PDP to sanction renegades

Vol. 1 No. 28, Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

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Rivers Crisis: Widow cries to The dangerous Chime to save battle rages on her property ANAMBRA GUBER POLL

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PDP to sanction renegades A

By Ted Peters

PDP Time-Table released INEC to update voters' register

s preparations for the November 16, 2013 Governorship Election in Anambra State gear up, the Stakeholders in the state chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have agreed to sanction any member who might resort to litigation after losing in the screening exercise and primary election that would produce the party's candidate for the election.

Also, the Stakeholders agreed to throw their weight behind whoever emerges as the party's governorship candidate irrespective of the section of the state he hailed from.

This was part of the agreements

Continues on page 2

Cow head-butts butcher to death ·Pg 18

APGA Umeh's Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson (centre) presenting a souvenir to the winner of the 26th victory & edition of the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria Pageant Miss. Anna Ebiere Banner (right) in Yenagoa, while the Minister of Culture, High Chief Edem Duke (left) looks on. Photo by Lucky Francis Okwu's I see widespread revolution Pg– 3T.B Joshua rage ·Pg 20

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Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

ADVOCATE

Anambra Guber Poll

PDP to sanction renegades PDP Time-Table released (N100,000,000) from sale of time table for the election of its forms to gubernatorial contestants. governorship candidate.

The list obtained from the party, Women are expected to purchase Monday, showed that twenty-three only the Expression of Interest aspirants have picked forms. 17 of form for N1million only and the the aspirants were men while the nomination form is given to them free in line with the norms of the remaining six were women.

The national leadership of the PDP party, just as the men will pick the had pegged the fee for the forms at Expression of Interest form for N1 candidates. equity, fairness and transparency.” N6 million, with Nomination form million and the Nomination form The Anambra stakeholders' M e a n w h i l e , t h e n a t i o n a l to cost N5 million while for N6 Million, amounting to N6 meeting with the PDP leadership leadership of the party is expected expression of interest form is million was fully attended by who is who to rake one hundred million N1million while announcing the in the state chapter. Almost all the gubernatorial aspirants who are working hard to grab the party's ticket for the November 16 poll were present. Some party leaders and elders, who spoke at the meeting, emphasized the need to 1.

Senator Emmanuel Andy Uba guard against hijack of the party's 2.

Senator Emmanuel Anosike ticket, stressing that the only way 3.

Senator Alphonsus Ubanesse Igbeke PDP could win the election was to produce a candidate that would be 4.

Nicholas Ukachukwu acceptable to all camps.

5.

Tony Okey Nwoye However, at the end of the meeting the party issued a resolution signed 6.

Chief Mrs Josephine Anenih

by Tony Okeke, Acting National 7.

Uzoh Obinna Chukwudum Publicity Secretary, saying that all 8.

Okeke Ugochukwu members of the party had agreed to work in unity for the success of the 9.

Okoye Michael party in the November 16 election.

10. Nwankpo Akachukwu Sullivan It also agreed to sanction any aspirant or member that institutes 11. Okonkwo Sylvester Onuorah legal action against the party after 12. Obiogbolu Alexander Odikasigbue the nomination of the party's 13.

Ugokwe Jerry Sonny flagbearer.

The agreement reads: “The 14. Okeke Walter Ubaka National Working Committee 15. Charles Odunukwe Charles today held a meeting with stakeholders of the Anambra State 16. Chuba Ikpeazu PDP as part of preparations for the 17. Azodo Eucharia Okwunna November 16th Governorship election in the state . The 18. Okonkwo Donatus Chukwunonso stakeholders were drawn from all 19. Onyema Chuwuka Wilfred known groups and tendencies 20. Kramer Agape Ifunayachukwu within the party in the state. After exhaustive deliberations, the 21. Onyenisi Obianuju meeting resolved as follows: 22. Adimachukwu Calista “That all members of Anambra State PDP will work in unity to 23. Udemba Chinyere ensure victory for the Party in the Below is PDP Time-Table for the November 16, 2013 Governorship Election: forthcoming Governorship election in Anambra State.

ANAMBRA STATE GUBERNATORIAL TIME-TABLE “That all those who have cases in court shall withdraw such cases failing which the party will take severe disciplinary measures against them. No member of the party in Anambra state shall institute any suit on any matter affecting the conduct of the forthcoming congresses and primary election for the November governorship election without allowing the Party exhaust all internal processes as outlined in the Party's constitution for the resolution of conflicts.

“No matter the outcome of the primary election, no member shall engage in anti-party activity but all aspirants shall work together to deliver the party's candidate in the November governorship election in the state.

“In the conduct of the congresses and primary, the party will ensure a level playing field guided by

INEC to update voters' register 23 aspirants jostle for ticket Continued from cover page reached by the Stakeholders during the meeting convened by the PDP National Working Committee, NWC chaired by the National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur in Abuja last week.

The PDPalso released its guidelines and timetable for its primary election to pick a candidate for the election in the state.

These came against the backdrop of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)'s announcement of its plan to begin registration of voters and revalidation of voter's cards as part of efforts to ensure a credible election in the state.

National Chairman of INEC, Prof.

Attahiru Jega, who spoke at the meeting of the electoral body with Anambra State stakeholders on the preparation for election, charged them to engage in the electoral process in strict compliance with the rules of the game.

“Our preparations for the elections include doing the continuous voter's registration from 19th to 25th of August 2013, in order to update the registers as required by law, before the elections. Doing this will give an opportunity for all those who have attained the age of 18 and above since the last registration in 2011 to register, for all those who have registered and we have their records on the manual register, that is those on the so called addendum register or whose details are incomplete, to have their registration status updated. It is in this context that we have made a review of the register of voters for Anambra State a key item on the agenda for today's meeting. As we are all aware, the credibility of the register of voters goes a long way to assure the credibility of the elections.

“In this regard, we have left no stone unturned in order to clean up and have a very credible register for Anambra State before the November 16 governorship election. You will be adequately briefed on the current state of the register and the plans to update it,” Jega said.

Shortly after INEC announced its plan for the Anambra poll, PDP released its guidelines even as the stakeholders gathered at the party's national secretariat in Abuja and urged the national leadership to fight against imposition of

The Aspirants that obtained Expression of Interest Form:

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ADVOCATE

Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

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Widow cries to Chime to save her property

By Patrick Okolie

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N Enugu-based widow, Mrs. Grace Chukwu, whose building is being threatened for demolition by officials of Enugu State Capital Territory Development Authority, ECTDA, for alleged nonregistration in the ministry, has cried out to Governor Sullivan Chime to urgently intervene and call his officials to order.

The woman who said that the property was the only valuable asset with which she takes care of her family, expressed fears that if demolished as threatened by the officials of ECTDA, she would be subjected to an untold hardship, hence her decision to appeal to Governor Chime to come to her aid.

Already, the widow has petitioned the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke, over the threat by Enugu State Commissioner for ECTDA, Engr. Ikechukwu Ugwuegede to demolish the said property in Enugu metropolis.

The petitioner, who owns a leasehold property situated at Plot CR79 in Block XXVI, Achara Layout, Enugu otherwise known as No. 217 Agbani Road, Enugu, said that the commissioner had on July 1, 2013 invaded her premises and threatened to demolish the block of stores despite his pending appeal in suit number E/185M/2012 challenging the ruling of Enugu High Court in favour of the petitioner.

In the petition written by her counsel, Chief Tagbo Ike, the widow narrated that she had in December 2011 duly applied to

Widow’s property at No. 217 Agbani Road, Enugu.

Enugu South Town Planning Authority for the approval of a building plan for the erection of a block of stores in her attempt to develop the said plot.

But she met a stone wall as officials of the Town Planning office reportedly cited the interest of one Mr. Matthias Ekweremadu, younger brother to the Deputy Senate President , Ike Ekweremadu as being in conflict with the widow's application.

“The said Mr. Ekweremadu had (allegedly) induced the impaired son of our client (widow), Prince Emeka Chukwu to forge a land instrument purporting a transfer of the said property. The fake transfer is a subject of pending suit in suit number E/142/2009 Mrs Grace Chukwu Vs. Prince Emeka Chukwu & 3 Ors”, the petitioner said.

Following the delay in obtaining the approval of the plan, the widow approached the ECTDA commissioner, Engr. Ugwuegede and his aide Mr. E. C. Asadu, who

demanded payment of fees for the building plan approval. The fee was later paid and well receipted after which the Commissioner and his aide promised to look into the widow's building plan application, although they never did.

“Rather the duo kept on with their sing-song of either not having time to approve the building plan or that the plot wherein the building was to be built was in dispute. As time wore on, our client found out that the dillydally equivocation of Engr.

Ugwuegede and his aides over the approval of the building plan was m a s t e r m i n d e d b y M r.

Ekweremadu, who was seen severally in company of Engr.

Ugwuegede at our client's said property,” the petitioner further stated.

She informed the Attorney General that Ugwuegede and his aides “deliberately allowed the process of building plan approval to linger for over three months

when the Building Plan (Special Provisions) Law, Cap 18 Laws of Enugu State, 2004 had provided for a maximum period of one month (30) days, and beyond which in absence of formal rejection of the building plan shall be deemed approved.”

Expectedly, the petition said, the widow took advantage of the said provision of the law and initiated a suit at the High Court, Enugu in Suit No. E/185M/2012 and the court affirmed and declared that the widow's building plan submitted to the ECTDA was deemed approved.

However, Ugwuegede appealed against the Enugu High court judgment but rather than pursue his appeal, he (Ugwuegede) in company of Mr. Ekweremadu and workmen, on July 1, 2013 invaded the premises and ordered the widow's tenants to park their belongings and leave as earthmoving machines would shortly arrive to demolish the block of stores which, according

I see widespread revolution – T.B Joshua …Calls for youth inclusion

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igeria-based teleevangelist Pastor T.B. Joshua of the Synagogue, Church of All Nations on Sunday carried on with his message for job creation with a call to include the youth in decision-making positions or risk mass unrest.

The pastor, speaking during a live service broadcast on his Emmanuel TV, said: “I am seeing a revolution. I am seeing people take to the street. At the beginning of that protest, it might be stopped.

Eventually, it will become so big that it cannot be stopped.”

In the message entitled '*Carry Your Youth Along'* the prophet, however, said there was a way out and cited job creation for the youth and the creation of a new social value system.

This, he said, was because 90 percent of the youth have come to believe that it was by becoming political thugs that they could be successful, especially because those in the political offices do not

want to retire and become statesmen.

He also said the youth should be considered for inclusion in all sectors of the economy as they seem to be more educated than their elders because they are exposed to modern technology.

“The youth, no matter the education they have, feel they have no place in politics and there is no job to keep them busy. There must be new orientation,” said T.B Joshua who has in recent weeks taken job creation as a pilot project of his ministry.

In an indirect chastisement of political leaders who cling to power, the Lagos-based cleric said it was time the youth were considered for important positions such as assistants to the elders.

Said he: “While the elders are ministers, the youth could be junior ministers. This little example of being junior ministers can change the situation of things.

Tell your presidents - in every

department of government or politics, the youth should be junior assistants to the heads of such departments.”

By doing this, he said, the youth would be groomed to take over tomorrow because they are leaders of tomorrow.

“This is a message to the whole world. This is because revolution is a weapon of change that is coming. This is the vision I saw.

Revolution is coming when people will take to the street because life has no value anymore to the people out there.

“Any nation that will start it now, will avert the coming revolution.

Carry your youth along in your politics and administration especially in ruling your country. I have said it; none of these will go without being fulfilled,” said the pastor who lamented that his messages right from the beginning of his ministry were never believed until they came to pass.

Among some of his predictions that came true were the revolution in Egypt, death of former Malawi president Bingu wa Mutharika and

recently, the derailing of the train in a French-speaking country, just to name a few.

According to the prophet, if the youth are carried along, whenever there is a revolt or situation they will be available to readily speak to their colleagues and peace will be maintained.

“The youth want to see themselves represented in every area of life,” he said.

The pastor who has often been accused of being a prophet of doom for his hard-to-swallow predictions, was quick to warn his world viewers, saying he only speaks what God tells him.

“Those who cry peace to us, prophesy nothing but smooth things. Those who cry peace to you, victory be to you, all is well, unlimited favour, prophesy nothing but smooth things. As surely as God lives, I [T.B. Joshua] will tell you only what God says. If I am hated, persecuted and intimidated because of my accurate prophetic utterances Blessed be to God who gives the prophecy!”

to Ugwuegede, was built without approved plan. ”Upon being reminded by our client's tenants that there is an extant and subsisting judgment of the High Court that deemed the building plan approved, Ugwuegede retorted that he is bigger than the High Court and that his machinery would do the talking,” recalled the petitioner.

Appealing to the AttorneyGeneral to quickly prevail on Ugwuegede to tow the path of due process and respect the extant and subsisting judgment of the High Court Enugu on the matter, the petitioner said that Ugwuegede and his henchmen were bent on demolishing the said building in pretext that there was no approved building plan when the widow's building plan had been adjudged and deemed approved by a court of competent jurisdiction.

“To mow down our client's building on the basis that no building plan approval exist is not only a blatant resort to outlawry and thuggery but a defiance to the Building Plan (Special Provisions) Law, 2004, which allows building plan to be deemed approved if the relevant authority fails in its duty to reject building plan submitted to it within 30 days of its submission.

Several efforts made to speak to both Ugwuegede and Ekweremadu on the issue proved abortive as they promised to to respond to the issues raised by our reporter who contacted them.

Even the text message to Ekweremadu was not replied up till the time of going to press. The second attempt made to contact Ugwuegede for his reaction did not bear fruit as his line was inaccessible. But Ekweremadu answered his own call during the second attempt to contact him , although after the reporter introduced himself, the line went off. Several calls put across to him rang endlessly but he did not answer any.

However, one of the occupants of the House, Mr. Nkemjika Achara, told The Advocate that when the Commissioner came to the premises “he told me point blank that his officials will soon arrive with bulldozers to demolish the structure.”

“He told me that we are tenants and oblivious of the fact of the registration of the property; he said that he was aware of the Court order stopping his ministry from interfering with the property on the ground that it was deemed to have been approved after three months of the application even when the application was rejected by the approving authority,” he said.

Achara said that since the last visit by the commissioner, Ugwuegede had been sending his workers to the property with open threats to the widow (Landlady) that her house must be pulled down.

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Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

ADVOCATE

Chime seeks more cooperation with France on development

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overnor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State has affirmed the d e t e r m i n a t i o n of his administration to sustain the cordial relationship between the state and France.

Governor Chime gave the affirmation in a speech through his deputy, Mr. Sunday Onybuchi, when the Consul General of F r a n c e i n L a g o s , M r. F r a n c o i s SASTOURN'E paid a courtesy call at the Government House, Enugu.

He added that since the establishment of Alliance Françoise in Enugu that the state had developed interest in French language, adding that there was also much cooperation between the two countries in the areas of Arts and Culture.

According to Governor Chime, Enugu State has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a France Company to develop cement industry in the state because of the good limestone deposit in the state.

Governor Chime indicated the readiness of

government to continue to partner with France in the areas of commerce, industry and education for the benefit of the people of the two countries.

Earlier in an address, the Consul General, M r. S A S TO U R N ' E i n f o r m e d t h e Governor that he was in the Government House after his visit to theUniversity of Nigeria, Nsukka to witness an award given to his country's National who had taught French in the university for about 40 years.

Mr. SASTOURN'E who was accompanied i n t h e v i s i t b y t h e D i r e c t o r, Alliance Françoise, Enugu, Mr. Dominique FANCELLI, added that his country had been in partnership with Nigeria in the areas of oil and gas for many years.

He added that he had come to Government House Enugu to identify other areas of cooperation, adding that his country is determined to assist the state in her developmental programmes.

Ebonyi varsity student found dead naked in hostel

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student of Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Miss Miracle Eze was found dead, naked in her hostel room at the Ishieke campus of the institution.

The deceased, who was in her second year in the Department of Mass Communication, hailed from Nsukka in Enugu State. She was said to have died mysteriously in her room, nude.

Her hostel mates found her lifeless body in her room at Henriv Hostel the next day when one of them noticed that she had not come out of herroom later in the day. On inquiry after knocking on her door and there was no response, she found out that it was locked from inside.

The situation, according to the source, attracted the attention of other students, and the police who later forced the door open and found her lifeless body on her bed.

One of the hostel mates, who did not want her name in print, disclosed to our reporter that the deceased was a close friend but was not aware that the deceased (Miracle) was sick, saying that they were earlier together, on the night she died.

However, she stated that the deceased had told her of one Mohammed who had insisted on dating her, adding that the

deceased cried while telling her about the man's love advances.

She said: “Miracle cried when she met me in my room the same night she died and complained about one Mohammed, whom, she said, had been a threat to her life. She told me that Mohammed's love advances had been a threat to her and she could no longer bear to see Mohammed's face in her room.

“While I was with her, the same Mohammed came in and she left for her room. The following morning as I was preparing for school, I knocked on her door but nobody responded. I thought maybe, she was praying and I left for my exam.”

Other residents of the hostel told our correspondent that they sensed something was wrong when they noticed that the girl's door was still locked from inside until in the evening when they raised the alarm and knocked hard on the door but to no avail.

The students stated that it was when they called her phone and it rang but was not picked, that they peeped through the widow and saw her body on her bed, dead and naked.

The police at Ishieke later deposited her corpse in the mortuary while further investigation continues.

Court dissolves marriage over husband's night crawling Name: Chidimma Chukwuma th DateName: of Birth: Okoli 4 October Brenda Qualification: Student Hobby: Modeling and Acting Hobbies: Modeling, Reading and Meeting People Likes: Likes: People Honesty that are Real Dislike: Dishonesty Dislikes: Laziness Agency: Cosset Models Email: brendyo417@yahoo.com Email: cossetmodel@rocketmail.com

Source: st santos productions Source: st santos productions 07067899677 07067899677

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n Ilorin Area Court on Friday dissolved a four-year-old marriage between Toibat Yahaya and her estranged husband, Muftau, over the man's constant night crawling habit.

Toibat, 31, a resident of Amilegbe Area, Ilorin, had prayed the court to dissolve her marriage to Muftau, for keeping late night.

The petitioner told the court that her husband was fond of coming home late at night, as well as vomiting alcohol. ”My husband will at times come back home around 11.45 p.m., not minding he has a family at home,” she said.

According to her, the marriage was contracted in 2009 and had produced one

male child. ”My Lord, I want an end to this marriage because I cannot cope with his lifestyle anymore”.

The respondent, Muftau, did not object to the plea of his wife, saying she was free to go and try other places. ”My wife wants me to remain indoor with her everyday, which am not used to,” he said.

He urged the court to grant the prayer of his wife without any claim.

The Presiding Judge, Mr Ibrahim Abdulquadri, dissolved the marriage and issued a certificate of divorce to the plaintiff.

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ADVOCATE

Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

FG in cash trouble

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here are concerns in government circles that the country's revenue projection for the 2013 fiscal year may not be realised.

THE ADVOCATE learnt that the gross oil revenue accruing to the Federation Account had dwindled seriously in recent times.

The drop in revenue has raised fears that the Federal Government may not be able to implement the 2013 budget. Sources in government attributed the drop to massive oil theft, illegal bunkering and pipeline vandalism.

Figures obtained by this newspaper, showing the monthly allocations to the three tiers of government by the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, revealed that the country only realised N3.893tn as gross federally collected revenue in the first six months of 2013.

This sum, according to an analysis of the document, showed a shortfall of N321.73bn against the projected revenue of N4.215tn that was projected for the country for the six months period.

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e FA A C document, the monthly budgeted gross federally collected revenue for the country is put at N702.54bn. This is expected to be realised from three revenue sources mineral revenue, N465.057bn; non-mineral revenue, N158.711bn and Value Added Tax, N78.77bn.

However, further investigations revealed that the N3.893tn revenue for the first half of this year was earned as follows: January, N651.26bn; February, N571.7bn; and March, N595.71bn. In the months of April, May and June, revenue receipts by the country were N621.07bn, N590.77bn and N863.02bn respectively.

In the same vein, the country recorded significant revenue drop between January and May. The shortfalls were recorded as follows; January N51.28bn; February N130.84bn; March N106.84bn, April N81.47bn and May N111.77bn. Curiously, there was a surplus of N160.48bn in June as the country's revenue receipts of N863.02bn exceeded the budgeted sum of N702.54bn owing to completion of pipeline repairs in some terminals.

It was gathered that unless the revenue generating agencies step up their efforts and leakages in the oil sector were taken care of, the country might only realise about N7.78tn for the 2013 fiscal year instead of the projected N8.43tn going by the first-half revenue trend.

During the week, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said that the country was losing 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day to illegal bunkering and vandalism of

oil pipelines.

Okonjo-Iweala, who appeared before the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Appropriation/Finance in Abuja last Tuesday, had said, “We are losing revenue; 400,000 barrels of crude oil are lost on a daily basis due to illegal bunkering, vandalism and production shut-in.

“I have to clarify that it is not as if the entire 400,000 barrels is stolen, no. What happens is that whenever the pipelines are attacked and oil is taken, there is a total shut down.

All the quantity of oil produced for that day will be lost because it means government cannot sell it and it means a drop in revenue.”

The minister explained that this was the reason President Goodluck Jonathan sought to amend the 2013 Appropriation Act as against sending a supplementary budget to the National Assembly.

She pointed out that with the revenue shortfalls currently facing the country, there was no way the government could afford a supplementary budget.

Okonjo-Iweala told the committee, “You cannot talk of supplementary budget when your revenue is going down. That is why we are asking for an amendment to restore the money that was removed.”

Worried by the shortfall in revenue, the Federal Government had constituted a committee headed by the Governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Isa Yuguda, to address the oil theft problem.

Other members of the committee are the Governors of Delta, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan; Anambra, Mr. Peter Obi; and Gombe, Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo.

The rest are the Minister of Finance, Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Dr. Bright Okogu; and the Accountant General of the Federation, Mr. Jonah Otunla.

Okonjo-Iweala said the committee had also resolved to address the root cause of the revenue challenges facing the country.

Reacting to this development, the Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited,

Mr. Bismarck Rewane, warned that a revenue drop could hurt the nation's economy.

Rewane said, “If indeed about 400,000 barrels of crude oil are lost every day, that's about 20 per cent of daily oil production.

Remember crude oil is the mainstay of Nigeria's economy. If they take away 20 per cent of your salary, you know how that will affect you. Nigeria cannot survive on what will be left if that amount of revenue is lost every day.”

But a public intellectual and economist, Henry Boyo, expressed surprise that Nigeria had lost so much to oil bunkering despite the huge sums government had spent to secure oil facilities and pipelines.

“It is quite surprising that despite the huge amount that has been spent by the Federal Government to put in place security patrols on the coasts of the Niger Delta, oil bunkering has reached this stage. ,” he said.

Also, political economist, Pat Utomi, said the diversification of

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the nation's revenue streams, and not worries about a drop in revenue, should be government's immediate concern.

He said, “I have always belonged to the school of thought that suggests that only a small percentage of the oil revenue should be shared between the tiers of government “I have even suggested, even though with tongue in cheek, that Nigeria should cap its oil wells so that we can make a conscious effort at developing other sectors.

All kinds of individuals who should not have been anywhere near governance are running to become public servants because of oil revenue.

“We have been killing other sectors of our economy. Maybe we need to be broke to return to our senses and dedicate more time to other sector such as agriculture, and manufacturing,” the economist said.

Group flays govt's neglect of physically words with action to bring about a and good health care, the group challenged paradigm shift in the fortunes of noted.LASEDI called on all the

By Ted Peters

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non-governmental organization, Legal Aid and Self Development Initiative, LASEDI, has condemned the unfair treatment and the lackadaisical attitude of the State and Federal government towards people living with disabilities in the country.

In a statement signed by its Executive Secretary, Barrister Ifeanyichukwu Mamah, the organization noted with concern the recent protest march by over 200 persons living with disabilities in Asaba, Delta state capital on account of alleged government's neglect.

The statement reads: "A case in point is the incident which took place on the 9th of July, 2013 in Delta State. The Government of Delta State shouldn't have allowed the fortunes of the physically challenged in the state to degenerate to a point where demonstrations by blocking Asaba axis of the Benin - Onitsha Expressway would become a last option to draw the attention of the Government to their plights.

“The State Government owes Nigerians an explanation on the reason why over 200 persons living with disabilities are crying as a result of neglect by the Government. The bone of contention here was the failure, refusal and or neglect by the Government of the application for health services. This callous act resulted in five people losing their lives.

"We call on all levels of G o v e r n m e n t s , Federal/State/Local and stakeholders to harmonize all their efforts toward resolving the problems of physically challenged persons. It is critical that all levels of government should match

physically challenged person.

This can be done, by creating employment for them, facilitating access to SMES fund and Health care schemes, vocational education and award of scholarships.”

The group further urged the National Assembly to urgently pass a bill for an “Act to ensure full integration of persons with Disabilities" as well to establish a National Commission for persons with Disabilities and vest it with the responsibilities of their Health care and the protection of their Social Economic and Civil Rights.

The bill, if passed, will address the issue of unemployment, poverty, education of people and young people with disabilities provide security, housing, transportation

Non Governmental Organisations and Civil Society Organisations to rise up to the challenge of championing the cause of physically challenged persons in Nigeria.

"Let us emulate countries like South Africa that possess a more comprehensive disability rights legislation and policy regime. The physically challenged should be involved and carried along in policy making and implementation."

LASEDI was created to advocate and address issues concerning indigent, physically challenged persons and the promotion of good governance in Nigeria. The organisation. had successfully represented hundreds of victims in legal issues.

We'll deal with Boko Haram in three months – Jonathan

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resident Goodluck Jonathan has said that in the next three months the problem of Boko Haram insurgency would have been significantly eradicated.

The President, a CNN interview monitored by our correspondent on Friday, said Nigeria's “security architecture” was not prepared for the problem of terrorism.

He also said the country was not negotiating with Boko Haram contrary to opinions, but simply making attempts to “change their orientation”.

Jonathan said, “We are not negotiating with Boko Haram. It is done all over the world. It is not negotiation. We are not begging.

“Our security architecture was first designed to deal with ordinary criminals but since terror started, we have been building it. I believe if you are to interview me again in three months' time, you

will praise me that this government has tried.

“We are tackling terror from various angles. We must first of all stop them through military intervention, which we have initiated by declaring a state of emergency in three states where these terror attacks are predominant.”

