...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 62001

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013**

G7 govs, others chasedout of nPDP meeting• As Police invade Sokoto Gov's lodge venue of meeting• Lamido, Amaechi, Nyako, Kwankwaso, Aliero, Baraje, Oyinlola, Adamu, Shettima others present• We've become endangered species — G7Govs, Baraje• Say security agents are after their businesses

COLUMNIST:

•P.17

Continues on page 5

AWARD: Fromleft,President,UN World Sum-mit Awards (WSA), Profes-sor Peter Bruck; Governorof Osun State, Ogbeni RaufAregbesola and Mr FolusoPhillps, Chairman/CEO,Phillips Consulting, Man-agement Consultant forOpon Imo as Nigeria winstwo awards at WSA GlobalCongress in Sri Lanka.

BY HENRY UMORU

Cabotage fund:Stakeholdersworry overfailed objectives

BAD ROADS:FG to reintroducetoll gates P.8

ABUJA— CRISISrocking the Peo-

ples Democratic Party,PDP took another turnyesterday, as the Policestormed the Sokoto Gov-ernor’s Lodge, Asokoro,Abuja where theAbubakar Kawu Baraje-led new PDP, includingopposition governorswere holding a meetingand chased them out. Afew hours before the

CMYK

Mr & Mrs•P.44

A DAY WITH JESUS—President Goodluck Jonathan (M) cutting a cake with the Presidential Pilgrimage Team after an Inter-denominational Church Service tagged "A Day With Jesus For Nigeria in Israel," in Jerusalem, yesterday. Photo: AbayomiAdeshida

13

ARMOURED CARS: Jonathan barsOduah from BASA signing ceremony

2 — Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013

6—Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013

Police rescue 2-yr-old kidnapped by uncle

Crude theft: Navy arrests 3 Ghanaians,9 Nigerians

Lagos lawyer suesFG/ASUU over strike

BY DAYO JOHNSON

ACCIDENT: Acontainer-laden articulatedtruck, with number plateKJA-381-XB, fell on a carwith number plate EKY-246-BH at Ojo-Oba BusStop, Abule-Egba, alongL a g o s - A b e o k u t aExpressway Road, Lagos,yesterday. PHOTO: JoeAkintola, Photo Editor.INSET: Another articulatedvehicle, with number plateEDO XA 847 AGB,somersaulted, killing thedriver ’s assistant anddamaging vehicles at Ikire,Ibadan-Ife Expressway.PHOTO: Dare Fasube.

AKURE— DETECTIVES inOndo State have rescued

a two and half years old boy,Modupeoluwa Saka, who waskidnapped by his uncle, TajuAyuba, at Ijebu-Owo, OwoLocal Government Area of thestate.

Police spokesman, WoleOgodo, said the operatives ofthe State Anti-Robbery Squad,SARS, rescued the victim fromthe kidnappers’ hideout afterfive days in their den. He saidno ransom was paid.

The boy was said to havebeen tied to a chair in an un-completed building along aroad that leads to a popularprivate university in the town,when he was rescued.

Ondo State Police Commandhas sent its men to search forand arrest the principal sus-pect, Ayuba, who was said tobe on the run.

Two of the kidnap suspects,Ganiyu Oseni (29) of 43, Oke-Ijebu Owo and OderindeJoshua (18) of OwaluwaStreet, Owo, have been ar-rested by detectives.

During interrogation, thetwo suspects reportedly fin-gered the victim’s uncle (Taju)as the person that master-minded the kidnap.

Father of the victim, HassanSaka, who is a proprietor of apopular school in Ijebu-Owo,is half-brother to the suspect.

Police source said that the

three suspects invaded theresidence of the victim’s fatherat about 9p.m., stole N50,000and also forcefully took thevictim from the mother.

The kidnappers escaped ona motorcycle and after somehours put a call across to the

victim’s father, requesting forN4.5 million as ransom to re-lease Amos.

The case was said to havebeen reported to SARS and theoperatives swung into action.

Vanguard gathered that dur-ing investigation, a prime sus-

pect, Oderinde, who was feed-ing the victim at their hideout,was arrested.

Ogodo said Oseni andOderinde confessed that theykidnapped the victim in thepresence of the mother at gun-point and collected her money.

YENAGOA— THE CentralNaval Command, yester-

day, announced the seizure ofan oil vessel, MT Frankesen,and arrest of 12 persons overalleged theft of crude oil alongthe Akassa waterways in BrassLocal Government Area ofBayelsa State.

Three of the suspects wereidentified as Ghanaians, whilethe others were Nigerians. Theseized vessel, according to theNavy, is owned by a PortHarcourt-based businessman.

Parading the suspects beforenewsmen in Brass on Saturday,the Flag Officer Commanding,FOC, Central Naval Command,Rear Admiral Sidi-Ali Usman,said though the vessel’s move-ment log showed evidences ofprevious voyages to Ghana, thearrest of the vessel and the crewwas carried out by Naval opera-tives attached to the Forward

Operating Base of the Navy,FORMOSO.

He said: “The vessel wasloaded with products suspectedto be stolen crude oil fromAkassa in Brass Local Govern-ment Area of Bayelsa State.

“The crew of the vessel con-sists of nine Nigerians and threeGhanaians.

“On interrogation, the Cap-tain, Adeyemi Akinleye, con-fessed on video that they were

instructed by the owner of thevessel (names withheld), re-siding in Port Harcourt, to loadstolen crude oil from twobarges around Akassa and pro-ceed to Tema in Ghana, wherethe product would be disposedoff.

“The captain revealed that alocal pilot was used to navigatethe vessel into Nun River, whileone Mr. Destiny was the agentthat supplied the product.”

BY SAMUELOYADONGHA

MEDICAL andDental Consult-

ants Association of Ni-geria, MDCAN, hasurged the Abuja divisionof the National IndustrialCourt to nullify the ap-pointment of non-medi-cal doctors as consultants.

It could be recalled thata panel of three judges ofthe labour court presidedover by its president, Jus-tice Babatunde Adejumohad, on July 22, grantedan order clarifying thatsome of the non-medicaldoctors can also be con-sultants.

MDCAN, in its post-judgment application,dated October 9, prayedthe court to declare thejudgment as “null andvoid.”

In the application by itscounsel, Mr. Jiti Ogunye,MDCAN argued thatfailure to join it as a nec-essary party in the suitleading to the judgment,rendered it invalid andamounted to denial of fairhearing.

It hinged its applica-tions on Sections 6(1),6(6)(a & b), 36(1) of theConstitution and Sec-tions 12 & 14 of the Na-tional Industrial CourtAct, 2006; Order 5, Rules2(1 &2) and 3; Order 15,Order 19, Rule 18 (1&2)and Order 25 Rules 4 & 6of the NIC Rules, 2007.

The body argued thatthe labour court lacked ju-risdiction to hear the suitbecause the reliefssought bordered on “ap-pointment of non-medi-cally qualified health pro-fessional as consultantsin Federal Governmentinstitutions and the rightsof such appointees to re-ceive specialist allow-ances.”

Their application issupported by an affidavitdeposed to by Dr. O.S.A.Oluwole.

Medicalpractitionersin court overconsultancy

BY ABDULWAHABABDULAH

Ogun donates to ailing Pa Kasumu

A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr.Daniel Onwe, has

dragged the Federal Govern-ment and Academic Staff Un-ion of Universities, ASUU, be-fore a Federal High Court, La-gos, over violation of the fun-damental right to the dignity ofperson of the affected students,who have been out of school fol-lowing the union’s strike.

The suit, FHC/CS/1360/13,was brought pursuant to Sec-tion 46(1) and (2) of the 1999Constitution, Order II of theFundamental Human Rights(Enforcement Procedure) Rules,2009 and Article 5 of The Afri-can Charter on Human andPeople’s Rights (Ratificationand Enforcement) Act, Cap. 10,

LFN, 1990.Onwe is asking the court for

a declaration that the indefinitestrike leading to the closure ofgovernment-owned universi-ties across the country violatesthe fundamental right to thedignity of person of the af-fected students guaranteedunder Section 34 of the 1999Constitution.

He is seeking for an order di-recting the Federal Governmentand ASUU to resolve their dif-ferences and forthwith re-open universities, includingan order mandating ASUU tocall off their ongoing strikeaction and resume their job oflecturing in the said universi-ties immediately.

Hearing on the suit, beforeJustice Ibrahim Buba, is onNovember 13.

BY BARTHOLOMEWMADUKWE

THE Ogun State Govern-ment, weekend, donated

N2 million to ailing Nollywoodactor, Mr. Kayode Odumosu,popularly called Pa Kasumu,for his medical treatment.

Secretary to the State Gov-ernment, Mr. Taiwo Adeoluwa,who made the donation on be-half of the government, said

evision.“The governor instructed us

to go and find out his exact stateof health. It was during the in-vestigation that we discoveredthat he is from Ogun State.

“We learnt you are fromOdogbolu Local GovernmentArea. The governor did noteven know you are one of us.”

Governor Ibikunle Amosun wasmoved when he learnt of thehealth condition of the actor anddecided to extend the lifeline.

Adeoluwa said in Lagos:“There was no formal requestfor help from the Governor ofOgun State. Like everybodyelse, we heard about PaKasumu's sickness on the tel-

Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013—7

N255m cars: APC accuses Jonathanof shielding Aviation minister

BY HENRY UMORU

Jonathan 'llremain inoffice after2015—Tukur

BY HENRY UMORUSays Jonathan may become an accessory to corruption

Return cars to place of purchase, Tax Payers Association tells Oduah

THE All ProgressivesCongress, APC, has said

President Goodluck Jonathanmay become an accessory tocorruption if he continues toshield Aviation Minister, StellaOduah, from the consequencesof massive corruption and abuseof office over the purchase of twoarmoured cars at an inflated costand without following dueprocess.

In a statement issued in Lagosyesterday by its Interim NationalPublicity Secretary, Alhaji LaiMohammed, the party said itreached that conclusion afterjuxtaposing the evidence thathave come out on the scandalagainst the actions so far takenby the President.

It said: "It has now emergedthat the money spent to purchasethe armoured cars was notappropriated, which is aviolation of the NigerianConstitution; that due processwas not followed in buying thecars, as the Bureau of PublicProcurement, BPP, has testified,and that the Minister - who wassaid to have approved thepurchase - violated the law byapproving an expenditure overthe N100 million limit.

"These revelations make theOduahgate a straightforwardcase that should have beensummarily dealt with by thePresident. Instead, he hasengaged himself in a rigmaroleby setting up a diversionaryadministrative panel in what isnow looking like an orchestratedploy to buy time, hoping thisissue will die down and theminister will escape beingsanctioned.

"Unfortunately for Mr.President, Oduahgate is not justanother scandal, but areferendum on hisadministration’s fight againstcorruption, and on the legacy heintends to leave in this criticalarea."

APC also accused the Presidentof thumbing his nose atNigerians, who have expressedoutrage at the action of theminister, by approving for her totravel to Israel as part of hisentourage.

The party said: "No onebelieves the dummy that is beingsold to the public, that theminister was denied access tothe President in Israel. Theegregious act of putting theminister on his entourage, at a

time she is at the centre of aterrible scandal, calls to questionthe President’s sense of proprietyand commitment to the waragainst corruption.

"This indecorous action ofmaking a minister who is underinvestigation for monumentalcorruption and abuse of office, oneof the faces of Nigeria in a foreignland, is an embarrassment to thecountry and its people, and afurther dent on the poor image ofthe Jonathan's administration.

"We condemn it most whole-heartedly. We now understandwhy corruption has grown wingsunder the Jonathan Presidency,and why the administration maywell go down as the most corruptin the country’s history."

It said through his bodylanguage, President Jonathan issending a signal to his ministersthat it is alright to be corrupt,wondering whether the Presidentis aware of the joke making therounds that there are five 'SuperMinisters' in his cabinet whom hecan neither sanction nor remove,irrespective of their actions,because they are the onesferreting funds into his war chestfor 2015.

In other words, any of hisministers whom he perceives askey to his re-election can evenloot Aso Rock and get away withit!

APC said, "we do not knowwhether this is true or not, butwe do know there is no smokewithout fire, and that the seeming

attempt to sweep Oduahgateunder the carpet lendscredence to the joke."

The party noted thatbecause of the President’swaffling in dealing with whatis a straightforward case ofcorruption, misguided peoplehave now resorted to crowdhiring to protest against thegrowing calls for the ministerto be sanctioned over thescandal - a very sad casesince those being hired forsuch disgusting protests arethe real victims of themindless corruption that haspermeated the land.

It said, "these sponsoredprotests are just thebeginning. Next, they willeither engineer or hope thata spectacular violent attack,a la Boko Haram, will occurto take attention away fromthe scandal. They may alsocharge some out-of-luck folksto court over the scandal andthen say they cannot act onthe issue anymore because itis subjudice."

APC said, however, that theparty, as well as otherconcerned groups andcitizens, are closely followingthe developments onOduahgate, and will notallow it to be swept under thecarpet, in the interest of themillions of Nigerians whohave been consigned into thelowest rung of existence by arapacious administration.

TAPAN ask Oduah toreturn cars to place ofpurchase

Meanwhile, an associationunder the aegis, Tax PayersAssociation of Nigeria,TAPAN, yesterday, urged theembattled Minister of Aviation,Stella Oduah who is allegedto be involved in the purchaseof two BMW bullet proof carsat N225 million, to as a matterof urgency, roll them to theplace of purchase, just as itcondemned the action,describing it as mind-bogglingand a national embarrassment.

Addressing newsmen inAbuja, National President,TAPAN, Mr Philip ThomasIlukholo said, “if such a hugesum of money could be usedto purchase two vehicles, it isa pointer to grand connivancebetween some public officersand unscrupulous contractorsto loot the nation’s treasury. Tothis end, we call on theMinister of Aviation to rollthose vehicles back becausethe distance from where thevehicles were purchased to theMinistry of Aviation is less thantwo kilometers. To us, we seethat those vehicles have notbe driven within twokilometers. Therefore, the waythey rolled them to theMinistry of Aviation is howthey should roll them back.This is our position.”

JONATHAN IN JERUSALEM—President Goodluck Jonathan (2nd left) praying with otherNigerian pilgrims at the side of River Jordan, the place where Jesus Christ was baptised byJohn the Baptist, weekend.

A B U J A — CONTROVERSYsurrounding thecandidature of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan for 2015general election on theplatform of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, waslaid to rest yesterday asNational Chairman of theparty, Alhaji Bamanga Tukurdisclosed that the Presidentwill remain in office after2015, after re-contestingsame year and finally endin 2019.

Bamanga Tukur has,however, boasted thatPresident Jonathan will in2019 hand over to a youngermember of PDP, stressingthat the future of Nigeriabelongs to the youths.

Speaking when membersof the National Associationof Nigerian Students,NANS, Anambra Statebranch paid him a visit athis Wuse residence, Tukursaid that with the foundationalready laid, it would thenbecome very easy forNigerian youths tospearhead the political andeconomic engineering ofNigeria, pleading withthem to take the advantageright away rather than sit onthe fence.

BY EMMANOVUAKPORIE

Reps to probedonor fundson climatechange

ABUJA—APPALLED bypoor state of the

Department of ClimateChange which was carvedout of the Ministry ofEnvironment, the HouseCommittee on ClimateChange is set to investigateutilisation of funds donatedto the department byinternational donors.

Speaking during anoversight to the Departmentof Climate Change ,weekend, Chairman of thecommittee, Eziuche Ubani,PDP, Abia, said the probebecame apparent to forestalla situation where the donorswould visit the departmentand withdraw theirassistance due to poormanagement of the fundsthey have been offering thedepartment since inception.

8—Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013

Bad roads: FG to reintroduce toll gates

CONFAB—From left, Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, Deputy Speaker,House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, President, NIFST, Professor Lateef Sanni, andPublic Affairs and Communications Manager, Coca-Cola Nigeria Ltd, Clem Ugorji, at the37th Conference and Annual General Meeting of Nigerian Council of Food Science andTechnology at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

BY JUDE NJOKU &KINGSLEY ADEGBOYE

AGAINST the backdrop ofdeteriorating Federal roads

nationwide, the FederalGovernment may have decided toreintroduce tolling on its highways,to raise money to fix the roads.

A policy document on thereintroduction of tolling may beforwarded to the Federal ExecutiveCouncil by Works Minister, MikeOnolememen, for approval andimplementation.

The policy document is known asGreen Paper: Federal Roads andBridges Tolling Policy for Nigeria.’

The Director, Public, PrivatePartnership, Federal Ministry ofWorks, Babatunde Ekusinmi, whodisclosed this to newsmen notedthat “Nigeria had operated sometoll roads for several years, but theywere abandoned in 2004, duemainly to legal disputes, revenueleakages and unmet maintenanceof the tolled roads. With tollingonce again being considered as apolicy option, Nigeria has theadvantage that it can assesssuccessfully and execute tolling todevelop, build, manage andmaintain roads”.

The Green Paper proposalclaimed that tolling policy wouldfoster the improvement of Nigerianroads and bridges. “Tolling wouldgenerate the revenue needed torecover cost to the private investorof the construction, rehabilitation,financing, maintenance andoperation of the road and bridge,and to achieve reasonable returnsfor that investor; the FederalGovernment would enter into tollconcessions only where suchconcessions are financially viableand forecast traffic volume is high(unless there are strong economicor social grounds).

The Paper also said the FederalGovernment would permit tollingonly for specific roads and bridgeswhere the related investmentresults in significant improvementsfor road users and toll payers; theFederal Government would ensurethat tolls are ring-fenced anddedicated to defraying the costs ofrehabilitation, upgrading,maintenance and operation of suchroads; the Federal Governmentwould introduce mandatory publicconsultations prior to tolling anyroad or bridge in Nigeria, toprovide users with criticalinformation in advance of thetolling being introduced.

The Federal Government wouldgive preference to tolling byestablished and reputable privatefirms; toll rates would distinguishbetween vehicle classes to reflectthe cost of providing road space toa class of vehicles and their relativeusage impact on road pavements;tolls should be fixed during thelength of a concession, subject onlyto periodic increases which areagreed in the contract and arebased on an adjustment formulawhich takes account of inflation

and other variables.Ekusinmi said it would be

necessary to empowerconcessionaires to appointofficers with powers to stopvehicles and verify tollpayment, and such powerswould be clearly specified andcircumscribed to avoid potentialfor abuse.

He said the FederalGovernment would speedilyimplement institutional reformsto clarify responsibilities forimplementing and overseeingroad and bridge tolling; theFederal Government wouldensure it has sufficient capacityto oversee the implementation

of toll concessions – initiallythrough the Ministry of Worksand Federal RoadsMaintenance Agency, FERMA,and subsequently through theestablishment of the proposedFederal Roads Authority, FRA.

