SATURDAY 23RD FEBRUARY 2019 Sun

Jubilation in Osun as Tribunal Declares Adeleke Governor-elect Orders INEC to issue him Certificate of Return PDP, Atiku, Ekweremadu hail judgement APC kicks, files appeal Deji Elumoye, Alex Enumah, Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja and Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo By a split decision of 2 to 1, the Osun State Governorship

Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja yesterday declared Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party as the duly elected governor of the state and ordered the Independent

National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately issue him with Certificate of Return.

The Tribunal has earlier nullified the election of the Governor of Osun State, Gboyega Oyetola and

directed INEC to immediately withdraw the Certificate of Return earlier issued to him as winner of the September 2018 governorship election.

INEC had on September 28 declared Oyetola, the winner

of the election.

Oyetola was returned as governor-elect at the end of a supplementary election, which held in seven polling units across four local governments.

According to the electoral

body, the APC candidate had scored a total of 255,505 votes as against the 255,023 scored by his closest rival, candidate of the PDP, Adeleke.

Continued on page 6

Buhari Inaugurates Committee to Nurture Legislative, Judicial Autonomy… Page 53 Saturday 23 March, 2019 Vol 24. No 8748

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UK, French Defence Chiefs Visit Nigeria, Commit to War against Terrorism We feel strongly that we need to fight for Nigeria, West Africa Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The military leadership of the United Kingdom and France yesterday declared the commitment of both countries

to the fight against insurgency in Nigeria and in the West Africa sub-region.

This is coming as the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonosakin, vowed

that the Armed Forces of Nigeria would not relent until the criminal elements contending with the nation’s territorial integrity are contained.

The defence chiefs, General Nicholas Carter of the United Kingdom and his French counterpart, General D’Armee Francois Lecointre, who spoke during a visit to the Chief of

Defence Staff at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja, said both countries were committed to the fight against terrorism in the sub-region, bearing in mind Nigeria’s position in the

security architecture of West Africa.

The UK Chief of Defence Staff, General Carter, who Continued on page 6

Tension as Governorship Rerun Elections Hold in Four States Sokoto, Benue, Plateau, Kano on cliffhanger Buhari denies working to influence voters Our Correspondents There is palpable tension in Benue, Plateau, Sokoto and Kano states as thousands of voters in selected polling units file out this morning to conclude the elections that will determine winners of the governorship polls in the states.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared governorship elections in those states inconclusive, citing electoral violence and over-voting among other reasons.

President Muhammadu Buhari in a statement last night urged Nigerians to turn out massively for today’s elections, promising that he would no tamper with the electoral wishes of Nigerians.

As at press time, INEC had moved sensitive and

in-sensitive materials to all the locations the rerun elections will hold, while assuring citizens that it would conduct a free and fair poll.

Security has also been very tight in the four states, particularly in the local government areas where the rerun will hold.

The Police High Command has deployed five Deputy Inspectors General of Police (DIGs), three Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs) and 15 police commissioners with express orders to maintain adequate security in today’s supplementary elections.

Those affected by the deployment include DIG Usman Tilli Abubakar, Adamawa State; DIG Yakubu Jubrin, Benue State; DIG Continued on page 6

Wike: Military Prying in 2019 Elections, Worst in History... Page 6

COURTESY CALL...

President Muhammadu Buhari receiving Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai, during a visit to the President in his office at the State House Abuja… yesterday godwin omoigui

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Wike: Military Prying in 2019 Elections, Worst in History Meets with Buratai’s Investigative Committee, calls for redeployment of GOC Ernest Chinwo in Port Harcourt Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has declared that the Nigerian Army played negative role during the 2019 general election that was the worst in the history of the nation.

He said that the Nigerian Army's political interference in the state was the most unfortunate infraction in the nation's democratic experience.

He also requested for the redeployment of the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 6 Division, Major General Jamil Sarhem, for allegedly subverting the general elections in Rivers State, deliberately.

Wike spoke yesterday at Government House, Port Harcourt

when he granted audience to the Nigerian Army Investigative Committee on Electoral Violence during the 2019 general election.

He said: "Throughout my experience, politically, I have never seen the Nigerian Army play the kind of role they played during the last general election.

"The Nigerian Army purely made political interferences all through. We will show you the visuals of the roles played by the Nigerian Army. If you go to the 6 Division, unless they have moved them out, you will see ballot boxes and electoral materials. The 6 Division served as the take off base for the electoral interference.

"We formally request that appropriate sanctions be meted out to the GOC of the 6 Division.

It has never happened that the Army Division becomes the operational base of a political party. This GOC became actively involved in politics. He has his own government in Rivers State. He has no respect for civil authority.

"We seek the immediate redeployment of the GOC, Major General Jamil Sarhem. He cannot fight crime. Leaving the GOC here will be creating more crises.

He is here to fight crime and not to play politics. If soldiers fight crime, the way they intervened in last elections, there will be no kidnapper anywhere."

He said that elections took place across Rivers State in the polling units. He noted that aside Abua/ Odual Local Government Area,

Rivers people voted.

The governor said the challenge came during the collation of results when operatives of the Nigerian Army allegedly invaded Collation Centres to cart away Form EC 8C for the Governorship Election and Form EC 8b1 for the House of Assembly elections.

"Elections took place in Rivers State at the polling units. The only LGA where elections did not hold was in Abua/Odual.

"It was during the Collation that operatives of the Nigerian Army interfered. They will invade a Collation Centre, arrested the Electoral Officer, Returning Officer and mercilessly beat up the PDP agents. They carted away Form EC 8c for the Governorship election and Form EC 8b for the

House of Assembly elections," Wike told the Army Investigative Committee.

He took time to enumerate the areas where the Nigerian Army unleashed violence and deaths on Rivers people. He also listed the names of Army personnel who led the operations.

The governor said he regretted that the Nigerian Army was relegated beyond comprehension, alleging that the GOC took orders from the Minister of Transportation on the deployment of soldiers to opposition leaders in the state.

He noted that the situation became so bad that the Minister of Transportation had more than a platoon of soldiers attached to him each time he visited Rivers

State to carry out his alleged anti-democratic activities.

The governor stated that soldiers indiscriminately arrested and detained over 200 PDP leaders, agents and supporters at Bori Camp before, during and after the 2019 Governorship and State Assembly elections.

He said as governor, he had no soldiers attached to him, but that ordinary opposition leaders have several soldiers attached to them for illegal activities during the elections.

He urged the committee to ensure that it unraveled all the illegal actions taken by the Nigerian Army during the election.

when they were elected as governor and deputy governor respectively, up to 2015 when the former nominated the latter to succeed him as the state governor.

In less than two years after the election that brought Ganduje to power, his relationship with his former boss became sour which finally led to the defection of Kwankwaso to the PDP. Ganduje is seeking re-election to complete a second tenure as governor while Yusuf is contesting governorship for the first time.

Buhari dismisses rumours of trying to influence rerun Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari last night appealed to Nigerians to come out en masse and vote in today's supplementary elections.

In a statement, presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, said Buhari, who thanked voters for re-electing him for a second term in office, promised not to forget their sacrifices in defying harsh weather conditions to vote for him.

It also said Buhari appealed to voters not to get tired of coming out to vote in the supplementary elections,

because ‘‘these elections are no less important than others before them.’’ The statement said while appealing to voters to vote for candidates of their choice, because it is their “constitutionally guaranteed democratic rights," the president dismissed rumours and insinuations that he was forcing voters to elect candidates other than those they preferred.

He described the rumours as baseless, insisting that at no time did he give such instructions to the electorate, adding: "I believe in the will of the people, and I cannot, therefore, put pressure on voters to elect leaders they don't like."

The statement added: "President Buhari also called on INEC and security agencies to ensure that the supplementary elections are conducted peacefully and in accordance with the law and constitution.

"The President assured Nigerians that he is ready to work with elected representatives of the people regardless of party platforms on which they are elected. President Buhari said he will work in the best interest of the country and democracy."

support, and intelligence sharing among others. “The support has in no small measures helped us in our effort to tackle the various security challenges confronting our nation especially in our counter terrorism/counter-insurgency efforts in the North-eastern parts of the country�.

The CDS noted that the

military remained committed to the restoration of peace to troubled parts of the country hence the Defence Headquarters is presently conducting various operations across the country. “These operations have continued to yield positive results and we will not rest on our oars until we rid our country of all criminal elements,� he said.

Atiku in a statement yesterday by his media aide, Mr. Paul Ibe, while responding to the verdict upholding the election of Adeleke, commended the courage of the judiciary and its resilience “even in the face of strenuous efforts by the APC- led government to undermine and intimidate it.�

According to him, "The decision of the judiciary on the Osun governorship election is phenomenal in view of the culture of inconclusive elections

by INEC in this season. “The judgment has rekindled hope and confidence that those whose mandate had been tampered with or denied can look forward to justice being done to them."

Also, the National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus congratulated Adeleke for his victory at the election tribunal.

Secondus in a statement yesterday by his media aide, Ike Abonyi, said that the Judiciary should be hailed for standing up for the truth in the face of

harassment and intimidation.

He also noted that the tribunal by this landmark ruling had helped to restore hope to Nigerians that all stolen mandates shall be recovered from the electoral robbers and retuned intact to their rightful winners.

Also, a statement issued by the National Publicity Secreratry of the PDP, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, said that the judgment was a clear indicator that those who set out to destroy the country’s democracy can never triumph and that “no matter how evil and injustice appear to thrive, the truth must always prevail at the end of the day.�

He said that the spontaneous jubilation that greeted the judgment was therefore a direct indication that it is in consonant with the wishes and aspiration of Nigerians across the board.

Ologbondiyan said: “For those who have been desperate to destroy our democracy, this judgment has proven to them that their shenanigans will always come to no avail.�

Continued on page 52

TENSION AS GOVERNORSHIP RERUN ELECTIONS HOLD IN 4 STATES Frederick Taiwo Lakanu, Plateau State; DIG Anthony Ogbizi Michael, Kano State and DIG Godwin C. Nwobodo, Bauchi State.

Out of the 15 additional CPs deployed, Benue and Sokoto states got three each; Adamawa, Bauchi, Kano and Plateau states, two each, while Imo State got one.

The IGP Mohammed Adamu charged them to remain patriotic, steadfast, professional, neutral and civil, but firm, in their conducts and actions during the make-up elections.

He warned politicians not to undermine the electoral process by engaging in untoward practices such as snatching of ballot boxes, vote trading and violence of all kinds, stressing that violators would be made to face the full consequences of the law.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have been making frantic efforts to ensure victory in the acrimonious supplementary elections in the four states.

Days leading to the polls have been rancorous, with the PDP and APC candidates making

rigging and counter-rigging allegations in their states.

At the national level, the PDP had alleged that it uncovered clandestine security meeting between the presidency, certain top officials of INEC and security agencies aimed at hijacking today’s supplementary elections, thus, raising tension nationwide.

Benue State In Benue State, today’s rerun elections will hold in 204 polling units across 19 local government areas. Of the 121,670 registered voters in the affected polling units, 109,733 who collected PVCs are eligible to vote.

Incumbent Governor Samuel Ortom of the PDP is leading the race with 81,554 votes more than his closest rival, Emmanuel Jime of the APC. After the March 9 election, PDP polled 420,576 votes, while APC scored 329,022.

However, INEC had to declare the election inconclusive because cancelled votes- 121,091 were higher than the margin between the two top candidates. Ortom looks good to win today.

Plateau State In Plateau State, rerun elections

will hold in 40 polling units spread across nine local government areas of the state.

The supplementary election may turn out to be a mere formality.

Already, the incumbent governor and APC candidate, Mr. Simon Lalong is as good as having won the contest.

INEC’s Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor of Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Prof. Richard Kimbir declared the election inconclusive on March 2, saying the number of cancelled votes were higher than the margin between the two leading candidates.

In the declared election result, Lalong polled 583,255 votes while Jeremiah Useni of the PDP secured 538,326 votes.

With a margin 44,929 between the two contestants and 49,377 cancelled votes, Kimbir declared the election inconclusive.

Sokoto State In Sokoto, the PDP candidate, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal is clinging to a narrow lead ahead of his APC counterpart, Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto.

Tambuwal leads with 3,413 votes. On March 2, the PDP candidate polled 489,558 while

the APC candidate polled 486,090 votes.

INEC’s returning officer, Prof. Fatima Muktar declared the election inconclusive “since the cancel votes (30,082) were more than the margin between the winner and the candidate that placed second.�

Kano State In Kano, today’s rerun will determine the political careers of the state’s former governor, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and the incumbent governor, Abdullahi Ganduje.

PDP candidate, Abba Yusuf polled 1,014,474 to beat APC’s Umar Ganduje, who polled 987,819. Total margin between both APC and PDP candidate was 26,000 while total votes cancelled was 141,694.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the state, Riskuwa Shehu, declared election inconclusive due to high number of cancelled votes compared to margin between APC and PDP candidate.

Today, there will be supplementary polls in over 170 polling units in Kano State.

Kwankwaso and Ganduje were political allies from 1999

UK, FRENCH DEFENCE CHIEFS VISIT NIGERIA, COMMIT TO WAR AGAINST TERRORISM spoke for the duo, said the visit was indeed an historic one stating that they were impressed with the Armed Forces of Nigeria, their role in restoring and sustaining peace in West Africa and Africa at large.

He said the two countries were looking at ways of maximising support for Nigeria and West Africa.

“This joint visit is a historical moment to Nigeria. It is also symbolic because we (the UK and France) both feel strongly that we need to fight for West Africa and we have a huge appreciation of how Nigeria fits well into the security situation of the region. “We are also impressed with the strong commitments you

have shown in providing security to the country and in areas where you are challenged by the Boko Haram and the Islamic State of West Africa Province. “The Islamic State is a much larger threat of violent extremism.

We are hugely in admiration of your efforts in getting off terrorism. Collectively, we look for opportunities to see

where else we can help and where we can maximise our support to West Africa and Nigeria particularly,� he said.

Earlier in his speech, General Olonisakin said the United Kingdom and France had over the years remained strong pillars of support to Nigeria and the Armed Forces of Nigeria, through training, equipment

JUBILATION IN OSUN AS TRIBUNAL DECLARES ADELEKE GOVERNOR-ELECT Dissatisfied with the decision of INEC, Adeleke and the PDP then approached the tribunal to nullify the victory of Oyetola and declare him winner of the election.

In its Judgment yesterday, the tribunal declared Adeleke as the duly elected governor of the state.

In the majority Judgment delivered by Justice Peter Obiora, the tribunal set aside the rerun election conducted on September 27, 2018 for being unlawful.

Justice Obiora held that the poll conducted in the seven units “is unknown to law because INEC has no power to conduct it in the first place.�

According to the Judgment, the PDP and Adeleke proved beyond reasonable doubt that INEC did not comply substantially with the Electoral Act in 17 polling units.

Consequently, over 2,000 votes credited to the APC and Governor Oyetola were deducted from the total votes credited to them by INEC, while over 1,000

votes said to have been scored by the PDP and its candidate were also removed from their total votes.

The majority Judgment also held that the returning officer who cancelled the result in the affected units after the announcement had no power to have done so.

Earlier, in a ruling on an objection filed against the petition by APC, Oyetola and INEC, the tribunal held that the objection was misconceived and that the tribunal has jurisdiction to entertain the suit.

The objection was consequently dismissed by the tribunal.

The minority Judgment, delivered by Justice Ibrahim Sirajo, Chairman of the tribunal, however held that the petitioners, failed to prove how the noncompliance of non-recording in the columns of accredited votes and account of ballots in the result sheets substantially affected the final results.

Justice Sirajo further stated

that even when non-substantial compliance affects the outcome of the election, the tribunal, by virtue of section 140(2) of the Electoral Act, does not have the power to subtract the votes affected by the non-compliance from the scores of the candidates and announce a winner.

According to him, the tribunal only has the power to nullify the results of the polling units affected by the non-compliance and order a supplementary poll.

He concluded that even if the non-compliance was substantial, it was not proved by the petitioners.

Osun Govt Urges Calm, Appeal Judgment The Osun State Government has urged the people of the state to remain calm and go about their lawful activities following the tribunal judgment nullifying the election of Oyetola.

The statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Wole

Oyebamiji, said an appeal had been filed against the judgement.

Ekweremadu: Verdict is Victory for Democracy In his reaction, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, described the verdict of Osun gubernatorial election tribunal as victory for democracy.

Ekweremadu, who reacted to the Tribunal’s verdict on his social media handle @ Iamekweremadu, noted that the verdict was victory "for the sanctity of the ballot box, victory for the rule of law, and indeed victory for democracy".

PDP, Atiku, Seondus Commend Judiciary for Resilience The Presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2019 election, Atiku Abubakar, has commended the judiciary for its resilience, and as a defender of Nigeria’s democracy.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÍťËœ ͺ͸͚Î

NEWS

News Editor Ahamefula Ogbu 08116759810 (sms only) Email ahamefula.ogbu@thisdaylive.com

ENJOYING TOGETHER...

L-R: Guest speaker/former Exective Director, Mobil Producing Nigeria Ltd Mrs. Oluseyi Afolabi; former Chairman Petroleum Club, Otunba Funsho Lawal; Chairman Petroleum Club,

Chief Tunde Afolabi; and Chairman Planning Committee, Mrs. Sena Anthony, at the Petroleum Club guarantors’ annual dinner, held in Lagos ...yesterday

Secondus: Buhari,Yakubu, Military Chiefs Plot to Destroy Rivers State PDP says shifting Rivers collation to enable APC go to court Adedayo Akinwale Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus has accused President Muhammadu Buhari, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu and the military chief of grand design to destroy Rivers state if they fail to have their way electorally.

In a separate statement yesterday, the PDP through its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbodiyan alleged that the shifting of the collation of gubernatorial

election results in Rivers State by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to April 2nd and 5th, 2019, without providing any reason, was a calculated attempt to create room for the All Progressives Congress (APC) to engage in judicial manipulations.

The PDP National Chairman, in a statement by his media aide, Ike Abonyi, yesterday, said that the wicked plan was to stretch the endurance limit of the people, break their capacity to defend democracy so that when they react, they would find reason to kill them and declare a state of emergency.

Secondus stressed that having failed in a nefarious plan to hijack power in the state using all anti-democratic means, Yakubu and the military chiefs have now yielded to the design of stretching the state electoral problems until there was total breakdown of law and order.

He stated, “Prof Yakubu has chosen to keep shifting the completion of collation of election results in the state as part of a bigger plot that will enable the APC faction go to court, create more confusion that would linger until swearing in for a constitutional logjam to frustrate PDP out for the

Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi who is a willing tool in the destruction of the state. “This is part of a grand plan of the cabals to create division among brothers in the guise of helping one of the parties when the real agenda is to have the opportunity to plunge and hijack the abundant hydrocarbon industry of the region. “Nothing underscores this heinous act more than Prof Yakubu choosing to shift completion of collation of results to April 2 that is over 20 days after March 9, when the election ought to have been concluded.�

The National Chairman

explained that what was going on in Rivers was a clear show of might from a people that had no interest of the state at heart, it did not matter to them if the state was destroyed, protecting the interest of one man whose candidate was not on the ballot.

He said, “What they actually desire is to pull all Niger Deltans to the creeks and let the power monger cabals at the Villa overrun the place and hijack the hydrocarbon industry of the region. “Rivers State, which is the economic hub of the Niger Delta region and the nation’s headquarters of hydrocarbon

industry, has been held down since March 9 when the military invaded the state collation center ostensibly to protect the interest of a faction of APC that had no candidate in the election.�

Secondus stressed that some credible intelligence available to the party showed that the long stretch of the electoral process in the state was part of a larger arrangement by the federal government and their critical agencies that include the military using Yakubu to punish the state for the APC’s self-inflicted problem that deprived them of having candidates in the elections in the state.

Buhari Signs Bill Stopping Engineering Graduates on NYSC from Teaching

Dogara Raises the Alarm, Alleges Plot to Implicate Him in Crime

Omololu Ogunmade Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË

Shola Oyeyipo Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Abuja assented to Engineers (Registration etc) Amendment Bill, 2019, which among others, bars the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) from posting graduates of engineering to secondary schools to teach.

The bill which has now become the Act of the National Assembly seeks to promote technological development in Nigeria by ensuring that trained engineers were well positioned to deploy the knowledge acquired in their various fields to the development of technology in the country.

Briefing journalists at the State House, Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang, said as against the tradition of posting a large number of engineering graduates to schools by NYSC, youth corps members who are graduates of engineering must

henceforth be posted only to engineering firms and other institutions that are relevant to their professional fields.

Aside prohibiting such firms from rejecting engineering graduates posted to them, the Act mandates NYSC to immediately communicate the name of any institution where an engineering graduate is posted to, for his/ her primary assignment, to the Council for Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN).

Enang cited Section 14 (i and ii) of the Act which provides that “The Directorate of the National Youth Service Corps shall ensure posting of graduate engineers and technologists to places of relevant professional engineering experience. “Pursuant to the provision of subsection (i), the Directorate of National Youth Service Corps shall communicate the location of graduate engineers and engineering technologists to the Council.’’ Furthermore, the Act prohibits any foreign engineering firm

from operating in Nigeria without being duly registered in the country by COREN. It also mandates such a foreign firm to ensure the introduction of local content into the operations of the company by employing Nigerian engineers.

Enang added: “The Act broadens engineering ‘practitioners to include a registered engineer, engineering technologist, engineering technician and engineering craftsman.’ It emphasises more on engineering practitioners as against ‘engineer.’ “The Act has been remitted in accordance with standard legal procedures. The principal Act establishes the Council for Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria – COREN’ with power vested. “The amendment now assented to by Mr. President broadens the powers of COREN with far-reaching powers of prosecution of infractions, regulating industrial training of engineers, capacity building of local content in Nigeria engineering industry.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, has raised the alarm over alleged plot by the Bauchi State government to implicate him in criminal conspiracy.

The Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs to Dogara, Mr. Turaki Hassan, in a statement recently, said the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, and other security agencies had been put on notice on the alleged plot.

In another statement, Speaker Dogara alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was working in concert with Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar to rob Bauchi people of their mandate by deliberately delaying the collation of Tafawa Balewa votes.

He said the Bauchi Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Ibrahim Abdullahi, in anticipation of an ex-parte order which was obeyed even before it was enrolled and served on INEC National Chairman in Abuja, agreed he would obey the order that was

not served on him.

In a letter dated Thursday, March 21, 2019 and addressed to the Inspector-General of Police, and copied to the Director-General, Department of State Services, the Speaker said he was in receipt of credible information of an ongoing plot to plant false evidence in form of branded motorbikes and cars bearing the logo of his party (PDP) and his pictures, which would be used to commit crimes and implicate him in criminal activities.

He said, “I write to inform the Inspector General of Police that I am in receipt of credible intelligence about an ongoing plot by Bauchi State government to implicate me in a criminal conspiracy. “The Bauchi State government has procured hundreds of motorbikes and cars which are being branded in the Government House Bauchi with my pictures and logo of my party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and my name inscribed.â€?Âş “The plan is that the Bauchi State government will engage some criminal elements and give them

the branded motorbikes and cars which they will use to commit crime and thereafter abandon them at the scene so as to implicate me. “I am, by this letter, putting the Police and other security agencies on notice so as to be on the watch out for these criminal elements intended to be deployed

by Bauchi State Government.�

He provided the pictures of the branded stickers to the police to substantiate his claim.

Also, noting that some forces stalled the collation of Tafawa Balewa votes to allow Governor Abubakar to fraudulently raise enough votes to cover the margin between him and Senator Bala Mohammed, Dogara said “If he succeeds in this on Saturday; God forbid, then by Monday the world will be told that the ex-parte order granted by the Federal High Court, Abuja has been vacated to enable collation of Tafawa Balewa votes, which will pave way for Governor Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar to be declared winner with whatever margin he makes from the supplementary elections.�

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The Criminality of Deploying Soldiers for Election

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igeria swims in illegality. Those who swore to defend the constitution of the country breach it with so much impunity and many of their followers celebrate them.

The level of lawlessness in this country is indeed sickening. One of such is the deployment of soldiers for security duties during elections. Like his predecessors, our dear President Muhammadu Buhari also deployed the military for security duties with so much fanfare during the 2019 elections. He celebrated this illegal deployment and added a further criminality to it by directing the military to shoot ballot box snatchers – extra-judicial killing. We also saw army chief, Tukur Buratai, issuing directives to the soldiers as they moved out for illegal election safety duties. I am still struggling to recover from the shock of these shenanigans.

The soldiers did not disappoint the President and Buratai as they went beyond their illegal election policing job, to snatching ballot boxes, attacking opponents of their favoured party and committing all sorts of infractions across the states. In Rivers State, they took their interference in politics to an unprecedented height, while allegedly working for Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi. The European Union Election Observation Mission to Nigeria complained bitterly that these soldiers barred them from monitoring elections in Rivers State.

The Chief Observer, Maria Arena faulted the entire elections. She said: “Observers, including EU observers, were denied access to collation centres in Rivers, apparently by military personnel. This lack of access for observers compromises transparency and trust in the process. There is no doubt that the electoral process there (Rivers) was severely compromised.�

It is an embarrassment that the All Progressives Congress that went to court when in opposition and got judgments barring the military from participating in

Buhari

Buratai

election security duties, went ahead (now that it is the ruling party) to deploy soldiers for elections. There is no way Buhari would say that he is unaware that the deployment of soldiers for elections has been outlawed.

Today, I have decided to remind our dear President, Buratai and the ruling APC (in case they have forgotten) about the numerous judgments to the effect that the military should not be involved in election security duties. Perhaps, this recap would touch their hearts and put an end to this baloney.

Recall that early in 2015, a suit was filed by an APC member in the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, challenging the deployment of military for elections. The then President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff, Chief of Naval Staff and the Attorney General of the Federation were

joined in the suit. Gbajabiamila argued that it was illegal to deploy the military to supervise election in a democratic setting. The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos agreed and restrained the Jonathan-led Federal Government from deploying the military for elections. The presiding Judge, Justice Ibrahim Buba, in his ruling, declared that it was unconstitutional to deploy military for the supervision of election without the approval of the National Assembly.

Earlier, a Federal High Court in Sokoto State on January 29, 2015 outlawed this same use of the military for elections across Nigeria. The suit was instituted by the then Deputy Speaker of the Sokoto State House of Assembly, Bello Goronyo. Justice Mohammed Aikawa ruled that other than for the purposes of protecting the nation’s territorial integrity, there was no constitutional provi-

Memo to Sanwo-Olu My dear Babajide Sanwo-olu, I don’t intend to congratulate you on your election as governor of Lagos State. I believe your election is just “same of the same.� I fear that it is the usual bad deal for the hapless people of Lagos State as they have had in the last 36 years, post-Jakande. However, I am hoping that you will prove me wrong with your actions when you assume office.

It is pertinent to note that my family has a longer history with Lagos than most of those claiming to be Lagosians today. My late father relocated to Lagos over 84 years ago. You can now understand why I write about my beloved Lagos with so much passion.

One of the areas in which previous governments in the state have performed abysmally in the last 36 years is the construction of inner roads. The Jakande era remains golden in this area. It was an era when equal emphasis was placed on arterial and inner roads. This motivated development and enhanced the value of property in several communities in the state. Thriving small businesses also emerged in these communities, thanks to paved roads. My treasured Mende in Kosofe Local Government profited from this. Jakande provided us paved roads with standard drains. But the reverse has been the case in the last 36 years as blighted communities emerge across the state. Sanwo-olu, Lagosians yearn for the return of the Jakande era; an era when development was inclusive and people-oriented; an era when government touched the lives of the masses of the people directly with quality healthcare, education, water supply and quality inner roads. You must strive to return Lagos State to this golden era.

When you assume office, you must differentiate between Lagos City and Lagos State. In the last 36 years, the metropolis gulps the bulk of the revenue of Lagos State. This is one of the reasons Lagos

Sanwo-Olu

State is in a big infrastructural mess. The tattered state of communities in Ikorodu West and Ikorodu North, Igbogbo-Bayeku, Ayobo, Ipaja, Abule Egba, Okokomaiko, Ojo, Ijora-Badiya, Ipaja and several others testifies to this.

Ikorodu West and Ikorodu North LCDAs are like war zones with very little government presence. Sanwo-olu, please, visit these areas unaccompanied. Come

in through Isawo Road. Link Efunlaruja Street through Ori-Okuta Road and go out through Ojokoro Road. With this, you will understand the magnitude of the crisis in these areas. In the entire Ikorodu West LCDA, there are only three roads with asphalt. Over 500 other inner roads are ragged. Many in these areas have relocated and abandoned their buildings. Sanwoolu, you need to construct more inner roads with drainages in order to regenerate these blighted communities. That was what Jakande did to open up many parts of Lagos like Mile 12, Ketu, Ojota, Mende, Onigbongbo, Palm Grove, Onipanu.

Your predecessors have been spending money on mundane things while Lagos State wallows in poverty. The huge resources of the state are squandered amidst decaying infrastructure. Just imagine Ambode voting money for the construction of cinema houses in a state where over 99% of homes have no access to public water supply. The Lagos State Water Corporation is one big mess. Many communities that enjoyed public water supply during the Jakande era no longer have it.

You need to rejig the state’s water corporation aºnd return to the Jakande era of constructing mini-water works for communities.

Billions of Naira is spent on gigs and carnivals in a state where public hospitals, roads and schools are in tatters. Drains across the state constantly emit stench, while humdrum things guzzle the state’s money. It is heart-wrenching seeing public funds being wasted attending carnivals abroad in the name of searching for tourists for Lagos State. Tourists will come looking for Lagos State if we put our house in order in terms of security and quality infrastructure. You must avoid spending state money on mundane things.

You also need to tackle the infrastructural challenges in public health institutions across the state. The 27 general hospitals in the state are in very bad conditions. They are over-crowded, poorly equipped with dilapidated structures and unmotivated

sion that allowed for the deployment of the military for election security duties.

Justice Aikawa added that for the Federal Government to do so, it must have taken recourse to the National Assembly, which would enact such law. I remember that the then Director, Legal, APC Presidential Campaign Council, Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume (SAN), wrote the Jonathan government, arguing that by virtue of both decisions, it had become illegal for the President and INEC to involve members of the armed forces in electoral security matters without the National Assembly’s permission.

A Court of Appeal in Abuja on February 16, 2014, also outlawed the unilateral deployment of soldiers for the June 21, 2014 Ekiti State governorship election.

