...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 61827

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013**

Mr & Mrs

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N G F E L E C T I O N :

We were forced to work against him —GovsAs Presidency goes back to drawing board

•P.17

DEAR BUNMI•P.33

•P.19

ROTIMI FASAN

COLUMNISTS:

Continues on page 5

BY SONI DANIEL,REGIONAL EDITOR,

NORTH

ABUJA — DETAILS ofthe ‘political coup’

carefully plotted andexecuted by thePresidency to oustGovernor RotimiAmaechi of Rivers Statefrom the leadership ofthe influential NigerianGovernors’ Forum, NGF,emerged, yesterday, with

How Presidency's plot tounseat Amaechi failed

How genuine is yourinsurance? •Pgs

30&31

THISDAY AWARDS: From left: Teacher Emeritus Pa Dotun Oyewole; former President of the United States, Mr BillClinton, and Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State during the 18th Annual ThisDay Awards to celebrate Nigeria's BestTeachers, at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Abeokuta, Ogun State, yesterday. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi. See more photos onPage 15.

Jonathan signs2013 Budget

Pope Benedict to be called‘Emeritus Pope’

•Pg. 8

•Pg. 9

Clinton listsNigeria'schallenges

CMYK

2— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013————— 33333

CMYK

4— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

POCKET CARTOON

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27 , 2013—5

LIFEWORDSBY PASTOR ITUAH

These words’ "I Am" is an incredible expressionof beingness. I am Soul! I am Love! I am Well!It is used to acknowledge and recognises theuniqueness of Soul. For indeed, everything ismade from love and for love! — Ella Randle.

In my journey of life, I choose the path of love, Ichoose to see beauty in everything and allcircumstances, and this is not an easy task but todo this successfully, I have learnt total surrenderto a higher force of life. This I am learning in themoment. Soul is love! It is all that really matters!

I'd rather bring light and love to everyone I meethowever little. It starts from the heart.

A dear friend said to me once: “I water the plantI want to grow." And for me, that is pure love energy.Every moment offers an opportunity to fine-tune theawareness to bring about better understanding andthis makes for better relationships. Often, thingsaren’t what they appear to be, but to find theanswers you seek may require that you connectdeeper and find truth from within.

Every moment, life offers a person the chance torecognize to choose love, compassion, the purity ofthought, understanding, kindness, granting otherstheir beingness with reverence, and grace. It’s yourlife...choose well.

The best portion of a good man’s life is his little,nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and oflove — William Wordsworth.

Be kind to others and live a worthwhile life.

some of the governorsclaiming they were putunder pressure to workagainst the governor.

Vanguard gathered thatthe Presidency had longnursed the plan to edgeout Amaechi as thechairman of the NGF butwas not sure of how to goabout the controversialplot without raisingeyebrows.

The idea to create asplinter group to beheaded by a ‘coreloyalist’ from among thePeoples Democratic Party,PDP, governors, wasmooted by GoodluckJonathan’s politicalstrategists as a way of

stopping GovernorAmaechi.

Reliable sources hintedthat it was after the Villawas assured by top aidesthat they could secure theneeded support from thePDP governors to deal ablow on Amaechi that thePresident summoned thegovernors to a parley, lastSunday.

Insiders said thePresidency was so surethat Amaechi would beremoved, that a principalaide to Jonathan sent outtext messages to StateHouse correspondents to‘expect breaking news’ atthe end of the governorsmeeting with thePresident.

One of the governors,who attended the

meeting, told Vanguard,yesterday, that he wasdisappointed with thedesperation of thePresidency and its aidesto remove Amaechi at allcost, regretting that sucha dictatorial tactic, whichhe referred to as "gunboatdemocracy" could beemployed in the currentpolitical dispensation.

Some PDP govsforced to signdocument

The governor, whorelated what happened atthe meeting with thePresident, on Sunday, andthe one presided over byAmaechi on Monday,pointed out that most of the15 PDP governors wereforced to sign a documenton the orders of thePresidency withoutknowing what thedocument was to be usedfor.

He noted:“What they didwas that each of thegovernors was spoken to bysome presidential aidesand made to sign adocument circulated tothem without disclosingthe purpose.

“What some of us did notknow was that thesignatures collected by theaides would be used as anendorsement for the settingup of PDP Governors’Forum, which was laterannounced to ourbewilderment."

Efforts to removeAmaechi

The governor explainedthat on Monday, when theNGF meeting was inprogress at the Rivers StateGovernor ’s Lodge,Asokoro, the Villa also trieddesperately to win oversome governors to remove

Amaechi.Apart from monitoring

the meeting from the Villa,Jonathan’s men also madefrantic efforts to infiltrate thevenue and personallyconvince the governors tovote out Amaechi.

The source said that at apoint, the Villa was on thephone with the chairmanof the PDP Governors’Forum trying to ascertainif he had enough supportto go ahead with theelection or whether the pollshould be shelved.

Threat againstuncooperating govs

It was learnt that at somepoint, some of thegovernors who refused tocooperate with the Villa,were threatened withserious sanctions,including the withdrawal oftheir security personneland other benefits they arecurrently enjoying.

One source told

Vanguard that when thePresident’s men saw thatthey had lost the supportof the governors to oustAmaechi, they quicklymoved for thepostponement of theelection, a suggestion theAmaechi camp did notoppose to avoid a walkout,which had been plannedby the pro-Jonathangroup.

We'll not abandonhim— Pro-Amaechigroup

A pro-Amaechi memberof the NGF boasted,yesterday, that the NGFwould not abandonAmaechi even if theelection is held tomorrow,given the fact that he wasnot fighting a personalbattle but working for theoverall interest of theNigerian people.

The governor said: “I amsure the Presidency isaware that it has lost thebattle against Amaechi andthat the latest attempt toforce members to moveagainst him has evenmade the governors to bemore supportive of theRivers State governor."

Presidency goes

back to drawingboard

The Presidency is said tohave withdrawn to thedrawing board to re-strategise on how toremove Amaechi when theelection is held in May. Itis believed that before then,the Presidency would havesucceeded in wooing orforcing more governors toits side.

Amaechi is beingaccused of nursing a vicepresidential ambition withhis Jigawa Statecounterpart, Sule Lamido,although both governorshave denied having suchambition.

Last week, Jonathan’swife, Dame Patience,boasted openly that 100opposition parties puttogether would not unseather husband’s party.

At the event, the womencanvassed that Jonathan begiven automatic ticket so asto give women 50 per centrepresentation in hisadministration, 15 per centup from what they arecurrently enjoying.

Another set of thePresident’s posters hasappeared in majorlocations in the country,without him condemningthe campaigners.

How Presidency's plot to unseat Amaechi failedContinues from Page 1

Boko Haram commander, threeothers killed in JTF dawn raid

BY SONI DANIEL,REGIONAL EDITOR,

NORTH

ABUJA — A TOP BokoHaram commander

and his three lieutenantswere yesterday, killed in amorning raid carried outby snipers deployed fromthe Joint Task Force,Operation Restore Hope,in Maiduguri, the BornoState capital.

The Boko Haram kingpinand his lieutenants weresaid to have crossed fromKano State to Borno someweeks ago and had beencarrying out series ofattacks on JTF patrol

vehicles and locations aswell as the bombing ofmany places in the state.

However, the four menand their fighters ran outof luck when soldiers fromthe JTF confronted them ina gun duel following a tipoff on their location, whichwas traced to the KasuwanKaji area of the metropolis.

The battle was taken tothe insurgents between thehours of 2 a.m and 5.50 a.mon Monday when thefighters were still enjoyingtheir sleep.

On arriving at thelocation, the JTF was saidto have cordoned off thearea and carried out checks

on suspected houses andbusiness premises duringwhich the kingpinsreportedly opened fire onthe soldiers withoutknowing that they were infor a rough deal.

The spokesman for theJTF, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa,confirmed the raid on thesect’s hideout and thedeath of its commanderand three of his lieutenantsduring the raid.

Musa also said threeother sect's fightersarrested by soldiers duringthe raid, had been detainedin their custody and wereundergoing interrogation.

From left: Mr. Akin Adesokan, MD, Lagos Dangote Cement Terminal; Chief Ige Taiwo, President,Lagos State Bricklayers Association; Mr. Knut Ulvmoen, Group Managing Director, Dangote Cement;Alhaji Rasheed Adebowale, President Block Makers Association; Chief Abegunde Okunola and JohnsonOlaniyi, Regional Manager Marketing Services, Dangote Cement, during a meeting with block makersand bricklayers, in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: Joe Akintola, Photo, Editor.

6—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Reps probe alleged killing of 4 studentsfrom Nasarawa varsity by soldiers

Man bags20 yrs jail forkilling hisfather

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

BY OKEY NDIRIBE &EMMAN OVUAKPORIE

Gridlock on Olusegun Obasanjo way, Wuse Zone 7, Abuja due to road rehabilitation in partsof Abuja municipality, yesterday.

ABUJA—MEMBERS of theHouse of Representatives,

yesterday, mandated its commit-tees on Internal Security andPolice Affairs to investigate thekilling of four students of the Uni-versity of Nasarawa State by sol-diers.

The House also dismissed themotion on the need to further in-vestigate Justices Charles Archi-bong and Thomas Naron over al-leged illegal misconduct.

This was sequel to a motionbrought by Kingsley Chinda,PDP, Rivers State under mattersof urgent national importance.

Chinda who led the debate hadargued that “the killing of someNasarawa State University stu-dents by soldiers on February 25for embarking on a peaceful pro-test over lack of water and elec-tricity was very uncivil.’’

He also said that, “the deploy-ment of soldiers or policemenarmed with live ammunition touniversity campuses in the guiseof quelling students' protest isclearly wrong and unacceptable.

"The present case is one toomany of killings by men of thepolice and the armed forces thatdaily take place in universitycampuses and several parts of thecountry against defenceless, in-nocent students and citizens isvery condemnable.

The incident has led to very se-

rious tension within the univer-sity community and its environas so many were reported tohave deserted thier homes forfear of further attacks by men ofthe Nigerian Army and/or repris-al attack by the students.

The situation is already gener-

ating ill feelings and bad bloodbetween the university studentsand men of the Nigerian Armyand if not immediately checkedcould lead to further escalationof violence in the area and thearea could be completely cut offfrom other parts of Nasarawa.”

Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal whopresided over the session calledfor a voice vote and it was unan-imously adopted.

Both committees on Securityand Police Affairs are expectedto submit their reports within twoweeks to the House.

....How the crisis began

BY ABEL DANIEL

10 hunters in police net over mysterious death of colleague

LAFIA—FOLLOWING a protest embarked upon by stu-

dents of Nasarawa State Univer-sity, Keffi, on Monday, it has nowbeen confirmed that at least fourstudents were shot dead whilefour others were wounded whensoldiers and policemen fired livebullets on the demonstrators.They students carried out the ill-fated demonstration over lack ofwater and electricity on campus.

The protest started at about7.30am by few students at theirhostels but it soon escalated andspilled into the streets, accord-ing to a student who spoke in con-fidence to Vanguard.

Sources also told Vanguardthat there had been acute waterscarcity as public water supplystopped in Keffi for nearly twoweeks now, and the state waterboard blamed power cuts from thePower Holding Company of Ni-geria, PHCN, for the scarcity.

The protesting students blockedsome major roads in Keffi, chant-

ing “No water, no road.” Thisdisrupted flow of traffic for hours,until armed security personnelbroke up the riot.

At about 8.30am, the universi-ty’s registrar, Mamman Dalhatudrove to the scene of the protestin company of the Chief Securi-ty Officer, John Aboh, who triedto calm the students.

Later on Monday, the univer-sity authorities announced theclosure of the campus and or-dered students to leave the hos-tels as contained in a statementsigned by the University Spokes-

BY DAYO JOHNSON

man, Jamil Zakari.The statement read: “For the

avoidance of doubt, any studentwho remains on or around thecampuses does so at his or herown risk as security forces havebeen notified of this closure.”

A spokesman for the FederalMedical Centre in Keffi, JamiluNagogo, confirmed to newsmenthat six people were brought inwith gunshot injuries; one ofthem already dead while threeothers died later, with over 15other injured students receivingtreatment at the hospital

AKURE—AT least 10 friendswho are hunters have been

arrested by the police in OndoState over the mysterious deathof one of their colleagues, Abio-dun Olanipekun during hunt-ing expedition in Arigidi Akoko,Akoko North West area of thestate.

The deceased also a hunterwas said to have gone on hunt-ing expedition with his friendsin the thick Agbaluku forest inArigidi only to be brought backdead.

Although Ondo State police

PRO, Wole Ogodo said that thepreliminary investigationshowed that it was suicide, henoted that investigation into thecase continuing.

Family of the deceased in-formed Vanguard that reportsbrought by the suspects was thatAbiodun while fiddling with hisdane gun mistakenly shot him-self dead.Another source said that Abio-dun was trying to adjust his gunafter he missed killing an animalbut ended up shooting himselfmistakenly.

He was said to have aimed thegun at an animal but the bulletsrefused to be released following

which he decided to adjust it onlyfor the cork to snap killing himinstantly.

The police, is however, tryingto unravel another report thatmaybe one of the hunters mis-takenly shot the deceased think-ing he was an animal during theexpedition.

However, Vanguard learnt thatthe bullets pierced through hismouth and the head and rippedit open.He was said to have died on thespot and his corpse deposited atthe mortuary of the Specialisthospital in Ikare. His 10 friendsare said to be in detention at theOke-Agbe Divisional Police sta-

tion for questioning but the po-lice PRO, Ogodo claimed igno-rance of the arrest of the suspects.

Ogodo, however, said that aparamount traditional ruler in thetown reported the matter to thedivisional Police station in Arigi-di.

An Uncle of the deceased, MrDele Ajayi who confirmed thedeath of Abiodun said that sev-eral versions of what happenedin the forest during the tragichunting expedition were givenby the suspects.

Ajayi, however, said that thefamily members of Abiodun havetaken the ugly incident as an actof God.

ASABA— AN AsabaHigh Court, yesterday

sentenced a 30-year-oldfarmer, Opukeme George to20 years imprisonment forkilling his father on Christ-mas eve.

The convict, who hailsfrom Tuomo town in Boma-di local government area ofDelta State, was foundguilty of killing his father,Kosine George with a cut-lass following quarrel thatbroke out between themover missing fish.

He told the court that hekilled the father on Decem-ber 24, 2011, due to provo-cation, saying that it was thefather that attacked him firstwhen he (son) demanded toknow the whereabouts of thetwo pieces of fish that hekept.

Prosecution called one wit-ness to prove its case whilethe covict testified for him-self.

Presiding Judge, JusticeM.O. Omovie stated that “inthe final analysis after read-ing the written submissionsby both counsel, I hold thatthe accused is guilty of man-slaughter. I hereby convictyou for manslaughter.”

BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

A two-man armed robberygang yesterday,

stormed the Abuja liaisonSecretary of the MaritimeWorkers Union of Nigeria,MWUN, located at Camer-oun Road, Wuse, and madeaway with the President-General of the union, Com-rade Nted Anthony’s car.

The car, a black new Hy-undai Accent at the time oftheft was with number plateEKY 75 AV.

Vanguard gathered thatthe driver of the car waswashing it in the morningwhen robbers came andforcefully took away the car.

According to information,at the time of the robbery, allthe original documents ofthe car were inside it.

Confirming the robbery,Nted said he just asked thedriver to take the car to Abu-ja for his use any time hecame to Abuja.

Suspectedrobbers stealMWUN boss'car

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013—7

NDLEAarrestssuspecteddrug peddler

Some of the paraded suspects with weapons and army camouflage.

BY DANIEL ETEGHE

LAGOS—THE NationalDrug Law Enforcement

Agency, NDLEA, yesterdayarrested a drug suspect with1.295 kilogrammes of meth-amphetamine at the MurtalaMuhammed International Air-port, MMIA, Lagos aboard anEthiopian Airline flight on hisway to Thailand.

The 22-year-old suspect, Mr.Ilechukwu Ejikonye, whoclaimed to have investedabout N750,000 into drug traf-ficking was apprehended byofficers of the anti-narcoticagency who detected thedrugs during the outwardscreening of passengers.

Speaking on the arrest,NDLEA Commander at theAirport, Mr Hamza Umar saidthat the drug was carefullyhidden in the suspects’ lug-gage in a bid to beat officersof the agency.

N18m land scam: Court remandsex-Gov Audu's son in prison

BY SONI DANIEL

ABUJA—SON of former KogiState Governor, Mustapha

Audu, was yesterday remained inKuje Prisons on the orders of Jus-tice Abubakar Sadiq Umar of theFederal Capital Territory HighCourt, for allegedly obtaining N18million under false pretence.

Mustapha was charged alongwith his wife, Zahrah, and theircompany, Constructor Guild Ltd,under the guise of assisting herto get a four bedroom apartmentat the Ruskin Terrace in Katam-kpe Extension, Abuja.

Mustapha will remain in theprison until his bail application isheard tomorrow while his wife,who had earlier been arraigned,was allowed to go home on sub-sisting administrative bail.

The Economic and FinancialCrimes Commission, EFCC, haddragged the couple before thejudge and slammed them with athree-count charge on conspira-cy, falsehood and fraud.

One of the charges against theaccused persons read, “That youMustapha Audu, Zahra M. Auduin your capacity as directors ofConstructors Guild Ltd on orabout the January 7, 2010 in Abujawithin the jurisdiction of this Hon-ourable court obtained the sum ofN3 million from one Nike Kola-wole under the pretence of help-

ing her to get a four-bedroomtown house at Ruskin Terrace sit-uated at Katampe Extension Abu-ja which you knew to be false andthereby committed an offence con-trary to section 1(1)(a) of the Ad-vance Fee Fraud and other FraudRelated Offences Act 2006 andpunishable under Section 1(3)ofthe same act.”

The accused persons, however

pleaded not guilty to the three-count charge.

Following their plea, theircounsel, Kingsley Akpokonamoved a motion for bail on be-half of his clients, but was op-posed by the prosecution coun-sel, Mr. Samuel Ugwuegbulamwho prayed the court for time torespond to the application.

While consenting to the prose-

cution’s request for time to re-spond to the application for bail,Justice Umar remanded Mus-tapha Audu in Kuje Prison butallowed the second accused per-son, Zahrah M. Audu to continueto enjoy the administrative bailearlier granted her.

The case has been adjourned totomorrow, February 28, 2013 forhearing of the bail application.

BY PETER DURU

Benue Police arrest, parade 36 robbery suspects, vandals

MAKURDI—BENUE StatePolice Command has re-

corded a major breakthrough inthe last three days in its renewedonslaught against crime with thearrest of 36 robbery suspects andvandals. Parading the suspects yesterday,at the state police commandheadquarters, the state Commis-sioner of Police, Mr. ChristopherKatso said, “among the arrestedrobbery suspects is a teenager(names withheld) who alongsidetwo others now on the run raideda popular supermarket in town inbroad day light”.

While the robbery was going on,the police patrol team coveringthe area stormed the scene afterthey got a distress call from thosein the neighbourhood.

Mr Katso said: "My men appre-hended one of the robbery sus-pects with a fully loaded Englishpistol while two of his cohorts es-caped but we are on their trail.

"Also arrested were a five-manrobbery gang which trailed andkilled an orange farmer in Ush-ongo Local Government Area ofthe state after they had dispos-sessed their victim of N100, 000.

"Within this same period, we

apprehended various gangsacross Makurdi town who whilerobbing their victims were nabbedby my men who daily patrol thestreets.

"My command recently got a tipoff which led to the arrest of somecommunication cable vandals andequipment.

"I must also point out that ourrecent operation outside Makur-di town also led to the arrest of agang at Okpoga in Okpokwu Lo-cal Government Area of the statewhich specialized in ambushinglocal traders and dispossessingthem of their valuables.”

The Police Commissioner fur-

ther said that items recovered fromthe various gangs include “mili-tary camouflage uniform, differ-ent types of firearms, ammunitionand machetes”. Katso said the sus-pects would soon face trial afterinvestigations have been complet-ed.

Police nab 2 suspected vandals

BY KUNLE KALEJAYE

THE Police, yesterday, arrested two suspected vandals

of Power Holding Company ofNigeria, PHCN, transformers inLagos.

Luck ran out of the duo as theywere caught vandalizing and re-moving four single core cablesfrom a 500KVA feeder pillar/trans-former at the Sehinde Calypsoarea by a team of policemenguarding Marblefield Hotel nearthe transformer and handed them

One killed, scores injured as area boys clash in Lagos

LAGOS—ONE personwas, yesterday, killed and

several others injured in a clashbetween some miscreants in Cok-er area of Orile Iganmu, Lagos.

The fight which started on Sun-day was reportedly caused bysupremacy battle between rivalgroups.

Dangerous weapons were re-portedly used during the free-for-all which brought commercial ac-tivities in the area to an abrupthalt, as traders hurriedly lockedup for the day.

Motorists plying the route re-portedly had their windscreensmashed by the warring miscre-ants said to have also used theopportunity to rob commuters andother passers-by.

A member of one of the

BY EVELYN USMAN

Securitytrust lawcheckmatescrime —Ikuforiji

BY EBUN SESSOU

SPEAKER of the LagosState House of Assembly,

Mr. Adeyemi Ikuforiji has saidthat the Security Trust FundLaw passed by the assemblyin 2008 has effectively check-mated armed robbery, violenceand other social vices in thestate.

Ikuforiji spoke when the Ex-ecutive Committee of CrimeReporters Association of Ni-geria, led by its Vice President,Mr. Raymond Tedunjaye pre-sented him with the twin-award of “Best Security-Con-scious Speaker and BestHouse of Assembly in Niger-ia.”

Bus driverbags 50 yrs jailfor robbery

A High Court in Asaba presided over by Justice C.

Ogisi sentenced one NdubisiOnwe to 50 years imprison-ment for armed robbery.

Prosecution told the courtthat Ndubisi, a commercial busdriver and others still at largeon or about Decemeber 14,2011, “at Onitsha BridgeHead in Asaba, within Asaba,robbed one Emeka Obodor ofMitsubishi L-300 bus withnumber plate XD 129 WER property of Mr. MirageChinedu while armed with agun.”

factions,allegedly stabbed in dif-ferent parts of the body, bled pro-fusely and died on the spot.

Policemen from Orile Divisionwere said arrived the scene andmade some arrests.

over to Akinpelu police StationOshodi for further interrogation.

According to a statement signedby the Assistant General Manag-er, Public Affairs, Ikeja ElectricityDistribution Company, Mr. PekunAdeyanju, the management ex-pressed its sincere appreciation tothe Police for assisting PHCN toarrest and prosecute the suspect-ed thieves

He urged the police authoritiesto ensure speedy prosecution ofthe vandals to serve as deterrentto others.

8—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

PDP BoT MEETING: President Goodluck Jonathan (3rd right); Vice President Namadi Sambo (right); AlhajiBamangar Tukur, People's Democratic Party, PDP, National Chairman (2nd left); David Mark, Senate President (left) andothers arriving for PDP Board of Trustee, BoT’s meeting at the Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja, Monday. PHOTO:Abayomi Adeshida.

Clinton lists Nigeria's challenges

ABEOKUTA—FORMERPresident of UnitedStates of America, Bill

Clinton, said yesterday inAbeokuta, Ogun State capital,that the inability to manage thenation's natural resources wellwas one of the three majorchallenges Nigeria was facingas a nation.

The former US president,who was speaking at the 18thAnnual Awards of Thisdaynewspaper, organised to cel-ebrate Nigeria’s best teachers,further tasked Nigerian lead-ers to tackle unemployment,brain-drain and to maximisethe potential of the citizens.

The 42nd American Presi-dent, who spoke in the pres-ence of former Nigerian Presi-dent, Chief OlusegunObasanjo, Ogun State gover-nor, Ibikunle Amosun, hiscounterpart in Delta,Emmanuel Uduaghan andother notable Nigerians, saidNigerian leaders mismanagedthe proceeds from oil, under-utilised technology and failedto retain its best brains.

Clinton said: “When I be-came President, my Secretaryof Commerce did a lot of workin Africa before he was tragi-cally killed in a plane crash in1995.

“I said he should make a listof 10 most important countriesin the world for the 21st cen-tury. Nigeria was in the list.

“Imagine the future of theentire continent if Nigeria failsor South Africa fails. So, youare a country of potential. I willsay you have about three bigchallenges.

Oil money, economicdistribution, brain-drain

“First of all, like 90 percentof the countries, which haveone big resource, you haven’tdone well with your oil money.You should have reinvested itin different ways. Now you areat least not wasting the natu-ral gas. You are developing itin pipelines but you don’t doa better job of managing natu-ral resources.

“Secondly, you have to some-how bring economic opportunityto the people who don’t have.This is not a problem specific toNigeria. Almost in every placein the world, prosperity is heav-ily concentrated in and aroundurban areas.

“So you have all these politi-cal problems: violence, reli-gious differences, and all therhetoric of Boko Haram.

“But the truth is the povertyrate in the north is three timesgreater than what it is in theLagos area. To deal with that,you have to have both power-ful stake in the local govern-ments and a national policythat work together.

“As you keep trying to dividethe power, you have to figureout a way to have a strategythat will help in sharing pros-perity.

“The third thing is therehas to be a way to take thestaggering intellectual andorganisational ability thatNigerians exhibit in everycountry in the world in whichthey are immigrant and bringit to bear here, so that thecountry as a whole can rise.

“One of the people on mytrip with me today, who un-fortunately could not comeup here because he had togo and visit his family, is ayoung Nigerian-Americannamed Nnamdi. He is an allpro-quarter back footballerfor the Philadelphia Eagles.

“He’s a wonderful man; hedoes great work in Americafor poor kids in Arkansas Cityand he became a friend ofmine.

“Both his parents havePhDs. His sister has a PhD.He often says ‘I’m the failurein my family and I only havea university degree and I playfootball.’

“My point is: there are Ni-gerians who are like this allover the world. What you haveto figure out is how to keepthose people in Nigeria andhow to ensure their successencourages others in thecountry.

Solutions“So, I think solving the eco-

nomic divide that is in yourcountry will help the politicaldivide; making better use ofyour resources.

“Nigeria is trying to set upan investment fund where theFederal Government will setit up and the governors arebeing consulted so that theycan concentrate the capital.That is the problem in India.

“They have unbelievableentrepreneurs but they are notvery good at collecting capi-tal and investing it in infra-structure so that they canunite the poor part of the

country with the rich part.That’s what you have to do.And then, you have to em-power people with educationso they can succeed at homeas well as around the world.”

Speaking on the essence ofeducation, Clinton said: “Ihave to explain that educationis more important in dealingwith the challenges facingNigeria. On the continent andthe entire world, we are liv-ing a revolutionary time, fullof positive and negativeforces.

“The information technol-ogy is good for people whocan take advantage of it. I seethis all over the world. Cellphones give farmers the ac-cess to information about cropprices and fish prices in Af-rica and Asia.

“It increases their income byreducing their ignorance. It isempowerment. People are us-ing cell phones to have bank-ing services for the first time.

“I see it even in the UnitedStates where people whothought they have no moneyto help others donate a bil-lion dollars to Haiti duringthe earthquake because or-dinary citizens use their cellphones to make transfer toan account and they had abillion dollars.

Education, globalisation“It is an age where if we

are sufficiently educated wecan be empowered but withenormous challenges. Firstof all, with all of these newopportunities which technol-ogy had given us, we havenot yet succeeded in auto-matically reducing povertyand inequality of opportu-nity in accessing educationand health care.

“It is a global phenomenon.If we really want to take ad-vantage of education, em-powerment and information

technology, we have to tacklethis problem. The secondproblem we have in theworld is instability as we allknow.

“We have to stop this prob-lem. One major problem ofunemployment is this instabil-ity all over the world. We havenot yet solved the problem ofhow to embrace our potentialand common humanity.

“And until we do this, theglobalisation of the economy,the globalisation of the soci-ety for information technologywill continue to face serioustrouble. We have to deal withhow to maximise the capacityof all the people through edu-cation.

“We have to find a waythrough education, throughthe information technologyrevolution to change the waywe produce and consumeenergy and to change theway we use local resourcesin a way that sustains them.

“We have to know how todo this and do it right. Andin every case, education willplay a major role whether indeveloped or developingcountries. We need intelli-gent people to take a newway to challenge themselves.

“There is a lot of work to bedone but we cannot ever ne-glect the role of education. SoI want to end my remarks bysaying two things. Every yearat the opening of the UnitedNations, I sponsor a meetingwhere we invite the globalleaders to come.

“We actually ask people tomake a commitment to dosomething and we are all mak-ing progress.”

Obaigbena speaksSpeaking earlier, Editor-in-

Chief and Chairman,Thisday, Nduka Obaigbenaexplained that the choice ofAbeokuta as the venue for the

18th edition of the award wasmade by Clinton due to thepresence of Presidential Li-brary.

According to him, Delta, PortHarcourt and Abeokuta werethe options presented toClinton as the venue beforeAbeokuta was chosen by theex-American President.

He eulogised eminent mediapersonalities present, includ-ing former governor of thestate, Chief Olusegun Osoba,the Chairman and Publisher ofVanguard newspapers, Mr.Sam Amuka, among others.

Obaighena disclosed that 15best teachers were selected bya panel headed by Vice Presi-dent World Bank (Africa) andformer Minister of Education,Mrs. Oby Ezekwesili, from 700nominees.

AwardeesThose who bagged the

Builder of Modern Nigeriaawards were Oba Otudeko;professor of musicology, LazEkwueme; deposed Sultan,Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki; Osile ofOke-Ona, Oba AdedapoTejuoso, and Chief RasakOkoya.

The 15 best teachers, whoreceived N2 million each,were Mrs Victoria Jolayemi,Mrs Dorothy Ugwu and MrsChristie Ade-Ajayi, for pri-mary school category.

For secondary category, Rev.Father Angus Frazer, ChiefD.B.E. Ossai, Mrs YakubuDimka, Chief ReubenMajekodunmi, Chief DotunOyewole, Mrs. John O. B.Adeaga, Mr. Bawa Moham-med Faskari and HadizaThani Muhammed were hon-oured as best teachers.

In the universities category,Prof. Iya Abubakar, Prof.Frank Ugiomoh, Prof.Michael Obadan and Prof.Eunice Nkiruka Uzodike,were given award.

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013—9

Jonathan averts constitutional crisis, signs2013 budget

ABUJA—PRESIDENTGoodluck Jonathan last

night signed the 2013 budgetinto law, averting an unprec-edented constitutional crisisand a face-off with the Na-tional Assembly.

Confirmation of the Presi-dent’s assent of the budgetcame as the House of Repre-sentatives spoiled for war, yes-terday, at a closed door ses-sion of the House.

At the end of the session, theHouse had resolved to man-date its leadership to consultwith the Senate on taking ac-tion concerning the Presi-dent’s purported refusal togive his assent to the budget.

President Jonathan, how-ever, took the wind off the sailof his critics last night whenhe signed the budget into lawdespite what the presidencydescribed as its reservations.

President of the Senate,David Mark; Speaker of theHouse of Representatives,Aminu Tambuwal, and SpecialAdviser to the president onNational Assembly matters,Senator Joy Emodi, wereamong other dignitariespresent at the signing yester-day.

Presidency statementA statement by Dr. Rueben

Abati, Special Adviser to thePresident on Media and Pub-licity, said further legislativeactions would be taken by theNational Assembly to addressthe observations made by thepresidency on the N4.98 tril-lion budget passed by the Na-tional Assembly.

The president had last Oc-tober presented to the NationalAssembly a N4.92 trillionspending proposal for theFederal Government whichthe National Assembly, how-ever, hiked to N4.98 trillionwhen it passed it last Decem-ber.

President Jonathan had re-fused to give his assent to thebudget transmitted to him onJanuary 14 on the claim thatthere were mistakes in thedetails, the refusal to appor-tion funds for the Securitiesand Exchange Commission,SEC, and the increase in thebenchmark for oil revenuefrom $75 per barrel to $79 perbarrel.

The statement confirming thepresident’s assent to thebudget bill read: “Followingconsultations and an agree-ment between the executiveand the legislature on the

2013 Appropriation Bill,President Goodluck Jonathantoday (yesterday) signed thebill into law.

“President Jonathan wishesto reassure all Nigerians thatthe consultations have beenin the best interest of thecountry, and in pursuit of un-derstanding and mutual co-operation between both armsof government.

“As part of the understand-ing reached with its leader-ship, the observations of theexecutive arm of governmentabout the Appropriation Billas passed by the NationalAssembly will be further con-sidered by the National As-sembly through legislativeaction, to ensure effectiveand smooth implementationof the 2013 Appropriation Actin all aspects.

“The administration re-

mains fully committed to thepositive transformation of thecountry, and effective and ef-ficient service delivery for thebenefit of all citizens.

“All Ministries, Depart-ments and Agencies of theFederal Government havetherefore been directed towork very hard to ensure thatall the services, projects andprogrammes contained in thebudget are successfully de-livered on schedule in spiteof the slight delay in its en-actment.”

If he hadn’t signed...If the president had failed

to sign the budget at the endof the 30 working days dead-line, he would have beenexpected to re-present it, oranother proposal, to the Na-tional Assembly in line withSection 59 (4) of the Consti-tution.