He emphasised that theapplication of Public-PrivatePartnerships, PPPs, with the useof tolling, provides Nigeria withan excellent strategy to improveits roads and bridges for thebenefit of Nigeria’s economy,businesses and communities.

Projects, he said were alreadyprogressing rapidly and that “itis essential that the policyframework is in place to support

and facilitate such progress. Atolling policy will establish theenabling environment in whichtolling is applied appropriately, andinvestors and the public can beconfident in the future.

“The intent of the Tolling PolicyGreen Paper is clear. Tolling andprivate investment should be usedto achieve substantialimprovements to Nigerian roadsand bridges. The Green Paperobjective is to improve theproposed policy, and the FederalMinistry of Works looks forward toconstructive engagement, feedbackand comments from allstakeholders,” he said.

Parties seek inclusion as Confab C'tteevisits Benin City today

BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE

AS the Presidential AdvisoryCommittee on National

Conference/Dialogue stormsBenin, the Edo State Capital,South-South geo-political zone,today, in continuation of itszonal visits in search of inputsto fashion modalities for theproposed national conference,it has been urged to includepolitical parties in the exercise.

Making the appeal, DrYunusa Tanko, nationalchairman of the Inter-PartyAdvisory Council, IPAC, anumbrella body of the 25registered political parties in thecountry, said attempts toexclude the political partieswould hurt the confab becausethe parties are key drivers ofdemocracy.

Chairman of the confabmodality committee, Senator

Femi Okurounmu, said recentlythat political parties couldalways corrode the process andbastardise it and “we(committee) don’t want to giveroom for that.”

Tanko, at a speech last week,during sensitisation of partiesand stakeholders in Anambra forthe November 16 governorshipelection, said the political partieswere in support of theconference but warned thatfailure to consult the partieswould not augur well for thedialogue.

His words: “The idea of anational dialogue is anindispensable project for Nigeriaif we are to squarely addressissues like nepotism,favouritism, corruption,institutional decay, insecurity,political problems, lack of trustamong ourselves, achievementof Millennium DevelopmentGoals, MDGs, and very

importantly the issue of truefederalism.

“The political parties are theprimary institutions and key driversin any democratic society like ours,therefore, adequate representationshould be accorded political partiesin the dialogue bearing in mindthat all other social vices in thecountry would be addressed whenwe are able to fix our politicalsystems. It is vital that those whoare in-charge of political partiesshould be fully involved in thisproject as this will ensure adequateimplementation of all politicalrecommendations during thedialogue.

"While we ask for focus on theimprovement of welfare, securityand development in all aspects ofour nation, fairness, equitabledistribution of our common wealth,peace, stability, self-leadership andcredible electoral process, whereone person one vote counts,political parties must be consulted."

WhyN-Assemblyhasn'treceived 2014budget, by SenEnang

BY JOHNBOSCOAGBAKWURU &

JOSEPH ERUNKE

ABUJA—CHAIRMAN,Senate Committee on

Rules and Business, ItaEnang, yesterday, gavereasons why PresidentGoodluck Jonathan wasdelaying presentation of the2014 budget, saying it wasbecause the NationalAssembly had not passed the2014-2016 Medium TermExpenditure Framework,MTEF.

Enang, who representsAkwa Ibom North East on theplatform of the ruling PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,explained in an interviewwith Vanguard that thePresident was awaiting thepassage of the MTEF by theNational Assembly beforeacting on the 2014 budget.

He said the NationalAssembly cannot expectpresentation of the budgetnow, since it had not passedand forwarded the MTEF tothe President. He explainedthat the MTEF would guidethe executive in thepreparation of the budget.

He said: “We will expect the2014 budget after we havepassed the Medium TermExpenditure Framework andforward it to Mr Presidentwhich is going to be the basisfor preparation of the budget.

“I think ordinarily, that iswhat it is supposed to be. Wewill expect the budget whenthe President shows anyindication to present it but asat now, we have not had anyindication as to when it willcome. On our part, we oughtto prepare and pass theMedium Term ExpenditureFramework which will be thebasis for preparation of the2014 budget.”

Senator Enang denied thatthe delay of the President wasas a result of the absence ofthe Special Adviser to theNational Assembly, insistingthat it had nothing to do withit.

Enang said: “It has nothingto do with absence of SpecialAdviser to the NationalAssembly. Mr President candecide to present the budgethimself if he so wishes, it mustnot be presented through hisSpecial Adviser on NationalAssembly.”

Recall that PresidentGoodluck Jonathan, had onSeptember 17, submitted tothe Senate, the 2014-2016Medium-Term ExpenditureFramework, MTEF, andFiscal Strategy Paper, FSP.

Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013—9

Anti-confab agitators are selfish, says BraithwaiteLAGOS — DR. Tunji Braithwaite,

Coordinator of the SouthwestConsultative Forum for the National

100th anniversary of theNigerian union.

“The dialogue willstrenghten the contin-ued union of the nationon the terms of Nigeri-ans.”

D r . B r a i t h w a i t ecommended PresidentJonathan for buying intothe idea of a national con-ference.

“President Jonathan bythis conference has takena very big step. If theconference is well man-aged, the Presidentwould have succeeded inwriting his name in thesands of time.’’

He, however, said that

ANNIVERSARY: From left, Alhaja Bintu Fatimo, Mr. Babatunde Fashola,Lagos State Governor; Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former Governor of Lagos State;Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Ekiti State Governor, and Mr. Wale Tinubu, during the10th anniversary Fidau Prayer, and Ground Breaking ceremony of KafaruOluwole Tinubu Memorial Mosque, yesterday, at Samuel Manuwa Street by1004 Flats, Victoria Island, Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi

the forum had its reserva-tions, regarding the out-come of the dialogue.

The forum coordinatorsuggested that the out-come should be subjectedto a referendum and notto the approval of the Na-tional Assembly.

“The purpose of the con-ference is to give Nigeri-ans a new nation and apeople’s constitution.”

He, however, urged theadvisory committee to en-sure that all ethnic groupsand nationalities in thecountry were recognisedfor representation.”

Kuku, GaniAdams,others mournOmojola

LAGOS — The Spe-cial Adviser to the

President on Niger DeltaAffairs, Mr. Kingsley Kuku;National Coordinator ofOodua Peoples Congress,OPC, Otunba Gani Adams;publicity secretary of thePanYoruba socio-culturalgroup, Afenifere, Mr. YinkaOdumakin, among otherleaders of Yoruba move-ment groups, yesterday,described the BabaOluwide Omojola as anapostle of modern activism.

They stressed that thepresent crop of activists cuttheir teeth of learning fromhis rich background expe-rience.

BY DAPO AKINREFON

Conference, yesterday, described thoseopposing the planned National Confer-ence as selfish.

President GoodluckJonathan October 1, setup the National Confer-ence Advisory Commit-tee, naming SenatorFemi Okurounmu as itschairman.

The committee was tofacilitate the conveningof a National Conferenceby the Federal Govern-ment.

Addressing newsmenin Lagos after a closed-door meeting of thegroup, Braithwaite cau-tioned politicians speak-ing against the planned

dialogue.“The interest of those

opposing the plannedconference is to seizepower for political gains.

“The advocates of Na-tional Conference arenot calling for the break-up of Nigeria, but a dia-logue to redefine the ba-sic existence of the coun-try.”

He said that all Nige-rians should embrace thedialogue as it would givebirth to a new Nigeriawith equal opportunitiesfor everyone.

“The timing of this con-ference is divine be-cause next year is the

FAAN deploys new security equipment atLagos Airport

BY LAWANI MIKAIRU

LAGOS — TheFederal Airports

Authority of Nigeria,FAAN, yesterday, said ithas deployed a next-generation security sys-tem at the InternationalTerminal of the MurtalaMuhammed Airport.

The deployments are atnine different passengercheckpoints in the newlyexpanded “D” and “E”Departure Halls of theTerminal, and the newsecurity system is part ofa large-scale upgrade ofMurtala MuhammedAirport, Lagos entire se-curity measures.

In a statement yester-day, Mr. Yakubu Dati,Coordinating Spokes-man, AviationParastatals, said:“Known as AdvanceThreat Identification X-Ray (aTiX), the system

consists of explosivesdetector and high per-formance walkthroughmetal detector to checkpassengers and theirhand luggage for explo-sives, illegal weapons,contra-band, narcoticsand related itemsthereby enabling saferair travels.

“A major differencefrom the currently usedsystem is the ability todetect explosive materi-als and potential threatitems real time with the

lowest rate of falsealarms.

Other advantages ofthe new system includethe ability to capturemultiple views of handluggage in a singlepass, high speed imageresolution, reduced in-spection, and improvedpassenger experience.

“This is not only a ma-jor boost to MMA safetyand security rating butalso to passenger confi-dence. The choice ofstate-of-the-art security

.... NCAA debunks claims of air fare hike

THE Ni-gerian CivilAviation Authority,

NCAA, says it has not au-thorised any airline to in-crease its airfare.

A statement issued bythe NCAA, Sunday,signed by its GeneralManager, Public Affairs,Mr. Fan Ndubuoke, ad-vised travellers to ignore

system re-affirms Presi-dent Goodluck JonathanAdministration’s com-mitment to making Ni-geria’s aviation sectorcompliant with interna-tional standards and bestpractices.”

Dati also said MurtalaMuhammed Airport isthe first in the country toswitch to the AdvanceSecurity System. Andthat other airports acrossthe country are expectedto key-in to the new sys-tem soon.

any misleading informa-tion on fare hike.

It attributed the specu-lated increase to the ac-tivities of touts, warningpassengers to desist frompatronising the touts.

It stated that any in-crease in airfare withoutthe authorisation of theagency, should be re-

garded as null and void.“They (passengers)

should also lodge anycomplaints of attempt byanybody to defraud themin the purchase of tickets,with our consumer protec-tion desk/counter, nearestto them at the airport,” itsaid.

Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013 — 3

4 — Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013

POCKET CARTOONVanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013—5

G7 govs, others chasedout of nPDP meeting

Continues from page 1

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

LIFEWORDSBY PASTOR ITUAH

Don’t envy the signs of happiness in any man,because you do not know the secret grief he isexperiencing; an average man has a grief unknownto most. Happiness is the capacity to carry life ex-periences well!

IT isn’t what you have or who you are or whereyou are or what you are doing that makes you

happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it—Dale Carnegie

Anthony De Mello wrote that happiness is ournatural state. Happiness is the natural state of lit-tle children, to whom the kingdom belongs untilthey have been polluted and contaminated by thefollies of society and culture. To acquire happinessyou don’t have to do anything, because happinesscannot be acquired. Does anybody know why? Be-cause we have it already. How can you acquirewhat you already have? Then why don’t you expe-rience it? Because you’ve got to drop something.You’ve got to drop illusions. You don’t have to addanything in order to be happy; Life is easy, life isdelightful. It’s only hard on your illusions, yourambitions, your cravings. Do you know where thesethings come from? From having identified with allkinds of labels- Abraham Lincoln sums it aptly:“People are just as happy as they make up theirminds to be.”

CONFERMENT—From left: Proprietor, Crescent University,Abeokuta, Prince Bola Ajibola congratulating Dr. Oba Otudeko, Chairmanof Honeywell Group after his conferment with Doctor of Science (D.Sc.)Banking and Finance (Honoris Causa) by Crescent University.

group assembled at theSokoto Governor ’slodge, it had cried outthat the government hadstarted a clampdown onthe businesses of itsmembers as well threat-ening their lives.

Having been pre-vented from holdingtheir meeting at theSokoto Governor ’slodge, members of thegroup reassembled atthe Kano State Gover-nor ’s lodge where themeeting eventually

held.The meeting was first

of its kind since the Fed-eral High Court upheldthe Alhaji BamangaTukur-led NationalWorking Committee asthe authentic one as wellas the endorsement fromthe Independent Na-tional Electoral Commis-sion, INEC.

Present at yesterday’smeeting were governorsSule Lamido of Jigawa;Aliyu MagatakardaWamakko of SokotoState; Musa Rabiu

Kwankwaso of Kano;Murtala Nyako ofAdamawa and ChibuikeAmaechi of Rivers State,just as governorsAbdulfatah Ahmed ofKwara and AliyuBabangida of Nigerwere absent.

Also at the meetingwere former governor ofKebbi State and ex- FCTminister during latePresident UmaruYar’adua's administra-tion, Senator AdamuAliero; former governorof Kwara State, SenatorBukola Saraki; formergovernor of GombeState, Senator DanjumaGoje; former governor ofNasarawa State, SenatorAbdullahi Adamu; chair-man of the group, AlhajiAbubakar Kawu Baraje;the group’s DeputyChairman, Dr. Sam SamJaja; secretary, PrinceOlagunsoye Oyinlola;PDP National ViceChairman, North West,Ibrahim Kazaure; AlhajiKassim Shettima, amongothers.

There was neither apress briefing nor state-ment at the end of themeeting, just as thegroup’s National Public-ity Secretary, EzeChukwuemeka Ezepromised that a commu-nique will be issued to-day.

A source disclosed toVanguard that the groupdiscussed the AbujaHigh Court judgement,INEC recognition ofTukur-led PDP, andclampdown on mem-bers’ property in Abujaby the government

through the Minister ofFCT, Senator Bala Mo-hammed. They werealso said to have dis-cussed how to receivenew governors who planto join the group.

We are endan-gered — G7 Govs,Baraje

Meanwhile, the newPeoples DemocraticParty, nPDP membershad earlier cried out thatits members have be-come endangered spe-cies with series ofclampdowns on them,their offices and busi-nesses.

The Presidency wasalso alleged to have con-cluded arrangements togo after all senators andmembers of the House ofRepresentatives who aremembers of the groupusing the Economic &Financial Crimes Com-mission, EFCC under anoperation code-named,“Operation CoerceThem Back to Tukur”.

Also as part of clamp-down on the members,the Inspector-General ofPolice, IGP MohammedAbubakar was said tohave ordered the imme-diate withdrawal of se-curity aides attached toformer governor ofGombe State, SenatorDanjuma Goje (GombeCentral) and former gov-ernor of Kwara State,Senator Bukola Saraki(Kwara Central).

A statement signed bythe group’s NationalPublicity Secretary, EzeChukwuemeka said: “Ithas become necessaryfor us to cry out in viewof the war declared onthe New Peoples Demo-cratic Party (NPDP) andits members by certainagents and henchmen ofthe Goodluck Jonathanadministration who haveembarked on a missionto intimidate and over-awe us, using variousunconstitutional meansto achieve their selfishgoals.”

Giving a chronicle ofexperiences of membersof the Baraje-led PDP,Eze said: “The past fewweeks in particular havewitnessed the imple-mentation of a well co-ordinated and system-atic plot to traumatise,annihilate and crippleus economically and po-litically in flagrant dis-regard of Chapter IVSection 33 to 45 of theNigerian Constitutionthat guarantees our fun-damental human rightsas Nigerians. A few ex-amples of the excessesof these agents of con-fusion and enemies ofdemocracy would suf-fice:

“Contrary to provi-

sions of Chapter IV Sec-tions 42, 43 and 44 ofthe Constitution whichguarantee our right asNigerians to acquireand own property in anypart of the country, ourNational Secretariat andmost of our State Secre-tariats have been sealedup by the Police on theorders of those in power.This is despite the factthat we still have a courtcase against AlhajiBamanga Tukur and hisNational Working Com-mittee (NWC).

“Two weeks ago, theFederal Capital TerritoryAdministration (FCTA)in its over zealousnessto please PresidentJonathan marked andsealed our National Sec-retariat for demolition onthe laughable excusethat it was originallyapproved as a residen-tial building. Yet thisproperty was being usedas the National Secre-tariat of another politicalparty, the NationalDemocratic Party (NDP),before New PDP ac-quired it – and the sameFCTA kept mute! At thattime, the FCTA did notrealise that it violatedland use but it nowwants to demolish thebuilding in a hurry sim-ply because the authori-ties perceive the newowner (New PDP) to beanti-government! Whatis more, the AdamawaState Lodge, also inAbuja, which we wereusing as temporary Na-tional Secretariat, hasalso been sealed off onthe flimsy excuse thatthe area is not for com-mercial activities!

“This invidious crack-down has been extendedto individual leaders ofthe New PDP. The le-gally acquired Abujaproperty of His Excel-lency, Dr. RabiuKwankwaso, the Gover-nor of Kano State, hasbeen revoked by the ty-rannical Federal CapitalTerritory (FCT) Minister,Senator Bala Moham-med. The same treat-ment has been meted toSenator Aisha Al-Hassan from TarabaState, whose event cen-tre, A-Park Gardens,which has been in op-eration all these years,

has suddenly been re-voked by the FCTA andslated to be demolishedat any time from now.Information available tous indicates that prop-erty in Abuja owned byother New PDP leadersmay suffer the same fate.

“Today, the securitydetails attached to Sena-tors Abubakar BukolaSaraki and DanjumaGoje, former Governorsof Kwara and Gombestates respectively, havebeen withdrawn; so, too,the security details at-tached to our NationalChairman, AlhajiAbubakar Kawu Baraje.Of course, GovernorRotimi ChibuikeAmaechi of Rivers Statewas the first victim andnow operates without anADC and a CSO in or-der to pave way for hiskidnapping or assassi-nation if peaceful waysof removing him fromoffice fail. The police or-derlies of the RiversState SSG and those ofAmaechi’s Chief of Staffhave also been similarlywithdrawn without anycogent reasons.

“The use of the Eco-nomic and FinancialCrimes Commission(EFCC) to hound ourmembers is no longernews. His ExcellencyTimipre Sylva, theformer Governor ofBayelsa State, and Sena-tor Abubakar BukolaSaraki are two foremostexamples. We under-stand that the worst isyet to come as thisunserious organ mas-querading as an anti-graft agency would soonbe unleashed on all ourkey members in both theSenate and House ofRepresentatives in anoperation code-named“Operation CoerceThem Back to Tukur”.

Meantime, competentpolice source confirmedthat the security detailsof former governors ofKwara and Gombestates, Senator BukolaSaraki and DanjumaGoje were withdrawnfour weeks ago on theorders of the Inspector-General of Police. Thesource however did notgive reason for the ac-tion.

10—Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013

ASUU faults Mark on commentsagainst Onosode

BY OLA AJAYI

IBADAN — THE AcademicStaff Union of Universities,

University, ASUU, of Ibadan hasasked the Senate President, DavidMark to apologise to the leader ofGovernment negotiation withASUU, Deacon Gamaliel Onosodeover alleged disparaging com-ments.

