...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 62672

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016**

Mr & Mrs

•Vows not to work on budget until real copies are available•Demands electronic version to make own copies for Senators

Continues on Page 5

Buhari's aide gave us fake2016 budget — SENATE

By Henry Umoru &Joseph Erunke

ABUJA —Rumblings over

whereabouts of the 2016Budget proposal of theFederal Government inthe Senate came to aclimax yesterday as theSenate accused theSenior Special Assistantto the President

IT is exactly 50 years today since the militaryadventurers foisted a successful coup on the nation. Thecoup not only shaped Nigeria’s democracy, it also led tothe killings of prominent political leaders.

In this special edition, Vanguard reflects on the successof Operation Damisa, as the coup exercise was named,why it was called an Igbo coup, and what was regardedas one of its immediate causes.

...See pages 37-40.

Court ordersarrest of Tompolo

12

Sinking Naira: Senatesummons CBN gov, Emefiele

Alleged N400mfraud: EFCC files7-count chargeagainst Metuh 9

2

Medical doctor dies of Lassafever in Rivers 6

ARRAIGNED—Former Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr PatrickAkpobolokemi (M), being assisted by one of his counsel, at the Federal High Court in Ikoyi,, Lagos, where he was arraigned bythe EFCC for alleged fraud and money laundering, yesterday. Photo: NAN.

CMYK

50 years after Operation Damisa

Eritrea:A decayedrevolution

More aboutmanagingsuccess withgrace

OWEILAKEMFA

P.19

DONUKOGBARA

P.17

SWEET & SOUR

COLUMNISTS:

2—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

S.L.A. AKINTOLA: From left— Ambassador Abayomi Akintola; immediate past Governor of Oyo State, Chief AdebayoAlao-Akala, and his successor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, at a lecture marking the 50th anniversary of the death of the late Premierof the Western Region, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola, at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, yesterday.

THE naira appreciatedyesterday to N302 per

dollar in the parallel market,thus halting three days ofsharp depreciation even as theprice of Nigeria’s referencecrude oil grade, Bonny Light,slid below the $30 per barrelmark, dropping to $29.47 perbarrel.

Meanwhile, following theincreasing depreciation of thenaira, the Senate, yesterday,summoned the Central Bankof Nigeria, CBN, Governor,Godwin Emefiele, to appearbefore it next week.

From N305 per dollar,Wednesday, the parallelmarket exchange rate droppedto N302 per dollar at the closeof business yesterday,indicating a N3 appreciation.

President, Association ofBureaux De ChangeOperators of Nigeria,ABCON, Alhaji AminuGwadabe, said that theappreciation was occasionedby drop in demand for foreignexchange and indications thatCBN might review its decisionto stop dollar sales to bureauxde change, BDCs.

The naira depreciated in theparallel market by N25 nairabetween Monday andWednesday, following theannouncement by CBN onMonday to stop sales of dollarsto BDCs.

Earnings dipAlso, the price of Nigeria’s

reference crude oil grade,Bonny Light, slid below the$30 per barrel mark, droppingto $29.47 per barrel, according

SINKING NAIRA: Senatesummons CBN Gov, Emefiele

to data obtained, yesterday,from CBN.

This was even as the price ofBrent crude, the benchmarkcrude oil grade, rose to $30.77per barrel in the internationalmarket. Brent crude haddipped below $30 a barrel onWednesday, for the first timein more than 10 years, a dayafter the U.S. benchmark tooka similar fall.

Specifically, Brent traded aslow as $29.96 a barrel beforesettling down 55 cents, or 1.8percent, at $30.31 a barrel onICE Futures Europe, the lowestsettlement since April 2004.

Therefore, using an averagecrude oil production of 2.2million barrels per day, asstated by CBN, it is expectedthat the total amount accruableto the Federal Governmentand oil companies in Nigeriaon a daily basis would dip to$64.83 million, about N12.967billion daily, using an averageexchange rate of N200 to adollar.

Job loss at BP,Shell, Chevron

Consequently, as a result ofthe continuous decline in theprice of Nigeria’s Bonny Lightand other crude oil grades,experts are predicting massivejob cuts in the Nigerian andglobal oil and gasindustryiesin the next coupleof days.

Already, the world’s biggestoil companies are slashing jobsand discontinuing majorinvestments, especially as theprice of crude falls to new lows.

A report obtained from theAssociated Press noted thatcompanies that would beaffected by the declining oilprice would not only be the big

oil producers, but the numer-ous companies that do busi-ness with them, such as drill-ing contractors and equip-ment suppliers.

Particularly, companies likeBP, which had earlier in theweek said it is cutting 4,000jobs, had alreadycommenced trimming downtheir operations to cope withthe slump in oil, whose pricehad plummeted to its lowestlevel in 12 years and is notexpected to recoversignificantly for months,possibly years.

The report had quotedChevron as saying last yearthat it would eliminate 7,000jobs, while Shell announced6,500 layoffs. Furthermore,some analysts are forecastinga drop near $10 a barrel,making companies to braceup for more trouble.

In particular, MichaelHewson, chief market analystat CMC Markets, said:“Calling the bottom in amarket is always dangerous,akin to catching a fallingknife. But when the clamourfor lower prices becomes astampede, warning signsand alarm bells tend to startgoing off, which suggeststhat a more prudent approachmight be advisable.”

The uncertainty, the reportsaid, is making companiesthink twice before sinkingmoney into new oil projects.

“On the North Sea, there isa standstill in the newproject, which may create ahole in the pipeline ofprojects next year,” saidFlorent Maisonneuve,Managing Director and co-head of Oil & Gas atAlixPartners in Paris.

Subsequently, CBN had in itsEconomic Report for the Monthof October 2015, put the averageprice of Nigeria’s reference crude,Bonny Light at $49.23 per barrelin October, indicating a 1.3percent increase relative to thelevel in the preceding month.

The Nigerian NationalPetroleum Corporation, NNPC,on the other hand, had statedýthat of the 18.24 million barrelsof crude oil lifted on the accountof NNPC in October 2015, 12.07million barrels and 6.17 millionbarrels were for domestic andexport markets, respectively.

It said: “At an average oil priceof $47.45 per barrel andexchange rate of N195.95 to adollar, the domestic crude oillifted by NNPC is valued at$572.998 million or a Nairaequivalent of N112.279 billion forthe period.

“The remaining crude oil liftedfor export was valued at$305,856,048.03 at an averageprice of $49.58/barrel. The totalvalue of crude oil lifted on theaccount of NNPC in October,2015 was thus $878.854 million."

Meanwhile, concerned by theincreasing depreciation of theNaira, the Senate, yesterday,summoned the CBN Governor,Godwin Emefiele, to appearbefore it on Tuesday next weekat 11a.m., to explain thecontinuous weakening of Nairaagainst the Dollar.

The development was sequel toa Point of Order raised by theLeader of the Senate, Ali Ndume,APC, Borno South.

The Senate President, BukolaSaraki, who presided over theplenary where the issue wasraised, having listened to SenatorNdume, subsequently directedNdume to convey the Senate’sresolution to the CBN governor.

By Babajide Komolafe,Henry Umoru, Joseph

Erunke & Michael Eboh

Missing2016budgetshameful—PDP

By Henry Umoru

ABUJA—THE PeoplesDemocratic Party,

PDP, yesterday, describedas shameful and ani n t e r n a t i o n a lembarrassment thedeclaration by the Senatethat the hard copy of the2016 budget presented tothe National Assembly,NASS, by the Presidencywas missing.

The party has, therefore,asked the NationalAssembly to immediatelycommence impeachmentprocess of PresidentMuhammadu Buhari.

The party also urged theSenate to carry out athorough and holisticinvestigation into thematter.

In a statement,yesterday, by PDP's ActingNational Chairman,Prince Uche Secondus,the party also asked theMinisters of Finance,Mrs. Kemi Adeosun;Budget and NationalPlanning, Udo Udoma,and the Governor ofCentral Bank of Nigeria,CBN, Godwin Emefiele,to resign having failed toprovide the much-neededcapacity in themanagement of thenation’s economy,resulting in theembarrassing crashing ofthe nation’s currency.

Secondus said: “TheNational WorkingCommittee of PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,rose from a meetingThursday (yesterday)charging the NationalAssembly to commenceimpeachment of PresidentMuhammadu Buhari forthe various constitutionalbreaches, especially thesubmission of twoversions of the 2006budget.

“The party said theNational Assemblyshould thoroughlyinvestigate the shamefulact, including thedistortion and banding offigures to accommodatetheir personal interest andensure that appropriatesanctions is meted towhoever has a hand in thedubious action that hasbrought embarrassmentto the legislative body.''

ANGUARD, ANGUARD, ANGUARD, ANGUARD, ANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 — 3— 3— 3— 3— 3

4 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

EFCC's eagerness to arraign Tompolosuspicious —Ijaw group

Observers laud INEC's conduct of Bayelsa pollBy Samuel Oyadongha

College of Education Agbor to getfirst on-campus hostel

Court issues bench warrant for Rep's arrestWe nevercautionedAnirah againstIgbuya, saysgroup

By Gabriel Enogholase

By Emma Amaize

ASABA—THE Ijaw PeopleDevelopment Initiative,

IPDI, Warri, Delta State, hassaid that the hyperactive attemptby the Economic and FinancialCrimes Commission, EFCC, toarraign the leader of the defunctMovement for the Emancipationof the Niger Delta, MEND,Government Ekpemupolo, aliasTompolo, in court, was to servethe private interests of somescheming persons.

National President of thegroup, Austin Ozobo, toldVanguard on phone, “It ispalpable that the court summonsdemanding Tompolo'scompulsory appearance doesnot serve the best interest of thecountry, it was meant to servethe personal interests of someunscrupulous elements.

“In the first instance, he didnot receive the summons inquestion even as at Wednesdayand could not have appeared incourt the next day, Thursday.The people who orchestratedthe affair know he would notappear in court on Thursday.They have a hidden agenda.

“This is simply an attempt towitch-hunt him politicall. Wecondemn the flagrant threats todeclare Tompolo wanted, which

is the next plan.“It is a fact that the judiciary

is no longer independent.President MuhammaduBuhari now controls thejudiciary, they should goahead and make any order thatsuits him.”

IPDI, however, advised,“The government in ouropinion should harmonizeTompolo’s many contributions

as regards the sustainablepeace in the Niger Delta andnot upset him with flimsyaccusations.

“Oil supply in this countrywas cut down to 500 barrelsfrom 2.5 million barrels perday and Tompolo yielded toformer Presidents UmaruYar ’Adua and GoodluckJonathan’s call and acceptedamnesty and today, the daily

crude supply has increased to2.8 million barrels.

“From when he acceptedamnesty till now, he has beenhelpful to government atvarious levels in maintaininglaw and order. So, it is left forthe current government todecide what it wants to do, tocontinue to witch-hunt him forpolitical reasons or actotherwise.”

COMMISSIONING: From left: Amb. Patrick Dele Cole; David Venn, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Spectranet 4G LTE and Dr Ishmael Igbani, Chairman, Intercontinental DistillersLimited, during the commissioning of Spectranet office and commercial launch of Spectranetbrand in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

BENIN—AN Edo StateHigh Court sitting in

Benin has issued a benchwarrant for the arrest of Mr.Philip Shauibu, a member ofthe House of Representatives,representing Etsako federalconstituency over his failure toappear in court in the chargebrought against him by theIndependent Corrupt PracticesCommission, ICPC.

Trial judge in the matter isJustice Esther Ikponmwen.

Shauibu is facing a six-courtcharge of false declaration ofhis income tax clearance inwhich he had claimed that hewas a staff of Zaknote VenturesNig. Ltd in November, 2006.

The lawmaker is said to haveabsented himself from the courton two occasions for thecommencement of hearing onthe matter. When the mattercame up for hearing yesterday,Justice Ikponmwen orderedthat Shauibu be brought to thecourt on January 21, 2016, theday the matter was adjournedto.

In the charge before the courtby the ICPC, Shauibu wasalleged to have, in July 2010in Abuja, knowingly made afalse statement to officers of theICPC by stating that he was anemployee of Zaknote Ventures

Nig. Ltd, from 2003 to 2006.He was alleged to have

made a false statementknowingly to officers of theBoard of Internal Revenue,Edo State, contrary to Section25 (1) (a) and punishableunder the same section of theICPC Act, 2000.

The lawmaker was alsoalleged to have in November

2006, furnished a falsestatement to officers of theBoard of Internal Revenue,Edo State, stating in theforms he submitted forapplication for Income TaxClearance Certificate that hewas an employee of ZaknoteVentures Nig. Ltd, which heknew was not true.

He was also alleged to

have furnished falseinformation to officers of theBoard of Internal Revenue,Edo State, when he appliedfor his income tax clearancecertificate and claimed thatthe application was made bythe management of ZaknoteVentures Nig. Ltd., which wasfalse and misleading.

YENAGOA—A coalitionof Independent National

Electoral Commission, INEC,accredited observer groups forthe Bayelsa State governorshipelection, yesterday, declared thejust concluded poll astransparent, free, fair andcredible, saying it complied withthe relevant electoral laws andglobal best practice.

The coalition, in acommuniqué in Yenagoa andread by Dr. Gabriel Nwabu,President, Centre For CredibleLeadership and Citizens,recommended the Bayelsa pollas a model for other elections inthe country.

He said, “There was aremarkable improvement in theperformance of the Card Readersin terms of authenticatingPermanent Voters’ Cards andresolving issues associated with

over voting, snatching of ballotboxes, and manipulation ofelection.

“We, as a coalition of INECaccredited observer groupshereby adjudge that althoughthe process was characterizedby massive violence, thuggery,

ballot box snatching, it must benoted that INEC is an electoralmanagement body and not asecurity/law enforcementagency. Consequently, theentire process as demonstratedby INEC was transparent, freefair and credible."

Osanebi laudsOkowa’scommitment tolaw and order

By Tare Youdeowei

AGBOR—HERITAGEPlus, an Abuja-based

organisation, has said that itwas set to construct the first on-campus hostel in Delta StateCollege of Education, Ika, DeltaState, in a bid to correct theanomaly of students staying offcampus which exposes them tomoral decadence.

Managing Director of the

organisation, Mr. RobinsonUhrorho, in a statement,yesterday, said that thefoundation laying ceremony willhold in February in the school’spremises.

The proposed hostel which,according to Uhrorho, is to helpthe growth of education in DeltaState, is to be named after PaAuthur Okowa, an educationistand father of Delta Stategovernor, Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa.

By Festu Ahon

ASABA—A chieftain ofAll Progressives

Congress, APC, in Delta State,Mr Famous Sagay, hasdescribed as false andbaseless, a media report thata group, the Politicians andPolitical Office Holders,PPOHIS, cautioned theparty’s House of Assemblycandidate in Sapeleconstituency, Chief FelixAnirah, against engaging incampaign of calumny againstthe Speaker of the State Houseof Assembly, Chief MondayIgbuya.

Reacting to the media report,Sagay, a former Secretary toSapele Local GovernmentLocal Government Area,alleged that the PPOHISwhich purportedly issued thestatement and its Chairman,Ogheneochuko Abeke, werefaceless.

He added that frominvestigations, “There is noone with the nameOgheneochuko in Abekefamily.”

By Godwin Oghre

S A P E L E — D E P U T YSpeaker, Delta State

House of Assembly, Mr.Friday Osanebi, hascommended GovernorIfeanyi Okowa and theExecutive Council of DeltaState Government for theirunalloyed commitment tomaintaining law and orderin order to boost investors'confidence in the state.

Osanebi made thecommendation yesterdaywhile speaking with newsmen shortly after a one-daystakeholders summit onvandalism of oil and gasfacilities and installationswith the theme, “Securityand EnvironmentalChallenges in Oil and GasSector in Delta State - TheWay Forward,” at PetroleumTraining Institute, PTI,Effurun.

The Deputy Speakermaintained that GovernorOkowa had demonstratedan unchecked zeal andcommitment towardsensuring peace in the state.

“Governor Okowa hasdemonstrated unrestrainedzeal and passion inensuring a peaceful DeltaState where investmentcan strive,” Osanebi, said.

CMYK

POCKET CARTOONVanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15 , 2016—5

IT'S UP TO YOUBY AYO ADIO

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

Buhari's aide gave us fake2016 budget — Senate

SAYINGS OF OUR PEOPLE

Continues from Page 1

Never let a problem to be solved become moreimportant than a person to be loved

— Thomas Monson

IF you are too busy to help other people, thenyou have missed the mark. Taking the time to

spontaneously, as well as plan events that helpsother people, maybe one of the greatest joy in lifeyou. Helping others helps open you up to new sideof yourself. It helps you connect deeper with thoseyou help and humanity in general. And for most, itmakes for meaningful existence in a world that isself-focused.

NEVER let what you are going through breakyou, instead use the situation to break a record.

It's up to you.

You don't tell a blind man that there is nosalt in the soup.

(Senate), Senator ItaEnang of doctoring andcirculating fake copies ofthe budget proposals.

In defence of itsintegrity, the Senatevowed not to work on thefake proposals allegedlycirculated by Enang untilit receives an electroniccopy of the budgetdocument which will bereproduced for senators.

Vanguard also learnedyesterday that the samealteration of the budgetdocument was done inthe House ofRepresentatives, butHouse officials werequick to intercept thedoctoring and insist onthe circulation of theoriginal proposals assubmitted by thePresident.

Circumstances aroundthe budget documentbecame an issue last

Tuesday when itemerged that theproposal as submitted bythe President could nolonger be traced. Thediscovery prompted theSenate into a closed-doorsession following whichthe Senate Committee onEthics was mandated toinvestigate the issue.The issue also led thePresident of the Senate,Senator Bukola Saraki tomeet with PresidentMuhammadu Buhari onTuesday afternoon.

Senator Sarakiyesterday confirmed thedoctoring of the budgetproposals by Enang atthe end of deliberationson the report of theSenate Committee onEthics and PublicPetitions on the issue.Saraki added that theavailable hard copy ofthe budget presented tothe Senate was differentfrom the one laid before

the two chambers of theNational Assembly byPresident MuhammaduBuhari, shortly beforeboth chambers embarkedon Yuletide break lastDecember. Senateofficials, however, shiedaway from pointing outthe differences betweenthe two copies yesterday.

Senator Sarakinevertheless, said thereport of the committeefingered the SeniorSpecial Assistant to thePresident on NationalAssembly Matters(Senate), SenatorEnang, for the act. Hesaid the Senate would assuch suspend its initialplan to beginconsideration of the 2016appropriation bill untilthe Presidency submitsthe soft copy of theoriginal budget that waslaid before the twochambers of thelegislature. His words:

“We have received thereport of the Committeeon Ethics, Privileges andPublic Petitions oni n v e s t i g a t i o n ssurrounding 2016Appropriation Bill. Ourfinding is that SenatorIta Enang, the SeniorSpecial Assistant to thePresident on NationalAssembly Matters(Senate), Ita Enangprinted copies of the2016 Appropriation Billand brought to theSenate.

“We have discoveredthat what he brought isdifferent from the versionpresented by MrPresident. We haveresolved to consider onlythe version presented byMr President as soon aswe receive soft copy ofthe original documentfrom the executive."

‘Budget notmissing’

But briefing newsmen,after the day’s plenary,Senate spokesperson,Senator Sabi Abdullahi,said, “The report about amissing budget is nottrue. We don’t have abudget that is missing.But you recall that theSenate President didinform Nigerians thatthere is an issue that acommittee was asked toinvestigate. Theinvestigation by thecommittee on Ethics,Privileges and PublicPetitions, has beensubmitted in theexecutive session. It wasa decision we took at thelast executive session.

“Our findings arethese: That Mr.President did lay thebudget before the jointsession of the NationalAssembly and thereafter,the Senate went onrecess and uponresumption, copies of thedocument were producedby Senator Ita Enang,who is the SSA to thePresident on NationalAssembly Matters(Senate) and the copieswere submitted to theSenate and House ofRepresentatives.

“What we found out isthat the documentsubmitted by Senator ItaEnang, upon ourresumption, has somed i f f e r e n c e s ,discrepancies with whatwas originally laid byMr. President in the jointsitting of the NationalAssembly.

“However, the Senatein defence of its ownintegrity, honour, will notwork with what has notbeen laid on the floor ofthe National Assembly.We are constitutionallymandated and dutybound to consider onlythat budget that hadbeen so laid by MrPresident.

“Right now, forreproduction, we areawaiting the soft copy ofthe originally submittedbudget so that theNational Assembly canreproduce the copy itself.That is the only time wecan have confidence inthe document we want towork with.

“The budget submittedby the President is notmissing; we already havecopies of it but what weare saying is that for usto reproduce for ourmembers, it is easier,based on the quantum ofdocument that has to beproduced, that we getthe soft copy of thatoriginal version so thatwe can reproduce it. ‘“

He disclosed that theSenate has fixedTuesday, next week todiscuss the budget,saying copies of the

document would becirculated to senatorswhen the soft copydemanded from thepresidency was received.

“By next week, we wantto go down to business,senators have pickeddates to speak during thethree days set aside fordebate on the 2016budget.

“The Senate leadershipwas mandated to speakwith all those concernedwith the document, thatwas why the SenatePresident was in touchwith Mr President.”

Abdullahi refused tospeak on the claims bythe House ofRepresentatives that ithad its own originalversion of the document.

“I am not in theposition to say thedifferences between thedocument submitted bythe President and theone brought by ItaEnang. The committeethat investigated theissue did not include thatin their report.

“As at the time theSenate Presidentpromised to make copies

available to senatorstoday (Thursday ), hewas working on theassumption that whatwas brought by theexecutive were copies ofthe original copiessubmitted by MrPresident, but based onthe outcry, it wasdiscovered that there isanother version differentfrom what the Presidentgave us,” he said.

Meanwhile, SenatorEnang, who is at thecentre of thedevelopment, hasrefused to comment onthe level of hisinvolvement, as allegedby the Senate.

Enang told journalistswho sought his view onthe matter that he wouldnot join issues withsenators.

“I have chosen not tocomment on this issuefor personal reasons.

‘’We must worktogether to make theSenate as an institutionto grow. The President ismy boss and the senatorsare my bosses. I won’tjoin issues with them.So, let the whole matterremain as it is”, he said.

DIALOGUE—From left: Chairman of the Board, Media Trust Limited,Mallam Kabiru Yusuf; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; former Head of theFederal Civil Service, Alhaji Adamu Fika, and former Governor, CentralBank of Nigeria, Prof. Charles Soludo, during the 13th Daily Trust Dialogueat National Conference Centre & Suites in Kado, Abuja, yesterday. Photo:NAN.

Senate visits ICPC,promises to assist Buharion war against corruption

By Henry Umoru

A B U J A — T H ES e n a t e ,

yesterday, stormed theoffice of the IndependentCorrupt Practices andother Related OffencesCommission (ICPC),with a vow to supportPresident MuhammaduBuhari in his fightagainst corruption.

Speaking when he ledthe Senate Committee onAnti-Corruption andFinancial Crimes toICPC Chairman, Mr. NtaEkpo, Chairman of theCommittee, SenatorChukwuka Utazi saidthat the Senate will workout modalities on how tostrengthen anti-corruption institutions.

According to SenatorUtazi, this would beachieved during theconsideration of the 2016budget at the committeelevels, adding, “thisadministration has tofight corruption and weare here as a committeeto strengthen thiscommission. We are alsoasking you to look at theICPC Act and then bringsuggestions asamendments that willhelp us do our job.

“We are going to helpMr President succeed inhis fight againstcorruption. We must alsofocus on prevention,rather than prosecution.It bothers us that the onlything we hear aboutICPC and other anti-graft agencies isprosecution.”

6—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

PORT HARCOURT—Amedical doctor with

Rivers State-ownedBraithwait MemorialSpecialist Hospital,BMH, Dr. Livy Ijamala,has died from Lassa Fever,bringing to three thenumber of people killedby the disease in thestate.

Chairman of the statebranch of NigerianMedical Association,NMA, Dr. Furo Green,disclosed this yesterdayin Port Harcourt, sayingthe late doctor, Ijamala,who died in the earlyhours of yesterday fromthe ailment, had contactwith patients infectedwith Lassa Fever.

Dr. Furo added that thelate medical doctor hadbeen buried in line withrecommendations ofWorld HealthOrganization, WHO, fordeaths from contagiousdiseases.

He also said a teamfrom WHO had alreadyvisited the hospital forassessment, adding thatthe hospital had beendecontaminated and thatthose who had contactswith the late Dr. Ijamalahad been placed onobservation.

He said: “Last night,one of our hard-workingdoctors in the departmentof obstetrics gynaecology,Dr. Livy Ijamala, lost hislife following infectionwith Lassa Fever. This isthe price medical doctorsand health personnel payfor offering healthservices to the public.

“The hospital is beingdecontaminated as wespeak. All medical doctorsand healthcare personnelthat had primary contactwith the late medicaldoctor have been placedunder observation.”

… as doctorsbegin strike

He also said medicaldoctors in the state wereon three days strike toprotest the frequentabduction of medicaldoctors in the state.

He said within the weektwo of his colleagues, Dr.Isaac Opurum and Dr. IbAprioku were takenhostage at separate times.He said in 2015, 21doctors were abducted inthe state.

According to him, thewarning strike was to

draw attention to theplight of medical doctors.

He said: “While we arenot happy to go on strike,the strike now appears tobe a blessing in disguise

because fewer doctors andpatients came to thehospital today, thereby,reducing the rate ofcontacts among medicaldoctors and patients.”

Medical doctor dies ofLassa Fever in Rivers

By JimitotaOnoyume

A coroner ’s inquestinto the death of one

Ikechukwu Abasirim was,yesterday, told how thedeceased was crushed bya vehicle being pursuedby the Lagos StateTransport ManagementAuthority, LASTMA,officials on Apapa-Osodiexpressway.

The coroner ’s court,presided over byMagistrate M. K.O.Fadeyi of an OgbaMagistrates’ Court, wasinformed that thedeceased whoaccompanied his friend,one Demian Eke to repairhis faulty vehicle by theroad side, was crushed bya fleeing commercial busdriver pursued byLASTMA officials.

Leading proceedingsbefore the court, a lawyerto the deceased, KennedyOsunwa, explained thaton October 27, 2014,Abasirim, a conductor,was working with his

friend, along Cele-Mile 2Expressroad when theirvehicle developed a fault,prompting the driver topark at Rainbow BusStop.

According to the lawyer,“a combined team ofpolice and LASTMAofficials was pursuing acommercial bus from Mile2 to Rainbow.

“At that point, thedeceased alighted fromhis vehicle and thecommercial bus beingpursued by the officialscrushed him dead.

“His friend, Demian,rushed him to thehospital, where he wasconfirmed dead.”

Demian Eke alsotestified before the court.

The coroner had issuedwitness summons toLASTMA’s head officeand State CriminalInvestigation Department,SCID, Panti, Yaba, LagosState, to give evidence onwhat led to the killing oflate Abasirim.

The court decided toadjourn further hearing inthe case till January 28.

‘How LASTMA officialscaused my friend's death’

By AbdulwahabAbdulah & Jane

Echewodo

A businessman,Malam Yahai, has

been dragged before amagistrates’ court sittingin Garki LGA of JigawaState by a 14 years old girlfor allegedly raping andimpregnating her.

The 14-year-old isasking the court presidedover by Magistrate AliyuRoni of the MaigatarinBawan Allah Village inGarki Local Governmentto compel the suspect totake responsibility ofnaming of the new bornbaby she delivered,including slaughtering aram and providingclothes for her son.

Narrating her ordealbefore the court, the girl,who works as a house girlto Malam Yahai’s wife,said Yahai raped her

several times.She said Yahai always

took advantage of herwhenever his wife wasout of the house, adding“My Lord, I cannot tellhow many times he forcedhimself on me.”

The suspect was alsoaccused of allegedlygiving N30,0000 as bribeto the representative ofthe village of Siyori,Malam Salisu Makaho toinfluence police officershandling the case.

However, the suspect,Malam Yahai, pleadednot guilty to the charges.The judge ordered forfurther investigation,adding that when policeconclude investigation, adate for continuation ofhearing will be fixed andadjourned till thecompletion of policeinvestigations.

Man rapes, impregnates14-yr-old househelp

By Tina Akannam

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016—7

Loaded in Lagos. PHOTO: Biodun Ogunleye.

ENUGU—POLICE havearrested a suspect who

allegedly masterminded thekilling of a couple, Mr MarcelAba and his wife, Jacinta, atAmaja in Enugu Ezike inSeptember last year for aidingsecurity agents to free akidnapped man, who is fromAnambra State, and was tied toa tree in a forest close to thecouple’s home.

The suspect’s name wassimply given as Mr. Idoko, anative of the community.

The kidnapped man was seen

in the forest separating Amajacommunity from Adupi inBenue State in September by awoman, who ran back to informher husband. Her husband thenalerted members of thevigilante group in the area.

Members of the vigilantewere also said to have alertedthe nearest police station in thearea, which sent detectives tofree the kidnap victim.

However, the couple werereportedly slaughtered by thesuspected kidnappers,following a tip-off by somemembers of the vigilante groupfrom Amaja.

Suspected kidnappers killcouple for rescuing victim

By Emeka Mamah

A B E O K U TA — S O M Esuspected cultists

reportedly involved in thekilling of one Yusuf Ogidan inAgbado area recently and somekidnappers that abducted twofemale teenagers in Onihale,Ogun State, have been arrestedby the state Police Command.

State Police Public RelationsOfficer, Muyiwa Adejobi, in a

statement said the policeoperatives attached to AgbadoDivision of the command,Tuesday, embarked on massiveraid of black spots in Agbadoand its environs after the policegot a tip-off on the whereaboutsof some suspected cultists.

He said they were membersof Aye and Alora, who hadclashed within the area recentlyover supremacy, which led tothe death of Yusuf Ogidan.

Police arrest eight cultists in Ogun

By Daud Olatunji

A Lagos State HighCourt, Ikeja, has

remanded in Kirikiriprison, a 33-year-oldman, OyebuchiOkadigbo, for allegedlystealing N85 millionbelonging to one AlhajiMuhammed Adios.

The presiding judge,Justice SedotanOgunsanya, ordered thatthe defendant beremanded in the prisonand fixed March 24 forcommencement of trial.

Okadigbo wasarraigned on a two-countcharge bordering onconspiracy to commitarmed robbery, but hehowever pleaded notguilty.

The charge stated thatthe offence is contrary toSections 297 and 295 (2)(a) Criminal Law of LagosState, 2011.

According to the leadcounsel from the office ofDirector of PublicProsecution, DPP, MrsMosunmola Balogun, thedefendant and others atlarge committed theoffence on November 14,2014.

Balogun explained thatthe defendant and hisaccomplices robbed thevictim (Adios) in hisresidence, along LagosBadagry expressway.

The prosecutor

maintained that thedefendant, after collectingthe N85 miilion, also wentaway with the victim’sBlackberry Curve 5,clothes and ECOWASinternational passport.

Man, 33, remanded inprison over N85m theft

By BartholomewMadukwe

A carpenter, BenjaminJoseph, yesterday

appeared in a LugbeGrade 1 Area Court,Abuja, for allegedlypunching off the teeth ofa woman.

Joseph, 23, wasarraigned on a four-countcharge of criminaltrespass, assault, causinggrievous hurt and theft.

The prosecutor, MrsNdidi Ukaoha, told thecourt that one TimiladeOluwale of Gosa boreholereported the matter atIddo Police Station onDecember 11, 2015.

Ukaoha said that onDecember 10, Josephcame to the complainant’smedicine shop fortreatment on hiswounded leg and wascharged N1,200, whichhe refused to pay.

She said: “When Josephcame back to her the nextday demanding for drugs,she asked for the moneyin respect of the previousday’s service before shecould listen to him.

“She said that Josephforced his way into theshop and beat her up.

“The accused punchedthe mouth of thecomplainant and removedone of her teeth.”

She also said that in theprocess the complainantlost N50,000.

The prosecutor said thataction contravenedSections 342, 365, 241, and287 of the Penal Code.

The Judge, Mr. GarbaOgbede, granted himN100,000 bail and asurety in like sum, andadjourned the case tillFebruary 2 for hearing.