A constitutional lawyer inthe National Assemblypointed to what he claimed

was the ignorance of presi-dency officials who were mis-taking the constitutional pro-visions on appropriation withthat pertaining to other bills.

Whereas Section 58 of theConstitution pertaining toordinary bills allows thepresident to wield a veto ona bill passed by the NationalAssembly and allow the Na-tional Assembly to overridethe veto, the president is,however, bound by the pro-visions of Section 59 (4),which applies to money bills,to re-present the budgetwhere he applies the veto.

Constitution’s provision(4) Where the President,

within thirty days after thepresentation of the bill to him,fails to signify his assent orwhere he withholds assent,then the bill shall again bepresented to the National As-sembly sitting at a joint meet-ing, and if passed by two-thirds majority of members of

both houses at such joint meet-ing, the bill shall become lawand the assent of the Presidentshall not be required.

A constitutional lawyer inthe National Assembly lead-ership speaking on the issue,yesterday, expressed concernthat the country could beheaded towards a constitu-tional crisis unless the Presi-dent immediately signs thebudget bill.

Speaking before the Presi-dent signed the bill lastnight, the source said: “It isin the best interest of thePresident to sign the bill be-fore him otherwise we areheaded towards a constitu-tional crisis where the budgetwould be taken from him andhe would no more have a sayon it.

“Should he fail to sign it, heis now bound to physically re-present the bill to the NationalAssembly and from then hewould lack any power to makean input again.”

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN,Political Editor, OKEYNDIRIBE, EMMAN

OVUAKPORIE & JOSEPHERUNKE

ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT TEAM: From left— Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Chairman Dangote Group; Dr. Akin-wumi Adeshina, Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources; Chief Kola Jamodu, President of Manufacturers Associa-tion of Nigeria; Mr. Aigboje Imokhuede, MD, Access Bank Plc., and Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State, during theEconomic Management Team meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan at the State House, Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO:Abayomi Adeshida.

Retiring Pope Benedict XVI now Emeritus Pope

WHEN Pope BenedictXVI quits the Papacy to-

morrow, he will be known as“emeritus pope.” In retirementhe will wear a white cassockand will also continue to becalled “Your Holiness BenedictXVI,” the Vatican announcedyesterday.

Vatican spokesman, Rev.Federico Lombardi, at a newsbriefing, yesterday, said thePope would wear a “white cas-sock.” However, his ring of of-fice as pope will be destroyed– as is traditional – and he willstop wearing his trademark red

shoes.Benedict had taken a liking

to a pair of hand-crafted brownloafers made for him by arti-sans in Leon, Mexico, and pre-sented to him during his 2012visit. He will wear them in re-tirement.

Lombardi told reporters thatBenedict, previously JosephRatzinger, had made the deci-sions himself. The Vaticanpress office refused to commentor elaborate on the briefing,but said more details might beposted on its website later.

Pope’s final 48 hoursLombardi described Ben-

edict’s final 48 hours as pope:

Yesterday, he was packing, ar-ranging for documents to besent to the various archives atthe Vatican and separating outthe personal papers he willtake with him into retirement.

Today, Benedict will hold hisfinal public general audiencein St. Peter’s Square at which50,000 tickets had alreadybeen requested. He won’tgreet visiting prelates or VIPsas he normally does at the endbut will greet some visitingpolitical leaders — from SanMarino, Andorra and his na-tive Bavaria — privately af-terward.

Tomorrow, the Pope willmeet with his cardinals in the

morning and then fly by heli-copter at 5pm to CastelGandolfo, the papal resi-dence south of Rome. He willgreet parishioners there fromthe Palazzo’s loggia (bal-cony) — his final public actas pope.

And at 8pm, the exact timeat which his retirement be-comes official, the SwissGuards standing outside thedoors of the Palazzo at CastelGandolfo will go inside, theirservice protecting the headof the Catholic Church nowfinished.

His personal security willbe assured by Vatican police,Lombardi disclosed.

BY UDUMA KALU, withagency reports

10—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FUBRUARY 27, 2013

Key Lagos MDAs ‘ll commence Saturdaywork in March —Fashola

BY OLASUNKANMI AKONI

EFCCre-arraignsAkingbola

Slams FG on Good Governance tour

BY ABDULWAHABABDULAH & ONOZURE

DANIA

BY DONALD ARJI

LAGOS—LAGOS State Government yesterday said

from first week of March, itwould commence Saturday’sservices in some key ministries,departments and agencies, aimedat enhancing efficient and effec-tive service delivery to membersof the public.

This is against the current prac-tice where most key services areopened to the public from Mon-day to Friday, while Saturday andSunday are observed as rest days.

Governor Babatunde Fasholawho announced this at an eventto mark his 2,100 days in office inIkeja, said the pilot service of theexercise would begin Saturday,March 2 ,2013.

Ministries affected

According to Fashola, theseservices would include Ministriesof Transportation, Urban andPhysical Planning and Land Bu-reau to further make servicesavailable to every citizen, saying‘’Consequently, in response tothis demand, we have resolvedto commence Saturday service insome pilot Ministries, Depart-ments and Agencies with effectfrom the first Saturday in Marchin 2013 excluding the last Satur-day of every month reserved forsanitation day to serve the publicbetter in some critical areas ofneed.”

“Similar case will also be appli-cable in the state judiciary wherejudges and magistrates will fromthe second Saturday of March2013, sit on weekends to adjudi-cate on cases before them, in whatis expected to facilitate quick dis-pensation of justice and ensurethat accused persons stand trialon weekends as against the cur-rent situation where they can onlybe brought to the courts on weekdays.”

Government not onlyfor the elite

While debunking claims thathis government was meant for onlythe elite, he said he had nothingagainst the poor “rather we arebent on improving their lots. Noresponsible government wouldallow things to go wrong withouttaking appropriate action wherenecessary.’’

He explained that the traffic lawwhich had generated much reac-tions from the public was an at-tempt to save lives, stressing that‘’there has been a significant re-duction in the number of deathsrelating to Okada riders as a re-sult of the impact of the traffic law.

“No death has been recordedthis year compared to what had

Ministries of Transportation, Urban and Physical Planning, Judiciary affected

CELEBRATION: From left: Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, chief host; Mrs.Idiat Adebule, Secretary to the State Government; Otunba Henry Ajomale, Chairman Ac-tion Congress of Nigeria, ACN, and Prince Abiodun Ogunleye, former Deputy Governorof Lagos State, during the celebration of 2,100 Days in Office of Gov. Fashola in Lagos,yesterday. Photo: Bunmi Azeez.

been prevalent in the past.‘’Our traffic law has also re-

corded increased acceptabilityand compliance, and it has mostimportantly delivered on its ob-jective which is the safety of lives.‘Between November and Decem-ber 2012, we recorded a 24.2 per-cent reduction in fines. This rein-forces our position that this isabout safety of human lives andnot about monies.”

On FG’s goodgovernance tour

Meanwhile, Fashola has dis-

missed the ongoing FederalGovernment’s “good govern-ance tour” programme describ-ing it ill conceived.

The minister of Information,Labaran Maku, has been goinground the states to assessprojects embarked upon by gov-ernors.

Fashola, speaking on the de-velopment said the Federal Gov-ernment on its own cannot pointto a 100 kilometre road that con-nects any two states in the coun-try.

“The tour is a mere attempt bygovernment at the centre to ap-pear busy. In an attempt to ap-

pear busy, they have embarkedon an ill-conceived Good Gov-ernance tour, because they haveno project to inspect. The ques-tion to ask is whether Nigeriansneed a tour to know good gov-ernance or they are well gov-erned.

“We do not need Good Gov-ernance Tour in Lagos before citi-zens know that their lives are im-proving. Completed projectssuch as the Ibeshe Road inIkorodu, the mother and childcare centre in Amuwo Odofinand Alimosho, the completedschool of nursing are examplesof good governance.”

Closed market: We’re losing N100bn daily,cry Ladipo traders

LAGOS—FORMERManaging Director of

Intercontinental Bank, Plc,now Access Bank, DrErastus Akingbola, wasyesterday re-arraigned be-fore an Ikeja High courtover alleged theft ofN47.1bn belonging to thebank. The re-arraignmentwas as a result of the el-evation of the former trialjudge, Habeeb Abiru, to theCourt of Appeal before theconclusion of Akingbola’scase.

It would be recalled thatthe Economic and Finan-cial Crimes Commission,EFCC, had already con-cluded its argument, whilethe defence had alsoopened its defence beforethe sudden halt of the casebefore former justice Abiru.

The former bank MD isstanding trial alongside theformer General Managerof Tropic Security Limited,Mr. Bayo Dada, before theircase file was transferred toa new judge, JusticeAdeniyi Onigbanjo.

When the matter came upyesterday, the duo pleadednot guilty to the 22 countcharge read to them, whilethe trial judge aligned withthe argument that theyshould continue with theirbail earlier granted them byJustice Abiru.

The judge also adjournedthe matter till July 10 forcommence of the fresh trial.

However, at the middleof the proceedings, the de-fence lawyers accused theEFCC of trial by ambush,while they also condemnedthe arrest of the defendants,especially when their oldbail granted them by an-other court had not beenwithdrawn.

LAGOS—TRADERS in thepopular Ladipo auto parts

market closed down, yesterday,by Lagos State Government onMonday have started countingtheir losses, saying they arelosing at least N100 billiondaily.

Traders who spoke to Van-guard yesterday, lamented thatthey were already feeling thepains of the closure as theycould no longer meet their ob-ligations to their families.

Speaking, Secretary of theAguiyi Ironsi Traders Union,Mr. Christain Igbaunam toldVanguard that his memberswould be losing overN100billions per day to the clo-sure and lamented that effortsto meet with the Lagos StateTask force on Environmentaland Special Offenses (Enforce-ment) Units, to negotiate theopening of the market hadproved abortive.

He said: “We have over15,00 registered members.Individual members makenot less than N10 milliondaily. On the average, mem-bers will be losing overN100billions on a daily basisto the closure of the market.”

He denied allegations thattheir security guards arrestedwere armed robbers, saying“those allegations made againstour security guards are false.They were not armed with gunsand were not against the stateofficials. They were only misun-derstood. These are securityguards put in place by the as-sociation to arrest criminal ac-tivities in the market. I am plead-ing for their release.”

A trader who spoke on condi-tion of anonymity, said “when-ever I offload my containers, Imake not less than 15millions.Just imagine what I will be los-ing now that the market hasbeen shut.”

Another who gave his nameas Jude Tobechukwu, pleadedfor the re-opening of the market,saying “we are losing billions ofNaira to the closure of this mar-ket. Today’s (yesterday) is thesecond day that we have beenshut out. I have lost over N10millions since the closure. Thatis a huge sum of money eventhose in government do not wantto lose.”

One Okolie Amadi, claimed hiswife was in the hospital for a kid-ney transplant, lamenting that “Iwas hoping to use this week tolook for money for the transplant.My wife is lying helpless in thehospital awaiting a kidney trans-plant due to lack of money. Icame to the market to see if I canraise some money for her opera-tions only to see that armed mo-bile police men have barricadedthe entrance to the market. I ampleading to the state governmentto have piety on us.”

GUNMEN yester-day shot dead

seven men who wereguarding a market inKune, Yobe state.

Chairman of KuneLocal Government Area,Alhaji Maina Gana, whoconfirmed the incidentsaid, “ yesterday nightsome people came withguns and killed sevenpeople and injured oneperson, we can’t tell ifthey are Boko Haram yet.These people that wereshot dead were vigilantemen, they were shotwhile guarding thetown’s market.”

Gunmen kill7 guards inYobe — Official

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013 —11

Oyo N1.6bn pension fraud: Court remands10 in prison

BY OLA AJAYI

Fayemi’s N5m donation tearschurch apart

Igbimo UreEkiti hostsGov Fayemi

Akeredolu alleges irregularities in Ondo guber electionBY DAYO JOHNSON

IBADAN—ALL the 10 suspects alleged to have de-

frauded the Oyo State LocalGovernment Pension Board ofN1, 590, 783, 671. 47 have beenarraigned before a Chief Magis-trates Court in Ibadan.

However, the accused personspleaded not guilty to all the threecount charges.

The accused are Hakeem Muili,Alhaja Iyabo Giwa, AdeduntanJohnson, Oguntayo Banji,Adesina Jimoh, Johnson Bosede,Adebiyi Olasumbo, KareemRasheed, Muili Adedamola andSalewa Adedeji.

According to the chargesbrought against them, they werealleged to have been involved inconspiracy to steal, abuse of of-fice and stealing of Local Govern-ment Staff Pension fund totalingN1, 590,783,671,47.

The Chairman of the board,Chief Lasisi Ayankojo, had raisedalarm some months ago that thesuspects had allegedly de-frauded the board.

After being arraigned underCharge No. Mi/238C/2013, andtheir pleas taken, Justice TijaniDurosaro, ordered them to be re-manded in the Agodi Prison cus-tody for their inability to perfectthe bail conditions.

While the Attorney -General ofOyo State, Mr. Ojo Adebayo, ledthe prosecution team, Mr. YinkaOkunade, held the brief for theaccused persons except the sec-ond accused person who was rep-resented by another counsel, Mr.O. Makinde.

A D O - E K I T I — T H EN5million donated to the

Millennium Anglican Church,Odo Owa Ekiti by Ekiti StateGovernor, Dr Kayode Fayemi,is allegedly tearing thechurch apart.

It would be recalled thatFayemi donated N5 million tothe church during the burialof its late primate, Most Rev.Abiodun Adetiloye on January19, 2013.

Shortly after the donation, theleaders and clergy of the churchwere said to have met where theissue of the donation was dis-cussed.

AKURE—THE governorship candidate of the Ac-

tion Congress of Nigeria, ACN,in Ondo State in the last gover-norship election, Mr. RotimiAkeredolu, yesterday, alleged thatthe election was marred with mas-

On the application of the De-fence Counsel, each of the ac-cused persons was admitted to bailin the sum of N2,000,000,00 withtwo sureties in like sum.

According to the judge, eachsurety must have a ertificate of lo-

cal government origin, or a Cer-tificate of Occupancy in respectof a landed property within thejurisdiction of the court, or an ac-count with any of the reputablebanks in Oyo State, or certificateof business registration.

The matter was thereafter ad-

journed to March 19, for trial.In August last year, the Oyo

State Government had discov-ered a pension fraud in its LocalGovernment Service PensionsBoard totaling, at the initial stage,N2, 608, 398, 709. 29 but laterskyrocketed to N6.4 billion.

sive irregularities. Akeredolu appeared before the

Election Petition tribunal sittingin Akure as one of the 41 wit-nesses that he and his party calledto testify in the matter.

He said exhibit P52A, P1H12,P16G12 included voters’ registerand insisted that the election wasmarred which frauds.

The candidate who cited thecase of Isowopo, Akoko 01, Ward08, Unit 12, said the irregulari-ties discovered were perpetratedin all units in the state.

He told the tribunal that his caseand that of his party was very clearbut that the tribunal must andcould only understand the caseby going through the exhibit andrelate it with the findings of theexperts, arguing that both mustbe connected.

Akeredolu said: “There werecases of double registration wherevoters appeared twice with differ-

ent VIN number.”He said one Abdulai Idris ap-

peared two times with differentVIN number.

The former NBA Presidentadded that there were people thatwere marked to have voted whowere invalid registrants andwhose thumbprints were not cap-tured.

Akeredolu who was led in evi-dence by his counsel, OluwoleAina, said his claims before thetribunal was contained in hispetition.

During cross examination bythe first, second and third re-spondents led by Mr. WoleOlanipekun, SAN, Akeredolu,was asked whether his agentswere in all polling units in thestate for the election.

He told the tribunal that hisagents were chased out frommost of the polling units, sayingthe ACN only had few agents in

BY GBENGA ARIYIBI

few polling units.When asked about his voter’s

card and if he registered in thestate, Akeredolu said he did notregister in Ondo State in 2011,but had a transfer of his voter’scard to Ondo State legally, un-der section 13 of the electoralact, following the procedure.

Akeredolu said that hetransferred his voter ’s cardfrom Jericho in Ibadan wherehe was initially resident.

Olanipekun asked if his reg-istration was also part of theinjections as analyses by theexpert.

Akeredolu said the expertwas very specific in the courseof his presentation, addingthat there were categories ofvoters injected and those thatmight have come under re-view of voters register ortransfer.

Members were said to have re-solved on how to utilize the moneyamong others.

It was gathered that they agreedthat among others, it would beused to renovate the church, buya bus for evangelism whileN1million would be put into a spe-cial account.

However, the Bishop of EkitiWest Anglican Communion, MostRev. Oludare Oke, was said tohave told the members includingthe vicar, Reverend MikeOgunniyi, that theN5 million was de-posited in a fixedAccount because itwas an endowmentfund and not a giftto the Church alone.

THE Igbimo Ure Ekiti,IUE, a body of Ekiti

State indigenes, not af-filiated to any polilicalparty, will host GovernorKayode Fayemi to a mo-tivational dinner at Har-bour Point, off AhmaduBello Way, Victoria Is-land, Lagos, tomorrow.

The group is attractingthrough the event, anumber of their associ-ates well wishers’ influ-ence to connect deeplywith Ekiti State Govern-ment and its citizens,with a view to improvingthe economy and the so-cial bearing of the state.

Mrs. Funke Adebajo,the Social and PublicitySecretary alongside Mr.Gbenga Oyebode, theChairman of the grouphad assured their ex-pected guests of a mostfruitful outing at theevent.COMMISSIONING: From left: Sir Adebutu Kessington, Pro-chancellor, University of La-

gos, UNILAG; Prof. Rahamon Bello, Vice Chancellor, UNILAG; Deacon Gamaliel Onosode,and Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyattu Rufai, at the commissioning of Sir AdebutuKessington Maternity Centre and Medical Laboratory, at the university in Lagos, yesterday.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Signed:

Legal Consultant

IBRAHIM YEKU

THE SELEMATI FOUNDATIONThe general public is hereby informed that the above named organisation has appliedto the Corporate Affaris Commission for the Registration under Part “C” of theCompanies and Allied Matters Act Cap C20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

1 MRS. JUDITH NWANODI2 MRS. ALERUCHI COOKEY-GAM3 MS. FRANCES NYEMACHI NWANODI

1 To promote the advancement of knowledge in the field of Law, Medicine and theEnvironment.

2 To establish a first class Medical diagnostic and examination centre with clinicalfacilities.

3 To promote research in the field of environmental studies, administrative andconstitutional law, the law of evidence and civil procedure by the establishment ofresearch and professorial fellowships in these fields in any university of the Trustees’choice within Nigeria.

4 To promote international exchange of ideas by attracting distinguished scholars andpractitioners in the fields; and

5. To encourage Nigerians to undertake research abroad in fields within the objects ofthe Trust.

Any objections should be forwarded to the under listed address within 28 days of thispublication to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, TigrisCrescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja.

THE BELOW LISTED PERSONS HAVE BEEN APPOINTED AS BOARD OF TRUSTEES:

THE OBJECTIVES OF SELEMATI FOUNDATION ARE LISTED BELOW:

PUBLIC NOTICE

THE SPEED CHURCH INTERNATIONALThis is to notify the general public that the above named organisation has applied to

the corporate Affaris Commission for Registration under Part “C” of the Companies and

Allied Matters Act Cap C20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

1. PASTOR BEN SOLOMON MBA 2. MRS. ROSEMARY O. MBA

1. To preach the word of God.

2. To promote the teachings of Jesus Christ.

3. To establish chapels, churches and house–fellowship centres for the benefit of

residents and promote the scriptures according to the Holy Bible.

4. To establish Mission Houses, pastoral houses for the residence of our ministers and

missionaries worldwide, shelters for the needy and homeless and pantry services.

5. To use any or all means permitted by law for communication such as: established

religious radio stations, tele-broadcast network, also to write, publish and

distribute religious literature such as the Bible, books, magazined and allied

service.

6. To establish, extend and otherwise carry on any or all of the aforesaid purpose into

a worldwide ministry movement.

Any objections should be forwarded within 28 days of this publication to the Registrar-

General Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi

Street, Maitama, Abuja.

The Trustees Are:

Aims And Objectives:

Signed:

Legal Consultant

IBRAHIM YEKU

12—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Ijaw mourn Okoro, Founder,Social Media Network

Ex-militants unleash mayhem on BayelsaBY SAMUEL

OYADONGHA

C h a t h a mHouse hostsIhedioha onConstitutionreview

IJAW MonitoringGroup, IMG, has

described the death oflate Colonel GodfreyOkoro (rtd) as an agonis-ing loss to the Ijaw andthe entire Niger Delta.

In a tribute by Com-rade Joseph Evah, Co-ordinator of IMG, thegroup lamented thatOkoro, who founded theInternet forum referred toas Ijaw Nation Forum,aimed at encouragingviews and opinions onthe problems and chal-lenges facing the Ijawpeople, as well as NigerDelta region, was one ofthe greatest thinkers pro-

duced by the region.“Niger Delta is experi-

encing a shortfall in thesupply of men of vision,character, selflessnessand courage. So thedeath of Colonel Okoro,from the great KaboweiKingdom of Patani, is aterrible loss to our region.

“The platform the lateColonel Okoro created tonetwork the various or-gans of Ijaw nation andstrengthen our unity aswell as provide solutionground for our survivalas a people will remaina reference point fromgeneration to genera-tion,” he said.

YENAGOA—NO fewerthan 10 vehicles, were,

yesterday, vandalized, whileone, was set ablaze inYenagoa, Bayelsa State, ashundreds of ex-militants pro-tested alleged meagre slotsallotted the state.

Also, some shops on OtiotioRoad, in Yenezue-Gene, asuburb of Yenagoa, were, al-legedly looted by the protest-ers.

The incident, which occurredbetween 11 am and 12nooncaused gridlock on the Mbia-ma-Yenagoa Road, as motor-ists were forced to make adetour to avoid running intothe irate youths.

However, the intervention ofmen of Joint Task Force, codenamed Operation PuloShield, anti-riot policemen,Operation Doo Akpor, opera-tives of Department of StateSecurity, DSS and NigerianSecurity and Civil DefenceCorps, brought the situationunder control.

When Vanguard, visited thescene, the charred remains

of a Toyota Camry was seen andsmashed windscreen of cars andbroken bottles littered Otiotio andErepa roads.

Trouble, it was learnt, started inthe area when news filtered to theex-militants that the Inter-Agen-cy Task Force, IATF, set up by theFederal Government to carry outthe verification and reconciliationof disarmament records, had al-

legedly resolved that 15 gunssubmitted by a camp will beentitled to one amnesty slot.

The protesters described theslot allocated to them as mea-gre and inhuman, a develop-ment, which stalled the com-mencement of the documenta-tion, verification and authenti-fication of genuine ex- militantsin the state.

Staff of IATF, to carry out theverification and reconciliationof disarmament records, werealready on ground at the Sec-tor 2 headquarters of JTF, tocommence the biometric exer-cise with a view to openingbank accounts in the names ofthe genuine ex militants toprevent issue of impersona-tion, when violence erupted.

VISIT: National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Bamanga Tukur (middle)welcoming Chairman of PDP Governors' Forum and governor of Akwa Ibom State, ChiefGodswill Akpabio (right) and Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State, during a courtesyvisit by Akpabio to the PDP national secretariat, in Abuja.

DEPUTY Speaker,House of Repre-

sentatives, Mr. EmekaIhedioha, has been invit-ed by Chatham House topresent a keynote ad-dress on the constitutionreview process by theNational Assembly to anaudience of Nigerians inthe Diaspora and key for-eign policy experts.

Ihedioha, who is chair-man of House Committeeon Constitution Review, isexpected to address theaudience on the level ofprogress on the constitu-tion amendment processthus far at a meetingscheduled to hold todayin London.

It is noteworthy that un-der the leadership of Ihe-dioha, the House Com-mittee on ConstitutionReview successfully mid-wifed the peoples’ publicsessions, the first-of-its-kind in the country.

Peace returns to Delta community

WARRI—PEACE hasfinally returned

to the oil producing com-munity of Ekamtagbene,in Bomadi Local Govern-ment Area of Delta State,after series of intra-com-munal crises, following aleadership tussle in thearea.

The 10-month-old dis-pute, which divided thecommunity into two fac-tions, ruined the socio-economic life of the peo-ple, until it was resolved.

Peace was restored dur-ing a Security and PeaceReconciliation Meeting,SPRM, chaired by theTransition CommitteeChairman of the council,Mr. Collins Olorogun, atthe council's secretariat.

At the meeting, the se-curity council dissolvedthe Alex Kemasuode-ledfaction, which was seenas a legitimate commu-nity government and theGowon Kimaki-led com-munity developmentcommittee CDC, to paveway for peace.

The dissolution fol-lowed the failure of thetwo parties to shiftground as well as to fore-stall further breach of thepeace and insecurity inthe community, where aparallel government wasalready running.

An eight-man interimcommittee selected fromboth factions was set up

with a four-month man-date to manage the af-fairs of the community,maintain peace in thearea, and to hand overto a duly elected commu-nity chairman, just as asix-member electoralcommittee was also putin place to conduct elec-tions after an amend-ment in the constitutionin areas of tension in thecommunity within theperiod.

Members of the inter-im committee include:Mr. Victor Ogboeye,

chairman; Mr. SundayOmorun, vice Chair-man; Mr. Timipere Ger-man, Secretary, andChief Arere Lore, Treas-urer.

The Security Councildisclosed that in order tobuild trust and confi-dence amongst ag-grieved parties and en-gender genuine supportfor the new caretakergovernment in Ekamtag-bene, members weredrawn from both factionsto form the new interimcommittee

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013————— 1313131313

CMYK

14— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013 —15

ThisDay holds 18th annual Award at Abeokuta, Ogun State

From Left: Chief Fola Adeola, Chief Titi Ajanaku, at the Award.

From Left: Dr. Wanle Akinboboye and Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, Pub-lisher ThisDay Newspaper, at the Award.

From Left: Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, Delta State Governor; former President OlusegunObasanjo, Chief Olufunso Amosun, First Lady of Ogun State, and Senator IbikunleAmosun, Ogun State Governor

Mr. Bill Clinton, former President of the United States (left) and Senator Ibikunle Amosun,Ogun State Governor, shortly after receiving an award, presented by Mr. Clinton, for hisExemplary Commitment to the Welfare of Teachers, at the 18th Annual ThisDay Award,at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Abeokuta, yesterday

BoT: How Anenih bounced back.Obasanjo absent at meeting

BY HENRY UMORU

ABUJA— SIX years afterhe was removed as

Chairman, Board of Trustees,BoT, of the Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, Chief Tony Anenihon Monday bounced back tothe position through a consen-sus.

Vanguard gathered thatmembers of the BoT were notprepared for the election be-cause the meeting was heldprimarily to receive and delib-erate on the Professor JerryGana’s report to structure themembership of the board.

It will be recalled that onJune 27, 2007, Chief OlusegunObasanjo emerged the newChairman of BoT where hetook over from the then Chair-man, Chief Tony Anenih.

Chief Obasanjo was, how-ever, absent at Monday ’smeeting where Anenih whomhe took over from then, wasbrought back to take over fromhim as his successor.

Vanguard also gathered yes-terday that immediately afterthe discussions of the report,some members called for adate to be fixed for the elec-tion of a new Chairman, butthis was rejected by majorityof members who insisted thatthe election must be held im-mediately.

Those who were against theelection being held argued

that this was not the time forthe party to go into an electionto elect a Chairman for BoTbecause if an election was con-ducted, it would polarise thePDP. They also contended thatmembers agreed that since BoTwas simply advisory and not

Executive, there was no needto go into such stress and rig-our.

Having agreed to hold theelection same day, Vanguardgathered that governor IbrahimShema of Katsina State wasimmediately nominated to bethe returning officer.

It was at this point that the

aspirants went out after lead-ers of the party had spokenwith them of the need to beguided by the precedent setin March 24 National Conven-tion where all the aspirantsstepped down for BamangaTukur. All the aspirants for theposition of BoT chairman thencame in and announced that

they were stepping down.The aspirants before

Anenih’s emergence wereformer Vice President AlexEkwueme; former NationalChairman, Dr. Amadu Ali;former Deputy NationalChairman, Alhaji ShaiubuOyedokun; Chief Don Etiebet;former Senate President KenNnamani; and ChiefEmmanuel Iwuayanwu,among others.

After they all stepped down,the returning officer, GovernorIbrahim Shema then an-nounced Chief Tony Anenih asthe consensus candidatewhich was greeted with ap-plause by members.

‘’We all agreed that thereshould be a consensus candi-date and there should be noneed for election to avoidoverheating the polity and atthe end of the day, all the as-pirants stepped down andChief Tony Anenih emergedand everyone was happy in-cluding the President. Thewhole process was smoothand very lively.” the sourcesaid.

....With Anenih, Akpabio, PDP is repackaged, ready foropposition parties — Tukur

ABUJA — THE NationalChairman of the Peoples

Democratic Party, PDP, yester-day, Alhaji Bamanga Tukuboasted that the election ofChief Anthony Anenih as chair-man, Board of Trustees, BoTand Governor GodswillAkpabio of Akwa Ibom State asthe chairman of PDP governorswill reposition the party to chal-lenge the opposition politicalparties.

According to him, withAnenih and Akpabio on board,the PDP has nothing to fearwith regard to 2015 presiden-tial election.

Speaking with journalists inAbuja, yesterday, on the chair-man of PDP Governors’ Forum,and Anenih as BoT Chairman,Tukur said, “It then meansthat the PDP is a repackagedpolitical party, ready to face allthe challenges ahead of theparty in 2015.”

Meanwhile, governorGodswill Akpabio has stressedthat former Head of State and2011 presidential candidate ofCongress for ProgressiveChange, CPC, GeneralMuhammadu Buhari was mis-quoted on statements regard-ing the merger.

Buhari, had on Monday atan interactive session withCPC members alluded thatthere was no need for PDP tomerge as it had alreadymerged with the IndependentNational Electoral Commis-sion, INEC, Police, Judiciaryand others.

Akpabio told journalists thathe could not understand whya former head of state wouldchoose to pretend that he doesnot know that INEC, Police,Judiciary and others were allindependent institutions con-stitutionally empowered tohave separate functions.

.Buhari was misquoted on merger talk —Akpabio

CMYK

CHIEF G. K. ANIMASHAWUN'S 80TH BIRTHDAY

16—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Youths on LG autonomy

PEOPLE SPEAK08102479985 By Bartholomew Madukwe(nwamad@yahoo.com)

ILORIN—FIFTEENNiger Republic na-

tionals have been appre-hended in Kwara Stateover alleged involve-ment in illegal felling oftrees.

Speaking on the devel-opment, yesterday, Com-missioner for Environ-ment and Forestry, Mr.Kayode Towoju,commended the new For-estry Monitoring Com-mittee for apprehendingthe suspects.

He noted that the stategovernment had in-vested on sensitisationcampaigns against mis-use of the forest reserves,which had caused cli-matic challenges in thestate.

Towoju said that eco-nomic trees like Bombas(Ose), Shea Butter (Emi)and Locust Bean (Igba)were destroyed in Woruvillage to produce 800pieces of carved woodsof various sizes by theNigerien.

He also said that theestimated cost of woodsfelled in Woru was morethan N1 million, whilewarning other villageheads to desist from aid-ing and abeting illegalactivities in their areas.

He disclosed that thecarved woods were im-pounded and depositedat the Area Forest Office,Ilorin while the culpritshad been transferredfrom A Division PoliceStation, Ilorin to the of-fice of The Nigerian Im-migration, Ilorin.

7 Nigeriensarrested overtree felling inKwara

BY DEMOLAAKINYEM

ILORIN—KWARA Stategovernment, yesterday,

gave relief materials worthN11 million to the victims ofrainstorm in Ilorin.

It would be recalled that thefirst rainfall two weeks agoblew off rooftops of several

buildings in Ilorin, the statecapital, rendering many resi-dents homeless.

Speaking while distribut-ing the materials, SpecialAdviser to the governor onEmergency and Relief Serv-ices, Alhaji Musa Abdullahi,said the gesture followed anassessment of some of the

damaged property by thestate emergency committee.

The items distributed in-clude roofing sheets, roofingnails, mattresses and blan-kets.

Abdullahi said the itemswould go a long way in re-lieving the victims and cush-ioning the effect of the dis-

asters.He said: “On the order of

Governor Ahmed and as partof his commitment to the wel-fare of the people, the govern-ment directed us to pay a sym-pathy visit and we discoveredmost of the victims were mas-sively affected which turnedthem to refugees.”

Kwara rainstorm victims get N11m relief materialsBY DEMOLA AKINYEMI

80TH: Mr. Kayode Animashawun, Jr., (left) and Alhaji MustaphaKekereekun at the special prayer and thanksgiving to mark the 80thbirthday celebration of Chief Gaffar Kayode Animashawun, GrandPatron, Ahmadiyya Movement-in-Islam, Nigeria, at the AhmadiyyaCentral Mosque, Ebute-Metta, Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO: BiodunOgunleye.

A cross section of white cap chiefs at the occasion.

