Panic as Ebola hits Kaduna; fear in Lagos

...towards a better life for the people

**

VOL. 25: NO. 62223

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

N150

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

We stopped Ikimi BATTLE OF BAMA: because of his awful Dusk to dawn past — Tinubu >>8 curfew in Maiduguri >>9

Panic as Ebola hits Kaduna; fear in Lagos •Another suspected primary patient dies at LUTH

By Sola Ogundipe, Health Editor, Luka Binniyat, Chioma Obinna & Gabriel Olawale AGOS—FEAR of fresh cases of the Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, yesterday, gripped residents of Lagos and Continues on page 4

•It's untrue – FG •We are maintaining high index of suspicion — LUTH CMD L •Cases may exceed 100,000 by December — Researcher

COLUMNISTS:

A place for elders

•P.17

From Sambisa forest to Gwoza: Jonathan, seize the •P.19 moment!

Jonathan's hostage negotiator puts him in a tight corner•P.19

Mr & Mrs EBOLA SCARE—Top left: A worker of the World Food Programme (WFP) gestures to people waiting during a WFP food distribution in Dolo's Town, Monrovia, quarantined as a measure to contain the spread of Ebola, yesterday, while Transcorp Hilton Security operatives check for symptoms of Ebola from visitors in Abuja, yesterday. Photos: Gbemiga Olamikan & AFP.

OSUN GUBER: INEC suspends two officers >>11

Neuropsychiatric Hospital Enugu 8-page on verge of collapse See Pull-out Inside

2 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 — 3

4—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

POCKET CARTOON

AU PEACE/SECURITY SUMMIT—President Goodluck Jonathan addressing the African Union Peace and Security Summit in Nairobi, yesterday.

Panic as Ebola hits Kaduna; fear in Lagos Continues from Page 1 Kaduna, following news of the death of a suspected Ebola patient at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Idi- Araba, just as a 19year-old student of Law at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, was allegedly diagnosed with the Ebola virus in Kaduna.

The suspected patient in Lagos, who died at LUTH in the early hours of yesterday, was brought in by the Port Health authorities from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja on Monday.

A source, who was on duty when the patient was admitted into the institution’s Accident & Emergency Unit, A&E, confirmed that the patient showed high-level suspicion for Ebola, but died in the early hours of yesterday at the Spill-Over ward of the hospital.

The source told Vanguard that the patient, a male, was rushed to the A&E, with high fever, vomiting and stooling which are confirmed Ebola-like symptoms.

Further, it was gathered that the medical team which attended to the patient, unfortunately, were not kitted with the recommended Personal Protective Equipment, PPE. According to the source: “We quickly took his temperature, it was very high.

We were all scared to take his blood samples because we were not wearing any Personal Protective Equipment. We had to take him out of the emergency ward to the other spill-over ward to avoid any form of contamination. We also reported to the Lagos

State Government so that they can take him to the Infectious Diseases Hospital, IDH, in Yaba for proper treatment. But he had started vomiting blood by this morning, (yesterday) and few hours after, he died.”

Vanguard investigations later revealed that the body of the deceased has been transferred to the Infectious Diseases Hospital, IDH, for further testing to ascertain the cause of death.

Continuing, the source explained: “As I said, we could not take any blood sample when he was alive because we were not wearing PPE, and we could not manage him effectively because of the severity of the symptoms we saw and considering the fact that he was coming from the airport. He could have been coming from an Ebola-affected country.

“They will need to establish the cause of death, so as to be able to know whether to quarantine those that he had contact with from the airport to the hospital. LUTH does not have the facilities to handle any suspected case of Ebola; government should know that, so they don’t keep bringing suspected cases here. All suspected cases should be taken to IDH.” Currently, there is growing concern among the medical team that attended to the unknown patient. Some doctors who spoke to Vanguard expressed fear that they may be at risk of Ebola if the patient is confirmed to have the disease.

Other health workers

LIFEWORDS

BY PASTOR ITUAH

You can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving. Your time, talent and treasure are to be shared with others. When you refuse, you’re neither happy, holy nor healthy.

urged the Federal Government to direct Port Health authorities to refer persons with such high index of suspicion to the IDH so as to avert possible transmission of the disease to other people.

We are maintaining high index of suspicion— LUTH CMD

Reacting to the development in a telephone interview, Chief Medical Director of LUTH, Professor Akin Osibogun, who confirmed the death of the patient, however, stated that the hospital was yet to determine the cause of death.

Dismissing it as ‘mere rumour’, he said although the patient had high level of suspicion for Ebola, it was yet to be confirmed if he had the disease.

“There is a difference between suspected and confirmed cases and you as a journalist should know. There is no need creating panic. We are only investigating the case to protect our people.

We have had that situation two times in the hospital now. If you now say everybody that vomits has Ebola, then you cannot go to work because everybody at the bus stop will be running away, and that is creating panic.”

Osibogun maintained that there is no Ebola patient, adding that the hospital will not hesitate to make it public if there is a case of Ebola in the hospital.

“If we have a case we will announce it. As at today, Tuesday, 4pm, we have not had any Ebola patient or anyone that died of Ebola in the hospital.

“The last time we had a similar case, we investigated and it was negative.

When we decide to investigate, it does not make the patient an Ebola patient. The other day, people started tweeting that

we have an Ebola patient in the hospital. Our role is not to create panic but to keep our people safe.

Somebody imported Ebola into the country and we are tackling it professionally; that is why we have been able to contain the spread,” he explained.

Further, Osibogun said: “In the case of this patient, for the fact that the patient had high level of suspicion does not make the patient an Ebola patient. When you create panic many nurses may decide to abandon the patients.

“We have been able to establish that this patient has no history of Ebola or any contact with a person that had Ebola. We are only trying to investigate the patient. If the patient turns positive we will let you know. As long as we are in the hospital, from time to time, we will always have high level suspicion and most times these patients turn out to be negative,” he stressed.

Scare in Zaria

Meanwhile, Kaduna State may have recorded its first case of the Ebola virus infection. The Public Relations Officer of the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, ABUTH, Mallam Bilyaminu Umar, yesterday, told Vanguard on phone that a law student from ABU has been admitted at ABUTH, Shika, Zaria with signs similar to that of the Ebola lethal fever.

“I can tell you that a law student who has been ill for some time has shown signs of the Ebola fever.

But we are still studying the development. He has already been quarantined, and all safety measures are in place. So there is no need for panic. I cannot tell you more than this”, he said.

Confirming the development to Vanguard yesterday night, Kaduna State Commissioner for Health, Dr Thot Dogo said: “The hospital (ABUTH) authorities alerted the Ministry when it suspected that a Law undergraduate of ABU, Zaria started showing some signs of Ebola symptoms like high fever and rashes on his body after over a week he was admitted at the hospital.

“The blood sample of the patient has been taken to a laboratory in Lagos for tests, which will come out by Tuesday next week. The outcome of the laboratory result will determine further actions.

“The state government has provided the hospital management with protective equipment for its team of medical personnel attending to the patient,” he said.

Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Ambassador Nuhu Bajoga, who is

Chairman, Kaduna State Ebola Prevention and Control Committee, told Vanguard on phone that the situation should not cause any anxiety in the state.

“Kaduna State Governor, Dr. Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, in his wisdom, has designated three Ebola quarantine and prevention centres in the three senatorial zones of the state just for this kind of emergency. We have all the equipment and the personnel and two of the sites are ready.

“There is small misunderstanding between my committee and some members of the community.

But we are talking and bridging the communication gap. So, in a very short time, we shall be ready to contain any outbreak in any of the zones, with the assistance of the Federal Government and the World Health Organisation.

“But while people should not unduly panic, like bathing with salt, drinking salt water and chewing bitter kola, we urge all residents of the state to maintain basic hygiene habits, like washing of hands before and after meals. People should avoid exotic wild meat for now, and cook every food well. Even though we are yet to confirm this case, we encourage people to report any sign on a sick person that may exhibit Ebola to the nearest medical health facility scattered all over the state,” he said.

It could be recalled that there was anxiety last Thursday in parts of Kaduna metropolises as protesters set up barricades and made bonfires to protest against a proposed Ebola quarantine centre in some parts of a Kaduna slum, called Down Quarters.

The protesters walked about two kilometres to the secretariat of Kaduna South Local Government Council before addressing the press and the public.

The chairman of Down Quarters Association, Mr. James Ojo had said: “The first thought for the proposed site was like any other rumour until officials

from the Ministry of Health started visiting the Primary Health Care facility located within the community.

“This aroused the suspicion of the people who confronted them on why the sudden visit to the health facility which has been abandoned by the local government for years and we got the shock of our lives when we were told that the government intended to use the area for disease control area including HIV/AIDs and Ebola patients.

“The community was not comfortable with the development and as if that is not enough, the Commissioner of Health in Kaduna State, Dr. Joseph Thot and his permanent secretary visited the facility and even refused to give any explanation for their visit to the place.

“The next thing we saw was that the Deputy Governor, Amb. Nuhu Bajoga, Commissioner of Health and a lady came to the facility which was opened to them; they went round and left without any word.

So that was why when we met, we decided to embark on this peaceful protest because without us, there is no government.

"No reasonable government will jeopardize the health of its people by locating Ebola quarantine facility within their community inside a township like Kaduna,” he said.

Speaking in the same vein, the village head of Down Quarters, Alhaji Shuaibu Mohammed said as the traditional ruler in charge of the community, he expected the government and ministry of health officials to inform him of their plan; but they kept mute only to hear that it was an Ebola disease control area.

“If it is any other disease, the community would not be bothered, but when they mentioned Ebola, all the people became scared based on what they have heard and read about the virus.

“First of all, this facility was built during Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration and handed over to the local governContinues on Page 5

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014—5

EBOLA SAFETY—Residents wait to clean their hands with a sanitiser during an information meeting at Dolo's Town, some 60 km east of Monrovia, quarantined as a measure to contain the spread of Ebola, yesterday. Photo: AFP.

Panic as Ebola hits Kaduna; fear in Lagos Continues from Page 4 ment to run and unfortunately, after sometimes it was abandoned because Kaduna South Local Government was short of staff.

“Vandals invaded the facility and there was even a time that somebody was killed in front of it. The community then raised about N2million to fence the facility and employed a security guard to safeguard it because we know it will benefit us.

“So, why are they now saying they will convert it to Ebola quarantine area. We have children in this community that go about and may easily get in contact with Ebola patients and that’s a death sentence not only to the children but to the community.

“If government is serious in setting up Ebola quarantine centres, they should go to the outskirts of the town as practiced internationally; both myself and the people in Down Quarters will rise against the government to ensure that the quarantine site is removed from our community,” he said.

Chief security officer of the community, Mallam Ahmed Yusuf in his own reaction said, Down Quarters is a mini-Nigeria and a community that has enjoyed peace and stability in the face of riots and uprisings in the state. He wondered why Kaduna State Government is trying to disturb the peace of the community by locating Ebola quarantine area or diseases control centre in

their community. He advised the Kaduna State Government to think twice.

“The first market in Kaduna metropolis is located here. The first timber market is here. We’ve been living in this slum but we’ve endured because the government abandoned us. But today, they only remember Down Quarters because they’re looking for people who can be infected with Ebola by locating the quarantine facility within their community. We don’t want it, we want them to take it to another site,” Yusuf said.

FG denies reports

When contacted on phone, Special Assistant to the Minister of Health on Media and Communications, Mr. Dan Nwome dismissed the reports.

“Some people are hell bent on causing Ebola panic in Nigeria. The Minister of Health’s office alone gets more than 10 false alarms/reports of Ebola daily.

“The Kaduna report is totally untrue. In fact, ABUTH has no laboratory that can diagnose Ebola as reported. No confirmed case of Ebola in Kaduna or Abuja. Please disregard the false, so-called breaking news,” he stated.

Cases may reach 100,000

A researcher has predicted that the number of cases of the EVD may reach 100,000 by December 2014. Last week, the World Health Organisation estimated that the

number of cases could ultimately exceed 20,000.

“If the epidemic in Liberia were to continue in this way until the first of December, the cumulative number of cases would exceed 100,000,” the researcher predicted, according to a model that Ghana, the United Kingdom, and the United States are among the countries most likely to have an introduced case.

Another American doctor infected in Liberia

Another American doctor has been infected with the Ebola virus in Liberia, the missionary group he worked for, SIM, has stated.

The doctor, whose name was not released, was working in the obstetrics unit at the SIM ELWA hospital in Monrovia, Liberia. The group says he was not involved in treating Ebola patients and it is not clear how he became exposed to the virus.

He is now receiving treatment at the hospital’s Ebola isolation unit. In a statement, SIM said he “is doing well and is in good spirits.”

Last month, Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, American aid workers who were infected with Ebola, were discharged from an Atlanta hospital after recovering from the virus.

Writebol also worked for SIM.

Liberian doctors on

strike, U.N. warns of food shortages due to Ebola

Scores of healthcare workers at Liberia’s main hospital have gone on strike over unpaid wages, complicating the fight against the world’s worst Ebola epidemic that the U.S. disease prevention chief said was spiralling out of control.

As well as the rapidly mounting human toll, the United Nations warned the spread of the fever could lead to food shortages in West Africa, potentially further depleting the resources of governments frantically trying to contain it.

The World Health Organisation and other international bodies are scrambling to support fragile healthcare systems in some of the world’s poorest countries, but so far additional staff and resources have been slow to arrive on the ground.

The strike at the John F. Kennedy Medical Centre (JFK) in Liberia’s capital, Monrovia, follows a oneday protest over pay and conditions at the Connaught Hospital in Sierra Leone’s capital on Monday. Both hospitals have treated Ebola patients.

Poor response to Ebola causing needless deaths: World Bank head The world’s “disastrously inadequate response” to West Africa’s Ebola outbreak means many people are dying

needlessly, the head of the World Bank said on Monday, as Nigeria confirmed another case of the virus.

In a newspaper editorial, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said Western healthcare facilities would easily be able to contain the disease, and urged wealthy nations to share the knowledge and resources to help African countries tackle it. ”The crisis we are watching unfold derives less from the virus itself and more from deadly and misinformed biases that have led to a disastrously inadequate response to the outbreak,” Kim wrote in the Washington Post.

“Many are dying needlessly,” read the editorial, co-written by Harvard University Professor Paul Farmer, with whom Kim founded Partners In Health, a charity that works for better healthcare in poorer countries.In a vivid sign of the danger posed by inadequate health provision, a man escaped from an Ebola quarantine centre in Monrovia on Monday and sent people fleeing in fear as he walked through a market in search of food, a Reuters witness said.

The patient, who wore a tag showing he had tested positive for Ebola, held a stick and threw stones at a doctor from the centre in the Paynesville neighborhood who stood at a distance and tried to persuade him to give himself up. At one point, he stumbled and fell, apparently weakened by illness.

Healthcare workers wearing protective clothing forced him into a medical vehicle and returned him to the facility.

“We told the Liberian government from the beginning that we do not want an Ebola camp here.

Today makes it the fifth Ebola patient coming outside vomiting,” said a man who watched the scene. Another witness said patients at the treatment centre did not receive enough food. Ebola can only be transmitted by contact with the bodily fluids of a sick person, but rigorous measures are required for its containment.

There is no proven cure, though work on experimental vaccines has been accelerated.

More than 1,500 people have been killed in West Africa in the worst outbreak since the disease was discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River in what is now Democratic Republic of Congo. More than 3,000 people, mostly in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, have been infected. Poor healthcare provision has exacerbated the challenge. Liberia had

just 50 doctors for its 4.3 million people before the outbreak, and many medical workers have died of Ebola.

Shortages of basic goods, foodstuffs and medical equipment have been worsened by a decision by some airlines to stop flying to the worst-hit countries.

Several neighboring states have closed their borders and many international organizations have pulled out their foreign staff. The World Health Organization said last week that casualty figures may be up to four times higher than reported, and that up to 20,000 people may be affected before the outbreak ends. It launched a $490 million plan to contain the epidemic.

Kim and Farmer said that, if international organizations and wealthy nations mounted a coordinated response with West African nations using the WHO plan, the fatality rate could drop to below 20 percent - from 50 percent now.

“We are at a dangerous moment,” they wrote.

“Tens of thousands of lives, the future of the region and hard-won economic and health gains for millions hang in the balance.”

Nigeria confirmed a third case of Ebola on Monday in the oil hub of Port Harcourt, bringing the total of confirmed infections nationwide to 17, with around 270 people under surveillance.

A doctor in Port Harcourt died last week after treating a contact of the Liberian-American man who was the first recorded case of the virus in Africa’s most populous country.

That raised alarm that Ebola, which looked on the verge of being contained in the commercial capital, Lagos, may flare up elsewhere. Senegal, a transport hub and center for aid agencies, became the fifth African nation to confirm a case of Ebola on Friday, a 21-year-old Guinean student who had evaded surveillance in his homeland and arrived in Dakar.

“People should know that, if it were not for this boy’s state of health, he would be before the courts,” President Macky Sall told state television.

“You cannot be a carrier of sickness and take it to other countries.”

Some shops in the bustling Senegalese capital ran out of hand sanitizer on Monday as concerned residents stocked up. The house and shop owned by the student’s relatives in the densely populated Dakar neighborhood of Parcelles Assainies was disinfected by health teams. Authorities placed 20 people who had come into contact with the student under surveillance and were giving them twice-daily health checks.

6—Vanguard , WEDNESDAY WEDNESDAY,, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

3 siblings escape death in Onitsha inferno

By Nwabueze Okonkwo

O

NITSHA — Three children of the same parents, yesterday, escaped death by the whiskers when their apartment in a fourstorey building at 62, Francis Street, Onitsha, Anambra State was gutted by fire.

The incident, according to eye-witnesses, occurred when the mother of the children (names withheld) allegedly locked them up in the apartment and went out to play a lottery game yesterday afternoon.

According to the source, few minutes after she left, an explosion occurred in their flat at the last floor of the building followed by thick smoke.

Consequently, the source stated, passers-by rushed to the apartment, forced the door opened and rescued the three children unhurt On returning from where she had gone to play lottery game, their mother looked dumbfounded as she could not explain the cause of the inferno, since there was no electricity supply to the area for some weeks now.

Officials of the fire service were said to have arrived the scene of the incident few hours after sympathisers had put off the fire.

Reliable inside sources hinted that the incident was the second when fire would touch the building few years ago. The first incident was said to have been more severe as it reportedly touched almost the entire building.

The Police Area Commander for Onitsha, Benjamin Wordu, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP, told Vanguard on phone that he was not aware of the incident at press time.

He, however, described the rescue of the children as a fortunate development, even as he blamed the woman for her carelessness.

Woman remanded for jilting lover •Accused of stealing car, other items

By Bartholomew Madukwe

L

AGOS — A 43-year-old event planner, Miss Omolola Shittu, is currently biting her fingers for jilting a 55-year-old man, Prince Hilary Unachukwu with whom she had enjoyed benefits of love affair since August 2012.

Omolola, who was charged alongside one Raphael Oge, 51, on a three-count charge bothering on stealing and threat to life of her ex-lover, however, pleaded not guilty before the Chief Magistrate, Mrs Adeola Adedayo, and was remanded in prison custody till perfection of bail.

According to Charge No. A/ 38A/2014, the duo conspired to commit felony to wit: stealing of Honda Accord End of Discussion saloon car valued at N1.6 million and thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 409 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.

The matter was adjourned till September 8.

Count two read: “That you Omolola Shittu on January 19, 2014 at about 7:00am at 14, Eric Manuel Crescent, off Bode Thomas, Surulere, Lagos, in the Lagos Magisterial District, did steal a refrigerator (N72,500), gas cooker (N85,200), TEC generator (N66,500), washing machine (N120,800) and another TEC generator (N91,200) all valued at N503,200, the property of the said Prince Hilary Unachukwu.

Omolola’s account

Speaking to Vanguard, Omolola said: “I never knew it was a crime to date someone older. I have been in this relationship since August 2012 and it has been hell. Any time I tell him I do not want to continue with the relationship, he would threaten me.

"It was my attempt to terminate the love affair with Unachukwu that led to my being charged to court for stealing a car he bought for me as Valentine's gift and property acquired during the relationship.

“On Valentine’s day last year, he bought me a Honda Accord End of Discussion saloon car as a gift. I was in his house at 8, Ojora Road, Ikoyi, Lagos when he presented the car to me.

"However, since then he had abused me severally.

"Actually, the 2nd defendant (Oge) who brought the car to the house is now being accused of conspiring with me to steal it because he refused to write another receipt in Unachukwu’s name, since a receipt was issued initially in my name before the break-up of the relationship.

"I was arrested by policemen from Zone II on June 20, 2014 and I had to spend three nights before they took me to Igbosere

Miss Omolola Shittu magistrate’s court. I was later taken to Kirikiri Prison on August 11, 2014.

"The first day I arrived Kirikiri Prison, waiting for my bail bond to be perfected, a prison warder scraped my hair, took me to somewhere to pack faeces, and later gave me prison uniform in which they took my photograph.

“Prince Hilary said until he saw me go to jail, he would keep bringing different charges against me. He said he would make sure that he spends everything he has to see me go to jail. He said there was no police in this country that could arrest him because they are all his boys. Now, I do not know what to do.

“There was one time he threatened me and my younger sister with a gun. He has been calling and sending threatening messages that except he is not Hilary Unachukwu, that is when I will survive. But if that is his name,

Prince Hilary Unachukwu I will never survive. My life and my child’s life are at stake.”

...Petitions Lagos CP

Meanwhile, in a letter to the former Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Mr Umaru Manko, dated July 15, 2014, by the defendant’s counsel, Mrs Iyabode Shonubi, entitled: “Threats to the life of Omolola Shittu,” Hilary was said to have sought to reconcile with the defendant but she vehemently refused.

The letter read in part: “Due to our client’s refusal to accept Prince Hilary’s return into her life, Prince Hilary framed up several untruths, including accusing our client of stealing household items and a Honda car. The charge is before the chief magistrate's court, Igbosere and was filed by officers at Zone II, Nigeria Police Force.”

Iyabode noted that on the next adjourned date when Omolola was supposed to appear in court,

Prince Hilary had called the defendant and gave her the impression that the matter has been settled amicably.

“On getting to court, she actually did not want to go to court because she thought the matter had been settled amicably but we refused that she has to be in court. We realised that another charge had been brought to include threat to Prince Hilary’s life.

"The implication of her not being in court on that adjourned date would mean that the magistrate would issue a bench warrant for her to be arrested. It would have been worst.

“Despite her being in court as an obedient citizen, the magistrate re-arrested her in court and said the previous bail was terminated. We persuaded the magistrate that our client should continue on the previous bail but she said no that we need to arrange for another bail.”