CHANGE OF NAME

NWODO – I formerly known as Miss Chiamaka Bethel Nwodo now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Chiamaka Bethel Ogbodo. All former documents remain valid. General public, please take note

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Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

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Mob sets Electricity workers shut down PHCN offices in S' East over indebtedness truck ablaze for T crushing 3 youths on Okada

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mob in Okuku a suburb of Ogoja in the northern town of Cross River State, last weekend, set ablaze a Champion Breweries truck after it crushed three youths riding on Okada.

An eye witness, Matthew Ekawu, a staff of Yala Local Government Area, said that the truck came from Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital laden with over 2,000 crates of the company's products for delivery to a local distributor.

He said the driver had negotiated the bend at the Okuku roundabout and was heading towards the direction of Mary Knoll College when four youths on a motor cycle went speeding towards the direction the truck was coming from on their way to the Graki cattle market at Igoli.

Ekawu said: “The truck had occupied part of the narrow road and on the other side was a stationery car. In the effort to avoid colliding with the car, the motorcycle tried to maneuver through the little space between the truck and the car but the space was too small and they ended under the rear tyres of the truck and were crushed.”

One of the boys was, however, able to jump down from the motorcycle but three others, Ohiho Ogar, John (the rider) and Alice, the girlfriend to Ohiho who was a student of the Cross River State University of Technology were all crushed by the truck.

After the accident, youths operating okada at the Okuku junction chased the truck and caught up with it some yards away and went after the driver who escaped into the bush.

“The driver apparently did not know that some people had died under the back tires of his truck.”

When the youths caught up with the truck they went after the driver who ran into the bush and they descended on the drinks.

“They turned the place to a party arena and drank the beer till the next morning” Ekawu said.

A source at the Okuku police station said only three policemen were on duty that day and were over whelmed by the crowd which descended on the truck “When we called on the DPO at Okpoma for re-enforcement he said there was no means of transportation so the boys had all night to loot the drinks and set the truck ablaze”.

HE headquarters of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company of Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, Enugu Zonal was shut down, Wednesday, by aggrieved workers over nonpayment of staff claims and other entitlements.

Reports from other South East States of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi and Imo States which are under the Enugu Distribution Zone, said all the Business Units and Customer service centres were also shut down throughout yesterday.

The officials of Nigeria Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE in the zone, ordered the locking out of workers following the alleged refusal of the Chief Executive Officer, PHCN Enugu zone, Engr.

Suleiman Yahaya to response to their letter requesting him to settle the outstanding entitlements before the new owners of the company took charge.

Several customers who tried to recharge their pre-paid meters were unable to do so as they met the gates under lock and key in the early hours of Wednesday, while some armed military men and private security guards were seen patrolling the premises apparently to forestall breakdown of law and order.

Both senior and junior workers of the company were nowhere to be found as they complied fully with the union's directive to stay away from their offices until their demands were met.

Senior Assistant General Secretary, NUEE, Comrade Cyprian Ndubuisi Akor said in a telephone chat that the PHCN workers in Enugu zone decided to down their tools and lock up the headquarters and other offices within the zone in protest against the poor attitude of the CEO to the plights of the staff.

He said that even when the workers had been notified that they would be laid off very soon to enable the new investors take charge, their entitlements had not been paid while other debts owed workers in form of genuine claims, had been ignored by the management staff, who he alleged were busy taking care of their own interests ahead of the workers' disengagement.

Said Akor: “As you know, PHCN said it is privatizing and preferred bidders have paid some money and are ready to take over the management. The government said all the entitlements of the workers would be paid before handing over the company to the new owners but I can tell you that up till now we have not seen anything.

“In Enugu zone in particular, the management owes workers a lot of claims and we want them to settle the outstanding debts before the new owners come in. We

the matter is resolved.

Instead of responding to our demands, the CEO and some of his management staff are busy buying brand new cars which they will cart away upon their disengagement.

“The CEO recently bought a brand new Sports Utility Vehicle, S U V, w o r t h N 2 5 million and Toyota Camry car worth about N10 million this July, which he plans to take away after his disengagement but he has refused to settle outstanding claims of junior workers, which is very unfortunate.”

Engr. Suleiman Yahaya Besides, Comrade Akor wrote the CEO, Engr. Yahaya and said that there were some gave him 14 days ultimatum to unresolved issues about some meet our demands but he staff in Ogidi Business Unit who declined. Thereafter we extended were laid off unjustly even after the ultimatum by another 21 days, their senior colleagues who were yet he did not respond to our also indicted for the same offence, had been reinstated. letters.

“Based on this shabby treatment, “The management had terminated the union decided to lock up the the appointments of four junior headquarters in protest from staff in Ogidi Business Unit for an today and we shall stay away until offence they allegedly committed

with other senior staff. The senior staff had since been pardoned and reinstated while the junior ones were left to perish. An Ad-hoc committee was set up to look into their case and recommended that they should be recalled but the CEO and his management team had remained adamant. We are not happy about this,” Akor said.

He, however, vowed that unless their demands were met, the headquarters would remain locked as the aggrieved workers were no longer ready to continue working and grumbling over the gross neglect of their plights When contacted over the d e v e l o p m e n t , y e s t e r d a y, Assistant General Manager Public Affairs in the zone, Mr. Eseme Udoh described the action of the union as unfortunate, stressing that the management had for long maintained a robust relationship with the union and was opened to dialogue whenever the need arose.

He, however, said that all the workers' grievances would be resolved amicably just as he apologized to customers who were affected by the lock up to bear with the company, assuring that the offices would be reopened soon to enable them have access to various services in the zonal headquarters.

Army orders Psycho-evaluation for Al Mustapha

T

he Army hierarchy may have cleared the air on the employment status of Hamza Al Mustapha, former chief security officer, CSO, of the late military head of state, General Sani Abacha, but the coast may not be totally clear for him to return to the army.

According to reliable sources in the Defense headquarters, AlMustapha must first be certified fit to return to the army. As a result, it was learnt that a psychological evaluation session has been scheduled for the former CSO. According to details gathered by the journalists Thursday, clinical sessions for assessing the mental fitness of the army major has been scheduled in either one of the military hospitals in Enugu or Lagos.

It was learnt that the Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Azubuike Ihejirika, had expressly ordered the clinical session. Al Mustapha having spent more than a decade in prison is considered unfit by some in the army. Even more, some political Hawks insist that the army major, with his vast knowledge in intelligence must be kept out of circulation, especially at this point in the country when there is tension.

Contrary to rumors to the effect that Al Mustapha may be retired,

unfolding indications shows that this may not be the case. As learnt, the military may still have role for him especially with the war on terror. Originally hailing from Yobe, North East of the

country currently in a state of siege from insurgents, Al Mustapha's release, some said, might bolster the war on terrorism.

W h i l e i n p o w e r, A b a c h a maintained close link with Niger, Chad and Libya, countries linked with the insurgency in the country.

Gov Okorocha sacks cabinet

G

O V ERNOR Rochas Okorocha, Wednesday, sacked members of Imo State Executive Council midway into their weekly meeting.

Others who suffered the same fate included special advisers, special assistants and political appointees of the state government.

Investigations revealed that the sacked members of the state executive council were shocked because, according to one of them, they least expected it would come so soon.

One of the sacked commissioners said that under anonymity that: “The governor's decision and announcement took all of us by storm. We least expected it. We were in high spirits for the week's executive council meeting, when

the governor threw the bombshell”.

The ex-commissioner said he agreed there was the need to inject new blood into the system, but quickly stressed that “we least expected that our jobs would be terminated today. ”It was gathered that the new state executive council chamber was officially opened yesterday, and members were barely commencing the day's business when Governor Okorocha announced the dissolution of the body.

Another credible Government House source said the governor's action was long overdue, stressing that he wanted to add fresh and more competent hands that would help him run the affairs of the state.

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S' East must produce president in 2015 – Njiko Igbo

T

he Njiko Igbo, a sociopolitical group committed to Igbo presidency project has said the North has no moral right to demand for the presidency in 2015.

In a statement issued by Senator Solomon Onwe, Director of Operation of the pan Igbo group, Njiko Igbo said it was unfortunate that a section of the country, which had held power for nearly 40 years of Nigeria 53 years as an independent nation, was insisting that power must return to it in 2015.

Onwe said though it was the right of every section of the country to agitate for the presidency the only thing morally right is for the South-East to produce the president of Nigeria in 2015 in the interest of equity and fair play.

He said: “Even more irrational is the fact that this vociferous demand is being couched in terms of the morality of power rotation.

But Nigerians ought to understand that as far as central executive power politics in this country is

concerned, the only moral imperative is the concession of the presidency to a Nigerian citizen of Igbo extraction.

“In a recent public statement credited to 'northern leaders', aspects of which were meant to insult other sections of the country, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, the putative spokesman for the 'leaders' said, among other things, that 'if you look at other parts of the country that are making noise, they are small enclaves, perhaps

may not be bigger than Kaduna State'.

Njiko Igbo accepts that in a democratic setting, it is the political right of every section of this country to aspire to the presidency, but insists that such an aspiration must be based on considerations of the democratic ingredients of justice, equity, fair play and genuine moral conduct.

The arrogance that frequently erupts from certain sections of the country is not conducive to the

realisation of equality of opportunity in a pluralistic, multicultural and multi-religious society such as Nigeria.

“The negotiation of the power equation in this country should not be conducted on the basis of aggression, intimidation, insults or ethno-religious arrogance. It must be done on the basis of mutual respect, understanding and sympathetic consideration of the sensibilities of other elements that make up this complex nation.

The old simple ways must yield to the sophisticated complexities of today. These are serious times ovulating serious issues that require serious people's attention.

“For the North to refer to other section of the country populated by patriotic and freeborn citizens as mere enclaves is to suggest that such regions are not qualified either to aspire to or to remain in the central executive position in this country.

“As far as we know, the SouthEast and South-South are, respectively, the major contenders for the presidency in 2015. To dismiss these regions as mere enclaves and the inhabitants who are seeking the highest office in the land as mere noise makers is the height of arrogance and betrays the imperialistic instincts that have thwarted democracy in this country and retarded its progress.”

Enugu NSCDC to intensify war against vandalism

By Patrick Okolie

N

igeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Enugu State has vowed to intensify the war against vandalism of public infrastructure

in the state.

The corps noted with concern that vandalism of public and critical infrastructures had caused huge loses to the Federal Government in the area oil pipelines, PHCN cables and telecommunication,

F

rench government, Wednesday, decorated a Professor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Paul Modum, with a French national award of Palmes Academique (Order of Academic Palms), for his dedication to promoting French Language and culture.

The award, which is the first of its kind to a Nigerian Professor, was conferred on Prof. Modum by the Consul-General of France, His Excellency, Francois Sastourne at the Princess Alexandra Unity Hall and theatre, UNN Speaking at the event, the ConsulGeneral said the French government was pleased to honour Prof. Modum because of his unrelenting promotion of the study of French language in Nigeria. “Generations of students studied under you, many occupy very important positions in life today, you contributed to their growth by exposing them to have contact with French and French Literature. It is important and we are impressed by this effort.

“You have also opened the doors of sophisticated world culture, which in other words could be called the francophone world, to hundreds of young people, who by this opportunity are now well informed. For this singular act, we say thank you Paul Modum,” he said.

In his acceptance speech, Prof.

Modum expressed happiness for being recognised by the French

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Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

Prof. Paul Modum and the Consul-General of France in Nigeria, Francois Sastourne after receiving French national award of Palmes Academique at the University of Nigeria Nsukka.

government, and noted that his decision to study French Language in 1962, was born out of his love for languages not because he had no alternatives. He recalled how he turned down an offer to study law at the University of Lagos but opted to study languages at the University of Ibadan.

He urged the French Government to revitalize the scholarship given to French students to study one year in France or other francophone countries, that enabled them gain exposure and have contact with French speaking people and their ways of thinking.

He thanked the Vice-Chancellor

of the University of Nigeria; Prof.

Bartho Okolo for enhancing the academic and aesthetic standard of the University, a development he said had impacted positively on the academic and social wellbeing of staff and students of the Institution.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Prof.

Bartho Okolo had expressed his pleasure to the French Government for the conferment of the prestigious award on a faculty member of the University. He said that the award was a reflection of the value of excellence which the University of Nigeria was reputed for.

stressing that vandalism had become a deadly cancer eating deep into the fabric of the nation.

The state Commandant of NSCDC, Nathaniel Ubong who made this known at the 2013 Stakeholders' forum on antivandalism organized by the command in Enugu, noted that before the corps was saddled with the responsibility of protecting Public and Critical Infrastructure against vandalism, “the Federal Government has lost billions of naira to vandals especially through the vandalisation of oil pipelines, PHCN cables and Telecommunication in this area.”

Expressing happiness that there had been drastic reduction in the operation of vandals and saboteurs, Commander Ubong said that the corps under the leadership of Dr. Ade Abolurin, had brought to the barest minimum, activities of vandals in all sphere by declaring what he tagged “War Against Vandalism” with an accompanying slogan of “Collect Bribe and die” and “Compromise and be kidnapped.”

According to him, this operational order has propelled the staff to work assiduously without thinking of compromising their stand, bearing in mind the pubic oath of allegiance taken to serve faithfully and whole heartedly.

He stated that the Corps doggedness in fighting vandalism and other related offences “have led to the discovery of illegal refineries in Abia, Delta, Imo, Rivers, Lagos, Bayelsa and Cross River states as well as the discovery of baby factory hospitals in Abia and Enugu State respectively where babies are being sold to prospective buyers.”

Ubong who listed several landmark achievements recorded by the corps in Enugu State including the arrest of a man that engaged in production of adulterated Dry Gin at Akpugo Nkanu West Local government area, foiling of kidnap attempt in

Nsukka, recovery of stolen vehicles, as well as smashing of a syndicate that specializes in manufacturing fake Number Plates and the arrest of illegal coal miners.

He also cited the surveillance and subsequent arrest of a man and a nurse running a baby factory at an acclaimed Maternity House in Enugu, Moonlight Hospital in Coal Camp area of the coal city, as one of the major feats recorded by the command.

The NSCDC boss, however, urged the State Government to partner with the corps to enable it perform better even as he lamented that the surveillance activities of the corps in the state had been seriously constrained by inadequate funding and lack of operational vehicles. “We appeal to the government to assist us in terms of finance and also we solicit for ten Hilux Van as O p e r a t i o n a l Ve h i c l e s , accommodation for the state commandant and N8million for the building of amoury for the safe keep of arms and ammunition,” the commandant said.

Expressing gratitude to the NSCDC Enugu Command, the Enugu State Hon. Commissioner for Inter-Ministerial Affairs, Pastor Dan Anike said that “the Enugu State Government has resolved that all activities against vandalism of oil pipelines will be harnessed into a common front where all stakeholders and security operatives will jointly stand and fight against this monster. This forum is to reiterate our commitment in bringing all the stakeholders to a unified force in order to help build our economy by attacking our common enemies (the vandals).”

Commending the activities of the C o r p s , I g w e D r. I . O .

MbahChukwu-Eze of Nomeh Unataeze in Nkanu East local government, noted that “the corps are obviously giving the dare devil vandals a hard fight and must not rest on their oars.”

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Four protesters killed in Kashmir town, tension in Valley

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t least four people were killed and about two dozen injured in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district Thursday in a clash between protesters and the security forces, police said.

The incident led to tension in Srinagar and adjoining Pulwama, Shopian and Anantnag districts with protesters taking to streets.

In a separate development, a cardiologist was critically injured and two police guards killed when militants attacked them in Pampore town in Pulwama district of the Valley.

Four protesters were killed and over two dozen others were injured when protesters stormed a

camp of the Border Security Force (BSF) in Shaida Gool village of Ramban district, 145 km from Srinagar, police said.

Alleging desecration of a mosque and beating up of an Imam by some BSF personnel, a group of

protesters stormed the camp in Gool town of Ramban district, around 145 km from here.

The guards at the camp fired at the protesters killing four of them and injuring two dozen others, police said.

Ten of the injured, five of them with critical bullet injuries, were airlifted by helicopters to hospitals in Jammu city, 180 km away, for specialized treatment, police said.

S o m e B S F personnel were also injured in the incident.

A BSF official told reporters in Jammu that a BSF trooper had sustained a bullet injury after somebody from among the protesters fired at them after which the guards at the camp opened fire at the protesters in self-defence.

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik was taken into preventive custody along with other supporters in Srinagar when they staged a protest in Maisuma area against the killings.

As the protesters marched towards city centre Lal Chowk, police intervened to break the protest arresting Malik and some other activists of the group.

Clashes between security forces and stone-pelting protesters also broke out in Pulwama and Shopian towns in south Kashmir.

Police used batons and fired in the air to disperse the protesters.

Protesters have also burnt old tyres to block the strategic Jammu-Srinagar highway at Batote, Ramban and Bannihal towns of Jammu region.

Two government vehicles were torched by protesters in Ramban town.

Minister of State for Home Sajad Kitchloo and Director General of Police Ashok Prasad air-dashed to Gool town to take stock of the situation and supervise law and

order restoration operations there.

Senior separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani has called for a three-day protest shutdown against the Gool killings.

Meanwhile, separatist guerrillas shot and seriously injured senior cardiologist Sheikh Jalal at his hometown Pampore.

Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Abdul Gani Mir, told reporters that Jalal, a former director of the prestigious Sher-eKashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Soura (SKIMS) was moving on the street along with his security guards when three guerrillas suddenly appeared and fired indiscriminately at them.

The two security guards were killed on the spot while Mir was taken to hospital, Mir said.

Doctors at SKIMS where Jalal was brought and operated upon have said that his condition has stabilized although he lost one of his eyes because of the bullet injury.

Jalal had been provided armed guards by the state government.

No guerrilla group has owned responsibility for the attack.

58 dead, 175 missing due to China floods

A

total of 58 people died and 175 went missing due to rainstormtriggered floods and landslide last week in China's Sichuan province, authorities said Tuesday.

According to preliminary investigations, the toll includes at

least 44 people who died in a landslide which hit a village in Dujiangyan City, and 117 others went missing, reported Xinhua citing Tan Xiaoping, a senior provincial official linked to flood prevention.

Between July 7 and 12, rainstorms hit 43 counties in Sichuan province, with accumulated

precipitations of 400 mm to 800 mm in Deyang and Dujiangyan, and 800 mm to 1,151 mm in some areas of the two cities, said Ma Li, deputy head of the Sichuan Provincial Meteorological Administration.

Some 13,400 houses collapsed, leaving 3.47 million people as affected. It forced 300,000 people

to relocate due to the heavy rainfall.

As of Monday, the disasters had caused direct economic losses of 20.2 billion yuan (about $3.30 billion, the official added.

Authorities have warned that there may be more natural disasters such as landslides, mudrock flows and floods.

12 killed, over Pope sets up body to overhaul Vatican admin 60 wounded transparency and put economic in Iraq mosque resources to better use.

The commission is tasked with the “simplification and bombing rationalisation of the existing

A

t least 12 people were killed and 62 wounded in a bomb blast during Friday prayers at a Sunni mosque in Iraq, police said.

The attack occurred around midday at the Abu Bakr alSideeq mosque in Wajihiyah in the eastern province of Diyala, police told Xinhua.

Many among the wounded were in critical condition and the death toll was expected to rise.

Sectarian killings between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the volatile province of Diyala have seen a rise recently.

Diyala, which stretches from the eastern edges of Baghdad to the border with Iran, has long been a volatile area since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

P

ope Francis set up a special commission on Friday tasked with overhauling “the economic-administrative structure” of the Vatican in a longawaited reform of the scandal-hit governing body and bank.

The commission is tasked with the “simplification and

rationalisation of the existing bodies and more careful planning of the economic activities of all the Vatican Administrations,” the Vatican said in a statement.

Pope Francis set up a special commission of lay experts on Friday tasked with overhauling the economic and administrative

structure of the Vatican in a radical bid to streamline and clean up the scandal-hit institution.

The commission will delve into the workings of the Vatican's bloated departments and draft reforms to tackle instances of favouritism or corruption, simplify procedures, improve

bodies and more careful planning of the economic activities of all the Vatican Administrations,” the Vatican said in a statement.

It will offer specialist advice on how to “avoid the misuse of economic resources, to improve transparency… to work with ever greater prudence in the financial sphere; to ensure correct application of accounting principles,” it said.

The Argentine pope has worked fast since his election in March to establish a series of specialist bodies to tackle corruption and poor management in the Vatican.

This commission, which will report directly to him, comes on the heels of the establishment of a separate body looking at how to reform the Vatican bank and the appointment of eight cardinal advisors.

The specialists come from Malta, France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Singapore

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Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

9

At 82, Prof. Nwabueze begs God for more five yrs

A

T 82, legal luminary and elder statesman, Professor Ben Nwabueze (SAN) has left his footprints on the sands of time through active law teaching and practice and sociopolitical interventions in the polity.

However, the erudite constitutional lawyer, who helped a host of African countries to develop their judicial systems, says he is yet to finish his mission on earth. He is praying the God Almighty to preserve his life for five years or more, to enable him continue the fight towards transforming Nigeria into a better place for all.

Nwabueze prayed penultimate Thursday at the presentation of his two-volume autobiography titled: “Ben Nwabueze, His Life, Works, Times- An Autobiography,” in Lagos.

The chairman of The Patriots, who is partially incapacitated with age and ill-health said: “The fact that I'm incapacitated by illness, which makes me not strong to stand on my feet to address this gathering doesn't mean that I'm ready to go. I hope to live up to 90 years.”

Explaining the importance of the event, the octogenarian said: “I'm not here mainly because of the presentation of my autobiography, but because of my joy to see and re-unite with those I have not seen for a very long time.

If not for my children, this autobiography wouldn't have been made possible.

My children kept on pressing on me to write about myself. It even came to a point that when they returned from London, they got me a big note and ball pen, saying 'daddy, you can't escape from writing about yourself.' When the pressure heightened, I had to bowin for their superior argument.”

Nigeria's major problem After 52 years of the country's independence, Nwabueze attributed Nigeria's stunted political and economic status to conflict of cultures. “What Nigeria is suffering today is what one can call conflict of cultures.

The colonial culture had over the years wanted to wipe-off our traditional culture, which it has described as unworthy. Our preoccupation today is to see how we can solve this problem; how we can coalesce the 389 ethnic groups that we have in Nigeria.”

On 100 years of the amalgamation of northern and southern protectorates to form Nigeria, he picked holes in what he described as much noise being made by the Federal Government about the event.

Dismissing the ongoing

celebration as insignificant, he said: “What is the significance of the amalgamation to us? As Nigerians, our sole duty and challenge is to chart ways on how to transform and save Nigeria.

Nobody else from outside Nigeria can save it.”

Rain of tributes Eminent persons at the event showered tributes on Nwabueze.

Among the personalities were Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former secretary-general of the British Commonwealth; Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, national chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and chairman of the occasion; Prof. Anya O. Anya, President of Ndigbo in Lagos; HRM Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, the Obi of Onitsha; Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (rtd), former military

governor of Lagos State; Mr. Ade Ipaye, Lagos Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, who represented Governor Babatunde Fashola; Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN) and Eze Ndi Igbo of Lagos, Eze Hyacinth Ohazulike.

There were also Brigadier General Godwin Alabi-Isama (rtd.); Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), former President of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA); and Prof.

Chidi Odinkalu, who reviewed the book.

In his remarks, Onu described Nwabueze as “an erudite scholar, outstanding lawyer, prolific author, a fine administrator, a tireless philanthropist, and above all, a man of peace who fought for the unity and integration of his people.”

Lauding Nwabueze's

achievement, while serving as Federal Secretary of Education, Onu, the first civilian governor of old Abia State said Nwabueze “was the best minister of education our country has produced. If he had spent more time in that office, our educational system would have been far different from what it's now.”

The ANPP leader, who decried the dwindling standards of the nation's education system said the system was no longer what it used to be in the 70's.

“It's sad that we have not as a nation effectively used education in the very important task of nation-building. In the 70's, our universities ranked among the best in the Commonwealth (but) this is no longer so. As a result, many of our sons and daughters now go to schools, even in our neighbouring African countries,” he said and advised the Federal Government to invest more in education.

Nwabueze single-handedly drafted Kenya constitution – Anyaoku On his part, Chief Emeka Anyaoku described Nwabueze as a great Nigerian, who had all his life fought for the emancipation of Nigeria and some African countries from corruption and poor governance.

Recalling with nostalgia, his long-standing friendship with the author, Anyaoku said that Prof.

Nwabueze's dint of hard work, commitment and professionalism got him the task of drafting a constitution for Kenya in 1992, which eventually led to Kenya's adoption of a multiparty political system as opposed to a one-party system.

He said: “In 1992, when I was still the Commonwealth secretarygeneral, I advised the then Kenya president that his country should move from a one-party system to a

multiparty democracy. He asked who will do the tedious job, and I suggested Prof. Ben Nwabueze to him, because I knew he possessed what it took to achieve that feat.

It's on record that Prof. Nwabueze single-handedly drafted the Kenyan constitution, which saw the country move from a oneparty system to a multiparty democracy. With this book, I believe it's Prof. Nwabueze's continuous love and commitment to make the country a better place for all.”

Nwabueze, a mentor – Achebe For HRM Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, he saw in Prof.

Nwabueze “a mentor and a charismatic leader who showed exceptional leadership qualities, while he was the secretarygeneral of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

We 're proud of Nwabueze Fashola On his part, Governor Fashola, who was represented by Mr. Ade Ipaye, said the state was proud and privileged to have Prof.

Nwabueze as a resident. “In our constant quest for true federalism in Lagos State, we have always consulted Prof. Nwabueze's works for citation. Because of his quest for a greater Nigeria and his consistent advocacy for a better Nigeria, we are proud to be here today to felicitate and honour him.”

“I must confess that we are privileged and proud that Prof.

Nwabueze is a resident in Lagos.

We pray God Almighty to continue to preserve his life for us, so that we will continue to tap from his wealth of wisdom and experience.”

Meanwhile, in his review, Prof.

Chidi Odinkalu said Nwabueze's major objective was to make his readers learn from his life, works and times. “He achieved this through the use of simple narratives,” he said.

We won't allow politicians to hijack Ohanaeze – Ngwu

By Rex Arum

N

ewly inaugurated Chairman of OhanaezeNdigbo in Enugu North local government area, Chief Ebenezer Ngwu, has declared that no politician would be allowed to hijack the pan-Igbo socio-cultural organisation.

Ngwu, who made the declaration at the Enugu North local government secretariat, shortly after the inauguration of his executive, warned that whoever wants to hijack Ohanaeze should hijack the Igbo race first, adding that “as officers of the organization, whatever they say,

they are representing Ndigbo.”