This formed part of the resolu-tions of the union at the end of acongress in the institution, week-end.

The resolution was signed by thechairman of the ASUU at the uni-versity, Dr. Olusegun Ajiboye.

The lecturer stated that insteadof the senator condemning the

leader of the government delega-tion in 2009, the elder statesman“deserved respect as a man ofproven integrity, and impeccablecharacter,” because of his pedi-gree.

While advising the Senate to beconcerned with the plight of Ni-gerian masses and teach the youththe sanctity of obeying agreement,the union recalled that PresidentGoodluck Jonathan as the thenVice President had instructed thegovernment team to sign theagreement.

The Senate President, wasquoted to have said: “For thosewho negotiated on behalf of theFederal Government with ASUUin October 2009, the facts made

available to us today by thechairman of the Senate Com-mittee on Education, UcheChukwumerije, showed thatthey are people who do notknow their right from their leftand, in the process, put theFederal Government into theproblem it is facing today, be-cause when the agreementswere read out, I thought theywere mere proposals, only forChukwumerije to confirm thatthey signed the largely un-implementable agreementscharacterised by payment of allmanner of allowances.”

The union alleged that Sen-ate President acted ignorantlyon the true position of the 2009

Osun's Opon Imo, Okonjo-Iweala’s son win awardsin Sri Lanka

THE OCEANIC city of Colombo, SriLanka, erupted with a digital cli-

max after a week-long United Nations-backed World Summit Award GlobalCongress on e-Content and creativity

FGN/ASUU agreement even asa sitting Senate President at thetime.

According to ASUU UI: “The vi-tuperation of the Senate Presidentshows the character of those lead-ing us as unpatriotic and foreignto happenings within the coun-try”.

Incessanttransfer ofjudgesdelays justice— NBA

BY OLA AJAYI

IBADAN — NIGERIAN BarAssociation in Oyo State hascomplained that incessanttransfer of judges in the stateis delaying quick dispensationof justice.

This was disclosed by theChairman of the Oyo NBA, Mr.Adekunle Babalola, at a spe-cial court session where sixnewly-appointed judges of thestate were honoured.

The transfer of judges, ac-cording to him, had taken itstoll on many cases.

He made particular referenceto transfer of judges from Oyotown, Ogbomoso and otherparts of the Oke Ogun area ofthe state.

He said within six months, aparticular court had four differ-ent judges which resulted inmany cases being startedafresh.

Last batch ofOgun pilgrimsback home

ABEOKUTA — THElast batch of 212 Ogun

pilgrims to Saudi Arabia re-turned to the state Saturday.

This is contained in astatement signed by AlhajiQudus Kafidipe, Informa-tion Officer, Ogun MuslimPilgrims Welfare Board, inAbeokuta.

The statement said the pil-grims, led by the ExecutiveSecretary of the board, AlhajiSefiu Rasheed, arrivedMurtala Muhammed Inter-national Airport, Lagos, in aMedview aircraft at 8.34a.m.

It also said that this signi-fied the final transportationof the 1,232 pilgrims fromOgun state back to Nigeria.

The statement describedthe exercise as hitch free andone of the best in recenttimes.

It thanked Gov. IbikunleAmosun for the support andencouragement toward thecompletion of the pilgrim-age.

he statement noted thatthe lessons learnt from theexercise would be im-proved on during prepa-rations for 2014.

It quoted a member ofthe Board, Alhaji IskieelLawal, as saying that re-port on the Hajj wouldsoon be submitted to thegovernor.

AdeyeyeaccusesFayemi ofsquanderingEkiti funds

AFENIFERE CHIEF-TAIN and Peoples

Democratic Party, PDP, gov-ernorship aspirant in EkitiState, Prince Dayo Adeyeyehas accused the state Gov-ernor, Dr. Kayode Fayemiof squandering the statefunds on his second termambition, saying, “Ekitipeople will make Fayemi toaccount for every kobo oftheir funds when the timecomes.”

The governorship aspir-ant, who alleged that overN50 million is being spentto produce a movie as partof the governor’s secondterm bid, added that, “noamount of cooked up sto-ries produced as home vid-eos can make Fayemi ruleEkiti State beyond October16, 2014.”

Speaking through theDirector General of PrinceAdedayo Adeyeye Move-ment, PAAM, Mr. BisiKolawole, the PDP gover-norship hopeful allegedthat more than N1 billionstate funds must have beenwasted on the governor’ssecond term ambition.

Saturday night as the Opon Imo,Osun’s Tablet of Knowledge was rec-ognized as one of the best 4 e-learn-ing devices across the world.

Africa’s leading repre-sentative, Nigeria, won twoawards in eight categories,at the grand finale of theceremony.

The award ceremony wasthe climax of the week-longannual assembly of theworld’s most innovative e-content initiatives in the fol-lowing categories: e-Gov-ernment & Open Data, e-Health & Environment, e-Learning & Science, e-En-tertainment & Games, e-Business & Commerce, e-Culture & Tourism, e-Me-dia & Journalism and e-In-clusion & Participation.

The august event was in-augurated by Mr.Mahinda Rajapaksa, Presi-dent of Sri Lanka.

The winning projects,Transparent Nigeria (e-Government & Open Datacategory), pioneered byHarvard-based Mr.Uchechi Iweala (son of Ni-

Boko Haram should

emulate Yoruba MuslimsBY DAUD OLATUNJI

ABEOKUTA — THE Chairman ofHoneywell Flour Mills Plc, Oba Otudeko has

urged members of dreaded sect Boko Haram inthe north to emulate Muslim fellows in the SouthWest in the area of peaceful cohabitation with non-Muslims.

Otudeko stated this weekend shortly after he re-ceived honorary doctor of Science (honoris Causa)along with the Chairman of the Presidential Com-mittee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Se-curity Challenges in Northern Nigeria, SheikhAhmed Lemu and two other prominent Nigerianbillionaire businessmen from the Crescent Univer-sity, Abeokuta.

The university during its fifth convocation con-ferred on Lemu, Otudeko, Chairman , CFAO Ni-geria Plc, Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas and theChairman/Chief Executive Officer of the BUAGroup, Alhaji Abdul Samad Rabiu honourary doc-torate degrees in Public Administration, Bankingand Finance, Accounting and Business Adminis-tration, respectively.

geria’s Minister of Fi-nance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala), and Opon Imo -Tablet of Knowledge (e-Learning & Science cat-egory) from Osun State, tri-umphed over 421 other in-novations for the 2013Awards vetted by the grandjury of global eminent ex-perts.

The World Summit

Awards (WSA) is a projectof the International Centrefor New Media, which isorganised among 190 UN-member States and runswithin the United Nations(UN) framework of theWorld Summit on the In-formation Society. TheWorld Summit Awards hasbeen an on-going activitysince 2003

CONDOLENCE: Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, signing condolence reg-ister, at the residence of the late nationalist and activist, Pa Oluwide Omojola, in Lagos,weekend.

Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013—11

N-Delta youths threaten to resistappointment of non-indigene as NDDC boss

BY GABRIELENOGHOLASE

CourtvindicatesIbori on$15m bribeallegation,saysKpateghe

Delta launches climate change policy

Utuama,Oyovbaire,laud DeltaMDGs’achievements

DELTA State Depu-ty Governor, Pro-

fessor Amos Utuama, andformer Minister of Infor-mation and Culture, Pro-fessor Sam Oyovbaire,have commended theCommissioner in chargeof Millennium Develop-ment Goals, MDGs,Queen Mother Iken-chuku, for the MDGsprojects on poverty alle-viation.

They made the com-mendations in separatevisits to the MDGs standat the 2013 Delta StateTrade Fair. They said thecommissioner was touch-ing poor communitieswith projects such as pri-mary health care centres,maternity wards, solarand motorised boreholes,and provision of equip-ment to aid maternal andinfant mortality, amongothers.

Utuama, who declaredthe fair open on behalf ofGovernor Emmanuel Ud-uaghan, re-echoed gov-ernment’s commitmenttowards provision of in-frastructure in the ruralcommunities of the state.

BENIN—YOUTHS fromoil producing communi-

ties in Niger Delta states havekicked against the appoint-ment of a non-indigene of oilproducing communities as theManaging Director/Chief Ex-ecutive Officer of Niger DeltaDevelopment Commission,NDDC, by the federal govern-ment. They also insist thatother sensitive positions in thecommission must also be filledby persons from the commu-nities.

The youths, at the end of anemergency meeting in Warri,Delta State, between repre-sentatives of oil producingcommunities from Edo State,notably Obozogbe-Nugu,Ikobi, Oben and Iguelaba,(OBIKOBIG), Host Commu-nities of Nigeria ProducingOil and Gas (HOSTCOM)and Ijaw youths, warned thatthey would shut down oilwells and flowing stations inthe region if their warningwas not taken seriously by theauthorities.

In a communiqué at the endof the meeting, by Chief A.M

Bubor-National Chairman(HOSTOM), Alfred Enofe (Grand Patron OBICOBIG),John Osazuwa- Iguelaba, Vin-cent Amadin-Oben, Chief Fri-day Omoragbon- Oben, Vic-tor Enoma-Ikobi and others,the youths appealed to Presi-dent Goodluck Jonathan, Sen-ate President, David Mark,the Senate Committee onNDDC, and others who be-lieved in the peace and unityof the country, to appoint theright persons from oil produc-ing communities into sensitivepositions in the Commissionto avoid chaos and anarchy.

Amnesty: Urhobo ex-militants vowto attack oil installations

BY EGUFEYAFUGBORHI

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

ASABA—DELTA StateGovernment has

launched its Climate ChangePolicy and Integrated Territori-al Climate Change Plan, there-by making history as the firststate in the country to developits own climate change policyand programme.

Governor Emmanuel Udu-agha Uduaghan, who was rep-resented by his Deputy Prof.Amos Utuama (SAN) at thelaunch, said the policy docu-ment would eventually be sub-mitted to Delta State House ofAssembly to be passed into theDelta State Climate ChangeLaw. He said: “It is noteworthy

that Delta State is the first statein the federation to develop itsown climate change policy andp r o g r a m m e .We have invited some states tolearn from our readiness andresponses in developing a lowcarbon and climate-resilienteconomy and to promote ex-change of ideas in climatechange issues in Nigeria.”

BY EMMA AMAIZE

O G H A R A —FORMER Com-

missioner for SpecialDuties, Delta State,Chief ChampionKpateghe, has said thatlast Friday’s judgmentby a Federal HighCourt, Abuja, that the$15 million purportedlyoffered by former gover-nor of the state, ChiefJames Ibori, to ex-Chairman of Economicand Financial CrimesCommission, EFCC,Mallam Nuhu Ribadu,be forfeited to the Fed-eral Government hasvindicated Ibori.

Mallam Nuhu Ribaduhad claimed that Iborioffered him the amountto escape investigationand prosecution whenhe was head of the anti-corruption agency.

Chief Kpateghe, how-ever, told Vanguard:“The ex-governor hasconsistently maintainedthat he neither stolefrom Delta State govern-ment coffers nor did heoffer the alleged bribe,as claimed by Ribadu.From the judgment, ithas become obvious thatIbori did not steal fromDelta State. The moneyalways belonged to theFederal Governmentand the judgment as ex-pected has confirmedit.”

WARRI—EX-MIL-ITANT leaders of

Urhobo extraction havegiven the Ferderal Gov-ernment a 14-day ultima-tum to release their “fairshare” of the Niger DeltaAmnesty Programme orface attacks on oil opera-tions in the area.

The group, under theaegis of Coalition ofUrhobo Ex-Militant Agi-tators, CUEA, claimedthat members were ag-grieved that they weremisled by ex-militant war-

lord, Isreal Akpodoro, tosurrender their arms tothe Joint Task Force in2010 on the understand-ing that President Jonath-an had agreed to extendfull benefits of Phase IIAmnesty to them.

In a statement by itsleader, Okposio Andrew,the group lamented theirbeing completely aban-doned, arguing that, “lit-tle did we know that wewere being fooled andmisled by Akpodoro, theagent of government,who was hired to disarmour camps. At the expira-tion of this ultimatum, if

the authorities fail to ac-cord us as much benefitsas other ethnic nationali-ties presently enjoying the amnesty, we have nooption than to reduce thecountry’s earnings fromthe sale of crude oil in theinternational market.”

The group listed theUtorogu Gas Plant,Afisere Flow Station,Warri Refinery and KokoriFlow Station as well asother oil installationsspread along Urhobo wa-terways among their tar-gets of attack if theirgrievances were not ad-dressed.

Youths laudDelta LGboss

THREE Niger Deltayouth groups have

thrown their weights be-hind the Transition Com-mittee Chairman of Bo-madi Local Governmentcouncil Mr. OlorogunCollins, for his policiesand programmes thathave positively affectedthe lives of people at thegrassroots since his as-sumption of office.

The groups are IjawYouth Council, IYC,Ogoeze Youth Move-ment, OYM, and Con-cerned Youths for Posi-tive Change, CYPC.

In a joint statement bythe President IYC,Mein chapter, Mr Jere-miah Ebiowei; Presidentof OYM, Mr Okilo Jackand the ChairmanCYPC, Christian Talbot,the youths commendedthe efforts of the Boma-di council chairman,maintaining that theCollins-led administra-tion, within a short time,had succeeded in en-hancing the lives of thepeople.

COMMISSIONING: Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State, in a boat, addressingmembers of NURTW and the riverine people during the commissioning of 130 executivepassenger boats to boost the Riverine Mass Transit Programme, in Asaba. Photo: Henry Uni-ni.

12—Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013

BY SIMONEBEGBULEM

BENIN—THE National leadership of Ac-

cord Party, AP, has de-scribed as illegal, the re-sult allegedly announcedby the leadership of Peo-ples Democratic Party,PDP, in Edo State, as theauthentic result of the justconcluded Esan North-East Local Governmentelection, describing sameas fake. It, therefore,threatened to drag theparty to court.

The party, which partic-ipated in the election, ac-cused the PDP of distort-ing the number of votespolled by its candidateduring the election, re-gretting that ‘’ rather thanmisinform and deceivethe public, the PDPshould have concededdefeat or gone to court.”

In a communiqué afteran emergency meeting ofthe party in Benin City,by the National Secretary

Ogboru, Akinola supportNational Confab

Accord Party threatens legal action againstPDP over Edo LG by-election result

of the AP, Dr. Samson Isi-bor, it frowned at what itdescribed as the allegeduse of Mobile Policemenfrom Lagos and Abuja tomanipulate the election infavour of the PDP, andregretted that “even aftertheir efforts to rig failed,the Chairman of the par-ty in the state, Chief Or-bih, went on to announceand publish fake resultsas if he was the Chair-man of Edo State Inde-pendent National Elec-toral Commission, EDS-IEC, that conducted theelection.

“It is the duty of theelectoral body (EDSIEC)to conduct the local gov-ernment election, declarethe results and announcewinner. In the light of theforegoing, Accord Partyhas, therefore, resolved totake PDP, Edo State chap-ter, to court over the mis-leading and fake parallelresults it purportedly de-clared.

“Accord Party frowns at

some Abuja-based politi-cians loyal to the opposi-tion party who convergedon Uromi, the administra-tive local governmentheadquarters of EsanNorth- East Local Gov-ernment Area of EdoState, during the electionwith a barrage of armedpolicemen from Abujaand Lagos State, to intim-idate defenceless votersat some poling units.

“These Abuja politi-cians were said to havealso held hostage somepresiding officers whowere reportedly threat-ened to announce fakeresults in favour of thePDP candidate. The PDPshould not cause tensionin the state in order notto disrupt the democraticdividends we have beenenjoying in Edo State. Weadvise them to go to courtand contest the result ofthe election as we are con-testing Orbih’s an-nouncement of result asif he is now the EDSIECChairman.,” it stated.

BY SAM EYOBOKA& OLAYINKA

LATONA

THREE-TIME DeltaState gubernatorial

candidate of DemocraticPeoples Party, DPP,Chief Great Ogboru, yes-terday, in Lagos, threwhis weight behind theproposed national con-ference.

Speaking during aspecial choir festival ofsongs at Ikate BaptistChurch, Surulere, La-gos, they called for amoral rebirth on the partof Nigerians, just as theBishop of Rhema Chris-tian Centre, Ota, OgunState, Dr. Taiwo Akino-la, berated Nigeriansopposed to the proposednational dialogue, argu-ing that “they should begrateful to the Presidentfor the opportunity to di-alogue.”

Addressing newsmenahead of his church’snational convention be-ginning on November 3,Akinola said the nationwould be great if politi-cians embraced the op-portunity to dialogueover the several chal-lenges and come up withsolutions for the diverse

problems confronting thenation.

Lamenting the state ofNigerian democracy andother challenges con-fronting the country,Chief Ogboru insistedthat the present demo-cratic dispensation wasbetter than military rule,noting: “There is needfor concern about thewhole issue in the coun-try because this is notwhat we had in mindwhen we are agitatingfor democracy. Wefought for democracy onthe grounds that Nige-rians would be helpedbut we find that after sev-eral years of trying tokeep up the concept,most things did not workout. Our people are stillsuffering, there is needto address these issues.I am worried because wecannot continue likethis.

“If the way out of allthe national malaise is anational conference thenlet it be, so that we canaddress all these linger-ing issues. It will be anopportunity to addressthe issues.” He addedthat “the type of democ-racy we have today isnot the one our found-

ing fathers fought for.However, the worst formof democracy is betterthan the most benevolentmilitary rule.”

In a related develop-ment, Secretary, of theNational Democratic Co-alition, NDC, Chief AyoOpadokun, has called onNigerians to take theirdestiny in their handsand stop suffering in si-lence. Chief Opadokun,who said that PresidentGoodluck Jonathanwould be committing apolitical suicide if hedared to confront thescourge of corruption,said military interven-tion was not a solutionto the nation’s multi-di-mensional crisis. He ar-gued that rather, Nige-rians should stand forwhat was right.

He said: “The AviationMinister has caused alot of havoc in Nigerianaviation industry. Thelatest one is just the onlyone that people have re-corded. How can sheuse the money that isdedicated to the indus-try for something else?She ought to be in jailby now but unfortunate-ly she is enjoying her-self.”

Vanguard, MONAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013—13

Armoured cars: Jonathan bars Oduahfrom BASA signing ceremony

Imo Assembly summons officials overSURE-P funds

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

OWERRI—IMO State Houseof Assembly has directed the

State Accountant General and Per-manent Secretary, Ministry of Fi-nance to appear before it on No-vember 7, 2013, to give detailedaccount of monies accrued to thestate from the Federal Govern-ment’s Subsidy Reinvestment andEmployment Programme, SURE-P.