Years back, there was also the leading judgment of the Court of Appeal in Yussuf v Obasanjo (2005) 18 NWLR (PT 956) 96, in which the court held: “It is up to the police to protect our nascent democracy and not the military, otherwise the democracy might be wittingly or unwittingly militarised. This is not what the citizenry bargained for in wrestling power from the military in 1999.

Conscious step or steps should be taken to civilianize the polity to ensure the survival and sustenance of democracy.�

Legalities aside, I can clearly remember Buhari, back in January 2015, as the presidential candidate of the APC, warning Jonathan against deployment of soldiers to cities and towns during elections. He said then that the soldiers were meant to defend the territorial integrity of the country and not for policing elections.

Section 215 of the 1999 Constitution is very clear about security during elections. It makes the maintenance of internal security, including law and order during elections, the exclusive responsibility of the police.

Our President and his service chiefs must desist from usurping the constitutional responsibility of the Nigerian Police Force.

staff. Patients pay for virtually everything in these hospitals. You have to rejuvenate the primary health centres across the state.

In Lagos public schools, classes are still overcrowded with dilapidated structures.

The temporary school structures put in place by the Jakande administration 33 years ago have still not been replaced in many schools. You will find these dilapidated Jakande buildings even in places like Apapa and Ikeja. Many will be shocked to know that pupils in some Lagos schools still sit on bare floor in classrooms. Please, pay a surprise visit to schools like Isawo Primary School, Ipakodo Junior School and Farm Settlement Primary School, Odogiyan, all in Ikorodu, to understand the level of decay. This is replicated in other parts of the state. There has to be a holistic programme to replace all Jakande structures in public schools within two years of your administration.

Lagos State has become a dangerous place to live in with high crime rate. Cult groups are constantly terrorising the populace. Your predecessors have spent billions of Naira providing equipment for security agencies with very little result to show for it. Lagosians persistently live in fear. My dear Sanwo-olu, the security architecture of Lagos State has to be redesigned. It should not just be about spending billions of Naira on equipment for security agencies.

Founder of Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates, recommends that governments should spend more on human capital development if they want to attain development. Sanwo-olu, you must not engage in building posh bridges and multi-lane aristocratic roads in the metropolis as your predecessors did, while hospitals and schools are in tatters. Citizens lack access to things as basic as public water supply and drivable inner streets; yet, you will find governors building theatres, stupendous offices/fly overs, multi-lane city roads, buying bullet proof cars, hopeless foreign trips and all sorts of rubbish. Sanwo-olu, you must invest in people for Lagos State to prosper.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 23, 2019

SUPER SATURDAY Shirleyann Ede

I’m Married to an Admirable Man, Swimming in Ocean of Marital Bliss Delectable actress and filmmaker, Shirleyann Ede, is remarkable for her storytelling style. Her creative style involves exploring topical social issues and presenting them in an entertaining manner. Shirleyann’s latest work for instance, Mr. President which is currently gripping cinema goers with its humourous twists to political intrigues in Nigeria, is a parody of power-play in Africa’s most populated country. The movie creates pun by exploiting the vigour of its highly humourous cast to dramatically bring comic relief to Nigeria’s overheated polity. Shirleyann speaks to Chinedu Ibeabuchi, about her love for her craft and lots more

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 23, 2019

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SUPERSATURDAY I Try to Touch Issues That Border On the Lives of the People

H

ow did your acting career start?

I started acting in 2004. I was called for an audition by Emeka Jonathan for a TV series ‘Sweet Angels’ and they loved my performance.

Is “Mr President” your 1st movie? What other works have you done?

No, I have produced other films like, Recession blues, Diana, House of Jon, My Time My Clock, Loserville and Mr President, which is my first film to be in the cinemas.

What gave you the confidence to produce “Mr. President” even while filmmakers are shying away from political drama?

It’s not a matter of confidence. Politics is part of our daily life. As an entertainer, I try to highlight those issues that would be of interest to the people and then present it in a serious but yet, entertaining manner.

As a producer, is Nollywood as lucrative as portrayed?

Yes, from the experience gained so far, creative art is a lucrative business. We may not be there yet but we are getting there.

What gap do you think exists in the market that you have come to fill? Are you filling a gap?

No. Each filmmaker has his or her own vision and an approach to film making that creates that variety which accommodates various presentations.

Women are now playing a dominant role in filmmaking unlike in the past where it was just acting, costume and other peripherals. What’s your take on this?

I see it as a very positive development. Women have made tremendous contributions to the development of Nollywood from inception till date. It’s not a surprise that more and more women are actively taking up challenges and breaking new grounds. So expect more.

You go into areas others shy away from like the “Mr President” political parody. Should we look out for you more in this niche?

As I said earlier, I try to touch issues that bother on the lives of the people. I have done movies that are not in the political domain and will continue to strive to pick those issues that will be of interest to my audience.

What are the challenges you face as a film maker?

One of my major challenges is lack of professionalism on the part of some of the players in the industry, bothering on dishonesty and greed. However, there are quite number of good people that I have had the opportunity to work with.

What lessons have you learnt in movie making that has shaped your work?

Some of these lessons are adherence to professional ethics, insistence on doing the right thing and seeking out only honest people to work with.

What projects should your fans expect in the course of the year?

They should expect something very big. The project is still cooking. But what I can say is that my next project will take Nollywood by storm. My current work in cinema, ‘Mr President’, is receiving wide admiration and acceptance. But something bigger than that is coming and I can assure you that it’s going to be one the best works in Nollywood this year. I am putting together my experience so far and seeking to work with highly revered and ethical professionals in the industry. This new project will be a masterpiece. Just watch out.

Now down to your family life, little is known about your relationship status?

Shirleyann is married to an admirable man. I am swimming in an ocean of marital bliss.

How do you unwind?

I love going on vacation. I love to explore new places and enjoy nature. This world is a whole beautiful place, creatively carved by God and beautifully modified by man.

It Should Not be Surprising that Women are Breaking Grounds in Nollywood

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MARCH 23, 2019 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

COMMENTARY

NIGERIA AND IMPERATIVE OF SAFETY PRACTICES The country should pay more attention to safety issues, writes Tayo Ogunbiyi

S

afety has always been a vital issue across many societies.

Globally, there is increased pressure for organizations, homes and public institutions to operate safely and move towards zero harm. Best practices have used programmes such as behaviour-based safety to produce significant improvements.

Public safety is concerned with hazards in the home, in travel and recreation, and in other situations that do not fall within the scope of occupational safety. Safety practices are the activities and measures that seek to reduce perilous conditions that can cause bodily injury or/and death.

Despite being a country where essential and accurate statistics are hard to come by, one cannot but notice the countless numbers of untimely but avoidable deaths and bodily injuries that had plagued our society over the years.

It will be sadly recalled that over 100 people were killed in an inferno that rocked a factory in Odogunyan, Ikorodu in 2003. The report of a panel of inquiry that investigated the incident concluded that the disaster could have been avoided if the management of the company involved had adhered to laid down industrial safety rules and regulations.

International Labour Organization, (ILO) estimates that 337 million workplace accidents and 2.3 million deaths occur every year, averaging 6,300 deaths per day, across the globe, including Nigeria. An average of 200 cases of industrial accidents occurs in Nigeria daily with an equally high rate of fatalities. According to experts, at least 50 million Nigerians are at risk of occupational hazards. This group includes about 3.2 million, children inclusive, who are involved in economic activities, even as abused participants in the labour market.

Nigeria is ranked 191 out of 192 countries in the world with un-safe roads and with 162 deaths per 100,000 from road traffic accidents. A World Health Organization (WHO) data reveals that over 1.3 million people are killed annually in road accidents while over 50 million people sustain different degrees of injuries from such crashes. Ironically, in Nigeria, people pay limited attention to safety matters.

Okada riders defy the rule to wear crash helmets while fire suppression equipment, where available, are either obsolete or unserviceable. Banks across the country install metal detecting cubicles at their entrances without adequate provision for alternative fire exit in case of emergency. Fire exits in most public and commercial buildings have been converted to storage rooms. Rather than pass through

NIGERIA IS RANKED 191 OUT OF 192 COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD WITH UN-SAFE ROADS AND WITH 162 DEATHS PER 100,000 FROM ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS

pedestrians bridges across our highways, people prefer to take the dangerous route of crossing through the road, even at times with children.

Nowadays, the issue of safety and health at workplace which once occupy a major place in the programme and plan of employers is no longer accorded prominence. Within the context of Nigeria organizational plan, the issues of safety are now considered non-essential in operational plans because it is viewed as consequential to profit margin and thus overhead cost resulting from provisions for safety is grossly cut down.

Sadly, the cost of hazardous practices is clearly huge, excruciating and heartbreaking. Accidents result in pains and deaths to victims, waste of time, money and materials and damage to equipment and structures. The sight of seeing people lose loved ones in needless circumstances is, to say the least, quite agonizing.

Thus, it is really essential that we embrace a culture of averting accidents by all means. The socio-economic impact of accidents is incalculable. For instance, the huge resources being channeled to the health sector at all levels might amount to nothing if people are involved in needless health hazards that put pressure on health facilities as a result of avoidable emergencies.

Any society that is built on sharp disregard for safety practices might have to contend with needless pains from time to time. Therefore, the earlier we opt to embrace simple safety culture, the better for us all. For instance, on our roads, people drive with uttermost disrespect for traffic rules. Always ignored, however, is the fact that failure to obey simple traffic rules and regulations often lead to traffic chaos that gives room for social miscreants to rob motorists of valuable items and vandalism of cars. And in most cases, when culprits are apprehended, they sometimes resort to anti-social antics.

If we are to fulfil our potential as a nation, we have to collectively review our attitude to the sanctity of human life. We have to change our value system. To begin with, those who willingly circumvent vital safety laws should be brought to book by the spirit of the law. What it takes for evil to gain a stronghold in any society is for evil to continually go unpunished. This is the only way we can move forward as a people. The human life is too precious to be wasted through careless human conducts.

Ogunbiyi is of the Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja

IMPROVING NIGERIA’S RURAL HEALTH SECTOR Akunna S. Ofili canvasses the use of renewable energy for efficient health facilities in rural areas

R

egarded as a human capital development, the health care sector of a nation is one of the bedrocks of its existence. Societies attach great importance to issues surrounding their health care system and how it functions.

To ensure that the system functions at its best, adequate health care facilities must be put in place which will help to enhance the growth and productivity of the nation.

According to World Bank statistics and based on the United Nations Population Division, Nigeria’s rural settlement has 51.40% population as at 2016. With this dense population, it is scary that health care services have been and are still very poor and not properly managed.

As an important element of national security, public health not only functions to provide adequate and timely medical care, but also tracks, monitors, and controls disease outbreak and loss of lives. The Nigerian health care has been suffering great loss of lives year after year. Hence, there is need to tackle this problem.

Part of the major problems that hamper proper service delivery in the health sector is lack of adequate electricity. Most rural areas do not have electricity in their health care centres and are compelled to depend on fossil powered generators. Consequently, not only do they spend so much money on fuelling and maintaining the generators, they suffer the adverse effects of the generator use such as noise pollution that disturbs the health facility environment that normally should require pin-drop tranquility to enable the patients have a peaceful and healthy recuperation from

the medical care they are receiving.

Due to the kind of health recipients from these health facilities, who are mostly patients that need quick recovery, it is important to consider what forms of alternative energy is used to provide energy for the health facilities in order to reduce pollution in the environment.

No one wants to go to a hospital to get well only to end up with a new health problem, all because the hospital is filled with airborne toxic emissions due to the use of fossil fuel.

Some of these dangerous emissions have been known to cause an endless list of health problems such as heart diseases, lung cancer, increased respiratory symptoms, coughing or difficulty in breathing, aggravated asthma, development of chronic bronchitis, non-fatal heart attacks and premature death in people with heart and lung disease.

Hospitals depend largely on electricity to run their activities. Electricity powers almost all of equipment needed in a hospital, including life support machines, incubators for premature babies, ventilation machines helping people to breathe, gas supplies for putting people to sleep during operations, blood pressure monitors. Also there are private medical laboratories that must depend on any source of energy to operate their medical equipment to carry out their laboratory test of all kinds. Most of them that are not attached to the public and/or private hospitals run their laboratory facilities as private businesses and fall within the SMEs. And having no adequate access to energy will eat deep into their business profits and

delay service delivery that requires urgent attention to save life.

At a hospital, loss of electricity can lead to loss of life. There are cases where health personnel have complained of performing surgical operations and child deliveries during emergencies in the dim light or using touch lights, because there was no electricity available and their generating sets failed them at that emergency period. Therefore, for hospitals to be very effective, reliable electricity has a very high value.

However, there is hope to mitigate this energy debacle in the rural health facilities. It is time these rural health facilities look into the direction of alternative energy that comes from the renewable sources. This includes mostly solar energy. This could come in form of Solar Home Systems (SHS) and Micro Grids.

Most health facilities, especially the rural ones are not well aware of the existence of renewable energy, let alone how it benefits them positively and enhances their service delivery. Some of the major units in the hospitals that are affected by electricity include lighting for proper and constant illumination. Water heating can use an excessive amount of energy in a hospital and therefore requires steady access to power. There are simple things like keeping fridges and freezers running to keep medicines working, because medicines can break down at the wrong temperature. Machines that help doctors decide what is wrong; like measuring the electrical activity of the heart (an ECG). They are also used to power machines like respirators, which breathe for people when they cannot do

it for themselves, (for example, during some operations or after severe head injuries). Therefore, it is of paramount importance to keep the availability of energy constant in a hospital environment.

Since there is this great demand for energy due to lack of electricity, renewable energy should be introduced for greater efficiency in health facilities in the rural areas. Renewable energy is very reliable and can save the day on their own, they will be a central part of any long term energy strategy for both the urban and rural health care services.

The quest for energy independence, economic growth, and environmental sustainability increasingly suggests the importance of renewable energy sources. Renewable energy is gained by tapping into “existing flows of energy” and “natural processes” in ways that generate more usable energy than is expended in the production process.

Governments should ensure that they prioritise providing these steady and clean energy by allocating adequate funds to the primary health care sector to cover for installation of solar energy in the rural health facilities.

If there are enough funds, rural health facilities would be upgraded. Quality of life, growth and productivity will improve. Also, hospital administrators should have ample chance to gain first-hand experience of the importance of uninterrupted electrical service and not leave it to the government alone.

Mrs. Ofili is a Senior Programme Officer, Climate Transformation and Energy Remediation Society, Abuja

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MARCH 23, 2019 • THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

INSIGHT

Let their votes count...

Preventing Building Collapse in Nigeria

T

he incidence of building collapse in Nigeria has been on the increase in recent times. The reoccurring menace has claimed many innocent lives, valuable properties and huge investments.

Although structural failures of building may arise from natural catastrophe, the pivotal cause of incessant building collapse in Nigeria is the non - compliance with the building industry construction standard and regulation for designated buildings.

Any building poorly planned, designed and maintained stands the chance of structural failure.

The historical data of past collapsed buildings has attributed structural damage to inadequacy of structural test. Oyewande (1992) identified deficient structural drawing as the first challenge of building collapse. The soil which the building would be situated on must be scrutinized prior to construction. This process helps in determining the building strength that the soil can inure. Determining soil solidity through assumption is prone to failure of this test. Every ground requires a strong foundation but the swampy ones require stronger foundations.

The sustenance of building planning scheme can be achieved through effective rules and regulations. A strict compliance with the National Building Code (2006), Land Use Act (2004), town planning inspection, and other firmly entrenched statutory instruments which regulate and impose minimum standards for building construction should be mandatory.

Likewise the deficiency in the extant laws guiding the durability of constructions should be reviewed to fulfill legislative intents. The Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing has the greatest role to play in setting these laws in motion.

The use of sub - standard materials such as ; inadequate quantity of cement, concrete blocks, sand, poor workmanship and overloading or increase in floors of building contrary to foundational scope are the indices of structural damage.

These lacunae can be curtailed through the instrumentality of the law. Sometimes, a child doesn’t appreciate the decisions taken on its behalf by its parents until he

or she has come of age. Ignorance and illiteracy hampers envisagement. Many Nigerians ignorantly take decisions that endanger their lives and others. Effective building regulation is a mechanism to protect rights to life and properties.

No amount of gospel can forestall building owners from patronising quack building contractors in order to cut cost.

Trade embargo would not deter gluttonous contractors from adopting substandard materials despite being paid fatly. Approval of building construction through irregularities played by many construction inspectors would continue on a larger scale. The Nigerian government has the primary onus to safeguard its citizens and their properties against dangerous tendencies through proactive measures.

The stern war against negligent building collapse should be fought holistically ranging from the building inspectors, contractors and building owners. In a bid to curb reckless building failure, the recent building collapses at Sogoye area, Ibadan and Ita Faaji area, Lagos Island must be investigated judiciously. Any individual or body found guilty of negligence or dereliction of duty should be duly prosecuted. This process would serve as an illuminating signal to all parties involved in building construction.

Binzak Azeez, Faculty of Law, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife

Militarisation of Elections in Nigeria

M

ilitarising election is a mediocre approach to election rigging. It is the use of state security apparatus to subvert the will of the people in a democracy. It is a system that scares eligible voters and disenfranchises the people. It also empowers INEC to violate continuous accreditation and voting system (CAVS) of the land. It is disheartening that Nigeria’s democracy is about to be destroyed by the current administration. Election rigging is not peculiar to Nigeria. For instance, in United States of America in 2016 President Donald Trump was accused of rigging, using computer fraud through alliance with the Russia government.

It was an intellectual rigging process perpetrated using cyber hackers. But the recent rigging approach adopted by the APC party and the presidency is abysmal, laughable and shameful. If rigging must be done, it ought to be done decently and secretly. But the rigging approach of the current administration is indecent and dreadful.

For instance, in Rivers State in the governorship election, PDP collation agent (Dr. Ferry Gberegbe) was shot by the military for opposing them from changing the election results in the polling unit.

Dr. Ferry is now dead and is body deposited in the mortuary. Militarisation of election is absurd

T H E SAT U R DAY N E W S PA P E R EDITOR YEMI ADEBOWALE DEPUTY EDITOR CHIKA AMANZE-NWACHUKU MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR JOSEPH USHIGIALE

T H I S DAY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS BOLAJI ADEBIYI, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS PATRICK EIMIUHI, SAHEED ADEYEMO CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

and unacceptable in a democratic system.

For the sake of posterity and sustenance of Nigeria’s democracy this approach should be condemned by all. We would have expected the incumbent president to follow the footsteps of his predecessor President Goodluck Jonathan. Instead, he chose to undermine the will of the people through militarised rigging system. At least President Jonathan will forever be eulogised for being one of the first African incumbent presidents to relinquish power to the opposition party.

It is appalling that a president who spent quite a time catering to his health will be so desperate to retain power. May I use this medium to plead to the presidency to allow the electoral tribunal to do their job without interference. Also, the electoral tribunal must deliver justice righteously and save Nigeria’s democracy.

Pedro Ukokobili, Lagos

Garlic: Nature’s Best Medicine

G

arlic is one of nature’s medicines. If you have been consuming fatty foods such as butter, palm oil, meat, etc., garlic in hot water will flush out fatty deposits in your body along with fighting weight gain.

If you already have high cholesterol level, frequent garlic consumption will lower your risk of developing heart problems.

If you’re predisposed to having diabetes just make garlic your best friend because it will help protect you. If you’re a cancer candidate do not be afraid, just increase your daily dose of garlic consumption because it is the most effective destroyer of cancerous cells in your body. And as an antibiotic, garlic fights cough, pneumonia, tuberculosis, typhoid, etc.

If you’ve a sleep problem and want to start sleeping like a baby, just take some garlic gloves and put them near you pillow so that you can inhale the aroma. If you do this, you will be shocked how you now sleep well along with enjoying other garlic health benefits.

Odilim Enwegbara, Abuja

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÍťËœÍşÍ¸ÍšÎ

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NEWS

In Brief Police Arrest 13 for Killing DPO, 3 Others

The Edo State Commissioner of Police, Danmallam Abubakar, yesterday, said operatives of his command had arrested 13 suspects in connection with the killing of a DPO and three other officers in Afuze police station.

Danmallam disclosed this in Benin City yesterday while parading 120 suspects arrested for various crimes ranging from kidnapping, cultism, armed robbery and murder. Among the 120 suspects paraded by the police was an army deserter, Private Mbawa Lucky who was arrested for cultism. When asked to give more information about the arrest of suspected killers of police officers, the Edo CP said such details could not be given at the moment until those still at large were brought to book.�On the 12 of March, 2019, some unknown criminals, cowards went to hide under cover of darkness, attacked Afuze Police station, killed the DPO and three others.If you recalled my press conference with the executive Governor of Edo State, Governor Obaseki, I promised the public that we will do everything with the ambit of the law to detect and apprehend the criminals.

CUPP Bemoans Dokpesi’s Arrest

WORKING TOGETHER...

L-R: Enugu State Governor and Governor-Elect, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and the new Commissioner of Police, Enugu State Command, Mr. Suleiman Balarabe, when the latter paid a courtesy visit to the Government House, Enugu...yesterday

Money Laundering: Court Strikes out EFCC N6.6bn Case against Goje Ask him to open defence on two counts

Seriki Adinoyi Ă“Ă˜ Ă™Ă?

The Federal High Court sitting in Jos, Plateau State has discharged the former Governor of Gombe State, Senator Danjuma Goje of 19 counts charges of the 21 leveled against him by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) in which he was accused of misappropriating N6.6 billion.

However, the Court found him liable on counts 8 and 9 which border on auction of 50 units of Toyota vehicles, without recourse to laid procedures of passing through Tender’s Board.

The former governor alongside former Executive Chairman, Gombe State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB),

Alhaji Aliyu Ubandoma and Auctioneer, S.M Dokoro and two others were accused of money laundering, diversion and misappropriation of N6.6 billion belonging to Gombe State between 2007 and 2011.

The EFCC prosecuted Goje for misappropriating N5 billion loan from Access Bank that was approved by the state’s House of Assembly to complete infrastructure in the state and N1.4 billion contract for the supply of dictionaries to the primary and junior secondary schools in the state through the State Universal Basic Education Board, (SUBEB).

In his ruling yesterday, the trial judge, Justice Babatunde Quadiri said the EFCC wit-

nesses brought before the court failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Goje, and three others committed the said offence, adding that the prosecution witnesses could not link Goje to any misappropriation of funds or money laundering when he was the governor of the state.

Justice Quadri said he could not find where Goje was found guilty of the 19 counts charges looking at the ingredients of the offences and therefore discharged him of the charges. “From my review of the evidence provided by the EFCC witnesses, the four defendants are hereby discharged of the 21 counts charges levelled against them except count charge 8

and 9. “There was no sufficient evidence to prove that the defendants forged the state House of Assembly letterhead to obtain a loan facility from Access Bank Plc and there was no evidence that the sum of N1.6 billion was transferred to a different account by the accused persons,� the judge held.

He told the defendants to prepare their defense for counts 8 and 9 which bordered on auction of vehicles belonging to Gombe State Government without due process.

On agreement by both parties, Justice Quadiri adjourned the case to May 8, 2019, for trial of the two counts.

67 Arrested for Electoral Offences, Bayelsa Judicial Panel Summons Other Crimes in A’Ibom Sylva, Lokpobiri, Brambaifa over Okon Bassey Ă“Ă˜ ĂŁĂ™ be charged to Court as soon as Election Violence investigation was completed.

Sixty-seven suspects have been arrested by the Akwa Ibom State Police Command for various offences including electoral offences, abduction, rape, robbery and murder within the past one month.

The State Police Commissioner, CP Ibrahim Sani Kaoje who disclosed this at a press briefing held at the State Police Headquarters, Ikot Akpan Abia, yesterday, said out of the number, 42 persons were arrested for various electoral offences during the 2019 general election.

The State Police boss, who spoke through the Command Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Odiko MacDon said the electoral crimes committed ranged from unlawful possession of firearms, electoral materials and political thuggery, among others.

The commissioner said the cases were under investigation and that the suspects would

The police Commissioner commended sister security agencies in the state for their support to ensure peace before, during and after the elections in the state.

He also explained that the State Police Command on March 1, arrested four persons who stole one white Toyota Hilux at Akwa Savings Estate, Aka Itiam in Uyo. Kaoje revealed that the vehicle was taken to a spray painter at Ikot Ekpene in order to change the colour to enable the suspects sell the vehicle.

Speaking to newsmen on the crime, the spray painter, Wisdom Edet (m) said that his friend contacted him and introduced him to the driver of the owner of the Toyota Hilux.

According to him, the driver, Uduak James (m) said that his boss sent him to spray the vehicle to black colour and promised to pay N80,000 for the job.

Emmanuel Addeh Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă‹

The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the violence that heralded the last general elections in Bayelsa, has invited former Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, Minister of State, Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) acting Managing Director, Prof Nelson Brambaifa to appear before it.

The Commission, under the Chairmanship of Justice Inikade Eradiri, is inviting the top All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains whose names had been mentioned during the sittings to appear before it to clear their names of sundry allegations.

But the APC had recently rejected the proceedings of the panel, stressing that Governor Seriake Dickson, who set up the panel was an interested party during the polls and was therefore not devoid of bias.

Apart from Chief Sylva, others invited include a member

of Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Israel Sunny-Goli and Mr. Famous Danumiegha, the candidate of the APC for the Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal Constituency in the last election.

The commission of inquiry which has received written and oral testimonies on the role played by politicians since it commenced sitting heard the testimonies of eight fresh witnesses, during its sitting on Thursday.

Led in evidence by the Commission’s counsel, Prof Festus Emiri, the State Commissioner for Transport, Mr. Daupirimo Ikuromo, said despite the peace accord signed, thugs allegedly forced the leadership of Okpoama and Ewoama Communities to compel their people to vote only in favour of the opposition.

Mr. Ikuromo stated that he and other PDP stalwarts did not have the opportunity to exercise their franchise as they were chased out of the community.

The Coalition of United Political Parties has again, raised the alarm over alleged move by President Muhammadu Buhari to clamp down on media owners and opposing voices with the arrest of Chief Raymond Dokpesi at the Abuja Airport hours ago. The Coalition lamented that despite Dokpesi’s fragile health, he was roughhandled and his drugs tampered with. In a statement issued by its National Spokesperson, Ikenga Ugochinyere, It said, “We note that the Buhari-led Federal Government is putting the life of Dokpesi, the founder of African Independent Television/RayPower FM and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, at risk with his arrest despite his fragile health. Despite that he just went through major surgery abroad, government’s agents pushed him around and seized/ tampered with the bag containing his discharge drugs. This is clearly an attempt on the life of this media guru. The opposition parties calls on President Buhari to order the immediate release of Chief Dokpesi.

We also call on him to call his attack agents to order and direct them to stop persecuting media owners and others who refused to bow to dictatorship.�

Social Critic Commends Obaseki

A Benin based social critic and founder of One Love Foundation, Mr. Patrick Eholor, has commended the administration of Governor Godwin Obaseki especially in road construction and restoration of law and order.

Eholor who said he was impressed with the level of development he saw in Edo State upon his return to the country, stated that Governor Obaseki had surpassed achievements of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

Speaking in a chat with newsmen in Benin City yesterday, Eholor said it was a great thing to see Obaseki restrain activities of those he termed ‘professional politicians’. Eholor said, “From the little I have seen that Obaseki has done and is doing, when compared to eight years of Adams Oshiomhole, you will know Oshiomhole did nothing. With the roads being constructed by Obaseki and the guts to restrain professional politicians, a lot of people are pleased with Obaseki. The idea of touting is over.

You do not see people insulting market women again. I can tell you Obaseki is doing well.

‘Desist from Trivialising Access to Water’

The Minister of Water Resources, Mr. Suleiman Adamu has urged state governments to prioritise access to provision of potable water supply and stop paying ‘lip service’ to the issue. Speaking to journalists in Abuja for the commemoration of the 2019 World Water Day, slated for March 22, with the theme, ‘Leaving No One Behind’, the Minister said many states had refused to prioritise provision of water supply, saying the burden was left to the Federal Government. He said all the Federal Government was bound to do was to provide bulk water through its dams and river basins, saying the states had the responsibility to reticulate the bulk water to houses. According to the Minister, “Ordinarily and constitutionally, the Federal Government has nothing to do with actual provision of water supply to the tap. This is the responsibility of state governments and local governments. There is no state or city in this country that can boast of 100 per cent piped borehole water supply, none.�

Otabil, Okonkwo to Minister at Trinity House

Ghanaian pastor, theologian, philanthropist, motivational speaker and entrepreneur, Mensa Otabil will be joining Bishop Mike Okonkwo, Rev Dr. Yinka Yusuf and Pastor Ituah Ighodalo in ministering at the 2nd annual Word & Power Conference of Trinity House. Starting from April 3 and running through April 7, the conference which has the theme ‘Set Time’ will hold at the church’s main auditorium, Zion Centre, situated on Trinity Avenue, through Water Corporation Road, off Ligali Ayorinde Street, Victoria Island, Lagos. The conference will hold from 5pm weekdays (Wednesday to Friday) and end with a celebration service at 9am on Sunday. Inaugurated in 2010 at the Civic Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos, Trinity House is a non-denominational, free flow Christian worship centre powered by leaders, professionals and leaders to be with the vision to build a people of change, influence and impact.

Ohinoyi of Ebira Loses Son

The Ohinoyi of Ebira, Alhaji Dr. Ado Ibrahim on Thursday lost one of his sons, Rahaman Ado Ibrahim. Rahaman, a Lagos based business man was said to have died of heart attack on Thursday in his residence in Lagos. He was buried on Friday after Juma’at prayer in Okene at Attah’s Palace. Meanwhile, the Kogi Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has sent a condoles message to Alhaji Ado Ibrahim over the demise of his son. In a press statement issued yesterday through his Chief Press Secretary, Muhammed Onogwu, the Governor noted that the unfortunate incident was a personal loss to him and his family given the long years of friendship he has maintained with the royal family. While offering his condolences to the bereaved family, the Governor who said as sad as the situation was, they should see it as an act ordained by God, and enjoined them continue to offer prayers for the almighty Allah to grant him paradise.

