conduct of a na-tional convention.The claims filed by theBaraje faction were alsomade at a press confer-ence in Abuja yesterdayby the PDP StakeholdersForum. Addressing jour-nalists in Abuja yesterday,Chairman, of the forum,Ikenga Imo Ugochinyeresaid he was already head-ing to the court to chal-lenge the validity of thelast convention just as healso accused Tukur of se-rially violating PDP con-stitution and usurping thepowers of the NationalExecutive Committee.He also reiterated theclaim that Tukur is not avalid member of the PDP.

Continues from Page 6

POAWER—From left: Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo; Governor of Benue State, Dr. GabrielSuswan; Minister of State for Power, Hajiya Zainab Ibrahim Kuchi, and Permanent Secretary, Power,Amb. Godknows Igali, during the meeting on Hydro Electric Power Producing Areas DevelopmentCommission (HYPPADEC), in Abuja.

Army retires 10generals

BY KINGSLEYOMONOBI

ABUJA — AUTHORITIES of the

Nigerian Army have is-sued ten Major Generalsletters of retirement fromthe force with immediateeffect, with some of themexpected to proceed onretirement by Decemberthis year while some havealready gone.

According to Vanguardsources, those affected arethose who have served themandatory 35 years inservice while otherscaught by age on rank inaccordance with the termsand conditions of serviceof the armed forces havebeen sent on compulsoryterminal leave.

Among those that haveleft service are MajorGeneral LawrenceNgubane, formerly theChief of Training andOperations, Defence Hq,Major General BabaganaMongonu. Commandantof the Training and Doc-

trine Command,TRADOC, Minna. Thoseexpected to go on or be-fore December includeMajor General E. E.Bassey, Chief of Policyand Plans, Army head-quarters, Major GeneralEmeka Onwuamaegbu,Commandant, NigeriaDefence Academy and anintelligence chief.

Already, Major GeneralIsang, formerly Chief ofNigerian Army Standardand Evaluation has beenposted to Defence Head-quarters as Chief of Train-ing and Operations , Ma-jor General MohammedAbdukadir, formerly theForce Commander ofAFISMA in Mali has beenposted to TRADOC as thenew Commandant ofTraining and DoctrineCommand, Minna.

Vanguard gathered thatmore Generals especiallythose of the ranks ofBrigadier Generals andColonels whose age onrank have become incom-patible would be givenletters of retirement soon.


52 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 4, 2013

EaglesEaglesEaglesEaglesEaglesContinues from B/P

Ogenyi Onazi, UcheNwofor, who scored twobeautiful goals againstBafana Bafana in theMandela Challenge.

When the team arrivedits hotel, other playerswho came in throughAbuja were alreadywaiting. Among them,Efe Ambrose, SundayMba, whose deal with aFrench side is now indoubt, Ahmed Musa,Obinna Nsofor andVictor Moses. Moreplayers were expectedas at the time of thisreport, but Head Coach,Stephen Keshi has saidhe is happy with theresponse of the playersand he expects a goodgame against Malawion Saturday.

Meanwhile, Cross

River State Governor,Senator Liyel Imoke, hasassured that the entirestate will be out tosupport the team onSaturday, declaring thathe was sure that theteam will whip themouthy Malawianscome Saturday.

Imoke spoke throughSports Commissioner,Hon Patrick Ugbe, whohad to cough out time offhis busy schedule towatch the closingmoments of the team’straining on Tuesdayevening. “We have hisexcellency ’s supportand that of the entirepeople of Cross Riverand we are sure that theteam will not only winbut win well”, Ugbe toldKeshi after training onTuesday evening.

MalawiContinues from B/P

Federation) welcomed the two inAbuja as well as inCalabar. They inspectedsome of the hotels inCalabar and they havesettled for the DannicHotel (10 minutes to thestadium). The hotel isnew and resembles theGolden Peacock Hotel inLilongwe and it isgenerally a good hotel,”Nyirenda said.

Contrary to theirexpectations Nyirendaconfessed that NigeriaFootball Federation hasbeen supportive.

