APC crisis: Our case against Dogara & co

...towards a better life for the people VOL. 25: NO. 62441

I've no hand in transfer of B-Haram prisoners to Anambra 15 — Obiano

**

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

FG appoints Lawal Daura Acting DG of DSS 9

N150 NLNG BOARD MEETS BUHARI

Board and management of Nigeria Liquidified Natural Gas, NLNG, during a recent visit to President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.

APC crisis: Our case against Dogara & co — GBAJABIAMILA'S GROUP •Alleges plans by Dogara group to defect to PDP at Wednesday meeting with Buhari

•Ex-govs rally against party chieftain ahead of NEC meeting •Saraki, Dogara's positions not negotiable, says Sen Umaru

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor, Henry Umoru, & Johnbosco Agbakwuru

A

B U J A — S P E A K E R Yakubu Dogara and his associates in the House of Representatives plan to decimate the All Progressives Congress,

LAGOS BOAT MISHAP: I WISH MY SON LISTENED —VICTIM'S MOTHER

APC before returning to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), members of the House aligned to Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila have told President Muhammadu Buhari.

Continues on Page 5

COLUMNISTS:

Europe's migrant crisis •P.17

The Freedom charter for humanity •P.19

Mr & Mrs

Top left: Baale of Igira; Below left: Mother of a victim and a survivor of the Lagos boat mishap. Photos: Monsuru Olowoopejo. See Pages 10 &56.

Tragedies mar half nside year in S’West Pull-out i C M Y

Boko Haram kills another 100 in Borno villages 9

2 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

C M Y K

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015—3

C M Y K

4 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

C M Y K

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 —5

POCKET CARTOON

MEETING— President Muhammadu Buhari (R) welcoming some members of the House of Representatives, Rep. Magaji Aliyu, Rep. Aminu Malle and Rep. Nasiru Garo, during President Buhari's meeting with some House of Reps members at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Wednesday night.

Photo: NAN.

APC crisis: Our case against Dogara & co— GBAJABIAMILA'S GROUP Continues from Page 1

The Gbajabiamila group in their closed door-session with the President Wednesday night also dismissed assertions by allies of Speaker Dogara that the party’s proposal for Gbajabiamila to become House Leader was a violation of the federal character principle, saying the principle was inapplicable in the distribution of offices in the House.

The meeting between 30 members of the group and the President was reportedly convened to lessen tension ahead of today ’s National Executive Committee, NEC meeting of the party. That plan was,

however, last night, about to come unstuck upon plans by some former governors in the party from the North to challenge the seemingly pre-eminent position of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in party affairs. The group, it was gathered yesterday, plan to question the presence of their fellow former governor, Tinubu at the NEC meeting and to storm the meeting if he, Tinubu is allowed to attend.

Supporters of Speaker Dogara in the group were also becoming restive last night upon claims of a proposal from the President that supporters of Gbajabiamila and Senator Ahmad Lawan who also lost out in the

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE It is not how much we give but how much love we put into giving— Mother Teresa

L

OVE manifests itself in different ways, all of which are necessary and useful. If love is the hub of a wheel, its spokes point outwards according to the needs of the one being loved.

There are at least ten forms that love takes.

Celebration is love affirming the lives and achievements of others; Helping is love lifting burdens for others; Forgiveness is love in response to contrition; Subtle and artful confrontation, is love standing against destructive behaviors.

Humor is love uplifting and reframing in mirthful lightness; Respect is love, granting others their space to live accordingly.

Attentive listening is love focused on the other’s narrative without distraction or interruption; Compassion is love aware of suffering and responding to it with depth; Loyalty is love sticking with others in their challenging times; Creativity is love making gifts for others. Whichever means you choose to love, always let your actions uplift others and you’ll invariably uplift yourself.

Senate leadership contest should nominate three candidates from each of the six geopolitical zones as members of NEC.

What Gbajabiamila group told Buhari In their presentation to the President at the Wednesday night meeting, the Gbajabiamila group had in their 11-point presentation affirmed the loyalty of the group’s 174 members to the party and questioned the loyalty of the 39 they claimed are associated with Dogara.

Noting what they described as the party’s lame reactions to the alleged rebellions of Dogara and the other 38 members, they charged the President to frontally intervene as they alleged that the purpose of the Dogara group was to frustrate the President and set the stage for their members to defect to the PDP. They said: “It is noteworthy that Mr. President and the Governors have strongly put their weight behind the party and had severally admonished the House to abide by the party’s position. The 39 APC members in the House continue to collude with the PDP to flagrantly disobey Mr.

President, the governors and the party with a view to bringing the party and government to ridicule before Nigerians,.

“The conduct of the 39 APC members colluding with the PDP is tantamount to affront, ultimately targeted at polarising our party so as to give room for many of them to decamp to the PDP. “It is therefore imperative for Mr. President to take a stand and save the integrity of the party by cautioning the 39 members, which include the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, to respect, honour and obey our party Leaders and their directives.”

Decrying the insistence of the Dogara group in rejecting the party ’s nominations for principal officers on the basis of federal character, the Gbajabiamila group asserted that the federal character principle was inapplicable in the National Assembly, averring further that the principle of federal character is not justiciable and is of no legal consequence.

That assertion was apparently in response to the judicial action filed by the NorthCentral caucus of the House of Representatives against the party ’s prescription which would deny the North-Central and South-East geopolitical zones of representation in the leadership.

In articulating their positions against federal character, the group noted how the different political parties had in the past thrown up principal officers from the same zone.

“It should be noted that the Federal Character principle as embedded in the 1999 Constitution (as amended) is not justiciable and of no legal consequence. Its provision in Section 14 of the Constitution is only applicable to appointments in federal ministries and agencies.

The House of Representatives is not an agency of the Federal Government and the principal officers positions are elective and not by appointment.

If the federal character principle is applicable to the National Assembly, then both the Senate President and the Speaker cannot come from the North, one of them should be advised

to step down.”

They thus called on the President to charge the speaker to return to the party, saying: “We strongly appeal to you to direct the Speaker to return to our fold and be truly elected Speaker on APC platform. He should be directed to announce the other four party principal officers positions as directed by the party as it has always been the convention.”

Supporters of Dogara were meanwhile, livid over the presentation, saying it was evident that the Gbajabiamila group did not want reconciliation.

They picked holes in claims that the ruling party had not applied federal character in the distribution of principal officers in the House of Representatives.

Ex-govs seek restructuring of party Meanwhile, former governors in the party are pushing for a restructuring of the party along the line of legacy parties.

Noting that the crisis in the party was being stoked by a few from the South-West, the former governors, it was gathered, plan to question Tinubu’s role as national leader on claims that there is no provision for such in the constitution.

The group it was learnt, said that any attempt to allow Tinubu into the meeting hall would force them also to insist on attending the meeting.

According to a source, the governors have decided to gather at the party ’s national secretariat and attempt to join the meeting if Tinubu is allowed into the meeting venue.

The Northern elements and chieftains of the

party were said to have been angry that the South West was stoking the embers of discord in the party.

The chieftains warned that the crisis in the party arising from the election of principal officers of the National Assembly, “ was gradually becoming a distraction to the party and could stall its manifesto of change.”

The Northern political leaders also renounced Akande’s statement on Monday which castigated the election of Saraki and Dogara as being sponsored by oil barons.

Saraki, Dogara’s positions not negotiable — Sen Umaru Meanwhile, Senator David Umaru (APC, Niger East) has declared that the positions of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate President Dogara as Speaker of the House of Representatives are “not negotiable.”

Senator Umaru debunked insinuations that the Like Minds, the group pf senators loyal to the Senate President traded away the position of Deputy Senate President to the PDP. “We were lucky that the PDP members in the chamber that day were reasonable during the election. The existing laws are very clear: Senators and members of the House of Representative members are the ones that should elect their leaders.

“There is a very good reason for this and that is because the lawmakers are the ones to work with their leaders. The issue of the election of Dr. Saraki as Senate President and Yakubu Dogora as Speaker is not negotiable. It cannot be negotiated outside the National Assembly.”

6—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

5 men docked for attempted murder, theft

By Opeyemi Lepe

L

ACCIDENT: Scene of an accident on Arroma–Government House Road, in Awka, yesterday. Photo: NAN.

LOVE SCAM: EFCC returns 10,000 Euros

to French victim A

BUJA—THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday said it had recovered and returned 10,000 Euros to a French victim of love scam, F. Mercade.

A statement issued in Abuja

by Mr Wilson Uwujaren, spokesman for the EFCC, said the money was ‘ wired’ to the victim’s account in France.

He said the mode of sending the money was on the recommendation of the French Embassy in Nigeria.

According to him, Roger Balima, French Police Liaison Officer, who confirmed the receipt of the money by the victim, “thanked the EFCC for the good job.”

Uwujaren said Mercade was duped by two internet fraudsters, Omodara Oluseye and Adesuyi Adedapo, after he was deceived into a phantom relationship that was supposedly altar-bound.

The EFCC spokesman said the scam was reported to the commission via a petition from the French Consulate in Lagos, on behalf of Mercade.

According to him, the petitioner said he met a Nigerian lady, ‘Kate Williams’ on the internet sometime in 2009 and they developed a relationship which was to culminate in marriage.

“Williams was to relocate to join Mercade in France, to consummate the relationship while Mercade planned the logistics of the relocation.

“Williams, who purportedly did some jobs for an unnamed company in Nigeria, came up with a story that the company refused to pay her.

“Mercade parted with the money through Western Union, in processing his ‘bride's”

passage with no bride in sight and it eventually dawned on him that he had been scammed.”

Uwujaren said investigations by EFCC

revealed that ‘Kate Williams’ is the false name of Oluseye, a male student of the College of Agriculture, Akure.

According to him, Oluseye’s accomplice, Adedapo, assisted

in collecting the money transferred by the victim from Akure, Ondo State branch, of a new generation bank, using a forged driver ’s license.

Burglers cart away goods worth millions of naira at Nnewi market O

By Nwabueze Okonkwo

N I T S H A — U N K N O W N persons suspected to be burglars have broken into shops at the multi-million naira Nkwo Nnewi main market in Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State, allegedly carting away goods and cash worth millions of naira, without challenge from any quarter.

The burglars who were suspected to have come in large numbers in the wee hours of the night, defied all security measures in place and allegedly broke into several stalls and carted away unspecified quantities of goods and amount of money from three zones in

the market.

Asked why the market was invaded, despite what the stakeholders called watertight security in Nkwo market, chairman of the market, Mr Austin Jideofor, said the stakeholders were yet to believe that thieves could invade the market.

He added that the stakeholders were still investigating the incident to ascertain whether it was ghosts that carried out the operation or humans.

Jideofor, who disclosed that the burglary was yet to be reported to the police at the time of filing this report, said the market authorities had conducted internal investigations and would soon make their findings known.

However, the victims of the

burglary whose goods and cash were stolen, are still complaining bitterly as at the time the stakeholders were having a meeting with the vigilante groups within the market in respect of the incident.

Nkwo Nnewi market had been engulfed in leadership crisis which made the former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi to set up a caretaker committee under the chairmanship of Mr. Ethel Ijenwa to handle the affairs of the market for a few months, pending when election would be conducted.

However, the committee is still in office for over a year now because incumbent Governor Willie Obiano’s administration is yet to change the situation.

AGOS—THE police in Lagos have arraigned five men before Apapa Magistrate’s Court, Lagos, for alleged theft and attempted murder.

The suspects include Emmanuel Oleka, 38; Victor Clement, 25; Daniel Okoi, 35; Chioma Owieze, 45; and Wale Idowu, 20.

The defendants are facing a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy assault and stealing preferred against them by the police.

The prosecutor, Supol Olu Ojaokomo, told the court that the defendants committed the offence on the June 30, 2015, at Dusbin Bus Stop Oregie, Ajegunle Apapa in Magistrate District.

He said they conspired among themselves to commit felony, stealing a Mercedes Benz C230 saloon car with number plate FST 646 DM, which value is yet to be estimated, stole the sum of N55,000, a wallet containing voter's card, ATM card, and driver’s licence, one smart phone valued at N75,000, all totalling N130,000, being property of one Victor Kelechi.

The prosecutor said the suspects also unlawfully assaulted Kelechi with a cutlass on his right hand which caused him bodily harm.

According to the prosecutor, the offences are punishable under section 409, 337,283 and 171 of the criminal’s laws of Lagos State Nigeria 2011.

However, the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

Magistrate P.A Adekomaya granted the defendants bail in the sum of N50,000 each with two sureties in like sum.

He adjourned the matter till July 7, 2015, for mention.

Police arraign 3 farmers for raping 10-year-old girl

K

ATSINA—THE police yesterday arraigned three farmers in a senior magistrates’ court in Katsina for raping a 10-year-old girl.

The accused are Yahuza Musa, 20; Tasiu Abubakar, 20; and Sadiq Isyaku, 20.

The trio, who reside at Dakiya village in Safana Local

Government Area of Katsina State, appeared before Senior Magistrate Nafisa Bagiwa on one-count charge of rape.

The prosecutor, Insp. Hashimu Musa, told the court that the accused committed the offence on June 11 at about 11.30 a.m.

He said the matter was reported by one Isa Ali of Kitaki

village in Safana Local Government Area at Safana police division at noon on June 12.

He added that the complainant informed the police that his daughter, in company of her three sisters went to purchase mango at Dakiya village.

The prosecutor said the three accused accosted the sisters in the bush, where they held the hand of the victim and pushed her to the ground.

He pointed out that Musa held the hand of thevictim, while Abubakar and Isyaku tore her skirt and pant and had carnal knowledge of her one after the other.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 — 7

2 salesmen docked over N1.8m theft

By Bartholomew Madukwe

T

ABANDONED: Mrs. Ruth Benjamin, her children (from left) Goodness, Goodnews, Joy, John, Daniel and Daniela (in her arms), reportedly abandoned by her husband, Uche Benjamin, after she gave birth to the third set of twins, visited the Press Centre, Alausa, Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO: Bunmi Azeez.

3 in court for N5.3 million theft

Gunmen abduct FCE Obudu chief Librarian

By Jane Echewodo

T

HREE men have been dragged before Magistrate Y. O. Aje-Afunwa of a Lagos State magistrate’s court sitting in Ikeja, for allegedly stealing N5.3 million belonging to founder of Elizade Nigeria Limited, Chief Michael Ade-Ojo. The suspects include Bukunola Odusanwo, 53; Kayode Yeku, 45; and Saliu Mumuni, 33. They were docked on allegations of conspiracy to commit felony and stealing.

Bukunola, Yeku and Mumuni were also arraigned over stealing to the tune of N13,163,150 million, property of Ade-Ojo. The defendants, being staff of Prime Time Ventures, were alleged to have committed the offences at 323, Ikorodu Road, Lagos, between July 2014 and February 2015.

According to the prosecutor, Superintendent of Police Samson Ekikere, told the court that the offence was punishable under Section 285(9)(b) of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State.

However, the defendants pleaded not guilty, leading to the magistrate granting them bail in the sum of N5 million with two sureties who must be blood related, gainfully employed and must have verifiable addresses.

She adjourned the matter till October 19 for mention.

By Emma Una

C

ALABAR—GUNMEN, Tuesday night, abducted Mr. Godwin Anyating, Chief Librarian of Federal College of Education, FCE, Obudu, and took him to an unknown destination.

His wife, Felicia, told Vanguard that seven gunmen invaded their home at about 2a.m., Tuesday night, robbed the family, dragged her husband into the car and drove away.

She said it took the hoodlums about an hour to cut the window’s burglary proof to gain access into the house located at Bebuabong Village, along Ogoja Road, to kidnap the librarian.

“Four of them entered the house, while three of them waited outside and I am suspecting they are kidnappers and not hired killers because they would have killed him if they wanted to,” she said.

Mrs Anyating, who also teaches at FCE, said she gave the hoodlums money, phones and other valuables in the house before they took her husband away.

She said: “I gave them money and I do not know if that was not enough; I am appealing to them to release my husband.”

She said the matter had been reported to the police and the Department of State Services, DSS, adding that the kidnappers were yet to get in contact with her or the school.

Efforts to speak with

spokesman of Cross Rivers State Police Command, Mr. Hogan Bassey, did not yield

any result as several calls to his mobile phone were not answered.

... as 7-yr-old girl narrates how mum was abducted in Lagos

By Bose Adelaja

L

AGOS—SEVEN years old Olumide Basorun has cried out to Lagos, Ogun and federal governments to assist her locate her mother, who was kidnapped last Tuesday at Ikorodu, Lagos.

Olumide’s mother, Mrs Gbemisola Basorun, 38, was kidnapped by four unknown men at the entrance of her home at 5, Basorun Abimbola St., Agodo-Alara via Odogunyan/ Ikorodu, on her way from a church service around 8p.m.

According to the primary four pupil, the mother of two, who was driving home in her Pathfinder SUV, with number plates KTU 476 CM, was with her children after evening service, when she noticed that four strange men were trailing her on a motorcycle.

She stopped at a neighbour’s shop to report her observation, was assured of her safety, but charged to notify others of development when she got home.

Olumide said while the discussion was ongoing, the men drove past the Basoruns, which heightened their fear.

Their assailants hid somewhere, only to resurface when Olumide alighted from the car to open the gate for her

mother.

Olumide said: “The okada came out from nowhere, blocked our car and three of them alighted. One of them pointed a gun at my mother and ordered her to the back seat.

“They threw out my younger brother. While two of them sat with my mother, one took over the driver’s seat and both the car and okada sped off.”

WO sales representative of Orange Drugs Company, Ukpai Stephen, 46, and Emmanuel Okelike, 35, have been charged before an Oshodi Magistrate’s Court in Lagos for allegedly stealing N1.8 million realised from the sales of property belonging to one Moses Anyaledebi.

Okelike was accused of obtaining the goods of Orange Kalibe Product, Extrajoss Energy drinks, Procold, among others, worth N978,650 from Orange Drugs Company, while pretending to sell them and remit the money to the company’s account.

They are facing a threecount charge bordering on false pretence to sell goods, conspiracy to commit stealing and stealing.

They were said to have committed the alleged offence at Orange Drugs Company situated along Town Planning Way, Ilupeju area of Lagos.

However, when the charge was read to the accused before Magistrate Akeem Fashola, they pleaded not guilty.

Magistrate Fashola admitted the accused to bail in the sum of N100,000 with one surety, who have paid three years tax and to depose to an affidavit of means of livelihood.

The matter was adjourned to July 13 for trial.

Police arrest 11 cultists in Delta

By Ochuko Akuopha

O

LEH—POLICE in Delta State have arrested 11 suspected cultists at Oleh, headquarters of Isoko South Local Government Area of the state.

It was learned that the cultists had gone on rampage in the area, Wednesday, in the aftermath of a violent clash between members of rival cult groups, unleashing hostility on residents of the area.

Police Public Relations Officer of the state police command, Celestina Kalu, while confirming the arrest, said those apprehended had been transferred to the state Criminal Investigation Department,

Asaba.

She disclosed that the cultists attacked a man that was driving, collected his money, his mobile phone and destroyed his car.

According to her, ‘’the police came in and they ran away.

But 11 of them were arrested.”

Reacting to the incident, chairman of Isoko South Local Government council, Sir Itiakpo Ikpokpo, said there had been some infighting between some boys in the area.

“We waded in and brought in the police,’’ he said.

The council boss, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Fidelis Okah, said police were still investigating the matter.

8—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

Huge foreign currencies being smuggled out through borders —CBN

By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief

A

BUJA — FOLLOWING the restrictions placed on importers of rice and other non-essential items from accessing foreign exchange at the nation’s foreign exchange market, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has revealed an on-going massive smuggling of foreign currencies out of the country through her boders.

The apex bank which made the revelation of the unwholesome practice to frustrate the latest policy to conserve foreign exchange in the country, said it has taken steps, working with other agencies of the Federal Government, to stop the illegality and punish those involved.

CBN in a statement by the Director of Trade and Exchange, Mr. Olakanmi Gbadamosi, said: “The apex bank has noted the unwholesome practice of movements of huge foreign currency cash across Nigerian borders by individuals and corporate bodies without compliance to extant law of declaration to the appropriate authorities.

"The bank is already collaborating with other relevant agencies of government to ensure compliance to the provisions of the law.”

The bank also clarified that importers of the classified items could not access foreign exchange from any of the segments of the foreign exchange.

The statement added that Bureaux de Change operators could sell foreign exchange worth $5,000 per transaction but only for specific payments.

Transactions captured in that category were: Business Travel/ Personal Travel Allowance; monthly mortgage payment; school fees abroad; credit card payment; utility bills; and life insurance premium payment.

The CBN statement

The CBN statement reads in full: “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria has been drawn to the misunderstanding arising from of its circular in respect of import items recently classified as 'Not Valid for Foreign Exchange' in any of the segments of the Nigerian foreign exchange market.

“The misconception has to do with the fact that some importers believe that they can access Bureaux de Change (BDCs) segment for funding of those classified items.

“For the avoidance of doubt,

the Central Bank of Nigeria has directed that BDCs are not authorized to fund import transactions in any form whatsoever, either by cash or wire transfer.

Accordingly, authorized dealers are hereby barred from effecting wire transfers from the account of their

BDCs’ customers henceforth.

“The bank, however, stated that the BDCs are only authorized to deal in foreign currency cash and to sell not more than US$5000.00 to an individual customer and strictly for the following transactions: Business Travel/ Personal Travel Allowance;

Monthly mortgage payment; School fees abroad; Credit card payment; Utility bills; and Life insurance premium payment.

“Meanwhile, the apex bank has noted the unwholesome practice of movements of huge foreign currency cash across Nigerian borders by

individuals and corporate bodies without compliance to extant law of declaration to the appropriate authorities.

The bank is already collaborating with other relevant agencies of government to ensure compliance to the provisions of the law.”

Oil spill: BP to pay $18.7bn in 18 years zNigerians react, task FG on effective institutions

By Clara Nwachukwu & Sebastin Obasi with agency reports

L

AGOS — THE Gulf Coast states and the United States Government have reached a tentative settlement with British oil company, BP, to pay about $18.7 billion over 18 years, to compensate for damages from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, state officials said yesterday.

“This is a landmark settlement,” Gov. Robert Bentley of Alabama said. “It is designed to compensate the state for all the damages, both environmental and economic.”

The Associated Press, AP, reported that the settlement covers suits filed by Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas as well as the Federal Government.

Furthermore, if accepted by a federal judge, the settlement would end a year’s long battle between BP and the U.S. Government over Clean Water Act penalties after a judge ruled that BP was grossly negligent in the nearly 134 million gallon spill.

The settlement will also resolve the states’ natural resources damage claims and settle economic claims involving states and local governments in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, according to an outline filed in a federal court.

“If approved by the court, this settlement would be the largest settlement with a single entity in American history; it would help repair the damage done to the Gulf economy, fisheries, wetlands and wildlife; and it would bring lasting benefits to the Gulf region for generations to come,” U.S. Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, said in a statement.

Nigerians react, urge FG to strengthen

VISIT: Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki (right) with the Italian Amabasador to Nigeria, Mr. Fulvio Rustico during a courtesy visit to the Senate, yesterday. institutions

Reacting immediately against the backdrop of numerous oil spill cases in the country, including the infamous Ogoni oil spill, some Nigerians, yesterday, urged the Federal Government to emulate the United States of America in strengthening institutions to protect the citizenry.

Reacting to the judgment, Senator Lee Maeba, a former Senate Committee Chairman on Petroleum, said it is a wake-up call for the Federal Government to strengthen our institutions.

He said: “Government should strengthen our institutions; this is the key. We don’t have the institutions that can give us the benchmark. The Federal Environmental Protection Agency, FEPA, should not have been scrapped in the first place.

It is the equivalent of the FEPA in the United States that calculated the damage that was awarded to BP. “In Nigeria, Shell was billed to pay $1.5 billion for the damage done to the environment in Niger Delta communities. Till now, that money has not been paid. Our justice department is weak.

Government should show commitment to the welfare of the people.”

Also speaking, Mr. Ledun Mitee, Chairman of the Board of Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, argued that communities ravaged by oil spill should be compensated accordingly.

He said: “We have always made the point that lives of people are sacred no matter where they are. The system here is appalling and not encouraging. Nigeria should rise to the occasion “It is a sad commentary on our system that people in authority, the courts, the executive and law enforcement agencies, are not living up to their responsibilities.

“The agencies should be challenged so that those who suffer deprivations should be compensated commensurately because lives of people, whether in the US or Nigeria are the same.”

Facts on Deepwater Horizon spill

The BP settlement in the US

will likely mark the end of major litigation against BP, following the biggest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

When the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in April 2010, it killed 11 people on board and spread miles of black oil across the Gulf Coast before the underwater well was capped a few months later.

Online social change activist, dosomething.org, identified 11 major facts surrounding the oil spill, which it posted on its website, as followed: *More than 200 million gallons of crude oil was pumped into the Gulf of Mexico for a total of 87 days, making it the biggest oil spill in U.S. history. *About 6,000 total miles of coastline have been affected, including the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. *Even though the gushing well was capped in July 2010, oil is still washing up on shores, which might cause long-term damages to people living in the area. *The initial oil rig explosion killed 11 people and injured 17 others.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015—9

Boko Haram kills 100 in Borno zAs death toll in Monguno villages' killings rises to 46

By Ndahi Marama

M

AIDUGURI — SUSPECTED Boko Haram militants, Wednesday night, killed no fewer than 100 people in attacks on homes and mosques in Kukawa village, Borno State, according witnesses.

A resident of the village who

gave his name as Kolo told AFP that “the attackers have killed at least 97 people,”as he had counted the bodies.

A fisherman, who witnessed the attack corroborated the death toll, saying: “They wiped out the immediate family of my uncle, they killed

his children, about five of them, and set his house ablaze.”

Another witness called Babami Alhaji Kolo who fled to Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State where the attack took place, said more than 50 militants stormed the village early Wednesday evening.

He said: “The terrorists first descended on Muslim worshippers in various mosques who were observing the Maghrib prayer shortly after breaking their fast. They opened fire on the worshippers who were mostly men and young children. They spared nobody.

"In fact, while some of the terrorists waited and set most of

Insurgency: All hopes not lost, Osinbajo assures zVisits wounded soldiers in Adamawa B'Haram victims

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

A

BUJA — VICE PRESIDENT Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday, assured victims of Boko Haram attacks in Adamawa State of President Mohammadu Buhari’s determination to rid the country of terrorists, urging them not to lose hope.

Osinbajo, who has been travelling to states in the NorthEast in the last two days on the instruction of President Buhari, spoke when he visited the Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, in NYSC camp and the Federal Medical Centre, in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.

He said: “Everyday, the President is thinking about you.

That is why he sent me to come and see, take notes, to understand what is going on, to hear from you, so that I can report to him for positive action. That is why I am here.

“He asks me to say to you that there is hope, great hope, that the Federal Government under his leadership will ensure everything is done to provide for you and resettle you back to you homes, your work, your businesses and your places of worship.

“But you have to be patient. As you know, the government has very little money. We are running after all the money everywhere, so that we use it to serve you.”

The Vice President also stated that the Federal Government will sweep off landmines and other form of explosives from farmlands in territories recently recovered from insurgents.

Also, speaking at the Bajabure NYSC Orientation camp in Damare, Girei Local Government Council of Adamawa State, Osinbajo said the task of demining affected farmlands in the recovered areas ravaged by insurgency would receive utmost priority of government, adding that it was a very important step in achieving the primary objective of rehabilitation and resettlement of displaced persons back to their homes.

Explaining the seriousness of the situation, the vice president said terrorists “plant landmines

the corpses on fire, others proceeded to houses and shot indiscriminately at women who were preparing food.”

Meanwhile, death toll in Boko Haram attacks on Monguno villages during the one day official visit of the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo to the state has risen from 10 to 46 as a result of severe gunshot wounds sustained by victims who could not be conveyed to hospitals for treatment.

IGP deploys new CPs to Lagos, Rivers, Ogun

A

VISIT: Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki (middle); Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, Deputy Senate President (left) and Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Samuel Ogungbesan during a courtesy visit to the Senate, yesterday. and other form of explosives making it difficult for people to resettle and that is why it is absolutely important for us that the farmlands are swept clean of mines and explosives. That is a matter we shall take seriously.”

On unemployment, poverty in Adamawa

While commenting on the problem of unemployment and poverty in Adamawa State, he disclosed that his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), was specifically concerned with the problems even as he reiterated President Buahri’s commitment in alleviating

poverty.

He said: “Naturally, on the concern about the question of unemployment in this state and the question generally about poverty in this particular state, the Federal Government is specifically concerned about the issues of mass poverty and one of our cardinal campaign promises is that the poor in this country must not be left behind and must not be forgotten.”

He also assured the government of Adamawa State that the administration of President Buhari was committed to assisting them rebuild and reconstruct affected parts of the state.

Visits wounded soldiers

Meanwhile, the Vice President Osinbajo accompanied by the Governor of Adamawa State, Senator Bindow Jubrilla and other dignitaries visited some of the wounded soldiers and other victims being treated at the Federal Medical Centre, Yola.

He had earlier paid a courtesy call on the Lamido of Adamawa, Alhaji Muhammadu Barkindo Mustapha, who expressed delight in the readiness of the Buhari presidency to confront the insurgency crisis in the state and other parts of the NorthEast.

BUJA — NEW Commissioners of Police have been posted to Lagos and Rivers States. They are Ajani Owoseni and Chris Ezike, respectively.

Similarly, Mr. Abdul Ali has been posted to Ogun as Commissioner of Police.

The Police authorities said in a statement yesterday that the postings were in line with the determination of the InspectorGeneral of PoliceSolomon Arase to inject fresh ideas in the security architecture in Lagos, Rivers and Ogun States and some other Force H e a d q u a r t e r s formations.

Also, Dan Bature is now CP Force ID; V a l e n t i n e NtomChukwu, CP Admin Logistics and Supply; Hyelasinda Musa, Special Anti Robbery Squad.

Others are: Kayode Aderanti, Admin Operations Force Headquarters; E. J. Ebine, Port Operations Eastern Command; and Ogbusua Oleh, CP Provost.

FG removes Ekpeyong, appoints Daura as new DSS DG

By Favour Nnabugwu

A

BUJA — PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Mr Lawal Daura in acting capacity as the new Director-General of Department of State Service (DSS).

The Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mr Danladi Kifasi, in a letter released, yesterday, said the appointment was with

immediate effect.

Daura was born in Daura on August 5, 1953. He attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria from 1977 to 1980 and started career in the State Security Service in 1982 and rose to the rank of a Director.

He was at one time the Deputy Director, Presidential Communication, Command and Control Centre at the Presidential Villa, Abuja between 2003 and 2007. He

also served as the State Director of Security Service at various times in Kano, Sokoto, Edo, Lagos, Osun and Imo States.

He attended various professional courses both home and abroad including the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, (NIPSS) Kuru.

Daura took over from the Ita Ekpeyong, the erstwhile Director-General of DSS, who

first assumed office on September 7, 2010. Ekpeyong was reappointed by President Goodluck Jonathan in September 2014 for another four years which was supposed to run through September 2018.

Before his elevation to the top post at the agency, Ekpeyong had served as a state director of state security in states like Bauchi, Kwara, Lagos, Anambra and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

10 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

ALLEGED N271M FRAUD:

EFCC counsel's absence stalls Omatseye’s trial

By Innocent Anaba

L

AGOS—A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, has adjourned till October 21, 2015 for continuation of trial of the suspended Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Temisan Omatseye, who is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC over alleged N271 million fraud.

The adjournment was due to the absence of the lead prosecuting counsel, Mr Godwin Obla, SAN, who had written to the court of hisinability to be present in court.

Trial judge in the matter is Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia.

Obla, in the letter copied to Olushina Shofolayan, counsel to Omatseye, had stated that his wife was seriously sick in the United States of America.

Surprised at the yet-again request for adjournment from the prosecution lawyer, who was not represented by anybody from his chambers nor the EFCC, Justice Ofili-Ajumogobia, who noted that the court did not and had not received any request from the EFCC lawyer on the issue on ground frowned at the twist the trial was heading to.

The judge, however, granted their request while adjourning to October 21, 2015, a date, Omatseye pointed out was too long.

Obla, who opened his defense on June 1,2015, while cross examining the accused requested for an adjournment to July 1 to 2, 2015, on the ground that he needed to produce in court the NIMASA Procedural Manual which did or did not give Omatseye the power to sign and endorse every contract document brought to his table.

Omatseye, while answering questions posed to him by the EFCC lawyer had pointed out that his signature had to be in every file document brought to him for approval.

Insisting that some documents in File PD16A before were missing, Omatseye said for a file to be complete, his signature has to be on that file, six times.

OJO BOAT MISHAP: Lagos recovers corpses of 6 pupils, rescues 9 others zDeceased to be buried at riverside; LASG condoles with families increasing efforts to make the waBy Leke Adeseri, South West Regional Editor, Evelyn terways safe for residents.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Usman & Olasunkanmi community, Irawe Atbowaton, told Akoni

L

AGOS—THE Lagos State Government said the bodies of six children who drowned on Wednesday’s boat mishap in the Ebute Ojo waterways in Ojo Local Government Area of the state have been recovered while nine survivors were rescued.

The state government also commiserated with families of pupils who drowned when a fibre boat conveying them to school was hit by a motorised boat.

In a joint briefing at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, Managing Director of the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), Mr. Yinka Marinho described the incident as unfortunate, saying it occurred despite government’s

Vanguard that plans were underway to bury them at the river bank as is required of anyone that drowns, by their tradition, before the end of yesterday.

However, driver of the capsized boat has been arrested by the Marine Police. He was reportedly whisked away yesterday, after he was discharged from the hospital .

Sources at the Marine Police told Vanguard that the driver was arrested following what was described as negligence on his part .

Sources said: “If he had insisted on his passengers wearing life jackets, there would not be any loss of life”.

Marinho, who was joined at the briefing by the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Dr. Femi

Oke-Osanyintolu, the Executive Secretary, Ojo Local Government, Mr. Lawal Sakiru Adewale, the General Manager, Lagos State Safety Commission, Mrs. Dominga Odebunmi and the Chief Press Secretary to the State Governor, Mr. Habib Aruna, said 12 children and an adult were on board the boat when the incident occurred.

Explaining how the incident occurred, the LASWA boss said a motorised speed boat developed fault midwater and attempted to fix the problem while the boat was still in motion, thereby having a head on collision with the fibre boat conveying the pupils.

“We got the distress call by 8:30am that an incident had occurred. We immediately sent our patrol boat to the area. When we got there, we immediately tried to rescue those who were involved with the help of the local fisher-

BRIEFING: From left: GM, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Dr Femi Oke-Osanyintolu; Chief Press Secretary to Lagos State governor, Mr Habib Aruna and GM, Lagos Waterways Authority, Mr Yinka Marinho at a briefing on Wednesday’s boat mishap, in Lagos.

Lagos tasks public on measures against relapse of Ebola

By Chioma Obinna

L

AGOS—THE Lagos State Government yesterday advised the public to maintain adequate personal and environmental hygiene to prevent relapse of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

Dr Modele Osunkiyesi, the Permanent Secretary, state Ministry of Health, gave the advice in a statement in Lagos.

Osunkiyesi said that this became imperative in view of reported cases of the resurgence of EVD in some neighbouring West African countries like Liberia and Sierra Leone.

She said that the state government, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health

and other stakeholders, were maintaining relevant surveillance through the Port Health Services and community surveillance activities in all local government areas.

She said that the state government had started outlining strategies to prevent the re-entry of the disease after being certified free of Ebola on Oct. 20, 2014, by the World Health Organisation.

According to her, prevention of Ebola is a shared responsibility by all citizens.

“Although, there has not been any reported case of EVD in the state or the country, there is need for residents to take responsibility for their health.

“Observe the highest possible standards of personal and envi-

men there. We could rescue eight of the passengers, but this morning the six that were missing have been found, unfortunately, none survived”.

Marinho, however, said the captain of the speed boat has been arrested and will be prosecuted accordingly.

He however regretted that despite the provision of life jackets to boat operators in the Ebute Ojo area where the incident occurred, none of the passengers on board wore life jackets.

“As part of the state’s Corporate Social Responsibility since 2012, we have distributed over 3,500 life jackets from Badagry to Epe area.

That particular area that we had the incident as at May 2014, we distributed 360 life jackets. They were done to forestall these incidences, we don’t understand why people fail to wear life jackets, but we would continue to strive to ensure that the safety of the waterways is paramount”, Marinho said.

He said plans were underway to distribute another 2400 life jackets in the next few months, just as he called on boat operators to force passengers to wear life jackets if they must board their boat.

He said the state government has put in place adequate safety measures to guide the use of its waterways, stressing that in most cases the waterways is shut intermittently during bad weather to forestall any mishap.

Osanyintolu on his part, said the swift response of the state emergency response team ensured that eight persons were rescued alive.

“Our response was swift, prompt and effective. Immediately we were informed, we activated our emergency response plan and with that we were able to rescue nine people, eight children and the driver of the canoe.

He said five of those rescued were taken to Igando General Hospital, where they were adequately attended to free of charge.

He, however, appealed to residents to adhere to the rules and regulations for the use of waterways, saying it was for the safety of their loved ones.

“Our people need to abide to these rules because safety of lives and properties is paramount to this administration”, he said.

Adding her voice, Mrs. Dominga said the state government will not spare violators of its safety laws.

Executive Secretary of Ojo Local Government, Mr. Lawal Sakiru Adewale, said he led a delegation of the council to the families of the deceased to commiserate with them, saying that the medical bills of those taken to the hospital were paid by the government.

ronmental hygiene through regular washing of hands with soap and running water.

“Avoiding close contact with people who are sick, ensuring that objects used by the sick are decontaminated and properly disposed and avoid touching or washing of dead bodies if not trained to do so,” she said.