Carpenter in court forpunching off woman’s teeth

8 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

Securing release of 219 Chibok girlsmy responsibility —BuhariOrders NSA to probe the abduction

Says ‘I have done my best’

By LevinusNwabughiogu

ABUJA — PRESIDENTMuhammadu Buhari,

yesterday, said that securing therelease and safe return of themissing 219 Chibok girls was hisresponsibility.

This came as he orderedNational Security Adviser, NSA,General Babagana Munguno(retd), to set up a panel toinvestigate the abduction of thegirls from Government Secondaryin Chibok, Borno State in April2014.

The panel, however, is yet to benamed by NSA.

A statement by the Senior SpecialAssistant to the President onMedia and Publicity, MallamGarba Shehu, yesterday, statedthay the “investigation will seekto, among other things, unravel theremote and immediatecircumstances leading to thekidnap of the girls by Boko Haramterrorists as well the other events,actions and inactions that followedthe incident.”

Meanwhile, speaking at ameeting attended by some parentsof the abducted girls,representatives of the Chibokcommunity and members of the#BringBackOurGirls movement atthe Banquet Hall of the StateHouse, President Buhari said thathe remained fully committed to hispledge to rescue the girls.

He regretted that the previousgovernment he succeeded failedto purchase the necessaryweapons meant to adequatelycombat insurgency in the country.

His words: “I assure you that Igo to bed and wake up every daywith the Chibok girls on my mind.The unfortunate incidenthappened before this governmentcame into being.

"What have we done since weassumed office? We re-organizedthe military, removed all the servicechiefs and ordered the succeedingservice chiefs to deal decisivelywith the Boko Haram insurgency.

“In spite of the terrible economiccondition we found ourselves in,we tried to get some resources togive to the military to reorganizeand equip, retrain, deploy moretroops and move more forcefullyagainst Boko Haram.

“And you all know the progresswe have made. When we came in,Boko Haram was in Adamawa,Yobe and Borno. Boko Haram hasnow been reduced to areas aroundLake Chad.

Securing Chibok girlsmy responsibility

“Securing the Chibok girls is myresponsibility. The service chiefsand heads of our security agencieswill tell you that in spite of the dire

financial straits that we foundthe country in, I continue to domy best to support their effortsin that regard.

“This is a country where wewere exporting average of twomillion barrels per day at over$140 per barrel. Now it is downto about $27 to $30.

“You have been reading in thepress how they took publicfunds, our funds, your fundsand shared it, instead of buyingweapons. That was the kind of

leadership I succeeded. That wasthe kind of economy I inherited.”

I have donemy best

President Buhari, who wasaccompanied to the meeting bythe Minister of Defence, MansurMohammed Dan Ali; Ministerof Women Affairs, Hajiya AishaAlhassan; Chief of Defence Staff,Gen Gabriel Olonisakin; Chief ofArmy Staff, Lt.-Gen Tukur Burataiand National Security Adviser,

Maj.-Gen Babagana Monguno(retd), however, stated that hehad tried his best to secure therelease of the girls.

“God knows I have done mybest and I will continue to domy best,” Buhari said.

Also speaking at the meeting,Chief of Defence Staff said inthe last three months, themilitary has liberated more than3,000 people kidnapped byBoko Haram in the northeastern part of the country.

He said the military had theability to rescue the Chibokgirls, but added that“intelligence is delicate and wedon’t want to do anything tojeopardize the lives of the girls.”

VALEDICTION: From left, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers; Commissioner forJustice, Mr Chinwe Aguma, and retiring Chief Judge of the state, Justice Daisy Okocha,at the valedictory ceremony in honour of the Chief Judge, in Port Harcourt, yesterday.Photo: NAN.

LASSA FEVER: FG orders restriction of patients withhigh fever to states of residence

Begins search for 35 contacts of Abuja victim

By Sola Ogundipe &Victoria Ojeme

LAGOS — TO forestall theeffects of the Lassa fever

outbreak in the country, theFederal Government has urgedpatients with high fever not totravel out of their states ofresidence, even as tracing of 35persons believed to have hadcontact with the deceased Abujapatient has begun.

Disclosing this in Minna,Niger State during a courtesycall on the state governor,Abubakar Bello, Minister ofHealth, Prof. Isaac Adewole,said the restriction was part ofefforts by the FederalGovernment to strengthen theLassa fever alert system so as toachieve effective monitoring ofthe disease in the country,

Adewole, who noted that itwas failure of the notificationsystem that made it impossiblefor the ministry to respond

promptly to the situation in thestate, reiterated that the FederalGovernment’s mission andmandate in the health sector wasto keep every Nigerian safe.

He emphasised that since theoutbreak of the disease this year,the fatality rate in the countryhad so far remained at 44 percent.

The minister reassured thatthere was no person-to-person orhospital acquired infectionrecorded except the case inPlateau State, noting that thefederal ministry would supportall states and local governmentsin the training of health workersin the affected states, especiallyas there was need for furtherinvestigation of all the reportedcases.

In a directive to the ExecutiveDirector, National Primary HealthCare Development Agency,NPHCDA, Dr. AdoMuhammad, during a visit to thecommunity where 16 peoplewere killed by the current Lassa

fever outbreak, Adewoledirected the immediaterenovation of the primary healthcentre in Fuka, Niger State, andsaid it must be repositioned torender 24 hours service.

Search for 35 contactsof Abuja Lassafever victim

In a related development,tracing of 35 persons believedto have had contact with the lateAbuja Lassa fever patient hasbegun.

The deceased, whose identityremained unknown, died at theNational Hospital, Abuja onWednesday.

Coordinator, Nigeria Centrefor Disease Control (NCDC),Prof. Abudulsalam Nasidi,whoconfirmed the contact tracing,said 15 persons have beenplaced under surveillance. Thenumber, he stated, mightincrease by the end of the dayas the contact tracing iscontinuous.

Earlier, spokesperson of theNational Hospital, Mr. TayoHastrup, announced thesetting up of isolation centrein the hospital for treatmentof Lassa fever, as hospitalworkers have beenprepared for such casesshould there be anyreocurrence.

Haastrup also revealed thatthe test conducted on theother suspected patient cameout negative. He, therefore,assured FCT residents thatthe hospital was adequatelyprepared and ready to dealwith any emergency.

In his response, GovernorSani Bello, who wasrepresented by his deputy,Ahmed Ketso, called forincorporation of traditionalhealthcare healers into theNational Primary HealthCare delivery system duelargely to their being theclosest to the peopleparticularly in rural areas.

Terroristsnow hidebombsamongvegetables—Military

ABUJA — THE militaryhas alerted Nigerians

on the new strategy by BokoHaram terrorists to causehavoc among the populaceby masquerading as fruitsand vegetable vendors,wheeling ImprovisedExplosive Devices (IEDs) asgroceries into crowdedareas.

In a statement issued,yesterday, and signed by theActing Director of DefenceInformation, Brigadier-General Rabe Abubakar, themilitary said: “The terroristsnow hide IEDs undervegetable wares in carts andwheelbarrows and move tocrowded places where theydetonate them for maximumcasualties. The recentterrorists attack in the North-East is a case in point.

“Having been effectivelydislodged and decimated, theBoko Haram terror group hascommenced some systematicisolated attacks mainly on softtargets in their desperation toremain relevant.

“The Defence Headquartershereby advises the generalpublic to constantly be alert tothis latest terrorist tactics andto report promptly anysuspicious persons or objectsto the nearest security agency."

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 — 9

Alleged N400m fraud: EFCC files7-count charge against Metuh

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA — THE Economic andFinancial Crimes

Commission, EFCC, yesterday,preferred seven-count criminalcharge against detained NationalPublicity Secretary of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, Mr. OlisaMetuh.

Metuh and his firm, DestraInvestment Limited, were chargedbefore the Abuja Division of theFederal High Court over allegedN400 million fraud.

The charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/05/2016, was signed by theAssistant Director, Legal &Prosecution Department of theEFCC, Mr. Sylvanus Tahir.

The filing process was perfected,yesterday, by EFCC leadprosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs,SAN. The charge against Metuhborders on alleged moneylaundering, breach of trust andcriminal diversion of public funds.

Specifically, EFCC, alleged thatMetuh had in November 2014,collected N400 million from theerstwhile National SecurityAdviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki,(retd).

The fund, which was withdrawnfrom an account of the Office ofthe NSA operated with the CentralBank of Nigeria, CBN, wasallegedly transferred to Metuhthrough account no. 0040437573,which Destra Investments Limitedoperated with Diamond Bank Plc.

EFCC insisted that whereas thefund was earmarked for campaignactivities of the PDP, it said Metuhdiverted most of it to his personaluse. It alleged that Metuhconverted part of the money to $1million which he used for hispersonal business.

Besides, Metuh was alleged tohave transferred N21.7 million toanother chieftain of the PDP, ChiefTony Anenih.

18 witnesses to testifyagainst Metuh

Already, the anti-graft agencyhas lined up 18 witnesses that willtestify against Metuh and his firmbefore the high court.

Among those to testify in the caseare representatives of the Office ofthe NSA, representatives ofDiamond Bank, Access Bank,Sterling Bank, FirstBank, HeritageBank, Nneka Nicole Ararume,Alhaji Abba Dabo, Mallam KabiruIbrahim, Olayinka BadejoOkusanya of CMC Comet,Ahmadu Umar of KwalayeInvestment Limited, TheophilusMusa of Capital Fields Investmentand six EFCC investigators.

Though the charge againstMetuh has not been assigned toany judge for his arraignment,however, Justice Okon Abang,yesterday, adjourned till January20 to hear the suit challenging thecontinued detention of the PDPspokesman in EFCC custody.

Justice Abang adjourned hearingon Metuh’s fundamental rightenforcement suit on a day theEFCC insisted that his detentionwas sequel to a valid court order.

Detention sequel tovalid court order—EFCC

Counsel to the EFCC, Mr.Jacobs, SAN, maintained thatthe commission obtained aremand order against Metuh inline with provisions of theAdministration of CriminalJustice Act, 2015.

Jacobs said the ACJA, 2015,permitted the EFCC to detainan accused person pendingcompletion of investigation intocriminal allegations against suchperson, so far there is a validapproval from a competentcourt.

He said: "It is arrant nonsensefor anybody or group to say that

the suspect is being detainedillegally for political reasons.EFCC is established by law andas such, cannot take the laws intoits hand. The truth is that thereis a valid and subsisting courtorder that permitted thedetention of the man.

"The order was issued by thecourt based on the avalanche ofdocumentary evidence that wasplaced before it."

The EFCC lawyer told thecourt, yesterday, that thecommission would need time tostudy Metuh’s fundamental rightenforcement suit which he saidwas only served on the anti-graftagency Wednesday morning.

Arguing that EFCC still havefive days to respond to Me tuh’s

suit, Jacobs, yesterday,persuaded Justice Abang toadjourn the matter which hesaid was not ripe for hearing.

Even though Metuh, throughhis lawyer, Chief IfedayoAdedipe, SAN, urged the courtto abridge the time withinwhich the EFCC could respondto the suit, Justice Abang,yesterday, declined the prayer.

Adedipe accused the EFCCof not only detaining his clientillegally, but also failed toarraign him within the timestipulated by the law.

He contended that the anti-graft agency ought to haveconcluded its investigationsbefore arresting an accusedperson.

CBN reports a depressed manufacturingsector in 2015Non-manufacturing sector growing steadily

By Emeka Anaeto,Economy Editor

LAGOS— DATA from theCentral Bank of Nigeria,

CBN, has indicated sluggishgrowth amidst adverseoperating environment acrossmanufacturing sector at year end2015.

But the apex bank’s reportshows non-manufacturingsector at steady growth duringthe same period.

CBN Manufacturing PMIIndex for the month ofDecember 2015 showsproduction level and new ordersare growing at a slower rate, rawmaterial inventories (unusedraw materials) increasing at afaster rate, supplier deliverytime declining at a faster rate,and employment leveldecreasing at a slower rate.

The Statistics Department ofCBN conducts on monthlybasis, the survey of purchasingand supply executives ofmanufacturing and non-manufacturing organizations in13 states in Nigeria, two statesin each of the six geo-politicalzones, and the Federal Capital

Territory, FCT. The survey resultis used to compute the monthlyPurchasing Managers’ Index(PMI).

According to the survey results,Manufacturing PMI stood at 51.2per cent, same as in thepreceding month indicating alittle above average level ofactivities.

Of the 16 manufacturingproducts groups, eight reportedexpansion in the review monthin the following order: cementproducts; petroleum & coalproducts; food, beverage &tobacco products; textile,apparel, leather and footwearproducts; chemical &pharmaceutical products; plastics& rubber products; furniture &related products and primarymetal products.

The remaining eight sub-sectors, however, reportedcontraction in the following order:appliances and componentsproducts; non-metallic mineralproducts; transportationequipment; fabricated metalproducts; paper products;electrical equipments; computer& electronic products; andprinting & related support

activities.At 55.4 percent, the

production level index formanufacturing sector grew forthe fourth consecutive month.However, the index grew at aslower rate when comparedwith the level in November,2015.

Of the 16 manufacturing sub-sectors, 10 reported growth inproduction during the reviewmonth in the following order:cement products; petroleum &coal products; textile, apparel,leather and footwear products;food, beverage & tobaccoproducts; furniture & relatedproducts; chemical &pharmaceutical products;primary metal products; plastics& rubber products; printing &related support activities; andtransportation equipment.

The computer & electronicproducts sub-sector reported nochange while the remainingfive reported contractions inproduction during the reviewmonth in the following order:non-metallic mineral products;appliances and components;paper products; fabricatedmetal products and electricalequipment.

TOWNHALLMEETING:Director-General,Securities andExchangeCommission(SEC), MounirGwarzo (left)and CentralBank ofNigeria, CBN,Director,FSS2020, MrMohammedSuleyman,during a townhall meetingon e-DividendRegistration inAbuja. Photo:GbemigaOlamikan.

Exchangerate volatility,otherscripple stockmarket—NSE

By Peter Egwuatu &Nkiruka Nnorom

LAGOS — AMIDSTcontinued pressure in

the foreign exchangemarket, the Nigerian StockExchange, NSE, yesterdaysaid the continued slide inthe stock market indices isa fallout from the volatilityof the foreign exchange rateas well asu n c o m p l e m e n t a r yeconomic policies of thegovernment.

Chief Executive Officer,NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema,while presenting the stockmarket outlook for 2016,said the NSE expected2016 to be challenging forthe market after the indexshed 17.4 per cent last yearwith losses continuing intothis year, as oil pricesplunged and the domesticeconomy faltered.

According to him, “theprevailing volatility in theforeign exchange rate inthe country will continue topose challenges to thegrowth and recovery of theNigerian stock market.

He said: “Foreign equityinvestors, who accountedfor 54 per cent of tradingvolumes, were on thesidelines owing to the lackof clarity on Nigeria’s forexpolicy and Nairaweakness.”

Onyema, who stated thatthe exchange anticipatesreturn of investors, whohave been on the sidelinesince the slump in crude oilprices commenced in June2014, said the currentinstability in the Nairacould make the dreamunrealisable.

According to him,“investors are not as muchbordered about the Nairaexchange rate to the dollaras they are about instabilityin the currency. Investorsare also concerned about thecredibility of the exchangerate policy beforecommitting their resourcesto a particular stock.

“If the exchange rate isstable, investors will beable to make investmentdecision, but whereby theexchange rate continues tobe volatile, it will bedifficult for them to invest.

"Investors want to be surethat there is stability in thecurrency; they want toknow that rate does notkeep changing every day."

CMYK

10 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15 , 2016

Task force nabs two robbery suspects, 81miscreants in Lagos

PROTEST: Members of Human Right Defenders and Advocacy Center, protesting what it calls PresidentMuhammadu Buhari's disobedience of court orders and disregard of rule of law in the fight againstcorruption, at Lagos State House of Assembly, Alausa, Ikeja, yesterday. Photo by Bunmi Azeez.

Solid mineralsearnings cansurpass oilrevenue—KADCCIMA By Olasunkanmi Akoni

& Chris Onuoha

METUH: Adegboruwa withdrawssuit against EFCC

DISOBEDIENCE OF COURT ORDERS: Groupswant Buhari impeached

By Naomi Uzor LAGOS—THE Lagos StateEnvironmental and Special

Offences Unit (Task Force) hasparaded two suspected armedrobbers arrested by operatives ofthe unit at Idera City Scheme,Eleko, Lekki, Lagos.

The task force also arrested about81 miscreants yesterday at Oshodiin an overnight operation led bythe task force boss.

The suspects, comprising 61males and 20 females would bearraigned in court for prosecutionas soon as possible.

The two armed robbers,identified as Ismaila Obajimi (28)from Oyo State and SherrifIbrahim (29) from Osun State,were paraded with locally madepistols and different types ofcharms in a bag which theyusually used in robbing andterrorising people around Elekoand its environs.

Parading the suspects,Chairman of the state taskforceSuperintendent of Police, SP,Olubukola Abe explained that pre-preliminary investigationrevealed that the suspects, a four-man gang, claimed to be engagedas land grabbers (Omo-Onile) onKayetoro family land, Eleko, Lekki,Lagos by one Buhari-Oloto andhave been in the business ofarmed robbery for long in thearea. Abe said police have alsobegun investigation with the aimof arresting the other two gangmembers namely, Raymond andAzeez for prosecution.

Abe added that the matter hasbeen transferred to the SpecialAnti Robbery Squad (SARS), Ikejafor further investigation, however,cautioned members of the publicto assist security agencies bygiving information about anysuspected activities of individualswithin their area or community.

In another development,chairman of the task-force haswarned motorists in Lagos State

to strictly adhere to the state trafficrules on restricted BRT routesacross the state.

Abe said, “Lagos State TrafficRegulations enforcement onrestricted BRT routes across the

•Warns against use of BRT routes

State is not negotiable toanyone. Motorists shouldexpect more stringent trafficenforcement from Task ForceOffice. And full enforcementwould soon commence on the

newly commissioned Ikorodu toMile 12 BRT Road wheremotorcyclists, commercial busdrivers have refused to stopoperating on these restrictedroutes inward Ikorodu.’’

LAGOS—A coalition ofcivil society groups,

yesterday staged a protest at theLagos State House of Assemblyprotesting the continueddisobedience to court orders byPresident Muhammadu Buhariand his refusal to adhere to therule of law.

The protesters, numbering abouttwo dozens, armed themselveswith placards with messages suchas “Say no to disobedience to courtorder and impunity; obey the rule

of law, say no to rule of fear; letthere be strength in justice;disobedience to court order isstate of anarchy; Enough tocorruption and impunity; stopthe corruption in the judiciarynow, among others.

In a letter to President of theSenate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, thegroups demanded thecommencement ofimpeachment proceedingsagainst President Buhari if hecontinues to disregard courtorders and rule of law.

In the letter, signed byInnocent Agbo for HumanRights Defenders and AdvocacyCentre (HDAC), Dandy Ezeand Emmanuel John, the groupsaid they are demanding forimpeachment of Buhari forseveral reasons among which isBuhari’s utterance during themedia chat that those grantedbail by the court will not bereleased based on his convictionof the gravity of the offence theycommitted and not based on therule of law.

They also cited continueddetention of some people,among which is for NationalSecurity Adviser, Sambo Dasukiin lieu of court order andcontinued detention of PublicitySecretary of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, Chief OlisaMetuh by Department of StateSecurity (DSS), stressing that it

is a call to anarchy and violationof the 1999 constitution.

They argued that thePresident is a product ofconstitution and must complywith court orders within two weeks.

LAGOS—A 4-year-old,Imisi Oladapo from

Chrisland School, Victoria GardenCity (VGC), Lagos, has emergedthe inaugural winner of the 2015Cussons Baby toddler competitiontagged “Grow and Shine’ to theN1million education grant grandprize and products from theCussons Baby range of products.

Also, Ehiarekhian Peter Hayble,4, a pianist and Amarachi Akujobi5, a dancer came second and thirdto win N250,000 and N150,000education grant respectively.

Oladapo, whose choreographicperformance received standingovation from judges, parents andother contestants, smiled homewith the competition’s educationalgrant of N1 million at thecompetition grand finale heldat Planet One, Maryland Lagosover the weekend.

LAGOS lawyer, Mr Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa has

withdrawn the enforcement offundamental human rights suit hefiled against the Economic andFinancial Crimes Commission,EFCC, on behalf of NationalPublicity Secretary of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, OlisaMetuh before a Federal HighCourt, Lagos.

In a statement dated January 13,Adegboruwa said though he wasnever briefed by Metuh to file thesuit, he only instituted the casewhen he felt the PDP spokesmanwas being treated unfairly.

Adegboruwa, who disclosed hehad filed a notice of discontinuanceof the case before the court, notedthat the step became necessarysince Metuh had instituted similarcase before a Federal High Court,Abuja.

He said: “On Monday, January11, 2016, I filed an applicationbefore the Federal High Court,Lagos, challenging the continueddetention of Chief Olisa Metuh,the spokesperson of the Peoples’Democratic Party, PDP, the leadingopposition party in Nigeria.

“Subsequently on TuesdayJanuary 12, 2016, I filed anapplication to compel the EFCCto produce Chief Metuh in court.However, I have on January 13,2016, filed a notice ofdiscontinuance of the said suit.

LAGOS—THE KadunaChamber of Commerce,

Industry, Mines andAgriculture (KADCCIMA),yesterday, said that earningsfrom the solid minerals sectorcould surpass what the countryis currently getting from oil asrevenue.

Addressing newsmen inLagos, ahead of the 37thKaduna International TradeFair (KITF), KADCCIMA’sSecond Deputy President,Hajiya Muheeba Dankaka,called on federal, state andlocal manufacturers to cometogether to develop the sectorowing its huge revenuepotential.

According to her, this year’sedition of the fair entitled‘Promoting Solid MineralsSector for SustainableEconomic Development inNigeria,’’ was deliberatelychosen to complimentgovernment efforts in itsattempt to diversify theeconomy and make it lessdependent on oil as its majorrevenue earner.

Dankaka said: “The newadministration is confrontedwith a huge financial burdencaused by the reducedfederation revenues whichhave been largely sourcedfrom proceeds of crude oilsales. One key sector whichoffers great potential inachieving this is the solidminerals sector.”

L A G O S — T H EA d m i n i s t r a t i v e

Secretary of the AllProgressives Congress, APC,in Amuwo Odofin LocalGovernment Area of LagosState, Mr Segun Idris haslauded the ongoingreconstruction of 114 roads inthe Lagos State.

In a statement madeavailable to Vanguard, Idrissaid the effort by the GovernorAkinwunmi Ambode-ledgovernment would consolidatethe state's infrastructure andproductive base of the state.

Idris called on Lagosians togive the state administrationthe needed support in terms offulfilment of their civilobligations to enable itaccomplish its goals.

4-yr-old winsCussons Baby N1meducation grant

By Akeem SalauBy Faith Bature

APC chieftainlauds Ambodeover roadsreconstruction

By Abdulwahab Abdulah

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 — 11

VISIT: From left: Minister of Solid Minerials Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi; Ministerof state, Abubakar Bwari, and President, Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN), Alhaji ShehuSani during a courtesy visit by MAN’S officials to the ministry in Abuja yesterday. Photo: NAN.

Police arrest 150 Boko Haram suspectsin Ondo

...Nab eight killercultists in Ogun

Owo youthsaccuse Policeof indiscriminatearrest, extortion

PALPABLE fear envelopedOndo State, yesterday, as

Police detectives reportedlyintercepted a truck loaded withabout 150 persons suspected to bemembers of the Boko Haram sect.

Reports had it that the suspectshave been taken to the State PoliceCommand, where they are beinginterrogated.

Vanguard gathered that itemsallegedly recovered from thesuspects include 18 locally madeguns, 2 jack knives, 22 cutlassesas well as several flash lights.

But the Police Command hasallayed fears, asking the peoplenot to panic as they are on top ofthe situation, adding thatinvestigations were on to verify theidentity and mission of thesuspects.

Vanguard also gathered thatdetectives from the Funbi-Fagun

Divisional Police Station in OndoTown intercepted the truck withregistration number KANO NSR 97XZ, loaded with the suspects, whoare from the northern part of thecountry.

Also, the suspects were said to becoming from Kebbi State andheading towards Ore town inOdigbo Local Government area ofthe state before they wereintercepted by the police at Lipakalajunction in Ondo town.

It was gathered further thatfollowing a tip off, the DivisionalPolice Officer (DPO) in charge ofthe Funbi Fagun Police station, MrOlu-Ojo Ogunmoyole and men ofthe Special Anti-Robbery Squadfrom the Police headquarters inAkure swung into action and went

after the truck conveying thesuspects.

The suspects, after beingapprehended were detained atthe Police station before beingtaken to Akure.

Speaking with newsmen, oneof the suspects, Abdulahi Sheriffdenied that they are members ofthe sect.

Abdulahi, who said that theywere “farmers coming from Birni-Kebbi to farm in Ore town”, notedthat they left their homes owingto the prolonged dry season intheir state which has affectedtheir farming activities.

The DPO of Funbi FagunPolice Station, Ogunmoyole toldnewsmen that the suspects wereintercepted during a surveillance

operation carried out by the anti-robbery squad attached to thePolice division.

He, however, advised peopleof the community to remain calmand go about their lawfulbusinesses.

When contacted, the StatePolice spokesman, Mr FemiJoseph denied that the 150suspects arrested in Ondo aremembers of the Boko Haram.

Reacting to the arrest, Josephsaid investigation so farconducted showed that they arefarmers travelling to Ore town forfarming activities.

On the weapons found intheir possession, the policespokesman said some of theapprehended men were hunters.

By Dayo Johnson

ABEOKUTA—THE OgunState Police Command has

arrested some suspected cultists,involved in the killing of one YusufOgidan in Agbado area recentlyand those who kidnapped twofemale teenagers in Onihale areaof Ogun State.

The Police Public RelationsOfficer in the state, MuyiwaAdejobi in a statement said thePolice operatives attached toAgbado Division of the command,on Tuesday, embarked on massiveraid of black spots in Agbado andits environs after the police got atip-off on the whereabouts of somesuspected cultists.

He said, the cultists weremembers of Aye and Alora, whohad clashed within the arearecently for supremacy, which ledto the death of Yusuf Ogidan, andarrested six members of Ayeconfraternity.

He said the suspects areMichael Ayodele, Taofik Adeosun,Oladipupo Damilare, FemiIseotan, Samuel Akinyele andAnjorin Ismaila.

According to him, the suspectshave made useful statements inconnection with the killing of YusufOgidan, a member of Aloraconfraternity.

...Rescue two teenagedgirls from abductors

Similarly, the Police detectivesattached to Otta Division led bythe Divisional Police officer haverescued two female teenagersfrom their abductors onTuesday, while on anti-crimepatrol along Ijako/Sona roadOtta, in Ado Odo Otta LocalGovernment Area of Ogun State.

By Daud Olatunji

AKURE—SOMEaggrieved youths

in Owo LocalGovernment Area ofOndo State, yesterday,stormed major streetsprotesting againstalleged indiscriminatearrests, extortion andharassment by men ofthe State Police SpecialAnti-Cultism Squad.

The aggrieved youths,at about 8am, marched tothe palace of Olowo ofOwo, Oba FolagbadeOlateru-Olagbegi tointimate him of thedevelopment.

Armed with placardswith inscriptions such as“We need help, not hurt”,Anti-Cultists squad arescammers, not securityagents” and “No moreinnocent arrest in ourland”.

Addressing theprotesters, the Ojomo ofIjebu Owo land, ObaKofoworola Oladoyinboappealed against thebreak down of law andorder.

Oba Oladoyinbopromised to intervene inthe matter and bring alasting solution to it.

BREACH OF CONTRACT: Courtseals banks in Osogbo

OSOGBO—TENSION rose at thebranches of a new generation bank in

Osogbo, when officials of the Osun State HighCourt stormed the bank premises to effect a courtjudgement.

Branches of the bank located at Fagbewesa,Alekuwodo, Fakunle and LAUTECH areas of thestate were sealed off as workers and customers, whowere around, were chased out by the court bailiffs.

Also, properties of the bank, which includedvehicles, generating sets, computer sets and someundisclosed cash were carted away by the courtofficials.

The bank had entered into agreement with TunsFarm in 2005 when the bank offered a credit facilityof N414,000,000 to the company to develop theAbuja property projected to earn TUNS a netincome of N1.152 billion.

According to a copy of the judgements deliveredby three judges of the Osun State High Court, TUNSFarms Nigeria Limited was awarded the sum ofN3,991,150 against the bank over alleged breachof contract.

It was gathered that the bank only released N150million, a situation that was said to have frustratedthe company’s project and caused TUNS huge lossof investment.

Justices Oyejide Falola, A. O. Ogunlade andAdeigbe Aderibigbe in separate judgements hadawarded N3.8 billion to the claimant against bank.

By Dayo Johnson

By Gbenga Olarinoye

12—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

Court orders Tompolo's arrestBy Innocent Anaba

Urhobo SocialClub honoursmonarch

A FEDERAL High Courtsitting in Lagos,

yesterday, ordered the arrest ofa former Niger Delta militantleader, GovernmentEkpemupolo (aka Tompolo).

Trial judge, Justice IbrahimBuba issued a bench warrant forTompolo's arrest after he failedto appear in court to face thecriminal charges filed againsthim and others by the Economicand Financial CrimesCommission, EFCC.

The judge had, on Wednesday,summoned Tompolo, orderinghim to appear yesterday, but theaccused did not turn up.

Other accused in the chargeinclude a former Director-General of the Nigeria MaritimeAdministration and SafetyAgency, NIMASA, PatrickAkpobolokemi, who appeared incourt in crutches; Global WestVessel Specialist Limited,Odimiri Electricals Limited,Kemi Engozu, BoloboereProperty and Estate Limited, RexElem, Destre Consult Limited,Gregory Mbonu and CaptainWarredi Enisuoh.

They were all in court andrepresented by counsel, exceptTompolo.

Meanwhile, the charge wasnot read to the other accusedpersons as it is a joint trial, whichrequires the physical presenceof all the accused persons,before the charge could be readto them and their plea taken.

EFCC’s prosecutor, FestusKeyamo, informed the court,yesterday, that the summonsand charge were duly affixed ona conspicuous part of Tompolo’shome at 1, Chief Agbanu DDPAExtension, Warri, Delta State, asordered by the court.

He said Tompolo ignoredprevious invitations by EFCCduring investigation and failedto report to make a statement.

“We were able to go to Warrion Wednesday and pasted the

processes on his wall. We tookphotographs of them asordered by this court

“In view of the absence of thefirst accused (Tompolo) despitebeing served, may we comeunder Section 141 of theAdministration of CriminalJustice Act (ACJA) 2015 toapply for a warrant of arrest.

“Even at the point ofinvestigation, the accusedperson spurned all invitationsto him. Now he has alsodisobeyed the court. We,therefore, apply under Section141 so that we can compel hisattendance,” Keyamo said.

Akpobolokemi’s lawyer, DrJoseph Nwobike, SAN, saidthough he was notrepresenting Tompolo, itwould be in the interest ofjustice if the former militantleader was given more time tobe in court having only beenserved with the summons a

day earlier.“A person served in Warri,

Delta State, may need sometime to come to court, moreso,when he is outsidejurisdiction,” he said.

But Keyamo pointed out thatbefore the summons wereissued, Tompolo had actedlike an “outlaw.”

Ruling, Justice Buba saidthere was evidence thatTompolo had consistentlyignored EFCC’s invitations,so he had no option than toorder his arrest.

The court said, “The processis to serve him with summonsto appear. Where he appears,that is the end of the matter.He will answer the charges.Where he fails to appear inobedience to the summons,the other process is to compelhis attendance by way ofarrest.

“There is an affidavit

showing that the firstdefendant was served asordered by the court. In thecircumstance, the court is in aposition to exercise itsdiscretion to order for the arrestof Government Ekpemupolo(aka Tompolo) to compel hisattendance to answer theallegations before the court.

“It is so hereby ordered thatthe warrant of arrest ofGovernment Ekpemupolo (akaTompolo) shall be issuedforthwith.”