The directive was sequel to themotion by the member represent-ing Isiala Mbano constituency,Chief Simeon Iwunze, and sup-ported by 24 lawmakers, duringthe last sitting.

Speaking after the adoption ofIwunze’s motion, the Speaker, Mr.Benjamin Uwajumogu, explainedthat the invitation of the two prin-cipal officers of the state govern-ment would help the lawmakershave correct information about theamount and ways of disbursingsame.

Meanwhile, the House has con-firmed names of commissionernominees sent to it by GovernorRochas Okorocha for screeningand approval.

The House equally confirmedthe chairman and members of ImoState Independent Electoral Com-mission, ISIEC, as well as that ofImo State Oil Producing Areas De-velopment Commission, ISOPA-

DEC.Equally confirmed were the

chairman and members of LocalGovernment Service Commis-sion, as well as the non-statuto-ry member of the State JudicialService Commission.

The House, however, disqual-ified Chief Charles Onuoha as a

member of ISIEC because he al-legedly “failed to present him-self for screening,” while delib-eration on Ugochukwu Nwokeoma,who was nominated as a member ofISOPADEC was suspended to allow themember representing Ohaji/Egbemaconstituency to make an in-depth in-vestigation about him.

Anambra polls:Candidates,parties vow toshamepessimists

WARRI—THE Niger DeltaIndigenous Movement for

Radical Change, NDIMRC, hasdefended the Minister of Aviation,Princess Stella Oduah, over thecontroversial N255 million bullet-proof cars, warning the House ofRepresentatives not to contem-plate arresting her, just as it con-demned the panel set up by Presi-dent Goodluck Jonathan to inves-tigate the purchase of the cars.

The House of Representativeshad threatened to issue a benchwarrant for the arrest of the Avia-

N255m car deal: Group defends Oduah

BY DANIEL GUMM tion Minister, Princess Oduah, if,by tomorrow, she failed to appearbefore its Committee on Aviationto respond to the two controver-sial armoured BMW cars said tohave been bought for her by theNigerian Civil Aviation Authority,NCAA.

The group in a statement by itsPresident, Nelly Emma; Secretary,John Sailor and Public RelationsOfficer, Mukoro Stanley said theAviation Minister did no wrongand held that Nigerians were toomuch in a hurry in condemningthe minister over the purchase ofthe bullet-proof cars.

The group said: “Our Checksrevealed that the bullet-proof carswere bought so that they can beused by the Aviation Ministrywhen the country hosts dignitar-ies from IATA, ICAO and otherinternational bodies and it wasthrough lease financing.

“Princess Stella Oduah haschanged the face of airportsacross the country. She is goingout of her way on a daily basis tobring our airports to internationalstandard and should be ap-plauded rather than be cruci-fied.”

AWKA—SOME candidates and parties taking

part in the governorship elec-tion holding in 19 days timehave vowed to shame criticswho deride Anambra as thehot-bed of vote rigging in Ni-geria by supporting and up-holding free and fair election.

They spoke at thesensitisation workshop forpolitical parties andstakeholders organised by theoffice of the Special Adviserto the President on Inter-PartyAffairs, Senator Ben Obi, inAwka, the Anambra Statecapital.

They proffered suggestionson how to make the polls vio-lence-free and credible andpromised to observe the codeof conduct jointly fashioned bythe Independent NationalElectoral Commission, INEC,and the Inter-Party AdvisoryCouncil, IPAC.

Among those who promisedto uphold the rules of thegame include NationalChairman of the AllProgressives Alliance, APGA,Chief Victor Umeh; ActionAlliance, AA, Chairman, ChiefTunde Salami; Citizens Popu-lar Party, CPP, Chairman,Chief Sam Eke; Kowa PartyChairman, Alhaji UmaruMustapha; National Con-science Party, NCP, Chair-man, Dr Yunusa Tanko; Al-lied Congress Party of Ni-geria, ACPN, Secretary,Alhaji Ganiyu Galadima andProgressive Peoples Alliance,PPA, Secretary, Hon PeterAmeh among others.

Candidates who boughtinto the non-violence andcredible election deal areWillie Obiano, APGA, OkekeChika Jerry, AA,Chukwuemeka Nwankwo,ACCORD, Ifeatu Ekelem,Advanced Congress of Demo-crats, ACD, Mr. Tony Anene,ACPN, Mr. Aaron Igweze,Alliance for Democracy, AD,Chief Anayo Arinze AfricanDemocratic Congress, ADC,who was represented by Pas-tor Don Chijioke, SenatorChris Ngige All Peoples Con-gress, APC, who was repre-sented by Ben Oranusi and AustinNwangwu , CPP.

Others include Godwin Ezeemo,PPA, Ifeanyi Ubah, Labour Party, LP,who was represented by his run-ning mate, Basil Onyeachonam andLady Obiageli Ezema, Social Demo-cratic Party, SDP, Pastor SimonOkafor (Mega Progressive PeoplesParty, MPPP.

The vow came after Major Gen.Ike Nwachukwu, who chaired theevent, urged the stakeholders tomake Anambra people proud andshed the cloak of election manipu-lators.

BY CLIFFORD NDUJIHE

CAMPAIGN: Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State flanked on his right by the state Chair-man of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr. Vita Abba and Igboetiti L.G.A. Chairmanshipcandidate, Mr. Festus Ozoemena, left as he shakes hands with the Councillorship candidate,during the governor’s local government election campaign tour to Igboetiti L.G.A, yesterday.

EMBATTLED Aviation Min-ister, Princess Stella

Oduah, will not be taking partin the historic signing of theBilateral Air Services Agree-ment, BASA, with Israel today,Vanguard investigation hasconfirmed.

Oduah, who had left Nigeriafor Israel ahead of Jonathan,is facing a twin-prong probefrom the Presidency and theHouse of Representatives overher role in the acquisition oftwo overpriced armoured carvalued at N225 million.

Oduah is said to have goneto Israel with the hope that shecould use the opportunity of

the visit to explain her posi-tion on the controversial cardeal to Mr. President and takepart in sealing the air deal withthe country.

Competent sources said thatthe President had not giventhe minister any opportunity todiscuss the issue with himsince his arrival in the HolyLand last Wednesday.

The source explained that theNigerian leader decided tokeep the minister out of thesigning ceremony because hedid not want his visit to beovershadowed by the contro-versy surrounding Oduah.

One source said last nightthat it was in a bid to keep theminister away from the lime-light that she was not givenany visibility since Jonathan

arrived in the country.Competent Presidency

sources told Vanguard thatPresident Goodluck Jonathanwas uncomfortable with thepublic outrage arising fromOduahgate and would notwant to be seen as condon-ing corruption with the em-battled minister on his side.

One source said: “The Presi-dent is mindful of the fact thathe has to project Nigeria as acountry, which does not con-done any form of graft andwill not bring a tainted offi-cial of his administration toTel Aviv for a serious event asthe BASA signing ceremony.

“Before leaving for the HolyLand, the President had madeit clear that the circumstancessurrounding the purchase of

the two armoured cars for theminister must be thoroughlyinvestigated and a detailedreport made for him to assureNigerians and the interna-tional community that he doesnot tolerate any form of finan-cial impropriety.”

The Oduahgate has splitboth the Presidency and mem-bers of the Federal ExecutiveCouncil given the prime po-sition of the minister in theadministration of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan.

Both groups are divided onwhether Jonathan shouldoffload her from the adminis-tration or allow her to remainwith the scandal triggered bythe car deal imbroglio.

Sources said many ministers,who are apparently fed up withOduah, are pushing for herremoval from the cabinet,while those in her supportthink otherwise, blaming politi-cal enemies for her ordeal.

Meanwhile, the NigerianCivil Aviation Authority,NCAA, has said it has nodocuments regarding the pur-chase of the two controversialarmoured cars purpotedlybought for the use of the na-tion’s aviation industry.

NCAA’s position was con-tained in a three paragraphletter adressed to the Falanaand Falana Chambers in re-sponse to the request by thelaw firm asking for detailedinformation about the pur-chase of the cars.

BY SONI DANIEL, Region-al Editor, North &

ABDULWAHAB ABDULAH

14 — Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013

Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013 — 15

BY SONI DANIEL, REGIONALEDITOR, NORTH

Jonathan promises better electoral process

Says sovereignty resides with Nigerians, not lawmakers

ABUJA—AS the debateover the conduct of the

proposed National Dialogueintensifies, former Scienceand Technology Minister,Major-General Sam Momah,has warned against subjectingthe report of the conference tothe National Assembly for en-dorsement.

Momah, who spoke withVanguard, argued that theidea of subjecting the outcomeof the discourse to the NASSwas wrong and inconsistentwith the constitution of the Fed-eral Republic of Nigeria.

The former minister pointedout that there was no need tosend the outcome of the dia-logue to the NASS as sover-eignty of Nigeria resided withthe people, who elected thelawmakers to their representposts.

The pioneer Commandant ofthe Nigerian War College said:“I think the issue of giving thefinal outcome of the dialogueto the National Assembly doesnot arise. I don’t know whythat opinion came forth be-cause the National Assemblyis not sovereign.

“It is only the people of Ni-geria that should determinewhat they want and not therepresentatives of the peopleof Nigeria in the National As-sembly. It is the Nigerian

J E R U S A L E M — P R E S IDENT Goodluck Jonathan,

yesterday, in Jerusalem prom-ised to stabilise Nigeria’s elec-toral process.

Jonathan, who made thepromise at an interdenomina-tional service for 2013 Nige-rian pilgrims, said the currentprocess was better than theprevious ones.

“We promise that we must doa number of things differently,we have challenges in ourelectoral system but at least itis better than what it was yes-terday.”

He said although the coun-try was experiencing chal-lenges, Nigerians had beenprivileged to pray to God at thisperiod.

“Let me reassure you thateven though our nation ispassing through challenges,God has made it possible forus to pray at a period likethis.”

He decried the high level ofvandalism of petroleum pipe-

masses who have that powerand not the few representa-tives of the people in Abuja.

Momah also argued that itdid not matter whether theconference was ordinary orsovereign as long as it pro-vided a conducive platform forNigerians to sit down and talkabout their future and that ofthe nation.

He said: “It does really mat-

ter whether it is constitu-tional conference or sover-eign national conference. Weknow that the aim is to bet-ter the welfare of Nigeriansand the future of this coun-try.

“So whatever we call it, Ithink the ultimate aim in isto gauge the opinion of thepeople of this great country.

I am happy that the Presidentdid not immediately give it aname but merely raised anadvisory committed to workout the details.

“I truly support what Mr.President did and congratu-late him for that initiative,which I think will solve a lotof problems rearing theirheads now.

lines and electric poles bycriminals in the country.

The president who said hisadministration would continueto improve the living conditionof Nigerians enjoined Nigeri-ans to continue to pray for thecountry, saying that evil forceswould never succeed in theirevil ways.

“I assure you that things willcontinue to improve for thebetter as Nigeria will nolonger be the same.”

He expressed gratitude forthe Yitshak Rabin FamilyAward for Good Leadership,conferred on him and for thenaming of the Yitshak RabinSchool in Port Harcourt afterhim.

Jonathan said Nigeria andthe state of Israel would con-tinue to be friends.

Mr. Jonh-Kennedy Okpara,Executive Secretary of the Ni-geria Christian Pilgrims Com-mission, said over 30,000 Ni-gerian pilgrims were currentlytransported to the Holy land

annually, compared to 4,000pilgrims transported five yearsago.

He advised pilgrims to seepilgrimage as a time for spir-itual rebirth and a divine en-counter with God.

Mrs Josephine Zinder, Presi-dent of Tailor Made Tours, saidthat the company had deco-

GOVERNOR'S CUP: Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State (left) and the GroupManaging Director, First City Monument Bank, FCMB, Mr. Ladi Balogun, during the grandfinale of the Governors's Cup, Lagos Tennis tournament, in Lagos.

TUC warnsof imminentcollapse ofeducationsystem

BY VICTOR AHUIMA-YOUNG

ABUJA—TRADE Union Congress of Ni-

geria, TUC, weekendwarned that Nigeria’s edu-cational system was facingimminent collapse andcalled on the three tiers ofgovernments to urgentlyaddress the problems con-fronting the sector before itbecame too late.

Speaking at a nationalsummit/dialogue on Edu-cation, Good Governanceand National Unity organ-ised by the Unity SchoolsOld Students' Association,USOSA, in Abuja, TUCpresident, BobboiKaigama, said: As I speakto you today, the educa-tional system in Nigeriafrom primary to secondaryand to tertiary levels hasvirtually collapsed and leftat the whims of private en-trepreneurs.

"You are also aware thatthe Federal Governmenthas been reluctant to imple-ment the agreementreached with the AcademicStaff Union of Universities,ASUU, since 2009 to im-prove facilities in the IvoryTowers leading to the cur-rent strike by universityteachers which has lingeredon for more than fourmonths."

N-Assembly shouldn't ratify confaboutcome — Gen Momah

BY JOHNBOSCO AGBAK-WURU

ABUJA—A Coalitionof youths, Nigeria Youth

Leaders Assembly, NYLA, week-end, accused the national leader-ship of Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, especially the national chair-man, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur ofworking against the success of thePDP in the election by allegedlysupporting a candidate that didnot have the support of the peo-ple.

Group slams Tukur over Anambra PDP gubercandidate

rated 50,000 Nigerians asJerusalem Pilgrims, JP, inthe past seven years.

Tailor Made Tours is an Is-raeli tour company, based inTel Aviv.

The high point of the oc-casion was the decoration ofJonathan with the JP titleand the conferment of the

Yitshak Rabin Award for GoodLeadership Award on him.

Other dignitaries, who weredecorated with the JP title in-clude Governors GabrielSuswam of Benue,Emmanuel Uduaghan ofDelta, Liyel Imoke of CrossRiver and Jonah Jang of Pla-teau, among others.

The group also said that theAnambra State governorshipelection will serve as a litmustest for President GoodluckJonathan’s ambition in 2015.

According to the group, ifnothing was urgently done tosalvage the situation, it wouldaffect the chances of PresidentGoodluck Jonathan winningoverwhelmingly in AnambraState in the 2015 general elec-tions.

NYLA, in a statement inAbuja, by its national leader,

Mr. Onyeka Chilota accusedAlhaji Tukur of hobnobbing witha candidate that does not com-mand the respect of the entireAnambra people.

Chilota said the PDP at theprimaries was parading crediblecandidate that had made theirmarks either in the legal profes-sion, in business or at the na-tional level especially in lawmaking and wondered why theparty chairman decided to pitchhis tenth with a candidate thatlacked character and style.

OPINION

16— Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013

BY SUNNY OSAZE

DURING a recent visit of President GoodluckJonathan to Kenya, he implored African leaders to

get rid of policies that are capable of obstructing intra-African trade and the unity of the continent.

At a joint press briefing with his Kenyan counterpart,Uhuru Kenyatta, he faulted those angling for the trial ofPresident Kenyatta by the International Criminal Court,ICC, in The Hague, saying it would further compound thepolitical crisis in the country.

Few weeks afterward, in an address at the ExtraordinarySession of African Union Heads of State and Government,in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, President Jonathan said Africannations are ‘disappointed’ with the ICC over African af-fairs. He therefore called for an amendment of the lawsgoverning the International Criminal Court, ICC, to allowserving African leaders to enjoy immunity from prosecu-tion for war crimes, genocide, and war against humanity.

Two serving African presidents, Sudan and Kenya, havebeen accused of war crimes by the ICC.

The President, who expressed Nigeria’s support for theexistence of the ICC, said: “While the work of the Interna-tional Criminal Court is immensely useful for the achieve-ment of a world without crimes against humanity, geno-cide and other acts of impunity, it would be fair to say thatin Africa today, the wave of democratisation has engen-dered greater commitment to the rule of law and respectfor fundamental human rights.”

The ICC has opened investigations into eight cases, all ofwhich are in Africa, including Uganda, the DemocraticRepublic of the Congo, DRC; Central African Republic,CAR; Darfur, Kenya, Libya, Côte d’Ivoire and Mali. Five ofthe eight cases were referred voluntarily by the Africangovernments in question, two through a UNSC resolutionsupported by all but one African member in the council atthe time and the Kenyan case was opened at the ICC pros-ecutor’s request.

On his own Kenyatta blasted the ICC of “bias and race-hunting as it has been reduced into a painfully farcicalpantomime, a travesty that adds insult to the injury of vic-tims. The court, according to him, has stopped being thehome of justice the day it became the toy of declining im-perial powers, performing on the cue of European andAmerican governments against the sovereignty of Africanstates.

While urging the AU to unite in the face of a “divide andrule” policy, he said: “Africa is not a third-rate territory ofsecond-class people. We are not a project, or experiment ofoutsiders.”

Meanwhile, the Sudanese foreign minister said that themeeting had drawn strong support for a withdrawal fromthe ICC, including from his own government. However, headded that while some countries expressed a readiness topull out, they believed the time was not ripe for such amove.

There have been many opposition to the clamour fromAfrica itself. In the forefront is Archbishop Desmond

Tutu of South Africa who said granting such immunitywould mean giving permission to African leaders to com-mit war crimes.

Most countries not only in Africa, have constitutions orlaws that provide immunity from all kinds of prosecutionwhile in office. While the work of the International Crimi-nal Court is valuable for the achievement of a world with-out crimes against humanity, African leaders should notbe targeted by the ICC but also so-called superpower lead-ers with UN veto-power who arbitrarily invade weakernations. We are living witnesses to how some powerful na-tions annexed and terrorised poor and weaker nations with

impunity, where thousands of innocent souls are killed andtheir leaders not only humiliated but are killed in mostembarrassing carnage in modern history.

Notwithstanding the ICC’s universal jurisdiction, it de-votes more energy and to the prosecution of cases fromAfrica, while ignoring other powerful leaders who commitworst crimes against humanity against other citizens. Eventhough some Africans are in the ICC, the allegation of biasis so glaring and yet it never deem it fit to allay the fearsand sentiments of other nations. International organisa-tions were created to resolve problems rather than com-pounding them, especially in developing countries.

The fact is that African nations under the umbrella ofAfrican Union share common principles on war crimesand crimes against humanity with ICC. African leadersshould maintain the unity of the continent and speak withone voice on issues affecting any of the countries. Theyshould intensify efforts in strengthening the capacity ofnational and continental judicial systems.

The meeting ended up calling on the United Nations Se-curity Council, UNSC, to defer the trials of Bashir andKenyatta under Article 16 of the court’s Rome Statute whichallows for a delay of up to one-year subject to renewal. TheAfrican leaders also declared that no sitting African headof state should come before any international court or tri-bunal.