Osunkiyesi said that EVD could be spread through close contact with the blood, body fluids, organs and tissues of infected animals.

She said that EVD could also spread through direct contact with the blood, body fluids and tissues of infected persons as well as handling sick or dead infected animals like SEE MORE STORIES ON PAGE 56 monkeys and bats.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 — 11

Why I want to create 32 LCDAs — AMOSUN

By Daud Olatunji

A

BEOKUTA—GOVERNOR Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State has explained why he planned to create Local Council Development Areas, LCDAs in the state, saying it was to open up the state to greater opportunities.

Amosun stated this after a meeting with the chairmen of 20 local government areas in his Oke-Mosan office,claiming that machinery has been set in motion to make the LCDA creation a reality.

“We want to open up our state to greater opportunity with our proposed local council development areas. Our unique borders with other states would foster development. For instance,two of our local government areas harbour about 760,000 people,most of whom work in Lagos.

“We are putting procedures and processes in place.We would go to the House of Assembly and do a referendum on the creation of local council development areas.The committee we have put in place would do the annoucement,”he said.

The governor expressed ap-

preciation to the state’s workers for their patience and understanding over the present economic reality.

He further assured that the government would offset all deduction arrears by end of July as earlier promised.

“We are bothered about the prevailing economic circumstance in

the country.But imagine if we had not debarred of our internally generated revenue which was N730m when we came on board.

“It is the money we generate that we use to resue the situation and ensure we don’t owe salary since the crisis began.

“But as we earlier promised during campaign ,all deduction arrears would be offset by the end of July,”Amosun emphasised.

While lamenting the bad imple-

mentation of contributory pensions in the Gateway State by the previous administration,the State’s helmsman affirmed that there was need to inject huge funds to rescue the system from collapse.

According to Governor Amosun, “contributory pensions is a good system but badly implemented in this state. Before its take-off, it is better you have enough funds.We now need a huge injection of funds to save the system from collapse.

CONFERENCE: From left; Agatha Amata, Inside Out Media; Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa; Adesuwa Onyenokwe, Publisher, Total Woman Magazine and Senator Chris Anyanwu, Proprietor, Hot FM Chains of Station at the 2015 Women in Journalism Conference held at Muson Centre, Lagos. Photo by Lamidi Bamidele.

No plan to demolish Ladipo market, says Council boss

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

L

AGOS—LAGOS State Government, yesterday, assured traders in Ladipo Market that it has no plan to demolish the market.

Reports were making the rounds early in the week that the state government partially demolished some parts of the structures for the commencement of demolition plan by the government.

Executive Secretary of the Council, Mr. Jide Bello, at a media briefing in his Mushin office, said, “Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has no plan to demolish the market, the local council devel-

Lawmakers probe Pedro’s impeachment, 8 years after

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

L

AGOS—AN Ad-hoc com-mittee has been constituted by the leadership of the Lagos State House of Assembly to look into the circumstances leading to the impeachment of the former Deputy Governor of the State, Mr. Femi Pedro, in May 2007, during the 5th Assembly.

The inauguration of the committee was sequel to a letter of appeal written by Pedro, and read on the floor of the House by the Clerk, Mr. Olusegun Abiru.

The letter had solicited for the withdrawal of the notice and consequent impeachment by the Lawmakers of the 5th Assembly during Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s administration in 2007.

The speaker, Mudashiru

Obasa, while inaugurating the committee, enjoined them to unravel the circumstances leading to Pedro's impeachment, while taking holistic approach by inviting the former Deputy Governor to hear his submission in the course of the committee deliberations.

The Assembly also inaugurated a six-man Ad-hoccommittee to review the 2001 code of ethics for members in a bid to upgrade it to the level of current realities and best parliamentary practices.

The Chief Whip of the house, Rotimi Abiru, who moved the motion noted that the code of ethics was approved by a resolution of the House on October 8th, 2001, adding that it serves as an official standard of behaviour by which members actions are assessed.

The Chief Whip further expressed that there was need for the code of ethics to be reviewed in a bid to upgrade it to current standard in line with international best legislative practices.

The members of the Committee to review the Code of Ethics include: Rotimi Abiru (Chief Whip) as the Chairman, OmotayoOduntan, Yinka Ogundimu, Mosunmola Rotimi Sangodara.

Akeem Bello and Segun Olulade. They are to report back to the house on the 21stof July 2015.

Also at the plenary session the House called on Governor of Lagos State Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode to dissolve the current membership of the Lagos State Judicial Service Commission to give effect to the expiration of their five years tenure as stipulated by the constitution.

oper only moved in to take ownership of the market, but we have no plan to demolish the market.”

According to Bello, the council’s plan as contained in an agreement earlier reached with the traders, was to redevelop the market in phases which construction is to last a period of three to five months.

“Therefore, to commence the redevelopment plan, bulldozer of the developer moved in on Tuesday, business activities had continued in the Ladipo market unhindered and the traders are presently at their stalls carrying out their business transactions.”

He explained that the Local Government decided to redevelop the market, which had become an eyesore due to the unwholesome activities of some of the traders and the degradation of the surrounding which did not fit into the megacity plans of the state.

He said the Mushin Local Government intended to undertake the development of the market in phases and because of that, had not collected any form of rent from the traders in the market since the beginning of 2015.

He assured traders that current owners of stalls would be given priority as long as they can provide valid ownership papers once the construction is completed.

Court rejects attempt to nullify Ondo ex-dep gov’s impeachment

By Dayo Johnson

A

KURE—A Federal High Court in Akure yesterday dismissed a suit seeking the declaration of the impeachment of former deputy governor of Ondo state, Alhaji Alli Olanusi unconstitutional.

The application for fundamental human right was brought by a lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje asking the court to declare the impeachment of the former governor of the state, Alhaji Olanusi as illegal and unconstitutional.

Justice Sani Ishaq while striking out the case, held that section 251 of 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria empowers the Federal High Court to only hear of the matters that affect the federal government or any of its agencies and not state matters and thereafter transferred the case to the state high court.

Ogungbeje, who filed the suit for enforcement of fundamental human right of the former deputy governor had prayed the court to declare as unconstitutional, the setting up of a panel which looked into the impeachment process.

He asked the court to reinstate all his benefits and entitlement.

Respondents in the suit include the state House of Assembly, Speaker House of Assembly, Hon Jumoke Akindele Chief Judge of the state Justice Olasehinde Kumuyi and Mr. Tunji Adeniyan.

The respondents through their lawyer, Mr. Stephen Akinrinsola however filed a preliminary objection asking the court to strike out the case for lack of jurisdiction.

Ambode appoints Okonji GM, Lagos State electricity board

G

OVERNOR Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday, announced the appointment of Mr Peter Okonji as the new General Manager of the State Electricity Board.

In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Habib Aruna, Okonji’s appointment, which takes immediate effect, followed the resignation of Mrs. Damilola Ogunbiyi as the General Manager of the Board.

12—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

Wike to probe commissions in Amaechi's govt

By Jimitota Onoyume

P

ORT HARCOURT— RIVERS State Government has taken its probe of the immediate past administration to another level as it vowed, yesterday, to Xray the records and financial activities of dissolved Rivers State Local Government Service Commission, Civil Service Commission and the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC. Governor Nyesom Wike, in a press statement by his media aide, Mr Opunabo InkoTariah, said that the government will look into alleged issues of employment racketeering in the three commissions and their financial records.

The governor added that the commissions were yet to account for N2 billion, allegedly released to them by the past government.

“The Government of Rivers State has resolved to investigate the financial activities and alleged employment racket in the Rivers State Local Government Service Commission. Also to be investigated are the financial activities and employment racketeering in RSIEC under Professor Augustine Ahiazu.

“Members of the dissolved

commissions must explain how the N2 billion paid to them by former Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s government was spent. This excludes the other payments made to RSIEC that must be accounted for,” he said.

Meantime, Governor Wike has charged the new board of Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority to source funds for its survival.

The governor gave the charge when he inaugurated the new board of the authority with Amb. Desmond Akawor as Sole Administrator.

He further tasked the board to discharge its mandate effectively.

He said: “In the next 100 days, something must be done. You must bring investors and you should not depend on government for

funding.”

The newly inaugurated members of the board are: Chief Ferdinand Alabrema, Chairman and Amb. Desmond Akawor, Sole Administrator. Other members include: Mrs. Florence Amiesimaka, Mr. Ekas Wike, Chima Boms, Mr. Tonte Davies, Nanamidi Chuzor and Gloria Akor.

BRIEFING: Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson (middle) briefing State House Correspondents during his visit to President Muhammadu Buhari, at the State House, Abuja.

Ogedegbe: Family petitions IG, NHRC

By Emma Amaize & Godwin Oghre

O

GHARA—THE family of slain chairman of Oghara vigilante group, Oghara, Ethiope East Local Government Area, Delta State, late Mr. Benson Ogedegbe, who was shot dead, June 23, by soldiers of the 19 Battalion, Koko, Warri North Local Government Area of the state, has petitioned the Inspector General of Police and the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, over his alleged extra-judicial killing.

Also, a rights group, Oghara Centre For Justice and Development, has petitioned Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State and the Chairman of Ethiope West Local Government Area of the state, Mr Solomon Golley, to immediately set up a panel to probe Ogedegbe's alleged murder.

It was learned that the four members of the Ogedegbe family arrested by soldiers over the aborted Wednesday protest were released same day.

C M Y K

Commander of the 19 Battalion, who spoke to one of our reporters on phone, yesterday, said he did not speak to any journalist in respect of the incident.

The family, in the petition by its lawyer, Mr. Bernard Oyabevwe, said soldiers of the 19 Battalion framed Ogedegbe some time ago, and continued to harass and

Itsekiri youths back Johnny for Amnesty Chair

W

ARRI—THE Esimaje Awaniled leadership of Itsekiri National Youths Council, INYC, has thrown its weight behind calls on the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to appoint the Chairman of Egbema Gbaramatu C o m m u n i t i e s ’ Development Foundation, EGCDF, Chief Michael Johnny, as Chairman or Special Adviser to the President on Amnesty Programme for ex-militants in the Niger Delta.

Awani, in a chat with Vanguard in Warri, Delta State, said that the decision to back Chief Johnny for the position was taken “after three days of consultation and closed door meeting by

the entire members of INYC.” Noting that their resolve to support Johnny was based on his experience, his detribalised posture and fairness, Awani called for the revalidation of the amnesty sharing formula in terms of slots between Ijaw and Itsekiri so as to achieve equity and fairness.

Awani reiterated the support of Itsekiri youths for the Buhari administration and appealed to the presidency to release funds for Itsekiri youths billed to further their education overseas as part of the amnesty programme saying their counterparts of Ijaw extraction have already proceeded for the same programme.

trail him.

Ogedegbe's widow and other members of the family, at press time, have relocated from Oghara

because of the tense situation in the town.

The family urged the IG and NHRC to investigate the circumstances surrounding the killing and prosecute the culprits to avoid breakdown of law and order and further loss of lives.

A-Ibom leaders reject siting of nuclear plant in Itu

By Tom Moses

U

Y O — T H E proposed siting of a nuclear power plant in Itu, Akwa Ibom State, by the Federal Government through the Nigerian Atomic Energy Commission, NAEC, was yesterday rejected by the Akwa Ibom State Leaders Caucus.

Briefing newsmen in Uyo, the leaders opposed the location of the nuclear power plant in Itu, saying that the otherwise beneficial project has potentially devastating tendencies for the state.

Leader of the group, Senator Anietie Okon, said that the proposed nuclear plant would have been cheering news that the Federal Government still desired to establish its presence in the state after an alleged deliberate long void since the establishment of the moribund Nigerian Newsprint Manufacturing Company in Oku Iboku and the Aluminum Smelting Plant in Ikot-Abasi but noted that the project was a Greek gift.

“When the news of the location of the nuclear plant in the state was made public by NAEC’s Chief Executive Officer, Franklin Osaisai, it was received with apprehension," he said.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015—13

Unpaid salaries: Edo LG Chairmen to forfeit allowances, security votes —Oshiomhole

By Simon Ebegbulem

B

ENIN—GOVERNOR Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, yesterday, ordered that local government chairmen and councillors in the state are to forfeit their security votes and other allowances until the salary arrears of their workers are completely paid.

The decision was reached at a tripartite meeting between the state government, the council chairmen, led by Mrs Itohan Osahon-Ogbeide, Chairman, Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, Edo State and the organised labour, led by Emmanuel Ademokun, Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress,NLC, Edo State chapter.

Governor Oshiomhole, who announced the decision at the end of the meeting, said: “I deeply regret that some councils have defaulted in the payment of salaries. The good news is that some councils are up to date in payments to their staff.

“We have resolved to block all leakages and free money to pay council workers. I fully

appreciate the pains of our comrades in our councils.

Since I assumed duty here in 2008, I have done everything possible to ensure that the

councils operate fully without interference.

“Edo local governments are absolutely autonomous. I don’t know what they do in

other states, but in Edo State, we do not interfere with council funds; our councils have full autonomy and full control over their funds.”

PASSING OUT: Cross section of National Youth Service Corps member during the passing out ceremony of the 2014 Batch 'B' corps members deployed to Rivers State yesterday in Nonwa Tai Local Government Area, Rivers State. Photo: Nwankpa Chijioke.

Rivers APC warns Wike to steer clear of traditional “What Governor Wike is Secretary, Mr Chris traditional rulers against another institutions Publicity Finebone, said that such a move traditional ruler marked to be doing is to achieve three main

By Gbenga Oke

A

LL Progressives Congress, APC, in Rivers State, has warned the state governor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, to steer clear of traditional institutions in the state.

The party also said that Governor Wike's intention to demote some traditional rulers in the state was part of the perceived moves to spite his former boss, Mr Rotimi Amaechi.

APC, in a statement by its state

Madam Nwosisi pases on

A

frontline women leader and community activist, Madam Wapiri Nwosisi, is dead, aged 74.

She is survived by children and grand children.

Funeral arrangements will be announced by the family.

Late Madam Nwosisi

was viewed as part of the governor’s avowed commitment to spite his former boss, Amaechi and his supporters.

“A few days ago, the state government sponsored a protest publication by a group of

dethroned by the government in one of the clans in the state. The possible outcome of such an action is the of igniting an endless and intractable intra-ethnic conflict beyond anyone’s wildest imagination.

objectives. It is to further exact a pound of flesh on Amaechi and it is also aimed at serving to shore up the tottering image of the governor in the eyes of wellmeaning residents and people of Rivers State," he said.

16 communities in Rivers picket Agip

By Davies Iheamnachor

S

IXTEEN communities of Egbema in Ogba/ Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, have picketed Nigerian Agip Oil Company over the alleged inability of the oil firm to provide relief materials to the people of the area.

It will be recalled that two explosions rocked two facilities owned by Agip in the area on Monday.

It was gathered that some residents of Egbema have fled their homes for safety, following the emission of toxic fumes into the air from the explosions.

Yesterday, residents of the communities that make up the clan protested to the oil company and blocked the gate, stalling operations in the area.

The protesters expressed dissatisfaction with Agip for refusing to provide relief

materials to sustain the people of the area since the oil explosion that displaced many of them and left others helpless.

The protesters complained that many of their children

had been hospitalised due to the environmental hazard that the explosions caused in the area. They threatened to close down the company completely if nothing was done to ensure their welfare.

How to boost IGR through concession right —Azinge

F

ORMER Director-General, Nigeria Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Professor Epiphany Azinge, SAN, has proposed the concession of the right to generate revenue for improved internally Generated Revenue, IGR, for the Delta State Government to experts.

Azinge, at the 2015 Annual Leadership and Economic Summit organised by Anioma Voice Worldwide Inc. in Asaba, posited that government should invite applications and interview experts, who can be appointed based on their recommendations for effective and robust IGR modalities.

According to him, concession will also determine the percentage to be paid to the company charged with the responsibility for generating revenue.

New Rivers CP vows to wipe out kidnapping

By Jimitota Onoyume

P

ORT HARCOURT—NEW Commissioner of Police in Rivers State, Mr Chris Ezike, has assured that he will fight kidnapping and other related crimes to a standstill in the state.

The state Police chief who gave the assurance, yesterday, in Port Harcourt, during his maiden media briefing, also ordered the withdrawal of policemen attached to politicians and other individuals in the state not approved by the Inspector General of Police.

He said that the Police in the state under his command will collaborate with sister agencies to wipe out crime, adding that policemen will also be deployed to ease traffic situation in the state capital, Port Harcourt.

“As I perused the handover notes from my predecessor, it was easily noticeable that the trend and pattern of serious crimes in the state have become worrisome to the citizens. Specifically kidnapping and armed robbery fueled and energised by cultism have been on the increase, consequently the focus of my leadership shall be to reverse the trend and halt the drift."

C M Y K

14 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

APC CRISIS: Oyegun

replies Akande, Others ...says they've no conscience

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

A

BUJA—CHIEF John Odigie-Oyegun yesterday dismissed reports that he was compromised in his management of the party saying such persons were themselves without conscience and that they would soon eat their own words.

The chairman who spoke while receiving a delegation of SouthSouth/ Southeast Professionals made his comments in apparent response to the assertions against his management of the party by CEREMONY: President Muhammadu Buhari receiving the letters of credence from the his predecessor, Chief Bisi Ambassasdor of Ukraine to Nigeria, Mr. Valerii Aleksandruk during a ceremony at the State Akande.

House, Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida

Akande had in a letter on Monday lambasted the party’s national leadership, saying that it lacked the capability to resolve the quagmire raging crisis.

But in what appears like a reaction, Odigie-Oyegun while recalling his years in civil service and private business said no amount of monetary inducement would make him to compromise his hard earned reputation.

The chairman, however, said he was not losing sleep as a result of the allegations and indictment against him.

He said: “There is nothing they have not said about me but when you ask what has the man done,

Aston Business School, TEXEM organize 4-day programme Preparing for the blessed night

A

LLAH CREATED times, and He chose and elevated specific times, certain months, days, or hours in status and virtues. Undoubtedly, the month of Ramadan is one of these blessed times and the best month of the year. From among Ramadan, Allah further raised the status of a night over that of one thousand months, and that is laylat’l-qadr.

Hadith: “During the last ten nights of Ramadan, the Prophet (s.a.w) would tighten his waist belt and spend the night in worship. He would also wake up his family.” (ba%+% al-Bukhri) Aishah (r.a) said: “When the last ten days (of Ramadaan) would come, the Prophet (s.a.w) would spend his night in worship, wake his family (at night), exert himself and tighten his waistcloth.”

This time, let us strive to exert ourselves, wake up at nights for tahjud. If you have not been doing it, then do it now because the opportunity for a re-birth beckons. No doubt, tahjud is difficult especially for those who have to go to work, do some strenuous job and yet adapt to the tiring and hellish traffic in Lagos. But there is nothing comparable with the benefits and rewards in this glorious time. The danger is that once it is missed, you can’t get it back until another Ramadan. May Allah continue to save our lives. It should be noted that Ramadan is not only about fasting during the day but also about night struggle.

The struggle of the soul within the day by fasting and the struggle at night by doing tahjud. Both complement and combine to get great reward in this world and in the hereafter.

Again, we don’t have to allow fatigue to set in after a whole lot of activities- recitation of the Quran, the several lectures, the Tarawih, the Tahjud and others, but these are yet not enough and of course cannot be compared to the ibadah done within in this blessed Night of Majesty.

Observe Nawafil at night, make sure you pray with you family, this is a sunnah. A Muslim is concerned for the members of his household and desires that they take advantage of blessed occasions and seasons, and thus a husband should help his family find the time to dedicate for worship and encourage that during these days.

Develop further your level of taqwa and if possible, plan for I’tikf. You may start the planning now. I’tikf is also recommended for women, as the Prophet’s wives practiced it during the Prophet’s time and even after his death.

Therefore, in the next few days, we must persevere in our ibadah for this glorious night. We can achieve this by proper planing, through I’tikf and dedicating the whole period of the last ten days to worship so that we don’t miss the opportunity.

A

The programme tagged: “Leading and Managing human capital, 2015”, will have sessions such as Leadership; Building People, Teams and Organisations; Boosting Organisational Performance; Enhancing Organisational Preparedness for Change Management; and Addressing Strategic Challenges for African Organisations Why attend: This executive education kindness in him. We do not programme will equip expect less from Ambode.” delegates with the Speaking at the occasion competencies required to championed by Concerned effectively ensure the Human Rights Activists, sustainable growth of their Declan Ihekaire, leader of organisation. Senior executhe group, said: “As tives who are responsible concerned citizens, who are for providing leadership not less affected by the and formulating strategic traffic law, we implore the direction will develop enhanced insight of how inAmbode government to tegrating human and open up a new table of strategic goals can enhance engagement to douse the organisational performance ill-feelings the law elicits. through the latest research Ihekaire said the law had and discussions of realbeen there since 2012 and world case studies. commuters had almost taken it for granted that it Godwin Odogwu will never be revisited. for burial today “And if you had been R. GODWIN having a lee-way with Keke Odogwu, a native Marwa or Keke Napep to get quickly to your of Ogwashi-Uku in destination, like Ikeja Aniocha South Local Under-Bridge to Ikeja Government Area of Delta,, GRA, you are almost in for aged 74, who died on June a hard time. And if you had 14, 2015,m will be buried today. been using tricycle to beat According to the family, traffic jams on Awolowo late Odogwu will be buried Way, Ikeja, Iju Road, on July 4, 2015, at his College Road, Ojodu compound, No. 6, Berger Road, Agidingbi Hunyekoh Street, Ajara Road, Ipaja Road, Oko- Dokoh Bus-stop, Badagry, Oba Road, Dopemu Road, Lagos, after a funeral talk Allen Avenue, Oba Ogunji at the Kingdom Hall of Road, among other roads Jehovah's Witnesses, No. in Lagos, unless Ambode 14/15, Fagbele Street, Off changes his mind, prepare Tejuoso Street, Yaba, Lagos.

He is survived by wife, to accept the difficulties of the new reality,” Ihekaire children and grandchildren. said.

STON BUSINESS School, University of Aston, Birmingham in partnership with These Executive Minds, TEXEM, will hold a four-day indicative programme from July 21 to 24

Revisit Lagos Traffic Law, tricycle operators appeal to Ambode

By Starrys Obazei

L

AGOS STATE governor, Akinwumi Ambode’s decision to fully implement Lagos State Road Traffic Law 2012 restricting tricycles from expressways and some roads, has unsettled both the operators and commuters.

Last Thursday, at a press conference, members of tricyle association, Agege Branch, appealed to Governor Ambode to revisit the traffic law with a view to saving the livelihood of thousands of the operators in Lagos, and preserving the convenience of commuters.

The association appealed to the governor: “There are virtually no jobs in Lagos.

The only way we can support ourselves and our families is through tricycle operation. To drive us away from those stipulated roads amounts to sending us out of business.

“Laws are made for man, not for debasing him, but for uplifting him. No wonder the former governor, Mr. Raji Fashola, though very tough, suddenly soft-pedaled due to the human milk of

M

one of their reports said the present executive cannot win us elections in 2019!

Good Lord! You’ve not even finished with 2015, you’re talking about 2019. They also talked about the elites of the North against the people of the Southwest.

Am I from the North? Am I the one organising them?

“The one that annoys me is the attempt to rubbish 75 solid years of a character that I’ve put together. They said I took gratification, gratification to what purpose? The only people who can say that are the people who don’t know my background or history.

“I was just over 30 when I started joining teams that were buying aircraft from Holland and Seattle in United States. That could not corrupt me. I was on the board of the Railways, NPA and the rest of them.

If all these did not make me corrupt, how can I at 76 take money, money from who?

To do what?

“I was chairman of FHA. Let them go and check the record. I did not award a single piece of land to myself or to any member of my family. What they call Satellite Town today, myself and Fola Alade went out physically inspecting land for building low cost housing and we finally settled for low cost houses at Badagry. I would have settled for a piece of land. I could have acquired acres of land and the compensation government was paying would have covered that.

“Out of love for my country and democracy and resistance to the continuation of military rule, I was on exile for four years during which my economic base was totally obliterated. By the time I came back, I was barely carrying a dead bone."

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015—15

I’ve no hand in B/Haram prisoners' relocation to Anambra —OBIANO .It is a lie– Peter Obi

By Enyim Enyim

O

N I T S H A — GOVERNOR Willie Obiano of Anambra State, yesterday, said the transfer of Boko Haram prisoners to Ekwulobia prisons in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, was concluded in 2012 under former President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

The governor, who spoke through his Senior Special adviser on Political Matters, Mr. Chinedu Obidigwe, said the decision was taken during a seminar organized for officers and men of the Nigeria Prison Service, NPS, in which Ekwulobia and Kuje prisons in Anambra and Abuja capital territory respectively, were chosen as prisons for the Boko Haram inmates.

But former Governor Peter Obi, in a swift reaction, expressed shock about Governor Willie Obiano’s claims, describing it as a blatant lie.

However, Obidigwe said the transfer of Boko Haram suspects would have been effected immediately but for the 2015 general elections on ground that it would affect the second term ambition of Jonathan in the South East geo-political zone.

Obidigwe contended that a decision made under the nose of past administrations in the state

and the country in general should not be blamed on the current regime in Anambra.

“In as much as the state government would not want to join issues with such section of the public, it is important to note that the policy of transferring Boko Haram inmates to Anambra State had been made since 2012 under the regimes of President Goodluck Jonathan and Mr. Peter Obi, but for the 2015 general elections which the then President was contesting for a second term.

"Since the transfer of the 47 inmates, panic had gripped the

people of Ekwulobia as residents in the area were apprehensive of an imminent attack by members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect,’’he said.

Reacting to the claim that former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Governor Peter Obi were behind the relocation of Boko Haram terrorists to Anambra State, the media aide to Peter Obi, Mr. Valentine Obienyem, said he was shocked that Governor Willie Obiano would personally sign such a release laying claims to what appeared nauseating and childish.

Obienyem said that such a claim

would only end up proving to the people that there were more to the relocation than they already knew.

Describing the claim as a blatant lie, Obienyem wondered how an action or a plan concluded by a man who left office almost 16 months ago was being implemented now.

He said: “The governor is clearly looking for an alibi for an action that was against the people. He should look elsewhere and not in the direction of Mr. Peter Obi, who, since he left office, had opted to stay away from Awka and not to distract the

present government in any way.”

Obienyem said Anambra people expected commendation from Obiano for Obi for the N75 billion in cash and investment he left for him and for restoring the pride of the state when other governors were bequeathing debts to their successors, rather than trying vainly to drag his name to the mud through statements such as this present one linking him to the Boko Haram issue.

He said the present campaign was not the first, recalling that the same people mass-produced documentaries against Obi and shared them free to people.

... relocate them, Anambra Ohanaeze Ndigbo chairman urges Buhari

By Chimaobi Nwaiwu

N

NEWI—ANGERED by the Federal Government’s alleged transfer of 49 Boko Haram inmates from the North East prisons to Aguata Prison in Ekwuluobia, Anambra State, Chairman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo , Elder Chris Eluemuno, yesterday demanded the immediate relocation of the inmates in the interest of peace and tranquility in the country.

Speaking with newsmen at his country home, Nkwelle-Ezunaka, Elder Elumuno said: “Our position is that it is not acceptable to

us having them here, if what President Mohummadu Buhari has to give us as dividend of democracy is Boko Haram terrorists, it is very, very unfair.

“Aguata prison in Ekwulobia is not a maximum prison, it is an ordinary prison and if the Federal Government meant well for us, Igbo, it is not terrorists that they will bring to us, it is not acceptable to us and we are asking them to think again and look for a better place and send them there.

“Let him build a camp and put them there if there are not enough accommodations in the North East prisons, the prison in Ekwulobia does not have maximum security, there are maximum security prisons all over the country.

“Successive Federal Governments of Nigeria have always taken the Igbo for granted and

pleaded that nobody should push the Igbo to the walls to incur their wrath, we are ask-

ing him to please, remove the suspects from Anambra State."

16 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

Group warns APC on Ekweremadu

By Anayo Okoli

U

M UA H I A — A group, Democracy in Action, has warned All Progressives Congress, APC, to stop meddling in the affairs of the National Assembly by its attempt to remove Senator Ike Ekweremadu as the deputy Senate President.

The group warned that any attempt by the APC to remove Ekweremadu would be resisted by Nigerians who love democracy.

The group in a statement issued in Umuahia by its chairman, Dr. Donald Abraham, reminded APC that members of the upper legislative chamber had made their choice in electing Dr. Bukola Saraki and Dr. Ike Ekweremadu and urged the party to allow them be.

“What the APC wants to do now is tantamount to changing the goal post after a goal had been scored. We want to warn the APC that such attempt to touch the deputy Senate President will meet with stiff opposition from all lovers of democracy.

Ugwuanyi sets-up 12man urban renewal c'ttee to modernise Nsukka

By Francis Igata

E

N U G U — GOVERNOR Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State yesterday played host to a delegation led by the Catholic Bishop of Nsukka, Most Rev. Prof. Godfrey Onah, and announced list of twelve persons, appointed to serve in the Nsukka urban renewal committee to modernise the university town.

It was an occasion during which the clergyman and former Vice Rector,Pontifical Urban University, Rome,Italy warned the governor against the antics of deceitful hangers-on and urged him not to lose his well-known trade mark of disarming humility.

Governor Ugwuanyi told his visitors made up of members of the clergy, the laity and the diaspora of the diocese that the decision of the his administration to set up the urban renewal committee for Nsukka was to begin the fulfilment of part of his promises contained in his campaign inaugural address.

C M Y K

Withdraw your suit and tender apology, Okorocha orders royal fathers

By Chidi Nkwopara

O

WERRI—GOVERNOR Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has directed the 40 traditional rulers in the state, who recently dragged him and his administration to court, to

withdraw the suit without further delay.

He also asked the monarchs to tender an apology since the action they took embarrassed him and his government.

He also dissolved the Traditional Rulers Councils in the 27 local governments because

their tenures had expired long before now, while that of the state Council, led by Eze Ohiri would remain because their tenure had not elapsed.

Okorocha gave the directive in Owerri, while addressing all the traditional rulers in the state, except the 40 royal fathers who

AWARD: From left, Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe; Vice Chancellor emeritus, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Professor Ikechukwu Chidobem; the awardee; Professor Ben Nwabueze, and Chairman,Convention for Intellectual Co-operation of Nigeria, COFICON, Professor Chiweyite Ejike, during the confernment of distinguished academic leadership award on Professor Nwabueze by COFICON, in Enugu, Tuesday.

the government also accused of refusing to attend the meeting.

The governor said: “For the 40 traditional rulers to have gone to court against me and the government for no tenable, tangible and justifiable reason, means they must have mistaken my patience, tolerance and respect for the people of the state as weakness.

“The traditional rulers were out to deliberately malign me and my government because I never suspended the 40 traditional rulers or sacked them or even any of them as Eze, and had not taken any action that suggested that I had any plan to go against the traditional rulers. What then is the rationale behind the traditional rulers taking me to court?”

Okorocha further explained that the State Council of Traditional Rulers, led by Eze Samuel Ohiri, didn’t have the right to suspend or remove any Eze from his stool.

“It is only the governor who has that right and he had never exercised such right against the traditional rulers in question,” Okorocha explained.

He noted that the leadership of the traditional rulers council only suspended four of their members from the council and not as Ezes, to begin to suspect that they acted on behalf of the governor or the government.

Ex-Anambra commissioner urges Buhari to appoint SGF from South-East

By Enyim Enyim

O

NITSHA—FORMER Commissioner for Lands and Survey in Anambra State,

Chief Okoli Akinka, yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to shun all entreaties in some quarters to stop him from appointing the Secretary to the Government of the Federation

from the South East zone of the country.

Speaking exclusively with Vanguard, Akinka, a chieftain of All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, said the plum position, if

Okorocha promises power plant in Ohaji/ Egbema LGA for Imo State

By Chidi Nkwopara OWERRI—IMO State Governor Rochas Okorocha, has said he would set up a local implementation committee to ensure quick realization of the power plant at Mmahu, Ohaji/ Egbema local government area.

The governor, who disclosed this yesterday, also said he was at the power plant complex at the instance of President Muhammadu Buhari, and assured that when completed, the power plant would boost power supply in the state.

“This unscheduled inspection visit to the power plant site at Mmahu, Egbema, is at the instance of President Mohammadu Buhari. The President wants to get things done to actualize the dreams of setting up the power plant,” Okorocha said.

While noting that steady public power supply would improve to

assist in actualizing his industrialization and job creation policies, Governor Okorocha reasoned that no meaningful development could be achieved without steady power supply.

“No meaningful achievements can be realized without steady supply of electricity. I call on whoever is delaying the project to wake up to the realities on ground,” Okorocha noted.

He assured the citizenry that the Federal Government project, which was started some years ago, would be realized as soon as possible. Speaking after conducting the governor round the complex, the Executive Director, Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited, Dr. Albert Okorogu, expressed the determination of the company to deliver on the project.

given to the South East, would give Ndigbo a sense of belonging in the present administration.

“The party, as currently constituted both in party and government, does not factor in the South East zone. In the party (APC). We, (Ndigbo) do not have the position of national chairman, treasurer, women leader, financial secretary and other key positions. In the government we do not have the president, Vice President except in the National Assembly where we have Deputy Senate president.”

According to him, the SGF, if given to the South East or Igbo speaking section of South South, would have advantage of not only giving Igbo a sense of belonging but also situate APC in the South East where the party had only one governor and in the South South where it also had one governor.

....Reps member solicits aid for victims of oil explosion witnessing untold environmental

By Chidi Nkwopara

O

WERRI—THE member representing OhajiEgbema, Oguta and Oru West federal constituency in the National Assembly, Chief Goodluck Nanah Opiah, has called on the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, to come to the

aid of victims of Nigerian Agip Oil Company, NAOC, explosion in his area.

Chief Opiah, who made the appeal in a press statement made available to Vanguard in Owerri, also lamented that many of his constituents had not only lost properties worth millions of Naira but has been rendered homeless as a result of the disaster.

He said: “My constituents are

disaster as a result of the fire outbreak at a major oil and gas flow station operated by NOAC on Sunday, June 30, 2015.

“The people of Egbema and some parts of Ohaji in Imo State, woke up after an early morning rain, to find black carbon and oil floating on percolated rain water, rivers and ponds. Leaves and foot paths were equally covered by black patches of oil.”

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 —17

Europe’s migrant crisis

L

AST year, an estimated 170,000 migrants reached Italy by entering boats on the North African coastline and crossing the Mediterranean Sea. A third of them promptly claimed asylum in Italy (on the grounds that they were allegedly being persecuted in their own countries). The rest headed towards Northern European countries like Germany and the United Kingdom.

Since January, 100,000 migrants have made the crossing from North Africa to Southern Europe. Greece is also a popular destination.

But Italy continues to be the Number One first port of call.

57,000 of the 100,000 landed in Italy.

The migrants pay people traffickers for space on vessels that are unsafe and chronically overcrowded; and they don’t always make it in one piece to their destinations. Sometimes, the boats flounder or sink. And rescue operations are not always successful. Many, women and children included, have drowned.

On June l6th alone – just one 24-hour period! – over

Matteo Renzi,Italian Prime Minister.

10 rescue operations took place in the Mediterranean.

And European governments are at their wits’ end.

The European Union position is that all of its member states should do their “fair share” and shoulder part of the burden of this huge influx by signing up to a quota system. But some are flatly refusing to be saintly, much to the annoyance of Matteo Renzi, the Italian Prime Minister, who is accommodating thousands of penniless migrants in camps at considerable expense and doesn’t see why his country should have to bear the brunt of this escalating crisis.

Renzi has angrily threatened to issue migrants with temporary visas that will enable them to leave Italy and travel freely within the European Union area.

Meanwhile, migrants regularly riot out of frustration. Earlier on this month, police had to move against about 250 mostly Sudanese and Eritrean young men who were protesting

because they’d been prevented from entering France.

Theresa May, the British Home Secretary, said – at a summit in Luxembourg – that the key to solving this problem is to “break the link between getting into the boats and reaching Europe” and that migrants should be forcibly sent back to Africa as a deterrent, so they can “see that there is no merit in this journey” Mrs. May, who believes that most migrants are economic refugees rather than victims of persecution, added that:

Theresa May, British Home Secretary

The desperate folks who risk their lives by cramming themselves and their meagre possessions into leaky boats in North Africa don’t have any fancy aspirations and barely understand the sophisticated societies they are trying to get to.

They just want better existences for themselves and their families

“To deal with this issue in the long-term, we need to go after the criminal gangs who are plying this terrible callous trade in human lives…It also means development work in the countries of origin so we can ensure that people no longer have the insane incentive...to risk their lives.”

I really don’t know what to conclude about this chaotic and tragic situation. On the one hand, I completely sympathise with Mrs May’s exasperation about being swamped by refugees. On the other hand, I completely sympathise with Africans who are fleeing from dysfunctional countries for whatever reason.

I am more privileged than most Nigerians and Nigeria is the Giant of Africa. But I still frequently experience a strong urge to “escape” to Europe because it is more tranquil, more wellorganised, more meritocratic, more honest

Congrats to two very capable Nigerians T

HERE are those who are very unhappy about the new National Assembly leadership. And I don’t want to get embroiled in a raging controversy that I don’t fully understand (because I am in London having medicals and have not had the time or energy to study the nittygritty details in Nigerian news websites).

But I’ve met Bukola Saraki quite a few times; and though our meetings were fleeting, so I don’t know him well, my instincts – which are usually pretty sound (if I say so myself!) – tell me that he is polished, clever, charismatic, tough and strategically-minded enough to be an above-average C M Y K

Senate

Yakubu Dogara, Speaker, House of Reps.

Senate President.

As for Honourable Yakubu Dogara, who recently became the new Speaker of the House of Representatives: He is my friend and I am totally thrilled for him.