Stressing that they were now disciples of Ndigbo, he maintained that the issue of a politician hijacking Ohaaneze should not arise as majority of the people who belong to the organization in Enugu North are not members of any political party.

“We are now disciples of Igbo race. We will now go into the hinterland, overseas and other parts of the country to let all the Igbos know that we must come back and maintain our culture and teach our children how to do things like Igbos” Ngwu said.

Also speaking, the Chairman of

Enugu North local government area, Mr. Emeka Edeh said his administration intends to revitalize Ohanaeze Ndigbo to make it efficient and effective.

He promised to take the message of Ohanaeze in re-branding Igbo culture and tradition in Enugu North.

'We will take it down to the grassroots. All the various wards in Enugu North and we will make sure our wards abide by it by inculcating in their character, the good works of Ndigbo, the norms and value of the old Igbo culture.

We know that in Igbo culture, we don't have the character of kidnapping, prostitution and stealing. Every Igboman is able and eligible to work for himself

and get what he will eat” Edeh said.

Lending his voice, a patron of Ohanaeze, Dr Eric Oluedo urged the new executive to start the campaign for reinvigoration of Igbo culture from their families, by encouraging their children to speak Igbo language at home.

Oluedo noted that crimes like kidnapping and stealing were alien to Igbo culture, but whenever kidnappers were caught in Lagos, they all bear Igbo names.

He urged Ohanaeze to do everything possible to ensure the restoration of Igbo values, especially the virtue of hard work for which the Igbo man was known for.

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Rivers Crisis: The dangerous battle rages on

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ivers State has remained in the news in the past few weeks owing to the sad developments which has seriously threatened the peace of the oil-rich state and has even gone ahead to heat up the entire country.

Many observers including eminent Nigerians have strongly condemned the political upheaval which has seriously posed a challenge to the sustainability of true democratic culture in the country, and they have cautioned both warring parties to sheathe their swords.

But both camps appear unrelenting in their clandestine moves and plots to upturn the table for Amaechi whose administration had been rated highly in terms of achievements.

Tension has continued to heighten in the state and the security of the state and her people is being threatened on account of the faceoff which many have blamed on “political greed and selfishness.”

Below is a detailed report on some of the unfolding events in the state in the past week:

PSC probes CP Mbu, others The Police Service Commission, PSC, has commenced full-scale investigations into the activities of the Rivers State Police Commissioner, Mbu Joseph Mbu and all the policemen said to have involved themselves in the political crises in the state.

Chairman of the PSC, Chief Mike Okiro made this known in Lagos Thursday.

Okiro spoke at a ceremony marking the commissioning of an estate built for policemen by President Goodluck Jonathan as the Archbishop Emeritus of Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, His Eminence Anthony Cardinal Okogie, expressed disgust over the dishonourable happenings in Rivers State urging the political gladiators to tread softly to avoid truncating the current democratic dispensation.

In a statement, the Prelate took a swipe at the members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for turning the hallowed chambers into a battlefield, saying such act was unexpected of their personalities.

Okiro said that the PSC had received all the petitions forwarded to it by Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi on the activities of Police Commissioner Mbu but added, ''however, that the principle of fundamental human rights demand that an accused person should be given a fair hearing. I have directed the Inspector General of Police, IGP, M o h a m m e d A b u b a k a r, t o

investigate the matter and once he is found wanting he will be dealt with accordingly.”

Amaechi had petitioned the PSC against Commissioner Mbu following his alleged poor handling of security matters involving those allegedly being backed by the presidency against his government.

Copies of the petition were also sent to President Jonathan, the IGP, and principal officers of the National Assembly among others.

Okiro further said that Amaechi raised various allegations against Mbu, part of which included gross a b u s e o f p o w e r He described the recent fracas involving members of the Rivers State House of Assembly as quite unfortunate but added that the public should allow the police to do its investigations to ensure that justice was done to the parties involved in the dispute.

Also, the Police Affairs Minister, Capt Caleb Olukolade, rtd, spoke in the same vein insisting that the authorities were still investigating the matter.

The Minister who asked the public to await the result of the investigations however, remarked that it was not part of his duties to speak on such issues, but added that investigations into the matter was on-going.

He said, “The Chairman Police Service Commission is in a better position to comment on it.

Everything falls within his purview. The force has a way of dealing with an issue internally.

The public should allow the force to investigate the matter.

However, I have asked the Chairman Police Service Commission to look into the matter.”

Apart from Amaechi's petition, there had been mass demand for the removal of Mbu following his alleged involvement in the crisis rocking the State House of Assembly.

Meanwhile, Okojie stated, “I condemn in strong terms the crisis in the Rivers State House of Assembly. More importantly, it is very disappointing to see our socalled 'Honourables' exchanging blows like gangsters. Such an act, if not checkmated quickly, is an invitation to terrorism and gangsterism. I want to call on every right thinking Nigerian to rise up and speak against such unruly conduct by men who are supposed to be making laws for our land.

”It is obvious that what is playing out in Rivers State is a fall-out of the crisis between President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Rotimi Amaechi. It is unfortunate that the lawmakers who are expected to be men and women of integrity have allowed themselves to be used as pawns. They are supposed to be masses-oriented, instead, they only go there to serve their personal interests. It is not done.

“The legislators must quickly call themselves to order. They must refrain from showing bad examples to Nigerians. All those found culpable in the whole mess should be punished or face the wrath of the law,.”

Panel interrogates Amaechi on Rivers crisis Meanwhile, the investigation panel headed by Deputy Inspector-General of Police incharge of Operations, Philemon Leha, has questioned Governor Amaechi on the festering political crisis in his state. The panel was said to have visited the governor last week during which he gave his own account of the impasse in the state.

A top police source said that Amaechi spoke in camera to the panel members and answered some questions put to him on the crisis. The panel has interrogated a whole lot of people in Port Harcourt and even Amaechi has had an audience with the panel.

“The panel visited Amaechi and he spoke to them. They did that as part of their own investigation; he was asked some questions and he answered them, he met them in camera when the DIG (Leha) was in Port Harcourt,” the source stated.

Investigations revealed that the panel decided to visit the governor in his office to 'interview' him on the crisis because Amaechi has constitutional immunity as an

incumbent governor and the panel could not summon him like any citizen. It was gathered that the investigating team was able get useful information during its interaction with the governor, who was said to have been very frank with the panel members.

The number of those that had appeared before the panel was not clear at the time this report was compiled, but it was learnt that the panel planned to quiz all the pro and anti-Amaechi lawmakers in order to have a credible report on the crisis.

Already, the Force Headquarters had summoned the leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Chidi Lloyd; the Aide-De-Camp to the Rivers State Governor, Debeware-Semeikumo, an assistant superintendent of police, and the Chief Security Officer to the Governor, Tony Iwelu for interrogation.

They were to report to the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Force Headquarters, Abuja for an interview in respect of their roles in the fracas inside the state House of Assembly as seen in the video clips in circulation.

A statement by the Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, said that the men were invited to obtain further details that would facilitate a proper investigation into the matter.

It could not be ascertained whether Lloyd and the security personnel had honoured the invitation, but findings indicated that other security details and every individual that was remotely involved in the violence inside the chambers of the Rivers State House of Assembly would be interrogated and summoned to the Force Headquarters as part of the ongoing investigation by the high-powered panel.

Following the refusal of Lloyd to honour its invitation, the Rivers State Police Command had declared him wanted on Wednesday.

The police explained that Lloyd was b e i n g investigated for allegedly beating a f e l l o w lawmaker, M i c h a e l Chinda with the 'imported' mace used in the attempt to remove the speaker last week.

“The Rivers State Police Command has declared wanted one Hon. Chidi Lloyd, a native of Emohua in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, about 37 years of age.

“He is the majority leader of Rivers State House of Assembly.

He was involved in a case of conspiracy, attempted murder, wounding and wilful damage on July 9, 2013,” the statement said.

But the embattled lawmaker refuted the claim, saying the police were not being fair to him, as he had informed them of his health conditions, which made it impossible for him to honour the invitation.

Lloyd, through his counsel, Emenike Ebete, said he would challenge the notice on him in court, noting that the police's action was unfair and would not hold.

He expressed disappointment at the action of the police, which he said made it look as if he was running from the law.

He explained that although he was aware of the police invitation to him, he could not honour it because of his health condition as he was still recuperating in a hospital following injuries he sustained in the fracas.

Commenting on Lloyd's excuse for not honouring the police invitation, the police spokesman, Mba explained that the house leader would not have been declared wanted if he had reported to the police as expected of him.

“I think it is a very simple thing.

Whoever he spoke to should have asked him, 'why have you not reported to the police?' Whether it's a summon or invitation or whether he is declared wanted by the police, it's more of semantics, the issue is that his attention is requested by the police and since he knows his presence is requested by the police, what stopped him from discharging his responsibility by visiting the police? I just want him to tell Nigerians why he has not made

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Rivers Crisis: The dangerous battle rages on Continued from page 10 himself available to the police,” he said.

Mba said it was on record that an invitation letter was taken to Lloyd's house, but he was “curiously not at home; his cook signed for the letter, acknowledged receipt of the letter and ever since then, we have not heard from him.”

Asked whether the anti-Amaechi lawmakers would also be invited by the panel, Mba stated that the investigation would be thorough and exhaustive, adding that police investigations were not riotous exercises where all things take place at the same time.

“Investigations are designed to achieve empirically verifiable results; the fact, that a set of people were invited today does not preclude the invitation of another set of people tomorrow. It is not possible for any seriousminded investigative team or panel to embark on a riotous journey,” he stated.

On when the panel would submit its report, the DFPRO said the investigation did not have a deadline, insisting that police investigation was not a football match with a fixed duration.

Reacting to the questioning of Amaechi, his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. David Iyofor, said DIG Philemon Leha, who led the police panel that came to the state, met with Amaechi.

Iyofor, however, explained that he could not ascertain the outcome of the meeting since he (Iyofor) was not part of the discussion between his boss and the leader of the panel.

“I am aware that the DIG (Leha) met with the governor, but I was not there with them and was not privileged to know what they discussed,” Iyofor said.

…Your probe into Rivers crisis is onesided, ACN tells Police The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has urged the police to be more circumspect and avoid being partisan in their ongoing investigation into the crisis in Rivers State, if the outcome of the investigation is to be acceptable to Nigerians.

In a statement, Thursday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the fact that only the security aides of Gov. Chibuike Amaechi have been invited to Abuja for questioning by the police hierarchy, and also the fact that only the majority leader of the State House of Assembly, Chidi Lloyd, has been declared wanted, have provided an insight into the thinking of the police on the issue.

It wondered why Rivers Police Commissioner Mbu Joseph Mbu, who provided cover for the five renegade lawmakers to attack the House while failing to provide

security for the House to sit, and the leader of the renegade lawmakers Evans Bipi, who allegedly started the crisis in the House by punching Lloyd and the Speaker of the House on the face, were not invited along with the others. ”As the saying goes, it takes two to tango. Definitely there are two sides to every issue, including the crisis that rocked the House of Assembly last week. It therefore amounts to a warped investigation to focus only on one side, as the police appear to be doing. This kind of investigation can only lead to jungle justice, and further erode the credibility of the police, who have now descended into the arena instead of staying above the fray.

Patience ”This is why we warned, in our earlier statement, that the police should go beyond addressing the symptoms in its efforts to unravel the role played by the security agency in the festering crisis. We hate to say that the action of the police hierarchy has vindicated us,” ACN said.

Stop impersonating our Speaker, 26 Rivers lawmakers warn Bipi Twenty-six members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have sent a strong warning to one of their colleagues, Evan Bipi, to stop impersonating the Speaker of the House, Otelemaba Amachree, insisting that the latter has not been removed from office.

Mr. Bipi, backed by four other members of the House had on July 9 attempted to unseat Mr. Amachree; and imposed himself as the Speaker. The session eventually turned bloody. Mr. Bipi has since proclaimed himself the Rivers speaker.

In a statement jointly signed and issued in Port Harcourt, the River State capital, on Friday, the 26 lawmakers said Mr. Bipi, a former

aide and a close ally of the First Lady, Patience Jonathan, had been posing as the Speaker of the state legislature in defiance and gross violation of the laws of the country.

They asked members of the public to disregard his claims as he was never elected into the position.

The signatories are Golden Ngozi Chioma; Innocent B. Barikor; Josiah John Olu; Ibiso Nwuche; Belema Okpokiri; Legbosi Nwidadah; Andrew Anderson Miller; Augustine Ngo; Ben Horsfall; Okechukwu Nwaogu; Victor Amadi; Azubike Chikere Wanjoku and Victoria Nyeche.

Others are Benibo Anabraba; Irene Inimgba; Felicia BarizasiTane; Aye Atamah Pepple; Onari Brown; Gift Wokocha; Ewor

Amaechi Nname Robinson; Lucky Odili; Chidi Julius Lloyd; Chigbo Eligwe; Leyii Kwanee; Tonye Harry and Mr. Amachree.

The lawmakers, who chronicled the events leading to crisis, also regretted that Mr. Bipi had even gone ahead to make publications in the media in which he fabricated 'fallacies' aimed at misinforming members of the public.

“The attention of the Rivers State House of Assembly has been drawn to the plethora of stories and conjectures that have constituted the bulk analysis at the public domain on the crisis of Tuesday 9th of July, 2013… the House leadership received a communication from the Executive to amend the Rivers State Appropriation Law 2013.

Sequel to this, the House reconvened on the 9th of July, 2013,” the statement said.

“Following the reconvening of the House on 9th of July, 2013, five members of the Rivers State House of Assembly (Evans Bipi, Okechukwu Michael Chinda, Kelechi Nwogu, Victor Ihunwo and Martins Amaewhule) in

alliance with the Rivers State Police Command and their thugs, carried out unprovoked attack and assault on members including the Speaker (Rt. Hon. Otelemaba Dan Amachree), the Leader of the House (Hon. Chidi Lloyd) and Hon. Wanjoku Chikere Azubuike.

“Thereafter they made a spirited but unsuccessful attempt to impeach the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly in obvious disregard of the amplifying procedures set out in section 92 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Order 12 and Order 28 of the standing orders of the Rivers State House of Assembly.”

“Since the botched impeachment attempt, one Hon. Evans Bipi has rather surreptitiously

Jonathan impersonated the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly in Defiance and gross violation of the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and has gone ahead to make publications in the national media. We hereby call on the public to disregard the impostor (Hon. Evans Bapakaye Bipi) and his fabricated fallacies which is targeted at misinforming the general public.”

The lawmakers said they did not violate any law by suspending the Chairman and Councillors of the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state, which they said may be one of the major issues fuelling the crisis.

“By virtue of the provisions of section 4 sub (6) and (7) (a-c) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999(as amended), the state House of Assembly is vested with legislative powers to make laws for the peace, governance and order of a state. Section 7(1) of the constitution says it is the responsibility of the House of Assembly to make laws for the existence, establishment, composition, structure, finance

and functions of Local Councils.

“Section 100(1-5) further espouses the powers of the Assembly to make laws. Thus in line with the above provisions the Rivers State House of Assembly enacted the Local Government Law of Rivers State No.2 of 2012.

Section 64 sub-section (1)-(4) of the Local Government Law of Rivers State No.2 of 2012 gives the power of suspension of Local Government Council to the Assembly.”

“In compliance with the above provisions, when the question was put on the interim report on the committee on local government on the issue. 23 members voted for the suspension and 5 members voted against,” the lawmakers said.

They also noted that it was impossible for the views of five members to inhibit the duties of the legislature, saying, “In compliance with our legislative duties, we have had cause to vote on motions, bills and resolutions that have impacted positively on the citizens of Rivers state, and if a tiny minority of 5 out of 32 members have dissenting views, that does not impugn on the views of the majority.”

The lawmakers said they would continue to support Mr. Amachree as well as the Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, just as they pledged to cooperate with the police fact-finding team led by a Deputy Inspector General of Police, Philemon Leha, and that of the Senate.

“We shall continue to support our amiable governor Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and his people-friendly policies aimed at lifting our state from the shackles of a small political militia desirous of lording over and looting the treasury of our dear state,” they said.

The members, however, said they would not cooperate with a second team of police officers sent to investigate the matter as well as that of George Sekibo, a senator. “ … We t o t a l l y d i s s o c i a t e ourselves from the second team of P o l i c e O ff i c e r s l e d b y a commissioner of police and Senator George T. Sekibo,” they said.

The lawmakers also asked the Federal Government to ensure the return of peace and security in the state even as they vowed to uphold the provisions of the constitution.

“We reassure our constituents that we shall continue to support and fight for the truth and defend the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which we swore to uphold. We shall remain resolute in our resolve to defend our state from political predators scavenging for cheap popularity and a harvest of political fortunes,” they said.

The crisis in the Rivers Assembly made the House of

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…..Government raises alarm over strange posting of policemen

Representatives to pass a motion to take over legislative functions in Rivers. The House motion, however, needs the backing of the Senate, which is yet to be gotten; implying that no legislative duty is currently going on in Rivers.

Patience Jonathan opens up on rift with Amaechi However, contrary to her earlier denials of involvement in the political crisis rocking Rivers State, wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, on Wednesday opened up on the matter explaining that her misunderstanding with Governor Amaechi started about four years ago in Anyugubiri in Okrika when she appealed to him to engage her people in dialogue instead of demolishing a part of their community.

She spoke while receiving 16 bishops from the South-South, who visited her at the Presidential Villa, Abuja over the crisis in Rivers State. Mrs. Jonathan said t h e g o v e r n o r, w h o m s h e described as “hot tempered,” did not only ignore her advice, he went a step further by sacking the chairman of the local government for holding a reception in her honour.

According to her, Amaechi did not only stop at those, he imposed a curfew on the community, which is where she hails from.

She said all her pleas with the governor to lift the curfew fell on deaf ears.

Although the President's wife told the visiting bishops that she had since committed the Rivers crisis to God, she decided to open up for the first time on it so that they could pray to God to touch Amaechi's heart.

She said, “Rivers State issue is one thing I have committed to prayer because I believe there is nothing God cannot do. God restored me and I will do His work without the fear of man.

The truth will always remain the truth and what God ordains must come to pass and so Rivers issue is something we have handed over to God. “This matter started four years ago at Anyugubiri in Okrika when I begged him not to demolish a part of Okrika but that he should dialogue first with the people. After that incident, he called the chairman of Okrika Local Government and sacked him for holding a reception in our honour; that boy was the first victim.

“He also put my people under curfew for nine months. I called him and pleaded with him but he refused. Then I began to hear all sorts of propaganda in the media against me; this is not the way.

“I have never spoken about this

Amaechi issue but as men of God, I believe you will say the truth always because there are a lot of conflicting interests; some will hear one thing and say the exact opposite.

“I also want you to know the genesis of this problem and pray that God touches Amaechi's heart as per his hot temper because when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.''

M r s . J o n a t h a n u rg e d t h e governor to sheathe the sword and allow peace to reign in the state.

She said as her son, she could not be fighting the governor. She also urged the governor to avoid being used by outsiders to fight “his own blood.”

She added, “I appeal to Amaechi to sheathe his sword so that we can defend our state and this country with love, unity, patriotism and truth at all time.

“Hebrews 12:14 urges us to embrace peace with all men without which, we cannot see God. Amaechi is my son, I cannot fight him and I cannot kill him.

He shouldn't be used by outsiders against his own blood because this seat is vanity.

“One day, no matter how long it takes, we will leave this seat.

Power is not forever. This seat is vanity, others sat here and left, so one day I will also leave and we will meet at home; so why should I fight him?

“Let's take it easy and face issues.

Let's stop magnifying lies; we must respect our leaders and people in authority. Let's give peace a chance.”

Earlier, the leader of the delegation, Bishop God-Do-Well Awomapara, said they decided to visit the wife of the President to unravel the mysteries

surrounding the crisis in the state and mediate in order to find a lasting solution to it.

“Our visit is significant in view of emerging situations in our region. We are on a quest to unravel the mysteries surrounding the Rivers issue and mediate where necessary,” he said.

Semenitari disagrees with Patience Jonathan Reacting to the allegation that Amaechi imposed a nine-month curfew on the people of Okrika, Mrs Ibim Semenitari, River State Commissioner for Information disagreed with Mrs. Jonathan, saying, “Even the First Lady had said several times that one of the achievements of the governor was that he (Amaechi) brought peace to Okrika and that people could sleep with both eyes closed.”

On her description of Amaechi as hot-tempered, the commissioner pointed out that she could not say anything about it since it was the President's wife's personal opinion.

Semenitari, however, expressed satisfaction with Mrs. Jonathan's warning to those using her name to forment trouble to desist from such act.

“What I think is good to hear is that she has no problem with the governor (Amaechi) and that those using her name to cause crisis will stop doing so,” the commissioner stressed.

“She expressed her commitment to ensuring that peace returns to Rivers State soon, stating that as the President of African First Ladies Peace Mission, her desire is to have peace in her home base.”

Also, the state government has raised the alarm over a strange posting of policemen to the Government House in Port Harcourt and the Governor's Lodge in Asokoro, Abuja.

Secretary to the State Government, Mr. George Feyii, in a statement, said the postings were done without notification.

He claimed that security operatives, whose identities were unknown, said they got a directive to remain at the gate of the governor's lodge.

Feyii explained that it was aware that an official of a state, especially the governor, had the right to choose the security personnel he could entrust his safety.

The statement reads, “The Rivers State Government notes with distress, what is now an apparent attack on the person of Governor Amaechi. This (Wednesday) morning, two policemen, one of who is Inspector Bawa, reported to the Rivers State Governor's Lodge at Justice Mohammed Bello Street, Asokoro, FCT Abuja.

“They claimed to have been posted by Nigeria Police Force Headquarters to monitor the Rivers State Governor's Lodge.

Earlier, four intelligence officers had been posted to the Government House in Port Harcourt by the Rivers State Police Command.

“These postings were done without any notification or deference to Governor Amaechi.

We are aware that on issues of personal safety, an official reserves the right to pick the security personnel to whom he or she may entrust their safety. This is more so in the case of a state governor.

“The policemen this (Wednesday) morning said that they had directives to remain at the gate of the Rivers State Governor's lodge. Not only is the Rivers State Government uncertain of the true identity of these gentlemen, we are worried as to the true intent behind this latest posting.”

He recalled that events around the governor in recent times had been suggestive of deliberate nonchalance, adding that the situation had continued even with an appeal to the highest authorities.

“In recent times, events in Rivers State and especially around Governor Amaechi have been suggestive of deliberate nonchalance at best and complicity at worst in the security breaches that have occurred. This trend has continued despite a passionate appeal to the highest levels of

ADVOCATE authorities. We are worried that we can no longer guarantee the safety of Governor Amaechi and wish to reiterate our call on all relevant authorities to ensure his safety and the peace and security of everyone in Rivers State,” the statement added.

The battle line seems to have been drawn between Amaechi and Jonathan and as the saying goes, “Where two elephants fight, the grass must suffer” and in this case the ordinary people of Rivers State may suffer on account of the needless political conflict which many have attributed to the quest for political power come 2015.

President is running a 'one-man show' in PDP Amaechi Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi has accused President Goodluck Jonathan of turning the Peoples Democratic Party into a “one-man show” and of condoning “impunity and authoritarianism” in an effort to ensure re-election in 2015.

Amaechi, in an interview he granted the Financial Times of London, added that the President and his wife, Patience, were bent on removing him from office.

He traced his travails to a perceived fear in the Presidency that whoever was in charge of the Nigeria Governor's Forum had the capacity to influence the presidential election in 2015.

The embattled governor said, “There is this fear in the Presidential Villa that whoever chairs the governors' forum will influence the presidential election,” Amaechi told FT in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.

In a report posted by FT on Sunday, he alleged that “what has happened has been engineered to the point where the President and his wife are trying to remove me from office.”

“We are seeing an absence of law and order that can breed anarchy.

It seems those at Federal Government level are not interested in democracy, but impunity and authoritarianism.

The President needs to check this,” the governor added.

Amaechi also told the FT that he had not decided on his plans for 2015. He said that efforts by some in the PDP leadership to claim that he had lost the governors' forum vote, despite him obtaining 19 votes to his challenger's (Jonah Jang of Plateau State) 16, was a concerning sign ahead of 2015.

“If they can accept 16 over 19, people should be worried,” he said.

But spokesman for the President, Reuben Abati, denied that Jonathan and his wife were in any way involved in Amaechi's travails.

“This is all local Rivers politics,” Abati said. “It's convenient to drag the President into this, but it is not true. All these allegations are baseless.”

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OPINION

Rivers State Speaker and Police harassment

By Nkemjika

I

n any democratic society, the police are the organ of government used for enforcing the law or maintaining public order or preventing and solving crime.

A major instrument or strategic devise that the police use to realize its law enforcement goals is its investigative powers. The investigative powers of the police enable them to pry into any criminal matter, real or imagined.

Equipped with its investigative powers, the police can invite anybody for questioning in matters related to the commission of crime. The powers of the police to invite citizens for questioning are not even limited to cases directly reported to it.

The police can invite a citizen for questioning even for the mere suspicion of being a party to the commission of, or intention to commit, a crime. The point is that the issue must border on crime and criminality.

In fact, in Nigeria, the constitution grants the police the powers to investigate public officials who are even protected from criminal prosecution under the immunity provisions of section 308. The Supreme Court made this point in the Chicago certificate scandal between the Late Gani Fawehinmi and the former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu. There is therefore nothing wrong with the police inviting any state assembly Speaker, including the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, for questioning provided the investigation has to do with the commission of, or intention to commit, a crime.

However, just like every other thing in life, the investigative powers of the police are not absolute and open-ended. The police, for instance, do not have the right or power to investigate citizens on matters that border on their civil liberties which include the right to free speech and expression. Section 39 (1) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) maintains that, “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference”. What this means is that an invitation to a citizen for questioning by security agencies on the basis of what he or she published in a newspaper is tantamount to an assault on the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

For the avoidance of doubt, the phrase “Civil liberty” is “a person's right to say or do what he or she wants provided it is within the law.” Of course, when a citizen says or does (writes, etc) something outside the bounds of

the law, the issue becomes a libel case. Now, the word “Libel” means “a false written or printed statement that damages somebody's reputation or to harm somebody's reputation by publishing a false statement”.

Yes, once a published material slanders anybody or institution, it becomes a libel. However, a libelous material, cannot under any circumstances, become a criminal matter for police investigation.

The truth is that in spite of the enormous investigative powers of the police in crime matters, the police cannot investigate a libel case. An aggrieved party in a “Libel case” can only sue for damages, if the offending party refuses to retract a false statement or tender an apology to the party offended by a publication which veracity cannot be vouched for.