“NFF has providedevery support requiredand they are no stoneunturned in making surethat all is set for thegame. Everyone inCalabar is talking aboutthe game and the gamefever is so high here,”

reads the statement.The Flames advance

party would inspect thetraining venue todayand then attend apreparatory meeting tobe conducted by theNFF.

Nyirenda i soptimistic that theFlames would find theweather favourable sinceits rainy season inNigeria.

“In terms of weather, ithas been showering thisafternoon as we are stillin the rainy season inNigeria. It is generallycool and I think ourplayers will like theweather,” he said.

Flames, who are inBotswana for a friendlygame are expected toleave on Wednesday for Accra Ghana.

They will connect toCalabar on Thursday.

Peterside acquires TVin SA

FCMB backs Ogunkoya 400mchampionship

AFRICA’S 400m recordholder, Falilat

Ogunkoya-Omotayo’sdesire to raise men andwomen quartermilers whowill break her and InnocentEgbunike’s records hasreceived the backing ofFirst City Monument Bank(FCMB) who has pledgedfinancial support to nextmonth’s Falilat OgunkoyaAthletics competition.

The competition,aninitiative of FalilatOgunkoya Founda-tion,will feature only the

400m events for both boysand girls and is aimed atidentifying talented youngquartermilers from everynooks and crannies ofNigeria. The competition isslated for the Otunba DipoDina InternationalStadium, Ijebu-Ode fromOctober 17 to 19, 2013.

FCMB Head of RetailBanking (South-West)Leticia Igna-Igboko saidthe bank is proud to beassociated with Faliat’sefforts to raise world classquartermilers.

Bishop Okonkwo tasks Keshi

THE Presiding Bishopof The Redeemed

Evangelical Mission(TREM), Bishop MikeOkonkwo has advisedSuper Eagles Chief Coach,Stephen Keshi to fieldNigeria’s best playersagainst Flames of Malawiin the September 7 FIFAWorld Cup qualifier slatedfor the U.J. EsueneStadium, Calabar.

Speaking at the 11th

Bishop Mike OkonkwoFootball Cup Final onSaturday at the YabaTechSports ground Lagos,Okonkwo enjoined Keshiand other officials of theNigeria footballFederation(NFF) thatfairness and determinationare crucial, as only suchwould guarantee victoryagainst Malawi.

LMC imposes sanctions on KwaraLMC imposes sanctions on KwaraLMC imposes sanctions on KwaraLMC imposes sanctions on KwaraLMC imposes sanctions on KwaraUUUUUnitnitnitnitnited, ordered, ordered, ordered, ordered, orders replas replas replas replas replay with Wy with Wy with Wy with Wy with Wolvolvolvolvolveseseseses

•Warri Wolves ‘ll not replay — Amaju

KWARA United andWarri Wolves have

been directed to replay theWeek 29 abandoned GloPremier League match onThursday, September 5 atthe FIFA Technical Center,Abuja even as the Ilorinside were slammed a hostof sanctions by the LeagueManagement Company(LMC) for the breachesthat led to the non-completion of theencounter last Sunday.The sanctions according tothe LMC is to serve as amessage to all the Clubsthat the security of matchofficials and visiting teamsare the responsibility of thehost team

In a letter addressed tothe Management of bothClubs by the ChiefOperating Officer (COO)of the LMC, SalihuAbubakar, it was noted thatthe Match Commissioner’sreport indicted the hostteam, Kwara United for thesecurity breaches that ledto the physical assault onthe First Assistant Referee,Mr. C. I. D. Durunna bythe home fans.

Having established this,Delta State FA chairman,Pinnick Amaju, saidyesterday that they werescandalised by the decision

to order a replay.“What the rule says in

such security breach thatleads to the abandonmentof a game is that the hometeam loses the points. Whyis it difficult for the LMCto apply the rule? We willnot go to Abuja to replaythat match. The rule should

prevail. We are taking thisdecision to fight for justicefor Nigerian football. Letthe right thing be done sothat our football can grow.What they are doing isencouraging violence.Supporters of any club cannow kill and get a rematch.We must all stand forjustice in our football,”Amaju said.