The positions of African leaders reinforce the importanceof the ICC even as they didn’t withdraw. A resolution forwithdrawal could have been reactionary, but a clear mes-sage has been sent that Africa desires to be treated fairlyand justly not as inferior continent.

•Mr Osaze, a public affairs commentator, wrote fromAbuja.

Criminal Justice: Between AU and ICC

ISSUES around the lopsided appointments in the Independent National Electoral Com-

mission, INEC, have been long lasting, and alsolong-ignored, but they persist because they arenot simple matters. They would not go awayby being ignored.For more than two years, groups have been

drawing attention to the anomaly. It advertisedmessages that the North occupied 11 of IN-EC’s 16, the South has only five. National Com-missioners heading INEC’s key committeesare from the North. A nine-man Strategic Plan-ning Committee has only two from the South.Section 14(3) of the Constitution states, “The

composition of the Government of the Feder-ation or any of its agencies and the conduct ofits affairs shall be carried out in such a man-ner as to reflect the federal character of Niger-ia and the need to promote national unity, andalso to command national loyalty, thereby en-suring that there shall be no predominance ofpersons from a few State or from a few ethnicor other sectional groups in that Governmentor in any of its agencies.”The Constitution created the Federal Char-

acter Commission, FCC, to ensure implemen-

INEC’s lopsidedINEC’s lopsidedINEC’s lopsidedINEC’s lopsidedINEC’s lopsidedappointmentsappointmentsappointmentsappointmentsappointments

tation of fairness in the allocation of federalappointments. INEC does not have a coherentresponse to the petitions that have gone to theNational Assembly.INEC’s best defence is that its chairman Pro-

fessor Attahiru Jega did not make the appoint-ments. The other is that the appointees werecivil servants posted to INEC. None of thesereasons suffices for subverting the law and thesilence of the two FCC committees of the Na-tional Assembly.The responses are appalling. They are unac-

ceptable. The issue should be addressed. INECis too strategic to be immersed in controversy.

It should not be distracted by the issues thatpre-dispose it to credibility challenges.Is there a State today that cannot produce

qualified officials from the same civil servicepoll INEC gets staff? How does INEC explainthe lopsidedness in its top staff? Why wouldINEC chairman, secretary and officials man-ning major positions be from the same zone?Even if the officials are people of integrity,would that be reason enough to break the law?Most other federal government agencies are

in the same position. They should be addressed.The resolution of the lopsided appointmentsINEC is critical to improving INEC’s ratingahead of the 2015 elections.We may also ask what FCC really does. We

expected that its radars would be scanning fed-eral agencies for compliance with the law. Agu-ments that the appointments at INEC havestood for years indict FCC and leaves the or-ganisation with little option than to act in linewith its constitutional responsibilities.A healthy respect for the law would build

healthy institutions.

Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013 — 41

42 — Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013

FUNERAL FOR MCPHILLIPS NWACHUKWU, LATE VANGUARD'S ART EDITOR

Mrs. Augustina Nwachukwu,Widow (centre) and daughter, Miss Adaeze Nwachuk-wu, flanked by Mrs. C . Ugochukwu and Mrs. Patricia Nwaokocha, both relations,during the funeral mass for Macphillips Nwachukwu, late Vanguard Art Editor, atSt. Gregory's Catholic Church, Umuhu Okwuato, Ahiara Diocese, in Imo State,weekend. Photo: Biodun Ogunleye & Hill Ezeugwu

Cross-section of late Nwachukwu's 1994/95 sets at the University of Nigeria,Nsukka.

Cross-section of Vanguard staff

Cross-section of Udu Club, Lagos.

2013 ADVAN MARKETING EXCELLENCE AWARD

From left, Mrs. Ngozi Nkwoji, Senior Brand Manager, Malti-na (left), receiving 2013 Marketing Excellence Award from Mr.Tolu Ogunkoya, President, MIPAN, during the 2013 ADVANAwards for Marketing Excellence, at Federal Palace Hotel,Lagos. Photo: Diran Oshe

From left, Mr. Niyi Babatunde, member, Board of Trustees of AdvertisersAssociation of Nigeria, ADVAN; Mr. Lolu Akinwunmi, Chairman, APCON;Mrs. Iquo Ukoh, 1st Vice President of ADVAN, and President of ADVAN,Mr. Kola Oyeyemi, addressing members of the Association.

From left, Mr. David Okeme, ex-offico, member; Mr. Lampe Omoyele, 2nd Vice Pres-ident, ADVAN; Mrs. Iquo Ukoh, 1st Vice President of ADVAN, and Mr. Kola Oyeye-mi, President of ADVAN.

Mr. Tokunbo Adodo, Marketing Manager, Lager, Star & Goldberb(left), receiving 2013 Marketing Excellence Award, Dr. Ify Uraih,Chairman, NIMN.

THE circumstancessurrounding the filing of

the charges in Court are simplytoo irresponsible andquestionable. These include thefollowing:

Babalakin declared wanted:From the day Wale Babalakin leftthe Lagos University TeachingHospital, LUTH, and till the daythe matter came up in Court, hemade himself available to theEFCC every 48 hours aspunishingly prescribed by theEFCC. Babalakin was in contactwith the EFCC the eveningbefore arraignment. It wasagreed with the EFCC that hewill be in Court at 8:30am thenext morning. This was theposition as at 6:00pm on January17, 2013. At 6:30pm, EFCCthrough its lawyers were servedpapers appealing against theruling of the Federal High Court,which although, had upheld allthe submission of Babalakin’sCounsel but failed to grant therestraining order against EFCCon a technical ground.

On receiving these papers,EFCC declared Wale Babalakinwanted. I wonder how this couldhappen in any civilized Country.How can you declare a man youspoke to and agreed with, at6:00pm, wanted two hours latersimply because he sought toexercise his rights bychallenging your actions in theFederal High Court? Was thisdesigned to cow him? Is this alegitimate use of police power?Is this not a monumentalscandal? Can a body that is this

CONSTITUTION REVIEW:

Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013 — 43

BY EJIKEME UDEH

enough evidence, why did youcharge him to Court?

Babalakin has been invitedtwice by EFCC after he had beencharged to Court. I gathered hewas invited as recently as October8, 2013. How can we continue tobend the rules and scandalize thenation all in an effort to nail aman whom we have no evidenceagainst?

Who is actually behind thisdesecration of the Nigerianprosecutorial system? In anyother part of the civilized world,these two blatant violations of therights of an accused personwould have led to the striking outof the Suit and the prosecutingauthority would be liable formalicious prosecution. InNigeria, it has passed largelyunnoticed because the elite havefailed. There is nobody to teachthose following behind theelementary principles of law.

Allegation of N4.7 billion: Onexamining the charge, I searchedin vain for the N4.7billionalleged money laundering that,

,

80-bed hostel in Ilorin in honourof his father. He built another 80-bed hostel in honour of his motherin Ibogun in Abeokuta. He builta 500-seater auditorium inMoshood Abiola Polytechnic inhonour of his mother. All thesewere done without any fanfare. Ican list over 30 major charitablegifts of this magnitude that he hasundertaken and delivered andyet he does not carry himself withthe toga of a philanthropist.

Foray into education: ASUUhas been on strike for over threemonths. For four years, Babalakinwas Pro-Chancellor, University ofMaiduguri; Chairman, Councilof Pro-Chancellors of FederalUniversities; Chairman, FederalGovernment/ASUU Agreementimplementation Committee;Chairman Federal Government/SSANU ImplementationCommittee; Chairman, FederalG o v e r n m e n t / N A S UImplementation committee andChairman Federal Government/NAAT ImplementationCommittee.

Resolution ofacademic issues

In these four years, there wereno ASUU strikes. He committedhimself completely to resolvingthe academic issues in Nigerianuniversities. Is it not strange thatwithin a year of his leaving officeeverything collapsed betweenthe Federal Government andASUU?

ASUU President, ProfessorUkachukwu Awuzie, whiledelivering the welcome addressat the 17th National DelegatesConference in June 2012 statedas follows: “Last but not theleast, the Chairman of theCommittee of Pro-Chancellors ofNigerian Universities, Dr. B. O.Babalakin SAN, who is also thecurrent Chairman of the FGN/ASUU ImplementationMonitoring Committee, forunprecedented understandingand passion he has shown for theUniversity cause for which he isnow nicknamed ‘Chairman ofASUU’, we say thank you andGod bless.”

cavalier about the right of a citizenorganize a fair trial for thatcitizen?

EFCC invites Babalakin forinterrogation after arraignment:I have watched with completedisillusion how EFCC has placedthe laws of prosecution upsidedown. It is presumed that at thetime you file charges against anaccused person, you havecompleted your investigation ofthe case.

You have moved frominvestigation to prosecution. Howcould you then invite an accusedperson for discussion orinterrogation when you havealready submitted the matter tothe Court? At this stage, it is onlythe Court that has jurisdictionover the accused person.

What are you trying to do? Areyou trying to gather moreevidence? If you did not have

has been reported widely in thenews media. I could not find anyN4.7billion. I found that a totalof N600million was alleged tohave been paid by Dr. Babalakin.This is now N4.7 billion. Wheredid N4.7 billion come from? Justa hype. A lower figure would nothave created the sensation thatwas needed to blackmail thegentleman. Is EFCC aboutblackmail or facts?

The essential Babalakin: Whyam I so irritated? I am irritatedbecause I know Wale Babalakin,and I have no doubt whatsoeverthat he could not have launderedany money or commit any crime.Between 2005 and 2006, I waspart of a team preparing anAgreement in his office, when hiscompany lent N25 billion to astate government.

I was bewildered at the size ofthe transaction. Yet it happened To be concluded

How can we continue to bend the rules andscandalize the nation all in an effort to nail aman whom we have no evidence against?Who is actually behind this desecration ofthe Nigerian prosecutorial system?

Who disenfranchisedEnugu East zone? (2)

and wasconcluded withoutany fanfare. Is thisthe man whowould nowlaunder money?Maybe I wouldhave found thestory easier tofathom if I hadbeen told thatBabalakin gaveout the moneyalleged as a gift.

In the course ofthese years, WaleBabalakin built an

BABALAKIN AND EFCC:

In defence of truth and justice (2)

AND supposing his factsare unassailable as he

imagines, why did he not makea graphic presentation of whattranspired on the floor of thesenate? Instead, he has foundit politically expedient toembark on a propagandamake-over in the newspapersto cover up his very clumsytracks. Amid the cacophony, Iwill not be surprised in the leastif the vote meant for the publichearing exercise has not beenreturned to the public treasurydespite his admission that theevent failed to hold asscheduled.

Beyond cheap sentiments, Iam of the view that thedisenfranchisement of thepeople of the zone in theConstitution Review exercise isneither a happenstance nor anisolated incident. On thecontrary, it fits into a peculiarstreak of idle and indifferentrepresentation that is neitherproactive nor reactive.Denuded of any iota ofimaginativeness, this form ofrepresentation can at best bedescribed as siddon-look. Itmay be pertinent to ask at thisjuncture what contributionNnaji and his colleagues fromthe zone in the House ofRepresentatives made atplenary or committee stages tothe on-going ConstitutionReview.

Diligentsearch

A diligent search at theNational Assembly yields noavailable records of theircontributions at any stage of theon-going exercise. This is aclassical case of crassincompetence borne out ofintrinsic intellectual limitationson their part which have all butconsigned them to haplessonlookers and spectators at theNational Assembly. Withoutgainsaying, therefore, there isa nexus between the botchedpublic hearing on theConstitutional amendmentexercise and the vacuousrepresentation that has becomethe lot of the long sufferingpeople of the zone.

Let it be understood thatSenator Nnaji has never beenbothered about crediblerepresentation. His pre-occupation has always beenself aggrandizement, hencethe issue of public hearingrings hollow in the calculationsof a man who has consistentlyelevated self and family overand above the people hepurports to represent. At anygiven opportunity, he hasalways lived out his truecolours. Surely, if the issue inquestion touched on political

privilege, Nnaji would haveaccomplished it with utmostdispatch. Six years ago, hehad the privilege ofnominating a candidate forthe chairmanship of hiscouncil, Enugu East, and hepromptly settled for his cousinand civilian orderly, MarthiasAnike. Under Anike, SenatorNnaji elevated prebendalismto a new height when amongother relatives; his twelveyear old son was made aspecial adviser to thechairman on a monthly salaryof N200,000 for the durationof Mr. Anike’s four yeartenure! Similarly, henominated his mother-in-lawas special assistant to theGovernor of Enugu State,while his younger brother,Cornelius Nnaji is currentlythe Chairman of Enugu Eastcouncil. As the Chairman ofthe Senate Committee onCommunication, the onlysenior employmentopportunity he was requestedto fill was given to his wifewho up till this moment, stilldraws her salaries andallowances from the State PostPrimary School managementBoard, her previous place ofwork prior to the recentappointment. Yet, hisconstituency is replete withunemployed highly qualifiedgraduates whose elevationwould have impacted morepositively on hisconstituents.

In the absence of anyrequisite skill or acumen thatequips them for legislativeduties, the likes of SenatorNnaji have had to rely on rawnative intelligence and streetwisdom garnered in thecourse of almost twentyunbroken years as a politicalcareerist. We are all livingwitnesses to the palpablelimitations of nativeintelligence and streetwisdom in contemplatingcomplex national issues.They can never be asubstitute for intellectualskills, legislative acumen andeven budding enthusiasm forpublic service beyond thequest for lucre. To all intentsand purposes therefore, thehue and cry over publichearing is a calculatedsmokescreen designed tocover up somebody’s hollowpolitical footprints. Come whatmay, the responsibility was histo discharge and it is nolonger news that he failed thistest woefully. In any case, noserious-minded constituent ofEnugu East, except the hawksthat are afflicted by the castra-tion complex bug, could ingood conscience, have trustedthat Senator Nnaji woulddrive a crucial national as-signment like a public hear-ing on Constitutional amend-ment in the zone.

•Udeh, a legal practitioner,wrote from Enugu

BY ABIODUN OSOFISAN

•Wale Babalakin

This is the concluding part ofthis disourse which was firstpublished last Friday

This is the second instalment of this disourse which was first published last Friday

44 — Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013

OPINION

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Confab: No to tribal delegates (1)

Why Stella Oduah must be punished (2)BY ORE KINGSLEY

TWO major associations in the sector,the Air Transport Service Senior Staff

Association, ATSSSAN and the NationalUnion of Air Transport Employees,NUATE, have fought and won many wars,so they are feared in the industry.

So their leaders became very powerful;whenever they needed money they wouldcall a press conference and attack oneagency or another or the existing Minister.They would be placated, of course with“gifts” to keep them quiet for some time.This shameful trend has continued to thisday.

That was why a wise former DirectorGeneral of NCAA decided to keep anATSSSAN president permanently in hispayroll. He allegedly gave his wife a jobin NCAA; bought him a car and manytimes a year sponsored him to overseastraining with large estacode. He fullybought his loyalty. The same ATSSSANpresident capitalised on the labour feudswith airlines and agencies to fix his othersiblings at one of the airlines.

So the major problem of Oduah is thatshe left this group of people in the lurch.There is the Airline Operators of Nigeria,

AON, whose officers are permanentbecause for over 12 years it neverconducted elections. The AssistantSecretary General of the association hadused that platform to sustain his life in theindustry. He became a propagandist. Thisbecame apparent when he and others inAON fought against Arik Air in favour ofBi Courtney, when Arik Air insisted that itwas not going to operate from MMA2, thenew terminal built by Bi Courtney. Curiouspeople then were asking: Is OAN fightingfor the welfare of the airlines or that of BiCourtney. Many journalists who wereshocked by that shameful act did not writethe story. Today, it has ceased to surpriseanybody because the man is unpretentiousthat he is a paid propagandist. As hecampaigned against Oduah today, he cancampaign for her tomorrow.

Stella Oduah underestimated this forceor she had pre-empted them. But she musthave believed that she would win most ofthem over by her development strides. Inunder two years Oduah changed the faceof many airports in the country. Sherebuilt many and expanded others. Shecompleted what remained of the TotalRadar Coverage of Nigeria, provided themost sophisticated weather readingequipment for the Nigeria Meteorological

Agency, and acquired low level wind shearequipment, the weather Doppler radar andlow level wind shear alert system whichhave been installed in all the airports.These equipment ensure that accurateweather data are given to the pilots.Recently the Minister acquired modernequipment for the Accident InvestigationBureau that in less than one week after theAssociated flight crash the preliminaryreport of the accident was out.

The Minister expected to be praised bythese “activists” who must love the industrytoo much to have spent most of their yearsthere, but they derided her. They describedher remodelling of the airport terminalsas mere paint work. They said she has notdone anything in the industry andconcentrated in describing slippery tilesas her only legacy in the industry. Aboveall, they accused her of “chopping” alone.

That is the crux of the matter: She“chops” alone. That is also the grouse themembers of the National Assembly: theMinister of Aviation is “chopping” alone.They believe that for awarding all thesecontracts for the remodelling of airportfacilities that so much money must haveaccrued to her. Who will question that whenit has always been the trend in Nigeria?

Oduah must have realised by now that

many people who talk about developmentin the aviation industry are really notinterested in development; they areinterested in their pockets. And as she hadclosed all the doors against them to makemoney from “their industry” what doesshe want them to do? Clap for her forimproving the airports. In fact, CaptainDele Ore in his anger and frustration, saidshe must go now; that the armoured carbought for her “will not save her.” Thatwas a veiled threat. That also showed howdesperate they are!

There are two issues that must bepointed out. If Stella Oduah is removed itmeans the old, status quo which is anti-development has triumphed and it can bepredicted that as the airport terminalswhere work is going on presently are, sothey will remain for many years to come.It has happened in the past. If Oduah isleft to do her job, this attack will continuebut at the end Nigerians will have betterairport facilities and improved airtransport sector to show for her efforts.

*Capt. Kingsley, an aviation stakeholder,wrote from Lagos

Oduah

INDEPENDENT Nigeria was meant tobe a country of unity in spite of diversity.

It was supposed to be a country where,“though tribes and tongue may differ inbrotherhood we stand” as our formerNational Anthem posited. The earliestpolitical parties formed in the Lagos area,including the Nigerian NationalDevelopment Party, NNDP, the NigerianYouth Movement, NYM and the NationalCouncil for Nigerian and the Cameroons,NCNC, all had the same vision of anindependent Nigeria united by a strongcommon bond of citizenship.

The NCNC, in particular, which had DrHerbert Macaulay as it first NationalPresident, and was later succeeded by DrNnamdi Azikiwe, was the most prominentnational political party with members drawnfrom across the country. That was thesituation until Chief Obafemi Awolowoformed the Action Group, AG, with a viewto controlling his tribal enclave, Yorubaland,and moving from there to attempt to annexother parts of the country in his ambition toemerge as president.