From left— Chief Earnest Shonekan, Chief AkinDisu and Chief Femi Okunnu at the occasion.

From left— Chief Bukky Ajomo, Dr. Doyin Abi-ola, Chief Nike Akande and Mrs Jumoke Majeko-dunmi at the occasion.

From left— Chief Yomi Aiyepola, Alhaji Demola Fasholaand Chief Sinari Daranijo at the occasion.

LET us give it a try,at least. If itdoes not work well

for us, we can make a U-turn. But I think it willbe nice to have local gov-ernment autonomy com-pared to what we havetoday where nothing isworking.— Mr. AfolamiO l u w a f e m i ,Businessperson.

IN local governmentareas that I have personally visited for

one reason or the other,I do not think local gov-ernment autonomywould yield any positiveresult. Even local gov-ernment staff tell it allwith their lackadaisicalattitude to work.— MissAyo Olushola, Student.

IN my view, let ustackle corruptionfirst. With corrup-

tion, call it autonomy orwhatever, nothing willwork. It will just be likechasing shadows in thecountry. Local govern-ment autonomy is theleast of our problems.—Miss Josephine Agina,Student.

I would subscribe tolocal government au-tonomy since it is

something new. I do notsee anything wrong intrying something new. Ifin the end it is abused,we can then maintainstatus quo and return tohow it was. So let us giveit a try.— Mrs IjeomaMba, Businessperson.

WHEN we talkabout local government au-

tonomy, we have to firstask ourselves the simplyquestion ‘who shall bechecking the activities ofthe local government?’ Itwill all end up in raisingcorruption to newheights.—Miss Omo-tayo Adejoke, Caterer.

WE may need lo-cal governmentautonomy if

there is a better systemof government at the cen-tre. Such will on its ownprovide supervisory bod-ies to monitor what thelocal governments dowith the people’smoney.— Miss ThelmaOnwughara, Model.

CMYK

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013————— 1717171717

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OPINIONBY ONWUKAMIKE NWACHUKWU

*Mr. Nwachukwu, a commentator on national issues,wrote from Lagos.

Continues on pg 18

A POPULAR Igbo saying has it that if a child’swashes his hands clean, he is therefore

admitted to feast with elders. This wise saying ofthe Igbo people of South East of Nigeria findsfulfillment in the life and personality of Rt Hon.Chukwuemeka Ihedioha.

Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives,Ihedioha, who represents Aboh Mbaise/ NgorOkpakala Constituency in the Federal House ofAssembly was born in Aronta Mbutu in March, 1965.

As a post-civil war Nigerian child, his emergencein the political turf of Nigeria represents animportant shade and a wish fulfillment for thegenerational shift campaign being canvassed bymajority of Nigerian youths.

As a young man born in that era that Nobellaureate Wole Soyinka would prefer to describe asa ”generation of historical accident”, Ihedioha,through dint of hard work, got proper and well-rounded education that prepared him for the presentday responsibilities.

Educated at Town School Mbutu Mbaise, St

Ihedioha and the baton of generationalrepresentationEphraim Secondary School Okpala, University ofLagos and later, Stanford university and KennedySchool of Government, Harvard University, Ihediohawas professionally trained and nurtured in the artof management and legislative dexterity.

In the course of his political career, Ihedioha hasbeen privileged to work with , and learnt from notablepolitical titans and tacticians. He worked closely withthe that late Gen Shehu Yar'Adua, the late SenatePresident, Chuba Okadigbo and former VicePresident, Atiku Abubakar both as personal aidesand media spokesperson.

The experience drawn from the politicalinteractions with these political heavyweightsmanifest in Ihedioha’s great power of mobilisation,consensus building ability and transformationalvisions that embody in his politics and philosophy.It is these characteristics that also shape some ofthe positive and life-changing developmental feats

being recorded in his constituency.It is also important to add that the quality of

education that Ihedioha got from Nigeria’sUniversity of first choice, the University of Lagosand from the two Ivy league institutions in theUnited States of America, Stanford and Harvarduniversities are equally pointers to the quality ofleadership management that he has excellentlyexhibited in his capacities as former Chairman,House Committee on Maritime; member, JointCommittee on Constitutional Amendment;Chairman, Ad hoc Committee on process andprocedures of obtaining local and foreign loans;Chairman, Sub-committee on the Review of thePolice Act and Nigerian branch representative,Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

“Have you ever seen a candidate talkto a rich person on television?” -ArtBuchwald.

THE way our President, Governors ofthe PDP, major opposition parties,

eminent, perennial actors and fixers inthe political system are running aroundin pursuit of 2015, you would think ourdemocratic process is all about elections.And you will be right. Since 1999,elections have defined the character ofour democracy, and every election sincethen had merely reinforced the centralityof elections in our political system. Fromnow until 2015, all attention will befocused and devoted to elections. Thereal point of elections, which is to putpeople in charge of governance thatshould make real difference in lives ofvoters and citizens for the entire periodbetween elections will be lost. Attentionwill be diverted from performance ofelected officials. Huge public resourceswill be plundered in pursuit of electiveoffices. Costly deals and gambles willbe made. Worse of all, the electoralprocess itself will come under heavypressure in a manner guaranteed tocompromise it. The period intended forgovernance between elections willmerely serve the next elections, not thepeople.

Elections are vital to the growth anddevelopment of any democratic process,but they are only one among manyelements that help that development. Touse a rather imperfect analogy, to equateelections with the democratic process islike equating the entire essence of beinga woman with giving birth. There is alot more to being a woman thanproducing children, although this is amost critical function and the foundationof the growth of mankind andcivilisation. The woman needs to behealthy, willing and able to deliverchildren, and, ideally, the childrenshould be healthy. She has to nurse themthrough many delicate stages inchildhood, and be part of their adultlives until death. But a woman is also adaughter, sibling, relation, wife,colleague and many other things.

Democracy grows with elections whichare generally free and fair. But riggedelections and stolen mandates harm thedemocratic process, and if the electoralprocess cannot successively deliverbetter quality of elections, voters andcitizens are alienated from it. Theybegin to look for options, or at bestbecome indifferent to the fortunes of thedemocratic process. Democracy becomeshostage to a clique, a cult of thepowerful and the rich who know how totweak the system. All policies,programmes and activities of this cultare centred around retaining andexpanding power, which they dothrough subversion of the electoralprocess. In the end, democracy comesto mean nothing to the vast majority ofthe people, and leaders who corner

Democracy and elections

power and the resources of the publiclive increasingly further and furtheraway from citizens.

Stunted democracy

It is not just the security of the Nigerianstate that is crumbling bit by bit. Its

democratic process never had a chanceto grow, and is now showing all thesigns of a fatal atrophy. From 1999 to2007, our democracy was distinguishedby the struggle to build power around aleader, not around institutions of the statethat should improve economic welfareof citizens, fight corruption andinstitutionalise credible elections.Thereafter, the cult of the leader grew.The concerns are about clans or powerfulleaders handpicking successors, andensuring that the electoral processendorses them. Leaders who came topower as a result of a clan’s efforts nowcreate their own clans to survive.Survival means successfully dismantlingthe clan that engineered your acquisitionof power and building your own, veryoften on the skeletons of former fixersand godfathers. Then you take firmcontrol of the electoral process to ensurethat election results are returned in yourfavour, or in favour of those bestguaranteed to give you political coverfor massive violations while in office.

The nation now bleeds and goes upin flames when insurgents and securityforces clash, or when communities tiredof state inaction and indifference overgrievances, and take up arms againsteach other. It bleeds when largenumbers of criminals take over villagesand kill and maim because the state’scapacity to protect citizens is exhausted.The nation bleeds from massiveaudacious scams that appear to drawinspiration from the spectacular failureof the regulatory mechanisms of the stateto limit or arrest them. Povertycompounded by a damaging perceptionthat relief for it will come from nowherepushes millions of particularly young

people to desperation, crimes and drugs.Yet, Nigeria’s leaders today fight over

the 2015 elections. The President islocked in a deadly battle over 2015 withgovernors, that special breed which hasbuilt massive powers with public funds.The governors are fighting for secondterms, or cover after second terms or

protection against prosecution orhumiliation after 2015, or for the positionof the President itself in 2015. ThePresident is fighting to whittle theirpowers to decide whether his fight foranother ticket in 2015 costs him a lotmore than it should, or it can be achievedby striking deals which will be paid forby compromising the integrity of theelectoral process and critical institutions

of the state even further. The oppositionis working to merge, principally toreplace the PDP as the dominant party.It will be desperately hoping that theelectoral process will not be subverted,so that in the event that Nigerians preferthe APC to PDP, the results will say so.Little is being said about the survival ofthe merger after 2015, its chances ofsurviving turbulence from marriages ofconvenience forced upon it by the PDP,or how the PDP will behave in the eventthat it loses power. Or, which is equallylikely, if the opposition does not unseatthe PDP in 2015.

2015 elections hurting the nation

The attention on the 2015 elections ishurting the nation very badly. A

President whose record is not exactly agreat source of pride will now abandonmatters of state for the engaging ventureof seeking for re-election. PDPGovernors will wield their awesomepowers once again, against thePresident, within their party, duringcongresses and conventions, and all ofthis will be done with public resourcesthey all claim are inadequate to promote

real development. Non-PDP governorswill also dig deep into public resourcesto fund the merger activities and themerged party, and will justify this in thename of improving democracy.Politicians will mobilise now, miles fromthe starting point, and will splashmassive resources in pursuit of personalambitions. Tensions will rise aroundfaith and region, and will feed an

Our democratic system has been reduced toelections by our politicians, who have equatedtheir election fortunes with the nation’sfortunes. The electoral process which willshoulder all this weight still needs muchimprovement between now and 2015

already dangerously-exposedpolitical system.

Our democratic system hasbeen reduced to elections byour politicians, who haveequated their election fortuneswith the nation’s fortunes. Theelectoral process which willshoulder all this weight stillneeds much improvementbetween now and 2015. Noone appears interested in thisfor now. The danger here isakin to a woman who ispregnant with very highexpectations riding on it, butno one remembers to feed her,or look after her health or thepregnancy.

Prof. Attahiru Jega, chair INEC: How preparedis the electoral body for 2015?

CMYK

OPINION

18 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

*Mr. Nwachukwu, a commentator on na-tional issues, wrote from Lagos.

BY ONWUKAMIKE NWACHUKWU

Concluded

Continued from pg 17

COMING to his performance in hisAboh Mbaise/Ngor Okpala

constituency, the image of Ihediohalooms very large and his youthful zesthas equally attracted a kind of culticfollowing, especially from the youthfulcommunity, who see in his presence inpower politics as conforming to the 21stcentury generational thinking.

And he has not disappointed them.A review of his constituency projectsin the two local governments show thatthey are youths centred.

Coming from his own background asan indigent student, who by dint ofluck and essentially also through thehelp of education rose to where he istoday, Ihedioha in his two tenure stayin the Federal House of Assembly hasinvested so much in the rehabilitationand re-equipment of schools.

He understands the importance ofprimary school education and the veryvital role it plays in the sustenance ofeducation culture and thereforestrategically embarks on the

rehabilitation of many of the publicschools that were left by previousadministrations in a lamentable stateof disrepair.

Being also aware of the importanceof ICT education in the modern ageand about the revolutionary intriguesof the new media on the newgeneration, the Deputy Speaker hasensured that selected schools in thetwo local government areas are hookedonto the ICT grid and properlyinstalled with computers for proper ICTeducation.

Ihedioha’s ICT visionary educationprogramme is also tied to the need forjob creations. Being also aware thatunemployment is an issue in Nigeria,and that the youths can become self-employed when properly educatedwith other necessary infrastructuresprovided, he, as part of his constituency

projects, embarked on massive powergeneration and road constructions inthe local governments.

The construction of 133/33 KVA sub-station located between Nguru andIbeku Okwuato in Aboh Mbaise as wellas sub-stations at Mbutu, Ahiara inAhiazu, Onicha in Ezinihittee andNgor Okpala, are all meant togenerate enough power for domesticand commercial users in the two localgovernments and their environs.

While all these projects are keyedto Ihedioha’s vision towards the

socio- economic transformation of thepreviously remote local governmentareas which by the grace of God areattaining urban status, the Honourableis not unaware that it is only a healthymind that is a wealthy mind.

In this regard, he has equally

committed a lot of fund to therehabilitation of, and equipping ofhealth centres in various communities.In the same vein, previouslyabandoned water schemes in the twolocal governments are beingrehabilitated with a view to providingpotable water for the masses and by sodoing help to prevent water-relateddiseases.

However, there are also somecommunities which complain aboutbeing neglected by Ihedioha in histransformational programmes. Whilethey are entitled to their opinion andhave the right to make legitimatedemands from their servant, it is,however, important to advise theseaggrieved communities to exercisesome patience, wait and see all that areyet to roll out from the DeputySpeaker’s kitty. Rome, they say, wasnot built in a day.

Ihedioha and the baton ofgenerational representation(2)

A DRAFT legislation the Nigerian Commu-nications Commission, NCC, has before theNational Assembly, will endanger our lib-erties, if it becomes law. Titled ‘Draft LawfulInterception of Communications Regula-tions’, it would allow unhindered access tocommunications under the guise of security.NCC on its website states, “These Regula-

tions shall....provide the legal and regulato-ry framework for the lawful interception ofCommunications in Nigeria and to put intoeffect the provisions of Sections 146 and 147of the Act (the Nigerian CommunicationsAct).Section 147 of the Nigerian Com-munica-

tions Act states, “The Commission may de-termine that a licensee or class of licenseeshall implement the capability to allow au-thorised interception of communications andsuch determination may specify the techni-cal requirements for authorised interceptioncapability.”However, as the Nigerian telecom-munica-

tions revolution progressed, crimes are be-ing committed using electronic devices, par-ticularly mobile telephones and computers.In attempting to solve some of these crimes,law enforcement agencies have found call

No Wiretap LawNo Wiretap LawNo Wiretap LawNo Wiretap LawNo Wiretap LawUnless…Unless…Unless…Unless…Unless…

records of targeted individuals useful, andobtained them to speed up investigations. Inmany cases, these have not been done withwarrants duly signed by judges of competentcourts.Section 4 of the draft regulation allows in-

terception of communications without a war-rant. We hold that this is not just porous as itis open to all kinds of abuses, but injuriousto the primacy and privacy of communicationsamong individuals.\ How do we tackle abus-es that could arise? How safe would the in-formation be for unauthorised uses?Further, the draft regulation says in Section

7 that “a warrant shall be granted for an ini-tial period of three months or such lesser pe-riod as the judge may determine based on thecircumstances of the application made before

the judge and shall cease to have effect at theend of the period stipulated in the warrantunless renewed.”This is particularly problematic, as informa-

tion accumulated over three months may notbe germane to the initial case but formgrounds for a fresh case. This cannot be over-looked in a polity like ours, where public in-stitutions are prone to misuse and abuse byelected officials in pursuit of political objec-tives.Our communications are on record, and fears

abound that under the cover of fightingcrimes, the records can be used for other pur-poses. A solution could be found in provisionof jail terms for those who abuse informationcollected for national security or for crimei n v e s t i g a t i o n .Section 37 of the Constitution states that, “Theprivacy of citizens, their homes, correspond-ence, telephone conversations and telegraphiccommunications is hereby guaranteed andprotected.”The proposed legislation runs contrary to the

Constitution, without appropriate checksagainst abuses, it will pose more dangers bycurtailing our liberties than in fighting crimes.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013—————1919191919

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CMYK

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PDP, power mongeringand the APC (1)

ONE look at the ruling PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,

and it’s clear it is one madhouse of hostile room mates withclashing ambitions. But theseapparently hostile roommates arenevertheless united by theircommon greed for power and theunmerited perks that come with it.They may fight, bicker and tradepunches but none of these unhappyroommates are ready to walk out.When they do which is very rare,they almost always manage toretrace their steps and find theirway back into the mad house- fromAtiku Abubakar, Orji Uzo Kalu toAyo Fayose, among too many oth-ers; it’s as always the same oldsong- nobody hates the houseenough to walk away for good.Sooner than later those who ap-pear to have walked away for gooddo so only to raise their marketvalue by allying with erstwhile en-emies in order to secure a greaterpurchase on the slippery floor ofthe mad house when they return.And though it controls both hous-es of the National Assembly as wellas Aso Rock Villa, the relationshipbetween members of the PDP in the

legislative and executive armscouldn’t be more acrimonious.Not even governors of the party areat peace with the President to saynothing of the party chair.Everyone is at each other’s neck.The situation, as it is, appearsprimed to get worse. The Presidenthas no answer for the manyproblems assailing the state. Notonly does he lack the experience;he lacks the courage to learn,much less do what is necessary tomove ahead. He spends too muchtime fighting fire ignited by mem-bers of his own household. Firescaused by desire to advance per-sonal interests. His own desire toremain in office beyond 2015 evenwhen he has done next to nothingto justify his present mandate- hisambition to be a two-termpresident would not allow him todo even the little history haspositioned him for. He wouldrather make compromises thatonly show him up for the excuse ofa leader that he is.

For a while he tried to make itlook like his media battle withChief Olusegun Obasanjo wasdriven by some high motive to

break from the stranglehold ofparty leaders who have nothing buttheir pockets to protect. Obasanjoon his part latched on to what isnow folk wisdom, the fact thatGoodluck Jonathan hardly knowshis right hand from the left whenmatters turn to governance. Heportrayed him as a weak leader,too confused and inexperienced toreassure Nigerians of his leader-ship in the face of backward forcesof corruption, fake religion andethnic militias ranged against hisgovernment.

But after the bruising mediaremarks, they all retired to a

quiet Sunday morning breakfastat Aso Rock and a ‘return’ thank-you visit by the President at a Lon-don function, an initiative of theObasanjo Foundation, to finallybury the hatchet of a contrived warto save Nigeria. Nobody couldhave guessed that both parties andtheir respective supporters were ateach other’s throats only days be-fore.

The confusion in the larger PDPhousehold is not helped by the onein which the President is engulfed

by his wife, Patience, who is deter-mined to inflict her housewife,woman-versus-man knowledge ofgovernance on everybody. She ap-peared again recently in her Bra-zilian Carnival Queen regalia torecount tales of her Seven DaysSojourn in the Land of the Dead.The story retailed at the so-calledthanksgiving service she held twoSundays ago came many weekslate. For someone the Presidencylied was never ill, admitted onlywent for a bed rest when rumoursof her ill-health/death would notcease, it’s revealing to hear her sto-ry- from the Living-Dead’s ownmouth, you may say. Rather thanstaying quietly out of the mediaafter what she claims is a miracu-lous comeback, Mrs. Jonathan isback at what made her absence lastyear immediately obvious- unnec-essary media gaffes. Now this Per-manent Secretary that is yet to putin a day at her Bayelsa State’s min-istry post is out campaigning foran office for African first ladies inAbuja. And the foolish civil serv-ants in the FCT have obliged herby proposing to appropriate fundsfor this waste of public funds. Withother PDP women like Kema Chik-we who couldn’t resist putting inwords for Jonathan’s 2015 cam-paign, Patience called for an of-fice for the first ladies as if destitu-tion was the only alternative. Herutterance about how other coun-tries jostled to be chosen to erectthis monument to ineptitude is tosay the least very touching andemphasises the quality of herthought and her recommendationfor the position of first lady andpermanent secretary all at once.One wonders what practical gainNigeria is to expect from suchbuilding. In truth, PresidentJonathan did not start the rot thatis grinding Nigeria down but hehas done next to nothing toimprove things.

Given this picture of things in thePDP, the hunger for alternatives issuch a seductive, in fact, inevita-ble thought. The PDP lacks ideo-logical mooring of any sort. Atleast not in the sense political par-ties are expected to. The one thinguniting members of the party istheir raw hunger for power and adesire to hold on to it in perpetuity.This is the only ideology that bindsmembers of this party. And it woulddo anything, as it has in many in-stances in the past, to win power.Even where it was expected tosweep the stakes at elections, it in-flated its victory in terms of voterstatistics that rendered the wholeprocess a sham. Many times win-ning votes of PDP members, includ-ing states that voted for PresidentJonathan in the last election, faroutstripped total number of regis-tered voters in an entire locality.For this reason, everybody knowsthe PDP can’t be trusted to playstraight. One major way to assessthe electoral relevance of the par-ty and other parties in present dayNigeria is to look at individualswithin them imbued with the rightpolitical virtues and go with suchpersons. To repeat: Perhaps theonly way to decide on who or whichparty to support in Nigerian poli-tics today is to look at and identifyindividual members of some ofthese parties who still have politi-cal virtues which translate intopersonal conviction for publicgood left in them. Otherwise thereis hardly anything to choose be-tween one party and another irre-spective of claims of ideologicaldifferences. But how many individ-uals can one identify in any oneparty and how far would such lonevoices go in the vast wilderness ofparty hawks? Sooner than latersuch persons would be framed andostracised for so-called anti-partyactivities.

AS members of the Nigerian Guild ofEditors converge at Premier Hotel,

Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, for theirbiennial conference from February 28 toMarch 2, 2013, there is need to ponder thestate of the Nigerian media. It has to beadmitted that the Nigerian media enjoys theaccolade of being one of Africa’s mostvibrant. Editors have led the media posse,as people’s vanguard, on various occasionsto confront authorities when policies aredeemed to be anti-people, the most recentexample being the media’s strategic role inopposition to increase in the price of petrol,that eventually exposed the fuel subsidyscandal. Yet, media performance can bemuch better. In this regard, the issues whichdemand attention include fairness andaccuracy in the media; rabid politicalpartisanship in editorial content as well asmedia credibility. There is the issue of poorquality control of editorial content,particularly news stories, which is theflagship product of the media. In all these,the ownership factor is crucial.

However, as the professional leader, theeditor is the pivot of any mediaestablishment, in spite of competing forcesseeking control of the media. A keycompeting force is the media owner – publicor private. There is the widespread notionthat the media owner, like the person whopays the piper, has the right to dictate thetune in editorial content. This is a fallacy,given the media’s primary mandate as apublic trust. For the privately-owned media,it is a dual mandate – as a business andpublic trust. Hence, while the investor has aright to expect returns from a media

Nigerian media: Issues in editorship andprofessionalism

BY BISI OLAWUNMI company as a business, it is for the editor todetermine the editorial content that strikesa balance between the investor ’sexpectations and what serves the publicgood. It is a responsibility that he shouldneither abdicate nor compromise. Wherethe owner is government, such media outfitshould function mainly as public service,not business, as is currently the case withthe commercialization of news, particularlyin radio and television stations owned byfederal and state governments. To surrenderpublicly owned media to market forces is arepudiation of government’s fundamentalservice to the people and a denial of theirrights to know and be heard as such policyshuts out a significant section of the polity.It is a policy the Editors’ Guild shouldcontest.

It is understandable that governments,private owners, special interest groups andeven advertisers would seek to influence orcontrol the media in their desire to sell apoint of view, to be positively projected tothe people through the media or to containresistance by the masses. The editor is thebulwark against these assaults on the mediaby power blocs and he can only resist suchassaults successfully by imbibingprofessional integrity. A prerequisite toacquiring professional integrity is to acquireprofessional training – being a trainedjournalist with a university degree in masscommunication or journalism, a trainingthat emphasizes the ethics of the profession.So, a major challenge for the NigerianGuild of Editors is professionalizing theposition of editor and other editorial cadresand their equivalent positions in thebroadcast media. A situation where justanybody can get into media establishment,

parade himself or herself as a journalist andeven aspire to be editor should not be allowedto continue. With over 100 universities,polytechnics and monotechnics offeringcourses in mass communication andjournalism in Nigeria, there is a pool fromwhich to build a class of professionaljournalists. A concession might, however,be given to non-mass comm. graduates inthe media to undertake a post-graduatediploma course in mass communication toupgrade their status. A professionaljournalist is expected to know the limitationsof owners in terms of editorial content.There are studies which support this stand.Scholars, including Peter Golding, NoamChomsky and James Curran, note thatwhile governments and other media ownersare inclined to determine the editorial linein newspapers and broadcast stations, “ theyexercise these powers within structureswhich impose limits”. They thus contendwith regard to media control that “owners,advertisers and key political players cannotalways do as they would wish”.

Sadly, some editors, lackingprofessional integrity, by their

obsequiousness, give media proprietors theimpression that they (owners) can always

do as they wish. A trend where some editorstag along, as seeming bag-boys, on theentourage of their proprietors on local andforeign trips diminishes the position ofeditor.

I often cite the News Agency of Nigeria,NANM as an example of a crediblegovernment-owned media, largely due tothe professionalism and integrity of itspioneer Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Femi Adefela,a tradition that has been sustained by NAN’scurrent managing director, Mrs. Remi Oyo,a former NAN staff, even when she hadserved in the politically partisan position ofmedia aide to former President OlusegunObasanjo.

An important issue with editorship isaccountability. If editors hold officials ofgovernments and other institutionsaccountable to the people, if they decryimpunity, they also must be accountable totheir audience – readers, listeners andviewers. Freedom of the press cannot befreedom to be irresponsible in their editorialcontent. In this regard, newspaper editorsneed to subject themselves to the arbitrationof the Nigerian Press Council whenaggrieved members of the public petitionthe Council on alleged media excesses.Treating summons from NPC with levitydoes not accord with media ethics.

A key function of the editor is qualitycontrol of media content to ensure fairnessand accuracy. It would, however, seem thatthis function has been largely abandonedgiven the many embarrassing errors of fact,spelling and grammar in media fare, evenon the front pages of newspapers! In thisregard, the media needs governmentintervention to assist with capacity buildingfor the overall public good.

The Nigerian Guild of Editors need tomake a ‘truly professional man’ of editorsand other cadres of journalists by initiatinga peer review on qualifications and amechanism to bring erring editors and otherjournalists to order.Dr. Olawunmi is a Fellow of the Guild &lecturer at Bowen Varsity, Iwo.

The one thinguniting membersof the party istheir raw hungerfor power and adesire to hold onto it in perpetuity;this is the onlyideology thatbinds members ofthis party

If editors hold officialsof governments andother institutionsaccountable to thepeople, if they decryimpunity, they alsomust be accountable totheir audience –readers, listeners andviewers

20—Vanguard20—Vanguard20—Vanguard20—Vanguard20—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, FEBRUARY 27, FEBRUARY 27, FEBRUARY 27, FEBRUARY 27 , , , , , 20132013201320132013

CMYK

CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL SELLING

CBN Exchange rate as at 26/02/2013

117.38 -0.28

95.50 -0.36

136.55 -1.45

2,170.00 +41.00

18.0 0.06

DOLLAR 154.74 155.24 155.74POUNDS 239.4447 240.2184 240.9921EURO 206.6088 207.2764 207.944FRANC 167.4857 168.0268 168.568YEN 1.6469 1.6522 1.6575CFA 0.2954 0.3054 0.3154WAUA 235.315 236.0753 236.8357RENMINBI 24.7857 24.8662 24.9467RIYA 41.2596 41.3929 41.5262KRONA 27.6959 27.7854 27.8749SDR 236.2106 236.9739 237.7371

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBUARY 27, 2013 — 21

NIGERIA is stillblacklisted in theFinancial Action

Task Force (FATF) publicstatement despite itsenactment of the Terrorism(Prevention) (Amendment)Act 2013, the InterGovernmental Action Groupagainst Money Laundering inWest Africa, GIABA, said.

GIABA in a statement saidNigeria would remainblacklisted until it could beascertained through an on-site visit that Nigeria has metsubstantially all items in itsaction plan.

GIABA said the MutualEvaluation of Nigeria (MER)was adopted by GIABA on 07May 2008, and the countrywas rated Partially Compliant(PC) or Non Compliant (NC)in 13 out of the 16 Core andKey Recommendations of theFATF.

“This result, together with abanking asset in excess ofUS$5 billion, Nigeria wassubjected to the InternationalCooperation Review Group(ICRG) of the FATF. With thesupport of the ICRG RegionalReview Group (RRG) andGIABA, Nigeria developed anAction Plan to remedy theidentified deficiencies and, inFebruary 2010, Nigeria madea political commitment toaddress it’s deficiencieswithin one year.

“Nigeria’s efforts were

reviewed in February 2011and despite passing theMoney Laundering andTerrorism Preventionlegislation, Nigeria wasplaced on the FATF PublicStatement after the pieces oflegislation were analysed andfound not to fully conform tointernational standards.

“Since then, Nigeria hasmade significant efforts andtaken steps towardsimproving its AML/CFTregime, includingcriminalization of the fullrange of predicate offences formoney laundering and thepassage of the Money

Laundering (Prohibition)(Amendment) ACT 2012; andmost recently on 21 February,2013 President GoodluckEbele Jonathan assented tothe Terrorism (Prevention)(Amendment) Act 2013.

“The enactment of the Anti-Terrorism Act marks a turningpoint in the implementationof a robust counter terrorismmeasures in the country,which is a major requirementfor an effective AML/CFTsystem. However, FATF hasnot yet assessed thelegislation, due to the veryrecent nature of its enactment.

“This means that Nigeria is

still retained on the FATFPublic Statement for sometime until it is ascertainedthrough an on-site visit thatNigeria has met substantiallyall items in its action plan,”the statement said.

GIABA commended Nigeriafor its constructiveengagement with the FATFand GIABA, and for takingthose significant steps,including the enactment of thelegislation, adding that FATFand GIABA encourageNigeria to remain resoluteand continue with theimplementation of its actionplan.

FATF: Nigeria still blacklisted – GIABA

THE United Bank for Africa (UBA)Plc, has introduced a reloadable

prepaid card offering customers finan-cial control, convenience and security.The UBA Prepaid Card which is avail-able in Nigeria and 18 African coun-tries where UBA has presence is ac-cepted at all VISA acceptance points,on over 1 million ATMs, 30 millionPOS/Merchant Terminals in over 179countries across the world. The card,which is the first of its kind in the in-dustry, is one of the most prestigiousprepaid cards in the world. It gives userfull control over personal finances as itis not linked to any bank account andtherefore attracts no minimum balance.

Commenting on the new product,Head, eBanking, UBA Plc, Dr. AdeyinkaAdedeji said UBA Prepaid Card “helpscustomers control spending and be incontrol of their funds making it idealfor budgeting and travel.. It is alsoideal for students and even

employees or casual workers whomay not have a Bank Account”.

Other key benefits of the card, ac-cording to him, include “efficiently al-lowing customers that cannot get ap-proval for a current account to haveaccess to financial services anddeepen financial inclusion; whilebanked customers can still use theprepaid card to effectively managetheir spend to what they have loadedon the Card. In addition, they canlimit their account exposure by usingprepaid card online or at locationswhere they do not trust safety of theirinformation. Travelers can load Nairaand be able to spend as much as$40,000 equivalent per annum on thesecure card which is protected withthe CHIP and PIN technology.”

Elaborating on the new product,Esaie Diei, Head of Prepaid Cards,UBA Plc, said “Prepaid cards are afast-growing form of providing finan-

UBA deepens eBanking channels, introducesreloadable prepaid card

PETROLEO BrasileiroSA (PETR4) expects to

expand oil production in Ni-geria as the Rio de Janeiro-based company looks tostrengthen its presence in Af-rica’s top oil producer.“Petrobras has been producingoil in Nigeria for 14 years, andexpects to increase produc-tion,” Brazilian PresidentDilma Rousseff said today dur-ing a speech in Abuja, Niger-ia’s capital. “Petrobras expectsto establish an ever-strongerpresence here in Nigeria.”

Trade between Brazil, SouthAmerica’s biggest economy,and Nigeria, Africa’s mostpopulous country, is $9 billiona year. Nigerian PresidentGoodluck Jonathan andRousseff signed an agreementto boost cooperation on energy,aviation, agriculture, electric-ity, infrastructure developmentand defense. The two leaders“pledged to work together to-ward attaining a more bal-anced, diverse and mutuallybeneficial trade relationship,”according to a joint statementissued after they held talks to-day.

cial services, facilitating payments.Consumers see the value and conven-ience of using these cards for a varietyof financial needs. It may be used asan alternative to having a bank accountfor unbanked, as a budgeting tool orway to segment spending, and to makesecure online purchases by under-banked and banked customers. Thegood news is even without a Bank Ac-count, you can have your own PrepaidCard, loaded with Naira and be able tospend in any currency online and any-where in the world.” According to him,UBA Prepaid cards come with a low is-suance fee adding “there is no chargeto load money to the card and custom-ers may do so at UBA branches or viaU-Direct and U-Mobile.” United Bankfor Africa Plc is one of Africa’s leadingfinancial institutions offering servicesto more than 7 million customers across750 branches and over 2000 ATMs in19 African countries.

BY CHINEDUIBEABUCHI

Nigeria, Brazilsign agreementto boost trade,investment

From left: Deputy President, Ni-gerian-American Chamber ofCommerce, NACC, Chief BintanFamutimi; President, NACC,Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa; Repre-sentative of the United StatesConsulate General, Mr Fred Ar-mand and former Inspector Gen-eral of Police, Alhaji MusiliuSmith at the annual dance dinnerof the chamber held at the Lagosresidence of the United StateConsulate General.