The accused persons in the40-count charge were allegedto have diverted N34 billion,which accrued from a publicprivate partnership agreementbetween NIMASA and GlobalWest Vessel Specialist Limitedfor personal use.

The alleged offencecontravenes Section 15 (1) ofthe Money Laundering(Prohibition) (Amendment) Act2012 and punishable underSection 15(3) of the same Act.

Meanwhile, further hearingin the matter was adjournedtill February 8.

GCUOBA holds AGM

L-r: Minister for Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; wife of MD/CEO, Airtel Nigeria, Mrs.Ronke Ogunsanya; wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo; and MD/CEO, AirtelNigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya during the premiere of Airtel touching lives season 2, heldin Abuja, yesterday

URHOBO Social Club,Lagos, will tomorrow

hold a reception in honour ofthe Chairman of UrhoboTraditional Rulers Council andthe Ohworode of OlomuKingdom, His Royal Majesty,Ovie Richard LayeguenOgbon, Ogoni-Oghoro I. Thereception for the revered 99-year-old monarch, who is alsoa Royal Canon of the Churchof Nigeria, AnglicanCommunion, will hold at thePalace Ground, Ogoni-Olomu, Delta State.

Chairman of the ReceptionPlanning Committee,Olorogun Edoreh Agbah, saidthat the reception, which willbe under the chairmanship ofOlorogun Moses Taiga, wasin recognition of the immensecontribution of the Ohworodeto the development and peaceof Olomu Kingdom,Urhoboland and Delta State ingeneral, in his 27 years on thethrone.

There will also be a lectureon Traditional Rulership byProfessor Sam Ibodje of theUniversity of Port Harcourt.The event, which will attractother traditional rulers, andeminent personalities inUrhoboland, Delta State andbeyond, will also witness aperformance by the famousEma Dancers of Ughelliamong other attractions.

HRM Ovie Richard Ogbon,Ogoni-Oghoro I

THE AnnualGeneral Meeting

of Government CollegeUghelli Old BoysAssociation, GCUOBA,holds January 18, 2016at the College Hall,Ughelli, Delta State.

According to theNational PublicitySecretary, StephenIghofose, this year ’sgeneral meeting willstart with a pre-AGM ofthe GCUOBA’s NationalExecutive Council, NEC,while the grand eventholds on January 19 withall the Olds boys,teachers, students and

parents in attendance.Activities scheduled to

take place during themeeting include thecommissioning of thenewly renovated andrefurbished OrerokpeHouse, hostel andemergency generatorhouse built for thecollege by the Old boys.Others include;inspection of schoolfacilities, House, metaland wood workshops,library, ICT centre,sickbays, dining hall andsports facilities, as wellas awards to deservingstudents.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016—13

INEC issues certificates of return toDickson, deputy

By Emem Idio

Rivers govt flays military operations in three LGs

By Jimitota Onoyume

PORT HARCOURT—RIVERS State Government

has expressed worry over themilitary operations in three localgovernment areas recently thatallegedly resulted in destructionof property and harassment ofpersons.

Media aide to Governor NyesomWike, Mr Simeon Nwakaudu, ina statement, yesterday, allegedthat one Major Mustapha, whowas reportedly a star witness ofthe All Progressives Congress,APC, during the hearing on theelection petitions in Abuja, was inthe team leading the militaryoperations.

The government also expressedworry over the timing, saying thatthe operations were ahead of there-run National and StateAssemblies elections in the state.

He said: “Ahead of the re-runNational and State Assemblieselections in designatedconstituencies in Rivers State,three local government areas inthe state are under politicallymotivated attacks which have leftin their trail, tales of deaths, blood,destruction and openintimidation.

“These joint military/Policeinvasions have taken place inthree councils of the state namely,Gokana, Asari-Toru and Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni(ONELGA). Onerecurring decimal in these threedeadly invasions is the fact thatone Major Mustapha features inall of them. Major Mustapha, apro-APC military officer, was the

Rivers State APC star witnessduring the hearing of electionpetitions in Abuja.

“At Asari-Toru council onJanuary 6, 2016, MajorMustapha and his team ofsoldiers and mobile policemeninvaded the residence of thecaretaker council chairman,Ambassador SobomaboJackrich, destroying his homeand valuables before killingabout five youths. They alsoabducted 50 youths and womenwho were taken to Port Harcourt.

“The same scenario playedout in Bua Yeghe in GokanaLGA where Major Mustaphaand his squad attacked the

home of Chief SolomonNdigbara, a former Niger Deltaagitator. They burnt his homebefore abducting his wife and70 other youths. MajorMustapha's illegal squad alsoattacked the home of ChiefNdigbara in Port Harcourt,damaging the facility.

“On January 13, 2016 thesoldiers and mobile policemenwere at ONELGA were theyunleashed mayhem on livesand property. The residents ofthe area are still counting theirlosses.

“It is imperative to point outthat in these three LGAs whereMajor Mustapha and other

illegal security operativesstruck, they were accompaniedby known APC political thugsand militants who acted asidentity operatives. These APCagents who were embedded inthese illegal operations werekitted with security uniforms.Despite these security costumes,they were identified by locals.

“This level of politicaldesperation is unknown to thenation’s democratic history. Noauthority had in the past handedsecurity platforms to politicalthugs and associates to unleashuntold mayhem and death onlaw abiding citizens."

...says it's politically motivated

Buhari’s anti-corruption war targeted at Ijaw—IYC

IJAW Youth Council, IYC,yesterday, took a swipe at

President MuhammaduBuhari's anti-corruptioncrusade, alledging that it wastargeted mostly at formerPresident GoodluckJonathan’s kinsmen whoserved in his administration.

IYC noted that the ploy wasorchestrated to smearJonathan's image andundermine his achievementsbefore Nigerians and theinternational community.

The trio of Eric Omare, IYCspokesman, Mr. RazakAmatoru, National DeputyPresident IYC and Mr. AtigbiFreedom, Chairman, IYC,Western Zone, who addressednewsmen in Effurun, DeltaState, noted with disdain, thedisregard for the rule of lawenshrined in the 1999constitution, noting that theFederal Government waspersecuting the anti-corruptioncrusade violating theinalienable rights of Mr PatrickAkpobulokami, former MDNigeria Maritime safety andAdministration Agency,NIMASA, and others through

the Economic and FinancialCrimes Commission, EFCC.

They reiterated IYC's stanceon the support of theprosecution of allegedtreasury looters, cautioningthat while carrying outinvestigations and arrests,

the rule of law should beadhered to.

They called on the EFCCand the Federal Governmentto respect on-going casesbetween Tompolo and EFCCin court.

They warned that

First Clerk,House of Repsdies at 85

THE first Clerk of theHouse of

Representatives, ChiefBenjamin Olinma, is dead,aged 85.

Lying-in-state comes upJanuary 22 at his residence,25, Umuonyia Street,Umuonaje Quarters, Asaba,while Requiem Mass holds atSt. Joseph's Catholic Pro-Cathedral Church, Nnebisi,Asaba. He is survived bywidow, children andgrandchildren.

Late Chief Olinma

President Buhari should notjeopardised the efforts of latepresident Musa Yar ’Aduaand his immediatepredecessor in bringingpeace to the Niger Delta byprovoking youths of theregion to resort tolawlessness.

PRESIDENT BUHARI RECEIVES ASIODU: From left; President Muhammadu Buhari,Chief Philip Asiodu and Former Chairman Transition Committee, Dr Ahmed Joda, duringan audience with the President at the State House in Abuja. Photo: Sunday Aghaeze.

UNIBEN torevokecontracts ofnon-performingcontractors

By Simon Ebegbulem

BENIN—THE ViceChancellor of University

of Benin, UNIBEN, Prof.Faraday Orumwense, hastasked contractors handlingprojects in the university toensure that they meet theagreed dates for completion orhave their contracts revoked.

Prof. Orumwense, whileinspecting on-going projectson the university campus, saidthat the completion of theprojects was top on his list.

According to him, “It is thedesire of the management ofthis university to make thisinstitution rank among theworld's best universities andthat is why we areencouraging investments thatwill enhance learning andensure better welfare for ourstaff.”

The VC, who wasaccompanied by someprincipal officers of theuniversity, inspected thenewly constructedundergraduate and post-graduate hostels, lecture halls,the School of Medicine andthe Faculty of Agriculture.

Meanwhile, Prof.Orumwense who spoke tonewsmen after the inspection,said cultism in the universityhad been reduced to its barestminimum due to increasedsurveillance by securityoperatives both within theuniversity and outside.

Y E N A G O A — F O U Rdays after he was

declared winner of the BayelsaState governorship election,Governor Seriake Dickson of thePeoples Democratic Party, PDP,and his running mate, RearAdmiral John Jonah (rted),yesterday received certificatesof return from the IndependentNational Electoral Commission,INEC.

The certificates of return werepresented to the governor andthe deputy governor elect at theINEC state headquarters, by theNational Commissioner incharge of South-South, Dr

Mustapha Lecky, assisted bythe State Resident ElectoralCommissioner, REC, BaritorKpagih.

The state INEC headquarterswas turned into a carnival of sortas associates and supporters ofthe PDP sang and drummedwhile the occasion lasted.

In his remarks, NationalCommissioner, INEC, South -South, Dr Lekcy, said that thepresentation of certificates ofreturn to the governor anddeputy governor-elect was inline with the statutoryresponsibility of theCommission which makes itmandatory to issue certificatesof return to the winners within

seven days after declaration.Lecky said, “Section 68, sub-

section 1 and 75, subsection 1,of the Electoral Act 2010, asamended, states that thedeclaration and return of thecandidate at the election by thereturning officer is final, subjectto review only by the ElectionTribunal or Court under the Act."

In his remarks, GovernorDickson, who dedicated thevictory to God and the people ofBayelsa State, thanked thepeople for their resilience andfor defying intimidation to voteoverwhelmingly for the PDP,assuring that he will not let themdown.

14—Vanguard, FRIIDAY, JANUARY 15 , 2016

50TH COMMEMORATION OF SIR AHMADU BELLO'S DEATHIN KADUNA PHOTOS: OLU AJAYI

From left: Governor Ahmed Nasir El-rufai of Kaduna State, chairman of the occasion,Justice Mamman Nasir, Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa'ad Abubakar III, and Emir ofKano Muhammadu Sanusi II, at the 50th commemoration of the demise of Sir AhmaduBello, at Arewa House, Kaduna in Kaduna, yesterday. Photos: Olu Ajayi.

From left: Governor Dairus Ishiaku of TarabaGovernor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State andBorno State Governor, Kashim Shettima.

From left: Former Governor of Niger State, Dr. BabangidaAliyu, Chairman, Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, AlhajiIbrahim Commassie, and Senator Zainab Kure.

The Yeriman Zazzau, Alhaji Munir Jafaru (left) andformer Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Salihu Ibrahim (retd).

Governor Abdul'aziz Yari Abubakar of ZamfaraState (left) with Governor Ahmed El-rufai ofKaduna State at the event.

By LevinusNwabughiogu

Nigeria's size makes it attractive asa nation —Osinbajo

Why we must support Buhari to winanti-corruption war —Bafarawa

ABUJA—DESPITE beingdetained for three weeks

for allegedly collecting N100million from the $2.1 billionarms fund, former SokotoState Governor, AttahiruBafarawa, has pleaded withNigerians to stand by PresidentMuhammadu Buhari to win theanti-corruption war and saveNigeria from avoidable povertyand backwardness.

Bafarawa said in an interviewwith Vanguard in Abuja onThursday, that he had no illfeelings against Buhari and theEconomic and Financial Crimes

ABUJA—VICE president,Yemi Osinbajo yesterday

said that Nigeria’spopulation is one formidablefactor that has continued tomake it attractive.

The Vice President whospoke at the 13th annualDaily Trust Dialogue inAbuja titled: "50 Years After1966: Is Nigeria Rising”,stated that Nigeria has thepotential of not only being thegiant of Africa but a majoreconomic giant in the world.

He said: “Whoever it is thatwants to go his own way willfind that our size is why we arean attractive proposition.”

“Our country has the potentialnot just to be the giant of Africa,but a major economic giant inthe world,” adding that it is thatgiant of a nation that theNigerian elites have a duty todeliver.

According to him, the size ofLagos State alone is larger interms of economy than severalAfrican countries, submittingthat Nigeria is better stayingtogether and maintaining ourunity.

Addressing the questionproposed in the title of theDialogue chaired by formerHead of the Federal CivilService, Alhaji Adamu Fika,

Osinbajo said “there is noquestion at all, our country isrising despite all challenges”.

He noted however that “in thehistory of nation everywherethere is the question of eliteconsensus.”

The Vice President added thatthe elites must agree that agroup or nation must be built,adding that the duty was not thatof political elites alone, butreligious, professional andtraditional elites as well.

He regretted that such

consensus has eluded the nationover the years.

"Nation-building is based onelite consensus. There may bedivergent views but unless weagree as to how to govern thisspace, we could be going roundand round in circles. This is whydespite all we have done it doesappear that we are moving incircles,” he said.

While observing the need tomake and implement good policesthat would move the nationforward, Osinbajo also

underscored the importance ofevolving a legal system whereequity and justice would bedispensed within a reasonabletime frame.

He further explained that basedon the level of avarice, greed andcorruption that has beendiscovered, if oil was selling for$200 per barrel, Nigeria wouldhave still ended up in aneconomic mess.

The Vice President howeverrestated the commitment ofPresident Muhammadu Buharitowards building a great Nigeria.

“I can say on behalf of the

president and myself that we haveno desire to be wealthier than wealready are, that our only desirenow is to improve the lot of thecountry and make it greater,” hesaid.

Clarifying that the reason for thesocial investments proposed tocost half a trillion in the 2016Budget was not just aboutcompassion, he said: “If we don’tmake such social investments, weare merely waiting for doomsday.”

Other speakers at the Dialoguewere former Chief of DefenseStaff, General Martin Agwai, theNigerian Representative of the Billand Melinda Gates FoundationDr. Mairo Mandara and formerGovernor of Central Bank ofNigeria, CBN, Professor CharlesSoludo.

By Soni Daniel,Northern Region Editor

Commission for detaining himalong with others who allegedlycollected money from the formerNational Security Adviser,describing his ordeal as an act ofGod.

The two-term governor saidthat both Buhari and the EFCCwere doing their work andshould be commended andencouraged to do more but withinthe ambit of the law so as to pushthe frontiers of war against graftfurther.

He pointed out that Buharicould not win the anti-graft waralone and must be backed by allso Nigerians could be rescuedfrom the endemic corruption thathad been deeply rooted in the

country’s fabric.Bafarawa said: “The

determination by Buhari and hisadministration to focus oneliminating corruption fromNigeria is a blessing to thiscountry and something that allNigerians with good conscienceshould applaud."

Bafarawa, however, called formore enlightenment of Nigeriansto appreciate the effort of thegovernment in stamping outcorruption and reposition Nigeriafor greatness.

"Buhari, therefore, needs the totalsupport of all Nigerians becauseif the war against corruption fails,it would the country many yearsto recover from the menace of graft

and its attendance challenges," hesaid.

Barafarawa however disagreedwith the Buhari administration forapproving huge sums from thepublic treasury to some stategovernors without probing howthey spent their monthlyallocations and other revenuegenerated by them.

The former governor said that itwas unacceptable and pathetic forgovernors, who earned huge cashfrom rising oil revenue from 2007till a few months ago, to squandersuch and go for bailout funds whenthey successfully managed theeconomy of their states and leftindelible marks with little oilrevenue between 1999 and 2007.

He said the Sokoto people

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016—15

Biafra: IPOB threatens to resume protest over sick Kanu•90 days in cell, Ohanaeze tells Buhari to release him to Igbo leaders•Agitation by MASSOB, IPOB misguided —Arch-Bishop Chukwuma

By Vincent Ujumadu,Chimaobi Nwaiwu &

Francis Igata

THE INDIGENOUS Peopleof Biafra, IPOB, has

threatened to continue its protestin the South East and SouthSouth states of the federation ifby January 18, 2016, its leaderand Director of Radio Biafra, Mr.Nnamdi Kanu was not releasedfrom the cell of Department ofState Services, DSS.

IPOB alleged that apart fromdenying Mr. Kanu access to hisdoctors, the Federal Governmentthrough the DSS, has devisedanother way of complicating hisalready deteriorating healthcondition, by making him to sleepon bare floor, thereby making himto contract pneumonia, whichmay possibly kill him.

'Release Kanu to Igbo leaders'Similarly, the Ohanaeze

Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, haspleaded with PresidentMuhammadu Buhari to releaseNnamdi Kanu to Igbo leaders,assuring that they would makehim realize the futility ofcontinuing his pro- Biafra stance.

Chairman of state presidents ofOhanaeze in the seven Igbo -speaking states, Dr. ChrisEluemunoh, told reporters inAwka, Anambra State, that Igboleaders were equally concernedwith the security challengesposed by the activities of the pro-Biafra group, adding that onceKanu was released to Igboleaders, they would sit him downand discuss with him and makehim realize the negative effectsof continuing with efforts toactualize the Biafra Republic.

Also, International Society forCivil Liberties and the Rule ofLaw, a rights group, has calledfor the release of Kanu, 90 daysafter he was arrested by the DSSin Lagos, and taken into itsunderground custody in Abujaand held without trial orconditional (bail) release orunconditional release till date.

The group in a statement by itschairman, Emeka Umeagbalasi,insisted that “the arrest anddetention of Citizen Kanu andtheir circumstances are in graveviolation of all knownconstitutional, regional andinternational conventionalliberties or civil and politicalrights.

"Gravest of these violations byBuhari and his DSS are theprovisions of Section 35 (4) (a) (b)of the Constitution of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria 1999 as wellas Sections 293, 295 and 296 ofthe Administration of CriminalJustice Ac, ACJ, of 2015.

“Therefore, we feel saddenedand alarmed over Buhariadministration’s anarchicapproaches and dispositions,which are steadily leadingNigeria to irreparable destructionof its organised society, publicmorality and decency. The

consequences of the Buhariadministration’s contempt for ruleof law are economically,politically, socially and ethno-religiously calamitous.Economically speaking, forinstance, no rational foreigninvestor will risk his or herinvestment or capital in a countrywhere its president boldlyappeared on national televisionand declared disobedience tojudicial decisions and disrespectto rule of law as sacrosanct andthe corner stone of hisadministration.

“Citizen Kanu’s detention ofover 60 days without trial or bailrelease is prohibited by Section35 (4) (a) of the 1999 Constitutionwhich clearly stated that “anyperson who is arrested ordetained in accordance withsubsection 1 (c) of thissection(reasonable suspicion ofcommitting any criminal offenseor preventing commission of acriminal offense)shall be broughtbefore a court of law within areasonable time, and if he is nottried within a period of: (a) twomonths from the date of his arrestor detention in the case of aperson who is in custody or is notentitled to bail (in capital offenses),he shall (without prejudice to anyfurther proceedings that may bebrought against him) be releasedeither unconditionally or uponsuch conditions as are reasonablynecessary to ensure that heappears for trial at a later date.”

Agitations by MASSOB, IPOBmisguided

However, worried by theagitation for Biafra and release ofNnamdi Kanu mounted by theMovement for the Actualizationof Sovereign State of Biafra,MASSOB, and IPOB, the Arch-Bishop, Enugu EcclesiasticalProvince, Most. Rev. EmmanuelChukwuma, yesterday, took aswipe at the pro-Biafra groupsdescribing the demonstrations asmisguided.

The cleric said the protests bythe youths were borne out offrustration occasioned by abysmalinfrastructure decay in the South-East geopolitical zone that led to

many ideal hands in the region.IPOB’s Media and Publicity

Officer, Mr. Emma Powerful, whoaddressed newsmen in Nnewi,said, the Federal Governmenthad devised a systematic way ofsnuffing life out of Mr. Kanu.Apart from denying him accessto his doctors, they have subjectedhim to sleeping on the bare floor,which made him to contactpneumonia, which can possiblytake his life.

Respiratory problem“Information reaching us from

DSS office is that Mr. Kanu hasbeen complaining of pains at bothsides of his lungs. He has beenhaving persistent cough for thepast two weeks, and thecoughing is so severe that tracesof blood is noticed in the sputum.He is equally having respiratoryproblem now.

“They have also perfectedanother plan and way of killinghis morale and frustrating him inthe DSS cell. They are doing thatthrough denying him access tonewspapers and magazines, allin an attempt to shut him out ofwhat is happening, becauseaccording to them, he is a 'neversay die' type of activist that needsall manner of frustrating andintimidating measures to makehim renounce his agitation,” hesaid.

The group allegedly gatheredthat Kanu was also being torturedand harassed to the extent thatsleeping had become the mostdifficult thing he could have, andtherefore, warned that what BokoHaram was doing in the NorthEast would be a child’s play towhat they would do if anythingunsavoury happens to Mr. Kanu.

“We are Biafrans, our level oftechnological development hasgone beyond what people know,If we can do what we did duringthe Nigeria-Biafra war, then onecan imagine what we will do atthis computer age. That wedecided to be non-violent doesnot mean that we cannot do whatBoko Haram insurgents aredoing.

"We are being pushed to thewall by the present Nigerian

government, and we will soondisplay a little of the stuff we aremade of, if Mr. Kanu is notreleased on January 18, when hiscase is coming up in court,”hewarned.

IPOB urged all its members, allpro-Biafra groups and agitatorsto be in Abuja on January 18, 2016for Mr. Kanu’s court appearanceto witness the proceedings of thatday.

Meanwhile, IPOB has replieda former Commissioner forInformation in Anambra State,Chief Maja Umeh and a formercouncil chairman in the state,Chief Dennis Ngene, whoaccused its members of causingtrouble in Anambra State, sayingthey were looking for politicalrelevance they lost in the statesince they could not use theirposition to positively affect lives .

Chief Umeh, an AllProgressives Grand Alliance,APGA, chieftain who servedunder former Governor PeterObi’s administration and ChiefNgene, now an All ProgressivesCongress, APC, chieftain,accused IPOB of causing troublein Anambra State, and IPOBdescribed him and others asirrelevant people in AnambraState, which was why the currentgovernment in the state droppedthem.

“Some politicians are no morerelevant in Igbo affairs. Somethink that they will get politicalrelevance by criticizing us andsaying unprintable things aboutus and our detained leader. Theyshould stop insulting us or theywill be visited by the wrath ofangry Biafrans,” said IPOB.

Issue of insecurityAccording to Eluemunoh, a lot

of discussions on how to tacklethe issue of insecurity in thecountry was going on amongIgbo leaders, adding that Kanu’sissue could be better handled andresolved if he was released toenable Igbo leaders get involvedin the matter.

He said: “IPOB and MASSOBcan operate as pressure groupsand not as secessionist groups.Many Igbo people are residing

in other parts of Nigeria and thereis no way they can abandon theirinvestments to return to the Eastin the name of Biafra.”

He, however, commendedIPOB for ending their proteststhat grounded many cities in theSouth East last year, assuringthem that they would benefit moreif they adopt dialogue in theirapproach to national issues.

The Ohanaeze leader alsospoke on the recent statementcredited to the Enugu-basedReverend Father Ejike Mbaka inwhich he was quoted as sayingthat some people were planningto assassinate President Buhari,as reckless.

He added: “Mbaka should facehis evangelism as a priest ratherthan create panic in the country.If he received any revelation, thebetter thing for him to do was tokeep it to himself and pray to Godto avert such a thing. Thepresident is the Commander -in-Chief of the country’s ArmedForces and is capable of securinghimself. W"e see the statement byMbaka as a distraction.”

He said that Ohanaezesupports the president’s anti-corruption war, adding that withthe way he was going, sanitywould soon return to thecountry’s socio -economic life.

Civil warAddressing newsmen in

Enugu, Bishop Chukwumaregretted that the agitators did notexperience the Nigeria's civil warto appreciate its toll on the Igbonation that will warrant stridentcalls for secession at a time theIgbo were yet to recover from thequagmire of the war.

“Our people have invested inother parts of Nigeria. Theagitation for Biafra is a grievancebeing shown in a wrong waybecause of frustration. The youthsare frustrated because many ofthem have been used anddumped by politicians. Most ofthese politicians have failedthem. The appointment of anIgbo in President Buhari's cabinetdoes not translate to infrastructuredevelopment.

“All that we need now is theempowerment of our youths.Federal Government shouldensure constant power supply sothat industries will be establishedto create jobs to curb restiveness.An idle man is the devil'sworkshop. The Igbo is in supportof the President’s anti-corruptionfight. The people who have stolenour wealth should be brought tobook and the funds recoveredplunged in the development ofour area," Chukwuma said.

“We are aggrieved over thestate of our roads. There is nofederal presence in the South-East. Our prisons are congestedamong others. Although we didnot vote for Buhari, we now knowwhere his administration is goingand we have embraced it.Buharishould temper justice with mercyover Biafra agitation and releaseNnamdi Kanu unconditionally."“the Arch Bishop appealed.

COMMISSIONING: Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State (centre); Secretary to the Governmentof the Federation, Engr. Babachir David Lawal (2nd right); Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, KelechiIgwe (left); former Governor of Ebonyi State, Sen. Dr. Sam O. Egwu (2nd left), and Minister of State,Labour and Employment, Mr. James Ocholi, at the official visit/ formal commissioning of CBN road,at the Centenary City, Abakaliki. Photo: EBSG

CMYK

16—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

Ekwunife threatens to sue Umeh for libelBy Enyim Enyim

ONITSHA —SENATORUche Ekwunife

Campaign Organisation,yesterday, threatened legal actionagainst the candidate of the AllProgressives Grand Alliance,APGA, Chief Victor Umeh in thescheduled fresh senatorialelection for Anambra Centralzone should he fail to refrain fromalleged malicious, libelous andsensational statements against itscandidate, Senator UcheEkwunife of the All ProgressivesCongress, APC.

A statement by the chairman ofthe campaign organization, SirEdwin Uboo in Awka, said that

the organisation was particularlyangered by Umeh’s allegedcontinued deliberate maliciousm i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n ,misrepresentation andsentimentalization of the Court ofAppeal judgment in Enugu that

Ekwunife was disqualified fromcontesting the scheduled freshelection expected to hold inMarch, 2016.

“Take final notice that if anyfurther attempt is made byyourself (Umeh) or any of your

aides to misrepresent,misinterpret or misquote thejudgment of the Court of Appeal,we shall instruct our solicitors toseek legal redress against you. Bewarned,” it stated.

The organisation noted that

Umeh’s action was a propagandacalculated at deceiving thegeneral public that Ekwunife hadbeen disqualified by the AppealCourt from contesting thesenatorial election for AnambraCentral district.

I J E B U - O D EG R A M M A R

School, JOGS, Old BoysAssociation 74/79 set willbe hosted by Ajayi Segun(legal practitioner &property consultant) onJanuary 17, 2016, at 110,Plot 37A, Freedom Way,Opposite Delta Afrik Tower,3rd Round- About, LekkiPhase 1, Lagos.

JOGS 74/79meeting

FG’s N5,000 stipends not for indolent people — NgigeBy Levinus

Nwabughiogu

ABUJA—MINISTER ofLabour and Employment,

Dr. Chris Ngige, yesterday, saidthat the stipend of N5,000promised by the government ofAll Progressives Congress, APC,for unemployed youths was notfor the indolent people.

He said that no country would

give free money, stressing thatNigeria would not be anexception.

Speaking to journalistsyesterday at the nationalsecretariat of the APC in Abuja,Ngige, however, revealed that theFederal Government wouldensure that the youths weretrained in various skills andprogrammes to justify the money.

He added that the project would

also involve the stategovernments.

According to him, there will becategories of people, who wouldearn higher than the N5,000.

“We also have the programmeon the commission cash transfer.Though even you, the press, hassaid it, we won’t pay N5,000 forpeople to be indolent. No countryin the world would pay people togo home and sleep and collect

cash. So, Nigeria would not bean exception.

“We will pay some peopleN5,000, we will pay someN10,000, and even for people inteacher conversion scheme, wewill pay more than N10,000 andN15,000 as stipend while intraining, and then after thetraining, they are going to beemployed by state governmentand the Federal Government in

different institutions."It is not a programme we

shall run alone, the stategovernments are going tobuy into it. They are goingto synchronize with us.Weare going to do it insynergy.”

Ngige also stated thatsome of the programmeswill “span through Ministryof Education, Ministry ofAgriculture and Ministry ofLabour.

"Agriculture, because wehave some agriculturaluniversities, we will convertsome people to teach therelevant agriculturalscience.”

The minister who statedthat Nigeria has variousskill acquisition centersalso underscored theimportance of training theyouth.

“The ministry hasspecialist skills acquisitioncentres; we have seven likethat in the ministry underthe commissioner of skillsor directorate for skills.

“The NDE have over 120centres scattered all overthe country. We also havethose that have been builtby state government andwe want to capture all ofthese into that scheme andthen get people to thescheme to be bricklayers,POP designers, builders,welders, electronicsrepairers and the one theycalled mecha-tronic, repairof vehicles, automobilecarpentry, painting andfabrication of all sorts."

CMYK

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 —17

Responses to:donzol2002@yahoo.co.ukor to 0802 747 6458 OR0811 675 9752 (texts only).PLEASE KINDLY NOTETHAT UNLESS YOU RE-QUEST ANONYMITY,YOUR COMMENTS MAYBE PUBLISHED, WITHYOUR NAMES AND CON-TACT DETAILS AT-TACHED.

More about managing successwith grace

LAST week, I wrote aboutthe many Nigerian VIPs

who do not manage successgraciously, change for theworse the minute they ceaseto be ordinary citizens andstart treating old friends (andblood relatives as well, in somecases) very shabbily, evenwhen these folks who knewthem before they became VIPshave helped them a lot in thepast and are therefore owedconsiderable goodwill andcourtesy.

I also complained about thegratuitous cruelty that toomany Nigerian VIPs inflict ondecent members of the Gen-eral Public, who approachthem for jobs or business.

I pointed out that the foreigndignitaries I know do not mis-behave when they rise to thetop and wondered why somany of their Naija counter-parts are so obnoxious.

My comments really strucka chord with Vanguard read-ers and several of you con-tacted me to say that youagreed with me and tell meabout the bad experiences youhave had with arrogant andungrateful Big Men and BigWomen.

Let me share one particularlysad story with you:-

The Vanguard reader inquestion – let’s call him X –was doing quite well in Abujaabout 10 years ago. He was agovernment contractor andhad a nice flat and 2 cars.

Then, out of the blue, aformer classmate – let’s callhim Y - got in touch with him.Y, an engineer, had worked fora construction company inLagos but had recently lost hisjob because the company washaving cashflow problems. SoY had decided to try his luckin Abuja and needed some-where to stay while he was job-hunting.

X warmly welcomed Y intohis home, ensured that he had3 good meals every day, in-sisted on loaning him his sec-ond car so he could movearound town easily, intro-duced him to most of his Abujafriends so he could enjoy avibrant social life and took himto see some of his government

clients.Eventually, Y was employed

by a Junior Minister he’d metvia X. Soon he was able to moveout of X’s home, hand back theloaned car and stand on hisown 2 feet. Five years later, Ywas appointed to head aparastatal. And X threw a partyfor him.

Much to X’s surprise, Y sud-denly became aloof and wasnever available when X sug-gested that they meet; andafter repeated failed attemptsto continue with a friendshipthat had started 3 whole de-cades previously at their sec-ondary school in Ilorin, X fi-nally got the message, quietlygave up on Y and got on withhis life.

A couple of years ago, disas-ter struck. Despite only being42 at the time, X had a stroke.Fortunately, the stroke didn’tkill him or permanently inca-pacitate him. He graduallyrecovered. But he ran out ofmoney because he wasn’t ableto work at all for severalmonths and the intensivemedical care he’d requiredhad cost millions.

So, swallowing his pride, hewent to Y’s luxurious officialresidence, to plead for modestfinancial assistance. When hegot there, the security guardstold him that their Oga was inand called their Oga from theintercom phone in thegatehouse, to ask whether theycould allow X to enter the com-pound. The answer was “no”.

X and Y have a mutual palwho attends the same churchas Y. And the mutual palbumped into Y a few Sundayslater, after service, and gentlyberated Y for not helping X,who had lavished so manyfavours on him when he wasin need. And do you knowwhat Y said to the mutualfriend, without any trace ofremorse or irony?