The Action Group single-handedlydismantled the NCNC’s grand nationalistvision through the historic “CarpetCrossing” incident in the Western RegionalHouse of Assembly in 1952. It was fromAwo’s successful tribal card, which he usedto seize power in his ethnic locality from anational movement that other emergentlocal elites in all parts of the country started

copying in the name of asserting their“ethnic nationalities”, a fad that is verypopular in oil-rich Rivers and Delta states.

The second leg of the grand conspiracyto derail the common bond of the nationtook place in the North. Northern Nigeriawas founded ideologically as an Islamicempire by Sultan Uthman Dan Fodio. Whenthe British colonialists overpowered theCaliphate, it allowed the empire to continueto run along its ideological principles andstructures under the royal commission ofthe British Crown.

It was not surprising, therefore, when theNorthern political elite led by the Sardauna,

Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, decided to shun thenational movement (NCNC) and create apolitical party specifically dedicated to hisgrandfather’s empire (Northern Nigeria).The North maintained the attitude ofisolating itself from the rest of the countryuntil it was sufficiently empowered to takeover the entire country and run it, more orless, as an Islamic state. In other words, theNorth’s original and subsisting basis forpeace and national unity is that it must bein control.

That is why Northern politicians and elitebehave the way they do: what some peopledescribe as “born-to rule mentality”.

The Awoists introduced tribalism intoNigerian politics. But the Arewaists camewith Islamic imperialism dressed up inregional garb. Arewaism hotly forbidstribalism, even though it is driven basicallyby tribalism since the Muslim Fulani tribe,

with their ideologically annexed MuslimHausa sidekicks, insists on being in thedriver’s seat both in Arewaland and Nigeriaas a whole. So, to Arewaism, the openmentioning of tribe is abhorred the way acult group strictly forbids the opendisclosure of its core, guarded secrets.

With the nationalism of Nigeria beheadedat the altar of Awoist tribalism and ArewaistIslamic imperialism, Nigeria was reducedto rubble of ethnic fiefdoms slugging it outin the internecine tussles for the economicand political wealth of the nation.

Today, it is normal for a Southerner to tellyou (for example): “I am an Ijaw man before

being a Nigerian”. But a typical Arewaperson will not put it quite that way. Hewould castigate the Southerner for beingan ethnic jingoist, forgetting that his ownNorthern fundamentalism (Islamicimperialism) is no better. Both are simplytwo sides of an ugly coin because they areinimical to the emergence of a unitedNigeria.

A Nigerian is a Yoruba, Igbo, Ijaw, Tiv orArewa Muslim and others, before being aNigerian, but that is only to the extent thatbefore Nigeria was amalgamated, theyexisted in those forms. If Nigeriadisintegrates, those identities will remain.

But since Nigeria was amalgamated, wonindependence from colonial Britain on thesame day, came under one federalconstitution (and therefore commoncitizenship), speak the English languageas the common lingua franca, use the samecurrency (Naira and Kobo), live under asingle flag, National Anthem and NationalPledge; are under the rule of the same laws;are maintained from the same oil-fed Federaltreasury and have fought a war costingmillions of lives to remain one Nigeria –the old argument in favour of tribal orregional primacy is soundly defeated.Nigerians are now first of all Nigeriansbefore being whatever they were born orindoctrinated into.

The reasoning is simple. If you commitmurder, you will be arraigned in court andsentenced to death. The judge will not askwhether you are an Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba orMuslim/Christian because the Constitutionand legal system, which bind us all, do notknow anything like those.

Nowhere in the Constitution are the tribesof Nigeria recognised for any purpose

whatever. The Constitution only recognisesour states and local government areas. Itdoes not see us as Muslims, Christians oranimists. It does not care what “ethnicnationality” we ascribe to ourselves. Thetime that the tribes were the landlords ofNigeria vanished with the British conquestand imposition of their imperial rule ontheir colony, which they christened Nigeria.

The tribes are no longer the landlords ofNigeria. Rather, they are now the subjectsof Nigeria. Nigeria owns the tribes withinit. No tribe can assert its independence onNigeria or defy its statutes. The Nigerianarmy will come knocking if the NigeriaPolice is unable to dissuade suchadventurism.

We must approach the up comingNational Conference armed with thisknowledge of the relative irrelevance oftribes and religion and choose our delegatesbased on viable and constitutionallyacceptable criteria. That is what we willaddress in the second part of this essaynext Thursday. It will dwell on how tochoose the conference delegates.

The tribes are no longer the landlords of Nigeria;rather, they are now the subjects of Nigeria; Nigeriaowns the tribes within it; no tribe can assert itsindependence on Nigeria or defy its statutes

Continued from Friday Viewpoints

Concluded

IT is so sad seeing one of the bestministers in the President Goodluck

Jonathan cabinet at the mercy of a lynchmob due to avoidable indiscretions. How Iwish this scandal did not crop up! Oduah’stenure in the Aviation Ministry has beenunrivalled by any since Nigeria’sindependence, in terms of vision which hasdriven the structural reform andmodernisation of our airports.

Whatever happens to her, I will neverforget Stella Oduah’s magic touch whichcompares only to the assets that Economy

Oduah: What a pity!

Dr Akinwunmi Adesina and InvestmentMinister, Dr Olusegun Aganga, havebrought to transform the nation.

Minister,N g o z iO k o n j o -I w e a l a ;f o r m e rP o w e rMinister,Prof BarthN n a j i ;A g r i cMinister,

Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013 — 45 45 45 45 45

CMYK

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BY SUNNY IKHIOYA

National Confab, Tinubucracyand the rest of us

BY UCHE UGBOAJAH

SINCE the President, Goodluck Jonathan, announced

some days ago his decision to givethe Nigerian people- what theyhave been demanding over theyears-the opportunity to dialogueover the Nigerian state, the true co-lours of statesmen and pretendershave started to unravel. For years,some politicians have shot intonational limelight masqueradingas democracy activists and usingevery available platform to de-mand national dialogue amongthe ethnic nationalities that con-stitute the Nigerian state. But fromthe knee-jerk reaction and decid-ed opposition of yesterday’s advo-cates of sovereign national confer-ence to the idea today, the defini-tion of politics in our society as“going left when indeed signallingright” is more than apt.

The former Lagos State gover-nor, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu,has been one of the strongest voic-es calling for the convocation of anational conference to discuss thebasis of our collective existence asone country over the years. He wasa member of National Democrat-ic Coalition, NADECO, led by thelate elder statesman, Anthony Ena-horo, and the group’s ready-madeanswer to any problem in our pol-ity, especially in the post-June 12,1993 presidential election annul-ment, was a “Sovereign National

Conference”. Yet the same Tinu-bu is all over, everywhere now, re-jecting the convocation of the con-ference to discuss Nigeria. If theformer leader of the ethnic party,Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN,is not directly granting interviewsopposing the national conference,he is vicariously fighting throughhis foot soldiers in the media. Hasthe senator lost his voice? Why ishe now afraid of his own voice?

“Jonathan’s ‘Jebu’ Conferenceand Tinubu’s Higher Logic” by acertain Olusegun Samson Akinla-bi in ThisDay of October 14, 2013and his master’s position in a newsreport, “Tinubu urges adoption ofObasanjo’s constitutional reviewon conference...S’East forum, An-glican cleric set agenda” alongwith the full text titled “Nationalconference too critical to be left topresidency” in the Guardian of thesame day fit well into the patternof orchestrated campaigns byselfish politicians to blackmail theidea of the national conference. Inthe piece, Akinlabi sought toidolise Tinubu. That is notanybody’s problem. He has theright to even worship him; afterall, ours is a secular nation. But toelevate the former governor as therepository of all knowledge is verydangerous for us as a people.When Akinlabi argues that Tinu-bu’s position on the conference“resonates across the country,” Iask, which country? Even in Tinu-

bu’s South West, genuine advocatesof Sovereign National Confer-ence, SNC, have welcomed Presi-dent Jonathan’s decision to set upthe advisory committee for theconference and are already put-ting their heads together to agreeon the issues and agenda for dis-cussion. If Tinubu and his minionsare in any doubt, let them ask theYinka Odumakins and TundeBakares of this world as well asother genuine pro-democracy ac-tivists. If genuine patriots in theSouth West, in the East and ofcourse in the North insist they areready for the talks, why is Tinubudeluding himself as the voice ofNigerians?

When Tinubu indicated in theGuardian report that he will dis-cuss with his party on the issue ofthe national conference althoughhe has made up his mind that theidea is a “Greek Gift”, what doeshe take Nigerians for? Of courseit is common knowledge that Tinu-bu is not a democrat; he has noculture of dialogue. Whatever hesays in his party-whether the pro-vincial ACN or the newly coupled

APC- is law. If Tinubu is againstthe convocation of the nationalconference, then it’s no brainerthat APC will ultimately opposethe idea. That is tinubucracy.

In opposing the idea of the con-ference, Tinubu and his gang havebeen harping on the timing of theconference. What is really wrongwith the timing of this conference?Only unpatriotic citizens andpower mongers whose eyes arepermanently fixed on the next elec-tion can be blind to what has hap-pened to us as a people in the lasttwo years. The very basis of ourcorporate existence has been se-verely questioned by such threatsas the Boko Haram insurgency inthe North, and the militant upris-ing in other places like Nasarawa,the killings in Plateau and Benue,the tough-talking of resurgentmilitants in the creeks of the Ni-ger Delta and the supressed de-mand for self-determination in theSouth East by the Movement forthe Actualisation of the SovereignState of Biafra, MASSOB. Evenin Tinubu’s Lagos, there are pres-sures arising from the unconstitu-tional and forceful deportation ofNigerian citizens in their owncountry to the South East and var-ious parts of the North. All theseoccurrences have seriously ques-tioned the basis of our nationalexistence, even more than the civ-il war of 1967-1970.

Let Tinubu and his hatchetwriters be told that Nigeria

is too big a country to be held backby the unfounded fears, whimsi-cal suspicion and selfish interestsof one man. Any politician whobelieves that his/her quest forpower overrides every national

Let us fix governance the‘Nudge' way

aspiration certainly cannot be astatesman. And talking of suspi-cion about the intention and in-tegrity of President Jonathanwith regards to the national con-ference, how best can such fearsbe addressed (assuming they arereal) than by appointing the verypeople who doubted the Presidentab-initio to the committee towork out the modalities forholding the conference? What ismore, unlike in the failed attemptsat conferencing in the past,President Jonathan has notimposed any no-go-area on theconference committee. What re-ally do these people want fromJonathan? In what other way doTinubu and his supporters wantthe President to prove his sinceri-ty on the national conference?

Why on earth should thisAkinlabi man insult highly re-spected citizens like ProfessorsBen Nwabueze and Itsay Sagay,Senator Femi Okurounmu, theAsagba of Asaba and other emi-nent Nigerians who are in supportof the national conference by in-sinuating that “it is about moneyand the opportunity to be part ofthe Abuja crowd”?

They can’t even hide theircreeping jealousy of Jonathan. Re-member, when the president de-cided to honour MKO Abiola,these people opposed it simply be-cause Jonathan wanted to do whatthey had failed to do even afterriding on the back of Abiola tolimelight. The truth is that theycannot stand and watch thePresident score yet another goalin the transformation of Nigeria!*Mr Ugboajah, a political analyst,wrote from Abuja.

*Mr Ikhioya, a commentator on nation-al issues, wrote from Lagos

THE advanced countries recognise thatchange is inevitable. New ideas are

tested and experimented on a daily basis, aconstant jigging and re-jigging in the processof governance to keep up with the pace.There is a deliberate attempt to find cheap,shrewd and local solutions to problemsassociated with governance; the latest ofwhich is the setting up of behavioural insight teams.

There is the belief that: ‘’Behavioural sci-ences can be used to help design public pol-icies that will work better, cost less and helppeople to achieve their goal ‘’. Such policieswhich - encourage behaviour subtly ratherthan outright require it - have come to beknown as nudges, after a book titled, Nudgeby Cass Sustein and Richard Thaler. Thegoal is to improve the efficiency andeffectiveness of government by usingscientifically collected evidence to informpolicy designs.

The nudge squad of Great Britain had beenin place for sometime now and hassuccessfully carried out experiments thatinfluenced positive government policies. TheUnited States of America is already puttingits own in place, while such countries asSweden and Saudi -Arabia are toeing theline. It is interesting to note that in doingthis, they have not relied on the coreprofessionals; instead they have gone forbehavioural scientists to help factor in thebehavioural tendencies of the people in theirresponses to government expectations.Working in sub-groups, they have been ableto reduce cost to a reasonable level.

In localising it to our own country, Nigeria,

we should be looking at the reasons whyNigerians love to waste resources, why thereis no strong sense of patriotism towards ournation, why are public utilities not handledwith care? Why should governmentproperties - like PHCN cables - bevandalised and stolen? Why do Nigeriansdisobey laws with recklessness? Why shouldour representatives in the National Assemblyappropriate a large chunk of the nationalbudget to themselves? Why do civil servantsdivert government money to their privatepockets? Why do Nigerians disregard taxissues? And so on.

The totality of these negative behavioursis a big drain to our nation’s resources anduntil it is settled correctly, our country willremain in the doldrum.The nudge conceptassumes that there are certain traits that fuelsuch behaviours. It is the responsibility ofthe team, therefore, to identify such traitswhere they exist, highlight the causes andput in place corrective measures. The logicis to place attitude as the drive to ourbehaviours, if we can fix attitude, then therest is easy.

The government has different agencies andsub-agencies to which nudge teams are tobe assigned. Why, for example, is bribery soprevalent in our Customs Service? What arethe factors that make it manifest and fester?Is there another way we can make the officersperform their duties effectively without re-course to bribery? Which are they? What re-ward system should be put in place? Doestheir training adequately cover good workethics? How can they be re-trained? Is therea sub culture that encourages bribery andsuch behaviours? How can this be re-directed? This is our focus. Now take this

down to small brackets: The presidency,ministerial team, different units in theministries, government parastatals and suchagencies, every unit of government.

What is being proposed here is not a teaparty as it borders on behaviours that haveformed an integral part of our lifestyles fordecades but as they say in management ‘’At-titude Is Everything ‘’. If we cannot fix ourattitude to reflect in positive behavioural pat-terns, we will not be able to get out of thewoods. To make it work, therefore, we mustset measurable standards for change, takingit from the unit levels for easy monitoring.For example, a unit in the ministry of works,what is the present level of performance?

What is the present level of efficiency? Inwhich area can waste be eliminated orreduced? Under what time frame can it beachieved? What is the performance target?It goes on and on like this for every unit ordepartment or ministry, until it gets to thebigger structures where the over all iscollated.

In summary, this is what is proposed: Abreakdown of the structure (federal or state)into small measurable units and depart-ments. Set performance standards for eachof them based on their current performanceand what they feel they can attain.Measurement could be in the form of savingcost, avoiding wastages, increased efficiencyin terms of duration of work and also thequality of work done; that is, in terms offinishing. Every department or unit musthave their own standard of measurement.

From the smaller units, we can then extendto a larger coverage like divisions or zones,right up to the top. At each level, perform-ance standards will be measured, collatedand then sent to a central processing unit,from where analysis will be done and obser-vations made public. It is the responsibilityof the nudge team to create the right atmos-phere for positive behaviours to be exhibit-ed, to make for the attainment of the setstandards.

In fixing behaviour, it must be noted that itis not all a matter of propaganda, we mustidentify factors that encourage positive be-haviours and put them in place. Ourleadership at all levels must begin to set

examples of hard work and good work ethics.Positive behaviours and meritoriousproductivity at work should be properlynoted and compensated. Discrimination andoppressions of any kind must be eliminated,while training and re-training must be aconstant. Furthermore, negative behavioursmust be properly sanctioned and everyonemade to see that it is no more business asusual.

Nigeria can be fixed. Fix the structure -mores, laws, customs, habits, etc -fix the sys-tem. I have written in a previous article that:“The structure is like the foundation of abuilding. It is relatively permanent, whileyou can keep shaping and re-shaping thebuilding”.

What really dothese people wantfrom Jonathan? Inwhat other way doTinubu and hissupporters want thePresident to provehis sincerity on thenational confer-ence?

Our leadership at all levels must begin to set examplesof hard work and good work ethics; positive behavioursand meritorious productivity at work should be properlynoted and compensated; discrimination and oppressionsof any kind must be eliminated

46 — Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013

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48 — Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013

IN what way has thedeportation saga affected the

APC campaign?A sound and patriotic policy not

targeted at any particular ethnicgroup just to make Lagosliveable, clean and decent hasbeen grabbed by ethnic chancetakers and miserable politiciansto score cheap and dangerouspolitical points. The plan of thesepolitical nitwits and dwarfs is touse the so-called deportation tobring Ngige to their level. Theseclowns know that they are not inthe same political page with theformer governor, Senator ChrisNgige and therefore theirdevilish plan is to beat downNgige from his towering heightto their miserable level byengaging in primordialsentiments and ethnic pre-occupation.

Dangerouspolitics

It has failed and it will remainso. It is dangerous politics thatmay rock the boat and put todanger the cordial and well-respected relationship betweenIgbo and Yoruba that dates backto 1970, if not properly handled.The chance takers and peddlersof misinformation will fail. In2011 Governor Peter Obi ofAnambra State deported 29Akwa-Ibom State and EbonyiState indigenes on the pretextthat they were begging in Awkaand Onitsha and heaven did notfall. About the same timeGovernor Orji of Abia Statesacked over 3,000 indigenes ofAnambra, Imo, Enugu, and

Obi also has a deportation stigma — IgbokweLagos APC spokesman, Mr. Joe Igbokwe in this interview reflects on the party’s chances and candidate inthe forthcoming gubernatorial election in Anambra State. Excerpts

Ebonyi States from the Abia CivilService and sentenced tens ofthousands of Igbo men and theirfamilies to untimely death,eternal poverty and degradation,yet heaven did not fall.

As at today, Lagos still hostsmore Anambra people thanAnambra State. Anambra peoplegenerate more wealth in Lagosthan in Anambra so who loses inthe devilish plot to use 14destitute victims of poor, timidand rural governance inAnambra, who were chased intoLagos to live under the bridgesfor primitive politics in the end?But, as I said, the Igboman is notfoolish and will like to know whya government feels its citizensare better off living as destitutesunder the bridges of Lagos thanin their home state.

Was the APC rally held onofala day not a politicalmiscalculation?