22—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

From left: Head Card Product First Bank, Mr Emezino Afiegbe; Consultant PPM Corporation, Mrs Delia Omatshola; HeadMarketing & Corporate Communication, First Bank Plc, Mrs Folake Ani-Mumuney; Human Capital Management DevelopmentFirst Bank ,Mrs Ayo Jaiyesimi and Group Head Product & Marketing Support, First Bank, Mrs Ezinne Obikile, briefing on YouthExcel Series against All Odds organised by First bank Plc in Lagos. Pix By Diran Oshe.

THE Managing Director/CEO of Nigerian Export

Import Bank (NEXIM), Mr.Roberts U. Orya has reaffirmedthe commitment of Nigeria’sTrade Policy Bank to removingtrade barriers and promotingseamless commercialexchanges among ECOWASMember States.

He disclosed this at theannual conference of theBorderless Alliance tagged‘Connecting Markets’ takingplace in Accra.

In a statement issued by theBank’s Head of CorporateCommunication, Mr. ChineduMoghalu, theBorderlessAlliance fosterschange by bringing to lighttrade inefficiencies throughoutthe region.

Speaking through his keynoteaddress, ‘ImprovingInvestment Climate Through

NEXIM renews commitment to borderlessand connected West African markets

Effective Movement of Goodsand Persons in West Africa’, Mr.Orya praised the partners ofthe Alliance and lauded theinitiative of the ECOWASCommission targeted atcreating an enablingenvironment to attractinvestment within the Region.Such frameworks espousesCommon Investment marketinitiatives such as theECOWAS Investment PolicyFramework (IPF)are designedto nurture and facilitate thecreation of a healthy businessenvironment that would beattractive to all investors aswell as foster the pursuanceof effective key investmentpolicy, Investment promotionand facilitation; Trade Policy;Tax policy and Corporategovernance.

He stated thatnotwithstanding the good

intendment of the IPF andother frameworks targeted atfree trade within the sub-region, facilitating freemovement of goods, personsand capital as well asmacroeconomic policyconvergence, have not workedas satisfactorily. To achieve thedesired progress, theECOWAS community needs to

enhance their commitments toimproving the operations andprocesses of the ECOWASTrade Liberalization Scheme(ETLS) and ECOWAS RoadTransit Scheme (ISRT) and asa matter of urgency invigorateimplementation of themacroeconomic policyconvergence and policyharmonization.

DIAMOND Bank Plc hasinvested more than N30

billion in a geometric powerproject in Aba that willgenerate sustainable powersupply for the industrial cityall year round.

Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of thebank, Dr. Alex Otti disclosedthis in his opening remarks aschairman of the First- Made-in Abia Products Exhibitionwhich opened recently inUmuahia, Abia state.

The theme of the exhibitionwas promoting made in Abiaproducts for acceleratedeconomic development.

The plant would ensureentrepreneurs in Aba andenvirons can produce goods atfull capacity and at a reducedcost and it will becommissioned at the end ofthe year he said “I’m awarethat there are well over 60,000shoe makers in Aba but theyhave challenges of producingat full capacity because ofirregular supply of electricity,adding that as soon as thenew plant is commissioned ,Power Holding Company ofNigeria (PHCN) would switchoff in the area because the newplant will be able to generatesustainable electricity for 365days yearly.”

Otti who commendedGovernor Theodore Orji forthe initiative, noted that withthis exhibition, ‘Abia hasshown itself is a producingstate,” remarking that Romewas not built in a day and ifthe exhibition is sustainedover time, there would besignificant improvement insome of the inventions madeby the people. The Ottiremarked that people used tolook down on products fromChina, Japan and Korea asinferior but today everythingthey use in their homes aremade from those countries,adding that there is need toencourage and support theenterprising people of Abia toachieve this same featbecause no society candevelop without production.

He said the best type oftrading is value-chaintrading, whereby people sellwhat they produce and notjust buying and selling,remarking that there is needto encourage entrepreneurs inthe state to showcase theirproducts.

In his keynote address,Governor Theodore Orjicommended the initiative puttogether by the office of hiswife that culminated in thepublic-private partnership toholistically address the issueof industrialisation of the state

Diamond Bankinvests N30bn inAba Power Plant

IN first Bank Nigeria (FBN) customerscan now ‘express’ themselves via its new

Naira Mastercard Automated TellerMachine (ATM) card, prepared for localand international transactions.

The card according to the bank allowscustomers the freedom to design their ATMcard with pictures or word (s) of their choice,but not with vogue pictures or word (s).

Like Mr. Chuma Ezirim, Head, E-Business Group of the bank explainedwhen the bank stormed University of Lagosto showcase the card to the students, uponthis, he said the bank will be at other higherinstitutions of learning to enableprospective and existing customers have afeel of the new card, which is a way tocelebrate freedom, especially when itrelates to how we spend our money or what

First Bank unveils ‘expression’Naira MasterCard

By PRINCEWILL EKWUJURU one does with instruments that yield money.“With ‘expressions’, the Bank’s customers

assume control of the look and design oftheir Naira MasterCard by exercising thefreedom to print images of their loved onesand favourite moments of their lives on theircards. Flashing the card whenever one isout shopping or having it tucked awaysafely in one’s wallet is sure to evoke inFirstBank’s card holders a feeling of beingin charge.

Talk about a card you can really call yourown, that’s what ‘expressions’ is all about.Rewarding our esteemed customers withthe freedom to determine the design of theirNaira MasterCard is the bank’s way ofappreciating their patronage and restatingour commitment to constantly seekingcreative ways of delighting our customers,”Ezirim enthused.

investments recordingsignificant improvements.

Chairman of Stanbic IBTCHoldings Plc, Mr. AtedoPeterside, said Nigeria’seconomy has reached athreshold, a critical phaseduring which the country willaccelerate the realization of itsvast economic potentials anddeliver growth on asustainable basis.

Speaking at the 2013Standard Bank West AfricaInvestors’ Conference inLagos last week , Peterside,who is also Chairman of theTechnical Committee of theNational Council onPrivatization, said Nigeria’seconomic fundamentals aregetting stronger every day.

This, he said, is pivotal inhelping investors to leveragethe attractive investmentopportunities that exist in thecountry and to derive optimalvalue from such investments.“We all know that a tippingpoint only becomesunmistakably clear after thefact when one has joined theranks of those who are left toponder how they couldpossibly have missed out,”Peterside stated.

Nigeria attains new milestonesin economic reforms— Stanbic IBTC Chairman

NIGERIA’S quest foreconomic growth and

development attainedimportant milestones in thelast 12 months, with the powersector, capital market, ports,agriculture and foreign direct

PETER EGWUATU

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013 — 23

DIARYDIARYDIARYDIARYDIARY

PreviewPreviewPreviewPreviewPreviewNew inventions

shaping life and living

Select ICT eventsSelect ICT eventsSelect ICT eventsSelect ICT eventsSelect ICT events

INSIDE

Casual Connect2013. Holds 12-14Feb 2013 in Ham-

burg, Germany.

Graphics of theAmericas 2013.

Holds 21-23 Feb,2013, in Orlando,

USA.

Mobile WorldCongress 2013.

Holds 25-28 Feb2013, in Barcelona,

Spain.

RSA Conference2013. Holds 25 Feb-

1 Mar 2013 in SanFrancisco, USA.

CeBIT 2013.Holds 5-9 Mar

2013, in Hannover,Germany.

CMYK

Continues on page 27

Bottle chargercharges cellphones withboiling water

The Bottle Charger, de-veloped by a team in Ken-ya, can charge a smartphone with boiling waterand a tiny turbine.

It works by harnessingchanges in temperature,powering a cell phone inabout 30 minutes with justone cup of boiling water.It features a miniatureBlackbeard Unidirection-al Constant Turbine,which responds to chang-es in air pressure withinthe plastic bottle. In ad-dition to providing asource of electricity forpeople in remote areas, italso makes use of a plas-tic water bottle that couldotherwise go to waste.The Bottle Charger projectis currently seeking fund-ing on Indiegogo.

Need forone-stopshops inthe ICTarena

Monkey kit holdsyour tablet any way

Tackle youthunemployment

throughsoftware, say Ndukwe,

Ovia, Uwaje, others

More SIM cards thanpeople this year — GSMA

AS the entire worldsaw almost sevenbillion SIM cards

connected by end of lastyear, the GSM Associa-tion, an umbrella group ofnearly 800 networks, ven-dors, handset makers andservice providers world-wide has predicted thatthis year, the number ofconnected SIM cards willbe in excess of the worldpopulation.

This revelation came viaa report, The MobileEconomy 2013, poweredby a consultancy, ATKearney and the GSMA,released Monday at theon-going Mobile WorldCongress in Barcelona,Spain.

More SIMsthan people

“In 2012, the global mo-bile market grew stronglyto nearly 7 billion connec-

tions, representing agrowth rate of 13.7% p.a.since 2008 (see Figure 1).The number of individu-al subscribers increasedby 38% in the four yearsfrom the end of 2008 andthe number of connectionsgrew by 67% over thesame period (an increas-ing number of peoplehave multiple connec-tions, e.g. for work andpersonal use or for phoneand tablet). As the globalmarket continues to grow,2013 is expected to be alandmark year, with, forthe first time more SIMsactive than people alive.”

The chief reason for thisphenomenal growth innumber of connectedSIMs is that many con-

sumers have multiple de-vices — dual SIMphones, laptops, and tab-let PCs. Further, the re-port indicated that “withthe number of mobile sub-scribers standing at 3.2billion people, nearly halfof the world’s populationnow uses mobile commu-nications. It is expectedthat a further 700 millionsubscribers will be addedby 2017 and the 4 billionsubscriber milestone willbe reached in 2018.”

Contribution toeconomy

The GSMA-Kearney re-port further said that themobile industry is a ma-jor contributor to the glo-

bal economy. “The totalmobile ecosystem reve-nues were US$1.6 trillion,or 2.2 per cent of globalGDP. For the periodthrough 2017, the mobileindustry will investUS$1.1 trillion in capitalexpenditure and will con-tribute US$2.6 trillion topublic funding. Impor-tantly, in 2017, companiesacross the ecosystem willemploy nearly 10 millionpeople globally. The mo-bile industry’s economicimpact reaches far beyondits already_impressive$1.6 trillion in revenues,to boost individualwell_being, corporate pro-ductivity and government

As the global market continues togrow, 2013 is expected to be a land-

mark year, with, for the first timemore SIMs active than people alive

BY ADEKUNLE ADE-KOYA

FG sets up one-stop informationportal

FG topartner

Omatek onMade-in-

Nigeria PCs

BY EMEKA AGINAM

Continues on page 27

AFTER a facility tourof its plant last

Monday in Lagos, Min-ister of Trade and Invest-ments, Dr. OlusegunAganga, while commend-ing state-of-art factory ofone the nation’s leadingindigenous computermanufacturers, Omatekdisclosed that the Feder-al Government wouldwork with the company tomake available made-in-Nigeria computers to ed-ucational institutionsacross the nation.

According to the minis-ter, the the partnershipwas in line with the Ni-gerian Industrial Revolu-tion Plan and the LocalPatronage Initiative of theMinistry of Trade and In-vestment.

PartnershipOmatek, according to

the Minister has takenthe lead in innovation andquality. "We will like topartner with you as longas it does not break thelaw. We will be able toachieve the much-need-ed linkage between ourabundant natural resourc-es and the application ofappropriate technologyand production processesthrough the application ofICT in our schools andindustries.

“We are, therefore, de-signing a strategy for aworkable partnership be-tween Government,Omatek and the banks tomake available yourMade-in-Nigeria com-puters to all our schoolsand colleges.” he said.

While disclosing that theFederal Government willmonitor patronage of lo-cal content in its minis-tries, the minister assuredlocal manufacturers of theFederal Government’ssupport and commitmenttowards providing an en

EDITED by Adekunle Adekoya

VISIT: Managing Director of Omatek Ventures Plc, Mrs. Florence Seriki (right) here explains some-thing to Minister of Trade & Investments, Dr Olusegun Aganga during a visit to Omatek Solar LightingSolution in Lagos on Monday. In the middle are National President, Manufacturers Association of Niger-ia, MAN, Chief Kola Jamodu and CEO of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr Oscar Onyema. Photo byEmeka Aginam.

24 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

CMYK

Need for one-stop shopsin the ICT arena

IN bits and pieces, Iam sure, we will getthere. There will be

problems and solutionswill come, which be-cause of who we are willgenerate new problemsand fresh solutions, but Iam convinced we willget there. Where is“there”, anyway?“There” as you know, isa country where thingswork. It is a countrywhere reasonableexpectations of theordinary citizen areactualized.

When the Minister ofCommunication Technol-ogy, Mrs OmobolaJohnsonan-nouncedthat asinglenationalinforma-tion portalwill sooncomealive, Iwas surenot a fewNigerianswill bedelighted.

Whatthismeans isthatdigitiza-tion of thesimple processes ofgovernment informationis proceeding apace,and endless frustrationat not being able to getinformation needed oncertain issues andsubjects will soon beover. It is inconceivablethat more than twelveyears into the 21st

century, in the ICT age,a researcher, or even acurious layman willsearch for some informa-tion about certainactivities in his countryand come up zip. Whatis even worse aregovernment depart-ments, ministries andagencies that advertisetheir websites every-where, only for you totype the address in yourbrowser and what doyou get? Error 404! Thepage you are looking forcould not be found!

There is even thewebsite of a certainMDA charged withpromotion of criticalaspects of the nation’seconomy. After typingthe address in thebrowser, the return was:Site under Construction.That was the situationfor years until recently.

Now, if a singlenational portal iscoming, that wouldaddress a lot of infor-mation needs of bothNigerians and foreign-ers seeking knowledgeabout our country.

The near 600 MDAsof the Federal Govern-ment must have spenthuge sums of moneydesigning and upload-ing their websites. Butof what use is a websitethat, for instance, wasupdated last August?How reliable would bethe information on thatsite? Personally, Iwelcome the single

nationalinformationsite. A one-stop shopwill solve alot ofproblemshere.

Andtalking ofone-stopshops, wecertainlyneed morein the areaof certaininitiatives.

Minister ofTrade andInvestments,Dr Oluseg-un Aganga

just paid a visit to oneof the OEMs in Lagos,and announced thatthe Federal Govern-ment will go intopartnership with theOEM for PCs madehere that will bedistributed to schools.Good initiative, both forgovernment and theOEM. But I hope theminister remembersthat his ComTechpartner had launched asimilar initiative withthe OEMs just lastyear, including someforeign ICT forms andour banks. if theminister has funds forsuch an initiative, asynergy will be better,rather than opening anew window of efforts.Too many cooks canspoil the soup, abi?

Similar initiatives likethe Laptops for All, theOLPC are there. if allof them could beintegrated, perhapsgreater and fasterimpact would beregistered, rather theisolated one-manshows. It’s all in ourinterest, anyway.

THE House of Representatives has

commended the Nige-rian CommunicationsCommission, NCC, onthe implementation ofthe Digital AwarenessProgrammes, DAP, andthe Emergency Com-munications Centre,ECC, projects acrossthe country, hailingboth as major citizenempowerment pro-grammes whose impactwill be felt across thenation and beyond.

Chairman, HouseCommittee on Commu-nications, HonourableOyetunde Ojo, wholauded the ExecutiveVice Chairman of theCommission, Dr. Eu-gene Juwah for his pur-poseful leadership ofthe Commission duringthe Commissioning ofDAP at Erijiyan Gov-ernment High Schoolin Ekiti State, said theproject is also an indi-cation of how the Com-mission has faithfullyutilized its budget, es-pecially at this periodwhen the availability ofphysical infrastructureshas become the basiccriteria for performancemeasurement.

Hon. Ojo while Com-missioning the DAP atErijiyan GovernmentHigh School, said theimpact of this project,even in rural Nigeria,can easily be felt andsuch, conveys the ap-

House Committee boss lauds NCC on DAP, ECC

preciation of government,and the community toNCC for investing in thefuture of their youth in anarea that is very crucial tothe development of theNigerian nation. In sup-port of the Commission,he also pledged to pay forthe bandwidth fees for theschool for the next threeyears after the expirationof the initial payment bythe NCC, to ensure thatthe school does not expe-rience any down time onits Internet connection inthe next four years.

Ojo also inspected theEmergency Communica-

tions Centre under con-struction in Ado Ekiti, theEkiti State capital.

Executive Vice Chair-man of the NCC, Dr. Eu-gene Juwah, who wasrepresented by a Com-missioner of the NCC,Mrs. Biodun Olujimi,said more than 222 high-er institutions across thenation have so far bene-fitted from DAP while an-other programme calledWireless Cloud has yetanother beneficiary 93higher institutions oflearning.

“DAP is part of the ma-

Monkey kit holds your tablet any way

A new tablet standcalled the Monkey Kittakes what usersexpect from a stand,which is obviouslyholding a tablet, andadds some creativity.Instead of beinglimited to just oneposition, the MonkeyKit is adaptable.

What makes Octa'sMonkey Kit worth asecond look is itsversatility. It comeswith a bendable armcalled the MonkeyTail, that can bemanipulated andplaced in almost anyposition. Users canbend the arm into theshape of a base to siton a desk or a table, orthey can get a littlemore creative and usethe arm as a hook. Itcan even be placedunder a mattress likethe Manatee stand.The Monkey Tailportion of the deviceweighs in at about onepound (0.45 kg) and isthree feet (0.9 meters)long, which shouldgive it enough lengthto wrap around objectsor form a sturdy standfor a tablet.

The Monkey Kit alsoincludes what Octacalls the VacuumDock. Instead of astandard suction cup,

Monkey kit in use

jor objectives of the Com-mission to achieve univer-sal access for ICT. Havingconquered the voice te-lephony, the area of datahas become our major fo-cus at the NCC. DAP, andthe related programmes,are some of the ways thatthe Commission hasstrived to key the Nigeri-an youth into accelerateduniversal access. By mak-ing Internet servicesavailable to the youngergeneration, we are help-ing to build the bridge toconnect this generation tothe next”, he said.

which could be a littleweak to hold a heavytablet, the Monkey Kit'ssuction cup actuallysucks the air out of thespace between it and thetablet, which creates atighter hold. Userspump the button fivetimes, and then it islocked in place. Torelease the Vacuum

Dock, users slide theirfinger underneath abuilt-in tab and lift up.Alternatively, they canslide a credit card underthe Dock to release thevacuum's grip.

Octa is planning forthe future, and as such,the Vacuum Dock willwork with future tails(including the already

available Whale Tail), sobuyers won't need topurchase additionaldocks if they decide toupgrade to a differenttail. The company hascompleted its fundingperiod on Kickstarter.Now that the Kickstarterperiod is over, the retailprice of the Monkey Kitwill be $99 when it shipsin April. Source: Octa

Similar initia-tives like the

Laptops for All,the OLPC arethere. if all ofthem could beintegrated, per-

haps greaterand faster im-pact would be

registered, rath-er the isolated

one-man shows,,

COMMISSIONING: The Digital Awareness Project of the Nigerian Commu-nications Commission, NCC, at the Erijiyan Community High School, in EkitiState, was recently commissioned by the Chairman of the House Committee onCommunications, Hon. Oyetunde Ojo. Photo shows from left: Head, Mediaand Public Relations of NCC, Mr. Reuben Muoka, NCC Commissioner, Mrs.Abiodun Olujimi, Hon. Oyetunde Ojo (cutting the tape), and Chairman ofAction Congress in Ekiti State, Chief Jide Awe at the commissioning event.NCC Photo.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013 — 25

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26 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

A statement from organ-izers of the award said atthis year ’s KalahariAwards, only eight cate-gories existed of whichMobile Money, with a fo-cus on innovation, waslisted.

Tigo Cash, which wasvoted best, is said to beunique among its corecompetitive base.

The keenly contestedMobile Money categoryincluded telecommunica-tion companies, inde-pendent Mobile Moneyproviders as well asbanks offering MobileMoney services, for whichnine (9) entries from five(5) West African countrieswere shortlisted from sev-eral nominations.

Head of Mobile Finan-cial Services at Tigo Gha-na, Selorm Adadevoh,said “We are excited tohave been recognised as‘The Best Mobile MoneyProduct in West Africa’ atthe just ended 2013 Kala-hari Mobile MoneyAwards in Lagos, Niger-ia.

“On behalf of the excel-lent Tigo Cash team mem-bers, who have worked sohard to make the productthe market choice in Gha-na, I will like to expressmy humble gratitude forthis honour. It is withgreat pleasure that wethank our loyal customersfor making this happen.

“This was made possi-ble due to the confidencethey have shown in theproduct and we wish todedicate this award tothem.

Tackle youth unemployment throughsoftware, say Ndukwe, Ovia, Uwaje, others

BY EMMA ELEBEKE

Tigo Cash wins mobilemoney award

BY EMEKA AGINAM

AGAIN, stakeholdersin the Nigerian IT

industry who gathered inLagos at the weekend forthe 2013 Institute of Soft-ware Practitioners of Ni-geria (ISPON) President’sDinner were worried, say-ing that unemploymentwill remain unabated ex-cept youth entrepreneur-ship through software de-velopment for job creationis encouraged.

Speaker after speaker atthe event while express-ing worry over the deathof skilled software humancapital among youthwarned that if younggraduate were not encour-aged to write softwarecode, Nigerian may re-main a consumer nationand digital colony of thedeveloped economies inthe global competitive-ness.

According to the forum,software code writing ifwell explored will openwindows opportunities forIT entrepreneurs withparticular reference tosoftware start-ups. Theevent with the theme-Framework for entrepre-neurship and venturecapital in the ICT indus-try-the role of software'enabled the attendees toexamine the critical role ofsoftware for national de-velopment and future sur-vivability of Nigeria.

Earlier in his welcomeaddress, the ISPON Pres-ident, Chris Uwaje toldthe gathering that govern-ment must begin to en-gage the youth in softwarecode writing otherwisedigital colonization by for-eign nations will contin-ue.

“With 60.3% youth pop-ulation, Nigeria is defi-nitely a nation to reckonwith in the emerging in-formation society. Thecomfortable mantra seek-ing to explain the inabili-ty to designate specialfunding scheme to pro-mote innovation andYouth EntrepreneurshipStart-up Development onthe grounds of lack of re-alistic collateral for lend-ing opportunities, is tostate the least, a blatantmisinformation to the pi-oneers and champions ofSoftware Nigeria.

Delivering his keynoteaddress, Mr Jim Ovia,Chairman, QuantumCapital Group said thatany country who fails toinnovate in the 21st cen-tury knowledge societywill be left out eventual-ly. Citing the example ofMark Zuckerberg, hesaid: “We have to contin-ue to innovate to be partof the information socie-ty. Iam passionate aboutyouth development. Iampassionate about youthengagement in softwareprograming” he said.

Also speaking, the ViceChancellor, CovenantUniversity, Ota. Prof.Charles Ayo who was theChairman of the 2013 IS-PON President Dinner,said that the youth mustbe retooled to softwareengineering for the chal-lenges ahead after grad-uation from the universi-ty.

“My concern today islack of innovation amongthe Nigerian youth. Insti-tutions of higher learningmust strive to graduateentrepreneurial youthsrather the one that will bein the street looking for

job that may not go round”he said.

In the opinion of therepresentatives of Specialadviser on ICT to theGovernor of Cross River,Victoria Uju, developmentof any nation in the 21stcentury society lies in soft-ware.

“We are passionateabout youth innovation.We are passionate aboutyouth empowermentthrough software devel-opment. That is the onlyway to develop the coun-try” she said.

Human capacity build-ing is the bail out option:

Former ExecutiveChairman of the Nigeri-an Communications Com-mission, and Chairman ofOpen Media, Engr. Er-nest Ndukwe said there isno better way to build Ni-geria other than humancapacity development es-pecially among youthswho are future leaders.

Ndukwe who currentlychairs Broadband com-mittee warned that if thegovernment fails to payattention to human capac-ity building, economicdevelopment will remainat low ebb.

ICANN has appointed Engr. Lanre Ajayi

a member of the ExpertWorking Group on gTLDDirectory Services. Ajayiis Managing Director ofPinet Informatics Limited,and President of the As-sociation of Telecommuni-cations Companies of Ni-geria (ATCON).

He has served as theVice-Chairman of the In-ternet Service ProvidersAssociation of Nigeria (IS-PAN) and Africa ISP As-sociation (AfrISPA). Healso has served as a mem-ber of the National Cyber-crime Working Group ofNigeria. He currentlyserves as a GNSO Coun-cil member appointed bythe NomCom and isbased in Nigeria.

It will be recalled thaton 13 December 2012,Fadi Chehadé, ICANN’sPresident and CEO, an-nounced the creation ofan Expert Working Groupon gTLD Directory Serv-

Ajayi named to serve ongTLD workgroup

ices (EWG) and invitedvolunteers to submit ap-plications to indicate theirinterest in serving on it.The EWG is the first stepin fulfilling the ICANNBoard's directive to helpredefine the purpose andprovision of gTLD regis-tration data.

This project is designedto provide a foundationfor the creation of a newglobal policy for gTLD di-rectory services, and req-uisite contract negotia-tions, as appropriate.

Over 70 highly qualifiedexperts from across theInternet ecosystem wereconsidered in the selec-tion. In selecting theEWG, each candidates'operational knowledgeand experience with reg-istrant data or directoryservices (or analogoussystems) was considered,along with consensus-building skills, aptitude toinnovate, geographic di-versity, and other pub-lished criteria.

ISPON DINNER: The 2013 Annuel ISPON President's Dinner held last week in Lagos. Above at theevent, are, from left, Professor Pat Utomi, ISPON President, Chris Uwaje, Secretary, Chinenye Mba-Uzokwu and Mr. Seni Williams. Photo by Emeka Aginam.

ABUJA — The Annual Operating Levy,

AOL, Regulations wereaimed at creating and pro-viding an effective and ef-ficient administration ofan annual operating levyregime which would spec-ify the mode and methodsof assessment of AOL, theExecutive Vice Chairman,Nigerian Communica-tions Commission, NCC,Dr. Eugewe Juwah hassaid.

Dr. Juwah who disclosedthis while speaking inAbuja during the Publicinquiry on the AnnualOperating Levy Regula-tions, AOL, explainedthat these regulationsshall complement the Actand the respective licenc-es issued by the commis-sion and would also re-move any ambiguity ex-isting in respect of theAOL and other fees and

BY EMMA ELEBEKE

TIGO Cash has beenawarded “Best MobileMoney Product in WestAfrica” at the 2013 Kala-hari Awards held in Ni-geria.

The award is given toorganisations that havemade significant contribu-tion to the mobile finan-cial sector and are poisedto change the marketlandscape in the near fu-ture.

Annual operating levy aimed at efficiency,says Juwah

BY CHRIS OCHAYI charges to be paid by op-erators.

According to him, “theCommission is certain thatthese Regulations willprovide the guidingstandards and Principlesfor a dynamic AnnualOperating Levy adminis-tration regime in the Ni-gerian Telecommunica-tions industry and wouldrepresent another effortby the commission to-wards ensuring that thestandards in the industryreflect international bestpractices while takinginto consideration our lo-cal circumstances,” hesaid.

Operators who partici-pated in the discussionmade their contributionsfreely and raised issuesthat would assist the com-mission in finalizing theregulations.

In his contribution, Mr.Lucky Ubani who repre-sented Airtel stated that

the Public inquiry was animprovement but sug-gested that certain otherissues should be includ-ed, like the net pay whichhe said should be reduct-able.

Others who spoke al-most in defence of theirvarious organizations in-cluded Mr. Debo of Etis-alat, Mr. Rasheed ofMTN who respectivelypleaded that issues beclearer so as to be on thesame page with the NCC.He also requested thatthe regulatory body NCCshould “understand” theirbusiness more.

In a closing remark theExecutive Vice Chairmantold participants thatNCC as a regulatory out-fit does not stay on theside of operators or con-sumers but was alwaysthere to resolve issuedbetween both sides.of theservice provider’s wellwhich is just what we arestarting to do.

CMYK

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013 — 27

More SIM cards than people this year — GSMA

funding,”

Booming mobilebroadband

At the end of last year,according to the report,there were 6.8 billion mo-bile connections world-wide, which is expected togrow to 9.7 billion by theend of 2017.

“Mobile broadband ac-counted for 1.6 billion ofthese connections in 2012,increasing to 5.1 billion in2017, including 920 mil-lion LTE connections. Theproliferation of mobilebroadband enabled anexplosion in data trafficand in 2012, 0.9 exabytesof data traversed mobilenetworks every month;this will increase by 66 percent to 11.2 exabytes permonth in 2017. 2 The rate

Continues from Page 23 abling environment fortheir businesses to flour-ish.

“I am delighted that thison-going success story isbeing championed by awoman of high entrepre-neurial repute in the per-son of Engr. FlorenceSeriki. Partnering withgovernment to actualizethe Transformation Agen-da of President GoodluckEbele Jonathan is indeeda noble initiative.

“Let me re-iterate herethat the Federal Govern-ment’s TransformationAgenda is a project whichrecognizes the need toconsciously nurture Nige-rian industries in thequest for a sound econo-my developed on theback of industrial growth.We are therefore assuringOmatek of the necessarysupport all the way.” hesaid.

of growth is best illustrat-ed by the fact that totaltraffic volumes in 2012were as high as all prioryears combined.”

Africa, Asia leadmobile growth

The global view of mo-bile growth identifies anumber of regionalthemes. Emerging mar-kets are the major enginesof mobile growth – AsiaPacific in particular. Theregion generated an im-pressive 57% of all newconnections between 2008and 2012 to stand at 3.3billion and is projected togrow at 7% p.a. between2012 and 2017 adding 1.4billionnew connections.

Africa and Latin Ameri-ca have also been a keysource of mobile industrygrowth, accounting forthe next 20% of connec-tions growth between

FG topartnerOmatek

Continues from Page 23

FG creates one-stopinformation portal

NCS seeks more women participants in ICT

2008 and 2012. Thisgrowth is set to continuewith combined connec-tions growth rate of 7% _8% p.a. over the next 5years to 2017, represent-ing 0.6 billion new con-nections by 2017. Theheadline growth innumber of connectionshides an important shifttaking place in the typesof connections that makeup the total. In terms ofnumbers of connections,2G technology – whichprovides digital qualityvoice, messaging and lowbandwidth data connec-tions – still accounts forthe majority of global con-nections in 2012, 5 billionof the 6.8 billion total.However, the growth inconnections will be driv-en by increased uptake of3G and 4G connections,which are forecast to in-crease from 26% to 53% of

global connections overthe period 2012 to 2017.

4 bn subscribermark by 2018

Looking ahead, the re-port said the milestone 4billion mark is expectedto be broken at somepoint in 2018. The gap be-tween subscribers andconnections growth is ex-plained by adoption ofmultiple SIM devices perperson and rapid growthof M2M, especially in thedeveloped world. This isindicated by SIM per sub-scriber ratio which is fore-cast to grow from 2.1 in2012 to 2.5 in 2017 glo-bally. North America,which sees the one of thefastest multi-device, has2.8 SIM cards per sub-scriber, higher than anyother region.

VISIT: The Nigeria Economic Summit Group paid a courtesy visit to MTN Nigeria last Friday. Abovefrom left are Corporate Services Executive, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Akinwale Goodluck; CEO, MTN Nigeria,Mr. Brett Goschen, Chairman Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mr. Foluso Phillips and Director-General NESG, Mr. Frank Nweke, Jnr during the visit.

THE Nigerian Computer Society,

(NCS) has called formore women participa-tion in Information Tech-nology so as to bridgedigital divide.

The Nigeria Women inInformation Technology(NIWIIT), is an interestgroup of the NigeriaComputer Society(NCS),

The President of thegroup, Mrs. Adeola Ile-chukwu said that NIWI-IT was committed todriving the future of Ni-geria by harnessing onthe strengths and contri-

butions of women in In-formation Technology, inline with its motto of "Ad-vancing the use of Infor-mation Technologyamongst women".

NIWIT she said is anew Interest Group inNCS like ITAN, ISPON,ISPAN, etc. Membershipis open to female mem-bers of NCS, CPN andany woman involved inIT.

“Foster unity amongNigerian women in theIT industry through net-working, maintain anddefend the integrity andright of women in the ITindustry, promote pro-fessionalism, capacity

building and good rela-tionship among membersthrough mentoring,maintain the higheststandard of ethics, con-duct, virtue, etiquetteand discipline amongwomen in the IT indus-try, engage in any activ-ity and ventures whichwill promote NIWIIT aswell as the welfare ofmembers, create a plat-form by which women inIT can collaborate withother women in otherprofessions in Nigeriaand elsewhere, developand train members of theNIWIIT through work-shops and capacitybuilding programs,

among others are theobjectives of the NiWiiT

“The interest group isan imperative to empow-er and encourage wom-en working in the fieldof information and com-munication technologies(ICTs). NiWiiT workswith government, inter-est groups and otherstakeholders to achieveobjectives for women inIT in unique and inno-vative ways” she said.

According to her,events and activitieswould recognize the im-pact of women in ICTwhile promoting the ad-vancement of women inICTs. NiWIIT is focused

on increasing the activeparticipation and contri-bution at all levels in theIT industry.

