vanguard june 5th 2013 edition

...towards a better life for the people

N150VOL. 25: NO. 61897

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013**

Mr & Mrs

•P.19

COLUMNISTS:

•Supporters to be tried under Terror Act•Arrest Buhari now for incitement, CAN tells FG•NASS backs President's action•Shekau may be tried in US — Official

ROTIMI FASAN

Jonathan bans BokoHaram, Ansaru

DEAR BUNMI•P. 37

Continues on Page 5

PROTEST—Medical students of the University of Abuja protesting non-accreditation of their Course and the inability ofmanagement to find another university to complete their programme in Abuja, yesterday. Photos: NAN.

BY SONI DANIEL,CLIFFORD NDUJIHE,BEN AGANDE, DAPOAKINREFON, HENRY

UMORU, GBENGAOKE & EMMANOVUAKPORIE

ABUJA—DETERMINED to wage

war against terrorismheadlong, the FederalGovernment, yesterdayproscribed two terroristgroups unleashing may-hem on the polity, de-scribing their activities asillegal and acts of terror-ism.

The outlawed groupsare the Jamaatu Ahlis-Sunna Liddaawati Wal

•Pg.8

NGF ELECTION CRISIS:I'll stick to mymandate — Amaechi

Nigeria's debts'llrise to N8.8trn by2015 — DMO •Pg.9

—PG.10

Certificate forgerysuit against Tinubudismissed

Man stabs 78-yr-oldfather to death •Pg.6

A crudegame ofpower

—P.9

CMYK

CMYK

2 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013 — 3

CMYK

CMYK


POCKET CARTOON

TAKE HEARTBY ELLA RANDLE

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013—5

LIFEWORDSBY PASTOR ITUAH

Continues from Page 1

Jonathan bans Boko Haram,Ansaru

The sun is still there... even if clouds drift overit. Once you have experienced the reality of sun-shine you may weep, but you will never feel iceabout your heart again— Elizabeth Goudge. Weep-ing may endure for a night, but joy comes in themorning.

Continues on Page 14

You live longer once you realize that any timespent being unhappy is wasted —Ruth E. Renkl

WHEN you are content with your life, you arealways in a beautiful place that comes with

an indescribable feeling of unlimited joy, a know-ing that keeps the heart warm with affection andtenderness for everything around you....that feel-ing is nurtured through divine grace but when theheart opens like a lotus flower, it fills the etherswith fragrance of love, patience, understanding, ac-ceptance of you and others; for all is ever in itsrightful place.

The ability to focus on what is relevant in themoment is a divine gift to be grateful for, we canchoose to see goodness all around us, this life istoo precious and every learning moment is a bless-ing to dwell in this consciousness of beauty anddivine love.

Thus, be content in just being you, be content infriendship and in love, for there is an inner glowthat comes from within when one’s attention is fo-cused on being better in the moment. This feelingis love and I know if there is one thing in this uni-verse of ours that exists beyond infinity is the tran-scendence of love...always choose to keep the heart,through divine grace, a beautiful nurturing, pureplace, of kindness and tender love.

VISIT—President Goodluck Jonathan (L) welcoming President Nhamajo Serifo of Guinea Bissau tothe Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday. State House photo.

Jihad otherwise knownas Boko Haram and theJama’atu Ansarul

Muslimina Fi BiladisSudan also known asAnsaru.

In proscribing thesects, President

Goodluck Jonathan au-thorized the gazetting of"an order declaring theiractivities illegal and actsof terrorism."

This was contained ina statement by the Spe-cial Adviser to the Presi-dent on Media & Public-ity, Dr Reuben Abati.

The statement was en-titled, "PresidentJonathan approves orderproscribing Boko Haramand ANSARU; members,supporters, collaboratorsnow face prosecutionunder terrorism preven-tion Act."

Abati said that the or-der which had alreadybeen gazetted as the Ter-rorism (Prevention, Pro-scription Order) Notice2013 was approved byPresident Jonathan pur-suant to Section 2 of theTerrorism PreventionAct, 2011 (as amended).

According to him, thenotice, "officially bringsthe activities of bothgroups within the pur-view of the TerrorismPrevention Act and anypersons associated withthe two groups can nowbe legally prosecutedand sentenced to penal-ties specified in the Act.

"The proscription orderwarns the general pub-lic that any person par-ticipating in any form of

activities involving orconcerning the collec-tive intentions of thesaid groups will be vio-lating the provisions ofthe Terrorism PreventionAct.

"Section 5 (1) of the actprescribes a term of im-prisonment of not lessthan 20 years for anyperson who knowingly,in any manner, directlyor indirectly, solicits orrenders support for thecommission of an act ofterrorism or to a terror-ist group.

"For the purposes ofsubsection (1) of the sec-tion, “support” include:

(a) incitement to com-mit a terrorist actthrough the internet, orany electronic means orthrough the use ofprinted materials orthrough the dissemina-tion of terrorist informa-tion;

(b) receipt or provisionof material assistance,weapons including bio-logical, chemical or nu-clear weapons, explo-sives, training, transpor-tation, false documenta-tion or identification toterrorists or terroristgroups;

(c) receipt or provisionof information or moralassistance, including in-

vitation to adhere to aterrorist or terroristgroup;

(d) entering or remain-ing in a country for thebenefit of, or at the di-rection of or in associa-tion with a terroristgroup; or

(e) the provision of, ormaking available, suchfinancial or other relatedservices prohibited un-der this Act or as may beprescribed by regula-tions made pursuant tothis Act."

The order, yesterday,elicited mixed reactionsin the polity with theSenate backing the de-cision but lamented thatit was coming late.

Reactions trailJonathan's order

Among those whospoke on the move,which came a day afterthe United States ofAmerica offered $23 mil-lion (about N3.6bn) re-ward for information onthe location of five lead-ers of Al-Qaeda in theIslamic Maghreb(AQIM) and BokoHaram includingShekau include formergovernors of KadunaState, Alhaji BalarabeMusa and Alhaji LawalKaita; and Arewa Youths.

This came as formerHead of State, GeneralAbdulsalami Abubakarurged members of thesect to embrace thechannel of dialogue of-fered by the governmentto address their griev-ances and an official ofthe United States ofAmerica said BokoHaram leader, Shekaumight be tried in theU.S.

Senate, Reps backJonathan

The Senate threw itsweight behind PresidentJonathan’s decision to

proscribe Boko Haram,whose members haveengaged in massive kill-ings and wanton de-struction of property.

Reacting to the devel-opment, Chairman, Sen-ate Committee on Infor-mation, Media and Pub-lic Affairs, SenatorEnyinnaya Abaribe, PDPAbia who noted that thedecision was comingrather late, said that itwas a welcome develop-ment, adding, “the sen-ate supports the pro-scription of BokoHaram. It should havebeen done long ago. Butit’s a welcome develop-ment.”

Members of the Houseof Representatives, whoreacted to the decision,yesterday, said it was awelcome developmentthough proscribing anillegal body does not re-ally make sense.

Deputy Minority Whipof the House, Hon GarbaAhmed Datti said:“Though a welcome de-velopment, we do notneed to proscribe an il-legal body like BokoHaram. What is the es-sence of proscribing abody that is illegal whenin the first place it wasnot registered in Nigeriaas a legal body? Thisdevelopment does notreally make any sense tome.”

In his contribution,Chairman House Com-mittee on Anti-corrup-tion and Ethics, HonAbiodun Faleke simplysaid: ”I agree with theproscription. We are al-ready in war with thegroup. I only hope thatthe same will apply toNiger Delta militantsand all amnesty will bestopped.

Jonathan notsincere – ArewaYouths

Arewa Youths said thatthe proscription of BokoHaram by President

6—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013

Man stabs 78-yr-old father to death

BY ONOZURE DANIA

Navy, Police uncover illegal tailoringworkshop for naval uniforms

Military men patronise us —SuspectBY EVELYN USMAN

LAGOS — MEN of the Ni-gerian Navy and a team of

Policemen attached to VictoriaIsland division have uncovereda tailoring workshop in Victo-ria Island area of Lagos, whereNavy uniforms, ranks and in-signia are sown. Fifty four sus-pects were arrested in the proc-ess.

The joint raid which was car-ried out at the Federal Collegeof Fisheries and Marine Tech-nology, Victoria Island, was asa result of the reported linger-ing crisis between some stu-dents of the college and Navalpersonnel.

A recent clash which left oneperson dead and several oth-ers injured, reportedly occurredon May 28, 2013.

Following the civil unrest, theCommander Beecroft, Commo-dore Chris Ezekobe, while brief-ing newsmen on the arrest, ex-plained that a committee was setup to look into the remote causeof the crisis, in the course ofwhich the joint raid was carriedout last Saturday.

He said: “We rounded up about54 illegal occupants living in theschool. We also ran into some stu-dents that were kitted in uniformleaving the premises at about4.30 a.m.

“The truth is that most of theseindividuals operate on a platformknown as Merchant Navy andin the past have impersonatedthe Nigerian Navy. This is be-coming a little too much to han-dle. So, we thought it wise to raidthese miscreants because theyhave Navy ID cards and alsoput on the paraphernalia of theNigerian Navy, thereby misrep-resenting us across the nation.

“These young men you see,pay themselves N8000 to regis-ter and get themselves an IDcard.”

54 arrestedHowever, Divisional Police Of-

ficer , Victoria Island, MrAdegoke Fayoade, a Chief Su-perintendent of Police, explainedthat of the 54 persons arrested,31 of them were released.

The released persons, he said,were identified by the manage-ment of the Federal College ofFisheries and Marine Technol-ogy as students.

He said: “Some of them are stu-dents who came in for carry-overcourses, some have extra years,while others were identified asgenuine students of the institu-tions.”

Five of the suspects identifiedas Adom Godwin, Tijani

Hassan, Edward Ite, JamesAgoju and Omorupa Rose, whowere arrested in a bus withnumber plate KSF 757 XD atabout 4.30 a.m, claimed they weregoing for a relative’s weddingceremony in Akwa Ibom whenthey were arrested. However,when the vehicle was searched,five swords and navy uniformswere reportedly found.

Recovered at the tailoringworkshop were Navy stickers,identity cards, badges, uniforms,naval shoes, army and navyranks, sewing machines andidentity cards bearing profes-sional body of seafarers.

Military men patronise

us —SuspectOne of the suspects, Hassan

Taiwo, 21, who was arrested inthe tailoring workshop, said thosewho usually came to pick theuniform from his boss were mili-tary men.

According to him, “I have noth-ing to do with the production ofthe uniforms. I am only an ap-prentice. I came in on April 4,2013 to learn tailoring, specifi-cally native attires.

“I have never sewn any of theseuniforms. My boss did. Aftersewing, some uniformed mencome to pick them. I don’t knowwho they are and I also don’tknow how much they pay forthem. I was only arrested be-cause I slept in the shop on theday of the raid.”

...for not defending him over stealing of neighbour’s goatBY EMMA UNA

CALABAR — A 21-year-oldman, Samuel Eyo Nsa,

has stabbed his 78-year-old fa-ther, Chief Eyo Nsa, to deathat Eseko village, Creek Townin Odukpani Local Govern-ment Area of the state.

His reason: the late father al-legedly refused to defend himafter he was caught stealing aneighbour’s goat.

The incident happened onChildren’s Day when Samueldecided to celebrate the daywith a goat stolen from a neigh-bour, Otobong Matthew, withwhich he prepared peppersoup to entertain his friends.

“When Otobong discoveredthat evening that one of hisgoats was missing, he searchedeverywhere for it and some-one told him that he sawSamuel with a goat earlier inthe day and had slaughtered itto prepare pepper soup for hisfriends to celebrate the Chil-dren’s Day,” Alex Edet, aCreek Town youth told Van-

guard.The revelation, our source

said, made Otobong to reportthe matter to Samuel’s fatherthat his goats were alwaysmissing and that someone hadtold him that Samuel stole hisgoat to celebrate the Children’sDay. He demanded paymentfor his goat.

“Chief Nsa was tired of ap-pearing in the village squareto defend his son and to payfines for things he kept steal-ing and, therefore, told theowner of the goat to report thematter to the police,” our sourcesaid.

According to Edet, afterOtobong left the old man’spremises and was on his wayto the police station, Samuelwho was hiding behind thewindow listening to the discus-sion, suddenly appeared, ac-cusing his parents of not de-fending him and threatened todeal with them.

Afraid that the boy wouldcarry out his threat, his mother

escaped, while Samuel alleg-edly gave her a hot chase bran-dishing a machete but when hegot to a point where he metsome youths decided to returnto the house to attack his agedfather who was said to be oldand almost blind.

“He inflicted several machetecuts on the old man who diedon the spot and swore not tospare his mother,” Vanguardwas told.

Samuel later attempted to es-cape as he fled into the bushbut was apprehended by someyouths in the area.

“We gave him a hot chase andgot hold of him in the CreekTown forest and handed him overto the police at the OdukpaniPolice division,” said one of theyouths.

He was after his arrest trans-ferred to the State Police Head-quarters in Calabar.

The Police Public Relations Of-ficer of the state Police Command,Mr. John Umoh, said the suspectwould be charged to court.

Man, 34,docked overallegedpossession offirearms

LAGOS — A 34-year-oldman, Taofeek Adegbola,

who was allegedly caught witha locally made pistol and twoexpended AK-47 ammunition,was arraigned yesterday, in aLagos Magistrate Court sittingat Ikeja.

Adegbola, who was dockedbefore Mrs A.O. Demi-Ajayi,is facing a two-count chargeof conspiracy and unlawfulpossession of arms.

The police prosecutor, ASPBarth Nwaokoye, told the courtthat the suspect, and others atlarge, conspired together tocommit the alleged offence atabout 10.30 p.m. on May 14,2013, at 21, Ladipo Street, inMushin area of Lagos.

The defendant pleaded notguilty to the charges preferredagainst him by the police.

The magistrate, howevergranted the defendant bail inthe sum of N500, 000 with twosureties in like sum and ad-journed the matter to July24,2013.

Court remandsman in prisonover allegedritual act

BY DEMOLAAKINYEMI

ILORIN — A MagistrateCourt in Ilorin, yesterday,

ordered a suspected kidnap-per to be remanded in prisoncustody.

Magistrate Moses Adeniyiwho ordered the remand of theaccused in Mondala PrisonYard, Ilorin, adjourned thecase to June 18 for mention.

The suspect, JacobOlaniyan, was alleged to havestabbed Mrs. Popoola Bola, ateacher with Dolapo Group ofSchools all over the body witha knife on May 31, alongTanke Area, Ilorin for ritualpurposes.

According to the chargesheet, the prosecutor, PoliceInspector Baliqees Adu, toldthe court that the accusedstabbed the victim when shewas going to buy food duringbreakfast.

He added that the victim wasrescued unconscious by someroadside mechanics whileshouting for help.

The prosecutor, further toldthe court that investigationrevealed that the accused wasa habitual criminal that hadkilled a mother and daughterat Tanke area some five yearsago.

The suspects


Illegal miners at the Bukuru Dam, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State,yesterday. Photo: NAN.

Gunmen kill Sokoto Assembly memberBY ABDALLAHEL-KUREBE

SOKOTO — UNKNOWNgunmen in Sokoto, Mon-

day night, killed a member ofSokoto State House of Assem-bly and took away his officialvehicle.

The member, Alhaji MurtalaAttahiru Wauru, representedGada West constituency and wasChairman, Finance and Appro-priation Committee of the Sokoto

State House of Assembly.Confirming the incident, Com-

missioner of Police, CP, ShuaibuLawal Gambo, said the memberwas trailed by hoodlums whowere riding on a motorcycle.

He said: “Hoodlums riding amotorcycle trailed the member toa dark corner at Mabera Area ofSokoto metropolis at about 8.45p,m, shot him and made awaywith his official Honda Anacondacar.

“From our examination of the

scene, the member’s clotheslooked ruffled, which signifiesthat he struggled with the assail-ants. We recovered four emptyshells believed to be that of AK47rifle.”

He said the command hadalerted Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina,Kano and Kaduna Commandswith a view to apprehending thesuspects.

On the recent assassination ofthe Deputy Controller of Prisons,Gambo said the Command had

arrested four suspects who havebeen charged to court.

Similarly, the CP disclosed thatthe Konni Division of the Policein Sokoto had arrested some per-sons with a Mitsubishi pick-upvan believed to have been stolenfrom Kaduna.

He said:“The vehicle’s numberhas been changed to HRH 05BKN and on examining the en-gine and chassis number, we dis-covered that it was stolen fromKaduna on May 26 2013.”

KanoevacuatesAlmajiri fromstreets

KANO — THE KANOState government has

concluded plans to evacuateAlmajiri from the state to theirstates and countries of origin,in its bid to discourage streetbegging that has constitutedserious menace in the state.

“All necessary arrangementsare on top gear to ban streetbegging in the state and assuch, we have commenced theevacuation of Almajiri from thestreets in our effort to sendthem back to their respectivestates of origin,” said HisbahCommander-General, MalamAminu Ibrahim Daurawa.

Investigations indicated thatover 65 per cent of the Almajiriroaming the streets of Kanomay not be indigenes of thestate.

Speaking to reporters, yes-terday, in Kano, MalamDaurawa confirmed that thegovernment was ready to sendan Executive Bill to the stateHouse of Assembly to enact alaw that would ban all formsof street begging in the state.

11 injured, 5 arrested as Police, MASSOBclash in Anambra

BY OKONKWO EZE

NNEWI — NO fewer than 11members of the Movement

for the Actualization of the Sov-ereign State of Biafra, MASSOB,were yesterday at Nnobi andAwka-Etiti communities, IdemiliSouth Local Government Areas ofAnambra State, allegedly shotand injured by the police in a bidto disrupt their June 8 sit-at-homerally. Five others were arrested.

According to sources, theMASSOB members were in arally at the said communities tocreate awareness on the need toobserve June 8 sit-at-home incommemoration of six Igbo killedby the Police at Apo village,Abuja, Ezu River, Amansea,Anambra State and others killedby Boko Haram.

Reacting to the development ina telephone chat, MASSOB’sDeputy Director of Information,Mazi Chris Mocha, accused thesecurity operatives, especially thepolice, of killing MASSOB mem-bers fighting for the actualizationof a sovereign state of Biafra.

According to Mocha, “the po-lice also took away MASSOBlaptop system, N8,000 and ar-rested Jude Ochi, NnamdiEzeaka, Nelson Ugboh, IfeanyiEboh and others”.

Also reacting, PrinceOhaegbulem Jude of the Lagos

state branch of MASSOB regret-ted that Igbos have beenmarginalized, intimidated andmade to be second class citizensin a country where they are partand parcel of.

According to him, “this sit-at-home billed for June 8, 2013 isunstoppable despite the intimi-dations, arrests, shootings and

harassments from the security op-eratives, Yoruba and the Hausa.”

The State Police Public RelationsOfficer, PPRO, Mr. EmekaChukwuemeka confirmed the in-cident and hinted that two DPOsled the operation but denied theallegation that some memberswere shot by the police.

Four kidnappers plead forforgiveness

BY EMMA ARUBI

WARRI — FOUR suspectedkidnappers nabbed by

men of the 3 Battalion, Nige-rian Army, Effurun, Delta Statehave confessed to have beeninvolved in various abductionescapades and pleaded with themilitary authorities to forgivethem.

The confessed kidnappers be-longing to the notorious Kelvingroup terrorizing Delta Stateare Messrs Joel Agbu, BestMene, Jonathan Umukoro andJulius Erere.

Parading the suspects among26 others at the 3 Battalion Bar-racks, Commanding Officer, Lt.Col. Ifeanyi Otu, disclosed thatJoel Agbu was arrested at Aka

Avenue along Jakpa Road, inEffurun, Uvwie council area ofthe state while attempting to sella Nissan Primera saloon carwith number plate Lagos PJ339 AAA.

He said Joel Agbu's confes-sion led to the arrest of Meneand Umukoro in Benin City,Edo State where they are basedby men of the 4 Brigade Head-quarters while Julius Erere wasarrested in Warri.

Jonathan who spoke to news-men at the parade ground saidthey were actually kidnappersand had been in the nefariousbusiness for quite a long timebefore nemesis caught up withthem. He pleaded with the sol-diers to forgive them with apromise never to engage in theact anymore.

Fake NSCDCofficial nabbedfor defrauding54 job seekersof N8.5m

BY ODINIYA RUTH

ABUJA — THE Nigeria Se-curity and Civil Defence

Corps, NSCDC, Monday, pa-raded one Mr. Wasiu AdewaleAzees, who has allegedly beenimpersonating the Chief Su-perintendent Officer of theCorps in Offa, Kwara State andhas successfully defrauded 54job seekers to the tune of N8.5million.

The suspect, who claimed tobe a former volunteer in thecorps, did not deny the allega-tion but confessed to newsmenthat he has been working withsome NSCDC senior officers atthe national headquarters andLagos command to defraud jobseekers.

Parading the suspect inAbuja, the Corps Public Rela-tions Officer, Mr. OkehEmmanuel, said the suspectwas caught following a reportand various complaints re-ceived by the management ofNSCDC over the personnel ofthe corps that have been col-lecting money from people inthe name of recruitment.

According to him, “unfortu-nately, one Mr. Wasiu AdewaleAzees from Offa, Kwara Statewhom in his own capacity de-cided to brand himself a ChiefSuperintendent, a senior officerof the Corps, has decided toopen his own parallel organi-sation thereby recruiting jobseekers illegally and givingthem fake appointment lettersupon payment of the amountdemanded.”

He said the suspect was notonly parading himself as a sen-ior officers of the corps in KwaraState, but “going about to im-personate in the name of CivilDefence, attending differentfunctions in the uniform of CivilDefence, taking photographwith senior officers of differentservices such as Nigerian Army,Immigration, Police and Navy.So, it was these photographshe showed to his victims as asenior officer of NSCDC.”

Policemanarraigned overalleged killingof three

BY BARTHOLOMEWMADUKWE

LAGOS— A 34-year-old police officer, Corporal Abu

Bolaji, was, yesterday, ar-raigned before a Lagos StateHigh Court sitting in Igbosere,over alleged murder of threepersons, Ibrahim Olojede,Rotimi Phillips and FridayUti.

Trial of the defendant,which was to commenceimmediately after his ar-raignment, was stalled asthe prosecutor, MrOlayintan Soetan, told thecourt that he was not pre-pared for the trial since hewas not aware of it.

Soetan further told thecourt that the defendantwas avoiding trial by refus-ing to answer his namewhenever his name wascalled in the prison, add-ing that the trial was to com-mence earlier but the de-fendant’s hiding stalled it.

Responding to the pros-ecution’s claim, the defencecounsel, Mr Victor Okpara,argued that his client neveravoided trial by not answer-ing his name in prison, not-ing that his client had beenusing the same name at thelower court where he wasfirst arraigned and re-manded in prison, and atthe High Court where he isstanding trial.


NGF crisis: I 'll stick to my mandate— Amaechi

BY HENRY UMORU

ROAD SHOW—From left: Lagos State Commissioner for Energy & Mineral Resources,Engr. Taofiq Tijani, representing Governor Babatunde Fashola; Governor of Benue State,Mr. Gabriel Suswam; Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan; Director Gener-al, Bureau of Public Enterprises, Dikki Benjamine; and Managing Director/CEO, NigerDelta Power Holding Company, James Olotu, at the NDPHC Road Show in Lagos.

ABUJA—GOVERNORChibuike Rotimi Amaechi

of Rivers State, yesterday, de-scribed as sacred the mandategiven to him penultimate Fridayas elected chairman of the Ni-geria Governors Forum which hewas ready to defend and vowednot to step down for any body.

Governor Amaechi who spokewith newsmen after he met withstaff of the Forum at the NGF’sSecretariat, Asokoro, Abuja, in-sisted that he won the electionand God was in the hall wherethe election took place.

He urged his colleagues whoare pitching tent with GovernorJonah Jang of Plateau State as afactional Chairman to stop thesedistractions and concentrate ongood governance and develop-ment of their respective states.

When asked if he was ready tostep down at the end of the day,Amaechi said, "stepping down,no, no, that is the mandate thatwas freely given and I will stickto that mandate.”

The governor noted that over-heating the polity now becauseof a forum was uncalled for whenNigerians are dying of hunger,polio, poverty among others.

He said the governors shouldthink of good governance andbuilding legacies through whatmust have been provided for thepeople and not an office whichdoes not attract any extra benefitexcept to preside at meetings.

Amaechi said, "We are busyhere in Abuja and different stateheadquarters talking about NGFelection when indeed Nigeriansare dying of poverty and hun-ger".

Amaechi to colleagues:Let us stop thesedistractions

The Rivers State governor whowas accompanied to the Secre-tariat by Ekiti State governor, Dr.Kayode Fayemi, said the NGFwhich already has a Secretariatat Asokoro cannot have two sec-retariats, adding that the gover-nors decided to go for an elec-tion when they could not arriveat consensus because no aspir-ant was prepared to step downfor the other.

He, however, assured staff ofthe Secretariat of continued sup-port and payment of salaries,even as he urged them to con-tinue with the Peer Review withRivers, Kano; Niger states,among others waiting to be re-viewed as it was done by the fo-rum in Anambra and Ekiti states.

Said he: "I think that as a sec-retariat you should focus on thoseissues, forget the internal dynam-ics of the politics of NGF. We arecolleagues, when we talk amongourselves, you will understandthat there are underlying factorsthat are making them to behavethe way they are behaving, thatyou cannot take away. Sometimesit is beyond the control of theChairman of the Nigerian Gov-ernors’ Forum, but either way be

rest assured of your salaries."I believe that my brothers and

colleagues will see reason whywe should stop distracting thecountry and get the country unit-ed to focus on development be-cause at the end of the day it isabout legacy, it is about what wewill leave behind for the people.Get the Peer Review committeeto please visit these states so thatwe don’t get distracted. Let usleave the politics of NGF to thepoliticians, while you focus onthe issues of development."

Insists that Mimiko voted

When asked if governorOlusegun Mimiko of Ondo Stateactually voted, Governor Amae-chi who said Mimiko voted,however, vowed to accompanyhim to the Redeemed ChristianChurch of God where he (Amae-chi) was prepared to kneel infront of the altar and call onGod’s name as Christians.

He said, "Mimiko and I areChristians and I think he is agood Christian and one of thesins against God is the sin of ly-ing. I am not saying he is lying,but I am saying Mimiko voted.During the elections, I wasscared because at a stage sevengovernors refused to vote andMimiko was one of those whorefused to vote, but when theywhispered among themselvesand they thought they will winthey all decided to cast theirvotes.

“When they were counting ifyou watch you will see that thegovernors who were pro-Amae-chi voted first and those against

him voted last. When theycounted Governor Jang eighttimes I was scared, if you watchthe video you will hear I wassaying count the ballot first andI say to myself we are 35, I wantto see the 35 ballots. When thefirst counting was done andthere were 35 ballots, I saidokay, I am satisfied, then youcan then count who had whatin the number of ballots.

Jang must rememberthere is heaven— Gov Fayemi

"Everybody including Mim-iko voted and on the issue ofvideo you will hear me shout-ing ‘stop it, don’t record it’ be-cause some governors rushedto me and said Chairman pro-tect us, so, so governor is re-cording and the governor saidwhy won’t I record, it was not ahidden thing.

"It was not that somebody putcamera somewhere which washidden, it was an open thing. Isaid we cannot record gover-nors' election, we are responsi-ble citizens and there is no dis-agreement here.

"But then I was making a mis-take because that video hasturned out to be historical. I wasprotecting my colleagues whodid not want it recorded and thegovernor who was recordingsaid he will not stop and thankGod he did not stop because ifhe had listened to me andstopped, maybe it would havebeen more controversial than itis now.

"Again tell my brother Mim-

iko that he voted, but if he stillsays he did not vote, I am will-ing to go with him to his Church,the Redeemed Church, we willkneel down on the altar and sayit before God.”

We must apologise toNigerians — Fayemi

Meanwhile, governor KayodeFayemi who pleaded with Ni-gerians to stop castigating themas they were also human beingsand owed Nigerians apologyover the crisis. He said what tookplace after the election was un-fortunate which calls for soberreflection and healing ofwounds.

Governor Fayemi who said hewas apologising on behalf of the35 governors who participatedin the election, said there weremoves from both sides for peaceto reign, adding, "no peacewithout justice.”

Speaking further on the cri-sis, Governor Amaechi said "itwas a meeting of 36 governorsand I think that whatever the is-sues are, they will be resolved.I think that we should focusmore on those issues that uniteus, those issues that fightagainst poverty, polio and ma-laria. These are things that arekilling the poor. I think that it isup to Nigerians to know thatnothing pays more than democ-racy, the right to choose who youwant to chose and the governorshaving made their choice, wecan only do one thing, and thatis to stand by the choice the gov-ernors have made. We shouldensure that we don’t allow what

is happening now to affect Nige-rians in the course of the 2015elections. We are mature enoughto manage our own democracyand our own election process.

"It is important we make peace,it is important we come together.I don’t see what Chairman ofGovernors Forum can do for an-ybody, he is just a person whopresides over meetings of equals.

"I want to urge Governor Jang,because he is a Christian, to knowthat God watches over everybodyand whatever you say, say it ac-cording to God because beyondNGF, you and I know that thereis heaven and you can’t go toheaven if you don’t tell the truthand stand by the truth. I am notsaying he is not saying the truth,I am not saying he is not stand-ing by the truth, I am just sayingthat nobody can go to heavenwhen he is not saying the truth."I usually tell people that don’twin the battle and lose the war. Iagree that all of us will come to-gether and work for the interestof Nigerians. We should not al-low our personal interest to over-ride the interest of the nation.”

Group calls for scrappingof Governors' Forum

Meanwhile, a Coalition of Civ-il Society groups, yesterday,called for the scrapping of theNigerian Governors Forum, NGF,which it said has outlived its use-fulness.

Protesting to the National As-sembly, yesterday, with a mes-sage tagged “Save our Democ-racy now,” the group, decried theintractable feud within the NGF,which they claimed had whatthey termed the “presidency’simprimatur”.

The spokesperson of the group,Columba Ogah accused politi-cians of “over heating the politythrough the Federal Govern-ment’s meddlesomeness in theNGF by fighting the Rivers StateGovernor, Rotimi Amaechi,through a proxy”.

The activists decried what ittermed “creeping dictatorship” inthe land, stating that our democ-racy is being endangered by ourpoliticians.

According to Mr Ogah, manyof the activists suffered, riskedtheir lives to bring about democ-racy and would not stay aloof andallow the institution to be de-stroyed by politicians’ personalambition which have nothing todo with the Nigerian people.

They, therefore, submitted theirdemands to the National Assem-bly through Senator Sola Adey-eye who met the demonstratingactivists at the gate of the NationalAssembly. Senator Adeyeyepraised them for their orderlyconduct, promising to pass ontheir letter to the leadership of theAssembly.


INTERACTIVE SESSION—Minister of Education, Ruqayyat Rufai (right) and Chairman,House of Representatives Committee on Procurement, Jumoke Okoya-Thomas, during aninteractive session on Public Procurement with stakeholders in Abuja, yesterday. Photo:Gbemiga Olamikan.

BY CALEB AYANSINA Alleged inciting statement: CAN callsfor Buhari's arrestABUJA—THE Christian Asso

ciation of Nigeria, CAN, yes-terday, called for the arrest of theformer Head of State and presi-dential candidate of the Congressfor Progressive Change, CPC,General (rtd) Muhammadu Bu-hari, following his frequent pro-vocative statements.

The President of CAN, Pastor AyoOritsejafor, in a statement by hisMedia Assistant, Kenny Ashaka,said “Buhari, having on variousoccasions justified the action of thesect, strongly suggests that he istheir leader, therefore, he standsa big security threat to the coun-try’s corporate existence".

Oritsejafor maintained that itwas unfortunate that when everyNigerian was praying for success-ful military onslaught on the in-surgence, Buhari rather than shar-ing the same feeling with well-meaning Nigerians was busy in-dulging in careless statements,without regards for victims of thesect’s violence who were mostlyChristians.

The statement read, “The retiredGeneral was widely reported byseveral National Dailies, whomonitored the Liberty Radio pro-gramme “Guest of the week”, tohave questioned the “special treat-ment” given to the Niger-Deltamilitants by the Federal Govern-ment while the Boko Haram mem-bers were being killed and theirhouses destroyed by government.

“They (the Niger-Delta mili-tants) were trained in some skillsand were given employment, butthe ones in the north were beingkilled and their houses were be-ing demolished. They are differ-ent issues. What brought this? Itis injustice”, the former Head ofState was quoted to have said.

“I cannot wish away the outburstof harshly critical statements, es-pecially as some of them are di-rectly related to the defence of theBoko Haram sect whose membershave continued to kill, maim Chris-tians and burn Churches. I feel thepain inflicted on Christians livingin the north is too deep for us inCAN to ignore any unsavourystatement that tends to portray in-nocent Christians who have beenkilled by the sect members as theaggressors.

“It is shocking that at a time well-meaning Nigerians are prayingfor the success of our soldiers, Bu-hari, rather than reflect the moodof the nation in his statements andconducts is indulging in carelessstatements without regards for vic-tims of the sect’s violence who aremostly Christians.

“I have, several times been vin-dicated that Boko Haram is not in-spired by pecuniary motives, thelatest of which is the statement byRobert Fowler, the released formerUnited Nations' envoy to NigerRepublic who said in a BBC pro-gramme, “Hard Talk”, aired onTuesday, June 4, 2013, that his cap-tors never talked of poverty, butislamisation of Africa.

“Spent and defeated politicianswith outburst of temper and elderslike Buhari who take delight in in-flaming religious and ethnic pas-

sions should, therefore, be arrest-ed and made to explain some ofthe issues raised by them. Thisis why I call for the arrest of Bu-hari now. Buhari is a big securityrisk to Nigeria’s corporate exist-ence.

“It is laughable that Buhari, anex-Head of State, a General inthe Nigerian Army who hasserved this country in differentcapacities would support Islam-ists who are confronting those inhis constituency who are fight-ing to keep the nation from dis-memberment. For Buhari whohas led a brigade of troops in1982 to repel invading Chadian

troops from the same north-east-ern borders of Nigeria, the firstmajor foreign invasion, to opposea state of emergency when someparts of Borno and Yobe states hadbeen occupied and the Nigerianflag replaced with theirs, burntchurches, schools, governmentinstitutions, killed innocent Chris-tians, attacked traditional rulersand others not sympathetic to theircause, speaks volume.

“The retired General’s sad com-mentary has not portrayed him asa national leader. As a retiredGeneral, he should have knownthat fights against terrorists arenot mere child’s play. They are

much more difficult than con-ventional war which he foughtin 1982. If Buhari is a nationalleader, he should have beenmore concerned about the kill-ings of innocent ones by the sectmembers and the success of thetroops and not that of terroristsas he has been doing.

“Therefore, Buhari’s com-ments, coming at a time Nigeri-ans have been quite apprecia-tive of the bold steps taken byPresident Goodluck Jonathan torid the north of Nigeria’s ene-mies can only mean that the re-tired General is a fanatic.

Buhari, a security risk toNigeria — CAN

“He is, therefore, the primeleader of this religious and bloodthirsty sect called Boko Haram,a movement that is based on awarped interpretation of a strictadherence to force people of oth-er religions into Islam. This kindof fundamentalism is the driv-ing force behind his failure ofeach election in the country.

“I intensely dislike to believethat Buhari is making these dis-tasteful and unacceptable com-ments only as a way of escapingfrom the wrath of the sect mem-bers after their attack on his na-tive Daura town. It is not enoughto oppose positions that havebeen applauded by majority ofNigerians. Constructive criticismdictates that alternative solutionsare given.

“Having explored all the win-dows of opportunity and com-mitments in its search for peacein the north-east, what I expectfrom Buhari is a suggestion asto the way forward and not com-ments that are divisive. Buharishould know that no injusticecan justify the wanton destruc-tion of churches and the wide-spread massacre of innocentChristians. Why are Christiansmore of the victims of this orgyof terror unleashed by the BokoHaram sect?