6 factory workers, 2 others docked for stealing N24m goods

By Onozure Dania

L

AGOS — SIX factory workers and two others have been arraigned before an Ebute-Metta chief magistrate’s court, sitting in Oyingbo for allegedly stealing 24 drums of chemical worth N24 million.

The accused are Mark Ekpo, 35; Gbenga Soyombo, 37; Akindolire Tobi, 26; Emmanuel Emordi, 32; Ogunbayo Seyi, 47 and Bright Hassan, 27.

Others are Kingsley Uchegwam, 26 and Christian Onyekaozulu, 40, who were alleged to have bought and received the said stolen chemical.

They are facing a threecount charge of conspiracy, stealing and receiving of

stolen goods preferred against them by the Police.

The prosecutor, Inspector George Nwosu, told the court that six of the defendants made up of of security men, store keepers and drivers conspired to commit the offence between July 2013 and June 2014, while they were working with N. N. FENS Industries Limited.

He said they conspired to steal the said chemical known as Lanolin and menthol, property of the company, located at Wemco Road, in Ogba area of Lagos.

Nwosu also said two other defendants were alleged to have bought eight drums of lanolin and one drum of menthol from Mark Ekpo, a store keeper with the company, at N800,000 and N100,000, respectively, knowing that the

products were stolen.

According to the prosecutor, the offences are punishable under Sections 409, 283(7) and 326 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria, 2011.

The defendants' counsel, Melda Adebambo, Spurgeon Ataene and S.O. Elimieh urged the court to grant the defendants bail in the most liberal terms.

Magistrate E. O. Ogunganmi admitted the six factory workers to bail in the sum of N1 million each with two responsible sureties each in like sum, while the two buyers were admitted to bail in the sum of N100,000, with one responsible surety each in like sum.

The matter was adjourned till September 29.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014—7

Gunmen kidnap 3 doctors, 2 other health workers in Rivers P

By Jimitota Onoyume

ORT HARCOURT — THREE doctors, a nurse and one other health worker have been kidnapped in Rivers State.

Vanguard gathered that the health workers were taken hostage at Okolomabo community in Abua/Odua Local Government Area.

Condemning the abduction,

Driver in court for stealing N95,000 goods

By Onozure Dania

L

AGOS —A 47-yearold driver, Maliki Binaino, was yesterday docked before an Igbosere magistrate’s court for stealing household items worth N95,000, belonging to his former employer.

The defendant, who resides at 5, Magbojola Street, Oke-Ira area of Lagos State is facing a count charge of stealing.

The prosecutor, Corporal Babaji Ishiaku, told the court that the driver committed the allged offence at 29, Alhaji Bashorun Street, South-West Ikoyi, Lagos.

He said the defendant stole a Plasma television set,a DVD player, a cooking hotplate, a small chest draw, two cooking pots and a bed linen.

The prosecutor said the driver committed the offence after his employment as a driver was terminated by Midis Energy Services Limited.

Babaji said the defendant stole the items from the ‘boys quarters’ apartment that was given to him by Midis Energy during his employment.

He said when confronted, he initially denied all allegations but confessed to the crime when shown CCTV images of him taking the property out of the premises.

The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Magistrate Linda Balogun granted him bail in the sum of N20,000 with two sureties in like sum and adjourned the matter till September 9.

Coordinator, Niger Delta Youths for Positive Attitude Change and Progress, Mr Emmanule Enisuo, called for their unconditional release.

Community sources said the health workers were in the community for a free health care programme organised by the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC.

Efforts to speak with the spokesman of the NDDC, Mr T. Abosede, on the matter was futile. Also, a text message to him on the issue was not responded to at press time.

Meantime, resident doctors at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital have called for unconditional release of

another doctor of the hospital who was kidnapped in Tai Local Government Area of the state.

Dr Sam Kinaka was taken hostage by heavily armed men. It could not be confirmed if any contact had been established with relatives of any of the health workers for ransom payment.

...kill two policemen in Bauchi

By Suzan Edeh

B

AUCHI —UNKNOWN gunmen, yesterday, reportedly killed two policemen guarding a Chinese mining firm at Magama Gumau village in Toro Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

It was gathered that the slain policemen, stationed at the gate

of the company, were attacked by the gunmen around 5 am.

Efforts to get details of the attack from local officials in the local government proved abortive as the company was far in the bush from the local government.

Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State had earlier

ordered immediate closure of the mining firm because it was causing health hazards to communities in the local government area.

Contacted, the Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Bauchi State Police Command, DSP Haruna Mohammed, said he was yet to get details of the attack.

Ikorodu Zone Commandant, Lagos State Traffic management Authority, LASTMA, Special Traffic Mayors, Capt. Adedayo Ogunleye (left) and Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Transport Education, Dr Mariam Masha, controlling traffic during special traffic mayors ember month campaign in Lagos, yesterday. Photo: NAN

Members of International Bio-Research Institute on March for Life to mark their 2nd International Life Conference on Bioethics in Enugu, yesterday. PHOTO: NAN.

Ondo police inaugurate 39-member anti-cultism squad

By Dayo Johnson

A

KURE — THE Ondo State police authorities, yesterday, inaugurated a 39-man Special Anti Cultism Squad, SACS, to fight cultism and other related violent crimes in the state, warning them against extortion and harassment.

The squad, according to the state Police Commissioner, Isaac Eke, is saddled with responsibility of fighting cultism and other related violent crimes in the State.

While addressing the officers and men of the squad in Akure, Eke directed them to flush out criminal elements operating under the guise of secret cults.

He said this had been a major challenge facing the command in recent times, pointing out that with the coming of the squad, cult activities and violent crimes would be a thing of the past in the state.

The police boss, who warned them against boasting as members of the squad, explained that the whole essence of creating the squad was to guarantee the safety of lives and property of the citizenry in the state.

He said: “You must go out there to fish out people of questionable character and bring them to book.

“I do not want to hear that you are intimidating or harassing innocent people in the name of fighting cultism or using this to extort money because I will deal ruthlessly with anybody trying to undermine the aim and objective of this organisation.”

The CP also disclosed that the state government had promised to support the command in the establishment of the squad.

The squad, Eke said, would be headed by a Chief Superintendent of Police John Mark whom he described as a sound officer that had headed various sensitive posting in the Police formations across the country.

8—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Completion of past projects boosted FG's job creation bid —PRESIDENCY

We stopped Ikimi because of his awful past – TINUBU

By Emmanuel Aziken,

A

BUJA—THE Presidency disclosed yesterday that the completion of projects across the country by the Federal Government boosted job creation by President Goodluck Jonathan.

According to the Presidency, President Jonathan’s insistence on the completion of projects in the transportation, power, agricultural and textile sectors had helped to create more jobs where many Nigerians have been employed, just as it described as worrisome, the attitude of some Nigerian youths towards employment.

Speaking with journalists at the national secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation, Mrs Josephine A. Washima, who noted that total adherence to the principle of continuity in projects of past regimes has led to serious job creation, stressed that it was counterproductive when job seekers prioritise financial consideration before getting a job.

The Presidential aide, who noted that it was even more disturbing, especially in a situation where the prospective employee has no previous work experience, explained that it was against this backdrop that the President paid serious attention towards reducing unemployment in the country, just as she harped on the need for value re-orientation amongst youths in the country, with a view to making them employable.

The Special Assistant who urged Nigerian youths to take advantage of government’s employment generation activities to get out of unemployment, said that the right environment was being provided for a private sector driven economy in Nigeria, a situation she explained was in vogue in many countries.

Washima explained that, “Job creation is different from employment. A lot of people get that mixed up.

Job creation are the opportunities that generate employment.''

My public position on the entire transaction is that if an indigenous Nigerian oil and gas entity run by young, serious-minded Nigerians raise money transparently in the international capital markets to purchase private assets of a multi-national, the Federal Government ought to give its consent. That it took so long is shameful. The Conoco/Phillips transaction was a $1.7 billion dollars investment in Nigeria that would create more jobs, witness the establishment of allied industries and make the Nigerian Economy more attractive. I would have been extremely proud to have made such a transaction possible.

Political Editor

By Henry Umoru

T

HE All Progressives Congress, leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has dismissed the recent umbrage raised against him by former party associate, Chief Tom Ikimi as the fury of a political profiteer frustrated from an ignoble enterprise.

Ikimi had last week walked away from the APC, alleging that Tinubu had turned the party into a personal estate and accused him of assuming powers and influence through political subterfuge.

Ikimi had in the statement resigning his membership of the party, expressed his revulsion at the strong opposition mounted against his move for the chairmanship of the APC expressing outrage that Tinubu was a low ranking political operative when he was already the national chairman of one of Nigeria’s two political parties in the early nineties.

In his riposte yesterday, Tinubu said that the APC hierarchy had, in consideration of what he described as Ikimi’s awful past sought to reform him within the camp of the progressives but over time saw that he was unredeemable as he claimed he continued to play the script of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. He said: I ordinarily would not have responded to Tom Ikimi’s lengthy chronicle of falsehoods, cheap blackmail and abuse. My only reason for this response is that I know Tom Ikimi’s style. He subscribes to the view that no matter how unbelievable a lie may sound if you brazenly assert it and repeat it often enough you may persuade many that it is in fact true. I have seen Ikimi perpetrate this deviousness in his years in public life.

zRegarding Ikimi’s bid for the Chairmanship of the Party It was clear to practically everyone who had the interest of the party at heart that we simply could not have a man of Tom Ikimi’s antecedents as Chair of the party. As chairman of the NRC, one of the only two political parties in the country under the military transition programme, Tom Ikimi's discredited NRC worked against democracy and he later became Abacha’s foreign minister, convincing the world that heinous state murders like the hanging of Ken Saro Wiwa were just acts!

If Ikimi were the Chair of APC, the party would have to sleep with both eyes open lest its chairman sell off the party before day break.

No matter what anyone may say about me, it is unlikely that I can

z Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

Ikimi....was never sincerely committed to the party. He was always playing out a PDP script.

He only wanted the chairmanship of the party as a bargaining chip for negotiations with his benefactors be accused of supporting incompetent or morally light-weight individuals for important political positions. My philosophy is to put the best forward, men and women of competence and integrity, who can stand up to us politicians to challenge us and say no when necessary. Such people are not noisy or able to gain attention by being loud, I believe my role is to do all I can to project them. Who in their right mind would compare the highly-principled Chief Bisi Akande, or Chief Oyegun with a Tom Ikimi? Either of these two men are known for their nononsense styles, not once in their careers would you hear that they betrayed a cause or were anybody’s stooge. zIkimi also concocts a story of a meeting he claims I had with Diezani on the Oando/ ConocoPhillips transaction on the eve of the APC Convention.

Only a Tom Ikimi can come up with the absurd falsehood that on the eve of the APC Convention when I was in crucial meetings practically round the clock, I was meeting with the Minister of Petroleum! What exactly would have been the point of such a meeting especially on the eve of the Convention? Was it to prevent Ikimi from emerging as APC Chairman? To what end? Of

what value would it be to anyone except Ikimi himself? Besides, if this was so, why he is back to the same party that purportedly planned his downfall?

What is the Oando/ ConocoPhillips transaction anyway? For those who do not know this is a private sale of the assets of ConocoPhillips to Oando. It was not patronage of any kind from the Federal government.

The Federal Government’s involvement was merely to formally consent to the sale. I was not involved and I have never been involved in any of Oando’s transactions.

Typically he plays on the fact that Wale Tinubu of Oando is my nephew. Oando has been thoroughly investigated by South African and British authorities in the past five years as part of the process of listing the company on the stock exchanges of those countries.

Those rigorous and comprehensive investigations conducted by the governments and risk control investigators are to discover the actual ownership of shares in the company. Politically-exposed persons like me are prime targets of those investigations. All these investigations have shown that I have no investments in Oando.

z Regarding the nonsense about selling out on Ribadu.

I think common sense should dictate that if ever such a deal were reached we would have had to inform our members in all the states. How could that have been done secretly? How do you tell hundreds of thousands of people not to vote for your own party without it becoming public knowledge?

At the formation of the APC, a crucial debate ensued about what to do about persons like Ikimi who had done awful things in the past, but are now of the mind to align with the progressive tendency in Nigerian politics. Should we forever blacklist them?

This would have been the easiest route, but it would have kept rancour alive. It would have made us slaves to the bleakest chapters of our past. Instead, we opted to extend the hand of brotherhood, reconcile and put the past behind us. This would enable a broader political consensus, while also giving the likes of Ikimi an opportunity to atone for their grievous wrongs against the people and be rehabilitated.

We know that many leading Nigerians had committed acts of shame, some for private profit, others who were otherwise decent people who had become prisoners to a terrible system.

Not surprisingly, Ikimi acting true to type abused that magnanimity. He was never sincerely committed to the party.

He was always playing out a PDP script. He only wanted the chairmanship of the party as a bargaining chip for negotiations with his benefactors.

His defection purportedly on account of the loss of the chairmanship of the party is a mere subterfuge, once his ploy failed he had no other objective within the party. I knew he would go back to his sponsors. He is back in the company he deserves.

And APC is better for it.

— BOLA AHMED TINUBU.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 —9

Nigeria's big banks shop for N405bn lifeline

By Omoh Gabriel, with Agency report

B

ANKS operating in the country may have to raise as much as N405 billion ($2.5 billion) from local or foreign sources to beef up their capital especially the big four banks considered too big to fail.

The banks are already gearing up to sell the most debt in four years to bolster cash reserves, taking advantage of a drop in borrowing costs before the central bank increases how much capital they need to hold.

Banks may raise as much as N405 billion ($2.5 billion) this year compared with N342 billion ($2 billion) in 2013, according to FBN Capital, the investmentbanking unit of Nigeria’s largest bank by assets FBN Holdings Plc. Nigeria’s central bank last month changed the way lenders calculate capital buffers to align with global standards and increase their ability to withstand losses.

The CBN action is preparatory to tap into the G-20 proposal that will require top banks in the country to issue special bonds as capital that can assist them in times of crises.

In the international financial community government leaders are expected to agree in November that the world’s top banks must issue special bonds to increase the amount of capital which can be tapped in a crisis instead of calling on taxpayers to come to the rescue.

The bonds, to be known as “Gone Concern Loss Absorption

By Kingsley Omonobi & Ndahi Marama

A

APC ON BOKO HARAM: From left, Vice National Chairman, North Central, All Progressives Congress, APC, Alhaji Zakari Abdukari Idile; National Secretary, Alhaji Mai Mala Buni; National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed addressing pressmen on Boko Haram’s Sponsors in Abuja. Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan. capacity” or GLAC, are seen by regulators as essential to stopping the world’s biggest banks from being “too big to fail.

According to international financial sources the plans are being drafted by the Financial Stability Board, the regulatory task force of the Group of 20 economies which declined to comment ahead of a G20 summit in November, when G20 leaders will discuss the reform before it is put out to public consultation. The reform would put in place the final major piece of G20 regulation on banking as the global body turns to a “post-crisis” agenda

of fostering economic growth and bedding down the rules it has approved.

There had been unease in Asia and parts of Europe over how big the bond issues need to be to provide this cushion but there is now a new optimism amongst bankers and regulators that the G20 will reach a deal in November. “The industry is definitely in favor of making resolution, supported by an appropriately flexible concept of GLAC, work. That is the key pending aspect on ending too-big-to-fail,” said Andres Portilla, director of regulatory affairs at the Institute

Fire guts Big Brother Africa house ...Show postponed indefinitely

By Benjamin Njoku

T

HIS year ’s Big Brother Africa season 9 reality show which is billed to commence this Sunday, in South Africa has suffered a setback as the houses in which the 28 contestants will be kept for 91 days yesterday afternoon went up in flames.

BAMA: Curfew on Maiduguri now 7pm to 6am

This unfortunate incident may have forced organizers of the continental reality show, M-net and Endemol to consequently postpone the 91 day show indefinitely. The launch of this year’s event is scheduled for Sunday, September 7.

The cause of the fire as at press time could not be ascertained as

.The BBA House on fire, yesterday

investigations are still on-going to unravel the mystery behind the fire incident.

M-Net and Endemol South Africa, in a statement said that “due to a devastating fire incident at the Big Brother house on Tuesday, September 2, 2014, Big Brother Hotshots will not no longer be launched this Sunday (September 7) as earlier scheduled.

The cause of the fire, at this stage, is unknown and investigations will commence as soon as it is safe to do so.

At this stage M-Net and Endemol are urgently looking for an alternative Big Brother house in which to film the production, however as this production has highly technical infrastructure, camera and edit requirements an alternative is not immediately available. Every effort will be made to find a solution as quickly as possible to ensure that Africa’s biggest reality show will continue.”

The Big Brother Africa house is based at the Sesani Studios in Johannesburg.

of International Finance, a Washington-based banking and insurance lobby.

The CBN ordered Nigerian banks it considered too big to fail to boost minimum capital ratios to 16 per cent last year, compared with 10.5 per cent for South African banks, which control most of the continent’s banking assets. The central bank removed some assets banks can count as capital in preparation for the implementation of Basel II and III, while limiting Tier 2 capital to 33 per cent of Tier 1 capital, according to its August 5th circular. Minimum capital requirements for banks with operations outside the country were kept at 15 per cent and at 10 per cent for those with interests only in Nigeria.

The changes will shave 100 to 400 basis points off the capital adequacy ratios of most banks. The central bank increased cash-reserve requirements on deposits made by government ministries and agencies and state-owned companies to 75 per cent from 50 per cent last year. It also raised requirements on private deposits to 15 per cent from 12 per cent in March to reduce liquidity and support the naira.

The capital changes are making it “tougher for banks to generate profits to pay as dividends,” Richard Segal, head of international credit strategy at Jefferies International Ltd. in London, said in an e-mailed reply to questions.

Higher spending by government and politicians before elections in February may cause foreign outflows at the same time as banks seek to finance power, oil exploration and manufacturing projects to feed an economy forecast to expand 6 percent in 2014.

MIDST reports that Boko Haram insurgents have over-run Bama, the second largest town in Borno State, the Defence headquarters yesterday said the curfew imposed on Maiduguri on Monday by the 7 division of the Nigerian Army has now been reviewed from 7pm to 6 am.

The Defence headquarters, however refused to comment on the reports that the terrorists have taken over Bama after another set of the insurgents were said to have regrouped and launched a counter-attack to take over the military barracks in the city.

According to tweets posted on the Defence HQ website, the new hours of the curfew were aimed at preventing Boko Haram who suffered heavy casualties from getting into Maiduguri.

Another tweet sought to deny insinuations that scores of wounded soldiers in the battle that has been raging since the early hours of Monday, were being denied medicare, noting that there are very ‘alert arrangements on ground to take care of wounded soldiers’.

A further tweet from DHQ said claims that the Nigerian Air force was not providing adequate air cover for the soldiers on ground were incorrect as they were actively engaged in the operation to repel and dislodge the terrorists.

Some of the tweets read, “CURFEW in Maiduguri is from 7PM-6AM. Aimed at preventing infiltration into Maiduguri Metropolis by insurgents who suffered Heavy casualties” “Such action is simply impracticable considering the very alert arrangements in ground to receive any one wounded in battle #WoundedSoldiers” No wounded Soldier has been turned back from any Military medical facility in Maimalari Barracks or anywhere as rumour”

10— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Creation of more states, a waste —Lagos lawmakers

2015 ELECTIONS: We're ready for open

debate on Nigeria’s future — Fashola

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

By Ebun Sessou

M

EMBERS OF Lagos State House of Assembly, have condemned the recommendation by the National Conference delegates for the creation of more states in the country, saying it is unnecessary and a waste of resources.

The lawmakers representing Ojo 2 and Alimosho 1 constituencies, Lanre Ogunyemi and Bisi Yusuf, respectively, insisted the creation of more states would compound the country’s problems.

According to Ogunyemi, who is the chairman House Committee on Energy: “Why must we compound the problem of the country by creating more states? Except for a few states with natural resources, other states have been struggling to survive.

"The question should be, 'how have we brought our nation out of the woods economically, and how have we provided employment for our people?'

"Electricity generation is comatose; most states cannot fend for themselves without federal allocations.

Why would anyone add to the problems of the country? Some states cannot even pay staff salaries, most universities have become glorified secondary schools.

In his contribution, Bisi Yusuf, who is the chairman House Committee on Transportation, Commerce and Industry, said: “Rather than creating more states, what the country needs is a purposeful and sound leadership that would manage its resources effectively.

"How many of the existing states are viable?

We do not need more states because we have not been able to take adequate care of the ones."

A

HEAD OF the 2015 general elections, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, yesterday, said All Progressives Congress, APC, would not shy away from any public debate on issues affecting the citizens of the country.

Fashola, spoke during a courtesy visit by the Public Relations Officers PROs, of the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, to the State House, said the expectations of the citizens from the party were high considering the on-going developmental works by the states controlled by APC.

LAUNCHING: From left; DG/CEO of Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute, NBBRI, Professor Danladi Matawal; Minister of Works, Arc Mike Onolememen; member of the board, Mai Adamu Mustapha; Chairman, NBBRI Governing Board, Chief Dele Okeya; Minister of Science & Technology, Dr. Abdu Bulama, and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, during the launch of the Road Safety Guidelines for Nigeria (RSG 2014), put together for NBBRI by Onolememen.

By Dapo Akinrefon

L

AGOS STATE chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday, restated its commitment to the Lagos Traffic Law resisting motorcycle operators (Okada) from plying some designated roads in the state.

The party’s position was in reaction to the allegations by the

Lagos chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that the APC-led state government was changing its policies including the traffic law as a way of luring voters for 2015.

At a briefing in Lagos on, “Issues about the regulation of Okada in Lagos State,” the state chairman of the APC, Chief Henry Ajomale, said the party had resolved to back the state

BEOKUTA — NATIONAL Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, NAPPS, Ogun State branch, has faulted the extension of resumption of pupils in both public and private schools, describing it as irrational.

The association at its meeting, yesterday, in Abeokuta, said government should review the October 13 resumption date.

government in implementing the law to the letter.

According to him, the party was “compelled to join issues with the PDP in Lagos State over their resolve to bring Okada issues to the front burner, as a campaign matter for the forthcoming 2015 elections.

"We are going ahead to enforce it. If we reverse it, our party and government will be in trouble.

Nigeria is developing and Okada should not be a means of livelihood. PDP is using the Okada issue as a political tool, therefore, encouraging Okada riders to disobey laws of the state."

He claimed that 80 per cent of Okada riders in Lagos were not Nigerians, noting that the “development is not healthy for the state.”