The position canvassed here holds because libel cases which originate from the interpretation given to a published statement or opinion by an aggrieved party can only be decided by the courts, not by the police. There is no provision anywhere in our statutes for the police to criminalize libel cases and investigate them.

The issue in contention here is the published statement by the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly that appeared as an advertorial in The Nation Newspaper of Wednesday, May 15, 2013, page 12. The said advertorial entitled, “Disruption of Democracy and Rule of Law Anarchy Looms in Rivers State,” and addressed to the President of Nigeria, amongst other things, pointed out that “the situation in Rivers State has reached a feverpitch, as there are strong indications that the Governor; Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the Legislators and prominent government officials have been marked for assassination, following series of reported nocturnal meetings held in the neighbouring state and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)”.

This quoted paragraph of the

advertorial probably captures the essence of the matter for which the Rivers State Commissioner of Police decided to invite the Rivers State Speaker for questioning.

However, a critical appraisal of the headline, including the phrases used in the advertorial, indicates that the Rivers State Speaker was only drawing the attention of the public to the activities of the Rivers State Commissioner of Police and the Minister of State in the Federal Ministry of Education which have the potential of engendering anarchy in Rivers State and disrupting democracy in Nigeria.

For instance, the use of the phrase “strong indications” in the advertorial to describe the alleged plan to assassinate senior government officials, including the governor, only means a “suggestion that such incidents are possible or likely to happen” whenever the security details of the affected officials are withdrawn. There is nothing in the statements to suggest that the advertorial was reporting a definitive plot by some people to assassinate the Governor of Rivers State or other government officials, to warrant an investigation by the police.

From the arguments made so far in this discourse, it should be clear even to the uninformed that the published advertorial in question was just an opinion expressed by the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly on the deteriorating state of security in Rivers State. The published advertorial was not a report to the President or the police about the commission of, or intention to commit, a crime by some Nigerian citizens.

From whatever perspective this matter is appraised, the published advertorial was only a call to the President of Nigeria to subject the activities of the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu and the Minister of State for Education, Barr.

Nyesom Wike, to critical consideration, and possibly take

appropriate action(s) where necessary. It must therefore be the height of duplicity for the man, Mbu Joseph Mbu, whose activities in Rivers State should be the subject of a presidential inquiry, to turn round and invite the Rivers State Speaker for questioning, as if the p u b l i s h e d advertorial, on its own, is a criminal matter fit for police investigation.

From every indication, Mr. Mbu, is not happy with the contents of the advertorial which suggested that the police could be working hand in glove with criminals to eliminate high government officials of Rivers State. Yes, nobody expects Mr. Mbu, as Rivers State Commissioner of Police, to be happy with a publication that calls his integrity and competence to question.

However, the only legal step at his disposal in addressing the matter, is that of suing the Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly for libelous publication, but not to invite him for questioning. Yes, the only way to seek redress if a published advertorial is false is to approach the courts for remedial actions. The act of inviting the author of a purportedly libelous publication for questioning, as if he or she is a suspect in a criminal matter, is simply the mischievous abuse of the powers of a policeman for clearly selfish interests.

Even then, it is difficult to see how any rational mind could fault the contents of the published advertorial and successfully pursue a libel case. For instance, where the advertorial suggested that there were plans to withdraw the security details of prominent government officials in Rivers State, as a prelude to their possible elimination, the evidence was all over the place with the reduction in the security apparatus of the Speaker and the withdrawal of the police guards attached to the Chief of Staff to the Governor and some local government chairmen. Who does not know that once the security details of government officials are withdrawn from them that they may be prey to violent attacks from criminal elements or even prone to assassinations?

And this was the point the Rivers State Speaker made in the published advertorial for which Mr. Mbu wants him investigated and prosecuted.

Again, can anyone dutifully fault the content of the published

advertorial when it claimed that “On the 6th May, 2013, the Rivers State House of Assembly complex, which is directly adjacent to the Police Headquarters, on Moscow Road, witnessed a violent and disruptive take over by three hundred hoodlum under the watchful eyes of the commissioner of police, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu“? After all, it is a well known fact, as was reported in several print media, that hoodlums and some exmilitants took over the premises of the state legislative complex on the 6th of May, 2013; a situation that made it impossible for the Rivers State Legislators to sit. So, what is there to be investigated in a matter that bothers on the actualization of the civil liberties of the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly?

As could be gleaned from the activities of the Rivers State police command since the 6th of May, 2013, the non-provision of security in the state assembly complex has made it impossible for the state legislature, created by the constitution, to function.

Now, if the police that has the constitutional duty to provide security so that the state assembly can carry out its responsibility to the people have refused to do so, who does not know it may have to do with the fact that the Rivers State police command may be a party to the grand plan to ground activities of the state legislators until they recall the suspended Nsirim-led leadership of the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area? And this, again, was the point the Rivers State Speaker made in the published advertorial for which Mr. Mbu wants him hounded.

In all honesty, the published advertorial in question is pure and simply an opinion expressed by the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly on the unfolding political and security drama in Rivers State. The published advertorial was not even a report to the President of Nigeria to investigate a criminal matter. In this wise, the police cannot therefore deploy its investigative powers to invite the Rivers State Speaker for questioning over a publication that he simply used to exercise his right to free speech or expression.

In any case, even if Mr. Mbu thinks otherwise and decides to seek redress in court, the truth remains that any pursuit of a libel case in this matter will fall like a pack of a cards.

Mr. Nkemjika, a research writer and information consultant, is the co-author of “Oil Exploration in Northern Nigeria: Problems and Prospects”.

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Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

Nigerian Military Heads of State (6)

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eneral Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born August 17, 1941), also known as IBB, was a Nigerian Army officer and military ruler of Nigeria. He ruled Nigeria from his coup against Major General Muhammadu Buhari on August 27, 1985 until his departure from office on August 27, 1993 after his annulment of elections held on June 12 that year. There is evidence of a severe lack of human rights under his regime.

Early life and education Ibrahim Babangida was born in 1941 in Minna, Niger State; he hails from the Gwari ethnic group. Babangida studied at the India Military School in 1964, the Royal Armoured Centre from January 1966 until April 1966, at the Advanced Armoured Officers' course at Armored school from August 1972 to June 1973, at the Senior officers' course, Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji from January 1977 until July 1977, and the Senior International Defence Management Course, Naval Postgraduate school, U.S in 1980.

Army career Babangida joined the Nigerian Army's officer corps on December 10, 1962, and served in an administrative capacity under the military government of Olusegun Obasanjo. He was heavily involved in the Nigerian coup of 1976, when he was to 'liberate' a radio station from one of the coup plotters, Col B.S. Dimka (a close friend of his), to prevent him making further announcements over the air waves.

Although he did prevent further broadcasts, Col Dimka managed to escape.

He attained the following ranks: Second Lieutenant (1963), Lieutenant (1966), Captain (1968), Major (1970), Lieutenant Colonel (1970), Colonel (1973), Brigadier (1979), Major General (1983), and General (1987). Babangida also served as a member of the Supreme Military Council from August 1, 1975 - October 1979.

Presidency Coup Babangida was the Chief of Army Staff and a member of the Supreme Military Council (SMC) under the administration of Major General Muhammadu Buhari. Babangida would later overthrow Buhari's regime on 27 August 1985 in a bloodless military coup that relied on mid-level officers that Babangida strategically positioned over the years, He came into power in a military coup promising to bring to an end the human rights abuses perpetuated by Buhari's government, and to hand over power to a civilian government by 1990. Eventually, he perpetuated one of the worst human right abuses and lots of unresolved political assassinations

Economic policies Babangida issued a referendum to garner support for austerity measures suggested by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, and subsequently launched his "Structural Adjustment Program" (SAP) in 1986. The policies entailed under the SAP were the deregulation of the agricultural sector by abolishing marketing boards and the elimination of price controls, the privatisation of public enterprises, the devaluation of the Naira to aid the competitiveness of the export sector, and the relaxation of restraints on foreign investment put in place by the Gowon and Obasanjo governments during the 1970s.

Between 1986 and 1988, when these policies were executed as intended by the IMF, the Nigerian economy actually did grow as had been hoped, with the export sector performing especially well, but the falling real wages in the public sector and amongst the urban classes, along with a drastic reduction in expenditure on public services,

General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida Nigeria, a secular country, in the OIC. Nigeria has never been withdrawn from the OIC and remains a member. Sani Abacha, who overthrew the Interim National Government set up when Babangida was forced out of office again unilaterally registered Nigeria as a member of the D-8 (Developing-8), an organisation for development cooperation among Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey. The D-8, an idea proposed by then Prime Minister of Turkey Necmettin Erbakan in October 1996, is a "cooperation among major Muslim developing countries".

1990 coup attempt On April 22, 1990, Babangida's government was almost toppled by a coup attempt led by Major Gideon Orkar. Babangida was at the Dodan General Ibrahim Babangida Barracks, the military headquarters set off waves of rioting and other and presidential residence, when manifestations of discontent that made they were attacked and occupied by the rebel sustained commitment to the SAP difficult to troops, but managed to escape by a back maintain. route. During the brief interlude during which Babangida subsequently returned to an Orkar and his collaborators controlled radio inflationary economic policy and partially transmitters in Lagos, they broadcast a reversed the deregulatory initiatives he had v e h e m e n t c r i t i q u e o f B a b a n g i d a ' s set in motion during the heyday of the SAP government, accusing it of widespread following mounting pressure, and economic corruption and autocratic tendencies, and growth slowed correspondingly, as capital they also expelled the five northernmost and flight resumed apace under the influence of predominantly Hausa-Fulani Nigerian states negative real interest rates. Babangida is seen from the union, accusing them of seeking to by many to have presided over one of the most perpetuate their rule at the expense of the corrupt governments in Nigeria, however, predominantly Christian peoples of Nigeria's unlike other regimes, no ministers of his middle-belt citing, in particular, the political regime were convicted/tried by the courts. neutralization of the Langtang Mafia.

Although he ran a Military Government, his Botched transition to civilian rule government appeared to be consultative: issues were subjected to public debate, but the In 1989 Babangida legalized the formation of use to which the final recommendations were political parties, and after a census was put was another matter. For instance, in carried out in November 1991, the setting up a 17-man 'Political Bureau' (the so- Independent National Electoral Commission called Politburo) in January 1986, Babangida (INEC) announced on January 24, 1992 that kicked off what was intended to be a national both legislative elections to a bicameral debate on the political way forward for National Assembly and a presidential election Nigeria. The Politburo 'majority report' would be held that year. appeared to have been completed whilst Babangida banned all political parties and consultations were ongoing nationwide. formed two political parties by himself, Curious still, the manipulation of what would namely the SDP (Social Democratic Party) be revealed as a 'minority report' made it to and NRC (National Republican Convention) being the majority report. Significantly, a and urged all Nigerians to join either of the member of the Politburo issued a separate parties, which the Late Chief Ajibola Ige report, now popularly referred to as the famously referred to as "two leper hands." 'minority report'. All the members of the T h e t w o - p a r t y s t a t e h a d b e e n a Politburo were promised some involvement recommendation of the 17-member Political in managing the execution of the programmes Bureau. suggested, and only a maximum of four did The legislative elections went ahead as not benefit after the report was issued. This planned, with the Social Democratic Party methodology is consistent with Babangida's (SDP) winning majorities in both houses of the National Assembly, but on August 7, patron-client political style.

1992, the INEC annulled the first round of OIC membership presidential primaries, alleging widespread Babangida upgraded Nigeria's role in the irregularities. January 4, 1993 saw the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC, announcement by Babangida of a National n o w t h e O rg a n i s a t i o n o f I s l a m i c Defense and Security Council, of which Cooperation), from an observer status to full- Babangida himself was to be President, while fledged membership. After public outcry and in April 1993 the SDP nominated Moshood denial by Babangida, the John Shagaya panel Kashimawo Olawale Abiola (MKO) as its was instituted to determine Nigeria's status in presidential candidate, with the National the OIC, subsequently confirming Republican Convention (NRC) choosing membership and making a recommendation Bashir Tofa to run for the same position. On for withdrawal from the body.] Commodore June 12, 1993, presidential elections were Ebitu Okoh Ukiwe, the first Chief of General finally held, but the results were held back Staff in General Ibrahim Badamasi although it was announced in some states that Babangida's regime andBabangida's second- Abiola had in fact won 19 of the 30 states, and in command, was 'dropped' by Babangida. therefore the presidency Ukiwe had been opposed to the registration of Rather than allow the announcement of the

ADVOCATE results to proceed, Babangida decided to annul the elections. Babangida then issued a decree banning the presidential candidates of both the NRC and the SDP from running in new presidential elections that he planned to have held. Widespread acts of civil disobedience began to occur, particularly in the Southwest region from which Abiola hailed, resulting in the killings of people mostly from the South East part of the country. On July 6, 1993, the NDSC issued an ultimatum to the SDP and NRC to join an interim government or face yet another round of elections, and Babangida then announced that the interim government would be inaugurated on August 27, 1993. On August 26, amidst a new round of strikes and protests that had brought all economic activity in the country to a halt, Babangida declared that he was stepping aside as head of the military regime, and handing over the reins of government to Ernest Shonekan. Within 3 months of the handover, General Sani Abacha seized control of the government while Babangida was on a visit to Egypt.

Human rights abuses The killing by a letter bomb of Dele Giwa, a magazine editor critical of Babangida's administration, at his Lagos home in 1986 was largely attributed to Babangida]and remains a controversial incident to this day. In 1999, President Olusegun Obasanjo established the Human Rights Violation Investigation Commission headed by Justice Chukwudifu Oputa to investigate human rights abuses during Nigeria's decades of military rule. However, Babangida repeatedly defied summons to appear before the panel to answer allegations of humans rights abuses and questioned both the legality of the commission and its power to summon him.

He was however represented by counsels, Mustapha Bashir Wali and Yahya Mahmoud.

His right not to testify was upheld in 2001 by Nigeria's court of appeal which ruled that the panel did not have the power to summon former rulers of the country.

The Oputa Panel Report would conclude that: "On General Ibrahim Babangida, we are of the view that there is evidence to suggest that he and the two security chiefs, Brigadier General Halilu Akilu and Col. A. K. Togun are accountable for the death of Dele Giwa by letter bomb. We recommend that this case be re-opened for further investigation in the public interest."

Presidential aspirations 2007 campaign In an interview with the Financial Times on August 15, 2006, Babangida announced that he would run for president in Nigeria's 2007 national elections. He said he was doing so "under the banner of the Nigerian people" and accused the country's political elite of fuelling Nigeria's current ethnic and religious violence.

On the 8th of November, 2006, General Babangida picked up a nomination form from the Peoples Democratic Party Headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria. This effectively put to rest any speculation about his ambitions to run for the Presidency. His form was personally issued to him by the PDP chairman, Ahmadu Ali. This action immediately drew extreme reactions of support or opposition from the western population of the country. In early December, just before the PDP presidential primary, however, it was widely reported in Nigerian newspapers that IBB had withdrawn his candidacy to be the PDP's nominee to run for President. In a letter excerpted in the media, IBB is quoted as citing the "moral dilemma" of running against Umaru Yar'Adua, the younger brother of the late Shehu Yar'Adua (himself a former nominee to run for the Presidency during IBB's military dictatorship), as well as against General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau, given IBB's close relationship with the latter two. It is widely believed that his chances of winning were slim.

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Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

FROM THE COURT Ex-Kogi Gov's son in court over alleged scam

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ustapha Audu, the son of former Governor Abubakar Audu of Kogi State, Thursday, appeared before Justice Sadik Umar of FCT High Court in Abuja over an alleged N18 million scam.

Audu was arraigned by the EFCC alongside his wife, Zahrah Audu and their company, Constructor Guild Ltd. They were alleged to have collected N18 million from one Nike Kolawole to acquire for her a four-bedroom house at Ruskin Terrace, Katamkpe Extension, Abuja, but failed to do so.

At the resumed hearing of the case o n T h u r s d a y, t h e s e c o n d prosecution witness, Abdul Ibrahim, being led in evidence by the EFCC Counsel, Samuel

Ugwuegbulam, told the court that the matter was reported by one Mrs Nike Kolawole.

Ibrahim said the accused obtained the amount on false pretext, which

he even made Kolawole to pay an initial N3 million as commitment fee. He added that the complainant later paid N10 million as the first installment for the four-bedroom

house and another N5 million, totalling N18 million.

The EFCC witness said he discovered d u r i n g investigation that A u d u t o o k Kolawole to one plot of land in IduS a b o Vi l l a g e , Abuja, where he claimed that the land was proposed for mass housing estate.

He said the accused made five different statements during interrogation at the EFCC office and craved the indulgence of the court to tender the statements in evidence.

Counsel to the accused, Mr Okechukwu Ajunwa, did not oppose the submission of the five statements in evidence.

Justice Umar, therefore, admitted the statements, dated May 14, 16, 31, 14 and June 12, and marked as exhibits nine and 10 respectively.

Ajunwa, however, prayed the court to issue an order directing the EFCC to release the accused's passport to enable him to travel for medication outside the country.

The accused has been on bail granted him by the court. Umar adjourned the case to October 28 for continuation of cross examination.

Audu and his wife were arraigned by the EFCC on a three-count charge of alleged conspiracy, obtaining money on false pretext and fraud.

Sex scandal: Court orders NJC indicts Emir ex-director to pay N.5m damages of Gummi of …dissolves 19-yr-old marriage, grants husband custody of the children

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Delta State High Court, Kwale, has dissolved a 19year old marriage of a Lagos businessman, Mr Fiddis Ogwugwa, on the ground that his wife, Charity, engaged in amorous affairs with the former Executive Director of Law Union and Rock Insurance Company, Mr Olusegun Ilori.

The court in its judgment also ordered Ilori and Charity, to jointly pay N500,000 damages for the trauma and trespass, they caused Mr Ogwugwa and particularly for the irresponsible acts of Ilori in ruining the matrimonial home of Mr Ogwugwa.

Olusegun Ilori was at the time of filing the divorce petition Executive Director of Law Union, while Charity was Project Manager.

The divorce petition was initially filed before a Lagos State High Court, before it was re-filed before a Delta State High Court, Kwale, when the petition was struck out by Justice Dawodu Williams of Lagos High Court.

According to Mr Ogwugwa, he was lawfully married to his wife, Charity, on November 25, 1994 according to the marriage act. The marriage produced two children, a boy and a girl.

He stated that what led to the collapse of the marriage started sometime in the year 2003, when his wife, excusing herself to receiving phone calls at odd hours of the day therefore, the petitioner became suspicious.

He added that between December 2003 and February 2004, he (petitioner) found an amorous text from Segun Ilori to his wife, he then called both of them and cautioned them about the misconduct to which both denied any sexual relationship.

On April 18, 2010 he sent an email that could be shared between two lovers to his wife, she acknowledged the mail

on April 19, 2010, shortly after, she forwarded same mail to Segun Ilori and in error forwarded a copy to him.

This opened floodgate of suspicion that led to the discovery of several amorous email messages between the two lovers.

Upon being confronted by the petitioner, his wife confessed to having an adulterous and unprotected oral sex with her boss in the office on several other occasions.

Consequently, Mr Ogwugwa sought the dissolution of the marriage on the ground that the marriage had broken down and the custody of the two children produced by the marriage and N20 million as special and general damages for the trauma, tresspass and irresponsibility of Segun Ilori, the party cited in the divorce petition as

the person responsible for the collapse of the marriage.

In her judgment, the presiding judge, Justice Jahegho Williams, said: “I have carefully considered this petition. They are not contradicted or controverted and as such, assumed to be correct. This court, therefore, has no option in the absence of any other fact mitigating against the petition, has been proved as required by law. I, therefore, dissolve the said marriage of November 25, 1994. Further, I give custody of the children to the petitioner.

“I also award the sum of N500,000 against Charity and Olasegun Ilori, jointly as special and general damages for the trauma and tresspass of them particularly for the irresponsible acts of Segun Ilori in ruining the matrimonial home of the petitioner.”

Four remanded for robbery in church

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our men were Thursday arraigned before a Lagos State High Court in Igbosere for allegedly robbing a clergy, Apostle Nelson Opara, of his handset and money during a vigil service in the church.

It was gathered that the defendants Jamiu Saka 18; Yusuf Lateef 20; Chukwudi Onwuharanye 18; and David Onokpise 19, entered the said church at 3:30 a.m of a vigil service, and robbed members of the church.

According to the charge, the defendants were also alleged to have on May 19, 2012, at Sowers Ministry International, 64A Kirikiri Road, Olodi Apapa, Lagos State, in the Lagos Division, whilst armed with guns and cutlasses robbed one Okon Esther and dispossed her of two Visafone and one Blackberry Curve 3

mobile phones.

The defendants, who all reside in Ajegunle area of Lagos, were arraigned on a three-count-charge of conspiracy and armed robbery.

However luck ran out of a member of the gang, who was apprehended while others escaped. When he was searched, Indian hemp and a spiritual ring were found.

The plea of 1st, 2nd and 3rd defendants was taken in English language, while the plea of 2nd defendant was taken in Yoruba. They all pleaded not guilty to the charge preferred against them by the State of Lagos.

The prosecutor, Mr O. Soetan, informed the court that the alleged offence was contrary to Section 295 (2) (b) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.

The presiding judge, Justice Ebenezer Adebajo, adjourned the case to 29 and 30 September for continuation of trial.

gross misconduct

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he National Judicial Council (NJC) has indicted former Chief Judge of Federal Capital Territory High Court, Justice Lawal Gummi who is the current Emir of Gummi, Zamfara State of gross misconduct while in the office.

Justice Gummi resigned the position of Chief Judge, FCT following his appointment as Emir of Gummi after the death of the former Emir, Alhaji Aliyu Abara on May 8, 2013.

NJC said in a statement signed by Soji Oye, the deputy director information, that at its 63rd meeting on 17th and 18th July 2013, it deliberated on the report and recommendation of its committee that investigated the petition forwarded to it by Nestello Gateway Group in Suit No. FCT/HC/CV/486/10 against Hon. Justice Lawal Hassan Gummi, OFR, the former Hon. Chief Judge of High Court of FCT, Abuja.

“At the end of deliberation, Council accepted the findings of its Committee that Hon. Justice Gummi, OFR, interfered with execution of the judgment delivered by Hon. Justice Jude Okeke of the FCT High Court, Abuja in the suit between Nestello Gateway Group and Alhaji Abdul'aziz Abubakar Yari, a former National Assembly member and the current Governor of Zamfara State, in which execution had already been levied in favour of the petitioner,” a part of the statement read.

“Council found the interference by Hon. Justice Gummi in the execution of the judgment as most unethical and highly reprehensible. Council also accepted the recommendation of its Investigation Committee that Hon. Justice Gummi was guilty of gross misconduct contrary to Rule 1(i) of the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which would have led to his removal from office.

The statement however stated that Council took cognizance of the fact that Hon. Justice Gummi had already voluntarily retired from service and consequently decided not to recommend his removal from office.

It said that henceforth, any similar misconduct by any judicial officer in the federation will be visited with severe sanctions.

The council also reprimanded Hon. Justice M. A. Onyetenu of the Federal High Court for granting exparte order without hearing the pending motion on notice and applications in Suit No. FHC/PH/CS/236/2012 between Evangelist Charity O. Akah V. Alpaca Price Nigeria Limited and Another.

Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

Deputy Governor of Enugu State Sunday Onyebuchi in a handshake with the visiting Consul General ofFrance in Lagos FRANCOIS SASTOURNE at Government House, Enugu. ....Recently

From left: Imo State Deputy Governor; Prince Eze Madumere; Nasarawa State Deputy Governor; Dameshi Mama Luka; Governors Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo); Babatunde Fashola (Lagos); Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); the host, Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers); Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun); Zamfara State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Muktar Anka and Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, during a solidarity visit to the Rivers State Governor, recently at the Rivers State Government House, Port Harcourt.

From left: Chairman, Police Service Commission, Mr Mike Okiro; I-G Mohammed Abubakar; President Goodluck Jonathan receiving a bouquet of flowers on arrival to inaugurate 200 units of Housing Apartments for Officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force at idimu, lagos.

From Left: CAN Chairman Anambra State, Bishop Ephraim Ndeife; South-East Secretary, Rev. Joseph Ajujungwa, and Vice President South-East, Bishop Emmanuel Chukwuma, during the South-East CAN meeting in Enugu.

Umeh addressing APGA supporters after the judgement that gave him victory in Enugu.

From left: Chairman, Lagos Business School, Prof. Pat Utomi, Delta Commissioner for housing, Chief Paulinus Akpeki, Commissioner for education in Anambra, Mrs Uju Okeke, former minister of power, Prof. Bart Nnaji, former secretary-general, Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku and managing director, Anabel Group of Companies, Mr Nicholas Okoye, at the 3rd Emeka Anyaoku lecture series on good governance and book presentation in Asaba.

Anna Banner Emerges Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria

Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson (centre) presenting a souvenir to the winner of the 26th edition of the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria Pageant Miss. Anna Ebiere Banner (right) in Yenagoa, while the Minister of Culture, High Chief Edem Duke (left) looks on. Photo by Lucky Francis

Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson (centre) speaking during the 26th edition of the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria Pageant in Yenagoa, while the Minister of Culture, High Chief Edem Duke (left) and the Chairman of Silverbird Group, Mr. Ben Murray-Bruce (right) look on. Photo by Lucky Francis.

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Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

How infidelity can save a marriage

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ou must have heard that establishing and sticking with a great skin care regimen is essential for good skin.

Practicing great skin care habits can help you protect your skin from harmful environmental factors, slow the skin aging process and can keep blemishes and other unsightly skin problems at bay.

There are three compulsory steps that you must take to achieve radiant skin that will see you through old age. They are, cleansing, toning and moisturizing; morning and evening.

However, many women find the idea of creating a skin routine a little overwhelming and most often think they don't have time to devote to the challenging task. The good news is, there are many easy skin care tips you can do every day, without spending a lot of time on your facial area.

Below, I have compiled the three quick steps Washing, Toning & Moisturizing:

Step 1: Cleansing the Face Morning and Evening One of the things that keep you looking young and radiant is a good skin One of the most important steps to any beauty regimen is daily cleansing of the facial area. At minimum, you should cleanse your face twice a day, in morning and in evening. Whether you choose a facial cleansing bar or a foam wash for the task doesn't matter.

However, you should be sure the cleanser you use is right for your skin type. If you're not sure, ask your skin care therapist tell you what type of skin you have.

Cleansing is extremely important in the morning, so you can be sure any dirt that collected in the night is cleared away before you apply cosmetics. In the evening, it's important to wash away the dirt and makeup from the day.