“Buhari and others of that ilkshould rather than exacerbatingthe problem at hand aim to con-vince the sect members of thewrongfulness of their islamisa-tion plot. If the retired Generalis now crying out that the BokoHaram members are beingkilled, it can only mean that theboys he intended to use to spillthe blood of monkeys and ba-boons on the land are being dec-imated by the gallant SpecialForces. “For now, Buhari shouldbe told that the time to grand-stand for 2015 is not now. I,therefore, call on him and hisfellow travelers to remember thatwe are all Nigerians, our reli-gion and regional leanings not-withstanding”.

Nigeria's debts 'll rise to N8.8trn by 2015 — DMO

BY MICHAEL EBOH,WITH AGENCY REPORT

THE Debt Management Office, DMO, yesterday, said

Nigeria’s outstanding debt willrise to N8.809 trillion ($55.4 bil-lion) by 2015.

According to a report by theDMO, this was contained in thecountry’s debt strategy for thenext three years.

The DMO said the adoption ofthe debt plan would sustain de-velopment of the domestic debtmarket and provide external fund-ing at preferred cost for capitalprojects.

The DMO had told the Nation-al Assembly that it plans to bor-row N3.975 trillion ($25 billion)by 2015.

Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, Direc-tor-General, DMO, disclosed thisin his presentation on Nigeria’soverall debt profile and expectedborrowing for 2013-2015 at a meet-ing with the House Joint Com-mittee on Finance, LegislativeBudget and Research, National

Planning and Aid, Loans andDebt Management.

The committee is also scrutinis-ing the 2013-2015 Medium TermExpenditure Framework and Fis-cal Strategy, MTEFF, paper sub-mitted by President GoodluckJonathan.

He said the projected figurerepresents Nigeria’s foreign anddomestic borrowings flowingfrom 2013-2015 under review.

He projected Nigeria’s exter-nal debt for 2013 at $12.165.10billion), rising to $14.585 billionin 2014 and $16,765 billion in2015.

He gave the breakdown of Ni-geria’s domestic debt to be $7.125billion for 2013; $7.792 billion for2014 and $8.4441 billion for 2015.

Also, the DMO had a coupleof days ago said Nigeria’s totaldebt to Gross Domestic Products,GDP, ratio now stands at 20.77per cent against the 21.50 per centin December 2011.

Nwankwo said the debt to GDPratio should not exceed the 20-25 per cent threshold, adding

that government was committedto ensuring that it did not risebeyond 30 per cent. He said thethreshold set for countries in therank of Nigeria was 40 per cent.

Nwankwo said in spite of the40 per cent threshold, the nationhad decided to remain conserv-ative by ensuring that it wouldnot exceed 25 per cent by 2015.

He, however, said there wasthe possibility that the country’sdebt to GDP could reach 30 percent in the future, adding thatborrowing was part of moderneconomy.

He said the nation’s domesticand external debt stood at N6.49trillion and $6.67 billion, respec-tively as at March.

Nwankwo said governmenthad not relented in its effort tointroduce the inflation-linkedbond whose coupon rate wouldincrease as inflation increased.He said part of the N577 trillionto be raised by government fromthe domestic bond market to fi-nance the nation’s deficit for theyear would be inflation-linkedbond.

This is to inform the general publicthat the original deed ofAssignment belonging to ChiefChristopher G. E. Igwe, registeredas Plot 3 Ekulu West LayoutEnugu, 8/8/381 at Lands Enuguis lost. I hereby notify the public totake note.

LOSS OF DOCUMENT


POWER PANEL: From right— Mr. Opuiyo Oforiokuma, Managing Director, ARM Infrastructure Fund; Prof. PatUtomi of Lagos Business School; Prof. Barth Nnaji, Chairman/CEO, Geometric Power and former Minister of Power, andDr. Lazarus Angbazo, President/CEO,GE Nigeria, during a power panel session on Africa's energy challenge at the AfricaBusiness Conference held at the Lagos Business School, Ajah, Lagos, yesterday.

Certificate forgery suitagainst Tinubu dismissed

LAGOS—A Federal HighCourt sitting in Lagos, yes-

terday, dismissed the suitseeking to compel the Inspec-tor-General of Police to com-mence investigation into thealleged certificate forgerycase, started in 1999 by lateChief Gani Fawehinmi,against former governor ofLagos State, Asiwaju AhmedTinubu.

Ruling on an application byDr. Adegbola Dominic, a medi-cal doctor and Lagos resident,Justice Saliu Saidu held thatby Order 34 Rule 4 of the Fed-eral High Court Civil Proce-dure Rule, the applicant failedto satisfy the mandatory re-quirement that such an appli-cation must be filed within threemonths of the detection of thealleged fraudulent action.

The judge said since the ap-plication was not broughtwithin the stipulated time, asmandated by the rules of thecourt, it was bound to fail.

Citing series of authorities insupport of his ruling, JusticeSaidu held that the applicantwent to sleep since 2007 whenthe toga of immunity could nolonger shield Tinubu, and sud-

denly came up to exercise hisright, now that the matter wasstatue barred.

He said: “There is need tocomply with stipulated rulesof the court. This matter isgrossly out of time and prayersought cannot be granted.”

His complaint was in respectof the contents contained inthe Independent NationalElectoral Commission FormF001 and affidavit concern-ing lost certificate, allegedlysworn to by Tinubu during

the governorship elections.In a 15-paragraph affidavit

of verifying facts, the appli-cant deposed that Tinubuclaimed to have attended St.Paul’s School, Aroloya, La-gos, and that he also alleg-edly claimed to have at-tended Government College,Ibadan, between 1965 and1968, a claim which the au-thorities and Old Boys Asso-ciation of Government Col-lege, Ibadan, were said to havedescribed as untrue.

BY INNOCENT ANABA

Report on Dana crashready soon— AIB

LAGOS—ACCIDENT In-vestigation Bureau, AIB,

yesterday, said investigationinto the Dana plane crash atIju-Ishaga, Lagos, a year agowas nearing completion,adding that the final reportwould soon be released.

The agency also said fourinterim safety recommenda-tions it earlier released hadbeen implemented by the op-

erator, Dana and NigerianCivil Aviation Authority,NCAA, the aviation regula-tory agency.

In a statement by AIB’sHead of Public Affairs, TunnyOketunbi, yesterday, the in-vestigation had progressed asscheduled with the objectiveof preventing similar accidentsin accordance with the acci-dent investigation protocols ofthe International Civil AviationOrganisation, ICAO.

Oketunbi said: “Outstand-ing investigative activitiesare near completion to be fol-lowed by the production ofthe final report. The reportwill be in compliance withapplicable ICAO standardsto include factual informa-tion, analysis, findings andrecommendations.

“Accordingly, AIB, as therepresentative of the State ofOccurrence, has been devel-oping the facts, conditions,and circumstances surround-ing the accident.”

BY LAWANI MIKAIRU &DANIEL ETEGHE

Festac residents raise alarm over looming disaster

RESIDENTS of Festac Town,yesterday, raised alarm over

looming danger of environmen-tal hazards facing the communityfrom alleged illegal land take-over by an unnamed financial in-stitution.

In a statement by Chairperson,Community 111D Residents As-

sociation, Mrs. Carol Olowole,the said parcel of land is situ-ated along 11 Road.

She said they have facilitiessuch as large water pipes,storm-water drainage pipes,water valves, manholes, in-spection chambers, large sew-age pipes, heavy duty ar-moured electrical cables andtelecommunications lines, on

the said land.Olowole said: “A financial

institution has allegedly ac-quired, in very questionablecircumstance, a parcel of landin Festac Town, Lagos, whichacquisition may result in ma-jor dislocation of keyinfrastructural facilities thatserve thousands of residentsof this section of the town.”

BY PROVIDENCE OBUH

3 oildealersdocked overN25m fraudcharge

L A G O S — E C O -NOMIC and Finan-

cial Crimes Commission,EFCC, yesterday, ar-raigned three oil dealers,Roland Enang, TheoOhiagu and Sam Onuo-ha, before an Ikeja HighCourt on a two-countcharge of conspiracy andobtaining money underfalse pretences.

The alleged fraud re-portedly amounted toabout N25 million.

EFCC had alleged thatthe accused personsfraudulently obtained theN25 million from AfricoatLtd. under false pretense.

They had reportedlyclaimed the money butrepresented the claims toDelta Omega Ltd for theprocurement of BankGuarantee from HSBCBank, Hong Kong.

The duo of Ohiagu andEnang are directors ofClaysworth Oil Limited.

However, although theyall pleaded not guilty tothe charge, EFCC allegedthat the offences contra-vened Sections 1(2) and(3) and 8 (a) of the Ad-vance Fee Fraud andOther Fraud Related Of-fences Act 14, 2004.

Presiding judge, JusticeAdeniyi Onigbanjo, gran-ted them bail in the sumof N1 million each, withtwo sureties in like sum,and adjourned the mattertill December16 for trial.

BY ABDULWAHABABDULAH

MOBILE telecommu-nications company,

MTN Nigeria’s ExecutiveLeadership Seminar, fea-turing Dr. Ram Charan, isscheduled to hold Friday,June 7, at the New ExpoHall, Eko Hotel and Suites,Lagos.

A statement by BrettGoschen, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, MTN Nigeria, saidthe seminar, which is de-signed to provide leaderswith innovative tools to winin business, will commenceby 9am and will have in at-tendance Nigeria’s topbusiness and industryleaders.

Charan, a boardroomguru, advisor to govern-ments/world’s top chief ex-ecutives, renowned authorand Harvard professor, willbe speaking on Private Sec-tor as the Engine Room forEconomic Growth.

Seminar

Lagos woosScottish firmon energy,minerals

LAGOS State Govern-ment is seeking the

assistance of the ScottishDevelopment Interna-tional to develop and at-tract investors into its en-ergy and solid mineralsectors.

Commissioner for En-ergy and Mineral re-sources, Engr. TaofiqTijani, disclosed thiswhile hosting the ScottishDevelopment Interna-tional team, led by the In-ternational Senior Execu-tive on Trade and Invest-ment, Scotland, Mr.Andrew Monaghan.

While showcasing theactivities of the ministry tothe delegation, the com-missioner, represented bythe Permanent Secretary,Mrs. Iyabo Obasa, saidLagos was ready to col-laborate with reputableScottish firms with neededexpertise on solid miner-als, renewable power, oiland gas development.

BY KUNLEKALEJAYE


No leadershipcrisis in OndoACN, saysBoroffice

RECONCILIATION: Former governors of Oyo State, Rasheed Ladoja of AccordParty (left) and Adebayo Alao-Akala of Peoples' Democratic Party, PDP, at the inaugura-tion of a 14-man reconciliation committee in Ibadan. PHOTO: Dare Fasube.

Rape suit: Osun monarchseeks more time for defence

OSOGBO—HUNDREDS ofpeople, who besieged the

premises of an Osun State HighCourt sitting in Osogbo, yester-day, went home disappointed.

The court had failed to deliverjudgment in the case of allegedrape of an ex National YouthService Corps, NYSC, member,Miss Helen Okpara, against theAlowa of Ilowa in Obokun Lo-cal Government Area of thestate, Oba Adebukola Alli, fol-lowing the monarch’s applica-tion for extension of time on thejudgment.

Justice Oyejide Falola, whopresided over the court hadearlier fixed yesterday for finaljudgment on the case, but coun-sel to the monarch, Mr. TaofeeqTewogbade, introduced a newtwist into the over three-year-old case when he applied forextension of time for judgmentto allow further defence on thecase.

The court has, however, fixedTuesday, July 2, for ruling onthe application brought by thecounsel to the monarch.

Tewogbade said Section 36(CB) of the 1999 Constitutionallows for proper defence in anycase and provides for extensionof time for judgment.

He said: “There is the need

for us to seek for extensionof time on the case to allowus defend the case better.

"There are questions theplaintiff needs to answer. Wasthe lady in question a virginbefore she claimed that shewas raped?

"We also need to know if any

exhibit has so far been pre-sented by medical practition-ers. These and other ques-tions need to be answered.”

However, Mr. M.Adedokun, a Senior StateCounsel from the state Min-istry of Justice, who repre-sented the Director of Public

Prosecution, insisted that thecourt should deliver its judg-ment on the matter.

She stressed that the casehad gone through series ofadjournment, hence theneed for the court to discoun-tenance the application forextension of time.

BY GBENGA OLARINOYE

Ondoinauguratesc'ttee onLGs' mgt

AKURE—TO improveservice delivery in

the 18 local governmentcouncils of Ondo State,the Governor OlusegunMimiko, yesterday, set upa committee on local gov-ernment management.

The committee was in-augurated at the Govern-ment House in Akure.

Former Budget andPlanning Commissioner,Mr. Akin Adaramola, isthe chairman of the com-mittee; Mr. ClementFaboyede, Mr. AdeAdeniyi, Mr. BusuyiLawani, Dr. GbengaOsunmakinwa are mem-bers, while Mr. OlugbegaAkingbesote is Secretary.

Mimiko said the com-mittee would undertake ahistoric review of financialand personnel manage-ment in the local govern-ments with a view to mak-ing them more functionaland productive.

BY OLA AJAYI

Ogun debt profile is N200bn— LP

A B E O K U TA — C O N -TRARY to the declaration

by the Ogun State govern-ment that it's debt profilestands at N89 billion, LabourParty, LP, has said it had in-creased to N200 billion.

LP also alleged that ActionCongress of Nigeria, ACN,government had been deceiv-ing the people of the statewith its urban renewal pro-gramme and ongoing roadexpansion projects.

The state government, whichhad publicly declared that thestate debt profile stood at N89billion, denied that its admin-istration had obtained N100billion loan.

However, the oppositionparty, Monday, alleged thatthe road construction projectsembarked upon by theAmosun-led administrationwere mere conduit pipes forsiphoning state funds.

Leader of LP in the state, Mr.Ladi Adebutu, made the alle-gation in Iperu, Ikenne LocalGovernment Area, during a

sensitisation and unity meet-ing of former members of Peo-ples’ Party of Nigeria, PPN;ACN and Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, in the area, whohad defected to LP.

Adebutu, son of multi-bil-lionaire businessman, ChiefKessington Adebutu, said:“We all know the present stateof Ogun State. The bane ofthis state is good governance.”

Reacting to the allegation,the state government has de-

They 're confused, says Finance Commissioner

BY DAUD OLATUNJI scribed LP as a band of “con-fused” people who it said wasblind to several developmen-tal projects.

The state’s Commissioner forFinance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun,said she would not dignify theopposition party with a reply.

Adeosun said: “I was tellingyou that I have my press brief-ing on Friday, which will ad-dress this matter. I wouldrather do that than react totheir confusion.”

UI to begin herbal medicine programme

IBADAN—VICE-Chancel-lor, University of Ibadan,

Prof. Isaac Adewole, hinted,yesterday, that the institutionwould soon start a post-graduate course in herbalmedicine.

He said this at a briefingon the mid-term stewardshipof the VC held at theTrenchard Hall of the insti-tution.

According to him, the de-

cision was taken consideringthe important role that herbsplay in drug discovery.

He said: “One cannot ruleout the potency of herbalmedicine, but there is needfor an institution to help indeveloping the practice. Ourplan is to have herbal medi-cine as part of the courses tobe offered by UI.”

He added that the movewould be the institution’scontribution to the develop-ment of herbal medicine in

the country.He explained further that

the aim was not to encouragefetish things, but to contributeto herbal medicine develop-ment.

The Principal Investigator/Programme Director, Centrefor Drug Discovery, Develop-ment and Production, Prof.Chinedum Babalola, said:“Faculty of Pharmacy has justestablished a new programmecalled postgraduate diplomain Herbal Medicine."

MEETING of the1981 set of Iseyin

District Grammar SchoolOld Students Associationholds Saturday, June 8.

A statement said theagenda of the meeting, tobe held at Glory ViewHotel, Kongi, Old Bodija,Ibadan, include theschool’s golden jubilee inJanuary 2014.

Old boysmeet

AKURE—THE Sena-tor representing

Ondo North SenatorialDistrict under ActionCongress of Nigeria,ACN, in Ondo State,Senator Ajayi Boroffice,yesterday, said the partyin the state is strong,united and solidly onground without leader-ship crisis.

Boroffice statement iscoming on the heels of hisinauguration of AllProgressives Congress,APC, merger committeein the state, which waskicked against by thestate executive of theparty.

Boroffice said: “I wasgiven the mandate to mid-wife the process of bring-ing all the parties in-volved in the merger proc-ess together, being thehighest political officeholder in the Ondo ACN."

However, the party'sstate executive, throughits Publicity Secretary,Rotimi Agbede, who feltslighted for not been car-ried along in merger talks,disowned the Senator.

Boroffice also deniedthat there was rancourbetween him and RotimiAkeredolu before thestate's last governorshipelection.

BY DAYO JOHNSON

BY DAYO JOHNSON


Obasanjo nowproblem toNigeria—N-Deltamonarch

BY AUSTIN OGWUDA

Why I took overconstruction offederal roads inDelta—Uduaghan

Amaechi asks court to stop impeachmentmoves against him

BY JIMITOTAONOYUME

Delta PDP suspends Orubebe, 9 others

BY FESTUS AHON

ASABA—GOVERNOREmmanuel Uduaghan

of Delta State, yesterday, saidthat he deliberately took overthe construction of some fed-eral roads that run through thestate due their economic via-bility to the state, but wouldnot rule out seeking refundfrom the Federal Government.

He, however, lamented theincessant vandalisation ofsome of the projects, such asschools, in some communities.Several primary and second-ary schools, according to thegovernor, had been construct-ed under the special infra-structure put in place to fasttrack development in the stateat a cost of N7 billion.

The governor, who spokethrough the Commissioner forSpecial Duties (Special Infra-structure), Mrs. Orezi Esievo,at a media parley in Asaba,said: “The 149km road, that Ilike calling 300 kilometre, isone of the best decisions thatthis governor has taken. Itstretches from Ughelli to Asa-ba, and opens up over 70 com-munities."

PORT HARCOURT—JUSTICE George

Omereji of a Rivers StateHigh Court sitting in PortHarcourt, has adjourned tillJune 18, to hear the suit byGovernor Chibuike Amaechi,seeking to restrain the 32members of the state Houseof Assembly from initiatingimpeachment proceedingsagainst him.

Meantime, the five anti-Governor Amaechi lawmak-ers also made an oral appli-cation before the court, seek-ing to have their privatecounsel in the issue.

Their counsel, Mr. Chin-we Aguma, told the courtthat his clients did not sharethe same interest with theleadership of the House, ledby the Speaker, Mr. Teleme-ba Amachree. The five anti-Amaechi lawmakers areEvans Bipi, Kelechi Nwogu,Michael Chinda, MartinAmaewhule and Victor Ihun-wo.

Also, Justice AdolphusEnebeli, of a Rivers State

High Court sitting in Port Har-court, has refused an applicationby the Speaker of the stateHouse of Assembly, Amachree,seeking to restrain the Inspec-tor General of Police and the As-sistant Inspector General of Po-

lice, zone 6 Calabar, fromordering his arrest over al-legations he made thatthere were plans to assassi-nate him and GovernorAmaechi.

Counsel to the IG and the

AIG, Mr. Donald Demwigwe,SAN, who was representedby Mr. S. Agwu, had told thecourt that the IG and the AIGwere law abiding citizens,who would not act outside theconfines of the law.

UGHELLI—THE polit-ical fortunes of Minister

of Niger Delta Affairs, ElderGodsdey Orubebe, yesterday,suffed a set back, following hisalleged suspension by a factionof Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, in Burutu Local Govern-ment Area chapter, Delta State.

He was said to have been sus-pended alongside nine othersover alleged “gross miscon-ducts likely to bring about dis-repute, hatred, contempt andanti-party activities.”

Meanwhile, Mr. SagbeghaKorokorosei, who said he re-mains the authentic Chairmanof PDP Burutu council, askedthe people to disregard the pur-ported suspension of Orubebe.

Factional PDP chairman in the

council, Pastor Kenneth Ogeibiriand four others, in a statement, said:“At our meeting held in Burututown, headquarters of Burutu LGA,on June 1, members of the partyreceived petitions from concernedPDP faithful against Elder Orubebeand nine others.

“After a preliminary hearing, pur-suant to section 21.4 of the PDP con-stitution 2009, as amended, and bythe virtue of the powers conferredon us, the Working Committee ofthe party, via section 21.4 of thesame constitution, we, hereby, placeElder Orubebe on suspension.”

Also suspended, according to thestatement, were: “Owotorufa Ay-iba-Ebe, Arebebe Ongulu, Sag-begha Korokorosei, Timidi Agbabi,Elmina Eselemo, Roland Akemfa,Asheta Oyabebefa, Augustine Go-moromo and Ekenwa Okwagbe.”

The faction added that “in the

light of the above, the affectedpersons are hereby, referred toPDP Disciplinary Committee,Burutu council chapter, for fur-ther investigation.”

Urging the people to disre-gard the said suspension, Ko-rokorosei said: “I wish to in-form you that I, Mr. Korokoro-sei, remain the authenticChairman of PDP Burutu coun-cil. Whosoever is impersonat-ing and or purporting to sus-pend Elder Orubebe, the Min-ister of Niger Affairs, such anaction amounts to illegality. No-body has the power to do so,because the people purportingto be doing so are a frustratedgroup being used by peopleopposed to me. Please, ignorewhatever they might have saidbecause the man in questioncommitted no offence.”

...It's not true —Korokorosei

WARRI—FORMERNational Presi-

dent of Traditional Rulersof Oil Minerals Produc-ing Communities of Ni-geria, TROMPCON,and Pere of SeimbiriKingdom, in Delta State,HRM Charles Ayemi-Botu, yesterday, exam-ined the activities offormer President Oluse-gun Obasanjo, since heleft power in 2007, andconcluded that he wasnow a problem to Niger-ia.

Speaking to Vanguardon the recent suggestionby the former Presidentthat Governor Sule Lam-ido of Jigawa State wasthe kind of person need-ed to rule the country in2015, he said that Obas-anjo wanted to controland dictate to PresidentGoodluck Jonathan, buthaving failed to achievethat desire, he opted topull the house down.

Ayemi-Botu, who waslivid over Obasanjo’s ac-tivities, said: “This is notthe first time he is talk-ing about Sule Lamido.Some months ago, hehad called on Lamido totake a shot at the Presi-dency in 2015.

“Obasanjo does notwant to let go of govern-ance in Nigeria. Hewants to be calling theshots even though he isno longer the President.He is a problem to Ni-geria. Let Nigeriansknow that he now has tofraternise with Sule La-mido because, if bychance, Sule Lamidomakes it to Aso Villa in2015, he will be remote-ly controlling the gov-ernance of Nigeria.

“Meanwhile, what ishis intellectual capacitythat makes him feel thatif he is not in govern-ment or in governance ofNigeria, things will notwork well? His eightyears was an abysmalfailure that did not bringany positive result. Takepower for instance,works, the roads werenot mended, he spentover N160 billion be-tween him and Anenihand nothing came out ofit. During the days oflate Bola Ige, nothinghappened in the powersector."

BY EMMA AMAIZE

FOUNDATION STONE: Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State (middle) and formerDirector -General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Prof.Dora Akunyili, during the laying of the foundation stone for a drug distribution complex inYenagoa, Bayelsa State, yestersday.

Uduaghan gives conditions to IPP investorsin N-Delta

BY SEBASTINE OBASI

INVESTORS in the pow-er plants located in the

Niger Delta region will haveto key into the security andcommunity developmentprogrammes of the region inorder to guarantee the safe-ty of the power plants. Gov-ernor Emmanuel Uduaghanof Delta State stated this yes-terday at the kick off of the

road show organised by the Ni-ger Delta Power Holding Com-pany Limited in collaborationwith Bureau for Public Enter-prises and other stakeholders.The road show was embarkedupon to begin the much await-ed privatisation of the 10 powerplants located in different partsof the country.

Uduaghan said most of theplants are located in the NigerDelta region, which is why theholding company is called Ni-ger Delta Power Holding Com-

pany.He said: “Until a few years

back, when you talked of Ni-ger Delta, two issues cameto mind; oil and insecurity.Niger Delta is now safer.Your safety in these areas isguaranteed. But as you buythese plants, ensure that youget in touch with the gover-nors of these states as earlyas possible. This is becausethere is a security masterplan that they will set downfor you to work with."

CMYK



Thisday office wasbombed to appease Allah,witness tells court

ByIKECHUKWUNNOCHIRI & ODINIYA

RUTH

ABUJA—THE AbujaDivision of the Fed-

eral High Court, yester-day, heard how allegedkingpin of the Boko Haramsect, Mustapher Umar,bombed office of ThisdayNewspaper in KadunaState with 12 camp gas cyl-inders in a bid to appeaseAllah.

Justice Ademola Adeniyi,who admitted a burntHonda Car, with number-plate AL-306-MKA, alleg-edly used to perpetrate theterrorist act on April 26,2012, further heard how theaccused person cried bit-terly when he was rescuedfrom the burning car, say-ing they denied him the op-portunity of inheriting 72virgins in heaven.

In a bid to prove the com-plicity of the accused per-son, the Federal Govern-ment brought a senior po-lice officer that is chargedwith the responsibility ofkeeping exhibits recoveredfrom terror suspects to tes-tify before the high court.

The masked witness, PW-8, who told the court that

As Police plays confessional video of suspect

PDP slams Edo govt over teachers’strike

BY GBENGA OKE

EDO State chapter ofPeoples Democratic

Party, PDP, has flayed whatit said was the indifferenceof the state government tothe ongoing teachers'strike, saying that the gov-ernment was toying withthe future of the youngergeneration.

The party, in a statement,said it was regrettable thatthe state government hadnot been able to meet itsresponsibilities and hasrather been playing the os-trich.

Chairman of the party,Chief Dan Orbih, reactingto the teachers’ strike inEdo and eight other states,following the failure of thestates to meet their commit-ment to the teachers, said:“It is shameful that EdoState Government cannotmeet its basic financial ob-ligations, such as paymentof teachers’ salaries and al-lowances. For the records,Edo State Government waspaying 17 per cent to teach-

the accused person had in-tended to carry out a sui-cide attack, produced theburnt Honda car, the dis-charged cylinders, half-charred 25 litter jerry-canthat allegedly containedfuel, and persuaded Jus-tice Adeniyi to move thecourt outside to inspect theterror items.

Besides, he showed thetrial judges who was ac-companied on the inspec-tion tour by lawyers andjournalists, the foot wearthe accused person dis-carded in his attempt to es-cape after he was caughtby angry mob within thepremises of SOJ Plaza inKaduna State where theattack occurred.

Aside Thisday, two othermedia houses affected bythe explosion which report-edly led to the death ofabout 10 persons, were theMoment and Sun News-papers, which offices wereequally situated at the saidSOJ plaza.

Convinced that the itemsbrought to court wereworth taking into cogni-sance in determining theculpability of the accusedto the one-count terrorism

charge preferred againsthim by the government,Justice Ademola admittedthem into evidence.

While he entered the cyl-inders as exhibits MU 7-18, Justice Adeniyi markedthe charred can as exhibitMU-19; the burnt Hondacar was admitted as exhibitMU-20.

Besides, the federal gov-ernment, through the po-lice, persuaded the court towatch a video clip wherethe accused person con-fessed that he was sent tobomb Thisday Newspaper,owing to a report he saiddid not only put Islam infalse light, but greatly in-sulted Prophet Moham-med.

The accused person inthe video, said his actionwas to avenge the insultmeted out on “Allah” by themedia outlet which he saiddid not deserve to exist.

The accused, who spokein Hausa language, said heknew those that alsobombed the Abuja office ofThisday Newspaper, say-ing the attack was equallyas a result of the “sins” themedia house committedagainst Islam.

A W K A — H U NDREDS of Igbo

youths under the aegis ofAssociation of Igbo YouthsOrganisation, AIYO, yes-terday, stormed AnambraState House of Assembly toprotest the directive by theMovement for the Actuali-zation of the SovereignState of Biafra, MASSOB,that everybody should stayat home on June 8, 2013.

According to the youths,the directive would furthercripple the economy of theSouth Eastern states, add-ing that Igbos had sufferedso much that they did not

Igbo youths protestMASSOB sit-at-home order

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

ers, instead of the 27 anda half per cent approvedby the TSA.

“Even the paltry 17 percent is now proving to betoo much financial burdenfor an apparently brokestate government. What ismore, the Action Congressof Nigeria ACN-led gov-

ernment, in a bid to cut fi-nancial corners, has in thelast five years halted thepromotion of teachers andother civil servants.”

He said it is an irony thatGovernor Adams Oshiom-hole, a product of labour, isnow waging war with theunions.

want MASSOB to contin-ue to make life more diffi-cult for them.

They carried placards,some of which read “Nogang up against govern-ment,” “Igbo youths wantpeace,” “Closure of mar-kets is against Igbo inter-est,” and “MASSOB youare on your own.”

Their leader, Mr. AnnieOnyeagba, said manyyouths were often caughtin the web of the frequentMASSOB nefarious activ-ities, especially in Onitshaand would, therefore, notwant such a thing to con-tinue.

Jonathan bans BokoHaram, AnsaruContinues from Page 5

Goodluck Jonathan in-dicated that he was notsincere in setting up theBoko Haram DialogueAmnesty Committee.

The youths, who spokeunder the aegis of theArewa Youth Forum,noted that it was wrongand confusing for thePresident to set up acommittee to seek dia-logue with Boko Harammembers only to turnround to disband thegroup that it claims to bediscussing with.

There’ll be con-sequences –Balarabe Musa

On his part, AlhajiBalarabe Musa saidthough he welcomed thedecision, Nigeriansshould be ready to facethe consequences.

His words: “The pro-scription is expected be-cause since security hasbeen linked with theAmerican and Israelimilitary, one can expectthis. Just some few daysago, America an-nounced a payment forany information leadingto the capture of the so-called leader of BokoHaram.

One thing Nigeriansshould not make anymistake about is thatNigeria would now besubject to the sametreatment by Americathat Pakistan is now sub-jected to. This meansthat American forceswould be free to operatein Nigeria. We mustknow the consequencesfrom the beginning sothat we won’t deceiveourselves.”

It’s waste oftime—Afenifere

The Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation,Afenifere described thedecision by governmentas a waste of time.

In a telephone chatwith Vanguard,Afenifere’s spokesman,Mr Yinka Odumakinsaid: “Was it a registeredorganisation before?Were they registeredwith the Corporate Af-fairs Commission, CAC,before? It is a waste oftime. You have agreedthat the group is face-less, you now say youwant to outlaw it, theyare outlaws already.Which law in Nigeriasays you can bomb andkill people? I think thegovernment should justdo what needs to bedone by flushing out theinsurgents and ensuring

that it addresses thequestion that led to in-surgency in the firstplace. Outlawing BokoHaram is just waste oftime.”

It’s commendable—Arewa Youthgroup

Commending the Fed-eral Government for tak-ing such steps, theArewa Youth Consulta-tive Forum faulted theidea of negotiating withthe group.

In a telephone chatwith Vanguard, its Na-tional President, AlhajiYerima Shetimma, said:“Sometimes, we need totell ourselves the simpletruth. We have neversubscribed to the idea ofnegotiating with any ter-rorist group. The Fed-eral Government has themuscle to address theissues but because theylack the political will, wehave found ourselves inthis mess.

It’s a belateddecision – Kaita

Also throwing hisweight behind the deci-sion, former governor ofKaduna State, AlhajiLawal Kaita said: “Itought to have been out-lawed long ago. Theycannot just go on killingpeople”.

It won’t changeanything – Junaid

Second Republic law-maker, Dr Junaid Mo-hammed in his reactionsaid the proscription or-der on Boko Harammembers would notchange anything or addvalue to the campaign ofgenocide that is takingplace in the North-Eastpresently.

He said: “Relatively,Mr President has beengiving selective treat-ment vendetta againstthe North or what couldbe called subterfuge todisenfranchise the Northpolitically. I expectPresident Jonathan toalso give a proscriptionorder on Movement forthe Emancipation of theNiger Delta (MEND)and people like AsariDokubo that has beengiving various threats.

“We are looking forexplanations becausethis proscription orderon Boko Haram coin-cides with the an-nouncement of theUnited States govern-ment putting a ransomon Shekau”.

Lay down yourarms,Abdulsalamicharges sect

Former Head of StateGen. AbdulsalamiAbubakar has urgedmembers of Boko Haramto lay down their armsand embrace dialogue asa means of resolvingtheir grievances with theNigerian state. GeneralAbdulsalami Abubakar,who spoke yesterdaywhile receiving thePresidential Committeeon Dialogue and Peace-ful Resolution of SecurityChallenges in the Northduring a courtesy call athis residence in Minna,pleaded with the groupin the name of Allah andtheir conscience to takethe opportunity of dia-logue offered by govern-ment to end the sufferingof people caught up inthe conflict in the North.

He expressed hopethat with the committeepeace would return tothe North as its memberscomprised people of im-peccable character.

Speaking earlier,chairman of the Presi-dential Committee, Min-ister of Special Dutiesand Inter-governmentalAffairs, Kabiru TanimuTuraki (SAN), said thevisit was to tap fromAbubakar’s wealth ofexperience consideringhis position as ambassa-dor of peace in Africa.

Shekau could betried in U.S, saysofficial

The US governmentsaid that Boko Haramleader, AbubakarShekau, accused of ter-rorism activities in Ni-geria, could be tried inthe US when caught.

Kurt Rice, the US Act-ing Assistant Director ofDiplomatic SecurityThreat Investigationsand Analysis Directo-rate, said this at a jointtele-news conferencewith David Gilmour,Deputy Assistant Secre-tary for African Affairs.

The News Agency ofNigeria (NAN) reportsthat the tele-conferencewas aired to audiencesin Abuja, Accra, Dakar,Lagos and Niamey.

Rice’s comments camea day after the US offered$23 million (aboutN3.6bn) reward for infor-mation on the location ofShekau and leaders ofAl-Qaeda in the IslamicMaghreb.

CMYK

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013 —15

NUT: Teachers in 9 states vow to continue strike

RMAFC seeksadjustment ofnation’sbudget

BY NOEL ONOJA

BY FAVOUR NNABUGWU

BY EMMAN OVUAKPORIE

Reps seek sole power to impeach President

PSC: Senaterejects Igbuzor,confirms Okiro,6 others

BY JOSEPH ERUNKE

Ezekwesili to Jonathan: Stop presiding overcontract award meetings

BY EMMAN OVUAKPORIE

ABUJA—FORMER Minister of Education and first

Director General of Bureau ofPublic Procurement, BPP, Dr. ObyEzekwesili, yesterday, advisedPresident Goodluck to stop pre-siding over meetings that involvedaward of contracts. She also urged members of theNational Assembly to kick againstthe proposed amendment to thePublic Procurement Act, 2007, tomake the President chairman ofthe National Council on Procure-ment, NCP. Ezekwesili, who advised Presi-dent Goodluck Jonathan to steerclear of the proposed amendmentas it was against global best prac-tices in procurement, gave theadvice at a two-day interactive ses-sion organised by the House ofRepresentatives Committee onPublic Procurement on the pro-curement processes with stake-holders.

She said the world over, Presi-dents and ministers had no busi-ness awarding contracts to its cit-izens, stressing that there was aplan to amend the Public Procure-ment Act to make way for the Pres-ident as chairman of the NCP.

Dr. Ezekwesili advised Presi-dent Jonathan not to allow him-self to be misled.

She said: “I learnt that there isa move for an amendment of thelegislation, PP Act, in order to givethe chairmanship of the councilto the President. Why would any-

ABUJA—THE Revenue Mobilisation Al-

location and Fiscal Com-mission has sought an ad-justment of national budg-et cycle to give room for sea-sonal variation and ade-quate time for the imple-mentation of projects incompliance with the PublicProcurement Act, 2007.

Mr. Elias Mbam, Chair-man of the commission,who made the call in amemorandum on the Re-view of the National Plan-ning and Budgeting sub-mitted to the Senate Com-mittee on National Plan-ning, Economic Affairs andPoverty Alleviation and Fi-nance, yesterday, observedthat currently, the budgetcycle did not support max-imum utilisation of the dryseason period whichshould have been used forconstruction work.

According to him, this ac-counts for low budget per-formance.

ABUJA—THE Nigerian Un ion of Teachers, NUT,

said yesterday, that nine stateswere yet to comply with payment

LAFIA—NASARAWA StateGovernment has concluded

plans to build a Geographic In-formation System, GIS, in orderto meet up with the challenges ofinformation technology.