Modified direct primary system’ll favour APC — Femi Pedro

By Charles Kumolu

A

FORMER deputy governor of Lagos State, Otunba Femi Pedro has said the adoption of Modified Direct Primaries System,MDPS, by

the All Progressives Congress, APC, as the preferred way of choosing its candidates in the upcoming 2015 elections, will ensure the emergence of an acceptable party candidate in the presidential election.

of resumption date

A

will be ready to discuss the issues frontally and openly.

"People have started seeing new things from the party.

Clearly APC has changed the game of politics in the country.

People have expected us to do the traditional thing. Citizens are seeing APC political party that organises seminars on issues that affect them.”

He, however, urged the PROs, to “connect people to those states where developmental works by APC are going on, where our governments have stood up for the people. And connect your people to the government of the day. It is important to note that the state where we do not have the government yet, it is important to stay on the issues.”

Earlier, the Publicity Secretary of APC, Lagos State, Mr. Joe Igbokwe, said the PROs assembled in the state to brainstorm on the way forward for the party ahead of the 2015 elections.

According to him: “We need to tap from one another’s resources and experience, drawn from our peculiarities in our respective states, assist one another in doing our works in our respective states.”

Lagos APC reaffirms commitment to Traffic Law

EBOLA: Private schools owners fault FG over extension

By Daud Olatunji

According to him: “We will reinforce the difference between our party (APC) and other political parties and we will escalate the ideas that drive our political party. And we will hold every other political party to the issues.

That is what every election should be about; the issues that affect the citizens and we

Chairman of the association, Dr. Abayomi Jiboku, challenged the rationale behind singling out the elementary and secondary schools for the extension of resumption date as a result of Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, outbreak in the country.

The Federal and state governments had postponed the resumption of both public and private schools to October 13, following the out-break of Ebola

Virus Disease.

Reacting to the extension, the association argued that if movement of people from states where the EVD cases had been recorded could be allowed and churches and mosques where children also participated were not shut besides the international borders, then there was no justification in extending resumption date for school in the country.

Pedro, in a statement, yesterday, said the MDPS would ensure that the candidate with the most widespread grassroots support emerged as APC’s flag-bearer.

According to him: “Typically, this period in the electoral calendar usually throws up a mixture of controversy, disenchantment and irresolvable internal conflicts, but we are extremely prepared this time around.

"Our party has come this far because all its leaders agreed that internal democracy must continue to prevail. Cynics initially thought we won’t merge, but we did. We conducted an aggressive membership registration drive with minimal hitches across the country.

"Naysayers predicted doom during our first National Convention, but we came out successful and unscathed.

“We are on course. We have lost a few members along the way, but we have also gained valuable and committed members too. We must continue to forge towards emancipating Nigerians from the claws of the ruling PDP - a party that has severely ruined our common heritage.

"The process and outcome of who becomes our presidential flag-bearer will definitely define us and what we stand for, and I am very optimistic that the modified direct primaries system will ensure that the candidate with the most widespread grassroots support will emerge as our flag-bearer.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 —11

OSUN GUBER: INEC suspends two officers

over alleged electoral fraud

BY GBENGA OLARINOYE,

O

SOGBO — T WO Electoral Officers, EOs, who supervised the last governorship election in Osun state have been suspended by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, over alleged electoral fraud during the exercise.

The suspended officers according to reliable sources are Fabunmi F.T and Esinoye A.O who were said to have allegedly colluded with the All Progressives Congress, APC, to manipulate electoral process in favour of the party in Osogbo and Obokun local government councils respectively.

Sources at the INEC headquarters in Osogbo, told Vanguard that the “development is the outcome of preliminary investigation by the INEC National Commissioners, who were deployed by the commission to supervise the August 9 governorship election in Osun”.

According to one of the sources, who pleaded anonymity, “the two Electoral Officers are suspended to create enough room for thorough investigation into electoral offences leveled against them. After the investigation must have been concluded, appropriate legal action if need be would commence to punish them for the misdemeanor.

“The two affected officers were part of EOs that participated in the distribution and collection of sensitive electoral materials in Osogbo and Obokun local

governments during the August 9, 2014 gubernatorial election.

They were accused of allegedly selling blank ballot papers to the APC and manipulating EC8 Series to favour APC, voiding PDP votes.”

When contacted the INEC National Commissioner, who supervised the election, Ambassador Mohammed Wali confirmed the development, saying the two affected EOs were currently under suspension, pending the outcome of investigation into issues raised

against them.

Meanwhile, the Governorship candidate of the Accord, in the election, Mr. Niyi Owolade, yesterday in Osogbo, filed a 91 page petition, praying the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, to cancel the election over alleged irregularities.

Mr. Owolade who scored 377 votes is challenging the victory of APC, candidate, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola in the August 9 governorship election.

The Accord candidate asked the

tribunal to cancel the results of the election in all the 30 Local Government Areas in the state and order INEC, to hold a fresh election.

The petition was sworn to at the registry of Osun state governorship election petition tribunal on August 30, 2014.

In the petition, Owolade alleged that the August 9 governorship election in the state was characterised by alleged irregularities.

A

KURE — LEADERS of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ondo have resolved to give governor Olusegun Mimiko a soft landing after his decision to defect to the party at the national level.

Vanguard gathered that the leaders after series of meetings since news filtered in a week ago, have resolved to welcome him with open hands.

Also, the governor has met individually with leaders of the party in the state to intimate them of his decision to join the party.

Those the governor have met included the Board of Trustee, BoT, member in the state, Dr Bode Olajumoke, former Austria Ambassador Professor Olu Agbi, former governorship candidate of the party in the state, Chief Olusola Oke and Chief Segun Adegoke Others spoken to according to sources, included former deputy governor, Chief Omolade

BY DAUD OLATUNJI

A

BEOKUTA — A lawmaker representing Ifo II, state constituency, a t t h e Ogun State House of Assembly, Adijat AdeleyeOladapo and 2, 500 members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state dumped the party for the People’s Democratic Party, PDP. The defectors, who linked their decision to bad governance by the present state government, also said they opted out of the party due to crisis in the party..

The lawmaker made public her intention to the people of Ifo/Ewekoro Federal constituency in the state at the party Secretariat in Ifo, saying APC did not learn from the loss of the PDP during the 2011 crisis.

Adeleye-Oladapo said she dumped the APC because the party had been factionalized, saying the party has been turn to personal affairs.

Agagu memorial lecture holds September 13

A ADDRESS: Former Governor of Oyo State, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala, addressing newsmen to confirm his intention to run for the governorship election in Oyo State, at Ibadan, yesterday.

PDP leaders plan soft landing for Mimiko DAYO JOHNSON

Ogun lawmaker, 2,500 APC members defect to PDP

Oluwateru who is the Ambassador to Uganda.

The outcome of the meetings the governor had with the leaders was conveyed to the larger house at a meeting held in the state.

Dr. Olajumoke was quoted to have told the leaders that the defection of the governor should be seen from the positive side and a plus to the party.

Vanguard gathered that party

leaders agreed to educate their constituencies that the governor meant well and should be welcomed with open hands.

The former governorship candidate Chief Oke confirmed that the leaders had agreed to welcome the governor to the party. Oke in a statement in Akure said Governor Olusegun Mimiko “personally informed me

of his decision to join to our great party. This in mine and my supporters’ views is a welcome development. It can only and will certainly further strengthen our party towards the actualisation of the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan. It will also ensure a compelling victory for our party in the 2015 elections and beyond."

2015: Akala declares for Oyo guber, Thursday

BY OLA AJAYI

I

BADAN — FORMER Governor Adebayo AlaoAkala of Oyo State and his supporters will Thursday march round the city of Ibadan to declare his intention to contest the governorship election.

Akala, who governed the state between 2007 and 2011, is one of 12 aspirants in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, eyeing the governorship

election.

Among other contestants are Professor Taoheed Adedoja, former Minister of Sports, Professor Soji Adejumo, who served as the chairman of the state Universal Basic Education Board during Akala’s tenure, Kehinde Olaosebikan, former Chairman, Oluyole Local Government, Seyi Makinde, business tycoon, Olufemi Babalola, Teslim Folarin, former Senate leader and

many others.

While speaking with Vanguard yesterday in his Bodija residence Ibadan, the ex-governor confirmed that he would officially declare his intention on Thursday to put paid to rumours by his perceived political opponents.

According to him, he and his supporters would go round the ancient city to announce his intention to govern the state for the second term.

S part of events to mark the first anniversary of the death of the former Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Agagu, the former President of Botswana, Festus Gontebanye Mogae, will September 13, delivered a lecture at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan.

Mogae, who is a former recipient of the prestigious Mo Ibrahim Governance Award, will speak on Good Governance in Africa.

Former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, will be the Chairman at the event.

Other panelists include Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, Minister of Communications and Technology, Dr. Omobola Johnson, Mr Oba Otudeko, a foremost industrialist and Mr. Donald Duke, former Governor of Cross River State.

The son of the late former Governor, Mr. Feyi Agagu, who made the announcement in Lagos, said there would be a Thanksgiving Service at the Chapel of the Resurrection, University of Ibadan.

He expressed the hope that his late father ’s colleagues, friends and associates would be present at the event.

12 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

AAU students body faults allegation of lack of infrastructure on campus

By Simon Ebegbulem

B

ENIN CITY—THE Students Union Government, SUG of the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State has faulted allegations by some students that the management of the university failed to provide infrastructure and comfortable learning environment for students despite the monthly subvention from the state government.

The students, under the aegis of Concerned Students and Youths on Political Advancement and National Development, had stormed the state Government House and the NUJ Press center on Monday, lamenting poor learning facilities in the University and appealed to the state government to investigate how the monthly subvention accruing to the university was being spent.

Reacting yesterday, SUG President, Ndidi Oriekose in a statement, said that the allegations were untrue, adding “The concerned students are known to be having academic problems as a result of their anti-social activities in the university.”

I can swear in Oba shrine PDP did not offer us money —EDO DEP SPEAKER

By Lawani Mikairu

L

A G O S — FAC T I O N A L Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly, Mr Festus Ebea, has said that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, did not offer any of the members that defected to PDP from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, money to defect.

He added that he was ready to go to the Oba of Benin shrine to swear that they were not offered money to dump the APC. Ebea, who spoke with Aviation reporters at the Muritala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, said it was the state governor, Adams Oshiomole, who offered him money not to defect to PDP, adding

get to the level that people will really say, he is trying to prove his innocence. Let’s go to the Oba shrine and swear on who collected money. You heard that I collected N50 million from PDP or N75 million.

“I will swear that if PDP ever offered me money, I will swear even with my family, then Governor Oshiomhole too will swear if PDP actually gave me money and after that I will equally asked him to swear if he offered me money or not, because I was offered money by APC and I refused.

Yes, Oshiomhole shared money to the so-called APC members. He offered them

money and they know it.”

He accused the governor of high handedness and betraying APC's founding members in the state.

“Before, people used to say Oshiomhole is the man of the people but he automatically changed. When they shout President Goodluck Jonathan is ruling with impunity or that ‘they stopped my plane,’ don’t listen to them. Governor Oshiomhole is the greatest peddler of impunity.''

LG polls: Etaga commends Uduaghan, promises unity govt

By Akpokona Omafuaire

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GROUND-BREAKING CEREMONY: From left; Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Mr. Samuel Ortom; Chairman, Board of United Cement Company of Nigeria Ltd, UNICEM, Mr. John Coumantaros; Managing Director, UNICEM, Mr. Oliver Lenoir; Vice President Namadi Sambo; Minister of Culture, Edem Duke; Deputy Governor of Cross River State, Mr Efiok Cobham during the ground-breaking ceremony for additional 2.5 million metric tones per annum cement line at the UNICEM plant, Mfamosing, Akamkpa Local Government Area, Cross River State yesterday.

IYC sets new devt agenda

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that the current crisis rocking the Edo Assembly was due to the high handedness of the APC leadership in the state.

Edo State Assembly has been unable to sit as a full House since June when thugs evaded the premises and members engaged in a free-for-all.

Two factions of the House have emerged with 15 APC members belonging to one faction, while the other nine members, who are now PDP members in another.

Ebea, who is the leader of the PDP said “We are challenging him,(Oshiomole), let’s go to the Oba's palace. I am a Christian, a communicant. I now said God because we are Africans, let me

JAW Youth Council, IYC, is set for a world summit at Effurun, Warri, Delta State to set new development agenda for the Niger Delta as part of the mobilisation drive for strategic development and economic prosperity in the region beyond 2015.

The summit scheduled for September 9-11, 2014 will be declared open by President Goodluck Jonathan.

National President of IYC, Mr

Udengs Eradiri, in a statement, said that the summit is to be attended by over 1000 delegates from the 89 clans in Niger Delta, including Ijaw leaders, stakeholders and speakers, who will speak on new and emerging development challenges as well as efforts in terms of financing and institutional framework for sustainable growth, youth empowerment and economic integration of the region.

Joining President Jonathan to chart a new roadmap for nonviolent and constructive engagement with the Niger Delta youths towards the achievement of new dawn in capacity development and accelerated investment in agriculture to fight poverty, unemployment, protect the environment and expand education, and women’s empowerment are Governors Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta)

Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom) Adams Oshiomole (Edo) Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa) Liyel Imoke (Cross River) Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers).

“The IYC leadership is concerned and committed to the mobilization of our members across the 89 clans in Niger Delta to bring about new development agenda in the region. The summit is a significant step by the current leadership to discuss specific initiatives aimed at addressing new and emerging development challenges in education, agriculture investment, prosperity and sustainable development.

“The post amnesty programme should be appraised critically with a view to absorbing the youths into gainful employment and develop their capacity in various fields including the untapped agriculture. This is the reason we are deeply concerned and compelled to seek partnership with our stakeholders towards setting up agricultural projects and funding to diversify the economy,” he added.

ARRI—THE Peoples Democratic Party, PDP chairmanship candidate for Ughelli-South Local Government Area of Delta State in the forthcoming council elections, Mr. Paul Etaga has thanked Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan and his Deputy, Prof. Amos Utuama, SAN on his primary election victory.

He expressed optimism of a landslide victory in the October council elections.

Etaga also commended Olorogun John Oguma, all PDP leaders and faithful in Ughelli South and his fellow contestants in the party primaries, promising to run an all inclusive government should he triumph at the polls.

Etaga who spoke to Vanguard in Warri, said he was grateful to the leadership of the party for the confidence reposed in him, adding that he will not disappoint the party and the people if voted into power.

Call for Nwaoboshi’s sack, mischievous — BOMADI PDP YOUTH CIRCUIT

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OMADI—YOUTH Circuit of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State, has described the call for the sack of the state Chairman of the party Chief Peter Nwaoboshi as ridiculous and mischievous.

The Chairman of the group, Mr. Dagidi Andaye, at the meeting of the youths in Bomadi, also, passed a vote of confidence on Nwaoboshi for conducting what he described as the most peaceful primaries in the history Bomadi council.

Andaye advised party faithful to desist from making inflammatory statement in the media against Chief Nwaoboshi and the party hierarchy,

whom he said had brought stability and unity to the party.

He noted that due to the peaceful manner the primaries were conducted in the council, Chief Oluwole Karetimi emerged as the party ’s flag bearer.

He described Karetimi as the best gift to the people of Bomadi.

The Chairman of the group called on PDP to suspend Mr. Deingha Macauley, the state PDP Publicity Secretary and Mr. Kenneth Preyor, member Representing Bomadi in the state House of Assembly for holding parallel primaries.

Andaye maintained that if they were not sanctioned, same could encourage other political elements to fan embers of disunity and acrimony in the party.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014—13

EBOLA SCARE: Abandoned corpse, victim of hit and run driver —FMC

By Samuel Oyadongha

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E N A G O A — AUTHORITIES of the two Ebola isolation centres in Bayelsa State, the Federal Medical Centre, FMC and Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, yesterday, dismissed as “dangerous rumour,” claims that four deaths had been recorded in the state from the dreaded Ebola virus, noting that an abandoned corpse in the state capital was a hit and run victim.

The death of the middle-aged woman at the FMC was blamed by some on negligence on the part of the medical personnel at the casualty ward of the hospital, who allegedly refused to administer treatmentonherfollowingahitand runincident.

Our correspondent, who visited the FMC,Yenagoa learnt that the hitandrunvictimmighthavebeen saved, had the medical personnel given her the deserved attention.

A staff of the hospital, who pleaded anonymity, alleged that the refusal of the doctors on duty to treat the victim over fear of Ebola led to the death of the victim yesterday at 11a.m.

“Thevictimwasbroughtintothe

casualty ward by two good Samaritans. She was reported to havebeenhitby a hitand run driver on the Sanni Abacha way in Yenagoa. Instead of treating the bruises and cuts on her body, the doctors refused, claiming it may be Ebola.

“The woman was brought into

the casualty ward at 2p.m., on Monday. She was abandoned and died at 11a.m., on Tuesday.

“Even when the mortuary attendants were asked to take the body to the morgue, they refused.

They, however, took the body after the intervention of a senior staff. It is a shame,” the source added.

But the Public Relations Officer of the FMC, Mr BernardAkpedi, confirmed that the death of the middle-aged woman had nothing to do with Ebola virus disease.

He said: “The deceased was an accidentvictimbroughtto thehospitalby goodSamaritans.Thepatientwasbeing managedbythehospitalbeforeherdeath.”

CASH GIFT: From left: Traffic volunteer, Akindele Taiwo, Commissioner for Water Resources, Kwara State, Alhaji Abubakar Idris, Commisioner for Works and Transport, Dr Abubakar Kannike, Kwara State Governor, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed and Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Isiaka Gold, making cash donation to Akindele for his selfless traffic control in the state.

Apologise to UPU or be excommunicated, group tells Magege leadership of greed, poverty, Magege. It was only a patriotic OUTBURST:

By Festus Ahon

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GHELLI—URHOBO Liberation Movement, ULM, has issued a one week ultimatum to the National Chairman of the Delta Central Political Movement, DCPM, Chief Olori Magege to tender an unreserved apology to the Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, for his outburst against the leadership of the body or face excommunication.

The group, in a statement yesterday by its Chairman, Mr. Emmanuel Obagbinoko,

described the outburst as vexatious and inciting, saying that the umbrella body of the Urhobo nation, which Magege attempted to rubbish in an advertorial, had never said or written anything against him to “ warrant his vituperations and outburst.”

He said: “To accuse the UPU

AGOS—IJAW National Congress, INC, Lagos chapter, has urged all Ijaws resident in Lagos to come out enmass for the upcoming permanent voter’s card issuance and registration of eligible voters by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. The chairman, Chief Patrick Keku also called on the leadership of all Ijaw associations in Lagos State to ensure massive participation of their members.

call to all Urhobo sons and daughters nursing political ambition to join the mainstream political parties (PDP and APC) so as to be relevant when the chips are down rather than be in the opposition and make it an uphill task for them to be delivered as gubernatorial candidates."

2015: APC now doubts aspirants over defection of lawmakers —Edokpolo

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By Simon Ebegbulem

ENIN CITY—A chieftain of All Progressives

Lagos INC tasks Ijaws on voter's registration

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betrayal, immorality and unethical revenue drive is a mark of irresponsibility on the part of Magege.”

Saying that the publication was an attempt to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it, the group said “for the avoidance of doubt, the Ovwiamuge declaration was not directed at

In a statement, Chief Keku said that the Organising Secretary, Elizabeth Sinclair, has been mandated to liaise with the various associations for the sensitisation exercise.

He advised the associations to ensure proper coordination of members for the exercise.

“We should all get ready to exercise our civic responsibilities in 2015 and ensure that we are not disenfranchised by our inability to obtain permanent voter’s cards,” Keku said.

Congress, APC, in Edo State and House of Assembly aspirant, Mr Aiyemenkhue Edokpolo, yesterday, lamented that the defection of four APC legislators in the State House of Assembly was making it difficult for leaders of the party to trust aspirants, who are seeking the mandate of the party in the forthcoming 2015 general elections.

He, however, said that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, will lose in the general elections, because “Apart from weeping the sentiments for federal might against the collective interests of Edo people, PDP politicians know that an attempt to compare their 10 years reign in Edo with the near six years reign of our party is like comparing what should not be compared.”

Edokpolo, during the flag off of

his House of Assembly seat for Ikpoba Okhia constituency of Edo State, said: “The House of Assembly member, who defected from Ikpoba-Okha betrayed the thrust of his constituents and by so doing has made it difficult for credible aspirants like myself to enjoy a wholesale support from leaders of the party.

“But insofar that our constituents have seen the consistency of our party to its avowed principles of constructive engagement of resources and stakeholders, I believe that when eventually nominated as the APC flag-bearer for the February 2015 election, our constituents will support me irrespective of the seeming party affiliations.”

Uduaghan, PDP lauded on party primaries

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SABA—FORMER board member of Delta Broadcasting Service, DBS, Asaba, Mr. Emudia Akponyoma, has hailed Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan and Chief Peter Nwaboshi, the state Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chairman for the successful and peaceful conduct of the party’s local government primaries in the state.

He noted that the party was now more united for betterdeliveryofdemocracy dividend to the people.

Akpoyonma also commended the aspirants’ maturity. He called on the PDP members to display the same spirit of oneness in the October 25 council elections to ensure victory for the party.

He said: “Governor Uduaghan and PDP have done great things to deserve the support of Urhobo.

Deltans, particularly the Urhobo, should vote for PDP so that we can continue to benefit from the party.”

2015: Erebor's NASS ambition gets boost

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HIEF AUGUSTUS Erebor, a House of Representatives aspirant for the Isoko federal constituency has been described as a selfless person and the best candidate from Isoko South Local Government Area to represent the constituency come 2015.

National Secretary of Erebor Success Movement, ESM, Mr. Felix Aluta in a statement, said they were committed to the realisation of the ambition.

According to him, they will not relent in their efforts towards realising the aspiration of Erebor in 2015, which he noted will also lay to rest the issue of power shift in the constituency.

Erebor is from Isoko South council, one of the councils that make up Isoko federal constituency.

14 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 — 15

Flood wreaks havoc in Owerri zSacks families, destroys property worth millions of Naira

By Chidi Nkwopara

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WERRI—PROPERTY worth millions of Naira have been destroyed at Mbonu Ojike Street, Owerri, as a huge flood occasioned by several days of torrential rain in the capital city, submerged houses.

Narrating their sordid experience at the scene of the incident, Chairman of the neighbourhood association, Mrs. Christy Morah, lamented that most families were still trapped in their respective homes.

“The rampaging flood has destroyed properties worth millions of Naira. Our houses have been submerged by flood occasioned by days of torrential rain in and around Owerri,” Mrs. Morah said.

According to the neighbourhood association Chairman, who is also a staff of Federal Government Girls College, FGGC, Owerri, about 10 staff quarters are under water as at the time of the interview.