“All of the success I haveachieved in this world is be-cause of my prayers, my hardwork and God’s love for me,not because of any so-calledfavours from anyone”!!!

OK, so there are 2 sides toevery tale of woe. And justicedemands that we don’t jump

to negative conclusions aboutany individual on the basis ofmere hearsay…and that we

give VIPs the benefit of thedoubt when there is no con-crete evidence to prove thatthey are guilty of the misde-meanors of which they havebeen accused.

But, by pure coincidence, Ihappen to know Y, theparastatal head who treatedhis generous ex-benefactor soshoddily. And he has an ex-cessively high opinion ofhimself…and a reputation forbeing nasty; and I have heardso many similar stories aboutY from other people that I thinkit fair to describe him as achronic sadist.

I also, coincidentally again,happen to know people whoknow X; and everyone fromwhom I have sought a charac-ter reference has told me thathe’s an immensely pleasantguy who helps others when-ever he can and deserves re-spect and support.

As luck would have it, Ywas recently sacked by Presi-dent Buhari and I hear that heis being investigated for cor-ruption. And I have no ideawhether he is a thief or not,but he is at least a callous,pompous ingrate; and am soincensed by his treatment ofX, his kind-hearted old schoolchum, that I hope he winds upin jail!

Kudos to El-Rufai

IT was announced, last weekend, that Kaduna State will

provide government primaryschool pupils with free mealswhen the new term commencesnext Monday.

Shehu Usman Adamu,Kaduna’s Commissioner of Edu-cation, Science and Technology,says that the programme has beenamply provided for in the state’s2016 budget…and that the foodvendors in each of the 255 wardshave been organised into coop-erative societies, to facilitateimplementation of theprogramme.

The Commissioner added that:“School-based managementcommittees comprising of parentsand notable community figures,have been sensitised to support,monitor and report on the perfor-mance of the programme in eachof our schools”…

….[and will] “meet their respec-tive vendors to jointly review theprocedures and modalities foreffective service delivery [and]strictly monitor the programmeto ensure that any bottlenecks thatemerge in the initial stages areresolved.”

The programme, in addition toensuring that even the poorestpupils gain sufficient nutrition,“is designed to boost the economyat the grassroots by involving

people at the community level asvendors. It will also expand themarket for our farmers, even as itbrings more of our people intothe formal economy,” Adamusaid.

I salute the enlightened anddynamic Kaduna State Governor,Nasir el-Rufai, for coming up withan ambitious, compassionate andprogressive initiative that willimpact positively on thousandsof lives, if everything goes ac-cording to plan.

•El Rufai

All of the success Ihave achieved inthis world is be-cause of myprayers, my hardwork and God’slove for me, notbecause of any so-called favours fromanyone

18 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

OPINIONIkpeazu: What Abia truly needs: What Abia truly needs: What Abia truly needs: What Abia truly needs: What Abia truly needs

By Ojo Maduekwe

•Mr. Maduekwe is SA Media to the AbiaState Governor.

SINCE the Justices of the Appeal Courtin Owerri arrived at a judgment that

has been widely criticised and rightlyreferred to as being “fundamentallywrong” by Mike Ezekhome (SAN), I haveread commentaries siding with Alex Ottiof the All Progressive Grand Alliance(APGA), and one thing they all brazenlypromote is the disregard for the rule of law,which application was recently applied inthe conduct of Bayelsa State’s 2015Governorship election.

On Sunday, January 9, Bayelsanscompleted a voting process that was kick-started last year, re-electing incumbentGovernor, Seriake Dickson. The initialDecember 5, 2015 election was declaredinclusive by INEC and January 9, 2016slated for the re-run in which Dicksongarnered 134,998 votes to defeat TimipreSylva of the All Progressives Congress whoscored 86,852 votes.

A cursory but serious look at therationale for the initial cancellation of thesubstantive election of December 5 byINEC, will betray Otti’s apologists as apeople with little regard for the rule of law.

The relief that Governor Ikpeazu hasalways sought from the court is that thelaw be upheld. Where close to 300,000voters are being disenfranchised andvictory declared on the basis of a 50,000margin lead, what the law proposes is a

rerun election. Anything short of this is aflagrant disobedience to the law, andanyone who supports such is invitingchaos.

Failing to justify the Appeal Court’sjudgment on the basis of what the lawdictates, Otti’s apologists have resorted toemotional arguments and citing adebateable “private sector managementexperience” as the reason he remains thebest thing to happen to Abians [sic] andhow if he’s crowned governor, he won’t gohand-in-cap to Abuja begging for hand-outs.

Any commentator who’s been followingdevelopment in Abia from the campaignperiod and since May 29 when GovernorIkpeazu was sworn in as the duly electedGovernor of the State will know that he’sbeen one of the staunchest proponents ofan Abia that is independent of adiminishing federal allocation through animproved IGR. Beyond rhetorics,substantial progress continues to be madein improving the State’s IGR.

When his fellow governor’s sought theeasier route to handling the dwindling

economy by proposing a reduction in theN18,000 minimum wage, GovernorIkpeazu reacted by assuring Abia workersof steady salary and improved IGR, whichaccording to him, was the best way to keepAbia afloat. Abia’s current IGR hoversaround one billion naira, and for those whocannot see beyond their prejudice andrefuse to hear from both sides beforepenning their jaundiced copies, there areefforts to ensure it keeps increasing.

Otti’s publicists should know that beingexposed and having the ability to read abalance sheet or coming from the privatesector, does not place him shoulders aboveIkpeazu. These relative attributes are noabsolute prerequisite for turning aroundan economy. Examples abound wheresome Nigerian Governors, with all theircredentials, when entrusted withgoverning their States, failed in bringingabout a change in the fortunes of thesestates

One notion Otti apologists continue topromote is the fallacy that Aba remainsretrogressive. It smacks of ignorance foranyone to allege that changes have notbeen made in Aba since Governor Ikpeazuassumed office. Abia has witnessed drasticchanges since the coming of GovernorIkpeazu. The ongoing development inparts of Aba was what necessitated thegraveyard silence that greeted the AppealCourt judgment.

It is important that we set the recordstraight. The silence was not becausemajority of those resident in Aba are madeup of people with ethnic ties with the

Governor, no, rather, Aba comprises oflargely non-indigenes, and so there shouldhave been no reason (whether political orethnic) for the massive support that theadministration of Governor Ikpeazu hasbeen receiving from the residents of thecity, except that they are pleased with hisperformance, which is a shift from whatused to obtain in recent past.

It is also thoughtless for anyone toattempt to heap the many years of Aba’sneglect on Governor Ikpeazu, who has onlybeen in the saddle for a little over sevenmonths, yet has performed remarkablywell. This is inspite of distractions by theopposition APGA.

For the few who prefer to peddlemisinformation as commentaries on agovernment that they’ve not taken timeto reappraise is to say the leastunfortunate. In all their vituperations, itis comforting to note that when it comes tothe development of Aba, Otti apologistsand the government of Governor Ikpeazuare on the same page.

Recently, the Governor commissionedthe Owerri road, built using the cementpavement technology, following which heinspected the construction of the newUmule and Tonimas roads all in Aba. Abamay not have reached its peak in terms ofdevelopment, but it’s definitely not“decrepit, an eyesore and insecure”, andIkpeazu, the man that Abia truly needs, iswell disposed to ensure that this onceabandoned city fully regains its lost glory.

It is also thoughtless foranyone to attempt to heapthe many years of Aba’sneglect on GovernorIkpeazu

The armThe armThe armThe armThe army’s rey’s rey’s rey’s rey’s retirement of twtirement of twtirement of twtirement of twtirement of two ofo ofo ofo ofo offfffficericericericericersssssover Ekiti, Osun pollsover Ekiti, Osun pollsover Ekiti, Osun pollsover Ekiti, Osun pollsover Ekiti, Osun polls

NIGERIAN Army Board of Inquiryconstituted to investigate allegedprofessional misconduct by someofficers in the 2015 general electionshas returned a punitiverecommendation of compulsoryretirement of two senior officers. Theboard also recommended that threeofficers would lose their commandand one other officer will face criminalprosecution for collecting financialgratification. Furthermore, fifteenofficers are placed on their watch listand nine other officers are to befurther investigated by the EFCC overallegations levelled against them.

Additionally, six officers are to facean audit committee and sixty twoofficers mostly of the rank of majorand below were to be given letters ofdispleasure and to appear before theirrespective General OfficersCommanding for counselling. Thesemeasures arose from theunprofessional and partisan conductof the affected officers and soldiersof the Nigerian Army during the 2015General elections, as well as the Ekitiand Osun governorship elections . The

Army high command had set up theboard following petitions receivedfrom the public after the polls.

Since the return to civil rule, the roleof some personnel of securityagencies in maintaining law and orderhas been unsalutory and sometimesundermines the tenets of democracy.Things have not improved sinceformer President Olusegun Obasanjoinitiated the idea of deploying soldiersat elections. The trend continueddespite a court ruling against it. Muchas we appreciate the need for law andorder to be maintained before, duringand after elections in the country, weconsider it highly reprehensible anda subversion of professional ethics forsecurity agents particularly soldiers toget involved in election matters

beyond the boundary prescribed by thecall of duty.

That is why we commend the Chiefof Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai,who departed from the practices of thepast by setting up the board of inquiryrather than exonerate his officers andmen when there was unassailableproof of complicity. We also commendthe moral courage of the board’schairman, Major General AdeniyiOyebade, for the far reachingrecommendations made.

We implore other security agenciesinvolved in past elections including thenavy, airforce, the Police andDepartment of State Serviceoperatives to follow the lofty exampleof the army by investigatingallegations against their officers and

men. This is desirable because tosustain the nation’s floweringdemocracy, the military in particularshould imbibe the culture ofsubordinating its officers and men todictates of civil authority. Theirabsolute neutrality during electionsshould never be in doubt. Officers andmen who willfully collaborate withpoliticians to undermine electoralprocesses are not worthy of theirprofessional callings. Much as weagree that erring officers should bedisciplined, we recommend that thereshould be continuous training andorientation of personnel to bedeployed by the military and othersecurity agencies during elections.Those who are perceived to be partisanin their disposition should be excludedfrom such exercises. Finally we urgethe army authorities to painstakinglyreview the recommendations in linewith its legal and administrativeprocedures because of the graveimplications on the career of theaffected officers in particular and theNigerian army in general.

CMYK

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016—————1919191919

CMYK

Send Opinions & Letters to:opinions1234@yahoo.com

*Mr Udegbe, a lawyer, wrote fromLagos.

Oshodi market: Yoruba and Igbo relationship

ON the 5th January, while many inLagos and all the major cities of

Nigeria, had travelled to their enclavesfor the Christmas and New Yearcelebrations, the APC government inLagos State, chose to demolish Oshodimarket, and destroyed the means oflivelihood for over 1500 traders. This isthe way these citizens started their NewYear, while the APC government in Abujaare asking Nigerians to brace up for hardtimes, when life has been so hard, roughand tough, since May 2015, when theycame to power.

The timing for this mischief isparticularly bad, coming at a time, whenmost parents will be thinking of sendingtheir wards back to school in the new year,at a time when the Federal Civil Servantshad not been paid their salaries, thepurchasing power of the people is low, andthose who managed to save somethinghad travelled for the festivities, only to becalled back to watch helplessly, thedemolition of their shops and belongings.Most of these victims are Igbos andChristians, who had travelled.

The traders had dragged the LASG tothe Federal High Court, Ikoyi, eight yearsago, secured an injunction not to demolishthe section of the market, in theirredevelopment plan. In spite of the courtinjunction, LASG issued a two weeks quitnotice on 24th December 2015, but sevendays after, they locked up the market onThursday New Year eve, and commencedarrest of persons who had interest in themarket, to discourage them from re-entering the market, waiting for thedemolition tractors to arrive!

LASG must have done this to hit thecitizens involved below the belt, tostrangulate them economically. Some ofthem will muster the courage to go tocourt to seek redress, especially given thetype of notice they were given, and theGestapo type operations against them.The Honorable Court will do its job, at theappropriate time, but meanwhile LASGwould have taken possession, displaced thepeople, rendering them permanentlyimpoverished, without means oflivelihood, left to suffering galore!

Yes, the court may order compensationand all that, but it will be essentially forthe records, as this type of leadership maynot care to pay such compensations ingood time.

Chief Raji Fashola, SAN, the immediatepast Governor of Lagos State , is a verysenior Lawyer, and would not havecontemplated this type of lawlessnessagainst the people. In 2013, Fashola wokeup one day and deported poor Igbos, bypicking them up and dropping themacross River Niger in Igbo land overnight.It was a big slap and insult on the face of

Ndigbo, and an uproar followed. The mansubsequently apologised to Ndigbo, andchallenged Ndigbo to endeavour to rebuildtheir zone, and make it good for business,and living. Many of us sons of Igbo land,took that challenge from Fashola, to workto make Ndigbo see the need to think Igbo,act Igbo, and do the best to make Igbo landa good place for mankind.

Although it has been said that Fasholadid not approve any factory in Lagos inhis last tenure as Governor, in keepingwith their unwritten political pact withthe north, in order to keep Ndigbo awayfrom Lagos, he was a better person toNdigbo, and come to think of it, why buildin Lagos, when there is land and facilitieselsewhere in Igbo land?

I consider Fashola a good friend of theNdigbo, in the sense that it is only yourgood friend that would tell you the trutheven when it hurts your feelings and ego.Why run around the whole place buildingeverywhere, when Abakaliki, Enugu,Onitsha, Owerri, and Umuahia arebegging for development andinvestments? Why build and developplaces where your Governors will berunning all the time to come to beg foryour closed shops to be reopened; ChiefOhakim, came and begged ChiefTinunbu, over Berger Vehicle market inmile 2, and later Chief Okorocha came andbegged Chief Fashola over Ladipo Market.When will the begging stop?

Now, unlike Fashola, Governor Ambode,is a professional accountant, who seemsto have issues to grind with Ndigbo.During the 2015 elections, Lagosians hadto choose between, Jimi Agbaje of PDP,and Akinwunmi Ambode of APC, both fullYoruba sons, and Christians.

Agbaje had a closer and betterrelationship with the common man,

reached out to all, even had to ride onMotorcycles, and Tri-cycles to reach thepeople, but the Oba of Lagos suddenlywaded into matter and threatened Igbosto vote Ambode or die in the Lagoon, adeclaration that brought xenophobia intoLagos politics, tilted everything againstAgbaje, and created the seeming growinghatred of Ndigbo by Ambode as amplifiedby this demolition of Oshodi Market.

Apart from his very beautiful campaigngingle, ‘ Ambooo….., Ambo ..…’ there isnothing good coming from thisgovernment, so far. Traffic has becomemore chaotic, as Oshodi-Apapa Expressway have defied solution, and for thoseliving from Cele Bustop to Badagry Road,value of life and living has droppeddrastically. Lagos is no longer what it usedto be, Lagos has changed!

This terribled New Year package forOshodi traders, is a bad sign and messageto non-indigenes. Oshodi is among theLGAs in Lagos, where non-indigenes waxstrong politically, so their back must bebroken. This APC government in Lagosrather than bridge, is widening the gapof hatred between Ndigbo and Yorubas!God help us.

In a system like ours, where governmentremembers the people only when theyneed Internally Generated Revenue, andthe people's votes, most of the victims ofthis demolition, will have no option thaneither to run back to relations and friendsfor help, and where no such help is found,resort to crime, destitution, while manyothers would commit suicide or plungeinto the Lagos Lagoon, as the Oba hascursed! That Curse has to be Broken! Theage long friendship between Ndigbo andYorubas must be kept, and improvedupon, although it remains doubtfulwhether this government can achieve it.

By Clement Udegbe

ERITREA is a relativelyunknown African country.

Little news filters out. In October2012, I wanted to pay with ahundred dollar bill in aWashington supermarket, andthe cashier declined. He askedme to pay with a smallerdenomination, which I did nothave. Noticing his features, Iasked if he was of African decent.He asked if I knew Ethiopia. Hesaid his country is near Ethiopia.I asked, Eritrea? “Yes” “So whydidn’t you simply say you arefrom Eritrea?” “I tell people, andthey never seem to have heardof such a country”

I assured him that his countryis on the African map withcapital in Asmara, the major portin Massawa and Isaias Afewerkias President. He seemed shocked.Excitedly, he called hissupervisor and co-workers whoall happen to be Eritreans to seesomebody who knows theircountry.

The following year, I stayed ina hotel in Lusaka, Zambia.Having a few extra days to kill, Idecided to ask for a discount. I wastold to see the manager. Givenhis features, I asked if he wasEthiopian, Eritrean or

Eritrea: A decayedrevolution

Somalian. His face lit up. “Youknow Eritrea?” “Of course”. Wediscussed about his country andhe said even in Zambia, veryfew people had heard about hiscountry.

If the country is so little knowntoday, imagine the situation in1980 when it was part ofEthiopia. At that time, there wasa hot debate amongst radicalelements and intellectuals inNigeria over whether to supportthe indivisibility ofrevolutionary Ethiopia underColonel Mengistu Haile Mariamor the bloody war of Eritrea tosecede. The Eritrean strugglewas led by the Eritrean PeoplesLiberation Front (EPLF) a groupof left wingers who had clippedthe wings of the rival EritreanLiberation Front (ELF) aconservative group supported bythe Arab world.

I was then a student in theUniversity of Ife, UNIFE (nowObafemi Awolowo University)and there were Ethiopian andEritrean students on campuseach explaining their own sideand wanting support fromNigerians. Internationally,Ethiopia was on solid ground;Africa wanted post-colonial

states to remain intact. Also,Ethiopia hosted the Organisationof African Unity ( now AU) whichstood for African unity.Additionally, it had succeededin portraying the Eritreanstruggle as an attemptedARABAZATION of the Red sea.

Also, Ethiopia was one of themost consistent supporters of theliberation struggles in thecontinent. To worsen theEritrean case, the EPLF wasrevolutionary. This alienated itfrom the Arab States and theWest, while the revolutionarygovernment in Ethiopia had thebacking of socialist states like theSoviet Union and Cuba.

But the Eritreans in UNIFE ledby Wolde Yitzak, a professor inthe Pharmacy Departmentargued that the EritreanQuestion was a case of de-colonisation as the country wasan Italian colony, seized andstripped as a war booty byBritain following the defeat ofItaly during the Second WorldWar. They argued that despite a

referendum in which Eritreansvoted for independence, theUnited Nations issued Resolution390 of 1952 federating Eritreato Ethiopia.

That ten years later, EmperorSellasie abolished the Eritreanparliament and annexed thecountry. So the issue, as far asthey are concerned is one of theright of a people to self-determination in accordancewith fundamental humanrights. A question was, given theoverthrow of feudalism inEthiopia, why can’t they workwith the new revolutionarygovernment? The Eritreans saidthey tried but that the Mengistugovernment was no lesshegemonic.

To verify the claims of bothsides, there was the need to sendan independent person toEthiopia who will also go into thewar zone to meet with the thenrebels. Dr. Dipo Fashina of theUNIFE Philosophy Departmentoffered to undertake thedangerous journey. During the1981/82 academic session, hewent to Sudan and crossed intothe rebel held areas, and then thewar front. He met the EPLFhierarchy including currentpresident, Isaias Aferweki.

His report was that theEritrean leaders, fighters andpeople he met were bright menand women; strategic anddetermined fighters, brilliantanalysts and radical socialists.Eritrea he said, was an Africapromise, and recommended thatthe EPLF be supported.

A combination of factorsincluding the Eritrean war andtwo civil wars, led to the collapseof the Mengistu government. Ina UN-supervised referendum in1993, 99.83 percent of Eritreansvoted for independence. But theEritrean revolution has not

delivered. Eritrea was no doubtisolated during its lonely war ofliberation; unfortunately, thecountry seems caught up in thatisolationist psychology. LikeChina, it shut its doors to be self-sufficient before facing the restof the world, but unlike China, itis not developing. Rather, itseems decaying and reminds meof Cambodia under the Pol Potrevolutionaries. Cuba has alsofaced serious isolation even byfellow Latin Americans, but itdelivered to the people. That iswhy Cubans are ready to laydown their lives in defence oftheir revolution. In contrast,Eritreans are fleeing in droves asif pursued by devils. Israel alonehas some forty thousandEritrean refuges while monthly,an average three thousandEritreans are said to be fleeingmonthly, mainly to Sudan.Eritreans are also high in thenumber of refugees making theperilous sea journey into Europe.

I was in Asmara in 2015 andsaw a society stalled in time;weary–looking people in thestreets who seemed caged andresigned to fate. A major sourceof worry is the mandatorymilitary service which has anentry point but not an exit one.Its 1998-2000 border war withEthiopia over a patch of land, leftsome 19,000 Eritreans dead anda broke and broken country.Eritrea today, remains on a warfooting with the strain ofmaintaining some 4,000 troopsin the demilitarized zone and120,000 on its border withEthiopia. Unemployment is veryhigh, wages, even of bankmanagers, very low. Eritrea hasto recreate itself; to berevolutionary is not to be weddedto poverty andunderdevelopment, it is todeliver dividends to the people.

I was inAsmara in2015 and sawa societystalled in time;weary–looking peoplein the streetswho seemedcaged andresigned tofate

The age longfriendship betweenNdigbo andYorubas must bekept, and improvedupon, although itremains doubtfulwhether thisgovernment canachieve it

20—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

CMYK

By Peter Duru, Makurdi

Tears of joy asfoundationempowers lessprivileged youthsin Benue

EMOTIONS werebetrayed recently when

over 100 less privileged youthsand women, drawn fromdifferent parts of Benue State,graduated from the freetraining and empowermentprogramme of SEV-AVFoundation, a pet project of thewife of the immediate pastGovernor of Benue State, Mrs.Yemisi Suswam.

The beneficiaries of theprogramme which was theninth in the series, were trainedin various arts and craftincluding catering, fashiondesigning and tailoring,welding, bead making,computer education amongothers.

The programme also availedthe beneficiaries theopportunity to start small scalebusinesses of their own toenable them supportthemselves and their families.

Smalls scalebusinesses

Like others before them, thegraduands, who until beingenrolled in the SEV-AV skillsacquisition programme had nosource of livelihood.No wonderthey were moved to tears whenthey were all called forward toreceive free tools to enablethem start off smalls scalebusinesses in the trade theywere trained in.Addressing thebeneficiaries earlier, Mrs.Suswam noted that theprogramme which wasinaugurated about eight yearsago, was not a profit -makingventure.She said it was herlittle way of giving back to thesociety to better the lot of theordinary citizens who hadnothing to fall back to.”

I introduced this free trainingand empowerment programmebecause I feel the pains of thepoor and less privileged in thesociety and I felt the only wayI can reach out to these personsis to provide them a veritableplatform to enable themactualise their dreams. I am notdoing this for personal gainsor to gain political relevance

but to give back to the societywhich is the basis for humanexistence,”Mrs. Suswam said.

Continuing, she said: “As anon -governmentalorganization, NGO, we arecommitted to adding value tothe lives of the ordinary citizensespecially people ravaged byHIV/AIDS, as well asempowering youths andwomen towards self reliance. Itherefore challenge theprivileged in our present daysociety to lend a helping handto the less privileged and byso doing we will all make ourworld a better place”. Sheadded.

The former Governor’s wifewho warned against thepoliticization of the activities ofthe Foundation observed thatthe ceremony was the first sincethe end of the Gabriel Suswamadministration, stressing that itwas a litmus test of its sincerityand commitment to thedevelopment of youths andwomen in the state.Sheappreciated the resilience of100 graduands saying “thisceremony has proved wrongthe impression of pessimists,who had thought that the NGOwould not outlive the previousadministration.”

She also pledged to partnerwith any government interestedin the meaningfuldevelopment of its people, for

the overall benefit of humanity.A widow and mother of one ofthe beneficiaries, Mrs. TheresaVershima, could not fight backtears when she acknowledgedthe benefit of having her sonand others trained in different

trades and also empowered tocarry out the trade. Shechallenged other well to dopersons in the state toundertake similar venture.

”If most well to do persons inthis state can undertake to train

and empower our youths,widows, and other lessprivileged in the society, likewhat SEV-AV has been doing,the rate of social vices and crimein our society would to a largeextent be reduced.” She said.

CANDLE FIRE TRAGEDY!How three siblings cheated death inLagos community

By Bose Adelaja

FOR the faithful whoworshiped at Christ Galilee

Gospel Ministry, CGGM inIkorodu, a Lagos suburb,Sunday, 10th January will remainevergreen in their lives. It wason that day that three siblings,Sulaimon Taiwo, Kehinde andQuadri who escaped a midnightfire that gutted their abode,testified amidst thunderouspraises to the Almighty God.

The siblings who reside in aone-room apartment at No 9,Ogo-Oluwa Street, Igbogbo/Ikorodu lost their father over tenyears ago, leaving their upkeepin the hands of their widowedmother. Although the were borninto a Muslim family, the siblingsand their mother later convertedto Christianity. While MrsSulaimon became a member ofthe Redeemed Christian Churchof God, RCCG, Taiwo andKehinde who are twins and theirbrother Quadri pitched tent withCGGM. Vanguard Metro, VM

learnt that the pastor of CGGMhas being of immense financialassistance to the woman in herbid to fend for the children.

Trouble started last Fridaywhen Mrs Sulaimon left for themonthly Holy Ghost Congress atthe Redemption Camp along theLagos Ibadan expressway. Afterthe day’s work, the childrenretired to bed.

Intermittentcoughing

Quadri was said to have lit acandle and slept off on a mattressin the room. Around 1am, one ofthe children began to coughintermittently and this attracteda neighbour who suspected thatsomething was amiss in theroom. He was said to haverushed out on discovering thatfire had engulfed the roomoccupied by the Sulaimons. Thisprompted the neighbour to raisean alarm which attracted otherneighbours.

VM was told that before

sympathisers could rush to thescene, the room had been takenover by fire, eliciting fears andweeping that the children havebeen roasted to death.

The neighbours who managedto stop further spreading of theinferno, were astonished by thefact that the children wereunhurt. Only one of themallegedly inhaled the smokefrom the fire and was promptlytaken to a nearby clinic for firstaid treatment.

When their mother returnedfrom the Holy Ghost service andsaw the crowd of sympathisers,she almost fainted. She later gaveglory to God on learning that herchildren escaped unhurt.

In a chat with VM, the childrensaid they were fast asleep whenthe incident happened, ‘’It wasQuadri who lit a candle and putit on the floor before we all wentto bed,”they saw while glorifyingGod who spared their livesthrough the prompt interventionof neighbours.

I introduced thisfree training andempowermentprogrammebecause I feelthe pains of thepoor and lessprivileged

Mrs. Suswam presenting gifts to one of the beneficiaries.

EXECUTIVE Secretary,Electricity Consumers As-

sociation of Nigeria (ECAN),MR. Goodluck Enyinna, hastasked Distribution Companies(DISCO) to pay more attentionto ministries, departments andagencies (MDAs) in its debts re-covery.

Enyinna gave the advice in aninterview with the News Agencyof Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

“I am advocating that DISCOsshould pay more attention toMDAs to collect their debts be-cause these are the organisationsowing DISCOs huge sums indebt” he said.

According to him, if MDAs,Army and Navy will pay all thedebts they owe DISCOs, consum-ers will not need to pay more tar-iff.

He said that the new tariff whichwould be introduced in Feb. 1 byNigerian Electricity Commission(NERC), would run for 10 years.He said that no new tariff wouldbe introduced until the end of the10 years. Enyinna listed credibletariff for Nigerians, revenue shortfalls for DISCOs and good rev-enue to enable DISCOs to gettheir upstream market obligationsas reasons for the new energy tar-iff.

According to him, an energyconsumer will pay, on the aver-age, about N8,000 every monthwhen the new tariff becomes op-erational.

Enyinna called on consumers togo to the nearest distribution com-pany and pay N25,000 for theirprepaid meter through the CreditAdvance Payment for MeteringImplementation (CAPMI)

sociation to include fundingwhich, according to him, is not thecase overseas,” he said. He ex-plained that due to lack of funds,NGOs could not effectively carryout their duties. Enyinna saidECAN went to court in 2011 tochallenge DISCOs on chargingmaintenance fees on consumersand the association was able tostop them from collecting the feefrom customers.

He also said that the court ac-tion saved the country the sum of

N240 billion, being the amountconsumers were paying annuallyon meter maintenance to DISCOs.

According to Enyinna, this year,the association will carry out mas-sive sensitisation programme toconsumers for them to know theirrights.

He called on electricity consum-ers in the country to conserve en-ergy by switching off their appli-ances when not in use and to alsoensure that they paid for theirelectricity bills. (NAN)

He listed challenges of the as-

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016—21

CURRENCY BUYING SELLING

CBN Exchange rate as at 14/01/2016

US DOLLAR POUNDS EUROFRANCYENCFAWAUARENMINBIRIYALKRONASDR

196 196.5 197282.7104 283. 4316 284. 1528212.797 213.3401 213. 8829

195. 9804 196. 4804 196. 98031.6655 1.6698 1.6740.3062 0.3162 0.3262270.8824 271.5735 272. 264529.7995 29.3483 29. 952452. 2151 52.3483 52.453628.6307 28.7037 28.4816270. 8916 271.5827 272. 2737

$113.75 -1. 05

$2,865.00 -29.00

$14.76 0.29

$30. 59 0.28

$30. 79 -6.25

Pay more attention to MDAs in debtrecovery, ECAN tasks DISCOs

programme introduced by NERC.According to him, if the meter is

not installed within 60 days ofpayment for the meter, DISCOshave no right to disconnect sucha customer.

He said the money a consumerpaid for installation of his meterwould be repaid to him in twoyears and this would be done bycapturing it in his tariff. Enyinnasaid that the consumer would alsobe given 14 per cent interest onthe amount he paid for the meter.

If the meter is notinstalled within60 days of pay-ment for themeter, DISCOshave no right todisconnect such acustomer

BRIEFING: From Left; Mr Olivier Thiry, Managing Director, Promasidor Nigeria Limited, Mr Andrew Enahoro, Head Legal&Public Relation Manager, Promasidor Nigeria Limited, and Mr Festus Tettey, Head of Marketing Promasidor Nigeria Limited,During the Press Breifing on the Announcing the 2016 Promasidor Entries for Quill Awards, for Journalists, by PromasidorNigeria Limited, held in Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi

Olam invests $275m on wheat, pasta mills in NigeriaBy Princewill Ekwujuru

OLAM Nigeria said its Singapore-based holding company, Olam

International Limited has acquiredAmber Foods Limited for $275 mil-lion. If the amount is converted withthe current official exchange rate thisamounts to N8.4150billion.

The deal was consummated throughOlam’s subsidiary QuintessentialFoods Nigeria Limited who are own-ers of the wheat and pasta manufac-turing assets of BUA Group in Nige-ria.

The BUA Group, is a diversifiedfoods and infrastructure businessgroup in Nigeria, it’s among the topfive wheat millers in the country withwheat milling and pasta manufactur-ing capacities of 3,760 and 700 met-ric tonnes per day (TPD) respectively.

The assets to be acquired include

two wheat mills and a pasta manufac-turing facility in Lagos, a mill in Kano,and a wheat mill and a pasta manufac-turing plant under construction in PortHarcourt.

The wheat milling sector in Sub-Sa-haran Africa has been an area of in-vestment focus for Olam since 2010when it acquired Crown Flour Mills,CFM in Nigeria. Since then, Olam hasexpanded Crown Flour Mills capacityand set up milling operations in Ghana,Senegal and Cameroon.

Accordingly, this acquisition willstrengthen Crown Flour Mill’s positionas the number two wheat miller by salesvolume and make it a leading pastaplayer in Nigeria. Crow Flour Mill’stotal wheat milling capacity in the coun-try will increase from its current 2,380TPD to 6,140 TPD once the facilities inPort Harcourt are completed in June2016.

The Country Head of Olam Nigeria,Mukul Mathur, said: “We are confidentabout the growth prospects in Nigeria, soexpanding our participation hereis a logi-cal step to capitalise on the opportunity.Our value-added export business in thecountry puts us in a strong position togenerate the much required forex andactively support the Produce-Add-Value-Export, PAVE initiative of the FederalGovernment of Nigeria.