The project which would be han-dled by Siraj Holding, is expect-

ABUJA—THE Senateyesterday, rejected

the re-nomination of arights activist, Dr. OtiveIgbuzor, for appointmentinto the Police ServiceCommission, PSC, byPresident GoodluckJonathan.

But the Senate, whichdid not give reason for itsaction, approved thenomination of former In-spector General of Police,Mike Okiro, Publisher ofthe Source Magazine,Comfort Obi, and fiveothers as chairman andmembers of the FederalGovernment’s establish-ment.

Igbuzor, who wasnominated by the Presi-dent to represent SouthSouth in the commission,was rejected three timesby majority of the sena-tors in a voice vote calledby the Senate President,David Mark, to deter-mine his acceptability orotherwise.

Attempts by SenatorBabafemi Ojudu, ACN,Ekiti Central to save thenominee who hails fromDelta State under aPoint-of- Order, failed asit was considered to havecome rather late.

ABUJA—A Bill seeking absolute powers to solely initi-

ate and execute impeachment pro-ceedings against a sitting Presi-dent to rest with the National As-sembly yesterday, scaled secondreading on the floor of the Houseof Representatives. The Bill is intended to amendsection 143 of the 1999 Constitu-tion. Debate on the general principlesof the Bill appeared as severalmembers were of the opinion thatit was not necessary.

Surprisingly, however, the Billpassed second reading whenDeputy Speaker of the House,Emeka Ihedioha, who presidedover plenary, put the question tovoice votes.

Sponsors of the bill were of theopinion that it would remove “am-biguities in the process of remov-

body do that? He should not al-low anybody to do that to him.

”The man who is carrying theelephant cannot be using his feetto look for a cricket. To make thePresident chairman of the Na-tional Council on Procurementis totally not the most effectiveand most efficient thing to do inthe arena of public policy. If youunderstand what I’m saying,

understand it; if you don’t under-stand it, oho.”

She argued that it was not latefor Nigeria to start moving in thedirection of other prosperous na-tions, noting that President Obamaneeded not to call cabinet meetingsto discuss contracts.

Ezekwesili added: “The primeminister of Singapore does not callcabinet meetings to discuss con-

tracts.”What business does a Presi-

dent or minister has sitting witha contractor in a meeting? Thatis not what their contemporariesdo in other nations.

“Whereas the leaders of othernations spend their times think-ing about vision, strategy andpolicy, the others spend their timehaggling over contracts. It is timefor FEC to let go of spending itstime on mundane things.”

of 27.5 per cent Teachers En-hanced Allowance, TEA, andminimum wage of N18,000,vowing that strike would con-tinue in those states.

NUT National President, Mr.

Michael Olukoya, who disclosedthis in Abuja against the backdropof ongoing strike in the affectedstates, listed the states to includeEbonyi, Ekiti, Ogun, Edo, Kogi,Borno, Benue, Zamfara and Soko-

to.He said the decision to embark

on an indefinite strike was takenon April 17 at the union’s Na-tional Executive Council, NEC,meeting which held in Asaba,Delta State.

He said: “While some stategovernments, after much strug-gle, have come to terms with theprovisions of the agreement, it isregrettable that 5 years after, ninestates are still in their season ofprevarications.”

He said the decision by theNEC for NUT state wings to com-mence strike was painful in viewof the children and parents whowould bear the brunt, but notedthat NUT had no other choicewhen dialogue and negotiationshad failed.

al of the President and Vice Pres-ident from office on allegationsof gross misconduct and providefor more transparent and dem-ocratic procedure for impeach-ment and other matters.”

Section 143 of the 1999 Con-stitution of the Federal Repub-lic of Nigeria (as amended) pro-vided for the procedure of im-peaching the President and, orthe Vice President.

But promoters of the amend-ment Bill, Mr. Yakubu Dogaraand Chairman of the HouseCommittee on the FCT, Mr.Emmanuel Jime, argued thatthere were a lot of defects andambiguities in section 143 of the1999 Constitution.

They also separately deniedthe assertion that the move wastargeted at impeaching Presi-dent Goodluck Jonathan.

Dogara, who quoted several

foreign authorities to buttress thejustification of vesting the powersto impeach a sitting President ex-clusively on the parliament, es-pecially in America, argued thatone of the defects in the provisionwas the only basis to initiate im-peachment proceedings againstthe President, as enshrined in theconstitution, was for “gross mis-conduct” which he said was notclearly defined.

Nasarawa plans Geographic InformationSystem

BY CHARLES KUMOLU

ed to provide Digital Aerial Map-ping, DAM.

A statement by the project Su-pervisor, Mr. Sonny Agassi, said:‘’It is an initiation of the Ministryof Lands and Urban Develop-ment.“

The N2.7 billion muliti-facetedcontract which will clock one yearby the end of this month, hasthree components.

MEETING: Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State (left) and Madam Osas Momodu,mother of Ibrahim Momodu, a 22-year-old final year student of the University of Benin, shotby the police in Benin City on May 27, during a meeting with the Governor, at GovernmentHouse, Benin, yesterday.

CMYK


From left: Major-Gen. Haladu Hananiya (rtd); Mr. Nebou Ndonya, Deputy Speaker, Houseof Representatives; Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, House Leader; Hon. Mulikat Adeola and ChiefWhip, Hon. Ishaka Bawa, during a courtesy visit on the Deputy Speaker by the people ofHong Local Government Area, in Adamawa State, to National Assembly, Abuja, yesterday.

Police 'll curtail securitychallenges, IGP pledges

BY UJU MBANUSI

THE INSPECTOR Gen-eral of Police, Moham-

med Abubakar, yesterday, inLagos, pledged that men andofficers of the force would con-tinue to give their best towardsensuring that the security chal-

lenges in the country werecurtailed.

This is just as he lamentedthe concern of the UnitedStates of America over state ofinsecurity in the country as awelcome development.

He spoke while commission-ing newly renovated ultra

modern hospital at the PoliceCollege, Ikeja.

“What is being witnessedtoday is part of our efforts toensure that the welfare andwell-being of officers and menof the Nigeria police force areparamount. You cannot policeany country without physi-cally, mentally sound and fitpolice officers to discharge theresponsibility of protection oflives and property.

"Despite the security chal-lenges we are facing todayin the country, by God’s Gracewe shall not fail this countryin discharging our duties. Wehave given the best we can ashuman beings to our countrywith our lives; we shall con-tinue to do our best”.

A minute of silence was ob-served for security personnelwho lost their lives in thecourse of carrying out theirconstitutional responsibility,an action the IGP described asa mark of respect.

Noting that the well-beingof men and officers of the Ni-geria Police was very essen-tial, he stated that measureswere on ground to ensure theimprovement of their welfareas well as promotion of per-sonnel which he said was oneof the ways to motivate them.

While commending efforts ofmedical personnel involvedin the project, Abubakarpromised that necessary as-sistance would be given toImprove medical care of per-sonnel.

Ex-Minister, Ogunlewe warns ethnic groups over political pride, inactionBY DOTUN IBIWOYE

LAGOS — FORMER Mi-nister of Works, Senator

Adeseye Ogunlewe, yester-day, warned the major ethicgroups including the Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba and the Igbo

not to behave as if they ownNigeria,’’by giving the minori-ties the right to vote and bevoted for.’’

Ogunlewe also asked the mi-nority ethnic groups in thecountry to support PresidentGoodluck Jonathan’s adminis-tration or else they would not

be able to rule the country inthe next 50 years, if they al-lowed themselves to be usedagainst the President.

He spoke at a meeting of theruling Peoples DemocraticParty, PDP, (South-South fo-rum) hosted by its Chairman,Mr. Sunday Ekanem in Lagos

against the backdrop of com-plaints in some quarters thatJonathan had no moral rightto ask Nigerians for their man-date in 2015, having promisedin 2011 to rule for only oneterm.

Ogunlewe further asked thepeople of the South- South to

stand up against the injusticebeing perpetrated against theminorities by the major ethnicgroups in the country, adding,‘’Let’s see in another 50 yearswhether any minority will everbe the president of this coun-try after Jonathan.’’

Katsina govrestatescommitmentto agriculture

KATSINA —G O V E R N O R

Ibrahim Shema ofKatsina State, Tuesday,reiterated his adminis-tration’s commitment tothe development of theagriculture, to ensuremaximum food securityfor the people.

Shema made thepledge while launchingthe Gross EnhancementSupport, GES, scheme inMusawa Local Govern-ment Area.

He pledged that thegovernment would pro-vide counterpart fundsto ensure the success ofthe programme and en-joined beneficiaries toadhere to modern farm-ing techniques.

Shema, who was repre-sented by the Commis-sioner for Agriculture,Alhaji Musa Adamu-Funtua, said that about90,000 small-scale farm-ers had been registeredfor the programme.

He said his adminis-tration would encourageincreased agriculturalproduction through bestpractices and the provi-sion of input for all cat-egories of farmers.

He said that the gov-ernment had sold 340tractors to farmers at sub-sidised rates, disbursedinterest-free loans to allcategories of farmers andprovided chemicals andworking tools.

Lawyer tendersevidence of tollcollection onLekki-Ikoyi bridge

BY INNOCENT ANABA

LAGOS — A Lagos lawyer,Mr. Ebunoluwa Adegboruwa,yesterday, filed a further affi-davit before a Federal HighCourt sitting in Lagos, evi-dencing the collection of tollon the newly constructed

Lekki-Ikoyi suspension bridgein Lagos.

Adegboruwa, had filed thesuit against the Lagos StateGovernment, on November 26,2012, before the court, seek-ing an injunction restrainingit from collecting any toll frommotorists on the bridge, argu-ing that the bridge was erectedon a Federal navigable water-way, hence, the Lagos StateGovernment, had no author-ity to toll same.

Respondents in the suit arethe Attorney General of theFederation and the NationalInland Water Ways Authority,NIWA. Parties had arguedtheir motions before the court,on April 29.

The Attorney General of La-gos State, Mr. Ade Ipaye, hadtold the court that the stategovernment, had not decidedwhether or not to collect tollon the bridge, describing thesuit as premature, since therewas no evidence of tolling onthe bridge.

Trial judge, Justice SaliuSaidu had reserved judgmentin the suit till July 9.

Meanwhile, Adegboruwa inhis further affidavit, averredthat after the court had re-served judgment, the Gover-nor of Lagos State, Mr.Babatunde Fashola, commis-sioned the bridge on May 29.

He averred that “the gover-nor openly declared the bridgeas a toll bridge, whereby sa-loon cars will pay N250.00 pertrip and Sports Utility Vehicleswill pay N350.00 per trip.Motorists have since June 1,been subjected to compulsorypayment of the said toll on thesaid bridge.

“As evidence, I attach a copyof a receipt issued to me forthe said toll on the bridge,which is marked exhibit A,” heaverred.

Adegboruwa also filed amotion on notice informing theLagos government of its fur-ther affidavit, and puttingthem on notice for its hearing,while the court is yet to fix adate for hearing of the pend-ing motion.

Labaran Maku lied on roads in Edo— Afegbua

EDO STATE Government,yesterday, said that the

Federal Government liedabout roads in the state, not-ing that many federal roads inthe area had not been at-tended to.

Special Adviser to GovernorAdams Oshiomohle on Mediaand Public Affairs, PrinceKassim Afegbua in a state-ment, said “Rather than apolo-gise to Nigerians over Fed-eral Government’s failure tofulfil its promise to the goodpeople of Nigeria and EdoState in particular, LabaranMaku, is busy embarking onsheer salesmanship with noproducts to sell.

"Apart from the re-surfacingof the Ugbowo-Lagos Roadcurrently being undertaken bythe Federal Government andthe newly awardeddualisation of Okene-BeninRoad, what again can LabaranMaku lay claim to?

“Unknown to him that theBenin-Warri dualised roadhad long been executed by the

Olusegun Obasanjo adminis-tration, Labaran Maku is cred-iting same to the GoodluckJonathan administration.

"What a pity? Let him go andvisit the abandoned Benin-Abraka Road and see for him-self the dubiety of that projectexecution and the decay.

“Having toured Edo Statewithout any tangible FederalGovernment infrastructure,Labaran Maku and MikeOnolemhemen, tried to show-case Edo State projects at Five-Junction as one being under-taken by the Federal Govern-ment.

"The Amedokhian-UkoniRoad in Edo Central, whichwas flagged off last year by theWorks Minister, MikeOnolemhemen, is still lyingprostrate. I will implore theInformation Minister to visitAduwawa Road in Benin Cityand see for himself the rot onthat federal road, bearing inmind that it is the entry routeinto Benin City from Abuja.

CMYK

CMYK


OPINION


*Mr. Amuchie, a journalist, wrote fromAbuja.

BY MAX AMUCHIE

IT HAS been a challenge for me to writethis. Several times I tried to write this

piece but each time my emotional strengthfailed me. The reality, however, is that Icannot continue to delay it even if I have todo this misty-eyed as is the case now.

But there is a background to the void thissad event has caused in my life. Oneevening around 2001 or thereabout, whenI was features editor in Thisday, Paul Odili,currently media aide to GovernorEmmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State,walked into the Thisday newsroom inApapa, Lagos and came straight to me."Max, Pini Jason wants you to see him", hesaid. Paul Odili was then assistant politicaleditor at Vanguard, where Pini Jason was acolumnist. Pini Jason wants to see me? Whatfor? Our paths had never crossed though Ihad known him by reputation right frommy days in secondary school. He waswriting for the London-based New Africanmagazine and being an avid reader rightfrom my formative years, I had come toappreciate the beautiful prose of the mancalled Pini Jason. But I never knew he wasmy kinsman. The name Pini Jason soundedJamaican to me then.

But as I finished youth service andbecame a journalist I encountered PiniJason more often through his column inVanguard but during the June 12, 1993crisis, I disliked the position he took thoughI had no opportunity to let him know myfeelings at the time.

"Why does Pini Jason want to see me?", I

Pini Jason: A generation has beenPini Jason: A generation has beenPini Jason: A generation has beenPini Jason: A generation has beenPini Jason: A generation has beenrobbed of a beacon of hoperobbed of a beacon of hoperobbed of a beacon of hoperobbed of a beacon of hoperobbed of a beacon of hopeasked and Paul said I should go and findout. I told him that I did not like the role hisman played during the June 12 crisis. Paulthen said I should honour the invitation anduse the opportunity to let Pini Jason knowmy mind about the issue.

An appointment was fixed and Paul and Imet Pini Jason in his house in Surulere,Lagos. Till today, I thank God for that firstencounter with Dee Pini Jason. He gave mea lecture on June 12 and explained to mewhat informed the role he played in thestruggle. I felt intellectually enrichedbecause he brought a fresh perspective towhat I knew about the June 12 issue. Moreimportantly, I felt proud to be associatedwith him and felt honoured that he singledme out for a meeting in his house just byreading my write-ups in Thisday.

The reason why Pini sent Paul to fetch mewas to seek media support for the AllProgressives Grand Alliance (APGA), whichhad just been formed. I guess he alsoreached out to other journalists especiallythose of Igbo extraction though I neverasked him. He was in the team that did theintellectual work for the formation of APGA.I later learnt that he worked on the projectwith the iconic Professor Ben Obumselu.

Today, only very people know the roleplayed by Pini Jason in the formation ofAPGA because unlike the politicians, he was

given to neither noise making nor self-adulation. He told me the initial name forthe party was to be United ProgressivesGrand Alliance (UPGA) but that INECrefused to accept that name because therewas UPGA in the first republic and theelectoral body didn't want any controversythe choice of nomenclature would generate.

He gave me graphic detail of the workthat had gone into the formation of the partythat was meant to give voice to the Igboman in Nigerian politics.

In the years that followed after this firstmeeting in his house, my relationship withDee Pini blossomed. He became a fatherfigure and on one occasion, I needed moneyto complete the purchase of a piece of landin Ogun State. I mentioned it to him and heasked me to come to his house. Dee Pinigave me the N50,000 that was left for me tocomplete payment for the land.

He was a complete gentleman, adetribalised Nigerian but yet

someone who loved roots. In the strugglefor the de-annulment of the June 12, 1993election won by the late MKO Abiola, DeePini stood up to be counted. When the lid onparty politics was lifted and democracyreturned in 1999, the southeast wanted aplatform with which to be relevant in thescheme of things in Nigeria, Dee Pini put

forward his talent, time and treasure at thedisposal of APGA. In all these he took nopersonal credit, made no political capitaland reaped no political dividend.

He once told me that with the worldincreasingly becoming a global village,where one could operate from anywherewith the touch of a button, he might relocateto his hometown in Mbaise, Imo State andwork from there. He had becomedisenchanted with his Surulere environmentwhich had become noisy and chaotic andalso because his children had grown up.He always talked about his family.

However, not long after this discussion,he was invited by former governor of ImoState, Ikedi Ohakim to serve in the stategovernment. I didn't see him much after hetook up the state government though wespoke on phone a number of times. Itherefore didn't know that after Ohakim'stenure ended, Dee Pini was staying in Abuja.When I learnt about his regular visit to orstay in Abuja, I planned to pay him a visitbut before that could happen the unforeseentook place.

It was with deep sadness and for me agreat personal loss when I read onFacebook one evening that Dee Pini haddied earlier on that day.

Nnanyiukwu Pini Jason was a great man,a writer of no mean proportion, a brilliantessayist, who had great command ofEnglish language. He was a mentor to nota few younger journalists like me and manymore drank immensely from hismeasureless fountain of knowledge.

MORE discerning Nigerians would not besurprised at the suggestions that the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, should not conductprimaries for its presidential and governorshipcandidates. With Chief Tony Anenih, Chairmanof PDP’s Board of Trustees adding his voice to“no primaries”, the matter is already settled.A slight modification that the provisions should

be for those doing well indicates PDP cherishesperformance. Of the 23 States with PDPgovernors – Abia, Akwa Ibom, Adamawa,Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Delta,Ebonyi, Enugu, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna,Katsina, Kebbi, Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Plateau,Rivers, Sokoto, and Taraba - a count backreveals only three governors, those of Gombe,Kaduna, and Kwara would benefit from thepolicy by 2015.“I do not see anything wrong if the PDP

considers automatic tickets for the Presidentand its Governors who have performed well andare seeking for a second term. Over the years,our primaries have been the most serious sourcesof rancour and disunity in our ranks, and, thatwe usually invest so much resources and energy

PDP Never ChangesPDP Never ChangesPDP Never ChangesPDP Never ChangesPDP Never Changes

fighting ourselves in the primaries that shouldhave gone into the larger battle against ourpolitical rivals,” Anenih said.Anenih has pedigree in these matters. When

he speaks under the guise of personalpositions, he often says what the party woulddo. For the first eight years of civil rule, duringwhich his relevance soared in the Obasanjoadministration, he was the apostle of automatictickets. Party members who sought electoralpositions worshipped him, he was the oraclewhose dictation was law.Should PDP not be moving away from such

undemocratic practices? What becomes of theambitions of other party members if Anenih’s

policy includes the legislature, which he alsoproposed? Why would a democratic partyshun internal democracy in its operations?If the idea of stopping primaries is to avoid

internal wrangling, how would this be possiblein the 20 States where the governors are noteligible for re-election? How would the partymanage election of its candidates for morethan 1,000 legislative seats at the national andstate levels?Anenih has identified a challenge. His

solution falls below democratic standards andhits hard at the democratic culture of choicesthat Nigeria has been building since 1999.After 14 years of civil rule, it is stunning thatthe suggestion is being made as solution tobasic issues parties face.Imposition of candidates under whatever

guise is undemocratic. PDP is not the onlyparty involved in this practice, but with itsstature as the leading party its examples areimportant. Now that it faces challenges withprimaries, it should find democratic solutionsthat still gives party members choice ofcandidates.

CMYK

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013—————1919191919

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CMYK

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My Pikin: A case for review ofNAFDAC law

A crude game of power

BY JOHN AINOFENOKHAI

NATIONAL Agency for Food and DrugAdministration and Control,

NAFDAC, under the leadership of Dr PaulOrhii, in what is regarded as a historic feat,secured on Friday, May 17, this year, a courtjudgement against the producers of MyPikin Baby Teething Mixture that killedscores of children in 2008. This is the firsttime the agency would strike the bull’s eyein litigations that border on medicine issue.A Federal High Court in Lagos, presidedover by Justice Okechukwu Okeke, orderedthat the firm, Barewa PharmaceuticalCompany, be compulsorily wound up in linewith the provisions of the law and its assetsforfeited to the Federal Government.

Justice Okeke sentenced the firm'sProduction Manager, Adeyemo Abiodun andthe Quality Assurance Manager, EgbeleEromosele, to seven years each for conspiracyto sell dangerous drug; and also handed themanother seven years for selling dangerousdrugs. Both sentences were to run concurrently.The judge discharged and acquitted them ofthe remaining four counts relating toadulteration, manufacturing and distribution.

Perhaps, they would have got more yearsbehind bars had NAFDAC, in the opinionof the court, succeeded in proving theallegation of drug adulteration. ReadJustice Okeke: “My understanding of theword ‘adulterated’ is that somebody hastampered with the original product andchanged the quality and efficacy of the drug.There must be evidence that themanufacturer of the adulterated drugchanged or tampered with the ingredientsreducing the standard of the original drug.The prosecution failed to prove its case.”

The law on which the accused were triedwas the Miscellaneous Offences Act M17Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.The offences were contrary to Section

1(18)(a)(ii) and punishable under Sections1(8)(a)(ii); 1(18)(b)(ii) and 3 of the same Act.The purpose of this write-up is not tointerrogate the aspect of the court’s decisionon the “inability” of NAFDAC to prove thatthe drug was adulterated, despite a witness’testimony that My Pikin was discoveredthrough laboratory analysis by the agencyto have been contaminated with diaethyleneglycol, which is a deadly toxic substance thatis unacceptable in food or drug preparation;but to reinforce the call for a review of therelevant laws (including NAFDACEstablishment Law) with a view to takingout the incentives in the manufacturing ofcounterfeit or adulterated drugs anddistribution of the same.

I must commend NAFDAC for itscommitment to prosecuting the case andsecuring this judgment. It is a credit to thesharp leadership focus of Orhii and hismanagement team. They must not relenton their oars. Nigeria and her people willremain eternally grateful for theirdedication to the fight against fake drugs.This judgement is, no doubt, a boost to thefight. The court must also be commendedfor hearing the matter judicially andjudiciously. Certain quarters may considerthe about-five-years that the matter lastedin court too long, the good thing is thatjustice has not been denied. The judiciary,through Justice Okeke, has brought a breathof fresh air into the fight against sale ofadulterated drugs with this judgement.Hitherto, the matter would have lingered incourt; all manner of technicalities wouldhave been employed to stall prosecution;and, in many instances, the administrationof justice would have been compromisedwith the deployment of filthy lucre.

The executive and the legislative arm ofgovernment must rise to the occasion bydoing the needful to strengthen the waragainst manufacturing and distribution/saleof fake drugs in the country through a review

of relevant laws that will prescribe stringentpunishments that will serve as deterrents.Light sentences must give way to heavy ones.I am excited about media reports that Orhii’sNAFDAC has initiated the process of thereview at the level of the executive with adraft copy of the reviewed law waiting to besent to the National Assembly forconsideration and passage into law.

Orhii had confirmed this process in arecent interview. He was quoted to

have said: “Yes, we have done that. We havereviewed (the law); we have the draft that isready. In fact, the Minister of Health haspassed it to the Minister of Justice and theFederal Executive Council is looking at it.As soon as it is approved we will move it tothe National Assembly for consideration.The law is there. Just like in India, we areasking for lifetime jail. Personally, I hadwanted death penalty because, as far as Iam concerned, a drug counterfeiter is worstthan an armed robber. An armed robber,when he points his gun at you, gives an optionmost of the times, either your life or your money;and if you give him your money, he lets you go.But the counterfeiter doesn’t give you thatoption.”

Perhaps to show how irritated he is with thesituation, he had, according to him, mootedthe idea of death penalty, but explained that acommittee that was emplaced subsequentlydecided to recommend life jail. Accordingto him: “I wanted death penalty, but

unfortunately I had to come down when weformed a committee made up of very SeniorAdvocates of Nigeria, SAN, to come up withsomething that will be acceptable; Instituteof Advanced Legal Studies was involved;Office of the Attorney-General of theFederation was involved; Ministry of Healthand civil rights activists were involved.

“So, in the new draft, we arrived at acompromise that it would be life jail justlike India has done and then confiscation ofassets because we know that the act ofcounterfeiting lies in the incentive to makehuge profit. If they know that if they arecaught, their assets would be confiscated,they will be discouraged. So, we are sayingthat we confiscate their assets, and then insituations where we can prove that the fakeproducts caused death or severe bodilyinjury, some of the assets confiscated couldbe used to compensate the victim of thecrime.

“We are also asking for whistle blowers inthat new law. This is to give us the right to givereward to those who blow the whistle that helpsus to intercept fake medicines. We are alsoasking for a special court to speedily try thesepeople because sometimes, cases can drag upfor several years in conventional courts. Thereare cases that have been dragging for the pastfour years since I came and even beyond that;and in terms of resources, it takes a lot of moneyfrom us. So, we want speedy trial for the crimeor alternatively make it a non-bailable offenceto put incentive on speedy trial of the accused.The law is ongoing and we hope that very soonit will be passed. Once the Federal ExecutiveCouncil approves it, we will send it to NationalAssembly for consideration.”

This is a beautiful picture that has beenpainted above. If there is a battle, apart fromthe bigger battle against corruption, thatNigerians eagerly want the FederalGovernment and the entire nation to win, it isthe battle against fake drugs. ManyNigerians, including this writer, believe thata law that prescribes stringent punishmentsand completely takes away the incentivesfrom drug counterfeiting business isimperative at this point.

IT’S no longer news that allhasn’t been well between

Chibuike R. Amaechi, Rivers Stategovernor, and President GoodluckJonathan. The outcome of thecontest for the leadership of theGovernors Forum which Amaechiwon in spite of efforts to thwart hisambition by forces in the PDPbelieved to be working forPresident Jonathan has onlyaccentuated what had lain hiddenfor so long. In spite of denials bythe Presidency, the latest being theone by Reuben Abati in theimmediate aftermath of theGovernors Forum's election, manyNigerians know better than tobelieve that President Jonathan isuninterested in the outcome of theelection. Or put differently, manybelieve Abuja would rather nothave Amaechi returned asChairman of the Forum which hasin the last few years assumed farmore significance than one wouldordinarily expect of an informalgathering that it is supposed to be.Yet this informal association has

widened the breach in therelationship between two South-South politicians that probablystarted for reasons traceable notto any personal animosity betweenthem but the bad blood generatedby the outburst of Mrs. PatienceJonathan who embarrassinglychided Governor Amaechi foractions she considered targetedagainst the good of her people. Itis not impossible that in the manymonths since this open attack onGovernor Amaechi, Mrs Jonathanhas succeeded in turning herpersonal antagonism for theGovernor into her husband’s. Itwouldn’t be too far-fetched then tobelieve that the unfolding dramabetween Jonathan and Amaechi istraceable to Patience.

Now things have fallen apart andone of the two parties involved inthis bruising fight is claiming hislife is in danger. We may be havinga glimpse of just how messy thingscould get before they’ll get better,if ever things could get betterbetween these men again. But then

these are politicians and nothingchanges ever so often among themas the friends they keep. This maybe timely warning to thosepresently queuing up behind bothmen in anticipation of the battleahead. When this hurly-burly isover and done with, the collateraldamage would belong to theunfortunate bystanders who choseto turn mere politicians’ battlesinto their own private war.

Yet the truth must be out-Jonathan, no matter how he

tries, has shown himself to bebehind the war drum that seeks todrown out Amaechi’s victory songand, if possible, his political career.Even if Patience may be indirectlyresponsible for the animositybetween Jonathan and Amaechi,the ambition of both men has donemuch to worsen that relationship.Not many outside the South-Southare enthusiastic about another

term for President Jonathan butfinding a suitable replacement forhim has been a touchy issue. Theassumption has been thatchallenge to his continued stay inoffice could only come fromamong politicians of Northernextraction, a product that might bevery difficult to sell. But apolitician from within the Niger-Delta even if only paired as VicePresident with another from theNorth changes the game forJonathan and he knows it. Forquite a long time now, the news hasbeen around town that Amaechi, atwo-time governor, might benursing presidential ambitions. Inrecent times, the story has takenon a life of its own and this musthave unsettled Jonathan in nosmall way.

There is no doubt that manyNigerian politicians at some levelbelieve themselves superior toJonathan, especially those whowere already governors beforefortune smiled on him to make himtheir boss. They also couldn’t seewhat this President has done tomake him more qualified for theoffice of president than they.Jonathan probably not only sensesthis in the action and utterances ofsome of these politicians but alsofeels it viscerally. He senses thelack of respect if not disdain, apoint a woman as ambitious as hiswife would drum into him until hebegins to act in the crude mannerthat expresses itself in the kind ofunconscionable display of powerthat led, first, to the grounding ofAmaechi’s plane and later theattempt to prevent his return to theseat of chair of the GovernorsForum.

This is not saying that Amaechi

is entirely blameless in the matteror that he was right to be flying anaircraft without proper licence ifone could justify his flying anaircraft at all in a state whosepublic transport system is the samenightmare it is in every other state.But the point is that it took thedisagreement between him andJonathan to alert the aviationauthorities to this apparentviolation of air safety regulations.

The build-up to the election thatproduced Amaechi as chair of theGovernors Forum was fraughtwith expectations and many couldhave mistaken it for a contest intosome elective office recognised bythe Constitution. It was clear thePresidency had an interest in theoutcome and was in factsponsoring candidates. Thus, whenthe result came and Amaechi wasannounced winner or wasreported to have won, it all seemedlike a defeat for the President. It’s,therefore, not surprising that thePDP would crudely join the fightby suspending Amaechi from theirparty for so-called anti-partyactivities that couldn’t in theirreckoning be resolved withoutfurther violations of laid downprocedures. Nobody should betrusted with power and by themanner Jonathan has played hishand in the entire saga, he hasshown himself to be no better thanhis predecessors in office.Especially President Obasanjowho many believe could very oftenappropriate state power for purelyprivate battles. Jonathan, thebarefooted boy from Otuoke, couldprove a poor but more deadlystudent of the Obasanjo School ofPower Profiteers.

•Mr. Ainofenokhai, a commentator onnational issues, wrote from Lagos.

When this hurly-burly is over anddone with, thecollateral damagewould belong tothe unfortunatebystanders whochose to turn merepoliticians’ battlesinto their ownprivate war

Many Nigeriansbelieve that a law thatprescribes stringentpunishments andcompletely takes awaythe incentives fromdrug counterfeitingbusiness is imperativeat this point

20—Vanguard20—Vanguard20—Vanguard20—Vanguard20—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, JUNE 5, JUNE 5, JUNE 5, JUNE 5 , , , , , 20132013201320132013

Debate of the masses

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BY EBELE ORAKPO

Evil in the land!Evil in the land!Evil in the land!Evil in the land!Evil in the land!

WALLAHI, if Goddoes not punish

Nigeria severely, then Hewill have to apologise toSodom and Gomorrah af-terall, their own was justsodomy There’s so muchevil in the land; it’s unbe-lievable,” said Gani thisMonday morning in theCMS-bound commutervehicle.

“Oh boy, at a point, Ithought the press guyswere making it all up. Itwas like they were report-ing a movie. How can somuch evil be going on inone nation?” asked Joe.

“It’s the end-time. TheBible clearly predicted thatevil will increase in the lastdays as people will be lov-ers of themselves, lovers ofmoney, and not lovers ofGod. It’s not just Nigeria,but the world over. Love formoney has driven peopleinto committing all sorts ofatrocities,” said Yaya.

Ordinaryrobbery

“From ordinary robbery,to kidnapping, to humantrafficking, to ritualists, tohuman parts selling andnow baby factories - all inthe name of money? Thatis the height of callous-ness,” said Tonia.

Said Pat; “I hear they nolonger kidnap living peo-ple but corpses so that theowners will pay the ransomquickly before the corpsebegins to rot.”

“Ah, I will leave thecorpse for them. That istheir own headache,” de-clared Joy to which Pat re-plied thus: “No one willlike to dishonour his lovedone that way.”

“Hmm, wahala dey oo!”exclaimed Joe. “But whywould a woman decide topatronise a baby factory in-stead of going through thenormal adoption process?Even the so-called educat-ed ones are not left out,”noted Gani.

“I know the trauma mostchildless African womengo through; so they areready to do anything to geta baby in order to securetheir place in their matri-

monial homes. Mind you,many still see adoptedchildren as strangers.They will tell you they don’tknow their background northe genes they are carry-ing so they even see theperpetrators as saviours,”stated Joy.

“A doctor friend said alady came to his clinic withher new born baby andsaid she could not breast-feed him. The doctor ex-amined her and told hershe could not because shewas never pregnant in thefirst place. She insisted thebaby was hers. Askedwhere she went for ante-natal, she said she was toldnot go for antenatal or forscan because the machinewill not detect anything asthe baby is a miracle baby,”narrated Pat.

“And she believed thecrap? How could she be sodumb? ” asked Tonia.

“I don’t even know whichis the worse – illiteracy orgullibility because even theeducated ones fall for thenonsense,” said Joe.

Exactly! Once these con-men come in religiousgarbs with high-soundingwords, people fall prey,”said Tonia.

“Because they are simplyreligious, following sheep-ishly without asking ques-tions or thinking for them-selves so they do whatev-er they are told by thosewilling to use their brains.No wonder Jesus saw thereligious people of his dayas evil people,” said Joy.

“Today, people becomepastors, imams, native doc-tors, etc, to dupe peopleand unfortunately, we areso gullible, we easily fallprey to their antics,” stat-ed Yaya.

Narrated Mercy: “A guywent to a priest for theweekly confession. Afterreeling out a long list of sinshe had committed, thepriest who was obviouslyflabbergasted, instead oftelling him to go in peacethat his sins were forgiv-en, gave him a hard knockon the head saying: ‘Allthese just in one week?’ Soyou can imagine how Godfeels with all that he is see-ing on the surface of theearth.”

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Restriction order: Keke Marwa operators,commuters count losses in Lagos

BARELY a year afterthe Lagos State Government

prohibited the operation of com-mercial motorcycles on 475 roadsand bridges in the state, it has alsooutlawed the operation of com-mercial tricycles popularly calledKeke Marwa on major roadsacross the state.

For the past three weeks, com-muters in Victoria Island, govern-ment reserved areas, Ikeja busi-ness district area, Ikoyi, AwolowoRoad, Awolowo Way, Alausa andall major roads in Surulere wherethe restriction order is taking itstoll are already counting their loss-es.

According to the Commissionerfor Transport, Mr. Kayode Opeifa,the move was meant ‘’to protectthe lives and property of the resi-dents of the state’’ many of whomnow experience difficulties mov-ing from one place to another.

Opeifa also said the state gov-ernment had held several meet-ings with the unions on the de-velopment, and “they haveagreed to stay away from theseroads”. He also stated that thestate has enough Bus RapidTransport, BRT, and LAGBUS bus-es as well as taxis on these roadsand the tricycle won’t be neededanymore.

Vanguard Metro’s visits to someof the affected areas revealed thatthe order has reduced the com-mercial vehicular fleet in the af-fected areas. VM also found thatthe provision of BRT and LAGBUSbuses, and taxis by the state gov-ernment is insufficient and theavailable ones are ineffective dueto bad planning and managementof the transportation system.

A tour of Lagos Island revealed

BY BOSE ADELAJA long queues of passengers wait-ing for buses which were nowhereto be found. The few that eventu-ally came after a long wait werevisibly in bad shape, spewingthick dark fume into the air. It wasalso found out that many of themhave broken down on the way.

Some commuters who could af-ford the journey by taxi cabs glad-ly did so, not minding the exorbi-tant fares. Thus, the cab operatorshave been making while the situ-ation persists. However, unlike theKeke Marwa, the BRT buses andtaxis cannot get into the remoteareas. Some commuters who spokewith VM said this has created alot of hardship for the averageLagosian operating businesses in

I cannot cope with the restriction; Imight relocate to my village if the situa-tion continues

*Keke Marwa: Their restriction on major roads taking toll on operators and commuters

those areas.A printer, Mr Tunji Odedina,

complained bitterly about the painthe restriction order has inflictedon him, saying after Okada wasbanned, he resorted to usingKeke Marwa for his business runson the Island. But the recent re-striction on this mode of transpor-tation has seriously underminedhis business prospects.