“Some of the affected

buildings are designated staff quarters of Federal Government Girls College and Imo State University, IMSU. Parts of IMSU Primary School is also submerged in the flood,” she

said.

She said they had previously hired earth moving machines to help make the place accessible, adding that many a time, they stay in houses for days to allow the flood recede

before coming out.

“We have actually been experiencing this sad situation for many years but it took a more dangerous dimension in the past two years.

VISIT: From left: Chairman of Abia State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Emma Nwaka, former Nigeria's Consul-General in South Africa, Ambassador Okey Emuchay, and Ambassador Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, during Amb. Emuchay's visit to Abia PDP headquarters to declare his aspiration to seek the party's governorship ticket in 2015 in Umuahia.

“The makeshift wooden bridge constructed by the IMSU Primary School is also submerged. School is also submerged. If the school was in session, it would have been terrible for the pupils,” Mrs. Morah lamented.

She expressed fears that reptiles, apparently sacked by the surging flood, might ultimately creep into their living homes.

She recalled that when the road was awarded to a contracting firm, residents of the quarters heaved a sigh of relief, “but we do no know what happened and the contractor packed his materials and left the site.”

Mrs. Morah further explained that, “flood from Mbari Street, Ikenegbu, Works Layout and Orji community, flows to this area,” pointing out that residents of these quarters have lost personal effects and very important documents have either been lost or destroyed by the rampaging flood.

Efforts made to reach the Commissioner for Works, Ichie Best Mbanaso, on his mobile line failed as his telephone was switched off.

Ikedife warns El-Rufai on Ihejirika, others BOKO HARAM:

By Nwabueze Okonkwo

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NITSHA—DR. Dozie Ikedife, former President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, yesterday, warned of a break-up of the country, if former Minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, Nasir ElRufai, and other northern leaders did not refrain from discrediting the immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Major General Azubuike Ihejirika (rtd) and other Igbo icons.

Ikedife, who was a delegate at the just concluded national conference, stated that the manner El-Rufai and his fellow northern elders molested Igbo icons, was becoming too unbearable that with a little more push, Nigeria would go down the slippery slope.

Speaking to newsmen in his Nnewi country home, Ikedife said, in his reaction to the recent

social media report in which El-Rufai was said to have fingered Ihejirika as one of the sponsors of the Boko Haram insurgents in the country, that such a blatant statement was capable of attracting the wrath of Ndigbo.

The visibly angry Ikedife said the accusation was another classical case of hounding and haunting of an Igbo icon in the person of General Ihejirika, who left the Army a few months ago as the Chief of Army Staff.

He said: “I wish to recall that when Ihejirika left the Army, those I identified as destroyers of credit and rumour mongers said that he was dismissed from the Army, but my investigation revealed that Ihejirika retired as and when due and was indeed the last member of his course mates to

retire from the army.

“Following that retirement, he continued, the high and the mighty in one section of the country ganged themselves up and decided to take Ihejirika to the International Court of Justice for alleged crime against humanity because, as they said, of the way he hounded, the way he tried to checkmate Boko Haram insurgency when he was head of the Nigerian army. They accused him of using undue force and fighting Boko Haram mercilessly.

“That particular accusation seems to have died down because it must be understood that in the army, you carry out orders and take instructions from the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. So, the stigma they wanted to stick on him did not work."

16— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

EBONYI IMPEACHMENT: Nwaobashi group obeys court ruling, attends sitting A

By Peter Okutu B A K A L I K I —

SOME members of Ebonyi State House of Assembly loyal to Helen Nwaobashi group of the House yesterday attended a plenary at the State House of Assembly, following a court ruling which dismissed the application brought by her group seeking an interlocutory injunction to restrain Mr Chukwuma Nwazunku from parading himself as speaker.

In her ruling, the judge, Justice Chinyere Ken-Eze, maintained that the status quo before the impeachment of the first defendant on July 21 be maintained, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

Four of the 13 members loyal to Helen Nwaoboshi group that attended the sitting include Mrs Lilian Igwe, Ikechukwu Ogbu, Jerry Obasi and Frank Onwe.

Speaking to reporters after the sitting, the four members said their action was necessary following the court ruling that

all parties should maintain the status quo before the said impeachment, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

They denied defecting to Nwazunku’s camp as they

were still awaiting the final verdict on the speakership of Ebonyi State House of Assembly.

“We were merely obeying court orders that is why we are here. We need to attend

sitting to ensure proper and full representation of our constituents. This period provides a window opening for lasting reconciliation,” the lawmakers said.

BURIAL: From left: Speaker, Abia State House of Assembly, Hon. Udeh Okochukwu, Abia State Chairman of PDP, Senator Emma Nwaka, Abia State Governor, Chief Theodore Orji, and his wife, Mercy, during the burial of late Chief James Ogbunnefi, father-in-law to Sen. Nwaka, at Akaeze in Ivo LGA of Ebonyi State.

Pro-Biafra group appeals to Jonathan over release of detained members

By Tony Edike

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NUGU—THE Biafra Zionist Federation, BZF, yesterday, called on President Goodluck Jonathan to order the immediate release of its leader, Benjamin Onwuka, and other members of the group who have been in detention for the past two months.

The group said it was set to institute a court action against the Inspector General of Police at the International Court of Justice, ICJ, if he failed to release their members forthwith.

Leader of the proBiafra group, Onwuka, and some of his members were arrested after they invaded Enugu State Broadcasting Service, ESBS, with the intention of making a livebroadcast.

They were later paraded before journalists in Enugu and moved to the Force Headquarters, Abuja, where they had been incarcerated since June 5, this year.

The group said in a

statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Chiemeria Chibundu, that the continued detention of their members without trial was against the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and all other international treaties.

He stressed that the police should have gone ahead to prosecute Onwuka and other members of the group, if indeed, they were found guilty of any wrongdoing.

Chibundu, however, said it was unfortunate that the police had decided to endlessly clamp down on armless members of the group, whereas terrorists were holding Nigerians to ransom in the NorthEastern part of the country.

He decried a situation where the BZF members were paraded naked like common criminals, whereas some suspected Boko Haram members, who were arrested in Imo State, were shielded from the public by the police.

Anambra House passes N13.8bn supplementary budget

By Vincent Ujumadu

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WKA—ANAMBRA State House of Assembly yesterday passed a supplementary budget of N13.8 billion presented to it by the state governor, Chief Willie Obiano.

Speaker of the House, Mrs. Chinwe Nnwaebili, said the House resolved to approve the supplementary budget because of its commitment to the development of the state.

Chairman of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation , Ms Nikky Ugochukwu, representing Orumba South Constituency, said the executive arm of government proposed the supplementary budget to enable it meet the aspirations of the people, especially in the areas of infrastructure development.

Madam Adiaha Tom dies @ 80

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ADAM Adiaha Micah Tom is dead aged 80. Until her death, the late Madam Tom was an Eka Iban in Ukpum Ete clan in Ikot Abasi local government area of Akwa Ibom State.

A statement from the family said the late Madam Tom will be buried at Ete Town in Ikot Abasi LGA, Friday, September 26, 2014 after a wake keep on Thursday, September 25, 2014, at her Ete town residence.

Madam Tom is survived by several children among whom is Hon. Akpan Micah Tom Umoh, member representing Ikot Abasi federal constituency in the House of Representatives.

Late Adiaha Tom

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 —17 “If a snake does not act like a snake, children will tie fireword with it."

-Igbo Proverb

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A place for elders The predominant perception in much of the North today is that it did not lose a war it was forced t0 fight, although it cannot be sure it had won it. The National Conference in which Alhaji Magaji and the cream of Northern establishment (and its permanent trail of fifth columnists) participated is seen in the North as a successful campaign against an anti-Northern (and, some say, antiNigerian) agenda. Many in the North believe that the defeat of a suspected plan to extend President Jonathan’s tenure; to tilt the determinants of economic production and allocation even further away from the North; to restructure the Nigerian federation so that some sections will acquire an unfair advantage; to rewrite the constitution without the mandate of the people of Nigeria, and a whole host of other goals, all of them inimical to the interests of the North, is to be celebrated by Northerners.

It is conceivable that elites from other regions are also involved in serious stocktaking, although many of the losses and victories have already been tallied. The North appears content that it went with the sole agenda of shooting down other agendas, and it succeeded. Elites from the South East failed to get additional state(s), or a brand new constitution written by their brightest. South South elites saw the dream of more of the cake crumble, and the idea of a new constitution shot down on the ground. South West elites were halfhearted about the Conference anyway, but they gave it their best shot. They failed to get the nation restructured along their ideal federation, and have gone back to the drawing board to understand whether the south west is today more or less influential in the manner the nation is run.

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he North made new enemies and found a few sources of strength. It discovered the values of working hard to limit the breaches inherent in its cultural and political pluralism, as well as the fact that no part of the North can be taken for

By Mustapha Abdullahi

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HE biggest news of the Nigerian politics in the past one week is unarguably the movement of Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the pioneer Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. For those who might have forgotten, the former EFCC czar, was also the presidential candidate of the now defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in the 2011 general elections. Needless to point out that Ribadu followed ACN in its metamorphosis into the All Progressives Congress, APC. But in what is now the familiar pattern of political nomadism by Nigerian politicians, Ribadu has jumped out of APC and into the PDP. He did that with his formal declaration in Yola, the capital of Adamawa State. “I would like to appreciate those members of the PDP, who privately and publicly prodded me to join this party. My appreciation also to the leadership of our party (PDP) for the warm reception accorded me deserving of any full-fledged party stalwart…This kind (of) reception did not start today; it began from the day I signified the intention of joining this great party. Today, I come to you as a full blown party member, who defines himself in the spirit of community service and party development…,” the former APC stalwart enthused.

The defection of Ribadu to the PDP may be ruffling a few feathers here and there. For the APC, the loss of Ribadu signifies yet another deadly blow from its eternal rival, the ruling party, in recent times. Much as the leadership of APC would want to wish away the loss of Ribadu as insignificant, the truth remains that with the loss of Ribadu, APC has not lost a vote mobiliser; it has certainly lost about 40 percent of its supposed integrity quotient, with the

granted anymore. It rediscovered a North whose vulnerability to political predators from the South can only be managed successfully by building bridges to, and within all its communities, and constantly reminding its people that Birom, Kanuri, Atyap and Fulani are all Northerners (or Hausa) in Bayelsa, or in Abia. The North is defined today by its relative and deepening poverty; creeping threats from an insurgency the government appears unable to contain; multiple assaults on villagers who are victims today and villains tomorrow; and a region hamstrung from asserting itself politically out of fear that it will be accused of wanting to rule for ever.

The National Conference has produced a key unintended consequence: it has revealed that no part of this nation can hijack it from others. The fear of being

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GOT to know the late Alhaji Magaji Dambatta personally only in the last one year of his accomplished life. Of course, it is impossible not to have been aware of a rare titan who from a very young age, began a life that was entirely dedicated to God and his community. His towering intellect, striking presence and remarkable humility and the fire that burned in him to change the circumstance of northerners and Nigerians until his death should earn him a place in a Northern Hall of Fame. The Arewa Consultative Forum which he led at a stage in his life put out befitting comments on his life. A newspaper photograph of a blind and elderly Danmasanin Kano, Yusuf Maitama Sule in the front row during the funeral prayers of Alhaji Magaji was profoundly symbolic. The North was losing its precious elders assets at a moment when it desperately needs to rely on them to stand up for it and guide it through its unprecedented challenges.

The brief but intense encounters I had with Alhaji Magaji Dambatta were in fora which involved deep searches for the sources, nature and solutions of many of the problems which afflict the northern part of Nigeria. As someone who had seen it all, and had remained at the heart of all major developments for more than six decades, his insights were profound; his articulation of issues was unpararelled; and his commitment to interests which affect the North was unquestionable. He was a living encydopedia on the alarming regression of a region that had always had some structural disadvantages, but had found a way to remain the backbone of the nation. He could reel out frightening statistics on how the economy of the North is being destroyed; how its sons and daughters are being squeezed out of key institutions; how its children are not going to school and how its natural assets are being deliberately wasted.

You got the impression of an angry, if controlled and disciplined elder in Alhaji Magaji. A small group of us thrown together by fate and the foresight of some northern leaders agonized over the provocative composition of the National Conference, and came close to suggesting that northerners should not participate in it unless the obvious unfairness in representations were redressed. When it became obvious that the dominant opinions in many northern circles tilted towards attending the conference and fighting from within, a few of us from the outside went through the list of delegates to see if there was sufficient clout and integrity from the disadvanged North to put up a fight. The name of Alhaji Magaji Dambatta gave us some comfort.

elders and leaders who locked horns in the committees and plenary of the conference can reach out to others in their necks of the wood and define more clearly what it is that represents for their regions and for Nigeria, critical matters which need to be discussed with others. Today, a desperately poor and insecure North is a threat to the entire nation and west and central Africa. Its poverty is not just its problems. If every kobo derived from the sale of crude oil and gas is spent on people of the Niger Delta, it will not give them the peace and the space to enjoy it. Igbo leaders need to more clearly define their problems with other Nigerians, and get rid of their damaging persecuted mindset.

Yoruba elites need to come to terms with a nation with multiple sources of loyalties, influence and motivations, and that the best arrangements are those made through genuine collaboration and cooperation with all groups, from the simplest to the most intellectuallypersuasive; from the wealthiest to poorest.

Minority ethnic groups need to come to terms with the reality that numbers count, but the biggest groups cannot win any battles without them.

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he case being made for an initiative of elders and leaders will be frustrated by partisan political leaders who feed and grow on the very divisions which keep this country weak and floundering. As it stands, the political process will not solve the most desperate of Nigeria’s problems.

From all appearances, the escalating terrorist assault on our nation will be a major issue in the elections of 2015. While politicians trade blames, it will dig in and

This is the time for those elders and leaders to step forward now that we know that no section of Nigeria has a unique and exclusive problem

hijacked is real, and it is the most damaging psychological impetus behind all the bitterness which tends to characterise inter-group relations. It should, however, also provide the biggest motive for elders who know what it took to build this nation; to pull it out of many of its problems and limitations; to submit to new and fresh developments and initiatives in spite of many misgivings; and, above all, to note that their life’s work is now being shot at by the day, and a nation which had all the promise to be great economically, united politically and a peaceful home to all, is today falling apart.

This is the time for those elders and leaders to step forward. Now that we know that no section of Nigeria has a unique and exclusive problem, perhaps those

,

take over more and more of our lives.

Politics will drive a wedge between much of the North and most parts of the South and between Muslims and Christians. It will pitch citizens against each other, unleash unprecedented levels of violence and threaten an end to the democratic system. These will make post-election 2015 even worse of a nightmare than the pre-election period. It is very doubtful if the nation can heal and move beyond the damage it will go through in the next one year.

There is a place for elders in our lives, today more than any other time in the history of our nation. Because they are elders, they do not need to wait for anyone’s invitations to act. And they should, unless they want to be the last real elders the nation had. God forbid.

OPINION Adamawa guber: Can Ribadu be trusted? remaining 60 per cent domiciled in General Muhammadu Buhari. And because ours is a zero-sum game, the loss of APC is therefore PDP’s gain. So with the capture of Ribadu, PDP can now brag also about its integrity bank – that is if Ribadu still carries the aura of integrity for which he was wittingly or unwittingly known during his EFCC days.

Even then, the PDP that ought to be celebrating the big catch, which Ribadu exemplifies, is not much at ease with this very important sojourner. There are many within the ruling party who fear that APC has just sold them a pig in a poke. For this group, the real electoral value of the former EFCC boss in his home state of Adamawa is yet to be known and therefore wonder why the PDP must invest time, resources and energy in receiving him into the party. That Ribadu has made it absolutely clear from the outset that he has his eyes on the forthcoming Adamawa gubernatorial election even makes his case worse.

What it means, therefore, is that much as Ribadu would talk glowingly and altruistically about service to community as the leitmotif for his defection to the PDP, it does appear that selfish ambition is at the root of his new political peregrination. Mallam Ribadu wants to be the governor of Adamawa State and he thinks that PDP presents the surer pathway to the Government House in Yola.

Much as a certain section of the Adamawa PDP whines about the seeming and alleged support of the Presidency for Ribadu in the Adamawa governorship race, the national leadership of the PDP must approach the Ribadu project with greater circumspection. The Adamawa PDP crisis has raged far too long for even a casual observer to understand that a veiled support or bias for one of the gubernatorial

aspirants either by the Presidency or the National Working Committee, NWC, of the PDP can only exacerbate a crisis that has already claimed the scalps of a former national chairman and the immediate past governor, to boot. It would rather be naïve for anybody to think that anointing Ribadu as the PDP candidate in Adamawa gubernatorial election would translate into a makeover for the many chinks that have developed in the party structure in the state. Apart from the bad blood it will certainly generate among the political gladiators in the state, it carries a more worrying danger of a negative outcome at the polls for the party. Once again, the “Ribadu Project” in Adamawa – if there is anything like that – must be handled with great caution before the little intra-party harmony, which came with the ouster of Murtala Nyako, is recklessly dissipated with the PDP going to the polls as a house divided against itself. The worst thing that can happen to the PDP in Adamawa is to hand victory over to the APC as a result of an unpopular decision to foist a candidate without any proven electoral value on party members and the people of Adamawa who suffered so much in the hands of a confused and megalomaniac sailor.

Beyond the issue of the electoral value of Ribadu and the high potential of adversarial politics that an official support for his candidature would breed in the Adamawa PDP, there is a more serious concern. Can Ribadu be trusted by the PDP? What guarantees have those putting Ribadu forward as the PDP gubernatorial candidate secured from the former police officer? *Mr. Abdullahi, a potical analyst, wrote from Kaduna, Kaduna State.

18 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 IT took a long time, but at last, the Lagos State Government has taken an active interest in the long standing neglect of the rail network in the Apapa axis, the nation’s number one economic gateway. Governor Raji Fashola went with a high powered delegation of his cabinet to inspect the abandoned work yard of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) at Marine Beach, Apapa recently. At the end of the exercise, he called on the Federal Government, whose exclusive duty it is under the constitution to develop and operate the railway system, to take up its bounden responsibility of restoring the Apapa rail system in order to allow it play its role in the evacuation of goods cargoes to all parts of the country.

Governor Fashola also promised to compile a report of what his team noticed and the things required to be done in a joint effort with the federal government to ensure that the rail transport sector is revived to ease the logjam and danger that trailers, trucks

By John Udumebraye

A

LARGE number of Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief in the morning of Sunday, August 10, 2014, when the Returning Officer of the just-concluded Osun gubernatorial election, Professor Bamitale Omole, announced that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Governor Rauf Aregbesola, had won the election with a wide margin. They were happy not because the candidate of their choice won, but because of what they thought might have happened, had the result been otherwise. The APC leadership had threatened fire and brimstone should Aregbesola lose the election.

The National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, threatened that his party would form a parallel government if the polls were rigged against its candidate.

The candidate himself called on his followers to challenge the security agents deployed to supervise the election with any means (including charms) available to them. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, accused the Federal Government, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and the security forces of plans to collude and rig the election in favour of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Together, they accused President Goodluck Jonathan of “militarising” the Osun election to secure victory for his own party.

The truth is that, contrary to this narrow and self-serving posturing of the APC leadership, President Jonathan had the broader and noble national agenda of reforming the country’s electoral system and cleansing it of all the negative

the LASG had tended to treat the abandonment of federal government assets in Lagos as if it is none of its business.

Fashola’s call ffor or rail revival and tankers from all parts of the country constitute.

We commend the interest shown by the Lagos State Government in playing its part to ensure the federal government takes the Apapa rail sector along in its railways revitalisation effort, which is proceeding at an intolerable snail’s pace. We need the extra voices added by the LASG and the organised Labour, which recently made a similar call on the Federal Government to tackle the infrastructural decay of Apapa and other parts of the country to enhance the growth of the economy. Before now,

There is no alternative to joint efforts between the state and federal governments, as well as the private sector in the development of our economic potentials across the country.

This particularly applies to railways development, in which unfathomable opportunities exist for job creation and development of new frontiers in small and medium scale businesses.

The revitalisation of the Apapa rail line, which was set up by the British colonial masters and run down by the military regime in the middle 1980’s, is long overdue. This neglect is responsible for the nightmare of getting in and out of this vital economic zone as a result of the jungle of tankers, trailers, trucks and all sorts of automobile juggernauts that struggle for entry through the overworked and congested roads.

OPINION Gains of elect oral ref orms electoral reforms tendencies that have given it a sordid image.

It is a known fact that since political independence, elections in Nigeria have been plagued by fraudulent practices, ethnic and religious crises, violence, killings and assassinations, etc.

There are millions of Nigerians still alive today who witnessed the violence that erupted, following the elections of 1964 and 1965, the Western Regional crises and threats of violence in other parts of the country, all culminating in the first military coup of January 15, 1966, which subsequently gave birth to more coups and counter-coups until the new democratic dispensation. In spite of our launch into democracy, the elections of 1999, 2003 and 2007 were severely marred by unprecedented electoral violence, fraud, ballot-stuffing, intimidation and killings.

Even the 2011 elections that brought President Jonathan into power were not violence-free. There were destructions and loss of lives and property in Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Kano and other parts of the country.

The peak of it were the post-election riots in some parts of the North, resulting in the death of over 800 people, including 37 youth corps members.

Understandably, President Jonathan has taken electoral reforms as a priority in his administration’s transformation agenda.

His main goals are to evolve an electoral system that is manned by qualified, competent and efficient personnel, enact electoral laws and guidelines that are beyond

manipulation and conduct elections that are free, fair and credible. By so doing, the President hopes to create in Nigerians confidence in the nation’s electoral system.

When, in acting capacity, President Jonathan appointed Professor Attahiru Jega as Chairman of the INEC, he knew where he was going. Since then, he has, through the National Assembly, effected necessary amendments to the 2010 Electoral Act to seal up loopholes and take care of areas that were subject to abuse.

Having strengthened the administration, skills and personnel of INEC, President Jonathan turned his attention to the actual conduct of elections. His slogan of “one man, one vote, one woman, one vote, one youth, one vote”, has become an unequivocal message to the nation’s political parties and, indeed to the entire political class, that from now on, election rigging would not be tolerated. And for those Nigerians inclined to violent conduct during elections, the President’s exhortation is yet another dictum that “his political ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian.”

However, fully aware of our history of electoral violence and the dangers posed by troublemakers and political thugs who abound in our society, President Jonathan’s policy is to ensure effective policing of elections through combined police-military operations. Like most developing nations of the world, Nigeria’s internal law enforcement institutions are yet to be fully developed. Compared to the nation’s

population and geography, the Nigeria Police Force is inadequate in manpower and equipment. Consequently, its operations in civic functions call for the support of other security agencies, especially the military.