5 ) * 4 % ": t SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2019

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NEWS Adeleke Recovers Osun Mandate‌Adeleke Recovers Osun Mandate‌Adeleke Recovers Osun Mandate

Osun Government, PDP, APC, Resident Reacts As Osogbo is calm and peaceful Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

The Government of Osun State yesterday expressed appreciation over the teeming support of the majority of the people in all things essential for mutual progress despite the ruling of the Election Tribunal that pronounced Senator Ademola Adeleke as having won the governorship election.

Also Osun State Chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed delight at the victory of its governorship candidate in the 2018 governorship election, who was yesterday declared winner of the poll by the election tribunal sitting in Abuja.

The party’s Chairman, Soji Adagunodo in a chat with THISDAY in Osogbo, the state capital, said the victory was an act of God. Adagunodo enthused that he knew from the outset of the party’s struggle for the mandate that God Almighty would do justice and had done it.

He dedicated the victory to God Almighty and the people of the state.

“I thank God Almighty for the victory and we dedicate it to Him. It is a victory for the people of the state. It is a victory for all,� Adagunodo said. “ I commend the good people of Osun for their faith in the PDP and senator Adeleke.�

He also commended the Nigerian judiciary, saying that they did a good job by standing on the truth.

The PDP chairman also expressed confidence in the judiciary, saying: “The judgement shows that the people in the judiciary are high calibre of people of impeccable character.

They are the last hope of the common man and have proved themselves as such. I give kudos to the judiciary.

Adagunodo, however, said that the party was ready for appeal if the APC decided to appeal the case. “ It’s normal. If they decide to appeal the case, we are ready.

We are testing the Nigerian judiciary and we are testing the Nigerian democracy.

Meanwhile, All Progressives Congress (APC), said it had rejected the verdict and would

SWEET VICTORY ...

PDP supporters Jubilating in Ede over Election Tribunal victory by Isiaka Adeleke...yesterday

appeal the case.

The party’s Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy, Kunle Oyatomi said in a state-

Makinde, Oyo PDP Hail Victory Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan

Governor-elect of Oyo State, Mr. Seyi Makinde, yesterday lauded the declaration of Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the Osun governorship election by the Election Petition Tribunal, saying the Nigerian judiciary may end up being the beacon of democracy in the country in the foreseeable future.

Makinde in a release signed on his behalf by Mr. Dotun Oyelade, said the pronouncement of the tribunal over the Osun State gubernatorial election would reverberate through history because the judgment was not only a validation of an obvious plebiscite, but a resistance to jerk-knee democracy which

President Muhammadu Buhari is desperately spreading across the land.

He said Nigerians should brace up for more shocking judicial judgements that would redirect our truamatised nation along the path of free and fair elections which appear to be alien to contemporary Nigerian leaders.

Also, the Oyo State chapter of the PDP, yesterday, hailed the victory of Adeleke, saying its governor-elect, had always prayed that the election petition tribunal returned the stolen mandate of the party, and returned Adeleke as the elected governor.

The party in a release made available to journalists by the state Secretary, Alhaji Wasiu Adeleke, said, “this is an icing

WBC Praises Judiciary, Congratulates Adeleke Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo

The World Bishops Council (WBC) Africa has praised the judiciary in Nigeria for its courage in adjudicating with the fear of God the Osun State Governorship case handled by an election petition tribunal.

In a statement issued yesterday by the Council’s spokesman, Bishop Seun Adeoye on behalf of WBC’s Africa Nuncio, Bishop Godspower Akandu, it described the judgment as victory for the judiciary in Nigeria under the present dispensation.

The WBC stated that with the judgment there was now hope for the common man in the country, adding that democracy would now feel a sign of relief. “Nigeria democracy is almost on the verge of suffocation with what transpired during the last general elections in the country and till now the world is yet to

come to term with the heavily monetised and militarised polls. “It is now clear that judiciary can save the most populous black nation from imminent trouble.

It is the Council’s prayers that Nigeria will overcome this moment and enjoy political stability and economic buoyancy. “WBC congratulates the winner of the Osun Governorship election as announced by the Election Tribunal, Senator Ademola Adeleke and urged Mr. Gboyega Oyetola to take steps necessary as allowed by the law of the country to seek redress�.

The council called on Osun people to maintain peace to reign and not take the laws into their hands.

Besides, WBC urged all Nigerians to be peaceful particularly in the areas where supplementary elections would be held on Saturday, March 23rd.

on the cake of our recent victory in Oyo. Remember, Osun was carved out of the old Oyo state in 1991 and we have always shared a chequered history. Our dream of quick win of LAUTECH will become a success with our brother and lover of development, Senator Adeleke as governor.�

It also tasked the tribunal handling the fallout of the 2019 presidential election, instituted by its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to remain steadfast and take judiciary notice of the bold steps taken by their brother judges in Osun election petition, to serve as a deterrent to future election riggers and antidemocratic tendencies in our nation’s quest for free, fair, transparent and credible elections.

ment: “The Election Petition Tribunal verdict has declared Adeleke the winner of the 2018

There are jubilation in Ede town yesterday as people came out to appreciate the good work of the Tribunal panels.

Bode George, Babatope Say It’s Victory for Rule of Law Segun James

Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George has hailed the victory of the party in Osun Governorship Election Petition Tribunal as victory for the rule of law and a confirmation of the saying the judiciary was the last hope of the people.

An elated George said that the judgment had opened the way for a greater Nigeria, adding that justice had prevailed for the party and the people of Osun at last.

Chief George while reacting to the declaration of the party’s candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke as the winner of the September 2018 governorship election said the Tribunal Justices by their decision had written

HURIWA Praises Tribunal A non-Governmental organisation – Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has applauded the Osun state governorship election petition Tribunal for restoring faith in the judiciary as the last hope of the common man by returning the candidate of the opposition political party- Peoples Democratic Party Senator Ademola Adeleke as winner of the September 27th poll.

HURIWA stated that the current administration had carried out systematic attacks against the judiciary using all sorts of backhand tactics and illegally deploying the Department of state services (DSS); and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and lately the Code of Conduct Tribunal that illegally granted an ex parte order that unconstitutionally unseated the Chief justice of Nigeria Justice Walter Onnoghen all

governorship election in the state. The verdict cannot stand a superior legal scrutiny. Therefore we will appeal against it.�

in attempts to cow the judges and get them to always give choreographed verdicts in favour of the party in power at the center. The Rights group said the judgment by the Election Tribunal was reassuringly bold and is in compliance with rule of law.

HURIWA recalled that the Osun State Governorship Election Tribunal had earlier declared Ademola Adeleke of the PDP as the winner of the controversial state election just as the tribunal also declared the September 27 rerun election in the state illegal.

HURIWA recalled that the three-man panel of the Tribunal gave the judgment on Friday following the petition filed by the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Ademola Adeleka against the All Progressives Congress, APC and its candidate, Gboyega Oyetola.

their names in gold.

He added, “Nigeria that we thought people were despondent, people were angry but were quiet and I said this is like a graveyard silence. Don’t relent.

This has confirmed that prayer is much stronger than physical power. It is going to be well with this nation. “This result has opened the journey now to promised land.

You cannot do anything that is hidden. I thank God Almighty that truth has prevailed and those justices have shown that no matter how long truth will prevail and they have allowed the will of the people to prevail. “It’s a lesson to this country.

I remember the day they were messing up the election there I kept talking to the people of Osun. Justice has prevailed.�

Also reacting to the ruling, former minister and PDP chieftain in Osun State, Chief Ebenezer Babatope, said the victory was for the Nigerian people in general. “This is great victory for the Nigerian people. I am a proud Osun man, I am a proud Nigerian citizen. That they have declared Ademola Adeleke Governor is a great day for every Nigerian and those who believe in democracy. “On 13th of November 1983, Baba Awolowo made a prophesy that many of us may never know democracy again no matter how long we live. But at 76 years of age I am very happy that I will report to Baba Awolowo when I get to heaven that God has answered our prayers and Nigerians now see democracy. “

Okowa Congratulates Adeleke, Says Tribunal Victory Triumph of Democracy Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba

Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has congratulated Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on his declaration by the Osun State Governorship Elections Petitions Tribunal as winner of the 2018 Osun State Governorship Election.

The Delta State Governor also congratulated the people of Osun State for their resolve to doggedly uphold the tenets of democracy and respect for the rule of law in Nigeria. Okowa in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, on Friday evening in Asaba, described Adeleke’s victory at the tribunal as “triumph of democracy over anti-democratic forces�.

The governor commended the judiciary for once again coming to the rescue at such auspicious time in the nation’s democratic

development.

The people of Osun didn’t make any mistake in voting for the PDP because of the party’s legacy of infrastructure and human capital development, he observed.

While commending the judiciary for upholding the sanctity of the peoples mandate, he thanked the people for their support to the PDP and the victorious governor-elect, Senator Adeleke.

Okowa said, “On behalf of the government and people of Delta State, I congratulate our party the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and our candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke on our hard earned victory at the Elections tribunal today. Osun State, her friends and neighbours waited with baited breath for this favourable judgment. The Tribunal’s affirmation of your election is a fulfillment of the clearly expressed wish of the people of your dear state.�

Plus Ada Aronu

My Father Was a Very Rich Man But I Didn’t Grow Up as a Rich Kid

Elizabeth Osho

Growing up in England was Tough at First…I Looked Different, Spoke Differently, Acted Differently

FASHION FILE GLOBAL SOCCER FAIRGROUND SHOWBIZFLAIR

pg. 22 pg. 29 pg. 36 pg. 45

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PLUS

My Father Was a Very Rich Man But I Didn’t Grow Up as a Rich Kid Actress, Nollywood filmmaker and television host, Ada Aronu (Adaslim), is not your regular celebrity. The ebony complexioned actress does not “make noise” on the social media. She does her things quietly. Ada made her movie debut in her early 20s. Her early interest in acting was met with some form of resistance by her father but was later permitted on certain condition. Ada has since grown to become one of the best in the industry, both in acting and production. Many will always remember her for movies like Gallant Babes and Thanks for Coming 1 & 2. Ada who is married to a Swedish, shares the story of her life with Ferdinand Ekechukwu

Ada

T

he temperate atmosphere suits the setting at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos on this particular evening.

A flopped comedy show dubbed ‘Shakara and The Gang’ would soon commence. Seated just opposite was Ada Aronu. She appears effervescent with a fashion sense that exudes a cosmopolitan mien. Noteworthy is that she is not your regular celebrity. “You know there wasn’t much of myself out there,” she quickly tells you. “And that was why I wanted to be behind and

understand what I’m doing and do it as an adult and not as a child.”

As a budding actress and movie producer, she made her first movie in her early 20s but feels after then, she was distracted. Or may be wasn’t focused. “I wasn’t really focused or I had distractions, either way you want to put it. I came for acting and I was considered too young; so can only play as someone‘s daughter and I had to go back to school.

I came after my WAEC and I had to go back for university education; after that, I produced. That was when I did my first movie. And then I was off again and now

back fully in front of camera.

“For me, at that point, it was distractions but right now being older at 34, I realised I wasn’t focused,” she said smiling. Her early interest in acting was first met with some form of resistance but was later permitted on certain condition by her father. That one condition was to see her work with a mentor, an acting legend Pete Edochie, who is like a father figure to her. With Edochie, Ada worked as his personal assistant while understudying the craft. Somehow, she has been on and off the scene and hadn’t had two years consistency in the industry.

At the moment, she says this is the longest stretch she has had in Nigerian showbiz straight on since last two years.

This is her third year. Since her comeback in 2017, she has made two movies. The last movie Ada made was “Ignition” (not released yet). She shot it end of last year just before her wedding. Also, she produced and starred in “Temple’s Mansion and Ignition.” Ada decided to come back as a producer to do her own thing; explore and understand the business more.

Just musing some weeks back on her new status, she had written on her Instagram page thus: “I officially welcome you to 2019! Year of fulfillment for us all. I thank God for the gift of life and health in 2018, my best year so far. . . 2018 I got married in full to the most perfect man on earth! Wow that’s a great achievement”. It is not unusual to have such profound post written especially when you feel fulfilled.

For Ada Aronu who now goes by the name Ada Karl, marriage was truly an achievement for her and a lifelong dream accomplished in a sense. “What I wrote on my page about marriage was an achievement for me because I made it very clear that what you call an achievement is what you are praying for.

You can’t have a prayer point and God answers your prayer and then it’s not an achievement. So why was it a prayer point? Marriage was a prayer point for me and God answered it. And then that was an achievement for me.”

Married to a Swedish, Karl Fredrik Skargard, (Karl SK), interestingly, Ada had always wanted to marry a white man. “And basically I keep saying ‘I will marry a white guy, I will marry a white guy’… I always say I wanted to marry a white guy and that I was bent on. And I’m not going to say I didn’t have good proposals from Nigerians….cool guys, medical doctors, lawyers (not people I dated) but basically family friends that we all grew up. So when I took home a white guy, it wasn’t a big surprise’. And he was very relaxed, he was ready to go to my village in Anambra State, he did everything.”

Ada shares some more fascinating tale about herself. “As a US citizen, because I grew up here, I didn’t have job licenses and much job opportunities. Usually, I will go for holidays, come back and spend time with family. As I’m getting older, I realised I need to make more money and as a US citizen (…born in the States) why can’t I go to America and work, make some more money while I’m studying before coming back to Nigeria? Why should I just stay three months…six months in America and playing around? So, I studied for my Real Estate license in the US which took me two years. I was studying for my masters. But I didn’t set out to study for masters really.”

Ironically, she had spent five years studying in US and back home to Nigeria before meeting her man in New York.

“He is from Sweden, Caucasian was the name they gave my husband online and some people think he is from American because we met in New York. No, he is Swedish. That’s the funny thing. I was having that conversation with somebody few days ago. But you know, when we say five years it’s not like I stayed five years in the States and hadn’t come back,” she said, professing her love for the country in a light manner “I love Naija. Every Christmas I was back. But I was saying it that how come I have been back and forth with the States

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PLUS Life After Marriage is a Dierent Thing, You Have to Be More Cautious all my life and from when I got to marriage age or had my eyes or ready to be married, how come nothing happened?

And just when I went back for three months, to just go chill and then I met my husband how come? It’s funny! To be honest, at the point I met my husband, I wasn’t thinking much about marriage.

That’s when I signed up for my doctorate. I’m like ‘okay sebi na book I don’t need it but make we dey read na no be America I’m not paying international students fee.’ I was hiking my mood to be back to the academic mood. So I was even a little bit off social media.�

Since her marriage, Ada has been having a different feel she describes as nice.

She acknowledges life after marriage is a different thing. “You know how we are in showbiz. You just cuddled up everybody, play with everybody, and feel free. Being married, you have to be more cautious.�

The Nollywood actress opens up about her husband and where she lives at present. “I live in both places. I just came back from Sweden last month. He was on a business trip when I came to Nigeria. Sometimes, we come to Nigeria together. He loves Nigeria if you want to know more about him. He loves our food, eats pepper soup, everything our traditional food.�≠≠≠The fifth child out of seven, growing up in Enugu under a strict parent denied her childhood fond memories. With a tinge of excitement lighting up her face as she explains. “No fond memories o. I can’t remember any fond memory because my dad was very difficult. He’s a very typical Nigerian dad, very strict. My father was not so educated. In fact he wasn’t a graduate.

My mum was educated; well-studied in America, teacher, banker and all of that. “You know typical Igbo man that has money but did not go to school and went to marry a woman that went to school.

And because he wasn’t so educated, he believed so much in education and was very obsessed with education. So growing up, I remember him investing more and putting more effort and being more difficult with us on anything academic.

Growing up wasn’t really fun like having so much pleasure, no. My father was very rich, he had a lot of money but I never grew up as a rich kid. Maybe it’s an Igbo man’s thing.�

Some of her movies like Irreplaceable and Secret Pain have been aired on South Africa’s pay television platform Africa Magic and other television stations within and outside the country. Earlier in her career, in a quest to develop and encourage fresh talents, who didn’t have the privilege to fulfill their dreams, Adaslim created a talent hunt programme titled “Adaslim Talent Bank� which sought to promote many young talented artistes by providing platforms and exposure for them to explore their potentials and reach for their dreams.

The effort produced one of the most successful and sought-after actress in Nollywood, Tonto Dikeh, as she was cast for a huge supporting role being the debut of her movie career, Secret Pain 1&2 which was followed

by Irreplaceable 1&2 and others, all from the stable of Adaslim Productions Ltd. Adaslim achieved a great media footprint early in her career; and once received accolades as the Most Creative Young Producer in Africa.

She studied Broadcasting at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Real Estate at New York Real Estate Institute (NYREI) Manhattan, New York and Communication Arts at the New York University. In a bid to adapt with the ever-changing global trends and boost her insight and competence in TV presenting, Ada Slim received an international training in TV presenting at the Los Angeles Film School, California, USA, before launching the flagship TV programme – Celebrities with Adaslim in 2010.

Ada and hubby Skargard

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PLUS

Elizabeth Osho Growing up in England was Tough at First‌I Looked Dierent, Spoke Dierently, Acted Dierently Elizabeth Osho is Head Strategist/ founder of So.Me Solutions, a Lagos-based communications ďŹ rm. Elizabeth’s biggest asset is her ability to quickly establish rapport with people from diverse backgrounds for long lasting relationships. The founder of So.Me Solutions and her team have helped numerous brands across dierent industries to portray their unique stories in a way that positively inuences the opinions and behaviours of their target market.

Elizabeth, fondly called Liz, was on the list of top 100 most inspiring women in Nigeria in 2017. Liz talks to Azuka Ogujiuba about her formative years in England, factors that shaped her life and lots more

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PLUS I’ve used the privilege to build, achieve, and forge my own success in life

I

was relocated to England at age 8 I was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and relocated together with my father and siblings to England at the age of eight. I was in England for over 20 years and completed primary education at Hanford School for Girls in Dorset, England, and went on to another all-girls school – Sherborne School for Girls where I completed secondary education. I went to the University of Birmingham where I studied Classical Civilisation and Literature. I started my career as a recruiter; I worked at a company called Monarch Recruitment in Birmingham for a career that would stretch eight years in recruitment.

My passion was never far away though, as in between, and on the sides, I was engaged as a television presenter, where I interviewed various Nigerian celebrities who visited England. I went to host “The Magazine Show� for Ben Television – UK for over three years.

I relocated to Nigerian in 2012 where I joined Genevieve Magazine as their Online Manager. I helped to build and shape their digital platforms, and held the position for four years. In 2016, I set up So.Me Solutions.

Growing up in England was tough at ďŹ rst Growing up in England was tough at first. You know everything was different.

I was the only black girl in my primary school. I looked different, spoke differently and acted differently. It was a feat acclimatising, but I eventually got there.

It took some time. I remember on my first day at school, I had short hair. My step-mother having taken the decision to cut off my hair saying I wouldn’t be able to look after my afro hair during the harsh winters. I remember vividly one of the students asking if I was the kitchen boy. There they were, with long locks, and I just didn’t fit in. I spent eight years at both primary and secondary school in Dorset (about a three hours’ drive from London) I do not remember life ever being a struggle I was privileged, yes. I do not remember life ever being a struggle at the early stages of my life. Prior to the relocation to England, we had visited often; most summers were spent in England where a range of activities and summer schools were planned for us prior to arrival.

I was indeed privileged to attend the schools that I did. I played a big part in the school’s public speaking team, I did theatre. I learnt to play the piano, play the guitar and oboe. I was big in sports, I went horse riding, was on the athletics team, played netball hockey, and played Lacrosse at County level for my school.

But it’s not like everything was handed to me on a plate as an adult. I’ve used the privilege to my advantage in later years and I’ve worked extremely hard to build, achieve and forge my own path/ success in life. Absolutely, none of what I’ve been able to build (career wise) was handed to me. I worked hard for it all!

The opportunities I had in the past molded me I believe in destinies, and that my path was already ordained. The opportunities I had in the past moulded me and allowed me to forge the path that I am now on. My life experiences are my principles and goals in life, without my background, my existence is baseless.

I have experienced so much joy in my lifetime: new life, high moments, unique achievements, once-in-a-lifetime senarios, grand opportunities in business, giving back, spreading love and joy in my own unique way.

On the flip side, I have experienced pain and heartbreak, loss of friends and families, being misunderstood, estrangement and things not working out like

ElizaÂşbeth

I thought they would. My lists are not exhaustive, and I haven’t gone into details about each particular experience, but these are all part of my background and like everyone else, they have helped to mold me and shaped my life. My goal is to continue to strive to live my best life!

My mother is an enigma, with a larger than life personality My Father, Chief Simeone Olatunji Awoliyi was a property developer, a writer, with a way with words. During his life time, he would always tell us that he had read the bible twice, from the front page to the back - word for word.

My mother Anthonia Omolola Odulana is an enigma, with a larger than life personality. She is my best friend and my biggest cheer leader. She attended University in England for law, but didn’t quite finish, having met my father and got pregnant with me. I’m proud of her because she has been studying to complete the said degree in recent years.

She is very smart and extremely good with numbers and business! The best gift I remember receiving as a child was a BMX bike. It was for my 10th birthday! I wanted it so badly!

My grandmother – Dr. Elizabeth Yewande Abimbola Awoliyi was the first female Doctor in West Africa, specialising in Gynaecology. She received an O.B.E from the Queen of England at the time.

I was named after her, as I am also Elizabeth Yewande Abimbola Osho (nee Awoliyi).

The permanence of death is heart and gut-wrenching

I would say the most difficult thing that has ever happened to me is dealing with death. I was fortunate enough not to have lost those closest to me till recently in life. The permanence of death, knowing you will never see the person again in this lifetime is heart and gut-wrenching.

I’ve been able to understand it because of Faith. I rest assured that I will meet my loved ones in the after life.

Every point where I’ve made my parents proud remains incredible Every point where I’ve made my parents, especially my mother proud has been an incredible high point. Graduating from university and being able to finally fend for myself for the most part; getting my first television show. My mum isn’t too soppy, so she would never explicitly say, but I just knew that she was very proud. I knew she was proud because she was always and still is ever so supportive.

There was a time even my mum began to be recognised on the streets of London as I would share pictures of us so much online. My wedding day was a proud moment, and I savoured it up, nothing was going to steal my joy! Setting up So.Me was a proud moment. The CNN feature was also a very proud moment.

I have very big dreams and I want to really live I know its clique, but my biggest fear in life is failure. I have very big dreams, and I want to really live. I want to die empty because I’ve explored my talents and knocked many things off my bucket list. I believe I experienced all the sides

of life, the good, the bad, and the ugly a lot earlier than many of my peers. This allowed me to be absolutely resolute on the things I want for myself, and I stand affirmed and unshaken with my goals in life. My biggest fears are to be held back from achieving them.

So proud of So.Me Solutions I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve been able to build with So.Me. We are a communications agency trusted by brands to influence opinions and behaviour.

Our strong relationship with the media ensures we are able to communicate effectively in building, maintaining and managing the reputation of our clients. I still want to continue with my passion, which is TV presenting, interviewing and discussing varying topics. I also pray and desire to grow with my husband to old age and to bring up healthy, awesome and achieving children by the grace of God. My life lessons Life lessons!!! The biggest one is that people may not remember what you said, but they will always remember how you make them feel. Maya Angelou was spot on when she said this. Not all experiences will be positive, but strive not to make people feel belittled, and unworthy of anything. Another big life lesson of mine is that your talents will always make a way for you. You don’t have to force anything, continue in your path and just be focused: the universe and God Almighty will always make a way for you.

22

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÍťËœ ͺ͸͚Î

Fashion File

Iyaniwura Collection by Ru n Tumble

23

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÍťËœ ͺ͸͚Î

FASHION FILE

ĂŁĂ‹Ă˜Ă“ĂĄĂ&#x;ĂœĂ‹ ÙÖÖĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂŒĂŁ Ă&#x;ĘĽ Ă˜ Ă&#x;Ă—ĂŒĂ–Ă?

uff n Tumble a premium lifestyle brand with stores across the country has hailed mothers for their sacrifices especially in the face of the challenging economy.

Founder, Mrs. Adenike Ogunlesi believes that mothers should be celebrated more than they are currently being celebrated. As such, Ruff n Tumble has introduced its Iyaniwura collection particularly to celebrate mothers this month of March.

The Iyaniwura collection from Ruff n Tumble celebrates the role of a mother as a protector, a home maker, in many ways a provider, care-giver, a lover, a leader, a supporter, an inspiration, a challenger, a role model, and a whole lot more.

Indeed everything in the world revolves around a mother.

Interestingly there is a famous “My Mother� Nursery rhyme

by Ann Taylor aptly captures the major essence of mothers and motherhood and just like the Iyaniwura collection from Ruff n Tumble reflects the tenacity, strength, purposefulness, and courage of a mother.

The Iyaniwura collection celebrates mothers across her outlets with the exquisitely finished Iyaniwura collection for Mom and Daughters, Mom and Sons, and all the family.

Ruff n Tumble supports that beyond Mother’s day which will be celebrated 31st March, 2019, mothers should be celebrated daily because their presence and influence is felt everyday and every minute.

24

˜ ˞ MARCH 23, 2019

PERSPECTIVE

Boko Haram Terrorism in Context Timothy Antigha

I

n the last couple of years, there have been so many commentaries about Boko Haram terrorism and insurgency in the Lake Chad basin. A lot of these efforts have focused on the causality of the conflict on the one hand and the response of the military on the other.

However, proportionate attention has not been given to the context of Boko Haram terrorism and insurgency.

In other words, a framework within which analysis of Boko Haram insurgency and the resultant counterinsurgency could be organised has not fully emerged.

As a result, most conversations arising from the subject matter clearly miss the point, misinform the public, reassure terrorists and expose troops to avoidable danger. This scenario suggests that analysis of Boko Haram insurgency and counterinsurgency efforts are being done outside the context of 21st Century warfare.

Therefore, in seeking to put forward a plausible framework for understanding the issues surrounding Boko Haram insurgency and indeed counterinsurgency architecture of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, it is relevant to understand first the ecology of the conflict playing out in the North East.

New War

Following the end of the Cold War, the dynamics of conflicts changed fundamentally. Warfare, which for hundreds of years was the preserve of nation-States, witnessed the active participation of non-State actors and sub–national entities. In other words, the complexion of warfare changed, necessitating the coinage of the controversial term “New War� by British academic, Mary Kaldor.

According to Kaldor “new wars have a logic that is different from the logic of the ‘old wars’ – the idea of war that predominated in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries�.

For instance, Old wars were fought by regular armed forces of states. New wars are fought by varying combinations of networks of State and non-State actors – regular armed forces, private security contractors, mercenaries, jihadists, warlords, paramilitaries, etc.

Secondly, Old wars were fought for geopolitical interests or for ideology (democracy or socialism). New wars are fought in the name of identity (ethnic, religious or tribal).

Kaldor observes that identity politics has a different logic from geo-politics or ideology. Kaldor suggests that the aim is to gain access to State authority for particular groups (that may be both local and transnational), rather than to carry out particular policies or programmes in the broader public interest. Viewed from this perspective therefore, the Boko Haram phenomenon is still a strange experience in our frame of reference; some of its ramifications are just emerging.

Fourth Generation Warfare

Also relevant to this discourse is the fact that we are now experiencing Fourth Generation Warfare. This is exemplified by a period in the continuing evolution of war when nationStates lose their monopoly on war. It is typified by a situation whereby State militaries have found themselves fighting sub–national or non–State opponents like the Al Qaeda, Islamic State, Al Shabab, the Taliban and Boko Haram, among others.

This period is characterised by ambitious and audacious attacks like 9/11, attack at Police Headquarters and the UN building in Abuja.

Fourth Generation war is also marked by a return to a world of identity and culture; a phenomenon which Samuel Huntington dealt with extensively in his book “The Clash

of Civilizations�. Fourth Generation is also epitomised by contrived migration intended to tilt demography within populations for future political advantage.

Furthermore, as militaries around the world ponder the appropriate response to these issues, they also have to contend with the reality that the enemy in the Fourth Generation battle space is not a signatory to the Geneva Convention on the Laws of Armed Conflict. Yet, the military who must fight him must abide by the norms of the convention. It is also important to note that in the Fourth Generation, victory does not necessarily lie in manoeuver and firepower or organisation and establishment, but in the strategic, mental and moral domains where strange and unexpected umpires include Non-Governmental Organisations and Civil Society Groups.

Perhaps, of the greatest concern to military commanders is the reality that in the Fourth Generation warfare, there is no strict frontline or rear area. Everywhere is a battle front and in the midst of civilians. Consequently, the asymmetry of methodologies promotes decentralisation, initiative, lone wolf syndrome, and leaderless rebellion, thereby slanting the balance in favour of non-State actors. The aftermath is that conflicts have become increasingly complex and extremely difficult for militaries to deal with, comparative to Third Generation warfare, when wars were basically between opposing national militaries and in a conventional setting.

The Role of NGOs / CSOs Like all other conflicts, the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East has generated its fair share of Complex Emergencies. It has also attracted a gathering of assorted International and local Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in a bid to find solutions to the resultant humanitarian crises. In my view, they have done well across the spectrum of their responsibilities. However, the proliferation of NGOs in the last couple of years and their pervasive influence have ensured their movement from the backstage to center stage in national and world politics respectively.

Consequently, they have been exerting their power and influence in every aspect of national and international politics and policymaking. Naturally, abuses of power, influence and trust have accompanied the growth of NGOs. The use of NGOs by terrorists as cover for terror financing and other sordid engagements, as well as the experience of OXFAM in Haiti are cases in point.

In the North East the issues with NGOs and CSOs have been the under–reporting of atrocities committed by terrorists and the targeting and misrepresentation of the military.

The mostly one sided reports by Amnesty International in particular and other fringe interest groups alleging wrong doing by the Nigeria Army in the conduct of Counterinsurgency Operations are usually based on accounts of people who are themselves terrorists or accomplices of terrorism.

Also, the expectation that civilian casualties are completely avoidable in the North East is totally wrong considering the peculiarities of Fourth Generation warfare which I explained earlier.

Furthermore, the tendency to evaluate Fourth Generation military operations with the parameters developed for Third Generation warfare can only lead to conclusions which are not in sync with reality. This misunderstanding and failure to appreciate the complexity of the new war have characterised relations between the military and the NGO community in the North East and have not only denied the military credit for successes achieved so far, it has eroded the

confidence of service personnel, questioned their believe in the cause and threatened the cohesion and combat efficiency of troops.

Inaccurate and prejudiced reports by NGOs have also diminished the reputation of the military in the perception of the public. In all of these instances, Boko Haram benefits.