A tricycle operator, Mr SundayIlesanmi, said he used to be acommercial motorcyclist on theLagos Island but opted to join theKeke Marwa operators when Oka-da was banned. ‘’But now thatthey have placed a restriction or-der on Keke Marwa, I have noother means of livelihood. Theunfortunate thing is that I justwent into the hire purchase deal

to procure the tricycle which isnow a big problem for me as I canno longer meet up with pay-ment,’’ he complained bitterly.

Chukwuma Ibe, a Lagos-basedcommercial tricyclist has sincemoved to Mowe-Ibafo, a commu-nity in Ogun State for his tricyclebusiness though his family livesin Lagos. He said that at the endof each business day, he takesshelter in his tricycle as he couldnot afford to pay rent in two plac-es. ‘’I live separately from my fam-ily as I cannot cope with the re-striction; I have so many bills tooffset and I might relocate to myvillage in Awka if the situationcontinues,’’ he said.

In a telephone conversation

with VM, State Secretary to com-mercial tricycle operators AlhajiHakeem Abdulahi lamented theafter-effect of the restriction orderon his members who, he said,were not informed before the gov-ernment took its decision.

According to him: ‘’About 20units are presently counting theirlosses and most of those affectedare married men and women’’.He, however, called on govern-ment to review the restriction or-der, saying: ‘’We cannot fight gov-ernment, we can only plead withthem to temper justice with mer-cy. We were not given prior no-tice by the government but we areplanning to meet the Commission-er for Transport on the matter andwe want him to review the law”.

CMYK


From left: Senior Assistant to the Lagos State Governor on Transportation Education, Dr.Mariam Masha; Managing Director, Total Nigeria Plc, Francois Boussuagol; Unit Commander,Lagos Island, representing Sector Commander, Lagos State Federal Road Safety Commission(FRSC), Sadiq Abdulrahman and members, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority,LASTMA, during the Total Road Safety Cube Inauguration at St Georges Primary School,Falomo, Lagos.

THE Federal Governmenthas concluded plans to stop

the importation of wheat intothe country to create marketsfor farmers involved in the pro-duction of the grain.

The Minister of Agricultureand Rural Development, Dr.Akinwumi Adesina made thisknown during the inauguralmeeting of the NigeriaAgribusiness Group, NAG,weekend in Abuja said Nigeriawould meet 68% wheat needsby 2015 .

He said the efforts of govern-ment towards encouraging thesubstitution of wheat with highquality cassava flour is alreadyyielding positive results as thewheat imports to Nigeria de-clined from an all-time high of4,051,000 MT in 2010 to3,700,000 MT in 2012.

“As we implement acceler-ated cassava flour production,with the installation of the in-dustrial scale cassava flourplants, expand cassava pro-duction and deploy hundredsof compact modular millingsystems, Nigeria’s dependencyon imported wheat will declineeven further”

Dr. Adesina said the govern-ment is looking into the localproduction of wheat in theNorthern part of Nigeria as heinformed members of the groupthat the Lake Chad ResearchInstitute of Nigeria has re-leased new high yielding tropi-cal and heat tolerant wheat va-rieties that can yield up to 6

FG to save N431bn from ban onwheat importation

By CHRIS OCHAY I tons per hectare. This, accord-ing to him, is about four timesthe yield of temperate wheatvarieties used in Nigeria dur-ing the effort to produce wheatin the 1980s.

He further explained thatwith the tropical wheat varie-ties that are presently available

in the country and at the highyields being obtained, he heldthat it is profitable and eco-nomically-viable to producewheat in Nigeria.

The Minister explained that“21,000 MT was harvested in2012, from the new varieties,which according to him, would

be used as seeds. The target,he said, is to plant 212,000 haof wheat by 2014, with ex-pected production of over 1million MT and a projection toexpand the cultivated area to215,000 hectares by 2015, withan anticipated production of 1.2million MT.

IN a bid to improve productivity in the agricultural sec-

tor, the Federal Governmenthas urged farmers in the FCTto always conduct seeds ger-mination tests before planting.

A one day follow-up practi-cal on soil management andseed production was organisedrecently for farmer in the FCTby the society for communitydevelopment, SCD, with sup-port from Action Aid, kilankwacommunity.

Mrs Iheonu Maryhead micro finance, FCT AgricDevelopment Project demon-strated to the farmers on thefarm how the test can be car-ried out and advised them toincorporate cow dunks to helpthem grow their crops.

According to her, “We needto know the type of soil beforewe will go further and of causeones we know the type of soilwe are farming, it will guideus on the type of crops we willplant. “Coming to food produc-tion, if we must progress wehave to start with good seed, ifwe do not start with good seedsjust like the computer languagegarbage in garbage out. Sowhatever seeds we are goingto use will determine what theoutcome will be.

Although some of the farm-ers lamented of the challengethey face this year from birdspicking out their seeds fromtheir farm and Mrs Mary sub-scribed they try and patronisereputable seeds sources suchas the agro dealers who havebeen empowered to assist thefarmers.

"I am advising the farmers togo to reputable sources of seedsto get their seeds for planting,not using their seeds that havestayed up to 5 years and theyare still planting and plantingand they continue to plant, itwill not give them quality out-put.

"The agro deals have beenempowered very well to be ableto assist all the farmers’ baseon the seed they want theytreat the seeds and give themappropriate seed dressingchemical to be able to use sothat the birds and other ridientwill not attack their seeds be-fore germination." Mary stated.

The CEO of SCD Mr AbdulAtsegbua in an interview ses-sion with the press made itknown that the farmers hadearlier complained of a discon-nect between them and theAgric department, and theiraim is to make them connectwith the various ministries anddepartment on Agriculture.

FG tells farmersto test seedsbefore planting

ADDAX Petroleum has emphasised theneed for companies in the oil and gas

sector as well as other sectors of the economyto embrace measures that will help reduceaccidents significantly in their operations.

Speaking at the flag-off of the 2013 Health,Safety, Security and Environment, HSSE,week, Mr. Cornelius Zegelaar, Senior VicePresident/Managing Director, Addax Petro-leum, lamented the high incidences of fatali-ties in the workplace, saying it is affectingproduction negatively.

“While we can attest that a lot has been doneto improve safety, I wish to also state thatmore needs to be accomplished. In essence,we really need to ‘think, act and live’ safetyat all times,” he said.

He noted that Addax has adopted aproactive posture towards reducing thenumber of accidents in its operations with theintroduction of a number of measures to en-sure safety in its operations.

He also stated that the company has set a

HSE: Addax seeks reduction inworkplace accident

performance target of 0.45 Lost-Time InjuryFrequency (LTIF) Rate for 2013.

He said the company has resolved to bemore proactive to prevent fatality of anytype, stating that some of the proactive safetymeasures introduced since the 2012 HSSEweek include the Stop Work Policy; Con-tractors’ HSE Assessments; Technical SafetyAudits; Process Safety; Regulatory Compli-ance; Unsafe Acts and Conditions monitor-ing and the 14 Must-Do-Rules.

Zegelaar said the Stop Work Policy em-powers all employees and contractors to stopall jobs that are considered unsafe for fur-ther review prior to recommencement or to-tal stoppage of the task. On the Contrac-tors’ HSE Assessment, he said, “As you areall aware, most of our major projects areexecuted by contractors. These projects con-stitute highest risk exposure hence, HSE inconjunction with other departments conductcontractors’ HSE capability assessment frompre-contract award to execution.”

CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL SELLING

CBN Exchange rate as at 04/06/2013

102.14 +1.7593.42 +1.45

128.75 +1.70

2,254.00 +63.00

16.43 -0.12

DOLLAR 154.74 155.24 155.74STERLING 236.1178 236.8807 237.6437EURO 201.2239 201.8741 202.5243FRANC 161.4903 162.0121 162.5339YEN 1.5417 1.5467 1.5517CFA 0.2863 0.2963 0.3063WAUA 230.8666 231.6126 232.3586RENMINBI 25.2331 25.3151 25.3971RIYAL 41.2607 41.394 41.5273KRONA 26.9883 27.0755 27.1627SDR 232.1719 232.9221 233.6723

...Nigeria to meet 68% wheat needs by 2015 BY FAVOUR NNABUGWU

& ALICE FESTUS

22 — Vanguard,WEDNESDAY,JUNE 5, 2013

CMYK

A NUMBER of companies haveannounced their results for the

year ending 31 December 2012 andsome of the companies have held theirAnnual General Meetings, AGMs,within the last two months. I noticethat a lot of the dividends due toshareholders would have been paidby the end of June 2013.

The reports from the AGMs of thecompanies were generally thatshareholders were satisfied with theperformance of their respectivecompanies and that they would wantthe companies to declare bonus sharesin addition to dividends. I have notheard of any reports in whichshareholders were asking for adividend payout from all the profit andno bonus shares.

There is an event that comes to mindwhenever one considers the merits ofdividend payout from all the profitagainst an issue of bonus shares.Several years ago, a bank which wasnot on the trading lists of the NigerianStock Exchange, NSE, declared bonusshares at its AGM. One possiblyprescient shareholder who was nothappy with the bonus shares indicatedthat the directors and staff of the bankwere earning salaries and thoseshareholders should earn somethinglike a salary too. As the company wasnot listed on the NSE, the bonusshares could not be readily sold. Thisshareholder might have had a glimpseinto the future because that particularbank went out of business after thisAGM.

The story just above would make oneask just how much an investor knowsabout the company he has investedin. The annual report and accounts ofa company is perhaps the onlyopportunity a shareholder has to learnsomething about the company inwhich he is an investor. A number ofcompanies have passed resolutionsallowing the companies to send theirannual reports and accounts in CD-format. The reasons the companieshave given for the change from thepaper-format include theadvancement of environmentalsustainability and the creation of longterm value for the shareholders.However, since this change started, Ihave not received a single CD fromeither of the two major banks in whichmy family interests have invested.

The companies appear to believe thattheir annual reports and accounts arefor the purposes of their AGMs only.A large number of shareholders do notattend AGMs but some of theseshareholders would want to know whatthe companies are up to. We areconstantly advised that shareholdingassets should be considered as long-term and not short-term investments.Long-term investors should be giventhe chance to have a full assessmentof a company from one year to the nextyear.

The real problem, whether thepaper-format or the CD-format isused, is how to ensure delivery to theshareholder. I should receive threeCDs from each of the banks I indicated

The 2012 Company Resultsearlier. The reasons given for non-delivery of annual reports includewrong postal addresses provided byshareholders and inadequateresponse from the postal system. Inthe case of my family interests, I knowthat the Registrars have the correctaddresses as dividend warrants havebeen posted to and received at theseaddresses in the past beforearrangements were concluded for e-dividend payments.

What the companies should do toresolve the problem is to spend partof their budgets for Corporate SocialResponsibility, CSR, on reachingtheir shareholders. In the first place,rather than dumping sacks of mail atBulkpost, the companies should sortthe letters town by town and postoffice by post office and thecompanies should carry the sortedletters to the respective towns andpost offices where the letters will beposted. If the companies say that thisis too expensive or there may be

regulatory issues, I will want to saythat a Nigerian company, Nestle,delivered annual reports to streetaddresses in Lagos this year by courier.

In the second place, if the companiesfollow the suggestion made above, thecompanies should indicate to the postoffice that they would come back tocollect undelivered letters after anappropriate period, possibly 3 months.With the collection of undeliveredletters, the companies would begin tohave a better idea of the shareholdersthat they have difficulty in reaching.

I realise that some of the companiesnow have more than 1 millionshareholders. However, the effort theyput into reaching their shareholderswould be a first and useful step inresolving the issue of unclaimeddividends. Some of the companiesadvertise to the whole world that partof their strength is in the diversity andnumbers of their shareholders. If thesecompanies truly believe what they aretelling the world, they should spendpart of their CSR budget in reachingtheir shareholders. I will want to usethis medium to inform FBN HoldingsPlc that I did submit at Samuel AsabiaHouse on May 21 2013 a request fora paper copy of the 2012 AnnualReport.

SHAREHOLDERS of LafargeWAPCO Nigeria Plc have

enjoyed bountiful returns on theirinvestment as the company’s increasedits dividend pay-out by 60 percent for2012.

Addressing members of the coma payat the 54th annual general meeting inLagos, the chairman, OlusegunOsunkeye, said that, “Based on theprofitability improvements in thecompany, the Board of Directors is ableto propose for approval byshareholders, a gross dividend of 120kobo on each ordinary share in issue.”

“In absolute terms, this represents anincrease of 60 percent on the grossdividend approved by shareholders onthe 2011 financial results,” he added.

He further explained that, “Given thecash flow requirements to repay thebank loans and to pay down the

Lafarge increasesdividend payout by 60%

corporate bond at maturity, it is importantto maintain dividend pay-out toshareholders at a level which ensuresrepayment can be achieved with no risksof default and impairments of theoperations of the company.

He however advised the shareholdersto key into the company’s e-dividend andelectronic delivery mandate in order toaddress the challenges of unclaimeddividends.

According to him, “in order to eliminateissues of unclaimed dividend, I will onceagain like to encourage shareholders, whohave not taken the e-dividend option todo so.” Oshunkeye further noted thatdespite Nigeria’s challenging businessenvironment, the company wouldcontinue to look for opportunities formarket expansion and operations. Headded that the company would continueto exploit the opportunities provided byinfrastructural deficits in the country togrow.

Fidelity Banks rewards 2customers with cars

FIDELITY Bank has once againgiven out two brand new Hyundai

Accent cars to two of its customers thatemerged winners along other three inthe last lap of the Cars and Cash SplashSavings promo.

Cash prize of N950,000 was alsogiven out to four customers in theLagos zone to bring the cash gift so farto N25 million, while the two cars givenout also brought the car gift to 25.

The gesture is in line with the bank’scommitment to reward its loyalcustomers with N25million and 25 cars,as part of series of events to mark its 25years anniversary.

Jubilant Ogoo Edeh, one of the luckywinners said, “I lack word to expressmy gratitude to the bank. In fact,Fidelity bank is the best. From now on;I will be the bank’s ambassador.”

Speaking on behalf of the GroupManaging Director/CEO, Mr. ReginaldIhejiahi, at the event, Mr. NnamdiOkonkwo, Executive Director, South

Directorate, said the bank has not onlykept its word, but has achieved the setobjective of driving savings culture amongNigerians.

He noted that in a country where over50 percent of the adult population wasunbanked, there was no better way ofencouraging savings culture thaninitiating programmes that that promotesavings.

According to him, Fidelity bank wouldsoon come up with other excitingpackages/products to delight its numerouscustomers.

He said, “It is a pleasure that thejourney has finally come to an end. Whenwe started, there was skepticism in theair, but with what we have done, we havecleared doubts on the promo. There werepleasant surprises of people who neverset out to participate, who won manywonderful prizes.

“This is one bank that has gone throughall the phases in the banking sector andhas remained strong. We assure you thateven more exciting things will be comingup from Fidelity Bank.”

BY JONAH NWOKPOKU

,,

A large number ofshareholders donot attend AGMsbut some of these

shareholderswould want toknow what the

companies are upto

BY NKIRUKA NNOROM

FROM LEFT: Acting Company Secretary, Food Concepts Plc, Mrs. Bukola Olateru;Chairman, Chief Dele Fajemirokun and Managing Director /Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Mr. Deji Akinyanju at the 12th Annual General Meeting of the company,in Lagos.


FDI crucial to Nigerianeconomy — Ajayi

FOREIGN Direct Investments, FDI, is

crucial for the Nigerianeconomy, as it permits thetransfer of technology andfacilitates improvement inproductivity, said Dr.Ademola Ajayi, the im-mediate past President ofthe Nigerian Associationof Chambers of Com-merce, Industry, Minesand Agriculture (NACCI-MA).

Speaking during thejust ended 53rd annualconference of the associ-ation, tagged “Good Gov-ernance: Essential Ingre-dient for Attracting For-eign Direct Investments(FDI) in Nigeria”, Ajayisaid: “FDI can help alle-viate Nigeria’s wide-spread poverty by in-creasing per capita in-come and elevating over-all standards of living to-wards the realization of

PEPPERONI FoodsLimited, has opened

another mega serviceoutlet in Yenagoa, Bayel-sa State, where it startedoperations about eightyears ago.

The new branch locatedat Mbiama, Yenagoa Roadin the state capital is thebiggest of six outlets op-erated by Pepperoni inRivers, Akwa, Ibom,Bayelsa, Cross River andRivers States.

The infrastructure hous-es a fast service point, afull-fledged in-house se-cluded restaurant, up-scale bar and ultra mod-ern photo studio. It isdesigned to accommo-

Pepperoni Foods expandsoperation in Bayelsa

By NAOMI UZOR the Transformation Agen-da of the Federal Govern-ment .

“To do so, Nigeria mustaddress all impedimentsto growth through exten-sive political and econom-ic reform. For instance,there must be a dramaticand comprehensive re-structuring of Nigeria’seconomy through a great-er diversification of theeconomy and also diver-sification of the FDI it re-ceives.

“Up until now, Nigeria’sFDI inflows have beenalmost exclusively in thenatural resources sector,specifically in the oil andnatural gas industries.

“Obviously, such a con-centration of FDI limitstechnology transfer andinhibits job creation, dueto the capital-intensivenature of the extractiveindustry process. Nigeriashould therefore endeav-or to attract FDI in other

sectors, including manu-facturing, tourism, con-sumer products, and con-struction projects whichwould generate greateremployment and createmore balanced economicgrowth, provided ofcourse that good gover-nance practice, is seri-ously embraced,” hesaid.

He said the empiricalresults from studies con-firm that complexity andthe dynamic nature of aglobalizing economy andeconomic prosperity isnot a simple task be-cause gradual progressis required for good gov-ernance, coordinationand cooperation.

He stressed that Nige-ria has emerged as a ca-pable candidate for at-tracting FDI and hasmade great strides in theright direction thus far;the process is by nomeans adequate.

THE Nigerian StockExchange (NSE) has

announced the appoint-ment of Mr. AigbojeAig-Imoukhuede CON asthe first Vice President of theCouncil of The NigerianStock Exchange. The ap-pointment was made afterthe 52nd Annual GeneralMeeting of the NigerianStock Exchange held inMay 2013.

The Council of the Nige-rian bourse is made up of14 members, consisting ofthe President, Alhaji Ali-ko Dangote, GCON, theChief Executive Officer,Mr. Oscar Onyema andother members includingrepresentatives of dealingmember firms, who arehighly qualified in theirrespective professionswith a wealth of diverseexperience.

Speaking on this ap-pointment, the CEO of TheNigerian Stock ExchangeMr. Oscar Onyema saidthat “The Council recog-nizes his sterling qualitiesand wealth of experience,and is delighted with theappointment. We believethat he will not relent inhis efforts as an ambassa-dor to move The Exchangeforward”.

Mr. Aigboje Aig-Im-oukhuede, the first VicePresident, is the currentGroup Managing Direc-tor/CEO of Access BankPlc. He resigned as anExecutive Director of

NSE appoints Aig-Imoukhuede, FirstVice President

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc(GT Bank) to lead a teamas the MD/CEO of AccessBank with the mandate totransform the Bank into aworld-class financial ser-vices provider. His vision-ary leadership has seenthe Bank’s rapid rise torank among Nigeria’sTier 1 banks. In 2012, hewon the 2011 Ernst &Young West Africa Entre-preneur of the Year Awardand was recently con-ferred with the presti-gious African BankerAward by the AfricanBanker Magazine.

Mr. Aig-Imoukhuede is

an alumnus of HarvardBusiness School’s Execu-tive Management Pro-gramme. He holds LLBand BL degrees from theUniversity of Benin andthe Nigeria Law Schoolrespectively. He is alsoan Honorary Fellow ofthe Chartered Instituteof Bankers of Nigeria.He is Chairman of ; TheAccess Bank (UK) Ltd,Wapic Insurance Plc ,Associated DiscountHouse Ltd and FMDQPlc. He is also Chairmanof the Board of Trustees ofthe Financial MarketsDealers Association.

date warehousing facili-ties and catering trainingcentre, part of the inte-gration process beingundertaken by Peppero-ni.

Speaking at the pre-opening ceremony,which coincided with thec o m p a n y ’ sy e a r l y c h i l d r e n ’ sDay party, Chief Execu-tive Officer of the compa-ny, Mr. Eric Idogun, wasoptimistic at prospects,especially in Bayelsa.

Looking back to itshumble beginning in amarket previously domi-nated by others, it seemedan uphill task to create aniche for itself.

24 —Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013

CMYK

BY ROSEMARY ONUOHA

AS an insurance consumer, have there been times when you feelthat you need to associate with otherinsurance consumers to address issuesor challenges of mutual interest? ThenINSCAN can be of help.

The Insurance Consumers’Association of Nigeria, INSCAN, wasformed to protect the interests ofinsurance consumers in Nigeria andto expose the immense benefits ofinsurance to the Nigerian populace.

The roles which INSCAN playinclude speaking for the aggrieved oninsurance; educating the public oninsurance; safeguarding the insurancepremium; as well as to secure valuefor the premium paid. Others are tosupport the insurance industry togrow; to provide insurance information& statistics; to create job opportunitiesin insurance; as well as to managevolunteer insurance crusaders.

Who is an INSCAN Member?An INSCAN Member is that

individual, family or corporate bodywho is insured, may later be insured,whose loved ones have or may becomevictims of accidents or who has or mayhave any matter to resolve or clarifyon insurance now or in the future.INSCAN also provides the opportunityfor the non-insurance professionalsand those who are able to see somelinkages between their businesses/jobs/profession and insurance to makeinputs to the conduct of insurancebusiness in Nigeria.

It is worthy of note that a membercannot be a serving insurancepractitioner, engaged in insuranceagency, broking, underwriting, lossadjusting, reinsurance, insuranceregulation or insurance marketassociations.

Hence, the membership of INSCANis drawn from two sources and theyare:

a) Volunteer members – These aremembers who join INSCAN withouthaving any claim, complaint orgrievance against any insurance

Why you should associate with INSCANWhy you should associate with INSCANWhy you should associate with INSCANWhy you should associate with INSCANWhy you should associate with INSCANThe President of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Mr. Wole Adetimehin (second left front row),visits the Nigerian Insurers Association recently.

BY RITA OBODOECHINA

In Nigeria, third party autoinsurance policy is compulsory

because it protects car owners fromlosses caused by their cars on otherpeople.

Third party auto insurance isdesigned to make an injured party“ whole” as a result of a coveredaccident. Damage to vehicles and otherproperty can be expensive to repair orreplace, as well as the cost of medicalneeds resulting from an accident. If theresponsible party does not carryadequate coverage, the injured partywould have little choice but to pursuea lawsuit.

The Nigerian Insurance Act 2003prescribed for compulsory Third-PartyMotor Insurance in Section 68 of theInsurance Act, 2003.

Section 68 of the Insurance Act andSection 3 of the Motor Vehicle (ThirdParty) Insurance Act requires that noperson shall use, or cause or permitany other person to use, a motor vehicleunless such a motor vehicle is insuredagainst damage to the property of thirdparties.

practitioner or institution. At this level,you are a Volunteer Insurance Crusader(VIC) to serve under any of thefollowing six platforms:

i. Volunteer Insurance Promoter(VIP)

ii. Insurance Crusade Lawyer (ICL)iii. Insurance Crusade Press (ICP)iv. Volunteer Fire Fighter (VFF)v. Insurance Crusade Technician

(ICT)vi. Related Support Service Provider

(RSSP)You may as well decide to be a non-

service providing member.

b) Contractual Members – These aremembers who join INSCAN becausethey have grievances with insuranceinstitutions or individuals and

organisations who failed to complywith the obligations to provideinsurance.

Benefits of being an INSCANmember

The benefits of being an INSCANmember include free advisory serviceson insurance matters; complaintshandling in the event of denial, delayor inadequacy of claim payment,breach of insurance contract, delay indocumentation, non-remittance ofpremium, denial of refund, or poorcustomer service; as well as legalassistance in court for unresolvedclaims cases.

Others are an opportunity to take partin any of INSCAN insurance volunteerservices e.g. fire-fighting, insuranceclinics, insurance promotion, and

insurance assembly; an opportunity tofurther your technical andprofessional success, especially if youare engaged in law, journalism orconstruction; as well as training oninsurance laws, products and practicesthat will enable you enlightenyourself, friends and neighbours oninsurance contracts.

Conditions for INSCANmembership

To be a member of INSCAN, youmust be a permanent Resident inNigeria; gainfully employed or in-between jobs; possess the ability topurchase income protection insuranceworth at least N5, 000.00/annum; aswell as have sufficient educationalbackground to appreciate on-goinglearning in financial servicesoperations.

Purpose of third party auto insuranceAccording to the insurance law, for a

motorist to drive on Nigeria roads, it isa legal requirement to have at leastthird party only (TPO) car insurancein order to ensure that third partiesinvolved in an incident are protected.

For example, if an incident occursand you are at fault and have to admitblame, then your insurance cover willpay out any sums of money that aregranted to the people who are the ‘thirdparty’ that may have died or been hurtor their property has been written offand damaged.

What it coversThird party auto insurance covers

damages, especially injuries thatdrivers and passengers in other carsmay have suffered as a result of anaccident. This insurance kicks in whena policy holder is held responsible forthe damage. It is referred to as thirdparty insurance because it deals withthird parties, drivers and passengersnot at fault for the accident, but injuredbecause of it. Apart from coveringinjuries, it will also help you pay forlegal fees if any legal actions result fromthe accident.

BenefitsThird party auto insurance is

compulsory, it is particularly good foryour car and will enable you to shedburden of repairing the car or takingcare of other party’s bills should therebe accident

It pays for damages your car causeon others and ignores any loss youpersonally incurred in the process. Ifyou have a third party insurance andyour car ran into another car anddeformed the door and your bonnet aswell, the insurance company will onlypick the bill of the loss your car causedon the other car leaving you to your fate.

What you should knowGo for third party auto insurance from

a registered insurance company, withthis, you will be able to save yourselfthe cost associated with causingdamage on others. Assuming your carinjured someone, the insurancecompany will pick up the medical billssaving you from being torn apart by therelatives of the injured.

Also, the claim you can make on anauto insurance policy is limited, so findout the limit to the loss the insurancepolicy covers before you subscribe.


BY RITA OBODOECHINA

PRESIDENT of the CharteredInsurance Institute of Nigeria,

CIIN, Mr. Wole Adetimehin, has saidthat the institute have continuouslycanvassed the need for a genuinenational consciousness on the efficacyof insurance especially with the spateof insecurity and the destruction oflives and properties.

Adetimehin said that the CIIN hasinitiated suitable and relevant trainingprogrammes aimed at equippingpractitioners with the necessary toolsfor underwriting the emerging riskexposures such as kidnapping andterrorism.

‘We are also gearing up at promotingthe development of pool formationswhich can contain these catastrophicrisks and guarantee greaterconfidence from the insuring public’

Travel insurance:Don’t leave home without itDon’t leave home without itDon’t leave home without itDon’t leave home without itDon’t leave home without it

BY RITA OBODOECHINA

YOU’RE on vacation with yourfamily in a famous tourist

destination, you’ve been basking inthe sun, lazing on the beaches,reading a book and chilling-out for acouple of days.

On day three, however, your wifeannounces that she is feeling sick;you dismiss it as a result of over-exertion.

But a few hours later, she is worseand seems to be throwing upfrequently. She is finally diagnosedas having a bad case of gastritis andthe doctors advise that she should behospitalised immediately.

Help is actually a phone call away,provided you are covered under atravel insurance policy. In this case,the insurer simply needs to give thedetails to the insurance company,which gets in touch with the hospitaland makes it possible for you toaccess cashless treatment in the caseof sudden hospitalisation andunforeseen medical expenses

Travel insurance coverage reducesthe considerable financial risks oftraveling, accidents, illness, missedflights, and canceled tours, lostbaggage, theft, terrorism, travel-company bankruptcies, emergencyevacuation, and getting your bodyhome if you die. Each traveler ’spotential loss varies, depending onhow much of your trip is prepaid, therefund ability of the air ticket youpurchased, your state of health, thevalue of your luggage, where you’retraveling, the financial health of yourtour company and airline, and whatcoverage you already have.

Why travel insurance?The cost of healthcare and

hospitalisation could be very high,especially in the West. In case atraveler meets with an accident orrequires urgent medical attention, hemay not have that kind of money withhim for treatment.

Experts say that travel insurance is

best not bought through a tour operatorbecause most of them offer a loweramount of coverage, have hidden costsand conditions or even duplicate thecoverage you already have. Buy travelinsurance from an insurance companyinstead, and while doing so, If you feelthat some points in the package beingpresented to you are not of any use toyou, ask if you can customise thepackage to suit your needs better.

Reasons why you need itTravel insurance is important for so

many reasons. For instance, if yourflight has been cancelled, your bagsare lost and your medication is in it,you need to have an emergencyprescription filled, in this case, travelinsurance is the only option.

Again, if your passport and wallet arestolen, and you need emergency cashand a replacement passport, or you’reinvolved in an accident and adequate

medical treatment is not available andyou need medical evacuation, then travelinsurance is it. Also, if you need tocancel your trip due to illness; yourairline or tour operator goes bankrupt;you need your non-refundable expensescovered and to get to your destination;you have a medical emergency in aforeign country, or a situation where aterrorist incident occurs in the city whereyou’re planning to visit and you wantto cancel your trip, all these reasonsmake travel insurance worth buying.

Finally for some travelers, insuranceis a good deal; for others, it’s not. Whatare the chances you’ll need it? Howwilling are you to take risks? How muchis peace of mind worth to you? Takethese considerations into account,understand your options, and make aninformed decision for your trip

he saidThe CIIN Boss noted that as an

industry, the institute have anundisputed stake in the growth anddevelopment of the national economyand the socio-political landscape, andits various engagements withgovernments at the state and federallevels provided opportunities forasserting the relevance of insurancepolicy packages for indemnifyingbusinesses against losses while alsoproviding the necessary peace of mindfor both local and foreign investors.

On enhancing the quality ofinsurance education in Nigeria,Adetimehin said the governing councilof the institute has taken a pursuit andactualisation of construction work at thesite of the College of Insurance andFinancial Management preparatory forlaunching of the first phase and take-off of activities of the College.

He added that the progress at theCollege site is significant, especiallywith the completion of key structuresfor the College take off.

He disclosed that there is anaccreditation exercise of additionalinstitutions of tertiary educationoffering insurance, this he said,includes the Federal Polytechnic, Offa;Lagos State Polytechnic; thePolytechnic, Ibadan; University of Uyo;and Joseph Ayo Babalola University.

He said the accreditation exercise isa marked effort in guaranteeing thesustenance of approved standards inthe delivery of programmes leading toaward of qualifications in insurance.

He however said that the GoverningCouncil decided to institute an annualNigeria insurance awards to honourthose who have excelled in theprofession and those who havecontributed most significantly to the

insurance world-view over the years.He said, “It is pleasing to report that

the maiden awards will take place aspart of the 2013 Annual Dinner andInvestiture Ceremony slated for Friday14th June,2013”

Continuing he said, “The GoverningCouncil, in establishing the modalitiesfor the annual awards, has put in placean enduring legacy for recognition oficons of our profession and the beaconsof hope for the up and cominggeneration.”

He commended the leadership of theinsurance regulator, NAICOM, whichis continually geared towards the growthand development of the Institute and theinsurance industry as a whole.

SEND YOUR QUESTIONS ANDCOMMENTS TO

[email protected]

CIIN canvasses need for efficacy of insurance

With travel insurance, you are assured of a peaceful vacation.

CMYK


DIARYDIARYDIARYDIARYDIARY

PreviewPreviewPreviewPreviewPreviewNew inventions

shaping life and living

Select ICT eventsSelect ICT eventsSelect ICT eventsSelect ICT eventsSelect ICT events

INSIDE

SatCom Africa2013. Holds 27-30

May 2013 in Johan-nesburg, South

Africa.

AnDevCon SpringHost Developers

Conference. HoldsMay 28 -31, 2013 in

Boston, USA.

Mobile NetworkPerformance Man-

agement 2013. HoldsJune 03 - 05, 2013 in

London, UK.

MVNO 2013.Holds 4-5 June 2013in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Mobile Video2013. Holds 4-5 June

2013 in Berlin, Ger-many.

M2M ForumEurope 2013. HoldsJune 10-12, 2013 in

London, UK.

CMYK

Artificialtrees removeCO

2 from air

A new breed of artificialtrees able to scrub carbondioxide from the air couldhelp to reduce green-house gas pollution.

Developed by KlausLackner of Columbia Uni-versity, the air filteringdevice features strands ofa resin-based materialthat attracts the CO2 andbinds to it—capturing thecarbon dioxide directlyfrom the air and creatingbicarbonate salt. Lacknerestimates it could take asmany as 10 million ‘artifi-cial trees’ to lower the at-mospheric CO2 concen-trations by 0.5ppm peryear. The CO2 can also bereleased at will by addingwater to the material,which could make it use-ful as a way to supplyCO2 to greenhouseplants in order to helpensure healthy plantgrowth.

CPN inducts33 computersciencegraduates ofKWASU

BY PRINCE OSUAGWU

,

, TRANSFORMATION AGENDA:FG scores self high on ICT

BY EMMA ELEBEKE

SenatecommitteetasksPresidencyon Biosafetybill

THE Senate Committee Chairman on Sci-

ence and Technology,Sen. Ajayi Borofice haswarned the presidency ofthe dangers of further de-laying the signing of Bio-safety bill into law.

In fact, Borofice de-clared that further delayon the bill would affectthe Nigerian economynegatively.

He gave the warningwhen the committee vis-ited the National Biotech-nology DevelopmentAgency, NABDA in Abu-ja.

Borofice expressed dis-appointment that the billhad not been signed evenafter it had long been rat-ified and submitted to thePresidency by the sixthNational Assembly basedon merit and its capacityto wealth creation andboosting of Nigeria’s eco-nomic growth.

The law maker, who ex-pressed satisfaction withthe effort of the agencyemphasized the need forquick passage of the billinto law and urged theminister of science andtechnology, Prof. Ita Bas-sey Ewa to take up thechallenge of educatingthe Presidency on the im-portance of the bill to Ni-geria.

“There is great stridethis agency has taken inthe area of molecular ge-netics and also in the areaof pharmaceutical. Also inarea of agric biotechnolo-gy. These are very impor-tant either in medicine orin agriculture.

“I think they have donevery well in a very shottime. I am also impressedin the area of collabora-tion and the kind of part-nership they have beenable to attract fromabroad, despite the factthat their major constraintis that Biosafety bill,which has not been signed

PRESIDENT GoodluckJonathan and his cab-

inet last week rose stoutlyto claim that his Govern-ment has raised the barsin ICT development with-in the short span it hasalready spent directingthe affairs of the country.

However, governmentadmitted failure in Qual-ity of Service, QoS, say-ing it remains a majorproblem.

Contained in his Midterm presentation of thetransformation agenda,during the Democracy

Day celebration, was asummary of federal gov-ernment’s account ofachievements in ICTsince the administrationtook charge in 2011.

According to the docu-ment, “the administrationof President GoodluckEbele Jonathan came intobeing in May 2011. At thesecond year the adminis-tration considers it appro-priate to render an ac-

count of its activities to thenation. This report there-fore highlights theachievements of this gov-ernment in advancing therule of law, democracyand development in Ni-geria”.

The document titled“presidential mid-termreport: Summary of poli-cies and strategies for de-livering the transforma-tion agenda” by FinanceMinister, Dr Ngozi Okon-jo-Iweala, said that Pres-ident Jonathan’s admin-istration, created, for thefirst time, a new Ministryof Communication Tech-nology to champion re-forms, arguing that thishas increased the ease ofdoing business for Tele-com Services Providers.

According to the docu-

ment, application forbuilding infrastructurehas now been streamlinedthat it takes only 30 daysto process and approveapplications. She also inthe document claimedthat the GEJ governmenthas reduced cost of rightof way from five millionnaira to one hundred andforty five thousand nairaonly (?5 million to?145,000).