Experience has shown that joint operations, involving personnel from the police, military and other security agencies have been very successful in resolving situations of insecurity, civil disturbances, violent protests or such occasions as elections where peace may be under threat.

Starting with the Edo State governorship election of 2012, President Jonathan has effectively monitored all the elections conducted under his administration. While police officers monitored closely what was happening at each of the polling booths, the military stayed around on the streets, just in the event of... It was an arrangement which Governor Adams Oshiomhole welcomed rather enthusiastically when he said: “The army is here to deal with troublemakers.

The only people who need to be worried are those who want to cause trouble.” President Jonathan’s security arrangement has also worked effectively for the governorship elections of Ondo, Anambra and Ekiti states.

Now, it has not failed the people of Osun State.

And behold, the APC has been the greatest beneficiary, among the political parties.

Those who criticise the President’s security deployment as unnecessary “militarisation” of elections are not only unfair but also mischievous.

Mr. Udumebraye, a political analyst, wrote from Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014— —19

, T

HESE are dangerous times for Nigeria. They are times that try a nation's soul and it is the choice of the country's leaders what they make of the times. The choice we make or that those who lead us make for us have grave implications for the continued existence of Nigeria as it was formerly known. I described Nigeria in the past tense, in the manner I did in the preceding statement, advisedly. The country we live in today is vastly different from the one we lived in even a few years back. But as I said before, these are dangerous times for our country. There are ominous signs on the horizon. There are hands writing on our national wall. The question now is, what does President Goodluck Jonathan make of these writings? Can he read the writings on the wall? If he can, does he understand what the signs tell him, especially of the future of this country? Otherwise he would be sleeping now with only one eye closed. That is if he can afford to sleep at all.

One thing, however, happened in

the last week which suggests the President may be reading the signs right. This was the meeting between him and his former mentor and benefactor, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. The meeting which, according to Obasanjo, was at the instance of the President tells me he may be looking now beyond politics and recognising what his immediate priorities are. It was a meeting to discuss the state of national security which is quite deplorable. And that is putting it mildly. The details of the meeting between Jonathan and Obasanjo are yet unknown in specific terms.

This in my view may be one appropriate way to address our security challenge, away from the practice where security chiefs discuss the details of planned military operations at press conferences.

It may be instructive that the meeting came in the wake of the upsurge in the activities of insurgents in the North East of Nigeria. These raging marauders appear to be gathering strength and making gains by the day. They are

,

ravaging Adamawa in a manner that questions any claim of that part of the country still being part of Nigeria. They are indeed so buoyed by their sense of victory that they claimed Gwoza is now part of a socalled Islamic state under their leader. This is definitely a copycat act. These insurgents are certainly following up on developments in other parts of the world like Iraq and Syria where outlaw elements have declared what they call an Islamic state. Our local insurgents went on a shooting spree, celebrating their victory, after overrunning Gwoza and several neighbouring towns.

Surely, they already imagine themselves in their Islamic state.

T

he military has questioned these claims of victory. But it is easier to question these claims than to deny some of the facts on the ground. Facts seem to suggest that all is far from well in the North East. All has been far from well for a long while. Indeed parts of this region which increasingly takes on the character of a frontier space have been under sustained insurgent

Jonathan’s hostage negotiator puts him in a tight corner ESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan’s P hostage negotiator, Dr Stephen Davis, has done Nigerians a great favour and put R

his employer in a tight corner. Davis has broken the official taboo against naming names of persons behind Boko Haram, those who fund the ceaseless bloodbaths, abduction of adolescent girls as sexual slaves, arson and more. We owe Davis a debt of gratitude for letting us know more than our government has been willing to disclose: the mere geographical location of the Chibok girls coupled with the rote assurance of their safety. The utter secrecy surrounding what the government is doing or not doing to free the Chibok girls or end the insurgency has led to the unfortunate impression that it is helpless and all we can do is wait for Abubakar Shekau to become human again, renounce violence and lay down his arms. Or wait for the United States to send us night vision goggles and remaindered equipment from its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan before a proper anti-terrorism war can begin.

Davis spoke first to a television station in Australia and then to a Nigerian medium, Arise Television. On 29 August, ThisDay published Davis’s revelations under the headline “Australian Negotiator Names Ihejrika, Sheriff as Sponsors of Boko Haram.” Davis points with the certitude of a chief prosecution witness to two highly placed citizens: retired Lt-General Azubuike Ihejirika, former Chief of Army Staff and field commander of the offensive against Boko Haram, and Alhaji Modu Sheriff, former governor of Borno State where Shekau has his headquarters and

has planted the first flag of his dreamed Caliphate. The evidence against Azubuike appears thin, but Sheriff, Davis says, “has been funding Boko Haram’s terrorism for years.” Davis has also pointed to an unnamed third person in Abuja whose three nephews allegedly participated in the Nyanya-Abuja bombing that killed 77 people. In his interview with SaharaReporters, the New York-based online news platform, Davis gives further details concerning this man by claiming that he is a top official of the Central Bank and Boko Haram’s banker.

To my mind, other than the surprise mention of Ihejirika, the real news is the proof by inference Davis gives of the charge that the government may indeed have been playing politics with the terrorist insurgency that has laid waste to vast swathes of the North East, killed thousands and scarred millions. This is not the first time Sheriff’s name would be linked to Boko Haram, but whereas we could only watch as the government camp and the opposition traded accusations of playing politics with the insurgency, Davis, in the final analysis, has now indicted the President. Mostly through his underlying tone of incredulity as to why Boko Haram’s sponsors have not been arrested, why the SSS “doesn’t seem inclined to interrogate” the three nephews of the Abuja man for “concrete evidence against their uncle in whose house they were living.”

The implications of his words must have been clear to Davis, hence, I suspect, his attempt to absolve his employer of blame. If Jonathan arrests prominent politicians who are likely to

control for many unbroken months now. If there is anything that should tell us that there are some unpleasant things happening over here, it is the increasing reports of deserting soldiers. The insurgents are spreading out and setting up bases in many parts of the North East. As our military fights shy of Sambisa forest, the forest and its hordes, like in the Shakespearean tragedy, are moving to Gwoza and possibly more places if not contained.

Nigerian soldiers, reports have it, are refusing to take orders to fight the insurgents until there is definite improvement in the weaponry available to them. The military high command has typically denied this even while promising dire consequences for deserters. It is hardly a matter of laughter that trained soldiers are becoming deserters. Nigerians have a right to know how much is available for prosecuting the North East operations and the security vote in general. Of course, Abuja wants $1 billion more to fight the insurgency. But how has it spent what it has up to now? What exactly is the military doing about the evil wind of insurgency and the general lawlessness enveloping Nigeria from the North East? There is too much being made of the President not being a military man. But he does not need to be a soldier to act. Obama is considering different options on Syria and Iraq. He need not be a soldier to do this. All he needs are the right military advisers. Is it not time that Jonathan starts talking to Nigerians, even retired military leaders, who have had experience of handling insurgency before? The present crop of military top brass seems to be at the end of its tether handling our present security concerns.

This may be why Obasanjo returned to Aso Villa last week after months of estrangement. Jonathan

may need to talk to more people.

Unfortunately his options look limited in certain respect. He might, for example, have to forgo talks with people like Mohammadu Buhari and others thought to have kept silent in the face of terror. Otherwise, he should talk to anyone willing to talk not minding their standpoint in the recent past. That way nobody could accuse him of sponsoring terror against Nigerians in regions different from his, as Murtala Nyako tried to do without success. Should Jonathan go on and act in the manner he thinks fit, nobody known to have spurned his overtures for solution should or would have the moral right to talk hereafter. Whatever he chooses to do, however, he has little time left. He cannot wait too long in the restroom of decision or disgusting flies would swarm around him.

This must not be another Chibok.

President Goodluck Jonathan must seize the initiative from the insurgents as they move out of whatever holes they were hitherto hidden in to prepare for Hamasstyle warfare in populated areas except he is willing to rule over a divided Nigeria? If Abuja couldn't go into Sambisa forest for fear of harming the Chibok girls, how easy would it find it fighting in towns fully under rebel control?

What assurances are there that the insurgents would be content to remain in the North East once they take total and unquestioned control of the area? Won't they take on the task of marching down South in the intoxicatingly ambitious enterprise of dipping the Koran in the Atlantic Ocean? Nigeria once fought a civil war. What do we call what the insurgents have been up to in the North East in the last many months or what they are setting up shop for now?

Act now Jonathan!

run against him in 2015, he would lay himself open to the charge of hounding the opposition to enhance his reelection. To deflect that charge, he says, there has to be “a very high threshold” of evidence sufficient to

,

From Sambisa forest to Gwoza: Jonathan, seize the moment!

President Goodluck Jonathan must seize the initiative from the insurgents as they move out of whatever holes they were hitherto hidden in to prepare for Hamasstyle warfare in populated areas

Jonathan must know that failure to act would give credence to the opposition’s counterclaim: a conviction that the insurgency was fomented by his political enemies to make the country ungovernable and prevent his reelection

,

“keep the Western nations happy.” This can’t be higher than the normal weight of evidence to sustain a criminal charge and it is obvious that Davis is convinced the threshold was reached a long time ago. According to ThisDay, Davis “was emphatic that the people he names are current sponsors of Boko Haram,” that he had information on “some of them about three years ago; one of them four years ago,” and that one even provided “money and . . . in one case . . . six (Toyota) Hilux vehicles used for suicide bombing.”

Y

et, by the end of Davis’s testimony, the line between the bad opposition politicians and the good government is blurred. Sheriff, now the de facto poster-politician allegedly sponsoring Boko Haram, has decamped to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party “in the hope this will give him protection.” What other course of action does Jonathan have now than to order the immediate arrest of all the persons that his hostage negotiator claims are the chief sponsors of Boko Haram? And to charge them to court forthwith? Unless, of course, his hostage negotiator is a rabble rouser, in which case we must wonder how and why he has worked for three successive presidents. It can’t be the case that the evidence that emboldens Davis to name names is unavailable to Jonathan and his security and intelligence heads. Jonathan must know that failure to act would give credence to the opposition’s counter-claim: a conviction that the insurgency was fomented by his political enemies to make the country ungovernable and prevent his re-election, but that the plot boomeranged and so it is best left unaddressed in order to gain him sympathy votes. My hunch is that Davis, an independent contractor, spoke at the bidding of the President, but even if he acted independently in order to force Jonathan’s hand, that should not prevent decisive action against any suspected Boko Haram sponsor, irrespective of party affiliation or status, against whom prima facie evidence can be adduced. All that is needed is political will.

20 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

God must be a Nigerian

By EBELE ORAKPO we say that God is a Nigerian, some “WHEN people think we are hallucinating, but deep

Policemen/Okada riders’ clashes: Lagos residents cr cryy out

BY BOSE ADELAJA

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LASHES between policemen and commercial motorcyclists popularly called Okada riders are as common in Lagos as traffic jams.

More often than not, such clashes have led to injuries and death of innocent residents, especially commuters. The situation worsened about two years ago when the State government announced a restriction or-

by extending their enforcement to routes the state government did not designate as restricted.

About a year ago, residents of Oke-Afa, Ejigbo, heaved a sigh of relief when rehabilitation of the Kudirat Adenekan Way was completed by the State government as this has reduced the usual bumper-to- bumper traffic jam in the area.

However, Vanguard Metro, VM, gathers that the joy associated with

The clash, during which dangerous weapons were used, was the outcome of the resistance by Okada riders to constant harassment and extortion by policemen

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der on Okada riders, especially on major routes in the State.

The restriction order prohibits the Okada from plying 475 roads, including major bridges. Since the order came into force, several commercial motorcycles have been seized by policemen in a bid to ensure compliance.

The restriction order which commenced in July 2012, was, according to the State government, to minimise commercial motorcycle-related accidents on the roads.

Meanwhile, reports from various quarters have it that policemen took advantage of the situation to make life unbearable for the average Okada riders in the State

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this development might be short-lived. There reason was borne out of the constant extortion and harassment of Okada riders by policemen from both Ejigbo and Isolo divisions who allegedly regard the riders their “ATM machines”. Attempts by the riders to refuse being thus used have led to several clashes resulting to destruction of lives and property in the area.

The residents, through their Community Development Association, CDA, have appealed to both the State government and Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Umaru Manko, to save them by restoring peace to the area.

Investigations by VM revealed that no fewer than 12 persons, including three policemen, were injured, while a building and two police vans were vandalised during one of the clashes between the riders and policemen from Ejigbo division which occurred on Tuesday August 19, 2014.

Investigations also revealed that the clash during which dangerous weapons were used was the outcome of the resistance by Okada riders to constant harassment and extortion by policemen.

Presently, many Okada operators in Oke Afa now ride with reckless abandon, believing that they now have the upper hand following their clash with the police.

The CDA in a statement signed by its Chairman Mr Oyedipe Dapo, and titled ‘’Ilamose under siege”, wants government to address security situation as well as illegal conversion of roads and walkways to markets and motor parks. ‘’We strongly believe that government has decided to play politics with our well-being by ignoring the security of our lives and properties. The Lagos State Police Command(Ajao Division), the Lagos State Task Force on Environment and Special Duties, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA and the Kick Against Indiscipline, KAI, have all com-

promised their professional integrity for financial gains. The unfortunate violence unleashed by commercial motorcycle riders on Tuesday August 19, against the Police over extortion within and around Kudirat Adenekan way, January 27 bridge and Chivita Avenue all in Ejigbo and Isolo LCDAs was a show of shame,” the statement read in part.

The CDA also said in the statement: “We understand that some Okada riders are responsible citizens and that the state government’s policy on transportation has conformed with international practice, hence we want a situation where they are identified and membership also pegged for ease of operation and identification.

“We also want to see visible government intervention through the Ministry of Transportation in this regard as many of them have converted our streets, drive ways and properties into parks while constituting nuisance and security risk to our lives and property.

“Through investigations, it was revealed that 95 per cent of these riders do not have vehicle licence. We would also want to see the removal of these foreigners, who do not have no respect for lives and property. The illegal street market activities which cause serious traffic gridlock and dumping of refuse in the canal are threats to human lives.”

within me, I know it is true or how else can one explain how we have been surviving terrible situations that have sent other nations over the brinks?” asked Mary in the Oshodi-bound commuter vehicle this Tuesday morning as the vehicle made its way gradually in the heavy traffic.

“Cholera, Lassa fever, meningitis, HIV/AIDS, malaria, poliomyelitis, river blindness, Bird flu, Boko Haram, and now Ebola! I mean, God really loves us,” said Mary.

“Is that why you say God is a Nigerian? He loves everyone. After all, we are not the only ones being affected by all the things you mentioned,” said Matt.

Replied Mary: “Yes, but others have not been so lucky. Remember Sierra Leone, Liberia and Rwanda?

Worse things have happened here and yet, like the proverbial cat with nine lives, we still dey kampe.

And I must add that we have not had natural disasters.”

Said Eddy: “You are right my sister. God is not unrighteous because He knows that we don’t have the capacity to handle natural disasters. Imagine if we have earthquakes, landslides, tornadoes, etc. We are finished! So God really loves us.”

“Remember bird flu and mad cow disease that killed people and animals in some countries? Bird flu has been with us for decades. We were eating the birds and the flu and never heard that anyone died of bird flu,” stated Mary.

“Our immunity is strong. Have you wondered why some of the Ebola victims survived despite the fact that there is no known cure for ebola?” asked Eddy.

“Yeah, I heard that viral infections are not cured with drugs; that the body builds up antibodies to fight the infection,” said Matt.

Narrated Vincent: “Talking about bird flu, I remember the story of a woman who took her chicken to the market to sell. The bird was sick. It was manifesting the signs and symptoms of bird flu. Luckily for her, a buyer came along and began to price the chicken.

After much haggling and finally agreeing on a price, the bird began to ‘manifest’. First it closed its eyes and then began to turn the neck as if it was dancing skelewu.”

“Kai, the fowl wicked oo. Haba! How e go choose that kin time to display? I am sure the woman must have cursed it in her heart,” said Matt.

Continued Vincent: “The buyer noticed it and told the seller that the chicken was sick. Guess what the seller said..”

“Abeg tell us if you want to tell us. After all we were not there with you,” replied Mary. “ The woman said: ‘Oh, no, it is not sick at all. It is perfectly healthy; it’s just shy because it is seeing you for the first time. You know first time meeting get as e dey be.”

“Smart woman. Typical Naija woman; always has answers to everything under the sun,” noted Tim. “There is another story of a woman who took her sick chicken to the market to sell. She asked her little daughter to watch it and play with it so that it won’t sleep because if it sleeps, nobody will buy it. She then went to purchase something in another part of the market. Trust kids, as soon as the mother left, a buyer came and saw the girl playing with the chicken. She tried to draw the girl’s attention to find out the price of the chicken. The girl was too engrossed in her play with the bird that she did not notice the lady until she touched her and asked where her mom went. The girl replied that her mom went somewhere but instructed her to play with the chicken to prevent it from falling asleep so that a buyer could buy. That was the end of discussion,” said Vincent.

“If na you nko ? You go buy a sick bird?” asked Eddy.

Said Tim: “But seriously, when we were growing up, once my mother sees any of her birds dancing skelewu with eyes closed, she quickly slaughters it and we are happy to have a feast.”

“We will continue to overcome all the arrows of the devil – Boko Haram, Ebola and all others. God loves us too much.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 — 21

ECOWAS members against Nigeria’s industrialisation bid —MAN

By Naomi Uzor

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ifteen out of the 16 ECOWAS countries have ganged up against Nigeria’s industrialisation even as the Federal Government has sworn not to sign any trade agreements that will harm the Nigerian manufacturers.

This was disclosed by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) during their 42nd Annual General Meeting held recently in Lagos.

Chief Kola Jamodu, the immediate past President of the manufacturers, had in his speech told the gathering that 15 out of the 16 ECOWAS member nations don’t want the country to be industrialised and are working frantically to frustrate Nigeria’s industrial development plans.

“MAN believes that the federal government’s efforts to enlist the support of other members of the African Union to reject the Economic Partnership Agreement ,EPA in its present form to be sustained.

We also appeal that the federal government should continue its effort to convince other ECOWAS member state of the potential dangers of EPA. No country can develop without protecting its industries and Nigeria stands the risk of having its market flooded with European goods with resultant negative effect on our industries and economy, if EPA is endorsed in its present form.

This will also impact negatively on employment generation,

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which is one of the critical aspects of Government Transformation Agenda and the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP)”he said In his response, the Vice President, Namadi Sambo, said that government has developed Nigeria’s first comprehensive plan to provide long term financing to industry and ensuring that any trade agreements signed will not threaten the Nigerian manufacturers.

“We must boost our industrial capacity; create more jobs and wealth in the economy. History has shown that no nation has ever become prosperous by relying only on export of its raw materials endowments without putting in place a vibrant manufacturing sector. Therefore, value addition to primary commodities to produce intermediate and finished goods for domestic and export markets shall be one of the key areas of focus of our new industrial policy and we believe firmly that the Industrial Revolution Plan can help in achieving this goal,” he said.

In cement manufacturing, he noted that for the first time ever in Nigeria’s history, last year the country became a net exporter of cement, from a country that produced only 2 million metric tons of cement a year in 2003, today, have a capacity to produce 39.5 million

15.46

-0.10

102.60 -0.59 93.86 -0.101 CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL SELLING DOLLAR STERLING EURO FRANC YEN CFA WAUA RENMINBI RIYAL KRONA SDR

154.73 155.23 256.5888 257.4179 204.1043 204.7639 169.1963 169.3911 1.4881 1.4929 0.2919 0.3019 234.1507 234.9074 25.1842 25.2661 41.2558 41.3891 27.3839 27.4724 235.9111 235.6702

155.73 258.2471 205.4234 170.2898 1.4977 0.3119 235.664 25.3479 41.5225 27.5609 236.4293

CBN Exchange Rate as 02 /09 / 2014

He said, “For the first time in decades, the Nigerian government has decided to tackle the biggest challenges that you Manufacturers have faced for years. This is to ensure that Manufacturing in Nigeria becomes truly competitive. In the area of financing, Nigerian manufacturers have always

struggled with the high cost of funding in Nigeria, yet nothing was done. But I am glad to inform you today that as part of the NIRP, we have put together our nation’s first comprehensive real sector funding intervention under a programme called the “Financing Value Chain Initiative”.

From left: Dr. Uche Olowu, FCIB, 2nd Vice President, CIBN; Otunba Debola Osibogun, President/Chairman of Council, CIBN; UK Eke, Executive Director South Region, FirstBank; Bisi Onasanya, Group Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, FirstBank during a courtesy visit by CIBN executives to FirstBank.

African ship owners to audit cargo on African bound imports

-0.35

3,262.00 44.00

metric tons per annum and have started selling to our neighbours.

Speaking during the event, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, said that the Federal Government had already put structures in place to reduce the cost of borrowing for manufacturers.

By Godwin Oritse

A

FRICAN Ship Owners Association ASOA has concluded plans to carry an audit on all cargoes that are brought into the continent with a view to getting African participate in carriage of their own consignments.

In an exclusive interview with Vanguard Lagos , Secretary General of the African Ship Owners Association ASOA UASC, Mrs. Funmi Folorunsho said that the ship owners want to create a data base of cargo movement so as to a proper plan for the carriage of these cargoes when they get into Africa.

Folorunsho who disclosed this at the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping (NCS) members’

Evening said that the ship owners are very particular with trade coming into Africa and within the continent.

She explained that the move also geared towards getting the details of any vessel belonging to an African and see how these vessels can be engaged in constant trading.

The group’s scribe also disclosed that the African Union through its Transport Charter mandated maritime operators in African to carry out the exercise.

She said “Africa must have a cargo audit in the sense that where are these cargoes coming from, at what volume, from which part of the world and what type of cargo.

“We need to know these things so that at the end of the day, we will able know what trade patterns are in Africa so that we can

plan and make a case for ship owners in Africa.

“If a ship owner acquires two reefer vessels, you can actually have cargo between Nigeria and Angola on a constant basis.

“But until we all come together and say this is what we have to offer in our country and see what the other countries have to offer, the foreign ship owners will short changing Africans”.

The Conference of Heads of African Maritime Administrations, Ship Registrars Association of Africa and the Association of African Ship-Owners will used to galvanize effort toward the project.

The conference which is scheduled to hold in Lagos will be attended by over forty African countries.

This year’s conference, will be hosted by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), as it will be used to review implementation of the resolutions at the 2013 Conference and consolidate our efforts towards the African Maritime Vision.