Step 2: Apply Toner to Tight and Clean Pores at Night Whether you have dry, normal, oily or combination skin, it's important to use a toner right after you've cleansed your face at night. A toner further removes dirt from your face and works to tighten your pores. Again, be sure you choose a toner specifically for your skin type, to see the best results.

To apply toner, simply wet a clean cotton ball with it and swipe it across your face. If you're in an extreme hurry, you can always choose to hit the most important areas like your forehead, nose and chin. Many people make the letter “I” across their face, with their toner cotton ball, if they are in a hurry.

Step 3: Use Moisturizer in the AM (with sunscreen) and PM (anti-aging) Moisturizer is very important to help you protect your face from aging and to help repair the damage already done to your skin.

Learning how to apply moisturizer is extremely simple.

All you need to do is wait for your toner to dry completely and then apply your facial lotion all over your face. Blend it in gently (do not scrub) and wait for it to dry before applying your makeup.

W

hat causes a partner to become unfaithful? Does this mean the end of your relationship? This article takes a hard look at infidelity and how it may be able to save a marriage.

You sit there utterly shattered, your heart broken. You have just found proof your partner has been unfaithful. As you try and absorb the shock, rage begins to burn inside at the breach of everything you believed in about your relationship. Most of all, you wonder why and how this happened.

This article doesn't deal with chronic infidelity. It is about the usual one time occurrence that can happen in any marriage.

What causes infidelity? There are many reasons, including the "window of opportunity" type of encounter. You see this when a partner works away from home for long periods of time, or works in a highly charged work environment. Close proximity with an attractive work partner, can lead into infidelity very quickly. Stress, exchanging confidences and daily exposure enhance the risk of this happening.

Infidelity can be caused by stressors within the marriage: money problems, nagging, jealousy and negligence towards your partner’s needs often can trigger off an incident. This type of unfaithfulness is often a strong signal the marriage desperately needs working on, by BOTH sides. And, this type of infidelity is often the one thing that can pull a basically good marriage back together.

Yes it hurts, yes it's a betrayal. But, if you have had this type of situation in your own relationship, you need to look at YOUR role in bringing this about. Sometimes, time and distance are needed to sort out the myriad emotions you both have. Using therapy as a tool is a move in the right direction.

In the case of the first type of cheating, there is little to be done to truly restore your faith in your partner. Mature people, who know how to honor their committments, rarely use proximity as an excuse to try something "different". This goes for the chronic cheater.

To remain in that type of situation is demeaning and dangerous. Consider HIV and the STD's out there. No man or woman is worth that price.

Don't let friends and family influence your reactions to infidelity. This is your relationship, and ultimately, your decision.

Get help and advice from an objective source: a pastor or counselor. Above all, don't react in anger. Take a long, hard look at what your true feelings are. Only then will you be able to make the right decision for yourself.

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Cameroon gay rights campaigner Ebonyi man cuts tortured, killed

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IBREVILLE (AFP) A gay rights campaigner in Cameroon was found dead in his Yaounde home after being tortured, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.

Eric Lembembe's body was discovered in the capital on Monday and his body showed he had been extensively tortured, the group said in a statement.

“Friends of Lembembe found his body on Monday evening.

According to one of his friends his neck was broken and his face, hands and feet were burned with an iron,” the statement said.

The organisation referred to the incident as “murder” and called on the authorities to carry out a “thorough” investigation.

They said Lembembe was found after worried friends had been unable to contact him by phone.

The front door to his house was padlocked on the outside but they could see his body through a window and called the police, who broke down the door.

Lembembe, who was executive director of the Cameroonian AIDS Foundation, was an outspoken advocate of gay rights in a country w h e r e homosexuality is punishable by up to five years in prison.

He was a “close associate of HRW”, the group added.

Non-governmental organisations have regularly denounced the arrest and imprisonment of homosexuals in Cameroon, as well as the threats received by those who try to defend their rights.

The latest incident comes just weeks after an arson attack on a charity providing help to homosexuals with HIV. In October 2012, Michel Togue, a lawyer known for defending homosexuals revealed that he and a fellow lawyer, Alice Nkom, had received death threats. His office had also been burgled and legal papers and a computer stolen

Togue told AFP that he had also received a chilling text message, which read: “Mr Togue, choose which of your children we will turn into a fag like you. Then you will know what defending them brings … and not even the intervention of white fags will save them.”

Cow head-butts butcher to death Another runs amok as residents flee

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ragedy struck in Warri, Delta State, Tuesday, when a butcher, simply identified as Chinedu, was killed by a cow he was trying to slaughter at a market.

Eyewitnesses said that the butcher was mowed down when he was pursuing the cow, that was trying to escape the “hangman's noose”.

But in a twist of fate, the wild cow turned against the owner, swooped on him and head-butt him severally on his chest and belly, killing him instantly.

Some sympathizers who could not bear the gory sight likened the incident to “the hunter now becoming the hunted.”

As if it was the day of cows' rage, another wild cow, which also did not want to be killed, broke loose

Wednesday and ran through the busy Airport Road to Effurun where it was eventually caught.

Concerned residents who spoke on the increasing cases of wild cows now threatening the lives of Warri and Effurun residents, called on local and state governments to call the rearers to order.

It will be recalled that Fulani herdsmen at Ogume in Ndokwa West Local Government Area, killed 10 youths last April.

They were murdered when the community protested the destruction of their farmlands by the cattle and decided to allegedly kill a cow to compensate for their lost crops.

However, in a reprisal, the Fulani herdsmen killed 10 youths from the community, but it was gathered

that the swift intervention of the state government saved what could have resulted in bloodshed.

T h e N d o k w a We s t Council later buried the youths even as Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Comrade Ovuzorie Macaulay, who led the government delegation to the peace meeting, warned the cattle rearers against future occurrence.

However, the community is still mourning the dead as most of the slain youths were said to be breadwinners of their families.

Man rapes 9-year-old girl to death

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2 0 - y e a r- o l d m a n , Chijioke Nwakor, from Aniocha Local Government Area of Anambra State is now in Police custody for allegedly raping a nine-year-old girl to death.

The suspect who is currently detained at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), state Police headquarters, Diamond Hill, Calabar is alleged to have engaged Miss Alice Eneji in a marathon love making which resulted in the girl's death.

Chijioke told the officer heading the homicide unit of the state CID, Mr. Joseph Inuyashe, that he was born in Aniocha Local Government Area, but grew up in Onistha, Anambra until recently when he relocated to Okuku-Yala

Local Government in Cross River State where he is living with his parents.

He said since he came to Cross River State, he had abstained from women, regretting that his first attempt to make love to a girl of his desire has resulted in tragedy.

He said: “I used to see the girl everyday in Okuku-Yala, where I stay with my parents. I don't know what pushed me last Monday to approach her.

“As I saw her playing with the three boys at Saint Patrick's Primary School, Okuku football field, I called her and asked what she was doing there. I told her to go home and meet her mother.”

The advice took an amorous dimension as it started drizzling and Chijioke and Alice had to

take shelter under one of the school buildings.

It was then he said: “I discussed with her and she accepted so I took her to one of the abandoned buildings that has been overtaken by weeds, where I told her to remove her underwears and she complied.”

Claiming there was mutual agreement between them, the boy dismissed allegation that he raped her, saying: “I did not slap her or do anything to her.

“I told her to bend down because the place was too dirty. The uncompleted building is now used as a toilet, because most people living around there had no toilet.”

Chijioke said he then went for marathon love-making but Alice started crying but he thought she

was pretending.

Few minutes later, Alice slumped and became unconscious and he decided to raise alarm calling for help.

Alice was rushed to hospital while Chijioke went round the community sourcing for money to foot the hospital bill.

“I was still looking for money when somebody called me that the girl was dead,” he said.

When contacted, Acting Police Public Relations Officer of the Command, Mr. Hogan Bassey confirmed the incident, saying the culprit is in custody and that they were investigating the immediate and remote cause of such a criminal act. According to him, Chijioke will be charged to Court.

off wife's genitals for ritual

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man, Okorie Ogbafor, has reportedly murdered his wife, Ifeoma Okorie, 26, and removed her genitals and hair at Onicha-Isu, in Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, for ritual purposes.

Briefing newsmen at the command's headquarters in Abakaliki, Wednesday, Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP, Sylvester Igbo, said the corpse of the deceased was found in a bush behind the couple's family house adding that it had already started decomposing when a team of policemen from the state command found it.

Igbo, who disclosed that the suspect took off to Lagos State after committing the crime, noted that relatives of the suspect who reported the incident at a nearby Police station assisted in arresting him in Lagos.

He said: “On July 12, 2013, a case of murder was reported at Onicha-Isu, in Onicha Local Government Area where it was alleged that one Ifeoma Okorie, 26, wife to Okorie Ogbafor was murdered and the corpse dropped in a bush behind their family house.

“When the police team went to the place, on a closer examination of the corpse, it was discovered that the head of the woman was nearly severed from her body and it was also discovered that her private part was chopped off and parts of the hair shaved while the corpse was already decomposing.

“It was taken to the Federal Teaching Hospital mortuary for autopsy.

“It was after three days that her body was discovered. However, in the effort to know the actual perpetrator of the act, some people were arrested and it was then that we discovered that one Okorie Ogbafor was the person behind the killing of his wife.

“After killing the wife, he ran to Lagos. All this while, he was not seen within the vicinity and as information reached his kinsmen who were living in Lagos they reported the incident at the nearest police station to where the suspect resided.”

According to the Police spokesman, a team of detectives in charge of the case were on their way to Lagos to bring back the suspect to Ebonyi State as the case would soon be charged to court after investigation.

THE

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Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

A lot of our Teachers are completely analogue – Sylvester Onoja

putting on the commission to have their people get employed.

technical adviser Chief Sylvester Onoja, MON, was a onetime commissioner for Education IAs was Commissioner of Education in Kogi State. Presently, he is the Chairman, Teaching Service Commission for five years in this State. The and Technical Adviser on Education to the Kogi State Governor on difference between my being a and what I am now education. In this interview, the Technical Adviser shed light on issues as it Commissioner is a different thing all together. affect the expected recruitment of 500 teachers from the over 6000 As a Commissioner I had a pen in the hand. As a Chairman of the applicants for the job. Excerpt.

Teaching Service Commission and How do you intend to recruit 500 teachers out of the over 6000 applicants?

We intend to use a National Examination body to conduct an aptitude test for all those who want to be teachers in the State.

When this test is done, it would be clear to those who passed and to those who will fail.

We will then start the process of interviewing those who have passed. In the process, we will now bring in bodies that are responsible for recruitment of teachers and ensuring quality in teachers' recruitment and retention in this country.

Namely, we expect that the Teachers' Registration Council in Nigeria will be at our interview.

They will look at certificates presented by those who are qualified.

T h e Te a c h e r s ' Registration Council would certify whether those interviewed are real teachers' because they have a data bank of those who hold their certificates as teachers. Secondly the National Teachers Institute, Kaduna will be represented as well as other credible people who would be on the interview panel.

The Examination would be transparently handled by the National Examination body.

Nobody in Kogi State, nobody in the Teaching Service Commission will have a say or idea of the question that would be set. We are not the ones that will mark the Examination. The results would be given to us and we will take over from there. We are doing this to have credible teachers 'because the teachers we are going to recruit are those who will teach our children for the next thirty five years. A lot of teachers we have on the field today are completely analogue.

So we are now recruiting teachers who are digitally minded.

Teachers that are on the same page with the children as it concerns using digitalized teaching aids.

The problem we have with our teachers today is that the teachers we have in the last thirty five years are those who were there before the advent of computer and all other modern digital accessories were put in place. These set of teachers are not familiar with modern technology. The system of education we have in the world is now computer driven.

Presently we have teachers who have no business with overhead projectors. Today, they have to use computers.

Our today's students are digitally

minded and our teachers are analogue in there approach.

You discover that we now want teachers that are digitally minded like the students they teach so that we can move Education forward in Kogi State.

Education and transformation agenda of Capt. Wada What we have done is to lift every words of Capt. Idris Wada's transformation agenda as its relates to Education.

We are implementing the transformation agenda of Wada's administration and his approach to the Education sector. It is a reflection of the Governor and his Deputy's concern for Education.

They are the best we have for now who are driving the transformation that is desired in the education sector.

The passion for education is informed by the fact that the State Governor attended Government Secondary School Dekina while his Deputy, Okene Secondary School. These are all famous Secondary Schools in Northern Nigeria. For the first time, we have home grown leaders who have attended schools in Kogi State and have distinguished themselves in their various fields of endeavors.

They are a pride to those of us who are here and we would not want to kill their passion aimed at improving education in the state.

Okene Secondary School was named the Lion of the North by the Late Saduana of Sokoto because of the caliber of persons the produced. Secondly, if Dekina

Secondary School, established in 1932 could produce, Capt Wada who distinguished himself in the School Certificate Examination by coming out tops in his class and to choose a profession that was challenging and unknown as at that time. I believe they have the passion to make our schools what it should be. So for us as education managers, we must make sure the Education transformation agenda see's the light of the day.

We are inspired by the Governor and his Deputy's commitment to improving the education sector in Kogi State. The support has now given us the direction we are heading towards. For Wada, Education is a priority looking at the investment he is making in that sector. So for those of us who are managers of Education, we are compelled and have no choice but to make sure that every word and letter of the transformation agenda as it affects education is pushed to its limits. So we want to restate that the expected recruitment of teachers will be transparent as it is in the spirit of the transformation agenda. I have been directed by the Governor and the Deputy Governor that nothing less of transparency should be left out in the recruitment process of these teachers because they want quality education for the people of the State. If we get the process of recruitment wrong then we are building on a foundation that will be faulty and that is exactly what we are avoiding and to do what is noble irrespective of the level of unemployment in the country and the amount of lobby people are

Technical Adviser on Education, I have a chalk in my hand. I am now in the classroom with my contemporaries to exchange the experiences that I have.

We h a v e v e r y m a n y knowledgeable men teaching in our Schools while I as Adviser also has years of experience in the industry coming to exchange ideas with them.

In my responsibility is a marriage of experience and knowledge.

The people of the field who are teachers have the knowledge and given the number of years of experience I have put into teaching and managing education,I now have the experience to put on the table for the system to benefit from.

So mine is basically a marriage of experience and knowledge.

In Northern Nigeria we have maintained a leading position in education over the years. Today, Kogi State is the leading Educational advantaged State in the North. We are the only State in Northern Nigeria that has been removed from the list of educationally disadvantaged States. So we by this rating compete favorably with our contemporaries in the South that are Educational advanced. If it comes to going to Federal Universities or Federal Government Colleges we are expected to do more than other states in the North.

Result released by WAEC AND NECO overtime,have shown that Kogi State has led over the years.

In examination malpractices, we thanked God we are doing excellently well that we are now the second best reliable in this country where there is no Exam malpractices according to the 2011 ranking. So we are not doing bad when it comes to education and we must not and do not intend to down to relapse,now that the leadership is raising the bar and giving us the support. We want to keep the clean record going.

My being where I am is a continuation of doing what I know how best to do and I must thank my colleagues on the field because we have been doing it together. We have succeeded and will not let the people of Kogi State down.

NCE and other applicants If you look at teachers. There are two sides to a teacher. There are those who are already finished and trained as teachers. There are also teachers that can be trained. And of course, on the other side of it,there are also teachers who are

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not suited for Senior Secondary Education.

Yes, the national policy on Education says that NCE is for Primary Schools and Junior Secondary education.

Some of our secondary schools in Kogi State have not been disarticulated. That is so say the start from JSS 1 to SSS 3. So those ones will need NCE teachers at the JSS1 to JSS 3 levels. If we have competent NCE teachers we will recruit. There are some Local Government Areas where you won't get all graduate teachers.

We will look at the quality of the NCE teachers they have and while they are teaching they can improve their skills by going on study leave or part time studies and become trained teachers.

So during the recruitment, we will also be looking at the quality of people we can train to be teachers and this government has since coming on board accorded training a priority. The Governor has said in his transformation agenda, we shall continue to train our teachers.

With that zeal, we have no doubt in our mind that those we are recruiting well learned,others will who are qualified will learn to be good teachers and will put what they learn into practice.

Analogue/Digital Teacher I am sorry, that I may have really stepped on toes of people when I talked of Analogue teachers but that is the truth. We shouldn't run away from the truth. Today we have teachers, that using their mobile phone that is a complete computer on its own, they can't write a text massage.

But the students they teach are already browsing on the internet.

So we now have students who are much more intelligent than their teachers and we have students who are much more exposed than their teachers. So all that a teacher has over his students is experience and even that experience is outdated.

That is why we are going into training and retraining of teachers to improve the quality of our teachers and put the learners and the teacher on the same page. For now the difference between the learner and the teacher is widening. There are teachers in my own generation who have never had the opportunity to touch the over head projector, one of those elementary teaching aids established in the early 50�s and 60's and then the computers in the 70's. Some of these teachers are still in the field.

There are teachers who have done school certificate examination even when the computer or calculator was not there. Today, they are still there on the field teaching while improving on their skills. This problem is not only in teaching, we equally have them in Medicine, and in all other profession.

Everything is changing and for us to remain relevant we need to continue to learn, especially in the field of Education.

THE

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Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

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APGA: Umeh's victory and Okwu's confrontation?

By Ted Peters

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he protracted leadership crisis that engulfed the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, was apparently laid to rest following a unanimous judgment of the Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu which affirmed Chief Victor Umeh as the National Chairman of the party.

The court quashed the judgment of the Enugu State High Court delivered by the State Chief Judge, Justice Innocent Umezulike on February 8, 2013 that sacked the entire National Working Committee of APGA on the ground that their tenure expired in 2010.

In a lead judgment delivered by J u s t i c e To m Ya k u b u a n d concurred by two other justices in the appeal panel, Justices Paul Galinje (Chairman) and Modupe Kwasami, the appellate court granted all the four reliefs sought by the applicant (Umeh) and resolved in his favour all the issues set out for determination.

The lower court had in its ruling on the case against the APGA National Chairman by an expelled member of the party in Enugu State, Mr. Jude Okuli, ordered the removal of Chief Umeh on the ground that his tenure had expired and also declared as unconstitutional the November 10, 2011 National Convention of the party where Umeh and other NWC members were re-elected.

Umeh thereafter approached the appellate court to challenge the decision of the lower court, and the court in the course of the proceeding, granted a stay of execution of the Umezulike's judgment paving the way for Umeh to continue as APGA National Chairman pending the resolution of the substantive appeal.

Delivering the judgment on the appeal, Justice Yakubu dismissed all the objections raised by the respondent (Okuli) against the appeal, emphasizing that the lower court had no jurisdiction ab inition to entertain the case brought before it, since according to him, the plaintiff having been expelled by his state chapter from the party, had no locus standi to institute the action.

He said that even if Okuli was not expelled from the party, he was neither a contestant for the position of National Chairman nor a member of the NWC whose interest may be affected if Umeh remained in office.

On Okuli's expulsion from the party, the court frowned at the decision of the lower court restoring him as a member of the party when he (Okuli) had in his affidavit admitted that he was

expelled from the party, stressing that the trial judge went beyond his powers in granting a relief not sought by the plaintiff.

“The court must concern itself to the issues submitted to it by parties, the judgment of the lower court smacks of a sympathizer weeping more than the bereaved and the court is not supposed to be a Father Christmas or a charitable organization,” Yakubu said.

“I am of the considered opinion that the respondent (Okuli) has no locus standi to institute the action and the trial court shouldn't have wasted time trying the matter because it assumed jurisdiction which it did not possess. There are several authorities that the

Victor Umeh courts should not interfere with the internal affairs of the political parties except on issue of wrongful substitution as contained in Section 87 (9) of the Electoral Act 1999 as amended,” Justice Yakubu further said.

On the issue of non-joinder of APGA as a political party, Justice Yakubu held that since whatever reliefs sought in the matter were expected to be binding on APGA, it was completely wrong to exclude the party from the case as that amounted to “shaving a man's head in his absence.”

The court upheld the submissions of Chief Umeh's lead counsels, Wole Olanipekun, SAN, and Patrick Ikweto, SAN that the trial court overreached itself when it ruled that the APGA National Convention of November 10, 2011 was unconstitutional. The appeal court contended that it was the invalidation of the convention that was the fulcrum and basis for granting the erroneous injunctions that removed the appellant from office.

“The respondent did not ask that

the convention be cancelled, why do so? He was not asking to be sworn in as APGA National Chairman or that he won or participated as a contestant in the convention yet the lower court granted the extraneous reliefs he sought against the appellant.

“We find this appeal not lacking in merit and consequently the appeal is allowed; the judgment of Justice Umezulike is hereby set aside, and a cost of N50,000 is hereby awarded in favour of the appellant,” the court ruled.

Reacting to the judgment, Umeh who was nearly 'mobbed' by a large crowd of supporters, including members of the National Working Committee of

decision handed down by this Court of Appeal, our party is coming back.”

While thanking his team of lawyers led by Chief Wole Olanipekun, members of APGA NWC, stalwarts, stakeholders and the entire members of the party for their unflinching support during the trying period, Umeh, however, assured the leadership of the party in Anambra State that was purportedly sacked by Governor Peter Obi's faction, that they remained the authentic executive of the party in the state.

He assured that APGA would win the forthcoming Governorship election in Anambra State, saying the hurdle placed on the way of the party had been completely lifted by the decision of the appeal court.

To the Supreme Court we must

Gov. Obi the party, former Governorship candidate of the party in Imo State, Chief Martins Agbaso and the State Chairmen of the party, said the decision of the court has rekindled his confidence in the Nigerian judiciary. He attributed his victory to God and the tremendous support he enjoyed from party members.

Umeh told the huge crowd of APGA members who converged at the Appeal Court premises after the ruling, “All those that listened to the ruling of the Appeal Court heard that all the decisions against me by the Enugu Chief Judge have been set aside. All our grounds of appeal were successful; that the Chief Judge of Enugu State has no business prosecuting me; God has vindicated me and APGA today.

We thank God Almighty.

“Before we leave this arena, may I thank the Nigerian judiciary, this has restored our confidence in the judiciary. This is a case of David and Goliath. We did not have money like the big pockets but God gave us victory because we have God. From today, by the

go!

But while Umeh's supporters were celebrating the appeal court victory, the Governor Peter Obiled faction of the party announced their rejection of the court's verdict.

The factional Chairman of the party, Chief Maxi Okwu relayed this to reporters during a press briefing in Enugu. Okwu said after the party's leadership reviewed the judgment, they rejected it and instructed their counsel to seek judicial relief at the Supreme Court.

According to Okwu, “It is now history that the verdict on Monday went against us to our utter amazement and disappointment. We now have the privilege of a copy of the court judgment, which we have perused carefully.

“We have also met at the highest level of the party spanning the NWC, the forum of state chairmen led by Dr Azike Jega, the chairman BoT, Dr Tim Menakaya and other critical stakeholders. We finally went into conclave with the deputy leader of

the party, His Excellency Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State. Consequently, a number of far reaching decisions to meet the new challenges this curious judgment has posed for us have been taken.”

He observed that the Appeal Court's judgment was essentially based on the threshold issue of locus standi, as the court was of the view that Ichie Jude Okuli, “lacked the necessary capacity without which a suit cannot be brought.”

Chief Okwu said he strongly disagreed to that assertion and the second ruling of the Appeal Court that party matters were essentially domestic issues that should not be litigated upon.

“It is clear that the court did not deem it necessary to go into the merits of the case in view of its rationes decidendi. In our own

Maxi Okwu humble opinion, the issues as it relates to the facts of the case are still at large, or are yet to be addressed,” Okwu said.

He recalled that Umeh became the chairman of APGA in December 2004 and thus, his tenure expired on December 2, 2010 in line with the party's constitution.

He, therefore, said the purported January 2011 Awka convention of the party, where Umeh's tenure was said to have been renewed was unconstitutional more so, when it was done by voice vote and acclamation.

“As things stand today we have in one breath the Court of Appeal impliedly affirming the validity of our convention of April 8, 2013, and on the other hand, the same Court of Appeal allowing an appeal by our erstwhile national chairman on the grounds that the respondent\plaintiff lacks locus standi and ipso factor the lower court was incompetent to entertain the suit,” he stated.

He also said at their last meeting, they re-affirmed their implicit confidence and loyalty to

Continues on page 27

THE

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Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

73-yr-old CBN retiree duped N10m, recounts ordeal

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peratives of the Special Fraud Unit, SFU, Ikoyi, Lagos have smashed a syndicate which specialised in defrauding members of the public by sending congratulatory text messages for winning jackpots in non-existent promos.

The syndicate's victim that led to their arrest is a 73-year-old retiree of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, identified simply as Pa Steven, a United States of America returnee, who was reportedly swindled of N10 million.

The unit's spokesman, Ngozi Nsiotume-Agun, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP, said a suspected member of the syndicate, Philip Ikechukwu Orji, was arrested at the verge of withdrawing an amount paid into his account by the victim.

The victim in a petition to the unit, explained that he received a text message supposedly from Airtel on September 16, 2011 that he had won N2 million for using up to N200 in two weeks in its ongoing promo, with batch number A17.

Victim's account According to Pa Steven, “I was given a telephone number 08088664395 to speak with one Mr. Femi Adams who they introduced as a staff of Airtel. I called Femi and he said that he was the officer in-charge of the promo and that I should forward my personal data to that number.

“I asked what he meant by personal data and he explained that he was referring to my name, address, state of origin, bank and profession.

“I sent those information to the number and the next day, I received a message requesting me to send the name of the bank where the money would be deposited.

“Later, they requested that I should call one, Mr. Ken Eze who is the account officer on 08132956960. I immediately called the man who said I was expected to pay 4.8 per cent of the amount that I won as Charge on Turnover, COT. “I paid the amount into account number 0033313251 belonging to one Eghobamen Agnes in Festac branch of the bank as requested.”

Shortly after the payment, he said he

received another congratulatory message that his name had been listed on the final list and that he would receive a voucher that serves as his ticket into a gala night organised for the award. Pa Steven was, however, disappointed as Femi reportedly contacted him to say the gala night had been postponed, explaining that Airtel had expanded it to a national mega promo and that he had an automatic ticket to participate in the draw as a promo winner. He demanded a recharge card to make necessary contacts to ensure the purported voucher was intact.

Not satisfied, the syndicate reportedly contacted Pa Steven, informing him that he had won another N350 million in the 'Airtel at 10 Club' .

He said: “This was on June 16, 2013.

Femi said I should contact one Mr. Tunde Alabi at the Airtel head office on 08089932304 for further details.