Managing Director of Crown FlourMills, Anurag Shukla, added: “This ac-quisition further increases Crown FlourMill’s ability to provide low cost foodstaples to the Nigerian population thathave been manufactured in-country. Wheat-based products, such as pasta,have grown in popularity among Nigeri-ans due to changing tastes, the gradualrise of convenience and, for many, as anaffordable option to meet carbohydraterequirements.”

22 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

FIDELITY Bank Plc has saidthat its Small and Medium

Enterprises (SMEs) deposit li-ability has grown to over N120billion, while its loans to the sec-tor is in excess of N60 billion.

Making the disclosure on theFidelity SME Forum, a weeklyradio talk show programme or-ganized by the Bank on Inspi-ration FM. Lagos, ManagingDirector/Chief Executive Of-ficer, Fidelity Bank Plc.,Nnamdi Okonkwo, said the sizeof its SME liability, as well asthe loan book is indicative of thebank’s avowed commitment tothe sectors.

Okonkwo noted that the bankintends to intensify support forMicro and Small Medium En-terprises (MSMEs) through anumber of unique initiativesgeared towards raising their

level of competitiveness in achallenging business environ-ment. This year, he said thebank hopes to increase its loanbook by aggressively lending toMSMEs which have beentouted to be the next cash cowin the economy.

The Fidelity Bank boss ex-plained that the bank currentlyboasts of a 50 per cent SME loanto deposit ratio, which is an in-dication that the lender remainshighly committed to supportingMSMEs in Nigeria, particularlyin the area of access to finance.

Alluding to the bank’s plan tostep up the tempo of engage-ment with MSMEs amid thenation’s harsh economic condi-tions, Okonkwo noted that thebank’s SME customer base isin excess of 600,000 and areevenly spread across thenation’s geographical regions.

The bank chief pointed outthat the lender has made sig-nificant headway in the dis-bursement of the CentralBank’s MSME DevelopmentFund as 70 customers have al-ready accessed requisite creditto expand their business.

“We are currently one of thetop two leading banks in thedisbursement of the Fund”, headded.

According to him, Fidelity fo-cuses more on productive seg-ments of the economy wheremargins are not robust. Thismove, he added, helps MSMEsin these industry verticals opti-mize the performance of theirrespective businesses.

“The structure and pricing ofthe funds provide us the win-dow to finance SME relatedtransactions, which otherwisewould have been expensive tofinance from our balance sheetfor the SMEs”, he explained.

Propelled by its one-on-onebusiness advisory services andother capacity building initia-tives, Okonkwo, said the lenderhas one of the strongest SMEfranchise in Nigeria, Africa’slargest economy by GDP.

Fidelity Bank SME depositFidelity Bank SME depositFidelity Bank SME depositFidelity Bank SME depositFidelity Bank SME depositliability in excess of N120bnliability in excess of N120bnliability in excess of N120bnliability in excess of N120bnliability in excess of N120bn

From left: Divisional Head, Corporate Communication, Securities and Exchange Commission,Mr. Naif Absussalam; Assistant Manager, SEC, Mr. Abubarkar Suleiman; Assistant Manager,SEC, Mr. Abdulrahman Abubakar; and Head, Marketing Development, SEC, Mr. HenryRowland, during SEC e-dividend registration exercise in Abuja

Equity market: Vetiva predicts higher volatilityin 2016

Private sector growth acceleratedin December—Stanbic IBTC PMI

THE private sector in thecountry recorded an accel-

erated growth in the month ofDecember as business condi-tions improved to the greatestextent since July, 2015, accord-ing to Stanbic IBTC Bank Pur-chasing Manager Index (PMI).

Stanbic IBTc had last monthlaunched PMI to help gaugethe health of private sector busi-nesses in the country. The In-dex is compiled by Markit, a

leading global diversified pro-vider of financial informationservices. The National Bureauof Statistics (NBS) had officiallyadopted the Stanbic IBTC Ni-geria PMI as the Nigeriangovernment’s private sector-based index for the country. Readings above 50.0 signal animprovement in business con-ditions on the previous month,while readings below 50.0 showdeterioration.

The seasonally adjustedStanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria

PMI posted 54.5 in December,thereby signalling a solid im-provement in operating condi-tions at companies in Nigeria.Up from 53.9 in November, thelatest reading was the highestin five months. The quarterlyaverage in Q4 (53.5) wasslightly lower than seen in Q3(54.0).

According to the report, thekey factor behind growth of thesector as a whole was highernew orders – the latest rise wasthe fastest in six months.

By Nkiruka Nnorom

VETIVA Capital has saidthat the 2016 is going to

be tough for the Nigerianequity market and haspredicted that the market willrecord higher volatility.

In its market report for theoutlook in 2016, Vetiva said “With the Nigerian StockExchange, NSE ASI returning-17 per cent in 2015, closelyin line with our scenarioanalysis for Brent crude oilprice at $45/bbl, our outlook forthe equity market in 2016remains anchored on thedirection of oil prices.

As such, we think the equitymarket is headed for anothertough year as oil prices stay“lower for longer ” witheconomic concerns rangingfrom currency to corporateearnings overshadowingseemingly low stock prices; weexpect heightened volatilityfor much of the year.”

It added: “We re-iterate the

strong correlation of theNigerian equity market to oilprices and with the price ofBrent crude oil hovering $38/bbl coming into 2016.

“We think losses will be lesssteep this year with thepotential for a positive yearclose given our expectation foroil prices to rebound to

between $50 - $60/bbl in thesecond half of the year.”

On fixed income market: “Weexpect demand for fixed incomesecurities will open on a healthynote, largely supported bydomestic banks and pensionfunds (PFAs). In the second halfof the year however, we foreseeuptick in yields.”

By Peter Egwuatu

By Nkiruka Nnorom

THE Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday

said it is poised to complete itsproposed demutualizationwhich commenced about eightyears ago before the end of theyear.

The Chief Executive Officer ofthe NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema,stated this while addressing fi-nancial journalists on the ‘NSE2015 Recap and Outlook for2016’.

Demutualization is the pro-cess by which a member-ownedExchange is converted to ashareholder-owned Exchange.With demutualization, the NSEshould be exposed to robustcorporate governance; en-hanced efficiency and transpar-ency associated with publiclyquoted companies.

Demutualisation allows theExchange to be listed on its ownfloor where investors wouldhave the opportunity of invest-ing in the self-regulatoryorganisation. The plan todemutualize the stock ex-change commenced in 2009, butwas delayed for various reasons.

However, in order to fast-trackthe exercise, the Securities andExchange Commission, SEC, in2011 set up a 21-man commit-tee to review and recommendhow the Exchange will bedemutualized.

Speaking at the event yester-day, Onyema said thatdemutualization of the Ex-change formed part of its keyinitiatives in the New Year, add-ing that the framework and

regulations for the exercise arealready in place for a smoothtake-off.

He explained that a consor-tium of financial advisers andlegal consultants and tax advis-ers have been appointed to drivethe demutualization process.

He said: “Demutualization,typically, is very long processand you don’t demutualize in avacuum. You must have a frame-

work and appropriate regula-tion within which you candemutualize and that was doneearly last year.

“The Exchange then had aframework within which it couldwork and the framework hasresulted in us coming up withfinancial advisers and consult-ants.

“That work is on-going andthere is a project team working

on that. We are raising it to thelevel of one of our top threeprojects in 2016 and hopefully,we are going to deliver it.”

He explained that throughoutthe year, the Exchange focusedits priorities on restoring andupholding investors’ confi-dence in light of the headwindsfacing the African marketplace.Except for one, all the Africanstock exchanges were negative.

NSE to go public this yearBy Peter Egwuatu &Nkiruka Nnorom

CMYK

VOL. 1: NO. 17VOL. 1: NO. 17VOL. 1: NO. 17VOL. 1: NO. 17VOL. 1: NO. 17 FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15JANUARY 15JANUARY 15JANUARY 15JANUARY 15, 2016, 2016, 2016, 2016, 2016

CMYK

•Page 25 •Page 26

IN THIS EDITIONIN THIS EDITIONIN THIS EDITIONIN THIS EDITIONIN THIS EDITION

SINCE the death of the lateObalufe of Ile-Ife, Oba

Solomon Omisakin, in October2015, efforts by the rulinghouses to find a suitablecandidate to fill the vacant stoolhave not yielded any positiveresult because of thecontending forces.

The Obalufe, who is thetraditional ruler of Iremo in Ile-Ife is the head of Ife kingmakersand next to the Ooni inhierarchy, according to thetradition of the ancient town.

An attempt to fill the stool latelast December led to serioustension in the ancient town ofIle-Ife, as the controversysurrounding the selection of thenew Obalufe caused rancouramong the supporters of the 10contenders to the throne from Aga ruling house of the town.

By Gbenga Olarinoye

•Ooni of Ife

OONI OF IFE’S DEPUTY:

Ruling houses fight overObalufe stool

The process of selecting a newObalufe started with theinauguration of a committeeunder the chairmanship ofComrade Ayoola Olafiranye.The committee was saddledwith the responsibility ofscreening all the contenders forthe stool and report its findingsto the ruling house.

The committee invited all the10 aspirants and they werescreened but before it couldsubmit its reports, majority of thecontenders accused thecommittee of planning toannounce the name of an

aspirant from the femalelineage, Elu Abayomi and thatElu was not even qualified tocontest.

This led to a rancour at theruling house as the supportersof the contenders threatened toshut down the town if EluAbayomi was announced asplanned.

Specifically, one of thecontenders, Fatai Adiyelojaexpressed worry over the actionof the committee and cautionedaggrieved youths in Ife toremain calm, assuring themthat the matter would be

made known to the public andthe winner installed as thesubstantive Obalufe.

In a statement, he said that thescreening committee had onDecember 31, 2015 conductedan election among 10 aspirantsto occupy the vacant stoolwhere he (Elu Abayomi) hademerged the overall winnerwith 115 points with the runnerup having 98 points.

He faulted the position ofopponents that somebody froma female lineage cannot bechosen as Obalufe, saying that“there is a historical guide asto how the stool should befilled”.

He also recalled that “twoprevious Obalufes before theimmediate past were fromfemale lineage and contributedimmensely to Ile Ife”.

His words: “Obalufe kingdomis made up of four ruling housesfrom the onset and they areAjugbusi, Adogbodo, Aga allmales while Jaojo was a female.From this arrangement, genderdiscrimination is evident.

“Based on the existingarrangement, there is nocontroversy over the next houseto fill the vacancy owing to thefact that the immediate pastoccupant was from Adogbodoand the next is Aga.

Existingarrangement

“This Aga also consists of fivecompounds; Laakaye,Oganrun, Akinbusola, Tolaseand Gbenla. When it was theturn of Aga ruling house then,Laakaye produced the Obalufeand now any of the fourcompounds could produce theObalufe because there is nosuccessive arrangement as persequence of production amongthe five compounds.

“It is on this premise cum thepersonal interest of the Baale(the aged in the compound) MrBello Adeyeloja to have his sonparticipate in the contest thatinformed his decision to throwthe contest open to all the fivecompounds in Aga rulinghouse”, he added.

Speaking on the development,the Logun Apata of Ile-Ife, ChiefAtimi Bada said that thecontenders for the Obalufe stoolmust come from the malelineage adding that those fromfemale lineage could onlycontest if there is no competentperson from the male lineage.

According to him, “thisrancour was avoidable if the

•Oba Solomon Omisakin: Late Obalufe

Continues on page 24

An attempt to fill thestool late lastDecember led toserious tension in theancient town of Ile-Ife, as the controversysurrounding theselection of the newObalufe causedrancour among thesupporters of the 10contenders

resolved.Similarly, one of the

contestants to the vacant stool, Elu Abayomi, asked that thefinal result of the contest be

Killer prison warder:Family of Okada ridercries out overconspiracy

Why we’re at warwith Amosun— LASISI, OGUNASUSS BOSS

24 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

ONDO STATE

THE family of a 24 year oldmotorcycle operator,

popularly known as Okada rider,Benjamin Okoli, who wasbrutally murdered five monthsago by a Prison warder in thepremises of a court in Akure, hascried out over alleged conspiracyby security operatives in thestate, to sweep the matter underthe carpet.

They alleged that the identityof the killer prison warder is stillshrouded in secrecy by thesecurity operatives five monthsafter Benjamin was gruesomelymurdered.

Also, an attempt to seek justicein court, according to the familyhas always been frustrated bysecurity operatives who mayhave “deliberately closed thecase” because the killer is one ofthem.

They, however, went spiritualsaying that the killer wouldknow no peace until he isbrought to book and made to payfor the dastardly act.

Benjamin was shot at closerange at the premises of

Family of Okada ridercries out over conspiracy

By Dayo Johnson

KILLER PRISON WARDER

Olukayode Magistrate Courtafter he was re-arrested forallegedly trying to escape whilehis lawyer was perfecting his baildocuments.

The family told SouthWestVoice that “we foresee aconspiracy by the Olokuta prisonauthority and by extension theNigeria Prison Service to sweepthe matter under the carpet."

Benjamin’s offence, accordingto his family, was that hereportedly contravened the stategovernment’s order whichtemporarily suspended theoperation of commercialmotorcycles in Akure, the statecapital.

SouthWest Voice gathered thatthe deceased was arrested by theNigeria Security and CivilDefence Corps,NSCDC, officialsalong Arakale road in the Akuremetropolis after he had finishedthe days’ job.

Reports had it he had gone tothe area to buy fuel ahead of thenext day’s business when he waspicked up by officials of theNSCDC, who reportedly wereacting on the orders of the stategovernment following their

protest and destruction ofgovernment properties andstructures.

The alleged refusal of the lateBenjamin, who was a floor tiler,but occasionally operated theOkada business to settle thosewho arrested him, landed him indeeper trouble as he was handedover to the Police.

His problem was compoundedwhen his matter was transferredto the State CriminalInvestigation Department (SCII)of the Nigeria Police. He wasreportedly locked up for 10 dayswhen he could not meet thedemands of his interrogators.

The late Benjamin was,however, arraigned at theOlukayode Magistrate Court onAugust 5, last year.

Speaking with SouthWestVoice, brother to the deceased,Emmanuel, said that Benjaminwas a victim of extral-judicialkilling.

Emmanuel said “the lawyer we

engaged was able to secure hisbail based on stringent conditionand that was what we were tryingto sort out when my brother triedto escape. His attempt to escape,I think, was a fallout of theinhuman treatment he had allthrough his illegal detention atOlokuta Medium Prison, prior tohis arraignment in court by thePolice.”

Emmanuel said when hisescape attempt failed, he was re-arrested and brought to the courtpremises. “This was after he wasbeaten mercilessly by the securityoperatives in the court premises.Some minutes later, we heardsome gun shots right there andthat was the last we saw or heardof our brother”, he explained.

He said the suspected killerand his colleagues rushed hisbrother to the state specialisthospital after he was shot.

Benjamin, according to him,

was pronounced dead by thetime he got to the hospital.

His corpse was later dumpedin the morgue.

The brother lamented that “wewere forced to cough out N42,000for the autopsy after which wehad to raise another money forhis burial in Kogi state”.

Emmanuel said that it has beendifficult to get the killer warderto tell the world why he shotBenjamin at close range and incold blood even after he was re-arrested.

He alleged that all efforts toensure that justice was done inthe last five months had alwaysbeen frustrated by the prisonauthorities who had continuedto shield the identity of the killerof his brother.

He lamented that life had notremained the same for the familyas the deceased was thebreadwinner.

Meanwhile, the deceasedfamily through a lawyer, OrluMills have sent a petition to theOndo State Police Commissioner,Mike Ogbodu.

Threatening to seek justice inthe law courts, the family of thedeceased have vowed to pursuethe case to a logical conclusion.

Logicalconclusion

Mills said: “Information at ourdisposal showed that the Warderwho shot Benjamin was just atrigger happy cop as he was notamong those who pursued himin the initial place. We are awarethe Police have commencedinvestigation on the matter andhave requested the prisonauthorities to hand over thewarder to no avail. We foresee aconspiracy by the Olokuta prisonauthority and by extension theNigeria prison service to sweepthe matter under the carpet.There must be an end to impunity,and extra judicial killings if thiscountry must progress. Nobodyis above the law.”

Police, Prison Service reactWhen contacted, spokesperson

for the Nigeria Prison Service,Ondo State Command, TundeOgundare said that the matterwas still under investigation

Ogundare added thatappropriate action would betaken after a thoroughinvestigation by the prisonservice. The State Policecommand equally assured thatthe matter would not be sweptunder the carpet.

Spokesman of the state PoliceCommand, Femi Joseph, toldSouthWest Voice that the matterwas still under investigation.

Though the late Okadaoperator had been buried in KogiState, his home town, the familyhas pleaded with the Policeauthorities not to allow their sondie in vain.

They said that only justicewould assuage the loss of theirbreadwinner.

This was after hewas beatenmercilessly by thesecurity operativesin the courtpremises, someminutes later, weheard some gunshots right thereand that was thelast we saw orheard of ourbrother

committee had done the rightthing in a transparent manner.We all know that the femalelineage can contest only ifthere was no competent personfrom the male lineage.

But in this situation, there arenine contenders from malelineage, yet, the committeeattempted to pick the only oneperson that came out from thefemale lineage. It is not right”.

A legal practitioner, who hailsfrom the same ruling family, MrAlaba Awoseemo, also faultedthe committee for allegedlyfavouring a contender from thefemale lineage when there aremany contenders from the malelineage and cautioned against

anything that could threaten thepeace of Ife and Osun State.

Head of the Ruling House,Chief Bello Adiyeloja, saidsince the contenders could nolonger trust the committeemembers, it has becomeimperative to dissolve thecommittee to prevent avoidabletrouble in the town.

He said: “Given the currentsituation at the stage of theselection process of theObalufe, I have directed thatthe committee should bedissolved and we will take theappropriate stepssubsequently. We will ensurethe emergence of our newmonarch without bloodshed inIfe”.

Continues from page 23

Ruling houses fight over Obalufe stoolThe Chairman of the

committee, Comrade AyoolaOlafiranye, who declinedcomment on the committee’sreport, said since thecontenders, their supportersand other people have passeda vote of no confidence in thecommittee, he would prefer notto talk on the outcome of thescreening of the aspirants.

Olafiranye said: “What elsecan I say when they havealready rubbished everythingwe did and they have dissolvedthe committee when we havenot even presented the reportof our findings to the rulingfamily? I cannot say anythingon the issue”.

•Later Benjamin Okoli

•Peter Ekpendu: Comptroller-General, Nigerian PrisonsService

CMYK

OGUN STATE

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 —25

IN his recent media chat,Governor Ibikunle Amosun

cleared the air on the allegedplan to concession the multi-billion 28 model schools in thestate. What is the position ofASUSS on the construction ofthe model schools?

Our union is not against theestablishment of the modelschools, but what we are tryingto tell the state government isthat they should renovate theexisting schools. They should putit in proper position before establishing the model schools.Also, we cannot establish themodel school and employ freshgraduates rather governmentshould post experienced teacherswho are already in the service tothe model schools, becausethey are already on the field andthey know better than freshteachers recruited by governmentso far.

Whether the schools areconcessioned or not, educationdevelopment should beimportant to the stategovernment. The existingschools should be taken propercare of in terms of structures,teachers as well as theenvironment.

Most of the existing schools inOgun State are over-populated.Many structures are in a sorrystate, some buildings haveleaking roofs, no furniture for thestudents and no replacement forretired teachers.

The stand of the union is thatthe government should focus onthe existing schools and whenthey are through with renovationof the existing schools, they canfocus on the model schools.

Will you say that the free

education policy of this presentadministration is well thoughtout? Is the policy wellimplemented in your view?

Let us say the obvious, there isno way a government can single-handledly sponsor freeeducation in any state or all overthe world. The reason is thepopulation of students keepincreasing everyday. When welook at Ogun State because of thefree education of the stategovernment, parents havealready abandoned their rolesto the the government andteachers, because they are nolonger buying any educational material for their wards. Theybelieve the state government is running free education whichhas led to an explosion ofstudents in our schools.

Explosionof students

If you go round the schools inthis state, we are having over-population of students, becauseof the free education being runby the government. Now, inschools we have two categoriesof students, students that arewilling to study and students thatare forced to study because it isfree.

Due to the free education policyof the government, the numberof students who are forced to goto school are many because theirparents are not paying a dime.This is affecting theinfrastructure of the schools, theinfrastructure continue to decay,we are having dilapidated wallsall over the place. Most schoolshave leaking roofs, no desk andbenches to seat on for bothteachers and students. That iswhy we continue to appeal to

developing skills through thehands.

However, what we have todayis 100 per cent transition to seniorsecondary school, that is whywe continue to appeal to thefederal and state governments tolook into our education set up.

In the 2016 budget of OgunState, over 20 per cent isallocated to the educationalsector, what is your opinion?

UNESCO has stated that 26per cent of the total budget shouldbe allocated to the educationsector, at this point I have to givekudos to Governor IbikunleAmosun for allocating over 20percent of his budget toeducational development in thestate compared to other states inthe country where little isallocated to educationaldevelopment.

One thing is to allocate fundsto educational development,another thing is implementation.

We have already made ourstand known to the stateCommissioner for Education,Science and Technology, Mrs.Modupe Mujota and we believethe best will be done for us in thefield.

Sometimes last year, one ofyour members was relieved ofhis appointment base on whatthe state government tagged“offensive examinationquestion”. How far has theunion gone in respect of thisissue?

The issue of Mr. Adegbenro isa very pathetic one. We observedthat what the man did wasnothing but promotion ofexcellence. Although, as apublic servant, there are certainrules guiding our profession,there are certain rule prohibitinga public servant on commentingon state policy. If you are a publicservant, you have no right tocomment on government policyin public service rule. Mr

Adegbenro contradicted thepublic service rule. But the deedhas already been done, we willcontinue to appeal to the stategovernment to temper justice withmercy on this issue. We haveconsulted eminent personalitiesin the state, and even beyondthe state on this matter. The issuenow is between Mr Adegbenroand the state government and Iwill not want to comment on itbecause the information at ourdisposal was that the matter hadbeen taken to the court.

We will continue to appeal to the state government, laws aremade for human beings humanbeings are not made for law. Weappeal to the state governmentto allow the sleeping dog liesby reabsorbing Mr. Adegbenro back to the system.

What is your take on theunified examination system?

We believe quality educationalservices is one of the fivecardinal agenda of the stategovernment, that his why we arecontributing our own idea to thestate government, because weare on the field, we are doingour own practicability not ontheoretical aspect, you can sit down in office and formulate thepolicy, we will implement thepolicy on the field.

Interest ofthe students

The first is the issue of unifiedexam, it will be our own joy andthe interest of the students thatthe unified exam should be leftto the school authorities in firstand second term,while the statecan conduct the third termexam. The reason is thatacademic calendar can bedisrupted in some schools in thestate, there are some activitiesindividual school has that isdifferent from others and this maynot allow them to complete thesyllabus. But if we areorganizing unified exam everyterm, we are trying to encourageexamination malpractice becausein situation where a teacherwill not be able to complete thescheme of work before examand the question were set on suchtopic that he was unable totreat with the student, theteachers have to pass suchstudent.

We appeal to the stategovernment to allow individualschool to conduct first and secondterm exam and the state will beconducting unified exam in thirdterm exam and we think they willconsider our own observation.

MODEL SCHOOLS:

By Daud Olatunji

Whywe’re atwar withAmosun— LASISI, OGUNASUSS BOSS

CHAIRMAN of theAcademic Staff Union ofSecondary Schools,ASUSS, in Ogun State,Comrade Akeem Lasisi,bared his mind on issuessurrounding the states'free education policy,unified examination andappointment ofPrincipal-Generalsamong others. Excerpts:

•Lasisi: Government should focus on the existing schools

the state government that nogovernment can fund educationsolely if it want the best.

We are not opposing the freeeducation policy but thegovernment cannot do it allalone. They are sayingeducation is free, are you sayinghealth is also free? If healthservice is not free, educationshould not be totally free.

Students in public primary andsecondary schools in the statelast Monday resumed for thesecond term of 2015/2016 academic session, yet pupils andstudents have not be given theirresults for the first term likewisetheir promotion results in thelast academic session to theirpresent classes.

The JSCE examination resulthad not been released and thestudents have been automaticallypromoted to the next class. Doyou think this is a challenge inthe state education sector?

The society continues to blameteachers without looking at rudiments of this problem. Themajor part of the problem we arehaving with developingeducation in this state is theproblem with junior WAEC.

Ordinarily, for a student to bepromoted to SSS1 should be bychoice. For example, if hisknowledge is very low suchstudent does not needto proceed to the senior school. If the intelligence of any student is in the hand and not the brain,such a student doesn't have toproceed to conventional seniorsecondary school where you arestream lined to eithercommercial, science or humanityclass. Such student is supposedto drop out from JSS3 and startlearning a trade or go totechnical college and start

Our union is notagainst theestablishment ofthe model schools,but what we aretrying to tell thestate governmentis that they shouldrenovate theexisting schools

T H E T E A MEDITOR:Adeleke Adeseri 08054682557 (sms only)

CORRESPONDENTS:Ola Ajayi IbadanGbenga Olarinoye OsogboDayo Johnson AkureDapo Akinrefon LagosDaud Olatunji AbeokutaOlasunkanmi Akoni LagosRotimi Ojomoyela EkitiMonsuru Olowoepejo

CMYK

CMYK

26 —Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016—27

28— Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016—————2929292929

CMYK

30—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

Baby-mama arrangements:Trendy or tacky?

Have a baby by me, baby?

ONCE upon a time, theterm baby-mama was one

you only heard in American rapmusic, a term describing awoman who had a child with aman to whom she is notmarried and that she has nointention of marrying.

When you thought of a baby-mama, you thought ghetto,drama, children with differentfathers and of course, bling.Baby-mamas, by definition, arethose ones whose onlyrelationship with their‘significant other’- their baby-daddy- is the child and thebenefits that accrue from theflow of income.

It is not exactly clear whenthe notion, the practice and theword crept its way into theNigerian scene, but all of asudden it is here and growingin practice.

Lives ofcelebrities

It is by no means a new thingfor modern Nigerian womenwho want to pursue a careerin peace or just want somefreedom, to decide to havechildren without necessarilyplacing upon themselves thedaily demands of acting assomeone’s wife.

In these cases, the womandoes not necessarily dependon the father of their children,whether physically oremotionally, and does notexpect her children to do so.This phenomenon is thereforesignificantly different from theBaby-mama one.

Of course, nowhere is thisnew trend more prominentthan within the entertainmentindustry, where lives ofcelebrities are put underconstant scrutiny by thevarious media; and as withevery other lifestyle choice,young fans aspire to theactions of their lovedcelebrities regardless of theirprior opinions.

As such, this particularlifestyle choice has trickleddown and has even becomesomething of a trend. Therecent public debacle stillplaying out with DavidAdeleke, the singer morepopularly known as Davido is

however forcing players to takea more than cursory look at thebaby-mama trend, whilehighlighting its ups anddowns.

It’s not all the time that Baby-mama situations have ended sobadly in the industry. Many ofthe brightest stars of the greatgalaxy of Nigerian music/entertainment including Nice,Wizkid, Olamide, Seun Kuti,Ice Prince and the king of allbaby-daddies- Tuface Idibia. Inthe case of Idibia, he hasmanaged to create a balancebetween all Baby-mamas,while even marrying one ofthem, Annie.

Also getting to marry theirbaby-daddies have beenOmawumi, Anita Okoye andLola Okoye, who married TosinYusuf and P-Square

respectively. It remains to beseen how smooth the transitioncan be from Baby-mama to in-law and wife, but there will bemore than enough case studies

many years down the line.In the mean time, there is

enough drama to keep fansentertained, and to haveprospective Baby-mamasasking themselves whether itis even worth the trouble.

There is Oritsefemi, whohad his instagram accounthacked and accused Baby-mama numero uno, though shevehemently denies it; and K-Switch whose exotic Baby-mama was pictured bangingfrantically on his gate, 7 monthold infant in tow.

Some might tell them of allthe advantages, the mostobvious of which is that therelationship is most likely to beopen, which means she isrelieved of any burden to befaithful to her baby-daddy.

This, however, could also turninto a disadvantage of its own,as the likelihood of the baby-daddy becoming a baby-daddyover and over again thenbecomes very real.

Besides, it’s not all “have ababy by me, baby be amillionaire”, as famously sangby 50 Cents. As the Davidodebacle has shown us,celebrity Baby-mamas oftenhave to scrounge too, at leaston their own levels, and wouldbe disciplined for bad behavior.In addition, Baby-mamas haveno legal rights whatsoeveroutside of the rights of thechild, and must be prepared forskirmishes from other baby-mamas every so often.

What was the advantageagain?

Baby-mamas andlegal rights

Nothing can beat the rushthat a celeb Baby-mama getswhen she is under the spotlighton account of someone else’stalent, especially when thebaby-daddy is treating you likea million dollars. Ask pop star,Olamide’s, Baby-mama, whogets shout outs from the singerin concerts. Being a groupieis so very fun- until a tot comesalong, ironically.

Surely, children ofentertainers are not exactlyexpected to have regular lives,yet some of the most prominententertainers who have childrenin some other parts of the worldhave them within a marriageand make a song and dance ofmaking a ‘normal’ home fortheir child, the most obviousexamples being Kanye West,who married the devastatinglysexy reality siren KimKardasian; and of course Jay-z, who married Beyonce.

Nowhere is thisnew trend moreprominent thanwithin theentertainmentindustry, wherelives of celebritiesare put underconstant scrutinyby the variousmedia

• Seun Kutis baby mama and daughter

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016—31

Have a baby by me, baby?Davido Baby-mama drama timeline

March 2015News first broke that Davido, the Aye crooner, was

warming up for fatherhood. Omo Babaolowo (OBO) ashe’s nicknamed was expecting his first child from oneof his lovers whose name had been revealed as SophieMomodu, an Abuja based lady also known asBelladonna. She was 28 and he 22.

May 2015The media went to town with baby shower photos. The

newborn’s mother was identified as Ovation publisherDele Momodu’s cousin. He shared the photos on hisinstagram page and wrote “Warmest congratulations toMr. David Adeleke Davido and my cousin SophieMomodu on the birth of your beautiful daughter. MayGod always provide for you and protect your family…Stay blessed.”

The speculations had started.

June 2015Davido hosted friends to a birthday party for his Baby-

mama at the prestigious venue of Eko Hotel and suitesin Lagos. There were rumours that pressure was on histo marry the mother of his child.

September 2015The singer first dropped hints that he will not be

marrying his Baby-mama in June. In the months tocome, he would repeat this often. In a newspaperinterview in September 2015 (not this paper) he wasasked: Now that you have a daughter, are youconsidering getting married sometime soon? Hisanswer? Not at all; I am not considering gettingmarried now.

October 2015New mom, Sophie Momodu, shares photos of herself

with uncle, Dele Momodu stepping out for an event inLondon.

Although, the HKN boss says he has no plans ofmarrying his baby mama now, Sophie Momoducontinues to live it up.

December 2015Baby-mama row becomes public as Davido’s family

attempts to fly baby, Imade, abroad without the consentof its mother. There is a huge public upheaval anddebate on the matter, considering the allegation that thechild was poisoned by cannabis through the mother’smilk.

The Director-General, National Agency for theProhibition of Trafficking in Persons, ps alerted withallegations that the baby had been forcibly taken fromher on July 11. Petition also claimed that repeatedefforts by Sophia to get her baby back since then wereunsuccessful, leaving her to turn to friends and hercousin, Dele Momodu, for help.

January 2016As though it couldn’t get worse, things get uglier as

both parties trade invectives and take privatedocuments into the public domain.

Though baby has been reunited with mother, it is stillunclear if allegations against the mother are strongenough to deny her custody of her own child.

OJOKORO LocalC o u n c i lDevelopment Area,

LCDA, has commenced anempowerment programmeaimed at engaging indigentsespecially, the youth andwomen in productive venturesin boosting ability to providefor their families.

The Executive Secretary of theLCDA, Mrs. Faust Olajokuspeaking at a programme toempower over 2, 000 artisans andresidents of the area, said thecouncil has demonstrated howsmall entrepreneurship cangenuinely tackle the problem ofpoverty and unemployment inthe grassroots.