That, again is anotherdangerous politics to reduce thetowering image of SenatorNgige. If reality is to prevail,Ngige Campaign organizationhad extensive discussion with thepalace Secretary on the matterand the campaign organizationwas asked to go on since theOfala festival in Onitsha isalways conducted without askingpeople to close shops or marketsbecause Onitsha people arecivilized people who practisetheir well-respected traditionwith grace, respect and profounddignity.

Unfortunately by the time thecampaign organization wastalking to the Palace Secretaryour own HRH Igwe (Dr) Alfred

Achebe was in retreat (the normaltradition before the OfalaFestival) I am sure the palaceSecretary did not get the nod ofHis Royal Highness before heasked the campaign organizationto go on.

This is the mistake. SenatorNgige is a traditionalist whounderstands Onitsha traditionvery well, and he could not haveignored the highly revered Obiof Onitsha. Beyond all these,however, it speaks of the depthsand the height of depravity somepeople have taken Anambrapolitics to, for them to believe thatsuch issues, and not the generalwelfare of the people will countin the coming election.

They will be in for a shocker at

•Igbokwe: Obi also deported!

MR. Chuks Akunna wasChief Press Secretary

to Dr. Chris Ngige in his timeas governor of Anambra Statebetween 2003 and 2006. Mr.Akunna left the governmentwith acrimony six or somonths before Ngige was

Aides fight over Ngige on FacebookBY EMMANUEL AZIKEN,

POLITICAL EDITORforced out by the courts in2006.

Yesterday, Mr. Akunna oneof the deepest politicalreporters in the country tooka pot shot at his former bosson Facebook accusing theAPC candidate of beingcantankerous, malicious andvindictive to family and

friends including his wife.It was an allegation that

immediately raised responsefrom known and unknownassociates of the APCcandidate with some accusingMr. Akunna of betrayal andbad blood.

Mr. Toni Icheku, an Abujabased journalist like Akunna

but presently embedded in theNgige campaignheadquarters in Awka, hasbeen particularly viciousquerying Akunna’sprofessional standards.Others sympathetic to Ngigehave also blasted Akunnaforbeing a mole while withNgige. In the tit for tat spat

on Facebook, one particularcomment has beenoutstanding; to wit, to whatextent the electorate or mediashould pry into the privatelives of the candidates.

Should the electorate bebothered whether Dr. Ngigeis on speaking terms with hisspouse or not?

ALL is set for the secondcoming of Tony Nwoye

to resume his governorshipcampaign in Anambra Statefollowing the Court of Appealruling in his favour in thematter brought against hiscandidacy by Prince NicholasUkachukwu.

Anambra waits for NwoyeBY VINCENT UJUMADU Immediately following the

court ruling last Wednesdaytop officials of Tony NwoyeCampaign Organizationinvited all the 326 wardchairmen of the party duringwhich they were directed tobegin mobilization of partymembers immediately for theexpected flag off campaign ofthe PDP candidate.

Though no date has beenchosen for the flag off, it waslearnt that every official of theparty is prepared to hit theground running immediatelyto be able to cover lost groundin the campaign.

Chairman of the AnambraState chapter of the PDP,Prince Kenneth Emeakayi toldVanguard that PDP remains

one indivisible political partydespite the tussles thatpreceded the determination ofthe party ’s governorshipticket.

He insisted that PDP has notlost any ground in terms of thecampaigns, adding that theparty has been campaigningeven when the governorshipcontestants were in court.

“We have already launchedoperation deliver your boothsfor every member of the partyand we are working hard toensure that. We believe thatAnambra is a PDP state andwe cannot afford to makeanother mistake of losing thestate to another political partyduring the forthcomingelection,” he stated.

the end of the daybecause thecommon masseswho know theintricacies andc o n s p i r a c i e sbetween thepresent APGAgovernment andthe PDP federalgovernment whichwants to sell APGAas a knockdowncarcass to the PDPf e d e r a lgovernment.

How are youaddressing theissue of power shiftagitation toAnambra North?

In Anambra Statewe do not believein the doctrine ofpower shift becausewe do not celebrate

mediocrity. Only the best is goodenough for Ndi Anambra,Ndigbo and Nigeria. Four yearsis too much for a vibrant and avery important state to lose in thename of zoning.

In Anambra State we believethat if need be to form a footballteam for the state, only the bestis good enough.

If eleven players come fromNnewi North, so be it. Zoningbreeds incompetence,mediocrity, and backwardness ingovernance. You fall back to suchcompromise considerationswhen you have failed ingovernance.

When Dr Chris Ngige wasgovernor between 2003 and

2006, every corner in Anambrafelt his impact. He didn’t needto appeal to primitivesectionalism that breeds suchfactors as zoning to leverage histremendous transformativepowers in all nooks and cranniesof Anambra.

Can you briefly give an insightinto what he has in stock forAnambra people?

The taste of the pudding is inthe taste. Anambra has tasted theNgige pudding and needs noother factor to know he remainsthe best among the lots.

Senator Ngige is coming backto reposition and retool AnambraState. Insecurity in a cash-drivenstate like Anambra is the biggestproblem. Ngige will bringsecurity to Anambra State the wayhe did it before. Our people musttravel home to enjoy theirmansions without beingharassed by kidnappers, armedrobbers and petty thieves.

What makes you feel thatSenator Ngige is better thanothers?

A good product sells itself.Ngige opened the eyes ofAnambra people to know thatgovernance goes beyond payingsalaries and pensions. Ngigerevolutionalized roadconstruction in Anambra. Ngigeproved beyond reasonable doubtthat leadership goes withresponsibility in Anambra State.

Ngige proved that leadershipis not measured by might. Ngigedoes not believe in wealthwithout work, Ngige believesthat a government must beresponsible and responsive.Ngige is a super brand.

,

,Ayear to the next

governorship election inEkiti State, to what extent isthe jostling affectinggovernance?

Government is not just aboutthe governor and I think thatis something we have to getaway from. We still have anauthoritarian mindset inNigeria because of our militarypast. I’m one governor who ison the road a lot andgovernance does not sufferwhen I’m not in Ado - Ekiti.So, the fact that I’m on the roadshould not mean governmentis suffering.

I’m spending the entireNovember, for example, as Inormally do every year, touringthe communities because we dothat in preparation for thebudget. So I’m spending 30days in November goinground about 150 communitiesin Ekiti. So, does that meangovernment will sufferbecause I’m not sitting in thisoffice (Governor’s office)? Thatis governance for me. That iswhat government is! When I’mwith the people I’m governing.

Then you are alsocampaigning?

I’m not campaigning. I’mpreparing for budget 2014. Butyou know this is not the firsttime I’m doing this. I do itevery November. So, youcannot associate it withcampaign. I’m notcampaigning.

Are you going to run?Yes, I will.By Dapo Akinrefon

Governance is being with the people — Gov FayemiGOVERNOR Kayode Fayemi is in the third year of his stewardship of Ekiti State. His ascension to office in 2010 was upon the affirmation ofthe courts that he was the winner of the 2007 election. Ahead of the gubernatorial election next year, the governor in this interview in AdoEkiti, responds to concerns over potential effects of increasing political tension on governance among other issues. Excerpts:

BY DAPO AKINREFON

we were going to use the bondfor are specific. They wereidentified. If you look at thebond book they are listed there.The 10 projects were listed. Youcan just google Nigerian StockExchange website or theSecurity and ExchangeCommission, you can accessthe information there. We tookN20bn, we were going to doroads, we were going to reviveour moribund brick factory at

in Ire; we were going to re-develop Ikogosi; we are goingto build a Government House;you can see it on the top as youdrive around Ekiti and you willsee what we are doing there.There is not a single projectthat we took bond for that isnot being implemented. So theissue is not that we took bond,the issue is whether we haveworked with the bond.

The last government that everdid anything in this state thatyou can refer to as concrete -evidence based legacy was theAdebayo government.Adebayo government took aN4bn bond in 2002; EkitiHouse in Abuja that was builtin 2002 for N700m; we have

just done revaluation, and theEkiti House is now worthN4.7bn. So these are tradeoffs.

We took N20bn in December2011 as at today, as I speak toyou we have paid N9bn out ofthat because it is ISPO; it isdeducted automatically fromour FAC account. The secondissue for me, which I thinkought to interest ourcolleagues is: are thereobligations that this state hadthat are not being met becausewe have taken bond? Are weowing salary? Things thatwere not done when we didn’ttake bond under Fayose andOni administrations, we aredoing now- social security,housing loan, car loan - thesewere things that were notthere before and we haveincreased salary.

Correspondingincrease

When I became governor thesalary in this state was N7,500minimum wage, we took it toN13,500 and now N19,300and we have not had acorresponding increase in theFAC allocation to Ekiti.

These are calculations thatcan be easily done but formischief makers they wouldjust sell all sorts of silly thingsabout us. Yes, we know he is

working but he borrowedmoney.

Are you worried by thechallenge from Hon.Opeyemi Bamidele, amember of your party?

As far as I am aware, APCdoes not even have membersyet in Ekiti State. APCmembership registration hasnot taken place.

Membershipregistration

It is taking place inNovember. So, we would knowif Opeyemi Bamidele is amember of APC in November.So I don’t want you to jump tothat conclusion.

What is your relationshipwith Bamidele and how doyou respond to issues ofbetrayal since he appears tobe aggrieved?

To the best of my knowledge,he is my brother and he isrepresenting thisorganisation, but what youshould know is that in politicsyou don’t even need excuse tohave ambition.

What would you blame forthe increase in violence in thestate in recent times?

You know we politicians areattention seekers by the natureof the business we are in andthat is part of the problems.

If you are a politician and

you want to impress yourpolitical leaders or masters inAbuja, you want to give themthe impression that you are theone in charge and you go toAbuja and the people say toyou: but there is nothinghappening, the place ispeaceful there is no problemin Ekiti, how do you think youare going to challenge thisman if the place is this quiet?

But I am determined toensure that we have a peacefulstate even if it means bendingover backwards to bring in allof the people to agree to a codeof conduct - a code of ethicsthat binds us. Maybe we wouldcall all our elders in Ekiti sothat is not seen to be partisanor the governor dictating hisposition to them. How elsedo you want to explain a statethat had six governors inseven years.

How do you explain that? Wehave had too many problemshere.

Tenureof office

That already tells you theinstability we had. When wehad the pension law for ex-governors it was only twopeople that qualified; NiyiAdebayo and Paul Alabi,because they were the onlypeople- governor and deputygovernor that completed theirtenures of office.

On Peace Corps and theopposition’s fear that it wasdesigned as a parallel policeforce?

Somebody has asked merecently why are we startingthe Peace Corps; is it a backway of starting a state police?And the answer is no. OurPeace Corps is largelycommunity based. Of courseI’m an unapologetic federalist.People know my views aboutmulti-level policing. I don’ttalk about state police, I talkabout multi-level policing,which does not rule out federalpolice but it makes a distinctionbetween their roles.

There are crimes that arefederal and there are statebased crimes and it should beclear as to who takesresponsibility for what crime.In every federal setting I knowaround the world this is whathappens, and I don’t see anyreason why ours should bedifferent. It is interesting timesin Ekiti State.

•Fayemi: Yes, I am running

APC membership registration has nottaken place. It is taking place in November.So, we would know if Opeyemi Bamidele isa member of APC in NovemberYour critics are making an

issue of your sourcing ofbonds for projects?

Their challenge is: What arewe going to use to campaignagainst this man? Since thereis nothing to use to campaignagainst him, and since we arepoliticians, there must besomething. Yes, we may nothave anything to take to EFCCor ICPC about him, but wemust find something againsthim. And the best they couldfind is the bond.

Yes, we went to the bondmarket. It was publicinformation. We took N20bnbond in December 2011 -meaning about 18 months agoand the projects that we said

Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013 —49

50 — Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013

Vanguard, MONDAY OCTOBER 28, 2013 — 51— 51— 51— 51— 51

GERMANY is send-ing senior intelli-

gence officials to Wash-ington, amid outrageover claims that the U.S.National Security Agen-cy monitored GermanChancellor Angela Mer-kel’s cell phone for overten years. The GermanIntelleigence team willinclude the heads of Ger-many’s foreign and do-mestic intelligence ser-vices and the coordinatorof the federal intelligenceservices, the govern-ment’s press office said.

The trip comes amid aseries of reports that havechallenged relations be-tween the two long-timeallies. Germany’s out-rage has been fuelled byreports of bugging of MsMerkel’s phone by theNSA prompted it to sum-mon the US ambassadorfor the first time in livingmemory.The UnitedStates may have bugged

Germany sends team to Washington

Spygate

Angela Merkel’s phonefor more than 10 years, ithas been claimed.

Der Spiegel magazinesaid the German chancel-

lor ’s mobile telephonehad been listed by theNational Security Agen-cy’s (NSA) Special Col-lection Service (SCS)since 2002 and was stillon the list weeks beforeBarack Obama visitedBerlin in June.

The same database in-dicated the United Stateswas spying on many oth-ers in Berlin’s politicaldistrict, at least up towhen U.S. PresidentBarack Obama visitedBerlin this year, DerSpiegel reported.

•Angela Merkel

SYRIA handed overa detailed plan to

destroy its chemicalstockpile on time, inter-national watchdogOPCW said yesterday.

“On 24 October 2013,the Syrian Arab Republicsubmitted to the OPCW

Syria complies with OPCW planits formal initial declara-tion covering its chemicalweapons programme,”the watchdog said in astatement, adding thatDamascus had had untilyesterday to do so.

Damascus was requiredto submit the destructionplan under a US-Russiandeal agreed last monththat headed off militarystrikes on Syria.The ac-cord also gives Syria upto mid-2014 to destroy itschemical arsenal.

President Bashar al-As-sad’s regime has alreadyhanded over an invento-ry of its chemical weap-ons and facilities, and in-ternational inspectors arealready busy inspectingand destroying them.

The OPCW said a firstmonthly report of the in-ternational inspectors, cov-ering their work on theground since October 1, isready and will be sent tothe UN Security Councilby UN chief Ban Ki-moon.

ARMED oppositiongroups in Syria

have said that they willnot attend the Geneva IIpeace talks, saying thatnegotiating with the gov-ernment of Bashar al-As-sad would be an act ofbetrayal.

The powerful oppositiongroup’s statement comesyesterday as fighting rag-es on near the borderwith neighbouring Iraqand in the central city ofHoms. The Geneva peacetalks set to take place onNovember 23 have beenrepeatedly postponedamid wrangling among

...Rebels reject Geneva peace talkthe Syrian opposition,and a dispute over whichcountries, including Iran,should participate.

Meanwhile, in a hope-ful turn, Assad’s govern-ment has handed over ontime a detailed plan ondestroying its chemicalweapons stockpile, aninternational watchdoghas said.

A move in line with US-Russian deal reached lastmonth that headed offthreatened militarystrikes on Syria and trig-gered the initiative forpeace talks staged inSwitzerland next month.

MOZAMBIQUE’Sformer rebel

group Renamo has de-nied responsibility for thearmed attack on the coun-try’s main highway whichkilled one and injuredten amid tensions withthe government.

Renamo, which an-nounced last week that itwas no longer party to thepeace deal it entered withthe Frelimo governmentfollowing a raid on itsleader’s base, said it hadinvestigated and estab-lished it was not respon-sible.

“Renamo distances itselffrom the attack in Muxun-

Mozambique: Renamo denies attackgue,” said Fernando Ma-zanga, the group’s spokes-man.

“We carried out our inves-tigations and came to theconclusion that it was notcarried out by Renamo,”Mazanga told the AFPnews agency.

The president’s office hadblamed Renamo for the at-

tack on three civilian vehi-cles in central Sofala prov-ince early on Saturdaymorning.

Armed men attacked themain north-south highwaynear the coastal city Beira,a stretch of road where Re-namo fighters have been tar-geting civilian vehiclesover the past six months.

SOUTH Sudan’sNgok Dinka tribe is

holding a unilateral refer-endum to decide whetheroil-rich Abyei, a district theyinhabit and is under dis-pute between the Khar-

Abyei votes in Sudan's referendumtoum government andSouth Sudan, joins eitherof the two nations.

Reports said yesterdaythat the referendum resultswere expected on October31. The exercise was pro-ceeding peacefully, saidLuka Biong, spokesman forthe Abyei ReferendumHigh Committee, a civicgroup that is organising thevote.

The quarrel over Abyei isone of the main unresolveddisputes after the 2005peace agreement betweenSudan and South Sudan,which ended a civil war andled to the independence ofSouth Sudan.

THE UN says thereare now more refu-

gees than at any timesince 1994. Thousands ofasylum-seekers, mainlyfrom Afghanistan and theMiddle East, head to In-donesia each year tomake the dangerous voy-age across the Indianocean to Australia.

UN raises alarm over refugee figuresThey are seeking a new

life, fleeing war, politicalunrest, and poverty.

The influx of asylum-seekers is a major politicalissue both in Indonesia andAustralia, particularly asIndonesia has not signedup to the 1951 UN Refu-gee convention and doesnot have to accept refugees.

VanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardCLASSIFIED

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Confirmation of nameThis is to confirm thatthe names SamuelOfeyiamo and SamuelOfeyiamo O. as theyappear on my NECOresult of June 2006,refer to one and sameme. I now wish to beknown and addressedas Samuel Ofeyiamo.All former documentsremain valid. Generalpublic please take note.

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YOU CAN B O O K Y O U R A D V E RT S AT OU RL A G O S I S L A N D O F FI C E — VA N G U A R D

M E D I A L I M I T E D ( L A G O S O F F I C E ) K I O S K4 8 E A S T PAV I L I O N T B S , L A G O S .

VANGUARD'S LAGOS OFFICE

52 — Vanguard, MONDAY OCTOBER 28, 2013

Nigeria to win thetrophy in 1985.

“The Iranians are agood side no doubt, butwith all modesty, weshould be able to copewell against them.”

Ugbade said theGolden Eaglets are notbeing carried away afteran impressive firstround performance,where they scored animpressive 14 goals in

UgbadeContinues from B/P three matches including

a 6-1 thrashing ofdefending championsMexico.

“Of course, we aregetting better since wedefeated Mexico and theboys did well againstIraq on Friday with a 5-0 win, but I have nodoubt that we wouldovercome the Iranians ifwe can correct somespecific lapses we havenoticed,” he noted.

Nigerian fanContinues from B/P

match to begin prepa-rations for next year’sCHAN in South Africa.

Keshi has handed achance for several newcomers like central mid-fielder Olayinka Oyele-ke of promoted CrownFC to stake a claim forplaces in his CHANsquad.

He said he has beensatisfied with the fitnesslevel of the players.

“The performance isokay. They are reallypushing hard to bethere. It’s not easy, someof them are new and it’stheir first time, so I ex-

KeshiContinues from B/P pect the early panic I

have seen from them,”he said.