The group she addedwould work on “catch-i n g - t h e m - y o u n g ”through events high-lighting opportunities foryoung girls and youngwomen in educationalinstitutions, governmentagencies and ICT drivenorganizations.

BY EMEKA AGINAM

MINISTER of Communication Tech-

nology, Mrs OmobolaJohnson has disclosedthat that the Federal gov-ernment has created anational single windowportal that will ensure thatall government informa-tion is domiciled in oneportal.

The Minister who dis-closed this to newsmen atthe Social Media Week inLagos entitled ‘’Show-case: Technology in Gov-ernance’’ stressed that theprimary objective of de-ploying a National Portal,an initiative of the Minis-try of CommunicationTechnology in collabora-tion with the Ministry ofInformation is to create asingle point of entry forNigerians to access gov-ernment information andservices online.

The National Portalwhich will be launchednext month, according to

her will showcase all theMinistries Departmentsand Agencies MDAs ofthe Federal Governmentof Nigeria on a singleWindow portal that willenable Nigerians at theclick of a button view andengage any desiredAgency of Government.

She added that that agovernment Call Centerwith vanity number ‘’0700CALL GOV’’ is set forlaunch in April.

The portal, Johnsonsaid was created with thelatest technology withmore intuitive domainnames (finance instead offmf, environment insteadof Fme)that makes it eas-ier for citizens to viewwhat they want from a sin-gle window.

Reiterating the role ofthe new Ministry of Com-munication Technology,Johnson stressed that thecreation of the Ministryresulted in a better focuson the ICT industry andegovernance. She addedthat though egovernancewas already happening,but in silos. Governmenthad publish and informwebsites of 420 MDAs(not standard, not updat-ed regularly).

Nigerians according toher could get Customs HSCodes, NIPOST postcodes, transact websitesby Immigration for pass-port issuance, register forexams and check examresults online (JAMB).But the National portalwill have a single windowwill have all that andmore.

In a related develop-ment, Mrs Johnson hasinaugurated the Govern-ing Board of the NationalICT Incubation Pro-gramme tagged IDEA(’Information TechnologyDeveloper Entrepreneur-ship Accelerator)

The programme has amandate to support Nige-rian ICT Entrepreneurs tocreate successful busi-nesses that will have glo-bal impact.

The programme will of-fer support to promisingICT entrepreneursthrough ICT incubationcentres established in aselected number of citieswith the first two locatedin Tinapa and Cross Riv-ers state.

Members of the Gov-erning council inaugurat-ed include Mr AdedotunSuleiman of Arian Capi-tal, Pius Okigbo Jr of In-fosoft, Osayi Alile Orueneof Fate Foundation, JohnObaro of Systems Spec,Teemu Kiijarvi of Nokia,Wiebe Boer of TonyElumelu Foundation, Ju-liet Anammah of Accen-ture, Mohammed Balar-abe of Fidelity Bank, Vin-cent Olatunji of NITDAand Aristotle Onumo alsoof NITDA.

BY EMEKA AGINAM

Inauguarates IDEA board

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28 —Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Tottenhan Hotspur’s 3-2 winover West Ham last Mondaynight, Chelsea could still fin-ish the season on a high note.

Rafael Benitez’s men maystill be able to combine a topfour finish with EuropaLeague and FA Cup success.

But to triumph in England’sdomestic Cup competition, theBlues must pass their first testaway at Middlesbrough. Andthey will be aiming to do justthat, inspite of the tough fix-ture congestion with whichthey have been battling ,Zenden explained.

“We always have so manygames to play in our busyschedule”, the Dutchman toldhis club’s official site, withavoiding a replay againstMiddlesbrough also key.

“We’ve played more match-es than any other team in Eu-rope so we will be looking toget the job done on the high”,Zenden continued. “It’s anopportunity to win a trophy.As a player you always havethe desire to win trophy and wewant to finish the seasonstrongly. “It’s vital we progressinn the competition because it’sa beautiful trophy to win”. ManUnited await winners in FACup quarter-finals.

Rafael Benitez takes the west

Chelsea keen to wiCup despite odds

CHELSEA assistant manager Boudewinjn

Zenden has bemoaned theclub’s busy fixture scheduled,but insisted they are desper-ate to win the FA Cup.

The Blues take on Middles-brough in the Fifth Roundtoday and are bidding tobounce back from a 2 -0 lossat Manchester City at theweekend.

Indeed, despite havingdropped down to fourth in thePremier League following

London side to the RiversideStadium to face the Champi-onship outfit with a last-eightclash at Old Trafford awaitingthe victors. Tony Mowbray willbe without defenders JustinHoyte and Stuart Parnaby,meaning Andre Bikey shouldstart at right-back withStephen McManus alongsideRhys Williams at centre-back.

Josh McEachran, currentlyon-loan from Chelsea, is inel-igible to play against his par-ent club. Up front Lukas Jut-kiewicz (ankle) is a doubt forthe game, and so Curtis Mainis on standby to support Scott

SUPER Eagles midfielderDickson Etuhu has been

ruled out for the rest of theseason due to a nagging kneeinjury.

The Blackburn Rovers starwas getting close to acomeback after he featured ina reserves’ gameagainst Fulham only for theinjury to relapse.The former Fulham combativemidfielder has not featured forRovers this year as his lastgame was on December 15,2012.

Etuhu played for Nigeria at2008, 2010 AFCONs as wellin 2010 FIFA Word Cup inSouth Africa.He has won 17 caps for

Etuhu out for restof the season

•Etuhu

Nigeria after he debuted in2007.

NANI has been given atake-it-or-leave-it ulti-

matum on a new contract.The Manchester United

winger was called into ameeting last week to be toldthe club would not budge ontheir original offer of £90,000

United adamanton Nani’s deal

a week for another four years.That would have matched

his current agreement but thePortugal star, who had a£130,000-a-week demandturned down, is nowconsidering his options.

And, if he does not sign,United will start looking forbuyers and sell him at the endof the season.

Nani, 26, joined United fromSporting Lisbon for £14millionin July 2007 and Old Traffordchiefs do not want to risklosing him for nothing, withonly next season left on hiscurrent deal.

Boss Alex Ferguson madeclear his desire to keep Naniafter his match-winningdisplay in the FA Cup fifth-round win over Reading.

But Nani was unhappy atbeing a sub and Fergie said:“We want to keep him. He’sone of the best match-winnersin the game.•Nani

Inter fined for Balotelli slurs

INTER Milan have beenfined £50,000 euros

(£43,200) after a section of fansracially abused AC Milan strik-er Mario Balotelli during Sun-day night’s Milan derby, theLega Serie A have confirmed.

The Lega took action after the22-year-old was subjected to“ racially discriminatorychants” by a section ofNerazzurri fans at the San Siro,while several supporters wereseen waving inflatablebananas towards the Italyinternational. •Balotelli

A statement published onGazzetta.it confirmed thatBalotelli has also been fined10,000 euros (£8,600) fordirecting a vulgar gesture atthe Inter fans when leavingthe pitch at the final whistle,with Milan receiving a 10,000euro fine for unveiling“insulting banners”.

Inter were recently fined20,000 euros (£13,200) whena section of fans were heardsinging racist songs aboutBalotelli during a Serie Amatch against Chievo.

ROMELU Lukaku appreciatesthat Chelsea will decidewhether he can stay on atWest Bromwich Albion for an-other year.

The 19-year-old striker hasexcelled during a loan spellat The Hawthorns this season,with regular football allowinghim to fulfil his potential.

Game time has been hard tocome by for the Belgiuminternational during his timeat Stamford Bridge, withChelsea reluctant to ask for

Lukaku awaits to

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013 — 29

in FA

McDonald.Meanwhile, Rafa Benitez

should continue with PetrCech in goal ahead of second-choice keeper Ross Turnbull,despite his tendency to rotategoalkeepers in the cup. RyanBertrand is likely to replaceAshley Cole at left-back,though, with John Terry set topartner Branislav Ivanovic atcentre-back and CesarAzpilicueta to start at right-back. Juan Mata is likely to berested for the tie to give Os-car a chance whilst FernandoTorres should also return to Be-nitez’s team.

EVERTON manager DavidMoyes says that Mar-

ouane Fellaini needs to bemore like Lionel Messi indealing with opponents whotry to rough him up.

The Belgian midfielder hasbeen the Toffees’ star playerthis season but has earned areputation for retaliating toprovocative treatment.

The 25-year-old was sent offearlier in the season forheadbutting Stoke’s RyanShawcross, while he reactedangrily to a challenge fromBradley Johnson of Norwichat the weekend.

“Everybody wants to kickMessi because it is the onlyway to stop him, but all heever does is sort of smile, getup and get on with it, and thendoes it again,” said Moyes.

“So I have told Fellaini hehas to copy that. I don’t thinkhe’ll ever be as good as that,but certainly in his

Fellaini needs to bemore like Messi— Moyes

•Fellaini

temperament, he should try tobe similar to Lionel Messi,who looks as if he just gets onand accepts that people haveto try to stop him some way.

United red alert onRonaldo

MANCHESTER Unitedhave been put on red

alert as Cristiano Ronaldo has

apparently become frustratedat the lack of contract talkswith his current employers,Real Madrid.

Ronaldo is not happy withthe amount he has to pay Realas they take 40 per cent of hisindividual earnings, which is

a lot when you consider theamount that he makes

from being such asporting icon.

The Portugal captainwants to reduce thisand feels as thoughhe is not beingtreated fairly bythe La Liga

champions andunsurprisingly, United arekeen to see how this storydevelops.

Many believe that Unitedwill manage to secure theservices of their formerattacker one day and if heisn’t happy at the Bernabeu,then a move to Old Traffordcertainly would make sense.

Ronaldo doesn’t seem to bea man that is driven bymoney however, and hewould only move forfootballing reasons.

If United look like the bestfootball team to go to thoughand they can offer him a bettercontract, then one of the bestplayers in the world could beon his way back to the EnglishPremier League.

•Ronaldo

o Chelsea decide futuretoo much from their teenagefrontman.

The Blues were, however,prepared to part with£18million to secure Lukaku’sservices and have high hopesfor him in the future.

It could be that the StamfordBridge outfit wish to draft himback into their plans for nextseason, after seeing him shinein the Premier League thisterm, but Lukaku claims to beunaware as to what the 2013/14 campaign will hold for him.

He said: “I don’t know whatChelsea will decide. We’llhave a chat about how to buildup a good career for me there.

“There are a lot of cleverpeople over there and they’reseeing that I am playing in agood way.

“Every 10 days I have ameeting with Chelsea.Sometimes they just come andtalk with me and say what Ihave to improve, if I go backthere I have to be like this orlike that.

OLYMPIC sprint championUsain Bolt has been

signed up to run the 200m atthe Diamond League meetingin Paris in July, organiserssaid on Tuesday.

“With Bolt, we know that wewill easily fill the Stade deFrance.” said the head of themeeting, Laurent Boquillet,adding that organisers hadshelled out $300,000 (229,000euros) to bring the Jamaicantrack king to the Frenchcapital on July 6.

Bolt, 26, won 100m, 200mand 4x100m relay gold at lastyear’s Olympics in London,repeating the feat that he firstachieved in Beijing four yearsearlier and cementing hisreputation as the greatestsprinter of all time.

Boquillet said the fee wasstandard for a runner of Bolt’s

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Bolt set to light up ParisDiamond meet

•Bolt

calibre, pointing out thatbefore his Olympic triple featlast year, he was available for$250,000 per meeting.

The Paris Diamond leaguemeeting is the ninth on themain athletics circuit.

RUSSIAN NikolayDavydenko broke a two-

match losing streak againstsixth seed Janko Tipsarevicof Serbia 6-0, 7-5 yesterday atthe Dubai Duty Free TennisChampionships.

Davydenko overcomesTipsarevic in Dubai

•Davydenko

The first two games lasted 31minutes, with 24 points in thefirst game and 26 points in thesecond game, of the 50-minute set. Davydenko foughtback from a 1-4 deficit in thesecond set and improved to a38-70 record against playersin the Top 10 of the EmiratesATP Rankings.

“I won [the first] six gamesbecause we fought or mademistakes,” said Davydenko. “Itried to not hit winners, but[tried to] push the ball in themiddle [of the court] and wait.The first two games were halfan hour. I was really tired. Intwo games, I was thinking ‘thematch has just started and I’malready tired.’”

Tipsarevic has now lost in theopening round of his pastthree tournaments. The 31-year-old Davydenko will nextchallenge Victor Hanescu ofRomania.

RAFAEL Nadal will missnext month’s ATP World

Tour Masters Series events inMiami and Indian Wells, theMadrid sports daily Marca re-ported on Tuesday.

The 11-time Grand Slamchampion has only recentlyreturned to the court after a sev-en-month injury lay-off with apersistent knee problem buthas decided to only play onclay courts as he prepares hisbid for an eighth French Open

Nadal still strugglingwith knee

title in May. Nadal, who beginshis campaign at the MexicoOpen in Acapulco later onTuesday against Argentine Di-ego Schwartzman, won the Bra-zil Open in just his second tour-nament since his return a fort-night ago.

But he admitted on arrivingin Mexico that his knee wasstill was not 100 percent.

”It’s better and I’ve been ableto compete but it’s still bother-ing me,” he said.

30 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Is your insurance genuine?

By ROSEMARY ONUOHA

DOES your motorinsurance certificate

bears such company nameslike Savana Insurance,Gateway Insurance, QualityInsurance, Liberty Insurance,CBN Agric Insurance Limitedor Access Insurance? Then,you have fake insurance.

Have you bought anyinsurance policies through aninsurance broker and he/sheis taking eternity to give youthe documents to prove thatyou actually purchased suchpolicy? Then, you are dealingwith a fake.

Fake insurance of any sortis dangerous because it hascontributed in impoverishingand killing many Nigeriansthat suffered material orphysical loss which genuineinsurance would havereplaced. Fake insurancepolicies have no liabilitiesattached to it as such peoplewho patronise fake arecausing harm to themselves.

Surprisingly, only about 15insurance companies out ofthe 49 operating in Nigeriaare known by the public. Thiswas confirmed by a studyconducted by GIZ, a Germanagency for sustainabledevelopment and Riskguard-Africa Limited.

According to the report, asurvey conducted acrossselected states in the countryshowed the few insurers thatare known to include, AiicoInsurance; Niger Insurance;Industrial & GeneralInsurance (IGI); LeadwayAssurance; NICON;LASACO; Oasis; MutualBenefits; Royal Exchange aswell as Crusader.

Need to deal with genuineinsurance companies

Policyholders must ensurethat they obtain their policiesfrom insurance companiesduly registered by theNational InsuranceCommission, NAICOM. A

How genuine is yourinsurance?policy obtained from a fakeinsurance institution has noliability attached and nocompensation can be receivedif such complaints are madeto NAICOM.

Due to the inability of some

people to get compensation fora loss they suffered because ofthe prevalence of fakeinsurance, so many are notbuying insurance as they arenot aware of the benefits ofinsurance. But the truth is thatpeople need insurance so thatthey can provide a standard ofliving for themselves and their

loved ones.In recent times, eradication

of fake insurances and thesanitisation of the insuranceindustry is one of the cardinalobjectives of NAICOMthrough its MarketDevelopment andRestructuring Initiative,MDRI. Accordingly, theinsurance consumer cancontribute to this effort bypatronising only genuine

insurance companies.Industry stakeholders are of

the opinion that fake insuranceis worse than fake drug,because fake drug affects onlyone person which is theconsumer while fake insuranceaffects both the consumer andother third parties who may beaffected by the absence ofgenuine insurance protectionin case of accidents.

Lizzy BensonWell, the only

insurance I have isthird party motorinsurance policy. Iobtained it from themotor licencingoffice in Lagos. Ihave heard thats o m e t i m e s ,i n s u r a n c ecertificates fromlicencing offices are

mostly fake and don’t coverany liability. Well, I don’thave time to do it in agenuine insurancecompany, so I make do withwhat I have.

Olivia AmaraI used to have fake third

party insurance for my carbecause I taught it would be

very expensive if I go to agenuine insurance company.But there was a period whenI was on leave from my officeand decided to go to aninsurance company.Surprisingly, I got theinsurance policy at a cheaperrate than the rate at which Inormally get it from thelicencing office. So I have

decided to patronise genuineinsurance companies.

Tony OmohI don’t know if the insurance

for my car is genuine or notbecause I did not pursue thedocuments for my car myself.I gave all the details to anagent and she brought my

papers.

Chinwe OnuMy insurance is from a

registered insurance companybecause when I needed torenew my car papers, I wentto a genuine insurancecompany and got a real policybefore proceding to thelicencing office.

Emole EgwimI only have motor insurance

for my car and I did it from arputable insurance company.There was a time when my carwas accidented and myinsurance companyresponded accordingly. So itis good to deal with agenuine insurance company.

•Lizzy Benson •Olivia Amara •Chinwe Onu •Emole Egwim•Tony Omoh

CMYK

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013 — 31

ARE you acontributor int h e

Contributory PensionScheme, CPS? Doesyour employerregularly remit thestatutory contributionto the Pension FundAdministrator, PFA, onmonthly basis afterdeduction from salary?If your answer is in theaffirmative, then thereis no cause for alarm.But if not, then youneed to inform theNational PensionCommission, PenCom,which is the regulatorybody for the CPS,because it is an offencefor employers to deductmoney from salariesand not remit same tothe CPS.

The CPS is wellregulated by PenCom,however, a majorchallenge facing it isthat many employeesare yet to registercoupled with the factthat some employersfail to remit or defaultin remittance.

Until 2004, Nigeriahad operated,particularly in thepublic sector, a DefinedBenefit, DB, pension

Does your employer default in remitting yourpension to your account?

counterpart funding of 7.5 per cent to beremitted into a Retirement SavingsAccount, RSA, which the employee isexpected to open with any Pension FundAdministrator (PFA) of his/her choice.This makes up a minimum of 15 per centto be paid into the employee’s RSA.However both the employer and theemployee may opt to fund the RSA abovethe mandatory minimum of 15 per cent.Employers may also opt to bear morethan half of the mandatory minimum of15 per cent.

Old Scheme Vs New SchemeUnder the old scheme no contributions

were made, and projections wererequired to be made of the pensionentitlements of each employee by theemployer, with such projections beingdetermined by the employee’s years ofservice and earnings. Thus, the pensionobligations were effectively the debtobligation of the employer, whichassumes the risk of insufficient funds tosatisfy the contractual obligations toretired employees. In contrast, under theCPS, the employer is responsible onlyfor making specific contributions onbehalf of employees. However, theemployer does not guarantee any certainamount upon retirement as he is nolonger indebted to the employee.Payments to employees upon retirementwill depend on age, gender, RSA valueand final salary.

The new scheme allows for themaintenance of a RSA by each employee,which gives the workers responsibility

scheme, which was largelyunfunded and non-contributory. Thesystem was also referred to as a Pay-As-You-Go, PAYG, scheme sinceretirees were to be supported not bytheir previous contributions but byannual budgetary provisions.Because it was largely unfunded,the DB system led to massiveaccumulation of pension debt,estimated at over one trillion naira.In response to the telling effects ofthis system on the lives of our seniorcitizens and their families, theGovernment of President OlusegunObasanjo took measures aimed atreversing the situation by developinga sustainable system with thecapacity to achieve the ultimate goalof providing a stable, predictableand adequate source of retirementincome for each participant.

The CPSSince 2004, the CPS has been in

operation under the Pension ReformAct 2004 to replace the previousDefined Benefit scheme, DBS.

The CBS as the name suggests iscontributory in nature and ismandatory for every employee in theFederal Public Service (includingemployees of the Federal CapitalTerritory) and employees in allprivate sector organisations.

Employers are expected to deduct7.5 per cent of the employee’s totalemolument and also provide a

over their retirementsavings. Pensionersare no longer at themercy of employer,and are assured ofregular payment ofretirement benefits.

The new schemealso affordsemployees anopportunity to passwealth to survivorsin the event ofdeath. In addition,RSAs maintained bymillions of workersgenerate a hugepool of long-termfunds, which areavailable forinvestment. Also,having a pensionscheme that paysout benefits in theform of a lifeannuity orp r o g r a m m e dwithdrawal affordsworkers protectionagainst longevityrisk, by poolingmortality risk acrossothers.

Penalty fordefault

H a v i n genumerated all theabove, there is noj u s t i f i c a t i o nwhatsoever, for any

employer to default or refuseto remit deducted money fromsalaries into employees RSA.The role of PenCom inenforcing the penalty fordefaulting employers asprovided in the Act is criticalin ensuring compliance withthe law and also ensuring theoverall success of the scheme.PenCom in recognition of thisrole, appointed compliancemonitoring team who areexpected to follow up ondefaulting employers whilePFAs are also required toreport defaulting employers tothe Commission on a monthlybasis. Accordingly, employeesare expected to support theefforts of NAICOM inensuring a successful CPS, byreporting erring employers.The CPS is robust, safe and ispoised to help retirees live wellafter their active life inemployment.

To a large extent the CPS hasplaced in the hands of thecontributor the responsibilityfor the contribution that isavailable in the RSA uponretirement, thus, participantswill have to take their destinyin their hands.

SEND YOUR QUESTIONSAND ENQUIRIES TO

Insurance&you@yahoo.com

*A&G Insurance Co .Ltd;

*Adic Insurance Co. Ltd;

*African Alliance Insurance Plc;

*Aiico Insurance Plc;

*Anchor Insurance Co.

*Ltd; Capital Express Insurance Ltd;

*Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc;

*Cornerstone Insurance Plc;

*Crusader Insurance Plc;

*Crystalife Assurance Co Ltd;

*Custodian and Allied Insurance Plc;

*Equity Assurance Plc;

*Fin Insurance Co. Ltd;

*Goldlink Insurance Plc;

*Great Nigeria Insurance Plc;

*Mansard Insurance Plc;

*Guinea Insurance Plc;

*Industrial & General Insurance plc;

*Insurance PHB Ltd;

*Wapic Insurance Plc;

*International Energy Insurance .Plc;

*Investment & Allied Insurance Plc;

*Lasaco Assurance Plc;

*Law Union & Rock Insurance plc;

*Leadway Assurance Co. Ltd;

*Linkage Assurance Plc;

*Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc;

*Nem Insurance Plc;

*Nicon Insurance Plc;

*Niger Insurance Plc;

*Nigerian Agricultural Insurance

Corporation;

*Oasis Insurance Plc;

*Oceanic Insurance Co. Ltd;

*Prestige Assurance .Plc;

*Regency Alliance Insurance Plc;

*Royal Exchange Plc;

*Trust Insurance Plc;

*Spring Life Assurance plc;

*Staco Insurance plc;

*Standard Alliance Insurance Plc;

*Sterling Assurance Nigeria Ltd;

*UBA Metropolitan Life Insurance Ltd;

*Unic Insurance Plc;

*Union Assurance Co. Ltd;

*Unitrust Insurance Co. Ltd;

*Unitykapital Assurance Plc;

*Universal Insurance Plc;

*Zenith Insurance Co. Ltd.

NAICOMregisteredinsurancecompanies By ROSEMARY ONUOHA

CMYK

32 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

FEBRUARY and March have been observed to be the hottest monthsof the year in Nigeria and the rest of West Africa. However, this year

in the Lagos area, we have had three noticeable rainfall events duringJanuary and we have, in early February, been experiencing the coolertemperatures brought about by the harmattan. The long-term averagerainfall in the Lagos area for January is less than 25mm but the rainfallexperienced in January 2013 is more than this long-term average. Canwe because of these January rains say that the climate is changing?

We should understand, in the first place, that the climate over Nigeriaand the rest of West Africa has several features. The annual rainfall inthe region decreases in magnitude as one goes from the coast in theSouth to the border with the Sahara Desert in the north. There are twomain seasons – the rainy season and the dry season. The rainy seasonoccurs between April and October in the south while in the north, thestart of the rainy season is delayed till June. The climate observed is theresult of the interactions between the ocean, the land and the atmosphere.There are two air masses, the Equitorial Maritime and the TropicalContinental and the boundary between these two air masses is calledthe Inter Tropical Front, ITF, and this boundary stays to the north of theequator all year round. The Equitorial Maritime air mass is characterizedby southwesterly winds coming to land off the Gulf of Guinea and theseare the main rain bearing winds in Nigeria.

The Tropical Continental air mass is the dry northwesterly winds knownas the harmattan. The rainy season occurs all over Nigeria when the ITFhas retreated to beyond the northern boundary of Nigeria and the wholecountry is traversed by southwesterly winds. The dry season occurs whennortheasterly winds cover the whole of the northern part of the countryand may even break through to the coast on a few days during theheight of the season as we have experienced in Lagos during earlyFebruary 2013.

Other factors that determine our climate are humidity, air temperatureand pressure, wind speed and direction, cloud cover and types, amountand form of precipitation, infrared and solar radiation, terrestial radiation,soil moisture, evaporation, vegetation cover, latitude, elevation and seasurface temperature. There are variations in all the factors we have justmentioned above from one year to the next year with the result that wehave years of heavy rainfall, the wet years, and years of low rainfall, thedry years.

In a study of rainfall fluctuations in West Africa for the period of 1901 to1990, the average of annual rainfalls for the period was used as a baselineagainst which annual rainfalls were plotted and compared. It wasobserved that annual rainfall levels from 1971 to 1990 were significantlylow compared to the long-term average. Another study at Ahmadu BelloUniversity of rainfall in Northern Nigeria covered the area north of latitude100N with data from Kontagora, Kaduna, Bauchi, Gombe, Yelwa, Samaru,Poliskum, Birnin Kebbi, Gusau, Kano, Maiduguri, Sokoto, Katsina,Hadejia and Nguru. Rainfall data for the period 1976 to 2005 wasanalysed and the results showed that the rains now start late but endearly and thus the length of the rainy season is decreasing. The frequencyof dry spells of 5 days is decreasing, while dry spells of 10, 15 or moredays are on the increase. Northern Nigeria is therefore becoming drier.Professor O. J. Olaniran gave an inaugural lecture at the University ofIlorin entitled Rainfall Anomalies in Nigeria: the ContemporaryUnderstanding. Rainfall data for Nigeria for the period 1921 to 1985 wasconsidered. One of the conclusions was that in Southern Nigeria, thereis evidence that the climate oscillates frequently between wet years anddry years.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NIMET, has carried out a reviewof the climate over Nigeria in 2010. The review indicated that warmerthan normal conditions prevailed over greater parts of the country. Itwas also found that rainfall amounts in 2010 over the country weregenerally higher than long-term mean values. Rainfall data provided byNIMET for Iseyin and Sahki in Oyo North for the period 1990 to 2010show a pattern of wet years followed by dry years. Maximum rainfallwas at 4-year intervals, with a minimum two years after a maximum.

There was noticeable drought in the northern parts of West Africa between1968 and 1973 and there was a Drought Relief Committee in Nigeria.We have mentioned earlier that in the period following on the drought,West Africa had lower than average rainfall. The rainfall that has beenobserved in 2010, 2011 and 2012 in Nigeria would suggest that wemight be in a period of higher than average rainfall.

Whether the rainfall we have experienced in the last few years followsthe natural variability between wet years and dry years or the rainfall isa reflection of climate change, our communities should be able to copeadequately with the levels of rainfall we are experiencing. Current rainfalllevels are not higher than what has been observed at various times overthe last 100 years. We will examine in the weeks ahead what can bedone to prevent floods or mitigate the effects of floods in some of ourcommunities.

Climate, Climate Change, the Dryand Wet Seasons in West Africa (2)

Chairman,Ejigbo LCDA,Kehinde Bamigbetan(middle) signing the approved copy of the council’s2013 budget of N1.6Bn into law last Tuesday in his office,while the Leader of the council’slegislature,Hon. Adeniyi Abayomi(left) and secretary to the local government,RemiGbadegeshin(right) watch with keen interest.

A shareholder in the capital market has flared

stockbrokers and registrarsover huge cost they imposeon shareholders who intendto dematerialise their certifi-cates to meet the NigerianStock Exchange, NSE, andSecurities and ExchangeCommission, SEC’s de-mand.

Chief Olufemi Timothy, ashareholders activist, af-firmed that the dream ofachieving a certificate-lessmarket will remain a mirageif the issue of excessivecharges is not urgently ad-dressed.

He said that shareholdersare charged N500 for verifi-cation of a single share cer-tificate, while banks chargeas much as N2000 to confirma client’s signature.

His words: “They are talk-ing about attracting retailinvestors and dematerialis-ing share certificates, butthey are chasing sharehold-ers away with excessivecharges. Stock brokers forinstance charge N500 to ver-ify one share certificate nomatter the number of unitsyou have. When you also goto you registrar to verify yourcertificate, they will sendyou back to the banks, whichwill ask you to pay betweenN1500 and N2000 to confirmyour signature.

“What this means is that Iwill need like N30,000 todematerialise about 150share certificates I have.Where do they think share-holders will get all this mon-ey from,” he queried.

“Good business sense willtell you that you have tostrive to increase your cus-tomers and reduce cost.When stockbrokers buy orsell shares on behalf of theirclients, they take commission

Dematerialisation:Shareholder blasts Stockbrokers,registrars over excessive charges

By NKIRUKA NNOROM on such transaction, thesame with registrars. Sowhy impose all these ex-tra cost on investors,” headded.

He said that they shouldrather abandon thethought of having retailinvestors back in the mar-ket with the present situa-tion, adding ‘these are dis-incentives to investors.’

It would be recalled thatas part of effort to rid thestock market of sharp prac-tices involving the sale ofclients’ shares without per-mission and other relatedoffences, the NigerianStock Exchange, NSE, inconjunction with the SEChad on several occasionstoyed with the idea of de-materializing share certif-icates.

Only last year, the SEC

extended the deadline fordematrialisation to January2013.

Emeka Madubuike, theChairman of the SECCommittee onDematerialisation had saidthat the deadline would likelybe extended to ensureeffective sensitisation ofinvestors.

He said that the capitalmarket community was in theprocess of concludingarrangement for a nationwideenlightenment campaign andneeded time to get theprocess right.

Madubuike said that thecommittee planned to get thedetails of all share certificatesthrough biometrics and as ameans of ensuring thatdematerialised certificatesbelonged to their rightfulowners.

ASSOCIATION ofChartered Certified

Accountants (ACCA) haslaunched a new certificateto support finance profes-sionals in understandingthe new International Fi-nancial Reporting Stand-ard (IFRS) for small andmedium-sized entities(SMEs).

According to ACCA, theCertIFR for SMEs waslaunched by to ensure fi-nance professionals un-derstand the details of theInternational FinancialReporting Standard (IFRS)that has been introducedfor SMEs.The IFRS forSMEs has been adopted inmany countries and its useis spreading. It will be es-sential for many financeprofessionals - especiallythose working in, and for,

ACCA introduces certificatefor SME reporting standard

the SME sector - to under-stand this standard that willbe used by the millions ofcompanies within its scope.

This IFRS has significantdisclosure reductions to thefull IFRS for larger compa-nies, and different accountingtreatments for some itemssuch as goodwill.The aim ofthe certificate is to ensure fi-nance professionals will un-derstand how the IFRS forSMEs is used around theworld and know how to use itin practice. It will also enablethem to examine its funda-mental requirements for thebenefit of preparers, auditorsand users of financialstatements.Alan Hatfield, di-rector - learning at ACCA,said: “The certificate is avail-able on-demand so it fitsaround people’s jobs andlives.

CMYK

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013—33VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013—33VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013—33VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013—33VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013—33

Share your problems and releaseyour burden. Write now to

Dear Bunmi,Vanguard Newspapers, P.M.B

1007, Apapa, Lagos. orbunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

Help! My premature ejaculation isgetting worse

Are local herbs dangerous?

What present wouldimpress him?

’

’

No matter how resentful youfeel about the way your in-laws behave, you can’t reallykeep them away from yourchildren; you must learn toforgive the past and move on;try and get your family rela-tionships into a better footingso that your household can bea happy one once more

He’s hot enough to make mecommit adultery!

My kids side with their dad’s family

Dear Bunmi,I AM in my thirties, married

with two children but myproblem with premature ejac-ulation is getting worse. Iused to ejaculate quickly butgo a long distance immediate-ly I’m aroused the secondtime.

However, I don’t get arousedthe second time that oftenlately, so how do I sustain thefirst erection?

Lukeman,By e-mail

Dear Lukeman,Your problem is quite a com-

mon one, but there are waysof dealing with prematureejaculation. One is the ‘start-stop’ technique. The manmasturbates nearly to or-gasm, stops for a minute, thenrepeats the sequence five orsix times before ejaculating.

In the ‘squeeze’ technique,just before orgasm, the mansqueezes below the head ofhis organ to delay ejacula-tion.

However, a new rubber ringdevice, 'prolong’, may proveto be a simple self-help treat-ment for premature ejacula-tion. According to reports, a

small trial with six men foundthat the flexible ring, wornaround the male organ, in-creased the time from arous-al to orgasm by an averageof 15 per cent, for six weeks.Men wear the ring severaltimes a week for around 15minutes at a time while mas-turbating. The device is safebut shouldn’t be worn for pen-etrative purpose.

‘Prolong’ can only be boughtonline at www.prolong-it.co.uk and costs 30 pounds(about seven thousand naira)for a six-week treatmentcourse containing six rings.