I met Dogara about 10 years ago, when we both worked in the same building in Abuja - as Special Assistants to a former Minister of Transport and former Minister of State for Transport. And we had many lively discussions about

Bukola Saraki, president

national and international issues and sometimes teamed up to organise official events for our bosses (who were from our home states of Rivers and Bauchi).

Dogara was an excellent colleague – as in kind, gentlemanly and detribalised. He was also a great asset to the Ministry – as is highly intelligent and principled.

When we quit being personal aides, Dogara ran for election and became a very active legislator. I have watched his gradual rise up life’s ladder with pleasure and will be very surprised if he doesn’t do a fantastic job for the nation.

and so on.

Hospitals are, on the whole, pretty good in Europe. And in the main European countries, medical treatment is free. Ditto primary and secondary education.

Meanwhile, you don’t have to personally know any Big Oga or Big Madame in Europe to get a job. And if you can’t find a job because you lack qualifications or because you are disabled or because you are just plain unlucky, you will be provided with manageable welfare payments and a roof over your head.

Terrorist threats are handled more efficiently by European authorities. And though corruption exists in Europe, it is not the norm; and it is very difficult to get away with stealing public funds in Europe. And when corrupt practices are uncovered, they are swiftly nipped in the bud and the culprits are punished.

The desperate folks who risk their lives by cramming themselves and their meagre possessions into leaky boats in North Africa don’t have any fancy aspirations and barely understand the sophisticated societies they are trying to get to. They just want better existences for themselves and their families.

It is tempting to sternly tell them to respect themselves and stay home and fight for development in their own countries, instead of trying to invade Europe.

But they are powerless unless they join hands and gang up on their selfish, predatory ruling elites; and most of them are not feisty Marxist class warriors or aggressive radicals, so they don’t even try to play the Revolution game.

And who listens to – and acts on - their myriad worries back home? How many African leaders voluntarily pay serious attention to the needs of the masses?

The sad truth is that African migrants are more likely to find compassion, peace, justice and progress in distant lands in which they aren’t even welcome.

Responses to: donzol2002@yahoo.co.uk or to 0802 747 6458 OR 0811 675 9752 (texts only).

PLEASE KINDLY NOTE THAT UNLESS YOU REQUEST ANONYMITY, YOUR COMMENTS MAY BE PUBLISHED, WITH YOUR NAMES AND CONTACT DETAILS ATTACHED.

18 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 ON June 23, the Central Bank of Nigeria released a circular titled: “Inclusion of Some Imported Goods and Services on the List of Items Not Valid for Foreign Exchange in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Markets,” and listed 41 items that can no longer be imported with foreign exchange sourced from the apex bank, deposit money banks, bureaux de change and other authorised sources.

They include rice, cement, margarine, palm kernel/palm oil products/vegetable oils, meat and processed meat products, toothpicks, glass and glassware, kitchen utensils, tableware, vitrified and ceramic tiles and textiles among other items. The CBN clarifies that they are not banned, just that importers of these items can no longer access foreign exchange from the Bank and the industry it regulates.

The CBN cited as its reason the need to “encourage local production of these items”, adding that “implementation of the policy will help conserve foreign reserves as well as facilitate the resuscitation of domestic industries and improve employment generation.”

Governor of the Central Bank, Mr Godwin Emefiele, defended the Bank’s latest action

Central Bank’s FFore ore orexx Restrictions at a press conference in Abuja, saying Nigeria can no longer import just about everything, and time has come to stop making the country a dumping ground for all sorts of imported junk from all over the world.

We agree with Mr Emefiele on this. Indeed, why should Nigeria import toothpicks? With all our arable land, why should we continue to import rice, tomato, fruits, and other consumables? If we look around us, we will see the remains of the companies that used to produce many of these items. We now import plywood. What happened to our

wood industry? What did we do to our paper mills at Oku-Iboku and Iwopin? What have we done to Ajaokuta Steel industry, and the aluminium smelting plant at Ikot-Abasi?

We allowed these companies to die and the vision behind their founding was derailed.

Today we are importing what we should be producing at home and generating mass unemployment.

It is now time to pick up the gauntlet, revive the industries, establish more, and create jobs for our population.

We should also get more proactive about what we export. Increasing domestic production and export will remove Nigeria from the nightmare of a mono-economy and guarantee stability and prosperity for the nation.

At this juncture of reorganising our economy, we expect the CBN and the Federal Government to sustain every measure that will increase local production, generate employment and diversify the economy.

Even if we allow such luxury imported items as champagne and apples to be imported into this country they must be appropriately taxed and the proceeds channelled to the benefit of the general population.

OPINION No to handouts

By Jamin Ohwovoriole

I

AM tempted to dance naked for the new regime in Nigeria under the leadership of the venerable Muhammadu Buhari.

Why? I am inebriated by the grandiose social safety net programmes that are about to be rolled out in the near future for the betterment of the ordinary Nigerian!

However, the one that gives me the greatest pleasure this moment is the news that some 25 million suffering Nigerians may each soon begin receiving N5000 monthly from the Federal Government of Nigeria. Isn’t this thoughtful of the thinking, concerned administration currently housed in Aso Rock?

Of course, it is! After all, if America can dedicate 11 per cent of her 2014 budget to programmes that, according to the Washington DC-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “provide aid (other than health insurance or social security benefits) to individuals and families facing hardship,” then why not Nigeria? By the way, that percentage in actual green back was $370 billion! Call it a humongous bill and no one will look at you askance because it is for a worthy cause for a needy citizenry: government catering for the well being of the people who are the very foundation of democracy through the following social safety nets as outlined by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “The refundable

portions of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, which assist low- and moderate-income working families through the tax code; programmes that provide cash payments to eligible individuals or households, including supplemental security income for the elderly or disabled poor and unemployment insurance; various forms of in-kind assistance for low-income families and individuals, including SNAP (food stamps), school meals, low-income housing assistance, child care assistance, and assistance in meeting home energy bills; and various other programmes such as those that aid abused and neglected children.”

Beside these safety net programmes, another 24 per cent of the US 2014 federal budget, which translated to $836 billion, was used to “provide health coverage to around 54 million people who are over the age of 65 or have disabilities” and a separate set of “about 70 million low-income children, parents, elderly people, and people with

This is the time for the current breed of Nigerian leaders to make sacrifices

disabilities.” In total, the US picked up the hospital tab for 124 million Americans last year! Mind you, according to the United States Census Bureau, the US population as at July 4, 2014 was 318, 881, 992 people. In other words, when you do the maths: America took care of the hospital bill of almost half of its population!

Apart from America, other developed countries have programmes that are designed to ameliorate the social conditions of their poor citizens. However, according to Stanford University’s The Poverty and Inequality Report 2015, which is a report on the state of the states as it pertains to the impact of safety net programmes in the US, the poor in America are not yet out of the woods since “the economic well-being of low-income households may be especially precarious;” that is, in spite of government sustenance. Now, does this bleak study mean that the state should not cater for the people in economic distress? Not really! Any help from anywhere will cushion the pain of poverty and give hope to the miserable in society: a people whose plight isn’t their fault.

So, why am I against government handouts in Nigeria? My crystal ball tells me that the 25 million Nigerians will add some N125 billion to monthly state expenditure. And, what else do I see? My crystal ball tells me, also, that the N5000 will be used to buy some 57 litres of fuel to power generators in those households while the people remain famished! Isn’t this robbing Peter to pay Paul?

The Pauls are those who may be denied easy illegal access to government coffers should

the Buhari administration wave “good bye” to fuel subsidy.

For now, I do believe that there are immeasurable problems besetting Nigeria that need immediate attention of the men in Aso Rock and those in the National Assembly, and these problems – if given priority – will pave the way for a better appreciation and profitable use by the poor of the monthly stipend from the Federal Government. As things are presently, in my view, Nigeria’s poor and majority of the denizens are in greater need in every nook and cranny of roads that are not deplorable, electricity that is constant and security that is guaranteed. To achieve these, it means that every tier of government in Nigeria, without regard for political affiliation, must embrace its responsibility in the provision of basic amenities that will make life in Nigeria worth living because, according to Henry R. Nau, intervention protects “people from arbitrary violence and starvation [without imposing] a specific political regime on the country.”

This is the time for the current breed of Nigerian leaders to make sacrifices because every ordinary Nigerian has heeded this call for many decades without any positive measurable result accruable.

In this state, hope has diminished for many and, for others, hope has transmogrified.

However, hope can still spring if the men in charge of Nigeria’s fate will shun what Plato calls “bodily pleasure” in all its guises.

The task ahead for Nigeria’s leaders should be motivated by national pride.

Ohwovoriole, a Professor of Communication Studies, wrote from the US.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015— —19 Send Opinions & Letters to: opinions1234@yahoo.com

The Freedom Charter for humanity

I

MAGINE a binding Charter for America that reads, “We, the People of United States, declare for all our country and the world to know: That United States belongs to all who live in it, black and white…that our country will never be prosperous or free until all our people live in brotherhood, enjoying equal rights and opportunities (that) The preaching and practice of national, race or colour discrimination and contempt shall be a punishable crime” This kind of simple and straight forward Charter could save America its race problems and the continuous craziness of police and white supremacists murdering black and coloured peoples.

Yet, all I did above was to paraphrase the South African Freedom Charter; one of the most profound and famous documents ever produced by humanity. Its relevance today, to America and all multiracial societies, is proof of the efficacy and the deep thoughts that gave birth to it, sixty years ago, precisely on June 26, 1955.

Yet, the Freedom Charter is not essentially about race; it is about

true freedom and democracy.

Not the prevalent democracy of the rich, by the rich for the rich, but mass participatory democracy in which the will of the people prevail. It is about a non- exploitative society where social justice reigns.

Just as I paraphrased it for America, it can also be for any other society. It could read like “Nigeria belongs to all who live in it, nationalities and ethnicities…” It is perhaps the most profound political manifesto Africa has given the world. Unlike the 1215 Magna Carta which was essentially a truce drawn up by the Archbishop of Canterbury between an unwilling King and suspicious barons, the Charter is a manifesto of the generality of the people with universal applicability. It reads like the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights except that it has more profound economic implications and less ambiguity.

As a Nigerian anti-Apartheid youth, my initial reaction to the Freedom Charter was that it sounded too much like the Christian teaching of Love Thy

Enemy; if you are slapped on one cheek, turn the other. For me, and many of my friends, South Africa was a Colonial Question, and like the colonialists were expelled from Africa countries following independence, and the white settlers from Algeria and Kenya, they must be sent out of South Africa. If Europe is for Europeans, Africa must be for Africans. So how can we take serious, a manifesto declaring that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white?

It was no surprise that many South Africans led by Robert Sobukwe left the African National Congress (ANC) in protest. To them, The Freedom Charter was a sell-out.

Ironically, it was to the Apartheid regime, a coup speech; a document of high treason.

Indeed, when some ANC leaders were arrested and charged with attempting to overthrow the Government and impose a communist system, the evidence produced in court, was the

The Freedom Charter contains the seeds of an equitable, egalitarian and non-exploitative world based on peace, freedom and social justice for all; but in a universe controlled by a few, it portends danger

Can Buhari break the solid minerals jinx?

By Clement Udegbe Can plunder be taken from warriors, or captives rescued from the fierce? But this is what the Lord says: Yes captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce ------Prophet Isaiah, in the Holy Bible.

I

F it is true, that President Muhammadu Buhari, PMB, will appoint his ministers, in two months' time as reported, he must take his good time to look into the Ministry of Mines and steel, with the sole intention to breaking the strong lid, which they have used to cover and hold our solid minerals in captivity and bondage since the past over 20 years.

The doubt I have expressed in the report about the timing of the ministerial list announcement, stems from the conflicting reports we get these days about government policies and actions. For example, it was reported that some Boko Haram detainees would be transferred from somewhere in the north to Anambra state, last week. The people started protesting, because it will shift the attention of Boko Haram to that state, common criminals will acquire terror skills from these suspect inmates, and will ultimately introduce terrorism to the South East, a zone that is already grappling with kidnapping without any adequate help from the Federal Government. The APC spokes’ man for the South East , last Sunday said the reported transfer of Boko Haram detainees was a blatant falsehood. But the very next day, C M Y K

it was reported that 47 Boko Haram detainees were transferred in the night, amidst heavy security to Ekwulobia Prison in Anambra State.Thus, APC in Anambra state lied, deceived the people, and is politicising such a serious matter!

The questions include; Why mix up terrorists with common civil detainees?

Why not build befitting holding camps for these dare devils ? Why spread the virus to the South East? If we can build Helipads, as reported, can’t we also build detention centres for these terrorists ? Transfer of terrorist suspects into normal prisons is a very bad, short sighted, a dangerous policy. President MB, should stop and change it without much ado. If it is true therefore that President MB, will rule Nigeria, as a Sole Minister of the Federation for a quarter of the year, from May to August, he just needs to break the captivity of the Solid minerals by taking a deep look into the mining and steel sectors of this economy. It has been said

The proper use of the instrumentation of a commission will make solid minerals business very solid for the nation

Freedom Charter!

The idea of the Charter was that of Professor Zachariah Keodirelang (Z.K) Mathews who, convinced that the Apartheid regime would soon move to crush liberation organisations, suggested a Congress of the People to produce a Freedom Charter which “would reshape the liberation struggle”. The idea was to produce a minimum programme to which all South Africans can subscribe; a shared vision and a vehicle of struggle.

Once sold on the idea, the ANC in 1955 mobilised some fifty thousand volunteers to fan across the country, collating the views and demands of the people. These were then collated by a committee, and handwritten by activist, Mrs. Beata Lipman.

To validate it, about three thousand delegates from the ANC, the South African Indian Congress and the South African Congress of Democrats gathered in Kliptown on June 25, 1955.

The Charter was read in full and debated. The second day of the Congress was well underway when the Apartheid police broke it up by force. Nelson Mandela, the future first president of an independent South Africa, attended the Congress disguised as a milkman because he was under banning orders and would automatically have been imprisoned if caught attending a political gathering.

The Freedom Charter included the right to vote or be voted for, participation in governance and end to discrimination in any form whether race, sex, colour or belief. It also had equal rights in schools, courts, language, culture and in collective wealth. One of its most profound articles states that: “The mineral wealth beneath the soil, the Banks and monopoly industry

that, Nigeria has over 40 different types of solid minerals buried in the land, waiting to be exploited for money. About over 70 percent of these minerals are buried in the bowels of the North.

Nasarawa State has been tagged the home of Solid Minerals, Bauchi also has quite a number of these minerals. Gold can be found in commercial quantities in Niger, Kebbi, Kaduna, Kogi, Kwara, Zamfara, and Osun States. The commercial value of Nigeria’s solid minerals run into hundreds of trilions of US Dolars!

In 2012, the Federal Ministry of Mines and steel, announced that Nigeria is losing N8 trillon , that is $50 billion annually, to non-exploitation of Gold only. It can be safely calculated that all other solid minerals put together, can conveniently give another N10 trillion ( $70billion), bringing the total likely loss of this nation annually to over N18 trillion ( $120 billion). This gives an idea of the wealth held captive, by the managers of this country since the past over 20 years !

It is therefore very hard for anyone to convince informed Nigerians, that that we are broke, we have no money in the treasury, we are a poor nation, we should expect austerity, we can’t pay workers, and all such trash! Without further excuses, the wealth of this nation locked up in solid minerals should be released, with its potential to employ over two million persons.

Some reasons have been adduced for the lack of development of this sector. First, is the ethnicity factor. It is believed that since over 70 percent of the solid minerals are in the north, they have strategically shielded the sector from development, so as to rely on it, when oil dries up. While we all clamour over oil which is in the bowel of the South, there are no appreciable policies to exploit the wealth of solid minerals in the north.

The second reason is the strong hold of a

shall be transferred to the ownership of the people as a whole”. The failure of the ANC to implement this, after twenty one years in power is partly responsible for the mass poverty and frustration in the country.

Another fundamental provision states: “Restrictions of land ownership on a racial basis shall be ended, and the land redistributed amongst those who work it to banish famine and land hunger”. This was an essential provision given the fact that 87 percent of all lands were seized in 1913 from the blacks and given to the whites. Indeed, the liberation struggle was essentially about land. But the post-Apartheid settlement, guarantees whites lands under private ownership. The only way open, is the purchase of lands from unwilling and greedy landowners. This remains a sore point in both South Africa and Namibia. Only Zimbabwe, led by Robert Mugabe has succeeded in land re-distribution in the area.

For this, that country has been under permanent and ceaseless economic, financial, political and misinformation bombardment by the ‘international community’ Other provisions include “the right and duty of all to work, and to draw full employment benefits” free, compulsory, equal and universal education, right to medical care and decent housing. Another, is a commitment to world peace and the settlement of all international disputes by negotiation – not war.

The Freedom Charter contains the seeds of an equitable, egalitarian and non-exploitative world based on peace, freedom and social justice for all; but in a universe controlled by a few, it portends danger.

cabal of the powerful to emasculate the sector, and shield it from attention and investment. This group has a strong grip on the Ministry of Mining and Steel, to ensure that the major projects in that sector like, the Ajaokuta, Aladja, Itape, Iron ore and steel rolling mills, fail repeatedly, to discourage investments.

The third reason, is poor funding and empowerment of the sector coupled with poor policy implementation drives, resulting in frustrations all over the place.

The Solid Minerals Development Fund in the Mining and Solid Minerals Development Act 2006, has been poorly implemented, so far.

Nigerian Banks typically shy away from lending to the sector, because of its long gestation period for investments, thereby complicating matters for the operators in the sector.

Two principal ways to unlock this sector will involve first, the creation of a national commission patterned after the NNPC, but without the administrative setups that made the NNPC, a wicked octopus of corruption and manipulations, which has made oil business in Nigeria very oily. The proper use of the instrumentation of a commission will make solid minerals business very solid for the nation.

Second, will be to create a deliberate enabling financial environment for the players in that sector. The Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Bank of Industries, need to create a special funding for the Solid Minerals and allied sector. As a sector that has the potential to generate over 15 percent of the national GDP, all hands must be on deck to liberate the sector from its captivity in the hands of the fierce and powerful. Only President MB, can do it, and now, as part of the change he has brought to Nigeria.

*Mr Udegbe, a legal practitioner, wrote from Lagos.

20—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

Return of suicide bombers: Fear grips Borno residents

By Ndahi Marama, Maiduguri

I

N his maiden speech at his inauguration as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on May 29, 2015, General Muhammadu Buhari had vowed to crush terrorism in the country. It was a hopeinspiring and instilling statement for the people of the North East, particularly in Borno State, who had suffered terrible atrocities perpetrated

by Boko Haram insurgents.

Unfortunately, the joy the statement elicited was shortlived as the insurgents have since intensified their deadly attacks on Borno, leaving hundreds of innocent citizens either dead or severely injured.

This is despite the President’s order to the military authorities to relocate the Command and Control Centre from Abuja to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

As if in response to this, the terrorists have resorted to the use of female suicide bombers who target crowded areas such as market and other public gatherings. Apart from numerous suicide attacks since May 29, 2015, it was a bloody Ramadan week of suicide bombings in Maiduguri and some parts of Yobe State beginning from June 22 to date.

On Monday June 22, two female suicide bombers sneaked into the popular and busy Baga fish market in Maiduguri and its environs and succeeded in detonating some Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs. The explosion left dozens dead and several injured.

In another twin female suicide bombings, a middle aged man from the South West part of the country working with the Borno State Government (names withheld) was killed alongside his son, a secondary school student, while they were shopping at the footwear section of the market. The incident, according to sources, took place “at about 3:40pm on Monday when Muslim faithful in the market were observing their Laasar prayers. The first explosion went off at the centre of the market killing 35 people with over 50 seriously injured”.

Another source revealed that “immediately after the first blast, another female suicide bomber killed herself when the IEDs wrapped in her body accidentally went off before reaching its intended target at a mosque close to the market”.

Baga market is a stone throw to the 7 Division, Nigerian C M Y K

Army, now the Military Command and Control Centre. The market which was initially an international fish market had witnessed series of bombings and killings in recent past.

However, customers still troop to the market for smoked bush meat and fish brought all the way from the Lake Chad Basin.

An eye witness, Mallam Abubakar Aji Ali said, the explosion left dozens of people, including some Muslims who were performing their 3:30pm prayers, dead with others seriously injured.

“Immediately after the blast, I saw two trucks filled with blood-covered corpses coming out from the Baga main gate,”

*Scene of a devastating suicide bomb attack in Maiduguri

*...Yet another Scene

a resident in a nearby federal low cost estate who did not want his name mentioned told Vanguard Metro, VM, on phone.

Mallam Usman Ibrahim, one of the fish sellers at the market told VM that the dismembered bodies of the victims as well as the injured were immediately rushed to various hospitals as traders and customers scampered for safety while shops remained closed.

The Police Commissioner, Mr. Opadokun confirmed the incident. “Twelve people died, including the bombers, and many were seriously injured.

The victims were conveyed to the hospital. Investigation in progress please,” he informed.

On same Monday, June 22, 2015, no fewer than 26 people were feared dead while 20 others sustained gunshot injuries when suspected members of the dreaded Islamic sect, Boko Haram, stormed Debiro village in Biu Local Government Area of Borno State.

The insurgents who were in

four Hilux vehicles and motorcycles, according to Mallam Yakubu Debiro - the son of the District Head of the village, also burnt down many residential houses and vehicles before leaving without confrontation.

Debiro, the home town of the

Indeed fearstricken people in the region cannot help but wonder aloud when the military will get cracking and put a stop to the ongoing carnage

former Commander of the Joint Task Force, Major General Bata Debiro (retd), was hit by members of the Boko Haram for the third time this year, according to locals from the area.

Debiro is north east of Biu and about 45 kilometres drive to the council headquarters.

Although the people of Debiro are more associated with Hawul Local Government Area that is just about 25 kilometres drive to Azare the council headquarters of Hawul.

VM gathered that when the militants arrived the village in the night, they initially shot and killed 17 people before injuring many others, only to return again for another round of killing when surviving residents were busy burying their dead. Usman Malgana, who spoke with VM from the General Hospital in Biu confirmed that they lost 26 people, while 20 are currently receiving treatment at the hospital with doctors battling to save their lives.

Similarly, on Tuesday June 23, 2015, a female suicide bomber detonated Improvised Explosive Devices killing scores of people and injuring

26 others in Nannawaji village of Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State North East Nigeria. Those injured in the suicide bomb attack were taken to the Damaturu Specialist Hospital where they are currently receiving treatment.

An eye witness who accompanied the victims to the hospital in Damaturu, Mallam Adamu, told newsmen that the suicide bomber attacked the market around 10: 30am, killing several people. According to him, many people were killed but because the market was in disarray, no one could exactly tell how many people were killed in the attack.

He, however, informed that 26 victims were taken to the Damaturu Specialist Hospital where they are currently receiving treatment.

However, the Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Garba Fika, who spoke to VM on the attack, said 26 patients were brought to the hospital for treatment. He said three patients were taken to the theatre for various operations as three or four others may be referred to the Federal Medical Centres in Nguru, Azare in Bauchi State or the Aminu Kano Hospital in Kano.

Apart from the fear engendered by this spate of bombings, the recent statement credited to the Acting Director Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Kukasheka Usman, that it will take 21 days to complete installation of hi-tech equipment at the Military Command and Control Centre, MCCC, in Maiduguri and Yola, is believed to have increased apprehension among people of the region.

Indeed fear-stricken people in the region cannot help but wonder aloud when the military will get cracking and put a stop to the ongoing carnage.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

— 21

Naira: Foreign investors shun bonds, equity market to Nigeria,” said Kieran Curtis, a bond fund manager at Standard Life Investments.

“When we compare Nigeria to other oil exporters it hasn’t had enough of a currency adjustment.”

With oil exports providing 70 percent of budget revenues,

By Babajide Komolafe, with agency report

F

OREIGN investors have began to shun Nigeria’s bonds and equities market due to unwilling of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to devaluation the naira as widely expected Markets have moved sharply in the past week in particular after the CBN announced further restrictions on dollar funding for investors, as well as for importers of goods ranging from toothpicks to private jets.

The move, meant to conserve foreign exchange, has dashed widely-held expectations of naira devaluation - the central reform that investors had been banking on.

Since then 10-year bond yields have jumped 1 percentage point to almost 15 percent, stocks have fallen and the naira’s value is plunging in the parallel market, down about 7 percent from early-June levels.

A devaluation to restore the economy to competitiveness is a matter of time, fund managers still believe. In the meantime, they are unlikely to bring back cash they pulled out before the election.

“It will take a combination of weaker currency and higher interest rates to get us back

126.15 $

$3276

-60

$62. 47

57.45 CURRENCY BUYING DOLLAR

0.07

0.46

0.49

CENTRAL

195.9 196.45 POUNDS 305.2313 306.0102 EURO 216.9558 219.4936 FRANC 210.2017 210.738 YEN 1.5985 1.6026 CFA 0.3134 0.3234 WAUA 274. 2648 274.9647 RENMINBI 31.5937 31.6748 RIYAL 52.2338 52.3671 KRONA 29.3409 29.4157 SDR 275.5841 276.2873

196.95 306.789 217.5094 211.2744 1.6067 0.3334 275.6645 31.7559 52.5004 29.4906 276.9905

CBN Exchange Rate as at 02/ 07 /15

C M Y K

hedge against future exchange rate moves, reflect expectations of currency weakening: six-month NDFs price the naira at 225 per dollar, while a week ago the forward price was around 215.

From left: Executive Director Maritime Safety and Shipping Development, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Capt. Bala Agaba, Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr Dalhatu Sarki Tafida, Secretary General International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Mr Koji Sekimizu, Director of Legal IMO, Mr Friedrick Kenny during Nigeria’s handing over of the instruments of Accession at the IMO Headquarters in London.

1.05

$12.37

Nigeria can certainly use a cheaper currency. Most had reckoned on a 10-15 percent devaluation at least and some such as Curtis estimate a 2025 percent move is probably needed.

Non-deliverable forwards (NDF), derivatives used to

“To me, (CBN bank measures) are doing more harm than good: you are putting off the inevitable and the reaction you are seeing on rates markets and the NDF shows that,” said Kevin Daly, a fund manager at Aberdeen Asset Management.

“Effectively the bond market is starting to price in a much wider move on the currency.”

With oil revenues down and borrowing costs rising, the 2015 budget is already 3.2 percent smaller than last year’s. By early May, the government had already exhausted half its borrowing allowance for the year.

Ten-year yields at almost 15 percent, 250 basis points above post-election lows, will raise borrowing costs for the government and the private sector.

“Ultimately (devaluation) will become more of a fiscal necessity than an external necessity. The longer they will take to do the adjustment, the bigger the adjustment would have to be,” said Antoon de Klerk, portfolio manager at Investec’s African Fixed Income Fund.

And crucially for investment flows, Nigeria’s place in the GBI-EM local currency debt index looks increasingly precarious.

Fitch advocates increase funding support for BOI

By Franklin Alli

I

NTERNATIONAL rating agency, Fitch, has advocated increased funding support for the Bank of Industry (BoI) by the Federal Government in order to improve the bank’s lending capacity and aid the realisation of its objective.

Fitch has also assigned BoI a national long-term rating of ‘AA+(nga)’ and national short-term rating of ‘F1+(nga)’, noting that the National Ratings reflect the bank’s creditworthiness relative to the best credits in Nigeria.

Fitch’s rating is coming on the heels of a domestic credit rating of A- secured by BoI from Agusto & Co, a leading Nigerian credit rating agency, affirming that the financial institution remains in good financial condition and has a strong capacity to repay obligations on a timely basis.

According to Fitch, BoI’s ratings are driven by and equalised with Nigeria’s sovereign ratings (BB-/Negative/B).

Fitch noted: “BoI was established in 2001 by the Nigerian government, and is 94.8

percent owned by the Ministry of Finance and 5.1 percent by CBN. BoI is Nigeria’s leading development finance institution with the sole mandate of financing local industries. We consider BOI a policy bank given its ownership and its key role in the state’s structural and economic reforms, particularly in developing the non-oil sector. “The bank is majority funded by zero coupons, 25-year subordinated debt issued to CBN in 2013, which counts towards Tier 2 regulatory capital. Prior to that, the bank was funded by an N100 billion loan from the state (the Debt Management Office), which was converted to equity in favour of the Ministry of Finance.

“The bank provides concessional financing to SMEs and larger corporate in specific industries in the form of direct loans and on-lending to commercial banks. This includes lending to start-ups, existing businesses and the rehabilitation of ailing businesses and industries. The bank has 14 offices

across the country. BOI also acts as a fund manager for state governments, the federal government and legacy funds of high net worth individuals.

Some of the funds are intervention funds aimed at supporting specific industries. BOI receives a fee for managing and advising the funds. BOI does not have a special charter and is a limited liability company regulated

by CBN as a development finance institution.”

Speaking on the rating, the Bank’s Managing Director, Rasheed Olaoluwa, said: “The positive rating is an endorsement of our ongoing transformation project at BoI, and an affirmation of our strategic intent of adopting global best practices in all aspects of our operations. It further affirms an improvement in Agusto’s rating of the development finance institution. We are determined to make increasing impact in our focus sectors and to continue to set the pace as Nigeria’s leading development bank.

22 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

How judiciary impedes growth of capital market Stories by Peter Egwuatu

J

UDICIARY arm of govern ment is slowing the growth of the Nigerian capital market as stakeholders have rightly observed.

The recent intervention by the Nigeria Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC over alleged misuse of investors ‘funds by BGL Plc have continued to worry many investors and stakeholders in the market In an increasingly competitive global financial system in which countries try to outcompete one another for investment inflows, governments across the world are launching reforms to strengthen their regulatory regimes. Because investors consider the strength and independence of the regulator, amongst other factors before making an investment decision, many emerging markets are empowering their financial system regulatory agencies to give investors adequate comfort and protection.

Reacting to the saga between the SEC, apex regulator of Nigeria’s capital market and BGL Group, one of Nigeria’s largest brokerage and investment banking firms, Mr. Fidelis Okonkwo, an Abuja based financial and investment analyst noted that there are, however, signs of a worrying trend in which the regulatory authority of empowered government agencies are gradually being undermined by certain elements within the nation’s judiciary.

According to him “ While the judiciary has played a key role in the development of the financial system, some latest developments are sending disturbing signals to stakeholders in the financial sys-

tem and are capable of not only discouraging renewed zeal of regulators but also encourage malpractices in our markets.”

SEC had disclosed that it received over 40 complaints from various investors against BGL Group and its subsidiaries between 2012 and date.

The total amount involved in these complaints against BGL Group is in excess of N5.8 billion, according to statements released by the regulator.

As is the normal practice, SEC is empowered and mandated by its enabling laws and rules to investigate investors’ complaints and facilitate a

smooth resolution of disputes within the Nigerian capital

Nigeria deserves a judiciary that is willing to complement the strong posture of the current administration against corruption and other acts of financial impropriety

market. Based on the above, SEC initiated target inspections of BGL Group and its subsidiaries to ascertain the veracity of investors’ complaints. Subsequently, several all parties meetings were arranged by SEC in which BGL agreed to indemnify affected investors. However, according to the SEC, “BGL continued flouting such arrangements and reneging on promises to investors”.

Apparently, the cases against BGL had dragged on for almost three years without any firm action from the regulator. However, things

AWARD: From left: Group Managing Director, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, Mr. Taiwo Adeniyi; Chairman, Dr. Dele Makanjuola and Group Executive Director Corporate Services, Mr. Olatunji Anjorin at Vitafoam 2015 chairman’s merit award in Lagos.

Skye Bank completes Mainstreet integration process S

KYE Bank Plc has disclosed that it has successfully concluded the integration process with Mainstreet Bank Limited, which it acquired late last year in line with its long term vision of playing a leadership role in Nigeria’s financial services industry.

The bank said in a statement that six months after it took over Mainstreet Bank, it seamlessly achieved the harmonisation and integration of their processes, procedures, structures, operations, human capital and all the other scheduled tasks.

C M Y K

The statement quoted the Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo, as promising in a letter he addressed to the customers, that the bank was set to unleash the full potentials of the combined strengths of the two institutions for better customer service, customer experience and value creation for all its stakeholders.

“We are committed to pushing the frontiers of technology and innovation to enhance stakeholder value at optimized cost, and offer delightful customer

experience. We will therefore continue to make the required investments in people, process and technology to meet this commitment”, he reassured customers of the bank.

Oguntayo disclosed that Skye Bank’s total branch network stood at 469 while its Automated Teller Machine (ATM) network has increased to 815 across the country, with an asset base of N1.5 trillion.

The implications of these for the customers, he said include better access to the bank’s service channels, cutting edge technology, and stronger balance sheet to support their

businesses.

The Skye Bank boss said In line with the bank’s growth strategy, and preparatory to the acquisition, the Bank had made enormous investments in both its human capital and information technology, two critical assets that define organsational success, noting that their new banking software, Oracle Flexcube 12.0, with its multi - functional capabilities, is one of the best and most recent inventions.

“We made these strategic investments to ensure continuous excellent service experience for you” he added.

took an interesting turn when the current Director General of the Commission, Mr. Mounir Gwarzo, took over leadership of the regulatory body in early 2015. He promised to sanitize the market and maintain a posture of zero tolerance for market infractions.

True to his words, the SEC obtained a court order from the Investments and Securities Tribunal (IST), the recognised court of law with exclusive jurisdiction to capital market matters, allowing it to set up an Interim Management Team, IMT for BGL Group. The team was led by Mr. Oladipo Aina and started work at BGL premises on Friday April 17, 2015.

To complement their work, the IMT appointed a forensic auditor to look at the books of BGL and determine its true financial health.

Shortly after the IMT’s operations began, BGL approached the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to stop the work being carried out by the IMT and forensic auditors. In a clear case of judicial interference with legitimate regulatory enforcement action, a Federal High Court issued an order on April 30, 2015 asking the IMT and forensic auditors to vacate BGL premises.

Before pulling out, the forensic auditors had produced a preliminary report confirming the SEC’s suspicion about the dire financial state of the BGL Group. Among the findings are consistent losses over a period of five years totalling more than N48 billion which was eroding shareholders’ funds; billions of Naira in questionable investments in illiquid securities of unlisted companies (including a company that has even been declared bankrupt); liquidity challenges that make BGL unable to pay investors an outstanding N11 billion in matured funds among others.

In essence, BGL represented a serious risk to investors, to clients and to the market as a whole. The SEC management therefore decided to suspend BGL Group, its subsidiaries and sponsored individuals and invited them to appear before the Administrative Proceedings Committee (APC) which affords them fair hearing to defend themselves against the allegations.

Based on this development, Okonkwo advocates the independence of SEC as part of solution to strengthen the market.

According to him “Nigeria deserves a judiciary that is willing to complement the strong posture of the current administration against corruption and other acts of financial impropriety. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo last week harped on the need to have a stronger judiciary system. The judiciary should certainly not be used as a tool to blunt the enforcement mechanism of regulatory institutions.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 — 23

Huge oppor tunities ffor or agricultural opportunities gr owth in W est Africa gro West

By Jimoh Babatunde with agency report

By Gabriel Ewepu

W

EST Africa has un precedented opportunities for agricultural growth, but making the most of them will require more effective regional integration, says a new report by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

To be competitive with large global actors, West African agriculture needs to capture some of the economies of scale that those countries enjoy in the markets for fertilizers and seeds as well as in agricultural research and technology development, adds the report.

While important progress towards regional integration has been made over the past two decades, effective implementation at national level has remained a challenge, as evidenced by roadblocks and trade bans hindering intraregional trade, along with continued use of disparate national standards for seeds and fertilizers despite regionally agreed-upon common protocols.

The report, “Agricultural Growth in West Africa: Market and Policy Drivers” (AGWA), comes at a time of great dynamism in the patterns of food demand in Africa.

West Africa’s population, now 300 million, is expected to grow to 490 million by 2030. The subregion is already the most urbanized part of Sub-Saharan Africa, with nearly half the population living in urban centres, and the urban population is projected to continue to grow at a rate of 3.8 percent per year between 2015 and 2030.

That, along with an expanding middle class, is catalysing greater diversity in consumer food demands, with convenience, nutritional quality, food safety and presentation gaining importance alongside affordability. Serving this growing demand provides great opportunities for value addition, job creation, economic integration and diversification and import substitution, says the report.

Many West African countries have been increasingly relying on food imports to meet their burgeoning urban food markets, reflecting the inability of their domestic food value chains to meet the evolving consumer demand in terms of quality, volumes, prices and consistency of supply.

A growing proportion of the West African population is made up of net food buyers

C M Y K

Clampdown on smuggled poultry products’ll create 3.5m jobs — PAN

A

Participants at the just concluded AU/NEPAD leadership retreat on operationalizing the Malabo Declaration on Agriculture in Nairobi, Kenya during the week. Pix by Jimoh Babatunde who spend large shares of their incomes on food. The only way to ensure these consumers’ access to low-priced food while simultaneously enhancing producers’ incomes is through raising productivity and efficiency throughout the agrifood system. Achieving these gains in efficiency and productivity requires a more stable and predictable policy environment, refocussing of public investments on the critical building blocks for sustainable long-term growth, and stepping up implementation capacity.

Adding more value af-

ter harvest The report stresses that while increasing agricultural yields is essential, more attention needs to be placed on the downstream segment of the agrifood system: assembly, storage, processing, wholesaling and retail.

For example, domestic food processing companies often prefer to import raw materials such as fruit juice concentrate, wheat and vegetable oil rather than sourcing them domestically or developing substitutes based on local raw materials because local supply chains are too weak and fragmented to

provide them reliably.

Appropriate policies will vary by country and market segment, but broad efforts to upgrade small and medium enterprises in food processing should be a policy priority, along with strengthening the linkages between marketoriented family farms and their organizations with agribusiness of all sizes to enhance access to markets, inputs and support services.