She urged the beneficiaries totake advantage of the gesture,saying, “grassrootsempowerment schemes can onlybe beneficial to the people ifadequately utilized.”

Olajoku added that with suchprogrammes, the people of thearea would no longer be idleespecially among the youth andthe women folks who are mostlyin the redundancy net.

She maintained that the councilembarked on the program toensure that more of their citizensbenefit and get engaged in onetrade or another, stressing thatthe two-month skills acquisition

Ojokoro council launches entrepreneurshipscheme for women, youths

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

programme, 2015 hadempowered more than 2000beneficiaries to become selfindependent in starting theirown individual businesses asentrepreneurs and becomeemployers of labour.

The council boss, whilecongratulating the beneficiaries,appealed to them to makejudicious use of the opportunityto pave way for others even as shecommended instructors and allthose that contributed in one wayor the other to the success of theprogramme.

“I sincerely express myprofound gratitude to all thebeneficiaries for their patiencethroughout the duration of theprogramme which I know wouldgo a long way to provide incomefor our people in Ojokoro LCDAand its environs. I am quite sure

that my people especially thebeneficiaries would no longer beidle. I make bold to say that thecouncil intend to do more infuture”, Olajoku said.

Earlier in his address, the Headof Administration of the LCDA,Mr. Rasheed Pedro, expressedoptimism that the programmewould go a long way to engagepeople in the area in so manyways, thus, making themproductive.

One of the beneficiaries, MsOnya Chinemere, who graduatedas a fashion designer, expressedher appreciation to the council andexpressed assurance on behalfbeneficiaries, while admonishingthem to be passionate and bedecisive in whatever they aredoing and above all, utilize thetalent so garnered from thetraining.

HON Lola Akande,the Lagos State

Commissioner for WomenAffairs and Poverty Alleviationhas advised women to controltheir temper and guide theirutterances in the face of anyprovocation in order not to befound on the wrong side of thelaw.

She gave this advice recently

Control your temper; guide your utterances in theface of any provocation — Hon Lola Akande advises women

By Esther Onyegbula

From L-R: Hon Lola Akande, the LagosState Commissioner for Women Affairsand Poverty Alleviation, an inmate whopresented a beautiful neck bead to theCommissioner and the DeputyController of Prisons in charge of thefemale prison, Mrs. Ekpendu M. Lizzie

while addressinginmates of FemaleSection, Kirikiri Prisonduring an assessmenttour of the prison, notingthat, unguided actiontaken on the spur of themoment in angerusually ends in regrets.

She added that, it isideal for all to learn torestrain oneself fromindulging in any acts ofviolence whenever thereis a disagreement.

She urged inmates tomake judicious use oftheir time in prison bylearning skills orvocations that would beuseful in earning aliving and be self-employed instead of

depending on others after theirprison terms.

While reacting to their pleafor a State pardon, Akandepromised to look into theirrequest and discuss withappropriate authorities forassistance.

The Commissionercommended the DeputyController of Prisons in chargeof the female prison, Mrs.Ekpendu M. Lizzie, whom she

described as a mother, forbringing so muchtransformation to the prisonand the lives of the inmates.

Earlier, Mrs. Lizzie Ekpenduappreciated the Ministry ofWomen Affairs and PovertyAlleviation for its support forthe needs of the prisons servicein general and particularly inthe area of providing teachingmaterials for Skill AcquisitionProgrammes for the inmates.

Movementof inmates

She, however, appealed tothe Commissioner to use hergood Offices to assist themwith the provision oftransportation for themovement of inmates to andfrom courts as well as anambulance for inmates whorequire medical services.

According to Ekpendu, “weneed an ambulance; my chiefis finding things quitedifficult when it comes totaking inmates to the hospitalespecially at night. Wedesperately need anambulance”’.

•Women receieving empowermenmt scheme

• Sophia Momodu and Davido

CMYK

32 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

Telecom sector:How MTN Nigeriaprovided intriguesin 2015

Even school children benefitted.

No matter how one reviewsactivities of 2015 in relation

to activities of operators in thetelecom sector, MTN Nigeria willdominate. The companyengaged in many groundbreaking initiatives that definedthe growth of the sector, buthowever, was later in the year toincur the wrath of the regulatorover inability to disconnectimproperly registered subscriberson its network.

A fine of N1.04 trn was imposedby the NCC on the companywhich to some people portrayedit as a company that did not carewhether laws guiding the sectorare obeyed or not. Whether theopinions people developed aboutthe company based on theseactivities were right or wrong,they however ensured that thecompany was constantly on thespotlight

We have decided to brieflyhighlight a few of those activitiesthat would have voted MTNNigeria as the most talked abouttelecom operator in the year underreview.

MTN Foundation @ 10One of the many ways through

which MTN Nigeria shonebrightly in 2015 was the impact itmade, and has continued to makethrough its CSR vehicle, MTNFoundation. Founded in 2005, thefoundation positively impacts thelives of many Nigerians throughits several activities and amazingworks. Supported by MTN with1% of its Profit after Tax annually,several life-changing initiativeshave been deployed with projectpartners and state governmentsin 550 locations country-wide toimprove the lives of ordinaryNigerians in Health, education,economic empowerment, arts,culture and entertainment.

The Foundation also launchedits ‘What Can We Do Together’initiative where Nigerians wereinvited to participate in andpartner with the company toidentify select areas of needsrequiring attention and support.With this, 200 communitiesbenefitted from boreholes,transformers, school furniture anddonation of household items fororphanages.

MTN Trutalk Win A HomePromo:

This promo generated a lot ofbuzz and excitement for MTN in2015. The promo afforded 11customers on its network to

From left: Chiwete, Njokanma,Head,Business Development& Sales; Oyihoma Saleh,Chief Executive Officer& Co Founder;Ocheme Saleh, Chief Operation Officer & Co Founder andNnamdi Okeke, Chief Technology Officer/Co Founder, all ofKosava Digital Limited during the Kosavadeals Snap-away-Give-away awareness of the company at Ikeja City Mall Alausa, Lagos.

Kosava deals wows Lagosians withSnap-a-way-Give-away

For the past eightyears, MTN ProjectFame has beentaking young talentsoff the streets andleading them tofame, stardom andeconomicempowerment

By PRINCE OSUAGWU address a human need, shelterand own three bedroom housesworth N15m each. The houseswere showcased by LamudiNigeria, through its vast array ofdevelopers. 24 people also wonN11,000 cash every hour everyday,.

MTN Tech+:The MTN Tech+ congregated

an ecosystem that promotedcutting-edge technologiesthrough education, enterprise andinnovation in the African Marketthrough exhibition. The expo hada consumer electronics show thatprovided a platform for companiesto display and exhibit productswith electrical components. Therewas a place where newtechnology and new productsmerged and innovationsconverged. It also gavemanufacturers, conceptgenerators, content developersand software/hardwarecompanies a platform to showcasetheir product and services to abroader market.

MTN Project Fame 2015:One of the enduring and most

impactful ways through whichMTN help in transforming livesand empowering West Africanyouths is the MTN Project Fame.For the past eight years, MTNProject Fame has been taking

young t alents off the streets andleading them to fame, stardomand economic empowerment.MTN Project Fame has been ableto actualize the quest for youthsto become the best they can be.The 2015 edition saw an 18-year-old Jeffrey Akoh winning thecompetition, smiling home witha N5 million cash prize, one-yearrecording contract and a SUV.

MTN Prestige Launch:With the MTN Prestige, the

company celebrated its HighValue (HV) customers, 100 CEOsand captains of industry to a nightof alternative music at aprestigious musical event’. Theplatform provided an opportunityto engage, endear and excite itsHV customers in order to build astronger brand connection withthem. The high point of this eventwas the launch of the MTNPrestige loyalty and rewardprogramme for its HV customerswhere customers will get to enjoya wide range of cost optimization,lifestyle and business benefitsamong others.

MTN Golf/polo:For many years, MTN has

sponsored the annual WorldGolfers Championship (WGC)and other golfing competitions, aswell as polo. These tournaments

have proven to be viable andreliable platforms for customerengagement and interactivity withMTN high-value customers andequally reinforced its role as anenabler of socio-economicdevelopment across several frontsin Nigeria. Through its charitygesture, the MTN UNICEFCharity Shield international polotournament made a N5 milliondonation to UNICEF with respectto its campaign against HIV/AIDSpandemic among Nigerianchildren.

MTN Polo:The MTN Polo 2015 was

another talking point for thetelecoms leader. The eventconverged lovers of polo. MTN’sinvolvement in the promotion ofPolo and other sports in thecountry made the Nigerian PoloFederation (NPF) President,Francis Ogboro, to showerencomium on MTN. He statedthat, MTN provided a platformfor youths and other sportsenthusiasts to direct their energyto gainful activities.

Through its charity gesture, theMTN UNICEF Charity Shieldinternational polo tournamentmade a N5 million donation toUNICEF with respect to itscampaign against HIV/AIDSpandemic among Nigerianchildren.

The cheque presentation waswitnessed by the Kaduna StateDeputy Governor, Barnabas Bala.

NCC fine on MTN:The imposed N1.04 trillion ($5.2

billion) fine on MTN by theNigerian CommunicationsCommission over its failure todisconnect unregistered SIMcards was another talking pointin the country. The companywhich has been the industryleader and bellwether, sufferedthe sanction for failing to wipe outor disconnect 5.1 millionunregistered lines from itsnetwork. NCC had in Augustinstructed the telecoms industryto deactivate all unregisteredSIM.

Thousands of Lagosians whovisited Ikeja City Mall tocelebrate the Yuletide season hadthe opportunity to win amazingprices in the snap-a-way-give-

away organized by Couponwebsite, Kosava deals, inpartnership with the SilverbirdGroup.

Participants were required totake ‘crazy selfies’ whichqualified them for lots of give-

away prizes. Speaking on themotivation behind the event,Managing Director of KosavaDeals, Mr. Oyohoma Saleh saidthe event was solely designed toenhance the value of onlineretail experience in Nigeria.

He said: “Before we startedKosava Deals just about a yearago, we noticed that there wasno reliable and easy way forNigerian consumers to find outif retailers have a coupon ordiscount to help save themmoney while shopping. This isdue to retailers distributing thesepromotions using a variety ofchannels in an attempt to gainmass exposure but on the flipside creating a more complexdiscovery process for consumers.With Kosava, we are bridging thisgap by creating one reliabledestination for consumers to findthese offers.

By LAJU IREN

withPRINCE OSUAGWU

08050498513princeosuagwu@gmail.com

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY , JANUARY 15, 2016—33

`

Dear Sir,

IT is apparent that Femi Falana(SAN) is not conversant with the

facts of Dasuki’scase otherwise he would not haveargued that the Federal Governmentdisobeyed the order concerningDasuki’s bail.

Dasuki was initially arrested andcharged to Court by the DSS onallegation of possession of firearms. Hebrought an application for his bailwhich was granted.

However before he perfected his bailconditions , the DSS re-arrested him onanother allegation of misappropriationof the money budgeted for thepurchase of military hardware for themilitary to fight Boko Haram. This wasafter a Panel set up by the NationalSecurity Adviser, General Mungono(retd) headed by Retired Air ViceMarshal John Ode had submitted aReport indicting Dasuki and others ofmismanagement of money budgetedfor purchase of military hardware.

Immediately the Report was madepublic, President Muhammadu Buhariordered the arrest and prosecution ofall those indicted in the Report. This ishow Dasuki was re-arrested. In otherwords, Dasuki was re-arrested for adifferent crime from which he wasinitially arrested and granted bail.

This is legal and proper in law becausethe facts of the previous case isdifferent from the subsequent one.

However, the Federal Government ofNigeria brought a motion beforeHonourable Justice AFA Ademolaseeking the Court to set aside the bailearlier granted Dasuki. JusticeAdemola in a considered rulingdismissed the motion and ordered theFederal Government to comply withhis previous order.

The Federal Government of Nigeriafiled a motion seeking for a stay ofexecution upon lodging an appealagainst the ruling of Justice Ademolarefusing to set aside his previous ordergranting bail to Dasuki. In December2015 when the motion was scheduledfor hearing, the Counsel to Dasuki fileda Notice of Preliminary Objectionchallenging the jurisdiction of the Courtto hear the motion filed by the FederalGovernment seeking for an order ofstay of execution of the Order grantingbail to Dasuki on the ground that theFederal Government was indisobedience of the Order granting bailto Dasuki.

This stalled the hearing of the motionfiled by the Federal Governmentseeking for a stay of execution becausethe Federal Government’s legal teamwas served in Court that morning withthe Notice of Preliminary Objectionfiled by Dasuki’s counsel and neededtime to react. The case was accordinglyadjourned to the 21st January 2016 forhearing.

So factually and technically andindeed in law, it is wrong for anybodyto suggest that the Federal Governmentof Nigeria is in disobedience of ordergranting bail to Dasuki.

In law when a party has appealedagainst a court order and sought a stayof execution of such order, that Partycannot be said to be in disobedience ofthat order.

In Kanu Nnamdi’s case, the offencewhich he was previously charged with

Falana and facts on Dasuki’s case

PRIOR to the 2015 generalelections, the then opposition party

criticised and demonised every activityand those occupying various politicalpositions in the ruling party, especiallythe president. Today, the oppositionparty is in the saddle and there is agrowing dissatisfaction among thepopulace. Their expectations are beencut short as there is no clear cut directionof government’s policy. The dearth ofpolicies and measures to drive the ailingeconomy is a cause for concern and thevery few in place are being changed atwill.

For instance, it was at a press interviewthat the president appreciated theenormous suffering of citizens who needto be allowed to access foreign currencythey lodged with their banks. Thisshows that the closing of domiciliaryaccounts for foreign currencies was notgiven the required thought before it wasembarked upon. Secondly, the insidiouswithdrawal of the appropriation bill fromthe National Assembly for amendmentalso shows that the economic team isyet to grasp the depth of the presenteconomy realities. The paradox is thatthe then opposition overreached itselfin a bid to take over government withoutconcrete plans for what to do with it otherthan to victimise the opposition.

It is curiously paradoxical that thepresident remained in opposition whilethe country experienced 16 years of oilboom only to get into office when theeconomy is about to enter a recession.Today, many states cannot pay salaries.For the first time, Nigerians experienceda three months fuel scarcity at a stretchwithout a solution in sight. The naira isat its weakest ever in our history. Mostbanned items do not have localalternative. More people are losinghope today in this system. The sweetwords of campaign should be translatedinto reality.

The seeming peace in the ruling partyis but that of the grave yard. Theleadership of the National Assembly hasbeen strongly tied to the Code ofConduct Tribunal and much cannot beexpected from that hallowed chamberin this atmosphere of fear andintimidation, which pervades the land.Those concerned should know thatpower belongs to the people. Citizenswho were promised better employmentopportunities are losing jobs.Businesses that were promised betterinfrastructural provisions andenvironments are closing shop for lackof foreign exchange to operate.

Some university programmes are puton hold as payment through TSA hasstrangled many of them. Theseparadoxes are too many for comfort. Thehuman elements must be taken intoconsideration so that the country doesnot go down just to fight corruption.

Dr. Adimorah Ikem, Asaba .

Dear sir

Curious paradoxesof a govt

and granted bail is also different fromthe subsequent one which the DSS re-arrested him.

Okoi Obono-obla, Lagos.

CM

34—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

Coalition of rights groups condemns Abiaappeal decision

By Anayo Okoli

UMUAHIA—COALITIONfor Civil Societies for

Credible Election, CCSCE, hascondemned what it called “thespate of controversial, incoherentand varying judgments comingfrom the Court of Appeal,” notingthat the trend was “worrisome and

disturbing.”The coalition called on the

relevant judiciary authorities toensure that the trend was stoppedto restore the integrity of thenation’s judiciary.

Briefing journalists, yesterday,in Umuahia on the Appeal Courtjudgment on the 2015 Abiagovernorship election, thecoordinator of the group, Onuoha

Oliver, said it would beunfortunate if such was allowedto stand as it could create voters'apathy and cynicism.

The group said that it was theirduty as civil society groups to drawthe attention of discerningmembers of the society and theauthorities of the adverseconsequences of the developmentthat could mar the development

of a proper democratic culture.According to Oliver, the Court

of Appeal judgmentdisenfranchising Obingwa, IsialaNgwa North and Osisioma LocalGovernment Areas was “veryunfair, grossly perverse andought not to be allowed to stand.”

If allowed, he pointed out, itwould confer an undue power ona candidate in any election toinvite any court to cancel electionsin areas where he is notcomfortable or has no support.

According to him, the AppealCourt judgment even deniedGovernor Okezie Ikpeazu theright to vote for himself as hecalled on the judiciary to makethe votes of Obingwa, Osisiomaand Isiala Ngwa already cast tocount in the determination of whogoverns them in Abia State.

The group commended the

PEOPLE SPEAKBy Bartholomew Madukwe

(08102479985)nwamad@yahoo.com

Should corrupt officials willing to return stolen funds be pardoned?

If they should bepardoned, let them first

be punished because of thesuffering they subjectedNigerians to by lootingpublic funds.They shouldhave their names pub-lished in local and foreignmedia. -Mrs. IfeomaAyambuba, Businesswom-an

What is good for thegoose is good for the

gander. Anyone speakingabout pardon should beready to pardon all crimi-nals. They should not par-don the elite only andleave the poor becausethe elite are the real thiefsin Nigeria. -Mr. ObuwinCyril, Worker

There are manyNigerians serving dif-

ferent terms in prison, justbecause they stole littlethings as goats, shoesamong others. If that is thecase, why are we now talk-ing about pardoning thosewho stole millions of naira?-Mr. Sani Abdulsalam, En-trepreneur

Pardon corrupt officialsin Nigeria! When you

pardon one person, oth-ers will loot because theybelieve the governmentwill pardon them too. Wedo not need that. Their actis making so many suffer,while they live good. -Miss Jazmim Tera, Busi-nesswoman

This is a very interest-ing question. But let us

take our mind back to anearby country likeGhana.What if Jerry Raw-lings had pardoned thosewho stole money in Gha-na, they would have wit-nessed more atrocities tilltoday. -Mr. Lawrence Id-owu, Worker

I agree they should bepardoned because lots of

them will not return moneyif they are still going to jail.The government should dotheir homework well to as-certain the amount embez-zled by the looters and mo-dality for refund. -Mr.Mushere Okan, Self Em-ployed

Biafra: Kanu’s detention‘ll create nationalproblem —Cleric

By NwabuezeOkonkwo

ONITSHA—THE GeneralOverseer of Bethel House

of God Mission, Awkunanaw,Enugu, Enugu State, BishopAmaechi Agbo has advised theFederal Government to releasethe leader of Indigenous Peopleof Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanuwithout further delay, to avoidthrowing the nation into anunmanageable crisis.

He said Kanu’s continueddetention will continue to createmore problem for the Nigeriannation since according to him,detention of Kanu will not stopBiafra from becoming a reality,rather it would generate a crisisthat will quicken the coming ofBiafra.

Bishop Agbo who spoke at aspecial service organised forNigerian leaders, noted that Biafrawill surely come to pass, but notas soon as it is being speculated,rather at the appropriate time

when the crisis will possibly forceBiafra to separate from Nigeria.

“As for Biafra, it will come to passbut not now. Crisis will forceNigeria to separate from Biafraand nobody can stop it at theappropriate time,” he said.

IMMEDIATE PAST chairmanof the All Progressives Grand

Alliance, APGA, Chief VictorUmeh has said, the party did notcollect a single kobo to support thePeoples Democratic Party, PDP, inthe last presidential election,noting that the support wasessentially ideological.

Speaking against thebackground of reports that someother political parties including theSocial Democratic Party, SDP, andAccord Party, collected N100million each to support the PDP,Umeh said that nobody collected

a kobo on behalf of APGA for thesupport given the PDP in the lastpresidential election.

Speaking to newsmen in Lagos,Umeh, the party’s senatorialcandidate in the forthcomingAnambra Central re-run electionruled out the participation of theimmediate past senator, UcheEkwunife in the election, notingthat she cannot participate in thesame election on the platform oftwo different political parties.

“We didn’t get into thatarrangement because ofmonetary benefit. Not a kobo wasgiven to anybody or APGA. Somepeople think that APGA, being arobust supporter of PresidentJonathan more than the SDP andAccord Party, which got N100million each, then we must havegot more, but I am so happy thatI didn’t entangle myself in suchthing.

"It would have been anopportunity for those who areworried that I am contesting thesenatorial election to come and

pick me up and dump me at theEconomic and Financial CrimesCommission, EFCC, cell.

Affirming the ineligibility of theformer senator representingAnambra Central in theforthcoming election, he said:“Having been disqualifiedthrough her previous party,crossing over to the AllProgressives Congress, APC,would mean that she would becontesting one election on twodifferent platforms if she wasallowed to contest.

“This is very absurd and I thinkthat she is wasting her time andtherefore, has to get proper legaladvice. Whoever advised her thatshe can jump from PDP to APCand become its candidate andreturn to the election, has notgiven her proper advice.

"Assuming that she has thatright, the Supreme Courtjudgment that I explained, hasforeclosed that option. There isnothing that can make the APCpresent her for the election.”

On the general state of theNigerian nation, Bishop Agboidentified 2016 as a yearNigerians would witness positive-like changing transformation inthe country.

Orji awards N6m scholarship to indigent, brilliantundergraduates

By Anayo Okoli

U M UA H I A — S I X T Yundergraduate students

from six local government areasof Abia Central senatorial district

have been awarded scholarshipby the senator representing thedistrict, Chief Theodore Orji.

The N100, 000 scholarship foreach of the beneficiaries drawnfrom universities, polytechnics

and colleges of education fromacross the nation, is awardedunder the aegis of Senator T. A.Orji Scholarship Scheme.

The scholarship is for indigentand brilliant students.

A PROMINENT chiefin Gbaramatu

Kingdom, Delta State,Chief Beck Hilter, hascommended formerPresident GoodluckJonathan for theresounding victory by thePeoples Democratic Party,PDP, and GovernorSeriake Dickson at theBayelsa Stategovernorship election.

The Ijaw leader andmarine expert, in astatement, yesterday, inWarri, expressedappreciation to the peopleof Bayelsa for the supportsand casting their votes enmasse for the PDP andGovernor Dickson.

Hitler congratulatedDickson on his re-electionand appealed to ChiefTimipre Sylva, candidateof All ProgressivesCongress, APC, to acceptthe outcome of the electionand work with thegovernor.

He, however,sympathised with thevarious families, who losttheir loved ones during theelection, adding that “nowthat the elections are over,the people of Bayelsa Stateshould live in peace andcome together to developthe state.”

Bayelsa poll:Hitler hailsJonathanover PDP,Dicksonvictory

Why APGA did not get money from alliancewith PDP —Umeh

By Emmanuel Aziken

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15 , 2016—35

Release Zakzaky, in-law, others now,Islamic Movement warns

16 mgtstaff ofBauchi fireservicesacked

By Suzan Edeh

BelloMohammedemergesnew Ohi ofAdavi

Senator, lawmaker's rift scuttles appointmentof LG chair

By Jimoh Babatunde

By OlorunfemiFanwoLabour reaches agreement with Nycil over

sacked staffBy Oboh Agbonkhese

OLD students of St. Enda’sCollege, Agbarho (formerly

Agbarho Grammar School,Agbarho) Lagos branch, holdsits monthly general meetingtomorrow at 12B, Abuja Close,Agbara Estate, Agbara, OgunState at 3.00 p.m.

General Secretary, Mr. SunnyOrode urges members to bepunctual to discuss crucialissues concerning the schooland members.

St Edna's oldstudents meet

BRIEFING: From left: Hajia Muheeba Dankaka, Deputy Chaiperson, Main OrganisingCommittee of 37th Kaduna International Trade Fair; Usman Salauwa, Director-General, KadunaChamber of Commerce, and Dr. Abdul-Alimi Bello, President, Kaduna Chamber of Commerce,during a briefing by the chamber on 37th Kaduna International Trade Fair In Lagos.

Rights group urges FG to arrest, prosecutealleged sponsors of Boko Haram

KADUNA—MEMBERS ofthe Shiite Islamic

Movement of Nigeria has calledfor the unconditional release ofits leader, Sheikh IbraheemYaqoub Zakzaky, his sister-in-law, and other membersincarcerated since last monthas well as release of corpses ofthose killed for proper andbefitting Islamic burial.

The group in a statement saidsince the December 2015 face-up with the Nigerian Army thatthe government has not beenable to justify atrocitiescommitted by the army that ledto their members arrests.

“We are still adamant in ourrequest that the Sheikh be setfree unconditionally, because upto now the government has notbeen able to justify theunjustifiable atrocities committedby the army that led to hisarrest.”

The movement they say isrelieved that Zakzaky is still aliveas revealed by members of thecontact committee set up by theNational Supreme Council forIslamic Affairs, NSCIA, thatvisited their leader where he isbeing held by the federalgovernment.

“According to a member of the

committee, Prof. Dahiru Yahya,they met the Sheikh and hiswife Sister Zeenah Ibraheem inAbuja, who are all recuperatingfrom the bullet wounds theysustained during the army’sattack on the Islamic Movementin Zaria.

The group said they welcomethe development as “it is a stepforward in quelling the anxietyof the teeming millions of

Muslims and non-Muslimsalike, all over the globe, inknowing at least the whereaboutof the Sheikh and the conditionof his health.”

The movement in the statementsigned by the Media President,Ibrahim Musa, said they havebeen able to establish somefigures that indicate howgruesome the avoidable attackby the Nigerian army has been.

“In our list there are about 730people, men and women, who are stillmissing, since that fateful Saturday12th December, 2015. These missingpeople were either killed by the armyor are in detention, but whose whereabout is still unknown and undisclosed.

“Also there are 220 brothers of theIslamic movement in detention inKaduna Central prison, some of themwith fatal gun wounds and burns.

The Islamic Movement said fromreliable reports that they have been ableto confirm the detention where some of theirmembers are being held by the Nigerian armyin Kaduna, Bauchi and Abuja.

M A K U R D I — T H Elingering rift and power

tussle between SenatorBarnabas Gemade and thelawmaker for Vandeikya/Konshisha federal constituency,Hermen Hembe, has reportedlyscuttled the appointment of alocal government caretakercommittee for Konshisha LocalGovernment Area of BenueState.

Vanguard learned thatGovernor Samuel Ortom, whoyesterday inaugurated newcaretaker committees for the 23local government areas of thestate, left out Konshisha localgovernment due to the riftbetween the duos who hailedfrom the local government area.

By Peter Duru

According to the informedsource, the duo, whosupposedly control the politicsof the local government area,could not agree on who shouldbe appointed into the newcaretaker committee for thearea.

He said: “The fact is that thegovernor could not inaugurate anew caretaker committee forKonshisha alongside the other 22councils because Senator Gemadeand Herman Hembe who are the topAPC politicians from that area could notagree on who should be picked.

“The disagreement stemmed from thefact the immediate past caretakerchairman of the area, Mr. Kor Adem, is aclose political ally of Senator Gemade, andthis time, Mr. Hembe is insisting that heshould be allowed to produce the nextchairman which the Gemade camp isresisting.

LOKOJA—ALHAJIBello Mohammed

Oreyi has been electedby the Council ofKingmakers as the new Ohiof Adavi in Kogi State.

Ireyi who succeeds thelate Ohi, Dr. Bello Ibrahim,who died on October. 14,2015 at the age of 78,emerged the new Ohi afterbeating nine othercontestants in an electionfor the vacant stool.

One of the kingmakers,Mallam Yakubu Beida,while announcing Bello asthe new Ohi elect, said thatBello polled eight out of the13 votes, while four othercontestants scored one voteeach.

He said that five othercontestants had no vote.

“Having scored thehighest vote which was 8out of the total votes cast of13, Alhaji Bello Mohammed Ireyiis hereby declared the winner andreturned elected as Ohi of Adavi,“he said.

BAUCHI—THE BauchiState Governor,

Mohammed Abubakar, hasterminated theappointment of 16management staff of thestate fire service.

According to a source, thesack was a result of thealleged failure of theservice in addressing thealarming rates of inferno inthe State.

The source said thegovernor was not happyover the way and mannerhouses were beingdestroyed by fire in thestate without theintervention of the fireservice.

“The governor procuredfire fighting vehicles for thefire stations on assumptionof office to save lives andproperties, but failure of thefire service to live up to itsresponsibilities led to thesack of the managementstaff”

“The sack is to serve as adeterrent to others as well as toensure productivity in thesystem,” the source added.

OTTA—THE four unionexecutive committee

members sacked by NycilNigeria Ltd. will get one yeargross salary, while the 13 otherstaff will get six months,according to the agreementreached between NationalUnion of Chemical, Footwear,

Rubber, Leather and Non-Metallic Products Employees,NUCFRLAMPE, and Nycil withthe Ministry of Labour, OgunState Office, mediating.

The resolution ended thepicketing of Nycil headquartersat Otta, Ogun State, which hadentered day two, following thesack of 17 workers during theyuletide break in what

NUCFRLAMPE NationalPresident, Comrade Boniface Isokdescribed as “an ambush.”

After the negotiation, whichlasted for hours, Isok toldjournalists: “We gave the companyseven days to recall the 17 workersbut they ignored us, so we lockedup the company. Thank God forthe agreement, this must beimplemented within seven days.

LAGOS—HUMAN rightsgroup, Youth and Conflict

Resolution Initiatives, YCRI, hascharged the concernedauthorities to arrest andprosecute sponsors of BokoHaram group.

YCRI in a release by itsInternational Relations, MrEfemena Agadama, whileappreciating the sacrifices of theNigerian armed forces against

the terrorists, said the federalgovernment must not forget thatBoko Haram could only beeradicated when the sponsors areidentified and legally heldaccountable for sponsoring theatrocities of the sect.

The statement read in part: “Thisis acceptably vital in conflictresolution to deter a recurrenceas there still remains no statisticalor logical explanation on how

those Boko Haram fighters allegedto be uneducated and jobless couldhave amassed those heavy wararsenals and destructivetechnology to have attacked andseized sizable amount of landsfrom the Nigerian federation.

“The audacious belief that somepowerful individuals and groupscan purchase weapons of war forjobless youths and unleash mayhem,destruction and deaths on sleepingcommunities must stop."

CMYK

36—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

AGRICULTURE: From left— Dr. Nimota Akanbi, former NigerianAmbassador to the Netherlands; Minister of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, Chief Audu Ogbeh, and Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of KwaraState at the flag-off of the second phase of the agricultural equipment forcommercial hiring operators at the National Centre for AgriculturalMechanisation, Ilorin, Tuesday.

LAGOS ROADS: From left— Permanent Secretary, Ministry of LocalGovernment & Community Affairs, Mr. Bababtunde Sanuth; Commissionerfor Local Government & Community Affairs, Alhaji Muslim Folami; Chairman,Conference 57 and Executive Secretary, Bariga Local Council DevelopmentArea (LCDA), Hon. Kolade Alabi; and Lagos State Commissioner forInformation & Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, during a briefing on thecommencement of construction of 114 roads in Lagos State by Conference ofLocal Governments and Local Council Development Area, at Ikeja, Lagos.

WEDDED: From left— Elder Segun Olusanya, groom's father; Mrs LolaDada, brides mother; the couple, Mr and Mrs Seyi Olusanya; Dr. Bola Olusanya,groom's mother and Rev Joseph Dada, bride's father, during the wedding betweenFikayo and Seyi at Foursquare Gospel Church, Ikoyi, Lagos.

G M D / C E O ,UAC Nigeria,Mr. Larry Ettah(right) and MD,UAC PropertyDevelopmentCompany Plc,Mr. HakeemOgunniran, atthe ceremony.

GOVERNOR'S CUP: From left— General Manager, Corporate AffairsManager, Federal Airports Authority Nigeria, FAAN, Mr. Yakubu Dati; Captain,IBB Golf Club, Abuja, Mr Hamid Abbo; Captain, Rayfield Golf Club 1913, Jos,Mr. Dagwom Howlshe, and Captain, Laminga Golf Club, Professor Nuhu Dakum,during the 2015 Plateau State Governor's Cup in Jos.