Ogunjobi criesover NFF’spersecution

FORMER SecretaryGeneral of the

Nigeria FootballAssociation (NFA) ChiefTaiwo Ogunjobi hasdecried allegation ofswindling a FlyingEagles player, KayodeOlanrewaju saying it isan attempt to persecuteand malign him beforethe 2014 election into theNigeria FootballFederation board. TheOsun State FA boss ismiffed that football issuescould be taken to such aridiculous level ofinstigating a player to lieagainst an individual.

The NFF set up aninvestigative panelheaded by Chris Greenon Monday to look intoallegation against thePrime FC of Osogbo bossafter Kayode wasreported to haveallegedly accused him ofan offence the NFF didnot disclose in its pressrelease on Monday.

“This is strange,” ChiefOgunjobi snapped. “It isridiculous. How and whywill NFF investigate me?I am not a FIFA licensedagent; I am just anindividual.''

Guinness promises $2,000 foreach goal

GUINNESS, officialsponsor of the

Nigeria Super Eagleshas again thrown itsweight behind the SuperEagles as it announceda $2,000 reward for eachgoal scored by theNational team againstMalawi in the 2014 FIFAWorld Cup qualifying

game scheduled forCalabar on Saturday tospur the Super Eagles tovictory.

Reassuring the team ofits unwavering support,Guinness urges theAfrican Champions togo for goals and qualifyfor the World Cup.

•Mba

IDAH Peterside, theNigerian ex

international who is asoccer analyst on DSTVhas added another featherto his cap.

The former Eagles goalkeeper retired in SouthAfrica and started a churchthere while also workingfor Multichoice, the ownersof DSTV as a commentatoron Supersport.

After the 2010 WorldCup, he relinquished thejob of a spokesman of theSuper Eagles, saying thathe needed time toconcentrate more on hischurch, The ChristAmbassador Church inJohannesburg which hesaid was “touching manylives.”

Peterside informedyesterday that ChristAmbassador Church hasestablished a cabletelevision station namedATV. Said he:

“It is a ChristianTelevision and it is onDSTV in South Africa. It isreceived in Australia, UK,parts of Europe like Spainand some Sub SaharaAfrica. We do programmeson Gospel, lifestyle,Comedy and a few otherthings. We may add sportsto it in a way soon. ChristAmbassador Church isgowing and one of thebiggest in South Africa.God has been faithful to us.When I look back to myhumble background I can’tbelieve what ishappening. God isawesome.''

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 4, 2013 — 53

'There’s no bread on the table but no worries,'There’s no bread on the table but no worries,'There’s no bread on the table but no worries,'There’s no bread on the table but no worries,'There’s no bread on the table but no worries,we’ve got Bale'we’ve got Bale'we’ve got Bale'we’ve got Bale'we’ve got Bale'LIKE the astronomical

salaries of CEOs, theworld of top footballersappears to be recession-proof. Never mind thatmost Spanish clubs arehugely in debt and manyhaven’t paid taxes foryears, Real Madrid havecoughed up €100m for theWelsh winger Gareth Bale.Bale will be paid €6m ayear – €1 for each of Spain’s6 million unemployed. Heis 24 but he won’t beamong the 56% of Spain’sunder-25s who are out ofwork, nor the others whoare stuck at home onsalaries of €600 a month.

“It’s a sad day,” saidToni, a waiter in Barcelona.“While the country is sunkin misery, families areruined and children aregrowing up in poverty, thisguy turns up and we pay€91m for him. Really, we’velost the plot.”

“I think Spanish clubsshould stop spending onforeign players and

La Liga is the Real deal — BaleREAL Madrid’s new

world-record signingGareth Bale has delivereda blow to the PremierLeague by insisting theSpanish La Liga is the bestleague in the world.

Welsh star Bale finallysealed a £86million moveto the Spanish giants onSunday night after aprotracted saga throughoutthe summer over his switchfrom Tottenham.

And in his first interviewas a Madrid player, Balesaid he believes his newhome plays host to theworld’s brightest talents.

‘I’m very excited to behere. I think La Liga is thebest league in the world,’Bale told Real Madrid TV.