Special attention should be placed in supporting women entrepreneurs, who play a key role in the agrifood system from farming through retail, and to youth.

Stakeholders launch platform to boost commercial agriculture

By Kingsley Adegboye

S

TAKEHOLDERS from all sectors of agri culture in the country under the aegis of National Co-operative for Commercial and Industrial Agriculture (NACCIA), gathered weekend in Lagos last weekend to chat a roadmap for mechanised and industrial agriculture in the country.

Speaking on the need for the Co-operative, the convener of the inaugural meeting, Barr.

Felix Okonti, said the idea behind the initiative is to reposition agricultural practice in the country to what obtains at global level, pointing out that it is regrettable that what Nigerians practise as agriculture is mere subsistence farming which cannot address agricultural needs of Nigerians.

Disclosing that the formation of the Co-operative is to address problems associated with reduction in output of Nigerian farmers in spite of huge financial and human resources being deployed, Okonti said that NACCIA is expected to form farmers into clusters to relate as federating members to address problems of funding, processing, storage and markets for their produce.

According to him, what the Co-operative is out to achieve is to do it differently in Nigeria where less than a hundred or a thousand peo-

ple can produce what more than 50 million people are producing today, insisting that the aim is to place Nigeria in the map as industrialised agrobased commercial country .

Lamenting the state of agriculture in Nigeria, he queried: “Why would Argentine maize producer produce 16 tons per hectare, while the Nigerian farmer is doing 0.3 tons per hectare?”. He said NACCIA already has over 100 federating units where every farmer will run his farm but he is expected to fall back to the Co-operative to cultivate, process and sell without losses.

He further noted that the Co-operative would also set up processing plants for clusters of federating farms that would extend the model to all farmers in their environment to curb wastages and financial losses.

Okonti who said members would be mobilised with a minimum of N100 million to start, pointed out that various committees have been formed to properly guide farmers towards investments.

He therefore appealed to the federal government to construct roads leading to farms and develop other infrastructure and power to promote and boost commercial agriculture in the country.

The chairman of the day, Prof. Gana Yisa, who is the immediate past Deputy Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, said it is lamentable that Nigeria still imports almost all agricultural products it could produce.

BUJA- THE Poultry As sociation of Nigeria ( PAN) said the clampdown on smuggled poultry products would create 3.5 million jobs within 12 months.

The body National President, Dr Ayoola Oduntan, disclosed this in Abuja recently while addressing the press during a workshop with the theme, ‘Economic and Health Implications of Smuggled Poultry Products Into Nigeria’.

Oduntan also stated that the poultry industry was serviced by multiple industries, which include production of animal protein, maize, palm kernel, limestone, soybeans, and among others were needed to grow the birds.

He said: “A 30 percent reduction in smuggling will require additional 2 million tonnes to be produced by 500, 000 farmers.

“Potentially, a 30 percent reduction in smuggling will create 3.5 million jobs in the maize industry alone in the next 12 months; these exclude the jobs in soyabean, palm kernel industries and in the transportation sector.

“All these industry contribute to the poultry industry; maize for instance, the poultry industry consumes the 2 million tonnes per annum.”

Oduntan also disclosed that poultry products consumption in Nigeria’s amounts to 1.5 million tonnes per annum, with 300, 000 thousand tonnes being produced locally and the difference of about 1.2 million tonnes valued at $3 billion come into the country illegally.

He still maintained that medical experts and the academia have conducted a study and discovered that high incidence of toxic chemicals has been used to preserve smuggled poultry products into the country .

The President said they also discovered high level of bacteria in smuggled chickens as smugglers could not sustain the cooling chain.

According to him, the increasing cases of terminal diseases kidney failure, cancer and other foodborne diseases like typhoid were traced to these contaminated poultry products smuggled into the country.

He urged government agencies to protect Nigerians from consumption of smuggled poultry products and asked Nigerians to support government in the fight against smuggled and contaminated poultry products.

24 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

NIMASA, indigenous shipowners bicker over cabotage waivers

By Godwin Oritse

I

NDIGENOUS shipowners have disagreed with the management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, (NIMASA) over the number of Cabotage waivers issued since the law came into being.

WhiletheNIMASA management is saying that only five waivers have so far been issued, the President of the Nigerian Shipowners Association of Nigeria, (NISA) Captain Laniyi Dada Labinjo said that over 5,000 waivers have been issued by the agency.

Labinjo said if the Cabotage Act was properly implemented, it would not only create jobs for Nigerians, it will also create a disposable sum of N4.5billion per month from lightrage alone.

According to NIMASA’s Executive Director in charge of shipping development and Cabotage service, Barr, Callistus Nwabueze it was the Minister of Transport that can issue waiver certificate.

Nwabueze who spoke at the signing of Memorandum of

Understanding between some Greek and Nigerian shipowners explained that a lot of shipowners brandish evidence of payment for Cabotage waiver as actual waiver, warning that receipt for payment for waiver application is not a waiver certificate.

Healsoappealedtomembersofthe indigenous shipping association to

assist NIMASA in accosting people thatbrandishsuchreceipt aswaivers.

TheNIMASAtopshotdisclosedthat a lot of Nigerian shipowners have allowed themselves to be used by foreign shipowners to get w aivers.

Thelegalluminaryfurtherdisclosed that a new regime of Cabotage implementation is under way , adding that once the entire process

was concluded, it will be difficult to get waiver for anybody.

Nwabuezetoldtheshipowners that the agency was ready to assist the indigenous shipowners by providing proper regulation for the industry.

President of NISA; Capt Dada Labinjo (2nd left) exchanging Memorandum of Understanding on the supply of 40 ships into Nigerian fleet with the leader of Greece ship owners Constantine Kokkos (4th right). They are flanked by other signatories to the MoU.

How NPA tried to scuttle Starz Shipyard project— SOAN boss

By Godfrey Bivbere

M

ANAGING Director of Starz Marine and Engineering Ltd., M r . Greg Utomwen Ogbeifun, has accused the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, of attempts to scuttle multi-million dollars construction of a shipyard with 8,000 capacity that will provide direct employment to over 5,000 Nigerian youths.

Ogbeifun, who made the accusation at a press briefing in Lagos, said that the former Minister of Transport, Idris Yusuf, had directed NPA to collaborate with his company for the establishment of the shipyard with the Authority providing the required land on concession for the project while his firm was to do the rest.

The Starz helmsman who is also the president of the Shipowners Association of Nigeria (SOAN), pointed out that the minister became interested in the project at the presidential forum on maritime hosted by former President Goodluck Jonathan, where he made a presentation.

He explained that a committee was put in place for the actualisation of the project and after two years of hard work by the committee comprising his team, that of NPA and C M Y K

others, the Authority three weeks ago wrote to inform them that they are no longer interest in the project.

He said his company was not bothered because after a few phone calls, an investor from South Africa has indicated interest and has taken 10 percent shares in the project.

He further disclosed that presently, there are not enough shipyards for dry docking in the country and ship owners have to move the vessels to Ghana, Senegal and Cameroon for that service. He also noted that each time a vessel sailed to these countries for maintenance, foreign currency that would have been useful to the economy are spent abroad.

TheStarzbosssaidapartfromover 5,000 direct employments, indirect employment sto be created would double that of direct employment.

On why his company is not venturing into ship building, Ogbeifun said it is not very feasible presentlybecausethereisnosteady power supply and the steel companies have not started producing in full capacity.

He also decried the state of trainingforcadetsfromtheMaritime Academy of Nigeria, MAN, who he said have been neglected over the years with lip service paid to the institution and sea time training of itsgraduates. Ontheirpart,henoted that shipowners have been helping these cadets by taking them onboard their vessels to give them the needed sea time

training but stressed the need for government to encourage them by supplementing the training.

While calling on Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA to pay more attention to the development of facilities at MAN, Oron, he called on ship owners to supplement the wages of lecturers at the academy to attract more professionals to the institution.When contacted, General Manager Public Affairs of NPA, Musa Ileya, said he is not aware of any such letter and therefore can not comment on it until he confirms that the Authority actually did and why.

Customs generates N598m at Seme in May

By Ifeyinwa Obi

T

HE Seme Command of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) yesterday said it generated N598.1million as revenue for the month of May.The spokesman for the command, Afis Ajao, said the revenue generated was N114million lower than the N712million generated in April.”In the month of May, the revenue the command generated was lower than the previous month because trading activities were low.”As

the year goes on, our revenue generation will get higher and we will definitely be able to surpass our monthly target of N1.1billion,” he said.

The revenue the command generated was lower than the previous month because trading activities were low

Ajao said that the command generated N9.6 billion in 2014, adding that the figure was N3.4billion less than the N13billion targeted for the year.He assured that the command would surpass the N13billion target set for the command in 2015.He said the command made 39 seizures in the month of May with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N4million.Ajao said the seized items, included bags of rice, frozen poultry products, vegetable oil, vehicles, amongst others.

Osun, Anambra, Kebbi to get dry ports

By Godfrey Bivbere

T

HREE state govern ments have applied to the Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC for the establishment of Inland Container Depots, ICDs. Three states are Osun, Anambra and Kebbi states government.

Disclosing this in Lagos, Executive Secretary of NSC, Hassan Bello, said the application for the establishment of ICDs in the above states may not be unconnected to the benefits of such projects.

According to Bello, “We have applications in Osun, Onitsha and Kebbi and so many people have seen the beauty of it; it is bringing shipping to the doorsteps of shippers. It is the panacea for port congestion.”

The Shippers Council boss noted that the one in Kaduna would soon come on stream and that the Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC, is presently taking a lot of containers to Kaduna from the port in Lagos.

He pointed out that ICD in Kaduna is a port in every sense of it because everything required for a port to function.

Bello explained that the traffic jam recently witnessed on the access road to and from the port would not be there as consignments would be moved by train to the ICDs. Other means like the inland waterways to carry cargoes to these ICDs and that cargoes could be examined there after payment duties.

Bello said an ICD “is a port in every sense of the word and I think one has been cleared now, the Kaduna port, and it’s becoming operational and we will be meeting with officials of Kaduna state government to discuss because there was an MoU between the operators and Kaduna State government.

Kaduna state government has really made so much commitment in providing infrastructure to the place.

“So now, it’s a port in every sense and that is what we want replicated in Isiala Ngwa, Ibadan, Jos, Funtua, Kano, Osun, Onitsha and Kebbi and other places.

He said that the Council is also collaborating with the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, on trade facilitation. He stressed that all of government agencies operating at the port should be trade facilitators.

He further noted that trade facilitation is automation, an electronic platform that would enable things to be done easier and in accordance with the world standards.

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015—25

•Oyegun: APC chairman

•Saraki: Senate President

•Buhari: Faces litmus test

•Dogara: Speaker, House of Reps

APC NEC: Tackling A progressing crisis The first meeting of the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the ruling party since its decisive election victory should have been a celebration. That celebration is enveloped in a crisis its adversaries had foretold

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

T

WO reasons principally necessitated the meeting of the NEC expected to get underway later today.

They are polls victory celebration and the crisis that has engulfed the party following election of the presiding and principal officers in the two chambers of the National Assembly.

The celebration is necessary because APC, barely two years old, came from behind and unseated the 16-year-old Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which hitherto held sway in almost every part of the country’s politics.

From the presidency to the National Assembly down to the states, APC, in an aggressive change chant swept the polls thereby producing 59 Senators, over 200

Members of the House of Representatives and also snitched 22 out of 36 states into its kitty.

But this first reason isn’t going to form the basis for the meeting. It is the second one. APC immediately after the inauguration of the 8th National Assembly that saw the emergence of Dr. Bukola Saraki from Kwara State and Rep. Yakubu Dogara from Bauchi State as Senate President and Speaker of the House respectively on June 9 became enmeshed in an internal crisis.

Reason: Its preferred candidates; Senator Ahmad Lawan from Yobe State and Rep. Femi Gbajabiamlia from Lagos State, who emerged through a straw poll conducted in Abuja on June 6 for the positions didn’t win.

To worsen matters, the party also failed to secure the seats of principal officers:

Senate Leader, Deputy Senate Leader, Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip for their preferred candidates on June 25.

On a similar note, names of anointed candidates for Majority Leader, Deputy Majority, Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip refused to fly as Speaker Dogara reportedly declined to read a letter containing the names of the favoured choices on the floor of the House before both chambers proceeded for the short leave due to end on July 21.

So far, there have been accusations and counter-accusations. The blame game has continued unabated so much that it is threatening the continued functionality of the National Chairman of the party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun who had obviously been accused of switching sides to Saraki against the interests of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who apparently worked for his

APC immediately after the inauguration of the 8th National Assembly that saw the emergence of Dr. Bukola Saraki from Kwara State and Rep. Yakubu Dogara from Bauchi State as Senate President and Speaker of the House respectively on June 9 became enmeshed in an internal crisis elevation as chairman.

Odigie-Oyegun has also been accused of gratification to facilitate the emergence of the Saraki. This was even as the deputy national publicity secretary of the party, Comrade Timi Frank who fired the first salvo of discord called for the chairman’s resignation following his resolve to conduct the straw polls.

Continues on page 28

26—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

A

PC should be grateful to the PDP for still having the Senate Presidency They (PDP) could have nominated themselves to be Senate President and Deputy Senate President; and you cannot take that from them.

We should thank PDP for what they did, for being democratic.

They know they are not the ruling party, so they respected themselves by making sure an APC Senate President emerged.

They unanimously gave their support to Saraki as we only had about seven or eight APC Senators in the Senate as at that time.

I see no reason anybody should blame Saraki for what has happened. We should be happy that he was there to at least save the situation at that time. If he wasn’t there, the situation could have been different.

What and who took 51 Senators to the International Conference Centre?

The question we should be asking is: Who asked 51 Senators to go to the International Conference Centre? What did they go there to do? I don’t know who called for that meeting, as a party man.

We should not blame Saraki for becoming Senate President. We should put the blame on the party and whosoever that called that meeting. Has the President come out to tell Nigerians that ‘I called for a meeting and Senator Saraki wasn’t there?’ Even the President wasn’t at the International Conference Centre.

Why did you expect Saraki to be there?

Everybody is saying the President called (for a meeting), the President called; okay, who gave the directive for the meeting. So, this is the big question, a very critical question we should be asking.

What must have dragged 51 Senators to the International Conference Centre? They should be asking themselves what took them there?

No deal between Saraki and PDP To my best of knowledge, this is a contest between two political leaders in the same party. Both of them were banking on the support of PDP Senators because APC Senators alone could not have made on of themselves Senate President.

What happened was a victory for democracy, a victory for the people. You can’t take it away.

The Senate or House (of Representatives) is an independent House. These people decide on what they want. They go for what they are comfortable with.

On Ekweremadu’s emergence On the issue of how Ekweremadu emerged as the Deputy Senate President, for God’s sake, PDP felt that, well,

he is just a Deputy Senate President. What can he do to frustrate my party? There is nothing he can do because we have an active Senate President.

So, my party should live with it. They can also come up with whatever strategy they feel like.

But, Ekweremadu didn’t just put himself there. My party caused it. So, we should accept the defeat.

Imposition and bias for one candidate against the other I think we should not have gotten involved in the whole drama in the first place. Saraki is a member of the APC. Senator Lawan is a member of the APC. Everyone involved is a member of the APC. No one is more loyal to the party than the other. But as a party, we have not done well. We treated Dogara and Saraki as if they were half-casts of the party.

•Frank: Nobody should blame Saraki for what has happened

How we misfired in APC — Timi Frank, Dep Publicity scribe THE Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Timi Frank is a leading light in the party. In this interview monitored on the African Independent Television (AIT) live current affairs programme, FOCUS NIGERIA, he spoke on issues flowing from the crisis that arose from the squabble for positions in the National Assembly. Excerpts: we have been able to give them the Senate Presidency unanimously. We are not trying to be greedy. We are trying to respect democracy.

One of the APC Senators that was present contested alongside Ekweremadu and lost.

Not that they just asked Ekweremadu to be the Deputy Senate President. No! It was live on TV. PDP was more in number, so, they voted for their own. At the end of the day, Ekweremadu emerged as the Deputy President of the Senate.

Upset with my party I am upset. My party caused

But as a party, we have not done well. We treated Dogara and Saraki as if they were halfcasts of the party

the downfall, why we lost the Deputy Senate Presidency. How I wish all the Senators were there, there is no way we wouldn’t have got the Deputy Senate Presidency.

Don’t blame Ekweremadu

We don’t need to be blaming Ekweremadu and so forth. If it were anybody from my party or even myself, I would take advantage of the situation that was on ground.

Today, the man is Deputy Senate President to Saraki. But

Principal officers This whole internal crises, the party leadership caused it. In the process of trying to take sides, we misfired. The party zoned the Senate Leader to the North East.

Fine! But the party should have left it at that, not saying a particular person has to be this.

As soon as the party zoned the office, the party should have left it for the zone to come up with the candidate. Like Ahmad Lawan, if the party had not gone ahead to stick out his name, maybe they would have gone ahead to say, Senator Ahmad lost the Senate President, let us leave this for him. But again, the party provoked the people of that zone by writing names.

What Nigerians are trying to say is this: the issue of godfatherism is gone. The issue of saying this must happen is

Continues on page 27

APC NEC: Tackling A progressing crisis Continues from page 25 While Frank alleged compromise between Oyegun and Tinubu’s camp to hold the mock election that favoured Lawan and Gbajabiamila, the Sarakis felt that the chairman worked against their ambitions.

But Speaking to Vanguard, Odigie-Oyegun who appeared unruffled by the kicks challenged both his accusers and traducers in the gratification poser.

“That is going on all the time.

People are trying to push me in one direction or the other, but one thing I have to my credit is my neutrality. I don’t belong to any of the contending power blocs in the party. And of course, that has its price. And that is why you have heard a lot of it directed personally to smear

me. I have built a reputation that has lasted for over 70 years. I don’t have to go and be taking peanuts from some political gladiators. So, whatever they try to do, they cannot smear my character. If anybody has given me gratification to do anything, let him come out and say so, where and when and how much.”

But while efforts were being made to resolve the discrepancies, former Interim national chairman of the party, Pa Bisi Akande turned in a letter that seems to have escalated the already bad situation.

Chronicling the processes that led to the birth of APC, Akande in his letter equivocally mouthed a conspiracy against the Southwest by the North.

To this end, the party, understandably at the instance

of the national chairman summoned the meeting of the NEC. Vanguard learnt that the meeting which is an expanded one would afford all aggrieved camps to lay bare their grievances.

According to the APC constitution, the NEC is composed of members of the national executive of the party, zonal leaders, and state chairmen.

Other members of the NEC are: the President, Vice-President, Senate President, Deputy Senate President, who are party members, Speaker, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, who are members of the party, states’ governors, who are members of the party, Majority or Minority Leader, Chief Whips and

Continues on page 28

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015—27

•Ogbemudia: Using his good name

•Anenih: What are they up to?

•Oshiomohle: Outgoing governor

EDO 2016: Ogbemudia reaches out A well respected former governor in his old age is making a bold effort to galvanise popular movement to choose a successor to another popular governor. Will it work?

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

I

T perhaps could be the last political standoff for the popular former two-time governor, General Samuel Ogbemudia.

With a reputation that still soars especially among the elderly, the former military governor of the former Midwest region and executive governor of the equally defunct Bendel State is banking on projecting a legacy that could sustain his native Edo State in top ranking in all fields.

The stage for Ogbemudia’s coming political exposure is the coming Edo State governorship contest.

Ogbemudia’s concern is understandable given his unwavering support of the outgoing governor whose legacy he told Vanguard in an interview should not be allowed to go to a wrong hand.

In a tone laced with irony for a member of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ogbemudia had told Vanguard that he would have supported the All Progressives Congress, APC’s Adams Oshiomhole for a third term if constitutional limitations had allowed for such.

“If it were possible for a governor to get third term, nobody would have bothered to look for another person else, but because of constitutional provision, we will have to look for someone that will take over from him and continue where he left and that means that all Edo people must speak with one voice,” Ogbemudia had said.

With a third term for Oshiomole not in the cards, Ogbemudia and some associates from across the state are from tomorrow formally commencing the search for a

successor to the outgoing governor with the launch of the Edo Mass Movement, EMM. The EMM is a body that is being promoted principally with the good name of the former governor.

With structures around the state, the body according to a working document obtained by Vanguard intends to “be largely politically active but lean not to any partisan sentiments.”

The body would, however, shed itself of its non-partisan posture “when a person with a proven track record of achievement aspires for political office and he or she is able to command the support of the Movement as to necessitate a direct intervention to get him or her elected or appointed as the case may be.”

Ahead of the formal launch of the body, Ogbemudia has made consultations with major stakeholders across the state and reportedly with the outgoing governor on the issue.

Though the EMM is being projected as a non-partisan platform to realise the best interests of the Edo man after Oshiomole’s exit, many in Ogbemudia’s own party, the PDP are not just only uncomfortable with it, but hostile towards the venture. They see it as a platform to consolidate what they perceive as the illicit political relationship between Ogbemudia and Oshiomole.

Ahead of the launch, a number of PDP chieftains including serving and former officers of the party claimed ignorance. Even the highest elected political office holder from Ogbemudia’s Edo South Senatorial District, Senator Matthew Uroghide claimed ignorance of the launch yesterday.

“I am not aware, I have not been informed,” the senator said.

The seeming exclusion of the PDP from Ogbemudia’s binoculars is reflected in the fact that PDP leaders across the state are this weekend involved in high-level meetings across the three senatorial districts paying scant attention to tomorrow’s launch.

Even within the APC itself, there is concern among the top leadership of the project.

Governor Oshiomhole, authoritative sources told Vanguard, was so concerned about the formal launch that he immediately visited Ogbemudia to express his concern about the idea of a top PDP man searching for his successor.

The governor’s anxiety could be traceable to suggestions that some of the prospective 2016 governorship aspirants could try to use the good name and heritage of Governor Ogbemudia to position themselves.

Among the leading aspirants in the APC Kenneth Imansuagbon whose philanthropic gestures of periodic distribution of rice among others have won him the sobriquet, the rice man, Osarodion Ogie, a trusted ally of the governor, Chris Ogiewonyi, a former minister, the incumbent deputy governor, Dr. Pius Odubu, the immediate past

Ogbemudia’s concern is understandable given his unwavering support of the outgoing governor whose legacy he told Vanguard in an interview should not be allowed to go to a wrong hand governor, Senator Osehrienmen Osunbor and the immediate past PDP governorship candidate, Charles Airhiavbere.

Likely contestants In the PDP, among those who are being looked upon to contest is Senator Ehigie Uzamere who recently voluntarily vacated his Senate seat after setting the record of being the first senator from Edo South to serve two terms, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu whose ambition was recently covertly endorsed by former Governor Lucky Igbinedion, Chief Solomon Edebiri, and Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, a former commissioner in the

Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC. Reflective of the seeming political neutrality of the EMM, the third most dominant political party in Edo State, the Social Democratic Party, SDP recently offered to collaborate with the EMM in its desire. To what extent such a collaboration would go is, however, not known.

However, a medical doctor who is himself actively involved in the mobilisation for the EMM was dismissal of the suggestions that any one of the known aspirants could hijack the movement for his own ends.

Sources within the body claim that the EMM could end up with a dark horse outside of the known names that are presently in the imagination of the electorate.

Those working on this theory believe that such a candidate would bring his present qualification and capacities to ride on the good name of Ogbemudia.

Nonetheless, ahead of tomorrow’s launch, a number of the leading political players in the state even if they put down Ogbemudia’s political capacities are would be on the look out to measure the success or otherwise of the launch. How it comes out would be decisive for them.

How we misfired in APC — Frank Continues from page 26 gone. The independence of the House and Senate is what we need. There is no way Saraki could have read the party’s letter. The majority voice in that zone had already written to say this is whom we want. The party must accept failure at this point in time and build from the mistakes we have made.

Party supremacy I agree that party supremacy has come to stay.

But again, since party supremacy is now the issue of the day, I expect the national leadership to write the list of ministers and their portfolios and give to the President to announce. The State party chairmen must write the names of the Commissioners and SAs and give to the State Governors to announce. That way, we will know that party supremacy has come to stay. Not just to enforce it on Senate and House of Reps. Otherwise they should allow the Senate to be.

They should also allow the House to be.

28—VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

staged the walk-out from the chamber as the list read by Sani was prepared from the Government House.

Abdulmumuni, (Ankpa, APC) who spoke on behalf of the APC said they do not recognise the pronounced list of officers as he stressed that it was too early for the executive to dictate the proceedings of the legislative arm of government.

Following the expiration of the 24 hour ultimatum, the APC members-elect pledged to elect their own Speaker along with other principal officers; a development the PDP supported Speaker, Lawal described as a premeditated and ill-conceived plan to destabilise the activities of the House.

•Wada: Kogi State governor

•Audu: APC leader in Kogi State

Inside Kogi's House of commotion THE abortion of a covert plan by the APC in Kogi State to foist a renegade PDP speaker on the PDP dominated House of Assembly derails, leading to a walkout and suspense

By Boluwaji Obahopo

T

HOUGH the newly inaugurated Kogi State 6th House of Assembly has adjourned to August 18th, the House may not be able to open for legislative business as the war between the Peoples Democratic Party and The All Progressive Congress, APC legislators lingers on.

The brouhaha which started over the nomination of Speaker and other principal officers subsequently turned into bickering between the two parties in the assembly where the PDP has 14 seats to the 11 controlled by the APC. As it stands, the parties are just using the House as a decoy to

fight for relevance and supremacy. The real essence of the debacle is geared towards the governorship election scheduled to hold later in the year.

The present war between the two parties’ legislators started at the inauguration of the 6th House of Assembly which ended in controversy resulting in a walkout by the APC, members. The trouble even flowed outside the chambers as supporters of the two parties clashed over the development resulting in security operatives using tear-gas to dispel the supporters.

It is feared that the present situation could re-enact the scenario in the 5th Assembly where the battle for the impeachment of the former

Speaker, Abdullahi Bello caused a lot of uproar in the State, leading to the closure of the Assembly for more than a year.

How trouble started Immediately the Governor of the State, Capt. Idris Wada concluded the inauguration of the new members, the member representing Igalamela/Odolu constituency, Friday Sani (PDP) proposed Momoh Jimoh Lawal as his nominee for the position of Speaker.

Sani asked the clerk, Mr. Simon Momoh to swear Lawal as the speaker as he had collated signatures of members in his support as speaker. Sani was seconded by a new-comer, Prince Matthew Kolawole (PDP-Kabba/ Bunu) and the clerk called for

APC NEC: Tackling A progressing crisis Continues from page 25 Deputies in the Senate and House of Representatives, who are members of the party.

They also include two serving senators – elected on the party’s platform – from each of the six geo-political zones. They are to be nominated by the Senators from their zones. Three House of Representatives members – elected on the party’s platform – from each of the six geo-political zones and to be nominated by members from such zone, six exOfficio members – one each to be elected by the national convention

from each of the six geo-political zones, as well as serving chairman, deputy chairman and secretary of the BoT. Enquiries by Vanguard indicated that outside the controversial National Assembly election and its spew, Akande’s “hate” letter would also be on the front burner for discussion at the meeting.

As a means to achieve peace, the meeting will afford members the opportunity to meet eyeball to eyeball and discuss issues.

Hopefully, this would lead to the resolution of the seemingly soured relationship in both APC and national assembly.

The present war between the two parties’ legislators started at the inauguration of the 6th House of Assembly which ended in controversy resulting in a walkout by the APC, members

voice votes.

However, all efforts of the member representing Ankpa 1 (APC), Ibrahim Abdumumuni to propose another nominee was ignored by the clerk of the House which forced all the 11 APC members- elects to stage a walkout.

The clerk, however, said that the action was irreversible and went ahead to conduct the rest of the elections.

Other elected principal officers included: Prince Matthew Kolawole, Majority Leader; Deputy Majority Leader, Sunday Shigaba (PDP-Bassa); Friday Sani, Chief Whip; Mohammed Bello (APC-Ajaokuta), Minority Leader.

The action led to commotion in and outside the gallery where angry youths and supporters of both parties resorted to violence and had to be tear-gassed by the police to restore peace.

Ultmatum The House which was only filled with PDP members subsequently adjourned till August 18th. While the PDP led house thought they had prevailed, the APC was actually planning its own game plan.

They did not accept the outcome lightly. The APC felt that the executive arm of government was behind the ‘shabby’ election.

They thereafter issued a 24 hour ultimatum to the assembly members to redress the situation.

The APC members -elect later that day addressed journalists at the NUJ secretariat saying they

Speaker speaks Though the APC is yet to carry out their threats, but the Speaker of the Assembly, Lawal, described the APC legislators’ walk-out and threat to form a parallel principal officer’s as untenable.

“The minority group want to impose their will on the majority.

The threat by the APC to form a parallel House leaders is undemocratic and at variance to any form of reasoning,” he said in a statement as he called on them to join hands with other members of the House.

Though the PDP has 14 of the 25 seats in the House, the party leaders were afraid of a competitive election as they feared that the 11 APC legislators would vote as a bloc with about two or three PDP renegades to twist the will of the PDP. The APC members were more favourable to Godwin Osiyi (PDP, Ogori/Mangogo) and were said to have secretly endorsed him.

Besides, at least four PDP members were also said to have endorsed him.

The endorsement was partly because Lawal who also served as speaker in the recently dissolved House was generally regarded as leading a legislature that was a rubberstamp of the executive.

The PDP ahead of the governorship election later this year was, however, becoming very sensitive to all issues, especially ethnic balancing.

A source in the party revealed that the speaker had been zoned to Kogi Central.

“The SSG position is already occupied by an Ogori/Mangogo man, Prof. Olugbemiro Jegede; where the same Osiyi hails from.

Giving the Speakership position to Ogori again will be a spite on the Ebira people in the central axis of the State and a loss to the PDP in the axis.”

The APC by supporting Osiyi also wanted to truncate the PDP plan in order to receive sympathy from the zone and hence the covert plan to push Osiyi ahead of the PDP’s preferred Lawal.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015— 29

C M Y K

30 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

C M Y K

32—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

The quest to rebuild NANS: A tribute to Emma Ezeazu (2)

Civil service and governance in Nigeria: Issues and possible solutions (2)

By Ladipo Adamolekun

By Lanre Arogundade Continues from yesterday

T

I

NANS in recent period It is in this context, for example, that questions have been raised about what has become of NANS in the recent period. This is especially so giving the absence of centralized coordination of the various struggles being waged on individual campuses in defence of the right to affordable education and independent students’ unionism. My answers to such questions have remained the same.

Basically, that though the much talked about degeneration of NANS is a reality, it should be properly situated in the prevailing socialpolitical context and not presented as if it is peculiarly unique.

In this regard, what is happening in NANS is equally a reflection of the decline ideological and political - in the mass movements particularly as it concerns the central labour organizations, the trade unions etc.

On corporations and parastatals However, regarding the corporations and parastatals, there would be need to either expand the mandate of the FCSC to cover them as recommended in the Oronsaye Report or resuscitate the Statutory Corporations Commission as advocated by Chief Philip Asiodu in his illuminating “Foreword” to the book.

The introduction of Tenure Policy in 2009 was intended to ensure steady career progression and leadership succession in the civil service. In the immediate, the policy was used to clear a peculiar mess in which career progression to the top posts of director and permanent secretary was blocked by long-serving directors and PSs, many of them in post for over ten years. Effective from January 2010, PSs and directors were to serve a fouryear tenure renewable once for a total of eight years, subject to satisfactory

HE question then is whether we should be talking of continuity of democracy or the discontinuity of undemocratic rule. But whichever way one addresses the question, there can be no doubt, that students have a role to play in the struggle to end oppression and replace the rule of the minority rich with that of the majority poor.

Late Emma Ezeazu states to embark on individual action. We however hold that it is not good enough.

Given the scale and spread of this callous attack on the livelihood of workers, centrally coordinated activities of the struggle are the minimum required of the national labour leadership. Unleashing the might of Nigerian workers with a warning national strike as part of centrally planned actions by the national labour leadership can help force the defaulting state governments to pay the salaries.

“While the unpaid salaries affect the only public sector unions, which belong to Ayuba Wabba’s faction of the NLC, we call on the Joe Ajaero’s faction to ensure that it declares State of labour movement On this note, let me quickly say a few things open support and holds solidarity action about the state of the labour movement today. whenever strike or any action is declared by Primarily, this is to stress that the current the Wabba’s faction nationally and at state factionalization of the Nigeria Labour level.”

But the class actions as proposed above Congress (NLC), which to the best of my knowledge is not based on any ideological cannot be possible if we continue to have differences, is an ill wind that blows no one degeneration of values across the social strata; any good. Indeed, it is injurious to the struggle particularly with the right wing shift in the of the Nigerian workers and masses to bail orientation of the labour leaders just like that themselves out of social-economic of the political class. We need a radical and deprivation, which is the hallmark of the left wing shift in orientation. capitalist system.

Poverty reigns The kind of labour amidst abundant movement that is It is injurious to the wealth as needed today is one that corruption struggle of the is united - but in becomes the opposition to the defining feature Nigerian workers and continuing attacks on of this epoch. On masses to bail workers’ rights. With the the other hand, background of unpaid the campus themselves out of salaries at the federal hardships level and in many social-economic occasioned by states; continuing near total deprivation, which is ruthless exploitation of submission to workers in the name of IMF and World the hallmark of the casualization; Bank policies of capitalist system imposition of high education electricity tariffs even commercialization when power supply remains very erratic; increase in cost of education, healthcare etc, such a labour movement would, for example, have called for an immediate occupation of the national assembly to protest against allocation of insensitive wardrobe allowances and squabbles over leadership positions.

As a matter of fact, the situation today requires a national warning strike. This much the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) said in response to calls for strikes in states where salaries are being owed. Excerpts of the statement read: “We of the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) call on the national leadership of the two trade union centres, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) (of both the two factions) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), to immediately call a one-day warning nationwide strike action with mass protests over the gale of unpaid salaries of workers across the country. This should be the next step in the struggle over the issue which has already broken out in a number of states.

“We welcome the directive by Ayuba Wabba, the factional President of the NLC, in his May Day speech to labour leadership in the affected C M Y K

Continues from yesterday

N the final analysis, the onus for ensuring quality leadership of the civil service is on the president: just as a people gets the government it deserves, there is a real sense in which a president gets the civil service he deserves.

pose objective threat to vibrant unionism.

If we, therefore, look back again, we would see that the NANS of the mid-1980s was a NANS that was as radical as the mass and Labour movements not just in Nigeria but internationally that were witnessing left wing radical upswing in the defence of publicly funded social services.

Put in another way, it was an era of popular mass struggles, in South Africa, in Latin America etc. It was within this radical context that NANS during our period formed alliance with the NLC under Hassan Sumonu and jointly fought for the right to independent unionism with ASUU, to cite few examples; the underlining principle being similarity of ideological socialist orientation - and political vision for change in the larger society.

Struggles boomed as economy boomed Struggles boomed as the economy boomed during the economic upswing of the period that was occasioned by high petroleum prices in Nigeria. Even at that time, however, the threats were emerging. Thus while our 11day nationwide boycott of classes in May 1984 Continues on Page 33

performance.

Notwithstanding Adegoroye’s stout defence of Tenure Policy, his frank critique of its implementation confirms this r e v i e w e r ’ s professional viewpoint that it should have been only an ad hoc measure to clear the existing mess.

Besides the nonimplementation of tenure review before

Dr. Goke Adegoroye and the political class [are] the problem of Nigeria”. And he is in good company. According to Zulfikar Bhutto, a former Prime Minister of Pakistan, civil servants and politicians “form the managing personnel of the vast enterprise of getting rich through participation in authority” (cited in The Economist, Aug. 22nd 1998). The sordid details of corrupt practices involving civil servants (on their own) and civil servants in collusion with political office holders in Chapters 5 and 9 of Volume 1 make very depressing reading. Closing all the leakages exposed and effective

Adegoroye’s overview of public service reform experience between 1999 and 2014 sheds light on why the problems he identifies in his book have persisted

extension (similar to the widelyacknowledged challenge of reviewing contracted top bureaucrats in many countries), maintenance of the existing Tenure Policy fundamentally undermines the idea of a career service up to the director level. With the formal assimilation of PSs into the category of political appointees by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC Act (2008) on Salaries of Political Office Holders, the director level has become the peak of the career civil service. For directors who rise to that level after the normal 26 years prescribed by the FCSC, this would mean nine years of service before retirement by the 35-year service rule. And for genuine highflyers, it could mean additional three years, making a total of twelve years at the director level. It would make eminent sense to reverse the application of Tenure Policy to directors effective from January 2016.

And because PSs are political appointees that serve at the pleasure of a president, Tenure Policy becomes of limited applicability.

For example, in June 1999 the new president retired 60 percent of PSs and seven were removed in 2005 for poor performance.

What Adegoroye’s book reveals about the problem of corruption in the civil service constitutes the justification for his assertion that “the civil service

enforcement of extant rules and regulations for curbing corruption that are detailed in the book must feature prominently in the Anti-corruption Strategy that President Buhari has promised to make public before the end of his first 100 days, that is, before the end of 72 days from today.

Finally, Adegoroye’s overview of public service reform

experience between 1999 and 2014 in Chapter 1 of Vol 2 (Leadership & Political Will) sheds light on why the problems he identifies in his book have persisted. And he provides some pointers to the way forward.

Adegoroye asserts that compared to the success recorded in public service reform between 2004 and 2007, “there is now [in 2014] more rot to be cleared within the civil service system” (Vol 2, p. 66). However, according to him, by 2008, President Yar ’Ardua had complained about inheriting a poor quality civil service (Vol. 2, p. 74).