“When contacted, Tunde Alabi told me that Airtel had selected two banks to handle its payments to various beneficiaries and advised me to keep in touch with the account officer on

07065947835.

“To be sure that I was still relating with the right persons, I called Femi and he told me that I would be expected to pay N2 million as functional fee.

“I called the supposed account officer who confirmed what Femi told me.

She introduced herself as Mbamalu Nnenna Ruth and forwarded her FirstBank account number as 3040173040, requesting that I should pay N2 million.

“I went a borrowing because I knew that with N350 million, I do not need to rely on pension for the rest of my life. “Few days after I made the payment, I received a text message purportedly from Guarantee Trust Bank reminding me that I was yet to come and claim my money. I called Femi who advised me to contact my account officer who requested that I should pay another N3 million into the account 0051886627 which belongs to one Ikechukwu Orji.

“They kept demanding for one fee or the other and Femi who claimed to be a staff of Airtel confirmed each transaction.”

War against Armed Robbers in Anambra: One killed, others arrested into this deal. We have carried out many robbery operations in Onitsha and its environs.”

Another suspect simply identified as Ebuka said he was arrested by SARS operatives when he went to visit his friend.

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Pa Steven said he became suspicious after a year without any payment into his account.

Ikechukwu used forged document, identity But on further investigation, operatives discovered that Ikechukwu (22) used forged document and identity to open the account.

Nsiotume-Agun said: “Initially, he claimed that he was an orphan and was at the mercy of friends who deceived him into allowing them use his account for fraud.

“His true identity was later revealed when his mother who is a pastor called the police station demanding to speak with her son, Phillip.

“We are also interrogating the bank officials to find out why Ikechukwu was allowed to operate an account with false document.”

Asked why, Ikechukwu replied: “I was advised to close my account with GTB and open another one with any other bank. I simply opened a savings account with the name Ikechukwu Okafor. I was able to get fake identity card, PHCN bill and an address that cannot be traced. Nobody called to confirm the information, so I started using the account for my transactions.

I am terribly sorry especially to my parents.”

He said: “I went to visit my friend without knowing that he was being wanted by the police for robbery. As I was still there, SARS operative broke into the house and arrested all of us. I don't really know what I did.”

Police smash 5-man robbery gang in Enugu

By Obianuju Nwankwo

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Suspects with gun wounds after the battle with police

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NE person was gunned down, while three others sustained injuries during gun battle between the police and suspected robbers at Ngborokpo village in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, Wednesday.

Also, 17 suspected robbers were arrested by the police where three AK 47 riffles, two pump action guns, four locally made pistols, some quantity of ammunition, a television set and a teddy bear which they used in concealing guns were recovered.

Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, of the Anambra State Police command, Mr. Emeka Chukwuemeka, told newsmen at the headquarters of the Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARS, Awkuzu, Oyi Local Government Area, that the 17 suspects were arrested in various parts of the

state for various offences, including bank robbery.

Among the suspects was a 16year-old Ifeanyi Onwe said to be a specialist in bank robbery. He was said to be using beautiful girls to track people that withdrew large sums of money from the banks.

According to Chukwuemeka, some of the suspects were in the habit of blocking major roads in Nawfia, Awgbu, Ufuma, Abba, among other areas where they robbed people.

The PPRO alleged that some of the suspects were also involved in the killing of a 55-year-old man in Awgbu and another woman at Nanka four days ago, as well as in the raping of girls in parts of the state.

He said: “To the ordinary eye, the TV set and the teddy bear they were carrying were just what they were meant to be. But for this

gang, what they do is to open the TV set and rip open the teddy's tommy, conceal pistols and ammunition in them and when they enter any vehicle, nobody will know they had guns until they begin operation.

“They invented this style to escape from the police and other security agencies, but our men were able to beat them to their game.”

Ifeanyi Onwe, the 16-year-old suspect confessed to the crime, admitting that he used to plant young girls in banks in Onitsha to give members of his gang information concerning withdrawals.

He said: “I was a student in a secondary school in Onitsha before I dropped out in JSS 1 because my parents could not fund my education. Thereafter, I met a friend who introduced me

notorious armed robbery gang that has been terrorising residents of Ogui area of Enugu capital city for some time now has been smashed.

Policemen from Ogui Division of the State Police Command in the early hours of Sunday apprehended two members of the five-man gang following a shot-out at the scene of a robbery operation. One of them later died due to gunshot wounds sustained while three others were said to have escaped with bullet wounds.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, CSP Ebere Amaraizu, who disclosed this, said that the policemen in response to a distress call at about 2am swooped on the gang while carrying out the operation.

The suspects were attacking residents of 113/114 Ogui Urban Area in Obiagu Enugu, when the policemen rushed to the scene.

"After receiving the distress call the operatives rushed the place for a quick intervention but on sighting the operatives, the hoodlums believed to be numbering about five, opened fire on the policemen who retaliated and in the ensuing encounter two of the hoodlums were hit by the bullet hence they were arrested while others allegedly escaped with bullet wounds," he said.

According to him, the two arrested hoodlums gave their names as Chizoba Nnamani (male) of Amechi Awkunanaw and Chukwuemeka Nnamani of Ugbawka in Nkanu East area of Enugu state.

He said that one of the suspects was already helping the police in their investigation while the second, Chizoba Nnamani, who was being rushed to hospital for treatment of the bullet wounds sustained later, gave up the ghost.

Amaraizu added that the armed robbers had been identified by residents of Ogui as those terrorizing the neighbourhood in recent times.

Items recovered from the gang, he further said, included GSM handsets of various brands, one MP3 player, one radio set, two Torchlights, N32,000 and two expended cartridges.

"The state commissioner of police Abubakar Adamu Mohammed has applauded the efforts of his operatives as well as the timely and useful information from members of the public that made the intervention possible just as he has ordered a full scale investigation into the incident," the police spokesman said.

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Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

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Africa behind in daily calorie intake – Nanotechnologist

A

nanotechnologist, Prof.

Olusoji Oyewole, said that the weighted average per capita daily calorie intake for Africans is between 1,100 calories and 1,700 calories.

Oyewole, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Nanotechnology, Industries and Agric. Support Systems Ltd, made the statement in a lecture titled, ''National Food Security Question'', he delivered at the AGRIKEXPO 2013 held in Lagos.

He said that this figure was below the recommended average of 3,000 calories for an active male between 19 and 50 years.

He said that Africa had the lowest per capita daily calorie intake, adding that statistics revealed hidden, clinical and latent hunger on the African continent.

Oyewole said that the per capita daily calorie intake for Africa was critical, lagging and below the red line when compared with those of other continents, such as Europe and North America, which stood at between 3,000 calories and 3,600 calories.

He said the figure for Australia was the same as Europe and North America; while Asia's ranged from 1,300 calories to 2,000 calories.

Oyewole also said that Latin America's intake was between 1,300 calories and 2,100 calories, while Oceania was between 1, 300 calories and 1,900 calories. ''The normal daily requirement should contain 60 per cent to 65 per cent carbohydrates, 15 per cent proteins and 25 per cent to 30 per cent fats and lipids, totaling 10 per cent of the body weight. ''That 80 per cent of Nigerians

suffer from `hidden' hunger shows that we are zero on the scale 10 to getting to 'El Dorado'. ''That 30 per cent of Nigerians suffer from severe and absolute hunger is an indication that Nigeria might still be tossed around in global politics and be at the mercy of other nations,'' Oyewole said.

He said it was sad that Nigeria lost over 50 per cent of vegetables and fish, 40 per cent of tubers and roots and 35 per cent of grain on the farm and in transit.

Oyewole said the figures indicated that the nation's value chains were far from being established.

He said statistics by the International Food Production Research Institute (IFPRI) for 2012 showed that six per cent of the nation's population was undernourished.

Oyewole said that the statistics also showed that 27 per cent of Nigerian children were undernourished.

He advised that government should embark on a ''protein for all, crash programme'' with emphasis on plant alternatives as a solution to the challenge of food security.

The nanotechnologist said that long established facts had revealed that one hectare of soya

beans would fulfil the protein needs/ration of a person for 18 months and the same quantity fed to a cow would last for 15 days.

He said it was time for the government to match words with action and tackle the issue of agricultural productivity for food security.

Also, Dr Sotonye Anga, the Coordinator of the Community of Agricultural Stakeholders of Nigeria (CASON), a NonGovernmental Organisation, said that the success of Nigeria's agriculture depended on incentives given to agribusinesses and people.

Anga, who delivered a lecture titled, ''Positioning Nigeria as a Global Powerhouse in Agriculture'', said that the next

generation of millionaires and billionaires in Nigeria would be ''agri-preneurs''.

He said that Nigeria was on the right path with the Agriculture Transformation Agenda (ATA), aimed at adding 20 million tonnes of food to domestic food supply.

He said the President Goodluck Jonathan administration ATA would also create 3.5 million jobs by year 2015.

Anga listed some of the ways of positioning Nigeria in agriculture, including a shift in government policy to favour agriculture.

According to him, triggering massive youth involvement in agriculture is also a way of transforming Nigeria's agriculture.

DFID donates drugs, equipment worth N929m to Kano State

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he Department of I n t e r n a t i o n a l Development (DFID), under the British Government, has donated drugs, medical equipment and consumables worth N929 million to Kano State.

The donation, made under the PATHS 2 Programme, was aimed at upgrading medical and nonmedical equipment in various communities in the state.

The DFID representative and Head, Northern Health Office, Dr Abubakar Izge, said this in Kano on Thursday.

Izge said the programme would assist the government overcome various health challenges in its communities.

He said that DFID, through PATHS 2, would collaborate with the government to improve health

services in Kano.

He appealed to health institutions expected to benefit from the items to make effective use of them in order to achieve the desired result.

In his remark, Gov. Rabiu Kwankwaso, commended DFID for the gesture and assured that the items would be judiciously utilised.

Kwankwaso, represented by his deputy, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, said that the government would not relent in its collaboration with donor agencies to ensure effective health service delivery in the state.

First Guarantee Pension Limited launches service delivery and sustained corporate business office in Uyo investment reforms to its clients, Christopher Okon, Uyo

T

he First Guarantee Pension Limited (FGPL) has launched its corporate business office in Uyo the Akwa Ibom State capital.

Performing the opening ceremony of the corporation office located at 140 Atiku Abubarkar Way, Uyo recently the acting director of the company, Mr. Chima Akalezi stated that the company was very enthusiastic about working more closely with the Akwa Ibom

Cross section of The Way of Salvation Church Ministers and The General Overseer, Apostle Peter Udofia during the book lunch in Port Harcourt, Rivers State

Government to have the opportunity to officiate great pension management services to the civil servants and other workers in the state.

The managing director explained that FGPL was one of the first pension fund companies to be registered under the new Pension Reform Act of Nigeria because it has capitalized to N1 billion and above pointing out that any pension fund company that has not acquired up to N1 billion capital was no longer allowed by the commission to exist.

Akalezi hinted that Delta, Ogun, Kogi, Osun, Taraba, Niger, Kaduna and Sokoto are among the states that have benefited from the scheme and have also enjoyed benefits offered by the company and advised the people of Akwa Ibom State to key into the scheme which is designed to cater for workers and retire civil servants at old age.

He observed that when pension is left with government alone by the time a worker retires, there may be no money to pay, but when one is contributing there was full assurance that such contributions would be accessible on retirement.

Akalezi pointed out that the opening of the Uyo office will enable the company to serve its numerous clients in a more professional manner and with excellent customers service experience that would also guarantee their welfare during the years they will no longer cope with the rigours of active work.

The managing director maintained that FGPL takes pride in providing excellent customer

hinting that the Pension Commission of Nigeria in its recent examination, rate FGPL as a low risk company which his at the forefront in creating real wealth and financial security to all its clients in a most innovative, professional and ethical manner.

Akalezi charged those who are yet to open a retirement saving account the company to do so, knowing that they have a better future to look forward to on retirement.

He solicited for more business support from the people, assuring that the company will continue to deliver superior value to its esteemed clients.

In his remarks, the head of IT Mr. Amasua Essien, noted that the company was saddled with the responsibility of managing fund for retired workers and also ensure that they get access to their money on retirement The regional manager, SouthSouth and South-East zone of the company, Mr. Peter Oliti, maintained that the company has well trained and qualified personnel who can deliver on their job, adding that the corporate office in Uyo has been properly fixed to create an enabling working environment for its clients and staff.

In an interaction, one of the customers, Mr. Sunday Bassey Eyo, said he was grateful to the company for putting smile on his face, noting that since he came in contact with them in 2010 after his retirement the money he saved with the company has helped him to move on in life.

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Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

NMI Matriculates 71, Graduates 15

By Emmy-Chuks Nweze, Enugu

N

wandu Memorial Institute, School of Catering and Hotel Management, NMI, Enugu recently held matriculation ceremony for seventy-one students and at the same time, fifteen students also graduated from the school. The graduands were issued with certificates and best performing students were presented with gifts by the school management.

The Dean of Studies, Miss Obianuju Meniru in an address at the occasion stated that Nwandu Memorial Institute apart from providing quality skill education is working tirelessly to alleviate poverty and provide employment for the youth who graduate from the school as they will become employers of labour instead of looking for paid employment after graduation.

According to the Dean, the school which was established since 1986 has produced many graduates who are doing well in their different personal establishments as well as working in reputable hotels and institutions that provide catering services.

Explaining the objectives of the school, Miss Meniru, also stated that one of the objectives of the school was to awaken the giant

The Matriculants and the Graduates after the ceremony within the men and women in the catering profession, stating that the school ,'has contributed immensely to the provision of man power needs of many contemporary hotel organization throughout the world.'

She enumerated that the students of the school provided with skill acquisition such as handcraft,

FACT BOX Compiled by Patrick Okolie

Oldest Football Player Enrique Alcocer (Mexico, born 28 August 1924) is currently the world's oldest regular football player. He plays for the Reforma Althletic Club in Mexico City, Mexico. Alcocer began playing regularly in 1936 for Grosso junior and high school in Mexico City. He then played professionally for Marte Football Club in Mexico's first division in 1944 before joining his current club in 1952.

Oldest woman to reach the summit of Mt. Everest Tamae Watanabe (Japan, born 21 November 1938) was aged 63 years 177 days when she reached the summit of Mt. Everest at 9.55am on 16 May 2002, becoming the oldest woman ever to do so. Watanabe reached the summit on its busiest day ever, when 54 other climbers reached the top of the 8,848m (29,028 ft) peak

Longest heart stoppage The longest recorded heart stoppage is a minimum of 3hr 40min in the case of Jean Jawbone (Canada) who at the age of 20, was revived by a team of 26 medical staff using 'peritoneal dialysis in the health sciences center, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, on 8 January 1977. e-mail: jesuskidallday@gmail.com Phone: 08132597886

food production, catering and hotel management in all ramifications.

She also paid glowing tribute to the founder of the school, Chief Daniel Nwandu, Oba of EnuguUkwu, Anambra State who though

did not acquire much western education but was able work hard to surmount poverty. “He, Daniel Nwandu, was able to rise above the shackles of poverty to become one of the most successful men in his town. With little education

and strong character, he was able to make it,” Different products produced by the students like cake, handcrafts, detergents, etc were displayed for the visitors as well as parents who graced the occasion.

20-yr-old school dropout stabs school prefect to death

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20-year-old man Godwin Odu, has been arrested by the police in Calabar for allegedly stabbing Boniface Odinaka, a student of Army Day Secondary School, 3 Amphibious Brigade, Eburutu Barracks, Calabar to death.

Odinaka, who was the Labour Prefect of the school, was attacked for confiscating the sandals of another student, Francis Etim.

He was said to have engaged the services of Odu who was his friend and an alleged cultist.

Odu who is from Akwa Ibom State, is currently detained at the state Criminal Investigation Department, CID, Diamond Hill, Calabar.

On why he killed Odinaka, he said his friend, Francis Etim, asked him to assist him recover a pair of sandals which Odinaka seized over alleged improper dressing.

Asked if he knew the name of the Labour Prefect, Odu said they laid ambush with Etim for Odinaka at the school gate waiting for closing hour when students were returning home.

In a statement at the Homicide Unit of the state CID, Odu confirmed that he attacked Odinaka from the rear and as the SSS II boy struggled to free himself, it resulted to a fight which caused his death.

Fielding questions from the Officer-in-Charge of Homicide,

Mr. Joseph Inuyashe, DSP, Odu said: “The boy Odinaka is the cause of everything that has brought me here. My friend, Francis Etim, came from school and told me that one senior student seized his sandals.”

Minutes after Odinaka was killed, Etim fled the area, but he was later arrested.

Odu who was identified as a dropout, said he attended Government Technical School, Ikot Ansa, Calabar and abandoned

his studies as “some bad boys were after me.”

He pleaded that he was still a minor, claiming he was 14 years old, but when asked the year he was born, his years in primary and secondary school, he later said he was 20 years old.

Mr. Inuyashe, DSP, said the state Government frowned at cultism and other nefarious acts, saying Udo will be promptly charged to court, since he has admitted killing the boy.

IBB to float varsity as NUC okays Jigawa State University

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HE National University Commission, NUC, Wednesday blamed the rot in the education sector on the takeover of public and missionary schools shortly after the NigeriaBiafran civil war in the seventies.

Executive Secretary of the NUC, Professor Julius Okojie who made this known also said that the abolition of boarding schools as well as 30 years of military rule contributed to high level of indiscipline and decay in the system.

Okojie spoke when he received a letter of intent from the family of the former Military Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida for approval to establish El-Amin

University in Niger State.

This was even as the NUC has also approved the Jigawa State University, making it the 39th state university and 129 recognized universities in the country.

Late wife of the former Head of State, Hajia Miriam Babangida had established El-Amin International School which was reputed for quality standard about 20 years ago and as a matter of continuity, the family represented

by Dr. Mohammed Babangida presented the application to the Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Julius Okojie in Abuja to float the proposed university.

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Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

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Akpabio inaugurates Inter-ministerial projects in Udung Uko

By Christopher Okon, Uyo

I

n line with his administration's commitment to improving the lives of the people of Akwa Ibom, the State Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio on Monday inaugurated nine Inter-ministerial projects in Udung Uko local government area of the State.

They include four electrification projects at Eyofin, Ekim, Uboro Isong Inyang and Eyobisung communities.

Others were five educationalbased projects, including a-four classroom block with an office and a store; as well as a Staff Quarters at Community Secondary School, Udung Uko. Also inaugurated were a-four classroom block with a store and an office; alongside a twin 2bedroom semi-detached Staff Quarters at Government Primary School, Eyibia.

Another beneficiary was Convent School, Eyoponung, where a-twin 2-bedroom semi detached Staff Quarters was inaugurated; while a-two kilometre road, constructed by the member representing Udung Uko State Constituency, Hon. Jerome Isangidighi as part of his Constituency Projects, was also commissioned at Eyofin.

Performing the inauguration, Governor Akpabio, represented by his Special Adviser on Labour, Productivity and Public Service Matters, Mr Godwin Udom, said the provision of the facilities was in fulfilment of his campaign promise to make life more meaningful for the people.

Admonishing the beneficiaries to make proper use of the facilities provided for them the Governor commended the Inter-ministerial Committee for ensuring timely delivery of the projects without compromising stipulated quality for each of the project.

Responding on behalf of the

beneficiaries, among them, a onetime Chairman of Oron and Udung Uko, Rt. Hon. Bassey Etim

Edet; the Head teacher of Community Secondary School, Udung Uko, Deaconess Arit John Oboho; and the Village Head of Eyibia, Ovong Effiong Otoposo, thanked the Governor for his magnanimity.

At a Civic Reception in honour of the Governor, the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Bassey Akpan, who was represented by the Secretary of the State Inter-ministerial Direct Labour Coordinating Committee, Dr Otuekong Ukut, said a total of 58 projects, including electricity, water,

FLOODING: Kogi govt embarks on sensitization visit

By Our Reporter

K

ogi State Government has once again made clarifications that what it gave out to flood affected victims in the State following last year's flood that ravaged the State was assistance and not compensation.

Awoniyi, maintained that majority of the houses affected by the last

years flood in Lokoja Local Government Area were illegal structures that never had Government approval, said the Government could not have compensated illegality, rather out of human kindness, gave out assistance to people affected and not compensation as is being alleged in some quarters.

The State Deputy Governor, Yomi Awoniyi, and Chairman Flood Management Committee, made the remarks while on a sensitization visit to Lokoja Local Government to inform the people living in the flood prone areas of the State to relocate in view of the 2013 predicted flood.

The Deputy Governor disclosed that the State Government is

JTF uncovers illegal fuel dump in shrine

By Philip Eke, Yenagoa

T

he Joint Task Force in the Niger Delta code named 'Operation Pulo Shield', disclosed on Sunday that its operatives had uncovered an illegal fuel dump concealed by suspected oil thieves in a shrine at Egbekodo Community in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State, saying that 230 drums of distilled Automated Gas Oil (AGO) were impounded.

The JTF also destroyed 13 illegal oil distillery camps along Benneth Island, Gbekebor and Iffie communities, and Ogbokodo creek in the same area where the suspected oil thieves had concealed 34 dug-out pits, 37 steel-surface reservoirs, 360 drums and 44 open-boats filled with stolen crude oil.

Two suspects, Queen Maku and Sylvester Togo, who were arrested with eight live cartridges and one empty cartridge in connection with the theft, are in custody for preliminary investigation. The security outfit, in a statement signed by its spokesman, Onyema Nwachukwu, a Lieutanant Colonel, in Yenagoa on Sunday, disclosed that its men also clamped down on 22 illegal crude oil distillery sites and 3 open

classroom blocks and health centres have so far been executed in Udung Uko local government area since the inception of the present administration in the State.

While expressing gratitude to the Governor, a prominent native of Udung Uko and Commissioner for Education, Prof. Atim Antai; and the Ikpoto Oro, Chief Okon Usung thanked him for his passion and love towards improving the lives of the people.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Local Government Council, Hon. Kenim Victor Onofiok, who presented a portrait of Governor Akpabio to the Governor's representative, pledged the people's steadfast support to the government.

wooden boats and 500 drums used as implements by suspected oil thieves along Masonkiri, agosgbene, Oyeregbene, Igbomatoru, Ekiambiri and Polubobou communities in Southern Ijaw and Brass local government areas of Bayelsa State. According to the statement, which was made available to our Dawn correspondent in Yenagoa, operatives of the JTF uncovered the thefts during anti-oil-theft operations in the region which

lasted from July 3 to 12.

It added: “The Joint Task Force (JTF) 'Operation Pulo Shield' also arrested three self-propelled barges and a tug boat, during a recent patrol of the creeks and water ways in the Niger Delta.

Two of the barges, MV LAMME and MT FUFUSWAY, were laden respectively with 100,000 litres and 500,000 litres of illegally distilled Automated Gas Oil (AGO) sourced from stolen crude oil.

“The barges, which had eleven crew members on board, were intercepted around Bonny Anchorage in Rivers State, are now in safe custody of Sub Sector 5, while the crew members on board both barges have been conveyed to headquarters Sector 2 in Port Harcourt for further investigation.

“A third barge christened DFC 2 was arrested along Azagbene River in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.

10 killed in Bayelsa gun battle

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he Bayelsa State Police Command averted another tragedy on Tuesday as suspected militants opened fire on police patrol teams along the Oporoma/Oyoma waterways in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.

In the gun duel, 10 gunmen were killed and their boat sunk by the police.

Suspected militants had killed 11 policemen on April 6 while on official duty at Azuzuama, in the same local government area.

According to reports, the attack carried out by 10 gunmen met with a fierce resistance from armed police team in gunboats.

Checks indicated that Mr. Tonye Ebitibituwa who recently resumed as the Commissioner of Police in

Bayelsa State had embarked on a week-long familiarization tour of formations under the command.

In order to forestall any ugly incident during Ebitibituwa tour, the Command had deployed patrol teams with gunboats to notorious areas According to a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Alex Akhigbe said the gunboats were attacked at Oporoma/ Onyoma waterways.

He said in the ensuing gun battle, police superior fire killed the 10 gunmen while their boat was sunk.

“Gunboats deployed to beef up security in Twon Brass, Akassa, Okpoama and Southern Ijaw area of the state were attacked between Oporoma/Oyoma waterways on Tuesday, July 16, 2013 at about 19.30hrs,by a boat with about 10

armed men believed to be notorious sea pirates who have been terrorizing our waterways.

“In the ensuring gun battle, some of the pirates were feared dead, others jumped into the water while their boats were sunk.

What would have turned out to be another calamity was averted due to the alertness of the patrol team, and the preparedness of the Bayelsa State Police Command to deal with sea piracy, armed robbery and other crimes in the state.

“Members of the public are advised to go about their normal duties as police are on top of the situation. No stone will be left unturned in our quest to deal with all criminal elements in the state,” the PPRO said in the statement.

resolute in improving on last year's record in the management of the flood disaster and in the welfare of internally displaced persons if the flood occurs again.

Awoniyi explained that the uniqueness of Lokoja as one of the fastest growing urban centre in the country and the haphazard development carried out by some individuals along flood prone areas of Ganaja and Gadumo,made it a herculean task in the handling of internally displaced persons.

The Deputy Governor lamented the negative role played by some IDP's in Ganaja and Gadumo who rather than appreciate government's assistance to them during and after the flood as the most catered camps in the state all through the flood period, were quick to rush to the press to rubbish government's concern,warned that government would guide against such actions in the event of another flood.

Awoniyi further said the on-going construction of 272 Post Flood Housing Estate that is nearing completion and the emphasis that would be placed on Lokoja by the Government, would ensure proper documentation of IDP's, improve welfare condition for victims as well as ensuring that there sufferings and losses are reduced to the barest minimum this year.

Earlier in his speech, Alhaji Aliyu Baba Usman, Chairman, Lokoja Local Government Area, called for an Executive bill that will declare all areas around the river banks as green areas, to prevent people putting up structures around the river banks indiscriminately and to also order the relocation of people living around flood prone areas from their present location.

The Chairman however requested the building of more internally displaced persons camps for the area and commended the proactive measures put in place by the State Government thus far.

THE

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Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

Why we are investing in education –

By Christopher Okon, Uyo

G

overnor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom says his administration's huge investment in the education sector is aimed at rapidly developing the State into a cente of academic excellence and a major education hub in the world.

He stated this weekend at Comprehensive Secondary School, Nkana, Etinan local government area of the State, where he inaugurated a twobedroom Staff Quarters; an I n t r o d u c t o r y Te c h n o l o g y Laboratory block; and a Library block, as part of his ongoing commissioning of Interministerial Direct Labour Coordinating Committee projects across the State.