Dear Bunmi,FOR years, I was married to

a man who spent a hugechunk of his money on wom-en and booze. He was alsoabusive to me and our threechildren. It was an effort tokeep up with my husband’sescapades and his family washostile to me because theythought I drove him to drink.

He died a few years ago butI’m now left with a wild sonand a daughter who has tak-en sides with her father’s fam-ily. She said I should forgivethem and let them see usmore, but the things they’ddone to me in the past havemade me bitter. My son is ondrugs but he’s trying to getover it. It is only my first son

that is some sort of consola-tion to me. Can I ever get myfamily back on the right track?

Irene,By e-mail.

Dear Irene,It is obvious that you feel

that the whole world isagainst you at the moment. Iam sorry that you lost yourhusband but you were not re-ally happy with him. Now thathe’s gone, you have your chil-dren to look after.

No matter how resentful youfeel about the way your in-laws behave, you can’t reallykeep them away from yourchildren. You must learn toforgive the past and move on.Try and get your family rela-tionships into a better footingso that your household canbe a happy one once more.Counselling helps if all otherthings fail.

Dear Bunmi,I believe strongly in alter-

nate medicine and I’ve triedquite a few herbs in the re-cent past.

I am now into local herb teas(agbo in Yoruba). But I’m toldit could be damaging to theliver. Is this true, especiallywith all these ‘bitters’ in themarket?

Maroun,By e-mail

Dear Moroun,It is not true that you can’t

have too much of a good thing.Herbal teas, especially theones made from fruits, candissolve your teeth. Their highacid content means they canbe as acidic as fizzy drinkslike kola. So, despite their im-age as a natural healthy pick-up, they are far from molar-friendly.

According to a report in theJournal of Dentistry, a recenttest compared the fate of ex-tracted teeth in three differ-ent drinks: a black currant,ginseng and vanilla tea, or-dinary Typhoo tea and water.

After 114 days, equivalentto drinking three cups a dayfor 16 years, the teeth in the

ordinary tea and water werevirtually unaffected, but theherbal tea dissolved a layerof the enamel. So, if you’re aherbal tea devotee, it may bea good idea to keep your con-sumption down. Local herbsthat are too concentrated areprocessed by the liver andthey could be quite toxic.

His demands get more andmore insatiable

Dear Bunmi,I’VE been involved with a

married man for about twoyears now. This year, I’mthinking of giving him a com-plete native wear. He seemsto be short of this. I don’t careif his wife finds out aboutwhere the gift comes from, butfrom past experience, giftsthat look remotely suspicioushave been left in my flat. Whatdo you suggest I give him thathe could take home?

ChichiBy e-mail

Dear Chichi,You say you love this man,

but wouldn’t you rather havea man of your own to shareyour birthday with? Someone

you could shower with loveand gifts for the whole of var-ious holidays? I think you’replaying a dangerous game ifyou think you can give himsomething so special he’llwear it all the time so that hiswife will eventually find outabout you.

This is hurtful to say, but berest assured that whateveryou give him that couldn’t betaken home would be givenaway to someone else ratherthan have his wife find out.Why not get a bottle of goodwine to share, or prepare hisfavourite meal you can eat to-gether? Why not make sureyou get out, meet and havefun with other single people?

Dear Bunmi,I’VE been with my husband

for over ten years and we havethree lovely children and agood house of our own. Weboth have good jobs and lifeis good.

Although I love my husbandto bits, I’ve fancied his verygood friend for years. He’sbeen quite helpful and friend-ly to me and I even get jeal-ous if he speaks of other wom-en.

If he hits on me, it’s goingto require all my willpower toturn him down!

Christy,By e-mail

Dear Christy,What you’re describing has

all the signs of lust, not love.You’re happy with your homeand husband, but you wantthe excitement of strong emo-tion.

So you lust after this manfrom a distance, get jealousif he sees someone else.

The reality is, if you knewyour partner’s best friend aswell as you know your hus-band, you’d feel the sameabout him - you’d be affec-tionate but restless. So, in-stead of trying to hurriedlyhave a bite of the forbiddenfruit, hoping not to be caught,put your energy back into lov-ing your husband.

Talk yourself out of doinganything you’ll later be veryashamed of.

Dear Bunmi,MY husband works with an

airline and has a high sexualurge. As a result, as soon ashe gets home, mostly week-ends, he pounces, wanting tomake love all night long. Asfor me, after doing it once, Iget sore and dry, and don’twant to go on. My husbandnow complains he feels frus-trated about what he calls ournon-existent love life and weend up having rows.

I’ve tried getting tipsy todull out the pain of prolongedlove-making, I also read sexybooks but all these seem notto have helped.

Clair,By e-mail

Dear Clair,When you get sore and dry

during love-making, it’s al-most certainly because youare not lubricating enough.You need to persuade yourhusband to spend more timeon foreplay, and invest in agood lubricant from a repu-table chemist. You also needto reassure your husband thatmaking love with him doesn’trepulse you.

After weeks away from youand probably with no lovelife, the poor man gets upsetas he needs to know he’sloved and wanted by the wifehe’s toiling for. Let him knowyou’re saying no because ithurts. If he realizes you’re notrejecting him, he’ll help prof-fer solutions.

34—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBURARY 27, 2013

*From left: General Secretary/CEO Bible Society of Nigeria, BSN, Rev. Fred Odutola, Dr.Sunday Makinde receiving his award from BSN president, Dr. Aaron Nuhu.

AS the Choir of the Cherubim & Seraphim Movementcelebrates its 40th anniversary, General Leader of the

church, Prophet Gabriel Fakeye has stressed the importance ofpraise and worship amidst daunting security challenges anddespondency facing Nigerians, reports EBUN SESSOU.

He stated this at a press conference heralding the anniversa-ry of the church. Speaking through his representative, SeniorApostle Akande, on the theme; ‘Celebration in Canaan’, Fak-eye said: “Praise goes up to God and brings back His grace tomankind and turns hopeless situations around for good. Songsand music delievered by choristers had impacted in many peo-ple in various ways turning their stories to testimonies”.

Explaining the essence of praise, he said, it is to bring com-fort and happiness to dying souls, taking care of the needy,providing for them as well as reaching out to the motherless,widows and elderly.

C&S marks anniversary

We'll ensure peace, religioustolerance ---Osun Dep Gov

OSUN State deputy governor, Mrs. Titilaoye Tomori hasr e -

emphasized the state government’s policy on religionwhich is that the government does not have any intention andwill not adopt one form of religion over another, reportsADEKUNLE ALIYU.

She made the statement in Osogbo at a thanksgiving servicefor the successful completion of year 2012 pilgrimage to theHoly Land of Israel.

Mrs. Tomori who doubles as the Commissioner for Educa-tion, reminded the congregation about the disposition of gov-ernment to religion in Nigeria, saying “we live in a multi-religious and multi-cultural society and this is enshrined inthe nation's Constitution. For us as a government therefore,we shall always endeavour to provide the needed enablingenvironment for peace, religious tolerance, and economic pros-perity for all Osun citizens”.

She commended the timely intervention of the state chapterof the Christian Association of Nigeria and Nigerian Inter Re-ligious Council in what would have caused chaos in the edu-cation sector, and by implication confusion in the society.

It would be recalled that a national newspaper had on Feb-ruary 12 published an alleged state cancellation of the teach-ing of Christian Religious Knowledge as a subject in publicschools. She asserted as follows: “For the avoidance of doubt,there is no iota of truth in that speculation. It was a lie, amade-up story, aimed at causing disaffection among the peo-ple of Osun. We are grateful to the Church, other religiousbodies, and advocacy groups for their stand”.African Church opposes

same-sex marriage

PRIMATE of The AfricanChurch, Most Rev. Em-

manuel Josiah Udofia hasurged Nigerians to use thecurrent Lenten Season forsombre reflection and repen-tance when necessary for thenation to move forward, justas he condemned same-sexmarriage, noting that it is pro-hibited in the Holy Book.

Addressing newsmen at thefirst quarterly general com-mittee meeting at the Cathed-ral Salem in Ebute Metta,Lagos, Udofia stated thatJesus Christ is the head of theChurch, adding “if that is thecase nobody should do any-thing that the Bible kickedagainst. Nobody should livea life that the Bible hadfrowned against. Since theBible has condemned Sod-omy, nobody, irrespective oflocation or geography shouldpractice what is anti-God. Itis not acceptable and must notbe heard of among Christiansin any part of the world.”

On the recommendation forthe registration of preachersto avert terrorism in the coun-try, he said the governmenthas no right to registerpreachers in the country be-cause that would amount tocensorship. “The governmentand the Church have theirdifferent role to play in thedevelop-ment of the country,”he ex-plained, adding thatreligion has a critical role toplay in any nation and it willbe out of place for any personto conceive any idea that willmake government to controlpreachers.

On the lessons of Lent, theprimate enjoined Christiansand every being created byGod to have a rethink because“God did not just create man,He created man in His ownimage. And the purpose ofcreating man is for him to fearGod.”

According to him, every-body irrespective of religion,creed or culture, should bringglory to God through theirdeeds and contribution to the

development of the humanrace, noting “men of Godmust have reflect during thisseason on what we have doneso far and repent if need beto fashion a new pathway forthe good of everybody in thecountry.”

While not saying that Lentis the only period for theneeded change of attitude, theprimate urged Nigerians tomake it a point of duty to livea holy life at all times, add-ing that Christians must en-deavour to live lives pleasingto God, stressing that whatone finds today is that peoplelive double lives—one toplease the church leadershipwhile another for the societyout there.

The leadership of The AfricanChurch had gathered for thechurch’s first quarterly gener-al committee meeting of theyear, to review activities of thepast year as well as formulatepolicies for the growth and de-velopment of the church.

The occasion is always anopportunity for them to putheads together to discuss is-sues that affect the smooth run-ning of the church and what-ever decisions they arrive atwould be taken to the confer-

ence for ratification.In his welcome address, the

vice lay president, Engr. Baba-tunde Odufuwa emphasizedthe need for peace and under-standing which “are prerequi-sites for progress and growthin the country. It is incumbenton all Nigerians, high and low,clergy and laity to give peacea chance and in all our activi-ties to be positive, dynamic,fair, truthful and evangelistic.”

By SAM EYOBOKA

QUA Iboe Church (UEC) has called on Nigerians to hope inGod, saying the future of the country is bright, reports

ETOP EKANEM.The congregational pastor of the church in Surulere, Lagos,

Rev. Message Aquaowo stated this during the end of a specialevent tagged “7 Great Sundays” with the theme: “There is aGod” at the Lagos Superintendency headquarters.

According to Rev. Aquaowo, “I hope Northern Nigeria will bebetter in days to come because we know that God is in control.As for Boko Haram, nobody should fight the group by humanefforts, God is going to do it by Himself.”

On what inspired the '7 Great Sundays', programme, the cler-ic said nobody can start anything without God. We felt we shouldbegin this year with God because without Him, we can do noth-ing.

On his part, Elder Samuel Bassey, church chairman, said theprogramme was inspired by God, noting: “A lot of churchesstarted their activities for the year by asking God to take con-trol. So this is our own special way that at the beginning of theyear we must commit everything to God and let Him give usthe direction that we should follow."

Qua Iboe ends 7 Great Sundays

Cleric tasks Nigerians on devRESIDENT pastor of Assem

blies of God Church, ApapaGRA Assembly, Rev. Etim Obohhas called on Nigerians to con-tribute their individual quota tomake the nation a true giant ofAfrica, reports OLAYINKALATONA.

Speaking at a thanksgivingservice in honour of Major Gen.Benneth Odunukwe at thechurch in Apapa, Rev. Oboh saidif all hands can be on deck, Ni-geria will take its rightful placeas the giant of Africa.

“This country belongs to all ofus and if we are to have a bettersociety that we are all clamoringfor, there is need for all Nigeri-ans to do their best in servingtheir father’s land, embark onpositive works so that Nigeria

can become a better society,” hesaid.

In a sermon titled: “God is do-ing a new thing already”, theman of God urged Christians tolive by faith, explaining that an-ything done out of faith amounts

to sin.Major Gen. Odunukwe attrib-

uted his achievement in the mil-itary to the grace and mercy ofGod, saying: “I am here to givethanks to God because I have re-alised that there is no alternativeto serving God.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27 , 2013 — 35

BY HUGO ODIOGOR,FOREIGN AFFAIRS EDITOR

HOW would you look atthe security situation in

West Africa region todayagainst the objectives of whatECOWAS was set up to achieve

Well, my view or perception ofWest Africa in terms ofeconomic integration which isbasically what the EconomicCommunity of West Africanstates was meant to achieve inthe first place is that we areslightly better off than where westarted off in 1975.

Our economies are moreintegrate to the external worldthan amongst ourselves in WestAfrica .West African leaders thatformed ECOWAS have becomemore pre-occupied with securityissues than with economicissues. ECOWAS has becomemore pre-occupied with politicaland security than witheconomic.

Extensivepoverty

This has manifested itself inLiberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea,Cote d’Ivoire and now Mali.There is no doubt that securityis important, but we must notforget economic. We have verypoor states in the Sahel. WestAfrica is characterised by poorstates and even the seeminglyoil rich country like Nigeria, thereis extensive poverty.

So we must not forget abouteconomic issues as well asgovernance issues. With regardsto what has happened in Mali, itis good that a multinationalmilitary intervention has takenplace. It is necessary given thecharacter of the threat that posesitself in Mali, terrorism, Islaminspired terrorism; I think it isgood thing that it is being takencare of because it can spreadacross borders very easily.

In Nigeria we already have theBoko Haram insurgency, andpeople are talking about theemergence of other terrorist

•Map of Mali

groups within Nigeria and otherWest African countries. Let’s lookat it from the perspectives ofNigeria, I think that withoutNigeria, there wont be ECOWAS. So for endeavours like this, Ithink Nigeria has to be involvedotherwise, it wont succeed, ofcourse,with respect to our nationalsecurity, it all depends on how wedefine our national interest,terrorism is something we knowhas no borders. It is occurringwithin Nigeria and some peoplesay that Boko Haram has beentraining in Mali or that theWhatever the case may be, theymay have links with terrorist inMali and the dynamics withinMali is such that some actionsfrom ECOWAS, some form ofintervention, any thinking is thatif Nigeria did not take part it wouldfail ab initio

The French led interventionhas come with a prize as we cannow see a domino effect in actsof kidnappings and adoptionsand upsurge on threats toforeigners all over the place, isthis a pattern of things to comein the region?

Well I think it was a pattern evenbefore the French intervention,some of the extremist groups inthe Sahel seem to havespecialised in the area ofkidnapping, trading in drugs,arms and other illegal activitiesto make money and sustain their activities. I don’t think it issomething new but if it becomesintensified, because of theFrench intervention then, Ithink there is a visible problem

How do we rationalise theterrorist targeting formerMilitary President, GeneralIbrahim Babangida, AlhajiDasuki, for assassination evenwhen some one like Gen.Babangida was the one that tookNigeria to OIC these are knownMuslim?

Their own end goal is a theocracya government based on Islamictenets, they see that as a meansto establish a just society bytargeting people like Gen.Babaingida, the Emir of Kano andSultan of Sokoto to me it meansthat these are individuals whodo not have legitimacy in theirown estimations. That is why theyare ready to attack them as wellas other highly placed Muslimsin the society.

Islamictheocracy

In their eyes, these people donot count for much. In fact, theysee them as part of the problem.So according to what theirscripture tells them, putting inplace an Islamic Theocracy wouldbe one major advancement insolving the problem once and forall.

How would you describe themanagement of information onour mission in Mali? If Americais going to put its troops to aforeign mission the governmentwill spend time to educating itscitizens on why it is sendingAmericans soldiers abroad buthere it seems as if were areshipping out cattle?

With respect to that, informingthe intelligentsia of Nigeria, I don’tthink that information has beenhandled adequately. We have notinformed Nigerians adequately onwhy we are in Mali. I think is evenin the mindset of our leaders nowthat Nigeria is a leading peacekeeping nation globally incontributing troops to any majorpeace keeping so our door areopen whenever they comeknocking. I think t is a mindset Itdefinitely has not been explainedto Nigerians, to that extent I thinkwe were to hasty in going in andagain we should not assume thatthe participation of French initiallypaved the way for us to go in, itmay be a long drawn out affairsbut that is for military analysts tohandle, all said and done, I thinkthere should be more informationregarding Nigeria’s contributionof troops to international peacekeeping.

What has been the contributionof intellectuals and institutionslike the NIIA and other researchand policy institutions to studyingand analysing Nigeria’sparticipations in peace keepingoperations since the 196os, interms of the lesson we have havelearnt, the mistakes that we mayhave made, analysis of policyinitiatives, etc?

We have made ourcontributions, conferences havebeen held, books have beenwritten, debates have been held,and I think we have done muchto contribute to policy. But I wonthesitate to say that there is nostrong connect between ourcontribution to international peacekeeping and defined national

Mali, booby trapfor West Africa,says Prof. Oche

•Professor Ogaba Oche

there, that has to be tackled.At what stage do you think the

global community should cometogether to look at the issues ofmigration, terrorism,sovereignty of states andglobalisation as we have beganto see discontents in all theseareas?

Well first in terms of sovereignty,there is no real distinction betweende facto and de jure sovereignty.African states are generally weakand cannot sustain their sovereignty, their borders arehighly permeable, there are a lotof trans-border movement hereand there, it is not what statesalone can tackle. In terms ofglobalisation as you rightlypointed out, some countries arebeneficiaries some are not but the

NIGERIA’s participation in the multinationalmilitary coalition in Mali continues to generateinterest as the Islamists in the Sahel are ready toengage France and the foreign troops on aprolonged military combat.

In this interview with Vanguard Newspaper, theDirector of Research and Studies at the NigerianInstitute of International Affairs(NIIA ) ProfessorOgaba Oche looks at the dynamics playing out inthe crisis in the Sahel. Excerpt:

problems that African countriesare facing now in the Sahelregion is that of weakness interms of governance, in terms ofinstitutions that can sustain thestates, weakness in terms ofeconomic opportunities andactivities for the people.

These terrorist activities ariseout of discontent and deprivationsand if the states are so weak to beable to intervene materially in thelives of the people, there is littlethat can be done even by theinternational community , we mustnot forget that Sahelian states arevery poor.

The threat of terrorism is notwhat we sit back in Africa or WestAfrica and expect theinternational community solve Itis something we must solveourselves, especially with theevolution of strong statessystems. We must realise thatthese terrorists although religiousin their orientation, they areviewing the actions of the statefrom their religious world viewand making their demands basedon their perspectives.

interest in the peace we are goingto keep or in the conflictinternationally, take for examplethe case of Liberia as example. Wespent over $12billion , lost somany lives, many officers died,yet without and consummatestake in the Liberian economy,political system, we have leftLiberia to be politically influenceby the forces that watchedLiberians butcher themselvesopenly on the streets. The samething happened in Sierra Leone,and now in Mali . I think whatgovernment should do is to definein concrete term what we standto gain or what we stand to looseby being international peacekeeping in Mali.

We must know what thedangers are for the region, for thecontinent and for Nigeria andwhat the benefits are, Because wecontribute so much in human andnon human resources and at theend of the day, there is nocommensurate returns in terms ofeconomic, political gains oranything like that, so I think tothat extent government has a lotof work to do.

The threat of terrorism is not what we sitback in Africa or West Africa and expectthe international community solve

36 —Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Uduaghan tackles kidnapping, reconstitutesDelta Waterways

BY EMMA AMAIZE

Rivers Varsity students' hostel razed

BY EGUFE YAFUGBORHI

2,000 DeltaDPP membersdecamp toPDP for Ochei

Delta LGstold tosupportculturalfestivals

BY FESTUS AHON WARRI—DELTA StateGovernment has re-

newed its war against kid-nappers and oil thieves, withthe reconstitution of DeltaWaterways Security Commit-tee, DWSC.

The governor, Dr. Em-manuel Uduaghan, said themajor function of the com-mittee was to gather and pro-vide intelligence to the Po-lice, Army, Department ofState Security, DSS, andNavy, to enable them tocounter kidnappers, oilthieves and other criminalsoperating on the waterwaysof the state.

Uduaghan, who was rep-resented by his deputy, Prof.Amos Utuama, SAN, inau-gurated the committee,headed by Chief Ayiri Ema-mi at Government HouseAnnexe, Warri.

Former chairman of DeltaState Oil Producing AreasDevelopment Commission,Chief Wellington Okrika, ischairman, Advisory Councilof the committee.

He said government se-lected members of the com-mittee based on their prov-en competence and chargedthem to work closely with thesecurity agencies, as DWSC

was not an arm-bearing body.In his response, Chief Emami

assured that the committee willlive up to expectation, pointingout that the committee lived upto expectation prior to its earlierdissolution.

Meanwhile, Delta State Police

Commissioner, Mr. Ikechuk-wu Aduba, has said that thepolice were still on the trailof the fleeing kidnappers ofProf. Kamene Okonjo, moth-er of Minister of Finance,Prof. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,who was abducted December,

last year.He spoke to Vanguard in

Asaba, just as the Area Com-mander, Warri, Mr. HussainRabiu, said that the policewere on the trail of two sus-pected kidnappers that werewounded, last Friday.

Edo Assemblydrillscommissionernominees

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

BENIN—EDO StateHouse of Assembly,

yesterday, commenced thescreening of the 18 commis-sioner nominees sent to theHouse by Governor AdamsOshiomhole, last week.

Chairman of the screeningCommittee and MajorityLeader of the House, Mr.Philip Shuaibu, said therewere petitions against someof the nominees, adding thatthe Committee would inves-tigate the petitions and makeits report public.

Petitions were writtenagainst the former Commis-sioner for Environment andPublic Utilities, Prince ClemAgba and former Commis-sioner for Education, Mr. Ek-penisi Omorotionwa.

At press time, Agba haddefended the allegationsagainst him while Omoro-tionwa, whose petition bor-ders on his tenure as the im-mediate past Commissionerfor Education, was expectedto do the same before the endof the day.

PORT HARCOURT—SOME female students

of Rivers State University ofScience and Technology,RSUST, Port Harcourt, havebeen displaced, following adawn fire, which razed oneof the female hostels on cam-pus.

The fire consumed the en-tire Hostel A2 bungalow, dis-placing official residents andseveral squatters in over 30rooms with most victims los-ing all their belongings.

Miss Wosa Prisca, a Foun-dation Education student,

one of the victims of the infer-no, told Vanguard that “manyof us left early for 6am lectures,only to be told moments laterthat our hostel was on fire. It wastoo late when those in my situa-tion got back.”

Miss Good Isiah, a 100 LevelComputer Studies student, anorphan of Ogoni descent, wholost all her belongings, was in-consolable over her vital docu-ments, which she lost to the fire.

In a preliminary investigation,South-South Zonal Team Lead-er, Search and Rescue Unit ofNational Emergency Manage-ment Agency, NEMA, Mr. For-tunatus Anyanwu, told Van-

guard that the fire startedwhen a camp cooking gas ex-ploded on an occupant in anundisclosed room while light-ing the cooking appliance.

The NEMA official, howev-er, explained that no casualtywas recorded in the incident,but there were indications thatthe student, who lit the gascooker may have sustainedinjuries.

Other affected students,who spoke on condition of an-onymity, said that the gascooker exploded in Room 28of the affected block andspread fast to the entire build-ing.

UGHELLI—PRESI-DENT, Ufuoma

Okri Organsation, Mr.Ufuoma Okri, hascharged local govern-ment chairmen andHeads of Personnel Man-agement in Delta State,to support to Communi-ty Development Depart-ments to mobilise theirrepresentatives for theannual Delta State Chil-dren Cultural Festival.

Okri, who spoke dur-ing the 5th edition of thefestival in Ughelli, whichsaw Ethiope West, Anio-cha North and BomadiLocal Government Areasemerging as winners, 1stand 2nd runners up re-spectively, said the or-ganisation had the man-date of the state govern-ment, through the Min-istry of Basic and Sec-ondary Education andMinistry of Culture andTourism, to propagatethe rich culture of thestate.

NO fewer than2,000 members of

Democratic Peoples Party,DDP, in Delta State, havedecamped to PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP,with a promise to work forthe party in the forthcom-ing general elections, ifMr. Victor Ochei, Speak-er of the state House ofAssembly, wins the par-ty’s governorship ticket,come 2015.

Speaking on behalf ofthe decampees at Ohari-si Model Primary School,Ughelli, Chief ObaguonorOletu, said they decidedto decamp to the rulingPDP because of rumoursthat Ochei will contestthe governorship electionin 2015.

He explained thatOchei, as Speaker of thestate Assembly, had beenable to key into the stategovernment's three-pointagenda of peace and se-curity, human capital andinfrastructural develop-ment, adding that therewas no doubt that Ocheiwill improve on what wason ground from 2015 on-ward.

Eket senatorial district lauds Akpabioon zoning

BY TONY NYONG

UYO—AHEAD of2015 general elec-

tions, the people of AkwaIbom South (Eket) senatori-al district, have commendedthe state governor, ChiefGodswill Akpabio, for sup-porting zoning in the state.

Eket Senatorial District As-

sembly, ESDA, after its meetingin Ikot Abasi, weekend, said:“We stand by the governor’s pro-nouncement that he was notaverse to zoning.”

In a statement by Chairman ofthe Assembly, Chief NduessoEssien and others, the Assem-bly said the pronouncement bythe governor last week, “standshim out as a statesman, gentle-man and a peace maker in the

state and Nigeria at large.”Commending the Akwa Esop

Imaisong Ibibio for creating theavenue for the pronouncementlast week, the group called onthe people of Eket senatorial dis-trict and the entire Akwa IbomState to “rally round the gover-nor on this landmark pro-nouncement on zoning,” whichaccording to them was in thespirit of fair play.

TOWN HALL MEETING: Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State (right), with Mr.Chike Ogeah, Commissioner for Information, at the Town Hall meeting in Asaba, during theGood Governance tour by Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013 — 37

95 % of African airlines distressed—NegatuBY KENNETH

EHIGIATOR, Addis Ababa

AS aviation experts fromacross the globe gathered

in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to dis-cuss the future of aircraft main-tenance in the continent, man-aging partner of Ernst andYoung, Dr. Zemedeneh Negatu,yesterday, painted a grim pic-ture of the aviation sector inAfrica, saying 95 percent of Af-rican airlines were distressed atthe moment.

At present, African AirlinesAssociation, AFRAA, has 35 air-lines, with 503 aircraft in theirfleet.

Negatu spoke as coordinatorfor the Presidential Infrastruc-ture Champion Initiative, NE-PAD, Planning and Coordinat-ing Agency, Dr. John Tambi,expressed concern that thoughAfrica remained one of the fast-est growing regions in theworld, its global share of air traf-fic was still at abysmally low fourpercent.

Negatu, who spoke at the22nd Annual African AviationMRO Supplies and Stakehold-ers Conference, organised byMr. Nick Fadugba, CEO, Afri-can Aviation and former secre-tary general of African Airlines

Association, AFRAA, said theonly way out for airlines in thecontinent was to go into merg-er.

According to him, the com-bined resources of Africa’s threeleading airlines of EthiopianAirlines, Kenya Airways andSouth African Airways was justa third of Emirates Airlines.

He advised airline operatorsin Africa, especially Nigeria, tode-emphasise ownership andcome into merger as quickly aspossible, if they were to surviveand grow, noting: “Merger isthe way to go in present dayaviation development. Over 95percent of African airlines aredistressed. It is impossible forany airline to go it alone, lookat the two major airlines in theU.S., American Airlines andUnited, merging one for pur-poses of survival.

“The combination of SAA,Ethiopian and Kenyan Airwaysis just one-third of Emiratesand these are the biggest air-lines in Africa. They are smallcompared to competition. Own-ership is irrelevant, what is im-portant is partnership and col-laboration,” Negatu said.

Dr John Tambi of NEPAD,noted that since aviation re-

mained a major contributor toAfrica’s GDP, creating direct andindirect employment of over sixmillion, governments shouldharness the sector’s potentialsproperly.

“Transport cost increases theprice of African goods by 75 per-cent and Africa still lacks thenecessary infrastructure to en-sure rapid and radical economicgrowth and development,” hesaid.

Tambi blamed African govern-ments for neglecting the sectorover time, stressing that issuesof safety and security in Africanaviation sector could only beguaranteed through efforts bygovernments to encourage es-tablishment of Maintenance,Repair and Overhaul, MRO,centres across the continent.

According to him, African air-lines were spending a hugechunk of their revenue on air-craft maintenance overseas,which increases their cost ofoperation and limits their capac-ity to compete with non-Africanairlines.

Organiser of the conferenceand Publisher of London-basedAfrican Aviation magazine, Mr.Nick Fadugba, said African gov-ernments will do airlines in the

continent a lot of good, if theyinvested in MRO centres, la-menting that the airlines werepaying so much in foreign cur-rencies to have their mainte-

nance done outside their bases.He particularly urged the gov-

ernment of Nigeria to ensurethat MRO centres were set upin the country to reduce theburden on domestic airlines.

Edo PDP to launch operationto reclaim members

BY GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE

BENIN – EDO State PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, said

it will soon launch an ‘operationreclaim’ all members of the partythat defected to the ruling ActionCongress of Nigeria, ACN, in thestate at the wake of the July 14,2012 governorship election.

The decision by the party tohave its former members back toits fold is coming on the heels ofthe position by stakeholders inEdo Senatorial District of the state,that PDP’s lost to ACN in the April14, 2012 governorship due to thedemeaning and deceitful actionsof elders and leaders of the partyfrom the zone.

PDP said the reclamation exer-cise becomes imperative, addingthat its members “have been usedand dumped” by the ACN ledgovernment of Governor AdamsOshiomhole.

Chairman of PDP in the state,Chief Dan Orbih, weekend, whenover 300 members of the rulingACN from ward five in IkpobaOkha Local Government Area ledby Mr. Esosa Ogbekwu dumpedthe ruling party for PDP, said “wewant o launch the exercise of op-eration reclaim most members ofACN in Edo State because theyhave been used, dumped andhave been rendered worthless inthe eyes of ACN government. Weare going to win them back to PDP,where we will appreciate them.”

The state PDP chairman, saidthe unfolding ugly developmentsorchestrated by the ruling ACNwas a good omen for the opposi-tion party to galvanize its mem-bers and commended the newmembers for the bold step, assur-ing them that the PDP will con-tinue to sustain the platform as atrue democratic party.

38—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Several houses destroyed as crisis hitsImo community

Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State (left); Dr Ausbeth Ajagu (right) and Chief GoddieUwazurike President General, Aka Ikenga during the February meeting of Aka Ikenga, inLagos. Photo: Shola Oyelese.

BY CHIDI NWOPARA

OWERRI — ANOTHERround of intra-communal

crisis has hit Ububocommunity, Awarra in Ohaji/Egbema Local GovernmentArea of Imo State, with severalhouses destroyed.

Similarly, other propertyworth millions of Naira havebeen damaged or looted bythe feuding parties.

Vanguard investigationsrevealed that apart from theproperty destroyed, agedwomen and young girls havereportedly been raped.

Currently, most of theindigenes of the area haverelocated to saferneighbouring communities.

It would be recalled thattrouble started during abotched youth election inUbubo but soon after, a groupof boys, suspected to be cultistsand who lost during theexercise, re-grouped andunleashed mayhem in thecommunity.

As at the last count, no fewerthan 10 houses belongingprominent sons of the area,including the traditional ruler,Eze Ekwueme Ekwueme, andformer Chairman of AcademicStaff Union of Universities,ASUU, Imo State University,Owerri, Dr. Vitalis Nwulu,have either been razed downor partly destroyed.

Although the Police Public

Relations Officer, Mr. VitalisOnugu, could not be reachedfor comment, a source in the

state Police Headquarters,Owerri, confirmed theincident.

He said the command hadalready waded into the matterand some arrests made.

Abia House tasks security agencies onkidnapping, child trafficking

BY ANAYO OKOLI

UMUAHIA — ABIA StateHouse of Assembly has

called on security agencies and

other relevant authorities tostrictly enforce the law againstkidnapping, child trafficking,among others to check the risingcases of child trafficking in someparts of the state.

There are reports of increasingcases of kidnapping of childrenand child trafficking amongrelated crimes in the stateespecially in Abia South.

Reports of missing children andin some cases, some of them arefound dead with vital body partsremoved.

Last week, while giving fiveadditional new Hillux Pick-upvans to the Commander of 14Brigade, Ohafia, BrigadierGeneral Abubakar, Governor

Theodore Orji tasked him to tacklehead-on the rising problem ofchild trafficking.

The governor lamented thatsome of the children have had themisfortune of being killed forritual purposes among others.

To stem this tide, the House ofAssembly passed a resolutionasking the relevant authorities tocomply with law on such issues.

Deputy Speaker of the House,Chief Alwell Okere, said theresolution followed a report by themember representing IsialaNgwa North constituency, ChiefMartins Azubike, on the waychildren were being adopted inthe council.

Abia begins computerisedvehicle registration

BY ANAYO OKOLI

UMUAHIA — ABIA StateGovernment has

introduced auto-registration,AutoReg, for the registration ofall categories of vehicles in thestate.