An urgent need exists therefore for a new paradigm for assessing military operations in the Fourth Generation.

Boko Haram Terrorism/ Insurgency There is no gain saying that Boko Haram has leveraged and benefitted immensely from all the nuances and subterranean tactics available in the Fourth Generation. In fact, Boko Haram has made a vital contribution to the tactics of Fourth Generation war via its introduction of mass abduction of school children, exemplified by the Chibok and Dapchi incidents. It would be recalled that the Ambazonia insurgents in Cameroon emulated the same tactics in 2018.

Perhaps, the critical advantage that Boko Haram has is the intricate support system that it has managed to develop within the population, using the instruments of religion and identity. As a result of these two factors, Boko Haram has had a very successful campaign of deploying Person Borne Improvised Explosive Devices (Suicide Bombing), considering that such terror tactics is relatively new in our environment. Boko Haram has also leveraged the expertise of Islamic State in all phases of its terror campaign in the Lake Chad Basin.

The North East Operations The issues discussed above shape and define the new conflict ecosystem. Nevertheless, the Nigerian Armed Forces have responded professionally to these realities. It would be recalled that at the inception of the current administration in 2015, the President directed the immediate relocation of the Military Command Centre to Maiduguri for more effective coordination of military operations. On his part, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai has initiated a series of concrete measures which have repositioned the Nigerian Army to better deal with the challenges of Fourth Generation Warfare. These measures include the surge operation; exemplified by the establishment of new formations and induction of units in the North East.

The Chief of Army Staff also introduced mobile brigade concept to enable the Nigerian Army deal with the ubiquity of Boko Haram terrorists. Other enduring measures include establishment of logistics bases, Human Rights desk to deal with issues abuses, introduction of new platforms and improved troops welfare. The results from the field have been encouraging. The inability of Boko Haram to disrupt the 2019 elections and the leadership crisis in Boko Haram are vivid success indicators.

Like the military have adopted new operational procedures and tactics to deal with threats in the new conflict ecosystem, it behooves Human Rights groups, Civil Society Organisations and other bodies who exercise oversight functions on the conduct of military operations to recognise that warfare is now in its Fourth Generation. Therefore there is the need to update the relevant statutes. Furthermore, the dynamics and tactics are completely different from what obtained in the Third Generation, therefore, a new template for scrutinising and evaluating military operations should be developed. –––Antigha, a Colonel, is Chief of Military Public Information of Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNNJT), N’Djamena, Chad

Osisioma Foundation: Giant Strides within Few Years Ikenna Nwandu

P

rince Osisioma Foundation, a project established by Prince Dr. Onyeka Eze a few years ago has made a great impact on the communities in Dunukofia Local Government Area in particular and Anambra State generally.

The Foundation has awarded scholarships to over 1000 students in various tertiary institutions, conducted medical outreach, renovated prisons and embarked on various youth empowerment/ skills acquisition programmes. These far reaching projects which have significant positive impact on the people and environment are the humble contribution of a young man to his community.

It is not how long one lives but how well. Government has many projects to handle and therefore cannot meet the needs of every member of the society. It is the activities of philanthropists like Prince Dr. Onyeka Eze that make life meaningful and leave indelible footprints on the sands of time.

The recent interest of the Foundation in Information Technology (IT) Development is very revolutionary. Ac-

cording to Prince Eze, “a nation with high IT literacy rate, not only harbours citizens that contribute to economic development but also those who understand their rights and can hold government accountable and be out of poverty in no time�.

Hence the Foundation has embarked on the distribution of laptops among hundreds of youths in many higher Institutions of learning within Nigeria.

Born to the Eze Royal family in Ukpo, Dunukofia local Government Area of Anambra State. Prince Eze studied Philosophy at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka and worked for a few years at Oranto Petroleum limited before setting up his private establishments.

His substantial contributions to human and societal development have earned him numerous awards from many organizations in Nigeria and abroad.

One deeply appreciate the worthy contributions of Osisioma Foundation to development of Anambra State and beyond and wish his founder Prince Dr. Eze many more years of success in uplifting Humanity and recommend same to other successful business men in Igbo land.

Ikenna Nwandu wrote in from Enugu

Eze

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 23, 2019

25

POLITY Femi Odugbemi

MTF Portal Connects Creatives Across Africa The MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF) portal, the digital hub conceived as the premier destination for connecting Africa’s creative industries, is now live after its inauguration in Lagos on Tuesday. Prior to the inauguration of www.multichoicetalentfactory.com, Femi Odugbemi, MTF Academy Director spoke to select journalists, including Tolulope Ibukunoluwa about the imperatives of the portal

W

hat is MTF portal all about?

The MultiChoice Talent Factory Portal is the third touch point of MultiChoice Talent Factory. The MTF portal is a professional networking hub. The portal is what you would call the creative market place, a social professional portal. Basically think of the portal like LinkedIn meets Facebook. Every film maker, camera man, every story teller, film critic, everyone who is an audience member, interested in African cinema, can open a profile. The portal is a place of industry information.

MTF is rebranding and redefining Nollywood. We want filmmakers that are educated, informed, and clearly understand the power of cinema and this generation are hopefully the ones that take it to the next level. The launch of the portal today, is simply the natural evolution of that vision, because if this next generation is going to be as powerful, as connected to audiences, and as global as we need them to be, they need a vehicle, and that vehicle is technology.

LinkedIn made people powerful by opening doors for people to work on projects in Turkey, India, and South Africa etc. So now we are saying LinkedIn is a global platform, the MTF portal is a platform for creatives across Africa that connects them in 49 countries. They can make connections and I always say to people the difference between Dangote and I, is the phone numbers on his smart phone, because contacts are far more powerful than a bank account. The capacity for them to create projects, to lift projects off the ground, to connect with each other and Odugbemi immediately, provide several markets for a project that they are building lies in this portal. I have said it before, the difference between the man who is succeeding and the man, who is not, is amount of information available.

So the portal is also going to be a place of information.

What are the features of the portal and what opportunity does the MTF portal create?

The account is free. Once you open a profile you have an account. There will be a bill board, a space for us to constantly let you know what is going on from different parts of the continent. MTF has a presence in 49 countries in Africa.

There is a board in which jobs can be placed. The power of the portal is the power of collaboration. You would be able to register on the portal on the basis of your primary skills. The platform is user friendly. You can find skills for a project in different parts of Africa. It allows us to have an industry that is driven on data.

We are breaking down the walls. We are removing fiefdom so there are no godfathers, there are no, superior internationally renowned film makers. The portal takes away the middle man. The portal means you can find information about grants, you can find information about new opportunities. There will be opportunity because the billboard will have announcements of work that are both from MultiChoice and not from MultiChoice, which is in my opinion the biggest opportunity. Any film maker can connect with another. There’s indirect messaging, you will be able to chat with other people who are registered on the profile but you do not need to register to read and take advantage of the information. Your data is encrypted and safe and you can deactivate if you wish, there is no compulsion but I think it is a win, win for anyone who is interested in how technology is powering or empowering the industry.

How do old filmmakers, the ones who are not open to computer or new technology benefit from this?

When I hear that, I think of my mum. My mum is 80 years old. She does not speak any English. My most deep conversations with her are on WhatsApp. She created a WhatsApp group for all her children and she types in Yoruba language. Technology has nothing to do with language. It has everything to do with value. For those who are afraid of technology, technology is less about power than it is about

industry?

This is because it is a huge investment.

The complexity of creating this kind of platform, with a technological backbone that would be trustworthy, sustainable, that would not break down, takes years.

The truth is, it also takes a certain amount of investment that I don’t think isn’t ‘chicken change’. I think that investment is a critical thing for which MultiChoice should be saluted, why? Because they are investing in something that advances the value of their own service and with this value, more work that is, more quality work would be done. Who are the people harvesting the audiences watching this?

So, in a way, it’s a shared value and I think it’s about time anyway. So, for me, I am not so worried about how long it has been.

The important thing is better late than never.

economics. Your capacity to function will diminish as the years go by. It is as simple as that. All my friends that did not embrace the latest technology at some point, found out that both the need for their services, and the equipment that they use, and the body of knowledge that they have is obsolete.

I don’t think that technology caters to people who are reluctant. People, who live in this age, must understand that everything they desire lies in what technology is doing. That question is critical, it’s for everyone. Everything you need, to actually function in what you claim to be, is being revolutionized by technology. So, if you are carrying a phone, you certainly can join even if all you can do is make a phone call, you certainly can join.

Is the portal an open source, and if it is, is there any mechanism in place to verify information posted?

It is an open source and yes, information would be verified because there is an active backend. So, when you post an opportunity on the billboard, there will be a delay, you will get a call and there will be an interrogation. If there is a link there, we will be going to the link, and remember this things can be confirmed easily.

For example, if you are running a programme in Lagos, there is a MultiChoice office in Lagos someone can easily find who this is. Why? It’s important that the platforms integrity is safe guarded. A lot of young film makers across Africa are desperate for any and every opportunity, and it is important that, whatever you ultimately post there is true, fair and accessible.

What does MultiChoice stand to gain with the launch of this portal?

MultiChoice benefits already. In real time, every time an industry innovates, it widens the playing field for that industry and when the playing field is wider, the consumer base grows. If the consumer base grows, you that created it are the first beneficiary. For me, whoever innovates or starts something does a lot for themselves, as much as they do for the whole industry.

Why wasn’t the portal launched years before now, seeing how relevant it is to the present film making

Is the MTF portal going to provide the opportunity for Africans to collaborate?

I have been in this industry long enough to understand the powerlessness of competitive African film makers and creatives competing against each other instead of collaborating with each other.

The first thing it does is that, it reduces the value of work itself. It means that we are projecting the creator of the work over the work itself whereas if you put the consumer, the audience, the viewer as your focus, you find that the only thing he/she wants to buy is not your celebrity, it is the work and if you make a good film if you collaborate, it means there are many more voices that must speak for that work. But you know we come from a space where some of us in all honesty, are focused on escaping poverty.

We equate someone else’s rising with our diminishing whereas the sky is so big that we can all rise, create, and offer the audience value. This is because the audience is actually ravenous. You will be stunned how many film my wife watches on a weekend. So when she says she is an expert, what is expertise? It is how much knowledge you have consumed.

This platform becomes a place where collaboration, offers itself, as a prime alternative to our individual success, and I hope that does something for Africa. It would project us as a people who are, able to create our own economy and who are able to see and recognize our own opportunities. I find that, the first time Nollywood began to gain respect was not because of its stories, but because of the enlarging numbers of its audiences. Economics is always a compelling argument and what this platform would do, is create so many economic opportunities that are not driven by a third force.

Today Nigeria doesn’t have any co-production treaty that I am aware of. South Africa has eleven. I am talking about country to country. It has to be an act of parliament you know that. I think a lot has been done on our side to try and push it through but you know how our political system is, we make the most simple, as difficult and laborious as possible, but we would get to the other side eventually. The issue here is, film maker to filmmaker collaboration, does not need an act of parliament. So if you and I decide that I am in Rwanda, and you are in Nigeria, and you know what, we are really liking the same story, all you need is a visa and a ticket.

Have you considered making the portal into an app?

We will make it into an app but for now we want to make sure that the experience is seamless. That is very important, because if you make an app straight away you also risk a lot of things. An app is a convenience for the consumer which we will get to, but you can register via your phone. It’s not a problem but the critical thing is to ensure that in this beginning everything we promised is delivered as a seamless experience. Once that is done and everybody is used to how it works, you will find that migrating it into something that you can keep, or even making it almost default on some type of phones, would be easy.

26

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 23, 2019

GOVERNORSHIPRERUN... GOVERNORSHIPRERUN...

Benue State

Kano State

Vs

Vs Samuel Ortom (PDP)

Umar Gadunje (APC)

Emmanuel Jime (APC)

Last Electoral Scores PDP - 420,576

APC - 329,022

Abba Yussuf (PDP)

Last Electoral Scores APC - 987,819

PDP -1,014,474

Sokoto State

Plateau State

Vs Jeremiah Useni (PDP)

Last Electoral Scores PDP - 538,326

Vs

APC -

Ahmed Sokoto (APC)

Aminu Tambuwal (PDP)

Simon Lalong (APC)

583,255

Last Electoral Scores PDP - 489,558

APC - 486,090

Relationship Pattern and Spread of HIV/AIDS (III) Mark Nebo

I

had previously dealt with the above topic in the family setting in my article published in THISDAY Saturday 27th January, 2018 and within the workplace environment in the second article published in THISDAY of Saturday 20th October, 2018. In this third article in the series, I intend to dwell upon the pertinent issue of Living a Healthy Lifestyle and the spread of HIV. As we know very well, in the world today, movement of people from one region to another has escalated considerably owing to various unforeseen reasons. Economic pursuit had in the past been the major objective that obliges people to travel for a brief or elongated sojourn in an area outside their place of origin. In recent time, incessant ethnic and religious conflicts, as well as natural disasters of various kinds and magnitude are other untoward reasons which compel citizens to relocate to other regions to escape impending threat to their life.

Unfortunately, these people that have been forced to relocate to safety were evidently not in any way prepared for the realities that had become inevitable. Consequently, they carry along their bag and baggage containing their good, bad and ugly as they hastily move to their new location.

Whatever reason that has provoked their departure and arrival to the new destination is not the subject matter of this article, but my resolve to hint on the factual health issues inherent in such relocations as diseases and epidemics.

Every region has one prevalent ailment or another owing to factors of its environmental condition and lifestyle. This is a feature of human existence which readily brings to mind the question of HIV/AIDS and other prevalent sexually transmitted diseases.

In advanced countries, immigration officials follow laid down procedures strictly and ensure that their visitor has undergone the obligatory vaccination and other relevant health check requirements prior to entry into their country. In the case of refugees, they are first quartered in a secluded camp for a period of time necessary to fully carry out indispensable medical checks before they are allowed to go into the country and freely inhabit amongst the community.

In our country Nigeria, being an ECOWAS member state, the stipulated health controls are not fully enforced at entry points for nationals of member states. For non ECOWAS foreign nationals arriving at our shores, the emphasis as we all know is unfortunately not on their health status and specified check-ups but on

Adewole, the Health Minister

settlement. Sadly, this regrettable practice which has persisted exposes us to avoidable hazards. The case of the Ebola patient who freely entered still remains fresh on our mind.

The above being the plain truth, we hereby implore our people to embrace healthy lifestyle as it helps to avoid contracting HIV virus and other preventable sexually transmitted infections. Living a Healthy Lifestyle primarily implies having and maintaining one sexual partner at a time. It is as well important to go for periodic free HIV Counseling and Testing going on at government healthcare centres spread across the country. For those that are already infected with the syndrome, it is very important that they adhere to their drug regimen. Adherence simply means taking the prescribed drug at the right time and constantly.

Proper feeding habit is another form of healthy lifestyle recommended for HIV Positive living persons to keep their body organs in the right state. They are also advised by experts in the subject to avoid or reduce alcohol intake to the barest minimum. For better response to their drugs, it is also necessary they avoid undue stress and fatigue.

One painful truth which we can no longer continue to feign oblivious of or out rightly ignore is the rising number of lesbians and homosexuals in our society in recent time. Also for this bunch of ill-fated humans, maintaining a single partner is absolutely necessary to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS. Those of them, who for any reason have to engage in the illicit practice as a means of livelihood must, besides applying every prescribed protective measure, make extra effort to ascertain the HIV status of their partner for their own good and that of the society in general.

Worthy of commendation is the unrelenting efforts of the public and private sector healthcare establishments in the area of civic enlightenment on the pandemic. Their various enlightenment campaign efforts are yielding positive results in terms of reducing noticeably the earlier speculative belief that HIV infection is a spiritual affliction on the infected individual. Furthermore, their informed contribution has as well aided to limit the magnitude of various unsubstantiated viewpoints that had made ordinary people shy away from free HIV counseling and testing in the past.

However, there still exist some self-acclaimed expert traditional medical practitioners and iniquitous sugar-tounge miracle and wonders church pastors who till date claim to have permanent cure for HIV/AIDS. This they promise their naïve congregation and rural dwellers at exorbitant costs only to send them to the healthcare centres or even abandon them after they have thoroughly milked them.

We do hope that soon our government will make such despicable deceits a legally punishable offense. The same way we are hoping that our government will rightly emulate the US and some European countries and promulgate a decree which stipulates severe punishment for any positive person who maliciously engages in intimate practices that can cause a HIV negative person to contract the virus. We consider it vital at this juncture to reveal to the public that discrimination and stigmatisation of infected persons are offenses in Nigerian law.

While we pray that the various research efforts going on globally will sooner or later yield a drug which shall cure HIV syndrome, let us all continue to encourage those that have by circumstances of life become HIV Positive with our care and support. We should see the infection from the conventional perspective knowing that there are more deadly infections than HIV. May we all get properly informed and avoid undue stigmatisation of infected persons in our environment as this will encourage a better relationship pattern.

Finally we enjoin both the infected persons and non-infected to embrace Healthy Lifestyle as it will make the world a better place for all.

––Neboh writes from Lagos

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ MARCH 23, 2019

27

POLITY

Piracy in Nigerian Waters: The Truth Chinweizu Amuta

G

lobally, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) Piracy Reporting Centre, based in Singapore, recorded 201 incidents of maritime piracy and armed robbery in 2018, up from 180 in 2017. The Gulf of Guinea remained increasingly dangerous for seafarers as reports of attacks in waters between the Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo more than doubled in 2018.

The expansion of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea poses a dire threat to local economies, potentially undermining what little stability currently exists in the region. Oil revenue, which many countries in the region rely upon, is seriously threatened by pirate activity; 7 percent of Nigeria’s oil wealth is believed lost due to such criminality.

Additionally, instability in the Gulf has sharply decreased revenue collected from trade; Benin, whose economy depends on taxing ships entering the port of Cotonou, has experienced a 70 percent decline in shipping activity due to piracy. Furthermore, as piracy drives up insurance premiums for international shipping companies, the price of imported goods in the region could spike, further imperiling local economies.

On its part, the Federal Government of Nigeria is currently working assiduously to ensure that the Nigerian Maritime domain and indeed the Gulf of Guinea is safe for local and international shipping and has taken several proactive steps to ensure this dream is actualized.

The primary approach is in ensuring that all legal loopholes related to the prosecution of offenders are plugged. The proposed legislation, widely known as the Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences Bill, 2018, is being sponsored by NIMASA and has been presented to the National Assembly where it has passed the first and second hearing stages and should be passed into law in 2019: The Bill incorporates the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the Suppression of Unlawful Acts at Sea (SUA) conventions of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) into a comprehensive legislation to deal with the menace of piracy and related crimes in the Nigerian maritime domain.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the acquisition of maritime security assets under the ‘Deep Blue Project’ which will cover aerial, joint maritime and shore surveillance systems as well as physical patrols of our coastal and Gulf of Guinea waters.

The project is an all-encompassing security scheme aimed at maintaining a 24-hrs eagle eye view of our maritime domain and has been midwifed by NIMASA under the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA).

On its part, the Executive Management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) under the leadership of Dr. Dakuku Adol Peterside is fully aware of the economic

Dakuku Peterside, NIMASA DG losses resulting from maritime insecurity and the consequent high costs, for stakeholders, involved in adopting extra security measures and insurance premiums.

NIMASA as the Designated Authority (DA) responsible for administering the maritime industry, while ensuring safer and more secure waters, has adopted a Total Spectrum Strategy to combat insecurity in the nation’s coastal waters and in the greater Gulf of Guinea area.

The Agency’s Management is also aware of the effect of marine insecurity on maritime related businesses culminating in reduced employment and business opportunities in the Nigerian maritime industry not to mention the negative international media coverage which in itself is bad for attracting and sustaining investments into the sector.

The Nigerian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre at Kirikiri Lagos will considerably enhance the dissemination of information in the Nigerian Maritime Domain. The incident reports from Masters of Ships/Skippers on piracy attacks or suspicious crafts will promptly be relayed to the Nigerian Navy for immediate response. Distress messages will henceforth be directly intercepted by the RMRCC thus eliminating the delay in relayed messages.

The Agency is working out modalities to ensure that all Ship owners install Ship Security Alert System (SSAS) which when triggered onboard will automatically alert the MRCC and Naval Authorities of any piracy attack.

At the bilateral level, Nigeria has been at the forefront of enhancing cooperation aimed at improving security in the Gulf of Guinea. This is demonstrated by the concluded joint maritime security patrols carried out with Benin Republic tagged “Operation Prosperity”which succeeded in reducing the number of pirate

attacks off the coast of both countries.

Participation in regional exercises has also yielded positive results with the GoG member states now conducting cross-border patrols, sharing law-enforcement intelligence, establishing and maintaining joint coordination centres through the implementation of a regional strategy.

The US Navy component of AFRICOM has been conducting exercises such as Obangame and Saharan Express to reinforce and activate operational agreements. In this regard, the Agency fully participated in the 2018 version of the Obangame Express held in the GoG Region.

Another example of international partnerships entered into by NIMASA in efforts to eradicate maritime insecurity involved NIMASA’s exercise tagged ‘Operation 30 Days At Sea’ which saw INTERPOL in conjunction with the NIMASA, Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Navy amongst others to conduct patrols in GoG territorial waters in 2018.

It is a peculiarity of how piracy incidents are reported that leaves the Gulf of Guinea open to exaggerated security threat levels. A situation where every incident of maritime crime regardless of nature and scale are reported as ‘Piracy’, it is inevitable that figures reflecting on these would be higher than they would ordinarily have been.

For example, information from the ICC-IMB indicates 149 recorded incidents of piracy and 34 attempted piracy attacks whereas statistics from the Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre (MRCC) show that there were only 31 cases of piracy and 18 cases of attempted piracy in Nigerian territorial waters in the same period under reportage.

Bearing in mind that most of the cases reported involved opportunistic theft from vessels and activities of oil bunkerers, it is unfortunate that the optics of violent, armed pirates roaming the GoG with impunity continue to pervade international media coverage whereas this is very far from the reality.

NIMASA, on its part, has raised the issue of misrepresentation by the IMB to the International Maritime Organisation, at its annual meetings on numerous occasions highlighting the inconsistencies in the reportage of piracy incidents and the negative effects that has on the perception of the Gulf of Guinea maritime area.

Regardless, Nigeria’s maritime territory and the Gulf of Guinea at large remain very viable domains that must be secured in view of the fact that activities within this domain are significant to the economic well-being of our nation and the sub-region.

By securing this strategic area, we would be encouraging further commercial engagements with the international shipping community, which translates to an additional boost to our national and regional economies.

Clearly, the truth about piracy in our waters is that NIMASA has acquitted her responsibilities in securing our territorial waters commendably despite ongoing challenges and has contributed, through aggressive implementation of drawn up strategies and collaboration with international agencies and Gulf of Guinea countries, to improve the security situation in the region’s maritime space.

––Amuta, a Public Relations Officer with NIMASA, writes from Lagos.

PHOTO NEWS

L-R: Chairman, Association of Chief Compliance Officers of Banks in Nigeria (ACCOBIN), Opeyemi Adojutelegan; Deputy Director, Banking Supervision, Central Bank of Nigeria, Kayode Asanmo; Director, Consumer Protection Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, Kofo Salam-Alada; Vice Chairman ACCOBIN, Mr Wunmi Adeniyi; and Deputy Director, Financial Policy Regulation Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Joseph Gana at the 2019 Chief Compliance Officers’ annual retreat in Epe , yesterday

L-R: Managing Director, PDT Consulting, Mr. Adenekan; Author of ‘The Learned Commander’, Capt.

Dele Ore; Chairman, LAAC, Mr. Olusegun Koiki; and Publisher, Mr. Dafe Sama, during the launch of the autobiography of Capt. Dele Ore, at the centre for International Advance and Professional Studies, Ikeja, Lagos... recently PHOTO: KOLAWOLE ALLI

L-R: Chief Operating Officer, Leadership Empowerment and Resource Network (LEARN), Mrs. Ronke Oguntoyinbo; Product Officer, Micro Small Medium Enterprise Banking, Sterling Bank Plc., Mrs. Adeola Oshiyemi; founder, Byinks Foundation and Oja.ng, Mr. Banire Olayinka Sharafa; Executive Director, Cancer Aware Nigeria, Mrs. Tolulope Falomo; and founder, The Business Advantage Africa, Mrs. Padebi Ojomo at the LEARN, conference held in Lagos, yesterday SUNDAYADIGUN

R-L:Chairman,NigerianInstituteforOilPalmResearch(NIFOR).EmperorChrisBaywoodIbe;ExecutiveSecretary,Dr. Celestine Ikuenobi; and Board Member, Mr.Wale Arowomole, at the 127th meeting of NIFOR, held in Lagos... recently

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER t."3$) , 2019

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MARKET PLACE with Omolabake Fasogbon... 08155131874

Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Patrick Akinwuntan commissioning EcobankPay zone at Amu Market, Palm Avenue, Mushin, Lagos during the week while merchants in the market look on

Commercial Consul, Chinese Consulate in Lagos, Mr Yao Xiaodong; Deputy President, LCCI, Mr. Knut Ulvmoen; President, LCCI, Mr. Babatunde Ruwase; Deputy President, LCCI, Mrs. Toki Mabogunje; South Korea Consul General, In-Taek Kim and First Secretary, Economic Affairs, Netherland Embassy, Mr. Ayinde Soule Kohndou at a Luncheon organised by LCCI for members of the Diplomatic Corps in Lagos recently

Boomplay, Warner Music Seal Deal on Content Distribution Africa’s largest music streaming and download service , Boomplay, has sealed a direct licensing agreement with Warner Music Group (WMG), to bring the record company’s roster of music to Africa region.

The new deal would enable Boomplay to distribute WMG’s extensive catalogue of more than one million songs to its community of listeners in 10 countries- Nigeria, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

The arrangement would also provide WMG’s artists to gain direct access and exposure to Boomplay’s millions of users in the region, while

bringing Boomplay one step closer to its goal of bringing all music from around the world to Africa.

Speaking on the arrangements, Chief Executive Officer of Boomplay, Joe He, explained: “Major deals with internationally recognised partners continue to push us closer to our aim of building the largest and the most reliable online music distribution platform in Africa.

“We want every music lover in the region to be able to access any song or video, anytime and wherever they are.

We are looking forward to a successful partnership and business continuation with WMG in what are truly exciting times for the African Music Industry.’’

Boomplay’s General Manager in Nigeria, Dele Kadiri, added: ‘’I am totally excited about our licensing deal with WMG. This partnership brings about a huge increase to our catalogue thereby making a variety of music available to hundreds of millions of Nigerians.’’

Speaking further, WMG’s EVP, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Alfonso Perez Soto, boasted that its streaming service already has tremendous reach across the continent, yet, continues to expand exponentially.

“It’s an opportunity that can’t be missed for our artists to make a whole new legion of fans”, he said.

Ecobank Woos Lagos Market with Digital Payment Zone Ecobank has launched its digital payment platform, Ecobankpay zone, at the popular Amu market, in Mushin Lagos.

The initiative, according to the bank, would deepen financial inclusion in the community and specifically, aid business transactions between merchants and clients.

Managing Director of the bank , Patrick Akinwuntan, who launched the digital payment zone, reiterated the essence of the initiative in various market clusters, across the country to facilitate easy, secure and convenient transactions in the market place, adding that it will boost business activities in the country. He informed that

customers and non-customers of the bank who patronise the market would now have quick access to the bank’s digital payment offerings, that would further simplify transactions.

He said: “The bank’s unique offering is that anyone from any bank in Nigeria can pay with MasterPass, mVISA and mCASH with any phone by scanning QR code or using USSD. If the person that wishes to buy goods is coming from a bank that has MVisa and wishes to pay, the same QR Code would accept MVisa payment and vice versa. That creates interoperability and convenience for the merchants. The QR

Code is much cheaper than having a point of sale, PoS. He explained that the platform is also there to support businesses to grow.

Akinwuntan added: “Traders can now enjoy more possibilities to grow their business as they can also sell to customers with EcobankPay in 32 countries in Africa. It is free to set up as the shop owner only needs his/her QR code and phone for notifications to start receiving quick and easy payments. “ The product equally enables customers make seamless payment for goods and services across the three major payment platforms without the use of plastic cards.

Hollandia Yoghurt Mixology Thrills Consumers Hollandia Yoghurt Mixology has become a mainstay for consumers who are increasingly embracing yoghurt and drink-mixing culture, as their tastes evolve.

A recent visit to several lounges and bars across Nigeria showed increasing use of yoghurt, either enjoyed directly, or as a taste-enhancing mixer.

Since its launch in 2016, consumers have commended Hollandia Yoghurt Mixology for its novel taste and smooth texture. The brand has been consolidating the yoghurt and drink-mixing culture among Nigerian consumers who are thrilled to get the nourishing goodness of yoghurt mixed with a variety of beverages.

In its 315ml pack size, Hollandia Yoghurt Mixology is convenient and handy, with a specially designed prismatic shape and an attractive screw cap that consumers can feel proud to be seen with.

Chijioke Silva, a bar manager in Rivers State, acknowledged the growing demand for Hollandia Yoghurt Mixology at his bar, adding that from the onset of its launch on the shelf, the brand quickly established a strong connection with consumers because of its attractive packaging, great taste, smooth texture and its ability to bring out that satisfying taste when mixed with other beverages of consumer choice.

“We all know that Nigerians love drink mixes, so it is commendable for a brand to see that gap and respond with a truly innovative product. I can tell you that Hollandia Yoghurt Mixology has been a runaway success at my bar in Port Harcourt and that loyalty has been sustained till date,” Silva said.

This sentiment was also echoed by Dele Yusuf, a fun loving IT executive based in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Yusuf said he was introduced to Hollandia Yoghurt Mixology by his friends during a hangout in Ikoyi.

“Since then I have fallen in love with it. So now, whenever I am hanging out at the lounge with my friends, I simply mix my malt drink with a pack of Hollandia Yoghurt Mixology to achieve my desired taste. For me, nothing can be better than this,” he stated.

Gtbank to Empower over 300 Comercio Cloud Computing Wins Huawei Cloud Partner of the Year at 2019 Food & Drink Fair This year’s Food and Drink Festival organised

by Guaranty Trust Bank (Gtbank), would give room to over 300 food entrepreneurs to prove their culinary skills in a special arrangements made for them by the hosts.

This was disclosed by the Managing Director of the bank, Segun Agbaje, during the official announcement of the 2019 edition.