The Governor who was represented by the Commissioner for Science and Technology, Engr.

Iboro Ekanem, said education holds the key to the socioeconomic progress of any nation.

He said his government was determined to provide the youth with a conducive environment for qualitative and functional education that will make them the

for children in the State b y h i s administrati o n , i n addition to the massive construction of schools a n d provision of b a s i c amenities, teachers would show greater commitment to assist the government in her drive to take Akwa Ibom to n e w e r heights of academic excellence.

He said he h a d Governor Godswill Akpabio confidence darlings of employers of labour that with the inauguration of new and entrepreneurs in both public educational facilities in schools and private sectors of the across the State, there will be an improvement in the quality of economy.

Governor Akpabio expressed the teaching and learning, with Akwa belief that with the free and Ibom producing more skilled compulsory education provided manpower who can stand their

own in any part of the world.

While advising the students to devote themselves to the dictates of their academic pursuits, Governor Akpabio also admonished the people of Etinan to utilize and take proper care of the various projects executed in their communities.

Apart from the Comprehensive Secondary School, Nkana, the Governor also visited Primary School, Ikot Inyang, where he commissioned four 5-classroom blocks; an Assembly Hall/Office; while at Primary School, Awa Ntong, a five classroom block; a four classroom block/office; and an Assembly hall were inaugurated.

At Government Primary School, Ikot Isong, Governor Akpabio declared open a four classroom block and a two-classroom block/Hall; while at Health Centre, Ikot Eniong Iman, he commissioned an Out Patient Ward; and a Male Ward in the hospital.

Speaking at the Local Government Secretariat, Etinan, the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Bassey Akpan, who is also the Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Direct Labour Coordinating

ICPC set to partner Pyrates to combat Corruption He urged women to serve as watch

By Unyime Isemin, Uyo dogs to their husband, by being

C

orruption, according to the Advance learner's Dictionary denotes illegal, immoral or dishonest behaviors, especially by people in positions of power. It is one of the most used vocabularies in recent time in Nigeria in particular and world at large.

In the course of advocating for the sustainable measures to curb it in Nigeria, the chairman of the Independent Corrupt practices Commission (ICPC), Ekpo Nta Esq. have pledge the readiness of his institution to partner with the national Association of Seadogs (Pyrates Confraternity) to fight corruption out of the shores of Nigeria.

The ICPC boss made this known during a lecture organized by the seadogs to commemorates the 79th birthday of their live patron, Prof. Wole Soyinka on the theme, 'Ethical deficit, Corruption and Challenges of Nation Building in the 21st Century Nigeria'.

At the 16th annual Prof. Wole Soyinka Lecture Series held recently at the Le Meridien Ibom Hotel and Golf Resorts, Uyo, Akwa Ibom state, Barr. Ekpo Nta spoke extensively on the effect of greed as a foundational base of corruption in the society and identifies the need for ethical reorientation in Nigeria.

interested on the source of wealth of their husband before proceeding for thanks-giving.

Nta while reacting to the discussants; the chairman of Akwa Ibom State Chapter of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Paul Udom esq., Dr. Chris Ekong of the University of Uyo, Dr. Ndubisi Osuagwu of the University of Calabar revealed that under-development in the educational sector is the root cause of examination malpractices. He noted that the culprit to this tendencies are mostly from schools that lack necessary facilities like up-to-date libraries, science laboratories and art studios. He thereby called on the proprietors of the institutions (private and government) to rise to the challenge as a measure to curb examination malpractices in their schools.

Dr. Osuagwu while making his comment condemned in totality governance by bill-board that is much gaining popularity in Nigeria today. He described a situation whereby a bill-board that carries the face of a governor and his development strides are being planted at the un-developed part of the society as unfortunate.

He urge the citizens to stop celebrating public servants that uses our available resources to develop the society as if they using

their personal money. He pointed out that developing the society is the constitutional duties of every elected representative, as such demands no praise singing as the case is today.

Dr. Osuagwu also suggested 'name and shame' as a measure in combating corruption. This implies that the name of the individual involve in the corrupt act should be published with necessary details relating to his or her family, schools attended, village and religious affiliations.

While Mr. Paul Udom was particularly happy with the judiciary in their fight against corruption as they retired two federal high court justices and derope four lawyers.

Dr. Chris Ekong was so concerned about Nigeria emerging as the 8th most corrupt nation in the world despite the establishment of anticorruption agencies, which in turn have persecuted many over corruption.

The lecture which was chaired by the executive director of Mobil Producing Nigeria, Barr. Udom Uko Inoyo came to an apex when Prof. Wole Soyinka showed his dismay over the high level of corruption in the society.

Soyinka revealed that although Seadogs is not a government agency which should have political power, or should control public funds or structures, that it will not relent it efforts in a fight for a corrupt free society. He

25

Gov Akpabio Committee, represented by the Secretary of the Committee, Dr. Otuekong Ukut said so far, Etinan local government area has had 123 projects provided for it under the Inter-ministerial Direct Labour arrangement. Nine projects were provided in 2008; 24 in 2009; 34 in 2010; and about 40 projects between 2011 an 2012. Today, we have additional 16 projects inaugurated, making it a total of 123 projects for Etinan people.�

On his part, the Vice Chairman of Etinan Local Government Area, Pastor Ufon George, who represented the Chairman, Isantim Kenneth Okon, in his speech thanked God for giving Chief Godswill Akpabio to Akwa Ibom people and recounted the t r a n s f o r m a t i o n a l accomplishments of the Akpabio administration over the past six years.

He noted that with the State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party; the Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly and other notable sons and daughters of Etinan occupying strategic positions, Etinan has been a major beneficiary of the socio-economic and political agenda of the Akpabio government.

T h e commissioner w h o w a s represented by the director of m e d i c a l services, Dr. Adiaha-Akpan commended the contribution of the association and urged others to emulate the worthy example of NAS in rendering meaningful services to humanity and society.

In a chat with the president of NAS worldwide, Mr.Ide Owodiong idemeko, he noted that the Chairman (ICPC), Ekpo Nta association is an therefore urged the pyrates in i n t e l l e c t u a l l y g r o u n d e d particular and Nigerians in association with humanities ideas, general to be involved positively and that the free medical service in transforming Nigeria from always precedes their quarterly meetings. bleak to bliss.

Meanwhile, the 16th edition of He noted that the 3rd Charity Red this annual lectures was preceded Ball with the theme' The Cause, by the NAS Free Medical Voluntary for the Education of the Mission, which was declared open Street Child' is designed to raise last Thursday at the entrance of the fund to assist other highly spirited Uyo Township stadium by the agencies and organizations to honourable commissioner in the sweep over 6 million children off Akwa Ibom State Ministry of the street to schools for the betterment of the nation in future.

Health, Dr. Ememabasi Bassey.

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Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

The Advocate Gospel This Week

GOD KNOWS THE MOTIVES IN EVERY HEART TEXT: 2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." (NIV)

NARRATION Paul had just written in sadness about the spiritual defection of two former leadership colleagues, but wanted to encourage Timothy that the Lord knows which of His people remain true to Him. Paul referred to the rebellion of Korah and his followers during the Israelites' journey through the wilderness (Numbers 16 do read the whole chapter). Moses declared that God knew who were true to Him and whose hearts had been deceived (Numbers 16:5 ). The end result was that Korah and all his followers died as the ground opened up and swallowed them alive. Paul was making the point to Timothy that, despite pastoral disappointments and spiritual defections, the Lord will deal with those who pursue their own path and vindicate those who love and obey Him. At the same time, true believers must keep away from what is false and not let themselves be dragged into the sins of others (Numbers 16:26; Isaiah 52:11 ). The pressure of family and friends is hard to resist, but those who are trusting in the Lord must be willing to stand away from false teaching even if that means they lose once-prized relationships. It is only our relationship with the Lord which will count for eternity. So we must not prejudice it by joining in the rebellion of others, even if there seems to be a safety in numbers.

While this verse is a special personal encouragement to a church leader, the principles hold good for all followers of Jesus.

Whatever your circumstances, the Lord knows and cares: He will honour the faithfulness of your heart (1 Samuel 2:30 ). You can trust Him to deal with the people who have rebelled against the Lord; they will have to answer to the Lord and not to you. At the same time we need to be careful to guard ourselves, lest we are deceived into following a false way. Reading the Bible is the best way to calibrate our hearts and inform our minds about the difference between right and wrong. Following the advice of friends, or in books or on the internet, without checking it with what God's Word says, is easy and commonly occurs; but it can be so dangerous in the end. Let the Word be at work in you today, and make some godly decisions about holding fast to what is true.

Prayer: Sovereign Lord. Thank You for Your wise watchfulness over Your people. I am sorry I despair when wicked people seem to continue unchecked; also please forgive me for those situations when I do not hold firmly to the truth myself.

Please help me to trust You to deal with other people because You know everything about them. And please encourage me to keep reminding myself of the truth in Your Word, so that I can keep away from wickedness and be a joy to You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

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“There's no regret being a full-time Minister” – Rev. Mark Vibrant-looking Rev. David Onu (JP) is one of those few pastors in Enugu, who years ago, had disabused his mind of the saying that ministry should be a self-sustaining business but a venture to please the Master at all cost. His, however, is a story of a pastor who by obedience to God began a ministry to fulfill purpose, despite the risk of being perpetually impoverished. The Advocate spoke with him in Enugu. Excerpts:

By Mary Chinda & Tosin Adesile Can we meet you sir?

My name is Rev. Mark David Onu (JP). I'm the resident pastor of Victory Christian Mission, Emene branch.

Can you take us down memory lane, how did you receive your calling into ministry?

I received the call of God 14 years ago,(precisely in 1996) while I was still working with a construction company in Abia State as a foreman.

Abinitio, I had always had this impression in my spirit that God needed to use me in his vineyard.

Nevertheless, I was wrapped in the fear of getting permanently immersed in poverty if I became a full-time minister of God. However, after several years of resisting this knowledge, when God's due season came I became increasingly restless and had no peace in my spirit, then I heard in my spirit “This is not where I purposed you to be”. At that point, doing the work of God became a burden to me and I resigned into ministry proper, then God blessed me with a wife and family in 2008 .Since then, God has been overly faithful to me financially that I can emphatically say there's no regret being a full-time minister.

How did you join this ministry?

Victory Christian Mission is an old church, f o u n d e d b y A r c h b i s h o p Vi c t o r Onuigbo,whom God used him to start the ministry in 1969,about 44 years ago. I joined the ministry in 1998 upon my graduation from Bible college. This branch is actually the second church am pastoring after the branch at Abakaliki. By His grace, we have experienced rapid growth as a church in that we started with in an uncompleted building but t o d a y, w e a r e i n o u r o w n facility,preaching the undiluted word of God and preparing souls for the rapture.

On the 2nd of June 2013, something miraculous happened in your church, can you tell us what happened?

That was the day God performed the greatest miracle we have ever seen in this church, our music director,who hadn't a male issue, celebrated the dedication of twin boys (in a set of triplets) here in this church.The underlying plot is that for several years he had expressly yearned to have at least a male child amidst the avalanche of daughters he had. We kept praying for him and encouraging him to look up to God. During

one of the services, I called him out by the leading of the Holy Spirit and prophesied over him in the congregation announcing that God will give him a baby boy.Shortly afterwards, his wife got pregnant and later delivered not just a baby boy but triplets, two boys, and one girl! That was the miracle!!!

Even more than what he was asking for,our Jehovah Jireh gave him, compelling several people to come here and see for themselves that He is STILL able.

Any message to the Enugu state government?

My first congratulations goes to our Governor,Barrister Sullivan Chime, as his regime has been remarkably impressive. I think that if previous administrations had started like this and had brought about this level of development, the state would have metamorphosed into an earthly paradise. If there were a 3rd term, I would have graciously advocated he should go for it.

Is there any message to the government?

Yes, I want to say categorically that politics is not a thug of war. People in power should understand it's a privilege to lead others as Jesus leads us as Christians. Corruption is a sin but honesty is righteousness. Our leaders must learn to please God first before family or even self.

Any advice to Christians in the country ?

Let us serve God with understanding that He is not a heedless little baby,as whatever we do on earth,we will be rewarded accordingly as a pastor, traditionalist, cultist etc. If you truly are a Christian then live raptureprepared each second.

THE

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27

Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

APGA: Umeh's victory and Okwu's confrontation?

Constituency member flags-off Educational, Skill acquisition programme

Governor Obi as the deputy national leader of APGA. Enugu APGA disowns Maxi Okwu However, the Enugu State chapter of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has again disowned the factional national chairman of the party, Chief Maxi Okwu.

The factional chairman, who hails from Achi in Orji River Local Government Area of Enugu State, had told journalists during the week that he was heading to Supreme Court to challenge the Court of Appeal judgment that restored Chief Umeh as APGA's national chairman.

But, addressing a press conference in Enugu on Thursday, Chairman of APGA in Enugu State, Okechukwu Nkoloagu, said clearly that Chief Maxi Okwu ceased to be a member of APGA in 2005 when a federal high court in Abuja confirmed his expulsion from the party alongside the founding chairman, Chief Chekwas Okorie and others.

Nkoloagu recalled that when Okorie and others went to Court of Appeal to challenge their expulsion, Okwu filed papers before the appellate court, removing his name from their appeal, and thereby accepting his expulsion.

Nkoloagu described as fake APGA card which, he said, the factional chairman

biaku marked another milestone in the history of Ibiono Ibom State Constituency, as it provided yet another opportunity for their representative, Hon. Barr. Ime Okon to express his appreciation as he flagged-off Educational Assistance, Skill Acquisition programme and Donation of English Language Text Books to Public Secondary Schools.

"I am here to fulfill that promise with the formal presentation of educational assistance to deserving Ibiono Ibom students studying in recognized institutions of higher learning in the country. My decision to keep the promise is based on my firm belief that education still remains the bedrock of development in any society." He said.

He described education as the most powerful weapon with which the world could be changed. According to him, with functional and qualitative education, the society can be liberated from the shackles of poverty, ignorance, superstition, hatred, injustice, crime and under-development.

"As lawmakers, we in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly have partnered with the executive arm of government under the leadership of our dear governor, Chief (Dr.) Godswill Obot Akpabio, CON, in the enactment of the Child Rights Act which makes it compulsory for parents and guardians to send their wards to primary and secondary schools free with the conviction that no Akwa Ibom child should be denied the opportunity to go to school because the parents could not afford school fees. We have also made laws that have brought about significant improvement in the educational facilities in the state," the lawmaker pointed out.

About three million Naira was disbursed to 26 students studying in tertiary institutions across the country.

Under the package, another set of 28 youths received financial assistance to aid them in skills' acquisition training, and the donation of customized English Language text books to public secondary schools in the constituency.

The member however charged them to make the best use of the gesture in furtherance of their academic pursuits.

He also urged them to be good ambassadors of Ibiono Ibom at all times, shunning all forms of vices that are inimical to their well being and the society.

He warned that his office will not hesitate to withdraw the gesture should any of the beneficiaries be found wanting in their various places of training.

Already, a monitoring committee that will assess their performances and conduct has been set up. He appealed to the guarantors to be personally involved in the mentoring and monitor the progress of the beneficiaries of the scheme by guiding and advising them appropriately.

He congratulated the winners of the quiz competition, on a well deserved reward for hard work, dedication and commitment, even as he wished them more years of academic excellence.

The chairman of the event, and Member representing Itu State Constituency, Rt. Hon. (Dr.) Ekaette Ebong Okon, in her remarks thanked elected and appointed political office holders in the state for initiating empowerment programmes in their wards and constituencies to complement government's effort at alleviating the living standard of the people.

“The state government cannot do it alone and one of the ways to fight hunger is for all the elected and political office holders in the state to complement government's effort by going to their local government areas to empower their people”, she advised.

While flagging-off the empowerment programme, she urged the artisans who are involved to be diligent. She also advised them to judiciously use the money given them to grow their businesses.

The Deputy Speaker, Hon. Sir Udo Kieran Akpan described the lawmaker as a versatile politician who has through his contributions to debates and motions in the House, contributed greatly towards promoting ideas that are capable of not only improving the well-being of his constituents but also of the state in general.

The Paramount Ruler of Ibiono Ibom, HRM, Okuku (Dr.) Ime Udo Usoro Inyang, a onetime Commissioner for Education, Dr. Antia Obong, the Vice Chairman of PDP, Uyo Senatorial District, Barr. Dominic Okon, the Ibiono Ibom chapter of NUT and others gave goodwill messages.

By Christopher Okon, Uyo

Continued from page 20

has been brandishing anywhere he went, stressing that he has not been readmitted into the party in the state.

He also called on the National Judicial Council to investigate the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Innocent Umezulike whose judgment at the lower court was a colossal embarrassment to the judiciary.

He advised those fighting Umeh against going to Supreme Court to challenge the judgment of the Court of Appeal as it would be very difficult to upturn the judgment.

“The crisis in the party with this judgment is over. To me, the division in APGA is a media creation. Umeh, even before now has been the authentic chairman. If you watch it, even the party structure is in support of his leadership.

So, when some meddlesome people went to court and obtained a judgment from the lower court, the Court of Appeal has upturned it. There is no more crisis in the party as I speak with you now. So, the judgment has brought the crisis in APGA to an end as I speak with you now.

“Going to Supreme Court will be an effort in futility. You will understand that it will be difficult to upturn that judgment, considering the thoroughness of the Appeal Court justices that

I

Victor Umeh delivered the judgment. In my own opinion, going to Supreme Court will be an effort in futility,” Nkoloagu said.

The party boss described what happened in the matter before the lower court presided over by Justice Umezulike as unbelievable, noting that even from the onset, Umeh's lawyer filed a motion that the Chief Judge should discontinue with the matter, but he continued.

He said the plaintiff did not join APGA and yet, Umezulike took a decision against the party, but the judge who delivered the judgment at the Appeal Court made it clear that a man's head cannot be shaved in his absence.

RICH HISTORY: Sources of Cross River Tourism publications, seminar papers and other books published by late Professor Initiative – Experts Museum's journals. “This qualitative excavation of the Ekpo Eyo to include 2000 years of Nigerian

By Edem Archibong, Calabar

A

former University of Calabar history graduate, Dr. Sandy Ojang Onor has identified rich historical factor of Cross River State as the foundation to which the State's tourism initiative is embedded and this tempo can be increased for a sustained tourist inflow if the sector is re-branded, re-engineered and re-positioned especially in area of ecotourism instead of the occasional Christmas carnival practice.

Speaking as Guest lecturer in Calabar on the topic “Cross River History and Tourism: A Marriage contracted in the womb of time” to mark 2nd Professor Ekpo Eyo memorial lecture organized by National Commission for Museums and monuments in collaboration with the Calabar Museum Society, Onor described late Professor Eyo as globally celebrated scholar and practitioner of arts in a wide range of disciplines including History, Anthropology, Art History as well as Museulogy.

Dr. Onor, a former Chairman for Boki Local Government and Cross River State (ALGON) Chairman recalled having emerged the winner of late professor Eyo's best History students award in University of Calabar; considered it a rare privilege when he meet with the erudite scholar who had earlier proclaimed that history and tourism dominated most of his harvests as every landscape Professor Eyo stepped his feet on, created an indelible footprints for scholars.

The late icon would be remembered also as the longest served first and only Director of the Federal Department of Antiquities (1968-1979) and his achievement in three fieldworks of archaeological sites at Ile-Ife, Owo and Ikom all in Nigeria as their findings were recorded in major Nigerian

past, by late scholarly wizard had transported invaluable ingredients of yesterday to answer the challenges of today as well as that of tomorrow,” he said.

As the present Commissioner for Ministry of Environment in the state, Dr. Onor reasoned that the experience which the state has so far gathered since the inception of Calabar carnival making a surge of tourist into the state can be further perfected through proper harnessing of Calabar history based on the cornucopia of being the first city to have a General Hospital in Nigeria, the first Social Club (the African Club), the first city that hosted competitive football, Cricket and Hockey games, First Roman Catholic Mass held in Calabar, first Presbyterian Secondary School being the (Hope Waddell Training Institute, the city also produce the pioneer black African Professor of archaeology, late Professor Bassey Andah and the first Nigerian Professor Eyo-Ita, second African to win a world Boxing title, late Hogan 'Kid' Bassey amongst others can uniquely attract tourist into the state in a sustained manner for economic gains.

Speaking earlier as the Chairman of the occasion, Ambassador Professor Okon Edet Uya of the University of Calabar recounted the numerous academic achievement of late Professor Ekpo Eyo which included the putting together of exhibition treasures of ancient Nigeria: Legacy of 2000 years which later toured Europe, USA and Canada from 1980-1986.

He revealed that this initiative had put 'a nail in the art world's coffin' and buried the concept that African Art was primitive. It further 'destroyed the myth that Black Africa had no worthy civilization before its contact with Europe'. This exhibition was published as a book of the same title coauthored with Frank Willet in 1980.

Professor Uya who is also an erudite Historian of Antiquities enumerated the

Art, 1977; Nigeria and the Evolution of Money, 1979; From Shrines to Showcases: Masterpieces of Nigerian Art, 2008.

On the issue of tourism, Professor Uya commended the effort and the initiative of Senator Liyel Imoke's administration in ensuring that tourism concept is designed with the mission of transforming the state's economy and express gratitude with the hope of creating opportunity for improvement much more than those states within the South South who feel tourism can be realized by wishful thinking.

In his comments, the Special Assistant to the Cross River State Governor on Tourism, Mr. Wilfred Usani disclosed that plans are already on top gear for the development of the eco-tourism as one of the sector's product which the state executive council had already consented to.

Mr. Usani declared that a bill has been put together and already with the state House of Assembly on the need for heritage preservation and conservation which is meant to promote eco-tourism while the Government will be responsible for the control and preservation of all historical heritage sites around the state.

For this reason, he explained that “a Ministerial Committee of which he is the Chairman has been put in place to ensure that a comprehensive developmental programme is packaged towards the ecotourism vision while arrangement is segmented into phases with the first phase is already ongoing in providing basic infrastructural facilities to the sites.”

“This will be done in different category with priorities given to the major ones first and this will enable all the activities spelt out in each of the categories meet with specific international standard and made to be truly unique for the state's environment for tourist delight while those sites endowed with natural artifact will also be designed for nature standard.

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Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

Six million e-commerce jobs coming by 2015 – Minister

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i n i s t e r o f Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, has disclosed that an estimated 6. 2 million ecommerce related jobs will be created between now and 2015.

Johnson noted that the contribution of ICT industry to the GDP is 7.5 percent and the country is already witnessing increasing participation of indigenous companies like Jumia Nigeria and others.

The minister made this assertion at the first Annual eCommerce Conference hosted by Jumia.com in Lagos, with theme: 'eCommerce and ICT in Nigeria: an Engine for Job Creation and Economic Growth', in commeration of its first year anniversary.

She stressed that the developing ICT ecosystem in the country is a wonderful opportunity which increases percentage of local

content in products and services.

According to her: “In a less fragmented industry with strong growth across most sectors, , an estimated 6.2 million jobs will be created by e-commerce and the contribution of ICT industry to the GDP is 7.5 percent by 2015.

The ICT is the primary driver of growth of the Nigerian economy and we are already witnessing increasing participation of indigenous companies and Jumia is one of them.

“The developing ICT ecosystem is a source of tremendous opportunities which engenders an environment that encourages and rewards innovation. The opportunities also increases percentage of local content in products and services, utilisation of local capacity, increases percentage of domestic valueadd increased retention of value in the country and increased opportunities for job creation.”

Dangote disburses N10bn to women, youths in 774 Lgs

Aliko Dangote

T

owards ameliorating widespread poverty in Nigeria and appropriately empowering both women and youths across the 774 local governments in Nigerian, Dangote Foundation has continued the disbursement of N10 billion grants to women and youths in the local governments across the country.

The fund disbursement is meant to enable recipients to meet immediate family and livelihood needs by providing a one-time grant to start up enterprises that will boost their economic and consumption activities and help reduce their vulnerability.

Speaking at the continuation of the disbursement in Lokoja, Kogi State, President, Dangote Foundation, Aliko Dangote said the Foundation in response to the widespread poverty in Nigeria, in 2011, instituted a cash transfer intervention the Dangote Micro-

grants Programme- to provide cash transfers to select poor and vulnerable Nigerians.

The disbursement is expected to be completed in 24 months.

He explained that the cash transfer intervention focused on women who bear the greatest brunt of poverty.

He said: “Our Programme provides a one-off grant that enables recipients to grow or start an enterprise, invest in product assets, improve the health of their families, and/or take on new activities that reduce their vulnerability and enhance their economic standing. It has successfully assisted women and their families in Kano and Jigawa states.”

According to the business mogul, the cash transfer intervention Programme is national in scope and will systematically cover all the 774 local government areas of Nigeria.

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NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL MEETING IN ABUJA

Govs. Babangida Aliyu of Niger, Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa, Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-iweala & Gov. Gabriel Suswam of Benue at the National Economic Council Meeting in Abuja .

IoD partners NSE to strengthen corporate governance

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he Institute of Directors Nigeria, IoD, has revealed that it is working in collaboration with the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, to strengthen corporate governance structure in the market.

The Institute's President, Chief (Mrs) Eniola Fadayomi, made this known when she and other members of the institute paid a courtesy visit to the NSE. She noted that strengthening the corporate governance would make it more credible and attract the needed investment to grow the economy, saying, “We are partnering with the exchange because they are dealing with companies driven by directors who are our members. Corporate

governance is a profitable venture because when people believe in you, they will do business with you.”

The IoD boss used the opportunity to enjoin the stockbrokers to comply with corporate governance principle in order to enhance accountability and facilitate market growth.

She lauded the management of the NSE for enforcing strict compliance of corporate governance in the market, while assuring that the institute would not relent on its efforts of developing credible directors that would become good drivers of corporate governance in their organisations and the financial institutions they represent.

“Ours in IoD is to develop directors that will be drivers of corporate governance in their organisations and quoted companies because these companies are open for public scrutiny and accountability.

“We express our appreciation through the NSE Chief Executive Officer, Oscar Onyema for enforcing corporate governance in the exchange to foster a seasoned growth. The exchange is now seen as a credible institution and our confidence in you are growing.

She linked non-compliance to corporate governance principle as one of the major causes of recession, adding that the Institute has resolved to strengthen the partnership in order to make the issue of credibility become stronger in the market.

India's chemical exports to Nigeria grows by 5.6%

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xports of chemical items from India to Nigeria have increased to about 5.6 percent from 2012 to 2013.