The introduction of thecomputerised vehicleregistration, according to thegovernment, would help tocheck corruption in the Boardof Internal Revenue which hasaffected negatively therevenue accruable to thegovernment.

According to the Chairmanof Abia State Board of InternalRevenue, BIR, Mr.Udochukwu Ogbonna, theboard had also driven awaytouts from all its offices acrossthe state.

Ogbonna warned membersof the public not to patronisetouts milling around tax officessoliciting patronage fromunsuspecting motorists,saying: “Any person that doesso is at his or her risk.”

He said a task force hadbeen constituted to flush out

touts in the board’s officesacross the state.

According to him, “as I amtalking to you, we have manyfake motor licence plates wehave retrieved from peoplewho have come to renew theirvehicle particulars."

Adelusimakes casefor oldpoliticians

By JOSEPHINEIGBINOVIA

LAGOS — FORMERMinister of Health,

Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi, has faultedcriticisms against formerpolitical leaders stillstruggling for power withyounger generations.

Adelusi who is also theChairman, Juli Plc, was theguest speaker at the justconcluded Chairman’s Weekof the Ikoyi Club 1938, inhonour of Mr. Richard Giwa-Osagie, the out-goingchairman of the club, inLagos.

Adelusi argued that if theformer leaders could stillcontribute positively to thedevelopment of the country,they should be given thechance, blaming thecriticisms on perception ofpublic offices as platforms forpersonal gains.

According to him, “indeveloped nations, leadersare also recycled. But becauseof poverty, many nowstruggle for positions inNigeria, thinking that theycan get economically lucky byoccupying political offices.Political offices should beplatforms for service ratherthan mismanaging resourcesand amassing wealth."

Bakare,Okonkwo forGCM GlorySummit

LAGOS — THIS year’sAnnual Glory Summit of

the Glory ChristianMinistries, GCM, will comeup on March 6-10 at thechurch's Internationalheadquarters in Lagos.

Addressing journalists,yesterday, the convener andGeneral Overseer of GCM,Dr. Iruofagha James, said thetheme will be “In the Powerof the spirit” adding that thehighlight of this year'ssummit will be the officialdedication of the churchtemple called “The GlorylandDome”

The programme wouldfeature speakers includingPastor Tunde Bakare of LatterRain Assembly, PresidingBishop of The RedeemedEvangelical Mission(TREM), Bishop MikeOkonkwo and otheranointed ministers of God

According to the convener,"the theme of the summit islike a compass that will guideus through the year and thehigh point of this year'ssummit is the dedication ofour temple.

BY OLAYINKALATONA

Edo PDP chairman not sincere withreality —Stakeholders

BENIN — STAKEHOLDERSin Edo State, yesterday,

said the Chairman of thePeoples Democratic Party, PDP,Chief Dan Orbih, was notsincere with developmentalrealities in Edo State andadvised him to appreciate theongoing developmentalprojects in the state.

Under the umbrella of “Edois in safe Hands” in a statementsaid unless the party chairmanwas blind and deaf that he couldnot feel, hear or see thecompleted and ongoing projectsof the Comrade Adams

Oshiomhole’s administration.The statement by Washington

Osa Osifo claimed Orbih goofedwhen he said “Edo StateGovernment had no project toshowcase to the visiting GoodGovernance Team,” saying “forus in Edo, we are aware thatthe Good Governance Teamdoes not have anything to lookout for when they come here."

Osifo described the statementcredited to Orbih as reckless,stating: “This is a recklessstatement from a party chairmanwho does not know the definitionof good governance. For Orbih to

say there is nothing to show inEdo, what about the road leadingto Orbih’s village? Is it notdualised? Can’t he see? Water isflowing in his village atOgbonna, right at his backyardand the two primary schools(Imaikene and Oboarekpeprimary schools) in his villagehave been reconstructed withmodern facilities. Can’t he see orfeel?

”The road from Ekperi toAnegbete is almost completed andthat means it is no longer a difficultterrain and yet he cannot attest tothese projects."

CMYK

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013—39

Dr. Bode Olajumoke greeting some of the children of the Home. With him, l -r:Apostle Paul Tunde TiOluwani, President of the Home; Senator Femi Okuronmu,Dr. Kunle Olajide and Sen. Tony Adefuye, when members of the Yoruba UnityForum paid a vist to Dr. Bode Olajumoke Centre for Ophans and Disabled Per-sons on Ibadan-Lagos Expressway, Ibadan.

From left: Alhaji. Bello Garba Kankarofi, Regis-trar/CEO, APCON, receiving a carton of Indomienoodles from Manpreet Singh, Head, Marketing,DUFIL Prima Foods Plc and Tope Ashiwaju, Pub-lic Relations/Events Manager, during a courtesy visitto the APCON Office, Iganmu.

From left: Barrister Fred Majemite, Senior Special Assistant (Political),Delta State Government; Barrister Richard Mofe-Damijo, Representa-tive of Delta State Governor/Commissioner for Culture and Tourism;Mr. Sidney Onoriode Esiri, son of late Justus Esiri and Mrs. OmieteEsiri, the wife of late Esiri, during Delta State government's condolencevisit to the family, in Lagos.

From left: Prof. Amos Utuama, SAN, Delta StateDeputy Governor; Sara Nyanti, Assistant CountryRepresentative, UNICEF and Dr. Adeniyi Olaleye,when UNICEF team visited the Deputy Governor,in Asaba.

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, deco-rating Bayo Sulaimon, Chairman of the Lagos StateEnvironmental and Special Offences Taskforcewith his new rank as Chief Superintendent of Po-lice, at the Lagos House, Ikeja.

From 2nd right: Mr. Tunji Bello, commissioner for Environment; Mr. Lateef Ibirogba, Com-missioner for Information and Strategy; and Mr. Tajudeen Ajide, Chairman Surulere LocalGovernment, inspect bad side of Ojuelegba Motor-park, during a tour to the local govern-ment, in Lagos. Photo: Bunmi Azeez.

From left: Mr. Jae Sang Lee, General Manager, Digital MediaDivision, LG Electronics, West Africa Operations; Mr. JamesAdejimi, Product Marketing Manager, Home EntertainmentDivision, LG Electronics, West Africa Operations and the As-sistant Product Manager, Audio Video, LG Electronics, WestAfrica Operations, at the LG Xboom Sound System Launch, inLagos

Uzoma Nkem–Abonta, House of Representativesmember (left) with his legislative aide, ArchibaldUbani, during the “HotSeat Series,“ organised byPress Corps, House of Representatives, in Abuja.

Chief Mrs H. I. D. Awolowo (Yeye Odua ofYorubaland) with Chief Bari Adedeji Salami (ofAwoist Movement, in New York), during YorubaUnity Forum meeting, at Awolowo House, Ikenne,Ogun State.

From left: Mr. Wole Oyeleke, Manager, YabaBranch of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Plc;Prof. Ogwo E. Ogwo, immediate past President ofThe Academy of Management, Nigeria and the ViceChancellor of University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof.Rahman Bello, during the FCMB sponsored con-ference of The Academy, at UNILAG.

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Niger govt bans Okada in Minna

Bauchi teachers vow to boycott WAEC,JAMB, others over pay dispute

No freshamnesty forN-Delta region— IATFCoordinator

BY SUZAN EDEH

BY CHARLES KUMOLU

BAUCHI—THE AcademicStaff Union of Secondary

Schools, ASUSS, in BauchiState has said that it wouldboycott this year’s West AfricanExaminations as well as NECO,NAPTIP and JAMB examina-tions in the state, following therefusal of the state governmentto address the lingering dis-pute of non-payayment of al-lowances to its members.

Lingering strike

Members of ASUSS in thestate had embarked on indefi-nite strike following the suspen-sion of their allowances andother entitlements by thegovernemt.

Last week, the governmentsued the teachers over the strikeaction after denouncing theirassociation as illegal trade un-ion.

However, the teachers, yes-terday, vowed to continue withtheir strike even as they de-manded the sacking of the At-torney General and Commis-sioner for Justice, Justice Al-Mustapha Suleiman over thematter.

Sacking of striking workers

Addressing a press confer-ence in Bauchi, the Chairmanof the union, Mr. AbduallahiMuhammadi, said that al-though the government suedthe union over the strike andthe matter was adjourned tillMarch 6, this year for hearing,the plaintiffs in the matter wentahead to announce the termi-nation of their appointments.

He said: “Wednesday, March6, was fixed for the hearing ofthe motion on jurisdiction of thecourt on the matter, but to theunion’s greatest surprise, thestate government went ahead

to announce the termination ofappointment of any strikingteacher in the state.’’

Call for AG’s resignation

Tanko maintained that the callfor the immediate resignation ofthe Commissioner of Justice andAttorney General of the state was‘’connected to his’’ allegedbreach of his Oath of Office bywrongly advising the govern-

ment to terminate the appoint-ment of the striking teachers, con-trary to the rule of law.

The Chairman then urgedteachers to remain focused, reso-lute by continuing with the strikeuntil further official directive fromthe union, even as he advised thestate governor, Isa Yuguda not toallow himself to be misled by syco-phants as the ASUSS was notready to negotiate with anybodyunless the government rescindsits anti-people policies in the state.

“The union is therefore warn-ing pupils, parents and guardiansto diregard any invitation by gov-ernment to send their children toschool in the midst of the existingcrisis as there won’t be anybodyto guarantee proper learning oftheir children in the schools,” headded.

The union also called on thegovernment among otherdemands,to immediately re-instate the eight teachers whowere served with termination let-ters last year.

LAFIA—THE Civil LibertiesOrganisation ,CLO, has called

on the Federal Government to ur-gently probe the killing of threestudents of Nasarwa State Univer-sity by armed soldiers, with theview to bringing the perpetratorsto book.

It also condemned the use ofarmed soldiers and mobile police-men to quell the student’s peace-ful protest against the absence ofwater and electricity in the insti-tution.

A statement by Messrs. UcheDurueke and Ibuchukwu Ezike,President and Executive Directorrespectively of CLO, lampoonedthe university authorities for mo-

BY WOLE MOSADOMI

WARRI—COORDINATOR of the Inter-

Agency Task Force, IATF,set up by the Federal Gov-ernment to carry out theverification and reconcili-ation of disarmamentrecords of repentant mili-tants, Air Vice MarshalJames Gbum, has said thatthe government had notdeclared a fresh amnestyprogramme for the NigerDelta region.

He spoke at the 3 Bat-talion Army Barracks,Effurun, during the dis-play of weapons surren-dered by ex-militants toJoint Task Force, JTF, andother security agencies inthe state.

Air vice Marshal Gbum,said the Federal Govern-ment set up the Task Forcebecause, despite the suc-cesses recorded by the am-nesty programme, it wasstill very clear that “a sig-nificant quantity of armsand ammunition are stillin the hands of formermilitants, criminals andother residual groups in the re-gion.” He noted that the TaskForce was meant to mop up armsand ammunition so surrenderedby genuine militants up tillMarch 2012.

He said,the mandate of theTask Force that had been in DeltaState for the past three weekswas “simply to reconcile the Dis-armament Records and Docu-ment qualified former armedyouths in the state.

”Though the Task Force wasoften referred to as an Inter-Agency Task Force for the ThirdPhase Amnesty Programme, thePresident has not declared afresh Amnesty Programme forNiger Delta.

MINNA—NIGER StateGovernment has

banned the use of motorcylesfor commercial purposes inMinna the state capital witheffect from mid March, 2013.

In its place, government hasofficially launched 1000 tricy-cles and 14 mass Transit Busesto replace the outlawed mo-torcycles.

Nasarawa varsity killings: Bring perpetratorsto book, CLO tells FG

BY EMMA ARUBI

bilising the soldiers, who alleg-edly perpetrated the act.

The statement reads, ‘’We areshocked at this barbaric actionof the university authorities,especially deploying militaryofficers to employ the use of ex-cessive force to quell civil pro-test by armless students. CLOrecalls that similar event hadoccurred in Ebonyi State earlythis year when the students ofEbonyi State University,Abakaliki, protested againstover 300 per cent increase intuition and service fees by theuniversity authorities in whichCLO vehemently condemnedthe wickedness and called onthe state government to inves-

tigate the crisis and bring culpritsto book.”

‘’We urge the Federal Govern-ment including the National As-sembly and the National HumanRights Commission to, as a mat-ter of urgency, probe the use ofarmed military men and mobilepolice officers to attack and killinnocent students doing a legiti-mate action with the view tobringing the perpetrators andthose who sent and receivedthem to do this evil act to book.’’

‘’We believe that the majorcauses of these crises in our ter-tiary institutions are govern-ment’s insensitivity to educa-tion,” the CLO said.

State governor, Dr.Babangida Aliyu, wholaunched the new vehicles inMinna, yesterday, said gov-ernment’s decision should notbe seen as punitive but a boldstep to save lives on the roads.The governor said: “We aretired of losing precious lives inavoidable road crashes involv-ing motorcycles in differentparts of the state. The decisionshould not be misunderstoodas a punitive measure to denypeople their means of liveli-hood but rather as a necessarystep aimed at ensuring thesafety of lives on our roads.”

Each of the tricycle was sub-sidized from N624,700 toN400,000 re-payable in 18months from date of allocationjust as the governor called onthe beneficiaries to ensureprompt payment and observeroad signs.

Aliyu said the governmentintervention will serve as aspringboard for upgrading theliving condition of both theoperators and commuters aswell as alleviating some of thedifficulties encountered espe-cially at critical periods.

He said besides reducingyouth unemployment and pov-erty in the state and also im-proving the socio-economiclives of the people, the pro-

gramme would also addresssome of the security chal-lenges in the state.

The state Commissioner forTransport, Alhaji AbubakarMohammed, said two of the 43seater buses would be de-ployed to Bida, Suleja,Kontagora and New Bussaroutes to ease their transpor-tation problems.

CLEAR Essence California Spaand Wellness Resort, Lagos,

is poised to treat guests to an un-forgettable evening of merriment,music and good food. The eventtagged “Wine & Dance” is predi-cated on the legendary WilliamPurkey’s philosophy of dance,love and song.

The Marketing Manager, Ms.Nnenna Obioha, said the Spa willoffer assorted delicacies, goodmusic and complementary wineon the evening of Thursday Feb-ruary 28, as a fitting climax to Feb-ruary, the acclaimed month oflove.

Obioha therefore, enjoined in-terested guests to endeavour tosign-up online or indicate theirinterest to be part of the event.

Wellness resortholds evening ofdance and wine

From right: Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, decorating his Aide deCamp, ADC, Jaafaru Yakubu with his new rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP. Heis being assisted by CSP, Miller Dantawaye. Photo: Speaker's Media Officer.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013————— 4141414141

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42— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013————— 4343434343

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Continues on page 45

Third Mainland Bridge: Howreal is the threat?•The fears, facts and solutions

By JUDE NJOKU &KINGSLEY ADEGBOYE

Experts’ views on state of the bridge

Senator Ashafa: Blew thewhistle. *Kunle Adebajo: Bridge requires

constant maintenence

The Third Mainland Bridge

A FORMER President of theNigerian Institution of

Structural Engineers,

THE 11.8 kilometre Third Mainland Bridgein Lagos has been in the news in the lastthree weeks, albeit, for the wrong reasons.The whistle that the bridge, touted as thelongest in Africa, is on the verge ofcollapsing, was blown by Senator GbangaAshafa, representing Lagos East SenatorialDistrict in the Senate. Ashafa has in a motionco-sponsored by 55 other senators, allegedthat a report produced by a companyexperienced in underwater surveys indicatedthat the underwater metal casings housingthe concrete piles on which the bridge stands,have rusted and this accounts for thevibration experienced in some portions of thebridge.

The report was attributed to Professor JHTKim, Head of the Concrete StructuralEngineering Laboratory at Yousei University,Seoul, South Korea, who came to Nigeria forresearch work in December 2012. TheKorean professor who allegedly conductedan underwater examination of the structuresholding the bridge, had reported that the

damage to the structure was worse thanwhat he had been revealed.

Ashafa’s observation, although not statedin his submission at the Senate session, musthave been informed by fears of whathappened several years ago, when a lateraldisplacement occurred at the Five CowrieBridge in Lagos. The lateral displacementoccurred when one of the piers caved in,and construction giants, Messrs JuliusBerger Niger Plc, were contracted to fix thebridge which links Lagos Island and Ikoyi.

The Senator lamented that the repairworks done on Third Mainland Bridgeduring the last quarter of 2012 by theMinistry of Works, were mere windowdressing on the expansion joints of whichreports had confirmed that some parts hadsince become disjointed.

“The implication is that the ThirdMainland Bridge between Adeniji Adele,Adekunle and Oworonshoki ends couldcollapse and therefore requirecomprehensive works to be carried out onthe foundation immediately,” he claimed.

NIStructE, a division of theNigerian Society of Engineers,NSE, Kunle Adebajo, whoreacted to claims that thebridge is under severe threat

stated that “as a professionalengineer, it worries me whenmajor issues such as thestructural stability of asignificant bridge are being

speculated upon in public bynon-experts. This can certainlycause alarm in the minds of thegeneral public and this does notdo anyone any good”.

Adebajo who is the ChiefExecutive Officer, CEO of OveArup & Partners Nigeria,suggested that the issue shouldbe immediately referred toengineers who are betterpositioned to scientificallyassess the true state of thebridge.

Adebajo called for “a full-scale structural investigation,particularly of the bridge piersand their supporting piles, toascertain the veracity orotherwise of the reportedclaims”. He did not stop there.

“Until otherwise informed, tothe best of our knowledge, thereis no evidence to indicate thatthe bridge is in danger of

imminent collapse, as nosignificant signs on thesuperstructure support thatassertion,” he said..

The former NIStructE bosswas quick to point out thatthere is usually no smokewithout fire. “The FederalMinistry of Works wouldcertainly have in the pastconducted investigations intothe reported structural distressof the Third Mainland Bridge.

Reported structuraldistress

Such investigations shouldnormally involve reports ofdeep sea divers who would takeunderwater pictures andobservations. It could well bethat there has recently beensome evidence discovered thatgives some cause for concern.This would not be readilyavailable in the public domain.If, for example, any of the pilessupporting the piers havebecome badly corroded ordamaged, such conditions

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No immediate threat of failure —Federal Ministry of Works

Continues from page 44

The Third Mainland Bridge: Sand dredging threatens bridge’s viability.

REACTING to speculations that theThird Mainland Bridge may soon

collapse, the Director, Highways Design(Bridges) in the Federal Ministry ofWorks, A.O. Effiong, outlined measurestaken by the government to protect andkeep the ever-busy bridge in anacceptable state.

In a statement titled “Facts File on ThirdMainland Bridge in Lagos”, Effiong, anengineer, disclosed that the FederalMinistry of Works has commenced theprocess of engaging a consultant tourgently carry out investigation/assessment on the entire bridge sub-structure so as to determine the extent ofmaintenance work required.

The scope of works to be covered,according to him, include* echometrictest to check the structural integrity of thepiles in water and selected piles on land(total of 988 No. piles), including coringon selected piles, testing and chemicalanalysis.

*Underwater Inspection of 658 No. pilesand submission of Report of the

cannot and must not be sweptunder the carpet as realcorrective measures mustimmediately be undertaken. Inaddition, some parts of thebridge may have been subjectto the negative effects ofscouring due to the activities ofsand miners. Again, in suchinstances, urgent and decisiveaction must be taken,” he said.

Continuing, Adebajo whocalled for a comprehensivestructural investigation of thebridge, declared: “ A bridgesuch as the Third MainlandBridge is much too strategic tobe ignored. This is why acomprehensive structuralinvestigation must be carriedout now, and done by suitablycompetent consultants”.

On how long it would takebefore repairs are carried outon such a nationalinfrastructure, Adebajoexplained that maintenanceshould be done regularly. “Ifyou buy a car today, it is likelythat you may not visit amechanic workshop for the nexttwo years.

Constantmaintenance

But after that, wear and tearsets in and it becomesnecessary for you to regularlymaintain the car. In likemanner, a bridge such as theThird Mainland Bridge maynot have problems within thefirst few years but with usage,the bridge will begin todeteriorate and requiresconstant maintenance to keepit in good shape,” he said.

Also reacting to the alarmraised about the health of theThird Mainland Bridge,another Lagos-based civilengineer, Mr. Afolabi Adedeji,called for the constitution of ajoint ad-hoc panel of theNigerian Society of Engineers,NSE, Council for theRegulation of Engineering inNigeria, COREN; Federationof Construction Industry,FOCI, which is the umbrellabody for all the majorconstruction companies inNigeria and the NigerianInstitution of Surveyors, NIS,to study the report of theKorean professor and advisegovernment on an appropriateline of action to be takenconcerning the report.

Adedeji who warned againstwhat he called an ‘alarmist’-cum-‘panic’ response,maintained that although thesafety of commuters is vital,“primordial job for the boysinstincts must also be temperedby sound engineeringjudgement”.

Third MainlandBridge: How realis the threat?

drastically reduced the vibrations on thebridge to tolerable limits and allayed thefears of members of the public.

Following yet another report ofsubsidence and oscillation of the bridgestructure exceeding tolerable limitsunder minimal load stress, the Ministry’sengineers inspected the bridge and theirSite Inspection Report indicated that:

•Excessive vibrations occurred atdamaged expansion joints locationswhenever heavy vehicles crossed overthem;

•Rubber accessories of the expansionjoints at the Ebute Metta axis of thebridge had been damaged and weretherefore not water-tight;

•Significant horizontal displacement ofa retaining wall at an intermediateabutment of the bridge was observed;

•Dredging activities around the bridgepiers from where large quantity of sandwas being excavated on a daily basismight undermine the integrity of thebridge foundations.

The Site Inspection Report

elements which had hitherto not beeninspected since the bridges wereconstructed and opened to traffic some 35and 25 years ago respectively for the twosections. An initial report of theunderwater inspection presented by NSDin July 2011 showed “alarming”deterioration and serious damages onnumerous pile foundations of the ThirdMainland Bridge.

Final Report

The Final Report submitted by NSD inNovember, 2011 indicated “extensive”deterioration of embedded steelreinforcement in piles, concretedegradation and appreciable loss ofconcrete material as well as discontinuitiesin some foundation piles which apparentlyhas affected the load bearing capacity ofthe piles. They recommended thereplacement of some piles, encapsulationof others, cleaning piles of marine growthsusing high pressure water jets anddiscontinuation of organic effluentsdischarge into the water. Hence,Advanced Integrity Assessment tests of theaffected foundation piles and chemicalanalysis of the concrete samples wererecommended.

Following further review of Messrs NSDLtd’s Final Report, it was observed thatnot all piles were inspected due to variousreasons advanced such as obstruction byhuman activities and inaccessibility. Toensure that their report was adequate andcomprehensive in accordance with thecontract’s terms of reference, the Ministrydirected that all piles, whether in wateror on land, be duly investigated whichculminated in the submission of anaddendum to the Final Report inDecember, 2012.

It is pertinent to note that the Addendumto the Final Report submitted by NigerianSubmarine Divers Limited in December2012 confirmed some deterioration anddefects at the underwater sections of someof the foundation piles as follows:

•Concrete degradation and appreciableloss of concrete infill materials

•Extensive deterioration of embeddedsteel reinforcement in piles

•Progressive deterioration of steelcaisson of foundation piles.

recommended the immediatereplacement of more damagedexpansion joints since the vibrationswere still traced to them and alsounderwater inspection to ascertain thecurrent state of the bridge substructure/foundation. Accordingly, and followingthe approval by the Federal ExecutiveCouncil in October 2011, eight additionaljoints (Phase II) adjudged to be borderline cases in 2008 were replaced by thesame contractor in 2012.

In recognition of the importance of thebridge, the Ministry commissionedMessrs Nigerian Submarine DiversLimited, NSD in December 2010 toundertake the underwater inspection ofthe Third Mainland bridge and Ekobridge in Lagos in order to ascertain thestate of the underwater structural

Inspection/Assessment of Foundationpiles with appropriate recommendations.

The statement reads in parts: “Followingreports of oscillation and excessivevibrations of the bridge under traffic load,the Federal Ministry of Works in 2008engaged the services of Messrs JBN Plc.to conduct preliminary investigations ofthe structure and later Dynamic tests werecarried out by Messrs 4EMME, aninternationally acclaimed bridgeengineering consulting firm. The reportsof the investigations and tests at the timeindicated that the bridge was structurallyadequate but required the replacementof bad expansion joints and bearings.

Consequently, Messrs Borini Prono &Co. Nigeria Ltd. carried out thereplacement of four critically affectedexpansion joints (Phase I) which

,

,There is no evidence of immediate threat offailure of the pilings; in their conclusion, theymade recommendations that elaboratemaintenance programme based on systemicassessment of all the piles be put in place

46—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Continues on page 47

FEW of the men gathered in thepresidential villa that evening had

seen President Goodluck Jonathan asfeisty and determined as he was lastSunday. A man that had been taken bysome as a weakling was before the 18 orso governors gathered in the roomshowing a strong hand that many had notenvisaged.

By one account, the president wasalleged to have sworn that he would neverbe humiliated out of office by the NigerianGovernors Forum and its chairman, RotimiAmaechi.

Before now, close associates of thepresident like his now controversialMinister of Niger Delta Affairs, ElderGodsday Orubebe, had played the gameof hitting Amaechi. But Orubebe’s effortshad not made any success as he was easilydismissed on account of the failed repairof the East West road, which crisscrossesthe Niger Delta.

But last Sunday with few party chieftainslike the National Chairman, AlhajiBamanga Tukur at hand, PresidentJonathan moved to divide the ranks of theNigerian Governors Forum, NGF a bodythat had turned into a major oppositionbody to not just his government, but also

Jonathan comes of ageOnce derided for his hesitancy in using the instrument of state to protect his political interests,President Goodluck Jonathan may now have bared his fangs as he moves to consolidate his hold onthe ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the polity. His challengers are scampering for shelter

BY EMMANUEL AZIKEN,POLITICAL EDITOR

his seeming quest for a second term.The president, himself a former

governor, was not oblivious of the powerand influence of the governors. About 23months ago at the final rally of the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, presidentialcampaign at the Eagles Square in Abuja,Jonathan had described the governors asthe Field Marshals of the party, uponwhom victory or otherwise in a presidentialcontest rest upon.

Perhaps in recognition of the powers ofthe governors, President Jonathan had

now embattled national chairman, Tukur,who the governors led by Amaechi wereas at last Sunday craving to push out.

As such, President Jonathan had everyreason to express concern as the cloudsbegan to gather around his political future.The governors were his major nemesis.Remarkably, many of the governors werealso forming linkages with anotherpowerful one-time benefactor of thepresident now turned into an enemy:Olusegun Obasanjo.

Before the 2011 primaries and in the heat

,,

conceded to them in nearly all politicalengagements. He stopped the e-registration of party members because ofthe governors, closed his eyes whenOkwesileze Nwodo who he brought in asnational chairman was eased out, turnedthe other way when several senators whopushed for his enthronement as ActingPresident were refused re-election ticketsby the governors, and also, allowed thegovernors to produce all but one memberof the 12-member National WorkingCommittee, NWC of the party. Thepresident’s only proxy in the NWC is the

of the crisis that trailed the Umaru Yar‘aduapresidency, nearly all the governors at thattime had been united in opposingJonathan’s emergence as acting president.But faced with the 'Hand of God,' thegovernors accepted the inevitable.Remarkably, the champions against hisemergence at that time are todaypractically licking dust. James Ibori, aformer governor of Delta State is in jailabroad, Timipire Sylva, a former governorof Bayelsa State is out of power andfighting prosecution by anti-graft agencies,and Bukola Saraki, a former chairman of

the influential NGF, is under the shadowsof anti-graft agencies for alleged offencescommitted while in office. It is the kind ofstealthy use of power that few have givenDr. Jonathan credence.

Last Sunday, the president literarilyforced those among the governors andothers outside to take notice that he wouldnot just use his powers stealthily, but alsoovertly when and where the need arises.

President'sdetermination

The president’s determination to weakenthe opposition it was learnt, was essentiallyfocused on two of his main opponents: theNGF and the Obasanjo tendency in theparty. While Obasanjo had found it not atoo difficult task forging an alliance withsome northern governors, doing the samewith southern governors had provedHerculean. It was especially difficult withAmaechi, the embattled chairman of theNGF. Obasanjo’s problem with Amaechihad to do with the latter’s bluntness inhis relationships.

Amaechi it is alleged has a predilectionfor blunt speaking irrespective of whoseox is gored. It is a character trait that someof his associates allege may have led himto his problems with the president.

The Rivers State governor it is equallyclaimed, has consistently rebuffed peacegestures from Obasanjo finding it difficultto forget the hostility of the formerpresident which culminated in him,Amaechi, fleeing the country in the twilightof the Obasanjo era. So where the two

Anenih, however, to the discomfort of Obasanjosubsequently moved in to take command of theAmen Corner of the Jonathan camp

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013 —47

withwithwithwithwithEMMANUEL AZIKEN

POLITICAL METABOLISM

detritetradetoxifiedpolitics@gmail.com

SMS 08052201189

ALMOST everyone but themen accused had forgotten

the salacious and sordid storyof the N55 million naira bribefor budget scandal that rockedthe National Assembly in 2005.

Given the several scandalsthat have permeated the politysince then: the N50 million perlegislator third term bribemoney, the purchasing contractscams in the immediate pastHouse of Representatives, therunning pension scams, theFarouk Lawan –Otedola affair,the multi trillion nairapetroleum subsidy scam, thepresidential banquet deal et al,only the very conscious wouldhave remembered the detailsof the 2005 bribe-for -budgetaffair.

So, Nigerians who hadforgotten about that allegedscam were reminded of it lastweekend with reports that thetrial is yet to take off more thaneight years after it wasinitiated.

The principal accused wasSenator Adolphus Wabara,then senate president, whowas charged alongside some

What of Wabara?five other lawmakers fordemanding bribe from the thenMinister of Education, Prof.Fabian Osuji in lieu of thepassage of the 2005 budget ofthe ministry.

The charges and thetelevision indictment of Wabaraand the other accusedlegislators by PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo, was formany, a veritable evidence ofthe much-touted assertion thatthe National Assembly asclaimed by Mallam Nasir el-Rufai was at that time an axisof corruption.

The humiliation for thelegislators who were arraignedwas unprecedented. Two of the

about seven legislators havedied, one from a plane mishapand another in active serviceat a retreat for senators in Kano.

One of the accused who yourcorrespondent met last yearand who was forced to retirefrom politics apparently arisingfrom the scam at a relativelyyoung age, spoke of theindignity of politics. He is nowengaged in full time profitablebusiness.

Another senator central in thescheme though was notprosecuted, in a privatemeeting, not too long ago,spoke of how he almostcommitted suicide on accountof the alleged scam.

It is nevertheless remarkablethat eight years after the issuecame to national attention thatthe prosecution of the allegedcrime is yet to get fullyunderway.

Today almost everyone nowbelieves that the case wasinspired by political motif.Ignorant of the third term scriptof those in the corridors ofpower in late 2004, Wabara hadbeen induced by some craftyIgbo senators to think of himselfas a potential Igbo leader whocould actualize the dream ofhaving a South-East president.It was a set up the Igbosenators and Wabara’s enemiesexpected to attract vengeancefrom Obasanjo towards Wabaraand then open the door for oneof them to replace him.

But as it is, none of the twosenators central to the script gotthe position. But whether it wasa set up or not, the issue of theguilt of Wabara and the otheraccused former lawmakersremains an issue that must befully resolved. Thesluggishness of our judicialsystem must be of concern to

everyone as it is a deterrent tothe actualization of a functionalcriminal justice system.

Remarkably, while we arewaiting for the prosecution ofthe Wabara group, many otherscandals have surfaced andwith many adjournments. It isremarkable that several formergovernors who have beenaccused of embezzlement andare facing trial are nowlawmakers in the NationalAssembly.

In one case, a formergovernor who was accused byMallam Nuhu Ribadu ofpractically taking money fromthe state coffers entered thesenate and became an officialof the committee on anti-corruption.

It is welcoming that the ChiefJustice of the Federation hastaken the bold step inaddressing impropriety in thejudiciary. She must beencouraged to focus on thespeed of the prosecution ofcases and score that point thatwhat a man can do, a womancan do, and even better!

Continues from page 46

Jonathan comes of age: The manifestation of power

principal opponents of theincumbent president could havejoined hands to fight a common‘enemy’, the ill-feelings of thepast created a divide that allowedthe president to move in todecisively crush the opposition.

The presidency had started bydisrobing Obasanjo of hispolitical architecture in theSouthwest two weeks ago withthe dismissal of Obasanjo’s menin the NWC and in theSouthwest executive of the party.

Bode Mustapha, who isgenerally known as Obasanjo’sMan Friday was sacked by thePDP leadership as nationalauditor using as excuse, the courtjudgment which annulled the2011 Oshogbo zonal congresswhere the Southwest delegatesto the national convention werechosen.

But the Obasanjo camp wasquick to respond that the party’saction was selective as it allegedthat applying the court judgmentwould have meant that all thoseelected at the national conventionincluding Tukur should havestepped out of office as they wereelected by illegal delegates.