Listing other achieve-ments and developmentsin the ICT sector, Okon-jo-Iweala said that the ad-ministration has also re-duced multiple taxationon operators and createda strong government sup-port to and licensing ofmobile companies.

She said: “Mobilephone subscriptions have

USPF distributes120,000 PCs toschools

Infinitiser deliversGlo’s 26msubscribers free topostpaid customers

From left: Google Policy Manager, Titi Akinsanmi; Google Nigeria Country Manager, Juliet Ehimuan;Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson; Google Sub Saharan Africa Director,Sean Lefleur during the launch of the Google-commissioned ‘Impact of Internet’ study in Abuja.

Intermarc kicks off 13thinternational cardsconfab in Lagos

EDITED by Adekunle Adekoya

•Lists new ministry, subscriber base, internet growth asmid term achievements•Admits QoS still problematic•Stakeholders point way to more developments

Continues on Page 29Continues on Page 28

Online shopping habit in Nigeriais gradually gaining momentum.Online vendors, like Konga.com,and Jumia.com report about100,000 unique visitors each dayand this has grown the value ofonline shopping by 25 per centamounting to N62.4 billion in2011 from N49.9 billion in 2010


CMYK

BY EMEKA AGINAM

BY EMEKA AGINAM

NO fewer than 33graduate students

of the Computer Sciencegraduates of the Com-puter, Library and Infor-mation Science Depart-ment, Kwara State Uni-versity, (KWASU)Malete, Ilorin were onMonday inducted by theComputer ProfessionalRegistration Council ofNigeria, (CPN).

By this induction, thestudents being the first setto be inducted by theCPN among the Nigeri-an Universities becomegraduate members of theNigerian IT professionand will be exempted fromsome levels of the Com-puter professional exam-inations conducted by theCouncil

The CPN Registrar, Mr.Shehu S.A in his addressduring the induction cer-emony told the new en-trants that their journeyinto professionalism in IThas just begun. “You stillhave lots of hurdles toscale in order to attain glo-bal competitiveness in IT.Therefore, I will adviseyou to work hard in orderto measure up to the re-quired standards.

“In order to develop andnuture your potentials,the Council puts in placea professional examina-tion which I believe thatmost of you are familiarwith. Please, note that

CPN inducts 33 computer sciencegraduates of KWASU

high standard of good andethical conduct are whatis expected from IT pro-fessionals and that theyshould be good ambassa-dors of the profession al-ways.

“Therefore, I will wantall of you here today to seeyourself as ambassadors ofthe profession andthread the path of hon-or and integrity al alltimes. As graduate mem-bers being inducted andhaving being followingthe content and quality ofthe programme of the de-

partment, you are goingto be exempted from somelevels of the CPE profes-sional examination” heexplained.

He also told the gather-ing that the best most out-standing three students ofthe department will begiven scholarship quali-fication examination freeof charge.

He added that theCouncil hopes to inductabout 50 Universitiesacross the nation in thecurrent financial year.“We have just started. You

are the first set ever. Goout to the world and usethe knowledge gained inthe school to make in partin the society. Your desti-ny lies in hands” he said.

Earlier in his openingremarks, the Vice Chan-cellor of the UniversityProf. AbdulrashewedNaallah who was repre-sented by the academicCordinator to the VC, Dr.Saka Mamud, told thestudents to make a differ-ence in their lives withknowledge gained in theschool.

BY EMMANUELELEBEKE

THE Universal Ser-vice Provision

Fund, USPF has distrib-uted about 120,000 per-sonal computers to 1200public secondary schoolsacross the country.

The Executive Secre-tary of USPF, AbdullahiMaikanu disclosed thisyesterday when theHouse Committee onCommunication visitedone of the USPF SchoolAccess projects in JabiJunior Secondary school,Abuja.

He said that Jabi Gov-ernment Secondaryschool is one of the 1200schools that have bene-fited from the schemewith 100 PCs and inter-net facilities to aid thestudents in their learningprocesses and also placethem at a vantage posi-tion to compete withpeers globally.

According to him,USPF had since incep-tion in 2007 coveredabout 1200 schools scat-tered all over the coun-try with a plan to reachout to all secondaryschool in Nigeria.

“We intend to do moreuntil every secondaryschool in the countrybenefits from this SchoolAccess programme. Itstarted way back in 2007and over a thousand sec-ondary schools have ben-efitted and we intend todo a lot more. The onein Jabi started sixmonths ago but the im-plementer has one yearmaintenance.

“It is our hope that ev-

USPF distributes120,000 PCs toschools

ery child in Nigeria willhave access to computerand internet service tosimplify leaning and alsopreparing them for futurechallenges,” .

On his part, the Chair-man, House Committeeon Communications,Hon. OyetundeOladimeji expressed sat-isfaction with USPF, say-ing that the project hasrubbed off on the lives ofthe students to becomebetter leaders of tomor-row.

“My impression on thistour has been very love-ly. The communicationcentre at Minna and theSchool Access pro-gramme at Dikko andJabi show that Nigeria ismoving forward. Youcould see the childrenvery happy and the Prin-cipal said the ParentsTeachers Association,PTA contributed moneyfor the renovation of thecomputer centre. Theydid not wait for govern-ment.

“With these 100 com-puters given to them, by the time they are inSS3 the knowledge is al-ready in their head andwill use it to help thecountry.

“I urge USPF to domore of this. This is whywe have always ask forprevious budget perfor-mance before we can ap-prove new one. This kindof performance will en-courage us to put inmore fund. I will notdeny these children ofICT knowledge becausethey are the future lead-ers."

•Gets NAS nod to wire all Nigerian schools

BY JOY OBOMASE

MTN Nigeria, Mon-day announced

that it would devote thenext 21 days to promotingcampaigns that would as-sist the nation in develop-ing its educational sector.

Speaking during theopening ceremony of its21 Days Yellow care cam-paign in Lagos, the chair-man, MTN Nigeria, Dr.Pascal Dozie said that the21days of yellow caretranslates to various com-munity building activitieswhich MTN engages it-self in to reciprocate thesupport of various com-munities in which it oper-ates.

Explaining why thisyear’s theme is Investingin education for all, Do-zie said that, “each year'sactivity is guided by anoverarching theme i ampleased that this year'stheme touches on invest-ment on education.

“As with MTN well-es-

CSR: MTN devotes 21 days to educational developmenttablished corporate SocialInvestment initiatives inthe area of education, ourefforts through out thisyear's yellow care pro-gramme are aimed atshaping Nigeria’s futurethrough education. This isbecause we recognise thepivotal role that educationplays in the developmentof our nation.

“Given the current stateof affairs, I believe that theprivate sector, civil soci-ety, parents and indeedeveryone have a collectiverole to play in ensuringthat our children receivequality education.

A look at some of the sta-tistics might help us bet-ter understand the enor-mity of our current edu-cational challenges andthe need for urgent action.According to the UnitedNations Educational, sci-entific and cultural orga-nization {UNESCO}10.5Million Nigerian chil-dren of school-age are outof school, making Nige-

ria home to the largestnumber of out-school inAfrica. 40% Of Nigeriachildren aged 6-11 do notattend primary school.

“30% of Nigerian chil-dren drop out of primary

school Only 54% of Nige-rian students transit tojunior secondary schoolThe proportion of girls toboys in school in Nigeriais approximately 1 girl to3 boys.

"There also continues tobe insufficient funding tocover the education of ourgrowing population, par-ticularly in science andtechnology.

"The reality, is that the

future of our children, thefuture of this great nationrests on our willingness tomake a commitment tocontribute in any way wecan to the growth of edu-cation in Nigeria" he add-ed.

BY PRINCE OSUAGWU

NIGERIA’S representatives at the

Intel International Sci-ence and EngineeringFair (ISEF) held in Phoe-nix, US last weekclinched the UnitedTechnology Company(UTC) Award for Excel-lence in Science and En-gineering. The duo ofDuro-Aina Adebola andZainab Bello from Dore-gos Private Academy Iy-ana Ipaja, Lagos invent-ed a urine-powered gen-erator to win the award

Nigeria grabs excellence award at US Science,Engineering show

and prize money ofUS$3000 in scholarship.

The award-winning in-vention seeks to provideaffordable and sustain-able energy sources as asolution to the epilepticpower supply in devel-oping countries withoutthe attendant conse-quences caused by car-bon monoxide poison-ing.

According to the stu-dents’ teacher who su-pervised the inventionand accompanied themon the trip, Mr OluseyiLawal, “the project

works on the principle ofelectrolysis and energyconversion. It works likethe conventional gener-ator; the direct currentoutput of the generator isconnected to the urineelectrolytic cell to ensurecontinuous production ofthe hydrogen-oxygenwhich ensures the con-tinuous running of theengine”.

Lawal added that, “thegenerator is environ-mental friendly. The ex-haust gas produced fromthe generator is water va-pour, which is non-tox-

ic, compared to carbonmonoxide of convention-al carbon based fuels. Icommend the studentsfor their ingenuity, inno-vation and creativity.”

Speaking on the needto drive and encourageinnovation among youth,Corporate Affairs Man-ager, Intel Corporation,Mr. Osagie Ogunborstressed that Intel wascommitted to encourag-ing interests in Scienceand Technology especial-ly among the youths.

From left: Specialist, Youth Segment, Etisalat Nigeria, Ifeoluwa Oyeyipo;Counsellor, Unit Division of Student Affairs, Obafemi Awolowo University,Olanisebe Yetunde and Head of Counselling Unit Division of Student Af-fairs, Obafemi Awolowo University, Obisakin Busayo, at the Etisalat CliqfestSeminar at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU).

Infinitiser delivers Glo’s 26m subscribersfree to postpaid customersBY PRINCE OSUAGWU

IF benefits includingfew minutes free calls

to selected numbers anda couple of free credits af-ter reaching some loyaltythreshold, which someoperators in recent timesallow their subscribers,have so much becomepart of their telephonelives, Second NationalOperator, Globacom, maybe recreating the per sec-ond billing feat with itsrecent Infinitiser postpaidcustomers service

To many subscriberswho witnessed the launchof the service in Lagos,last week, it was so amaz-ing to see the networkhand its 26 million sub-scribers over, for free, to asection of its customers tointeract with.

More so, when the Post-paid telecom landscapein Nigeria shows lots ofconfusion and complica-tions, leading the custom-ers to pay costly tariff andonly enjoy additional fea-tures with additionalcharge.

It was not surprising tosee smiles in the faces ofsome post-paid subscrib-ers who were at the ven-ue of the launch, imme-diately details of the ser-vice were unveiled.Called Glo Infinitiser, Glo-bacom said this product isconceived to offer sub-scribers the full range ofGlo voice, data and busi-ness offerings with theconvenience of a singlemonthly bill. It said theproduct will eliminate theinconvenience of recharg-ing different voice anddata accounts within themonth.

In fact, Globacom’sHead of Corporate Sales,Kamaldeen Shonibare,explained that the prod-uct was the first of its kind,developed to enable post-paid subscribers to makeabsolutely free calls to 26million subscribers on theGlo network once the ben-eficiary pays the monthlysubscription fee ofN5,000. This is also inaddition to a monthly 1GBdata bundle.

For him, it was the big-gest post-paid product of-fering ever in Nigeria. “In-finitiser gives a goldenopportunity to achievemore, enables you to talkendlessly with loved onesand business associates.It helps you to close yourdeal and get fulfillment.It mitigates the differencebetween day and nightbecause you can makefree calls on it twenty fourhour a day and sevendays a week”.

According to him, the

product is targeted at ex-isting and potential preand post paid customers. He explained that thenew product also offersfree 1GB of data monthlyalong with the free calls.Calls to other networks willbe at the low rate of 25kper second, on-net SMS atN4 per message and in-ternational calls at the rateof N9 per minute to 7 des-tinations namely, US, UKlandline, Canada, India,China, Singapore andHong Kong.

Shonibare however add-ed that the product is ofsuper Closed User Group(CUG) which will appeal

to business customers,high net-worth individu-als, business owners andsenior managers withinthe corporate, SME andPublic sectors,

From his explanation,subscribers currently onthe post paid tariff are el-igible to migrate to thenew Infinitiser, while in-dividuals who currentlyspend more than N5,000to recharge their pre-paid lines monthly alsostand to benefit by mov-ing to the Infinitiser postpaid platform.

To join Infinitiser onthe post-paid platform,new subscribers andthose already on pre-paid

The House Committee Chairman on Communications, Hon. OyetundeOladimeji (middle), members of his committee and Executive Secretary ofUniversal Service Provision Fund, USPF, Abdullahi Maikanu when the com-mittee visited one of the USPF School Access projects in Jabi Junior Second-ary School, Abuja. Photo by Emmanuel Elebeke.

Continues from Page 26

increased. In 2004, only8.5% of the populationhad access to mobilephones, but this was toincrease to 92.75% in 2013.

Access to internet is ris-ing. 38% of Nigerians nowhave access, compared to34% at the end of 2012”.

She noted that as a re-sult, more of governmentservices like passports arebeing delivered online tothe convenience of Nige-rians

Iweala claimed that“government is now deliv-ering around 50 servicesonline, compared with 30at the end of 2012. Yetabout 1800 individualsregistered in micro work/e-lance initiative equatingto $121,000 new revenues.

Online shopping habitin Nigeria is graduallygaining momentum. On-line vendors, likeKonga.com, andJumia.com report about100,000 unique visitorseach day and this hasgrown the value of onlineshopping by 25% amount-ing to ?62.4 billion in 2011from ?49.9 billion in 2010”

She however admittedthat Quality of service re-mains a problem, addingthat government wasworking hard to encourag-ing more investments totackle this problem.

From its inception, Pres-ident Jonathan’s adminis-tration has created the im-pression that ICT wouldplay a pivotal role in thesuccess of its transforma-tion agenda, meant todeepen the turn around ofthe Nigerian economy andposition the countryamong the twenty strongeconomies of the world inthe year 2020.

However, before now,notable practitioners inthe Information and Com-munications TechnologyICT, sector who took acursory look at the agen-da, declared that Presi-dent Goodluck Jonathanmay not need much pres-sure to get it right, if onlyit could fix certain areasin the sub sectors of theICT industry.

The ICT experts includ-ing the president of In-stitute of software practi-tioners of Nigeria,ISPON, Dr Chris Uwaje,Chairman of Zinox tech-nologies, Dr Leo-StanEkeh, Chairman of theAssociation of LicensedTelecom Operators of Ni-geria, ALTON, EngrGbenga Adebayo and theChairman TeledomGroup, Dr EmmanuelEkuwem among others,said that, world over, ICThas been discovered to bemajor economic enabler .

They expressed beliefin the principle of trans-formation and said itcould achieve aim ifbacked with known vehi-cles of change. They,therefore, proffered solu-tions they believed wouldhelp the government useICT means to achieve vi-sion 202020.

Ekuwem:We need identity rec-

ognition (IR) softwarethat matches video outputof CCTV cameras, IPcameras, mobile phonecameras to video clips of“persons of interest”stored in a backend crim-inal database. Criminals/terrorists are goingaround unidentified andunapprehended. Vehi-cles carrybombs,explosives, arms,ammunition, weapons,etc undetected by scan-ning using VACIS withbroadband interconnec-tion for remote surveil-lance.

Uwaje:to ensure National se-

curity and prosperity of21st century, we need toestablish a Software Com-mission and Nigeriamust execute herNation-al Software Policy, Strat-egy and Legislation andalso ensure that proactivegovernment and e-learn-ing Framework/Solutionsare put in place. This isbecause new knowledgesociety and economy (In-formation Society) cannotbe separated from theeducation process. In-deed, conventional wis-dom dictates that educa-tion is a socio-continuumand our cumulative lifeexperiences as humanbeings translate into ed-ucation – lifelong-learn-ing, where mother natureand the total environmentis and remains the inevi-table classroom and re-search laboratory for all!

FG scores self highon ICT

28— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013

will need to formally ap-ply and fill subscriberagreement forms, makemonthly N5,000 deposit,before their lines are acti-vated.

High point of the prod-uct, according to Mr.Sheriff Kolapo of Glo’sMarketing Department isthat even though Glo In-finitiser targets High val-ued customers with sub-stantial value for theirmoney, it has no compli-cations or hidden charg-es. It gives the biggestvalue for postpaid custom-ers in the history of post-paid business in Nigeria.

BY EMEKA AGINAM

IN recognition of hisoutstanding contribu-

tion to Information andCommunications Technol-ogy in the country, the Nigerian Computer Soci-ety, NCS, has awarded theChairman of Visafone com-munications Limited, Mr.Jim Ovia, with the Hon-orary Fellowship of theSociety.

Fellow is the highestgrade of the NCS profes-sional cadre. To attend thestatus of a Fellow of theNigeria Computer, a can-didate must have contrib-uted to the advancement orapplication of InformationTechnology for significantvalue to the Society.

With the award, Oviabecame the 10th individu-al to be honoured with therevered title in the over 30years of existence of theNCS.

Speaking at the awardceremony held in Lagos

NCS confers Jim Ovia with honorary fellowshiplast week, the President,NCS, Sir Demola Alade-komo, said the awardcame the way of Ovia forhis contribution and theadvancement or applica-tion of IICT for sig He saidthat the award ceremo-ny for Ovia had been ne-cessitated following hisinability to physicallypresent, due to some exi-gencies, at the NCS at the2012 National InformationTechnology Merit andFellowship Awards heldat Civic Centre, VictoriaIsland, Lagos nificant val-ue to the society.

Mr. Jim Ovia, he said introduced a great deal oftechnology driven inno-vations into the Nigerianbanking industry.

According to him, be-ing the first President ofthe Nigeria InternetGroup (NIG), Ovia is notonly an avid IT promoter,but has also invested mas-sively in Nigeria’s tech-nology sector.

The NCS President not-ed that Ovia has led sev-eral national IT-relatedinitiatives such as the Ni-gerian Software Develop-ment Initiative (NSDI), theNational Information Tech-nology Advisory Council(NITAC) and the Nation-al Broadband Committee.

While receiving theaward, Ovia appreciated

the NCS for the honour,promising to abide by allthe rules and regulationsof the NCS.

“I will continue to em-power the youths in ICT.That is my passion. Theyouths are the leaders oftomorrow. We must contin-ue to support them in ICTcapacity building” he said.

From left: Former Managing Director, Zenith Bank Plcand Founder, Visafone Communications Limited, Mr.Jim Ovia; President,Nigeria Computer Society, NCS,Sir Demola Aladekomo and Provost, College of Fel-lows, NCS, Alhaji Ladi Ogunneye during the confer-ment of Award of Honorary Fellowship of the NCS onOvia in Lagos.


into law. And this is a ma-jor constraint in the kindof things they can do andthe kind of partnershipthey can attract fromabroad. In all they havedone well in what theyhave been assigned toundertake,” he said.

He also charged Nige-rian entrepreneurs to takeadvantage of the researchwork of the agency to cre-ate more wealth necessaryproducts for the country. For him, “many researchinstitutions like this musthave laws and proceduresthat will guide them inwhat they do, becausesome of the chemical ele-ments they use are haz-ardous and must beknown, so that they do notendanger the health ofNigerians. With this law,they are going to havemeaningful collaborationwith partners and be ableto expand towards wealthcreation”

Responding, the Direc-tor General of the Agen-cy, Prof. Bamidele So-lomon lamented the delayin the signing of the bill,saying that coupled withpoor funding, it had re-mained a major constraintto his agency’s perfor-mance. He cried out that“the funding, particular-ly in the science and tech-nology segment has beenlow. If we can use the lit-tle funding to achieve allwe have done, then gov-ernment should be able tocompliment our effort byincreasing our funding,”he said.

SenatecommitteetasksPresidency onBiosafety billContinues from Page 26

BY WINIFREDIMOULAMEN

INTERMARC Con-sulting Limited has

expressed readiness tokick off this year’s editionof its annual internationalconference on cards andepayments in Lagos.

The three day eventwhich commences at theEko Hotels, June 11 has the

Intermarc kicks off 13th international cardsconfab in Lagos

theme” Shared services:Optimising payment sys-tems in Africa”. Intermarcsaid that as and epaymentsystems have now takencentre stage in the econo-mies of most African coun-tries, banks and other fi-nancial institutions are con-sistently looking for solu-tions and value added ser-vices for the benefits of themarket, which is also ma-

turing and coming to termswith the reality of modern-ization with the benefit ofsecurity, speed and conve-nience.

The consulting firm, an-nounced that the objectiveof this edition is to createthe much needed aware-ness for the Central Bankof Nigeria Cashless Policyespecially as it relates to thecreation of a Central Switch

and the prohibited gentilesfor mobile money andagent banking in Nigeria.“We will also have sessionson how successful sharedservices implementationsacross the world can sharetheir learning points withAfrica”.

It also added that in or-der to maximize the poten-tial benefits of epayment,the concept of shared ser-

vices has been adopted inmost implementations inthe United Kingdom, Asiaand Europe. We also seesimilar trends in South Af-rica. This concept is becom-ing more popular in the restof Africa. The questionhowever is “how do stake-holders cooperate to com-pete”.

The event is the biggestCard Exhibition in Africa

and will therefore includea high calibre of personnel;Deputy Governor of Cen-tral Bank, The ManagingDirector of NIBSS, Manag-ing Directors of Banks aswell as other and leadingepayment service provid-ers from Nigeria and over-seas.

The conference will fea-ture Six Technical forumseach focusing on specificpayment systems.

Meanwhile, the main at-traction of the event is thethree day exhibition in theOrchid and Lantana hallsof the new expo centre ofthe Eko Hotel, Victoria Is-land Lagos.

Over 50 exhibitors fromcountries like Portugal,China, Egypt, France, UK,Dubai, Morocco has beentipped to have indicatedinterests to exhibit the lat-est technologies in electron-ic payment. Some of thecompanies are; SIBS Inter-national, Master CardWorldwide, JCB, Sam-sung, Airtel, HPS, amongothers.

The central bank of Ni-geria, CBN alongside ma-jor Nigerian banks like Di-amond, Zenith, Skye, Ac-cess are also expected toattend the event.

CMYK

CMYK



L - R: Mr. Rotimi Famuagun, WEMA Bank Business Development Manager,Orereowu Branch; Mr. Dele Olaolu, Regional Executive, South West, Ekiti StateDeputy Governor, Professor Modupe Adelabu and Mr. Nurudeen Fagbenro,Executive Director, WEMA Bank during a courtesy visit of the WEMA BankManagement team to the Office of the Deputy Governor in Ado-Ekiti..

L-r: High Networth Clients, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Ms. Aisha Ahmad andIndependence Trophy winners, Linetrale Delaney’s Team Captain, Mr.Mustapha Fasinro at the Stanbic IBTC Bank co-sponsored Lagos InternationalPolo Tournament in Ikoyi, Lagos.

CMYK

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013 — 37VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013 — 37VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013 — 37VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013 — 37VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013 — 37

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

Dear Bunmi,Vanguard Newspapers, P.M.B

1007, Apapa, Lagos. [email protected]

Dear Bunmi,A few years back, I made a

pact with my boyfriend that, nomatter what, every five years,we’d meet at a certain restau-rant we often frequented in thearea where we lived. The ro-mance was really hot and hewas my first love, so we put thedate in our diaries, vowingwe’d be there.

We split up about a year laterbecause he went abroad for hismasters, but we parted on goodterms. He’s since been back inthe country and that date comesaround in a few months. ButI’m now married and have achild.

I’m happy with my husbandbut I would still like to honourthe promise I made all thoseyears ago. I know my loyaltiesshould lie with my family, but Ialso feel an obligation to a manwho was once very importantto me.

My question is, should I goor not? I have had no contactwith my ex since he came backsimply because he doesn’tknow my contact address. Ihave no way of finding out ifhe even remembers our pact.What if he doesn’t turn up? I’mdriving myself mad trying todecide. Can you help?

Yemisi, by e-mail.

Dear Yemisi,Have you thought of selling

the film rights to this deliciouslycomplex moral dilemma to anyof these Nollywood producers?!I can see you’re dying to hon-our this pact out of curiosity.

But before you dorn your gladrags and sit in that restaurant(if it still exists!) you need tohave a brutally honest look atyour motives for going.

You say you’re happy withyour husband and child, butit’s tough being a wife andmother and there’s a bit of fan-

Should I have this tryst with my ex?tasy wrapped around this se-cret meeting. Think of what islikely to happen when you meetup, and be honest with your-self.

Will the goodbye at the endinvolve a handshake and“Iovely to see you” or aIingering kiss with promises, e-mails and, next thing youknow, you’re meeting up in fivedays rather than five years?

If you honestly don’t haveany ulterior motives of rekin-dling the romance or having astolen night of ex lovemaking,why haven’t you told your hus-

band about this? You neverknow, he might just be happyto watch over the baby and besitting at home curious andexcited to find out what hap-pened when you get home.

Your best bet here is not to goanywhere near the restaurant.Instead, send a friend (with hisphoto) in your place to tell himyou couldn’t turn up but wishhim well. You could also leavea message with the owner ofthe place saying same thing.

Do let me know what hap-pened. I’m desperate to find outif he turns up or not!

Dear Bunmi,I don’t ejaculate easily and

can make love with nothinghappening for a long time.My current girlfriend is nowgetting frustrated and sore. Idon’t know what the troubleis as I have no problem mas-turbating. Can you help?

Patrick, by e-mail.

Dear Patrick,Some few men have diffi-

culty reaching orgasm. Formost of these men, it will beonly temporary. But for some,it can be due to an underly-

She complainsI leave her sore

ing health problem like dia-betes. Prescription drugs canalso delay ejaculation as cantoo much alcohol.

When you masturbate, youknow how to touch yourself toget the best feel. Teaching agirlfriend to stimulate you thesame way may also help yourperformance. For some men,it is more in the mind withworries about the relation-ship.

Let your girlfriend know howyou feel and tell her you needher co-operation for both ofyou to have a fulfilled love life.

Dear Bunmi,I am in my early 40s, di-

vorced, with two children. Ihave a thriving business Ienjoy running and recentlymet a young handsome chapwho supplied a few items tomy shop.

One thing led to another andwe started a relationship. Helives alone with his daughterbut spends most of his freetime with me.

He seemed really shocked afew months ago when heflicked through my passportand saw how old I was. Hesaid I was over 10 years olderthan he was. He looked olderto me and people have alwayssaid I looked lots younger for

Is this toyboy trying to dump me?my age.

He told me he was not both-ered by the age gap, that weshould take each day as itcomes. Not long after, hestopped coming to my housealtogether.

He assured me it had noth-ing to do with my age, thatafter the relationship with themother of his son, he didn’twant to rush into anything hewould regret.

Will he come back? I lovehim in spite of his age.

Helen, by e-mail.

Dear Helen,Underlying every relation-

ship between a man and awoman, whether they ac-

knowledge it or not, is theirpowerful desire to have chil-dren. Because you feared itmight spoil the romance, youmust have instinctively hidyour age from your man.

When he knew the truth, hisunderlying concern was thatyou were nearing the end ofyour child-bearing years.Men search for women whoare younger than them be-cause they’re more likely tobe fertile.

The chemistry of attractionis also simple and as basic asthat— and this must have beenwhy your brief and heady ro-mance ended so abruptly. Youneed to move on as it’s notlikely he’ll come back.

Dear Bunmi,About a month ago, I met this

lovely girl at an informal get-together and couldn’t believemy luck when she agreed tocome home with me.

We’re both single and all shewanted was to have oral love.We’ve met a couple of timesafter that and she still hasn’tchanged her mind.

Although she satisfies mewhenever we have oral love, Ican’t help wondering if shewould let me have full inter-course.

Have you any tips on gettingher to let us make full love?

She doesn’t want full lovemaking

Amaka, by e-mail.

Dear Amaka,You’ve only met and I am

sure full intercourse will comeas soon as she gets to knowyou better.

She might have just startedon the pill when she met youand you need to abstain fromlovemaking for a full month forthe pill to work.

Have a word with her andthat might put your mind atrest. Let her know that as muchas you love oral love with her,penetrative lovemaking wouldbe wonderful once in a while.

Dear Bunmi,I am in my mid 30s and have

a good job and a healthy sociallife. However, there is an em-barrassing problem that isbringing me a lot of shame.

Whenever I go to bed with apartner, the chemistry is rightand I have no problems per-forming. Lately, however, I justdon’t seem to be able to get itup. Most of the time, my man-hood doesn’t rise to the occa-sion.

I’m nervous about trying be-cause I know it won’t work andI don’t want to be ridiculed bymy women. Is there anything Ican do?

Funsho, by e-mail.

Dear Funsho,Your problem could be caused

Help! My libido is failing!

by what is referred to as ‘per-formance anxiety.’ You’ve hada couple of bad experiencesand now, your nerves makesure it happens nearly everytime.

There are some questions youneed to answer: Could yourpresent predicament have aphysical cause? If it does, youneed to see a doctor who may beable to help with this problem.

Are you leading an unhealthylifestyle? Drinking too muchbooze can cause erectile prob-lems, so cut down now.

Lastly, if your confidence isat its lowest ebb and you thinkof failing all the time, you willconcentrate on what you’regood at in bed and take thingsslowly until you get your con-fidence back.

Dear Bunmi,At the time I met my current

partner four years ago, he wasin a marriage that was head-ing for the rocks. He was hav-ing affairs and so was his wife.In the end, the wife left withthe two children of the marriageto be a second wife to one ofher lovers.

It was after she left him webecame attached to each otherand we now have a daughter.The problem is that in spite ofmy constantly showing andtelling my partner how much Ilove him, he just doesn’t trustme.

He’s over 10 years older thanI am and this could be reasonfor his insecurity. Every day, Iget drilled about where I’vebeen and who I’ve spoken to.He accused me of arrangingdates with men in my officeand even clients. He rummagesthrough my hand-bags anytime he has the opportunity.

I have never been unfaithfulto him and wouldn’t dream ofbetraying his trust. I just don’t

Why couldn’t he trust me?know how to deal with this in-sane jealousy of his.

Dolapo, by e-mail.

Dear Dolapo,A relationship founded on the

ruins of a marriage is often dif-ficult to sustain. Your partnerthinks of you as the womanwith whom he deserted his wifeand children.

Because both of them wereconstantly unfaithful, he haslost confidence in the integrityof men and women. He feelsno one could be faithful to himafter the experience he wentthrough with his ex, so he ex-pects you to go the route his exwent.

Both of you need to discussthe need for absolute honestyin your relationship and agreeto live only in ways that allowboth of you to feel proud andsecured.

But you also need to be pa-tient with him. In time I hopethat his faith in human natureand the belief that he is wor-thy of love— will be restored.

’‘ I’m nervous about

trying because I knowit won’t work and I don’t

want to be ridiculedby my women

Everton swoopfor Martinez

ROBERTO MARTINEZ is tobecome the new manager of

Everton.Goodison chairman Bill Kenwrightplumped for the Spaniard yesterdayand a compensation package wasexpected to be tied up last night withWigan owner Dave Whelan.

The Latics chief had said he wanteda £2million pay-off when Martineztold him he wanted to leave the FACup winners last week.

But after lengthy talks, a deal has been struck which is believedto be around £1.5m.

Allthat remains is for Martinez to sort out the fine details of hisown contract.

But barring a late hitch, he will be announced as the new Goodisongaffer today.

Whelan told Radio 5 Live last night: “I agreed terms with thechairman at Everton, Bill, about six o’clock this evening.

“Bill and myself have sorted out the compensation and Robertois free to do a deal with Everton now if he wants.


Bale’s the Real deal

REAL MADRID have warnedTottenham: We’re coming to get

Gareth Bale.President Florentino Perez publiclyadmitted for the first time the Spanishgiants are interested in Bale andhinted they will make a bid in the nextfew weeks.

He told Spanish TV programmePunto Pelota: “Bale is one of Europe’sgreat players and Real Madrid alwayslikes great players.

“We have to improve our squad butwe have to do it with tranquillity —and we’ll do that in the next weeks.”

Perez revealed he met with Spurschairman Daniel Levy last year todiscuss Bale’s availability.

He added: “Bale’s one of the bigplayers out there in Europe and RealMadrid always likes big players.

“I met Tottenham chairman Levy lastyear and he has an obligation todefend their interests.

“Regarding the figures spoken aboutBale, players are neither cheap norexpensive, but an investment.

“Most expensive players are thosethat can be classified as an investmentbecause, if they are very good, theyproduce a return.”

Perez’s words carry an extra weightas he has pulled off the most amazing

Jesus raring to gofor CityJESUS NAVAS has revealed hestarted talking to Manchester Cityabout a move FOUR months ago.The Spanish flyer will becomeincoming boss Manuel Pellegrini’sfirst signing when he completes his£25million switch to the Etihad.

Navas, who is set to undergo amedical, was linked to Real Madrid— but he insists he made up his mindon a switch to City long ago.

He said: “We’ve been talking withManchester City for four months. Thedecision is taken.

“There had been rumours (aboutReal Madrid), but Manchester Citywere in from the start and I haddecided some time ago.

“It’s a good project and it was themoment to make the step. I can’t waitto get started”, he added.

TTTTTrrrrransfansfansfansfansfer Ter Ter Ter Ter Talkalkalkalkalk....T....T....T....T....T

Sneijder to link upwith Mourinho

Wesley Sneijder has been linked

with a shock summer reunion with JoseMourinho.

The Galatasaray playmaker is set tomove to Chelsea according to reportsin Turkey.

It is just five months since theDutchman, 28, arrived from Inter Milanfor £7million on a 3½-year deal.

But Sneijder has struggled underboss Fatih Terim and the Turkish clubwill listen to a ‘reasonable’ offer.

Sneijder certainly sees the chance toteam up again with the Special One asan ideal escape route.

Villa cools Spurs talkDAVID VILLA insists he is happy atBarcelona amid speculation linking him witha move to Tottenham.Villa, 31, said: “I have a contract with Barcaand I’ve always said that I’m very happyhere.

“I always try to think of the present. I willgo to the Confederations Cup and try to playa good role there.

“We’ll need to analyse many things duringthe summer and then we’ll see.

“Right now I’m not thinking about anythingelse than playing football.”

all the latest ins and outs o

Man U on alert as Ronaldo puts•5.4m home for sale

Cristiano Ronaldo is putting his luxury home in Spain up for salesparking talk of a move away from Real Madrid this summer.

AS says Ronaldo is asking €5.4 million for his spacious villa in Pozuelode Alarcón. The charming cottage is 800 square metres with sevenbedrooms, two swimming pools and 3,000 square metres of grounds.

Ronaldo remains unimpressed by Real president Florentino Perez’stactics over new contract talks, with the Portuguese seeing his latestattempt to extend terms as more about his relationship with fans thanhow much he values the player.

•Bale

•JESUS

•Villa

•Martinez

•Mourinho


TTTTTrrrrransfansfansfansfansfer Ter Ter Ter Ter Talkalkalkalkalk....................of the summer market

AS Monaco are closingin on Manchester

United winger Nani.The People says Nani is

poised to quit ManchesterUnited and join big-spending Monaco in a£20million deal.

Nani, 26, was signed bySir Alex Ferguson in 2007from Sporting Lisbon andhas scored 39 goals in 215appearances for United,but last season he madejust seven starts andscored once in the PremierLeague.

Monaco chase £20m Nani

Man U approachMan U approachMan U approachMan U approachMan U approachBayern for MullerBayern for MullerBayern for MullerBayern for MullerBayern for MullerpricepricepricepricepriceManchester United have

sounded out BayernMunich about Thomas Muller’savailability.

Kicker says United made atentative approach to Bayern abouta price for the Germanyinternational, but there’s littleinterest over a sale.

“There are always suchquestions after the end of aseason,” said Muller. “But thereare no issues.”

I’ll Check out ifI’m not wanted

Tiote, 26, said: “I have a contractwith Newcastle. Unless they wantto do business with another club,I will be a Newcastle player.

“I do enjoy the Premier Leagueand want to play there for manyyears,

I’ll Check out ifI’m not wanted….Tiote tells Newcastle

CHEICK TIOTE insists he is happy at

Newcastle and will only leave if he is nolonger wanted.The Ivory Coast star has endured a difficultseason as the Magpies struggled to a 16th-placed finish in the Premier League.

He has been linked with a switch toLokomotiv Moscow in Russia.