Launched in 2016, the initiative has become a premier culinary event in Africa, bringing together thousands of people from across the continent and beyond, to support and celebrate Nigeria’s vibrant and burgeoning small businesses in the food retail sector.

Over the last three years, the festival has hosted more than 450,000 people, featured dozens of entrepreneurial masterclasses by international chefs and food business experts.

The festival has also seen to the establishment of businesses of hundreds of entrepreneurs in

the food retail industry.

Agbaje noted that in addition to more retailers the event would accommodate this year, the 4th edition would also last for four days other than the usual three days.

He said: “We are delighted to bring to our customers, small business owners and food lovers across the continent and beyond, another edition of an event that is second to none in delivering the finest culinary experience in Africa.

“This year, we are taking our commitment to promoting enterprise in the SME sector further , by giving small businesses more opportunities to connect with consumers and business experts from around the world.”

He further added: “At GTBank, we will continue to focus on promoting enterprise in food and fashion, because we know that by investing in both sectors, we are propelling local entrepreneurs to dominate two critical sectors of our economy.”

Comercio Emerges Huawei Cloud Partner of the Year.

Indigenous cloud computing company, Comercio Cloud Computing Limited,has been named winner of Huawei’s Enterprise Business Group, EBG, Cloud Solutions Partner of the Year at the Huawei Nigeria Eco-Connect 2019.

The company has in two years proven exceptional in providing Infrastructure as a service (IaaS), Storage as a Service (SaaS), Backup as a Service (BaaS) and Disaster Recovery (DR) .

Its capability also extends to providing industry specific solutions to support clients varied needs in tier III infrastructure built by construction data center and certified by the Uptime Institute, IT industry’s most trusted and adopted global standard for the proper design, build and operation of data centers globally.

Chief Technology Officer of Comercio Cloud, Aderemi Adejumo, expressed that the recognition further endorses the company’s success in delivering top-rated cloud solutions within the Nigerian local cloud ecosystem.

He stated that Nigeria’s premier indigenous cloud computing company is steadily attaining its mission of providing the Nigerian IT community and sub-region with quality cloud services, business information solutions, reliable and professional technical support, by embracing good ethical business practices.

“There is a greater peace of mind when it comes to sitting on a local cloud platform such as ours.

Our platform has a lower latency than offshore platforms, we have a number of advantages over the notable foreign cloud platforms. It takes on average less than 25% of the time to retrieve data from an offshore cloud platform.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER ˾ APRIL 24, 2011

GLOBAL SOCCER A

WEEKLY PULL-OUT

Tammy Abraham Targeting Chelsea Return

23.03.2019

NEWS

Battle Royale in Tunisia

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Tammy Abraham Targeting Chelsea Return Though he may have starred for England at the age grade level, he is still eligible to play for Nigeria and the England U-21 star of Nigerian descent Tammy Abraham has expressed his desire to return to his parent club Chelsea at the end of his loan spell with Championship club Aston Villa

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MARCH 23, 2019 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

GLOBAL SOCCER

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ammy Abraham believes he has the ability to play for Chelsea and wants to return to the club after his loan at Aston Villa. The 21-year-old has scored 21 goals for Championship side Villa, having seen another potential loan switch to Wolves break down in January.

Abraham has already had further loans at Bristol City and Swansea, but aims to challenge for the Chelsea firstteam after helping Villa earn promotion back to the Premier League.

“That’s the aim going into next season,” Abraham told Sky Sports News. “As a young kid, I’ve always believed I will play for Chelsea. I always believe that. I think I have the ability to. I just have to, when I get the opportunity, grab it with two hands.”

The England U-21 forward has seen his Chelsea team-mate Callum Hudson-Odoi, who Abraham describes as “like a little brother,” dominate headlines this season after being the subject of bids from Bayern Munich.

“He was always coming into my house, we didn’t really play together because he was a bit too young but he was my brother’s age,” said Abraham.

“Watching him grow up to where he is now, he’s done very well. He’s more than deserved this call-up, I’m very happy for him. Ever since a young age, he’s been unbelievable. Now he’s actually doing it in men’s football for the world to see. It’s heart-warming . I just hope he continues that and carries on building .”

Chelsea signed Gonzalo Higuain on a six-month loan deal in January, but it’s unclear whether they will attempt to make the move permanent in the summer. The Blues’ recruitment plans are further complicated by a

two-window transfer ban handed to them as punishment for breaching FIFA rules on the signing of under-18 foreign players.

Initially, when the season started, Abraham wanted to remain at Chelsea and fight for a first-team spot but had to switch clubs for the third straight season after he was overlooked for selection by manager Maurizio Sarri.

The dream of the Nigeria Football Federation President, Amaju Pinnick, is to have youngsters of Nigerian origin doing well in England and other leagues, wear the Super Eagles colours .

Abraham, however, poured cold water on suggestions that he could switch international allegiance to Nigeria after Pinnick, had initially said the former England U-19 and Under-21 player had agreed to play for the Super Eagles.

Born in London, Abraham is still permitted to switch allegiances as he is yet to play for the senior side and qualifies for the Super Eagles through his father, who is Nigerian.

“Clearly, he understands he stands a better chance playing for the Super Eagles. With his talent, he has the ability to fight for a place in the Nigeria squad,” Pinnick had said then.

Former national team head-coach, Chief Adegboye Onigbinde, indeed backed Tammy Abraham’s decision to play for England national senior football team instead of Nigeria, saying the rejection of Nigeria by Abraham should make the NFF eggheads wakeup to their responsibilities.

Onigbinde berated NFF for always going after already-made stars abroad instead of developing the abundant talents in Nigeria. He wondered why NFF would wish to

reap where it did not sow, saying that Abraham was born and developed in England and should be obliged to play for England.

“Yes, we should beg them since there is no meaningful, functional developmental programme at home.

It’s the football federation’s fault. If we have a functional development programme, no player would be in a position to take the country for a ride.

Ideally, the nucleus of the national team should be home-based. That is what I have always said, but nobody seems to be interested in listening to my advice,” a furious Onigbinde said.

“Why won’t the young man make the statement on social media? I do not really blame him. What happens to the many talents in the Nigerian league back home? There are good players of Nigerian descent abroad quite alright but it seems they are practically begged to represent Nigeria now,” he added.

Since assuming office as the President of the NFF, Pinnick had never hidden his intention to woo players with Nigerian background who have featured only in age-group competitions for foreign countries. So far, he has not done badly with his moves.

“The initial plan was to take our players in the various clubs, but now, what are trying to do is what we call VIP scouting – talking to these young players that are playing abroad to play for their fatherland.

“I am yet to see a Nigerian that is regretting being a Nigerian. No Nigerian, even if they have four or five passports, they are always excited being Nigerians. I can assure you that we shall get them to play for us at the appropriate time,” Pinnick said.

Abraham joined Chelsea at U-8 level and progressed through the clubs academy system. He was part of the Chelsea youth side which record-

ed back-to-back triumphs in both the UEFA Youth League and the FA Youth Cup in 2015 and 2016. In the 2016 edition of the UEFA Youth League, Abraham pitched in with a return of eight goals in nine matches, making him the tournament’s second highest goal scorer. He carried his form over into the FA Youth Cup and scored the winning goal in Chelsea’s victory over Manchester City.

During the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons he scored 74 goals in 98 matches across all competitions for Chelsea’s various youth sides.

His form at youth level caught the attention of the interim manager, Guus Hiddink, who invited him to train with the senior team at the back end of the 2015-16 Season.

Abraham has appeared in three matches for Chelsea’s first-team, against Liverpool and Leicester City in the Premier League in May 2016, plus the Community Shield tie versus Manchester City in August 2018.

G LO B A L S O C C E R ASSISTANT EDITOR KUNLE ADEWALE

THISDAY ON SATURDAY EDITOR YEMI ADEBOWALE DEPUTY EDITOR CHIKA AMANZE-NWACHUKWU THISDAY NEWSPAPERS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE

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2019 Africa Cup of Nations QualiďŹ ers‌2019 Africa Cup of

South Africa vs Libya

Libya, South Africa in Battle Royale

S

outh Africa head to Tunisia to face Libya needing to avoid defeat to book a place in this year’s African Cup of Nations.

For Libya to secure a place in this year’s continental tournament, they need nothing short of a victory in a home game they will play on foreign soil due to political unrest.

The Libyans would have loved to play such a crucial match in their own backyard but they must be accustomed to staging international tournaments in their neighbouring countries since they were banned from hosting them in 2011. The authorities have made traveling arrangements for 3000 fans with Tunisia open to allowing up to 10 000 Libyans to attend the match.

The Mediterranean Knights currently lie third in Group E standings and they’re two points behind their opponents which means they need a victory to leapfrog them into second place and qualify for this year’s AFCON. Newly-appointed coach Fawzi Al-Essawi humiliated Seychelles 8-1 in his

first qualifier in charge of the side.

The Libyan Football Federation has recently parted ways with Jamal Jafari who was its President after a vote of no confidence against him with Vice President Abdulhakim Al-Shalmani taking up the role in the interim.

Bafana Bafana had no answers to Libya’s resolute defence when they met at Moses Mabhida last year in a match that ended goalless. Stuart Baxter’s men have won two and drawn three of their five games so far, conceding only one goal in the process.

Their most disappointing result was the goalless draw at Seychelles after smashing them 6-0 in Johannesburg.

Darren Keet or Ronwen Williams will start in goals in the absence of Itumeleng Khune and I think either of the two goalkeepers will be good enough to compete at this level.

It should be interesting to see whether Keagan Dolly and Bongani Zungu start as they face late fitness tests. Up front, the team has Percy Tau, Lebogang Maboe,

Thembinkosi Lorch and Lebo Mothiba who are doing superbly for their respective clubs at the moment.

Bafana Bafana travelled to Tunisia this past weekend to allow the squad ample

time to acclimatise. The officials must be applauded for carefully co-ordinating this gruelling 21-hour trip via Frankfurt, Germany. In terms of FIFA rankings, South Africa are 71st while Libya are 105th.

Bafana in Goalkeeper Dilemma

Bafana Bafana goalkeeper coach Andre Arendse is very pleased with the response from all three goalkeepers - Ronwen Williams, Darren Keet and Bruce Bvuma - and is the first to admit that the technical team had a tough call to make as to which goalkeeper would get the nod to start against Libya.

The South African Senior men’s national team (Bafana Bafana) take on Libya this coming Sunday, 24 March in Sfax, Tunisia where a draw will be good enough to qualify for the 2019 Total Caf African Cup of Nations later this year. “All three keepers are here on merit and they have been exceptional at club level.

Bruce is no stranger to the national team as I have worked with him at the Cosafa Cup tournament, while Ronwen and Darren are key for their respective clubs. “I believe that this is one of the toughest selections we will have to make as a technical team because both Williams and Keet deserve to start but only one can be given that slot,� said Arendse.

Bafana Bafana anticipate to face a desperate Libya who will try any means possible to come away with the win, and their tactics will determine which of the two South Africa-based goalkeepers get to start the match.

ÍşÍťËœ ͺ͸͚Π˞ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

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GLOBAL SOCCER

f Nations QualiďŹ ers... 2019 Africa Cup of Nations QualiďŹ ers

Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique in Crutch Qualifying Battle

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uinea-Bissau and Mozambique will meet for a clutch 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the Estadio 24 de Setembro today Guinea-Bissau come into the match placed at the top of the pool, with eight points from their five matches (level with second-placed Namibia), while Mozambique are third on seven points.

The two teams are very much in the hunt for a place at the 2019 Afcon finals, and there is also a chance that they could both progress.

The Djurtus have the advantage in that a win or draw will guarantee progression,

regardless of the result of the concurrent Group K match between Zambia and Namibia in Lusaka.

Mozambique must win to be absolutely sure of qualification. A draw would bring them level with Namibia (if the Brave Warriors lose in Zambia) but the Mambas would then lose out on a head-to-head tie-breaker.

A win for Mozambique combined with a Namibia defeat in Lusaka would see both the Mambas and the Djurtus advance.

Mozambique coach Abel Xavier says his side will look to win and secure Afcon qualification to bring some solace to the

people hit hardest by the tropical cyclone Idai, which has devastated the south-east African country. “The sentiment is one of great unity and cohesion, and the players will do their best to win and pay homage to the people, playing on behalf of the country, Beira and the devastated areas,� said the former Liverpool defender.

When the teams met in their first Group K match in Maputo back in September last year it ended in a 2-2 draw, with the hosts scoring through Zainadine Junior and Reginaldo, while the visitors’ goals were netted by Carlos Embalo and Frederic Mendy.

Zambia Look to Stymie Namibia’s Hopes

Z

ambia will look to stymie the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification hopes of Namibia when the teams meet in a Group K match at the National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka today.

Namibia come into the game placed second on the log behind Guinea-Bissau, having claimed eight points from their five matches thus far, while Zambia sit at the foot of the table after taking just four points and they cannot qualify for the finals in Egypt.

The Brave Warriors have their fate in their own hands: a win over Chipolopolo will guarantee qualification and a third appearance at the Nations Cup tournament

(adding to 1998 and 2008).

A draw or even a loss may also be enough, but then they will be relying on the result of the other Group K game between Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique, which will be played simultaneously in Bissau.

Namibia have been preparing at the facilities of South African top flight club Highlands Park ahead of their trip to Zambia, where they will be without defender Vitapi Ngaruka due to paperwork issues. “Vitapi will not join us but we have enough depth in defence and we will prepare as such and go to Zambia to get the result we need to qualify, and remember it is really in our hands so we can’t afford to throw it away,�

coach Ricardo Mannetti said. Zambia interim coach Aggrey Chiyangi will be without the injured Kennedy Mweene, while former stalwarts Rainford Kalaba and Stopilla Sunzu were not selected. “If you look at Mweene and Stopilla, they have been playing for the national team for a long time and I think, looking at the future, other plans will come in for them but looking at this game, they will not be there,� Chiyangi explained.

The first Group K meeting between Namibia and Zambia took place in Windhoek in September last year, with the teams playing to a 1-1 draw: Benson Shilongo put the hosts ahead, but Chipolopolo struck back at the death through Justin Shonga.

Host Egypt Picks Six Venues for AFCON

E

gypt has chosen six venues across five cities to host this year’s African Nations Cup finals, local media reported, including the Port Said Stadium where 72 supporters died in the country’s worst violence at a soccer venue in 2012.

After a board meeting, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) confirmed that Cairo Stadium, Borg el Arab Stadium in Alexandria and Ismailia stadium are among the venues chosen for the tournament.

Other venues are the army-owned June 30 Stadium, on the outskirts of Cairo, and the

Suez stadium.

The 74 000-seater Cairo Stadium hosted the finals of previous Nations Cup tournaments in 1986 and 2006.

The June 30 stadium replaces Al Salam, another venue on Cairo’s outskirts which hosts the domestic and African Champions League matches of the country’s most popular club, Al Ahly.

The Port Said Stadium was closed for five years after the 2012 disaster that followed a league match between Al Masry and Al Ahly.

Al Masry supporters were accused of inciting violence with many of the dead crushed when panicked spectators tried to

AFCON Fixtures TODAY

Burundi v Gabon Cameroon v Camoros Niger v Egypt Guinea Bissau v Mozambique Zambia v Namibia Ivory Coast v Rwanda Ghana v Kenya Mali v South Sudan Senegal v Madagascar SUNDAY

D.R. Congo v Liberia Zimbabwe v Congo Central Africa v Guinea Benin v Togo Cape Verde v Lesotho Tanzania v Uganda Libya v South Africa

Christian Atsu of Ghana evades a tackle from a Kenyan defender

escape from the stadium after a post-match pitch invasion by home supporters. Others fell or were thrown from terraces.

Al Masry, the home club, were only allowed to return to the venue 12 months ago.

This year’s Nations Cup kicks off on June 21 and has been expanded to include 24 teams. The draw for the group stage will take place in Cairo on April 12.

Fourteen countries have already booked a finals berth, including first time participants Madagascar and Mauritania, with the remaining 10 places to be decided when the qualification campaign concludes in March.

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No rift between Djokovic and Federer

Athony Joshua

Joshua, Wilder’s Teams have Responsibility to Deliver Fight Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder’s teams have a “responsibility� to deliver an undisputed world title fight this year, says promoter Eddie Hearn.

WBC champion Wilder reiterated his desire to take a blockbuster battle with Joshua following his next title defence with Dominic Breazeale at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on May 18.

Hearn had hoped to tie up a hugely lucrative deal for the fight before Joshua’s own world title clash with Jarrell ‘Big Baby’

Miller in New York on June 1, and again questioned whether Wilder’sbackerscanfinallyagree on terms. “I don’t even know if it’s Deontay Wilder, or just the people around him; they don’t want this fight,� Hearn told Sky Sports. “If they did, they’d take the fight. Offers have been made over the last year. They have trebled actually, and I don’t know, it’s frustrating. “All I know is Anthony Joshua will box Jarrell Miller June 1, MSG, Wilder is boxing May 18 against Dominic

Breazeale, actually the guy who in his 17th fight with glandular fever, Anthony Joshua destroyed. “Then Tyson Fury will box June 15 in America. Those big three are all tied up for the summer. We’ve just got to keep trying. There’s nothing more we can do, than just keep trying. “It’s extremely frustrating, but like I said, it looks clear now what those big three are doing this summer, and it’s our responsibility, and I hope they understand their responsibility to give the fight fans what they

want, which is the biggest fight in world boxing, hopefully at the end of the year. “But after what we saw last week, who knows?�

A shock defeat for either Joshua or Wilder would end hopes of a showdown between the unbeaten champions, and Hearn admits his fighter must remain fully focused on Miller. “Make it now,� he said. “If Breazeale were to beat Wilder, if Miller was to beat AJ, we lose the biggest fight in world boxing, so hopefully everybody can keep winning.

Ndidi Parental Club Beat Pharoahs Academy FC

Nathanial Boys FC continued their preparations for the Lagos FA Cup by defeating the newcomers Pharaohs Academy FC 1-0 in a friendly game at the National Institute of Sport Legacy Astro turf pitch at the National Stadium, Surulere in Lagos.

The first half kick and the possession was equal as both teams tried to find their place in the game. The tight manmarking and the intensity of

the defending by both teams, resulted in goaless draw in the first half.

The introduction of the second half was much the same on the intensity and extremely impressive defending by Pharaohs and click possession

by Natboys paid dividend.

When at 50 minutes mark a solo effort pass by Chukwu ebuka Samuel to the left winger Samuel Oviensire who gave a loss cross that

pierced through the defence for Tolu Oladeyinpo to tap it in to score. The last 15 minutes of the game was a great example of potential schoolboy football of excellent dribbling skills

by Eletu Haastrup Babalola, superb passing by Chukwu Ebuka of Natsboys and solid defending pair Peter Umana, Johnson Niemogha (Pharaohs Academy) and a man of the match performances from Oduduwa Segun (Nats) the

play from both sides provides a spectacle for the spectator until the sound of the refree whistle.

The game scoreline ended 1-0 in favour of the home team Natsboys FC. The team manager of the Pharaohs Academy FC – Santos Williams said on Wednesday that he was impressed and the team will continue with its preparation for Trem Cup and Lagos FA Cup.

Oyo Governor-elect Fetes Ibadan Golf Ladies Kemi Olaitan Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ‹ĂŽĂ‹Ă˜ Oyo State governor-elect, Mr. Seyi Makinde, last weekend exhibited his love for the game of golf by joining the ladies golfers at the prestigious Ibadan Golf Club (IGC) to celebrate the annual 2019 Ladies Open which came to an end on Sunday evening.

Makinde, a member of the IGC, played nine holes

none competitive golf game on Thursday, five holes on Saturday and also graced the closing ceremony of the twoin-one event that commenced in Ibadan on Wednesday.

While addressing golfers during the dinner and closing ceremony, he restated his commitment to the activities of the club and development of golf by giving the game good attention in terms of promotion and

funding when he is sworn-in in May. The Lady Captain of IGC, Dr. Tope Farombi who welcomed Makinde thanked governorelect for finding time out of his busy scheduled to felicitate with the almost 200 lady golfers that came from all walks of life to participate in the golf tournament.

She however urged Mrs. Makinde to also embrace the

game of golf by joining the ladies’ section of the IGC, describing golf as a good sport and a wonderful way to maintain a perfect wellness and improved mental alertness.

Meanwhile, a policewoman, Racheal Danjuma of IBB Golf Club won the first prize of the tournament with 79 gross while Evelyn Oyome emerged as the runners up retuning with 76 gross.

Over 300 Teams Set for Trophy 5-a-side Tournament As at week two since its launch, over 380 teams have emerged in the ongoing registration of interested participants of the Trophy 5-a-side Field of Honour tournament.

The 10-man teams which were recruited through in-bar accreditationacrossLagos,Osun, Ogun and Oyo states will be representing their communities in a round-robin stage, after which winners will proceed to the knock out stages. The

campaign which is expected to run for 10 weeks will produce a final winner by May 12.

The in-bar activation which commenced March 7 recorded such a success that participants, who collected their tokens and have been grouped into teams, are already warming up to begin the qualifying matches, while accreditation continues.

The winning team will take home N3 million cash prize,

meet with Samuel Eto’o, renowned African football superstar and have the opportunity to participate in the continental finals taking place in Tanzania later this year.

Winners at the knock-out stages will also be rewarded with various consolation prizes and memorabilia, in appreciation for their participation.

While some of the teams are yet to come up with club

names, some others already have and rearing to go.

Though team selections will take place in four states: Oyo, Ogun, Osun and Lagos States, football loving Trophy customers will be recruited as ‘Super-fans’across the country via weekly questions and sweepstakes availing customers outside the four states, the unique opportunity to participate in the tournament as fans.

MultiChoice Wins Big at NIS 25th Anniversary GOtv and SuperSport, the leading sports promoter and broadcaster on the DStv andGOtv platforms, have won big at the 25th anniversary celebration of the National Institute for Sports(NIS).

While GOtv emerged the Outstanding Grassroots Sports Programme Television Station 2019, SuperSport won in two categories as Outstanding Sports Promoting Television Station of the Decade (2019) and the Outstanding Television Sports Programme of the Decade.

MultiChoice Nigeria also emerged the Outstanding Sports Promoting Company of the Decade.

While receiving the awards on behalf of MultiChoice Nigeria, Martin Mabutho, Chief Customer Officer, MultiChoice, said the awards are in recognition of MultiChoice’s effort in delivering the best content across its various platforms. He added that the company remains committed to providing quality services for its subscribers. “MultiChoice will continue to make great entertainment more accessible to Nigerians by delivering quality sports and local content to its customers,� said Mabutho.

Speaking on youth development, Mabutho explained that MultiChoice has empowered thousands of Nigerian youth through the GOtv Sabimen initiative. “GOtv Sabimen is a programme that trains participants on the rudiments of service activation, response to customer enquiries and resolution of GOtv service issues,� he explained. The Chief Customer Officer further noted that participants receive practical training from both internal and external facilitators on how to handle various enquires by customers and eventually grow on to become their own bosses, which is the main objective of the programme. Today over 5000 Nigerian youth in various parts of the country have been employed through this initiative.

Prior to the awards presentation, the Minister for Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Solomon Dalung, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Olusade Adesola, commended corporate bodies supporting the development of youth and sports in Nigeria. He also appealed to other corporate bodies to emulate the kind gesture of companies like MultiChoice in youth and sports development.

Djokovic Dismisses Rift with Federer, Nadal Novak Djokovic has dismissed suggestion of a rift with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal over the on-going fall-out from Chris Kermode’s removal as ATP chairman.

The Serb, who is the president of the 10-member ATP Player Council, is understood to have been part of a group of players keen for Kermode to leave his position, when his current term finishes at the end of this year. Federer was critical of Djokovic after the world No 1 refused to meet ahead of the vote which saw Kermode ousted as ATP chief when players’ representatives on the ATP Board decided against endorsing an extension of the Englishman’s contract.

Speaking ahead of the Miami Open, Djokovic sought to direct focus onto tennis rather than the sport’s politics and said: “I saw Roger today, we were in the opening ceremony cutting the ribbon on centre court. “We had a small chat there was no time to talk about the political stuff. That is hopefully something we will have time in the next few days to go through.

ÍşÍťËœ ͺ͸͚Π˞ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

35

GLOBAL SOCCER

Folarin Balogun Gives Nigeria Glimpse of Hope In spite of having capped for England at the 2018 UEFA European U-17 Championship proliďŹ c Arsenal youthteam striker Folarin Balogun is not ruling out the possibility of switching international allegiance to Nigeria

Balogun

B

orn in New York and raised in the United Kingdom, Folarin Balogun is provisionally cap-tied to England as he represented the Young Lions at the 2018 UEFA European U-17 Championship, playing four games as England reached the semifinals, but the free-scoring Arsenal striker has hinted at switching international allegiance from England to Nigeria.

The 17-year-old has played for the United States U-18s in four friendlies, scoring two goals. ‘’I haven’t yet declared who I will commit to internationally. I was born in New York, so can play for the USA,’’ Balogun told arsenal.com. ‘’My parents were born in Nigeria and I have been in England since I was two years old, so I can play for both those countries too! ‘I have several youth caps playing for England and I enjoy their style of play which is similar to Arsenal’s. I will be discussing matters with my parents and will then decide.’’ Balogun who was born on July 3, 2001, recently decided to pledge his long-term future to Arsenal by signing a new deal last month.

He has been with the Arsenal youth set-up since he was 10 years old where he has developed into one of the bestattacking prospects in England and Balogun stated the reason for signing his new deal and his ambition for the rest of the season.

On his new contract, he said, “It feels really good. I’ve been at the club since I was young, so I’m just happy that I’ve been given the opportunity to push on.

It’s been a rollercoaster of a journey with a lot of ups and downs, but I’m glad that my hard work has been noticed and it’s starting to pay off.�

He also stated that he is impressed with his season and is hoping to win the top scorer award with the U-18 team.

He said, “It’s been a good season so far and I’m scoring a lot of goals, so I just want to keep scoring and continue helping the team week in, week out.

Individually my goal is to finish the season as the top goalscorer in the

Balogun battling for possesion

U-18 Premier League.�

Despite playing for several England youth teams, he is still eligible to play for the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Arsenal striker PierreEmerick Aubameyang has revealed his excitement about a Gunners academy prospect.

Aubameyang, who became Arsenal’s club-record signing when he joined from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018, singled out 17-year-old Balogun for praise after scoring 22 goals in 23 appearances for the Gunners’ academy team this term.

Balogun added: “Signing my professional contract was a proud day. I have been at the club for over a decade and it was one of the main targets that I was focused on. The real hard work continues and I want to keep progressing so that I can make it into the first

team. The season is going really well.

I feel I’ve become a more clinical finisher and have scored 22 goals in 23 games. “I do a lot of work in training trying to improve and develop different ways of finishing so that when the chance comes, I’m ready to use whichever option is best. It also helps to keep defenders guessing. As the standard of the teams in which you play rises, you get less and less time and fewer opportunities on the ball. This is what drives me to be as efficient as possible in front of goal.�

Last year August, Balogun was called up to play for the United States despite already featuring for England at youth level.

It was the first US call-up for Balogun, who was born in New York but grew up in London and played

for England at the European U-17 Championship.

However, due to the Vaclav Jezek Youth Tournament not being listed as an official FIFA competition, there was no need to apply for a switch of associations. “Since Folarin has represented England in an official competition at the youth level, in order to represent the United States in official competition he would have to apply for a one-time change of association,� the federation said in a statement. “He has not done so at this point, but this does not prevent him from playing in friendly matches such as this tournament.� The 17-year-old Balogun is viewed as one of the most promising young strikers in the Arsenal academy and was influential in the team’s run to the FA Youth Cup final last season.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER t."3$) , 2019

FAIRGROUND with

Filmhouse Celebrates Women

AZUKA OGUJIUBA

azuka.ogujiuba@thisdaylive.com

F

ilmhouse Cinemas is proud to have hosted some outstanding ladies to a Date night at its Twin Waters location to celebrate International Women's Day, 8th March, 2019.

International Women’s Day is a special day set aside to celebrate Women globally and Filmhouse Twin Waters certainly got the memo. A date night with movies, wine, finger food and Popcorn was just the perfect way to Celebrate International Women’s Day. In a bid to promote sisterhood, the ladies were selected by women-centric platform to attend with a friend.

Some of the guests in attendance were Toyin Lawani of Tiannah’s Empire, Azuka of MediaRoomHub, Aramide of Naija startups, Ife Durosimi Etti of AGS Tribe and Latasha Ngwube of About The Curvy life to mention a few.

“Women coming out like this is so important to filmhouse.

We encourage women to go on dates with your girlfriends and celebrate one another. It was amazing to have these women here celebrating with us. Sisterhood is so powerful.

The success of every woman should be the inspiration to another. We should continue to raise each other up” Stephanie Okafor, Branch Manager, Filmhouse Cinemas Twin Waters shared.

Special thanks to all our media partners: Thisday Style, Diary of a Nigerian Girl, Naija Brand Chick, Naija Start Ups, Sapio Club, Bloom Africa, SheLeads Africa, AGS, Media Room Hub, Leading Ladies Africa, Genevieve Magazine, Grey Velvet stores, Lipstick Africa, Vanguard Allure, loose Media, YNaija, Style Me Africa, Exquisite Magazine and LyGlam.

Filmhouse Cinemas Twin Waters is located at Eti-Osa, Lekki.

Tutu Balogun

Toyin Lawani (Tiannah's Empire)

Okiki Marinho

Sandra

Loveth

Ifeoluwa and Darasimi Durojaiye

Ifeoma and Kosi Okafor

Philomina

Roseline and Evelyn

Latasha Ngwube

37

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER t."3$) , 2019

FAIRGROUND

Mercy Ajisafe, Tallulah Doherty, Others Attend 'Binging with GameChangers' Premiere

A

premiere event was recently held to commemorate the airing of Binging with GameChangers Season 2.

During the event, which took place at Konsul8 in Ikoyi, guests were given an exclusive first look at season 2 of the show, which features the likes of AY Makun, Banke MeshidaLawal, Female engineer, Abbie Fasasi, and more.

Guests present comprised

gamechangers – people who have made a positive impact in their respective fields of specialisation, spanning the corporate, media, and entertainment fields.

Mercy Ajisafe, Tallulah Doherty, Layole Olatogun, Tewa Onasanya, and Shine Begho Usanga, were among the many distinguished guests at the premiere.