‘It has the best playersplaying here and I can’t

wait for it to start.’Real’s bitter rivals

Barcelona made a bigsigning of their own withthe £50m capture ofBrazilian star Neymarlining up alongside LionelMessi, with Bale joiningformer ManchesterUnited star CristianoRonaldo at Real.

Bale said he is lookingforward to joining up withhis new team-mate,insisting that he, notMessi, is the world’s No 1player.

‘It’s another dream cometrue for me. I’ve beenwatching him since he firststarted at ManchesterUnited,’ said Bale.

‘For me, he’s the bestplayer in the world, it willbe a pleasure to play withhim. You can only learn offthe best and he certainly isthat.

‘Hopefully we can bothwork together and providemore trophies for RealMadrid in a great team.’

•Ronaldo •Messi •Neymar

I’ll repayArsenal’sfaith in me— Ozil

MESUT Ozil has nodoubts he can take

his game to a new level atArsenal and revealed hewas convinced to sign byArsène Wenger after RealMadrid lost faith in him.

The 24-year-oldGermany internationalcompleted a club-recordtransfer from Real Madridlate on Monday eveningfor £42.5m.

Ozil revealed that onceit was clear he no longerfigured in the first-teamplans of the Madridmanager Carlo Ancelottifollowing the world-recordsigning of Gareth Balefrom Tottenham, that hehad no hesitation inaccepting a freshchallenge at Arsenal.

Speaking to the Germanfootball federation’swebsite, www.dfb.de, Ozilsaid: “At the weekend, Iwas certain that I wouldstay at Real Madrid butafterwards I realised that Idid not have the faith fromthe coach or the bosses. Iam a player who needs thisfaith and that is what Ihave felt from Arsenal,which is why I have joined.

•Ozil

In Spain, the bakery mayhave shut down but thecircus is still hiring, it’spaying top dollar, and thepublic love it.

instead invest in youthteams,” said Miguel, astudent from Tarragona.“Besides, Barcelona havewon 16 cups spending halfwhat Madrid have. And ifthis money is a loanguaranteed by Bankia, asit was when they signedRonaldo, maybe we’ll allend up paying for it, notMadrid.”

Despite Spain’s direeconomy and colossalunemployment, readingthrough the hundreds ofreaders’ comments in theMadrid sports dailyMarca, the prevailingargument is not that payingsuch a fee is scandalous orwhether Bale is worth it,but whether he will besuccessful and, above all,if he will help the club toovertake Barcelona.

“The crisis is over, Baleis here,” quipped onereader. “There’s no breadon the table but no worries,we’ve got Bale.”

After the anticipation ofan on-off transfer story that

has been running allsummer, about 30,000 fansturned out at Real Madrid’sBernabéu stadium towelcome the player. Bale,accompanied by his family,won the fans over bykissing the team’s badge.He then said, in Spanish:“It’s always been mydream to play for RealMadrid. Thank you forsuch a warm welcome.”

In his first pressconference Bale said themoney wasn’t an issue. “Iwould have signed for acent,” he said. He was alsoquick to praise his fellowplayer Cristiano Ronaldo,who many believe isjealous of Bale. While thetalk is of Bale signing for€100m, the figure releasedby Madrid is €91m,ensuring it is not higherthan the €96m they paidfor the prickly Ronaldo.

Prof Sandalio Gómez ofIESE Business School’scentre for sports businessmanagement, an expert on

Real Madrid, said thatwhen it came to footballyou had to look at theinvestment from both aneconomic and a sportingperspective. “Trophiesaren’t worth mucheconomically, but winningattracts sponsors and TVrights. Real Madrid paidthe same amount of moneyfor Cristiano Ronaldo as forBale and no one disputesthat it was money wellspent because of theattention it brings the club.Or look at David Beckham.They didn’t sign Beckhamto play football becausethey didn’t need him forthat; they needed himbecause the media lovehim and for that reason hewas a profitable signing.Bale is not a media star, butif he’s successful as aplayer, he could becomeone.”

In Spain, the bakery mayhave shut down but thecircus is still hiring, it’spaying top dollar, and thepublic love it.