22 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 Poor households must have access to formal insurance to protect themselves against risks such as the death of the family breadwinner, severe or chronic illness in the family, or the loss of an asset, including livestock and housing

, INSURAN

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Lasaco empowers students to stay off streets

L

asaco Assurance Plc has made financial donation to Lagos Empowerment and Resource Network (LEARN) to enable it organise and facilitate summer school programme for this year’s long vacation as a means of keeping students off the street during the period.

In a statement, the company said the move is in furtherance of its strategic initiative to build its brand equity through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

According to the company, beyond students taking tutorials in their regular academic subjects, the summer school programme is designed to empower student with practical skills that would make them self reliance and inculcate entrepreneurial skill in different areas of endeavours. Practical skill areas include shoe making, bead making, event decoration, barbing, catering, soap making, photography among others. General Manager of the company, Mr. Biodun Dosunmu, who stood in for the Group Managing Director, Mr. Olusola LadipoAjayi explained that Lasaco believes tomorrow is certain when future leaders are properly groomed and nurtured through investment

in their education and empowerment with practical skills that would make them self- reliance.

“Our support for LEARN has been on in the last 3 to 4 years due to Lasaco’s believe in being a socially responsible corporate organisation as well as sustaining the legacy of its former chairman, late Chief Akin Leigh, who initiated the collaboration with LEARN. This great initiative aligns with one of Lasaco’s strategic business principle of striving to better the society, particularly using corporate social responsibility platform and therefore deserves sustenance.

“Lasaco cannot but give support to Lagos State Government’s drive to lay a solid foundation for the future leaders.

Lagos State government has also been very supportive of Lasaco as a corporate entity”, he added.

Dosunmu, who led a team of Lasaco management staff to visit one of the summer school centres at Oke Ira Junior Grammar School, oke Ira, Lagos, expressed gratitude to the LEARN for taking the initiative to get the students engaged during the holiday rather than roaming the street, stating that the society would be better for it.

Mansard opens welcome centres in Enugu, Uyo

I

n keeping with its strategy of retail expansion in the drive to make insurance products and services readily accessible to Nigerians from all walks of life, Mansard Insurance plc has opened two new Mansard Welcome Centres in Enugu, Enugu State and Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

In a statement, the company said that the Mansard Welcome Centre in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State is meant to serve customers and prospects. The Mansard Welcome Centre was formally declared opened at a brief ceremony in August, 2014 by the Special Adviser to the Commissioner of Youth & Sports, Akwa Ibom State – Honorable Ese Umoh.

At the tape cutting event, Umoh appreciated the management of Mansard Insurance for coming to Uyo, Akwa Ibom State to empower

the youths and also increase the awareness and benefits of risk management in the state. The ceremony was followed by an awareness walk to sensitize the residents of Uyo on the usefulness of insurance.

The Mansard Welcome Centres provide opportunity to purchase Mansard’s products and services in the life, non-life and health insurance segments.

Customers may also receive after sales services at the centres.

In the last quarter, four new Mansard Welcome Centres were opened, in the South West; in Lagos State and Broking House in Dugbe Ibadan Oyo State, in the North West; at Minna Central Business District, Niger State and at Angwar Rimi GRA, Kaduna North, Kaduna State.

The new Mansard Welcome Centres in Enugu and Uyo brings to nineteen, the number of such centers across Nigeria.

From left: Dr. Femi Oyetunji, Managing Director/CEO, Continental Re Plc; Mr. Ashish Desai, MD/CEO Wapic Insurance Plc and Mr. O.S. Thomas, Director-General, Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) exchanging pleasantries after the meeting.

Bridging microinsurance distribution gap Stories by Rosemary Onuoha

I

nsurance penetration as a percentage of GDP in Nigeria is shockingly low, at about one per cent.

Accordingly, the percentage of people benefiting from life, health, accident and disability insurance is typically low.

Many low income households are not covered because of four major obstacles; education, distribution, pricing and premium collection. As a result, when a family member passes away, these households suffer a severe financial set-back.

It is as a result of this that the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, introduced the microinsurance guideline in November, 2013, which took effect from 1st January, 2014.

Although, a few insurance companies have come up with microinsurance products, however, it is yet to reach all of the people in need because of the difficulty in mass distribution and education to the poor in all areas.

Microinsurance is the insurance solution for the poor to overcome the obstacle of high fees in traditional insurance products. It is characterised by low premiums and low coverage limits and designed for low-

income customers normally not served by social or commercial insurance schemes. Microinsurance products are insurance products designed to be appropriate for the lowincome market in relation to cost, policy terms, coverage and delivery mechanism.

Collaboration with mobile operators In recent time, some insurance companies like Mansard Insurance, FBN Assurance, Cornerstone Insurance, to mention a few, have entered into partnerships with mobile telephone operators to offer microinsurance products and

services to the general public.

Others like Mutual Benefits, Sovereign Trust Insurance to mention a few have introduced microinsurance products as well.

Where mobile operators provide the key for mass adoption of microinsurance, it is believed that they are covering, or will rapidly cover, entire populations with their transmission and distribution networks.

According to experts, mobile operators help to deliver financial support to their lowincome subscribers in their time of need without bearing any of the risk.

Classification of

Gainers for equities company

2014-01-08 close price(N)

Conerst

0.50

Royal exchange Nem Intenegins

2.52 0.76 0.50

29-08-2014 Difference close price (N) 0.57 2.58 0.81 0.50

0.07 0.06 0.05 0.02

Losers for equities Company

2014-01-08 close price(N)

29-08-2014 Difference close price(N)

AIICO Mbenefit Custodyins Prestige Mansard Wapic Continsure

0.81 0.54 3.96 0.54 2.55 0.88 1.12

0.80 0.52 3.92 0.50 2.50 0.79 1.00

-0.01 -0.02 -0.04 -0.04 -0.05 -0.09 -0.12

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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 —

microinsurance According to NAICOM, microinsurance is defined as insurance that is developed for low income populations, provided by licensed institutions, run in accordance with generally accepted insurance principles, and funded by premiums.

Microinsurance products are insurance products that are designed to be appropriate for the low income market in relation to cost, terms, coverage and delivery mechanism, the Commission noted.

N

AICOM classifies microinsurance policies to cover little risks and therefore, exclude special risks like motor insurance (except tricycles and motorcycles), professional indemnity and other pecuniary risks with sums insured higher than N1 million. The Commission notes that for any company to get approval to carry out microinsurance business, its products must be simple, affordable and valuable.

The Commission states that microinsurance products shall have the following features: Simplicity: which implies that the policies, conditions, procedures and marketing must be simple; understood, which implies that the risk pooling method, procedures and coverage must be unambiguous and easily understood; accessibility, which implies that products must be accessible to the target market in terms of purchase, premium payments and claims; valuable, which implies that products or services shall be designed to meet the needs of clients, be beneficial, fair in price and coverage; as well as efficiency, which implies that the delivery/distribution channels must be efficient to both the insurer and the policyholders.

The way forward According to experts, if the microinsurance policy of NAICOM is to be effective, poor households must have access to formal insurance to protect themselves against risks such as the death of the family breadwinner, severe or chronic illness in the family, or the loss of an asset, including livestock and housing.

These experts are of the opinion that microinsurance must help people manage unexpected events in return for payments proportional to the likelihood and level of a specific risk and it must cover areas including health, assets, agriculture, and death.

,

CE & YOU

Microinsurance must help people manage unexpected events in return for payments proportional to the likelihood and level of a specific risk and it must cover areas including health, assets, agriculture, and death

23

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e-ID will complement growth of CPS — Akande

E

xecutive Director, Operations and Services of Premium Pension Limited, Mr. Kayode Akande has said that the National Identity (e-ID) Card which will enable the electronic identification of every Nigerian would not only complement but facilitate the operation of the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS. According to Akande, the CPS is technology-driven; hence the e-ID will enhance its smooth operation.

Akande said, “The new pension industry has witnessed tremendous growth in its ten years of existence and the market penetration would have even been deeper if there were proper individual identification of the entire Nigerian workforce.”

It will be recalled that less than seven million workers have enlisted in the Contributory Pension Scheme out of the estimated 70 million Nigerian working population.

Akande pointed out that one of the major challenges to the rendition of pension fund administration in the country is the issue of duplicate registration and multiple identities.

“When the National Identity Management System provides a smooth process for enrollment into the National Identity Database for the procurement of National Identification Number the operation of pension administration would be seamless and unfettered” he

said.

“Capturing the demographics and/or biometrics of every Nigerian worker in a national identity bank or database would facilitate unassailable growth in the pension industry.”

The Pension Reform Act, 2014 emphasises the extension of the contributory pension scheme to the informal sector whose informality is underscored by its lack of proper organisation and even accentuated by the lack of identity of most of its members.

Union Assurance maps out strategies for growth

P

oised to deepen insurance penetration and awareness in the country, Union Assurance Plc said it has earmarked key strategic initiatives for 2014 to 2018.

Managing Director/CEO of the company, Mr. Godwin Odah disclosed this at the members Evening of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), in Lagos.

According to Odah, some of the key strategies include the unveiling of a microinsurance model that will enable the company leverage affinity groups thereby achieving a lower acquisition cost for this important segment. Odah said that the

company will participate in large transactions, particularly in the energy and power sectors, adding that they will partner with the big lenders such as First Bank, Union Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank.

On growing its customer base, the Union Assurance boss said that they will

improve brand visibility and awareness among the young upwardly mobile middle class, adding that service and product innovation will enable the company deliver, particularly with the emerging middle class, a competitive value proposition.

He said “We shall also aim to develop bespoke products that meet our clients risk and

business demands.”

Speaking further on business process, he said that by the end of 2014 it hope to increase its retail force from 1,400 to at least 2,000, adding that it will create an online store with an improved business process that enable the company deliver its products seamlessly across multi channels group and affinity lines.

CSR: NSIA Insurance donates to foundation

T

he management of NSIA Insurance, formerly known as ADIC Insurance has donated a 14seater bus to the Down Syndrome Foundation

Nigeria, a non-governmental, not-for-profit association that caters for young people with Down syndrome in the country. The gesture was a part of celebrations marking

From left: President, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Mr Bola Temowo; Commissioner of Education, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mrs Omorala Erogbogbo during the donation of 2000 copies of “Insurance for Senior Secondary Schools” textbook to the Lagos State Government by the CIIN.

the company ’s 25 years of operations.

The Head, Corporate Services of NSIA Insurance Mrs. Vivian Ikwuneme, who made the donation on behalf of the company, said the donation was a part of the its corporate drive at improving the living conditions of children of the Foundation.

“NSIA is a socially responsible company that believes that every citizen deserves to live life to its fullest regardless of physical or mental disability,” Ikwuneme said. “As a company that is in the business of taking care of people’s long term future, we are delighted to have partnered with the Foundation to better the lives of these special children because we believe that children with disabilities should also be supported as there is ability in every disability,” she added.

According to her, often people tend to look down on people with disability. “But at NSIA Insurance, we believe that every child is a gift from God, and as such should be appreciated,” she said.

24 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Chief S.O. Fadahunsi, OFR, CON:

Tribute to an exceptional leader and engineer

From left: Mr. Abiodun Ayodeji, Category Manager, Dairy, Promasidor Nigeria Limited; Mrs. Florence Olumodimu, Director, Client Services, Proximity Communications Limited and Mr. Rotimi Olaniyan, CEO, Proximity Communication at the just concluded Onga National Campus Cooking Competition (NCCC) 2014 at University of Lagos, Lagos State.

We are committed to passing CIS Bill — Okumagba

By PETER EGWUTU

T

he President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) Mr. Albert Okumagba has reiterated its commitment to the passage of the institute’s bill which will further contribute to repositioning the CIS and put it on the global map of professional excellence.

He stated that the new leadership has been working very closely with the National Assembly in order to ensure the passage of the Bill that would transform the CIS into the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment.

Okumagba who was represented by the institute’s First Vice President, Mr Oluwaseyi Abe at the interactive forum with the registered students in Lagos at the weekend said that one of the objectives of the on-going transformation of CIS was to bring all the practitioners in the Securities and Investment industry into one fold.

The interactive forum was initiated by the institute and supported by some coaching centres to create a platform where students can rub minds with the institute’s principal officers, top management staff, examiners and heads of lecture centres on the students’ complaints and suggestions as well as the institute’s position on each issue.

In his welcome address, Okumagba explained that CIS was undergoing aggressive transformation to rebrand and reposition for global competitiveness. He urged the students to be frank, sincere and down –to- earth without any fear of victimization to ask any question as regards the institute’s certification process.

“ The institute deemed it necessary at this point to organize this forum in order to create an avenue for exchange of ideas between the institute and and the students. This I hope will give you students the opportunity to ask relevant questions, make suggestions and contributions to any of the institute’s programme” he said.

Speaking on the plan to globalise the CIS professional qualification, Okumagba said “The new leadership will pursue the passage of our bill which is at the 3rd reading stage at the National Assembly for change of its name to Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment. In the new dispensation, the institute is poised to bring all the

practitioners in the Securities and Investment industry to its fold to ensure that the minimum training and certification is maintained for the advancement of the industry in accordance with its statutory powers as it is practiced in other developed market. “ The Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of CIS, Mr. Adedeji Ajadi advised the students to devote more time to the preparation for examinations. According to him, the institute had embarked on some programmes aimed at enhancing seamless preparation for examinations particularly for those who are very busy with their office work and those who live outside Lagos with limited access to coaching centres.

Fidelity Bank partners Sokoto on IGR collection

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idelity Bank Plc has announced its appointment as the lead bank to Sokoto State government on the state’s Point of Sale (PoS) led Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) project. With this, Sokoto becomes the fourth state to appoint Fidelity Bank on such project.

A statement from the bank revealed that it pioneered the initiative in collaboration with the Abia State government in January last year.

This scheme has also been implemented by local governments as an easy and efficient tool for IGR collections.

According to the Divisional Head, Retail Banking, Fidelity Bank, Mr. Richard Madiebo, the bank has come up with several initiatives aimed at

supporting the cashless policy of the federal government.

“Fidelity Bank’s pioneering role in the PoS-led informal sector IGR collection is one of the strategies to support the cashless policy.

“Of particular interest is the offline PoS collections mode that has capabilities of collecting taxes and bills in the rural areas with little or no network coverage,” he explained.

According to him, the system also warehouses data and assists in the generation of unique Tax Identification Numbers (TIN).

He stated that with the development, the bank “is poised to render this service to government and private organisations using innovative and cutting edge technology.”

hief Samuel Olatunde Fadahunsi was 94 years old at his death on 12 August 2014. He was born in Ora, Osun State although his parents were from Ilesha, Osun State. His early education started from Saint John’s Infant School, Iloro, Ilesha and he went on to other schools in Osu, Ilesha, Ibadan and Osogbo culminating in his secondary education at Government College, Ibadan, GCI, between 1937 and 1942. He was next at Yaba Higher College between 1943 and 1946.

He was employed by the Nigerian Public Works Department, PWD, in 1947 and in 1948 he obtained a scholarship to study civil engineering at Battersea Polytechnic, University of London. He returned to the Nigerian PWD as a chartered engineer in 1954. His postings included Ibadan, Osogbo before he spent 1957-1958 in the UK at the Roads Research Laboratory. With the Nigerianisation policy, he became the Chief Water Engineer, Western Nigeria in 1960. Under his watch, water schemes involving dam construction were executed in Oyo, Ogbomosho, Abeokuta and Ibadan.

Discussions for the formation of an engineering society started in the UK and when the initiators which included Chief Fadahunsi returned to Nigeria, the Nigerian Society of Engineers, NSE, was formed with Engineer Adeniyi Williams as its first President. Chief S.O. Fadahunsi held the position of President in 1968-1969. Later, the Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria, COREN, which registers all engineering practitioners, was established by statute with Chief S.O. Fadahunsi as No. 1 in its register and also as its President from 1977 to 1986.

The Lagos Executive Development Board, LEDB, was his final place of employment in the public service arriving from Ibadan in 1963 and retiring from the LEDB in 1971. He assumed duties as Deputy Chief Executive Officer and he subsequently became the Chief Executive Officer, CEO. I was adult enough at the time to understand that before he took over as CEO, there was a power struggle between those who believed that the position of CEO should continue to be the

preserve of our ex-colonial bosses and those who felt otherwise.

Chief S.O. Fadahunsi had a substantial breadth and depth of knowledge in engineering structures, roads, soil mechanics, water supply and town planning which he brought to bear on his work at LEDB and elsewhere. His thoroughness and attention to detail were legendary. I recall that on his instructions, enumerators of affected properties and persons were asked to report for work before dawn for the assessment of the area affected by the Eko Bridge construction. This was to ensure that all eligible persons were counted.

Chief S.O. Fadahunsi loved his people and we returned his love in greater proportions. I recall on occasion officials of his Cathedral Society – the Torch

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With the Nigerianisation policy, he became the Chief Water Engineer, Western Nigeria in 1960.

Under his watch, water schemes involving dam construction were executed in Oyo, Ogbomosho, Abeokuta and Ibadan

,

Bearers – would call on him to inform him of the society’s intention to visit him with a special meeting. When the visit did take place, it was a joyous occasion for all, the society members were full of appreciation as they were royally entertained.

We would miss the yearly gatherings at his Apapa home on his birthday. The GCI Old Boys’ Association would miss the yearly visits with him in October. His Ilesha home – House on the Hill-is a marvel as it is one place where one could stay in the clouds and look down on the rest of Ilesha. We are glad this will always be there for us.

I am grateful for the opportunity I have had to share in his life and that of his wife Chief Mrs. Iyabo Fadahunsi, starting from 1950s when he met my parents during his posting to Osogbo. He will be buried in Ilesha on Saturday 6 September 2014.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014—25

DIARY zAdvanced Networking, Internet Tech and Administration Workshop Lagos Sep 8-12, 2014

z Cisco Connect Sun City, South Africa Nov. 2 - 4, 2014

Preview

New inventions shaping life and living

eID Card:

A mind reading camera

The confusion, questions, answers

H

OW many times has a movement so absolutely hilarious or unbelievably adorable unfolded before your eyes, making you wish you’d been holding a video camera?

Japanese tech company Neurowear’s high-tech headgear, Neurocam, aims to solve that problem for you. The device straps a camera and an electroencephalogram reader to the wearer ’s cranium.

During moments of high-frequency electronic signals detected through the skull — a general indication of excitement — the camera switches on to record short fivesecond GIFs onto an iPhone that is somewhat awkwardly attached to the device.

President Goodluck Jonathan displaying the e-ID card dummy at the launch last week, assisted by Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina and Board Chairman,NIMC, Prince Uche Secondus.

By Prince Osuagwu & Laju Arenyeka

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ISSING records, whether in the pub lic or private sector are not a new phenomena in Nigeria. Whether in sports or health, transportation or education, in the private or public sector, it is not unusual to hear of important files that simply get missing.

With the advent of Information and Communication Technology, in the last decade especially, experts have called for the need to digitize these records. It is this campaign that led to the recent launch of the National electronic identity card, by the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC.

I N S I D E

Microsoft adds X2 to Nokia X family

Even after it was launched last week by President Goodluck Jonathan, news about the eID card has however been met with suspicion; Could this mean that foreign companies and governments can now access one’s personal information at the touch of a button?

Would it not be robbing Peter to pay Paul if the average Nigerian’s right to privacy is sacrificed on the altar of digitization? But Head, Card Management Services, CMS, at NIMC, Mr. Tunji Durodola, has provided some answers to some of these questions.

In fact Durodola says that such suspicions are baseless.

Durodola allayed such fears, saying that

“the National Identity Database is not open to inspection by any party, home or abroad.

For him, “there is absolutely no provision for any foreign Government or body to access the database.”

He, however, pointed out that this is not the same as verification services, like when an Embassy may request to verify a person’s National Identification Number (NIN) to ascertain that the person requesting a visa is genuine, arguing that it is done all over the world.

However, any embassy wishing to participate in verification services in the near future will need to go through a very strinContinues on page 28

We’ll achieve 90% digital transition before June 2015 —NBC

26—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Microsoft adds X2 to Nokia X family

By Prince Osuagwu

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icrosoft Devices Group has introduced a new device, the Nokia X2, which it said has bolstered the Nokia X family.

The affordable smartphone, according to Microsoft, is now available for purchase in Nigeria. The Nokia X2 boasts of upgraded specifications, more popular Microsoft services and a smoother, easier user experience..

Head of Marketing, Nokia West and Central Africa, Deborah Shepard, said that “the Nokia X2 is designed to help the next billion people connect to the mobile Internet and cloud services, affordably.”

She added that the device was a response to the fantastic reception of the Nokia X family in Nigeria, The Nokia X2 is said to have enhanced

Nokia X2 features, including a larger 4.3" ClearBlack display, a 5MP rear-facing, autofocus camera with flash, as well as a front-facing VGA camera which allows users take pictures even when the phone

screen is locked. The smartphone also benefits from a Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 200 processor featuring a dual core 1.2Ghz CPU and 1GB of RAM, to make switching between favourite apps even more fluid.

There are also Microsoft services like Outlook.com, Skype and up to 15GB of free OneDrive cloud storage, while new apps like OneNote and Yammer are now available to download for free from the Nokia Store.

With Opera for Android as the device’s default browser, Nokia X2 users will save data while surfing on their mobile phones thanks to the Opera Turbo compression service embedded in the Opera browser.

The Nokia X2’s seamless monobody and exchangeable back covers with the ‘inner glow ’ design beautifully complement major

enhancements to the user interface. These include a new ‘home’ button and a choice of screens to make navigation a breeze.

Adding to the fantastic features available on the device is the colourful, tilebased ‘home’ screen with resizable, live tiles, a unique Fastlane feature for accessing most recent apps and future appointments, a new Lumia-inspired apps list, from which people can pin items to the home screen, visual multitasking screen is accessed by long-pressing the ‘back’ button and a pulldown notification centre that shows connectivity, app and system alerts.

The Nokia X2 is available in all mobile retail outlets across the country in glossy green, glossy orange and black colours.

We’ll achieve 90% digital transition before June 2015 —NBC

By Emmanuel Elebeke

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HE Nigeria Broadcasting Commission, NBC has said that it is working towards achieving 90 per cent of digital transition across the country before the June 17, 2015 I n t e r n a t i o n a l Telecommunications Union, ITU deadline, for countries to switch-over to digital broadcasting.

This is also as the commission, said, that Nigeria needed about N67 billion to achieve full transition from analogue to digital broadcasting on deadline.

According to the Commission, the estimated cost will be spent on buyback subsidy by broadcast stations, Costs from TV publicity among other cost required to achieve the ITU deadline.

Director General of the Commission, Mr. Emeka Mba revealed these at the 22ndanniversary of the Commission in Abuja.