EPL ins and outsEPL ins and outsEPL ins and outsEPL ins and outsEPL ins and outsARSENALIns:Outs: Craig Eastmond (Colchester,free), Jordan Wynter (Bristol City, free),Conor Henderson, Jernade Meade,Sanchez Watt, James Shea, ReiceCharles-Cook, Sead Hajrovic, PhilipRoberts, Nigel Neita, SamirBihmoutine, Josh Rees (all released).

ASTON VILLAIns:Outs: Eric Lichaj (released)

CARDIFF CITYIns:Outs: Heidar Helguson, StephenMcPhail, Elliott Parish, Nat Jarvis, JesseDarko (all released)

CHELSEA

Ins:Outs:

CRYSTAL PALACEIns:Outs:

EVERTONIns:Outs:

FULHAMIns: Fernando Amorebieta (AthleticBilbao, free), Derek Boateng (Dnipro,free)Outs:

HULL CITYIns: George Boyd (Peterborough, free)Outs: Jay Simpson, Paul McKenna, SeyiOlofinjana, Lewis Clarkson, MarkCullen, Jamie Devitt, Kealan Dillon,Daniel Emerton, Francis McCaffrey (allreleased), Andy Dawson (ScunthorpeUnited, free), Sonny Bradley(Portsmouth, free), Danny East(Portsmouth, free)

LIVERPOOLIns: Kolo Toure (Man City,free)Outs:

MAN CITYIns:Outs: Kolo Toure(Liverpool, free), RyanMcGivern (Hibernian,free)

MAN UTDIns:Outs:

NEWCASTLEIns:Outs:

NORWICH CITYIns: Javier Garrido (Lazio,undisclosed)Outs: Lee Camp, Simeon Jackson,Korey Smith, Elliott Ward (all released),Marc Tierney (Bolton, free), ChrisMartin (Derby, free)

SOUTHAMPTONIns:Outs:

STOKE CITYIns:Outs:

SUNDERLANDIns:Outs: Titus Bramble, MatthewKilgallon, Ryan Noble, Adam Reed, BenWilson (all released)

SWANSEAIns:Outs: 19:00 Wed, 5 June 2013. To

confirm your booking, you mustcomplete payment using one of thefollowing options:

TOTTENHAM

Ins:Outs: Nathan Byrne(Swindon, free)

WEST BROMIns:Outs: Jerome Thomas, GonzaloJara (both released)

WEST HAMIns: Razvan Rat (ShakhtarDonetsk, free)Outs:

•Muller

•Nani

•Ronaldo

•Tiote

40—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013

,

THE administration of Governor Martin Elechiof Ebonyi State has over the years recorded

success in different sectors of the state’s economyand also incurred diverse criticisms for empoweringonly very few individuals, and mostly politicians.

As a policy the administration has decided not toembark on further intensive capital projects butrather focus on the completion of all ongoing onesin order to limit the number of uncompleted projectsin the state.

The development inclinations of the administrationhave also rubbed off on governance at the rural levelas chairmen and Development Centre coordinatorsof LGAs have followed his steps.

Ebonyi: Slow and steadyTHE administration in Ebonyi may have been flayed for being slow in improving theinfrastructure network in the state, but there is no denial that it is steady and focused inthat direction.

BY PETER OKUTU Speaking during the last Democracy Daycelebrations Governor Elechi extolled Chairmen andCoordinators within the LGAs for following hisfootsteps in the area of infrastructural development.

The State Commissioner for Information and StateOrientation, Mr. Chike Onwe lists the achievementsof the Elechi administration in several sectorsincluding infrastructure, water, health andagriculture.

One particular achievement he notes is theadministration’s recent success in combating theplague of guinea worm in the state.

“Water which could be termed as life was a bigissue before the creation of the state and we had a ,

,

One particularachievement henotes is theadministration’srecent successin combatingthe plague ofguinea worm inthe state

GOVERNOR Ibikunle Amosun had early in hisadministration tasked the citizenry to measure his

administration on five cardinal areas, viz: affordablequalitative education, efficient health care delivery,increased agricultural production / industrialization,affordable housing and urban renewal and rural andinfrastructure development /employment generation.

At mid term recently he claimed to have achieved in allfive areas, though the jury out there, especially the formerruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP is deeply critical.The PDP believes that the only area where Amosun hasperformed is in security which, ironically, is outside themainstream of his five cardinal agenda.

The governor who acknowledged the support of thepeople to his government in the last two years saidthe successes recorded so far are attributed to God’smercy and favour.

Giving an example of how God helped him to achievehis agenda on qualitative education, Senator Amosundisclosed recently: “towards the fulfillment of our Affordable Qualitative Education Programme, weadopted the following approaches: Free education to allPublic Primary and Secondary Schools with abolition oftuition fees and all forms of levies. N3.2 billion wasexpended on the purchase of free textbooks,

Ogun: Unusual StandardSENATOR Ibikunle Amosun has made efforts in redefining the pace of governancein the gateway state with its articulation of what has been termed as the OgunStandard. However, the legion of critics are still unbelieving

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

The PDP while approving the security measures takenby the Amosun administration, nevertheless scores thegovernment of doing woefully in all other sectors.

State Chairman of the PDP, Engineer Bayo Dayo in hisassessment of Amosun’s two year government faultedthe administration for lacking a blueprint for thedevelopment of the state.

He said “whether we like it or not, he will finish hisfirst term, but PDP will take over from him in 2015. “Allprofessionals, market women and students are fed upwith Amosun’s government and by the grace of God therewill be change of government. You see for SenatorGbenga Kaka who is a member of CAN to have criticizedAmosun government speaks volume of the badgovernance.

“Their own people are not happy, the governor is not alistening person. Many schools in the state are withoutchairs, pupils sit under trees and he still goes ahead tobuild model schools while the existing ones areneglected”.

Corroborating the view of the PDP, LP accused theadministration of having misplaced priorities on accountof its focus on white elephant projects.

The LP State Secretary, Sunday Ogini berated thegovernment for concentrating its efforts in the urban areasadding: “This is a government that has no blueprint. Construction of roads are done at the expense ofpeople, market women have beendisplaced without adequate compensation. Most of the state hospitals are glorified mortuaries.

exercise books andother instructionalmaterial distributedto all Public Primaryand SecondarySchool Students.

Speaking on construction of roadssince hisa s s u m p t i o n ,Amosun said “as Ispeak, there areconstruction projectsgoing on in everysenatorial district of our state. We are either buildingschools or health facilities. If we are not rehabilitating oldroads, we are constructing new ones. Indeed, Ogun Stateis being correctly described as a huge construction site. In this sector, over 400km of rural roads have beenopened up in the 20 Local Government areas of our State”.

Remarkably, the State House of Assembly has in thelast two years passed 22 bills into law while 42 motionshave also been adopted as part of efforts to complementthe efforts of the administration.

Speaker of the Assembly Suraj Adekunbi said: “Thebills and resolutions are meant to complement the effortsof the Senator Ibikunle Amosun-led-administration in fasttracking socio-economic development of the State.

Irrespective of the words of support from the legislaturethe political opposition in the state especially the LabourParty and the PDP accuse the administration of deceit.

•Amosun

The governorwhoacknowledgedthe support ofthe people tohisgovernment inthe last twoyears saidthe successesrecorded sofar areattributed toGod’s mercyand favour

,

Continues on page 41

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013 —41

,

GovernorYero whosucceeded himlast Decemberis obviouslydetermined tosustain theYakowalegacy

BY some irony of fate Kaduna State has had three governors in as many years through the accident of

death. The incumbent, Mukthar Yero took over lastDecember upon the death of the then governor, Sir IbrahimYakowa who himself took over after the death of PresidentUmaru Yar`adua elevated the then governor, Arc.Namadi Sambo to the position of vice-president.

Governor Yero has pledged to sustain what many sawas the veritable legacy of his predecessor, which wasessentially peace and security in one of the country’smost volatile states. Beyond peace and security, thegovernor has also promised to sustain the developmentprojects inherited from Yakowa.

While many agree that he is talking that, it isnevertheless the belief of nearly all that he is also lookingway back to the time of then Governor Sambo for an anchor.

It is as such not surprising that at mid term that anassessment of Yero’s legacy would be set under theshadow of his predecessors.

From May 29th, 2011 to December 10th, 2012 when hedied, Yakowa’s major pre-occupation was peace andsecurity, after series of bombings allegedly instigated bythe Boko Haram terrorist group and the spate of killingsin the Southern section of the state arising from allegedkillings by Fulani herdsmen which led to reprisals.

Sustainingthe peace

It was as such not surprising that the state’s treasurywas heavily affected as resources otherwise meant fordevelopment were channeled towards sustaining thepeace. Yakowa was dogged in his quest for the phantomunity he sought, holding elaborate meetings withstakeholders, making appeals to youths, setting up allkinds of reconciliatory confabs and even endorsed a WhitePaper on the Post Election Violence that providedcompensation for victims.

Remarkably, despite the distractions, the Yakowagovernment still made some efforts in infrastructuredevelopment. He was able to resurrect the multi-billionNaira Zaria Water Works project which he met at about15% stage of completion, after about 10 years and left it atabout 75% completion.

Yakowa initiated and constructed the N6.9 billionYakowa Road and the 3rd Kaduna bridge under a recordperiod of 16 months. He also awarded contracts worthN25 billion for 32 roads within urban and rural areas.The administration also invested heavily in the health

Kaduna: Safe baton transferGOVERNOR Mukthar Yero had promised to sustain the pursuit of peace andsecurity inherited from his predecessor, the late Ibrahim Yakowa. So far he hasremained on that course.

BY LUKA BINNIYAT

Continues from page 40

Ebonyi: Slow and steadySlow and steadySlow and steadySlow and steadySlow and steadyreputation of being labelled guinea wormheadquarters of the world.”

“His Excellency felt that need and decided toconstruct two giant water treatment plants, one atOferekpe in Ikwo LGA and Ukawu in Onicha LGAto gulp N7.6 billion and N3.9 billion respectivelyand upon completion would serve the entire needof the people of the state to the capacity of 200 millionlitres of water per day.

“His intervention in the area of education andhealth are unprecedented; encouraging ruralhospitals to deliver healthcare to the people;construction of international market with over 5000stores which would when completed be the hub ofeconomic activities for the state; construction ofOchudo city which is being built on the portion ofland that was exchanged with the Nigerian Army;one section of the city has been developed with theerection of 11 standard model administrative blockseach of them specific to the need of the Ministry forwhich it was designed.

“The government has also designed andconstructed a digitalized Radio and Televisioncorporation, EBBC and working assiduously to buildpower plants in the state. These projects are tied tothe needs of the people.

“However, the two projects that may not get 100percent status by the time this administration windsup because of the outlay of funds and time requiredfor their completion are the reticulation of water toall the LGAs and communities in the state and theEbonyi State University project.

Onwe’s approval of Elechi is nonetheless faultedby the chairman of the All Progressive GrandAlliance, APGA, in the state, Mr. Jerry Obasi whorated the performance of the present administrationlow. He uses as his index the poverty level of thoseat the rural level which he says does not reflect themore than N144 billion statutory allocation and otherintervention funds received under Elechi.

•Yero

•Elechi:

and educational sectors, albeit with little success arisingfrom the security challenges. The late governor’ssimplicity, humility and magnanimity of spirit gave hima father-figure, as his charisma cast a benign hue overthe state. His presence as an unbiased governor was amoderating influence to the extreme differences sharedin the state.

Governor Yero who succeeded him last December isobviously determined to sustain the Yakowa legacy.

“His Excellency has promised to carry on the legacy ofthe late Sir Ibrahim Yakowa”, Alhaji Ahmed Maiyaki,Director General, Media and Publicity to the Governorexplained. “He has gone round the three Senatorialdistricts and held meetings with stakeholders for peaceand unity” he said.

He has continued with the elaborate empowermentschemes of Yakowa, distributing buses and tricylces tothe unemployed under the SURE- P scheme.

The most vocal opposition party in the state, the ActionCongress of Nigeria (ACN), however, flays the Yeroadministration as betraying its Yakowa roots saying thatthe governor has rather gone further to draw inspirationfrom Sambo. The Chairman of the Kaduna State Chapterof the ACN, Bar. Mohammed Musa Soba said: “In thelast 100 days, the Yero administration has not done enoughto convince the populace that it is indeed a continuationof the Yakowa administration.

,

42—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013

withEMMANUEL AZIKEN

POLITICAL METABOLISM

[email protected]

SMS 08052201189

THE respect many had forGovernor Jonah Jang of

Plateau State, a two time militarygovernor, two time civiliangovernor and a GentlemanOfficer may have reduced afterhe claimed victory in theNigerian Governors Forumchairmanship election ofpenultimate Friday.

With the result of the electionshowing that he polled 16 votesto the 19 scored by his rival,Governor Rotimi Amaechi ofRivers State, many were at lossas to Jang’s permutation ofvictory.

What Jang and his ‘leader’,Governor Godswill Akpabio ofAkwa Ibom State, used to claimvictory was the endorsementpurportedly given by some 19governors prior to the election.The signatures were later provedto have been collated in April,when Jang was not a candidatefor the NGF chairmanship.

Waving the endorsementpaper, Jang and Akpabio soughtto convince a sceptical audienceof their ‘endorsement victory.’

“How come I lost in an electionI was endorsed by 19

Our diminished goOur diminished goOur diminished goOur diminished goOur diminished governorvernorvernorvernorvernorsssssgovernors,” thePlateau governor looked on inaskance.

Last weekend after Jang andthree of the governors thatendorsed him, Segun Mimiko(Ondo) Peter Obi (Anambra),and Liyel Imoke (Akwa Ibom)explained themselves tonewsmen in Abuja and editorsin Lagos, the weight of what hitthem began to further unfold.

As some of them explainedthey took some things for grantedin the run up to the election.

Crucial to the point marshalledby the Jang group is the claimthat chairmen of the NGF had inthe past emerged by consensusand not by election as Amaechidid this time around.

The Jang gang are alsoclaiming that Amaechi ought notto have conducted the election,an argument that is easilyvitiated with the overwhelmingrecognition of the role of theDirector General of the NGF inthat election.

Dr. Mimiko, himself, an expertin overwhelming the odds andhitting incumbents as he has somuch done in Ondo, admittedthat they should not haveparticipated in the election. Hehas gone so far as to say that hedidn’t vote but that his vote wascounted!

Even more, the four governorsare questioning the underlyingreason for Amaechi’s insistenceon rocking the boat with an

unprecedented second term.Remarkably, Amaechi has

largely kept quiet in the midst ofthe steadfast efforts of the Janggroup to claim recognition. Janghas opened a new office of theNGF in Abuja, hired anadministrator and sought to keepthe flag of the NGF flying. Butno one is deceived.

The NGF can not in theimmediate future ever be thesame again and it is no thanks tothe governors themselves and thepresidency.

The governors have greatlydevalued the prestige of the officeby their lack of coherence in anelection that involved just 35 ofthem. If they could so muchmanipulate the facts on such alocal election, one is definitely notsurprised by the ease with whichthe governors rig localgovernment elections to favourtheir parties.

Of course there is no doubt thatthe presidency may have won thewar even if Amaechi is seen tohave been declared winner of theelection by the secretariat of theNGF.

Governor Amaechi’s ability tomobilse all 36 governors to standup to the presidency on politicaland economic issues that concernthem has been completelyneutralised.

Amaechi is now a captain withhalf of his troops on AWOL andthe majority of the remainingforces demoralised.

President Jonathan accordingto his aides did not take sides inthe election and that fact isupheld by the fact that he washeavily engaged representingthe country at the African Unionsummit in Addis Ababa at thetime of the NGF election.

That, however, does not removethe damage the NGF crisis hasput on his presidency. After all,the same president was quick toreceive Jang as the chairman ofthe NGF just days afterdisowning both factions.

No one side has really comeout of the crisis better. The officeof the governor has been greatlydiminished and even so theunseen presidential forces thatled to such diminution.

WHEN he began his second term in May 2011,Governor Yuguda told Bauchi citizenry that he

would focus attention on completing all on-going projects,saying that only new projects that have direct bearing onthe lives of the people would be executed.

Most of the projects during his first tenure were notexecuted because contractors abandoned them. Thus, thegovernor’s posture on returning for second term was notsurprising.

“This time it will not be business as usual because Iwant to correct all the mistakes I made during my firsttenure in office. My administration will place highpremium on the execution of projects that have impacton security of lives and property, while a lot of investmentopportunities would be explored to create jobs for theteeming youths in the state,” he said.

Indeed, the governor appears to be matching his wordswith action. So far, he has executed many laudableprojects that cut across health, education, youth andwomen empowerment, transportation, water supply,agriculture and security.

Among his laudable projects in the state is the long-awaited Bauchi State International Airport. Known as thePearl of Tourism, Bauchi State since its creation 1976 untilnow was the only state without an airport among itscontemporaries across the country.

The project was conceived in the 70’s when the Murtala/Obasanjo military administration attempted to build theairport in honour of the first and only Prime Minister ofthe country, the late Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, but theplan did not materialize. Another attempt by the ShehuShagari’s administration in the 1980’s also failed. Yuguda,as Aviation minister during the civilian administration ofPresident Olusegun Obasanjo, made efforts to constructthe airport but could not despite being a kitchen cabinetmember.

However, the airport dream was realized when the IsaYuguda-led administration on October 25, 2011 signeda N7.9 billion contract with Triacta Nigeria Limited forthe construction of an Ultra-modern International Airportto be completed within 18 months. Currently, the projectwhich is witnessing finishing touches preparatory to itscommissioning. Work has been completed in areas suchas the car park, terminal building for local andinternational passengers, Fire Brigade Unit, control tower,tarmac and 3.5 kilometre runway. The Airport has thecapacity to accommodate 5-7 Aircrafts at the same time.

For some time, the people of the state have been yearningfor a state university, which previous administrations could

Bauchi: Pursuing lasting legacyPursuing lasting legacyPursuing lasting legacyPursuing lasting legacyPursuing lasting legacySIX years down the line and 24 months to go, Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda isfaced with the challenge of leaving a lasting legacy in the state. He is bent on realizingthis quest via completion of all his projects before the expiration of his tenure in 2015.

BY SUZAN EDEH

not provide. The need has been met by Yuguda and todayBauchi owns a state university located at Gauda in Itas –Gauda. Academic activities have taken-off at the university.

In health, the Yuguda Administration is constructing atwo billion Naira New Specialist Hospital to replace theold one that was given to the newly established AbubakarTafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital and the project is almostcompleted contrary to the jeers of critics. When the stategovernment declared that it would convert the old BauchiSpecialist Hospital to a teaching hospital, oppositionparties in the state faulted the move, saying that it wasone of his empty promises.

Apart from the specialist hospital, the government hasalso completed the N375.6 million Bogoro and BayaraNew General Hospital; renovated and equipped ShiraHospital while Kafin Madaki, Misau and Zaki newGeneral Hospital will soon be commissioned.

The Governor has also approved the upgrading of theschool of Nursing and Midwifery and that of Ningi HealthTechnology to the status of colleges. In addition, the stategovernment has established a new VVF centre at theNingi General Hospital to treat patients suffering fromVirgina Vesico Fistula. In the past, victims of VVF oftentraveled far distances like Jos in Plateau state to seek forsuch services.

•Yuguda

,

,

So far, he hasexecutedmanylaudableprojects thatcut acrosshealth,education,youth andwomenempowerment,transportation,water supply,agricultureand security

YOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAYYOUR LUCK TODAY

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

VIRGINIA

KAPTAIN AFRIKA in “Princess Shii’ By Andy Akman

[email protected]

TERROR MUDA in “Never say goodbye” By Lanre Kehinde

HOME & AWAY by Lawrence Akapa

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139

VanguardVanguardVanguardVanguardVanguard,,,,, WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5,JUNE 5,JUNE 5,JUNE 5,JUNE 5, 2013 — 43 2013 — 43 2013 — 43 2013 — 43 2013 — 43

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLINGASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLINGASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLINGASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLINGASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLINGSend ySend ySend ySend ySend your datour datour datour datour date and place of bire and place of bire and place of bire and place of bire and place of bir th tth tth tth tth to the Aso the Aso the Aso the Aso the Astrtrtrtrtrologicalologicalologicalologicalological

Counselling, PCounselling, PCounselling, PCounselling, PCounselling, P.M.B 1.M.B 1.M.B 1.M.B 1.M.B 100000000007, Apapa, Lagos7, Apapa, Lagos7, Apapa, Lagos7, Apapa, Lagos7, Apapa, Lagos

CAPRICORN; Financial success is closer to you but ifyou misplace your priority then, that’s another thingentirely. Heated argument can not help your cause today.

AQUARIUS. If good advice comes your way don’t betoo arrogant to take it. Travelling for love or business willbring you the desired results. Be cautious before 2.17pm

PISCES; Success is boldly printed on your cards todayand much will depend on what your priorities are. Butyour star desires mostly today is financial success

.ARIES;. The moon continues it’s operation from your

Star and enhances your prospects for success further. Themore friendly you are the better for your cause.

TAURUS;. Don’t rely too heavily on friends today,especially before 2.17pm when Moon fluctuates. Learnhow to consolidate on your recent progress.

GEMINI; If you must take advantage of your magneticpersonality before too long this is the right time to do justthat as Venus’ll soon leave positive angle to you Star.Think of your image in all you do now. Watch carefullybefore 2.17pm

CANCER; Tomorrow’ll bring more challenges throughfriends. Try your best to accomplish more along yourcareer line today. Be very practical before 2.17pm

LEO; Better than yesterday. And there are people willingto give you the needed co-operation. Don’t allow yourlove life to degenerate to laughing stuff with friends.

VIRGO;. As the saying goes “hard work pays” you willsee evidence of the popular saying today as you’rerewarded according to your efforts at work.

LIBRA; Good luck’ll knock at your door today. Thosewith burning desire for romantic pleasure are in for anexciting day with lots of satisfaction. Be loving.

SCORPIO; Many of you’ll find it relatively difficult toignore romantic feelings within and attractive invitationfrom outside. Some’ll travel for love actually.

SAGITTARIUS; Happenings within your base ofoperation must not be allowed to weigh you down to thepoint of missing good opportunity at work before 2.17pm

Basic characteristics ofScorpio

Scorpio - the eighth of twelve zodiac signs, stands forsecret, sex, sin, death, jealousy and regeneration. Youcan see that sex and death have powers to compel anyearth’s inhabitant to surrender. Thus, Scorpio is themost powerful of all the 12 zodiac signs. That is whyyou are endowed with strong will powers that can beused to regenerate either yourself or those close to you.

Scorpio is a water sign. It’s natives are emotionaltypes with powerful intuition. They are of inclinationto protect their loved ones and/or the people with weakerpersonality, however, if they have any cause to doubtthe loyalty or sincerity of such person/persons, they tendto become jealous and the strong love they have for theperson can turn to hatred. And as they are the typecapable of intensive love and bitter hatred, it is notgood to incur their wrath.

Scorpio-being a member of fixed signs, it’s nativesare not keen lovers of change. That is why you alwayslove to make success of any important project of yoursbefore consideration can be given to another one. Andby so doing, you make yourself a reliable person.

The water element of Scorpio makes them highlymysterious personalities who intuition (and emotion)can be regarded as extra-ordinary.

Although, other influence in your natal horoscope cantempt some people to think that you are very open; thetruth is, you can be highly secretive person who knowswhat he wants and how to get it.

Your being secretive has many advantages, thus, youare encouraged not to be tempted to open upunnecessarily whenever it comes to manipulation ofunseen forces or psychic energies. Let it be known thatAfrican Scorpio born person that refuses toacknowledge the reality of occult forces heads forfailure.

Whoever tries to jeopardise your interest and/oranything that is important to you and yours will be metwith resistance. Equally, Scorpio tends to nurse grudge;that is why some people will say natives of this powerfulzodiac sign are truly good friends but dangerousenemies.

Pluto’s ruling influence over Scorpio makes Scorpio’sdesire for unknown to be strong. That is why manyAstrologers call Scorpios the deadly detectives. And awell-developed Scorpio is as bold as aggressive soldiersand fears no death.

Why are things difficult?A GREAT thinker,Senera once

said: “it is not be-cause things are dif-ficult that we do nottry, it is because wedo not try that thingare difficult” Did youget that?

Let me illustrate: A

child said he is latehome, rather thango home straight,he still stays half-way because he isafraid his father willpunish him, is henot aggravating the

issue? That is thecase with those whodo not try? Theyworsen an alreadybad situation.

If you do not sowcan you reap? If youdon’t plant can you

harvest? If you donot knock will yoube opened for?

Do something to-day. No matter howdifficult your situa-tion seems now, thesolution to it, is do-ing something nomatter how small.


08102479985 By Bartholomew Madukwe([email protected])PEOPLE SPEAK

GOD should help Ni-gerian education.

The discrimination betweenuniversity and polytechnicsis too much. Governmentshould look into this mat-ter and amend things be-cause we are better trainedthan the so called univer-sity students. —Miss BisolaOlumegbon, Student

ASUP President,well done. You are

doing a good job becauseI know and believe youare not fighting for your-self, but for the poor inNigeria whose childrenstill attend polytechnic.So well done once more.—Miss RemilekunOnifade, Student

GOVERNMENTshould please an-

swer ASUP and let poly-technic students go backto school.I know they arejust silent because theirchildren are not involved.But I know my God is notsleeping. — MissJennifer Ukachukwu,Businessperson

THOSE in the poly-technic and those in

the university are of thesame quality, the only dif-ference is that one is highlyrated and the other is lowlyrated. I think this issue hasbeen on for long, so let thegovernment do somethingnow. — Miss KonyinsolaGaruba, Student

IN my own view, whatASUP is demanding

is not something that isdifficult for the FederalGovernment to do. But Ido not know why theyhave not done anythingtill now. I hope some-thing can be donequickly. — Mr. AmusanLawrence, Student

What is your view on ASUP strike?

Icannot commentmuch, but I know it willsoon be over. Consulta-tions are going on. Weare hoping that theirmeeting with the Minis-ter must have yieldedsome positive results. Weare hoping for the best.—Professor GodwinOnu,Rector

AIB ex-boss petitions NJC over judgment copy needed for appeal

FORMER CHIEF Executive Officer of Accident

Investigation Bureau, AIB,Engr. Sam Oduselu, has ap-pealed to the National JudicialCommission, NJC, to prevailon a Federal High Courtjudge, to release to him, a copyof the court judgment in the en-forcement rights suit he(Oduselu) brought against thepolice authorities and the Bu-reau.

He said that the trial judge,Justice I. Adah, on April 26,2013 gave judgment in thematter and efforts to get a copyof the judgment to pursue hisappeal against the said judg-

ment had been frustrated,prompting the petition.

Odusule in the petition, byhis lawyer, said the matter,when instituted was assignedto Justice I. Adah, then sittingat the Ikeja Division of the Fed-eral High Court, when AIBwas terrorising and harassinghim with the police in respectof the two service cars in hispossession which he isstatutorily entitled on exitingfrom service

He stated that upon exitingfrom service in December 2011,there was an exchange of let-ters between him and the re-spondents geared towards re-

solving the value to be paid butAIB refused to ascribe anyvalue to the cars but rather in-sisted on recovering the cars byforce

“This extra-judicial method ofresolving a simple civil matterprompted the petitioner to in-stitute an action at the FederalHigh Court, Lagos for the en-forcement of his fundamentalhuman right. The case waslater transferred to the LagosDivision at Ikoyi. The matterwas not assigned to any courtfor a very long time.

“Our findings later showedthat the matter was subse-quently assigned to Justice

World Enviromental Day: Experts bemoanglobal hunger in midst of plenty

BY EGUFE YAFUGBORHI

PORT HARCOURT —STAKEHOLDERS in

Rivers State have called forglobal collaboration towards

equitable distribution of foodto check widespread hungerin a world that producesenough to feed itself.

This was the consensus ofopinions by experts and par-ticipants at a two daystakeholders' gathering, kick-started yesterday, in PortHarcourt by the African Cen-tre For Environmental Protec-tion, ACEP, to mark the 2013World Environment Day,WED.

Establishing the value of theoccasion in relation to the 2013WED on the theme, THINK,EAT, SAVE, Chairperson/Di-rector of ACEP, Mrs. KaineChina, noted as a disturbingparadox that the hundreds ofmillions of tons of food pro-duced globally are adequateto feed the people yet one bil-lion of the world eight billionpopulation suffer and die ofstarvation.

Other resource persons in-cluding R.M. Ossai, NationalPresident, Waste Manage-ment Society of Nigeria andEngr. Emeka Nnachukwu,President of the Port HarcourtChamber of Commerce, saidunhealthy wastefulnessamong high producing na-tions and ineptitude and re-

DESOPADECdonates toNdokwa

DELTA State Oil Pro-ducing Areas Devel-

opment Commission,DESOPADEC, has do-nated a Hilux van toNdokwa West Local Gov-ernment Area VigilanteService and a Hiace bus tohost communities associa-tion of Ndokwa.

Chief OminiminiObieuvwbi representedChairman of the board ofDESOPADEC at the dona-tion. Sir Ken Okolugbo, rep-resenting Ndokwa, laudedthe efforts of GovernorEmmanuel Uduaghan ofDelta State in creating theright environment, urgingthe people to key into thegovernor ’s three-pointagenda.

Buba, who sat on the matter forthe first time on March 22, 2013when AIB, which has alwaysbeen absent from proceedingssuddenly appeared in court tomove the application to regu-larise its counter affidavit,which was already out of time,which application was granted.

"The petitioner’s counsel wasnot served with the said coun-ter affidavit after it was grantedand the learned trial Judgethen proceeded to enter judg-ment infavour of AIB based onthe averment in its counter af-fidavit without any hearing no-tice to the petitioner,” headded.

Oshiomhole commended for judicioususe of 13% derivation

fusal to take action among lessproducing ones was at theheart of the uneven food dis-tribution.

The gathering advocatedprudence in food consumptionand relaxation of trade restric-tions for even access to ad-equate food by the disadvan-taged societies as strong stepstowards eradicating masshunger, a step they say willalso drastically reduce envi-ronmental consequences offood waste in the society.

BENIN — HOST Commu-nities Network of Nigeria, HoCoN, an

amalgam of communities impacted by oil,gas and solid minerals extraction in thecountry, has commended Governor AdamsOshiomhole of Edo State and Chairman ofEdo State Oil and Gas Producing Areas De-velopment Commission, EDSOPADEC, Mr.Vincent Uwadiae for putting the 13 per centoil and gas derivation fund to good use inthe state.

The group, which made the commenda-tion during a courtesy visit to the governor,weekend, in Benin, said that unlike someother states in the Niger Delta region and

previous administration in Edo State, “the cur-rent administration in Edo State underOshiomhole has made judicious use of the 13per cent derivation fund. Virtually all oil andgas host communities in Edo State have beenreached by the fund.”

Investment promoter urgesmassive infrastructuredevelopment

THE MANAGING Director of Legacy Invest-ment Management Company, Dr. EnitanObasanjo-Adeleye, has stressed the need for

massive investment on in-frastructure to attract moreforeign investments to Ni-geria.

Dr. Obasanjo-Adeleye,who spoke to newsmen inLagos, on the 3rd West Af-rican Investment Forum,said that the nation’s eco-nomic potentials cannot bemeaningfully exploited un-less the nation’s infrastruc-ture deficit was aggres-sively addressed.

According to her, the in-vestment forum will hold atOriental Hotel, Victoria Is-land, Lagos from June 6,2013 to June 8, 2013 withmore than 500 foreign in-vestors participating.

Deputy President of the Senate and Chairman, Senate Com-mittee on Constitution Review, Senator Ike Ekweremadu lay-ing the report of the Senate Committee on the review of the1999 Constitution before the Senate in plenary, yesterday


CMYK

Nigeria loses $1.6bn to crude oil theftannually —Shell

Delta DPPchieftaindecamps to PDPwith 2,000followers

BY FESTUS AHON

DeltaSpeakerassures onfriendlylegislationsfor children

Ihonvbere faults Anenih on automatictickets for President, govs

BY SIMON EBEGBULEM

Delta LG bossbags award

BY EMMA AMAIZE

Jonathan’s midterm self-appraisal flayed

BY SAMUEL OYADONGHA

YENAGOA—SHELL Pe-troleum Development

Company, has expressedconcern over the activities ofcrude oil thieves and illegalrefineries operators in theNiger Delta, saying that thecountry was losing $1.6bnannually to oil theft.

The company cited itsforced shut down of theNembe Creek Trunklines,NCTL, in Bayelsa State, afacility which produces about150,000 barrels of crude oilper day and its declarationof force majeure on BonnyLight export.

This, according to the com-pany, was to enable it removecrude oil theft connections,investigate suspected oiltheft leaks and effect repairs.

Speaking at a workshoporganised for media practi-tioners in Yenagoa, ShellManager, Government/Com-munity Relations, EvansKrukrubo, said over 90 percent of its pipelines in theregion had been ruptured bysuspected oil thieves.

He noted that the shutdown of NCTL productionwould impact negatively on

Bayelsa's share from theFederation Account.

Represented by FunkakpoFufyin, the company saidthe recent upsurge in ille-gal refining business in theNiger Delta should be a ma-jor concern to all stakehold-ers.

He said: “We are not wor-

ried by the money lost byShell, but the harm and de-struction unleashed on theenvironment.” He blamedmost of the spills in the re-gion on crude oil thieves andillegal refinery operators,when compared to operation-al failures.

He cited Bodo, in Rivers

State, Imo River, NCTL andoffshore of the Niger Delta asareas identified as majorhotspots for oil bunkering andsabotage.

Krukrubo called on securityagencies and state govern-ment to assist the firm in curb-ing the activities of oil thievesand illegal refinery operators.

WARRI—COORDINA-TOR of Forum for Jus-

tice and Human Rights De-fence, FJHD, Mr. Ogheneja-bor Ikimi, has rejected thescorecard, which PresidentGooluck Jonathan gave hisadministration at midterm,describing the verdict as ri-diculous.

Reacting to the President’srating of himself, Ikimi said:“The recent self-appraisalverdict delivered by Presi-dent Jonathan in his mid-term report to bewildered Ni-

gerians is laughable and Idisagree with him since ourdevelopmental growth as anation is not just stagnant,but retrogressive, to say theleast.

“I make bold to say thattwo years after the inaugu-ration of the Jonathan ad-ministration, the foundationof his administration’s trans-formation agenda and poli-cy thrust is yet to be laid,hence the chaotic state of af-fairs in our polity.

“Under the Jonathan ad-ministration, public fundsare still being mismanaged,

wasted and looted by publicoffice holders, thus the abovehas helped in no small wayto fuel official corruption, un-employment, infrastructuraldecay, insecurity, povertyand hunger in the land.

“It is on record that over 40million youths are unem-ployed nationwide. Theabove, no doubt, is a sadcommentary about a nationaspiring to be among the 20top economically advancedcountries in the world, come2020 and a non-UN perma-nent security council mem-ber."

BENIN—SECRETARY toEdo State Government,

Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, hasdescribed the call for auto-matic tickets for PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, gov-ernors and President Good-luck Jonathan, by the Chair-man of Board of Trustees ofPDP, Chief Tony Anenih, asundemocratic. Ihonvbere, former SpecialAdviser to former PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo, said:“The credibility I have tomake my comment, is that I

was in the frontline of thosewho fought for this democ-racy. Whether at the level ofthe UDFF or the level ofJACON, with people like thelate Chief Anthony Enahoro,Akinade, Bolaji Akinyemi,Fayemi, Bola Tinubu, BolaIge and others. This is notthe democracy we all foughtfor. “That is his (Anenih's)usual style, contaminatingthe political process. Whenthey are afraid of competi-tion, they look for short cuts.It is one way of telling peo-ple, not to even bother. But

that is not in the PDP con-stitution or in the constitu-tion of Nigeria. It does nothelp democratic develop-ment, it does not help dem-ocratic contestation, it doesnot help the strengtheningof political institutions. Ifthey have performed well,their records will stand forthem and they will win. “In Edo State, GovernorAdams Oshiomhole per-formed to the point thatacross the three senatorialzones, religious divide, eth-nic divide, the support wasoverwhelming."

UGHELLI—A CHIEF-TAIN of Democratic Peo-

ple’s Party, DPP, in Isoko NorthLocal Government Area, DeltaState, Mr. Gideon Johnny, hasreturned to the ruling PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP, with over2,000 of his followers.