Concretely, then, only patchy achievements were recorded by the reform efforts carried out between 2004 and 2007, notably the widelyacknowledged “pockets of efficiency” such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Federal Capital Territory Authority (FCTA) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and in the core civil service, the successful introduction and implementation of Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) in six pilot MDAs. But the poor management of human resources, weak implementation capacity across MDAs and the problem of pervasive corruption in the civil service had not Continues on Page 33

VOL. 1: NO. 15

FRIDAY, JUL Y 3 , 2015 JULY

Tragedies mar half year in S’West

By Ikenna Asomba

O

VER the last six months, states in the South-West geopolitical zone, may have been thrown into unease and sorrowful moments, following tragic occurrences especially accidents, crimes and natural catastrophes which have been recorded in the region within this period.

The bitter taste these tragic events have left in the mouths of people of the region is better imagined than told. Various tragic incidents since January, have hit Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo, even that one cannot tell the state that has been worst hit.

Ekiti debacle

Relative peace may have returned to Ekiti, as the battle for the soul of the state between Governor Ayodele Fayose and former Speaker, Dr. Adewale Omirin has come and gone.

But the fountain of knowlC M Y K

edge state actually had its fair share of tragic incidents before the general elections, and even more recently.

In the ensuing melee between Fayose and the former APC 19 lawmakers, the state was turned into a battle ground, as hoodlums cashed in on the feud, perpetrating crimes bordering on armed robbery, kidnapping and arson.

Two major kidnapping cases which led to strike by Ekiti medical practitioners were that of former Chief Medical Director of the Ekiti State Teaching Hospital,Dr Patrick Adegun and his wife in the evening of Thursday, May 8 by unknown gunmen.

This was barely a week when a staff nurse, Mrs Margaret Aladenika working with the Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido Ekiti was equally abducted.

Aside kidnapping which became rampant before Fayose sent a Save Our Soul call to the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, another major tragic

incident which may not be forgotten so soon was the three-day free-for-all between members of the Ekiti state chapter of National Union of Road

Lagos was not spared of tragic occurrences over the last six months

Transport Workers, NURTW, and some traders of northern extraction in Ado Ekiti.

The resulting pandemonium crippled social and commercial activities in the town, especially in the biggest market in the town, known as Oja’ba and Atikankan where most of the Hausa reside.

Unfortunately, what started in the night of Tuesday, May 28, as an argument over who snatched the bag and molested the wife of one of the leaders of road transport workers in the Hausa line, led to the destruction of goods and properties worth millions of naira. No fewer

than 10 persons from both sides were said to have sustained various degree of injuries. It however took the efforts of the governor and security operatives to calm frayed nerves in the ensuing imbroglio.

Fuel tanker fire, flood, robbers hit Lagos Similarly, Nigeria’s commercial hub centre, Lagos, was not spared of tragic occurrences over the last six months. More recently were the reported cases of explosions by fuelladened tankers in parts of the state, the ravaging flood which had sacked several residents living in low-line and coastal areas of the state, as well as two Continues on Page 2

IN THIS EDITION

Gory tales of OOU students death after exams •Page 3

Residents seek reversal of Ikorodu monarch’s installation •Page 6

2 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

thrown the state into deepmourning.

No fewer than 12 persons lost their lives when a container from a truck fell on a 14-seater commercial bus they were travelling in from Ago-Iwoye to Lagos State. This incident, it was reported caused pandemonium as the families and friends of the victims had besieged the Olabisi Onabanjo Teaching Hospital, Sagamu in search of their loved ones.

This is even as aggrieved students of the university on Monday, caused an uproar by storming the premises of the company which they believed owned the truck that killed their colleagues.

The irate students pounced on the workers and destroying properties.

Scene of accident involving some OOU students

Tragedies mar half year in S’West Continues from page 2

C M Y K

separate successful robbery operations by dare-devil bandits in the Lekki and Ikorodu areas.

In what many described as a baptism of fire, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode who had barely spent four days in office, was confronted with a fuel tanker explosion which hit the Iyana-Ipaja area of the state on Tuesday, June 2. A fuel tanker conveying 33,000 litres of petrol had exploded in the area at about 1 am, injuring no fewer than 14 persons, gutting about 21 vehicles and razing 44 shops. Three days later on Friday, June 5, another midnight inferno hit the Idimu-Egbe area of the state.

A petroleum tanker was said to have exploded razing down over 70 shops and 34 houses.

Also recall that during the administration of former Governor Babatunde Fashola’s tenure, on Thursday, March 12, daredevil armed bandits invaded one of the new generation banks near Lekki/Ikoyi Link Bridge, Lekki, carting away millions of naira and killing no fewer than six persons, among them three policemen and a teenage girl hawking fish.

Some weeks later, armed gang invaded Ikorodu, successfully robbing branches of two banks in the neighbourhood, killing two people in the process. Again, barely three-weeks later, 10 armed bandits in a Gestapotype operation successfully raided two banks in the Ogolonto area of Ikorodu on Wednesday, June 24.

Despite the heavy presence of the police and some men of the Nigerian Army and Nigerian Navy, the notorious armed robbery gang terrorised the area for about an hour, purportedly leaving six persons dead and several others injured.

Kidnappers on the prowl in Ondo

The Sunshine State, like its sobriquet, says had more recently provided the needed sunlight for dare-devil kidnappers to operate. An event which many Ondo natives would not forget in a hurry was the kidnap of Regent of Akungba Akoko in Ondo State, Princess Oluwatoyin Omosowon.

Omosowon who was though rescued on Tuesday, June 16 by a combined team of police and Department of State Services, DSS, in Edo State, was kidnapped alongside three of her aides on Tuesday, June 2, by

gunmen while on their way to attend an event at the Federal University of Technology, Akure.

The frayed nerves over Omosowon’s kidnap had

No fewer than 12 persons lost their lives when a container from a truck fell on a 14-seater commercial bus they were travelling in from AgoIwoye to Lagos State

barely been calmed when the decomposed body of the kidnapped former ViceChancellor of the Federal University of Technology (FUTA), in Ondo state, Prof.

Albert Ilemobade was found in an an abandoned store.

Sources however, fingered Ilemobade’s gate-man as a master-minder of his abduction and eventual murder, a tragedy Governor Olusegun Mimiko promised to work with the security operatives to get to the head.

Mimiko, who said this when he paid condolence visit to the family of the deceased at his Ijapo residence in Akure, described the late Former Vice-Chancellor of FUTA as a man who devoted his life to the service of humanity.

He however decried the manner in which Ilemobade exited mother earth.

Death of OOU students throws Ogun into mourning

Amidst the uncovering of kidnappers and ritualists dens in Ogun State by security operatives over the last few months, last Friday’s tragic auto-crash along the Sagamu-Benin Expressway, which left dead some students of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, have

Salar y, pension fiasco expose state of Osun Meanwhile, over the last few weeks concurrent protests and outcry have enveloped Osun State over Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s inability to pay workers their seven months salaries and pensioners their 11 months entitlements.

At a recent protest in commemoration of June 12, some human rights activists, workers and the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties, CNPP, expressed displeasure over the unpaid salaries of workers, even as the governor and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state, have been engaged in a war of words.

Aregbesola who has not hidden his regret over the overwhelming nature of the salary and pension crisis, was reported to have said the situation was beyond his powers and can only be solved

by God. Worried by this development, the state chapter of the PDP joined a High Court Judge, Justice Olamide Oloyede calling on the state Assembly to initiate impeachment procedures against Governor Aregbesola over the financial crisis in the state.

In the brick-bat, the state chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC), asked Justice Oloyede to resign her position as a High Court Judge in the state’s judiciary before, “ganging up with the opposition to attempt to destroy the state government” of which she is an integral part.”

Eventhough the government was Tuesday, said to have paid workers arrears for November and December 2014, the true state of Osun is that the financial crisis had so deepened that workers are now reportedly begging for food. This is even as some 300 pensioners were said to have lost their lives in the ensuing crisis over the last one year.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 — 3

OGUN STATE separate road for trailers to ply and they should stop killing our friends. Afterall they said this container was empty but we can see goods inside the container right now.

To Benjamin Abayomi, “Eunice Damilola Adebanjo was very lovely, friendly and played with everyone”. According to Gbenga Ayanuga, ex-student of Olabisi Onabanjo University, ”one of my colleagues who graduated with me last year happens to be one of the victims of the accident. We are here to pray and to tell the world that this is not just happening but has been going on for a long time. “ We stay in the same area in school.

Tunji (physics department) graduated in 2013/ 2014. He happens to be one of the victims. He only came for his clearance in school and should be going for service this September.

He was very gentle and a cool guy”.

Simply identified as Precious, another student said she lost a colleague. She said “I know Suliat Oluwatobiloba, a 100-level accounting student. She is Oluwadamilola...lost her life brilliant , obedient and calm. She is like a school daughter to us in our hall.

“We are not happy about what happened. But no matter what hospital bed could not hold back has happened, we want to believe her tears, lamenting that she had God still has a hand in what happened. I know that we are all lost her cousin in the incident.

She described the accident as grieved”.

In her remarks, Bukola a sudden occurrence. What she could do was weep as the Odumoye, a 200-level mass student, memory of the auto crash was still communication not clear to her, coupled with the said, “They should help us stop fact that she lost her cousin to the this phobia of travelling by road because of these trailers." accident.

Speaking on behalf of the Although, she sustained a high degree of injury on her left arm, students of the OOU, SUG she could not express herself and president, Comrade Adegbesan how the accident occurred. Adenola, described the incident Rather, she was emotional and as tragic. He said, “We are not happy about it, you can see the wept continuously.

She attributed her survival in the way students are feeling. It tells ghastly motor accident to the act enough stories of the loss that has and benevolence of the Almighty befallen our institution from the God, stressing that she could not bloody Friday to this Black explain how it happened and how Monday.

“We were with the survivor on she was able to make it.

It was gathered that the survivor Saturday to check on her and we had been thrown out before the were also there on Sunday with container fell on the bus that delegates. Her condition is improving because she is in the carried the students.

According to findings, the surgical department.

“Right now, there are lot of survivor was sitting at the door and the door was faulty. After the questions that demand lot of collision, the door fell while she answers, you would want to ask fell with the door into the bush, about the state of our roads, why that was how she was rescued by the trailer will take a one-way, you God. Unfortunately, her cousin would also want to ask the FRSC was also in the bus at the time of and TRACE where they were at that point in time. You would want the incident.

Further findings have shown to ask why the FRSC officials after that in the manifest that was evacuating the bodies of the retrieved from the garage, two people and then decide not to take surnames were there and after them to the hospital of the best school as accredited by the NUC talking to the survivor, it was realised that her cousin was also with the best equipment, doctors but take them on a bad road to in the bus. one maternity home with absolute no facility, the state of the Friends and colleagues' tales Zainab Ayobamiji lamented, mortuary in the hospital is "My friend, Omolade Mariam pathetic. “ You would want to ask if that Ogunnoiki, is a student of history.

She finished her exam to travel is a conspiracy in itself because home. Is it a crime to travel home? this is a complete Government should stop these Continues from page 4 killings even if they are to get a

Gory tales of OOU students death after exams

Aminat Bintinlaye...died in the crash

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

D

EATH lurked in the corner, but none of them knew, they had parked their belongings ready to reunite with their family members after some months away from home for studies.

The casualty was made up of undergraduates- a fresh graduate and prospective students of Olabisi Onabanjo University AgoIwoye in Ijebu-North local government area of Ogun State.

According to the OOU President of Students Union Government ,Comrade Adegbesan Adenola. There were 12 students involved, eight were students of Olabisi Onabanjo University, four came to procure the Post-UTME form. There was a survivor from the accident.

Those involved were Odubanjo Eunice Oluwadamilola.

Political Science, 200level , Ogunnoiki Omolade Mariam History 100 level; Aribiola Yetunde Elizabeth - Biochemistry, 100 level; Adams Suliat Oluwatobi - Accounting, 100 level; Pampam Funmilayo Latifat - Chemical Science 100 level; Asade Christianah Ibukun - Law 200 level and Dairo Olatunji Michael Physics fresh graduate.

The survivor, according to the SUG president, was Akinbo Laughter Ibukun from department of Chemical Science. On the fateful day, the last course was fixed for Friday and the plan was that after the exam, off to home where comfort was awaited them.

They left their school as planned but could not get to their destinations. Indeed, they travelled but ended up in heaven unexpectedly and unprepared.

These eight students of Olabisi

Asade Christian Ibukun...also died

Onabanjo University and the three prospective students as well as their driver all lost their lives at a stretch in a tragic motor accident that occurred around AgoIwoye/ Ilisan road on SagamuBenin expressway in Sagamu local government area of Ogun State.

Apart from friends and colleagues of the dead students who narrated their losses, the only survivor had a gory tale to tell about how the incident occurred and consumed 12 persons on the fateful day.

When news of the incident filtered into the campus and around, it was received as if it happened elsewhere. Expectedly, every parent that heard of the news groaned, wept, regretted and sympathised with the affected parents.

But three days after the incident, it dawned on colleagues of the dead students who travelled from the campuses to the scene that it their colleagues and it worse than imagined.

The students who arrived the scene exactly 12:27 am in buses believed to have been facilitated by the school authorities clad in black clothings betrayed their emotions.

But on sighting the wreckage of the 14-seater bus that conveyed their colleagues from the campus after the exams, emotion ran higher and hell was let loose as the students attempted to unleash terror on any driver sighted.

Motorists earlier allowed to pass the second lane of the scene were immediately stopped by the students while any truck with container sighted became victims.

All the security agents on ground to maintain law and order hurriedly directed the motorists who were plying the road to make

Eunic

a detour and take other routes. But those who disobeyed the order have been counting their loses as their vehicles were damaged.

How I escaped -Survivor The only survivor of the last Friday auto crash, Ibukun, has attributed her escape to an act of God. Ibukun who spoke with a delegation sent to her while in

We are not happy about what happened, but no matter what has happened, we want to believe God still has a hand in it

4 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

OGUN STATE

Gory tales of OOU students death after exams Continues from page 3 failure of all government mechanisms. If we have all these mechanisms- police, Trace, good roads in place, this is avertable. This is as a result of the government failure.

“We would send letters to them all, demanding full investigation into the matter and the company operating here, SELPLAS. We have found out that what is contained in the container belongs to them, they should be prosecuted for corporate manslaughter. We want them to produce the driver of the trailer because with the security facilities we have in this state, the driver is still at large and they are claiming they have no record of the driver. They must produce him and he must be prosecuted accordingly. We are giving them a 7-days ultimatum to investigate the FRSC, for the government to give us reasonable and adequate answer.

“Though, they are dead and there’s nothing we can do to bring them back alive but we want to pursue two things to a logical conclusion; first, we want justice for their souls and two, we want to avert this kind of occurrence from happening again”.

Chairman, National Association of Nigerian Students, Joint Campus Committed, Ogun State axis, Ogunsola Okikiola Mubarak, said “this accident is not from God, it is man-made because if it is from God, it should be a lone accident, but, in this case, it is the recklessness of the driver and we believe it is a mass murder of our students which we are totally against. It is a barbaric and unlawful act committed by the driver.

“We have tried to get in touch with few of the family of the deceased and the management of the OOU has set up a committee that would visit the families individually to ensure that necessary actions are taken and that the deceased do not die in vain”.

Academic Staff Union of University, OOU, in its reaction, described the incident as a shock.

Chairman, ASUU, OOU ,Head of Department of Morbid Anatomy and Histopathology and an associate professor in that department, Dr. Deji Agboola, said “It came as a shock to everybody, we never expected this to happen moreso that the students just finished their exams and while some are supposed to start today (Monday) and majority of them are 100-level students.

While speaking on how the C M Y K

•OOU students during their protest over the death of their colleagues management identified thestudents, Agboola said “We identified the students with their ID cards, initially, the claim was that everyone in the bus died but there is a survivor who is receiving treatment at Babcock University, the state government gave us money, I deposited the money at Babcock University having received the money from the SSG. “The problems here is the stress the students went through in getting their colleagues. FRSC took them to a private hospital instead of taking them to the teaching hospital, despite passing by OOUTH before getting to that hospital. The students thought they were trying to cover a lot of things, that is why we have all these problems.

“The management is making efforts to calm the students, they have ensured we moved the bodies to OOUTH where they can monitor them and we also declared today and tomorrow (Monday and Tuesday) lecture -free. We are also taking part in the candle procession today,(Tuesday) we are arranging a commendation service for those eight students we have identified as our students while two are post UTME students and the driver while we are yet to identify the eleventh person .

We also used the sim cards of the victims to identify them, that’s why we were able to get details of some of them.

“The university has set up a committee headed by the Dean of Students Affairs together with the students are on their way to Lagos to meet with the families”.

Leading his men to the scene, Federal Road Safety Corps, Ogun state Sector commander, Adegoke Adetunji denied that his men were not on duty during the accident.

He said, “It is not so, our men were on duty on that day, the problem is whenever the drivers sight any road safety personnel, they behave but after we have gone past them, they misbehave and do whatever they like, we cover the road up to Ijebu Ode, Ore and then Benin everyday because this road is very critical as an expressway”.

While speaking on the rationale behind the choice of the private hospital, instead of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital Adegoke said POUTH has a

They are dead and there’s nothing we can do to bring them back alive.

But we want want justice for their souls and to avert this kind of occurrence from happening again

policy of not taking victims involved in traffic crashes and at the time we took them away from the scene, we never knew their identities but it has been observed that corpses of victims of crashes are not being taken in from us.

“Our men have a duty to take the corpses to an hospital that is ready to assist and that was why they were taken to Fakoya hospital. “Because of the previous incidents, they didn’t go there. Whenever there’s a crash, the earlier you take them to hospitals, the better and that was why they were taken to the nearest hospital where they always take accident victims to.

“The drivers using these roads should always obey traffic rules, if there is a legal diversion, anyone coming through the other side will know when he sees other vehicles coming his way which is expected.

“But in a case of illegal diversion, they should avoid diverting roads on their own if not properly charged by the appropriate organ. Our people should be safety conscious and they should know that life has no duplicate, they should obey road traffic rules accordingly”, he said .

Meanwhile, the state government delegation, which visited the survivor at a private hospital in the state was led by the Deputy Governor, Yetunde Onanuga and the Secretary to the State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa, conveyed the message of the Governor to the family of the Survivour.

During a meeting between the Government delegation

and management of the institution , the Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Dr.Agboola and the President of the Students Union Government of the Institution, Adenola Adegbesan faulted the security agencies and other traffic officers who rescued the victims to private hospital instead the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu.

The Deputy Governor, Yetunde Onanuga and the Secretary to the State Government, Adeoluwa conveyed the condolence of the Government and people of the state to the Management of the Institution stressing that it was a sad incident.

Adeoluwa disclosed that in order to forestall future occurrence of such situation, Governor Amosun has directed security agencies in the state to confiscate any vehicle that contravenes traffic rules along the Sagamu/Benin/Ore Expressway with immediate effect while the Deputy Governor assured the management that government would take drastic measures to ensure sanity on the highway.

In his remark, ViceChancellor of the institution, Prof. Sabur Adesanya, commended the state government and the people of the state for standing by the institution since the incident occurred last Friday, stating that the management has concluded arrangements on how to locate and visit the families of the deceased.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 — 5

OYO STATE

BY OLA AJAYI

T

HOUSANDS of bank customers and officials in some commercial banks in Oyo State have complained about the rowdiness and difficulties experienced as they made last minute efforts to beat the deadline given by the Central Bank of Nigeria for the registration and issuance of Bank Verification Number(BVN) to millions of customers across the country.

As at Monday, there were several bank customers in the state who were lamenting the expiration of the deadline saying considering millions of Nigerians operating bank accounts, the deadline was too short for them to do the BVN registration.

The exercise which is a data base for the nation’s social security aspect and to check financial fraud in the country became so rowdy especially in Ibadan metropolis as teeming customers of Wema Bank Plc, First Bank Plc, Guarantee Trust Bank, Diamond Bank, United Bank for Africa crowded them in last minute’s hasty registration.

When Vanguard went round the city, some customers were seen sitting on bare floor at Wema Bank Plc, Mokola, Ibadan, while hundreds of customers at the First Bank Plc, Mokola, Ibadan were provided with canopies outside the banking hall to protect them from the scorching sun.

Many of them had grown tired of waiting noting that they had been parading the banks since the deadline remained three days and up till yesterday, they were yet to be attended to.

According to a man who gave only the first name as Sunday was seen at Wema Bank Plc, lamenting, “the exercise is too rowdy. Can you believe that most of us here have been standing like this for hours. We have been here since 7am. Look at the time now. It is about 3pm and bank closes by 5pm. How are we sure that we will be attended to before the closing time”.

While some customers admitted that the fault was theirs considering the six month extension given by the apex bank, others faulted the alleged low publicity given to the exercise. Realizing its importance, some of the customers insisted that they would register for the exercise, but to others who could not bear the surging crowd in the banking hall, they stormed out saying the exercise was just a fluke and that the CBN itself knew that the deadline was not feasible.

As a result of the unusual large number of customers,

Banking hall of one of the banks in Oyo besieged by customers over the BVN deadline

BVN: How Bank customers last minute rush, apprehension forced a CBN shift some banks had to stop using the metal detector doors at the entrance and resorted to using the alternative handy metal detector to screen customers into the banking halls.

In the banking hall, there were so many customers majority of whom were females struggling to gain the attention of a lady in charge of the exercise. She looked tired and stressed as she said she had attended to several hundreds of customers on that day alone.

Two of the banks suspended services to customers who wanted to withdraw money and turned attention to the BVN customers who were no longer exercising patience.

But, they were attending to customers who wanted to make deposits.

One of the female customers Sade who declined to disclose full her identity said, “What sort of problem is this? I kept my money in bank so that I can have access to it anytime I want to withdraw. Can you hear what they are telling me now. They told me to come back tomorrow for

withdrawal”.

Bankers too were not left out as they complained that the pressure put on them by the exercise was unbearable. One of the bankers at Wema Bank Plc was trying to pacify customers who were shouting at her that she was too slow.

She said, “You people have to be patient. You can see I am trying my best. Just be patient,

It is very serious here at Saki as many people who have been going to the banks for about a week now could not get it done as at yesterday

I will attend to you all”.

Call for extension Due to shortness of the deadline, both the bank staff and customers have called on the CBN for the extension of the deadline as they said there was no way they could get registered before the expiration of the deadline.

A banker at the Guarantee Trust Bank who pleaded anonymity lamented that this last minute rush could have been avoided if the customers had not been lackadaisical about the exercise.

She said, “People are lackadaisical about it. Very little number of customers registered during the first extension. Some days, you may not register more than 20 and in some days it was less than that. See how crowded the banking hall is now.

“As at now, we are not attending to customers who want to withdraw money just because of the rowdy situation now. We collect deposits and then attend to these customers itching to register for BVN. I think that the CBN has to extend it again. There is no

way we can cope with all these people within the remaining hours”.

One of the complaints of customers, according to her, is that “how can children below the age of 18 years have BVN knowing that the CBN said only adults above 18 years were eligible to register.

We have forwarded the complaints to the apex bank and we are expecting their response to know our next line of action”.

The situation was not different in Ogbomoso, Oyo town and Saki in Oke Ogun area of the state. According to Barrister Adeola Fehintola who is based in Saki, there was a large crowd in about three different banks.

He said, “It is very serious here at Saki as many people who have been going to the banks for about a week now could not get it done as at yesterday. The banks where there were so many customers are Skye Bank, United Bank for Africa and others. My wife had been parading the bank to do her own registration.

Being a teacher, she could not spend too much time waiting.

But, thank God that she later got it done some days ago.

With the crowd that I saw today(Monday), it think the best thing for CBN is to consider extension of the exercise”.

However, he added that banks like the Zenith Bank did not have many customers on the queue like others. The legal practitioner said customers in this bank did not have much stress as they walked freely into the bank and did their registration.

C M Y K

6 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

LAGOS STATE

By EBUN SESSOU & ESTHER ONYEGBULA

R

ESIDENTS of Ikorodu weekend staged a peaceful protest to the Lagos State House of Assembly, Alausa, Ikeja, calling on the newly installed traditional ruler, the Ayangburen of Ikorodu, High Chief Adewale Kabiru Shotobi to relinquish his position.

This is just as they accused the former governor of Lagos state, Babatunde Raji Fashola of being the cause of their agitation, by handing the staff of office to the said traditional ruler few days before he bowed out as governor.

Addressing newsmen, the leaders, who spoke in turn, pledging their support and cooperation for Ambode, said the state governor should ask Shotobi to step aside, insisting that he was not the choice of the kingmakers and the ruling house.

According to them, it is the turn of Lasunwon to produce the next Ayangburin, maintain that Shotobi could not move from the position of Odofin to that of obaship contrary to long established tradition in Yorubaland.

Prince Oluowo Adeyeri accused the former Governor Babatunde Fashola of doing what they described as “kangaroo coronation’ of the oba-elect. It was the turn of Lasunwon to produce the next Ayangburen, maintaining that Shotobi could not move from the position of Odofin to that of obaship, contrary to long established tradition in Yorubaland.

The protesters who were led

by Prince Adeyeri recalled that no Odofin in Yorubaland, had ever become an Oba, disclosing that the Shotobi scored just four votes against 15 when a vote was taken by the ruling house.

Adeyeri, who said former Governor Fashola installed Shotobi three days to leaving the seat of power in Alausa, alleged that Fashola came to the event under the pretext that he was there to commission a new palace.

According to him, no palace was commissioned and no oba attended the event, alleging that even now the Ayangburen-elect had refused to use the ancient Iledi, but chose to perform the traditional rites at the Iledi he built for himself.

“The so-called coronation of Kabiru Shotobi is null and void.

Ikorodu is a beautiful town and nobody should throw a bombshell on it,” he said.

The way Fashola and Kuye played on our intelligence was not good. We don’t want crisis.

Shotobi was not chosen by Lasunwon Ruling House.

“He is still the Odofin, he was defeated by 15 against four. He is in Ipebi which he built by himself, he has refused to use the traditional Ipebi because he knows it is an abomination. It is C M Y K

Residents seek reversal of Ikorodu monarch’s installation

•The protesters at the Lagos State House of Assembly

the turn of Lasunwon, nobody chose Kabiru,” he said.

Also, Prince Sakiru Oluwafemi Shodipo of Lambo Lasunwon Ruling house, Ikorodu , said: “we are protesting the way and

manner; the Adewale Kabiru Shotobi was installed as the traditional ruler of Ikorodu by Babatunde Raji Fashola (BRF).

Describing the manner in which

Kabiru Shotobi was installed as improper; Prince Oluwafemi Shodipo said it is an abomination for an Iwarefa to be elevated to Oba in Yoruba land”.

“He must therefore relinquish the post of Odofin before he can contest for the position of the Oba. We are seeking a total reversal of the installation” he added.

Responding, the Lagos State House of Assembly promised to wade into the crisis that is presently raging in the area .The House through one of its member, Hon Segun Olulade assured them that the house would do all within its power to resolve the crisis between them and the traditional ruler.

According to him, “We have received your letter and we promise to act on it as soon as the House resumes on Monday.

“We are your representatives in the House and we believe that we are saddled with the responsibility of resolving whatever dispute that is capable of destroying our state”, he said.

Olulade urged the people not to indulge in violence of any sorts but rather exercise some patient until the matter is resolved.

How bad roads hinder ports operations in Lagos

By Godfrey Bivbere

T

HE condition of access road to and from the ports in Lagos have become a major hindrance to operation as some of its portion have become gullies.

Both sides of the road between Coconut and Round-about bus stops are so bad that it takes a commuter about three to five hours to drive through a distance that should normally take five to ten minutes if the roads were good and free of trucks and tankers parking by its side.

From Coconut to Tincan First gate bus stops, the main expressway is so bad that motorists usually drive through the pedestrian way to get to the port.

As a result, there is always long queue stretching several kilometers while the vehicles try to negotiate their way through the bad spot. Two other big ditches just after Tincan First gate further hinders movement to the second gate and Apapa.

Descending from the bridge connect Tin-can and Apapa, motorists are again faced with another bad spot just before roundabout bus stop. The return journey from Apapa to Cocoa-nut bus stop is not better as a long stretch of trucks queue from National bus stop to round-about while waiting to maneurve their way through several gullies that resulted in containers following there regularly.

Managing Director of Union Admiralty Nigeria Limited, UANL, Mr. Ibi Seddon, said the

Port access road deplorable state of the port access roads from Ijora to Apapa and from Mile2 to Apapa has adverse effect on port operations.

Seddon explained that it has greatly affected the movement of cargo from the port as trucks spend days to get in and out of the port.

According to him, “Moving of cargo in and out of the port is a nightmare. Operators now find it very difficult to to get to the port which affects documentation for cargo clearance. You see the delay caused by the bad road is gradually leading to artificial congestion in the ports, it has been like that in the last one month.”

“We have uncountable number of trailers falling down there destroying lives and properties. There was some temporary filling of the ditches recently but that will not help at all especially during this raining season,” he concluded.

Deputy National President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, Mr Uchu Block, noted that situation of the road has affected business,

saying that the cost of hiring a 20 and 40 footer trucks in the past was between N20,000 and N35,000, pointing out that the cost had since gone up to between N70,000 to N120,000 for 20 and 40 footer trucks respectively.

Mr Block noted that parking on the roads was not the fault of the truck owners because they had to wait for between two to three days before they could get jobs, to do as a result of the congestion.

He added that the congestion problem had made it difficult to get trucks for hire, as most of them now spend a lot of time in traffic.

He also said there was need for government to speed up the construction work on the road, expressing worry that the traffic problem had continued to drive up the cost of hiring trucks for the loading of containers in and out of the ports.

National Publicity Secretary of the Association of Nigeria License Customs Agents, ANLCA, Dr Kayode Collins Farinto, said the situation of the access road is also affecting the Federal Government which is losing revenue generated by some government agencies have begun to drop at an estimate of over N5,000,000,000 (five Billion naira) daily. This is as a result of the bad road.

According to him, “commercial activities are gradually being grounded as the uncivilized and uncultured attitude of most of the tanker drivers have become unbearable. They park their tankers indiscriminately thereby blocking the highway causing pains and discomfort to other road users despite the failed portion of the port access road.”

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 — 7

ONDO STATE

By DAYO JOHNSON

I

T was the gathering of both the high and low in the society and Chieftains of all political parties, captains of industries, ex-militants, religious leaders amongst other personalities in the Country.

They gathered in Arogbo community of the Ese Odo local government area of Ondo state to welcome back home and celebrate one of their illustrious sons, Hon Kingsley Kuku who served as Special Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan on Niger Delta Affairs and the Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

The “ welcome back home “ reception and thanksgiving service was organized by the Arogbo Ijaw community and Kuku’s friends.

Also present at the ceremony was the State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, members of his cabinet , members of the state House of Assembly led by their Speaker Rt Hon Jumoke Akindele, former gubernatorial candidate for PDP in the state who recently decamped to the opposition Party Olusola Oke and former warlords which include Government Ekpemupolo aka Tompolo and High Chief Bibopiri Ajube aka Shoot at sight.

Pastor Zilly Aggrey speaking during the thanksgiving service at the First Baptist Church, Arogbo, described Kuku as a good ambassador and an illustrious son of the Community and the state that the people are proud of.

Aggrey who is the founder of Royal House of Grace International Church, PortHarcourt commended Kuku for putting God first saying the gift of life, the grace to achieve and the ability to succeed are factors that propel thanksgiving.

The clergyman noted that many have occupied the same position as Kuku but came back with stories of woes.

Aggrey appreciated God on his behalf that the Special Adviser ” went, saw, conquered and returned home in peace to the embrace of his kinsmen.

He stressed the importance of appreciating God and admonished all leaders to exhibit humility, and to always have at the back of their mind that nothing is permanent in this world.

He urged all leaders who have found themselves in the corridor of power to always leave a memorable and positive impact on their immediate society.

According to him the life of a man should not be measured by the magnitude of materials things he’s been able to acquire, but by the many lives he has touched

•Kingsley Kuku at the reception

Arogbo community welcomes amnesty boss, Kuku with funfair positively “How far an individual can go in life depends on their ability to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant with the weak and strong, because a day may come in their life when they will be there for them too, saying there’s a price for loyalty.

The clergy who described Kuku as a very humble personality said the young man has been able to change the face of Arogbo Ijaw community within a short period of time, noted that Kuku has touched many lives both within his immediate community, the state and the country in general .

Aggrey said Kuku has written his name in gold and will always be remembered by his kinsmen for the good work and honour done for the state and the nation while he served as the Chairman of the Amnesty Programme.

While urging Nigerian leaders to always give priority to the welfare of the people in their immediate environment, the Clergyman declared that “one day you will be called by your people to give account of your stewardship” He noted that Kuku was able to hold the Special Thanksgiving service at home because he had been a good

ambassador of the Arogbo Ijaw community.

“This man we are holding thanksgiving to God on his behalf has made a mark. He made gains through dedication to service. That is why we are all here. What he has done while in charge of the amnesty programme will be spoken of from one generation to another, because humans are

I have not come across a man as loving and dynamic as Kingsley Kuku. It is just a matter of time before President Buhari will call on you to help continue the Amnesty Programme

involved and many of those who are involved are relatively young.

“The Amnesty Programme has achieved more than what many thought and with time, the effect of it would be felt, especially when pilots, engineers and other professionals trained through the programme return home to contribute to the countr y ’s economy.

“You risked your life dealing with hard ijaw boys who fear nobody and you’ve survived as a leader. It’s worth celebrating.” Aggrey said.

Speaking at the reception, governor, Mimiko described the former Amnesty Chairman as a man who has the love of his people at heart and loved by all.

Mimiko said Kuku is one of the dependable politicians in the fold of the PDP in the state who had helped not only members of the party but people from the state.

According to him; ‘’ Kuku believed that help must not be withheld from those who sincerely need help.’’

He lauded him for bringing unprecedented development to his kinsmen in Arogbo The governor submitted that all the good comments about Kuku were truth and could not be faulted.

“Let me confess before everybody here; I listened to

every comment passed on this gentleman and I marvel about his uncommon gesture to develop his people and the community. I can only say am only to endorse what everybody here have said.

“And I also set him before other politicians and political appointees as a good example of how well you can serve your people and use your office to impact positively on the generality of the people.”

Also speaking the former Deputy Majority Leader in the Senate, Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi said the performance of Kuku in office was unprecedented.

According to him “ the present administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari might ask for Kuku’s service as he has performed creditably well as the Chairman of Amnesty Programme.

Ningi described Kuku as a rare gift to mankind.

“I have followed the Amnesty Programme under his leadership and I can say, Kuku was made for the programme.

Life prepared Kuku for such responsibility and that was why he succeeded. I’m extremely happy with his stewardship during his stay as the chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, “Kuku strikes me as a person that is different and real who doesn’t pay lip service to duty. We need him to continue to serve. If President Buhari requests for his service, please tell him not to turn down such invitation. “ The good work must continue. I have not come across a man as loving and dynamic as Kingsley Kuku. It is just a matter of time before President Buhari will call on you to come and help continue the Amnesty Programme.”

A community leader in Arogbo, Owei Pius Peretei attributed the noticeable development in the whole Arogbo Ijaw to Kuku’s efforts.

He specifically commended Kuku over the concrete roads within the community.

According to him the wooden bridges connecting one house to the other have all made way for paved roads while the whole of Arogbo is illuminated from one end of the community to the other with the aid of solar power street light which was executed by Kuku.

“He has brought so many unequal development here in the last four years. He has touched the lives of our youths moving them from the creeks to classrooms and being gainfully employed after dropping arms. The lives he has touched today will be for the development of this country in no distant future.”

Responding, Kuku said he was fulfilled as a public officer for serving the nation and the people for a period of four years and four months.

C M Y K

8 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

OSUN STATE

HARVEST OF PROBES IN OSUN:

Probe Aregbesola, probe Justice Oloyede

By LATEEF DADA

T

HE controversial petition by a serving judge in the Osun state, Justice Folahanmi Oloyede, asking the Osun state House of Assembly to commence proceedings that would lead to the impeachment of governor Rauf Aregbesola for his alleged mismanagement of the state resources, has divided the right group which championed the emergence of Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

Apart from the confusion the petition has caused in the state, public opinion is divided even among the loyalists of the Governor.

Recently, members of Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice ,CHRSJ, a rights group, wrote the house, demanding the probe of the Governor, a development that propelled counter petition by another group, Osun Civil Societies Coalition (OCSC), who rather called for the probe of the controversial justice Oloyede.

Also, another group, Asiwaju Grassroot Foundation, AGF, in its own letter to the House of Assembly, urged the house to be cautioned in responding to the allegation of Justice Oloyede.

Vanguard learnt that the Judicial service commission has queried the controversial justice Oloyede, asking her to confirm the authenticity of her petition and to substantiate her allegations against Governor Aregbesola.

However, the house has reportedly written the state Chief Judge, Justice Adepele Ojo, in order to know the status of Justice Oloyede.

It was also gathered that the Chief Judge, upon receipt of the letter from the law makers, had written another letter to Justice Oloyede to confirm if she was the author of the petition.

The controversial petition has also divided legal practitioners in the state, as many believe that Justice Oloyede has right to express her opinion, while many condemned her action.

The Osun Civil Societies Coalition (OCSC) in a fourpage letter sent to the Secretary of the National Judicial Council, NJC, on Tuesday, said that Justice Folahanmi’s action was strange and unexpected of a judicial officer who knows the nitty-gritty of law.

Besides, the OCSC, called on the Osun State House of Assembly to thoroughly investigate all the allegations raised by Justice Folahanmi in her petition, just as he

•Justice Olamide Oloyede urged the house not to hesitate to impeach Aregbesola if truly he had committed impeachable offence as alleged.