Following the action onObasanjo, the presidencylaunched a frontal war againstthe NGF. Presidency officials atthe highest levels were allegedto have routinely called upgovernors all through lastweekend on the need to removeAmaechi from office.

In some cases, audiovisualrecordings of Amaechi wereplayed to some governors whowere told that Amaechi was

determined to remove thepresident and that they mustdivorce themselves from thealleged plot by opposingAmaechi’s return as chairman ofthe NGF. Apparently determinedto call the president’s bluff, theAmaechi supporters in the NGFpushed for a quick election toreaffirm their clout in the polity.

It was an invitation that thepresidency took up and theelection fixed for last Monday. Itsfirst move was to break the ranksof the NGF by the creation of anew group, the PDP GovernorsForum at last Sunday’s meetingwith the party’s governors.Remarkably, Tukur announcedGovernor Godswill Akpabio ofAkwa Ibom State as the chairmanof the new forum even without asay by the governors. Akpabio isgenerally regarded as one of thestrongest loyalists of thepresident among the governors.

Newly createdforum

Other loyalists include IbrahimShema of Katsina, Theodore Orjiof Abia, Gabriel Suswam ofBenue, Seriake Dickson ofBayelsa and Isa Yuguda ofBauchi.

The next day which wasscheduled for the NGF election,Akpabio made the first move onbehalf of Jonathan when heinvited members of his newlycreated forum for a meeting priorto the NGF election at the AkwaIbom Governor ’s Lodge inAsokoro, Abuja.

At that meeting it was allegedthat Governor Shema, anotherJonathan loyalist was adopted as

the PDP Governors’ Forumchoice as the next chairman ofthe NGF. From the Akwa Ibomgovernor ’s lodge, the PDPgovernors proceeded to theRivers State Governor’s lodge forthe election which was to involvethe nation’s 36 governors.

As the meeting commenced,Governor Babangida Aliyu, whowas absent at the two meetingsat the villa on Sunday andMonday afternoon hosted byAkpabio, questioned the rationalefor the creation of the PDP-GF inthe continued presence of theNGF. He was immediatelychallenged by Akpabio leadingto a shouting match among theduo that almost broke up themeeting as many of thegovernors immediately startedpacking their things to abandonthe meeting. But once reasonprevailed on the combative duo,the meeting returned to order.Remarkably, the persuasion andpressures from the presidency

had whittled support fromAmaechi, but not sufficient toenthrone Shema. So notsurprisingly the governorsresolved to postpone the evil daytill May.

Derobing Obasanjo: Thepresidency was still unfinishedthat Monday. Later that night, theunfinished agenda of derobingObasanjo was completed at ascheduled meeting of the BOTwhere a report on restructuringthe membership of the advisorybody was presented to thepresident at the villa.

Following Obasanjo’sresignation as chairman of theBOT last year, the contest for thechairmanship of the body hadturned to a proxy war betweenhim and Jonathan. Obasanjo itis alleged, was strongly opposedto the emergence of Jonathan’sfavourite, Tony Anenih as hisreplacement. A former chairmanof the BOT, Anenih wasdisplaced from the position in

2007 by Obasanjo and since thenboth men had played cat andmouse in the politics of the PDP.

Not surprisingly in the dyingdays of the Yar‘Adua presidency,while Obasanjo stronglysupported Jonathan’semergence as acting president,Anenih reportedly was incahoots with the governors inopposing Jonathan. But Anenih,however, to the discomfort ofObasanjo subsequently movedin to take command of the AmenCorner of the Jonathan camp.

Potentialrivals

The opportunity to derobeObasanjo came in the early hoursof yesterday after the reportarticulated by a former secretaryof the BOT, Prof. Jerry Gana onrestructuring membership of theBOT was submitted.

The report it was learnt,recommended the excision ofmembers of the BOT who had inthe past shifted loyalties to otherparties. It is a recommendationthat further strengthens thehands of the president on theparty as it removes some of hispotential rivals such as AtikuAbubakar, Ghali Na‘Abba frommembership of the body.

Following the submission of thereport, one of the memberspresent, perhaps in achoreographed submission saidthat the vacancy in thechairmanship should be filledand Anenih was nominated andunanimously adopted. FixingJonathan's future was back fullyon course.

•Jonathan: Takes his chance

48 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27FEBRUARY 27FEBRUARY 27FEBRUARY 27FEBRUARY 27, 2012

,

,

Recruitment Scam:Police in Benue arrestex-naval personnel,two others

Stories by PETER DURU,MAKURDI

The suspects in complete Navy uniform

Another startling discoverywas that the suspects who ap-parently hijacked the ongoingrecruitment into the lower cadreof the Nigerian Navy were notpersonnel of the Service

Robbers attacklocalgovernmentcashier, cartaway N6m

THERE was stampede recently at the popular Kat-

sina/Ala street , Makurditown, when two armed menon a motorbike waylaid a manlater discovered to be thecashier of Makurdi local gov-ernment council (name with-held), carting away overN6million.

The amount, which waswithdrawn from the bank, wasreportedly meant for pay-ment of some creditors of thecouncil.

Eye witnesses told CrimeAlert that the armed men hadtrailed the cashier from thebank. On reaching Katsina /Ala street, they reportedlyintercepted his vehicle , shoot-ing sporadically into the air.

An eye witness said: “Initial-ly we thought they were po-licemen, but when they start-ed shooting into the air andasked occupants of the vehi-cle to hand over the bag ofmoney in their possession, werealised they were armedrobbers”.

“At that point we all scam-pered for safety, for fear of be-ing shot by the fierce- lookingmen who took total control ofthe area, while shop ownershurriedly closed their shopsfor fear of being attacked also.The operation lasted for aboutseven minutes. While it last-ed, we were helpless becausewe couldn’t stand up againstthem and there was no waythe police could come to therescue of the victims withinthat period.

“It is painful because in thelast few weeks, cases of armedmen operating on motorbikeshave become rampant in partsof Makurdi town”, he added.

FOR some time now, a hotelin Makurdi area of Benue

state(name withheld), has beenwitnessing an unprecedentedcrowd, majority of whom wereyouths between ages 18 and 22.

Their mission was unknownuntil policemen from the BenueState Police Command stormedthe hotel Sunday, arrestingthree men in full navaluniform,where preliminary in-vestigation revealed that theywere into illegal recruitmentinto the Nigerian Navy, NN.

Another startling discoverywas that the suspects who ap-parently hijacked the on-goingrecruitment into the lower cadreof the Nigerian Navy were notpersonnel of the Service, nei-ther were they consultants.Only one of them was discov-ered to be a dismissed Navalpersonnel.

The Benue State Commis-sioner of Police, Mr Christo-pher Katso explained that , “our intelligence report uncov-ered a syndicate of three men,led by one Emmanuel Auduwho were fully kitted in Navaluniforms, in a hotel room fromwhere they were conductingphony recruitment into the Ni-gerian Navy”.

Upon arrest andinterrogation, they confessedthat they were not personnel ofthe Nigerian Navy but were inthe business to make money forthemselves.

“After a thorough search oftheir room, we recovered largenumber of credentials, list ofshort listed candidates andcash ostensibly collected fromtheir unsuspecting victims;photocopiers, computers andseveral documents”, the CPsaid.

Alleged leader of the syndi-cate, Emmanuel, told CrimeAlert that he was dismissedfrom the NN in year 2011.

According to him, “I wasonce a naval personnel but wasunjustly dismissed in 2011 bythe authorities after I took illand was declared AWOL.

Even when I tendered themedical reports that clearlyshowed that I was truly ill, myplea was not listened to and Iwas summarily dismissed for nojustifiable reason; even whenothers who committed worseoffenses were forgiven and al-lowed to stay in service, I wasdismissed in my case. Noone,listened to me even when Ishowed them the reason why I

had to stay away from my dutypost”. He added that heresorted to the phonyrecruitment exercise in order toeke a living for himself sincehe was unjustifiably deprivedof his source of livelihood.

His alleged partners in crimeclaimed Emmanuel played ontheir gullibility by talking theminto joining him,without theslightest inkling that he hadbeen dismissed from service.

According to one of them,John Ochi,” “I knew him fromhome in Otukpo. We werefriends for a long time. So, whenhe informed me of the oppor-tunity to get enlisted into thenavy for N100,000, I jumped atthe offer because for a long time,I’ve been struggling to get en-listed into the military or para-military service without success,that is why I felt I should givehim the money to assist me getthe job; I didn’t know it wouldturn out this way”. The suspectsaccording to the CP, would becharged to court.

A randy senior staff of Universityof Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu

State (name withheld), was recentlycaught pants down making love toanother man’s wife in his bedroom.Heaven was let loose when an AkwaIbom state indigene in the Universitytown stumbled on an ugly sight ofanother man and his wife makinglove right inside his bedroom.

Crime Alert gathered that the al-leged adulterous house wife (nameswithheld) and a staff of the Univer-sity attached to the security depart-ment was allegedly caught red hand-ed, with another randy staff who hailsfrom Nnobi, Anambra State and asenior Staff of Energy Research Cen-ter of the University, enjoying one

Randy UNN Staff caught

another on her matrimonial bed.An impeccable source disclosed that

the husband of the woman had beensuspecting that his wife had beenhaving amorous overtures with theman but his suspicion became real onthat fateful day he caught them pantsdown. The source said that the manreturned to his house following a tip-off, only to behold the bizarre scene,explaining that when the husband ofthe adulterous woman walked into

the room, he saw them pants downand the Energy Research Centre lov-er took his cloths and ran away.Neighbors who were attracted to theugly scene gave him a hot chase buthe escaped, the source noted.

Unable to bear the slight, thehusband of the adulterous womanheaded to the Nigeria Police AreaCommand, Nsukka and lodged thecomplaint. When Crime Alert visit-ed the Police Area Command, theaggrieved husband said he wasmaking his statement to the police.

According to him, it was true, theyhave been having this affair since andI have been suspecting them, but mywife would always convince me, tak-ing advantage of my being a non-Igbo. When our reporter reached outto the suspect on phone for com-ments, he quipped “that is rubbish,that is rubbish” while the allegedadulterous woman also told our re-porter on phone “there was nothinglike that”.

However, Police sources at the AreaCommand Nsukka revealed that the

By CHINENYEH OZOR, Nsukka

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27FEBRUARY 27FEBRUARY 27FEBRUARY 27FEBRUARY 27, 2012 — 49

rm

in the Actwoman claimed her alleged loverwas just a family friend for manyyears. She denied the alleged sexu-al intercourse claiming that “the mancomes to our house and has been afriend of the family. He acts as afather to me”. When contacted, theArea Commander, Nigeria PoliceArea Command, Nsukka, Ros-Armson Haladu (ACP) confirmedthat a case of adultery was reportedto his office and both suspects havemade useful statements to Police inrespect of the matter.,

,

The mancomes toour houseand hasbeen afriend of thefamily; heacts as afather to me

THE following abandoned vehicles wouldbe disposed by Lagos State Police

command.Santana car with reg BJ86AAA, Toyota

Starlet car reg AP90IGWA, Coat car regAU496MUS, Volkswagen Bus RegHA524AAA, Scrap Toyota Celica withoutregistration number, Scrap Mitsubishi Buswithout registration, Volkswagen Bus RegXQ9788LSR, Mazda 626 car registrationGZ52EKY, Honda Accord car Reg

Police to dispose vehicles at Isolo and Okokomaiko

EH498LND, Scrap Mazda 626 withoutregistration number, Land Cruiser PradoJeep Reg FB636LSR, Accident VolkswagenBus Reg XW158FKJ, Accident Toyota SiennaReg with Reg LY67KJA, Accident ToyotaCamry car reg MR594KJA,. Accident ToyotaSienna with reg FST510AH, AccidentMercedes Benz with reg LC460KJA,Accident Volvo 80 Jeep 791SDC.

Accident Honda car reg EX197ABJ andAccident Mazda car reg EE780APP.

ASP. D.D. Galadanchi (right) representing, the outgoing Commissioner of Police Oyo state,Mr. Mbu J. Mbu during the official commissioning of Skynet Special Squad building atAlisholoye Ibadan, a structure reconstructed and renovated by Insp. Usman Dimka, theSquad Commander (left).

COMMISSIONING

Attack on Minority Whip:Benue elders urge police tounravel masterminds of arson

Stories bY PETER DURU,MAKURDI

Hon. Terkimbi Ikyange inspecting one of the burnt cars at hisMakurdi residence

A GROUP under the aegis ofUshongo Elders Forum in

Benue state, has urged theBenue State Police Command toinvestigate and bring to book,masterminds of the recent ar-son attack on the Minority Whipof the State House ofAssembly,Hon. TerkimbiIkyange.

The forum which describedthe midnight attack on the law-maker as “barbaric, unaccept-able and highly condemnable”made the call during a visit onthe Minority whip’s Makurdiresidence. Spokespersons forthe forum, Mr. Isaac Mtu,Haagher Chubu and IortimKpam separately said, “this de-velopment portends danger anddoes not tell good of our democ-racy and the safety and protec-tion of the people”.

“In order to put an end to thistype of barbaric attack on Benue

indigenes , we urged securityagencies in the state to thor-oughly investigate the matter,fish out and prosecute master-minds of the attack on the law-maker, to serve as deterrent toothers.

“On our part, we will however,return home and meet with theTer Ushongo (paramount ruler)and possibly summon all

Ushongo sons in governmentso as to give them the opportu-nity to clear themselves of com-plicity in the matter”.

It would be recalled that Mr.Terkimbi Ikyange and his fam-ily members escaped death nar-rowly when unknown arsonistbesieged his house midnightand set two of his cars ablaze.

CMYK

50— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013—51

Breast cancer survivor trumpets need for earlydetection, treatment

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

AWKA—A survivor of breast can-cer, Miss Juliet Agunwa has be-gun an awareness campaign onhow to ensure early detection of

the disease, advising women toconstantly examine themselvesand go for early treatment whendetected.

Delivering a lecture to sec-ondary school students on

breast cancer and its curabil-ity at Nkpor in AnambraState, Agunwa argued thatbreast cancer killed manywomen in Nigeria due to ig-norance and stigmatisation of

the victims.Aguwa, who is the founder

of ‘Courage to Dare Founda-tion’, a non-governmental or-ganisation, NGO, noted thatwhat every person havingchallenges of cancer neededwas love and encouragement.

She said: “A lot of peopleneed the information; peoplehave actually shown the inter-est to learn about how to pro-long their life and how to cutdown the death rate caused bybreast cancer.

“Educating people aboutcancer is something I alwayslook forward to because whenI was diagnosed of breast can-cer, I thought that my worldhad turned for the worst.”

Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Ekiti State Governor; wife of the Senate President, Mrs. Helen Mark; Representative of President GoodluckJonathan and President of Senate, David Mark and Deputy Ambassador of the US to Sierra Leone, Ms. Kathleen Fitzgibbon,at the inauguration of President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone, for a second term in office, in Freetown.

BY TONY EDIKE

Judge stays action on Ifeanyi Uba’s suit

LAGOS — A Federal HighCourt sitting in Lagos,

yesterday, stayed proceedingsin the suit by Managing Di-rector of Capital Oil and GasLimited, Mr. Ifeanyi Ubahagainst Access Bank Plc andCoscharis Motors Limited.

Trial judge in the matter, Jus-tice Okon Abang, stayed pro-ceedings in the matter, and ad-journed till May 31, pendingthe outcome of an appeal byAccess Bank at the AppealCourt, Lagos.

Access Bank had through itslawyer, prayed the court to staythe matter, contending that the

records of appeal had beencompiled and transmitted tothe appellate court.

The application, was notopposed by Ubah’s counsel,following which the courtstayed further hearing in thematter, pending the outcomeof the appeal at the Court ofAppeal,

BY INNOCENT ANABA

ENUGU—THE ChristianAssociation of Nigeria,

CAN, yesterday, vowed to mobi-lise the masses against anti-peo-ple politicians in the country witha view to forcing them out of pub-lic offices.

The South-East chapter of CAN,took the stand after its meeting inEnugu, yesterday.

Chairman, South East Chapter

CAN chapter chairman vows to chase outnon-performing politicians

of CAN and the AnglicanBishop of Enugu, Rt. Rev.Emmanuel Chukwuma, whobriefed newsmen on the out-come of the meeting attendedby several church leaders in thezone, said the church would nolonger sit on the fence andwatch politicians take themasses for granted.

According to him: “All thepoliticians who have not per-formed will be re-called, before

talking of second tenure andall that, they should come andgive their account of steward-ship to the people.

“Anything short of that, weshall mobilise the masses, thechurch shall act as a catalystto chase all the non-perform-ing politicians out.”

He called on the FederalGovernment to make both theAkanu Ibiam InternationalAirport, Enugu and the

Onitsha Seaport functionalwithout further delay, saying,

“We don’t like the politicalway the Seaport is being han-dled. Ever since we were toldthe port was commissioned, ithas not been operational.

“We are demanding thedredging of the River Nigershould be completed, vesselsshould be arriving at the port,otherwise it will be a whiteelephant project.

Pension Scam: Maina begs court for safety

.Hearing adjourned till March 5

ABUJA—EMBAT TLEDChairman of the Pension

Reform Task Team, PRTT, Mr.Abdulrasheed Maina, yester-day, begged the Abuja HighCourt to shield him from arrestpending the determination ofhis suit.

Maina who was declaredwanted following his allegedcomplicity in the illegal diver-sion of funds meant for pension-ers across the federation, madethe appeal on a day the Senatesecured an order extending thewarrant of arrest earlier issuedagainst him.

Meantime, presiding JusticeAdamu Bello yesterday fixedMarch 5 to commence hearingon the substantive suit that wasentered before it by the accusedpension boss who went into hid-ing following intensified bid by

the upper legislative house toapprehend him for questioning.

At the resumed sitting on thecase yesterday, Maina, throughhis counsel, Mr. M. A Magaji,SAN, pleaded the high court tocompel the Senate and the In-spector General of Police, Mr.Mohammed Abubakar, to main-tain status-quo –ante, and re-frain from taking any step to-

wards arresting him pendingthe determination of the suit.

Besides, Maina urged thecourt to void the recent dis-solution of PRTT by the Fed-eral Government and orderthat issues pertaining to pen-sion administration in thecountry should remain underhim till the case is deter-mined.

ABUJA—THE LegalPractitioners Privi-

leges Committee, LPPC,yesterday, suspendedChief Ajibola A. Aribisalafrom using the rank ofSenior Advocate of Ni-geria, SAN, and strippedhim of all other privi-leges attached to therank.

The legal body headedby the Chief Justice ofNigeria, Justice MariamAloma Muhktar, reachedthe decision after a meet-ing in Abuja, yesterday.

A statement by theChief Registrar of theSupreme Court, Mr.Sunday Olorundahunsiwho is also the Secretaryof the LLPC, said thatthe action was taken af-ter due consideration ofa petition that was filedagainst Chief Aribisalaby Fidelity Bank andPHCN.

Jonathandirects Armyengineers torenovateIkeja PoliceCollege

ABUJA — FOLLOW- ing the pub-

lic outcry that greeted thedilapidated structures ofthe Police College, Ikeja,Lagos, PresidentGoodluck Jonathan hasdirected the Army engi-neers to renovate thepremier Police institu-tion.

The development is afall-out of the documen-tary by an independenttelevision station thataired the deterioratingstate of the college andsubsequent visit by thePresident to the PoliceCollege.

Sources told Vanguardthat the Presidency hadreleased aboutN700million directly tothe Army engineers whohave since moved to site.

Sources at the ArmyHeadquarters, however,said the amount ofmoney released “cannotbe said to be the finalcost of repairs as thework is being done

KINGSLEY OMONOBI

LPPCsuspendsSAN overjudicialmisconduct

BY IKECHUKWUNNOCHIRI

52 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Okocha upsets Delta Airsecond seed•Plays James today in quarterfinal

FORMER Super Eagles captain, Austin

“Jay Jay’ Okocha is liv-ing life off the footballspotlight to the full fol-lowing his adventure atthe ongoing Delta AirTennis Classics holding atthe Lagos Lawn TennisClub, Onikan.

Playing against the ten-nis captain of the LagosLawn Tennis Club, DapoAboaba, who incidental-ly is the second seed ofthe tournament for play-ers in the age bracket of40 to 49 years old,Okocha, who until thegame, was not reputed forhis tennis play, becamethe talking point of fans,who crammed the tennisclub, courtesy of his 6-3,6-3 straight sets conquestof Aboaba.

When both playersstepped on the Lord Ru-mens Centre Court forthe start of the match, nota few tennis faithful gavethe former EintracthFrankfurt and PSGstar,any chance of win-

ning a set, not to talk ofthe match but what tran-spired at the end of anhour of tennis play, leftmany having a rethink.

In winning the opener,Okocha served six aces,had nine winners andbroke his opponent’sserve twice to take the set6-3.

The second set almosttook the same pattern,with Okocha producingsome excellent mobility

and hitting three back-hand winners and anoth-er two service breaks toannounce his arrival asthe one to beat to the win-ner’s prize of a return airticket to the United Statesof America, courtesy ofDelta Air.

He next plays KolaJames today in a quarter-final match at the samevenue. Peter Osagie isthe top seed of the tour-nament.

Police Games to boost Police/Militaryrelationship — IG

THE Inspector-General of Police, IGP MD

Abubakar, has assured thatthe 10th Biennial PoliceGames “Port Harcourt2013”, scheduled for Riv-ers State, from 3rd to 9thMarch, 2013, will not onlyprovide a platform for thePolice, the Military andother security agencies toshowcase their sportingprowess; it will also be a

•Okocha

BY JOHNEGBOKHAN

“I challenge Keshi toname those two membersof the EXCO so that thismatter will be settledonce and for all. We arefourteen on the board andKeshi said two memberswanted him sacked. Ican’t see how twomembers of the board canengineer a coach’s sackwithout the support ofothers. He should namethem,” Umeh said .

The NFF chieftain saidhe felt scandalised as amember of the board asthe coach’s mediainterview did not clarifywho the members were.

Asked if Keshi would beinvited by the board toexplain his interviewwith the media, Umehsaid, “we don’t need toinvite him. He should goto the same media andname the two boardmembers. That will clearthe air once and for all.”

We still have veryimportant assignments,like qualifying for theWorld Cup, we shouldput all this crisis behindus and face thechallenges ahead.”

Umeh said for openingup to the media, in aninterview, which Keshisaid his decision to resignhis appointment after theNations Cup wasprompted by theoverbearing nature of twomembers of the ExecutiveCommittee of the NigeriaFootball Federation who

NFFhad wanted him sacked,even before the NationsCup.

In a widely reportedinterview with cablenetwork, Super Sports onMonday, Stephen Keshisaid

“I know for sure the(sack) letter was there,the letter was waiting

before Nations Cup afterwe won 6-1 againstLiberia in Calabar, Andthose two members werethe main problem inSouth Africa.,” Keshi saidon the live televisionprogramme.

Keshi exonerated theNFF President, AminuMaigari, “It wasn’t frommy president, not fromthe board of thefederation, but from oneor two other people.

•Continued from BP

Rangers

as inconsequential and ofno effect as it lacked thelocus standi to enter intothe fray of ascertainingthe rightful owner of theplayer.

“We don’t have anyissue to grind with theNPFL especially as weknow that the issuethey ’ve electedthemselves to speak on isbeyond their bound, sowhatever statementemanating from them onSunday Mba isconsidered null and voidby the management ofEnugu Rangers.

“The NPFL has no rightto comment on player’sstatus. That right isreserved for the NigeriaFootball FederationPlayers’ StatusCommittee.

“All the parties will soonappear before the

•Continued from BP

committee with facts andfigures to establish onceand for all the rightfuland legal owner of thedisputed player.

“Wolves are forcingthemselves on the casewhich actually is betweenDolphins and Rangers byextension Enyimba.

“We obtained Mba fromEnyimba from where weloaned him to Dolphinswho didn’t fulfil the loanagreement. We learnt,too, that Dolphinscomplained that Wolvesdidn’t fulfil its loanagreement with the PortHarcourt side. I believeevery fact will be laid bareat the NFF StatusPlayers’ Committee at theright time and justice willbe given to the partiesinvolved,” he said tosupersport.com.

We learnt that Mba isfar away from the shoresof Nigeria where he isbelieved to be negotiatingcontract deal with someEuropean clubs.

six point lead overs e c o n d - p l a c e dFenerbahce in the SuperToto Super League.

A Selcuk Inan own goalput Orduspor ahead inthe 15th minute andBogdan Stancu made it 2-0 with a penalty justbefore half-time.

Goals from former InterMilan and Real Madridmidfielder WesleySneijder, a brace fromBurak Yilmaz andanother goal from Inan,however, gave Galatasarythe win.

Drogba made astunning start to hisGalatasaray career bycoming on as a substituteand scoring within fiveminutes in the 2-1 victoryagainst Akhisar Belediye.

Drogba

Effiong, SpecialAdviser, ICTDevelopment, Mr. EdemEkong, Special Adviser,Public Transportation,Mr. Nzan Ogbo, SpecialAdviser Event, Hon.Ngim Okpo, Mr. WilfredUsani, Special Adviser,T o u r i s mDevelopment,Mr. A;lexEgbonna, Mr. RekpeneBassey, Mr. Igbe Aruku,Mr. Jude Amadi, ElendaOsima-Dokubo, BruceIjirigbo, Mercy Nku andMike Aniah, Secretary tothe state government.

Speaking shortly after

2014 National Sports Festival

•Continued from BP

inaugurating thecommittee in Calabar, theActing Governor andChairman of thecommittee, Mr. EfiokCobham, asserted that“since the creation ofCross River State, this isthe first time we arehosting the festival, somestates have hosted morethan once and we willlove to use thisopportunity to set a benchmark for the fiesta’.

He reiterated the state’sreadiness to successfullyhost the 19th NationalSports Festival, tagged

•Continued from BP

“2014 Paradise Games”which he said will behuge in contents withover 15 thousandcompetitors of Nigeriaextraction from all overthe world competing forlaurels.

BY JACOB AJOM

THE 2013 MTN/LagosInternational PoloTournament gallops offtoday at the prestigiousLagos Polo ground,Awolowo Road Ikoyiwith clubs from Kano,Kaduna, Ibadan andhost, Lagos jostling forthe various trophies upfor grabs.

Tournament director,Tade Oyinlola saidyesterday, at the pre-tournament briefing thatthis year’s edition wouldbe unique as theorganisers had made itpossible for spectators toenjoy the best of Polothroughout the two-weekevent.

“We have structuredthe tournament scheduleof play to reflect a mix ofhighbrow and lowbrowpolo,” he explained,adding that “thearrangement assures all-round high levelcompetition.”

Speaking at the

MTN/Lagos International Polo tourneygallops off

occasion, Events andsponsorship manager ofMTN, Dola Bamgboyesaid the companydecided to identify withthe tournament as ameans of reaching out toits core customers andenhancing connectivityamong them.

“The consistency andcontinuity in our desireto recognise our corecustomers will see usmaintain a long standingrelationship with theLagos Polo club and itsflagship tournament, theM T N / L a g o sI n t e r n a t i o n a ltournament,” Bamgboyesaid.

He said the companywas prepared to thrillthe numerous spectatorsat the two-week event.

Some of the clubsfeaturing in thetournament includeTavia/Trojan, LagosEricsson, Lagos T-Raiders, Lagos Ironclad,Kano Eurovite, LagosGoodfellows/Ark, Lagos

Caverton, IbadanJericho, Delany/Linetrale, among others.

Trophies at stakeinclude the Low Cup,the Dansa Cup, theItalian Ambassador ’scup, IndependenceCup, the LagosGovernor’s Cup and theMajekodunmi Cup.

The tournament endson March 10 with thefinal of the prestigiousMajekodunmi Cup.

veritable tool for furtherstrengthening the relation-ship among these sisteragencies.

While justifying the de-cision of the Force SportsPlanning Committee toinvite the military and oth-er law enforcement agen-cies to the Police sportingfiesta, the IG noted that thePolice and the militaryshare a common sporting

history dating back to thepre-independence era. Heexplained that specialinvitation has been ex-tended to the NigerianArmy, the Navy and theAir Force. Also expected inPort Harcourt for theGames are the NigerianPrisons Service, the Nige-rian Immigration Service,the Federal Fire Service,Federal Road Safety Com-mission, Nigerian Securityand Civil Defence Corps.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013————— 5353535353

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54— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013————— 5555555555

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e-mail: rowolove@yahoo.co.ukHow to Play Sudoku THE VIGILANTE

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.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORD

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

Sudoku Across:1 Penalty (4)4 Conflict (3)6 Existence (4)8 Rubbish (6)9 Character (6)10 Follow (3)12 Strict (5)14 Revolt (5)15 Keen (5)18 Span (6)29 Shrewd (6)24 Singer (5)26 Tender (5)28 Jig (5)30 Beverage (3)32 Summer-house (6)33 Dozen (6)34 Group (4)35 Total (3)36 Story (4)

Down:2 Fool (5)3 West in (7)4 District (4)5 Circle (4)6 Supple (5)7 Ardent (7)11 Individual (3)12 Weep (3)13 Horse (3)16 Obtain (3)17 Managed (3)19 Chorus (7)21 Turf (3)22 Disaster (7)23 Sheep (3)25 Watch (3)27 Choose (5)29 Lid (5)30 Pitch (4)31 Particle (4)

Across: 2, Obese 7, Sauce 8, Front 10, Chief12, Ire 13, Issue 15, Pottery 17, Coarse 19,Rut 20, Tremble 23, Loom 25, Ease 26,Notable 30, Nut 31, Arrest 34, Moronic 37,Munch 38, Tic 39, Civil 40, Eagle 41, Newly42, Sever

Down: 1, Lasso 2, Occur 3, Behest 4, Seep 5,Brittle 6, Inert 9, Ore 11, Formula 13, Icily 14,Salon 15, Tub 18, Erratic 21, Eaten 22, Teeth 24,Monocle 27, Tun 28, Ermine 29, Total 32, Ruler33, Cold 35, Rig 36, Cite

•Keshi

BY JACOB AJOM

FIRST Vice Presidentof the Nigeria

Football Federation,Chief Mike Umeh hasexpressed fear that thelingering crisis inNigerian football,occasioned by thepurported sack threat onSuper Eagles headcoach, Stephen Keshimight linger on longerthan expected and couldjeopadise Nigeria’sWorld Cup qualificationchances if not properlyhandled.

In a bid to find apermanent solution to thecrisis, Chief Umeh hasthrown a challenge toCoach Stephen Keshi tomention the twooverbearing members ofthe executive committeeof the NFF that he saidprompted his decision toattempt to throw in thetowel after thetournament.

Umeh challenges Keshi

•Umeh

NIGERIA’S CafC h a m p i o n s

League campaigners,Enugu Rangers aretaking their statutoryclaim over Nigerianinternational, SundayMba to the NigeriaFootball Federation(NFF) Status Players

Rangers dare NPFL over MbaCommittee.

The status of the AfricaCup of Nations’ hero hasbeen hotly disputedbetween two NPFL sides,Warri Wolves and EnuguRangers leading to theInterim ManagementCommittee of the NigeriaProfessional Football

League (NPFL) issuing astatement on Mondaythat the Nigerian forwardis a bona fide player ofWarri Wolves.

However, an official ofRangers, Foster Chimeon Tuesday declared theNPFL statement on Mba

•Continues on Page 52 •Continues on Page 52

AHEAD of the 2014National Sports

Festival scheduled to behosted by the Cross RiverState Government, thestate’s Acting GovernorMr. Efiok Cobham, hasinaugurated areconstituted 24 manLocal OrganizingCommittee (LOC) inCalabar to champion theplanning of the event.

Members of thecommittee include TheActing Governor Mr.Efiok Cobham,Chairman, andCommissioner for Youthsand Sports Development,Mr. Patrick Ugbe, ViceChairman and Mr. EgwuEgeh, PermanentSecretary, Ministry ofyouths and Sports willserve as secretary.

Other members are;Surv. Raph Uche,Commissioner for Landsand Housing, Hon.Legor Idagbo,

2014 National Sports Festival:Cross River inaugurates LOC

Commissioner for Works,Mr. Bassey Oqua,Commissioner for SpecialProjects, Dr. Angela Oyo-Ita, Commissioner forHealth, Rev. TakisCaiaphas, Commissionerfor Finance, Dr. SandyOnoh, Commissioner forEnvironment and ChiefAkin Rickets,Commissioner forInformation.

The Committee also hasChief Peter Ojie,Commissioner for LocalGovernment, Mr. Odo

•Continues on Page 52

•Ugbe

Galatasary striker as thepair challenged for aheader at a corner.

The substitute wastaken to hospital byambulance after collidingwith Drogba in thepenalty area, but theIvorian went to pay hima visit after the match.

Galatasary overcame a2-0 deficit to beatOrduspor 4-2 and hold a

Drogba headbutts rival to hospital

FORMER Chelseahitman Didier

Drogba is proving to be aknockout in Turkey asDavid Barral discoveredon Monday.

Orduspor’s Barral wasknocked out cold whenhe was accidentallyheadbutted by the

•Continues onPage 52

•Drogba

•To expose overbearing NFF members

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