Everyone present enjoyed tasty treats courtesy of Coldstone Creamery, Pinkberry, and Dominos.

Mrs Ayoola Oluwafemi

Bixbeat Nigeria Expands Services to more Entertainment Sectors

B

ixbeat Nigeria Limited is an entertainment company based in Nigeria with it's head office in Calgary, Canada. The entertainment outfit has it as their mission in the industry to be the one-stop and number one platform for everything music globally. With two years in the industry they have grown big and ready to expand.

The platform is revolutionising the way Africans, Asians, Americans and other continents access the music of their favorite artistes as well as upcoming and future hit-makers via the most cutting edge music distribution experience obtainable in Africa and the world at large.

Speaking to the press, the Business Manager, Ayoola Oluwafemi had this to say, 'This year we decided to expand our horizon and spread more.

Going into artiste promotions now is key and we are looking at providing more options for everyone of them. We have provided an indigenous platform which focuses more on the style of the Nigerian Music corely. ' Bixbeat offers services ranging from music promotion, artiste promotion, record label promotion, free artiste page,free record label page, free music upload and music distribution.

The company also plans to push out for shows, events and awards to further expand its value and market stake.

Seyi Banigbe

Seyi Shay in Kenya to Promote “Koma Roll”

V

Seyi Shay

ery few Nigerian stars have done mega successful East African collaborations. You can count Seyi Shay in the lot. It all started with her 2018 collaboration with Tanzanian artist Ommy Dimpoz in “Yanje”, with its video surpassing over 1 Million views on YouTube.

After a highly successful 2017 East African media tour that saw Seyi Shay headline at Blankets & Wine Uganda, she returns to the region with a new hit single—KOMA ROLL featuring Harmonize.

Seyi Shay is currently in Nairobi, Kenya to promote KOMA ROLL, which is currently receiving heavy airplay across the region and is set to officially launch the song at B Club this Friday (22nd March 2019) night.

An ecstatic Seyi talks about her second coming to East Africa and the launch of Koma Roll, “It’s so amazing for me to be back to Nairobi for a second

time.

I am always in disbelief at how many fans I have here and who love my music. I’ve been in talks with Harmonize who has already invited me to Tanzania, so we are planning to head over too.”

Following the release of her sultry music video “Gimme Love” with Runtown, the multi-talented Nigerian songstress has released the brand new video for her hit single: “Koma Roll” with ‘Konde Boy’. The single serves an afropop mix of Nigerian and Tanzanian dance melodies.

The up-tempo song is a club banger with an infectious sound that is guaranteed to make you move. Featuring a set of high-energy troupe of dancers, the video directed by Cardoso Imagery has purely Caribbean dance vibes; from the beach scenes to the florescent lit rooms and floral outfits.

Much like the song, the scenes are very immersive, and invite the viewer to join the party.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER t."3$) , 2019

AUTO

Ford F-150

Ford F-150 Earns All Good Ratings as Best Performing Pickup Truck Stories by Bennett Oghifo

T

he Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released test results showing that among all light-duty crew cab pickups measured in small overlap front crash testing for both driver and passenger, the 2019 Ford F-150 is the only truck to earn its top-tier good rating in all categories. Among 11 pickups, F-150 is also on top as the best performer in passenger-side small overlap front crash testing.

“F-150’s smart engineering, plus the innovative combination of its high-strength steel frame and high-strength, military-grade,

aluminum alloy body continues to demonstrate enduring customer benefits – from repeated class-leading crash test performance to best-in-class towing and payload,” said Hau Thai-Tang, Ford executive vice president, Product Development and Purchasing.

A cross-functional group of Ford truck veterans worked thousands of hours to help improve durability, capability, fuel economy and safety for F-150.

The team created 31 safety-related innovations – including structures that manage crash forces, plus joining methods that were tested virtually with computer simulations then retested in Ford’s advanced laboratories.

To manage crash forces in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety small overlap

front crash test, Ford created a system of innovations that work together to help achieve this result.

These include a patented extruded aluminum roof crossmember and additional frame crossmember that work to improve crash resilience. Other smart innovations include nylon hinge pillar reinforcements that save weight, and in conjunction with specially designed wheel blockers, work to control crash forces while also providing additional safety.

This accolade follows National Highway Traffic Safety Administration testing that awarded F-150 crew cab a five-star overall vehicle score and a five-star rating for driver and passenger for all crash test modes.

Mobile Malaria Project Embarks on a Journey of Discovery

L

and Rover has been engineering vehicles capable of tackling the toughest terrain around the world for more than 70 years. Now it is working with the Mobile Malaria Project, winners of the 2018 Land Rover Bursary in partnership with the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), as it heads to sub-SaharaAfrica to embark on a unique eight-week journey of Discovery.

Made up of three Oxford University researchers, led

by Dr George Busby, the Mobile Malaria Project will travel more than 6,300km across Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya. Driving a specially-modified Land Rover Discovery, they will investigate the challenges facing those on the front line of malaria control in Africa – where 90 per cent of the world’s cases occur.

Designed and developed by Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations, the Discovery is equipped with a mobile genetic sequencing laboratory that makes full-use of the vehicle’s 1,137-litre load space. Not only does it feature a fridge/freezer unit to safely store scientific supplies, there is also a bespoke load space configuration frame system with speciallydesigned storage equipment cases and an on-board expedition battery.

The exterior comes with bespoke additions too, including a purpose-built dual sun awning, rescue equipment, a winch, sand/mud tracks, expedition roof rack and LED night driving lamps.

These modifications will allow the team to trial portable DNAsequencing technology, in collaboration with African research centres, to better understand how the technology can be used in different locations. This will provide important information about malaria parasite and mosquito populations, including drug and insecticide resistance.

Dr George Busby, Mobile Malaria Project Expedition Leader, said: “We are humbled that Land Rover and the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) have chosen our project as the 2018 bursary

Specially-modified Land Rover Discovery winner. Although global malaria rates have halved over the past 20 years, progress more recently has stalled. By working with colleagues in Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania and Kenya, our journey will help us to understand the challenges facing malaria researchers in Africa in 2019.

“The loan of the Discovery not only gives us the capability we need to visit locations we might not have been able to reach otherwise, it gives us the space and versatility to transport the equipment we need. This will allow us to gain a better understanding of how this technology could be used to

answer locally relevant questions about malaria parasites and the mosquitoes that transmit them.”

The Land Rover Discovery has a 30-year track record of tackling the most difficult terrain, reaching threatened habitats and vulnerable people across the world. Equipped with the latest all-terrain capability technology, the vehicle will allow the team to travel with confidence – no matter the conditions they face.

Dr Steve Iley, Chief Medical Officer, Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Malaria is a global issue which impacts millions of people worldwide.

Lagos Motor Fair to Boost Eonomy The organisers of the annual Lagos International Motor Fair & Autoparts Expo Nigeria have disclosed that the forthcoming edition of the Fair is aimed at revving activities in the sector with the objective of showcasing the capacities and potentials of this important sector of the economy. According to the Managing Director BKG Exhibitions Limited, Mr. Ifeanyichukwu Agwu, who is also the Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the event, the seemingly intractable lull in the sector is taking a lot of shine out of the industry making it difficult for stakeholders to showcase the abundant opportunities and offers in the sector.

From May 7-12, 2018 at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, venue of the event; each of those days that the fair will last is loaded with activities and events that will make this edition remarkably rewarding to the exhibitors, visitors and other stakeholders, Mr. Agwu, revealed further.

It is no longer news that the automotive sector in Nigeria is passing through rough and tough times what should be on every stakeholders’ mind is how do we unite to combat the killing challenges one of which is using the platform of this key event to bring the sector into the front burner of economic discuss in the country.

Re-emphasizing the importance of the event Mr. Agwu said that using the campaign of “One Expo; Continental Spread” the event aims at showcasing the importance of the Nigerian market as the hub of automotive business in Sub-Sahara Africa; and one that is highly rewarding for investments.

We are going to add more pep to promoting the spare parts sub-sector. This is informed by the determination of the Organizers to champion the development and thriving of autoparts sub-sector as leeway to fast-tracking the development of Nigeria’s automotive industry. “In this edition as we have been doing for sometimes now we will champion the autoparts section to seeing to making Nigeria become the hub of the business in Africa. We want to make it a strong point of real taking off of a realizable auto policy.”

The Chairman of the Organizing Committee advised the Federal Government to focus more on spare parts manufacturing in place of assembling.

Spare parts is the place where the real technology transfer takes place. It involves precision and proper planning more than the coupling that takes place in assembling. This will give rise to establishing of more Original Equipment Manufacturers and increase employment”. He said that there should be a review of the ongoing auto policy to make it achieve the desired ends.

The sector is very important as it shows physically the state of the economy and it generates much revenue and creates enormous employment. No serious government toys with it. Auto sector was one of the key sectors that received bailout from the American government during the last global economic meltdown and it helped to revamp the economy. It is a sector that drives the economy; if it is badly affected, other sectors suffers. It is the artery 0f the economy. Government should parley seriously with the sector stakeholders to seeing how it could be made better.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER t."3$) , 2019

39

AUTO

Weststar Celebrates Mercedes-Benz G-Class, an Iconic Off-roader at 40 Stories by Bennett Oghifo

T

he Mercedes-Benz G-Class celebrates a landmark as it turns 40 this year, and Weststar, the authorised General Distributor of Mercedes-Benz in Nigeria, has rolled out the drums and put the machine in showrooms across the country.

“We acknowledge this landmark occasion with a sense of pride as the G-Class continues to make history not just across the globe but also here in Nigeria. The new G-Class is currently available in authorised Mercedes-Benz dealerships across Nigeria, courtesy of Weststar Associates Limited,” Weststar said in a statement.

Meanwhile,Mercedes-Benzofficialshavedescribed the G-Class as the top model among luxury off-road vehicles. “It is not only the passenger car model series with the longest production run in the history of Mercedes-Benz, but also the forefather of all SUVs to bear the three-pointed star – this is why all Mercedes off-road models feature the upper-case G in their name.”

What began in 1972 with a collaboration agreement between then Daimler-Benz AG and SteyrDaimler-Puch in the Austrian city of Graz is now a story peppered with superlatives and significant milestones. The first concept to be developed was already different. The team designed a vehicle which impressed with superior off-road capability, while at the same time appealing to customers as a fullfeatured and safe vehicle suitable for recreational purposes.All-wheeldriveand100-percentdifferential locks have also been part of the “G” since that time, as has the robust ladder-type frame.

At the time of its market launch, in the spring of 1979, it was available with a choice of four engine variants covering a performance range from of 53

kW/72 hp to 115 kW/156 hp. Customers had the option of a Cabriolet with a short wheelbase or Station Wagon models with short or long wheelbase.

In 1989 the vehicles of the model series 463 marked the beginning of an evolutionary process for the off-roader that was not just about keeping pace with technical progress. It was an evolution that also brought a steadily expanding fan base and emphasized its character as an exclusive vehicle for any occasion. And since 1993 the vehicle was labeled with an official name; the G-Class.

The G-Class models used for the “Popemobile” are famous around the world.

The off-road Mercedes-Benz 230 G painted in “mother of pearl” with a transparent special body accompanied Pope John Paul II on numerous journeys from 1980.

The 25th anniversary of the G-Class was marked by the arrival of a very special model on the market, honed by Mercedes-AMG; the G 55AMG Kompressor. Its eight-cylinder power unit (350 kW/476 hp, 700 Nm of torque) gave the robust off-roader an unprecedented level of performance and demonstrated the tremendous potential of the G-Class.

The G 500 4x42 of 2015 added not only a luxurious interior to the equation, but also a ground clearance of 45 centimetres and impressive on-road performance. Since 2015, the “designo manufaktur” range has been providing customers with the option to take a G-Class and make it their own individual “G” – with exclusive equipment variants that are perfectly coordinated with each other.

ThankstotheMercedes-MaybachG650Landaulet, the iconic G-Class reinvented itself once more in 2017.

With its superlative V12 engine (fuel consumption, combined: 17.0 l/100 km, combined CO2 emissions: 397 g/km), portal axles, electric fabric top and exclusive appointments in the rear compartment, this very special all-terrain vehicle, which is limited to 99 units, meets the expectations of customers

Mercedes-Benz G-Class who demand the very highest standards of their vehicle. Arguably, it is the most exclusive form of open-air driving pleasure.

The summer of 2017 saw the 300,000th G-Class roll off the assembly line in Graz – a Mercedes-Benz G 500 in designo Mauritius blue metallic with black leather seats and contrasting white topstitching (combined fuel consumption: 12.3 l/100 km; com-

bined CO2 emissions: 289 g/km). Equipped with a range of off-road features including all-terrain tires mounted on black 16-inch rims and a sturdy roof rack, the anniversary vehicle embarked on new adventures last year. G-Class fans around the world determined the vehicle specification by voting for their favourite equipment and appointments on the official G-Class Facebook page.

Kia Plans Launch of Stylish new Ceed Crossover

K

ia has said it would launch the stylish new Creed crossover into the auto

market.

A statement by the automaker said from the very beginning of Ceed development 15 years ago, Kia has taken an open-minded approach to potential body styles. Many have been considered, and, in creating the new Ceed range, Kia’s European designers have been given the freedom to explore many different possibilities.

Gregory Guillaume, Vice President of Design for Kia Motors Europe, explains: “There’s another style,

P

another type of vehicle, that we feel very strongly deserves to be a new member of the Ceed family. It will the play the role that’s needed to make the Ceed range stronger and even more exciting, more appealing, to European consumers. The design will be nothing like you’ve seen in the Ceed family so far. This will be the next big surprise from Kia.” With the arrival of the new Ceed, Ceed Sportswagon and ProCeed, Kia’s best-selling model family hasn’t stopped growing, and the newest member will shake things up again.

The new Ceed crossover will be named and revealed later in 2019.

2019 Kia Ceed

Is That Call Worth Your Life

atrick Adenusi of Safety without Borders, a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) on road safety is one safety crusader whose passion I admire. Although Patrick is from the South West of the country, we call each other twin brothers from another mother.

Patrick, like I said earlier, runs an NGO-Safety beyond Borders. This piece is not about Patrick.

However, the title of today’s piece is borrowed from text sent by Patrick who lately bombards me with all sort of materials as his way of keeping me on my toes in the divine assignment of saving lives on our roads. Severally, I have written on the use of phone infraction which has become common place among motorist under titles such as ,the black berry phobia, the black berry craze, the last call, that call can wait and today’s title which like I said was influenced by a recent text message sent to me by my friend and brother, Patrick and the need to alert us as we draw nearer to the December rush which is often categorized by increased violation especially driving and phoning by motorists eager to meet both family and personal expectations.

Inline image ‘,Driving or phoning or better still distracted driving is a global concern. Despite the efforts in developed countries, there are still calls by some especially in Countries such as the United States of America for distracted driving to be a legislative priority, devoid of steps referred to by some observers as baby steps. This group

SAFE DRIVING with

Jonas Agwu amnipr, mcipr,mprsa,arpa (Corps Commander) Corps Public Education Officer Federal Road Safety Corps. + 2348033026491 maintains that driving and phoning should demand tougher and stiffer penalties just like the case of driving under the influence. They call for penalty points and license suspensions for chronic offenders arguing that,’’ Anyone who spends time behind the wheel sees that today’s fines don’t deter drivers from talking or texting when they should be paying attention to traffic, adding further that it is not the physical act of holding a phone that creates the danger; it’s the mental distraction of a conversation. This group maintains further that drivers do lots more than drive; they talk to passengers, fiddle with the radio or GPS, eat, drink or smoke. But these behaviors don’t match the uninterrupted distraction of a phone call. The multitasking of conversation — speaking, listening and responding — creates “inattention blindness” to the road.

Driving while using a handheld device, whether talking or texting, handheld or hands-free, should be outlawed. The dangers of distracted driving

rival those of drunken driving. So should the penalties. In the US, the National Transportation Safety Board recommends a ban on all phones while driving — talking or texting, handheld or hands-free. Polls conducted by the Board showed 64 percent of Americans approved this position.

Data sourced from the National Highway Traffic SafetyAdministration shows that U.S. drivers like their Nigerian counterparts are more than willing to use their mobile devices while behind the wheel, and most believe phone calls have no effect on their driving. The data shows that 77 percent will answer calls while driving; 41 percent say they will make phone calls while 76 percent will say something to a driver texting or e-mailing. The data further shows that 54 percent say talking on a handheld device makes no difference on their driving performance;40 percent will say something about unsafe driving to a driver using a handheld phone;25 percent say texting makes no difference on their driving;10 percent will read text messages while 6 percent say they will send a text. A study on done the Nigerian driving habits will be our focus at a later time.

What is testing while driving? According to WIKIPEDIA, texting while driving is the act of composing, sending, reading, texting messages, and email or making other similar use of web on the mobile phone while operating a motor vehicle.

This act is dangerous and has fatal consequences.

Globally, the act has been outlawed in some part of the world or restricted. In the United Kingdom, the use of a hand-held mobile or similar

the device while driving or supervising a leaner is illegal. This includes when stopped at traffic lights; the only exception is emergency calls. In the Unite States such as Arizoma, Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana and Maryland, among others, texting while driving has been out Lawed.The state of Texas prohibits school bus drivers from texting while transporting a child under 17 years and on October 2009, the United state department of transportation announced President Barak Obama signing of an executive order directing federal employee not to engage in text message while driving government owned vehicles. This according to the department sends clear signal to the American public that distracted driving is dangerous and unacceptable. Texting while driving led to increased distraction behind the wheel. In 2006, Liberty Mutual Insurance Group conducted a survey of more than 90 teens from than 26 high schools. The result shows that 37 percent consider testing to be “extremely” distracting. A studying by the American Auto mobile association discovered that 47 percent of teens admitted to being distracted behind the wheel because of texting. Distraction while driving is alarming because 40 percent of allAmerican teens say they have been in a car when the driver uses a cell phone in way that puts them in danger.

11percent of ages 18 -20 who were involved in a crash and some admitted they send or receiving text when they crashed. In 2010 the national high way traffic safety administration reported driver’s distraction was the course of 18 per cent of fatal crashes with 3,092 people killed and 416,000 people injured.

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MARCH 23, 2019 ˾ THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÍťËœ Ͱ͎ͯ͡

EXPRESSION

MEDIAGAFFES

‘Perfect Peace’ Ungrammatical

EBERE WABARA

Y

OU are welcome to this edition: “Burutai, who spoke through the Chief of Army Administration, MajorGeneral Kay Isiaku, said the committee which had since commenced work will (would) submit its report not later than (report latest) March 31, 2019.�

Get it right: Isiaku, who spoke for Buratai....

Nobody speaks through anyone—how is that possible? ‘Speak for somebody/something’ (phrasal verb) means to express the feelings, thoughts, or beliefs of a person or group of people. (Source: Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English) Still on the above edition which contained a battery of flaws: “After search and rescue (search-and-rescue) activities yesterday at the site of the collapsed building‌.â€? “Collapse (Collapsed) building: More tears as Lagos hands over bodies to families for burialâ€?

From THISDAY Global Soccer of the above edition come the next two wrongs: “How well he warms (worms) himself into the heart of the Eagles (Eagles’) gaffer‌.â€? “May his beautiful soul rest in perfect peace.â€? (THISDAY Back Page Column, March 16) ‘Peace’ is an absolute and, therefore, does not require any embellishment, adumbration, intensification, modification, emphasis, enhancement or padding. The only exception is ‘graveyard peace’. A rewrite: May his soul rest in peace. Whether the soul was beautiful or ugly is immaterial! ‘Rest in perfect peace (RIPP)’ is ungrammatical and a piece of ‘Nigerian English’! “2019: Can the opposition seize the opportunity?â€? From the other side: you take (not seize) the opportunity in British English environment, but American entry accepts that. “N23bn monthly allocation crash inter-bank ratesâ€? Business English: allocation crashes. “2023: Anglican bishop wants vigilante groups to help policemen protect ballot boxesâ€? In the interest of eschatology: vigilance groups.

The next three puerile extracts are from DAILY INDEPENDENT Opinion of February

BY

25: “Today, it is becoming increasing (increasingly) clearer that a free and fair election is possible in Nigeria‌.â€? â€œâ€Śthis he applied in fighting the cause of oppressed (the oppressed). He was Igbo (an Igbo) leader.â€? “Itse Sagay accuses Supreme Court justices of setting bad precedence in the country’s judicial history.â€? There is a morphological distinction between ‘precedence’ and ‘precedent’, which applies to the extract. “Economics, as if the poor matters!â€?

(Source: as above) Voice of the nation: the poor matter!

The next lexical lawlessness is from Vanguard of March 11: “Before independence, you don’t lobby to (sic) made a judge.� Get it right: you didn’t lobby to be made a judge.

From this medium a fortnight ago comes the next farcical entry: “Are the leaders calling for prayers so that we learn not to kill ourselves‌.â€? Truth in defence of freedom: we learn not to kill one another. â€œâ€Śit was common (a common) sight to see a classroom crowded with between 150-200 children‌.â€? (DAILY INDEPENDENT, March 11) Either: between 150 and 200 or from 150 to 200 (depending on context). No mix-up. “The grassroot man of Oyo politicsâ€?

(DAILY INDEPENDENT Headline, March 12) Basic knowledge: grassroots man “We invested heavily on their training and welfare and so should be told what led to their death‌.â€? (THE NATION, March 12) Ejigbo crash: we invested heavily in their training‌.

From THE NATION OPINION of the above edition comes the next impropriety: “Festo, as I use (used) to call him‌.â€? “The church‌was filled to capacity last weekend as‌.â€? (THE NATION SOCIETY, March 17) We cannot mention ‘capacity’ when a hall is filled as that fact is implied.

According to my copious dictionaries and reference books on the English language, fill means “to occupy the whole space of‌.â€? This also applies to “filled to the brimâ€?, et al. “What the church has joined together‌â€?

(Source: as above) Ancient English: joined together. Modern version: joined.

Still on THE NATION of March 12: “In the area of health, Aliyu has moved in to reduce maternal mortality through the introduc-

tion of anti-natal (what!) care for pregnant women‌.â€? â€œâ€Śante-natal for pregnant womenâ€?? Should it have been for which other women or, worse still, men? “Petrol tanker crushes 1 to deathâ€? Even a learner’s dictionary will educate you on the fatalistic nature of “crushingâ€?. So, the tanker crushes one. And in headline casting, numbers one to nine are written in words, while 10 and above are written in figures. “The statistics are here, I can give it to you.â€?

Back to school: I can give them to you, No discord, please.

The next two improprieties are from THISDAY Comment of March 13: â€œâ€Ś multiple allocations which has (sic) lingered for over 10 years is (sic) finally put to rest.â€? No further comment. “Of all the first generation (a hyphen, please) universities, OAU is arguably the one that was able to preserve its known ideology for the longest.â€? I do not agree with the usage of “arguablyâ€? by a majority of Nigerian writers. The explanation I got from one of the country’s frontline editors recently was not convincing: when you have points to justify your claims, it becomes arguable and when there are no justifications, you employ “unarguably.â€? If you are sure of your statement, make it declarative by jettisoning “arguably.â€?

And if you are unsure, do not make claims. If you do, be ready to argue it elsewhere when confronted (not in your contribution). For the avoidance of doubt, “arguableâ€? (adjective) and its adverb (arguably) mean: â€?‌for which good, if not necessarily convincing, reasons may be found/open to doubt/not certainly, but reasonably held to be.â€? (Source: THE NEW LEXICON WEBSTER’S DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, 2017) My grouse about this excerpt is the intrinsic element of doubt. â€œâ€ŚGuinea finally elects a president in an election that witnessed series of crises and postponements.â€? The long road to democracy: a series of crises and postponements.

THISDAY of March 19 contained a gaffe: “In one breathe, there are those who are still‌.â€? Take a fresh breath before we continue. â€œâ€Śit was a soothing balm.â€? (THE GUARDIAN, March 19) What else do balms do apart

ͺ͸͚ΠÖĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ë? Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă?â Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ̙ͺ̚

A

s my people are fond of saying: time is a tedious master; sometimes, there will be volume of words and no allowance for expression, and then there is another occasion with excess of idle time, and words fail the speaker.

Repressed by space and conditions, we shall continue to try and press our reflections into space lest they become outdated and overwhelmed by sheer speed and variety of cascading challenges that are the lot of Nigerians of the 21st century.

Sun-Scorching of Incumbency Factor

Somehow, a phenomenon in Nigerian political architecture is gradually being pulled down. It’s a slow and painful exercise, but the signs are clear that it is unraveling. Godfathers and kingmakers and tin-gods are dropping, or being kicked off their high horses, to the jubilant consternation of activists and spectators.

We have seen “invincible� emperors, modern-day potentates, arrogant ex-public servants and glorified boot-lickers receive well-aimed kicks in the butts - some are still speechless, while the incurably arrogant still strut around as if it’s all some sort of “misunderstanding�... they are wallowing in denial - too deeply sussed in their own fecal discharge to appreciate the power of a full dip in the communal river of humility.

In the North, long considered the motley crowd of political agitation, the news coming out indicates a more radical disposition to leadership recruitment roughly hewn in some sort of sophistication. Of course, the political establishment is not overwhelmed into cowering in a corner, tending its wounds.

The political merchants and dealers are fighting back, with any weapon within sight, irrespective of its crudeness.

Leading the way, unsurprisingly, are the Kano warriors who voted massively (well, relatively) for President Muhammadu Buhari (1,474,786) against Atiku Abubakar of PDP (391,593).

However, in the governorship election, the people chose to express their disgust at the alleged dollar-gate videos where the incumbent governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, was allegedly captured receiving, counting and pocketing what was generally believed to be US dollars in kickbacks. As at the last kick, before collation suspended, the man who boasted last year that Kano would give Buhari five million votes could only muster for himself 987,819 votes to PDP’s Abba Kabir-Yusuf (1,014,474) after valid votes from all 44 local government areas were collated. The INEC call of ‘inconclusive election� in 176 PUs saved Ganduje’s

blushes momentarily.

States like Gombe (where PDP’s Ibrahim Dankwambo (222,868) could not rub the shine of incumbency on the electorates to defeat APC’s Inuwa Yahaya (364,179); Sokoto’s Aminu Tambuwal, who had designs to rule this country, sweated profusely (scoring 489,558) to barely fence off his former deputy, Ahmed Aliyu of APC (486,145), and now has a second chance today to attempt his re-election in the re-run polls.

In Plateau State, incumbent Solomon Lalong of APC (583,255) is panting to defeat old soldier, Jeremiah Useni of PDP (538,326) with a tottering “Inconclusive Election� to decide the winner today. The painful reality of uncertainty has dawned on Bauchi, Adamawa, Taraba where fiefdoms of power are being rooted or threatened, and new allegiances and countervailing strategies are being activated to redress the disgrace of March 9!

However, the story is less inspiring in the southern part of Nigeria. A spate of returns dog the South East where incumbent governors seemingly strolled through the races: in Abia, Okezie Ikpeazu garnered 261,127 in spite of the new-found momentum of APC (which polled only 99,574); Enugu’s Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi was ruthless with 449,935, leaving a less than paltry 10,423 for APC. Similar misfortune was the emblem of APC in Ebonyi (Dave Umahi polled 393,043 to APC’s 81,703). Imo with its peculiar madness had the APC incumbent governor, Rochas Okorocha, rooting for another party, leaving his party, under which he contested a senatorial seat two weeks earlier, with a slim 96,458 votes in third position, thus allowing PDP’s Emeka Ihedioha to breast the tape with 273,404 votes.

Yet, there is nothing to indicate that the handsome votes in returning those governors were testaments to good governance, infrastructural development, exemplary leadership and demonstratable improvement in the lives of the electorates. Many observers alleged the insidious influence of cash and brashness in voter-inducement during the elections.

Some semblance of comeuppance was still achieved in parts of the South... as they say in football commentaries, few states saved the blushes of the so-called enlightened gentry of the South West. Remarkably, the mumblings of Ogun and Oyo governors warm the hearts of progressives. Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun) was particularly bellicose, and turned common sense and civility up side down with the style and tenor with which he set about installing his choices in virtually all available spots, and imposing his will on the people, even resisting the barricade of his political party, aping Okorocha’s perfidy. When he could

ewabara@yahoo.com, 08055001948

from soothing?

The next three blunders are from THISDAY of March 20: “It is however a consensus opinion that the home, that is parents, should bear the prime responsibility of introducing the subject.â€? For grammatical sanity, jettison ‘opinion’ from the extract. “The occasion was held in Victoria Island.â€? (Source: as above) Get it right: on Victoria Island. “The accused policeman was said to have actually demanded for N10,000 before he was‌.â€? Simply yank off ‘for’ from the excerpt. “Saraki advocates for more statesâ€? ‘Advocacy’ in the verbal context does not take ‘for’. “Two arrested over heroin seizure at Lagos Portâ€? (THISDAY, February 20) Very soon, I will arrest THISDAY editors for (not over) juvenile mistakes. â€œâ€Śshe opens up on how she gained entry into the world of make-belief‌.â€? Grammar is not make-believe. â€œâ€Śthe food situation in the continent‌.â€?

Classical writing: on the continent “Conspicuously absent at the wedding reception was former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida and his children‌.â€? Three issues: ‘Conspicuously absent’ is sheer illiteracy! (Absent at the‌.). ‘Military president’ can only come from a confused head. We can talk of military leader or military ruler (not the contradictory and vexatious extract). Finally, IBB and his children deserve plural treatment (were, not was). “Progressive politicians seize the opportunity of‌.â€? Let me take (not seize) this opportunity to declare that there are no progressive politicians here. “Producing ice-blocks without tearsâ€?

English without tears: ice cubes (not blocks).

Nigerian Tribune of January 30 advertised two offensive lines: “Unfortunately, the reality in Nigeria today is: who will throw the first stone?� The hard fact: cast the first stone. “Customs intercept tanker load (what happened to the hyphen?) of drugs� The Nigeria Customs Service is an entity. So, NCS intercepts..

COUNTERPOINT BY

FEMI

AKINTUNDE-JOHNSON e-mail: fajalive1@gmail.com mobile phone: (08182223348 - SMS Only)

not secure his minions the electoral seats (governor, senators, HoR and state assembly), the Owu man simply moved them into a makeshift party, APM, to continue the battle of wits and attrition, while he remained in APC to stir the mud effectively(?) Apparently, even his “pal�, the president, was unable to dissuade him from his eventual collision with disgrace, and near all-round losses. He got a Senate seat though, by the curve of his “bogus� cap!