The coalition said: “In as much as we are not in support of corruption, we call on the Osun lawmakers to be fair and transparent in investigating the petition and we demand that appropriate action should be taken on Governor Aregbesola if he commits impeachable offence as alleged.”

A copy of the petition made available to Vanguard reads: “a subterranean look at the contents of the petition shows that the petitioner who is a serving judicial officer failed

Governor Rauf Aregbesola to conduct herself in such a manner to preserve the dignity of her office and the impartiality and independent of the judiciary.

“The petition contained statement calculated to incite the residents of the state against the state government and its elected officers. More bewildering are the words and language used by the petitioner and the brazing manner which caused the petition to be circulated to the public.”

Signed by Comrades Waheed Lawal and Bello Adebayo, Chairman and General Secretary respectively, the petition said: “it behoves on us

to say that the words and language in the petition are unbecoming, maladroit and ungainly for the high standard of conduct expected of any judicial officer in this country.

“The magnitude of impropriety, of the form, dimension and concealed message of the petition violates every ethical standard devoted to the status of a judicial officer.”

The coalition said Justice Folahanmi’s action constituted gross misconduct and misbehavior that runs contrary to the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers in the country and required disciplinary action.

OCSC submitted that “If appropriate action was not meted on her (Justice Folahanmi) a floodgate will be opened and every willing and available Judicial Officer would soon become an instrument of use for the purpose of partisan politics.”

Rising from its own emergency meeting recently, over the inability of the government to pay workers’ salaries and allowances and the controversial petition of Justice Oloyede, the group recalled and noted that Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola came on board as the Governor of the State of

Osun with high sense of good intentions, saying that reflected marvellously during his first term in office when he executed very many unique and laudable projects that give State accolades from wide World like the Osun Youth Empowerment Scheme; OYES, which employed over 40,000 youths in the state and has become a template for implementation for other States, the federal government and indeed International agencies like World Bank.

In a letter signed by its Coordinator and Secretary, Comrade Adeboye Adebayo and Adekunle Oloyede, the group said: “Mr. Governor needs to be given a little more time. Mr. Speaker, in as much as we are not trying to interfere in the constitutional duties of the honourable house, we are just using this medium like other well – meaning Osun community to restate our firm commitment and believe in the leadership of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as the Governor of the State of Osun to continue giving us dividends of democracy in the next four years.

EEPNL/NNPC donate N110m hostel, hall to fish farming Centre

By Gbenga Olarinoye

T

HE ESSO Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited EEPNL, with NNPC has donated a 28 room hostel accommodation and a 200 capacity multi-purpose hall and sporting facilities worth 110million Naira to Oluponna Fish Farming Educational Resource Centre OFFERCentre, Iwo Osun state.

Speaking at the commissioning of the facilities, the General Manager, Public and government affairs, EXXONMOBIL Nigeria, Mr Paul Arinze disclosed that in addition, the companies have spent over N63m of 67 youths from Niger Delta states in fish farming.

According to him, since the companies have come into partnership with the centre in 2007, they have invested about N200m on both human developments and capital projects.

Speaking at the occassion, the OfferCentre director, Rev. Father Macarius Olatunji, disclosed that the federal government has granted the 31-year-old OfferCentre, status of monotechnic.

He said the implication of the new status of the centre was that it will henceforth start awarding National Innovative Diploma ,NID. OfferCentre, which was established by the Emeritus Bishop

•The donated hostel

of Catholic Arch Diocese of Ibadan, His Grace, Felix Alaba Job in 1984, in conjunction with multinational companies, has been involved in training of youths in fishery, integrated farming, computer operations and entrepreneurship.

Olatunji said: “The centre is now to be called as OFFER Institute of Agriculture. This now accredits us to award National Innovative Diploma, NID, and National Vocational Certificate, NVC, to our THE trainees in conjunction with EDITOR: the National Adeleke Adeseri Board for Te c h n i c a l CORRESPONDENTS: Kolade Larewaju Education, Ola Ajayi NBTE. Gbenga Olarinoye “This means Dayo Johnson individual can Dapo Akinrefon now run a twoDaud Olatunji year programme Olasunkanmi Akoni national diploma Monsuru Olowoepejo programme in Ikenna Asomba agriculture here

after which such person can later pursue Higher National Diploma in a polytechnic or first degree in agriculture in university of choice through direct entry.”

Tracing the relationship between the centre and ESSO Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited , EEPNL, Olatunji said the EEPNL had in 2007 with a grant assisted the centre to complete its administrative block.

The clergy added: “the visit of general manager, public and private affairs department, Ms Gloria Eshett under the the general manager, Mrs. Gloria Essien, brought about the sponsorship giving to 10 Niger Delta youths in 2008 to undergo training in Fishery, Integrated Farming, Computer Operations and Entrepreneurship.

TEAM

Ibadan Osogbo Akure Abeokuta Lagos

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 —33

The quest to rebuild NANS: A tribute to Emma Ezeazu (2) Germany partners Nigerian Continues from Page 32

stopped the re-introduction or increase in tuition fees by the Buhari-Idiagbon regime, it and other actions could not prevent the eradication of the subsidized cafeteria feeding system under which a meal was a mere 50kobo (mark you not 50 Naira) across the campuses. Students were able to easily pay the dues with which their unions as well as NANS were run and for which the union leaders had to account through committees composed by the democratically elected students’ representative councils or similar bodies.

But it was also a period of transition to right wing economic and political ideology internationally and nationally with the collapse of the Soviet Union, which by the way had deviated from genuine socialism and was being bureaucratically run. So also the ascendancy of the international apostles of privatization and commercialization as symbolised by Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan.

In that dying era of public ownership and publicly subsidized education, mass organizations like the students unions that stood in opposition to neo-liberal policies came under vicious attacks from the state including the use of cultists against radical students’ leaders.

Only unionists that subscribed to the new right wing orientation would be tolerated. That was the sole purpose of post-students’ crises panels like those of General Abisoye and Justice Akanbi that were set up by the General Ibrahim Babangida regime following the nationwide protests called by the Emma Ezeazu-led NANS over the killing four innocent students of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria by security forces. The panels essentially recommended the dismantling of the right to independent unionism, through the so-called ‘voluntary students’ unionism’, which, for example, meant that students were no longer going to pay automatic dues to their students’ unions. One of the long term effects is the NANS of nowadays that is not actually funded by the mass of the students or the unions but could be rich enough to regularly hold conventions and meetings at Eagles square in Abuja and sometimes inside expensive hotels.

Way forward Against this background, there is a very urgent need for the student movement to be rebuilt. One way to do this is for students to begin to organize from below to reclaim their unions and NANS from rightwing leaders. Students must begin to demand that the local union leaders and the NANS leadership should defend their interests otherwise they should be kicked out. However if the mass movement, the trade unions, the NLC etc return to propeople ideology and philosophy it would greatly help the process of re-building NANS and enhance the ability of Nigerian students to ensure the continuity of democracy or the discontinuity of undemocratic practices.

In the larger society, that would mean counter-posing to privatization and commercialization, pro-people policies of public ownership of

C M Y K

commanding heights of the economy to make available the resources needed for all round societal development. On campuses, that would mean supporting the fight for independent unionism and associated rights. It is laughable that students unions now call themselves governments but lack the basic ingredients of governance.

In our time, we were simply unions but we run self-governing but democratically accounting structures like the executive, the students’ representative council and the judicial council. So, for example, when the result of the presidential election was hotly disputed in the 1981/82 session in the University of Ife (now OAU), it was the students union judicial council that heard the case through the candidates’ ‘lawyers’ drawn from the Law Faculty and eventually pronounced the winner.

There was no interference whatsoever by the University authorities despite the palpable tension. Rarely can you find that these days.

To conclude therefore, the point should be stressed that nothing about NANS should be held as sacrosanct, After all, it took the effort

of radical students’ organizations to form NANS in the early eighties as replacement for National Union of Students (NUNS) which the Obasanjo regime had banned in 1978 following the Ali-Must-Go protests led by the late Segun Okeowo. A united central union is always desirable but it must be one that genuinely represents the interest of its members. In other words, Nigerian students do not have to operate under a NANS that neither stands for nor defends their aspirations. While seeking change, two, three, four, five etc unions can always come together and offer alternative perspectives such as platforms like the Education Rights Campaign (ERC) is correctly doing. In essence, students’ unions have to be armed politically and ideologically to be able to link the struggles on the campuses with that of the working poor masses.

Lanre Arogundade, NANS President, 1984 and member, Democratic Socialist Movement, DSM presented this piece at the colloquium in honour of Emma Ezeazu, NANS President 1986, by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Abuja on Monday June 29, 2015.

Civil service and governance in Nigeria: Issues and possible solutions (2) Continues from Page 32

been solved by 2007.

Thus, it was against the backdrop of a persistently poor performing civil service that the Yar ’Ardua administration directed the preparation of a comprehensive strategy for rebuilding the public service and transforming it into a world-class service that can implement government policies and deliver quality services to the public in the manner that regional and federal civil services had done from the late fifties through the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The National Strategy for Public Service Reform (NSPSR) was submitted to the federal government in January 2009.

There is some overlap between the desirable next steps reforms highlighted by Adegoroye and the contents of the fourpronged strategy focused on an enabling institutional and governance environment, an enabling socio-economic environment, public financial management reform and civil service administration reform.

Although the Strategy was not formally approved, aspects of it (especially those focused on improving public financial management) were implemented continuously until the Strategy was refreshed and updated at the request of the Jonathan Administration in 2014. The Federal Government’s Steering Committee on Reform approved the updated NSPSR in March 2015. Making allowance for necessary modifications to the Strategy to

take into account the new policy directions of the Buhari A d m i n i s t r a t i o n , implementation of a Strategy to help the federal government rebuild and transform the civil service into a well-performing institution delivering quality service to the public should begin no later than January 2016. The undisputable merit of this two-volume compendium is that it addresses an impressive range of issues relating to civil service and governance in Nigeria and the author provides thoughtful and sensible solutions to many of them. Significantly, too, he provides interesting “windows” on some aspects of current public administration history: a research report on geopolitical distribution of federal career and (non-career) political appointments and some appendices that would be of interest to both students and practitioners of Nigerian public administration. I recommend the book to them as well as to politicians who have the challenge of responding to the unfolding “change” promised

by President Buhari.

Ladipo Adamolekun is a Professor of Public Administration, a former Dean of the Faculty of Administration at the Obafemi Awolowo University and a former Lead Public Sector Management Specialist at the World Bank.

He is currently an Independent Scholar.

entrepreneurs to end power challenges source of income through decentralised grid feed in the future.

All the presenters averred that s part of continuous efforts to ensuring a mutual stand-alone renewable energy relationship between Nigeria systems do not only supply and Germany, in addition to energy but also enable its users helping to boost the Nigeria to be energy efficient with economy especially through users enjoying security and renewable energy solutions, safety in an affordable way.

In his presentation, Mr the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany Juergen Raach of Raach in Lagos, held an interactive Solar, Germany, spoke on the seminar for stakeholders in the “Technology and economics of energy industry recently at stand-alone photovoltaic Westwood Hotels, Ikoyi, Lagos. power systems which could be The seminar entitled Stand- installed in urban residential Alone Renewable Energy areas with a high demand, Solutions, enabled relevant currently suffering under stakeholders in the Nigeria frequent power failures and renewable energy and energy voltage peaks destroying not efficiency sub-sector to directly only electric devices but also, engage with entrepreneurs in constituting a safety risk.”

On his own part, CEO Blue the field and to partake in their profound experiences and Camel Energy Limited, competencies focusing on Nigeria, Mr Suleiman Yusuf gave a presentation on Living global best practices.

The discussions revolved Off Grid And Fossil. He took around energy cost savings and participants through practical efficiency, environmental ways of how to incorporate protection and employment green architecture, renewable creation as well as accessing energy resources and energy funding or financial schemes, efficiency.

According to Yusuf, his “10 awareness and consumer confidence and the need for apartment mini estate developed in Abuja is solely increased technical skills.

Declaring the seminar open, powered on renewable the German Consul General, energy resources-wind and Lagos, Mr Michael Derus, solar, and deploys best stated that the 2015 seminar is available energy efficient financed by the Climate fund appliances ranging from AC’s, of the German Federal Foreign lightings, DC refrigerators, Office, and facilitated by the energy efficient washing machines Consulate and other General of h e a t t h e Since the business appliances, Federal s o l a r model has supported Republic powered the uptake of solar o f street and Germany especially in East perimeter in Lagos lighting Africa, Nigerian i n solutions collaboration businesses stand to to solar with the powered benefit from its Energy w a t e r adoption a n d supply Environment Desk of the Delegation of German systems.”

Also presenting was Segun Industry and Commerce in Adaju, the CEO of Lagos.

Derus reiterated the high BlueOcean, Nigeria. He commitment of the German introduced new opportunities Government to ensure an for MSME with his environmentally sustainable presentation Pay-As-You-Go solutions in the field of energy (PAYG) solar for Commercial generation and distribution Use. Lack of energy supply he stressing that “In the said, “Is the major constraint framework of the Nigerian to the growth and survival of organisations” German Energy Partnership these (NGEP), it stands ready to explaining that “PAYG Solar make a contribution to this end. provides solutions for the Germany and its partners in challenges constraining the the EU are also committed to scaling up of alternative make the Paris Climate Summit energy as it will provide a financing platform in order to in December 2015 a success.” technologies The seminar presentations make according to the organisers, affordable.” He emphasised focused on photovoltaic (PV), that since the business model its advantages and the has supported the uptake of introduction of feasible solar especially in East Africa, installations in Nigeria. With Nigerian businesses stand to regard to the slow grid benefit from its adoption.

At the end, it was noted that improvement and installations in urban areas coupled with government legislation is the on-going power shortage, further need to control the PV stand-alone systems standardisation of equipment represent an individual and influx of substandard solution to self-sustaining equipment resulting to high power supply. It has a high failures and high failure rates potential to also become a of government projects.

By Vera Samuel Anyagafu & Prisca Sam-Duru

A

34 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

C M Y K

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 — 35

36 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 — 37

38 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 — 39

40 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 — 41

42—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

2015 elections free of violence —Rivers INEC boss

By Jimitota Onoyume

P

ORT HARCOURT— RIVERS State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dame Gecila Khan, has reiterated her stand that the last general elections in the state were devoid of violence.

Khan, at her office on Aba Road, Port Harcourt, shortly after she bagged three merit awards from three different organisations, said that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, thoroughly sensitised youths of the state against electoral violence before the elections.

She regretted that some persons who were aware of this still went out manufacturing stories to discredit the successful conduct of the elections in the state by INEC. Meantime, Publicity secretary, All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state,

Oil communities urge FG to dissolve NDDC board

By Emma Amaize

W

ARRI—COMMU N I T Y Development Committee, CDC, of Oil and Gas Producing Areas, Niger Delta, yesterday, called on the Federal Government to dissolve the board of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC. The oil bearing communities Board of Trustees, BoT, meeting in Warri, Delta State, shortly after Prince Maikpobi Okareme was appointed as chairman, also called on the commission to suspend all projects being executed by NDDC in non-oil bearing communities in the nine oil producing states and relocate them to oil communities.

On the reason for the call for the dissolution of NDDC board, CDC said it was mandatory for the commission’s board to be dissolved at the end of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

Meanwhile, CDC has removed Chief Daniel Etaluku as acting chairman of the BOT, and appointed Prince Okareme as its new leader.

Mr Chris Finebone, has insisted that the state witnessed unprecedented electoral violence during the last general elections.

While thanking youths of the state for shunning violence in the state during the polls, Dame Khan said the

sensitisation programme against violence embarked upon by the state chapter of INEC put a lot of strain on her.

While thanking the various groups for recognising her efforts and those of other members of the commission, she enjoined youths of the

state to turn down any offer to indulge in acts of violence.

Rivers Vision, League of Niger Delta Journalists and Orashi Like Minds conferred separate awards on Dame Khan for successfully conducting peaceful polls in Rivers State.

VISIT: Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa (2nd left) his Deputy, Kingsley Otuaro (left) the state Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Gideon Oyibo (2nd right) and the chairman, South-South CAN, Bishop God-do-Well Avwomakpa, during a courtesy call on the governor by executive of CAN, in Government House, Asaba. Photo: Nath Onojake.

Crisis brews in Delta over ownership of Asaba mechanic village

A

By Festus Ahon

SABA—AS the crisis brewing between Oshimili South Local Government Area, Delta State and the National Automobile and Technical Association, NATA, over revenue collection lingers, Onaje family of Umujiaga in the Asaba metropolis, has claimed ownership of the mechanic village.

Chairman of Onoja Family Land Committee, Chief Nwabueze Enenmoh, said the family gave the land to the local government during the military era in the early 80s to be used as mechanic village for free.

Insisting that the donation did not make the land a property of Oshimili South council, Enenmoh frowned at the decision of the council to use part of the land as trailer park.

He said: “In 1983, the land was given to them for the use of mechanics. We did it for the development of this town and not for the use of the council.”

Explaining the issues surrounding the land, he brought out a map bearing the pattern in which the land was shared among the children of Onaje, showing clearly where the mechanic

village belonged in the map, noting that the land was the property of the Umujiaga family and not the council.

Nwabueze, with other members of the Umujiaga family, said: “We are the owners of the land, we did not give the land for any other

purpose but for the mechanics to use in 1983."

Meanwhile, Chairman of the council, Mr Chuks John Obusom, had insisted that the land in dispute belongs to the council with graphic evidence showing how the land was ceded to the council in the early '80s.

Communities disrupt dredging contract over neglect by oil firm

By Egufe Yafugborhi

W

A R R I — I J A W communities in Diebiri-Batan and Ajuju, Warri South West Local Government Area, Delta State, have shut down a dredging project being executed by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC, vowing not to allow work resume until the oil firm addresses alleged neglect of the communities.

The communities, host to NPDC’s OML 42, accused the company of neglecting them in breach of the Local Content Act in its award of contracts while also highlighting indifference to timely response and noncompensation on oil spillages arising from the company’s operations in their locality.

The company, through its

External Relations Representative, who spoke on anonymity, denied the allegations, saying that those behind the disruption of the company’s operations were being sponsored for extraneous motives.

At a general meeting in Warri, the communities in a statement

by Chief Favour Izoukumor, Chairman, said “NPDC defiantly awards contracts without due process to their friends and associates, neglecting community contractors.

“In the process of obtaining Freedom To Operate, FTO, NPDC representatives claimed that communities based contractors were also invited for the bidding process and did not scale through, but it was confirmed that community contractors were never invited."

Okowa’s advisers told to strengthen PDP in Delta

Y

OUTHS of Anioma in Delta North senatorial district, Delta State, under the aegis of Anioma Youth Assembly, yesterday, have urged all advisers of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa to join hands with Chief Sunny Onuesoke to entrench the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in the state.

The youths, in statement during a courtesy visit to Onuesoke, former PDP governorship aspirant, at his Warri residence, also stressed the need for the governor ’s advisers, including his media team, to seek advice beyond their profession in order for them to be more effective.

Jude Agbor, National Chairman of the group, while thanking Onuesoke for the good work he has done during and after the elections and victory of PDP, urged him not to relent in his job, noting that Anioma people were solidly behind him.

Edo 2016: Edo Central leaders urged to back Osunbor

By Simon Ebegbulem

B

ENIN—AHEAD of the 2016 governorship election in Edo State, a sociopolitical group in the state, the Edo Visionary Network, yesterday, charged the leaders and people of Edo Central senatorial district to realise their dream of producing the next governor of the state on the expiration of the tenure of Governor Adams Oshiomhole by supporting the governorship ambition of Prof.

Osarhiemen Osunbor.

The group described Osunbor as a man with great vision and potentials and regretted that the internal politics of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which culminated in the Appeal Court ruling in 2008, truncated his stay in office.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 03, 2015— 43

ADB grants Abia govt $200m facility

By Anayo Okoli

U

MUAHIA—ABIA State governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, disclosed yesterday that African Development Bank, ADB, has approved a $200 million facility for the state to tackle water

sanitation and roads.

The governor said the focal area to be dealt with decisively for now were the Port Harcourt Road , Aba, Ohanko and other roads in Aba, the commercial city of the state.

The governor, who disclosed

this when he received the General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministries, Pastor William F. Kumuyi, at the Government House, Umuahia, said he was aware of the challenges confronting the state, maintaining that God was bigger

We’ve capacity to respond to distress calls with in 3 minutes —Abia CP

than those challenges.

Governor Ikpeazu pledged to provide a piece of land for the Deeper Christian Life Ministries to build its university in the state and also promised to construct a 5km road to the land.

By Ugochukwu Alaribe

Police nab 3 motorcyclists over alleged robbery

By Ugochukwu Alaribe

A

BA—THE police in Abia State have arrested three suspected members of a robbery gang who allegedly dispossessed victims of their valuables.

The suspects, who are motorcycle riders, include

Promise Sunday, Uche Nwachukwu and Ugochukwu Okoro.

They were arrested by Ubakala Police Division after they allegedly robbed two female victims of their valuables.

The gang was alleged to have snatched from their victim a hand bag containing clothing valued

at N27,500, shoes valued at N7,500, necklace/earring valued at N1,700, cream/perfume valued N2,000, one Samsung Galaxy X4, two Tecno Phone valued N40,000, two Nokia handset valued N9,000; totaling N79,700.

The victims whose names were given as Jennifer Ekpeme and Tochi Ngwaba were said to have

BOKO HARAM DETAINEES: Azodo urges FG to

rescind decision on relocation

By Vincent Ujumadu

A

WKA—AS the controversy rages over the alleged relocation of some Boko Haram detainees from prisons in the northern part of the country to Anambra State, the member representing Aguata federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Mrs. Eucharia Azodo, yesterday urged the federal government to rescind the decision in view of its security implications on the people of her constituency.

In a statement in Awka, Azodo said the Boko Haram detainees would better be taken care of in a maximum security prison, arguing that Ekwulobia Prison did not have the capacity to accommodate such high risk prisoners.

The statement read: “It gives me great concern about the rising tension following rumours that inmates of Boko Haram suspects were reportedly relocated from some Northern prisons to the

South East, precisely, Ekwulobia in Aguata Local Government of Anambra State.

“We all are aware of the fact that Ekwulobia Prison in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State is not a maximum security prison.

“Whereas a large number of prisoners, about 134 inmates, are there already in a prison built to accommodate 85 inmates, a total number of 47 Boko Haram prisoners were brought to Ekwulobia Prison in the dead of the night of Sunday, June 28, 2015 amidst tight security.

“In spite of torrent protests recorded in the commercial city of Onitsha, Ekwulobia and other major cities of Anambra State last weekend over the rumours of government intention, the Federal Government still went ahead to relocate them to Ekwulobia in flagrant violation of the avowed wishes of the peaceloving people of Anambra State.

“As a result, tension has been raised in the state, arising from hundreds of youths storming the

streets and market places. Filling stations in the state were also shut down in protest.

“It is paramount to state that one of the resultant negative effects of relocating Boko Haram suspects from the Northern part of the country to the South East would be the terror associated with Boko Haram sect as this will definitely cause a setback for the state economically since some investors would not want to come to invest as a result of fear.

A

BA—ABIA State Commissioner of Police, Habila Joshak, has said the police in the state have the capacity to storm any crime scene within three minutes of receiving any distress call.

In a chat with newsmen in Aba, Joshak said despite challenges, the police have devised many strategies to keep the state crime free, adding that with the increasing support of the Inspector General of Police and the state government, the command had been fully repositioned to combat crime.

He urged residents of the state to volunteer timely and useful information about criminal activities to the police, assuring that such had always been treated in strict confidence.

He said: “I can assure the residents of the state that we have can respond to distress call within 3 minutes in any area.

engaged the services of Promise Sunday and Uche Nwachukwu not knowing that the duo had evil intentions against them.

Abia State Commissioner of Police, Habila Joshak, who spoke through the command’s Public Relations Officer, Ezekiel Onyeke, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said the suspects were followed by another motorcycle rider, Ugochukwu Okoro, as he allegedly joined his friends to rob the victims after brandishing machete and threatened to cut them to pieces if they refused to cooperate.

Luck, however, ran out on the gang when detectives from Ubakala Police Division arrested the suspects and recovered three of the four phones, necklace/ earring, two machetes, three motorcycles, one Army face cap, one LG TV, one Sunny/LG DVD, one Kenwood player, two speakers and one standing fan from the gang.

He hinted that investigation into the matter were still ongoing.

Mordi rallies support for Okowa

T

HE CHIEF Executive Officer of Blessing Mordi Foundation, Miss Blessing Mordi, has urged Deltans to rally round the state governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, the Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, Monday Igbuya, for the speedy development of the state.

Mordi also urged support for the member representing Ika North East constituency in the Delta State House of Assembly,

Tony Elekeokwuri for effective administration.

She said it was important Deltans rallied round the present government, in view of the enormous challenges confronting the government.

Mordi, who spoke at a press conference in Sapele on how the foundation could partner with the state government, stated that the foundation was about life impartation, to help the less

privileged and put smiles on the faces of the needy.

The 2015 Miss New Nigeria South-South Ambassador noted that with the combination of Okowa, Igbuya and Elekeokwuri, Delta would surely move to the next level.

She described Governor Okowa as a man "who wants to work," noting that his administration would usher in sustainable development in the state.

By Bartholomew Madukwe (08102479985) nwamad@yahoo.com

PEOPLE SPEAK

On state govts' inability to pay their workers’ salaries

T

his is the highest show of irresponsibility on the part of these states.

States should remember that payment of workers’ salaries is a contractual obligation which took effect the very day each worker filed out and signed the employment form. -Mr. Ime Okon, Lecturer

O

ur politicians can not do anything right. In some places, when things get tough, government will cut spending to save and rescue the economy.

Only in Nigeria do we see this kind of nonsense. Miss Ukogu Chinasa, Musician

I

t is important that the legislature enact laws which peg a ceiling on money each state of the federation can borrow based on the economic strength of that state. No governor would exceed the limit when such law is on ground. -Miss Chika Dike, NYSC member

L

ike every contract, an exit clause is built in where the worker or employer would give 30 days’ notice of termination of this contract or pay one month’s salary in lieu of notice. So why must these state governments owe the workers? -Mr. Emmanuel Iyoke, Businessman

T

he excuse that these states had issued ‘irrevocable payment orders’ to contractors is untenable and such act goes to show the abysmal level of irresponsibility and crass display of impunity exhibited by these states. They should pay their workers.

-Miss Orlietan SalamyWorker

I

t is conventional that in circumstances like this, the party that has breached the contract must have to pay damages for such, which should be spread as interest accruing on each worker’s unpaid salaries. What is NLC doing? -Mrs. Morayo Simeon, Businesswoman

44 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

Buhari on mission to salvage Nigeria, says Inegbeniki

A

chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Francis Inegbeniki, has said President Muhammahu Buhari was on a mission to salvage Nigeria and reposition the country for greatness.

Inegbeniki, in a statement, urged Nigerians to be patient with Buhari, even though it appears the administration is slow, adding that “ it is better for Mr. President to study the problems facing the country critically before embarking on the reforms that will bring about the long awaited change” The APC senatorial candidate for Edo Central in the last March 28, National Assembly election, also appealed to Nigerians to continue praying for President Buhari, to enable him to salvage the country.

The Edo-born politician and philanthropist, also assured that Nigeria under the leadership of Buhari will witness tremendous growth, stability and rapid development.

Adamawa needs N200bn to reconstruct facilities destroyed by Boko Haram

By Umar Yusuf

Y

OLA—ADAMAWA State government says it will require a whooping N200 billion to reconstruct, rehabilitate and put in proper shape the facilities, private residences and other properties destroyed by Boko

T

Court hears suit challenging Abubakar’s election Sept 21

By Suzan Edeh

B

Tanko Ningi is therefore asking the court to stop Mohammed Abubakar from parading himself as Bauchi APC governorship candidate and to stop APC from submitting his name to the electoral body as well as to stop the electoral body from recognizing Abubakar as the party’s candidate.

Other defendants in the suit are Independent National

AUCHI—THE Federal High Court sitting at Bauchi and presided over by Justice Mohammed Garba Umar has fixed September 21, 2015 as the date for the hearing of the preliminary objection in the suit challenging the eligibility of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate and Bauchi State governor, Mohammed Abubakar in the party’s governorship primary.

The suit was filled by one of the aspirants in the APC governorship primary in the state, Comrade Mohammed Abdullahi Tanko Ningi. He is challengBy Wole Mosadomi ing the competence of the primary conducted by the party in INNA—NIGER State the state and alleging irregularHouse of Assembly has ities and over- voting . given the state government an

Electoral Commission, INEC and the APC governorship candidate, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar.

Reacting to the ruling, Counsel to Mohammed Abubakar who is the second defendant, Adeola Adedipe said, “We are not pleased with the development because we cannot keep coming to court over a case that lacks merit”.

of the Internally Displaced persons, IDPs on an assessment visit.

While enumerating challenges faced by Adamawa state government, Governor Muhammadu Umaru Jibrilla, noted that the amount was arrived at following assessment by the state government.

He called on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency deploy anti bomb experts to diffuse the number of land mines and bombs planted by the insurgents before they left, adding that many people could not farm for the fear that they may be killed by hidden bombs in the process.

In his remark, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo assured the IDPs that the Federal Government will soon address insurgency as all mechanisms have been put in place to achieve that.

Osinbajo added that due to his concern to address insurgency, President Muhammadu Buhari immediately after he was sworn in, ordered the immediate relocation of Nigeria’s Military command and control center to Borno and Adamawa so as to completely deal with the problem.

He said that Adamawa state government has raised a fundamental issue which the Federal Government cannot overlook.

Osinbajo stated that because of the concern of President Muhammadu Buhari for the displaced people, and in line with the party ’s campaign promises, he was directed to visit the affected states to see how the displaced people are faring with the aim of resettling them to their various communities.

Niger Assembly approves N1.8bn loan to pay teachers, LG workers

M

NIM holds service of songs for Aimiuwu

T

.Late Ogbueshi Ogosi

ing refuge in Chad, Cameroun, Niger and other neighbouring states in the North East sub region.

Governor Mohammed Umaru Jibrilla disclosed this on Thursday while hosting Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who was at the NYSC Orientation camp

LAUNCH: From left: Mark Ihimonya, Consumer Director, Microsoft Nigeria; Womiloju Olabanji, Consumer Business Lead, Sub -Saharan Africa, Intel Corporation; Attai Oguche, Activation and Event Manager, Tecno Mobile and, Yewande Oyebo, Device Specialist Microsoft Nigeria; at the official launch of the new Tecno WinPad 10 in Lagos.

Remembrance HE first anniversa ry memorial service of Ogbueshi Albert Nwaedozie Francis Ogosi will hold by 8am on Sunday, July 5, 2015 at St Patrick Catholic Church, Asaba.

The late Ogosi, a devout Catholic and community leader was also a qualified pharmacist, who rose to the position of General Manger, Phaco Nigeria Ltd, Benin City. He later founded Manafog Pharmaceuticals Limited, Asaba.

He is remembered by his wife, Mrs. Beatrice Ogosi, children, relations and brother-in-law, Sir Celestine Uche Ajufoh (KSM) and family.

Haram in 11 of the 21 local government areas of the state.

The state government also disclosed that 7 out of the 11 local governments in the state were completely overran by the insurgents in which no fewer than 600,000 (six hundred thousand) people were displaced and are now tak-

HE Nigeria Institute of Management, NIM, paid its last respect to its former president, Chief Lugard Aimiuwu by holding a service of songs for him at the City Hall Conference Centre, Lagos on Tuesday, June 30, 2015.

Aimiuwu who was the Chairman of Council of NIM between 2003 and 2005 was also the pioneer President and Chairman of Governing Council of the United National Insti-

tute of Marketing of Nigeria between 2008 and 2013.

He was a Fellow of the Institute of Operations, Institute of Management Consultants and Chartered Institute of Personnel Management and was the Osayuwanoba of Benin Kingdom.

As a result of his contribution to nation building, he was awarded Officer of the Order of the Niger, OON, in 2005.

approval to secure N1.85 billion overdraft facility from an old generation bank to pay the June salaries of primary school teachers and local government workers in the state.

The state governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello had requested the House through a letter to give approval to apply for the loan to settle the June salaries of the workers and it was expressly approved at the session of the House yesterday.

A unanimous approval was given to the application immediately the Speaker of the House, Honourable Marafa Ahmed read the governor’s letter.

The governor, in the letter dated 29th of June, 2015 and transmitted to the House on Wednesday, 1st of July stated

that the standby facility was to surge up the revenue shortfall in 2015 Local Government budget.

The Speaker, Hon. Marafa Ahmed commended his colleagues for the prompt response and understanding of the situation of the rural dwellers just as he directed the Clerk of the Assembly, Mohammed Kagara to convey the approval to the Governor.

He restated the determination of the lawmakers to give necessary support to the state governor in delivering the dividends of democracy to the people.

The quick intervention was to forestal a looming strike by the affected local government workers who had always experienced delay in the payment of their salaries .

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015—45

FOR HAWKINS: Mr. Jeffrey Hawkins, outgoing US Consul-General; his wife Annie Chansavang (middle), with journalists, during the farewell reception for Mr. Hawkins organised by Public Affairs Section U.S ConsulateGeneral in Lagos. PHOTO: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

DRAW: From left— Mr. John Anyanwu, KPMG; Aishah Ahmad, Head,

Retail Directorate, Diamond Bank; Mrs Jamaba Ideozu, winner of one hundred thousand naira; and Mr. Osita Ede, Head, Mass Market, Diamond Bank, during the bank's Xtra mid-year draw in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

PHOTO: Nwankpa Chijioke.

CONFIRMME: From left— Mr. Geofrey Ebetaleye, Director, Credit

Registry Service; Mrs Jamealah Ayedun, MD, Credit; Mr. Olufemi Williams, MD; Mr. Luqman Balogun, Deputy MD, both of Chams Plc, and Mr. Sadiq Abubakar, Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement Systems Plc, at Chams' launch of Confirmme in Lagos. PHOTO: Shola Oyelese.

GRADUATE: From left— Mr. Dada Ajai-Ikhile, CEO, Nextmedia; Mr.

Ronald Cilliers, Principal, Grace High School; Miss Olohireme Ajai-Ikhile, graduand; and her mother, Mrs Elaie Ajai-Ikhile, during the 17th valedictory service/ graduation ceremony in Gbagada, Lagos. PHOTO: Diran Oshe.

C M Y K

PMG-MAN: From left— Mr. Dayalani Ashwin, Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Sam Pharma Limited; Mr. Sam Ohuabunwa, former Managing Director, Neimeth Pharma Limited, and Mr. Okey Akpa, Managing Director, SKG Pharma Limited, and Chairman, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, PMG-MAN, at the association's briefing on the activities of the companies in Lagos, yesterday.

PHOTO: Joe Akintola, Photo Editor.

AIRTEL/UNICEF: From left— Mr. Gbenga Rotimi, Director, Legal and Company Secretary, Airtel Nigeria; Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, MD/CEO; Jean Gough, UNICEF representative in Nigeria, and Mr. Adefemi Adeniran, Head, PR, Airtel Nigeria, during a memorandum of understanding, MoU, signing between Airtel and UNICEF to encourage Nigerians' participation in governance via U-Report in Lagos. PHOTO: Lamidi Bamidele.

NESTLE PROMO: From left— Mr. Temidayo Esogbe, Category Business Manager, Diary; Mrs. Imaobong Martins, Regional Consumer Service Manager; Mr. Richimond Mejico, Commercial Manager, and Mr. Stanley Okechu, Sale Performance Development Manager, all of Nestle Plc, during the Nestle Golden Morn and Nido Mothers Delight promo raffle draw in Lagos. PHOTO: Bunmi Azeez.

HEALTH AWARD: From left— Sir Ifeanyi Atueyi, Chief Executive Officer, Global Health Resources; Dr. Wale Alabi, Joint Chief Director, EKO Hospital, Ekocorp, Plc; Dr. Sunny Kuku and Mr. Moses Braimah, Nigeria Healthcare Award, NHEA, Director Strategy /Communication, at the NHEA 2015 held in Lagos.

46— VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

Ramadan 16, 1436 A.H.

Don't link begging, poverty to Islam — Scholars •LEMU holds workshop on piety, poverty V

ARIOUS Islamic scholars have dismissed the notion being held by some Muslims that poverty engenders piety, stressing that just as begging is antithetical to Islam, there is no correlation between poverty and piety. The scholars advised Muslims not to be laid back, but work hard, help each other through the institution of zakaat, avoid inordinate pursuit of wealth and shun all what constitute haram in the quest of means of livelihood.

These were the highlights of different papers delivered by different Islamic scholars during a workshop themed: “Between Piety and Poverty”, organised by Lekki Muslim Ummah, LEMU, held at Vice Admiral Jubrila Ayinla Multipurpose Hall, Lekki Central

Mosque Complex, Lagos, recently.

Chief Imam,Lekki Muslim Ummah, Sheikh RidwanJamiu, spoke on “Essentials of Piety”, while the Head of the Department of Insurance and Actuarial Science, University of Lagos, Dr. Tajudeen Yusuf presented a paper on: “Is Poverty an Islamic Virtue?”. Also, Dr. Jubril Salahudeen, delivered a lecture on: “Practical Ways of Alleviating/Eradicating Poverty” just as Ustadh Nojeem Jimoh and Alhaji Niyi Akinlusi discussed the various presentations.

Sheikh Jamiu stated that poverty was not a sign or correlation of piety, adding that Allah never praised anyone in the Qur’an for being poor; rather, He rather praises those who give. “Those

Legislators should work on part time basis — Ajibola ...as IMA holds Ramadan lecture

F

ORMER Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Bola Ajibola, has said that lawmakers should be made to serve on a part-time basis in order to reduce the cost of governance.