ONE-STATE ONE-PRODUCT: From left (front row)— SpecialAdviser to Ogun State Governor on Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Funmi Ajayi;Director/Zonal Controller, Nigeria Export Promotion Council, Mr. GeorgeEnyiekpon; Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru;Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Modupe Bosede and others, at a follow-up meetingon One-State One-Product initiative in Abeokuta.

SHELL PENSIONERS: Apostle Francis Ojoh (right), inauguratingthe new Shell Pensioners Association executive, (from left) Chairman, Mr. LuckyDudun; Vice Chairman, Chief Pitylove Abanre; Mr. Godswill Komani and others,during their annual general meeting in Warri. PHOTO: Akpokona Omafuaire.

VISIT: Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State (3rd right); HighCommissioner of Jamaica in Nigeria, Ann Scott ( 3rd left); Counsellor andHead, Political & Economic Section, Embassy of the Kingdom of Belguim(2nd Right); an official of the embassy (2nd left) and promoters of MarySlessor Legacies, during a courtesy visit to the governor in Uyo.

CMYK

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 — 37

THE military exercise wascodenamed Exercise

Damisa, a word drawn from theHausa word for tiger, the largestanimal in the cat family. The leaderof the operation in the north wasMajor Chukwuma KadunaNzeogwu whose middle namemeans crocodile, the aquatic foeof many tigers.

Remarkably, when ExerciseDamisa fully unfolded into its realintentions in the wee hours ofJanuary 15, 1966, it left in its trailthe flow of blood that can beimagined when a hungry crocodilegrasps the tail of the tiger.

Hungrycrocodile

Exercise Damisa was the coverin the North for the first militarycoup staged in Nigeria. While thecoup in the north with epicentrein Kaduna was largely successfuldespite the aversions of one Lt. Col.Chukwuemeka Ojukwu who heldsway as commanding officer of thebrigade in Kano, the operationfailed in the rest of the country.

The instigators were ideologicallyminded army officers who werefuelled by a revolutionary zeal toupturn what they saw as the socialand political malaise in the land.

Foreshadowing the January 15,1966 coup were crises in somesections of the country, particularlyin the Southwest and the Middle-Belt sections of the country.Though essentially localised, thepolitical alliances between theactive players in those crisis-ridden

sections of the country and the menat the federal level inevitablytranslated the crisis into a nationalcrisis. Chief Obafemi Awolowo,one of the nation’s founding fathers

who had seemingly lost out in thepolitical battle with his erstwhiledeputy in the Action Group, ChiefSamuel Akintola was as at January15, 1966, under incarceration in

Majors Nzeogwu, Ifeajuna, WaleAdemoyega, himself a graduate ofhistory among the ring leaders.

Flamboyantindustrialist

The operation turned bloody inKaduna and Lagos with the headsof the regional governments in theNorth and Western regions, Belloand Chief SLA Akintolaeliminated. Also eliminated werethe prime minister, Sir AbubakarTafawa-Balewa and the minister offinance, the flamboyant industrialistturned politician, Chief FestusOkotie-Eboh.

That the coup was propelled byrevolutionary instincts wasunderscored by the fact thatNzeogwu was followed by manynorthern soldiers in the killing ofthe North’s premier, Sir Bello.However, the casualties of thecoup with the notable exception ofone, Colonel Arthur Unegbe wereall non Igbo. That was against thefact that the majority of the coupplanners were also Igbo.

In days, the politicalpermutations increasinglychanged bringing sectional huesto the coup.

Fifty years on, the flacks from thatcoup attempt and the fracturesgenerated from it continue to hauntthe nation.

My dear countrymen, no citizen should haveanything to fear, so long as that citizen is lawabiding and if that citizen has religiously obeyedthe native laws of the country and those set downin every heart and conscience since 1st October,1960.

Our enemies are the political profiteers, theswindlers, the men in high and low places that seekbribes and demand 10 per cent; those that seek tokeep the country divided permanently so that theycan remain in office as ministers or VIPs at least,the tribalists, the nepotists, those that make thecountry look big for nothing before internationalcircles, those that have corrupted our society andput the Nigerian political calendar back by theirwords and deeds.

Like good soldiers we are not promisinganything miraculous or spectacular. But what we dopromise every law abiding citizen is freedom fromfear and all forms of oppression, freedom fromgeneral inefficiency and freedom to live and strivein every field of human endeavour, both nationallyand internationally. We promise that you will knowmore be ashamed to say that you are a Nigerian.

Prologue

•Major Nzeogwu•Major Ifeajuna •Major Gbulie

When soldiers touchedthe tail of the tiger

Nothing goodaboutmilitaryintervention— Adebanjo

Why they called itan Igbo coup— First RepublicMinister,Mbazulike Amechi

By Emmanuel Aziken,Political Editor

The manymisconceptionsabout FestusOkotie-Eboh—DereAwosika,daughter

Calabar Prison serving out asentence for alleged treasonablefelony. Some of his lieutenantswere either in other prisons underthe same yoke or had simplyrelocated from the country.

Dictating the pace and patternof political policy was Sir AhmaduBello, the Premier of the NorthernRegion who held sway in Kadunaas leader of the Northern PeoplesCongress, NPC, the party that withits allies formed the largest bloc inthe federal parliament.

Sir Bello, was also the Sardaunaof Sokoto and a great-great-grandson of the conquering Fulaniwarrior, Sheikh Othman DanFodio who founded the Fulanihegemony over most of NorthernNigeria.

Though the economy wasthrottling at a relatively modestpace, economic prospects at thetime of the coup were alreadybecoming clouded by the politicalshenanigans of the period. In theNorth, opposition elements werebeing denied economic access andlicences to state-controlledeconomic facilities.

In the West, political disciples ofAwolowo who were not in prisonwere forced to keep a low profile.Indeed, in the whole country, themalady of corruption wasassuming what was at that timedescribed as monstrousproportions with government

business beingfacilitated by the tenpercent factor.

It was under thiscloud that the idealisticarmy officers that led theJanuary 15 uprisingsurfaced. The officerswere by severalaccounts influenced bythe university graduatesin the army who at thattime were less than ten.The most idealistic ofthem was the fieryMajor EmmanuelIfeajuna, aC o m m o n w e a l t hGames medallist andone of the first graduatesto have enrolled intothe army.

By several accounts,the plan for theoperation commencedsometime in 1965 with

Excerpts of Major Nzeogwu’scoup speech

CMYK

38—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

ON the coup: On January15, 1966, themy struck and

turned the weapons which weissued to them to defend thecountry, on the government andthe leaders that issued theweapons to them. In the process,they killed the Prime minister ofthe country; they killed thepremier of the West; they killedthe premier of the North. Theywere about to kill the premier ofthe East but what saved DrMichael Okpara was thatArchbishop Macarious, thepresident of Cyprus, was hisguest that night and probablythey wouldn’t want war betweenCyprus and Nigeria.

On the other hand they couldnot kill Chief Dennis Osadebeybecause there was no Army inBenin at the time of the coup andso Osadebey managed to escape.They also killed Chief FestusOkotie-Eboh, the FederalMinister of Finance. They alsokilled some members of their owngroup. For example, BrigadierMaimalari was innocently killed.

WHAT is your assessmentof the intervention of the

military into the political arena?The sacrifice made by our

forefathers in establishingdemocracy, they (military)truncated it and ever since, wehave not recovered. Theytruncated the federal system ofgovernment, which gave eachregion autonomy, we have notrecovered from that and that hasbeen causing a lot of instability.

The military introducedcorruption to the country at thattime and by the time they left,after an interregnum of about 33years, the young element saw themilitary as a standard and thishas not been paying us at all. Ifyou remember it was during the

Nothing good about militaryintervention —Adebanjo

Babangida regime that politicswas monetized and thatinstitutionalized corruption.

There is nothing good towrite home about the militaryregime because each time theycome, they set the countrybackwards. When the TafawaBalewa administration wastruncated, some of us accusedthem of corruption by receivingten per cent. Those of us whosaid that, we must apologise tothe politicians of that timebecause those who arecollecting bribe now do not take10%.

So, there is nothing to writehome about the military. Whatwe are clamouring for is for thegood old days of democracyshould come back.

What lessons are to belearned from the

intervention?The present crop of politicians

that we have jump from oneparty to another, there is nostandard, no vision, noprinciple. We should try toestablish the standard laid bypeople like Chief Obafemi

Awolowo, who believed in theprinciple of honesty, integrityand service to the people, whichis no longer the yardstick now.

For instance, you find a goodman in one party today, themoment you deny him aplatform for election, he is goingto another party, not on anyprinciple.

You must have a party with avision, with integrity andprinciples which the politics oftoday lack.

You cannot find a politicianwho could say that for the past20 years, he has been in onepolitical party, if you trace thehistory of some politicianstoday, they must have changedparities more than once, I donot want to embarrass anybody. It has not been apleasant experience at all, wecan only pray to God that heshould effect the change tomake the future good for theyouths. The youths shouldlearn.

My close friend, Colonel ArthurUnegbe was also killed. He wasin charge of the Armoury andbecause he was reluctant torelease the Armoury to them,they shot and killed him in hishouse. Since then, Nigeria hasnever been the same and Nigeriahas never attained anything nearthe dreams of the foundingfathers and nationalists andfought for independence of thenation.

Many people had theimpression that the coup wastribal in nature in view of theway casualties were recorded.

I don’t know about that but Ihave told you the reason whyOkpara could not be killed. I wasgoing home myself. The first timethe military entered the Midwest,I met them at Abudu because mywife had a baby at CharlesBorromeo Hospital at Onitshaand that day they were to bedischarged from hospital. So afterthe parliamentary session on 14thJanuary, 1966, I drove fromLagos through Benin. I slept inBenin so that I could get toOnitsha in good time to be able

to pick my wife and the baby.They were moving to Benin fromEnugu or so. By then I didn’tknow that something happenedin the night because it wasalready morning. My car wascarrying the NCNC and theNigeria flag and at Abudu, oneArmy jeep swerved off the roadand ran into our lane. My driverswerved into the field and thejeep came into the field also. AnArmy captain came out of thejeep and ordered his driver tomove on.

I didn’t know a coup had takenplace. I just took it that the soldierscould be drunk and could doanything. It was only when I gotto Onitsha that my mother in-lawtold me that the Army had takenover government and killed theprime minister and others. Shesaid the radio had beenannouncing it and that was howI knew that there was a coup.

There and then, I told my driverto remove the flags on the car.

By then, the coup plotters hadannounced that Dr NwaforOrizu, the acting president hadbeen removed because thepresident, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe,was abroad on medical trip. Theysaid they were handing over thegovernment to General AguiyiIronsi and were expecting a

broadcast. So I rang myconfidential secretary, one Mrs.Marinho to go to my house inIkoyi to ask one Joe Obi to packall my things, separatinggovernment property from myown and put my things in a lorryand send home. That was how Iended my ministerialappointment. By the third day ofthe coup, everything I had wasat home here and I said thankGod.

Well, the Army took over andthey continued to blunder. Theycontinued to do what they weretrained to do; that is to destroy;to kill and to loot. Then thequarrel between two LieutenantColonels – Ojukwu and YakubuGowon – eventually led thecountry to a civil war. Ojukwusaid he was senior to Gowon andthat Gowon cannot be the headof state when he (Ojukwu) wasa governor.

Killing ofIgbo soldiers

Gowon said if you want to behead of state, come to Lagos sothat soldiers could take order fromyou. The argument continueduntil it led to the killing of Igbosin the north and killing of Igbosoldiers all over the country, withone of them buried alive inIbadan. The young man hadinsisted on not doing what theywanted and they threatened tokill him. He said he wasprepared to die; after all it wasonly one bullet that could kill him.So they told him they were notgoing to waste a bullet on himand buried him alive after forcinghim to dig his grave. He was amajor in the Army. A lot ofatrocities were committed then.

What do you could be thereason for the coup?

I wouldn’t say I knew theintention of the boys who tookover government becauseAdemulegun and other Yorubaofficers never admitted that it wasan Igbo coup. It only happenedthat there were more Igbo officersinvolved in the coup becausethere were so many Igbo officersin the army at that time.

Why they called itan Igbo coup— Mbazulike Amechi

By Vincent Ujumadu

•Adebanjo

•Amechi

CHIEF Mbazulike Amechi, popularly known as ‘The boy isgood’ was a first republic parliamentarian and first postIndependence Minister of Aviation. He was a strong memberof the defunct Zikist Movement and since the first bloodymilitary coup on January 1966, which sacked the politicians,Amechi has been living in his community, Ukpor in NnewiSouth local government area. He spoke on his experience:

CHIEF Ayo Adebanjo is a chieftain of the Pan-Yorubasocio-cultural organisation, Afenifere. In this chat,Adebanjo urges the younger crop of politicians to take acue from mistakes made in the First Republic.

By Dapo Akinrefon

I didn’t know a couphad taken place. Ijust took it that thesoldiers could bedrunk and could doanything

CMYK

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016—39

FIFTY years after hisdeath, how are his

children planning to rememberhim?

We remember him every daybut hold a memorial eventannually. Fifty years after hisdeath, his principles and theissues he fought for still needto be examined. Fifty years afterhis demise, there is a need forhistory to make room for him asan enigma. It is to this extentthat we intend to launch a bookin his honour titled, ‘Chief F.S.Okotie-Eboh; CMG/MP: Intime and space.’

My father should beremembered as somebody whowas brave, honest and made hismoney from hard work. This isa country where people believethat anybody who has moneystole it. My father was raisedby poor parents and he workedvery hard for his country. Henever stole Nigeria’s money;rather, he gave his money to thecountry. Before he became aminister, he owned shoe,plastic, cement and rubberfactories and never made anoise about free education. Hepractised it.

Noise about freeeducation

He was accountable and aman of great discipline.

How would you want thegovernment to rememberhim?

The government will need tochoose how best to honour aman with the aforementionedfeats and qualities. Efforts havebeen made to ask the federalgovernment to immortalise him,but I want God to put a stampon the book we would belaunching. I want people toremember him for the impact hemade while alive. Thegovernment has not been fair tohim.

Did he not encourage any ofyou to take after him?

My father died when we werevery young. I was 13 years oldwhen he died. But he drewsome of his sons into hisbusiness enterprises.

The many misconceptions aboutmy father, Festus Okotie-Eboh—Dere Awosika, daughter

Some people believe that hechanged his name aftermarriage. Can you shed lighton this?

No, he was first Festus SamuelEdah. He later discovered thatEdah was an adopted father andthat his biological father wasOkotie-Eboh. That was why hechanged his name. He hadnothing to lose answering toEdah because he was already asuccess at the time. He did whathe knew was right which hadbeen part of his character. He

was never one to do otherwiseonce he knew he was doing theright thing.

What kind of father was he?He was a comet and a very

rare person. I can confidentlysay that because I have workedwith top executives in thecountry. Thus, I often wonderhow my father still had the timeto pack my loads whenever Iwas returning to school, read myletters and reply them and howhe achieved all he did at hisage.

•Dere Awosika

•Late Okotie-Eboh

DR. Ajoritsedere Awosika served as the permanentSecretary at the Federal Ministry of InternalAffairs, the Federal Ministry of Science &Technology and the Federal Ministry of Powerrespectively. In this chat, Dr Awosika, who is thesixth child of the late federal commissioner forFinance, Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh, says she is notbothered whether or not the Federal Governmentimmortalises her late father. Excerpts:

By Dapo Akinrefon What memorable times didyou share?

To be honest, the majormemory of him was hisdisciplinarian and prudentattitude. I attended a boardingprimary school at age five andwhenever I was home onholiday, he made sure that Iinteracted with his cook, driverand steward including theirchildren. He treated everybodyequally. I grew up in that waywithout seeing myself differentfrom others. There was nodifference between me andother children in ourenvironment.

Besides, he did not allow usto know that he had money. ButI heard it from my school thatmy father was rich. He used toneatly arrange some pennies ona table in his room. Each timehe asked me to go and tidy hisroom, I used to see the pennies.But if anybody took one of thepennies, he would know.

Before he joined politics, hewas involved in many businessactivities. How did he createtime for his family?

My father created time for hisfamily. The way we work nowis not the way that peopleworked during his time. Healways left his office in theMinistry of Finance located atMosaic House, Tinubu Square,Lagos, at 3:30pm and by3:45pm, he was home. Wealways ate lunch together withhis guests.

Where were you when hedied?

I was in Sapele. Sir TafawaBalewa sent for him on January12, 1966 to return to Lagos andcut short his leave. Before heleft, he commissioned theAsaba-Onitsha Bridge. Hewrote a letter on January 13,1966 that the prime ministershould declare a state ofemergency or they would all bekilled. My birthday is January15 and I was in Sapelecelebrating it.

He called me a day before mybirthday to tell me to have a bigbirthday party. We werecelebrating when the messagecame that there was a coup andthat he had been killed. We didnot believe the news initiallyespecially as we had to searchfor him for a year. It was after ayear (in 1967) that his corpsewas brought in before the civilwar.

Honesty andhard work

I was young and did not knowwhat they told the family. Therewere many soldiers deployed inSapele when the corpse of myfather was brought in that day.

Before he left, hecommissioned theAsaba-OnitshaBridge. He wrote aletter on January 13,1966 that the primeminister shoulddeclare a state ofemergency or theywould all be killed

Perhaps, thegovernment felt thatthe people would reactviolently to the realityof his death.

I got the idea that myfather was a comet thatday. As his corpse wasbrought to Sapele inthe afternoon,everywhere becamedark. There was no rainbut the whole town wasengulfed in darkness.

How have hischildren been copingsince his death?

We are coping well.We have some issuesas children but some ofthe issues areindividualistic basedon the principles somehave imbibed.

What values did heteach you?

My father taught mehonesty and hardwork. He also taughtme to be detribalised. Imarried a Yoruba manand I have friends in allparts of the country. Myhome is home to all.When I was aPermanent Secretary inthe ministries ofInternal Affairs, Power

and Science and Technology, Inever had an Itsekiri personeither as a special or personalassistant. They came from othertribes.

What do you miss mostabout him?

I miss the fact that he did notlive long. I also miss the factthat he was unable toconsolidate on the greatfoundation he laid. I miss hisfatherly role but I must add thatmy husband has done well forme. In all, I am happy that Imarried a good man.

CMYK

40—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

Military intervention shaped Nigeria’s democracy — Col. Ogbebor, retd

By Simon Ebegbulem,Benin City

Though not involved in the January 15, 1966 coup, Col. PaulOgbebor (Rtd) was nevertheless, a major player on the side ofthe Federal forces in the civil war that followed the uprising.

In this interview with Vanguard, he insists that militaryintervention eventually helped to shape the nation’s democ-racy. Excerpts:

Military interven-tion has helped us alot, otherwise if it wasduring the civilianera that the civil warcame, Nigeria couldnot have survived it

•Ogbebor

YOU were very much aroundin 1966. Was there any need

for the coup of that year? No, and I said it in my

autobiography because, the onlyargument was that there werepolitical crises in Western Nigeriabetween two factions of the ActionGroup AG -the Awolowo group andthat of Akintola.

Of course, that crisis was seriousbut it was only limited to areas aroundIbadan and Ijebu-Ode. Then, in Tivdivision, there was crisis betweensupporters of the AG and UMBCand the result was that the crisis inthese two places led to some killings,but the rest of the country was inpeace.

The pretext the military used wasthat they took over power in order toquell those two crises in those areas.But if you look at the consequencesof their actions -all they wanted to dowas to save lives, but the coup led tothe civil war and a rough estimate ofthe number of people killed on bothsides during the war was five million

quarrel in the Action Group, buteven that quarrel, according toinsiders, was not “national”.

People said it was a quarrelbetween the wife of the AG leader,Chief Awolowo and the wife of theman who succeeded him, hisdeputy, Chief Akintola and thereason for the fight was that whenAwolowo was the Premier, theallegation was that his wife wasgetting contracts for the supply ofexercise books and reading materialsin primary and secondary schoolsand that when he left power andwas succeeded by his deputy, thewife of the deputy insisted that thecontract should be shared between

her and Mrs Awolowo.That led to a quarrel between the

two wives and eventually it becamea quarrel between two giants whichled to the break-up of the party, butthe public view of the crisis was thatAkintola was of the opinion that theonly way for the Yorubas to be in themainstream of Nigerian politics wasto cooperate with the northernleaders.

Awolowo was opposed to that andthe crisis led to the split of the partyat their convention in Jos, I think in1962 or thereabout. That was whatled to the crisis and also that was theexcuse given by the military to takeover power.

In essence, could that be the

beginning of our setback in ourquest for true democracy?

In our march towards perfectingdemocratic rule, the militaryintervention was the main cause ofour setback. The first one of 1966and the second one of 1983 whenBuhari overthrew Shagari.

We have had 16 straight years ofcivilian rule. Do you foresee anypossible military incursion in thenearest future?

Well, I am not God; only God cantell what would happen in the futurebut, at times the disenchantmentand dissatisfaction within the societyat large, could affect the psyche ofthe different segments of the society,the military also included. Forinstance, there is widespreadpoverty and lack money incirculation in the country now.People, hardly are able to haveenough to take care of themselvesand their dependents.

The military took over in 1966believing that they could stop thekillings in some parts of the West,but in the end they created acondition for the civil war. When theprice of oil came down from $45 toabout $7 per barrel in 1982/83,Buhari and his group thought thatif they took over power, they wouldbe able to handle the situation. Thiswas exactly why they overthrewShagari.

Buhari’sbroadcast

I read Buhari’s broadcast and hetalked of corruption but there wasno corruption because I just wentthrough the list of members ofShagari’s cabinet, aides, ministers,advisers, assistants and others, andI think we were 75 or so. Throughoutthe two-year period of the militarytribunal, only five people wereindicted. Most of those convictedwere state government officials butpeople at the centre, the majority ofthem, were not indicted and so wecannot describe that regime ascorrupt.

The corruption that we are nowtalking about was exacerbated bythe military from 1983 to date. Eventhe misfortune we had was thatwhen this country was going backto civilian rule, power was handedover by the military to a retiredmilitary officer and therefore he ranthe system with a military psyche.

Now, he handpicked Yar’Aduaand after he died, he (Obasanjo)manoeuvred to get Jonathan to takeover with the hope that he wouldcontinue to dictate from thebackground. He amended theconstitution of his party to makehimself the life-chairman of theBoard of Trustees BOT.

This was after he had soldeverything saleable to his kitchencabinet boys and when Yar’Aduacame, he realized that life could notcontinue that way and he decidedto reverse the sales of many of thoseproperties and other policies. WhenJonathan succeeded Yar’Adua,Obasanjo also hoped that he wouldstay in his Ota Farm to be dictatingthings to Jonathan becausedictatorship is part of the militarypsyche and they live by directingtheir subordinates.

It was the quarrel between Mrs. Awolowoand Mrs. Akintola — YakassaiD r. Tanko Yakassai was an active political player in the FirstRepublic having held several national positions in the defunctNorthern Elements Peoples Union, NEPU among which wereNational Financial Secretary, National Youth Leader, NationalOrganising Secretary and subsequently National Secretary ofthe Aminu Kano led party. In the Second Republic he shifted tothe National Party of Nigeria, NPN and was the PresidentialLiaison Officer to the National Assembly. He currently chairs theNorthern Elders’ Council. He speaks on the factors that led tothe January 15, 1966 coup and the consequences thereafter.

By Omeiza Ajayi

•Yakassai

M I L I T A R Yintervention in

our political system has helpedus a lot there is no doubt aboutthat. That insinuation that it isour problem is not true. The1975 coup came with mixedreactions because Gen.Gowon had successfullyended the war.

The problem was that hegave a date for hand over un-fortunately he changed thatdate twice and that led to the1975 coup. It is difficult to de-scribe any coup as justified ornot because some people willbe happy while others woulddisagree.

So military intervention hashelped us a lot, otherwise if itwas during the civilian erathat the civil war came, Ni-geria could not have survivedit. As at 1966 January, Nigeriawas already factionalized withrestiveness in the West. Re-member the operation WETIEin the West and in Benuearea, remember the battles inthe Tiv area, many peopledied.

The Tivs wanted to separatefrom the Northern region. Youalso remember the skirmishesin the South East when manypeople could not cross theNiger bridge. That was whythe January 1966 coup waswelcomed all over the coun-try. War in any country willcome when it wants to come

and normally it is a tonic. Wehad the American civil war andafter that America started tohave progress. China, Spain,

England, many countries whowitnessed military interven-tion later witnessed progressand that is the same with Ni-geria.

The military intervention inNigeria was an act of God andit helped us a lot. If you re-member that as at 1966 wehad only three to four univer-sities in Nigeria, we hadregions those days but todaywe have many states ratherthan regions. And each stateis today a centre of develop-ment.

The military interventionhas helped us in achievingrapid development. The onlyproblem is that during mili-tary rule freedom is limitedbut they take decisions thatdirectly impact on the lives ofthe people.

Most of the people talkingdon’t know about the civil war.Without security no nationwill stand. What the militarydid in 1966 was to secure thenation. If the military had notcome by then there wouldhave been serious problems.But the military interventioncame to sustain Nigeria.

The military tookover in 1966believing that theycould stop thekillings in some partsof the West, but in theend they created acondition for the civilwar

which was not even the accuratefigure.

So, if you came to save less than ahundred lives and you ended upkilling over five million people,would you call that interventionjustified? The coup was notnecessary, but it was part of theprocess of development. You see,what brought about it was the

CMYK

VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD, VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 — 41— 41— 41— 41— 41

Rabiul-Thani 5, 1437 A.H.

A Muslim's obligation ofLove for Allah

WELCOME to Muslim SoulMates in Vanguard. A uniqueplatform for single Muslims who wish to find their potential

marriage partners on this page. We have designed it to help youfind perfect soul mates every Friday.

We will also give counsel where necessary in order to keep withthe halal standard. Our aim is to further develop couples thatcould be blessed, compatible, enduring following Islamicinjunctions. It promises to be a rewarding service just as we willtreat all inquiries and submissions in confidence.

Send your profile, contact and details of who you want, notmore than 75 words to isholaism@yahoo.co.uk. Names andcontacts will not be published.

Muslim SoulMatesMuslim SoulMatesMuslim SoulMatesMuslim SoulMatesMuslim SoulMatesDo you seek a Muslim life Partner?Do you seek a Muslim life Partner?Do you seek a Muslim life Partner?Do you seek a Muslim life Partner?Do you seek a Muslim life Partner?

L-R: Back row:FauzurRaheem Odefunso,AbdusSamadAjao,Muhammed Jamiu Salih,Hayatullah Abdulwahab,Muhammed Kamil Salih, the teacher,Muallim BashiruddeenSulaimon,Farid Ahmad Akintayo,Abdul Warith Sanusi,AbdulFatahAbdul Kareem and Faruq ShabiL-R front row:Abdul MuqaddimAdediran,Mubarak Ahmad Ojo and Rafiq Ahmad Sanusi, duringthe 2nd Aminul-Qur’an Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at,Dutse Abuja.

R-L: Circuit president, Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Abuja,Dr.Abdul Lateef Busari; Dutse Jama’at President,Alh.H.A.Ahmad and Circuit Missionary Abuja,Muallim NoohAbdussalam, during the graduation ceremony of 2nd Aminul-Qur’an held at Dutse Baupma primary school,Abuja.

WHEN we love Allah,that love draws us closer

to Him and helps us build astrong relationship that can helpus in this life and in hereafter. AsMuslims, our faith requires thatour love for Allah and his prophetsupersedes any other type of lovefor any other object or creation.Many scholars agree on the basisof sound ahadith that Allahcreates a person (and his heart)in such a way that he has thenatural inclination to love Allah.However, as a person’s heart getscorrupted by doubts, desires andother temptations, that love hasto be rekindled through faith andknowledge.

Love of Allah requires us to lovewhat Allah loves and to dislikewhat displeases Him and tofurther demonstrate that love byfollowing the Quran and theSunnah. This should be areminder for those of us whomerely provide lip service abouttheir love for Allah and Hismessenger rather thanactualizing that love in realbehavioral commitments.

Let’s review various aspectsabout the love of Allah and howwe can build and nurture thatlove in our hearts.

The Obligation to Love AllahAllah has made His love

obligatory on the believers. Manyof us find it easy to express thatlove verbally but unfortunatelyour actions don’t reflect that lovefor Him. How can we claim tolove Allah when we take whatHe has revealed lightly, don’tfollow His commands, and fail tomake our behaviors reflect whatpleases Him?

Temptations oftemporal life

Many times we find that lovemissing from our hearts becauseour hearts are filled instead withdoubts, vain desires, andtemptations of temporal life. AsIbn Taymiyyah stated in one ofhis books (Diseases of the Heart),one of the reasons for this has todo with the lack of rightknowledge. To counter doubts,therefore, we need to firm up ourbeliefs, and we need a betteroverall spiritual perspective inorder to counter desires andtemptations. We also need to clearthose doubts that hinder theinstilling of that love for Allah bylearning more and askingquestions. Consider one of thehadiths which shows the prophetgetting angry with a group ofpeople for taking a decision thatresulted in someoneunnecessarily losing his life. On

that the prophet said, “Couldthey not have asked if they didn’tknow? Indeed the cure forignorance is to ask” [Sunan IbnMajah and classified as Hasan].

When we don’t make that effortand don’t plant that love in ourhearts, our actions too come outshort and empty and we risk Hisanger and making our deedsfruitless. Allah says in the Quran:

“That is because they followedthat which angered Allah, andhated that which pleased Him.So He made their deedsfruitless” (SurahMuhammad:28).

What do we have to dospecifically to love Allah? Takethe example of the companionsof Prophet who used to say that“We love Allah”. In response tothat and to provide them ayardstick to know whether theyindeed loved Allah, Allahrevealed the following verse:

“Say (O Muhammad SAW tomankind): “If you (really) loveAllah then follow me (i.e. acceptIslamic Monotheism, follow theQuran and the Sunnah), Allahwill love you and forgive you ofyour sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”(Surah Aal-e-Imran:31)

What pulls us away fromloving Allah?

To properly answer thisquestion, we need to searchdeep within our souls about themotivations that drive our livesand our understanding (explicitor implicit) of the purpose of ourlives. That is because thepurpose of our life drives ourgoals, actions, and behaviors ingeneral. For many of us, earninga living tends to be the focal pointof our lives, including a totalimmersion in building our

dwellings, families, and so onwhile neglecting our duty andlove for Allah. The time that wespend on various activitiesreflects our priority and love foreach of those activities. For thoseof us who exhibit that behavior,Allah says the following:

“Say: If it be that your fathers,your sons, your brothers, yourmates, or your kindred; thewealth that you have gained; thecommerce in which you fear adecline: or the dwellings in whichyou (seek) delight – are dearerto you than Allah, or HisMessenger, or the striving in Hiscause; then wait until Allahbrings about His decision: andAllah guides not the rebellious”(Sura At-Taubah: 24).

We can, therefore, infer thatwhile we do have an obligationto attend to our responsibilities,that should not divert us frombuilding our relationship withAllah. As He says in the Quran:

Building ourrelationship

“Let not your properties or yourchildren divert you from theremembrance of Allah. Andwhosoever does that, they are thelosers” (Al-Munafiqoon 63:9).

Love of Allah triggerssweetness of faith

The prophet had said asnarrated in both Sahih hadith,“Whoever possesses thefollowing three qualities will tastethe sweetness (delight) of faith:the one to whom Alláh and HisMessenger become dearer thananything else, the one who lovesa person and he loves him onlyfor Alláh’s sake, and whoeverhates to revert to disbelief, afterAlláh has saved him from it, ashe hates to be thrown into theFire.”

Love of Allah can keep usaway from sins

Today, when the hearts of mostof us are filled with lusts, desires,temptations and fantasies, weneed to remind ourselves that itis not possible to have those takeroom in the same heart where wewant to plant our love for Allah.Always ask yourself whetherwhat lives in your heart makesyou neglect Allah, and is worthmore than the love of Allah? Whenwe start replacing the lusts,desires, and fantasies that live inour heart with Allah’s love, thenwe will see ourselves regainingthat love back from Allah.

Ibn Taymiyyah said, “the morethe servant loves his Master, theless will he love other objects andthey will decrease in number.