Mba said plans have been concluded to commence a nationwide rollout by January 2015 with a target of covering 90 per cent existing television households before the deadline. “Our dateline is January 2015. We have the objective of covering 90 per cent existing TV households in the country by June. From this September, we will go to

Kaduna, Uyo, Ibadan to engage the state governments and organizations on this” he said.

According to him, the ongoing pilot scheme in Jos, Plateau State is already yielding expected results with 90 per cent coverage and is expected to attain 100 per cent coverage in the next 60 days.

“We are hopeful that within the next 60 days, given the availability of Set Up Boxes, we should be able to switch off all the analogue TVs in Plateau state,. We are working very hard with all the stakeholders in Plateau state to make this happen, including the State government,” said Mba. He disclosed that the Commission auctioned the digital broadcasting license because the country stood to incur a huge loss if the licenses were not put into desired use.

According to him, “beyond broadcasting, it has other social and economic benefits to the country. If we do not auction those licenses, Nigeria will lose hugely and this will impede broadband penetration plan. So, what we are proposing is to provide different options to government to decide which one will be possible to be implemented,” he explained.

For him, the most exciting benefit will be the free to Air television services to all

Nigerians, especially those below the poverty line, which the commission was planning to bring as incentive.

“We want to see more Free to Air Televisions. They will soon exist side by side with the existing Pay TV channels. We will like to see Free to Air Platforms and in the next two weeks, those interested can contact the NBC. We will give priority to these channels.

Digital broadcast studio

“We are committed to see this happen. We will surely give priority to Free to Air TV that is one of the fundamental mandates of NBC, even though others will exist. We have about 23 million household televisions in Nigeria. We need subsidy for those living below poverty line, which is 33 per cent of population. It is an option for government to consider based on the resources that are available to government, the rebate on Set top Boxes.”

CWG extends MTN XaaS to power Diamond Y’ello Account

By Emeka Aginam

A

s part of the Cashless Initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Computer Warehouse Group Plc has extended the MTN XaaS platform to power the Diamond Y’ello Account in collaboration with Diamond Bank and MTN Nigeria.

MTN XaaS runs on indigenous software from Computer Warehouse Group Plc designed to provide efficient cloud-based banking services. Diamond Y’ello Account is a mobile banking product built on MTNXaas platform to enable MTN subscribers, including the unbanked and under-banked populace in Nigeria enjoy the banking services from Diamond Bank.

The Diamond Y’ello Account allows automatic account opening just at the dial of *710# by all MTN subscribers, presently put at 58.4 million. At the launch of the service, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Bank, Dr. Alex Otti, said the move was aimed at deepening the cashless initiative, considering that only about 40 million out of the estimated over 150 million Nigerians have a bank account.

For the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Mr. Michael Ikpoki, MTN is ready to absorb the anticipated surge into her digital solutions, allaying fears of disruptions.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014—27

Jonathan appoints Kazaure new Galaxy Backbone MD

By Prince Osuagwu

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First non bank based credit card debuts in Nigeria

By Prince Osuagwu & Peter Egwuatu

T

he Central Bank of Ni geria, CBN ’s cashless initiative, has received greater boost as a Lagos based company, 03 Capital Nigeria Limited introduced the first non bank based credit card in the country.

The launch becomes Nigeria’s commencement of credit card system without attachment to any bank.

Chief Executive Officer, 03 Capital Nigeria Limited, Mr. Abimbola Pinheiro, while introducing the cards, said with 03 credit cards, Nigerians were freely presented with effective lending opportunities that will increase their purchasing powers while the country also benefits from economic activity promotion through innovative payment system.

He argued that “In Nigeria today we have about 100,000 bank based credit cards.

When we compare it with our population of over 160 million, you will agree that a lot more is still needed to capture the entire people. There is no risk without a reward. If we as Nigerians don’t take risks, our economy will not develop. It is our philosophy that every Nigerian would have credit card in their wallets. We cannot develop without a credit card system”.

He explained that the credit card works on the Interswitch network which means they can be used on all Automated Teller Machines, ATMs, Point of Sales Terminals, POS and Nigerian internet payment sites in Nigeria.

The naira denominated credit cards have limits ranging from N100,000 to N1,500,000.

Pinheiro also flaunted the security compliance of the initiative, declaring: “Our entire operating systems run on certified platforms that are PCI DSS certified in line with international security standards as issued by Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council, PCI SSC. The Card

enterprise infrastructure is driven by an ultramodern Card Management System that is provided by a leading Canadian software company, Bevertec CST Inc. Customer Relationship Management System which is provided by Redmain, a UK based CRM Solution Provider.

“Our infrastructure provides a robust experience for the cardholder while guaranteeing transaction and data security in line with the international EMV standard and best practices. Our Risk management System is integrated with the Credit Bureaus to provide a thorough and efficient credit appraisal system”.

“The O3 selection process is extremely thorough with a high level KYC scrutiny in

line with our philosophy of ‘right customer low risk’. The IT infrastructure is integrated with the existing credit bureaus which enables an automated credit history review of each applicant. The card management system has a predictable risk management and anti-fraud solution.

While also endorsing the product, Mr. Tope Adebayo, a representative of NIBBs, said “ NIBBs has been partner of progress with almost all the banks in Nigeria. There have been collaboration with the banks and other institutions to develop this product. We need collaboration to make our system work well. This product is robust and needs the collaboration of all stakeholders to make it succeed.”

PTV unveils franchise system for budding phone resellers

By Paul Ikuforiji & Favour Anthony ne of Nigeria’s mobile telephone resellers, Peace Tiding Ventures (PTV) has unfolded a franchise system for budding phone resellers in Nigeria. The company also plans conference to introduce and educate interested participants to the system.

The conference which is free but requires pre-registration will take place at Best Western Plus Hotel, Ikeja Lagos at the weekend. The conference is to specifically, expose the concept and benefits of the franchise network to interested members of the public.

The company which said it has in the last 13 years built outstanding track record of profitability, integrity and professionalism, evolved the franchise strategy in order to give entrepreneurs platform to invest their fund in a successful brand.

PTV said it believes that Nigerians should be empowered as entrepreneurs as a means to creating employment and making the economy more robust. Besides, the

O

platform will also enable Nigerian consumers to have easy access to genuine handsets and other Information and Computer Technology (ICT) products.

Chief Executive Officer of PTV, Mr. Banji Adesanmi explained that the performance of the company in the last 13 years has given it the latitude to expand its reach in the ever growing telephone retail market.

Expatiating on the modus operandi of the franchise system, Adesanmi disclosed that interested members of the public only need to pay oneoff franchise fee and monthly royalty to enjoy accruable benefits.

“Our franchise system will allow people to have the liberty to secure good location, employ their staff, foot their overhead and enjoy their profit 100%. PTV is not into franchise based on profit sharing. To us at PTV, it is a social responsibility to share our brand with potential investors who are interested in viable opportunity to turn around their investment in a short time," he added.

resident Goodluck Jonath an at the weekend approved that the current Executive Director, Corporate Services, Galaxy backbone, Mr. Yusuf Kazaure should by Friday, be elevated to the position of Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the establishment.

Kazaure will be replacing the pioneer MD/CEO, Mr Gerald Ilukwe, whose tenure ends on tomorrow, after eight years of service in Galaxy Backbone.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, who in a letter dated 29 th August, 2014, conveyed the appointment, charged Kazaure to take the ICT Company to greater heights.

Already, the outgoing CEO, Mr Ilukwe, has congratulated him, describing the elevation as an honour and responsibility well deserved.

He enjoined all staff of the establishment to accord him all the support he may need to succeed in moving the company greater heights.

Yusuf Kazaure is a seasoned professional with over 25 years cumulative working experience spanning Construction, Banking, Government and Information Technology.

In 2002, he was appointed as the pioneer Managing Director/CEO, Galaxy Information Technology and Telecommunication Ltd - a Jigawa State owned ICT company.

He was responsible for the planning, setting up and running of the award winning Jigawa Broadband Network.

His passion for deepening the role of ICTs for effective governance and national development resulted in Yusuf being a key member of the initial core team of Galaxy Backbone Plc in 2006.

Kazaure as one of the pioneer staff of Galaxy Backbone, has at various times headed the Business Operations, Education, Development and States – which focused essentially on ICT4D Initiatives – and Customer Services departments of the company.

His eight years services with Galaxy Backbone, are said to have helped the company in laying the foundation for eGovernment by creating an enabling platform that currently connects over 700 Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in over 3,500 locations across the country.

Kazaure has a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Bayero University Kano and an M.Sc in Architecture from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, as well as a Diploma in Computing from Oxford University.

Kazaure

Caritas partners Investis on digital corporate communications

By Cynthia Okere

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NE of Nigeria’s public relations outfits, Caritas PR Limited has announced its debut into the digital corporate communications world with the establishment of a subsidiary company Caritas Digital. Already, the new subsidiary is setting off on a high note, with the sealing of a strategic partnership agreement with an international digital communication company, Investis Limited.

The partnership will see Caritas Digital, riding on the back of Investis’ huge international image to deploy digital corporate communication solutions to quoted and unquoted companies in West Africa.

A highly excited CEO of Caritas PR Limited, Mr Adedayo Ojo, said of the partnership: “We are delighted partnering with Investis. The agreement will enable us to combine our expertise to offer clients the best in corporate and digital communication.”

He added that the partnership was a response to an independent research report which showed a sharp rise in digital products and services globally and an encouraging increase in the number of corporations investing in their overall digital corporate communication in the past one year.

Ojo said “Annual Reports are no longer shared during Annual General Meetings, but rather deployed through IR applications to targeted Investors, and shareholders with enhanced user interface for interactive engagements. The lack of these applications currently places some quoted companies in Nigeria in a disadvantage position”

28—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Microsoft becomes platinum sponsor for DEMO Africa

YouTube Masthead exposes Nigerian brands to global market

By Emeka Aginam The introduction of online advertising tool known as YouTube Masthead by Google Nigeria would help the country’s brands to gain entrance to the international market, Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor, Country Manager, Google Nigeria, has said.

The new tool allows brands to advertise on the YouTube homepage through customized mastheads for a whole day.

The masthead offers an opportunity for advertisers to explore the YouTube homepage with classy video plug-and-play format that helps brands interact with their consumers.

The homepage aims at building awareness, influencing perceptions and to rev-up the mind and market share of the brand, while remaining consistent with the overall YouTube experience.

Meanwhile, the new YouTube Masthead format is

already gaining ground with top Nigerian brands like Glo, Airtel, UBA, Rexona, Star, Gulder and Samsung already runningcampaigns to drive traffic, attract subscribers and engage Nigeria’s growing YouTube user population.

YouTube offers countless opportunities to a wide range of advertisers, allowing them to connect with a diverse international audience in new ways.

With the development, advertisers in Nigeria will now be able to reach consumers in their different destinations, amassing massive flow of referral traffic through YouTube and increase brand related searches on Google.

Speaking on the new service offering, Ehimuan-Chiazor, explains that : “Online is now an essential part of the marketing mix and more advertisers than ever are utilising the benefits and alongside traditional media.

“Since YouTube was

By Emeka Aginam

launched in Nigeria in 2011, there have been lots of interests from brands wanting to takeover Google properties.

The launch of Youtube Masthead which is essentially the full takeover of the Youtube homepage now presents advertisers a terrific opportunity to engage with YouTube users when they arrive on the YouTube h o m e p a g e www.youtube.com.ng “It is a highly effective online advertising platform for reaching massive audiences with an affordable budget”.

Also speaking, Teju Ajani, YouTube Content Partnership

M lead in Sub Saharan Africa stated that “YouTube receives over 1 Billion unique global users every month, with over 100 hours of videos uploaded every minute, this presents a massive opportunity for brand managers looking to boost exposure.

“Basically brands and advertisers will only be limited by their imaginations and creative muscle with this new advertising format.”

YouTube is the world’s most popular online video community allowing millions of people to discover, watch and share originally-created videos."

The confusion, questions, answers on e-ID Card Continues from page 25 gent and rigorous approval process. NIMC will then offer a 1-tomany service, meaning that a NIN is supplied via a secure channel to NIMC’s verification platform and then a lookup is done against the National Database.

Can Mastercard infringe on privacy?

He also explained that MasterCard, the American-based, multinational services financial corporation largely responsible for the payment functionality on the card will never have access to such private information.

He said: “MasterCard is simply providing functionality for 1 of the 5 applets, just as you have with ATM Cards. No one complains that your name is on the ATM card, or that that information may be held in America.

"The concern here is biometric data and other demographic information such as next of Kin and so on. MasterCard does not have and will never have access to such information. Any suggestion that MasterCard, Visa, or any other foreign body will gain access to the database is pure fiction not backed up with evidence.”

In the first phase, MasterCard is offering payment functionality for the Card. There is a firewall between this applet and all the other applets so not even a POS terminal can access the secure

data protected by EAC2 on certain parts of the Card.

As stated earlier, the National Database is NOT the business of MasterCard and never will be.

Later on, we will have Visa and Verve Cards as alternatives to MasterCard. MasterCard will only be available on the first 13 million Cards.

ID applet, travel document?

The card has thirteen applets, five of which are active as soon as user begins to use the card.

The five applets include the Match-on-Card-where a secure terminal matches a specific fingerprint against that locked away on the card; Payment functionwhich allows secure financial transactions; the Machine Readable Travel Document (MRTD), for local/ regional travel; Nigerian Electronic Identity (‘eID’) application to be used to authenticate an individual’s identity and Electronic Public Key Infrastructure (‘ePKI’) application to be used for identification, authentication and digital signatures.

Durodola said that the electronic ID applet, which is the main applet contains some of the information submitted during enrolment. Other information such as address are also available on the Card but protected by higher levels of access control called EAC2.

The NIN is also locked away in EAC2 protection. Most information is NOT available on the Card, such as next of Kin, par-

entage and so on. These are only available in the National Identity Database (NIDB).

He noted that with the Matchon-Card function, an agency or concerned body can be sure that the person presenting the Card is the true owner. It is no different than what is currently done with the International Passport.

He added that: “National Identity Card is also a travel document and conforms to the same standards as International Passports and National Identity Cards of other nations which have TD1 functionality built in. It is hoped that the document will be used for ECOWAS travel (without the need for another travel Passport), as the applet cannot be forged.

NIMC has its own Document Signer (DS), on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

According to him, NIMC has conformed to International Best Practices to provide this applet.

National Identity Database and National Security This recent development has also given the NIMC the huge responsibility of being the custodian of the National Identity Database. What happens to national security if this information is revealed to unauthorized persons or entities?

In response to this, Durodola noted that the Department of State Service (DSS) has scruti-

nised NIMC and can attest that the Commission has put processes and security measures in place to avoid such breaches of National Security.\ “NIMC has even gone as far as implementing its own PKI Infrastructure, which means that Digital Certificates and Keys issued for each individual are not sent out for signing, but are signed internally as Nigeria now has its own Registration Authority (RA) and Country Signing Certificate of Authority (CSCA) as well as a host of other PKI systems thereby negating the need to depend on a foreign Government to sign our certificates.

Nigeria has its own OID (for those who know what that means) and we had to apply through the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the ITU. Which means that Nigeria’s RA is recognised by ICAO worldwide, making our Card a globally-acceptable Identity Card which conforms to International Standards.”

He added that: “In the unlikely event that Nigeria has problems with the US Government similar to the issue with Russia, the only part of the entire Card that can be shut down is the payment applet. This applet is only 1 of 13 on the Card. It has absolutely nothing to do with the ePKI, eID, MoC, Tax, Voter, Travel, Health or other applets.”

icrosoft Corporation has thrown its weight behind DEMO Africa, a flagship initiatives of LIONS@frica aimed at connecting African startups to the global technology ecosystem.

Slated to hold this month in Lagos, the software giant will participate in the event for the third time under the Microsoft 4Afrika initiative with platinum sponsorship.

The sponsorship will see Microsoft offer financial support for the event where 40 tech start-ups from across Africa are expected to pitch to potential investors.

Speaking on the collaboration, Fernando de Sousa, GM Africa Initiatives at Microsoft, said that , “DEMO Africa has given a platform for investors to realize the enormous potential amongst African youth showcased through startups. As an organization that has operated in the continent for over 20 years, Microsoft believes Africa’s economic take-off to long-term growth prospects will be determined by the investment decisions we make today in support of youth initiatives. ” Welcoming the support, DEMO Africa’s Executive Producer, Harry Hare commented that investor ’s confidence plays a very critical role in motivating start-up entrepreneurs.

According to him, ” We acknowledge the support of Microsoft and their efforts in uplifting young entrepreneurs in Africa. It’s this kind of support that assures us that the future is indeed bright for Africa and at DEMO Africa we are keen to make our contribution to this success.

The idea of Demo Africa is to get young Africans who have the capability and technical know-how to perform well but who do not probably have things like business mentorship or funding.

DEMO Africa is the place where the most innovative companies from African countries get a platform to launch their products and announce to Africa and the world what they have developed.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 — 29

30 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

doctor@lagospainclinic.com

Ebola: Deadly, cowardly and stupid THAT

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•Every aspect of a man’s being is coded into semen, just like a woman’s being is coded into her egg, so that when the sperm and the egg meet, they form a human being with contribution from both of them.

Infertility not for women only

By Gabriel Olawale

T

HE challenge of infertility among couples has been identified as a shared problem to which the man and woman contribute equally and also collectively. Over time, dealing with the issue of infertility collectively has been the way to go.

At a health and business career workshop Dr. Christian Makwe a, lecturer & Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi- Araba, Lagos said the “male factor” is one of the reasons for infertility among couples and it is “expressed in the quality of the semen” produced by the male partner during sex.

“So, male factor is very important in

Organic India launches new products

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RGANIC India, a frontline producer of organic medicines, supplements and food worldwide, is set to launch some of her high potency products in Nigeria.

The event, titled “Product Launch and Exposition of Substantiation Reports”, is slated for Friday this week at the Lagos State office of the company.

According to the Vice - President of the Host Company, the BFI Group, Mrs. Perpetua Okeke, the occasion will be used to showcase to Nigerians, the scientific proofs and results of clinical trials on some of the Company’s products. She listed some of the products to include; Neem, flexibility, Ashwaghanda, Woman Well Being among others. She further described them as major breakthrough in providing reassuring solutions to divergent health challenges with no side effects. Renowned Pharmacist, Mrs. Ekpedeme Adeduro will be presenting the products to the public.

fertility, and that is expressed in the quality of the semen that comes out every time the man meets with his wife. Every aspect of a man’s being is coded into semen, just like a woman’s being is coded into her egg, so that when the sperm and the egg meet, they form a human being with contribution from both of them.

He said there is optimum number or quality of semen that needs to be produced at every ejaculation, as well as the motility (movement) and normalcy of the semen.

“The four things we use to estimate male fertility, the volume of the ejaculation, the percentage normal for the sperm that are there, how much of the sperm are moving, particularly moving forward and progressing and finally, what is the count per million of the semen.”

Makwe added that women can also be the reason for infertility as both of them stand equal chance of being the factor. “For women it may be as a result of ovulation problems, tubal problem or damage, uterine damage among others.”

Makwe regretted that this issue of infertility has broken many homes and caused disunity among couples even when they are still living together. He however advised that the medical examination for both couples is necessary in diagnosing and treatment of infertility and should not be left for only the women to do. “Since both the husband and the wife with issues of infertility have a stake in it, it becomes very necessary for both of them to seek medical help,” he added.

The programme, organised by Joy Welfare and Charity Ministry in collaboration with C&S Movement Church Women Fellowship, is part of activities aimed to improve the welfare of members.

Chairman of the Executive Board Benjamin Alaka, noted that the intention was to highlight issues affecting the stability and happiness of the family as well as capacity building for young women in order to improve their socio-economic empowerment. This will enlighten them on the opportunities awaiting them in such business while at the same time proffer solution to any entangling challenges that could be on the way of achieving success,” he added.

HILE the eye of the hurricane of Ebola still sits on a cluster of small countries in far west Africa, its wind shears has now engulfed our nation, Nigeria.

From the heroic actions of the dedicated doctor and staff of First Consultants Hospital in Obalende, to the swift action of both Federal and State Governments (despite political differences), Nigeria has stemmed the spread of this deadly virus.

The Ebola virus (in all its five cowardly disguises) invades the body like a thief, to plunder and destroy everything in its wake, including, eventually, itself. This tiny creature attacks tissues and leaves a bloody hemorrhage in its trail. It is not the only "hemorrhagic" fever...there are Lassa, Marburg,and Dengue fevers as well.

Ebola not the most powerful

Ebola is actually not among the most powerful of viruses when OUTSIDE the body. It can be removed by simple washing of hands. It struggles to transgress normal intact skin.

It takes contact with an afflicted, clinically symptomatic person to become infected.

The (ordinary) cold virus is more resilient. It remains in dry handkerchiefs and other fomites, even when the afflicted person appears hale and hearty.

Hepatitis B

The hepatitis B virus can remain dangerously infective on a piece of paper for weeks. It remains in the blood, gently doing its damage to the liver and other organs, over many years.

While Ebola will,

stupidly, destroy its host and hence itself, the slow-poison deadly HIV virus, can remain and maintain its (infective) state in its host for decades.

21 days

It takes Ebola up to 21 days to start wearing down its host's defense systems. Symptoms manifest and the person becomes infective.

The 'flu virus will get to that stage within a week!

Finally, when those that survive Ebola recover (and figures show that 10-50 percent will survive), the virus disappears. It is gone from the blood. The survivor's body is even able to produce soldiers (antibodies) that are ready to attack the same virus (strain) if it should invade again.

Chicken Pox

Compare this to the chickenpox virus, which, after its temporary, devastating and disfiguring initial onslaught, will disappear from the BLOOD....but can hide in the central nervous system for up to 80 years!

When the chickenpox virus awakens decades later, it starts to attack peripheral nerves and leaves a trail of debilitating severe neuropathic pain conditions in the sufferer.

Yes, Ebola is deadly, but it is in its biological stupidity, that prevention is its best antidote.

Lest we forget, there are three other diseases wreaking havoc across our region.

According to the WHO........

AIDS

At the end of 2012, 35.3million people were living with HIV. That same year, some 2.3

million people became newly infected, and 1.7 million died of AIDS, including 230 000 children. Close to 10 million people in lowand middle-income countries were receiving antiretroviral therapy at the end of 2012. More than two-thirds of new HIV infections are in sub-Saharan Africa.

TB

There were an estimated 8.6 million new cases of TB in 2012 (including 1.1 million cases among people with HIV) and an estimated 1.3 million deaths (including 320, 000 people with HIV), making this disease one of the world's biggest infectious killers.