,

,

BALE OF MONEY— Gareth



Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-8944295. Advert Dept: 01-7924470;Hotline: 01-8737028; Abuja: 09-2341102, 09-2342704. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. Advert:[email protected]

Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: MIDENO BAYAGBON. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

How to Play Sudoku

Place a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line canhave two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (alsonine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within abold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1through 9. This means that no number can appear twicein any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, divisionor multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

FRIFRIFRIFRIFRIDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSTODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLE

Sudoku

FRIDAY'S SOLUTIONS

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORD

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 , 2013

ACROSS1 Plan (4)4 Watch (3)6 Job (4)9 Sheep (3)10 Peeled (8)11 Torn (4)14 Hill (3)16 Flat (5)19 Contemplate (8)21 Not ever (5)23 Dedication (8)24 Danger (5)27 Permit (5)31 Swift (4)33 Entertain (8)34 Golf-peg (3)35 Ale (4)36 Youth (3)37 Neat (4)

DOWN2 Tardy (4)3 Excursion (4)4 Burst (8)5 Whirlpool (4)6 Abrupt (5)7 Wonder (3)8 Feeling (5)12 Fragment (5)13 Beneath (5)14 Can (3)15 Spree (5)17 Sound (5)18 Mendacious (5)20 Backed (8)22 Decay (3)25 Exhilarate (5)26 Bury (5)28 Image (4)29 Worry (4)30 Tart (4)32 Observe (3)

ACROSS: 1, Object 5, Seam 8, Assemble 9,Item 10, Ash 12, Learn 15, Mad 17, One 18,Era 19, Emu 20, Gove 21, Kit 22, Sea 23, Due24, Tie 26, Lofty 29, Rid 33, Fate 34, Tortured35, Better 36, Bungle.

DOWN: 2, Basis 3, Even 4, Table 5, Steer 6,Arid 7, Arena 10, Agent 11, House 12, Legal13, Aloof 14, Needy 15, Maker 16, Dated 25,Image 27, Outer 28, Throb 30, Ideal 31, Test32, Turn.

MikMikMikMikMikel, Moses, 1el, Moses, 1el, Moses, 1el, Moses, 1el, Moses, 16 Eagles6 Eagles6 Eagles6 Eagles6 Eaglesstorm Calabarstorm Calabarstorm Calabarstorm Calabarstorm Calabar

Mba snubbed ‘slave deal’— Wolves — P.28La Liga is the Real deal— P.53I'll repay Arsenal's faith inme — Ozil — P.53

•Calabar is comfortableMalawi FA makes U-turn

AFTER a dullMonday afternoon,

the Super Eagles campat the TranscorpMetropolitan Hotelcame alive on Tuesdayafternoon with almost allthe top actors already intown, though only 12 ofthem trained in theevening session at the

UJ Esuene Stadium inCalabar.

Among early trainersfor the Africanchampions are stand-inskipper, VincentEnyeama, Chelseasuperstar, John MikelObi, goalkeepers AusinEjide and ChigozieAgbim. New Turkey

recruit, GodfreyOboabona, JamesOkwuosa, who was thefirst player to arrivecamp on Mondaymorning, Brown Ideye,Solomon Kwambe,Benjamin Francis,Azubuike Egwuekwe,Lazio midfield anchor,Continues on Page 52

F O O T B A L LAssociation of

Malawi is comfortablewith Calabar to host thecrucial World Cupqualifier against theSuper Eagles.

This is in contrast tothe association’s fearsover the choice ofCalabar which promptedFam to lodge a

complaint to Fifa toconsider it changing thevenue because ofsecurity concerns.

Fam General SecretarySuzgo Nyirenda, whocame as an advanceparty with theassociation’s accountantChristopher Mdoloto tocheck on the condition

of the state, said theircounterparts have giventhem a warm reception.

Nyirenda stated in amedia statement onTuesday that they weregiven a chance toinspect some hotels andsettled for Dannic Hotel.

“NFF (Nigeria FootballContinues on Page 52 •Moses

•Mikel

TWO WEEKS TO LIVE

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PDP MELTDOWN: 58 Reps, more senators back Baraje's nPDP

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