Also, the total items covered under the purview of ChemExcil (Export Promotion Council, set up by Indian government) to Nigeria in the period stood at $90 .3 million as against $85.5 million of the corresponding period of 2012, said Executive Director, ChemExcil, Mr. Suhas Bhardi.

Bhardi gave these figures during the Indian Chemical and Cosmetics Exhibition, organised

by ChemExcil in collaboration with Pesticides Manufacturers and Formulators Association of India (PMFAI) and the Indian High Commission, Lagos.

According to him, the basic sector

which consists mainly of petrochemicals accounts for over 70 percent of the total chemical market in Nigeria.” I am happy to note that the upstream petrochemical sector is well established as Nigeria is the highest oil-producer in Africa.

“The purpose of this Exhibition is to strengthen/expand existing business, promote india's chemical exports and to create a positive brand image of Indian products.

This would also result into many more joint ventures and technology transfer,” he said.

On the other hand, President of PMFAI, Mr. Pradip Dave, said that the African region offers most potential for improvement in productivity of crops and therefore African governments have given

priority for development of Agriculture in the region.

Dave, noted that there is good market for agrochemicals in Nigeria, stressing, “It is estimated that the private sector agrochemical companies supply about 70 percent of the total CPP demand of approximately $120 million.”

He said, “Most of the African countries are now concentrating on development of irrigation projects and with modern irrigation system by optimising and conserving water resources and also introducing drought resistance varieties. The drought resistance and high yielding varieties will definitely boost the agricultural production in the African region which will also help in boosting agricultural exports from Africa.

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Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

29

Nollywood would be as big as Hollywood – Chris Santos acquainted with the storyline.

Enugu-based Nollywood director, Chris Santos who doubles as the CEO of a modeling agency, is not a face to ignore as the light-skinned director is creating jobs for up-and-coming talents in Enugu State, where he is domiciled. The Advocate, weekend, pinned down this handsome and tender-looking chap . Excerpts

By Mary Chinda

reported them to the Igwe of the community and we had our camera returned. Since then, I have now adopted the strategy of taking police men to locations especially village locations.

Can we meet you, sir?

I am Chris Santos Obaelue, a writer, an actor and largely a director.

How long have you been into Nollywood directing?

Three years, I began in 2010 as an independent director.

How many movies have you done since 2010?

How has it been since then?

It has been tough and is still not a walkover now as directors face increasing challenges by the day.

For instance, some of my productions get disrupted by some touts who come in the disguise of task force personels.

A ready case in point is the incident that played out recently at Nsukka where these touts invaded our location and hijacked our 27 camera

demanding for money but instead of making trouble I

I have done three movies so far I did “Smoke” (2010), “Ozone” (2011) and “Beware” (2013).

Right now, I am preparing for the massive 4th movie (The 13 th Month) which would be unprecedented

as it would be starring over 300 characters.

Which one has been the most challenging?

My last movie “Beware” was the most hectic and challenging because the co-director unexpectedly travelled abroad in the heat of the production and I was compelled to direct alone. It was more stressful because we had continuity problem that compelled me to cancelling our entire initial production which comprised of 20 shots in Udi Local Government Area.

Do you star in all of your movies?

No, I don't. Basically, I concentrate on directing.

However, I took the sub-head role in “Beware”.

What are the challenges peculiar to directing in Nollywood?

Often times, producers hand in scripts late and as a director of a script written by another person if you are not resourceful you get to waste a lot of time and money in location trying to figure out scenes because you are not

What are the peculiar challenges with directing movie within the Enugu environment?

In Enugu we don't have a tangible film village so we get to choose our locations loosely. So each time we open our camera, we have a problem with the crowd persistently hanging around to see the scenes, this is the antithesis of what is obtained in civilized countries where everyone knows how to look away and mind their business when a movie production is being done on the open. I think the Enugu people should be more sensitized in this regard as clustering in on scenes each time they see a movie star on set the view an impression that the scenes are not real.

What future do you see for Nollywood directors?

The future is really bright for us because we are improving remarkably jobs directed by bigtime directors like Tchidi Chikere, Desmond Eliot and Myself among others go to prove the Nollywood is evolving to be better as we now work with better cameras and are becoming increasingly creative.

Anna Banner now Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria

By Our Reporter

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Imo who emerged the 1st Runner Up will be representing Nigeria at the Miss Universe contest holding in Moscow, Russia in November.

In his speech, governor Dickson called on investors to avail themselves with the numerous tourism potentials and investment opportunities in the state.

"As a State, we consider it as a unique privilege to have an array of important personalities and elegant young ladies in our midst today, just a couple of months after we hosted the prestigious Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA). “ "For us, playing host to these historic events within a space of just four months gives credence to the fact that Bayelsa is fast growing to become the next tourism hub of the country. It also speaks volume of the restoration of government unwavering commitments to the Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon. Seriake Dickson (left) congratulating Miss. Anna promotion of gender equality as Ebiere Banner (right) shortly after she emerged winner of the 26th edition of the illustrated in the national gender policy of Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria Pageant in Yenagoa. Photo by Lucky Francis. our great country.”

iss Bayelsa State, Anna Ebiri Banner Saturday emerged the winner of 2013 Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria pageant with Imo State representative, Okwu Stephanie as 1st runner up.

Banner, 18, who also won the best traditional costume award beat other 31 contestants shortlisted for final to clinch the crown at a ceremony held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital.

She will be representing the country at the Miss World pageant, holding later in the year in Takarta , Indonesia.

She has now taken over the reigns as the Most Beautiful girl in Nigeria 2012 winner, Isabele Ayuk.

By winning the pageant, she got undisclosed cash prize and a brand new car. Also, Bayelsa State government announced her instant appointment as Special Adviser to the governor on culture and Tourism.

The Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke who was at the occassion also announced the new Queen as the Ambassador of Culture and Tourism in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, contestants who made it to the Top 5 were Miss Imo, Miss Abuja, Miss Kaduna and Miss Adamawa. Miss

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uring an interview with news men the comic Nollywood actress, Uche Ogbodo spoke about her marital desire. She said 'I want to be married someday. I am looking upon God for that. There is no rush in marriage; if you rush in, you rush out. And I do not even want to rush out of my future marriage'.

On getting too old to remain single "There is nothing like age in marriage.

Maturity is what counts. It is fine with me even if I get married at 58, fine".

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Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

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Nigerian pioneer football clubs (6) Kwara United of Illorin

By Okey Anyichie

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wara state in 1970s was one of the states that set a standard in sports development, especially in setting up a modern stadium. Within that period, there was a football club that started as Kwara water corporation football club in 1974.

It started playing in the National league second division side in the country in 1979.

The club however was not very prominent in the Nigerian Challenge Cup now known as Federation Cup as the club hardly qualified to play beyond the qualifying stage of the competition at the federal level.

But Kwara had a team called Alyufsalam Football Club of Illorin sponsored and owned by a businessman called Alhaji Yusuf Salami. The team was made up of foreign footballers especially

from Ghana and played up to the final of 1976 Challenge Cup competition where the club was

beaten 2-0 by Rangers of Enugu.

After that final appearance at the challenge cup, the club

2013 FIFA under-20 youth soccer tournament in Turkey-the Africa connection.in Egypt after beating Brazil 5-4

By Okey Anyichie

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it to the final as France halted the West African lads from hitting the final of the competition for the third time. Hence it would be recalled that Ghana played in the 1993 final in Australia with Brazil but lost 2-1, and then in 2009, Ghana won the soccer tournament

on penalty shootout.

After 2013 edition in Turkey, France beat Uruguay in the final to win the championship for the first time by 4-1(penalty shootout). Ghana beat Iraq by 3-0 to bag the bronze medal of the competition.

he 2013 edition of FIFA Under-20 world cup soccer tournament has come to an end in Turkey last Saturday. This age grade soccer fiesta for boys in under-20 years started in Tunisia in 1977 and was won by Russia after beating Below are records of the past winners of the Under Mexico.

20 world cup competition since 1977: Year Host A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s s t a r t e d Winner With these records of the past participating in the final play-off Russia 1977 Tunisia as soon as the second edition in Argentina winners and the hosts of the 1979 Japan Kobe-Japan took place. Nigeria West Germany 1981 competition, the curtain is now Australia 1983 Mexico played in the final play-off in Brazil drawn on the edition of the 1985 Russia 1983 edition in Mexico but could Brazil soccer tournament in 2013 in Yugoslavia 1987 Chile not qualify in their group with Portugal Turkey. The next edition of the 1989 Saudi Arabia Russia, Holland and Brazil.

Portugal 1991 Portugal competition will take place in 1993 Australia Since then Nigeria had played in Brazil 2015.

Perhaps African countries Argentina 1995 Qatar the final of the competition twice Argentina that would qualify in that edition 1997 Malaysia in 1989 in Saudi Arabia and 2005 Spain 1999 Nigeria of the soccer tournament will in Netherland. In 1985 in Russia, Argentina 2001 Argentina endeavour to improve on the 2003 UAE Nigerian under-20 lads defeated Brazil 2013 competition in Turkey. Up Argentina 2005 Holland their Russian counterparts 3- Argentina 2007 Canada Ghana, the 2013 third place 1(penalty shoot-out) to win the Ghana 2009 Egypt winners of the competition.

2011 Colombo bronze medal of the competition. Brazil 2013 Turkey T h i s l a s t e d i t i o n o f t h e France competition in Turkey had four African teams involved in the soccer tournament. The countries were Egypt, Mali, Nigeria and Ghana. After the group rounds of the competition, Nigeria qualified in their group with Cuba, Korea Republic and Portugal. Nigeria in the second round of the competition fell by the wayside as they suffered a 2-1 defeat from Uruguay.

Ghana had a better record in the competition, as they qualified in their group with France, Spain uper Eagles Coach, Stephen contact with him recently. and USA. Ghana defeated Okechukwu Keshi has said Also after four months injury lay Portugal 3-2 in the second round Fernabahce of Turkey star off, Emmanuel Emenike is back of the competition to qualify for defender, Joseph Tambarin Yobo, playing in the Russian league. The the quarterfinal and beat Chile 4-3 remains the national team skipper, Nigerian came on for Spartak to sail into the Semi-final.

However, Ghana could not make even if he has not been in constant Moscow in the 66th minute to

d i s b a n d e d . K w a r a Wa t e r Corporation FC changed its name to Kwara Utility Bombers of

Illorin in 1985. After some engagements in the second league division, it was relegated to the third division league side.

The club later in 1997 assumed the new name of Kwara United FC of Illorin, when there was a change of ownership. The club started making an impact on Nigerian soccer scene with other top division one club-sides that in 2009 played in CAF Confederation Cup for the country and fell by the wayside in the group stage. In 1994, Illorin based club-side qualified and got eliminated in the Semi-final of CAF Cup competition. However, it continued playing and later played its way to the Professional league soccer championship and since then had never been relegated to the lower league division. The club is yet to win FA Cup or Premier League championship. But the future may favour them. Up Kwara United.

Results of round of 32 Federation Cup Competition The round of 32 federation cup competitions has produced 16 football clubs to play in the round of 16 that will eventually produce eight quarter-finalists. Two premier league division sides, Dolphins football club of Port-Harcourt and Bayelsa United had fallen by the wayside. Full results of the encounters:

Rangers 2-0 Samba Kurna Heartland 1-0 Ingas of Enugu J. Arere 6-7 Sharks (penalty shootout) Akwa United 4-3 Makwada of Yola (penalty shootout) Plateau United 5-6 Tornadoes of Minna (penalty shootout) Warri Wolves 1-0 Spotlight of Katsina El-kanemi Warriors 1-2 Kano Pillars FC Taraba 0-2 Gombe United Nasarawa United 4-0 COD Nembe City 1-2 Sunshine FC Reino Stars 1-2 Enyimba FC 3SC of Ibadan 1-0 JUTH of Jos Dolphins of PH 2-4 Akwa Starlet (penalty shootout) Abia Warriors 2-1 Kaduna United ABS of Illorin 5-4 Bayelsa United (penalty shootout) MFM 0-2 Lobi Stars of Makurdi.

It won’t be fair to invite Yobo – Keshi

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replace Yura Movsisyan on the opening day of the Russia Premier League at the Stadion Metallurg home of Krylya Sovetov.

Speaking at a media interaction at the team's Bolton White Apartments camp in Abuja on Wednesday, Keshi said he has a lot of respect for Yobo because of what he has done for the nation and cannot invite him to the team only to put him on the bench.

“It will not be fair to invite Yobo to the national team and ask him to be on the bench, it will be a huge disgrace and I won't be part of that.

When the team needs him he will

be recalled and will definitely start as captain even if along the line we substitute him”.

Keshi used the opportunity to praise the proactive manner the Nigeria Football Federation have been handling affairs of the national players despite its lean financial situation and thanked the Aminu Maigari led board for their hardwork.

He called for more support for the NFF so that they can meet their obligations to all the national teams and declared that all the players who have not been invited in the current squad still have an opportunity to be part of the team

THE

ADVOCATE

Jonathan commissions Football House … Vows to develop sports in Nigeria

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resident Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday reiterated the commitment of his administration to sports development in Nigeria.

Jonathan, who spoke through Vice President Namadi Sambo during the commissioning of the Nigerian Football House, named Sunday Dankaro House, at Package B, of the National Stadium Complex, Abuja, said that no effort will be spared to achieve the goal.

The edifice, he said, represents a bold step into the future of Nigerian football and marked a significant milestone in football development and administration in the country.

He said that it was a good omen that the commissioning came soon after the outstanding performance of the Super Eagles at this year's African Cup of Nations and Nigeria's resurgence in several categories of football championships.

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Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

Praying that the edifice would serve as a catalyst for better football administration in the country, Jonathan commended the Presidential Taskforce on FIFA 2010 World Cup (PTF) for a job

well done.

Speaking earlier, the Minister of Sports and the Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi noted that the Nigerian Football Federation was the first to own a befitting structure as a secretariat.

He said that locating the project at the National Stadium Complex was part of the grand plan to relocate all National Sports Federations to Abuja and also to make the complex a hub for sports administration.

In his remarks the DirectorGeneral of the National Sports Commission, Hon. Gbenga Elegbeleye, said that the commissioning was a landmark event in sports administration and that it would afford the NFF a sports friendly environment to operate from.

Nigeria places 30th as 2013 IAAF World Youth Championship ends

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EAM Nigeria's only medal hope in the boys 200m, Ejowokoghene Divine Oduduru Sunday finished sixth to take the country to the 30th position on the placing table, as the 8th IAAF World Youth Championship ended in Donetsk, Ukraine.

Oduduru, who injured himself in the race, returned a time of 21.37 seconds. Having been admitted in the IAAF Medical centre soon after the race, he was replaced in the boys medley relay event, where Nigeria finished 7th.

Jamaican Michael O'Hara won the 200m in 20.63 seconds, while Brazil's Victor Hugo Dos Santos and Cuba's Reynier Mena were second and third respectively.

Oduduru's sixth place finish, moved Team Nigeria from 39th

position to 30th. The country finished 5th in the girls 400m and 8th in the boys' 110m hurdles.

Though no medals were won, Team Nigeria was able to reach four finals as against the three finals at the last edition in France.

Top athletics countries such as Bahamas, Colombia, Belgium, Canada and The Netherlands occupied between the 43rd and 52nd positions at the close of events yesterday.

Jamaica with six gold and two bronze medals was top on the table, followed by Kenya (four gold, three silver and four bronze.) Australia and Ethiopia had three gold medals, while the United States finished with two gold medals. Hosts, Ukraine had one gold.

Vilanova to leave Barcelona due to cancer relapse

Mourinho reign starts with Rooney bid

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ose Mourinho launched his new reign at Chelsea with a sensational bid for Manchester United star Wayne Rooney and a friendly victory in Bangkok on Wednesday.

The charismatic Portuguese, in his first game back after six seasons away, led a side brimming with new faces to a 1-0 “training session” win over Singha All-Star XI. But the game, in front of tens of thousands of blue-shirted Thai fans, was completely overshadowed by news that Chelsea had tabled an undisclosed bid for the unsettled England striker.

Mourinho said the bid, for a reported 10 million pounds (11.5 million euros, $15.1 million) was “clean” and “ethical”, and he contradicted reports that Juan

Mata or David Luiz had been offered as make-weights.

“End of story we made a bid and now it's up to Man United and it's up to the player,” he said, adding that Chelsea were not targeting any other players. “ We l o v e t h e player, we are interested in the player, we made the bid. We have nothing more to say and nothing more to do. And now we have to respect and be ethical in this process,” Mourinho said.

“The official bid is just about a certain amount of money, it doesn't involve players and it doesn't involve players in the possibility of the negotiations to continue,” he added, raising the prospect of another offer.

Rooney is said to have asked for a transfer in May and he lasted just a few hours of United's pre-season tour before departing with a minor hamstring injury.

This week, reports said he was “angry and confused” at comments from new boss David Moyes which suggested he would play second fiddle to Robin van Persie this season.

Mourinho's Chelsea are rated as the biggest threat to Manchester United's title defence as Moyes attempts to follow Alex

Ferguson's 27-year, 38-trophy reign.

And Chelsea got off to a positive start under Mourinho by beating the All Stars who shocked United in Bangkok last week 1-0 courtesy of a Romelu Lukaku first-half penalty.

Kevin De Bruyne was a chief threat on his debut, after returning from a loan spell at Werder Bremen, and he whistled a thunderous shot past the uprights on 23 minutes.

Lukaku was also posing problems early on and he forced a sharp save from the goalkeeper after galloping through one-on-one on the half-hour.

But the first goal of Mourinho's new era came from the spot after Brazilian right-back Wallace, Chelsea's new signing from Fluminense, went down under a challenge in the box.

And Lukaku made no mistake with his left foot as he drove the penalty low and to the 'keeper's right for his first goal in a Chelsea shirt, with 35 minutes gone.

The six foot four (1.93 metre) Belgian might have had another but his first-time shot in the box was again parried away.

Both teams switched nearly their entire teams at half-time and it was a disjointed second period from the Blues.

“It was a good experience for us, because they were very well organised tactically, they were very compact… I think my team were always in control,” Mourinho said.

“It was a good training session,” he added.

Vilanova

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arcelona have called a news conference for later on Friday amid news reports that coach Tito Vilanova is to step down because he has suffered a relapse of cancer.

The 45-year-old had a cancerous tumour removed from his throat in November 2011 and in December 2012 he suffered a relapse and underwent surgery again followed by 10 weeks of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in New York.

He returned to the helm of Barcelona in March and led the club to the Spanish league title.

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell and the club's sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta will

give a press conference at 8:30 pm (1830 GMT), the club said on its website without giving further details.

But several Spanish media outlets said the club would announce that Vilanova has had a relapse and was leaving his post.

“The coach has recently undergone tests which confirmed the bad news,” the online edition of Catalan sports daily Mundo Deportivo said.

Top-selling daily El Pais said Vilanova's latest tests “revealed complications of the disease”.

Vilanova replaced Pep Guardiola as manager in June 2012, having previously worked as his assistant.

Vol. 1 No. 28, Wednesday, July 24 - Sunday, July 28, 2013

Taye Taïwo Back page comment

Rivers Assembly, Bipialaka, and Amaechi's new Mother.

By Olusola Adegbite, Esq.

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inally, the big Masquerades behind the Rivers roforofo fight could no longer hold back their desperation, and within a twinkle of an eye, they threw all caution to the wind. Perhaps, it has been months of great agony and anguish for the occupiers of the State House, wondering collectively how they could all be fighting just one man, yet his popularity increases by the day. Something indeed tells me that they must have endured scores of sleepless nights in endless permutations, bitter strategising, and high-level political brainstorming, on what exactly their next move should be, in this do or die agenda to bring down just one man. I try to imagine what must have remained Abuja's consistent distress, persistent restlessness, and unguarded fury, at watching just one man, one man bounce back at every of the brick, cudgel, and spanner thrown into the works, calculated at wrecking any m e a n i n g governance in Port-Harcourt. I can only imagine the recklessness of their search in their latest assignment, at which they must have thundered, “At this point, anything goes”, which ultimately led them on a search for that one man to bear the cross.

It was not long before they found a willing hand. The lot fell on someone, a man by the name, Evans Bipialaka. It is settled law of reason, that in the course of human history, men would always be called upon to write their name in the history books; the good news is that every man has the prerogative to either write his name in gold, or in the mud. History is a fair Arbiter, for it gives unto every man the privilege to choose, to either honour his family name, or to bring disgrace upon it. Incidentally, Evans Bipialaka's emergence is not news; after all in the last three hours of our Lord Jesus and his persecution thereof, there was a certain Judas Iscariot, who was more than willing to be a hero. And so, the new friend of Abuja, Mr.Bipialaka sat at the feet of the Powers that be, and was fed with necessary instructions on the next assignment on getting Amaechi. Strangely enough, he did not even bother to reason it out. The instructions were simply dumped on his laps, and he took off tempestuously to do the bidding of his Oga at the top. Did I just hear someone say that a man cannot give what he does not have? Then Bipialaka's case must be a pathetic one. In Yorubaland, it is the slaying of our Elders, that if a man

is sent on an errand as a Slave, he has a duty to himself to run the said errand as a Son. Strangely, the former status appealed a lot more to Bipialaka, than the latter.

That man I saw on TV called Bipialaka is certainly not a Parliamentarian. For minutes, I watched him on TV in a display that no Area boy in Lagos can match. At a point, he was even proudly describing to some thugs he brought with him, how he gave one Hon. Chidi Lloyd and others deadly punches, before one of the thugs attacked the Camera man shouting: "top the recording!" If that man Bipialaka is indeed a part of the Rivers State House of Assembly, then something serious must be

wrong with the minds of the members of the constituency that voted in that kind of character as their representative, or maybe he simply smuggled himself into office through snatched and stuffed ballot boxes. Verily, Bipialaka can only be a Parliamentarian in an Assembly of Area boys. Disappointedly for Mr.Bipialaka, he even failed woefully in the assignment dumped on his laps.

Characteristic of the sort of malfeasance you find in such acts of executive sponsored recklessness, Mr. Bipialaka could not so much as apply a little intelligence to the dirty job handed over to him. His sanity vanished in the euphoria of assurances that he has enough Abuja backing to do and undo, and he proceeded to drag his name and that of those who sent him in the gutter. I try to imagine how angry those who sent him on this errand must be by now.

And they say he is a cousin to the Firstlady. This is the last straw that breaks the Camel's back. At this point, I must simply just shake my head. She was even at his wedding recently, where the whole of PortHarcourt was locked down in heavy traffic, all because she needed to attend a mere wedding. In fact, Bipialaka equally in a hurry to display the son of who he is did say that he is fighting Governor Amaechi because the governor “insulted” the First Lady, who he said is his Jesus Christ on earth.In the words that came out of

Bipialaka's mouth, he averred, ‪“Why must he be insulting my mother, my Jesus Christ on earth?” No wonder Soyinka coined the powerful phrase, “mere domestic appendage” But then, I thought there was a time in our culture that when a family member misbehaves, the whole family would be thoroughly ashamed?

Well, maybe that is the reason why Bipialaka is who he is. Is it not said that a man is certainly the product of his family as his first point of socialisation and whatever he turns out to be can only be a consequence of the kind of home training he gets.

Funningly, the First lady has since announced herself as Amaechi's Mother.

Again, this is another point where I must simply just shake my head. For serious National issues to be reduced to mere jocular jibes by persons in authority, even if they got there by being mere d o m e s t i c appendages, clearly suggests a society that has lost it. Clearly, it is not the Nigerian people that make Nigeria a laughing stock before the International world, but her supposed leaders. No wonder Jonah Jang also proclaimed that he is Amaechi's father.

May be tomorrow Nyesom Wike would tell us he is Amaechi's Uncle, and Godswill Akpabio would follow suit, and say he is Amaechi Creator.

Suddenly, Amaechi has become the hottest commodity to claim as a family member.

I try to imagine Michelle Obama telling a Governor of a State in the US, that she is his mother. Did someone just hiss, saying for that to happen, it would be nothing but an abomination. Of a truth, every family would tell its own story. Suffice to say that it is incontrovertible fact that every time you behold the glowing intelligence of Michelle Obama, the American Firstlady, you can easily tell the kind of man she is married to. Since the likes of Bipialaka and Amaechi's new Mother are the Powerbrokers in Nigeria, it is of no surprise that Amanpour would find it so easy to take us to the cleaners in a one-on-one interview, even when such an interview is supposed to be as simple as a,b,c.

Olusola Adegbite is a Lecturer in the Faculty of Law, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Olusola Adegbite, Esq. Faculty of Law, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

Taye Ismaila Taïwo (born 16 April 1985) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Turkish Süper Lig side Bursaspor.

He is well known for his powerful and accurate long shots, and is a dead-ball expert. Taiwo's primary position is left back (number 3 position) Club career Lobi Stars After spending a year at Nigeria Division 1 club Gabros International, Taiwo was bought

by Nigeria Premier League side, Lobi Stars.

He spent one season at Lobi Stars.

Marseille In 2005, at the age of 20, Taiwo was signed by French club, Olympique de Marseille. Taiwo was brought in to fill the void Bixente Lizarazu had left when he departed for Bayern Munich.

The Nigerian left back scored Marseille's winning goal against Olympique Lyonnais on 21 March 2010, with a trademark left-footed strike from long range. He also scored Marseilles's winning goal against US Boulogne on 17 April 2010. On 23 April 2011, Taiwo scored the only goal at the Stade de France against Montpellier HSC to win the 2011 Coupe de la Ligue.

Milan On 9 May 2011, A.C. Milan coach, Massimiliano Allegri, confirmed the signing of Taiwo along with French defender Philippe Mexès. The two were to play for Milan for the 2011/12 season He made his debut with the club on 24 September 2011 in the home league match won 10 against Cesena where he was eventually replaced by Luca Antonini. In December 2011, Taiwo made an interview for the French sports newspaper L'Équipe where he said that he was disappointed with his current experience at A.C. Milan, commenting on problems with Massimiliano Allegri and on the fact that he wasn't playing.

Queens Park Rangers On 24 January 2012, Queens Park Rangers secured the signing of Taiwo from AC Milan on a loan deal until the end of the season, with the option to buy for a fee of around £3.5 million. After making a move to QPR, Taiwo says he's expecting to make an impact at the club, rather than sitting on the bench. He made his debut on 1 February against Aston Villa in Birmingham, which ended 22.

On 31 July 2012, Taiwo joined Dynamo Kyiv on a one-year loan deal with the option of making the move permanent at the end of the season.

Bursaspor On 5 July 2013, Taiwo signed a three year deal with Turkish side Bursaspor. He was linked with a move to the Premier League by joining newly-promoted club Cardiff City, but opted to move to Turkey