Ajibola, a former World Court judge in Hague, lamented with the economy already in comatose, the cost of running the government and maintaining the federal lawmakers, if not cut as a matter of urgency, would spell doom for the country,.

Speaking with journalists on the sidelines of a Ramadan Lecture, organised by the Islamic Mission for Africa (IMA), at the IMA Research Centre, Abeokuta, Ogun state capital, he regretted that the emolument of federal legislators as well as the cost of running government bureaucracy is higher than what the expenditure on infrastructure development.

Still on the need for part-time legislators as was witnessed during the short-lived third republic, Ajibola stressed that the lawmakers should serve on part-time basis, thereby making the positions less attractive. In that way, he continued, only people with sincere and patriotic zeal to serve the country would offer themselves for service at the National Assembly.

“The reduction of cost of running the Senate from N150 billion to N120 billion as stated by the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki is cosmetic and farce. We must really reduce the cost of governance to the barest minimum if we are serious about moving the nation forward. Our economy is seriously ill and with time, it will not be able to support this reckless government spending.

“The international community

which forms the cartel that buys our oil is alarmed by our reckless spending. We need to be careful so that we will not turn our currency into just a worthless papers. So, I am seriously of the opinion that the humongous amount of money being spent on governance should be reduced and channelled such fund towards the socio-economic development of our nation,” Ajibola said.

The erstwhile Attorney-General, however called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the impasse at the National Assembly, adding that a stable and peaceful federal legislature would help in bringing the desired change in the polity.

“The president should look inwards and settle the crisis emanating from the National Assembly as a result of the emergence of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara. He should close all ranks within the party so that there will be unity among the lawmakers,” Ajibola said.

who spend their wealth in the Cause of Allah, and do not follow up their gifts with reminders of their generosity or with injury, their reward is with their Lord. On them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.”Q2:262 Dr. Tajudeen Yusuf, in his pedagogical approach held the audience spellbound as he charged Muslims and well meaning individuals to improve the welfare of indigent Muslims and care for the have not adding that poverty is never an Islamic virtue.

Dr. Jubril Salahudeen in his own presentation surmised that Muslims could legitimately increase their earnings and eradicate poverty in their lives through legitimate means as approved by Allah. Salahudeen who described himself as a man with humble background said any Muslim who has the fear of Allah, seek forgiveness of sins, contentment, regularly worship Allah, engage in commerce and agriculture and ensure prompt payment of zakaat will not only alleviate poverty but be rewarded

by Allah.

Speaking earlier, the President of Lekki Muslim Ummah (LEMU), Alhaji Sulaimon Adebayo Alabi said, the topic was specifically chosen to address the erroneous notion being held by some Muslims that poverty engenders piety and the inordinate pursuit of wealth by others.

“These two extreme positions are obviously antithetical to Islam. Yet, many still indulge in both extremisms. Accordingly, we want to seize the opportunity of this workshop to debunk the two extreme positions and offer a solution,” he said.

Meanwhile, Alabi disclosed that as part of its contributions to the growth and development of Islam, the LEMU on-going N70 million Madrasah Building Project will soon be completed, adding that Creche, Nursery, and primary classes, based strictly on Islamic ideals and standards will begin in September.

Let’s pray for our leaders — Ojei

D

ELTA State Council for Islamic Affairs (DSCIA) under the umbrella of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has called for prayers for the leaders while urging the new administration in the State to learn from the mistakes of the past and work hard toward restoring the lost glory of the state.

The National Vice PresidentGeneral, NSCIA, in the State, Barr. Isiaka Ojei, gave the advice after a chat with the Principal Officers of DSCIA,

calling on Governor Okowa to be more active in developing the State as this will endear him more to the people.

“The Governor must be an aggressive developer and shun domestic politics of the State as this is very diversionary.”

The body called on Muslims to pray for the success of the new government in this Holy month of Ramadan and for the Ummah to purge their hearts of every ungodliness, be more positive and progressive in their contributions.

From left: Dr. Jubril Salahudeen; Dr. Tajudeen Yusuf, Head, Dept of Insurance and Actuarial Science, UNILAG and Dr Waliyu Buraimoh, Vice President Lekki Muslim Ummah, LEMU, during a workshop organised by the Ummah on Sunday.

From left: Sheikh Ridwan Jamiu, Chief Imam,Lekki Muslim Ummah, LEMU; Alhaji AbduKabir Aliyu, Chairman of the occasion and Alhaji Sulaimon Adebayo Alabi, President, LEMU, at the occasion.

A cross section of female participants at the workshop.

Banire wants religious education strengthened in schools

By Monsuru Olowoopejo

N

ATIONAL legal adviser of All Progressives Congress, APC, Dr. Muiz Banire has asked the federal governments to strengthen religious education in schools to curb crime rate in the country.

Banire who gave the advice during a chat with Muslim Journalists at an Iftar (breaking of fast) programme at Protea Hotel, GRA Ikeja, lamented that this fundamental issue has not received the utmost attention of governments.

He stated: “The fundamental issue which is still lacking in our society which we must start addressing now before it gets too late is the religious education of our children from school. I believe that this is what is lacking. And that is helping to breed miscreants in the society.”

The national legal adviser of All Progressives Congress, APC, argued that our schools

should be given the required attention to breed God fearing leaders who will make welfare of the masses the centerpiece of their administration.

Stressing the level of moral decadence in the country, Banire appealed to the Federal Government to urgently wade in to stem the tide of corruption tendencies.

Banire, former commissioner for environment said “If I had not have the opportunity of religious education, I might not have been where I’m today.”

He however called on President Muhammadu Buhari, Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki and other leaders holding public offices to use their offices to impact on lives; embarking on masses oriented projects and policies.

The programme which was organized by the legal luminary and attended by Muslim media practitioners was aimed at fostering brotherhood and good relationship.

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 — 47

Ramadan 16, 1436 A.H.

Why prices of foodstuffs soar in Ramadan Stories By Aderonke Adeyeri

A

few days after the commencement of Ramadan fast, the prices of foodstuffs and other essential commodities have escalated in most markets across the country.

Reports have it that prices of foodstuffs and other essential commodities, such as fruits, vegetables, melon and beverages that are in high demand during the Ramadan fast had soared.

Traders attributed some of the reasons for the hike in price to the Ramadan fast, heavy rain in the North, high cost of transportation, amongst others.

In some major markets in Lagos, our checks revealed that the prices of rice, beans, fruits, and beverages have gone up with about 15 per cent increase.

Some traders attributed the rising cost of fruits to “high demand during the Ramadan fast, the rainy season which has led to flood in some parts of the

country especially where such foods were grown. Others attributed it to rising cost of transportation.

In Mile 12 market, Lagos, survey showed that the prices of a bag of the various brands of imported rice are sold between N8,500 and N8,900 as against the former price of between N7,200 and N7,300 a few days ago.

Similarly, a bag of beans, which formerly sold for between N19,000 and N23,000 had also increased to N20,000 to N25,000.

The price of fruits like oranges, pineapples and banana had also witnessed astronomical increases with a bag of oranges being sold for between N10,000 and N12,500 from N5,000 and N6,000 a few weeks before Ramadan.

A big bunch of banana is sold for between N500 and N1,000, while the price of a dozen of water melon is been sold between N3,900 and N4,000 which formerly sold for N1,800.

Mrs Olusola Osoba, who deals

Lagos secretariat mosque holds AGM

L

AGOS State Secretariat Mosque Ikeja, Alausa has urged all Muslims to explore the spiritual benefits of fasting during the month of Ramadan and apply same in their daily activities even after Ramadan.

Alh. Lawal Pedro (SAN) chairman, Management Committee of the Mosque made this call during the Annual General meeting of the mosque held recently.

His words: “the month of Ramadan is a crucial one where every human being is expected to exhibit perseverance, patience, and brotherhood.

When Almighty Allah prescribed fasting to the Muslims, He said he his prescrib-

ing fasting for us as he has done for people before us. Many Muslims do not to look beyond the pain of fasting where as fasting has physical, health and spiritual benefits to mankind and we should be grateful to Allah for the grace.’’

The chairman also appreciated the out going executive members for the transformation of the Mosque to an ultra modern edifice during their tenure.

He also enjoined the incoming executives to build on the achievements of the former administration, adding: “this mosque should be greater not only in size but also in content and spirituality at the end of their tenure.”

From left: Omolora Adisah; Yusuf Adisah; Musibaudeen Adisah; Nofisat Adisah and Kolawole Adisah during Walimatul-Quran held at Modrasatu Misbaudeen-l-Islamy Wal'i Dayat, Olodi, Apapa, Lagos recently.

on fruits in Ile Epo market in Oke odo metropolis of Lagos state, attributed the rising cost of fruits to “the Ramadan fast, the period of the year, in addition to personal costs incurred by retailers”.

The survey also showed that the price of perishable goods like tomatoes, bell pepper (tatashe), and scotch bonnet (rodo) had gone up. A big basket of tomatoes is been sold for between N22,500 and N30,000 as against the former price of between N8,000. A basket of bell pepper goes for N14,000 against the former price of N7,500 and N8,000. A basket of scotch bonnet is been sold for between N17,000 and N17,300 as against the former price between N7,500 and N7,800.

Abubakar Rasheed, a tomato seller who decried the high cost of foodstuff at the start of the Ramadan period, appealed to traders to shun the craze to make quick money during the period. However, he attributed the hike to the heavy rainfall in Kano state.

Also, the prices of imported food items like rice, and frozen fish, moved up this past few days.

The cost of frozen fish had increased with a carton selling for between N9,300 and N9,400 as against the former price of N7,200. The cost for a carton of turkey now N7,800 against the former price of N6,500.

Moyosore Ireti, a trader in the market Bodija market in Ibadan said that a carton of Peak powdered milk is now selling for N10,200 as against the former price of N9,600 and its refill goes for N9,000against the former price of N8,500.

According to her, a carton of top beverages now sells for N8,600 against the former price of N8, 000. A carton of sells for N9,000 against the former price of N8,400.

Moyosore accused some wholesale traders of hoarding essential commodities at the beginning of Ramadan to create artificial scarcity. She said that the same applies to the other fruits such as mangoes, pineapples, water melon, banana, apple and cucumber.

Alhaja Sekinat Abdulakeem, a retired teacher who came to shop for Ramadan expressed that the hike in the prices of food items should not be linked to Ramadan but the greediness of the traders who wants to make quick money.

Aminat, another buyer at the market said that increases in the price of food items will force many families to reduce their shopping menu.

From left: Alh. Waliu Onibon,Chairman Shurah Council, Lagos State Secretariat Mosque, LSSM; Mr Lawal Pedro(SAN),reelected Chairman; Dr. Tajudeen Afolabi, former 1st Vice Chairman and Alh. Muritala Bamgbose, former Gen Secretary, during the Annual General Meeting(AGM) of the LSSM, held in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos State, recently.

A cross section of new executive members of the Lagos State Secretariat Mosque, LSSM, Ikeja, Alausa Lagos state.

Proprietors chart new course for Islamic schools

By Bashir Adefaka

T

he Association of Model Islamic Schools, South West Zone, Nigeria,emerged from a three-day retreat for proprietors and administrators of Muslim model schools in six states of the zone with a resolve to chart a new course for the development of the Islamic schools in the country.

The retreat which was held between Friday 12th in Lagos, recently, discussed and dissected various problems militating against the development of Islamic model schools just as proprietors determined to break the gap between Islamic and conventional schools.

In his address, chairman of the association in Lagos State, Alhaji Misbaudeen Zakariyyah, urged members to continue the jihad by impacting knowledge and adding value to the lives of their students. “Let’s continue our jihad towards producing perfectly educated and religious children and success which beckons on us will definitely come in hand.”

The zonal chairman of AMIS, Muqaddam Musliudeen Fadeyi, said the Islamic schools are a step ahead by providing Islamic knowledge as well as moral and academic excellence for the children.”

Fadeyi called on governments at all levels to ensure that the religious rights of students particularly of public schools are respected as enshrined in the constitution.

“You don’t need to be in Muslim school before you are guaranteed your religious rights, which is mostly obvious in female students using hijab.

The State PRO of the association, Mr. Mahmud Abdul Ganiy, disclosed that the retreat was aimed at bringing about a paradigm shift in private Islamic education system.

Participants at a retreat organised by Association of Model Islamic Schools, held in Crescent Schools, 1004 Estate, Victoria Island, recently.

48 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

C M Y K

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015—49

Nigerian entertainers and the Baby Daddy syndrome T

RENDS are quick to catch on in Nigeria. Once somebody does a thing and it’s successful or enjoys a favourable response, a lot of people tend to follow suit. It happens in a business environment, religion,even in politics. And the story is not different either in the music industry. Years back, the music business wasn’t as attractive as what it is today. Then, those who were in the indsutry were seen as never-do-well people. This negative perception continued until ‘2face’ emerged on the scene. That was when a lot of people started showing interest in music. The industry started booming, and many abroad based Nigerian musicians started returning home to identify with the new trend. The bandwagon effect. Today, the industry has become an all comers affairs with a lot of young people dropping out of school to pursue a career in music.Those who tried to go to school, have since dumped their certificates and embraced music. But this is not the only bandwagon effect in the Nigerian music scene. There is the baby daddy culture that is becoming a new way of life among the present day musicians.

In his report, we take a look at Baby Daddy Syndrome (BDS) as it is associated with male performers in Nigeria. The syndrome is ‘a new culture of impregnating a woman without marrying her before hand.

By Tofarati Ige

•2face

2FACE IDIBBIA

I

t was almost impossible not to link 2face to many women. The legendary singer who hit the limelight long before many of his contemporaries started upping the ante, is the first known ‘Baby Daddy’ as far as this generation is concerned.

The African Queen” at man is such an addicted baby daddy that he had to do it six times. Yes...you can close your mouth now. 2face Idibia actually put three different women in the family way six different times without being or getting married to any of them. Fortunately, he has finally settled down with one of them now, Anne Idibia (nee Macaulay), but that is not our Area Of Concentration.

P-SQUARE (PETER)

F

ollowing behind 2face is Peter of P-Square fame.

This brother is a (proud?) father of two children, all delivered by one woman.

When Peter Okoye first impregnated his long standing girl friend, Lola Omotayo, many thought it was a mistake. But then, after few years, another “mail” arrived and Peter was blessed with another baby boy in January 2013, through his Baby Mama, whom he has finally taken home as a wife as she now bears Lola Omotayo-Okoye. *I’m so happy for her*

P-SQUARE (PAUL) And just as if it’s a C M Y K

•Terry G competition, or status symbol, Peter’s twin brother, Paul, also made sure that when they are calling carriers of BDS, his name wouldn’t be missing. And he was successful, as just a few months after Peter got his second child, he was also blessed with a son, Andre, through his BM, Anita, who he has also done the honorable thing with by marrying her last year. Now, that’s a good example set by the Okoye music dynasty, but fellas out there, you don’t necessarily have to put two buns in the oven before walking her down the aisle.

MAY D

A

nother famous Baby Daddy (BD) is May D. The former Square Records signee didn’t stay too long with the label, but he was there long enough to imbibe the BD culture. He had a baby boy with his girlfriend,

•P-Square

•May D

Fortunately, he has finally settled down with one of them now, Anne Idibia (nee Macaulay), but that is not our Area Of Concentration

Debola, in January 2013. They separated recently, with Debola accusing the ‘Sound Track’ crooner of battering her ceaselessly in the course of their affair. May D’s camp has denied the allegations, claiming that Debola’s accusations are the rants of a scorned lover.

TERRY G nother important member of the BDS club is no other person than the Akpako master

A

1986 Miss Nigeria, Rita Anuku dies at 47

himself, Terrible Gabriel aka Terry G. Many have often wondered how Terry G would perform as a father (a mischievous fellow even said his baby will be born high).

However, it turns out he is a good dad. The singer has been spotted shopping with his baby (whom he flaunts at every opportunity) and his baby mama. Terry has gushed Continues from page 50

MAMA 2015: Davido, Yemi Alade, Diamond Platnumz to rock the stage

50—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

MAMA 2015: Davido, Yemi Alade, Diamond Platnumz to rock the stage T

•D’Prince

•Olamide

*IK Ogbonna

•Wizkid

Nigerian entertainers and the Baby Daddy syndrome Continues from page 49 that he would soon turn his woman to a Mrs., and we’re earnestly awaiting his Invitation Card (IV).

WIZKID

O

f course, this list wouldn’t be complete if we don’t mention the Kid who has a kid. Yes, it’s none other than the ‘Pakurumo’ singer, Starboy Wizkid. When he sang, ‘I love my baby’ in 2011, we thought he was talking about his girlfriend, but now we know he was singing to his child.

Even though the young millionaire and silky voiced singer had earlier denied the claims that he he’s a father, he later ‘came to his senses’ and has been celebrating God’s gift to him ever since.

OLAMIDE

O

lamide is the undisputed reigning King of the streets, and he seems to be in a hurry to have an heir. But apparently, not in much of a rush to get married and settle down.

He welcomed a baby boy with his long-time girlfriend, Oluwabunmi Okeowo, in January 2015.

IK OGBONNA

T

he Baby Daddy Syndrome is by no way limited to music artistes alone; actors also suffer from it too.

The most recent being IK Ogbonna.

C M Y K

He is one of the hottest ‘things’ in the industry right now, and he, perhaps, needs someone to share the glory with.

That’s why he quickly planted the seed of life in his Colombian girlfriend, Sonia Morales. She birthed a baby on Saturday, June 20th, 2015.

D’PRINCE

F

ondly called Omoba, D’Prince recently welcomed a baby boy with his Cameroonian girlfriend, Inorie Fotso, earlier this month. Even though he is not married, the singer says the arrival of his son has added purpose to his life.

According to him, ‘There comes a time when a boy has to become a man. The love of my life just gave me a baby boy. To God be the glory. Now, I feel my life has a purpose. To live for my boy#NewDaddy’ Others in the Baby Daddy club include, but are not limited to: Ice Prince, Wande Coal, Joe El and Jesse Jagz.

After all has been said, the kernel of this story is that though celebrities are not Preachers or Imams, they have huge moral responsibilities to the people.

Whatever a musician does goes a long way in influencing millions of other individuals, most especially youths.

If our entertainers aren’t ready for wives and families, then they should stop making babies.

Apart from pregnancy, how about AIDS and the battalion of other sexually Transmitted Diseases out there?

op African musicians including Nigeria’s Davido, Yemi Alade, Diamond Platnumz, Bucie and Cassper Nyovest have been added to the sizzling list of performers for the •Yemi Alade MTV Africa Music Awards holding in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

The five African artists join US R&B star NE-YO for the music awards ceremony taking place on the 18th of July.

Celebrating the evolution of This will be a first time MAMA African musicians by recognising appearance for Yemi Alade, Bucie contemporary artists and and Cassper Nyovest, while trailblazers across a range of MAMA veterans Diamond music and lifestyle categories, the Platnumz and Davido make a MTV Africa Music Awards return to the spectacular MAMA KwaZulu-Natal 2015 will stage after a memorable broadcast live across Africa on performance of their collaboration MTV Base (DStv channel 322), “My Number One: Remix” at the MTV (DStv channel 130) and 2014 event.

BET (DStv channel 129) on All five performers are hot Saturday 18 July at 8pm. The contenders at MAMA 2015: threeshow will also be transmitted time MAMA winners Davido is worldwide on partner stations duking it out with Diamond and content platforms including Platnuzm in this year’s Best Male BET International from 18 July. category, while Bucie and Yemi In addition, a special MAMAAlade go head to head for Best themed edition of MTV’s Female. Triple-nominee Cassper acclaimed World Stage franchise Nyovest is the running for Song will air globally on MTV channels of the Year, Best New Act around the world on 27 August Transformed by Absolut, and Best 2015.

Hip Hop.

1986 Miss Nigeria, Rita Anuku dies at 47 T

he family of Rita Anuku, the 1986 Miss Nigeria has released a statement that the beauty queen passed away this morning, July 2 nd at an undisclosed Abuja hospital.

According to a family source, the beauty queen has b e e n

•Rita Anuku

battling with cancer for the past two years and gave up the ghost this morning. She was aged 47 Late Rita Anuku was a first cousin of Hon. David Anuku, former commissioner of Special Duties in Delta State and younger sister of Nollywood actor, Hank Anuku. She is survived by four children, three girls and a boy. She was married to Chief Emma Unachukwu of Nnewi Twenty nine years ago she was sensationally crowned as Nigeria’s queen of beauty as an 18-year old secondary s c h o o l l e a v e r.

May her gentle soul rest in perfect peace.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015—51

C M Y K

52 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

Too many people are marrying for funny reasons —Tinuola Agbabiaka

A

n estranged couple coincidentally attended a couples’ summit in Lagos. They had walked in separately but were already falling head over heels for one another by the end of that summit. The magical effect of that annual event was enormous, as many other marriages regained life right on the spot.

More dramatic reunions played out at its 2015 edition which held June 27th in Lagos.

The brain behind that summit, Mrs Tinuola Agbabiaka, a lawyer and UK-trained relationship expert who is coordinator, Practical Christian Living Initiative (PCLI), tells of the eight-year-old initiative that has saved hundreds of relationships and homes in this interview.

BY JOSEPHINE AGBONKHESE

T

ackling sensitive issues such as relationships and marriage can be quite complicated; what’s your strategy?

What we do is balance things. We do not just assume it is the man or the woman that is the problem.

At PCLI, we educate, teach and assist to change people’s perception about issues when it comes to relationships.

And because these days there are so many doctrines, there is a lot of hurt in the home. Look around, you must know someone who is either going through a bad relationship, has gone through a bad relationship or will go through a bad relationship.

How has your experience been so far?

The task has been tough but fulfilling because by the time someone who is into a bad relationship cries out, it has really gone deep because it is perceived a private affair. So the first instinct is to try and shield it and manage it yourself and then when they decide to speak, they may be talking to people who would rather condemn or tell them what they are going through is nothing

compared to what another person is or has gone through. And when you hear all the bad stories only, you’d almost believe that there is no good story anywhere.

What we are trying to do is to teach people to manage their relationship in such a way that it is inspiring, despite its challenges. That’s for genuine partners, anyway.

People hardly seek professional help in marriage in this part of the world; isn’t that affecting your ministry?

You’re right but that hasn’t really affected us.

When PCLI was five, I clocked 40. So, I launched my book as well as got people together to testify, knowing well that with relationships, people don’t want to admit openly that they have issues. But to the glory of God, many were willing to.

I remember you had a particular couple with a dramatic experience at that anniversary, can you recall what happened?

Yes. That couple was on the verge of divorce when they attended that summit.

In fact, it was the husband’s friend who invited and paid for them to attend and when they eventually came, they didn’t come together. To the

What we are trying to do is to teach people to manage their relationship in such a way that it is inspiring, despite its challenges.

That’s for genuine partners, anyway. glory of God, they left together at the end of that programme. They danced, participated in fun games and other activities.

Three years after, I was at a burial ceremony when a man walked up to me and said ‘thank you’. I was shocked because I didn’t know him. I later got to know it was this same man.

The husband said when it was time to dance and he held his wife, he had tears in his eyes. According to him, staying out together was a start in resolving the issues they had.

•Continues on page 53

•Tinuola Agbabiaka

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 — 53

•Continues from page 52 Another one was a colleague at work. By the time I met him, he told me that his marriage was over.

Then, we got talking at every opportunity. On my birthday, his wife and he were also there to testify.

Have you noticed divorce is on the increase even amongst couples who courted extensively...

I have, and I must say a major problem is the foundation. The Bible says: if the foundation be destroyed, what can the righteous do? It would be nicer if things were done properly from the home. In other words, as a mother, you must teach your child the right values. And you can’t teach what you don’t have. You must teach a lady what to look for in a man.

Don’t marry for money.

Money can’t buy love or happiness.

Another challenge is that people are getting married for various funny reasons and this goes back to haunt them later. If someone gets married because “all her friends are getting married,” and they are not compatible, when issues start to come up, then they start to run helter skelter.

But my take also is that if you have chosen to marry a person, then make the most of it and make your home habitable. For women, I always say, “a wise woman builds her home”.

It just hurts that people make silly mistakes with marriage. I recently counseled a lady who got married as a virgin and her husband gave her syphilis.

He decided to treat her by himself even though he is not a doctor. At some point, the husband was having a relationship with his own sister which she got to know about. I told her it was not time to get pregnant for such a man.

The man needed a lot of work to be done on him through prayers and counseling. But she wouldn’t listen. After a while, I decided not to pick her calls again. Eventually she got pregnant. I later learnt the man tried to kill the child so she had to run.

Recently she called me and said people are advising her to go back and have another child with that same man so that she does not have children from different men. What sort of counseling is that? What eventually becomes of those children she would have for such a man?

•Tinuola Agbabiaka

Too many people are marrying for funny reasons — Tinuola Agbabiaka

And that is why this nation is the way it is. I keep saying it that for as long as we keep ignoring the family, this nation will not be made whole.

But don’t you think too much emphasis is being placed on the girl child than on her male counterpart in building the home?

The man was the first to be created but when the woman was made, she was made differently and she came with extra gifts. She can reproduce, multiply and so on. On the other hand, there is a limit to what the woman can do.

Yes, there is a lot of role for the woman or the girlchild but it’s a two-way thing, which is why we are coming up with a programme targeted at young male adults. The purpose is to raise Godly husbands because there are not many out there right now. And the problem is that you can’t give what you don’t have. Who is teaching them? Who is their role model?

There are so many bad examples that even the good ones are almost embarrassed to rise up to say the right things. You find a man who helps his wife iron her clothes

Lipstick 02/07 /2015

because he sees it as a duty but how many persons can he tell that to without being labeled a ‘ womanwrapper ’? And a lot of times, you find out that most of the programmes out there focus on financial strength. But financial strength does not make a home otherwise all rich people will have happy homes. We have to teach our men how to be proper husbands and treat a woman well.

You find parents telling their girl-child to keep their virginity but the boy is allowed to roam with his weapon of mass destruction. They simply

tell him to use a condom.

Psychologically, you have told him that women are not to be valued or you can just exchange them anyhow. This is wrong.

What inspired the two issues of concern at your recent summit?

Respect for the man, as well as money management, are very key in any relationship or home.

You see, a man craves respect from his woman and the woman wants love, but the truth is, respect has to be earned. Research has shown that a man who does the proper thing, loves his woman, treats her well, and does not abuse her, is easily respected.

The second issue, money, is the most divisive issue in the home next to sex. It comes in different dimension. You find men who are jobless these days and the woman has to become the breadwinner.

What does the man do?

Another scenario could be that they are both working and the woman is rising faster than the man. How do they handle it?

54—Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

C M Y K

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 — 55

Saraki condemns renewed Boko Haram attacks •Mourns death of 6 children in Lagos boat mishap

By Henry Umoru, Joseph Erunkem & Gbenga Oke

A

BUJA—PRESIDENT of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, has condemned the renewed onslaught against innocent Nigerians by the Boko Haram sect especially during the holy month of Ramadan, just as he urged all Nigerians especially the religious faithful to pray to God to continue to save the country from all forms of calamity.

In a statement yesterday by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Senate President, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki also expressed deep pain over the death of six school children in Lagos following a boat mishap that involved 14 school children who were being conveyed across Ojo to Irewe jetty.

Sen. Saraki who noted that the military authorities would do everything necessary to prevent the unwarranted attacks by Boko Haram from escalating, however, hailed efforts so far by President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that Nigerians were safe and secured in all parts of the country, especially in the North-East geopolitical zone.

According to the statement,

Senate President Saraki was particularly unhappy that the insurgents could let loose their suicide squad on a day the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, was in Maiduguri, on behalf of the Federal Government, for onthe-spot-assessment of the situation of the internally displaced persons with a view to providing additional succour to

affected families and communities.

Saraki said: “It was really a sad day for me to learn that suicide bombers unleashed attack on the people on a day the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo visited Maiduguri to see things for himself and also visit beleaguered families and communities whose lives and means of livelihoods have been adversely affected by the barbaric

acts of the insurgents.

“Boko Haram is not invincible and I have no doubt that the present administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari possesses the requisite political will and determination to decisively fight the insurgents and restore security to affected areas”, he said.

LETTERS OF CREDENCE—President Muhammadu Buhari (l) watches as the Ambassador of Japan to Nigeria, Mr. Sadanobu Kusaoke takes a bow as he presented his letters of credence at a ceremony in the forecourts of the State House, Abuja, yesterday.

Photo: Abayomi Adeshida.

US govt restates commitment to assist Nigeria fight Boko Haram A BUJA— THE Government of the United States of America has restated its commitment to assist Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram and rescue the Chibok girls.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Linda ThomasGreenfield, and the Commander, United States Africa Command, USAAFRICOM, Gen. David Rodriguez, made this known in a joint online press conference.

Thomas-Greenfield said President Muhammadu Buhari is going to be in Washington later this month for meetings with the administration.

“And we will have discussions with him on what we can do to

continue to assist Nigeria and their effort to fight Boko Haram.

“Part of that discussion will be how we can provide the equipment and support that Nigerians require.

“Part of what we will do is to engage with the new government, we will have discussion on what we can do to

continue to assist Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram.

“Human rights are an important value for the United States and in any place that we are providing lethal weapons.

“We want to know that the militaries that we are providing those weapons to do not use that in a way that violates the human

rights of ordinary civilians so we will have that discussion moving forward,” she said.

Thomas-Greenfield said the U.S. government will discuss these issues with the Nigerian government, adding that they will also discuss how to better prepare Nigerian military to support communities.

DELAY IN APPOINTMENT OF MINISTERS: APC

Nigerians on patience

By Demola Akinyemi

I

LORIN—THE ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has commended Nigerians for their patience a n d perseverance over the delay in t h e appointments o f ministers, saying that the l i s t would be released soon.

National publicity secretary

of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed who spoke with journalists yesterday in Oro, in Ifelodun local government area of Kwara State at his annual Ramadan lecture also admitted that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari would have faired better had the ministerial appointments been made before now.

Lai Mohammed, however, explained that the delay was caused by the change of government from one political party to the other.

According to him, ”the concern of Nigerians over the delay in the release of ministerial appointments is genuine. But the fact is that this is the first time in the history of Nigeria that the opposition party will take over government from the ruling party.

lauds

“Our plan was to interface and interact with the outgoing government, but it didn’t just work out so the party set up its transition committee which later presented 800 pages hand over documents to the president” “So,in this kind of situation we found ourselves, we have to be thorough in making appointments because expectations of Nigerians are very high and it is understandable. So, very soon the ministerial cabinet list would be made available and it would be a thing of the past. We might be slow, but in reality when we make the right appointments, we will make up for all the shortcomings Nigerians have been complaining about.”

NTI repositions for guidance, counseling course

T

HE National Teachers’ Institute, NTI, has stepped up the teaching of guidance and counselling among its Bachelors degree programmes students across the country, with a view to providing a more effective guide to secondary school students to become responsible members of society.

To this effect, NTI Centre Managers and Desk Officers from the 36 states of the federation and Abuja have undergone a training workshop to sharpen their guidance and counselling skills at the institute’s headquarters in Kaduna.

Director-General of the Institute, Dr. Aminu Sharehu, told participants that the training was expected to come up with an intensive manual for guidance and counselling, which was lacking in the institute.

Cyberspace recertifies for NIS ISO 9001: 2000

L

AGOS—IN its quest for continuous quality improvements and operational efficiency, Cyberspace Ltd was recently recertified for Quality Management System with NIS ISO 9001: 2008.

By achieving compliance to international standards, Cyberspace is poised to deliver responsive customer service, quality service delivery and unwavering support base.

Speaking on the new development, the Chief Marketing Officer of the company, Olusola Bankole, in a statement said: "Cyberspace invested so much time and resources to achieving the recertification in order to remain competitive and align its business processes to global standards.

“Cyberspace is an indigenous company operating international standards and global best practices. Our operational efficiencies have been enhanced thereby engendering business growth and agility.”

Page 56 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

Ojo boat mishap: I wish my son listened to his grandmother’s advice—Victim’s mother

By Monsuru Olowoopejo ORPSES of the six pupils that died in the boat mishap in Ojo Local Government were yesterday recovered by the rescue teams and buried by their parents amid tears and anguish.

Victims’ identity The victims were: 12-yearold Jonathan Fiankyu ; Nelson Fiankyu; 16-year-old Josephine Ajigbo; Patience Ajigbo; Imonina Briget; and Kayode Nathaniel. They were students of Osolu High school and Irewe primary school.

on time to deliver the cloth to my friend in the next village.

“She is very brilliant. And I never wanted to destroy her education. I never knew that was the last time I will see Patience. In fact, I was on my way to Badagry to see some of my relatives when I was called that there was a boat mishap. When I enquired about the time, I started panicking because she might be in the canoe. And when I arrived, I discovered that she was part of the missing teenagers,” she added.

C

I wish my son listened to his grandmother -Victims mother Speaking to Vanguard, Mrs. Veronica Friday, the mother of Jonathan, said “I wished my son had yielded to his paternal grandmother’s advice not to go to school.”

Veronica muted in an interview with Vanguard, stating that he (Jonathan) insisted that he would go to school, because examination would be starting on Wednesday.

Vanguard gathered that the late Jonathan was an apprentice in one of the barbers shops in the community with his late friend, Nelson.

His elder sister, 17-yearold Abigail, explained that

•Mrs Veronica Friday

the grand mother asked Jonathan to shelve the idea of going to school since he was already late but he refused.

She noted that Jonathan often left home at about 7:30 am but last Wednesday, he left at 8:30 am; which made his grand mother to plead with him to shelve going to school that day.

Lamenting the on the death of her sibling, Abigail said “I don’t know how we can fill this vacuum left by Jonathan in the house. He is the one responsible for the house chores. We eat together daily but since yesterday, I’ve not seen my brother. I wish he was still around.”

Her examination forced

• Chief Salam Matimiloju, Baale of igira village; the village where the victims board the canoe

•Miss. Evelyn Mensah, one of the survivors

me to let her go-Victims Guardian For Mrs. Florence Akindele, a guardian to one of the victims, Patience, the third term examination had come at a very wrong time, saying; “If not for the examination which I believe should start this week, I wouldn’t have allowed Patience to leave for school.”

Sources said that Patience had been living with Mrs. Akindele since she was oneyear-old.

When Vanguard visited Olomo-metta, Mrs. Akindele was sighted surrounded by sympathizers who had thronged the community to commiserate with her following the losses suffered by the family.

Patience’s sibling, Josephine also drowned.

According to her, “if not the exams, I would have sent hier on errand because my husband lost his father; we were preparing for the burial ceremony. The preparation had enveloped us before the tragedy occurred.”

She narrated that she went to Idumota on Tuesday to purchase items needed for the ceremony, adding “As I was leaving home on Wednesday, I wanted to ask him to shelve school and deliver the Aso Ebi I purchased in Idumota to my friends. But because I believe that they would be either starting their exams or preparing for it, I asked her to leave for school and return

I didn’t see the canoe-fibre boat captain The captain of the fibre boat whichcollidedwiththecanoe conveying the teenagers said that he didn’t see the students boat before the accident.

Miss. Evelyn Mensah, one of the survivors, disclosed in an interview with Vanguard that; “That was the captain’s argument when he was arrested.”

Evelyn who sustained injury narrated “I can not believe that he didn’t see us.

Infact when we sighted the boat, we shouted because we discovered that he was over speeding. But the captain failed to manoeuvre. This prompted us to stand up; believing that it would alert him. All these proved abortive.”

Vanguard gathered that corpses of two of the victims

were recovered on Wednesday at about 5 pm while the others were recovered on Thursday at about 8:30 am. It also added that the six -three boys and three girls-sustained varying degrees of injury before drowning in the Ojo river.

It was revealed that the canoe conveying the teenagers was few meters away from the Irewe shore after leaving the Igira shore when the accident occurred.

But the delay in rescue operation and the depth of the river caused the victims to drown The Baale of Igira, Chief Salami Matimiloju who spoke to Vanguard in an interview said the fibre boat was conveying jerry cans filled with fuel to Badagry before it ran into the teenagers’ canoe.

He lamented that the injury sustained by the victims contributed to their drowning, saying “some had their heads shattered by the engine blade.”

It was learned that the boat wastryingtoavoidarrestfrom the Marine police before it ran into their canoe.

Matimiloju noted that the corpses of the teenagers were handed over to their parents after the recovery.

After the burial rites of the teenagers, their parents and guardian in an interview with vanguard accused the fibre boat captain of over speeding, saying “if he was not over speeding, he would have sighted the children and manoeuvred after the children stood up from their canoe to alert him.”

Maria quits ‘Sesame Street’s’after more than four decades

S

Anger, confusion trail build up to Greeks referendum

A

S Greece heads to a referendum this weekend that could decide its future in the euro zone, long queues at cash machines have become the most potent symbol of the cost of the deadlock between the left-wing government and its international lenders.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ rejection of what he terms the “blackmail” of EU and IMF creditors demanding spending cuts and tax hikes has so angered Greece’s partners that there is no hope of reconciliation before Sunday’s vote on the issue.

With banks closed for a fourth day and capital controls in place, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis tied his fate to the outcome of the vote, saying he would resign if the government’s call

ly in doubt.

“People have lost it completely. And it’s all the fault, one hundred percent, of all the politicians. They are to blame for the situation we are in now,” said pensioner Thanos Stamou.

On Sunday then it will fall to the Greek people to •Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras surrounded by anx- decide an issue that their government was unable to ious pressmen in Athens. settle in months of acrimofor a “no” to the bailout future of Prime Minister nious negotiations with terms were ignored. The Tsipras would be similar- their European partners.

Russia dissatisfied with MH17 report

A

draft Dutch report into last year ’s crash of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 in eastern Ukraine fails to offer a comprehensive picture, a Russian aviation official said yesterday.