Amosun’s less truculent brother in Oyo, Abiola Ajimobi was comprehensively whitewashed. He lost all, including his own senatorial ambition. His governorship candidate, Adebayo Adelabu was severely worsted by a veteran trialist, PDP’s Seyi Makinde (third attempt at this stage). Adelabu scored 357,982 to Makinde’s 515,621. Emphatic.

The case of Kwara was apparently written in the stars - the young Kwara strongman, Bukola Saraki, was completely separated from his near mythical possession, with surgical precision. All the candidates of his party, PDP, lost, and the factor of a relatively successful incumbency was rendered null and void.

Perhaps, the elections next time will give us more curds to chew, and more profound opportunity to more seriously interrogate the possibility that the overarching influence and indulgences of incumbency, at least, at the state level, are gradually being moderated by electorates’ sophistication and gravitas, voter reprisals, more robust election management... or it is all merely a mirage occasioned by ephemeral anger, a chink in the armour of our vastly unconscionable political class.

We shall enrich our democracy further, hopefully, and not relapse, when the elections for the six absentee states, all in the South, come into the fore in the next two or three years. The following states did not participate in the March 9 governorship election: Osun, Ondo, Edo, Kogi, Bayelsa and Anambra.

Today, let the six “inconclusive� states make a sterner statement on the inviolable right of the Nigerians to change or retain their leaders, freely and fairly - and let us pray for Rivers State.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER t."3$) , 2019

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SHOWBIZFLAIR

Ramsey Nouah Recreates ‘Living in Bondage’ KEN ERICS I Once Stood from Anambra to Lagos As I Couldn’t Afford the Fare

CYNTHIA BASSEY As a Woman, Your Hair is Part of Your Fashion Statement pg. 48

pg. 49

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER t."3$) , 2019

SHOWBIZFLAIR

Ramsey Nouah Recreates ‘Living in Bondage’ Re-creation of the classic ‘Living in Bondage’ movie that marks his directorial debut is still in the making as Nollywood poster boy, Ramsey Nouah, gives a new date for its release. Ferdinand Ekechukwu reports

W

hen ace Nigerian actor Ramsey Nouah and business man, Charles Okpaleke set out on a mission to possibly remake ‘Living in Bondage’, the Nollywood classic movie of the 90s, it immediately raised a nostalgic feel steeped in excitement. Little did they envisage the project would be entrapped in production technicalities that would take the work more time than required to get to the cinemas.

In a telephone chat with this writer, the famous actor who is on set in Ghana revealed that production of the movie was still on and not in post-production yet, as widely believed. “It’s still in production. Not in post-production yet.

We have done 90 per cent of the work,” he said. The work has been in the making for over three years now, although certainly not the first Nollywood production to have taken such time.

The veteran Nollywood ‘lover-boy’ had earlier hinted of a tentative schedule that would see production completed in January and the movie released during Easter season. However, he explained that, “We had to call off production the second time after we picked up in February but was called off again.” He stated that the movie would be released towards end of the year, in September precisely. The reason he attributes to technical issues with the partners that would have given a soft landing to the movie in terms of the budget.

He further confirmed that it’s actually a recreation of the original movie which he was inspired by his love for challenges. “I love challenges… tasks that probably challenges me. The movie project is not new. It’s a sequel.

We have been on this now for over three years.” Remarkably, one fears that it just might lose it steam when completed. On board the project is Play Network owned by Charles Okpaleke, Native Films by renowned movie practitioner Steve Gukas, and Ramsey Films by Ramsey Nouah.

Notably, Nollywood is no stranger to sequels. However, creating sequels to nostalgic films from the 90s is new.

Most originals are held in such high esteem that many sequels don’t stand a chance. However, it takes a great script, director and actors to ensure that a sequel doesn’t simply recycle everything viewers already know about the original. It was very important that the sequel appeals to a mixed demography of the past and the present.

So when they wrote the story, they felt it was lopsided. They were trying to catch the demography of today who go to the cinemas and those who have not seen the original movie. Trying to use the original to create the same feel for the sequel was not an easy task for him.

As Nouah noted elsewhere, “Here’s the issue, at the time we originally shot ‘Living in Bondage’, about 26 years ago, the generation of those who actually saw it, I doubt if they go to the cinemas.

So, now the issue is to balance the

Steve Gukas

story.”

First released in 1992, and its half part in 1993, it was the film to beat in that era. The follow-up work to the cult drama thriller of the same name would mark Nouah’s directorial debut after it was announced in 2015 having secured the rights from Kenneth Nnebue, the originator of the epic movie. Just according to Nouah, “In 2015, we went to get the license from the original owner, Kenneth Nnebue. We went to look for him, we got the license and for two

years, we were having problems with writing the story.

“To get the demographic of those who originally watched it and the demographic of today. We’ve done over 10 drafts already before we finally came to this last one.” Living in Bondage afforded Nigerians an opportunity to see a homegrown production at the time most of what Nigerians purchased to watch at home were American, Indian and Chinese films.

The new movie which would now

come with a sub theme ‘Living in Bondage: Breaking Free’, as Nouah had confirmed, was filmed in Europe and America as well as Nigeria, with a good number of its lead actors like Kenneth Okonkwo, Bob Manuel Udokwu, and Kanayo O. Kanayo in return. The original had starred household names like Kenneth Okonkwo as Andy, Nnenna Nwabueze as Merit, Francis Agu as Ichie Millionaire, Bob Manuel Udokwu as Mike, Ngozi Nwosu as Ego, Kanayo O. Kanayo

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER t."3$) , 2019

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SHOWBIZFLAIR

Ramsey Nouah Recreates ‘Living in Bondage’

The cast on set

To get the demographic of those who originally watched it and the demographic of today, we’ve done over 10 drafts already before we finally came to this last one as Chief Omego, Rita Nzelu as Tina among others.

Additions to the movie include Ramsey Nouah, who would be taking up a villainous role and Enyinna Nwigwe in an unknown role. While it was not the first Nigerian film to be produced, it inspired a passionate following and kickstarted the popular money ritual plot in Nollywood. Many even recognised it as the film that led to the evolution of the movie industry and the home video market boom in the 90s.

The film also shot its lead cast (Kenneth Okonkwo) from relative obscurity to super status.

The original movie told the story of a man who sacrifices his loved wife for wealth. After her death, her ghost returns to haunt him. To a movie critic, 26 years after its release, “Living in Bondage” is still in the pop culture landscape.

And for 28 years, Nouah has steadily made an indelible mark on Nollywood by carving out a great career for himself in front of the camera, which provides him all the experience to cement his legacy with a stint behind it.

Kenneth Okonkwo

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER t."3$) , 2019

SHOWBIZFLAIR KEN ERICS

I Once Stood from Anambra to Lagos As I Couldn’t Afford the Fare Ken Erics is a Nollywood actor, musician and producer. He has done several movies and won numerous awards and nominations. Erics has a lot to show for his impact on the industry. He tells Tosin Clegg about his journey, love for music, Nollywood and other projects Ken Erics is a regular guy Dike, Sylvester Amadu, Yul Edoche and it came out big and people took notice of me. Producers took notice of me also and

by God’s grace I progressed.

H

e is your boy next door and he is an actor, a musician. Basically, that’s who I am. Life outside the camera is basic for me and I do nothing serious outside my work. I take enough time to go out, have some rest and relax with family.

I sleep as much as I can and, just like everyone else, I live normal.

I started singing at 13 As I have done music all my life. I went to the church and there was a programme and the band was playing, I got there and saw a microphone I took it and hid under the table then sang to what they were playing. I knew I was attracted to music but I didn’t know what pushed me to where the band was as they were much older than me. They later found me and then I sang again. Later on, I became the youngest member of that band from that day onwards. I began to attend functions and, basically, I have sang all my life. With that I consolidated and started learning other musical instruments which I got from my mother which I’m sure she got from hers. So, it’s been a generation of singers. It’s something I love doing as singing is in my DNA and it’s something I can do all day without getting tired. I do basically all kinds of music.

Growing up was fun for me I would say I had wonderful experiences as a young child which I believe added up to who I am today. I realised very early enough that I was attracted to the arts so I was into mimicking, music, drumming but I had a very interesting childhood experience as I’m from a family that allowed you to express yourself as much as you could. It was like a regular family where you grow up in church, as I actually started acting from church. I remember those days I would sneak out of the house to go and watch performances and live shows which all registered in my head and I knew one day I was going to do this and here we are today.

Music chose me, as I didn’t choose it As I said earlier, I was drawn to the band. Music has always been in me, as I grew up to hear my mum always singing in the house. Every time I came back from school she was always singing to a record and she has the most amazing voice I have ever heard in this world. Music is more than entertainment for me, as I like to inspire people with it.

I had my primary school in Kano I was born in Kano and had primary education in this city. Then I did secondary school in Onitsha and went to Nnamdi Azikiwe University where I obtained a degree in Theatre Arts and Film Studies and also had a Master’s Degree in the same field. So, it’s been onward from there and I’m looking at doing a PhD because I just applied for it recently. I have had a very busy academic life, as well as professional life because I love the academics. Most of the things I know today are from people who were my teachers and lecturers and they have influenced me so much. Maybe that’s why I’m still drawn to it and I feel I should impact the next generation to be able to teach others what I have learnt, particularly that hardwork and dedication pays.

My journey into Nollywood started in my first year I had this audition and I went with my classmate from school. Though I wasn’t chosen but I ended up being a part of the production because of an incident. I went there with my guitar because I love music and then a big actor at that time, Pat Attah, saw me when I was leaving with my guitar and asked who owns it and I said I was, not knowing he could play.

He played and I sang then he said I was talented and that I should be in the film and he took me back to the producers. I auditioned again and I got a small role, then I moved on. I went back to the university, finished and left for youth service.

I got back and started attending auditions again and with time, I got one or two roles and here we are today. It wasn’t easy or rosy but I kept at it and I made it and this is what everybody needs out there.

And by God’s grace he blessed my effort and I’m grateful for that.

Challenges I faced were like every other person’s There are many people who want the same thing as you, and most want to be actors. But I knew it was possible because whoever was determined got it. So, I kept at it as there were times I went hungry.

There was this time I stood in a bus from Anambra to Lagos for an audition because

I can’t remember the number of awards I have collected I’m not really keen about it though, but my greatest awards I always say are the ones I get from my fans as they are the people I care about and I’m glad they approve of what I do and that they follow me, as not everyone has that privilege.

I have won awards and I have gotten so many nominations but the fans and audience are the greatest awards for me.

The Prophet is a new movie I’m working on And I’m playing Pastor Jakes and it’s an expository. It is mind blowing but I don’t want to reveal so much. When this movie drops it’s going to change things because it was well researched and it’s something to watch out for.

Erics

I couldn’t afford to pay for a full seat and when I got to Lagos, luckily for me, I got a role in the movie. I have attended auditions in various places across the country as the fire was in me and I kept on burning and wanted to do it. It wasn’t easy and there was this financial constraint, but at the end, it’s worth it and I advised people to make sure they are good at it.

I was putting every effort to make sure it paid off and I’m thankful it did.

The Movie, Illiterate was my break out movie It was shot in 2011 and was released in 2012 and I was almost giving up because the frustration was much. I was actually in Lagos and I didn’t have movie roles to do and I needed to survive and there was

this friend of mine who called me and said a couple needed someone to be an MC at their wedding ceremony, which I had never done before. But I was hungry and I knew I could do it if I tried so I had to call another friend of mine who was an MC and told him what it was about; we anchored, got back and split the money.

So, immediately we got back from the wedding I got a call about a movie role from someone who had seen something I did in a movie and I have never met this person before and I asked him to send the scripts. It was good but the money they offered was small and I almost turned it down but he advised I do it.

So I went to Enugu from Lagos and asked them to give me some time to peruse the scripts and I did the movie with Tonto

I’m working on my own production I just finished the post production titled, Sons and Daughters. It’s a movie close to my heart, as it’s a family story and I hold it so dear. I shot it in November and I want my fans to look out for it. I have upcoming projects as well, so it’s been a busy period for me as I’m taking it one at a time.

I strive for perfection And I don’t joke with my work and craft and I don’t expect anybody I’m working with to joke with theirs also.

For me, acting is a very serious business as it’s beyond the physical but it’s more emotional, spiritual and an intellectual exercise.

So, what stands me out is that I immerse myself in the characters I play and take it seriously and become them. I try to assume that person’s mental situation so as to pour it out because if you don’t have it mentally it would be difficult to express it. I believe in method acting and realism.

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER t."3$) , 2019

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SHOWBIZFLAIR

Tosin Clegg 07062816737 e-mail: tosinclegg@hotmail.com

MY STORY

Gists TENI ANNOUNCES DATES FOR HER EUROPE TOUR WITH AFROLAVIDA Teni Makanaki has announced that she would embark on her Europe tour with Afrolavida tagged “Teni Live In Europe,” starting from March 29th to April 13th. The entertainer announced this via her Instagram and Twitter pages and she is more than excited for this awesome experience. Teni gave us massive hits last year such as Case, Uyo Meyo, Wait and a host of other melodious tunes. Teni’s career has been a massive hit so far, shows, concerts, appearances, deals and a lot more which have brought her to major limelight with huge international followership. This would further add to the reach of her music.

The tour will see her perform in nine cities over a period of one month.

Afrolavida Music Festival is brought to you by Brainleads Entertainment and they are rest assured she would serve hot vibes at each city.

CYNTHIA BASSEY

As a Woman, Your Hair is Part of Your Fashion Statement Cynthia is a model and a creative entrepreneur. She has a wide experience in make-up and currently runs a hair and lashes brand called Phronesyshair. She tells Tosin Clegg about her hair business, modelling excellence and more

KLEB SHOUT SET FOR GLOBAL STAGE AHEAD OF 2019 MUSICAL CAMPAIGN Kleb Shout group is an accomplished African traditional group that specialises in African traditional folk songs.

This is an outstanding unique group that has delicious indigenous flavours in their music which has made them sought-after both at home and abroad for concerts, shows and performances. Kleb Shout is the lead vocalist and the leader of the band, which is made up of 15 members with different talents.

He and his band have graced both local and international stages doing cultural unique programmes of dance and music in Urhobo Isoko and Igbo languages. This unique talent bagged them a

best performance award in 2018.

Right now, Kleb Shout and his band are set to go on a tour in Europe and the United States this year as a recognised Outstanding African Group of the Year, performing in African traditional display of songs and dance. They will be performing for the Urhobo and Igbo community in Europe and in the United States for their annual cultural activities.

Aside from singing, Kleb Shout is also a song writer, a coach and an instructor in African traditional music. His music has influenced African and international scenes and he has given back to the society through his music.

FOX’S MOST FAMOUS TV SERIES TO LAND ON STARTIMES ONLINE VIDEO PLATFORM Fox’s most famous TV series, like The Walking Dead and Empire, are to land on StarTimes online video streaming platform, StarTimes ON, in March. A source from StarTimes said that almost all Fox’s famous TV series would successively be available on StarTimes ON from yesterday, 22nd March.

According to the source, a Fox+ Series zone would particularly be created.

Besides The Walking Dead and Empire, 24, X-files, Outcast, Bones, American Dad, Modern Family, Ghosted, Chance, Star and Family Guy will be first served in March to users of StarTimes ON. More TV series, including Legion, Prison Break, Homeland, Atlanta, American Horror

Story, Wayward Pines, Da Vinci’s Demons, Futurama, The Americans, Sleepy Hollow, Bob’s Burger, Scream Queens, Rosewood, Baskets, 24 Legacy, Son of Zorn and The Gifted will join StarTimes ON later, in April, May and June.

“We are very happy to bring Fox+ Series to our users and I’m sure that fans of American television series will fully enjoy themselves with StarTimes ON,” said Ariel Wang, StarTimes ON Operation Director.

She said that StarTimes ON would continue to introduce excellent international and African local contents to the online video streaming platform with saying: “No doubt, people can expect more!”

T

ell us about your brand and what you have been into lately?

My brand represents the luxury lifestyle in the areas of beauty and fashion. Lately, I’ve focused on expanding my hair and lashes brand, Phronesyshair and Cmllashes. I’m also putting out more content as a style influencer/creative.

What’s exceptional about your products and services?

At Phronesyshair, we make sure to offer premium quality hair only and we deliver in an efficient, reliable and timely manner. And I do this because I have always loved fashion and as a woman, your hair is part of your fashion statement. The kind of hair you have could make or break your outfit.

Tell us about your modelling gig and what stands you out?

I have an aesthetically pleasing look and I slay effortlessly with my hair, makeup and how I piece my outfits together, as is evident by my pictures.

As a style influencer what do you bring differently to the game?

My experience in the hair and beauty industry gives me an edge over other style Influencers. I know how to use the best products for any look.

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THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER t."3$) , 2019

SHOWBIZFLAIR

Sparkling Kiki Osinbajo Kiki, the daughter of the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was 26 on Monday. The beautiful Kiki shared a lovely photo of herself to mark the day and captioned it “Chapter 26, March 18th 1993.” She then wrote: This is only the beginning... I thank God for bringing me this far and for how much I’ve accomplished. For making my dreams come true @glamdafrica@shopkonyin but I know he just started with me.....

Happy Kiki dayyyy?????? #26tosixfigures #securethebank

Kiki

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER t."3$) , 2019

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Cast, Enado Odigie and Blossom Chukwujekwu, on set of the movie, JOBA

Highly Anticipated Movie, JOBA, Hits Cinemas April 5

Chinedu Ibeabuchi

J

OBA, a faith-based movie produced and directed by top Nollywood filmmaker, Biodun Stephen, will debut in Cinemas on April

5, 2019.

The highly-anticipated movie features Blossom Chukwujekwu, Enado Odigie, Ronke Ojo- Anthony and Christine Osifuye.

Reputed for her amazing storytelling, Biodun Stephen brings another captivating story using vivid relatable life experience to pass a message centered on love, strength and omniscience of God. The movie is about the travails of a young Christian couple battling between their marriage and faith.

The faith of the couple is tried, especially when all fingers are pointed to the husband as the cause of their troubles. He must protect his wife who is on the verge of insanity, whilst still managing to keep his faith. It is a production by Shutterspeed Projects in collaboration with Cross Dimension Production.

JOBA, written by Biodun Stephen, brings an interest-

ing twist to faith-based genre which is fast making a return to cinemas after years of absence. Judging from her previous works – like The Visit and Picture Perfect that pulled huge cinema crowd, then Ovy’s Voice and Ehi’s Bitters rated as the best, by audience choice, on iRoko TV in 2017 and 2018 respectively – it will be a delight to see JOBA. On the story, Stephen says JOBA is a divine story that remains one of her best in a long time.

“I’m very excited and happy about the movie because it’s a very special movie for me.

“I will say the project is divine. I listened to a song by PSALMOS featuring TOPE ALABI and I must have listened to the song over 52 times while driving and when I got home, I knew I had to write something about it.

“I wrote it and without editing or reading, I finished and went to bed.

“When I woke up the next morning to read the story, I was amazed, so much that I didn’t believe I could have written it. Then I knew I was just a vessel to deliver this message,” she said.

Ronke Ojo- Anthony

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NEWS

2019: Appeal Court Authenticate Owan-Enoh, Ndoma-Egba, Others as C’River APC Candidates Bassey Inyang Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă–Ă‹ĂŒĂ‹Ăœ

The Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar yesterday declared that Senator John Owan-Enoh, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, and others were the candidates

of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Cross River State for the 2019 governorship and National Assembly elections.

The Appeal Court further declared that the Sir John Ochalla-led executive commit-

tee is the valid state executive committee of the party in the state.

Delivering judgements in the two cases that bordered on who were the authentic candidates of the APC, as

Maximedia Global Elevates Iwayemi, Okeleke, Ufot Ugochukwu Aliogo

Maximedia Global Limited, a media independent company with specialisation in media strategy development, planning, channels buying and audit has announced the elevation of three key staff, Seyi Iwayemi, Isioma Okeleke, and Ekpedeme Ufot Before his elevation to Senior Group Head/Project Director, Seyi Iwayemi was the Group Head, Channel Management, charged with the responsibility for negotiations and media buying. Mr. Iwayemi is a media professional with 19 years’ experience in Marketing Communications and Media Management across the Nigerian market spanning major categories including FMCGs, Oil and Gas, Government Parastatals, Airlines, Financial and Insurance Sectors, Pharmaceuticals and NonGovernmental organisations. He has handled the media buying needs for Access Bank, Wapic Insurance, Emirates, Swipha, Novartis, House on the Rock,

John Hopkins University, Pepsi amongst others.

He is an Associate Member of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), Associate Member Nigeria Institute of Management (NIM) and currently the Assistant Secretary Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN) Until her recent elevation to Senior Group Head, Strategic Intelligence Planning, Isioma Okeleke, was Group Head, Strategic Intelligence Planning.

Her foray into the advertising industry a decade ago led to her garnering expertise as a media strategist and planner managing key accounts such as Stanbic IBTC Group and Beiersdorf with stints on GlaxoSmithKline and VISA in the first half of her career. She has also managed media projects for HPZ, Access Bank PLC and Unilever Nigeria (Deodorants) and has led the team at Maximedia to win HPZ and Johns Hopkins Centre for Communications Programmes (NURHI 2 & TCI) pitches in recent times.

In her capacity as the Strategic Intelligence Planning Unit lead where she provides oversight functions, Isioma strives for continuous value creation and delivery to clients which she believes helps to sustain long term business relationships. She obtained her first degree in Mass Communication from Madonna University, Okija, is a member of the Advertising Practitioners Council (APCON), a certified CRESTCOM leader and an alumna of the prestigious Lagos Business School.

Ekpedeme Ufot now heads the Innovations department.

In his new role, he will be responsible for driving the agency’s traditional and new media integration with the aim of delivering engaging and effective brand campaigns.

In a career spanning over 10 years, he has worked in media planning and buying, outdoor and digital for clients like Guinness, Emirates, Access Bank, Unity Bank, Exxon Mobil, Jiji. ng, Travelstart, Betpawa and many others.

well as the authentic state executive of the party, the Appeal panel declared that Owan-Enoh, Ndoma-Egba and others whose names were published by the Independent National Electoral Commission, remained the authentic candidates of the party.

The presiding Judge, Justice J.S. Ikyegh and two others; Justice T. Abubakar, and Justice U. A. Ogakwu unanimously ruled in Cases N0: CA/C/62/2019 and CA/C/70/2019 involving Etim John and others versus John Ochalla and others, that

the Federal High Court sitting in Calabar acted without jurisdiction in its order.

The Appeal Court noted that the lower court cannot grant relief, and make orders against persons who were not parties before the court.

The court accordingly set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court describing same as “being pervasive, and where no relief was sought�.

The justices said that the orders of the Federal High Court “were made gratuitous, and without fair hearing and against established principles

of the law.�

The court said in the circumstances, the Candidates whose names were published remained the authentic candidates of the APC in the state.

In the second case N0: CA/C/70/2019 bothering on leadership of the state Executive of the party, the Appeal Court Judges also authenticated the Sir John Ochalla led Exco over the factional exco of Etim John who is supported by the Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Uguru Usani.

WIKE: MILITARY PRYING IN 2019 ELECTIONS, WORST IN HISTORY Cont’d from Pg 6 He particularly decried the invasion of the home of the Rivers State Education Commissioner, the harassment of his family and his subsequent arrest.

Wike informed the committee that in one of the post-election briefings at Bori Camp, the GOC allegedly wondered why the soldiers failed to kill him (Wike).

Also speaking, Rivers State Education Commissioner, Dr Tamunosisi Gogo-Jaja, outlined the trauma he faced alongside his family during the invasion of his home by the Nigerian Army.

He explained how he was

interrogated by the GOC at the 6 Division after his arrest and that upon his release he was driven home by the Rivers State Commander of Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Akin Fakorede.

Chairman of the Nigerian Army Investigative committee on Electoral Violence, Major General Ayibakuro Gagariga, said the committee was established by the Chief of Army Staff to investigate allegations of misconduct against the Nigerian Army.

He noted that the committee would look into cases of alleged interference by the Nigerian Army during the

General Election in Rivers State. “There was the killing of Lt Gumi in Abonnema. Others were also killed during the elections in Rivers State.

There is also the allegation on the attempt to assassinate the Rivers State Governor,� he said.

The highpoint of the meeting was the visual presentation of all the locations of Army invasion to the committee members. The governor also presented a pictorial overview of the interference of the Nigerian Army in the electoral process in the state.

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Court Orders INEC to Include More Bayelsa Polling Units in Rescheduled Elections Emmanuel Addeh Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă™Ă‹

The Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to include omitted units in the rescheduled election scheduled for today in Brass Constituency 1.

The trial judge, Justice E. Inyang made the order in a motion ex parte filed

by Preye Brodrick and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against INEC. The court ruled that INEC should conduct supplementary elections in polling units 11-16; units 1-10 and 17 to 21 of Ward 6 in Brass Constituency 1 of the state on March 23 or any other date determined

SIMULATED ARREST ...

A staged arrest of illegal ďŹ shermen by the Special Boat Service team (SBS) during a search and rescue sea exercise, Obangame express, in the Gulf of Guinea on Wednesday

NNPC Moves to Cut Fuel Imports, Signs $50m ReďŹ nery Overhaul Contract with Italian Firm Chika Amanze-Nwacuku åÓÞÒ Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂŁ ĂœĂ?ĂšĂ™ĂœĂž The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has again announced plans to revamp the nation’s four refineries to help the country save billions of dollars it expends annually on fuel imports.

To this end, the corporation has awarded a contract worth about $50 million to Italy’s Maire Tecnimont to carry out checks and equipment inspections of Port Harcourt refinery.

The Port Harcourt refinery overhaul would be followed by the Warri and Kaduna refineries, according to Reuters report.

Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu hinted

recently that the federal government would raise $1.2 billion to upgrade the four refineries as it plans to end reliance on petrol imports this year. Between 2013 and 2017, Nigeria spent $36.371billion on importation of petroleum products, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Also, Kachikwu, in 2017, disclosed that Nigeria allocated an average of $28 billion of her foreign exchange earnings yearly to import about 92 per cent of the petrol consumed locally.

Kachikwu, who made the revelation at the 2017 conference of the Modular Refineries Association of Nigeria (MRAN) in Abuja, also put the country’s

daily petrol consumption then, at 66 million litres.

However, a recent report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that a whopping N2.289 trillion was expended in 2018 alone on importation of refined petrol.

According to the report, a total of N802.4 billion worth of petrol was imported in the first quarter of the year, N744.28 billion in the second quarter and N742.82 billion in the third quarter of 2018.

Nigeria’s four refineries located in Port Harcourt (two), Warri and Kaduna, with combined installed capacity to refine 445,000 barrels of crude per day, have been comatose, because top oil industry officials

divert huge funds earmarked for their routine comprehensive turnaround maintenance (TAM).

THISDAY had exclusively reported that contrary to repeated claims by the NNPC that the refineries undergo routine TAM, the four refineries have not undergone comprehensive repairs in the last 18 years or more as contracts awarded by successive governments were either abandoned halfway or not executed at all.

The NNPC confirmed this, when it hinted last Thursday that the planned overhaul of the 210,000 barrels per day (bpd) Port Harcourt refinery would be the first since the last revamp was carried out 19 years ago.

Buhari Inaugurates Presidential Sniffer Dogs, 95 Ships, Committee to Foster Legislative, 12 Aircraft Deployed for Operation ‘Obangame Express’ Judicial Autonomy Omololu Ogunmade Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday in Abuja inaugurated a presidential committee on state legislative and judicial autonomy to ensure the realisation and effectiveness of the autonomy of both institutions as enshrined in the constitution.

Section 121(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) grants the legislature and the judiciary in each of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) autonomy with a view to enhancing their independence from the stranglehold of the executive arm of government.

The committee which has the responsibility of coming up with measures aimed at achieving the required level of autonomy by the two arms of government has three months to conclude its assignment and report its findings to the president.

While inaugurating the committee in the State House yesterday, Buhari said constituting the committee had become compelling in view of

the realisation that legislative and judicial autonomy was a precursor for Nigeria’s democratic growth.

Buhari said the decision to constitute the committee was also necessitated by the need to strengthen democracy and guarantee the principle of separation of powers among the three arms of government in Nigeria at the state levels.

According to him, the decision was also propelled by the need to ensure the sustenance of federal system of government as enshrined in the constitution “by building capabilities not only at the federal level but at all the federating units.�

The president who said the committee would be chaired by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang, as the secretary, added that the committee had been constituted as a major reform initiative of the federal government.

Chiemelie Ezeobi The United States Naval Forces Africa (US NAVAF), yesterday, revealed that one of the successes of this year’s Obagame Express, a multinational maritime interdiction on the Gulf of Guinea, was the deployment of drug sniffer dogs and vertical assault simulations at sea by special forces.

According to NAVAF Coordinator, US Navy Admiral James Foggo, the deployment, which was the first in the nine-year annals of the exercise, was the most difficult, thus making it the climax of the five-day sea exercise.

Also deployed for the maritime security exercise was a total of 95 ships and patrol crafts, 12 aircraft, 2,500 participants from navies and coastguards in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) region, just as 33 countries took part in the sea exercise that spanned across the African maritime domain.

Foggo, who spoke at the Nigerian Naval Dockyard Limited (NDL), Victoria Island, Lagos, scored this year’s exercise excellent, adding that participants were taken through 85 series of

simulations specifically drafted to suit maritime threats in the region.

Noting that for the first time, the exercise made use of a Maritime Domain Awareness Centre, he said: “I have served in the headquarters of the African Partnership Station since 2010 and when we started, we did not have maritime operational centres or the Yaounde Code of Conduct in the maritime domain of the Gulf of Guinea. “Now, countries collaborate better than they did in 2010 because of relationships built as a result of OBANGAME Express held every year. We have made incredible progress. “This year was even more difficult. We had sniffer dogs for anti-drug trafficking simulations.

We had Special Boats Services (SBS) from the Nigerian Navy.

For the first time, we had the Maritime Domain Awareness Centre as part of the exercise. “We are enthusiastic about successes recorded in the past nine years as we look forward to the 10th year. I give this year’s exercise an A+.

by the defendant (INEC).