Whoever possessesthe following threequalities will tastethe sweetness(delight) of faith: theone to whom Alláhand His Messengerbecome dearer thananything else, theone who loves aperson and he loveshim only for Alláh’ssake

THE Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, Nigeria is set for 100 yearscelebration of its existence across the country. The event which will

be marked across the country will kick off in Lagos next week. TheIslamic organization in Nigeria was formally inaugurated in 1916 withthe 21 members whose membership were confirmed from Qadian. Thiseffectively led to the arrival of the first foreign missionaries Late MaulanaNayyar. The organization started at No 62 Bamgbose street ,Lagos Island,Lagos.

Early members comprises of Muslim elites in Lagos from the MuslimLiterary Society, the Muslim Juvenile Society and the Al- Quran Group,led by Late Alhaji Muhammad Basil, Jubril Martin, Lawal Agusto, AlfaIdowu Yakub of Isale Igangan,Imam Kasumu Rufai Ajose,BadamosiFanimokun, Alfa I.L. Durosimi Etti,Tijani Adele,Oba MusedikuBuraimoh Adele 11, Yinusa Hameed,Imam Yusau Popoola OyesileShodeinde, Alfa Muhammad Jimoh Abdul Salam(Selem),Tijani Ariyo,L.ABada,Abdur Rasheed A. Smith,Alhaji Abass Elegbaa ,Alfa Ismaila AyindeShitta - Bey , Teacher Yunus, Junaid Yusuf,Imam Imoru of Mushin(Kanuri)Imran Adewusi Onibudo, Buyiaminu Gbajabiamila,and Alfa SakaLawole,Alfa Muhammadu Shittu Ade John,Alfa Abdus Salami EbunAgbabiaka- Alfa Muhammad Raji Ipaye, Alfa Abdul Rahaman AshafaBalogun of Idi -Omo Isale Eko.

Others were Alhaji Saka Tinubu,Imam M.B Dabiri,Baidu Balogun,AlfaBisiriyu Kisu,Alfa Hamzat Adio Subair,Alfa Sulaiman Wilson Shonibare,and Alfa Ashafa Tijani of Martins Street, Lagos. We gathered that someof these early members would be honored during the celebration.

According to the Head media publicity sub committee of the CentenaryAhmadiyya Celebration Committee, Qasim Akinreti, the celebration willrun from the beginning to the end of the year with a thanksgivingcentenary conference - Jalsa Salana.

AhmadiyyAhmadiyyAhmadiyyAhmadiyyAhmadiyya sea sea sea sea set ft ft ft ft for centor centor centor centor centenarenarenarenarenary celebrationy celebrationy celebrationy celebrationy celebration

To be concluded

42— Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

Continues from BP

the Nigeria OlympicCommittee (NOC) inAbuja. It was learnt thatthe samples of the play-ers urine were taken atthe end of the games bythe World Anti-dopingAgency (WADA) fromwhere the said eight re-portedly failed the dopetest.

Dalung who confirmedthe development equal-ly regretted that thesaid eight medals havebeen threatened fromthe total number thatwas won at Congo Braz-zaville.

“It us true that someNigerian athletes testedpositive to banned sub-stances at the last AllAfrica Games. About fiveto eight medals havebeen indicted because ofthe development andthat takes us to why weare meeting here withthe NOC. We still wantto intensify our advoca-cy on anti doping. Theissue of doping is notalways as we say it.Sometimes it could befrom the food the athletehas taken or they mayhave taken some drugs

without knowing the im-plications before theevent. So what we areplanning to do is to tryto improve on our advo-cacy on anti doping,”the minister stated.

Some of the athleteswho have equally beenhanded four year bansfrom any sporting activ-ity include; DeborahOdeyemi, Chinazo Ama-di, Samson Idiata in ath-letics, Sunday Eze Paraathletics and ThomasKure in Power lifting.

Nigeria placed secondwith 47 gold medals be-hind overall winnersEgypt at the champion-ship.

THE Minister ofYouth and Sports,

Barr. Solomon Dalungyesterday refuted therumour making therounds that the federalgovernment of Nigeriahas scrapped the Na-tional Sports Commis-sion (NSC).

Dalung who spokewhile addressing mem-bers of the Nigeria Ol-ympics Committee(NOC) in Abuja said theissue is not a secret andthat when the report ofthe committee set up bythe government to thateffect is made public, hewill also inform Nigeri-ans about it.

“Once it is scrapped Iwill announce it. I willcall a press conferenceto formally tell you aboutit but since it has notbeen done, we will notspeculate about it. But Ithink this is emanatingfrom the misconceptionof what will happen un-der the merged ministryof Youth and Sports.

“Of course the Presi-dent has merged somany ministries but inour own case we weremerged and the commit-

NSC still in place –DalungBY JUDE OPARA, Abuja tee set up has made rec-

ommendations. Once therecommendations aremade public we will callthe press and briefthem.”

There has been thisargument among sportsanalysts over what willbe the status of the NSCand its erstwhile chiefaccounting officer, theDirector General withthe merger with the Min-istry of Youth which alsohas a Permanent Secre-tary. Recall that the Ste-ve Orasanye committeeset up by the administra-tion of former PresidentGoodluck Jonathan hadamong others recom-mended the merging ofministries, agencies anddepartments.

Shocker

IghaloContinues from BP

new contract by Spurs.This season, Ighalo

has twice won the bestAfrican player in theEPL under the auspicesof New African Soccer.

Mezut Ozil (Arsenal),Marko Arnautovic(Stoke City), RomeluLukaku (Everton) andRiyad Mahrez (Leices-ter City) are the othernominees for December2015.

SUPER Eagles players will receive the

sum of $2000 each for awin at the 2016 AfricanNations Championshipbilled to commence to-morrow in Kigali, Rwan-da. A source in the teamcurrently preparing forthe championship inSouth Africa disclosedthat the team would not

*SWEARING-IN: From left; Chairman, Delta State Sports Commission, Mr. TonyOkowa, Mr. Eddington Kuejubola, Mr. Nelville Ambakenderemo and Mrs. Chinon-ye Daphey during the swearing-in of the Delta State Sports Commission Board byGovernor Ifeanyi Okowa in Government House, Asaba yesterday

earn similar amount asthe A team. Sunday Ol-iseh’s men would earn$1000 for a draw. Thetechnical crew will earn$4,000 for a win, and$2,000 for a draw.

Meanwhile, the Ea-gles will be lodged atthe four-star Hill ViewHotel in Kigali duringthe group stages of thecompetition.

The hotel is located in

CHAN: Eagles to get $2000 winning bonusthe Kiyovu district, in-side the Kigali City Cen-tre and will house theEagles for 11 days beforethey leave Kigali forGisenyi where they willplay their final groupgame against Guinea onJanuary 26.

THE immediatepast executive

chairman of Delta StateSports Commission andPresident of the NigeriaFootball Federation,Amaju Pinnick, hashailed his replacement,Chief Tony Okowa, as aright peg in a roundhole and an assurancethat Delta sports will re-main in the upwardswing.

Commending the Del-ta State Governor,Ifeanyi Okowa, on thechoice, Amaju revealedthat Tony Okowa hadbeen part and parcel ofthe success story of Del-ta sports.

“We have worked to-gether for years and Ican vouch for him. Hehas contributed im-mensely to Delta sportsand I know he will dovery well and even sur-pass the achievements ofmy predecessor, ChiefSolomon Ogba and my-self.

I expect him to go plac-es because he under-stands the terrain and

Okowa betterthan me —Pinnick

has worked with us onmany fronts. He is evenbetter than me in tem-perament because Iknow I can be difficult towork with but Tony iscool, calm but calculat-ed,” Amaju said.

Amaju also describedother members of theboard as very competentand experienced andpleaded with them togive Okowa the samesupport he receivedfrom them while as theexecutive chairman.

On his part, a man offew words, Okowa saidhe knows that expecta-tions are high and thatthe works of the board asa team will speak for it.He assured that he willput in everything tokeep Delta sports at thetop even with more ef-fective innovations.

The members of theboard sworn-in yester-day at the GovernmentHouse Asaba includeEldington Kuejubola,Neville Bekederemoand Mrs ChimonyeDafe-Aliyu.

THE Cross RiverState government

has renewed its resolveto host the twice post-poned National SportsFestival originally slatedfor 2014.

The State Commis-sioner for Youth andSports Development,Asu Okang gave thisassurance on Mondaywhile leading a three-man State delegation ona courtesy visit to theMinister of Youth andSports Solomon Dalungin Abuja.

Okang also assuredthe Minister that facili-ties for a successfulsports festival were be-ing put in place whilethe old ones were beingupgraded. He urged theMinister to pay a work-ing visit to the State tosee the level of prepara-tion for himself. Re-sponding, the Ministerassured the delegationof his support for CrossRiver State to host theNational Sports Festival.

Cross Riverrenews bid tohost SportsFestival

Toriola, Offiong for Olympicsqualifying tourney

AFTER missing their places at

the Rio 2016 Olympicduring the 2015 AfricanGames in Brazzaville,Nigeria’s Segun Toriolaand Edem Offiong willanother shot at makingit to Brazil at the 2016Olympics QualifyingTournament in Khar-toum, Sudan on Febru-ary 16 to 18. The tour-nament holds after theITTF Africa Top 16 Cup.

Toriola who inspiredNigeria to overcome

Egypt to claim the men’steam title in Brazzavillefailed to make it to thelast four when he wasdefeated by Chinese-born Congo Brazzavillestar, Jianan Wang in thequarterfinal while Of-fiong who played thegame of her life againstEgypt’s Dina Meshrefnarrowly lost to theEgyptian at the samestage of the AfricanGames in Brazzaville.

However, the dream ofToriola of making histo-

ry in Africa as the firstathlete from the conti-nent to feature in sevenOlympics may be real-ized in Sudan.

According to the Pres-ident, African Table Ten-nis Federation (ATTF),Khaled El-Salhy, Egyptis the only country inAfrica that will not becompeting in the quali-fiers having secured therequired two places inBrazzaville, with Assarbrothers - Omar andKhalid qualifying al-ready.

*Yakmut

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OMESA—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Franca EfeEgbo, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. Franca EfeEgbo Omesa. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please note.

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now wish to be known

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Confirmation of NameThe names AkintujoyeAkinlolu Olufemi,Akintujoye Akinlolu O.,Akintujoye R. Akinlolu,Akintujoye AkinloluRaphael refer to the sameperson, but now wish tobe known and addressedas Akintujoye AkinloluOlufemi Raphael. Allformer documents remainvalid. General publicplease note.

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K O D J O V I — I ,formerly known andaddressed as KodjoviYaovi, now wish to beknown and addressedas Monday AlbertYaovi. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease note.

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OKORO—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss JochebedOgheneriobororueOkoro, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. JochebedOgheneriobororueOtiede. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease note.

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GBENGA—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Omotosho Gbenga,now wish to be knownand addressed asOmotosho DanielGbenga. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease note.

O K P O C H I N I — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissOkpochini Blessing,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.George- ImueroBlessing Ngozi. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

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IKERE—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Ikere EstherMagdaline, now wishto be known andaddressed as Mrs.Emehian Esther. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please note.

EBIRIM—I, formerlyknown andaddressed as MissEsther ChiomaEbirim, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Esther ChiomaOgbu. All formerdocuments remainvalid. University ofPort Harcourt, LUTH,NYSC and generalpublic please takenote.

M I C H A E L — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissMichael Charity, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Okili Chintua Charity.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please note.

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UDU—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Udu PaulinaUyouyou, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Aniboh PaulinaUyouyou. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease note.

PAT-OKUNBOR—I,formerly known andaddressed as MissOfure Pat-Okunbor,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Ojeh Ofure. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease note.

O B A N D E — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissObande GraceOnyemowo, nowwish to be knownand addressed asMrs. Moses GraceOnyemowo. Allformer documentsremain valid.General publicplease note.

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O K U N A D E — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissOkunade FatimohOyebisi, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.A k e e b - O k u n a d eFatimoh Oyebisi. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please note.

O Y E L A D E — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissOyelade OlabisiA n u o l u w a p oTemitope, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Adenuga OlabisiA n u o l u w a p oTemitope. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease note.

O G U N T A D E — I ,formerly known andaddressed asOguntade TosinIdowu, now wish to beknown and addressedas Osunkoya TosinIdowu. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease note.

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AKAMO—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Akamo MonsuratOmolara, now wish tobe known andaddressed as LawalMonsurat Omolara. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

I D O N G E S I T — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissIdongesit EdemEffiong, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Idongesit EricGbemudu. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease note.

CHISOM—I, formerlyknown and addressedas OluwadarasimiMichelle Egbuiwe,now wish to be knownand addressed asChisom MichelleO l u w a d a r a s i m iEgbuiwe. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease note.

PETER —I, formerlyknown, called andaddressed asAiyejino Omo Peter,now wish to known,called and addressedas Aiyejino OmokuduVincent. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease note. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease note.

IKECHUKWU—I,formerly known andaddressed as MissIkechukwu PatienceSuccess, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Juwah PatienceSuccess. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease note.

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AGUH—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss SusanNnenna Aguh, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Susan NnennaNwankwo. All formerdocuments remainvalid. The generalpublic should pleasetake note.

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Confirmation of nameUDE—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Mr. ConfidenceBasil Ude, Arusi orArisa, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mr. ConfidenceBasil Nnana. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please note.

Confirmation of NameThis is to confirm thatOffor ChukwuanugoIsaiah and OfforAnugo Isaiah is oneand the same person.All documents bearingthe two names remainvalid. Nigerian BarAssociation, NBA,Nigerian Judiciaryand the general publicplease take note.

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Correction of nameI, Igbegbe GoodnessObediah do herebystate that my name waswrongly written in myWest African SeniorSchool Certificateresult slip as IgbegbeGoodnews Obediahinstead of IgbegbeGoodness Obediah.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

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Confirmation of NamesThese names, MoneyEbibuleami Justinaand Money EbiJustina belong to thesame person but nowwish to be known andaddressed as MoneyEbi Justina. All formerdocuments remainvalid, first bank, Ecobank and the generalpublic to take note.

Confirmation of NamesThese name, AnasiOdi Okoro and Anasi Odi Linus belong tothe same person butnow wish to be knownand addressed asAnasi Odi OkoroLinus . All formerdocuments remainvalid, Union bank,UBA and the generalpublic to take note.

Reconciliation of namesThis is to notify that inmy NABTEB-NBC/NTCwith exam number1103558, I used the namePatience Igho Cousinebut in my result it waswritten Patience Igho butnow wish to be knownand addressed asPatience Igho Cousine.All former documentsremain valid, anyauthority and the generalpublic to take note.

Reconciliation of NameThat the names OsemekaVincent and OsemekaAmechi Richard belong tome and refer to one andthe same person, but Inow wish to remainknown, called andaddressed as OsemekaVincent. All formerdocuments remain valid.The general public toplease take note.

Reconciliation of NameThat the name wronglyspelt as Akpore Gospel,the one rightly spelt asAkpore Godspel, as wellas Akpore EyimofeGodspel, are mine andrefers to one and thesame person, but I nowwish to remain known,called and addressed asAkpore Eyimofe Godspel.All former documentsremain valid. The generalpublic to please takenote.

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Confirmation of nameThis is to certify thatJoseph Anthony Afia andAkpartre Anthony Atita isthe same and one person,but now wish to beknown and addressed asJoseph Anthony Afia. Allformer documents remainvalid. Zenith Bank Plc,FCMB Bank and generalpublic please take note.

Correction of nameMy name was wronglyspelt as Mrs. EffiongFelicia, instead ofOffiong Felicia. Allformer documentsremain valid. GTBankand general publicplease take note.

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44 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

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OKAFOR—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss OkaforA m a r a c h u k w uUgochiyerem, MissOkafor Amara, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.O k o n k w oAmarachukwu U. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

C H I D O Z I E — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissChidozie ChibugoGloria, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. ObiegbuChibugo Gloria. Allformer documentsremain valid. NYSCand general publicplease take note.

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E F F I O N G — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissImaobong EffiongInyang, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Imaobong BasseyObot. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

IKUKU—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss EjovwokeAugustina Ikuku, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Ejovwoke AugustinaChiadika. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

AKABUO —I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss BenedictaAkabuo, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Benedicta K. Okoro.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

ANI—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss AniFesochukwu Cynthia,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Okoloba FesochukwuCynthia. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

AV W O M A K PA — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissAvwomakpa RevivalEjovwokeoghene, MissAvwomakpa-OvakporieR e v i v a lEjovwokeoghene, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Oduneka RevivalEjovwokeoghene. Allformer documents remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

E B O W E L E — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissEbowele ToyinCelestina, now wishto be known andaddressed as Mrs.Ekrake ToyinCelestina. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

ONYEBUEKE —I,formerly known andaddressed asOnyebueke HenryOkechukwu Sopulu,now wish to be knownand addressed asSopulu OkechukwuHenry. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

Reconciliation of namesThis is to confirm thatthe names BeautyOrighoye Ebbah,Beauty OrighoyeOboraguono andBeauty OnomeUmurhurhu refer toone and same person.I now wish to beknown and addressedas Beauty OrighoyeEbbah. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

WEISS —I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss SandraOgheneochuko Weiss,now wish to be knownand addressed as Mrs.Sandra OgheneochukoWeiss-Akwenuke. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

EMA—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Oqua OkonEma, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. AtirolaoluwaOqua Olujimi. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

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E P H R A I M — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissEphraim BenedictaEmmanuel, now wishto be known andaddressed as Mrs.Ekpo BenedictaIdongesit. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

IHEKE—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss IhekeQueeneth Nmaju, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.A l i l iChimbuonyeukwuQueeneth. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

INYANG—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Abigail T.Inyang, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. AbigailRowland. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

O L O H I G B E — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissAigbikor OlohigbeRuth, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. OmoagheAigbikor Ruth. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

IHEANACHO—I,formerly known andaddressed as MissPerpetua ChinasaIheanacho, now wishto be known andaddressed as Mrs.Perpetua ChinasaOlugbue. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

UDOH—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss HephzibahSunday Udoh, nowwish to be known andaddressed as Mrs.Hephzibah NdubuisiErnest Eweamaonye.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

JESSE—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Joan IjeomaJesse, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. Joan JesseJoseph. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

Confirmation of NameThis is to confirm thatObiagwu IkechukwuNnamdi andObiagwu IkechukwuDarlington is oneperson. All formaldocuments remainvalid. UBA, AccessBank and generalpublic please takenote.

Confirmation of NameThis is to confirm thatErnestina OkuataCukelu and ErnestinaOkuata Chukelu referto the same person. Allformal documentsremain valid. UBA,Keystone Bank Plc,Pension Scheme andgeneral public pleasetake note.

ALI—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Ali Ngozi,now wish to be knownas Mrs. OfoigboNgozi Peace. Allformer documentsremain valid. NYSC,bank and generalpublic take note.

O K O N K W O — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissOnyinye UdokaOkonkwo, now wish tobe known andaddressed as Mrs.Onyinye UdokaEmmanuel Nwokedi.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

A D E B I S I — I ,formerly known andaddressed as SamsonAdebisi, now wish tobe known andaddressed as SamsonOlushola Olaopa. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

ADADU—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Unwese KateAdadu, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs Kate JohnAttah . All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

I Y O R S H E — I ,formerly known andaddressed asOrngudwem IyorsheTerver David, nowwish to be known andaddressed as IyorsheDavid Terver. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

A G U N A B O R — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissNkemjika MaryAgunabor, now wish tobe known andaddressed as MrsNkemjika MaryKanwanye. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

OKAFOR—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss OziomaMirian Okafor, nowwish to be known andaddressed as MrsOzioma MirianEjiogu. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

O G U N L E Y E — I ,formerly known andaddressed as MissOgunleye OlusolaKehinde, now wish tobe known andaddressed as MrsIgbalajobi KehindeOlusola. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

MALLE—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss MalleAndoka Comfort, nowwish to be known andaddressed as MissMartha Kyauta Malle.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

OLUWADARE—I,formerly known andaddressed asOluwadare FolaDiamond, now wish tobe known andaddressed asOluwadare FolasadeAlice. All formerdocuments remainvalid. GT Bank andgeneral public pleasetake note.

Confirmation of nameThis is to certify thatAsheta Miletwelveand AshetaMiletwelve Oldtom isthe same and oneperson but now wishto be known andaddressed as AshetaTerry Miletwelve. Allformer documentsremain valid.Generalpublic please takenote.

OMEJOGHARE—I,formerly known andaddressed asOmejoghare Philip,now wish to be knownand addressed as IkiPhilip. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

E Y I T U O Y O R — I ,formerly known andaddressed asMoneyman Eyituoyor,now wish to be knownand addressed asMoney Eyituoyor. Allformer documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

ULOHO—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss Uloho E.Grace, now wish to beknown and addressedas Mrs. Grace EjaetaOdjoji. All formerdocuments remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

Confirmation of nameThis is to certify thatUdoma OvuomaneC l e m e n tAdar ighofua ,UdomaClement and OvuomaneClement Adarighofua isthe same and one personbut now wish to beknown and addressed asUdoma OvuomaneClement Adarighofua. Allformer documents remainvalid. General publicplease take note.

UBIOMO—I, formerlyknown and addressed asMiss Ubiomo Patience,now wish to be knownand addressed as MrsPatience E.U. Emerhie.State Universal BasicEducation Board(SUBEB) Asaba, UnityPrimary School Agbarhoand general public pleasetake note.

EKAMA—I, formerlyknown and addressedas Miss EkamaAghogho Elizabeth,now wish to be knownand addressed asMrs. LawsonAghogho Elizabeth.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please takenote.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 — 45

46 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

Enyimbatreated mebadly, IkhanalamentsVETERAN coach Ka

diri Ikhana still can’tget over his rude exitfrom Enyimba FC, a sidehe guided to a record 70points win of the Nigeria Pro-fessional Football League.

Ikhana, won the CAFChampions League withEnyimba in 2003, was hope-ful of spear-heading theclub’s continental campaignthis season, but his contractwas not renewed. “I neverplanned for what befell meat Enyimba which remainsa rude shock,” Ikhana toldSupersport.com.

“I want to re-examine allover again the whole expe-rience to see where I got itwrong though it has beenreally difficult laying hand onany fault committed while onthe saddle.

“The closest I have cometo fault myself were the fewtimes we had arguments onthe job which is normal. Out-side that, I do not think I didanything wrong.

“Though I’m getting overthe shock right now, I stillwant to relax a bit before Igive any club my word forthe upcoming league sea-son. “Of course, there havebeen clubs rushing to haveme on their bench but I donot want to rush any deci-sion.”

I want to play in RioOlympics — Mordi

By Jacob Ajom

TWENTY Three yearold US based Nige-

rian basketball player,Jeremiah Mordi is itch-ing for a spot in the 2016Rio Olympics-bound na-tional basketball team,D’Tigers.

Filled with patrioticverve and a will to serve,Mordi who left the coun-try at age 5 for the USsaid his ambition to playfor his country is basedon his belief that he hassomething to add to thenational team.

“Every coach wants tohave great players andultimately a great team.I have followed the Ni-gerian team since the2012 Olympics. I want tohelp add more depth tothe team. I know I can fitin,” a determined Morditold Sports Vanguard atthe National Stadium,Lagos yesterday.

Mordi believes he hasa lot to contribute to thenational team should hebe selected for the RioGames. “The Olympics isthe biggest stage for anyathlete to compete in. Itis my dream to representmy country of birth. I amready.”

In the US, the soft spo-ken Delta State born bas-ketball player is a New

York Queens College se-nior guard. In April2015, Mordi was namedto the All Met, SecondTeam, by the Metropoli-tan Basketball WritersAssociation. He earnedSecond Team, All-EastCoast Conference acco-lades at season’s end.

Mordi became the 12thplayer in QC basketballhistory to surpass the1000-point plateau forhis career and eventual-ly finished with 1243points, passing QC Hallof Famer Geoff Maloneyin the process. He re-corded a triple-doubleagainst NYIT andreached double-figuresin scoring in 25 of 27 con-tests.

“I am a shooting guardand have worked hard.When I graduate in June,I will be eligible for NBAdraft,” he said.

Host us too, Youth athletes cryout to Buhari

By Ben Efe

NIGERIAN youthathletes who did

the country proud, atthe CommonwealthYouth Games last Julyin Samoa Island haveasked to be included inthe list of sports menand women to be host-ed by President Muham-madu Buhari on January21.

The athletes won 11medals and placed sev-enth out of the 40 nationsthat participated in theGames. This was de-spite the discomfort theyfaced during prepara-tions and the competi-tion. While in camp, theathletes and their coach-es did not receive anyupkeep allowance.

“The athletes deservedto receive recognition for

their efforts at theGames. They made awhole lot of sacrifices. Itwas a tedious journey toSamoa. Almost threedays of transit and fly-ing over seas .

“We went there withonly nine athletes, andwe were able to win 11medals. The athletesover stretched them-selves, we even convert-ed a boxer to run the re-lays. “ We need to appre-ciate these young ath-letes, even if it is just ahandshake with thePresident, it will encour-age them a lot,” saidcoach Seigha Porbeni,who was with the teamin Samoa.

President Buhari willhost the FIFA Under-17winning the Golden Ea-glets, the Flying Eagleswho won the 2015 AfricaYouth Championship,the Olympic Eagles who

won U-23 African Na-tions Cup, Africa Gamesmedalists, D’Tigers whowon a first-ever Afrobas-ket Championship toqualify for the Rio Olym-pics and WellingtonJighere who won theworld scrabble champi-onship.

THE funeral of KateKeshi late wife of

former Super Eaglescoach, Stephen Oke-chukwu Keshi has beenfixed for today in BeninCity, Edo State, Nigeria.

Kate passed on at thefamily ’s home in theUnited States of Americaon the 9th of December2015.

According to informa-tion made available bythe family to thenff.com,service of songs for thelate Kate Keshi will holdon Thursday at St.Paul ’s Cathol ic Church, Benin City, EdoState. Friends and fami-lies of the late Kate Keshiwill also hold a farewellprogramme for her today.

Doping scandal: Police declares Diack wanted

INTERPOL said Thursday it has issued a

wanted notice for PapaMassata Diack, son ofLamine Diack, the dis-graced former president ofworld athletics’ governingbody the IAAF.

“RED NOTICE: PapaMassata Diack, wantedby France on bribery,money-laundering & cor-ruption charges,” theLyon-based internationalpolice organisation saidon its Twitter account.

Diack’s profile and mugshot were added to the listof 332 other wanted peo-ple on Interpol’s onlinelist.

Lamine Diack stooddown as IAAF presidentin August before he wascharged with corruptionby French judges.

Lamine Diack and hisson, a former marketingconsultant for the IAAF,are suspected of havingmade millions from bribesand other shady deals.Diack junior was banned

for life by the IAAF’s eth-ics commission on Janu-ary 7.

Independent investiga-tor Dick Pound revealedthat Diack, organised“conspiracy and corrup-tion” at the heart of thefederation and sanctionedfraud and extortion of ath-letes.

Pound’s report added toa rapidly growing scandalinvolving organised dop-ing and its concealmentthat has rocked world ath-letics and drawn compar-

ison with a corruption andgovernance scandal atfootball’s governing bodyFIFA.

Pound found that Diack,had established his own“informal, illegitimategovernance structure” atthe International Associ-ation of Athletics Federa-tions (IAAF).

But the report said oth-er senior staff “could nothave been unaware” thatnormal procedures werebeing circumvented.

Tough Luck... Kadiri Ikhana dumped by Enyim-ba

Mordi...Basketballdreams

Medal Boys... Nigeria 4x400m relay quartet at the Youth CommonwealthGames show off their prize, now they want a pat on the back from the Pres-ident.

Late Madam Keshi...

Papa Massata Diack...

Retraction:

We published a storytitled, NFF to renegoti-ate Glo contract, yester-day. We have since dis-covered that the story isnot true. We apologisefor the embarrassmentthe said story may havecaused to all parties con-cerned.

CMYK

Keshiburies late

Wife today

ANGUARD, ANGUARD, ANGUARD, ANGUARD, ANGUARD, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016 — 47— 47— 47— 47— 47

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-4548355. Advert Dept Hotline: 01-4544821. Abuja Advert Hotline: 09-2921024. E-mail: editor@vanguardngr.com, news@vanguardngr.com, letters@vanguardngr.com. Advert:advertproduction@yahoo.com

Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Ag.Editor: EZE ANABA. 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 1 through9. This means that no number can appear twice in anyblock, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction,division or multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

YESTERDAY’S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLE

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016

CMYK

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

QUICK CRQUICK CRQUICK CRQUICK CRQUICK CROSSOSSOSSOSSOSSWORDWORDWORDWORDWORDACROSS4 Wander (5)7 Summary (6)9 Dog (3)10 Enthusiastic (3)12 Rustic (5)13 Frozen (4)15 Readjusted (5)17 Oppose (5)19 Respect (4)20 Salute (5)22 Sailor (3)24 Wished (7)27 Tankard (3)28 Wear (5)31 Cease (4)33 Tarnished (6)35 Angry (5)37 Broad (4)38 Delete (5)39 Spike (3)41 Brown (3)42 Shy (6)43 Viper (5)

DOWN1 Season (6)2 Drastic (6)3 Vigour (3)4 Certain (4)5 Veracity (5)6 Aroused (8)8 Robe (4)11 Penninless (9)14 Act (4)16 Asterisk (4)18 Pace (4)21 Renovated (8)23 Stagger (4)25 Drink (4)26 Sketched (4)29 Loathsome (6)30 Team (6)32 Ski-slope (5)30 Team (6)32 Ski-slope (5)34 Precede (4)36 Back (4)40 Material (3)

ACROSS: 1, Stem 4, Dim 6, Gasp 9, Lit 10,Reversed 11, Amen 14, Par 16, Seamy 19,Released 21, Liver 23, Defiance 24, Start 27,Lip 31, Find 33, Imitated 34, Tee 35, Seer 36,Lie 37, Tent.

DOWN: 2, Teem 3, Meet 4, Diseased 5,Made 6, Glade 7, Aim 8, Steam 12, Cross13, Liama 14, Pal 15, Revel 17, Amend 18,Yoked 20, Definite 22, Rip 25, Trite 26, Rider28, Pill 29, Part 30, Seen 32, Nee.

CHAN: Eagles ready torumble -Centre Spread

•••Fly to Rwanda

Shocker: Nigerialose AAG medals

NIGERIA ‘B’ teamwill fly out of

Johannesburg, SouthAfrica, this morning forRwanda ahead of thisyear’s CHAN.

The team will depart8am local time andofficials said flying timeto Kigali is estimated tobe three hours.

The team, made up ofplayers from theNigerian domesticleague have beentraining in Pretoria,South Africa, sinceJanuary 2 in readinessfor the CHAN.

CHAN Eagles are sofar unbeaten in bothcompetitive and friendly

Ighalo, Ali battle for EPL top award

•As 8 athletes test positive to banned drugs

IT was a huge shockyesterday when it

was revealed that nofewer than eightNigerian athletes whoparticipated at the lastAll Africa Games inCongo Brazzaville havehad their medals

BY JUDE OPARA,Abuja

withdrawn after it wasconfirmed that they havetested positive to bannedsubstances.

This revelation wasmade when the Ministerof Youth and Sports,Barr. Solomon Dalungheld a strategic meetingwith board members of

Continues on Page 42

ODION Ighalo andDele Alli are on

the shortlist for thePlayer of the Month ofDecember in the EnglishPremier League.

Nigeria internationalIghalo has netted 13goals for Watford in theEPL, while Nigerian-

born Alli has netted fivefor Spurs from midfield.

Both players aremaking their debut inthe English top flight.

Alli’s smooth transitionto the big league hasbeen rewarded with a

Continues on Page 42

NSC still in place – DalungPage 42

matches.They finished third on

their debut at the 2014CHAN in South Africa.

They will play theiropening match in thecompetition on Mondayagainst Niger.

Tunisia and Guinea arealso in their first roundgroup.

•Dalung

•Ighalo •Oliseh

TOUGH: Super Eagles players in a tough contest during a CHAN qualifier

•Akas Eagles captain