The Dutch Safety Board has made the draft available to representatives of Malaysia, Ukraine, the

U.S., Russia, Britain, Australia and the Netherlands prior to the release of the final report expected in October. Oleg Storchevoi, a deputy chief of Rosaviatsiya, said that the agency questioned both the technical data and the arguments in the report. “Upon looking at it, I can say that there are

more questions than answers,” he said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies.

Storchevoi did not give details, but added that “we hope that our additions and commentaries will be reflected in the final report, and answers will be given to the questions we raised.”

ESAME Street is losing one of its most celebrated residents, Maria Figueroa. After 44 years, Sesame Street’s beloved Maria is moving on to greener climates as Sonia Manzano is retiring.

The 65-year-old actress revealed the news during her address at the American Library Association Annual Conference on Tuesday. Manzano joined the show back in 1971 playing Maria, a Puerto Rican teenager who gets a job at the Sesame Street library. Fans of the show

•Sonia Manzano is retiring Sesame Street after 44 years as beloved Maria.

have watched Maria (and Manzano) grow up over the years and news of her departure hit many fan pretty hard, however most were very supportive and shared their gratitude for her years of dedication to teaching children.

Nuke talks: Iran takes hard line on inspections, sanctions

I

RAN took a hard line yesterday on two of the biggest demands of world powers in a final nuclear accord, rejecting any extraordinary inspection rules and threatening to ramp up enrichment of bombmaking material if the United States and other countries re-impose sanctions after the deal is in place.

This came as Foreign ministers from major pow-

ers returned yesterday to tough Iran talks warning that a breakthrough was not yet in sight, as the UN atomic watchdog head met Iran’s president in Tehran. A deal would end a 13-year standoff over Iran’s suspect nuclear programme, and draw the curtain on almost two years of intense negotiations which resumed in earnest after President Hassan Rouhani cametopowerinAugust2013.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015—57

Vanguard CLASSIFIED IGBINOVIA—I, formerly known and addressed as Igbinovia Ozien Patience, now wish to be known and addressed as Okafor Ozien Patience. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

IGWE—I, formerly known and addressed as Faith Iheakara Ngozi Igwe, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Faith Iheakara Ngozi Ichekor. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

RAK—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Mary Barnabas Rak, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Mary Pwajok Pam. All former documents remain valid. State Primary Education Board and general public, please take note.

ADEDOYIN—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Adedoyin Adebambi, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Enahoro Adebambi.

All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

public please take note.

IHEBOM—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss NgoziCelestinah Ihebom, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Ngozi-Celestinah Chinedum. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

MOMODU—I, formerly known and addressed as Momodu Suraju Toyin Kolawole, now wish to be addressed as Mohammed Suraju Toyin Kolawole. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

EZE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Angela Ifeoma Eze, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Angela Solace Ifeoma Udeagha. All former documents remain valid. Christ Embassy Church, Dajcom Ltd and general public please take note.

ADEYEMI—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Olutola Titilayo Oludimu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Olutola Titilayo Oludimu Adeyemi. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

B A K A R E — I , formerly known and addressed as Modupe Bakare, now wish to be addressed as Modupe Adelokiki. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ILOBI—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ilobi Francisca Chinyere, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Onyekaba Francisca Chinyere. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OLUBODE—I, formerly known and addressed as Babalola Matthew Olubode, now wish to be known and addressed as Bode Babalola Matthew. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

M U K O R O — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Mukoro Queen Oghenekevwe, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Mmama Queen Oghenekevwe. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ANIGBOGU—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Anigbogu Jessica Chika, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Nweke Jessica Chikodili. All former documents remain valid. MRTBN and general public please take note.

ITSE BLESSING—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Blessing Itse Eruwa, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Blessing Itse Miki. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

THOMAS—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ruth Punarimam Thomas, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ruth LinusShadrach. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OGBADAKO—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ogbadako Hannah Oghale, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Osharode Hannah Oghale. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

Confirmation of name This is to confirm that my name which appeared in my WAEC 2007 certificate as Ugande Tenenge Daniel, with my second name was wrongly spelt as Tenenge.

My correct name is Ugande Ternenge Daniel.

I now wish to be known and addressed as Ugande Ternenge Daniel. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

Confirmation of name This is to confirm that Owoyemi Olalekan Hammed and Saka Olalekan Hammed belong to one and the same person. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ONUIGBO—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss J o s e p h i n e Chukwujindu Bolum, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. J o s e p h i n e Chukwujindu Bolum Onuigbo. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OKECHUKWU—I, formerly known and addressed as Mr. Okechukwu Stevenson Ndidiamaka, now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. Ilouno Okechukwu Stevenson. All former documents remain valid. Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers and general public please take note.

OGIDI—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ogidi Susan Julius, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Susan Anthony Emmanuel.

All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public please take note.

WILLIAM—I, formerly known and addressed as Willine O. Evoreire, now wish to be known and addressed as Evorerie Onosomhwo William. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OGODIE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Marian Uzazomaro Ogodie, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Marian Uzazomaro Ahowa. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

N Z E K W E — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Rosemary Nwanneka Nzekwe, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Rosemary Nwanneka Anaza. All former documents remain valid. Rain-oil and general public please take note.

ALOBA—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Kemisola Joke Aloba, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Kemisola Joke O g u n g b u r e .

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

NJOKU—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Njoku Tina Mary Ngozichukwu, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Akuchie Tina Mary Ngozichukwu.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

S U N DAY — I , formerly known and addressed as Sunday Ifeanyi Prosper, now wish to be known and addressed as Nwaozuzu Ifeanyi Prosper. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

SUNDAY—I, formerly known and addressed as Sunday Winner Nmesoma, now wish to be known and addressed as Nwaozuzu Winner Nmesoma. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

SUNDAY—I, formerly known and addressed as Sunday Favour Chiamaka, now wish to be known and addressed as Nwaozuzu Favour Chiamaka. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

IBEZIM—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ibezim Kelechi Blessing, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ilevbare Kelechi Blessing. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OKON—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Lynda Effiong Okon, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Lynda Abdulkarim Abubakar. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

WAREFINI-ERE—I, formerly known and addressed as Bouy Anetorufa Warefini-Ere, now wish to be known and addressed as Bouy Yeipeigha Vivian. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OKEKE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Okeke Amuche Njideka, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ikejiani Amuche Njideka. All former documents remain valid. Paul University Awka, NYSC and general public please take note.

ADADA—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Morefly Adada, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Paul Godknows. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

MOTOR—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Motor Sofia, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Oharisi Sofia. All former documents remain valid. German Embassy and general public take note.

ARERIERIAN—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss A r e r i e r i a n Edirinverere, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Lucky Akpososo Edirinverere.

All former documents remain valid.NYSC and general public to take note.

N G W O K E — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Ngwoke Catherine Chinonso, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Nnamdi Catherine Chinonso. All former documents remain valid, NYSC Abuja and general public to take note.

A K E R E T E — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Akerete Piersly Peace Ufuoma, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ufuoma Peace Regha.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

MOLOKWU—I, formerly known and addressed as Molokwu Samson Chidubem, now wish to be known and addressed as Ogbazi Godson Chidubem.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

Promo! Promo!! Promo!!!

Do your “Change of Name” in Vanguard Newspapers via www.adplus.ng and win prizes such as Refrigerator, Microwave Oven, etc, through Adplus360 Raffle Draw.

You get your Raffle Draw Code via sms from Adplus360 after your placement.Terms & Conditions apply.

OLUYORI—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Titilayo Ajike Oluyori, now wish to be addressed as Mrs. Titilayo Ajike Otu. All former

documents

remain valid. General

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 — 58

Vanguard CLASSIFIED

Hollande urges African leader to respect constitutions F

RENCH President Francois Hollande urged African leaders yesterday to respect their constitutional term limits amid concerns that some are prepared to risk political instability in order to cling to power.

Hollande was speaking a day after at least six people were killed in violent clashes in Burundi, where opposition parties are furious over the decision of President Pierre Nkurunziza to seek a third term, which they say is unconstitutional.

Burkina Faso’s longtime ruler Blaise Compaore was toppled in a popular uprising last October after making a similar attempt to remain in power.

“We witnessed it again in Burkina Faso. Today in Burundi we are seeing the consequences. When these (constitutional) rules are not respected, are not shared, then there are risks and there are consequences,” Hollande told reporters in Benin at the start of a two-day

•Francois Hollande African visit. Benin’s President Thomas Boni Yayi has said he will not seek a third term next year.

Congo Republic’s President Denis Sassou Nguesso, 71, has not yet said if he plans to seek another seven-year term.

He called for a national dialogue this week, one subject of which would be potential constitutional changes lifting term limits and age restrictions.

France was the principal

colonial power in West and Central Africa and still wields significant economic and political influence in the region, including playing a key role in the fight against Islamist insurgents there.

“France is thinking of its security, because what happens in Africa has consequences in Europe …

So by ensuring the fight against terrorism with our African friends, we are protecting ourselves,” Hollande said, thanking

Liberian leader says new Ebola outbreak can be contained

L

IBERIA’S President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said in an address to the nation on Thursday that she was confident the country would be able to contain its new Ebola outbreak.

Her speech on state television came after the government reported that a 17-year-old boy died of the tropical fever on Sunday after spreading it to two other people, in the first cases of infection for more than three months.

“It is disturbing for us, we are trying to get to the root cause, how it happened. We have not got a full report yet,” Sirleaf said, in her first public pronouncement on the new outbreak.

“However, I am confident that our incident management system has the capability to contain it, to isolate it and keep it to where it is so that it cannot go any further.”

The latest outbreak comes with the country still recovering from an epidemic which wrecked its

health service and economy and left 4,800 Liberians dead.

Before the new cases Liberia had reported its last victim on March 20 and was declared Ebola-free on May 9.

Karin Landgren, head of the United Nations in Liberia, told AFP the new Ebola cases had not come as a surprise.

“It is very unfortunate to

have seen the reoccurrence of Ebola in Liberia, the third round of Ebola coming to Liberia. It was not entirely unpredicted, given the porosity of its borders,” she said.

“Liberia did extremely well to be the first out of the three countries to chase Ebola. The important thing is that Liberia now knows what to do when there is a case of Ebola.”

Congo and WHO investigate possible Ebola outbreak

H

EALTH officials in Democratic Republic of Congo are investigating a possible outbreak of Ebola in a village, the government and the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

Eugene Kabambi, a spokesman for WHO in Congo, said the suspected outbreak was in the village of Masambio in Bandundu province, more than 400 km (250 miles) northeast of the

capital Kinshasa.

Congo has seen periodic outbreaks of the disease, which since last year has killed more than 11,200 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea in the worst Ebola epidemic on record.

A three-month outbreak that killed 49 people late last year in the remote forests of northwestern Congo was not related to the West African epidemic.

Mugabe says “Even satan wasn’t Gay”

F

OLLOWING the legalisation of gay marriage across America by the Supreme Court last week, Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe who is known for his extreme anti-gay views has been making headlines. Earlier this week was a marriage

•Mugabe

proposal to president Obama and yesterday, he allegedly said what you see below during another interview; “Even satan wasn’t Gay, he chose to approach naked Eve instead of naked Adam.”–President, Mugabe on homo sexuality.

Confirmation of name This is to confirm that the name Mrs. Grace Ogu and Mrs. Grace Ken Etekochay, refers to one and the same person. But now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Grace Ken Etekochay.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OSASUYI—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Modupe Mary Osasuyi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Modupe Mary Kolawole. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

AJAERO —I, formerly known and addressed as, Miss Chidinma Blessed Ajaero, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Chidinma Blessed Destiny. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OKONKWO—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Nkemdilim P. Okonkwo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Nkemdilim P. Awogu.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

A K UA KA N WA — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Amarachi Winny Akuakanwa, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Amarachi Winny C h i n a e m e z e Onyejiaka. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

U G W UA N Y I —I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ugwuanyi Modester Ukamaka, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Onah Modester Ukamaka. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public please take note.

NNEBE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Nnebe Ifeoma Vivian, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Enemuoh Ifeoma Vivian. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

O L AY I W O L A — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Olayiwola Abiodun, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Eniolorunda Abiodun. All former documents remain valid. Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and general public please take note.

EZEOKWE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ijeoma Rita Ezeokwe, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ijeoma Rita Ibeanu.

All former documents remain valid. Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, her agencies and general public, please take note.

DONGO—I, formerly

public please take note.

ALBERT —I, formerly known and addressed as Albert Sunday Aimienate, now wish to be known as Odion Michael Aimienatie.

All former documents bearing my former name remain valid.

General public please take note.

EDIDI-BALOGUN— I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Rasheedat Olubukola Edidi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Rasheedat Olubukola EdidiBalogun. All former documents bearing Rasheedat Olubukola Edidi remain valid.

General public please take note.

EJIYOOYE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Sarah Omowumi Ejiyooye, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Serah Omowumi Oginni. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

DUROJAIYE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Durojaiye Aminat Yetunde, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Shehu Aminat Yetunde. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

APOLLO—I, formerly known and addressed as Mr. Reuben Ande Apollo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. Kimchi Ande.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ANAJA—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Aminetu A. Anaja, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Grace A. Thompson. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OJONUBA—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ojonuba Iko Mercy, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Imoudu Iko Mercy. All former documents remain valid. Emmagency Communication Commission and general public please take note.

O M O TAYO — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss O m o t a y o Oluwabukola Elizabeth, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Kolapo Oluwabukola Elizabeth. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

known and addressed as Miss Dongo Simi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Baiyekusi Simi. All former

documents

remain valid. General

FOR ENQUIRIES, CALL ADVERT HOTLINE: 01-4544821, OR 08028289689, 08033163424.

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 — 58

Vanguard CLASSIFIED

Hollande urge African leader to respect constitutions F RENCH President Francois Hollande urged African leaders yesterday to respect their constitutional term limits amid concerns that some are prepared to risk political instability in order to cling to power.

Hollande was speaking a day after at least six people were killed in violent clashes in Burundi, where opposition parties are furious over the decision of President Pierre Nkurunziza to seek a third term, which they say is unconstitutional.

Burkina Faso’s longtime ruler Blaise Compaore was toppled in a popular uprising last October after making a similar attempt to remain in power.

“We witnessed it again in Burkina Faso. Today in Burundi we are seeing the consequences. When these (constitutional) rules are not respected, are not shared, then there are risks and there are consequences,” Hollande told reporters in Benin at the start of a two-day

•Francois Hollande African visit. Benin’s President Thomas Boni Yayi has said he will not seek a third term next year.

Congo Republic’s President Denis Sassou Nguesso, 71, has not yet said if he plans to seek another seven-year term.

He called for a national dialogue this week, one subject of which would be potential constitutional changes lifting term limits and age restrictions.

France was the principal

colonial power in West and Central Africa and still wields significant economic and political influence in the region, including playing a key role in the fight against Islamist insurgents there.

“France is thinking of its security, because what happens in Africa has consequences in Europe …

So by ensuring the fight against terrorism with our African friends, we are protecting ourselves,” Hollande said, thanking

Liberian leader says new Ebola outbreak can be contained

L

IBERIA’S President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said in an address to the nation on Thursday that she was confident the country would be able to contain its new Ebola outbreak.

Her speech on state television came after the government reported that a 17-year-old boy died of the tropical fever on Sunday after spreading it to two other people, in the first cases of infection for more than three months.

“It is disturbing for us, we are trying to get to the root cause, how it happened. We have not got a full report yet,” Sirleaf said, in her first public pronouncement on the new outbreak.

“However, I am confident that our incident management system has the capability to contain it, to isolate it and keep it to where it is so that it cannot go any further.”

The latest outbreak comes with the country still recovering from an epidemic which wrecked its

health service and economy and left 4,800 Liberians dead.

Before the new cases Liberia had reported its last victim on March 20 and was declared Ebola-free on May 9.

Karin Landgren, head of the United Nations in Liberia, told AFP the new Ebola cases had not come as a surprise.

“It is very unfortunate to

have seen the reoccurrence of Ebola in Liberia, the third round of Ebola coming to Liberia. It was not entirely unpredicted, given the porosity of its borders,” she said.

“Liberia did extremely well to be the first out of the three countries to chase Ebola. The important thing is that Liberia now knows what to do when there is a case of Ebola.”

Congo and WHO investigate possible Ebola outbreak

H

EALTH officials in Democratic Republic of Congo are investigating a possible outbreak of Ebola in a village, the government and the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

Eugene Kabambi, a spokesman for WHO in Congo, said the suspected outbreak was in the village of Masambio in Bandundu province, more than 400 km (250 miles) northeast of the

capital Kinshasa.

Congo has seen periodic outbreaks of the disease, which since last year has killed more than 11,200 people in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea in the worst Ebola epidemic on record.

A three-month outbreak that killed 49 people late last year in the remote forests of northwestern Congo was not related to the West African epidemic.

Mugabe says “Even satan wasn’t Gay”

F

OLLOWING the legalisation of gay marriage across America by the Supreme Court last week, Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe who is known for his extreme anti-gay views has been making headlines. Earlier this week was a marriage

•Mugabe

proposal to president Obama and yesterday, he allegedly said what you see below during another interview; “Even satan wasn’t Gay, he chose to approach naked Eve instead of naked Adam.”–President, Mugabe on homo sexuality.

Confirmation of name This is to confirm that the name Mrs. Grace Ogu and Mrs. Grace Ken Etekochay, refers to one and the same person. But now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Grace Ken Etekochay.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OSASUYI—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Modupe Mary Osasuyi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Modupe Mary Kolawole. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

AJAERO —I, formerly known and addressed as, Miss Chidinma Blessed Ajaero, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Chidinma Blessed Destiny. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OKONKWO—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Nkemdilim P. Okonkwo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Nkemdilim P. Awogu.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

A K UA KA N WA — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Amarachi Winny Akuakanwa, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Amarachi Winny C h i n a e m e z e Onyejiaka. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

U G W UA N Y I — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Ugwuanyi Modester Ukamaka, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Onah Modester Ukamaka. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and general public please take note.

NNEBE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Nnebe Ifeoma Vivian, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Enemuoh Ifeoma Vivian. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

O L AY I W O L A — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss Olayiwola Abiodun, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Eniolorunda Abiodun. All former documents remain valid. Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and general public please take note.

EZEOKWE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ijeoma Rita Ezeokwe, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ijeoma Rita Ibeanu.

All former documents remain valid. Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, her agencies and general public, please take note.

DONGO—I, formerly

public please take note.

ALBERT —I, formerly known and addressed as Albert Sunday Aimienate, now wish to be known as Odion Michael Aimienatie.

All former documents bearing my former name remain valid.

General public please take note.

EDIDI-BALOGUN— I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Rasheedat Olubukola Edidi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Rasheedat Olubukola EdidiBalogun. All former documents bearing Rasheedat Olubukola Edidi remain valid.

General public please take note.

EJIYOOYE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Sarah Omowumi Ejiyooye, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Serah Omowumi Oginni. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

DUROJAIYE—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Durojaiye Aminat Yetunde, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Shehu Aminat Yetunde. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

APOLLO—I, formerly known and addressed as Mr. Reuben Ande Apollo, now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. Kimchi Ande.

All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

ANAJA—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Aminetu A. Anaja, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Grace A. Thompson. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

OJONUBA—I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ojonuba Iko Mercy, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Imoudu Iko Mercy. All former documents remain valid. Emmagency Communication Commission and general public please take note.

O M O TAYO — I , formerly known and addressed as Miss O m o t a y o Oluwabukola Elizabeth, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Kolapo Oluwabukola Elizabeth. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

known and addressed as Miss Dongo Simi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Baiyekusi Simi. All former

documents

remain valid. General

FOR ENQUIRIES, CALL ADVERT HOTLINE: 01-4544821, OR 08028289689, 08033163424.

VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015 — 59

Transfer market.... Transfer market....

Higuain eager to play for Liverpool

G

MOVING AHEAD... Andy Murray won with ease yesterday. He is on course to retain his title at the All England Club.

Federer, Murray see off opponents with ease R

OGER Federer ’s effortless stroll through the early stages at Wimbledon continued as he brought out the party tricks in a 6-4 6-2 6-2 victory over Sam Querrey to reach the third round on Thursday.

Once the Swiss seventimes champion had tamed the American’s hefty serve, he cruised through the match, even managing to lob his statuesque opponent with a shot through his legs in the second set.

Querrey began with a tenacious effort to peg Federer back, but the Swiss, chasing an 18th grand slam title, broke in the ninth game of the first set and never looked back.

He broke twice more in each of the second and third sets and finished it

off in an hour and 21 minutes to set up a clash with Australia’s Sam Groth.

It was more like a workout for Andy Murray in his match against Robin Haase.

Bidding for his second

Wimbledon title in three years, the third-seeded Murray was barely tested as he swept past an ineffective Haase of the Netherlands 6-1, 6-1, 6-4 on Court 1 to advance to the third round at the All England Club.

Brown dumps Nadal

R

AFAEL Nadal continued with his poor run of form as he fell to 102nd-ranked Dustin Brown yesterday evening in their second-round match on Centre Court.

Nadal failed to recover after going two sets down. The German who had beaten Nadal on grass before held on to knock out the two-time Wimbledon champion 75, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Nadal reached the final

in five straight Wimbledon appearances, winning a pair of titles in 2008 and ’10, but has since failed the reach the quarter-finals, ousted by players ranked between No. 100-150 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

He lost in the second round in 2012 (l. to No. 100 Rosol), the first round in 2013 (l. to No. 135 Darcis) and the fourth round last year (l. to No. 144 Kyrgios).

FIFA WWC: Wambach expects thrilling USA, Japan final

U

S striker Abby Wambach is expecting a thrilling Women’s World Cup final against reigning champions Japan.

The game will be a rematch of the 2011 final when Japan prevailed in a penalty shoot-out after the Us women had led twice during normal and extra time.

Japan booked their place in Sunday ’s showpiece in Vancouver by defeating England courtesy of a stoppagetime own goal from Laura Bassett.

US had secured their place a day earlier with a 2-0 victory against pretournament favourites Germany.

“In order to be the best team in the world at the World Cup, you have to beat the best teams,” Wambach said. “‘We just

beat the No. 1 team in the world in Germany and now we face Japan, another team that we have so much respect for. They have an amazing team and they ’re the reigning World Cup champions, so I think it’s going to be a fantastic final.”

Japan coach Norio Sasaki believes the pressure is off now that his team has given itself the chance to defend its title.

And not even the prospect of facing the suddenly surging United States is enough to worry him.

O N Z A L O HIGUAIN has told Napoli he wants to join Liverpool, according to reports.

The striker has been linked with a move away from Italy this summer following the club’s failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Rafa Benitez also stepped down as manager in order to join Higuain’s former club Real Madrid, and the Argentina international looks set to follow.

Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea are believed to be interested, but Italian newspaper Sport Mediaset claims that Higuain has pleaded with Napoli to accept a bid from Liverpool.

Cech: Arsenal are title contenders

A

RSENAL new boy Petr Cech has set his sights on domestic and European glory this season.

The 33-year-old goalkeeper joined the ranks at the Emirates this summer after losing his first-choice status at Chelsea to Thibaut Courtois.

And the Czech international is confident his new side are more than capable of taking the Premier League title from his former club.

“In the Arsenal squad we have World Cup winners, a guy who has won the Champions League, so many internationals with vast experience and many talented players who will want to prove a point and win the league and the Champions League.

“There is a great balance between the experienced and the young so there is no reason why I wouldn’t think that I am going to win trophies.”

•Higuain The Reds are on the look-out for a new forward after failing to replace

Barcelona-bound Luis Suarez last summer.

Brendan Rodgers has already signed Burnley’s Danny Ings on a free transfer while also wrapping up deals for Manchester City’s James Milner and Hoffenheim’s Roberto Firmino.

Southampton’s Nathaniel Clyne has arrived on Merseyside ahead of his Anfield switch, and Higuain could be the next big name to link up with Rodgers.

Cruyff questions Barca’s bid for Pogba

J

OHAN Cruyff is sceptical about whether Barcelona need to sign Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba, and has criticised the club for not doing enough to bring youngsters through in recent seasons.

The Barcelona and Ajax legend took to his own website to voice his queries regarding France international Pogba, who Barcelona have reportedly tabled an offer of £56.7million.

‘In my opinion he is a great player,’ Cruyff said. ‘But if you are a coach, you sign a player to make the other players and the team better.

‘Now, we must see if Pogba is the player who Barcelona needs, or not.’

•Pogba Cruyff was ecstatic to see Barcelona win the treble in Luis Enrique’s first season as manager but believes the success should not gloss over the struggles of Barcelona B, who were relegated from the Spanish second division.

‘I am delighted with the season of the first team of Barcelona, but on the other hand I also see that the second team has been relegated.

Obi signs for Torino

N

IGERIAN midfielder Joel Chukwuma Obi has ended his six year stay with Inter Milan by moving to fellow serie A side Torino, in a fee reportedly worth 2.3 million Euros.

Obi’s career with Inter has been heavily interrupted by various injury troubles restricting him to just 50 league appearances in four seasons, as a

professional with the team.

Last season he scored his first ever career league goal for the Milan giant and despite making just 11 appearances, Inter Milan turned down an offer from the Middle East for his services in January last year.

Di Maria not coming to Bayern — Guardiola Guardiola was quick to

B

FAR REACHING... Rachel Yankey scores England’s only goal in their game against Japan in the FIFA Women World Cup semi-final, but it was not to be for the Lioness as defender Laura Bassett let in an own goal in the dying minutes to give Japan a 2-1 win.

AYERN Munich manager Pep Guardiola has ruled out a move for Manchester United’s Angel di Maria this summer.

The Argentinian had been linked to Bayern following a disappointing campaign last term but

dismiss claims that the German side were interested in securing his services.

Di Maria has been excellent during the Copa America and he will look to continue his good form in the final against Chile on Saturday.

•Obi

60 — VANGUARD, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

NSC tasks NFF on movement to new secretariat

BY JUDE OPARA, Abuja

T

WO years after the d e f u n c t Presidential Task Force (PTF) on the qualification of the Super Eagles for the 2010 South Africa World Cup handed over a new secretariat, the Sunday Dankaro Football House to the Nigeria Football Federation, the NFF is still operating from a rented premises in Abuja, the Glass House.

But the National Sports Commission (NSC) has now urged the football house to make haste and move into the building.

Director General of the NSC, Mallam Alhassan Yakmut who gave the charge in Abuja on Wednesday when the members of the executive committee of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) paid him a courtesy visit in his office

said the best way to secure and maintain the building is for the NFF to occupy it immediately, adding that it will enhance their working relationship due to the proximity.

The Director General, however, expressed optimism that with the scheduled opening of the Athletes Hostel tomorrow, the NFF will expedite action to move into the new building which has started dilapidating because of non usage.

“I will keep my eyes very close on the facility there because I want to believe that they want to move there. Initially the issue of due process of procurement was what delayed according to them but the truth is that they can only do justice to that building by ensuring that they move in there as soon as possible because it looks more befitting.”

•Yakmut

Real Madrid debut on Star Football Superfans

T

EN weeks into Star Football Superfans, the world’s biggest football club, Real Madrid CF was yet to make an appearance on the wildly popular football platform sponsored by Star Lager. That changed this week as Madrid fans Glory FC made a triumphant debut, overcoming Chelsea fans True Blues in a closely fought contest.

•Pinnick

Bet9ja increases maximim winnings to N40m

F

or keeping faith with the company, Bet9ja customers have been given a new deal which has seen their available winnings soaring from N20m to N40m.

Unveiling the new winnings in Lagos, KC Gaming Network assured her teeming customers of steady and sustained winnings which has earned them robust

relationship. According to CEO of Bet9ja Ayo Ojuroye, we decided to increase our winnings in line with our core value of rewarding our customers passion. We have built our business on integrity, empowerment

and fairness. As pace setters in the sports lottery business, we want to sustain our customers confidence. We are now the company that pays the highest bonus and it can only get better. Our customers interest is uppermost on our agenda.

Kicking off the show was the barrel-chested Obidike Benjamin for Glory FC who immediately flopped with a terrible attempt.

“Manchester City” was his answer to the question “Which team finished as the second highest scorers despite being criticized for being boring?”

In quick succession, Oluwaseun missed for True Blues, Olutade scored 10 points for Glory FC, and Ayoola also scored for True Blues in what was becoming a ding-dong battle.

Glory FC’s captain Babatunde Abiola wrongly answered “Kano Pillars” to the question “As at May 2015, which was the only Nigerian club left in the CAF Confederations Cup?” The correct answer was actually Warri Wolves.

Bomb found at Red Star stadium before game

A

bomb was found in Red Star Belgrade’s stadium ahead of their Europa league qualifying game against Kazakh side Kairat Almaty, Serbian police said yesterday.

“During a routine counter-diversion

scrutiny, a rusty hand grenade was found on the rooftop above the north-eastern tier of the Rajko Mitic stadium,” the Balkan country ’s interior ministry said.

“It has been taken to a secure location to be destroyed and police are

investigating the case,” it added.

Club officials were not immediately available for comment.

Red Star, the 1991 European Cup winners, were at home to Kairat in the first leg of their Europa Cup tie.

Odemwingie Continues from BP suffering horrendously with injuries last season.

But he defied most medical predictions by tentatively returning to action on April 25 and subsequently appeared in the last five games of the season.

He faces a stiff test to retain a regular place next

season - not least if Xherdan Shaqiri were to sign - but remains a valuable squad player at the very least.

Announcing the contract signing Thursday, Stoke’s chief executive Tony Scholes stated: “We’re delighted to announce that Peter has extended his stay with us at the club until the summer of 2016.

“He suffered an

unfortunate injury last season after making a big impression immediately after joining the Club.

“Peter has worked incredibly hard to battle back from this to regain full fitness.

“He’s a popular figure not just in the dressing room but with club staff and supporters so we are thrilled to keep him on board this season.”

Mascherano Continues from BP a n o t h e r disappointment.

The high stakes will carry an additional edge thanks to the historical rivalry between the neighbouring nations, who in the past have been at loggerheads over various territorial and diplomatic disputes.

But Mascherano was adamant that politics should not poison what is expected to be a highly charged sporting encounter.

“I hope that people

can understand that football is a sport, not war,” Mascherano said.

“The past is the past.

We must not put sport in the middle of politics.

Chile and Argentina are brother countries, we have to show mutual respect,” the defensive midfielder added.

“If we stoop to aggression and violence, we lose that message of respect.

Sport is about trying to be healthy and having fun, not a war.”

Mascherano’s words

were echoed by Chile defender Eugenio Mena.

“Everyone’s going to be watching this final so it’s important that the two teams show respect,” Mena said.

Argentina set the stage for Saturday ’s showpiece with a scintillating display to destroy Paraguay 6-1 in Tuesday ’s semifinal, with skipper Lionel Messi producing a virtuoso individual performance.

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015—61

C M Y K

62 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

C M Y K

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015—63

C M Y K

Brown dumps Nadal out of Wimbledon

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

Wimbledon 2015: Brown dumps Nadal — Pg 59

Copa America final:

It's not war — Mascherano H

OSTS Chile, seeking a first ever international title, will take on the pretournament favorites, Argentina, for the Copa America trophy in Santiago on tomorrow.

And the pressure for both to deliver the silverware will be phenomenally intense.

Argentina star Javier Mascherano has called for calm.

Argentina meanwhile are burning with desire to win a first title in 22 years, determined that one of the most talented generations of players the country has ever produced does not suffer Continues on Page 60

Dustin Brown celebrates after beating Rafael Nadal 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4!

Bomb found at Red Star stadium before game — Pg. 60

Odemwingie pens new Stoke deal

P

•Messi

•Sanchez

ETER Odemwingie is remaining a Stoke City player for at least one more season.

The 33 year-old crowd favourite has penned a new one-year deal - with a potential further 12 months to follow after that.

Odemwingie hit the summer with a question mark over his future after the end of his initial 18month contract. But the new contract demonstrates the club’s loyalty to a player Continues on Page 60

•Osaze

QUICK CROSSWORD

TODAY'S

PUZZLE

FRI DAY'S FRIDAY'S

ANSWERS

ACROSS: 2 Gemstone (5) 7 Horrify (5) 8 Tooth (5) 10 Oath (5) 12 Trap (3) 13 Old-fashioned (5) 15 Exhilaration (7) 17 Worn (6) 19 Sheep (3) 20 Fall (7) 23 Prophet (4) 25 Dejected (4) 26 Denied (7) 30 Ballad (3) 31 Loathe (6) 34 Abraded (7) 37 Cash (5) 38 Groove (3) 39 Liability (5) 40 Revolt (5) 41 Rescuer (5) 42 Fishing-basket (5)

DOWN: 1 Javelin (5) 2 Walked (5) 3 Avoided (6) 4 Ascend (4) 5 Compete (7) 6 Stick (5) 9 Garland (3) 11 Chosen (7) 13 Thick (5) 14 Symbol (5) 16 Wonder (3) 18 Postponed (7) 21 Twelve (5) 22 Harmony (5) 24 Told (7) 27 Breach (3) 28 Death (6) 29 Twist (5) 32 Sum (5) 33 Drain (5) 35 Massage (3) 36 Expensive (4)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 1, Sweat 5, Thrust 8, Sorry 10, Centre 11, Prod 14, Eating 15, Debated 18, Per 19, Dam 21, Deft 23, Deter 24, Mesh 27, Den 29, Top 31, Dangled 32, Loomed 34, Gone 35, Erotic 38, Alder 39, Torrid 40, Penny.

DOWN: 2, Woe 3, Astray 4, Tor 5, Type 6, Rioted 7, Target 9, Receded 12, Rap 13, Dire 16, Ease 17, Dated 20, Menaced 22, Fame 24, Molest 25, Stag 26, Honour 28, Ignore 30, Pen 33, Dead 36, Rep 37, Inn.

How to Play Sudoku

P

lace a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have two of the same number).

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

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

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-4548355. Advert Dept Hotline: 014544821. Abuja Advert Hotline: 09-2921024. E-mail: editor@vanguardngr.com, news@vanguardngr.com, letters@vanguardngr.com. Advert:advertproduction@yahoo.com Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: MIDENO BAYAGBON. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

C M Y K

Vanguard, FRIDAY, JULY 3, 2015

Wimbledon 2015: Brown dumps Nadal — Pg 59

Copa America final:

It's not war — Mascherano H

OSTS Chile, seeking a first ever international title, will take on the pretournament favorites, Argentina, for the Copa America trophy in Santiago on tomorrow.

And the pressure for both to deliver the silverware will be phenomenally intense.

Argentina star Javier Mascherano has called for calm.

Argentina meanwhile are burning with desire to win a first title in 22 years, determined that one of the most talented generations of players the country has ever produced does not suffer Continues on Page 60

Dustin Brown celebrates after beating Rafael Nadal 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4!

Bomb found at Red Star stadium before game — Pg. 60

Odemwingie pens new Stoke deal

P

•Messi

•Sanchez

ETER Odemwingie is remaining a Stoke City player for at least one more season.

The 33 year-old crowd favourite has penned a new one-year deal - with a potential further 12 months to follow after that.

Odemwingie hit the summer with a question mark over his future after the end of his initial 18month contract. But the new contract demonstrates the club’s loyalty to a player Continues on Page 60

•Osaze

QUICK CROSSWORD

TODAY'S

PUZZLE

FRI DAY'S FRIDAY'S

ANSWERS

ACROSS: 2 Gemstone (5) 7 Horrify (5) 8 Tooth (5) 10 Oath (5) 12 Trap (3) 13 Old-fashioned (5) 15 Exhilaration (7) 17 Worn (6) 19 Sheep (3) 20 Fall (7) 23 Prophet (4) 25 Dejected (4) 26 Denied (7) 30 Ballad (3) 31 Loathe (6) 34 Abraded (7) 37 Cash (5) 38 Groove (3) 39 Liability (5) 40 Revolt (5) 41 Rescuer (5) 42 Fishing-basket (5)

DOWN: 1 Javelin (5) 2 Walked (5) 3 Avoided (6) 4 Ascend (4) 5 Compete (7) 6 Stick (5) 9 Garland (3) 11 Chosen (7) 13 Thick (5) 14 Symbol (5) 16 Wonder (3) 18 Postponed (7) 21 Twelve (5) 22 Harmony (5) 24 Told (7) 27 Breach (3) 28 Death (6) 29 Twist (5) 32 Sum (5) 33 Drain (5) 35 Massage (3) 36 Expensive (4)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 1, Sweat 5, Thrust 8, Sorry 10, Centre 11, Prod 14, Eating 15, Debated 18, Per 19, Dam 21, Deft 23, Deter 24, Mesh 27, Den 29, Top 31, Dangled 32, Loomed 34, Gone 35, Erotic 38, Alder 39, Torrid 40, Penny.

DOWN: 2, Woe 3, Astray 4, Tor 5, Type 6, Rioted 7, Target 9, Receded 12, Rap 13, Dire 16, Ease 17, Dated 20, Menaced 22, Fame 24, Molest 25, Stag 26, Honour 28, Ignore 30, Pen 33, Dead 36, Rep 37, Inn.

How to Play Sudoku

P

lace a number (1-9) in each blank cell. (No line can have two of the same number).

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

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

Printed and Published by VANGUARD MEDIA LIMITED, Vanguard Avenue, Kirikiri Canal, P.M.B.1007, Apapa. Phone: Newsroom: 018773962. Deputy Editor: 01-4548355. Advert Dept Hotline: 014544821. Abuja Advert Hotline: 09-2921024. E-mail: editor@vanguardngr.com, news@vanguardngr.com, letters@vanguardngr.com. Advert:advertproduction@yahoo.com Website: www.vanguardngr.com (ISSN 0794-652X) Editor: MIDENO BAYAGBON. Phone: 01-7742861, All correspondence to P.M.B. 1007, Apapa Lagos.

C M Y K

C M Y K

C M Y K

C M Y K