Speaking during the receptionceremony at Ekiugbo-Iyede,Johnny explained that they hadearlier left the PDP as a result ofthe failure of an indigene of thecommunity to secure the Houseof Assembly ticket of the party inthe 2011 general elections.

Noting that he was a found-ing member of the party in thecouncil, Johnny maintained thattheir decision to return to PDPwas borne out of their desire toreturn to where they rightly be-longed and follow the pathwayof their departed political leaderand patriarch, the late Chief J.JJohnny.

Chief Clement Utuedhe, whoalso returned to PDP alongsideGideon Johnny, said that the PDPwas the only political party inIsoko North council and reiterat-ed their resolve to work relent-lessly towards consolidating onthe growth of the PDP in the area.

CHAIRMAN ofUghelli South Lo-

cal Government Transi-tion Committee, DeltaState, Chief Ovis Uto,has bagged the prestig-ious Excellence Award ofthe Nigeria Print Jour-nalism Development Or-gansation as the BestTransition CommitteeChairman in the state.

Presenting the award,News Editor of the or-ganisation, Mr AustinOshiomah, said: “Weneed a new era of re-sponsibility on the partof Nigerians that wehave duties to ourselves,our nation and the world.These are duties we didnot grudgingly accept,but rather seize gladly,firm in the knowledgethat there is nothing sosatisfying to the spiritthan giving our all to adifficult task.

“Your service demon-strates commitment tothe institution that movesNigeria a step closer toits great promise at atime our country facesthe most challenging eco-nomic crisis in its life-time."

SPEAKER of DeltaState House of As-

sembly, Mr. VictorOchei, has assured chil-dren in the state offriendly laws aimed atassisting them realisetheir full potentials.

Ochei gave the assur-ance when the DeltaState Children’s Parlia-ment, led by its Speaker,Miss Onoberhie Eloho,paid him a courtesy visitin his office, as part ofactivities to mark the2013 Children’s Day cel-ebration in the state.

Ochei urged the bud-ding legislators to al-ways pay serious atten-tion to their educationalaspirations as it was theonly way they could re-alise their ambition inany chosen field.

Earlier, the Speaker ofthe children’s Parlia-ment, Miss Onoberhieexpressed gratitude tothe Speaker for the pro-gressive legislations as-cribed to the Delta Statelegislature, especiallythe Child’s Right Law.

From left: Mr. Cornelis Zegelaar, MD, Mr Xinmin Wu,Chairmanm and Mr James Clark,Manager, Organisation and Development, all of ADDAX Petroleum at the company's 2013Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) Week, in Lagos. Photo: BiodunOgunleye.


2015: Igbo 'll deliver S-East to PDP — Orji

Eke emergesCPP actingchairman

Lagos movesto eradicate'bloodmerchants'

Strike: Ebonyiteachers floutNUTdirectives

BY CHIOMA OBINNA

Emergencyrule: Igboforum seeksunderstandingof rightsgroups

NAFDAC law outdated— Health Minister

BY VICTORIA OJEME

BY PETER OKUTU

BY CLIFFORD NDUJI-HE

PRESENTATION—From left: Ms Ebele Oputa, Head of Unit, Adolescent, Children Devel-opment Centre; Mr Oladimeji Oduyebo, Corporate Services Manager, Fidson HealthcarePLC; Dr Yinka Akindayomi, Service Director, Children's Developmental Centre and DrMartins Duru, Head of Physiotherapy unit, CDC, during presentation of cheque to CDC,by Mr Oduyebo, who represented Fidson Healthcare Plc in Lagos. Photo: Joe Akintola,Photo Editor.

ABUJA—MINISTER ofHealth, Prof. Onyebuchi

Chukwu, has said the law set-ting up the National Agency forFood and Drug Administrationand Control (NAFDAC) was out-dated and obsolete.

He also stated that nine hos-pitals in the country, includingseven government-owned andtwo privately-owned, had the ca-pacity to successfully carry outkidney transplant.

The minister stressed the ur-gent need to review the laws gov-erning health care delivery in thecountry. He said: “the law set-ting up NAFDAC is outdated.”

Chukwu, who said the law

must be reviewed to be in linewith modern reality., explainedthat the ministry had sent thedocument to the Federal Exec-utive Council, FEC, for approv-al.

Giving some of the achieve-ments of the present adminis-tration in the health sector, Prof.Chukwu pointed out that atpresent, nine hospitals in thecountry had the capacity to con-duct kidney transplant, but not-ed that the problem was thecost.

Besides, he said open heartsurgery had resumed in Niger-ia this year at the University ofNigeria Teaching Hospital,UNTH, Nsukka.

He dismissed insinuationsthat majority of Nigerians go

abroad for treatment of minordiseases, stressing that onlyabout five percent of the popu-lation who had the money doso.

Chukwu stated further that theFederal Government had con-tinued to upgrade the teachinghospitals, noting that the sec-ond phase of the upgrading hadbeen completed.

On immunization, the minis-ter pointed out that within thelast two years, the level of cov-erage had gone up to 78 percent from the 45 percentachieved in 2010.

He said: "We are going to getit to 100 per cent, we are work-ing very hard. Guinnea wormhas been eradicated, and wehave introduced vaccines”.

Salvation Army condemnsprosperity preaching by clergymen

governors in the South-East,you will discover that they areworking very hard to assuagethe sufferings and needs of thecommon man without playingto the gallery.

“This fact is verifiable in the

public domain. The prioritizationof projects and welfare of the peo-ple is a common denominationcharacteristic of PDP govern-ments which is clearly an indi-cation that we are not leaving an-ything to chance.

THE Salvation Army has spoken against prosperity

preaching in churches at theexpense of seeking salvation.

Chief Executive Secretary ofSalvation Army, Nigerian ter-ritory, Lt. Col. Godfrey Payne,gave the admonition in Lagosto honour 41 members andfriends of the church for theirselfless service to the churchand the society.

He advised the awardees tojustify the confidence reposed

on them by doing more for theLord and humanity.

At the ceremony which alsofeatured the annual thanksgiv-ing service, the territorial com-mander, Mfon Akpan who dec-orated the awardees, in a chatwith newsmen said: “Even Godwants people to be recognized,we did this because it is a way ofshowing appreciation to mem-bers who have excellently prov-en themselves in the church andtheir community.”

LAGOS State Blood Transfusion Committee, LSBTC,

Dr. Modupe Olaiya, has saidthe introduction of blood col-lection centres and donor mo-bile clinic in various parts ofthe state would stamp outblood merchants and promotevoluntary donation.

Executive Secretary of thecommittee, Dr. Modupe Olai-ya, who spoke during a blooddonor drive organised in col-laboration with New InsightBaptists Church, Ogudu, tomark 2013 Annual Youths Day,said absent of such facilitieshad slowed down efforts at in-creasing voluntary blood do-nors and meeting the bloodneeds of the people.

Olaiya noted that with theestablishment of blood collec-tion centres and a blood mo-bile, (mobile blood clinic) peo-ple could easily walk in to do-nate blood voluntarily.

Her words: “The advantageof having centres is that youdon’t have to be in a groupbefore you donate blood. Peo-ple can wake up on their ownand book an appointment".

The Resident Pastor, NewInsight Baptist Church, Pas-tor Deji Bashorun said the in-tegration of blood donation inthe youth programme was toenlighten members of thechurch on the need to donateblood voluntarily. Blood is lifeand Jesus Christ gave His ownlife for all. He encouragedLagosians to save life throughdonation of their blood free ofcharge."

ABAKALIKI—EBONYIState chapter of NigerianUnion of Teachers, NUT,yesterday flouted the direc-tive by the national leader-ship of the union for a strikeas schools visited by Van-guard were seen discharg-ing their normal activitiesto students.

National executive ofNUT had directed 11 statechapters of the union tocommence an indefinitestrike over non-payment of27.5 per cent teachers’ pe-culiar allowance, known asTSS, by the affected states’government.

The affected states, ac-cording to the NUT Nation-al President, ComradeMichael Olukoya, are:Benue, Cross River, Bornu,Ekiti, Ogun, Ebonyi, Edo,Kogi, Niger, Zamfara andSokoto.

A member of the stateNUT executive who did notwant his name mentioned,told Vanguard that a com-mittee made up of stake-holders in the educationalsector in the state had beenset up to look into the mat-ter.

BY NKIRUKA NNO-ROM

A group, OhanaezeMedia Forum, OMF,

yesterday, appealed to hu-man rights' world, to rea-son with the Federal Gov-ernment over the declara-tion of a state of emergen-cy in Bornu, Yobe and Ad-amawa states. The forum, in a statementin Lagos, said as soon asthere was a state of emer-gency anywhere in theworld, human rights mightbe violated. The forum said againstthis backdrop, human rightgroups should not begin tomake mountains out of amole hill as though a stateof emergency was peculiarto Nigeria.

According to the group,all the military needs tobring the situation undercontrol is the cooperation ofeverybody .

CMYK

GOVERNOR Theodore Orjiof Abia State has said the

Igbos would never waiver intheir support for President Good-luck Jonathan, noting that theywere poised to deliver the SouthEast to Peoples Democratic Par-ty, PDP.

According to him, supportingPresident Jonathan remains theonly way the bread of the Igboswill be buttered.

The governor, in a statementby his Special Adviser on PublicCommunications, Mr. BenOnyechere, said anybody insin-uating the contrary was merelytelling lies as “we have learnt ourlessons.”

He said: “It is true that it is hightime an Igbo man became Presi-dent of this country, but from allindications, we are not far fromthat promised land, and the PDPis the only platform to actualizethat dream.

“If you take a census of the PDP

FOLLOWING the defectionof Chief Maxi Okwu to the

All Progressives Grand Alli-ance, APGA, with his deputy,death of Dr Hassan Bello andresignation of Yakubu MusaNiara, the Citizens PopularParty, CPP, has elected ChiefSam Eke as its acting nationalchairman.

Eke, a two-time governor-ship candidate of the party inAbia State, will steer the shipof the CPP for one year.

His leadership is expectedto organize a national conven-tion on or before May 31,2014.

The decision was taken atthe National Executive Com-mittee meeting of the partysummoned by Niara in ac-cordance with Section 12 (2A)of the CPP Constitution on Sat-urday.


COMMISSIONING: Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State, assisted byhis Deputy, Lady Valeria Ebeh (2nd left); Speaker, State House of Assembly, Elder SamIkon (right); Elder Friday Iwok (middle) and Mr. Aniekan Umana, Information Com-missioner (left), during the commissioning of Ukpom Bridge in Abak LGA of the state.

CAMPAIGN: From left: Director, Public Health, Dr. Quudus Yusuff;Chief Medical Director, Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hos-pital, Dr. Haroun Ajibode; Ogun State Commissioner for Health,Dr. Olaokun Soyinka and Managing Director, Reckitt Benckiser Ni-geria Ltd, Ashok Bhasin, during an anti-malaria campaign in OgunState.

DRAW: From left: Oyo State coordinator, National Lottery Regulatory Com-mission, NLRC, Mr. Fasunhanmi Omotayo; Vice President, Ibadan MotorParts Dealers' Association; Mr. Lukman Adeniyi; Product Manager, SavingsExtra, Diamond Bank, Mr. David Otukpe; President, Ibadan Motor PartsDealers' Association, Chief Gbolagade Orowale and HOD, Regulation andMonitoring, NLRC, Mr. Quadri Bayo, during the Diamond Savings XtraSeason 5 draw in Ibadan. Photo: Dare Fasube.

BRIEFING: From left: Executive Director, Infrastructure Bank Plc, Mr.Taiwo Dauda; MD, Legacy Investment/Management Company, Mrs. EnitanObasanjo-Adeleye; Executive Secretary, Association of Investment Promo-tion Agencies of West African States, IPAWAS, Mr. Stephen Amase and Presi-dent/CEO, Executive Move Ltd/President, Nigeria-USA Export and Invest-ment Group, NUEG, Chief Funsho Abiri, at a briefing on the forthcoming3rd ECOWAS investment forum in Lagos.

MEMORIAL: From left: Senator Gbenga Ashafa; Olu of Iju-Ishaga, ObaAbass Ajibode; Chairman, Ifako-Ijaye Local Government Area, Mr. OloruntobaOke; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation, representing the AviationMinister, Mr. George Ossi and others, during the memorial and unveiling ofcenotaph in honour of the victims, at the Dana Air crash site, Iju-Ishaga,Lagos.

VISIT: From left: Brand Manager, Johnnie Walker, Amaechi Okobi; CoolFM Presenter, Ms. Kaylah and Diageo Africa Brands Ambassador, TimEtherington-Judge, during the Brand Ambassador's visit to Nigeria.

Ms. Ichekube Egebara of Gloworld (left), wel-coming Glo Ambassador, Chidinma Okebalama(Chee the Voice) into the Glo mobile network, af-ter the artiste completed the porting process, atGloworld, Adeola Odeku, Victoria Island, Lagos.

CMYK

BRIEFING: From left: Mr. Adebayo Oladipo, Di-rector of Administration, Lagos State ResidentsRegistration Agency; Ms. Yinka Fashola, GeneralManager and Prince Babatunde Adele, Head, PublicRelations, during a briefing by LASSRA on its ac-tivities in Lagos. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele.

ANNIVERSARY: From left: Sister Ade Edun;Archbishop of Lagos, Dr. Sunday Ajayi and newlyinstalled grand patron of the Light Bearers, WesleyCathedral, Olowogbowo, Lagos, Senator AnthonyAdefuye, at the society's 2013 anniversary celebra-tion in Lagos.


North's economy hascrumbled — Niger Gov

Lamido challenges Islamic clericsto guide political leaders

ASUP STRIKE:Polystudentsslam mediaoverblackout

IPMANurges stiffersanctionsagainstpipelinevandals

Shemaextolsvirtues ofKontagora

NACCIMA—From left: National President, Nigerian Association of Chambers ofCommerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar; Kano StateGovernor, Dr.Rabiu Kwankwaso; Deputy Governor, Dr. Abdulahi Ganduje; immediatePast President,NACCIMA, Dr. Ademola Ajayi, and Second Deputy National President,NACCIMA, Chief Alaba Lawson, during the inauguration of Abubakar at the association's53rd annual conference in Kano.

BY WOLE MOSADOMI

MINNA—NIGER StateGovernor, Dr

Babangida Aliyu has la-mented that the economy ofthe North has crumbled dueto insecurity unleashed on theregion by Boko Haram insur-gents.

Aliyu also regretted thehuge army of unemployedyouths in the North pointingout that there was urgent needfor the revival of the North-ern economy and job creation.

He spoke when the Presi-dential Committee on Dia-logue and Peaceful Resolu-tion of Security Challengesin the North led by the Min-ister of Special Duties, AlhajiKabiru Turaki visited him atGovernment House, Minna,the capital of Niger State.

Aliyu said that creation ofjobs for the unemployedyouths in the region wouldstop them from being usedas thugs by mischief makers.

Governor Aliyu describedBoko Haram problem as a

manifestation of a problemadding that if the problem isto be solved, the sponsors ofthe group would be identifiedand punished accordingly.

He noted the need for allthe economic issues in theNorth to be looked into prop-erly with lasting solutionsproffered.

“The Boko Haram is a mani-festation of a problem and ifsolved on permanent basis,their sponsors should beidentified and punished be-cause although they have nottaken arms against the coun-try, they are more dangerousthan those fighting the nationwhom we know,” he said.

He, however, called for truefederalism in the country say-ing, “where the federal gov-ernment is too strong and in-tolerant of other people’sviews, we will be creatinganother problem.

"We must pay attention towhat is happening in all thepolitical parties because partyleadership should not be al-lowed to manipulate the par-ties for their selfish interestsand this is how to democra-tize the activities of politicalparties where members andnot a select group of members’views will be the guidingprinciples"

Aliyu further explained thatthe state had been enjoyingpeace because the govern-ment had been proactive onsecurity issues by abolishingthe indigene and non indi-gene syndrome.

BY TINA AKANNAM

DUTSE—JIGAWA StateGovernor Sule Lamido

has challenged Islamic cler-ics in the country to guide po-litical leaders on ways of re-storing moral and ethical val-ues in the society.

The governor made the callwhile declaring a week-longcelebrations in commemora-tion of the birth of the leaderof Tijjniyya Movement inWest Africa, Sheik IbrahimInyass in Dutse, the statecapital, yesterday.

He stressed that Islamicleaders had the knowledge toguide the leaders on how to

provide good leadership to thepeople with the fear of God andfairness without stealing pub-lic funds.

Lamido then asked all Islamicsects in the country to eschewtheir difference and unite in theinterest of unity of Muslims.

Said he: “At this time whenour religion is facing a lot in-filtration by different sects whoclaim to be fighting the causeof Islam, all Muslim leadersmust bury their differences andprotect and promote the reli-gion at all levels.

”Everybody is looking at youas men of God who are sup-posed to lead and guide other

political leaders. We as po-litical leaders, are expectedto protect the lives and prop-erty of those who gave ustheir mandate; therefore weneed moral guidance to doit well.”

The governor said thatwhen the late Sardauna ofSokoto, Alhaji Ahmadu Bellowas the premier of the thenNorthern region, and lateChief Obafemi Awolowo wasthe leader of the defunctWestern region, they haddifferences on many issues,but united politically whennational issues arose.

KATSINA—GOVERNOR Ibrahim

Shema of Katsina State,has described the deathof the former Works Min-ister and Sole Adminis-trator of the AhmaduBello University, MajorGeneral MammanKontagora as a monu-mental loss to NigerState and Nigeria as awhole.

Shema spoke throughhis Seniour Special As-sistant on Press Affairs,Malam Lawal AhmadMatazu, saying thatKontagora would foreverbe remembered for hisselfless service to Ni-geria both as a soldierand as a retired armygeneral.

One of such contribu-tions, he said was histransformation ofAhmadu Bello Univer-sity Zaria.

BY NNAMDIOJIEGO

L A G O S — P O LYTECHNIC stu-

dents across the countryare not happy particu-larly, with the mediaover what they describedas the ‘’total blackout’’ ofthe on-going industrialaction embarked upon bypolytechnic lecturers.

The strike followed gov-ernment’s refusal to im-plement agreements itsigned with the union in2009, aimed at rejuve-nating the polytechnicsystem.

The strike which haslasted for some time nowhas left students puzzledon what to do.

The students, however,expressed disappoint-ment that the media hasfailed to give adequatepublicity to the strikeand its effects on stu-dents, parents and thesociety at large unlike inthe case of universities.

BY DEMOLA AKINYE-MI

ILORIN—THE Independent Petroleum

Marketers Association ofNigeria, IPMAN, hascalled for stiffer sanctionsagainst oil pipeline vandalsin the country, saying thatanybody convicted for of-fence should either be ex-ecuted or jailed for life.

IPMAN Chairman in theWestern Zone, Mr.Olumide Ogunmade madethis known at the fidauprayers for the late IPMANChairman for Ilorin depot,Alhaji Jamiu BolajiAgboolade.

Ogunmade was repre-sented at the occasion byhis deputy, Mr. OgbonnenoTosin Adekoya.

The Western zone com-prises, Ibadan, Mosimi,Ore, Satellite and Ilorindepots.

Ogunmade also accusedthe Federal Government ofallegedly aiding and abet-ting the illegal activitieswhich were sabotaging theeconomy.

According to Ogunmade,this was because, wheneversuspects were arrested, theywould be released few dayslater, to continue with theirillegal activities.

’’The Federal Governmentis paying lip service to theproblems of pipeline van-dalism."

CMYK

CMYK



Egypt jailscorrupt NGOworkers

A Cairo court onTuesday sentenced

43 Egyptian and foreignNGO workers to jail termsranging from one to fiveyears for working illegally,causing outrage abroadand raising fears for thefuture of civil society work.

The sentences followtrials which came in thewake of raids in 2011 onthe offices of foreignNGOs, many which hadoperated without licencesunder ousted presidentHosni Mubarak but whichthe new authoritiesdeemed were receivingfunds illicitly.

Sweden jailsDRC couple

A Swedish districtcourt yesterday

jailed a couple from theDemocratic Republic ofCongo for performingexorcisms on thewoman’s daughter,whom they considered tobe a witch, bythreatening and beatingher.

It was the secondCongolese couple in lessthan a month to besentenced to prison forexorcism-related abusein the western town ofBoraas.

US military chiefs under fire over sexual assaults

US military chiefsclashed with

lawmakers Tuesday overhow to stem an epidemicof sexual assaults in theranks, with the top brassarguing against anoverhaul of the force’sjustice system.

While vowing to stampout the problem, thegenerals cautionedsenators against proposalsthat would strip

commanders of authority torefer sexual assault casesfor trial, alter sentences oroverturn verdicts.

“I understand thecredibility of the armedforces, the credibility of thearmy are at stake,” GeneralRay Odierno, the USArmy’s chief of staff, toldthe Senate Armed ServicesCommittee.

“But we cannot simplylegislate our way out of this

problem,” he said.His comments came at a

packed hearing in which

chiefs of all the armedservices and the chairmanof the Joint Chiefs of Staff,General Martin Dempsey,

made an unusual jointappearance the committee,where they faced toughquestioning fromimpatient lawmakers.

US court grants insanity pleafor Colarado killer

A US judge onTuesday accepted a

plea of not guilty byreason of insanity byJames Holmes, thealleged gunman accusedof killing 12 people in lastyear’s Colorado theatermassacre.

Judge Carlos Samouraccepted the plea afterreading out a list ofconditions, includingthat the 25-year-old

agree to undergo a court-ordered “sanityexamination.”

Holmes is accused ofwounding another 70people when heallegedly opened fire lastJuly in a packedmidnight screening of theBatman movie “TheDark Knight Rises” inthe Colorado town ofAurora, outside Denver.

Turkey returns fire on Syria’s attack

THE Turkish armyreturned fire after

shots were fired atmilitary targets fromacross the border withSyria, the military said ina statement Tuesday.

“A group on the Syrianside of the border fired 60shots at an armouredpersonnel carrier andtactical vehicles... whichwas reciprocated in kind”late on Monday, it said,adding that there was nodamage or casualties.The Syrian shots targeteda military post in theNarlica region of Hatayprovince near the Syrianborder, it added. TheTurkish army fired 50shots in return, accordingto the army statementpublished online.

Turkey, a former ally of

Damascus, has becomeone of the fiercest criticsof President Bashar al-Assad’s regime after hisdeadly crackdown on apopular uprising erupted

in March 2011. It backs the rebels

fighting against him andsome 400,000 Syrianrefugees have fled toTurkish soil.

Syria’s war reaches new brutal levels — UN

SYRIA’s war hasreached “new levels of

brutality”, the UN says,with evidence of freshsuspected massacres,sieges and violations ofchildren’s rights.Children have been takenhostage, forced to watchtorture and evenparticipate in beheadings,it says; others have beenkilled while fighting.

It says it suspects thereare “reasonable grounds”to believe chemicalweapons have been

deployed. It urgesforeign powers not toincrease the availabilityof arms in Syria.

The issue of arms has

been high on theinternational agenda oflate, with the EU lifting anembargo on the sale ofarms to Syria while Russia

has insisted it is goingahead with the sale of anadvanced S-300 surface-to-air missile defencesystem to Syria.

•Obama

Shekau: Thewalking Dollar

BY HUGO ODIOGOR,Foreign Affairs Editor

WITH a prize tag of$7million on his

head Abubakar Shekau isnow a walking dollar andthat is a serious matter.Shekau is now worthN1.1billion dead or alivedeploys a strategy that canonly be resisted byShakau’s lieutenant.

Facing the fate areBelmoktar, the one eyedAlgerian terrorist who brokeaway from the Salafis andbecame a scourge in theSouthern part of Algeria.Mokhtar Belmokhtar ledthe gas plant hostage crisisin February 2013 inresponse to the Frenchmilitary intervention inMali.

Others are the leaders ofMovement for justice inWest Africa.

The leader of Ansar Dine.These are terrorist groupslink with Al-Qaeda in theMaghreb and in the Sahleregions Shekau is thearrowhead of Boko Haran,the Nigerian arm of theinternational terroristconglomerate that seeks toprosecute a jihad to attainpolitical power and imposea system of governancebased on the Shariajurisprudence.

The seed for leadershipsquabbles, back stabbinghas been sown byWashington, while we sitback and watch how theinsurgents will managetheir greed. L

There is an economicfatwa on the head of theBoko Haram leader who isregarded as partintellectual, part gangsterand now, the most wantedterrorist in West Africa. He

is fondly called Imam orleader by his followers andregarded as a loner..

Shekau was once thoughtto have been killed bysecurity forces in 2009 - onlyfor him to reappear invideos posted on theinternet less than a yearlater as Boko Haram’s newleader. His age is notcertain as some claim thathe is between 35 to 43, buthails from Shekau villagein Yobe. State.

Shekau’s leadershipShekau who does not

speak English is fluent inhis native Kanuri, Hausaand Arabic languages. Hedoes not communicatedirectly with the filedoperatives but maintainsminimal contact.

Reports said when thegroup’s founder,Muhammad Yusuf died inpolice custody, Shekaumarried one of his four

wives and adopted theirchildren, to preserve BokoHaram’s cohesion or“purity”. He has survivedseveral close calls and wasreported to have beenseriously wounded inMali.

Shekau has not beenseen in public sincesecurity operatives reportedthat he was injured in Malibut his group hascontinued to post videoclips of him and still imageswhich are released fromtime to time, mostly online,by the group’s faceless“public enlightenmentdepartment”.Shekauclaims that he escapedbeing killed in Maidugurialong side through theconnivance of anintelligence officerintervened.

Under Shekau, BokoHaram has become moreradical and carried outmore killings. andhundreds of others werekilled during that massivecrackdown on the group.Shekau met Yusuf inMaiduguri, capital of

Borno State through amutual friend, MammanNur. The latter is believedto be mastermind of theAugust 2011 bombing ofthe UN office complex inAbuja.

The US has beenhesitant to declare BokoHaram as a ForeignTerrorist Organisation,(FTO), the prize put on thehead of Shakau means thaBoko Haram has becomea source of worry toWashington.

The whooping sum of$7million to whoeverprovides information thatleads to the arrest or theelimination of the terroristgroup leader is irresistible.The fate that befell Oal-Qaeda leader, Osama BinLaden, Iraqi Leader,Saddam Hussein and lateLibyan Leader Col.Muamar Gaddafi nowawaits Shekau.Unfortunately, the USseems to have taken the sailof Aso Rock which hasbeen tentative in itsapproach to tackling theinsurgency in the country.

•Abubakar Shekau

Shekau has not been seen in publicsince security operatives reported

that he was injured in Mali

, ,

Deposed CAR president set for South Africa

THE deposed presidentof the Central African

Republic FrancoisBozize was due to travelto South Africa “shortly”,an aide said yesterday,days after his countryissued an internationalwarrant for his arrest.

“He’s expected shortlyin South Africa,” anadvisor to Bozize toldAFP. “He is still inNairobi, having leftCameroon where he hassheltered since beingdriven out by the coup inMarch,” the South

African advisor said,asking not to be named.

Bozize, 66, fled theCentral African Republicafter a rebel coalitionseized power on March24 in the latest coup inthe chronically unstablecountry.

Insurgency is underdeveloping

From Left: William Jimoh, Mrs. Nkiruka Nnorom, Rev. Ladi Thompson, Hugo Odiogor, Godfrey Ndibisi and Sheik Adangba

MODERATOR: Somepeople have argued

that the proposed amnesty forthe insurgents is a doubleedged sword, yet the likes ofSultan Abubakar Sa’ad, aformer military man and in-telligence officer, believes thatthe best option to the BokoHaram crisis, a group thatdoes not believe in dialogueor diplomacy outside its ownworld view. So where doesthis leave us?

Rev Thompson: What I amsaying is that for the sake of yourchildren and my children, wemust tackle this radicalisationof the Islamic faith, because ifyou think that the radicalisationprocess has not started in theSouth, then you are joking. Ithas started. As usual, whenthese things started, every-body pretends not to see it,until it has reached the climax.He has told you the truth, thattraining is already going on inthe South too.

Sheik Sulaiman: Thetraining that I said is on goinghere is not to train people to beradicals, but for them to beeducated and know the rightthings for them. We only askfor right, we don’t tell peopleto give duties and responsibil-ity.

then know what they are to doand what not to do. Like I toldyou I lived in the north andwhen talking about theAlmajiris, there could be up toabout 50,000 or even 100,000numbers of them waiting forjust only one order. So this iswhat has been used by somepoliticians to go and serve

culture that binds us will riseup and defend itself, when thetime comes.

Islam has been in Nigeriacentury before Dan-Fodiocame, Islam was not killinganybody, nobody was takinganything by force. When theSokoto Jihad started in 1804,the people in Kanem -Bornoaxis also became victims of theexpansion but they were ableto checkmate the expansion ofthe Sokoto Jihad. Unfortu-nately, when the British came, with their indirect rule

Continues on page 55

Islam is a religion that ab-sorbs everything. If you area Christian, we can live to-gether, there are evenverses in the holy Quranthat make it lawful for us toeat from what Christiansprepared


system, they empoweredSokoto above Borno, withoutknowing the implications oftheir actions. In 1958 whenNigeria was going to come to-gether as a nation, everybodyknew that if the issue of Islamand religion was not resolved,there was to be a problem.

After all the White Hall meet-ings, Northern Nigeria con-veyed a meeting in Kaduna,this was in 1958, we had peo-ple from Pakistan, people fromSudan attending the meeting.

And what was the point ofthe meeting? They knew thatif they bring the total Sharia,they knew that the rest of thecountry (South South, SouthEast, South West) would notagree in an accord to moveforward as a nation.

Criminal aspectof the sharia

So under the auspices ofNorthern leaders as at thattime, which is documented, 33compromises were suggested.Out of the 33, 31 were adoptedand when they adopted the 31,they were able to bring forwardwhat we call the “Penal Code”and the agreement then wasthat they will not go for thetotal application of theCriminal aspect of the Shariawhich has Stoning to Deathfor adultery etc.

This was the accord that wasbrought to the table on which

we all form Nigeria in 1960.now between that time andnow, what has now happenedis that while Muslims andChristians were happy to livetogether base on that consti-tution, base on that simplicitywhich is “Let me practice myfaith and if there is a grey area,let Democracy help us." Therewas a minority muslim extrem-ists who said “NO” and whohave been working since then,to make Nigeria become a Mus-lim state.

Globalinsurgence

Finally in 1999, they suc-ceeded when Zamfara statebegan the movement of adopt-ing Sharia in their state. Thebasic problem of this countryis religion. (Argument…)

Moderator: What started asBoko Haram was a push fromnorth East in Nigeria, usingIslam as a faith to achievepolitical, economic and socialaims.

Rev. Thompson: The intelligence behind this arethose who have mixed withglobal insurgence and theyare former military generals.They are using their own in-terpretation of Islam as a faithto achieve political, economicand social aims. Those daysare gone. Whether we are inthe military or Civilian, the ob-

Sheik Adangba

,,It is clearly stated in the Quran,chapter 2 verse 234. that you don’tforce anybody to become a Muslim

The truth is that from his ownpart of the country, there is nocompulsion on anybody toaccept Islamic faith. But thereis an ideology that has enteredthe other side that has foundexpression in the use ofvoilence to propagate the faith.The use of violence is not basedon food, poverty, corruption,bad leadership can be catalystto what is happening but thetruth is that until the core prob-lem is properly diagnosed, wewill never be out of thisproblem.

Sheik Adangba: I was in ameeting with the Sultan ofSokoto which is the meetingof the Nigerian SupremeCouncil for Islamic Affairs, andthere the Sultan emphaticallystated that the more theAlmajiri school are coming, themore these people are enlight-ened, and became literate,

their purpose and the momentyou see people coming en-mass what do you do? if not torun away..., they will attack you.

Even the Muslims areaffected and that is to tell youthat when you talk about theIslamic radicals, I don’t callthem Muslim rather they arehuman radicals, because theyare not professing the faith.This means that anybody be ita Muslim or a Christian whocannot create life, should nottake it.

Rev Thompson: Let mequickly correct this notionbecause the Sheik is here andhe understands that the divi-sion you have in democracy,does not exist in his faith. Youare the intellectuals, what weare trying to do here is to giveinsigt into those areas that canhelp preserve our nation, andhelp to keep our peace. The

In this concluding part ofthe Vanguard conferencehall, discussants insist thatnow is the time to tackle theradicalisation process that isfestering in the country.

the North

not minding what the world will say. Theradical process is towards an end. The endis not just political power. A totalitarian re-gime in the whole of Nigeria which is basedon what Afghanistan stand for today.

Sheik Adangba: If we are to get it right, itis either Christianity or Islam. The act of

,

,

Those behind this ideology don’t have aprice, they believe in what they are doingand their faith is strong enough to influ-ence someone to blow up himself with abomb and kill others with him


Rev. Ladi Thompson,Special Adviser to the CANPresident on Terrorism,Sheik Sulaiman Adangba,President of Al-Faith-Ul-QureebSoceity of NigeriaMr. Godfrey C. Ndubisi,Lagos- based Lawyer,Mr.Hugo Odiogor,Foreign Affairs Editor/Co-Ordinator,Mrs. Nkiru Nnorom,Business Desk andKunle Kalejaiye,Business Desk

VANGUARD CONFERENCEHALL PARTICIPANTS

Photo: Bunmi Azeez

crimes. It is a mistake.So it is not accepted to grant amnesty but we

should go down. When there is a problem,there must be a special solution. The govern-ment has tried all means to get Boko-Harambut could not. To the best of our knowledgethey have tried. But we know that they havenot tried.

But the Sultan now said that his people arebeing killed. Christians and Muslims are thosethey govern over in the north. The north is notmade for the Muslim alone, the Christians arethere making their economic living and theylive peacefully before the time of thissaga. Now he now said they should introducea way so that they can come out but they refuseto say what they want, they just don’t want anyprice. They are looking for something onlythem know what the end is-Totalitarianism. But what we are saying is: letus grant amnesty for the insurgents. We areunable to know those who we are to talk to. Wehad talked to Kabir Sokoto and he was not fort-coming, we believe that if there is amnesty,that will bring them out to talk.

Articulateperson

Humans are the ones doing this killing.They are not ghosts, they are not angels.Therefore we must bring in the amnesty so thatwe can bring out Boko-Haram.

Rev. Thompson: If you look at the history ofthe present Sultan of Sokoto, he was a militaryintelligence officer and he has proceeds allover the world, Pakistan, Indonesia. Go andtake a look at his resume, you will discover thathe is a highly intelligent and articulate personwho has served in a lot of areas in the world.So he has this extremist problem already.

And while he served there,his eyes could not have been closed. So poten-tially, he is one of the greatest assets that Ni-geria has and potentially is one of the greatestenemy Nigeria has. Now this is the truth, whenhe first became the Sultan of Sokoto, you shouldlisten to his initial utterances, they were a bitcostly and very instigative then he softens themdown. But I could recall many of his interviewswhen they will ask him questions and he willtell them that exactly what Usman Dan-Fodio

jectives and ideology isclear. The people whoare behind it know whatthey want and they areunrelenting. Theywant more than politi-cal and economicpower. The ideal theyhave is totalitarian.

And in that totalitar-ian ideology, if it is tobe put in place, if youand I are to go to court,my witness and yourwitness, it will have tobe four of us to comeand testify of an issueto one person who is aMuslim. These peopleare totalitarian. It is youand I that have a price.The core people behindthe ideology don’t havea price. Those behindthis ideology don’thave a price, they be-lieve in what they aredoing and their faith isstrong enough to influ-ence someone to blowup himself with a bomband kill others with him,

Totalitarian ideology is a bad ideology thatwill make them take control of everybodythat live in that territory and everything.

If you are talking about amnesty, theNigerian government is telling you thatthe Boko-Haram are faceless. They haveKabiru Sokoto in their custody, they knowwhere he is because they talk to him and hetalks to them and other Boko-Haram mem-bers in their custody,

In 2010, our security vote was N432million, In 2011, it ballooned to N1.2billion.Who is accessing the money, who is retiringthe money? To which office are they return-ing the money? Sophisticated weapons arebeen used, at will yet we have securityagencies.

Rev Thompson: When the people whotaught how to make these bomb came in,initially, Nigerians were blowing themselvesup, radicals were blowing themselves up untilthey master it. The other day, the Iraniansbrought in 13 containers loads in Lagos, stilltoday did the matter see any light.