On grounds for the application, the plaintiff had told the court that elections did not hold in the affected units in line with the guidelines of INEC. The plaintiff said: “Elections did not hold in units 1-10 and units 17-21 of Ward 6 of Brass Constituency 1 in the Bayelsa State House of Assembly elections which held on March 9, 2019. “By the regulations and guidelines for the conduct of the elections in 2019, the elections are deemed to be postponed and supplementary elections ought to be conducted in the said units.

It is in the interest of justice to grant the prayers sought.�

The court upheld all the grounds.

Elections: Situation Room Ask NJC to Check Court Unwarranted Injunctions Onyebuchi Ezigbo Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË

The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room has urged the National Judicial Council to urgently put a stop to the spate of questionable court injunctions aimed at scuttling the electoral process.

The election observer coalition also urged the various arms of the security services to demonstrate their renewed commitment to nonpartisanship during Saturday’s supplementary elections in parts of the country.

While addressing a press conference on Friday regarding the expectations for the rerun elections, the Convener of the Situation Room, Mr. Clement Nwankwo said the use of courts to stall collation and announcement of election results had assumed a worrisome dimension.

He said politicians no longer allow the duly established election tribunals to adjudicate on their petitions before going to the courts. “Situation Room will additionally like to express concern about the emerging trend of escalating judicial involvement

in what should ordinarily be matters outside the purview of the courts across the country. “The courts have gotten involved in electoral litigations and disputations in a manner that weakens the credibility of our electoral system issuing perplexing orders and injunctions that constrains INEC’s ability to fulfill its constitutional functions of conducting elections. Situation Room is worried about this trend and its potential of impugning and damaging respect for courts and justice system in Nigeria as well as derogating on the credibility of the elections.

Situation Room calls on the courts in the country, including the National Judicial Cou..JC) to act on stopping this,� he said.

Speaking on the electoral crisis in Rivers State, Nwankwo said that something must done to the disgraceful conduct by those behind the stalemated election in the state.

He specifically charged INEC to ensure that the Rivers state did not become a sore taste in the country’s democracy.

Group Seeks Collaboration to Improve Transport Sector At the inaugural general meeting of Public Transport Owners of Nigeria Association (PTONA), the need for government to cooperate with corporate transport associations was duly stressed.

According to the Chairman Planning Committee of the association, Isaac Uhunmwagho, the chaotic hazards confronting the transport system can be curbed if government works hand-in-hand with transport corporates. “Transportation in Nigeria is very chaotic. Government spends a lot of money on transportation. The biggest budget are spent on roads and roads are for transportation. in Lagos State, there is Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), the monorails...they are doing it single-handedly. We are supposed to be partners; to work with them side by side so that they don’t have to do everything.

They don’t specialise in running

transport system. It is risky and not efficient for them. We are investors in the transport system.

If we combine our forces with the government, the public will have better transport system.�

He added that a partnership with the government will seek ways to sanitise the sector. He however admitted that the government was already doing their best but that the transport sector needs a robust teamwork to regularise. “If they deal with us, we can give rules and regulations to drivers. Drivers who work for us transporters must conform to the standards we set for them.

We need order, sanity, discipline in the transport sector and all of these can be achieved when government works in collaboration with corporate outfits like PTONA and the standard will be set.�

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NLNG Eyes Q4 2019 for Train-7 FID, Secures Local Content Plan Chineme Okafor Ă“Ă˜ ĂŒĂ&#x;ÔË

The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited, yesterday disclosed that it would take a final investment decision (FID) on its new 8 million metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) Train-7 gas plant by the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2019.

The FID on the much publicised $12 billion Train 7 project was earlier scheduled for December last year, but shareholders of the company shelved it without giving a new timeline within which the project would be actualised.

However, the company said yesterday that the approval of its local content plan for the project by the Nigerian Content Development Management Board (NCDMB) has paved the way for the FID to happen.

It also stated that its sourcing

of funds for the project which is expected to grow its production capacity from 22mtpa to 30mtpa, and further raise Nigeria’s global LNG market share, has remained healthy.

Speaking at the sign-off of the Train-7 Nigerian content plan between the NLNG and NCDMB, the Managing Director of NLNG, Mr. Tony Attah, explained that plans for the FID to happen were in top gear.

Attah, explained that NLNG’s shareholders which include the Nigerian government represented by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC); Shell; Total and Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) were supportive of the Q4-2019 FID. When asked how far the NLNG had gone with its plans to raise funds for the project, Attah said: “We are not far off as a matter of fact, when you

start a project of this nature, you will have estimates in mind. In the course of the presentation, the Executive Secretary (of the NCDMB) mentioned that this particular project is in the region of $4 to $5 billion. But when he referenced the value network, it is beyond the $4 to $5 billion that we will be spending in Bonny. “It is also about the upstream development which is the real gas that will come to us. That also is a huge investment of $5 to $6 billion. So, potentially, the full value network is almost $12 billion. We have gone to market to raise that fund and we are very positive.�

He explained: “This is the biggest opportunity I will say for Nigeria today. We have 600tcf (trillion cubic feet) of gas which puts us as number nine in the world, but we are very aware of the 600tcf scope that would

be proven. The issue with gas is the receiver and that is what the NLNG represents today as the receptacle for gas. “We are here to enable gas.

It is time for Nigeria, and I am even challenged that Nigeria has ridden on the back of oil for more than 50 years, it is now time to fly on the wings of gas. “With the Executive Secretary saying this FID is here and here for real, my biggest shareholder – NNPC says I support you as a company, go and get this FID, we have the support of government and shareholders and the market is waiting.�

In his remarks, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr. Simbi Wabote, stated that in line with the local content plan, the engineering of all non-cryogenic areas of the project would be done wholly in-country while its total in-country engineering

People Democratic Party Osun State Deputy Governor Address press at the Federal High Court Apo on Court declares Ademola Adeleke the Winner of Osun State governoship election in Abuja...yesterday

New Minimum Wage: Cut Down Cost of Governance, SSASGOC Tells FG, States Following passing into bill on N30,000 minimum wage and the debate governors on how to pay, the Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations, and Government Owned Companies (SSASGOC), has called on both the federal and state governments to cut down the cost of governance especially the money they spend to maintain political appointees to as to pay the new wage.

The labour body also appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to quickly assent to the minimum wage Bill to enable workers enjoy the fruits of their labour.

The union further advised government to come up with a new pay package for political appointees, so that the error committed in the past can be rectify in order to move into a new realm.

President General of SSASGOC, Comrade Muhammad Attahiru Yunusa stated this in Benin City, Edo State after a meeting of the union, stressing that the major

objective behind the gathering is on the new minimum wage as it affects their members and how they can offer solutions. “We have been in this profession for decades. Our aims is to provide good welfare for our members. We are public sector union, which means; all governments policies must impact on our members positively.

We are all aware about the new minimum wage, and how various state governments have reacted to it. We are aware that some state governors are still insisting that they cannot pay the new minimum wage. “Our position now is that President Muhammadu Buhari should assent to the new minimum wage Bill before we now know those state governors that cannot pay the money. When it becomes a law, then we will now see which of the governors that cannot pay the fund. We have a template of what we can do to compel those governors to pay the new minimum wage, we will also come out with a communique.

“We use this forum to brainstorm together on what we can do to mitigate or stop such negative opinion by those governors. We are registered with the Federal Ministry of Labour and affiliated to the Trade Union Congress (TUC), We are here in Benin city to hold our organ meeting called the National Administrative Council Meeting. We used the medium to talk about the issues affecting the group and members. “Our discussion on minimum wage is that all the governments have the capacity to pay the minimum wage. To make it realistic for them to pay the money, they should cut down the cost of governance. For example, the money they used to pay government appointees, like bogus allowances to legislators, special adviser and special assistants in government can be used to fund the minimum wage. “We have to cut down the cost to encourage those workers that are generating the wealth.

As you know, all over the world including Nigeria, workers are the ones creating the wealth. There

are some governors who have more than 22 Senior Special Assistants with other loopholes in government. So cutting down government cost will enable them pay the minimum wage. lf you demotivate the workers by not giving them the right salary, they will not be able to put in their best to bring the right productivity. “We also advised that government should come out with a new pay package for political appointees, so that what had been done in the past can be rectify and move away from it and move into new realm. For example, you can peg a monthly salary of a Senator to be equal to the that of Permanent Secretary as a matter of enacting new law�, Yususa said.

He said the union look forward to the second swearing in of Buhari before it will can know the next line of action to take, adding that as unionists who believe in dialogue and negotiation to achieve their aims “they are not also new to the struggles because when negotiations fail we have other options�.

valves, protective coatings, and all sacrifice anodes. 70 per cent of all non-cryogenic pumps and control valves will be assembled in-country. “Other spin-off opportunities includes logistics, equipment leasing, insurance, hotels, office supplies, aviation, haulage, and many more. With the increased number of trains in NLNG, there is also huge scope for local businesses to build capabilities in the maintenance of LNG plants especially in the area of cryogenics. At its peak, the project will provide direct, indirect, and induced employment of over 10,000 workers,� Wabote, added.

Enugu CP Assures Ugwuanyi of Fishing out Perpetrators of Killings Ferdinand Ekechukwu

The new Commissioner of Police, Enugu State, Mr. Suleiman Balarabe, has assured Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi that his Command was “doing everything possible to fish out the perpetrators� behind the killing of a Catholic Priest, Rev. Fr. Clement Ugwu and the Secretary to the Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area, Dr. Nnamdi Ogueche.

Balarabe, who gave the assurance when he paid the governor a courtesy visit at the Government House, Enugu, said that one of the reasons for the visit was to condole with him on the incidents, saying: “My command deeply and sadly condole His Excellency on these unfortunate deaths�.

This came as the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Ebere Amaraizu, in a statement made available to the press, disclosed that the perpetrators of the heinous acts were yet-to-be identified contrary to reports in some sections of the media. The police spokesperson stated that “the investigation is still ongoing to unmask those

WE’VE RECOVERED OUR MANDATE ...

Adibe Emenyonu Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă˜Ă“Ă˜ ÓÞã

man-hours has been set at 55 per cent, reportedly exceeding the minimum level stipulated in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act. Wabote, likewise noted that Train-7 would deliver 100 per cent in-country fabrication of the condensate stabilisation unit; pipe-racks; flare system; and non-cryogenic vessels.

He added that site civil works on roads; piling; and jetties would completely keep local businesses in Nigeria occupied. “There will be 100 per cent local procurement of all LV cables and HV cables, all non-cryogenic

behind the dastardly acts as well as their motives�, adding that “the command views the report as improper, malicious and inciting as the ongoing police investigation has not revealed those responsible for the unfortunate incidents including their background�.

According to him, “The Enugu State Command of the Nigeria Police Force, working in partnership with sister security agencies and relevant stakeholders is committed towards sustaining peace and security in the state�.

On his part, the police chief told Ugwuanyi that the visit was also to formally introduce himself as “the new Commissioner of Police, Enugu State Command� and to congratulate him on his reelection.

Responding, Ugwuanyi, who welcomed and congratulated the new CP on his “posting stated that “following our meeting with security agencies in the state, we are also confident that the command will as usual, do everything necessary to apprehend the hoodlums�, praying that similar incidents do not recur.

Food, Beverage West Africa Opens Frontiers for Manufactures Nigeria’s food and drink retailers will have the opportunity to connect with suppliers, distributors and manufacturers at a new globally-recognised business exhibition- Food & Beverage West Africa for a free three-day trade event, which will provide a platform for local companies to build business relationships with clients from across Nigeria, neighbouring West African countries and from around the world.

The exhibition which will take place from June 18, at the Landmark Centre in Lagos, is expected to attract over 4,000 people from the sector. Participants will include food and drink retailers, grocery buyers and hospitality businesses looking to source the best products and business deals from over 150 exhibitors.

Food & Beverage West Africa is a new exhibition created by BtoB Events, a dynamic exhibition organiser, created by the former divisional director for Africa of a FTSE 100 organisation within the exhibition industry.

Jamie Hill, Managing Director of BtoB Events, said: “Having organised exhibitions in the food and beverage sector across Africa for the past three years

I am particularly excited about Food and Beverage West Africa. “The foundations are in place to create a global market place here in Lagos, connecting local and international business and forging long term trade partnerships and knowledge sharing.�

The event will help Nigerian companies who wish to expand their business across the country, and to export to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

CHANGE OF NAME I formerly known and addressed as MISS ABU GRACE, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS OLAKONI GRACE. All former documents remain valid.The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as BASIL JOHNSON, now wish to be known and addressed as BASIL JOHNSON NWAMMADU. All former documents remain valid.The general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as MISS OKEZIE JANE CHINEMEZU, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. CHIMAH JANE CHINEMEZU. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

55

THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER Ëž ÍşÍťËœ ͺ͸͚Î

SPORTS XTRA AFCON QualiďŹ er

Nigeria Beat Seychelles 3-1 to Finish Top of Group E

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igeria’s Super Eagles yesterday at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba defeated Seychelles 3-1 to finish top of Group E in their final AFCON 2019 qualifiers. The Gavin Jeanne-led side proved a lot tougher nut to crack unlike in Mahè and the Super Eagles had to work their socks off particularly in the first period.

Stoke City man Oghenekaro Etebo saw two brilliant shots thwarted, once curling just over the bar before seeing the opposing goalkeeper get a fingertip to another of his brilliant effort.

For all their resistance, Seychelles were soon behind 34 minutes in after

Karle Hall fouled Wilfred Ndidi from behind in the box, paving the way for Odion Ighalo to step up and send the goalkeeper the wrong way.

But the spirited visitors rallied to pull themselves back on level terms just before the break, Rody Melanie profiting from a comical error to score after Nigeria failed to properly deal with a floated ball into the area.

Nigeria retook the lead just after half time when Jamilu Collins sent in a brilliant ball for Henry Onyekuru to nip in behind the defenders and head home with the slightest of touches.

And Simon Moses, making his first competitive appearance since his injury last year came off the bench to add the icing on the cake with a brilliant goal and set up the

team in good mood ahead of the date with Egypt.

Meanwhile, Super Eagles Manager, Gernot Rohr has dismissed Morocco’s Coach, Herve Renard’s claim that Nigeria are one of the favourite teams to lift the 2019 AFCON title.

In an interview with CAF, Renard had claimed hosts Egypt- with Africa Player of the Year Mohamed Salah and the home crowd - are leading favourite, with

defending champions Cameroon, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria also in the running for glory at the biennial event.

The Frenchman, a twotime winner with Zambia (2012) and Cote d’Ivoire (2015), currently coaches the highest ranked team on the continent, Morocco but stated that he would rather not boast of their chances.

Rohr, however, labelled him a ‘diplomat’ and

would rather not be drawn into analysing his ‘young’ team’s prospects. “I know my friend Herve Renard is a diplomat. His team are favorite to win the tournament because they are number one in Africa so he’s the natural favorite, but he tries to put other countries ahead. This is a tactic already so I say, Morocco is number 1 in Africa and they are favorites,� Rohr told media.

“Egypt with one of the biggest players in the world are favourites as well.

They are also playing at home. Senegal and Tunisia and second and third. We (Nigeria) are No.4 and we have a chance though, but please let them speak while we stay humble. “To declare that we will win the AFCON is stupid.

We have to work, we have young players.�

Rohr Questions Iheanacho’s National Team’s Commitment Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr has questioned Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho’s commitment and professionalism to the national team.

The 22-year-old was overlooked for the Super Eagles’ two matches this month after failing to score a goal for club or country since September. Rohr was scathing of Iheanacho on the eve of his team’s Nations Cup qualifier against Seychelles. “I think he must be more professional,� the German coach said. “We’re not satisfied with his performances the last time he was with us. “There’s a new coach at Leicester City (Brendan Rodgers) and it (his omission) will be an opportunity for Iheanacho to show during this international window that he wants to get back into the starting team of Leicester. “Personally, I think it’s a good thing for him to stay back at his club to prove this.�

Rohr was asked by reporters whether he expected more from a Nigeria international. “It’s not good enough to be funny all the time,� he responded. “You must show that you are

serious by working hard every day in the training sessions. “And show that you seriously want to come back into the team at the club and also with us.�

Iheanacho made an immediate impact to the start of his senior international career, scoring seven goals in 11 matches.

But a combination of a loss of form and lack of confidence have left him searching for his first international goal since soring against Argentina in November 2017.

Iheanacho has 10 goals in 58 matches for Leicester City since joining the former Premier League champions from Manchester City in August 2017.

At international level, he has scored eight goals in 24 appearances for Nigeria since making his senior debut against Swaziland in November 2015.

He starred as Nigeria won the 2013 Under-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates for a record fourth-time and emerged as the tournament’s outstanding player, being voted the Most Valuable Player.

He scored six goals to secure the Silver Boot as the competition’s second-highest goal-scorer.

Super Eagles striker, Odion Ighalo tries to waltz through Seychelles players during the last Group E Africa Cup of Nations qualiďŹ er at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba, yesterday

Birmingham Lose Nine Points for EFL Profitability Rule Breaches Birmingham City have been deducted nine points by the English Football League for breaching profitability and sustainability rules.

The sanction sees Blues drop from 13th to 18th in the Championship, five points above the relegation zone with eight games to play.

The EFL said Blues incurred losses of nearly ÂŁ48.8m between 2015 and 2018.

That is almost ÂŁ10m more

Onuachu Pledges to Give Best for Eagles FC Midtjylland of Denmark striker, Paul Onuachu who debuted with the Super Eagles, against Seychelles on Friday after coming in for Oghenekaro Etebo in the 62nd minute has stated that he will always give his very best anytime he is called upon to play for Nigeria.

Onuachu was calm even after getting a strong tip from Eagles’ coach, Gernot Rohr that he will start the game at Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba, as the towering youngster says he has learnt how to cope with pressure.

The product of Sagamu, Ogun State-based lower division club, FC Ebedei, first made waves when he scored against Manchester United of England in the Europa Leag u e , b u t Onuachu insists he is yet to come of age.

Rather than feel that he has already arrived, especially after getting lofty c o m m e n t s f r o m R o h r, Onuachu is keeping his head down and a i m s t o speak with his boost on Friday.

However, the 24-yearold Onuachu, who has 14 goals for Midtylland

this season in the Danish top-flight league, admits he really looked forward to his debut and hopes to replicate his club form in green-and-white in subsequent matches.

After scaling the Seychelles hurdle, Onuachu will aim to get another outing against AFCON 2019 hosts, Egypt on Tuesday.

Onuachu said: “I’m happy to be invited to the Super Eagles squad for the games against Seychelles and Egypt. I’m looking forward to the games and will do my best for my country.�

than the accepted adjusted losses of ÂŁ39m over a threeyear period.

Both Birmingham City and the EFL have 14 days to appeal against the decision of an Independent Disciplinary Commission, which considered the matter on Monday.

It is understood that there will be no further financial penalties for the club, nor will they be under a future transfer embargo relating to this issue.

They are the first club to be deducted points since the EFL introduced its new profitability and sustainability regulations at the start of the 2016-17 season.

In January, Birmingham revealed a ÂŁ37.5m loss in the 12 months to the end of June 2018, largely a result of their wage bill rising from ÂŁ22m to almost ÂŁ38m after an extensive recruitment drive in 2017.

The independent panel

heard that Blues had spent ÂŁ7.45m to sign four new players in January 2017, when Gianfranco Zola was manager, and a further ÂŁ23.75m to add 14 players to the squad that summer, by which time Harry Redknapp had taken charge.

Both Zola and Redknapp were sacked by the club after short stints as manager, the costs of which were also given as factors to Birmingham’s rule breach.

Neymar Charged for Comments after Loss to Man Utd Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar has been charged with making “insulting acts against a match official� following his comments on social media about the Champions League tie with Manchester United.

The 27-year-old called the decision to award United a 94th-minute penalty in the match on 7 March “a disgrace�.

Marcus Rashford scored to ensure a 3-1 win

and the Premier League side went through to the Champions League quarter-finals on away goals after the tie ended 3-3 on aggregate.

The penalty was awarded through VAR after referee Damir Skomina had initially given United a corner when Diogo Dalot’s shot struck Presnel Kimpembe and went over the crossbar.

Skomina received a sig-

nal to check for a possible handball in the box and subsequently changed his decision.

Neymar missed both legs of the tie through injury but wrote in an Instagram post that the penalty “doesn’t exist�.

He added: “Four guys who know nothing about football watch a slowmotion replay in front of the television.�

A hearing date is yet to be confirmed.

TR

Saturday, March 23, 2019

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& RE A S O

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Price: N250

MISSILE

Obasanjo on Disunity in Nigeria “Even during the civil war, we were not as divided as we are now.

Today, we are in danger if we don’t take partnership seriously” – Former President Olusegun Obasanjo lamenting about disunity in Nigeria.

PENDULUM DELE MOMODU

dele.momodu@thisdaylive.com

Onnoghen, Adeleke and Tales of Man’s Inhumanity to Man

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ellow Nigerians, please don’t get it wrong, I’m not a Judge and I’m not about to deliver a judgment in favour of the ‘suspended’ Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen. I lack such capacity and jurisdiction. Besides, as the lawyers say, the matter is ‘sub judice’ i.e. under judicial consideration and therefore not meant for public discourse or discussion anywhere else other than the Court. What I’m doing here is to reiterate my initial reaction to the kangarooistic justice manner he was harassed, terrorised, convicted in the media, ahead of trial. My sympathy for Chief Justice Onnoghen didn’t stem out of his status as a very important personality BUT AS A MATTER OF PERSONAL PRINCIPLE that no Nigerian, regardless of tribe, gender, creed or social status, should suffer unnecessary humiliation and degradation in the hands of gods with feet of clay.

Anyone who has followed me over time would have seen the way I defend the rights of man, whether you are my friend or not, as long as the victim in question believes in, and follows, the rule of Law. A good example that readily comes into mind is that of the then Vice President, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, in 2010, who was disallowed by the so-called cabal from assuming power as Acting President, in the absence of his boss who was apparently incapacitated in Saudi Arabia. Some of us took the risk of protesting and demonstrating in Abuja and were confronted by some tough anti-riot police officers. I was neither a member of PDP nor a friend of Dr Jonathan at the time. No one waited for, or wanted, a thank you gratification from him. We just did what needed to be done because we believed that his was a just cause and our constitution and democracy was being trampled upon by fleeting soldiers of fortune.

When it was the turn of the Senate President, Dr Abubakar Bukola Saraki, we raised objections to the manner he suddenly became a “demon” just because he fell out of favour with the powers that be. This act of vindictiveness has been the tragic pattern and trend since the coming of this trouble-prone Republic. There were suggestions, from those who should know better, that Dr Saraki should resign and abdicate responsibility while proving his innocence at the courts. No one considered the fact that this may have been the main strategy of his enemies in the first instance. Their usual refrain was always about “how if this was in Europe or America, the Senate President would have voluntarily resigned. The Nigerian situation is always a case of man’s inhumanity to man. Whenever it happens, there are always more than enough people ever willing to castigate, prosecute and convict the hapless victim without trial, especially in the media. The problem with such a position is that this is not Europe or America. In Europe or America investigating and prosecution authorities are careful about the kind of information they disseminate to the public. They usually refer to a man or woman being under investigation and reveal very little of the evidence against such person, preferring to leave that to the latter stages of the investigation and prosecution. In Nigeria, the investigating and prosecuting authorities immediately rush to the public domain. They hang what sometimes later turns out to be their dirty laundry in full view of the public. The public feast on it in a state of frenzy because they have been pauperised and impoverished by varying governments and they see a ready victim to blame for their woes. Little do they realise that it is all a mirage and charade and they have been fed foul meat that will result in stomach churning double somersaults. Worse still, the investigators and prosecutors may end up

Onnoghen

Adeleke

with egg splattered all over their faces as their gung-ho approach to maligning and impugning people without any regard to the sanctity and sacredness of the principle of fair hearing and the pursuit of justice.

What I find most disturbing is that neither investigator nor, worse still, prosecutor ever bothers to do their due diligence well. Once they pick on a scapegoat, they rush out all manner of distortions and incongruous information.

They pick on the most incoherent witnesses, procured under duress, or pecuniary promises.

Such was the case of Dr Saraki. The melodrama was nauseating. Yet, they had many people who acted as chorus singers and amplified the lies to all corner of the world. You sometimes wonder, why are we so mean to ourselves? Why do we want to waste and destroy all the gains of democracy many died for in the past. Had Saraki resigned, he would have fallen for the dastardly ploy of politically assailants, akin to hired assassins of character, to get rid of him.

When that failed, other darts were fired in his direction. He was practically accused of being a part of an armed robbery gang that callously wasted so many lives in one fell swoop. The denouement of this whole debacle and theatre of the absurd is gradually playing out in the Courts, before our very eyes. It is taking God’s intervention to save Saraki from being totally obliterated and annihilated in the process. After that, some heavily hooded and menacing security personnel invaded the precincts of the National Assembly, like hooded outlaws reminiscent of Robin Hood and his band of merry men. The only difference was that these were not outlaws, but men sworn to protect the sanctity of the very institution that they were desecrating with their disloyal presence. The military’s oath is to defend the people, the country and its institutions and not any individual, particularly if that individual is acting against the interests of the country and its institutions. Fortunately, the Vice President in his characteristic forceful and no-nonsense manner when he has been in charge put an end to that madness and ensured that democratic institutions continued to be respected.

This was the same template that was put in place for the Chief Justice. As obvious as the act was, many still fell for the scam. The timing was patently wrong, too close to the general elections. The modus operandi was ghoulish.

Someone hurriedly put together a scurrilous petition in which we were regaled with tales by moonlight of a stupendously wealthy Chief Justice of the Federation who must have been criminally guilty of ‘moonlighting’! The denial of any involvement by the administration in this

hurriedly concocted travesty, suddenly turned into a wholesale approbation of the means, ways and methods used to catch the ‘thief’.

All known principles of justice and morals were soon sacrificed at the altar of expediency, even though the government should have been briefed, by various arms of the security agencies, that most of the baseless allegations had not been verified or investigated.

A whole Chief Justice of the Federation looked so dejected, rejected and pathetic. He was treated like a petty thief, a common criminal. He was unable to properly articulate his defence as he had already been convicted in the court of public opinion based on the frivolous and desperate evidence dished out by his traducers. His office was stolen from him in a brazen and total disregard for the constitution and its safeguard to check the excesses of government and abuse of power by one arm of government. The CJN was even brought before his peers and other members of the National Judicial Council (NJC) like a useless felon. Many legal giants sprang stoutly into action on his behalf. All kinds of legal and constitutional theories were propounded, and different stratagem employed. Some other lawyers rose up in support of the government, saying we need to fight corruption to standstill.

Why not? But not at the expense of freedom and liberty. I have always said and maintained that we should never set fire to an entire village in order to catch rats. Even if government has incontrovertible evidence against Onnoghen, our Justice system needs to learn and imbibe some decorum. The sum total of all this drama was that the law, and its chief defender and upholder, were beginning to look like the proverbial ass!

I could therefore not believe my eyes when the climax to all of this tragic dramedy played out at the Code of Conduct Tribunal proceedings of the past week. There six prosecution witnesses, but it seems that after hearing the damaging evidence of the previous three, the prosecution could not go an any longer as their case appeared to be in tatters. Witness after witness burst the bubble that had been the prosecution’s case in the media. There were not 55 houses, but 5. I guess somebody had mistakenly typed 5 twice and it stuck. After all, as another witness stated none of the facts contained in Onnoghen’s asset declaration form had been verified. To further compound matters the Court was told that all his so-called foreign accounts were local domicillary accounts.

Worse was to be exposed before the Tribunal as it was revealed that there was not $3,000,000 in the totality of his accounts, but less than $300,000 even at the most optimistic position of taking opening balances in January 2018 into account.

Indeed, he had taken a loan of $500,000 which was collateralised by his investments in Federal Government Bonds and diverse stock. A patriot indeed. Recall that in the bid to shore up what must have been known to be a very bad case, investigators had rushed to Onnoghen’s farm and carted away several allegedly ‘incriminating’ documents and equipment.

The Defence on behalf of Onnoghen has applied to file a no-case submission. The Prosecution naturally has a right to reply to it. Without attempting to preempt the court and being conscious of the delicate fine balance of necessary to be observed once a matter is sub judice, I believe it is pertinent to note that in other countries both developing and developed, the prosecutor, knowing that his role is to do justice, present the facts to the court, and not merely seek a conviction, would have thrown in the towel. I wait to see what this prosecutor will do. More importantly, I wait to see whether the government will offer Onnoghen the profound and sincere apology that he deserves if he is discharged by the CCT. We seem to be in a season of politics and litigations and it was a double whammy this week. It is with no surprise at all to me that I learnt of the victory of Senator Ademola Adeleke of the PDP at the Governorship Election Tribunal for Osun State albeit by a majority decision of two to one with the Chairman of the Tribunal Justice Ibrahim Sirajo dissenting. That election, particularly what has now been held to be the illegal rerun election, was fraught with irregularities, malpractices and voter intimidation by the ruling Party, APC and some elements of the military. When INEC chose not to call any evidence to rebut the allegations of the PDP about these matters, I knew the game was almost up.

The whole pack of cards finally collapsed when the submissions of the APC lawyers was not the loud bang that we expected, but nothing more than a whimper.

Senator Adeleke’s victory appears to be a victory for democracy and a vindication for all lovers of democracy who put their faith in the judiciary as the last bastion of the common man. It is also to the credit of the government of President Buhari that it has chosen not to interfere at all in what was happening at the election Tribunal. Some people felt that the government would have used its power and influence to seek to re-write the verdict. Kudos to the government on this score.

What happens next demonstrates the fact that it is not yet Uhuru for Senator Adeleke.

He cannot claim the mandate as his despite the powerful pronouncement of the Tribunal. APC has already appealed to the Court of Appeal, as it is its legitimate right to do. Whichever of the parties wins at the Court of Appeal, it is clear that the other losing party will appeal to the Supreme Court. The practice up till now is that until the Supreme Court gives its verdict the person declared to be the winner by INEC will continue in office. Senator Adeleke may therefore have a little longer to claim the mandate which he says was stolen from him.

I congratulate, my dear friend, Senator Ademola Adeleke, for his victory in the first leg of this three-legged race. I wish him the very best as he faces the next challenge of persuading the Appellate Courts to uphold his victory. Time and the Supreme Court will ultimately tell who the spoils of victory will go to.

For now, the lesson to be learnt, which is pertinent to remember, as we go into the rerun and supplementary elections today, is that there is no profit in all these anti-democratic acts that our politicians are wont to resort to because democracy and justice will ultimately triumph.

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