“But in all, I am im-pressed at their fitnesslevel. We will continue todo our best but it’s justthat the time is too shortfor us to do anything be-fore the Jordan game.”

Nigeria are expectedto open training campfor CHAN in December.

They are drawnagainst hosts South Af-rica, Mali and Mozam-bique in the first roundof the tournament strict-ly for players featuringin their various localleagues in Africa.

after suffering cardiacarrest after the gameagainst Sweden in thebus conveying theNigerian fans contingentback to Dubai.

Sports Vanguard wasinformed that after theheart attack thedeceased, who until hisdeath, a businessmanhere, was rushed toDubai hospital fortreatment, where he hadbeen until he passed onin the early morning ofyesterday.

A close friend to thedeceased said that hisremains were still in themorgue of the hospital.Efforts to reach thehospital failed as atpress time and when

Sports Vanguard triedto contact the NigerianEmbassy here, we weretold thatthe officials were notavailable to comment.One source said lastnight that the deceasedwas one of the vocalsupporters of the GoldenEaglets since theystarted their fourthchase for the FIFA U-17World Cup here onOctober 19 againstMexico.

Eaglets play Irantomorrow in a round of16 match at the Al AinCity, the same stadium,where the deceased waslast spotted supportingthe three-time worldchampions.

GOLDEN Eagletss tar Kelechi

Iheanacho iskeeping acool head ahead oftomorrow’s FIFA U-17World Cup round of 16match against Iran att h eKalifa Bin Zayed Stadi-um in Al Ain City.Iheanacho netted fourgoals in Nigeria’s 6-1demolition of Mexico inthe opening match andfired blanks in subse-quent games againstSweden and Iraq as theEaglets progressed tothe knockout stage asgroup winners with sev-en points.

And as the three-timechampions square upagainst the Iranianstomorrow for a place inthe quarterf inal ,Iheanacho, who fin-ished second highestgoals scorer at the Af-rican Under-17 Cham-pionship inMorocco, said that hewas not weighed downwith his inability to netafter a chart-burstingopening performance.“I am calm over ournext match and I be-lieve that the goals will

Iheanacho: My goals will comeagain

L-R The Managing Director FCMB, Ladi Balogun, Governor Babatunde RajiFashola, the winner of Futures two, Ante Pavic of Croatia and the Directorof Strategies, Etisalat Nigeria, Ndidi Okpaluba at the final presentation of13th Governor’s Cup, Tennis tournament in Lago

FORMER Captainand coach of the

Super Eagles, ChairmanChristian Chukwu,Rangers International ofEnugu legend, StanleyOkoronkwo, Akeem Ashiru and Nollywood starDiewait Ikpechukwu wereamong the star-studdeddignitaries who broughtsparkle to the Enugu legof the Nestlé Milo Football clinic that washeld at the NnamdiAzikiwe Stadium, at theweekend.

Chukwu, a paragon offootball was so moved atthe Nestlé Milo Clinicanchored by ex SuperEagles goalkeeper, PeterRufai that he told the kidsthat they were a blessedgeneration to have Milobehind them.

“We never had anyopportunity like thisduring our days. Youpeople are lucky andshould be grateful toNestke Milo for thiswonderful and scientificfootball training. You arealso lucky to have a legendlike Peter Rufai train you.Rufai did not only play atthe zenith of football, healso played with some ofthe best clubs in the world”,Chukwu said.

He was not alone.Stanley Okoronkwo,Akeem Ashiru(the firstnon Ibo indigene to playfor Rangers), andNollywood star DiewaitIkpechukwu all gaveplaudits to Nestlé for therevolution they haveembarked that would makeNigeria become the Brazilof world soccer.

Stars sparkle at NestléMilo football clinic

“This is awesome. Thisis how to raise future worldchampions”, Diewait anace football commentatorbefore he veered into theglitz of acting said.

Speaking at the end ofthe Clinic, EnuguRegional Sales andPerformance DevelopmentManager, ChibuzorOgunka said that thefourth edition of the clinicwhich theme is “ Let’sBuild Champions”, wasdesigned not only to coachthe children with worldclass football skills but alsoto equip and teach themthe five core values of live- Determination,Discipline, Confidence,Respect and Team work.

“We’re particularlydelighted that thesechildren are equipped toface the future with soundmind in sound body,physically fit, andintellectually sound”.

At the end of the colorfulEnugu leg of the clinic,Team A which beat TeamB on penalties afterdrawing 2-2 at regulationtime went home withcertificates, balls, medals,trolley bags and N40,000bursary scholarships eachwhile team B got N20,000scholarships and theattendant Milo goodies.

The novelty match wasas electrifying as it was fullof fun that Ralph Georgesaid “ watch out for theseboys. They’re are destinedto shine.

All spectators whothronged the NnamdiAzikiwe Stadium sharedin the glory of taking Miloproducts home.

soon come. But the ma-jor thing for me is that

the team are doingwell.

If it is good for theteam, I am happy be-cause we are here towin”,

Iheanacho told SportsVanguard , after thematch against Iraq.The absence of SuccessIsaac has added morepressure on Iheanachoto step into the shoesleft by Isaac, who hasbeen ruled out of thetournament due to in-jury sustained in thematch against Sweden.

N5.8m up for grabs at Lagos Int’l Swimming Classics

IN continuation of theseries of events

lined up for the LagosSports Classics, theMain OrganisingCommittee (MOC) hasstaked over N5.8milionfor the four-day LagosInternational SwimmingClassics.

The swimming classicsis expected to commenceon November 7 to 10 atTeslim Balogun Stadiumwith athletes competing

in the open and schoolscategories.

According to theChairman of MOC,Wahid Oshodi, theclassics is beingorganized to exposeathletes to internationalstandard and also toattract top athletes to thetournament.

“The swimmingclassics is also one of theseries of events line upfor the Lagos Sports

Classics and we hope tostage another world classevent just we had doneduring the table tennisand chess tournaments,”

he said.Over 300 swimmers

are expected to jostle forhonours at thechampionship.

Vanguard, MONDAY OCTOBER 28, 2013 — 53

Going back to Africa,prepared

,

,...everything must be done toensure that the enviableplace Nigeria occupies inAfrica is not rubbished

BEFORE last week end, I told one of mycolleagues that in all the years I have

associated with football, I have never come across asituation where, in any league in the world, overten teams were available for the drop with just onematch to spare.

That was the situation in Nigeria, one that was aselectrifying as it was exciting, fueling evenspeculations of match fixing! Let me quickly bringout the example of the Kwara teams and the beliefthat the Sports Minister and Chairman NationalSports Commission was not going to allow theKwara teams go down!

A day before the matches, there was an intelligentpiece in the Sun Newspapers by George Aluo, citingthe hopelessness of ABS, against a Warri Wolvesteam that surprisingly found itself needing threepoints to stay afloat. Kwara United did not believethey needed any help. Playing at “home”, with 49points, against an Akwa United team that had 50points, Kwara believed they could pull off a wineasily.

What Kwara United did not know was that Lokojawas not HOME. What was not added in theequation was the fact that Akwa United wasdesperate and aware that just a point was enoughto survive the drop and with over one hundredthousand bucks for grabs as “survival bonus” thegallant Uyo boys went for broke and stayed alive!

Elsewhere, Wikki Tourist had the battle of theirlives in Port Harcourt against a Dolphins side thatalso needed to stay afloat, rubbishing the theorythat a king pin of the NFF was going to throw a lifeline to the NFF President to allow a team from hisState stay afloat.

In all of these, I feel proud that the days of stateshosting AGMs to overturn league tables are over. Iam happy that today we have leaders who arehonest, disciplined and focused not gettingthemselves involved in messy situations thatposterity will record negatively against them.

Credit must also go to the organisers of the leagueand the officials. In the past, teams like Akwa Unitedwill never go to Warri and Lokoja and win undersuch difficult circumstances.

But for cases, a lot of cases of unimaginabledifferences between the Organising and DisciplinaryCommittee and the Appeal Committee in theinterpretation of the Rules and Regulations of the

league, it will be safe to say that this league ran itscourse.

And this brings us to one of the primary motivesof doing well in the league which is to representthis great country of ours in the continent. Last yearwas a nightmare as ALL the clubs but one survivedthe first round . Rangers that got as far as the groupstage fell victim of organizational maladroitness.

I pause therefore to congratulate Pillars of Kano,Enyimba of Aba, perhaps the best club this year (won Federation Cup and came second in the league)Bayelsa United and Warri Wolves who will fly ourflag in the continent next year.

During a visit to Congo Brazaville, Dolisso, forthe CAF Champions League match betweenLeopards and Orlando Pirates, I was told how Pillarsplayed very well and earned the respect of all, onlyto fall by a last minute goal despite a 4-1 first legadvantage in Kano. Pillars are going back to Africarealizing that even such a result at home is not aguarantee for success. Enyimba are the Nigerianmasters of Africa. Warri Wolves and Bayelsa Unitedare no strangers either, yet everything must be doneto ensure that the enviable place Nigeria occupiesin Africa is not rubbished. Apart from engaging asound technical bench and contracting quality

players ( Not registering all at the same time )Theseclubs must as a matter of urgency engage theservices of consultants , well placed to advise themon issues like food, weather, playing surface, flightbookings, strength of the opposition and the cultureand politics of playing in Africa, issues that make adifference between the Domestic league and theContinental one.

The NFF can also lend a helping hand by bringingall the clubs under one roof to look at what wentamiss last year for the purpose of moving forwardthis year ( After all the NFF benefits a percentageof whatever monies the clubs make in Africa ! )

This league has been worthwhile, the championsare good enough to dominate Africa. I know.

I saw Iran

The Golden Eaglets are up against Iran in theknock out stage of the competition, a stage where afluke goal is enough to send you packing no matteryour pedigree. I saw the Iranians against Austriaand I am happy size does not play football. Ask theSwedes. Not only are the Iranians bigger, stockier,they play with so much power and speed….goingdirectly to goal.

The Eaglets handlers must therefore find a way toprotect our fragile defense line against thebulldozing Iranians who in strength make up forwhat they lack in skill. Semi final here we come.

The tormentor called Moyes

I refuse to repeat what has been said already aboutthis cousin of Sir Alex who has given us so muchpsychological torment that the mere mention of hisname sends shivers of fear down our proud spines.

I don’t look forward to week ends any more as thedreaded Old Trafford has become the Theatre ofExpectations and Hope for teams like Southampton,West Bromwich Albion and Stoke……just imagine.

Tired of being the laughing stock of my friends, Isent out some text messages last Saturday sayingwin, lose or draw, I refuse to have anything to dowith the so called Moyes of a man!

See you next week.

SPORTSWEAR gi-ants, Nike has con-

cluded arrangements toorganise the maiden edi-tion of “Nike We RunRace” series in the coun-try. The 10 km race whichwill hold in Lagos on No-vember 16 is expected toattract more than 2000participants and will beflagged off by the Gover-nor of Lagos State, Baba-tunde Fashola, from theOnikan Stadium with therace going through theEko Bridge and terminat-ing at the Teslim BalogunStadium, Surulere, Lagos.

Disclosing this to themedia during the officialunveiling of the racelogo, Head of Nike Op-erations in Nigeria, KeitLewins, noted that therace will make Lagos the16th city to organise therace out of 26 cities slat-ed to host it as well ashelp to connect runnersaround the world andforge a new global com-munity of athletes

Fashola to flag off ‘We Run Race’ Nov 16

WITH the GoldenEaglets having a

date with Iran tomorrow inthe ongoing FIFA U-17World Cup, NationalAcademicals SportsCommittee (NASCOM)has charged the playersand the coaching crew toremain focused in theirquest to lift the trophy

Speaking through its

NASCOM charges Eaglets to remain focusedchairman, Yemi Idowu,NASCOM commendedthe team for berthing in thesecond round of thechampionship, whileurging Nigerians to rallybehind the team.

“I am very happy withthe attitude of the team andcoaches. They are all wellbehaved and they get onvery well. They are well-

prepared and very fit. Iwish Issac Success goodhealth and a fast recoverybecuase he is a verypleasant boy. I have triedto give the best wishes fromthe National SportsCommission (NSC) andNASCOM wherever wecan. We are grateful to theMinister and NSC for thesupport they gave to

Nigeria FootballFederation (NFF) and theteam. We should also thankCross River StateGovernor, Liyel Imoke andtheir Sports Commissioner,Patrick Ugbe,” he said.

He added: “My advise tothe team is that they needto be ready to surprise thenext opponents by playinga wider game ."

MOROCCO andCote d’Ivoire

meet in an all Africanderby in the round-of-16of the ongoing FIFA U17World Cup. Theencounter comes uptomorrow in Abu Dhabi,United Arab Emirates.

In the group stage thatended Saturday,Morocco scored 7 goalsand claimed two winsand one draw while,Cote d’Ivoire recorded

U17 WC: Morocco, CIV to clashin round-of-16

one win, a defeat and adraw with 4 goals.

Various teamsrepresenting Africaqualified for theknockout stage but theperformance cannot berepeated here as it iscertain that eitherMorocco or Coted’Ivoire would not reach

the next stage.Meanwhile, Tunisia

and Nigeria respectivelyconfront Argentina andIran also tomorrow.

•Kelechi

through Nike’s most con-nected race series spicedup with innovative Niketechnology.

According to him, par-ticipants can expect aunique and memorableexperience as they will berunning against the backdrop of some Lagos icon-ic landmarks just as hepromised that the first 100athletes to get to the fin-ish line will be rewardedwith a free pair of Nikeshoes, while there will bemusical performances by

a leading musical groupat the end of the race.

Lewins while announc-ing that registration forthe race is free and willcommence on November1 with collection of racepack for successful regis-tered participants be-tween November 11-14,advised intending partic-ipants to register at thenumerous Nike stores atIkeja Shopping Mall,The Palms, Lekki andAdeniran OgunsanyaMall, Surulere, Lagos.

54 — Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013

Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013 — 55

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-8944295. Advert Dept: 01-7924470;Hotline: 01-8737028; Abuja: 09-2341102, 09-2342704. E-mail: editor@vanguardngr.com, news@vanguardngr.com, letters@vanguardngr.com. Advert:advertproduction@yahoo.com

Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: MIDENO BAYAGBON. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

How to Play Sudoku

Place a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line canhave two of the same number).

Each row (nine lines from left to right), column, (alsonine lines from top to bottom) and 3 X 3 block within abold block (nine blocks) contains number from 1through 9. This means that no number can appear twicein any block, column or row.

No mathematics is involved – no adding, subtraction, divisionor multiplication, just plain logic and your imagination.

YESTERYESTERYESTERYESTERYESTERDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSDAY'S ANSWERSTODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLETODAY'S PUZZLE

Sudoku

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORD

VANGUARD,VANGUARD,VANGUARD,VANGUARD,VANGUARD, MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013 MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013 MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013 MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013 MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2013

ACROSS: 1, Aged 4, Fib 6, Duff 8, Bazaar9, Aboard 10, Met 12, Spree 14, Flout 15,Craft 18, Neuter 20, Affray 24, Miner 26,Abyss 28, Deign 30, Bet 32, Damage 33,Wigwam 34, Jerk 35, Run 36, Tier.

ACROSS1 Take in (6)5 Squeamish (6)8 Tongue (8)9 Talon (4)10 Cunning (3)12 Rock (5)15 Chop (3)17 Tune (3)18 Born (3)19 Spasm (3)20 Avoid (5)21 Hatchet (3)22 Possesses (3)23 Help (3)24 Speck (3)26 Fashion (5)29 Still (3)33 Gala (4)34 Unload (8)35 Adorned (6)36 Hatred (6)

DOWN2 Skirmish (5)3 Revel (4)4 Cheeky (5)5 Suppress (5)6 Every (4)7 Urbane (5)10 Located (5)11 Boat (5)12 Ridge (5)13 Entertain (5)14 Massage (5)15 Impetuous (5)16 Wrench (5)25 Fat (5)27 Circular (5)28 Illustrious (5)30 Expel (5)31 Frail (4)32 Clip (4)

DOWN: 2, Grasp 3, Dialect 4, Form 5, Brat6, Drool 7, Formula 11, Elf 12, Sin 13, Ere16, Arm 17, Tan 19, Embrace 21, Fed 22,Freight 23, Yen 25, Ice 27, Swank 29, Graze30, Bear 31, Twin.

Eaglets will runover Iran — Ugbade

Italy v Mexico 2 p.m.Japan v Sweden 2 p.m.Brazil v Russia 5 p.m.Honduras v Uzbekistan 5 p,m.

U-17 W/Cup:Today’s Matches

GOLDEN Eagletsassistant coach

Nduka Ugbade has saidhis team will outclassIran in a U17 World CupRound of 16 clash in AlAin on Tuesday.

The Eaglets have wonthe U17 World Cup threetimes, while Iran aremaking only their thirdappearance at thecompetition.

And Ugbade said hebelieves the experienceand pedigree of theGolden Eaglets willcome in handy onTuesday evening.

“We have been keepingtabs on all our likelyopponents and I paid somuch attention to thegame between Iran andAustria on Friday whichthey won by 1-0,” statedUgbade, who captainedContinues on Page 52 Continues on Page 52

NIGERIA coachStephen Keshi

has said he expects Jor-

Keshi expects toughbattle from Jordan

dan to give his team oflocal league players atough match today.

Jordan will use to-day’s friendly to pre-pare for a 2014 WorldCup final playoffagainst Uruguay.

“Jordan has been to-gether for a while andthey play Uruguay inthe World Cup playoff,so we are playing a verystrong team and it wouldbe a difficult game,”Keshi warned ahead ofthe first-ever clash be-tween the two countriesat this level.

Nigeria will use this

Premier League Top 5

Continues on Page 52

Team GP W D L GF GA GD PTS

Arsenal 9 7 1 1 20 9 11 22

Chelsea 9 6 2 1 16 6 10 20

Liverpool 9 6 2 1 17 8 9 20

Tottenham 9 6 1 2 9 5 4 19

S/thampton 9 5 3 1 10 3 7 18

Nigerian fan dies inDubaiAN unidentified

Nigerian soccerfan living in Dubai hasdied after watching theGolden Eaglets holdSweden to a thrilling 3-3 draw at the Kalifa BinZayed Stadium in Al-Ain City.

According to eye

witness reports here, thefan, whose name is yetto be confirmed from the

Dubai police andhospital, died yesterday

GOAL BOUND: Fernando Torres is pursued byManchester City’s Javi Garcia in the EPL matchplayed yesterday at Stamford Bridge. Torres scoredthe winner as Chelsea won 2-1. Photo: AFP

TWO WEEKS TO LIVE