Moderator: Where do we go from here?Giving Amnesty is a misnomer. Somebody

is committing crime and you are now tryingto provide funds for him to commits these

of his forbearers what we are talking about ?while, later on Wikileaks revealed that quietlyand unknown to Nigerians , every time Islamistradicals were caught for breach of security,they handed over to the Security forces whoare then prevailed on to hand them over to theSultan for rehabilitation. Thereafter, nobodyhears of them again.

will do is what he will doand he defends a legacy.

But while I listened, myear could pick thedifference. What peoplewere hearing was fromhim was different. Whenthe man said that he ishere to defend a legacy

Study and work inCanada... what you need

BY VERA SAMUELANYAGAFU

NIGERIAN studentswishing to work while

studying in Canada without awork permit are advised to ensurethat they possess a valid studypermit. It is also necessary thatthey do not get employed beyondthe campus where they areregistered as full-time students ina degree-granting course ofstudy. It is permissible, however,to become either an employee ofyour educational institution or aprivate business employee, butmandatory that your work placemust be located on the campuspremise.

In pursuant of your work permiton campus, ensure that an officerat your port of entry to Canadaindicates on your study permitthus: "May accept employment onthe campus of the institution atwhich the holder is registered infull-time studies.” The aboveindication is imperative to enablethe regulating authority recognizeyour intention as a migrant, andone who is eligible for ‘on campusemployment.’ In other words, ifyou are not interested in work andstudy routine, you may not needsuch statement indicated on yourstudy permit.

Graduate or teaching

have no health challenges.Procedures for non-work

permit: Those who do not needa work permit are promptlyadvised to follow the proceduresbelow in order to obtain themedical examination form andinstruction, and should not makeuse of the work permit applicationkit and document checklist asthese are not designed for themand may delay processing. Priorto your intended trip, you musthave determined whether youneed a temporary resident(visitor) visa and if your countryis among countries or territorieswhose citizens require atemporary resident visa to enterCanada.

Having affirmed that yourequire a temporary resident visa,you may go ahead to find out howto apply at Visiting Canadasection, and in addition to therequirements listed there, youcan then send in an approval letterfrom the relevant professionalregulatory body in Canada. Theletter must come on headednotepaper from the Canadianmedical institution you intend tovisit, confirming its acceptance forthe period the training will last,and there would be no acceptanceof e-mails.

Those who do not requiretemporary resident visa are

advised to submit applicationform with the title “Application fora Temporary Resident Visa MadeOutside of Canada.” In this case,even if you do not require atemporary resident visa, it ismandatory for you to fill in theform so as to enable the embassy/medical institution issue youmedical instructions to avoidunnecessary misconception. In asituation where all the requiredinformation has been submitted,the medical examination formwould be sent to you to enableyou book your medicalexamination with a panelphysician. Applicants should beaware that the processing timesare the same as for work permitapplications where medicalexaminations are required.

Co-op and internship students:For some Canadian academicprograms, work experience is partof the curriculum, in other words,foreign students enrolled in aschool in Canada who wish toparticipate in a co-op orinternship program need both astudy permit and a work permit.

assistants: Only inaccordance with the termsand conditions applicablefor ‘working on campus’,would graduates who areinterested in beingemployed as graduateassistants or Teachingassistants be allowed to takeup an employment withouta work permit. Sameclassified applicants couldalso be permitted to workat an off campus facilitywithout a work permit ifthey have a valid studypermit for Canada, and ifwork nature is in relation to theirgrant. Applicants also have anedge if the off campus facility,whether a research institute,teaching hospital, or library hasa formal association or affiliationwith the university or collegewhere they are studying, and theoffered work is directed by adepartment head or a facultymember.

Foreign healthcare students:Foreign healthcare students thatare not enrolled in a university orother educational establishmentin Canada may do a clinicalclerkship or medical elective at aCanadian medical teachinginstitution, and do not require awork permit or a study permit iftheir main purpose of the work isto acquire training. But yourequire a work permit, which inthe case herein, a must for foreignstudents in residency, extern orfellowship positions in Canadianclinical settings. As a rule, allhealthcare students who intendto study or work temporarily inCanada must undergo a medicalexamination to ascertain that they

Canada Prime Minister StephenHarper


THERE are indications thattrouble is currently brewing

at the headquarters of the Nige-ria Police Force Micro FinanceBank, Obalende, Lagos, follow-ing the discovery of alleged ir-regularities in the administrativerunning of the bank by some di-rectors. Information made avail-able to Crime Alert revealed thatthere were alleged gross viola-tions of the Central Bank of Ni-geria Code of Corporate Gover-nance by some of the directors.

To this end, former Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji AlliuAtta, who founded the bank in1993 as a commercial bank, is saidto be unhappy with the state ofaffairs. Atta, as gathered, is cur-rently making moves to meet withall retired Inspectors-General ofPolice with a view to investigat-ing the alleged irregularities,threatening to sanction any staff,be he a member of the board ofdirectors or at the managerial lev-el, found culpable.

Investigation by Crime Alertrevealed that some of the irregu-larities included alleged movesto post deputy general managersand assistant general managersout of the headquarters to headtheir respective branches acrossthe country, as against the Secu-rities and Exchange CommissionCode of Corporate Governance

for training and other financialexigencies in the bank, one of thesenior directors was alleged tohave contracted the inductioncourse to the woman he intend-ed smuggling into the Board ofDirectors, despite suggestions bysome of the management staffagainst such move. A total of N5.2

placements to banks where theirspouses work, apparently to boosttheir spouses performance forpossible promotion. This, report-edly runs foul of the CBN’s Codeof Corporate Governance whichstates that an independent di-rector should not be partner or anexecutive of the company’s stat-utory audit firm , legal or otherconsulting firm that have a mate-rial association with the compa-ny.

Also, it was alleged that someof the management staff in-

decision reached at the meetingheld on Tuesday, April 30, 2013,to wit: that you be advised to for-ward to the Board your letter ofresignation as a staff of the bankwith immediate effect”.

In what was described as theheight of gross violation of theSecurities and Exchange Com-mission Code of Governance, asenior director in the bank wasalleged to have spent more thanthe stipulated five years appoint-ment without renewing the ap-pointment. The senior directorwho is alleged to be the bone ofcontention in the bank, accord-ing to information at Crime Alert’sdisposal, had been at the helm ofaffairs at the bank for 18 years.

When Crime Alert visited theNPF Micro Finance bank, Obal-ende, the Chairman, Board ofDirectors, Mrs Florence Adeban-jo, a retired Deputy InspectorGeneral of Police, simply statedthat she could not speak on thematter, informing that the case ofvictimization was already in court.Appreciating Crime Alert for com-ing to get the bank’s side of thestory, she said, “I have no com-ment on any of the issues raised.It would be prejudicial since it isalready in court and I don’t wantto offend the court of law”.

Also contacted, the founder ofthe NPF Micro Finance Bank,Alhaji Alliu Atta, a retired IG, whowas visibly shocked at the allegedirregularities, told Crime Alertthat “we will call for a meeting ofall retired IGs and investigate thecase. We will ensure we do thecorrect thing according to CBN’scode of Corporate Governanceand whoever is wrong will beasked to step down.”

Alleged irregularities in PoliceMicro Finance bank

...whoever is found culpable will be thrown out— former IGP

Exposed!

ENUGU State Police boss, Abubakar AdamuMohammed, has vowed to cleanse the state

of all criminal elements with a clarion call to thepeople of the state to be lawabiding and giveinformation without let or hindrance. AdamuAbubakar who spoke when a group called the Na-tional Institute for Cultural Orientation paid a cour-tesy call in his office stated that he was in the statewith specific directives from the Inspector-Generalof Police, Muhamed Abubakar to rid the state of allsorts of crime and ensure that the good people ofthe state sleep with both eyes closed. He thankedthe group for the visit and assured them that thecommand is ready to associate itself with their mis-sion and vision adding that they should be lawabiding and endeavour to strenghten their part-nership with the police by giving vital informationso that the society can be sanitized.

Speaking earlier during the visit, the Chairmanof the group, Nwajagu Nnaemeka said there wasneed for huge emphasis to be laid on cultural re-orientation since culture involves the total way oflife of the people. He further pointed out that someof the vices in our society today like kidnapping,

culture which will discourage the practice ofthose cultures that Nigerians are not knownfor. He also stressed that the group was atthe command to solicit for partnership with thecommand in order to re orientate our peoplefor the right values,norms and culture whichNigerians are known for. The group was re-ceived by the Commissioner of Police, his Dep-uty , Abdullahi I. Chafe and the State PolicePublic Relations Officer, Ebere Amaraizu.

C-R-I-M-E... Enugu Police boss talks tough

Abubakar Adamu

Mrs Florence Adebanjo, Chairman board of Directors, NPF MFB

dulged in overdrawing their per-sonal account without securing itwith collateral as against the CBNCode of Corporate Governance.Crime Alert reliably gathered alsothat any staff who attempts to kickagainst the decision of the seniordirector, would be victimized. Itwas learnt that three persons whoattempted to stand their groundsagainst the irregularities wereallegedly shown the way out.

Grumblingin silence

Since their exit, it was gatheredthat most of the staff have beengrumbling in silence for fear ofbeing the next to be shown theexit door. One of managementstaff who reportedly decided to actotherwise by standing his groundon the path of justice is on theverge of suffering same fate withothers that have been sent outexcept interventions from thepowers that be prevailed.

The management staff whomCrime Alert gathered had beenallegedly victimized by his bossfor challenging his decisions, wasreportedly asked to resign his ap-pointment or be dismissed. Theletter of dismissal dated May 2,2013, and signed by the the com-pany’s Secretary on behalf of theChairman, Board of Directors,Mrs Florence Adebanjo, with thetitle ‘Resolution of the Board atits meeting held April 30, 2013,reads: “I am directed by the Boardof Directors to inform you of its

BY EVELYN USMAN

,

,

and CBN’s, which state that any-one beyond managerial levelshould remain at the headquar-ters.

Although the decision whichwas allegedly single-handedlytaken by a senior director with-out the consent of the manage-ment staff did not go down wellwith those affected, as they saw itas below their designations. Also,there were alleged moves to‘smuggle’ in a woman as an in-dependent member of the Boardof Directors, which was also saidto have countered CBN’s code ofCorporate Governance. The wom-an (names withheld), as gath-ered, also doubles as a consult-ant to the bank and owns a train-ing outfit which carries out induc-tion courses for new staff of thebank.

Although, it was gathered thatinduction courses for new staffwere initially done in-house, ap-parently with a view to be pru-dent with the N21million budget

should be charged.Another cause for the seeming

trouble, as gathered, is the allegedimposition of a succession planby the same senior director overthe management staff, withouttheir consent. A succession planis a decision usually taken by themanagement staff on who suc-ceeds a management staff at hisexit. Such plan, it was learnt,ought to have been discussed atthe managerial level before be-ing taken to the Board of Direc-tors for approval. But some of thedirectors were reportedly takenaback after the plan was discov-ered to have been approved bythe board of directors before it wasbrought to their notice.

Also, some of the directors al-legedly have no shares in thebank. They were alleged to havebeen given shares in form of loanson arrival. They were also al-leged to be having insiders deal-ings, such as taking money fromthe NPF Micro Finance bank as

million was saidto have beenspent for the in-duction course,an amount de-scribed as outra-geous, com-pared to whato r d i n a r i l y

We will ensure we do thecorrect thing according toCBN’s code of Corporate Gov-ernance and whoever is wrongwill be asked to step down

BY CYRIL OZOR, NSUKKA assassination,child stealing andarmed robberyamongst others,are not part of ourculture but cul-ture acquiredfrom another peo-ple through mo-tion pictures andfilms and sug-gested thatthrough culturalre- orientation,we shall be ableto go back to our


HOMICIDE detectives at theLagos State Criminal Investigations

Department, SCID, Panti, Yaba, Lagos havespread their dragnet in search of one Vic-tor Chukwuemeka Jewel Udenze, 27 fromUrunebo village, Enugu- Ukwu, AnambraState in connection with the murder of a 35-year-old woman, Bianca Ndidi Okoye atthe deceased residence at Lakwe phase 2,Ibeju Lekki area of Lagos State. The sus-pect was alleged to have murdered his loverafter a hot argument inside her apartmenton the 10th of May, 2013.

Elder brother to the deceased, EmekaOkoye, told Crime Alert that in a desper-ate move to cover his act, the suspect wentaway with the deceased phones, laptop,documents and disconnected every link be-

tween her mother and Victorbut did not enter the bedroom,as she thought it was someprivate matter that would beresolved amicably, after whichshe slept off. Their neighboursalso reported that they heardBianca’s shouts at night but didnot enter her apartment as theyequally did not envisage itwould lead to her death.

“It was in the morning of thenext day 11th of May, 2013,that one of the neighboursasked the deceased childrenafter their mother, to which thechildren said she was stillasleep. The fact of Bianca’sdeath however dawned onthem, when her children werebegging their neighbours formoney to enable them eat.

Beggingfor money

Their neighbour’s suspicionwas compounded when thechildren further told them thatthey were begging for moneybecause their mother had beensleeping since morning. Thisprompted them to go over tothe deceased apartment, andopened her door, only to seeBianca lying on the bed, stonedead.

The neighbours said theytried contacting us but apartfrom her children living withher, they did not know any ofus. However, one of themidentified as Philiper saved theday because she has the GSMnumber of one of Bianca’sfriends identified as Chioma.

Police in Lagos hunt for man,27, that murdered lover

She contacted her and she inturn was asked to contact anyof us to come and carry herbody. That was how we wereable to know what happenedand when we came, we discov-ered that her killer was on therun.”

Speaking with Crime Alert,Chioma said she could not be-lieve what she heard, becauseit sounded like a rude joke.This made her to place a callacross to the suspect, as shehas his phone number. Accord-ing to her, immediately thesuspect picked her call, heasked if any of her friends hadcalled her. She reportedlyasked him why he was askingsuch question and he said ithad to do with the deceased,whom he had problems with.In shock, Chioma shouted, “soit is true you have killed Bian-ca, you will pay for it”, and atthat, the suspect switched offhis phone.

Crime Alert learnt that thecase was reported at ElemeroPolice Station, and policemencame from the station and tookthe remains of the deceasedaway. Autopsy carried out onBianca’s remains revealed thatshe died as a result of stran-gulation. The family of the de-ceased, however, told the po-lice that a few days after theincident, the deceased docu-ments were seen littered on astreet in Enugu. It was alsogathered that Bianca NdidiOkoye was married, but sepa-rated from her husband as atthe time she was killed.

AN Ojo Magistrate’s Court in Lagos, hassentenced a 20-year- old unemployed

youth, Eze Chukwudi, to 12 monthsimprisonment at the Ikoyi Prison, over burglaryand N43, 400 theft. The Magistrate, Mr TaslimiShomade, sentenced the convict, who pleadedguilty to a two-count charge of burglary andtheft, with an option of N43, 000 fine.

According to the prosecutor, ASP Godwin Eze,the convict committed the offences on May 21,at Alhaji Gafaru Community, Imude town inOjo, Lagos. “The convict broke and enteredinto the house of one Mr Samuel Ikechukwu tosteal his Nokia and Blackberry phone along-side his cash all totaling N43, 400”. Eze said.He told the court that the convict was caughtin the act and was taken to the police station.The offences, according to the prosecutor, con-travened Sections 285 and 306 of the CriminalLaws of Lagos State, 2011.

Meanwhile, in another development, JusticeChristopher Balogun of a Lagos High Court,

Igbosere has granted bail to an ex customer ser-vice manager, Mrs Tosin Lawal and her husband,Mr Michael Lawal charged with allegedN178.9million fraud. The couple is facing elev-en-count charges bordering on conspiracy andtheft on which they pleaded not guilty. It will berecalled that they were formerly arraigned beforeJustice Candide Johnson of Igbosere High Courton Jan 24, 2012 who granted the second defendant(Michael Lawal) bail in the sum of N5millionbefore the case was transferred.

According to the charge sheet, the accusedpersons allegedly conspired to defraud EcobankNig. Plc of N179.8million being sales fromfraudulent sales of foreign currency. Accordingto the prosecuting counsel, Mr O.A Owodunni,

the offences contravened Sections 390 and 516 ofthe Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos State, 2003.

Owodunni had told the court that the bail appli-cation of the second defendant will be left unop-posed but urged the court not to grant the firstdefendant bail on the condition that she is flightrisk. “Another fact I want the court to take intoconsideration is that they were arrested at theMurtala Muhammed International Airport at 9.00p.m while trying to escape from the country,” hesaid.

However, the defending counsel, Mr O. Oyedipoargued that the case is a mere stealing offencewhich he is sure the defendants would not run fromif granted bail and that they should not be seen asflight risk by the court.

By UJU MBANUSI

tween him and the de-ceased on facebook.Narrating the circum-stances that surroundedthe death of their sisteron behalf of members ofthe deceased family, herbrother said, “that fate-ful night on the 10th ofMay, 2013, our sister, amother of two from Ogi-di, Anambra state, re-turned to her apartmentin the company of Victor,a male friend whom shehad been seeing for sometime before the incident.Both of them went intothe deceased bedroom.Before she slept off thatnight, the deceased teen-age daughter identifiedas Onyinye said sheheard noise and ex-change of threats be-

Man, 20, to serve 12 monthsin prison for burglary, theft...couple involved in N178.9m fraud granted bail

•The deceased... Bianca Ndidi Okoye

•On the run...Victor Chukwuemeka Jewel Udenze

BY BARTHOLOMEW MADUKWE


LIKE other sectors ofNigeria’s socio-economic

existence, the story of thecountry’s energy sector since theElectricity Corporation of Nigeria,ECN, ordinance No. 15 of1950, has been punctuated byoperational failures. Although,those in charge of the nation’spower sector can claim otherwiseowing to some distant and recentreforms in the sector.

But the sad state of the powersector, is a common knowledgeto both the learned andunlearned man on the streets ofLagos and Lafia, as almost allNigerians are victims of the nearabsence of electricity in a countryof about 160 million people.

It is for this reason, that a lot ofpeople are not often botheredabout developments in the sector,even when such developmentscould make darkness give wayto light. This situation is alreadyplaying out, following theliquidation of the Power HoldingCompany of Nigeria,PHCN.

Expectedly, this move wouldhave triggered diverse reactionsfrom consumers following theplanned exit of government in itsmanagement, but reverse is thecase. This, to a large extent,underscored the apathy of thepopulace to happenings in thesector. In fact, but for the disputebetween, National Union ofElectricity Employees, NUEEand the Federal Government,FG,not a few would have beenaware, that PHCN had been

Unending ripples overunbundling of PHCH

BY CHARLES KUMOLU

,

,

buried, leaving in its trail a lot ofcontentious issues.

Liquidation of the PHCN:These issues, VanguardFeatures,VF, findings revealed,bordered on labour matters, jobsecurity of affected staff, how thereforms would enhance powergeneration and distribution, therole of PHCN in the new set up,among others. For instance, itwas recently reported that thegovernment had concludedplans to sack no fewer than20,000 workers of the PHCNahead of takeover by successfulbidders of its assets.

Though the government hadcome out to dismiss the report,fear is the word among PHCNstaff across the country.

Terminalbenefits

While the FG recentlyannounced that N384 billion willbe used to settle the terminalbenefits of workers ahead of theprivatization of PHCN’s assets,the workers led by the SeniorStaff Association of Electricityand Allied Companies, SSAEAC,do not feel comfortable with thedecision. The association has notonly rejected it, but it has like itsNUEE counterpart, gone furtherto petition the Minister of Power,reminding government thatlabour only gave conditionalsupport to the plannedprivatization of the sector.

SSAEAC in the petitionthrough its President-Generaland General Secretary, Mr. Bede

Opara and Biodun Ogunsegha,warned government that if itwent ahead with privatizationwithout carrying labour along, itwould definitely be counter-productive.

The petition reads: “Infurtherance of the agreement thatthe unions in the power sectorsigned with government onDecember 11, 2013, the FederalGovernment of Nigeria throughthe Bureau for Public Enterprises,

BPE, engaged the services of aninternational consultant,Alexander Forbes, to compute,using the necessary variables toarrive at the total terminal benefitsdue to staff of PHCN and alsodetermine the individualbenefits. The unions were invitedto work with the consultant andBPE, to diligently carryout thisassignment.”

Terminal benefits ontroversy:“At the meeting with theconsultant that was held on 14thand 15th January, 2013 in Lagos,our representatives (of the two in-house unions) on thecomputation of terminal/severance benefits, reportedfundamental observations/errorsin the computation as follows:The salary scale used in

computing gratuity is not PHCNsalary scale as at June 2012, asagreed with negotiation teamunder the leadership of SGF.

“Souvenir entitlement wasomitted in computation of totalentitlements as agreed withComrade Hassan SumonuCommittee, in compliance withour 2010 Conditions of Service.The variables used in the formulafor annuity by the consultant arenot realistic: (a) interest rate, (b)

inflation rate (c) discount rate,and (d) life expectancy of eachstaff. Alexander Forbes used:

*5% as inflation rate (pensionincrease), instead of current rateof 12.5%; *14% as discount rate,while the current rate is 11%. Thedata used for all staff are notcorrect in addition to unclearassumed life expectancy of eachworker.” According to SSAEAC:“We are left with no option thanto bring this to your notice, forimmediate redress by directingthe Consultants through the BPEto correct these abnormalities toenable the reform to go on asplanned. While our Union andstaff re-affirm our conditionalacceptance of Government reformdespite our preferred position,we will not allow our members

to be cheated.“Any attempt to the contrary of

the agreement reached will beresisted by the workers. It is inthe light of the above that wewere surprised at theannouncement of a N384 billionapproval by the FederalExecutive Council asrepresenting total terminalbenefits to PHCN Employees.

“This announcement wasgrossly misplaced because theAlexander Forbes Consultantengaged by BPE had notconcluded his assignment and nofigure had emanated from hiswork. We do not understand therationale for announcing such afigure. It should be noted alsothat only the unions asrepresentatives of the workerscan confirm the basis ofcomputations while individualstaff will verify their data.

“The proposed issuance ofstatements of workers’ terminalbenefits at the exclusion of ourassociation headquarters by BPEwill be counter-productive. Theearlier this verification of staffdata is done the better forprogress of the reforms.

We remind the government thatour support for the reform isconditional upon the finalsettlement of all labour liabilities,hence the long period ofnegotiations and the resultantagreement which upheld ourCondition of Service 2010.

It would be recalled that barely24 hours after the governmentsaid it had approved N384 billionfor the payment of allentitlements of workers of PHCN, and process of thepayment expected to begin a dayafter (21-02-13), NUEE rejectedgovernment position,threatening to shut down theindustry, should government failto reverse its position andperceived provocative utterances.

But for the dispute between, NationalUnion of Electricity Employees (NUEE)and the Federal Government,FG, not afew would have been aware, that PHCNhad been buried, leaving in its trail a lot ofcontentious issues

62— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2013

TTTTTsonga taksonga taksonga taksonga taksonga takesesesesesout Fout Fout Fout Fout Federeredereredereredererederer

By Roger Federer’s standards, defeat cameearly in the French Open. And itcame quickly.

The 17-time Grand Slam championlost Tuesday in the quarterfinals to Jo-WilfriedTsonga of France, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3.Federer was eliminated before the semifinals forthe second time in past three major events, butonly the fifth time in the past nine years at a GrandSlam tournament. Tsonga was responsible for twoof the losses — he also beat Federer in thequarterfinals at Wimbledon in 2011.

He’s the first Frenchman to reach the semifinalssince Gael Monfils in 2008. His opponent Fridaywill be No. 4-seeded David Ferrer, who beat fellow

Serena survivesscare

For a very brief instant on Tuesday,Serena Williams thought shewould exit the French Open in

the quarter-finals yet again but shequickly banished the notion to go pastSvetlana Kuznetsova 6-1 3-6 6-3.The world number one, the first Americanwoman in the last four on the Paris claysince Jennifer Capriati in 2004, cameback from the brink and extended herwinning streak to 29 matches to continueher run towards a second French Opentitle.

The last four times 2002 championWilliams had reached the last eight atRoland Garros, she had been sentpacking, in 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2010.

Williams, who will face Italian SaraErrani in the semi-finals, would havebeen lying if she had said she had notthought about her recent record on theParis clay when she was 2-0 down in thethird set against Kuznetsova.

Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-2, 6-1, 6-1.Federer took a 4-2 lead but played like a mere

mortal after that. He blew three overheads, missedeasy volleys, hit no aces, dropped serve six timesand took a shot to the body on the point that putTsonga ahead to stay in the final set.

Facing a break point at 3-all, Federer sliced adrop shot, and Tsonga raced forward to scoop itup. He whacked a backhand that clipped the netcord and then drilled Federer under his right arm.

Tsonga waved in apology, then quickly won thefinal two games. When he closed out the victory,Federer greeted him with a gracious smile andtwo congratulatory pats on the stomach.

Jankovic ready for Sharapova

Jelena Jankovic was awoman in a

hurry on Mondayevening. After waitingaround for the best partof five hours whileStanislas Wawrinka andRichard Gasquet’sfourth round encountermetamorphosed fromroutine straight-setter tofive-set epic, Jankovicstepped out into theevening gloom to delivera clay court masterclassagainst Jamie Hampton.

The 60 62 victory,completed before the on-court clock had struckthe hour mark, seesJankovic return to the

quarterfinals of a majorfor the first time inexactly three years,where she will meetdefending championMaria Sharapova.

“I knew there wasn’t alot of time to play, anhour and a half, beforeit gets dark.I wasfocused from the firstpoint on and reallyplayed my tennis,played my game."

Procter & Gamble Nigeria (P&G) andSTARUF Sports Development

Limited (SSD) have sponsored an U-13and 17 football tournament to celebratechildren’s day at the Sam Ethnan Air ForceBase, in Ikeja, Lagos.

Former Eagles stars, Mutiu Adepoju,Peter Rufai and Tajudeen Disu were someof the dignitaries who attended the event

The Staruf Academy players won in allcategories. Speaking at the event,Communications Manager for Procter andGamble, Olatomiwa Akande said that P&G

Staruf Academy wins P&G kids tourneysponsored the event in line with thecompany’s commitment to touch and improvelives in Nigeria.

“P&G entered into a 10 year partnershipwith the International Olympic Committee -the IOC - to support the Olympics Gamesand to develop youth sports globally. Wechoose to contribute towards developingchildren through sports,as our companypurpose of ‘touching and improving livestallies with the Olympic Games purpose ofbuilding a better world through sports”.

•Tsonga

•Federer

•Serena

•Jankovic

Sharapova

CMYK


'We ‘ll gun down Eagles'Continues from B/P

says the outcome of thefirst leg fixture inCalabar, where Nigerianeeded a late goal todeny Kenya, will be akey motivator when thetwo sides clash again.Cafonline.com spoke toWanyama ahead of thematch.

In a pre-match chatwith Cafonline, theCeltic of Scotland said,“we started well againstNigeria in Calabar andwe therefore, expect tocontinue with the sameperformance at home.

Overall we dominatedproceedings in Calabarand scored a wondergoal through FrancisKahata. We were letdown by lack onconcentration thatallowed Nigeria to levelmatters. We want to keepon with that spirit andlooking at the players’ incamp, they have strongbelief that a win ispossible.”

Wanyama admittedthat being the captain ofthe team has put somepressure on him butsounded optimistic

No retreat, no surrender•Our mission is to pick maximum points — Keshi

NIGERIA CoachStephen Keshi has

stated clearly that theAfrican champions willnot settle for anything lessthan the three maximumpoints when they take onKenya in Nairobi in acrucial 2014 FIFA WorldCup qualifying match onWednesday.

A confident Keshiadded at the team’s onlytraining session in theKenyan capital onTuesday that theHarambee Stars’ 1-1 drawwith the Super Eagles inthe first match in Calabarin March was in the past,and that his boys retaintheir focus of earning aticket to Brazil next yearsummer.

“We respect theKenyans for what theyachieved when we playedin Nigeria, but I like tostate that is in the past.We have forgotten aboutthat, just as we are notgoing to be thinkingabout the fact that wehave beaten Kenya innine of 11 previousmeetings.

“The important thing isthat we have a missionhere and that is to pickthe maximum points andthen go to Namibia to dosame. That way, wewould have enhancedour chances of

qualification for the WorldCup before going to theConfederations Cup.”

The former Nigeriacaptain admitted that theteam would have loved tohave midfielders VictorMoses and Kalu Ucheand striker EmmanuelEmenike with them inNairobi, but that hisgameplan is notsignificantly affected.

“Our focus is unaffectedand our determination

not in anyway weakened.We were forced to a 2-2draw by Mexico in a

Stars get N6.5 million boost to beatEagles

KENYAN nationalteam, Harambee

Stars received Sh2.5mboost from three corporate

firms yesterday ahead oftheir must win African2014 World Cup qualifieragainst Nigeria’s SuperEagles today.

Nairobi Water

Company, through theirhead of corporate affairs,Mbaruku Vyakwelidonated Sh500,000, UAPInsurance have Sh2mthrough James Wambuguwhile Credit Bankhanded in Sh1m.

While handing thesponsorship to Stars atthe Moi, Kasaraniyesterday, the sponsorsobserved that Stars are thebiggest ambassadors thecountry has and need allthe support they can getfinancially and otherwise.

“We need to appreciatewhat Stars do for thiscountry. Our donation isan appreciation of this factand we promise moreshould they beat Nigeriaon Wednesday,” saidVyakweli.

“It is a difficult positionto take because it comeswith a lot ofresponsibility but I amready to rise up to theoccasion. I was handedthe armband during thematch in Calabar afterOliech had beensubstituted though itwas for few minutes. Wewill only play as a teamand try to avoid theissue of who is theleader on the pitchbecause every player isa leader in such bigassignments.

1,500 policemen forKenya/Nigeria clash

AUTHORITIES areleaving nothing to

chance when Nigeria’sSuper Eagles meetKenya’s Harambee Starstoday in a World Cupqualifier.

Government sourcessay Kenyan PresidentUhuru Kenyatta or VicePresident William Rutowould be a special guestof honour at the bigmatch.

As a result, sourcesclose to the FootballKenya Federation statedthat tight security isbeing put in place forthe match, with morethan 1 500 policemen tobe on duty at the Moi

International SportsCentre.

Nigeria will also havesome heavyweightrepresentation of theirown. On Sundayevening, Nigeria’s HighCommissioner to Kenya,Ambassador AkinOyateru flew intoNairobi from officialassignment abroad.

He quickly welcomedthe advance party of theNigeria FootballFederation andinstructed mission staffto provide the team withfull support.

NFF President, AminuMaigari is leader ofdelegation from Nigeria

Japan 1st team to reach2014 World Cup

JAPAN became thefirst team to qualify

for the 2014 World Cupon Tuesday after astoppage-time penaltyby Keisuke Honda

secured a 1-1 draw withAustralia.

Tommy Oar had givenAustralia a 1-0 lead inthe 82nd minute but ahandball by MatthewMcKay in extra time setup the penalty forHonda, who beatAustralia goalkeeperMark Schwarzer withleft-footed shot to the topcorner. Japan needed atleast a point to clinch aspot in next year ’sWorld Cup in Brazilfrom Group B in Asianqualifying.

Both teams had greatscoring chances in thefirst half, but Schwarzergot his right hand up toblock Shinji Kagawa’sshot from close range.

•Ambrose •Enyeama

•Ochieng, Kenya goalkeeper.

friendly match in Americalast week, even without agood number of ourregulars.

We ‘ll suffocate Namibia, says Malawi coach

MALAWI coachE d i n g t o n

Ng’onamo has admittedhe would rather beplaying on Saturday,when the game wasoriginally scheduled forbefore the Group F

matches were switchedbecause of Nigeria’sparticipation in theConfederations Cup inBrazil.

“I am not happy thatthe games have beenmoved because it meanmost of the supporterswill not come to supportthe national team,”Ng’onamo told BBCSport.

But he issued arallying cry to his side toget maximum points and

turn the screw onNigeria.

“We will play attackingfootball against Nambiafrom the first whistle tothe last whistle. Theboys will be flat out andthey are going to sweatblood,” he added.

“I don’t know what willhappen with Nigeria. intheir matches but ouraim is to beat Namibia,and then Kenya nextweek, to move on to 11points.”

CMYK

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

e-mail: [email protected] 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, JUNE 5, 2013

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

Sudoku

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS

QUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORDQUICK CROSSWORD

Eagles Vs Harambee StarsEagles Vs Harambee StarsEagles Vs Harambee StarsEagles Vs Harambee StarsEagles Vs Harambee Stars

•Our mission is to pick maximum points — Keshi

No retreat, no surrender!No retreat, no surrender!No retreat, no surrender!No retreat, no surrender!No retreat, no surrender!PREVIOUS

MATCHES INGROUP F

Nigeria 1 Namibia 0Kenya 0 Malawi 0Malawi 1 Nigeria 1Namibia 1 Kenya 0Nigeria 1 Kenya 1Namibia 0 Malawi 1

Kick-off: 2 p.m. SUPER EAGLES HARAMBEESTARS

Vincent Enyeama,Austin Ejide, ChigozieAgbim, Efe Ambrose,Elderson Echiejile,Kenneth Omeruo,Azubuike Egwuekwe,Kunle Odunlami,Godfrey Oboabona,Solomon Kwambe,Benjamin Francis, JohnMikel Obi, OgenyiOnazi, Fegor Ogude,John Ogu, Sunday Mba,Emeka Eze, AhmedMusa, Brown Ideye,Joseph Akpala, MichaelBabatunde, NnamdiOduamadi, AnthonyUjah, ObinnaNwachukwu, GamboMuhammed.

Duncan Ochieng,Wilson Oburu, JerimOnyango, AndrewMurunga, BenedictOwuor, John Njoroge,David Ochieng, JockinsAtudo, Abdulatif Omar,Francis Kahata, PeterOpiyo, Edwin Wafula,Mulinge Ndeto, AliBhari, Kepha Aswani,Martins Musalia,Abdallah Juma, PatrickOsiako, VictorWanyama, StephenWaruru, JohannaOmollo, JamalMohammed

•Keshi

'We ‘ll gundown Eagles'

Japan 1st team toreach 2014 World Cup

1, 500policemenfor Kenya/Nigeriaclash

Stars getN6.5 million

boost to beatEagles

KENYA captainVictor Wanyama is

confident that HarambeeStars will floor Nigeria’sSuper Eagles in the 2014World Cup qualifier atMoi Kasarani Stadiumtoday.

The Celtic midfielder

We ‘llsuffocateNamibia,

says Malawicoach

TransferTalk P.38

& 39

•Details Inside

•Amrouche

•Wanyama

ACROSS1 Absolute (5)5 Voucher (6)8 Frill (5)10 Even (6)11 Declare (4)14 Amorous (6)15 Invented (7)18 Marry (3)19 Decay (3)21 Peruse (4)23 Material (5)24 Pip (4)27 Fellow (3)29 Fix (3)31 Rebelling (7)32 Rifleman (6)34 Quote (4)35 Arachnid (6)38 Performed (5)39 Conquer (6)40 Cogs (5)

DOWN2 Border (3)3 Amatory (6)4 Groove (3)5 Duck (4)6 Talented (6)7 Pulled (6)9 Applauded (7)12 Promise (3)13 Travel (4)16 Relax (4)17 Giver (5)20 Smallest (7)22 Soon (4)24 Method (6)25 Heroic (4)26 Show (6)28 Pace (6)30 Obtain (3)33 Breed (4)36 Favourite (3)37 Newt (3)

ACROSS: 1, Scaled 5, Dirt 8, Dozen 9, Run10, Atom 11, Scan 12, Epoch 13, Border16, Deft 18, Note 20, Ram 22, Vie 23, Try24, Solo 25, Erne 28, Truant 30, Villa 32,Goat 33, Idea 34, Ear 35, Sound 36, Ever37, Stated.

DOWN: 1, Scribe 2, Abnormal 3, Elated 4,Competent 5, Descent 6, Inch 7, Tang 8, Doe14, Revealing 15, Sty 17, Fir 19, Ornament 20,Row 21, Monitor 26, Errant 27, Stored 29,Argue 30, Vase 31, Add.

•Continued on page 63

vanguard june 5th 2013 edition

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