Malaria

Around the world, 3.3 billion people are at risk of contracting malaria. In 2012, an estimated 207 million cases occurred, and the disease killed approx. 627 000 people – most of them children under five in Africa. On average, malaria kills a child every minute.

To all health workers

The heroic doctors and health workers at First Consultants, and those battling Ebola nationwide and across West Africa, have been treating these three ailments for decades.

Let us not relent in carrying on their battles.

Let us not forget that the commonest cause of fever remains malaria; that other deadly dangers exist through contact with other person's body fluids; and that dirty, insanitary foods and water are still the commonest causes of typhoid and diarrhea.

Ebola has come and, like all epidemics, it will go. As we mourn the departed, we must carry on the work for which they sacrificed.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 — 31

32 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

EAGLES V CONGO

Keshi: Yorke tips Falcao to lead Man U to glory

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ADAMEL Falcao can fire Manchester Unit ed to the Premier League title this season, says Dwight Yorke.

“With the team the manager is building, I believe it is good enough to go and win the Premier League,” the former United striker told Sky Sports News HQ. “They are playing catch-up at this moment and they need to start getting results now, but if they can do that the confidence will generate and when that builds up you’ve seen what they’ve done in the past.

There is no doubt in my mind Manchester United could go on to win the league from here.

“I know a lot of people will be questioning that, saying the new players need time to bed in, but these players are world-class players, not just players trying to fit into the football club. These players are that good that it’s easy to fit into the system of Van Gaal.

“The players Man United now have at their disposal will send alarm bells ringing in the Premier League.. Falcao is a number nine, the ultimate number nine,” he said. “You look at his goalscoring record and he’s a phenomenal striker. He’s not interested in link-up play, he just knows how to hit the back of the net. He’s the best goalscorer in the world right now.

Messi wants to stop playing Argentine friendlies

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ionel Messi, recognised by many as the greatest footballer of the modern generation, could refuse to participate in international friendly matches for Argentina, reports Spanish publication MARCA. The Barcelona man led his side to the World Cup final in the summer, and despite starting the tournament well and winning the Golden Ball, awarded for tis best player, many were disappointed that he didn’t find his very best level when it truly mattered.

Now starring in La Liga with Los Cules, Messi could pull out of Argentina’s friendly matches until the Copa America starts in 2015.

Argentina are scheduled to play high-profile friendlies against Germany, Brazil and Hong Kong, but the mercurial attacker would prefer to rest himself from international duty until a proper tournament begins.

The news is apparently worrying the Argentine FA, who will miss out on revenue if their star attraction doesn’t play. Furthermore, the story will undoubtedly only maximise the occasioanl concerns over Messi’s commitment to his country.

I will miss Enyeama S

uper Eagles coach Stephen Keshi has confessed that he will miss the services of first choice goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama in this weekend’s 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Congo in Calabar.

The Lille of France goalie was granted Keshi’s permission to stay out of the matches against Congo a n d South Africa a n d

speaking from the team’s training camp in Calabar, Keshi admitted that Enyeama was central in his plans to qualify Nigeria for the 2015 tournament, scheduled to hold in Morocco.

“Enyeama is my first-choice goalkeeper. He is a very reliable and fantastic player, who I adore a lot because of his loyalty to the national cause. I will miss him”, said Keshi.

Meanwhile, Former VVV Venlo gaolie, Robin Udegbe, has rued the absence of Vincent Enyeama for the upcoming games. “ I think the coach will find a good solution to replace Enyeama. Both Ejide and Agbim have enough experience to handle such a situation,” Udegbe said.

‘In the end the coach will use the impressions of the training sessions

•Vincent Enyeama to decide who is the better one.

“Maybe now there is the chance to invite a young future goalkeeper to get some experience.”

The German-Nigerian added: “It is very difficult to replace Vincent Enyeama because he is the best African goalkeeper. But it is a big chance for the other goalkeepers to show their skills as well.

“The national team has to be prepared when Vincent Enyeama is not able to play. The way Vincent Enyeama plays is brilliant. He gives the team a lot of confidence and transmits a unique calmness.

Furthermore, he has an excellent left foot and he is very good on the line,” he concluded.

DI MARIA: I owe my success to Ronaldo

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ngel Di Maria has expressed his gratitude towards his close friend Cristiano Ronaldo for fighting his corner during their time together at Real Madrid.

Manchester United’s record 59.7 million pound signing ended his four-year spell at the Santiago Bernabeu on a high, by helping the club to win their long-awaited “Decima” (10th) Champions League title.

But Di Maria says that such success was only made possible because of Ronaldo’s influence at the club, with the Portuguese star able to convince the Los Blancos board not to part with the Argentine last summer.

“The truth is I have a great friendship with Cristiano Ronaldo,” he revealed in an interview with ESPN. “He always supported me at every moment and when it looked like I was going to leave he fought my corner and the truth is thanks to him I was at Real Madrid last season. “I ended up winning the Champions League in the year when it seemed I would leave; I left in the best way possible, with the ‘Decima.’”

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•Di Maria with Gal

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VOL. 1 NO 6

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Main complex of the abandoned six years ago

hospital

6 YEARS ON: Neuropsychiatric Hospital Enugu on verge of collapse •Could have employed more than 500 employees — Staff

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By Francis Igata

NUGU—RESIDENTS of Enugu State are worried over the abandonment of the federal government-owned Neuropsychiatric Hospital located at 52, Chime Avenue,

New Haven, Enugu.

South East Voice visited the hospital and discovered that many facilities in the hospital had been abandoned just as the expansive building which stands conspicuously at

the main entrance gate was caving-in from the top right hand corner of the building.

Also, water was seen dripping in torrents from the two storey building due to long exposure to the rain.

IN THIS EDITION Windstorm destroys church, Pastor’s house in Abia Page 2

ABOMINATION Our children rape us, Imo Christian mothers cry out Page 8

Enugu residents bemoan poor state of infrastructure at IMT Page 7

From the billboard in the hospital, it was discovered that the contract for the project was allegedly awarded to Messrs Akal Group Limited with the aim of absorbing over 500 fresh employees that were to be recruited to fill existing vacancies in the hospital, noted for treatment of the mentally ill in the whole of the south east and beyond.

However, at the hospital, it was observed that reptiles and rodents had taken over the building. The entire walls which had not been plastered and had become very weak as they had absorbed much water

giving way for the growth of greenish fungi (spiro-gyra).

Engineer speaks Speaking on the imminent dangers inherent in such situation, a building/structural engineer, O key Agbo, said:”The water that you see dripping from the floors of the building is because it has absorbed water for a long time given that it is not roofed.

“The absorbed water will cause the floors to expand and crack which will lead to breakages. The expanded metals used for its roofing will be rusting by now due to Continues on page 3

2— Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

ABIA

Failed portion of the road at Umunneochi

Abia communities cry out over failed federal road •Arochukwu, Ohafia council areas worst hit

By ANAYO OKOLI

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BIA—COMMUNITIES in Arochukwu and Ohafia Local Government Areas of Abia State have cried out over the deteriorating state of the Federal road that

leads to the areas from the state capital, Umuahia.

The communities which include the various villages in Ohafia, Arochukwu, Ihechiowa and Ututu are lamenting the abandonment of the road by the contractor

leaving them to suffer untoward hardship.

They have consequently called on the Federal Government to sack the contractors from the project, saying they have the capacity to handle the project.

The worst portion is the

stretch from Ohafia, shortly after the 14 Brigade Barracks.

No one kilometre of the road can be said to be good.

Contract for the road was awarded over three years ago but no serious work has been done on the road which incidentally is the only road

Foundation donates hospital equipment to FMC, Umuahia •as a thank you gift over birth of son in 2013

By ANAYO OKOLI

U

MUAHIA—A health care foundation Dare2Care, based at The Hague, Netherlands, has donated hospital equipment to the New Born Specialist Care Unit of the Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, Abia State, to enhance the better survival of new born babies in the hospital.

Founded by a Nigerian couple who are based in The Hague, Netherlands, Jonathan Ogidi-Nwankwo, in appreciation of the Hospital’s Management for the safe

delivery of their son, Miracle, on August 8, 2013.

Among the equipment donated to the hospital by the Foundation include monitors, ECG machine, blood pressure measuring equipment for new born babies, infusion pumps and assorted types of consumables.

According to OgidiNwankwo and his wife, Nicoline, the gesture was in appreciation of the dutifulness of the medical team of the hospital who battled to save the mother and the baby, Miracle who was Continues on page 3

Anotherfailed portion of the Federal road

to Arochukwu and other communities in that environ.

The flag off of the construction of the road was celebrated and Abia State Governor, Theodore Orji, who was present, as if he knew, cautioned and forewarned against abandoning the road and shoddy job. And true to his warning the job has been abandoned after inflicting more suffering to the users by the contractor who even scrapped off the areas that were hitherto manageable.

Following the outpouring of rage over the road from the communities in the area, former member of the House of Representatives for Ohafia/ Arochukwu Constituency, Chief Mao Ohuabunwa last week called for the sack of the contractor for lack of capacity.

According to him, the contractor has not got the capacity to handle the road and, therefore, should be sacked and the job given to a competent contractor.

Ohuabunwa said: “Not up to one kilometre of the Arochukwu road has been done. I wonder if we are still part of the country. We appreciate the effort of the Governor on pressure he mounts on the Federal Government on the road.

“The contractor is not competent to handle that road. Federal Government thank you for awarding the road contract, but you awarded it to the wrong person who does not have the capacity to handle the project.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014—3

ABIA

Windstorm destroys Church, Pastor’s house in Abia

By ANAYO OKOLI

A

BIA—TRADGEDY struck the sleeping Umulenso community in Ohuhu clan of Umuahia North Council of Abia State last Monday when windstorm damaged St Charles Methodist Church in the community.

One casualty was also recorded during the violent

wind as a young boy was said to have been hit by a heavy wood from the church which ripped open his skull. He is presently receiving treatment at a private hospital in Enugu.

The incident occurred in the evening of the fateful day following a light rainfall, according to the residents

who expressed shock at the level of destruction caused by the windstorm.

The church which is located at Chief Onyema Ugochukwu’s village,who was said to have contributed immensely towards its building.

The Presbyter in-charge of Ohuhu Circuit Two of the

Methodist Church, Nigeria, Very Rev. Emma Reuben, described the incident as a “terrible omen which I have not seen since I was born.”

Reuben lamented the magnitude of damage done to the church which was officially dedicated on December 27, 2013, and blamed the contractors, especially the carpenters for doing very poor job.

He said that a gigantic structure like his church ought not to have been roofed with the type of wood used on it by the

Abia State contractor, adding that appropriate materials would have been used while roofing the church.

According to him, based on the level of destruction caused by the windstorm, it would cost between N15 and N20 million to put the church in its former shape and called for assistance from the government and other good spirited individuals and groups to reconstruct the church.

Neuropsychiatric Hospital Enugu on verge of collapse

Handing over the items to the FMC management team

Foundation donates hospital equipment to FMC Umuahia

Continues from page 1 exposure to sun and rain.

The walls and rain water “Those greenish fungi you see all over the walls is due to exposure to rain. The walls have absorbed rain water, that is why those greenish fungi is growing. This will make it almost impossible for the plastering to be done.

“Being that the building is not roofed; the entire wall strength will be reduced as a result of exposure to rain and sun which eventually causes collapse.”

Efforts by the South East Voice to know the reasons for the poor state of affairs from the Chief Medical Director at the hospital, Dr. Onwukwe, failed but as a staff at the hospital who pleaded anonymity for fear of victimization said, “this place is a ‘landmine’. The building is collapsing. There is no doubt about that.

Everybody can see it. Have you forgotten that the hospital management sold forms at the rate of N3,000 each to prospective job seekers sometime ago with the hope that the building will be completed. The entire scheme failed.”

Continues from page 2 delivered as a premature baby.

They said: “Our experience in this hospital, FMC, Umuahia, surrounding his (Miracle’s birth has inspired us to set up the Foundation, Dare2Care to offer a better chance of survival to newborn babies in the hospital.”

According to the Head of Department of Paediatrics, Dr. Chika Ibeneme, the baby was delivered as a premature and weighed 1.6 kg but was managed at the Specialist Care Unit and he fully recovered and gained 2.3 kg before he was discharged.

Ibeneme commended the couple for the donation and their assistance to tackle some inadequacies being experienced in tropical climes like Nigeria, saying that the equipment would be of immense benefit to the department.

Receiving the items, Dr. Innocent Chukwuonye, chairman of Medical Advisory Committee of the hospital who represented the Chief Medical Director, Dr. Abali Chukwu, commended the foundation for the gesture and promised that the items would be put into good use.Chukwuonye also expressed hope for more fruitful relationship between the hospital and the Foundation.

Hospital equipment donated by the foundation to the FMC

4—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3 , 2014

ANAMBRA

Pains as Awka turns construction zone •Residents decry ‘stunted growth’ of the state capital

By VINCENT UJUMADU

A

WKA—OVER the years, the people of Anambra State complained of what they described as the stunted growth of Awka, the state capital, but with the decision of the state government to upgrade the urban status of the city with the construction of three flyovers in the area, motorists say the pains are excruciating. They are, however, hopeful that better days will eventually come.

The bridges are being constructed on three areas along the Enugu–Onitsha expressway namely at Aroma, Unizik Junction and Amawbia. There was so much excitement when Governor Willie Obiano flagged off the project, but when the construction company assembled its heavy equipment and began actual work; many people say the pains brought about by the traffic gridlock are becoming unbearable.

On daily basis, those

entering or driving out of Awka often spend hours on a spot. Some of the motorists who spoke to South East Voice say it was embarrassing to them that they would drive all the way from the South South, South West and Northern states to come into Anambra, only to spend hours on a spot.

However, some residents of Awka say they do not mind the pains being experienced at the moment as a hungry man that has hope of food would continue to endure.

Those who were in Lagos during the construction of the flyovers that dot many parts of the city experienced this type of pain, but driving on them is a delight now.

“Similarly, the massive rehabilitation of the roads in Onitsha witnessed similar traffic jams, but Onitsha is a sight to behold today. My advice is that people should

be patient with the government because going by the speed at which the work is going on, it will be completed in less than two years, provided that funding is sustained.”

But while motorists are complaining, the mobile traders would want the traffic jam to continue indefinitely as it helps them to make quick sales.

For instance, those who sell roasted corns, bread, handkerchiefs, soft drinks, among other items, are smiling home on daily basis.

Mechanics are also making brisk business as broken down vehicles have become a common feature in the area.

Reconstruction and expansion Chief John Onyeanuna, a printer based in Awka, said anybody who complains about the heavy traffic is a hypocrite because there is no way the city would become better without the roads undergoing reconstruction and expansion.

He said: “The problem our people have is short memory.

*A typical traffic gridlock in Awka metropolis -Now a common feature in the city

Anambra community resorts to prayers over erosion threat

BY VINCENT UJUMADU

A

WKA—THE people of Enugwu Ukwu Ward 1 in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State have resorted to prayers over the gully erosion that has devastated the area.

According to information, the erosion started as a flood track and before the people knew what was happening, it developed into frightening sites around the area.

Constant prayers The arrow head of the prayer warrior is Evangelist Chidebe Okafor who has taken it upon himself to assemble clergy men from the community for constant prayers around the major erosion sites in the area to seek God’s intervention.

Evangelist Okafor told South East Voice that they have to seek the face of God on the matter since human efforts aimed at solving the problem had not yielded much result.

He said: “Enugwu Ukwu Ward 1 is one of the largest political wards in Njikoka and anybody that fails to win here

during elections is not likely to win in the local government because of its large population.

“Over the years, politicians have used the erosion menace in our community as a campaign gimmick with promises of what they would do to combat it once they are elected. However, none of these politicians ever remembers the area once they are in power.

“Though we are predominantly an agrarian

community, our people no longer have places to farm because erosion has washed away our farmlands. All the trees we planted to check the spread of the gully have been washed away and several houses are currently threatened.

“Knowing that God can never disappoint his people, we believe that prayers can do the miracle for us as we believe that God can make it possible for the erosion to find another channel

and leave our community alone.”

Okafor said he was happy that his people have embraced the prayer option instead of the deceit they had gone through in the past in which case some people extorted large sums of money from the community in the name of appeasing the gods to divert the erosion.

According to him, some of the shrines the people set up at the erosion sites have already been washed away which was an indication that using fetish means to fight the erosion cannot work.

He said that the essence of the prayer is also to touch those in authority to remember Enugwu Ukwu Ward 1 and what the people are going through.

A 65-year-old widow in the community, Mrs. Mabel Nwugo, said she was excited when the prayer option was brought forward by the Evangelist, adding that she was among the people who were adversely hit by the menacing gully A devastated farmland by the gully erosion at Enugwu Ukwu Ward 1 erosion.

She said: “When my

husband was alive, we used to farm at the Agu, but over the years, we discovered that erosion had destroyed the farmland. My late husband was planting bamboo tress and other shrubs to check the menace, but because of the speed at which it came from the upper part of Enugwu Ukwu, all the trees were washed away.

“I was doing better with crops from the farms then than what I am getting from selling household items which do not yield much profit.”

Another indigene of the area, Chief Maxwell Nwafor said the most worrisome aspect of the situation is that people who want to build houses in the area no longer find plots of land to build on because of the erosion.

“In the past, we were considered the luckiest village in Enugwu Ukwu because of our vast land, but now, all our lands have become erosion sites such that our youths who have made money have been buying land in other parts of our town to build their houses.

While I welcome the prayer option, I also plead that government should come to our aid without further delay,” Nwafor said.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014—5

IMO

REACH US An abandoned flyover bridge...one of the many projects begging for attention of Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State

Abandoned projects litter Imo •As Governor orders arrest of contractors

BY CHIDI NKWOPARA

O

WERRI—WHEN Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State came on board in 2011, several projects, especially construction work, commenced with jet speed. He told Imo people that he was in a hurry to develop the state.

Road projects commenced virtually in all the 27 local council areas of the state.

Midway into the projects, most of the projects were abandoned by the contractors handling them. Okorocha experienced the sad situation recently, when he paid working visits to some of the local government areas. In some places, he ordered the arrest of the contractors that allegedly abandoned their work after collecting

mobilisation fees.

However, in the course of the tour, the issue of one Joseph Dina, whose contract allegedly led to the sacking of the former deputy governor, Sir Jude Agbaso cropped up.

The Imo State government and Joseph Dina had accused Agbaso of collecting N458 million, out of about N1.5 billion released for the project as bribe from the contracting firm owned by Dina, leading to the impeachment of Agbaso.

Okorocha, however, gave the contracting firms the option of either going back to site and continuing with their assignments; refunding the money or face prosecution.

Task force

Consequently, the governor set up a task force headed by

the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Sir Jude Ejiogu, to arrest some non-performing contractors.

It is not yet known those who were arrested or charged to court for abandoning their projects.

Also, soon after President Goodluck Jonathan flagged off the construction of a second Niger Bridge at Onitsha, Governor Okorocha equally flagged off a flyover bridge in Owerri, Imo State capital.

Construction work on the planned flyover commenced almost immediately and the Governor promised to deliver the project on or before the end of 2014! This is September and only three months is left to the end of the year. However, what is on ground are about 14 pillars and the beams across them.

Okorocha, who addressed

newsmen parried questions over the plight of the people whose buildings were demolished for the flyover bridge to be built, even as he said that work has recommenced on the project. He also debunked the rumour making the rounds that he ordered the contracting firm to use mere blocks in the construction of the flyovers.

The governor said: “The original drawing of the flyover had no roundabout but I have added it. The blocks people say I am using to construct the flyover would be used to beautify the structure. I am also continuing with the dualisation of the OwerriOrlu-Akokwa federal highway. Nobody is talking about this project but I am not worried.”

DO you have any news of neglect or abandoned projects or your representative at the local, state or federal governments are not representing you well?

Do you have unique cultural activities coming up or any community news to tell us?

Emeka Mamah (Co-ordinator): 08033218645 Tony (Enugu): 08033218180 Vincent (Awka): 08035804090 Anayo (Umuahia): 08034046839 Chidi(Imo): 08033391108 Peter (Abakaliki): 08032680756 Chinenyeh (Nsukka): 08185664011 Nwabueze (Nnewi): 08037794782 Enyim(Onitsha): 08169297179 Or: e-mail us: eastervoice@yahoo.com

6 —Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

ENUGU

*Protesters opposed to imposition of new monarch

Tension in Enugu community as 2 monarchs lay claim to throne

By Tony Edike

E

NUGU—THE people of Amandim-Olo autonomous community in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State have expressed concern over the chieftaincy dispute that has caused division among the natives.

Natives of the four major villages that make up the autonomous community had regarded themselves as brothers until the recent conflict that led to the emergence of a monarchelect even when the person that had occupied the traditional stool since 2002 is still alive.

The development followed what some natives described as unnecessary power struggle

erupted few weeks ago when the Enugu State Government announced the withdrawal of recognition earlier given to the royal father by the Chimaroke Nnamani administration.

Agana, who was the chairman of Enugu West Council of Traditional Rulers, was derecognised by the government for allegedly refusing to handover the Hiace bus donated to him by the Deputy Senate President, Chief Ike Ekweremadu after he was suspended as Chairman of the council.

The Commissioner for Chieftaincy Matters, Mr. Emeka Abugu, had directed the monarch to surrender the vehicle and the N1 million given by the donor

,

As the youths tried to push through the police barricade, the officer ordered his men to disperse them with teargas and several canisters were fired forcing those present at the scene to take to their heels

between two political camps in the state over the Enugu West senatorial slot in 2015 but while the two camps have continued with the battle of wits, the people of the community are now bearing the brunt.

Until last July, Igwe Harford Agana was the recognised traditional ruler of Amandim- Olo having been elected to the throne by his people in 2002 but crisis

,

for its maintenance, but the monarch turned it down, saying that the vehicle was a personal gift to him and not to the traditional rulers council.

This irked the government which ordered his dethronement and declared his seat vacant. A section of the community led by Pastor Eric Nwankwo, who contested the throne with Igwe Agana in 2002 quickly regrouped

and presented Nwankwo to the government as replacement for the embattled monarch.

Agana, who had alleged that he was being victimised by the state government for being perceived as Ekweremadu’s supporter, however, refused to quit the throne and subsequently wrote the government notifying it of his decision to challenge his dethronement in court.

Abugu had on August 20, 2014 gone to Amandim-Olo to conduct the verification of the traditional ruler-elect, Pastor Nwankwo but violence erupted when policemen from the State Police Command prevented protesting supporters of Agana from attending the verification exercise.

The protesting villagers comprising elderly men and women as well as youths from the community, had converged early at the palace of Igwe Agana with placards and later marched to the Central Primary School, Amandin-Olo, venue for the verification where the natives were expected to express their opinion on the government’s decision to install another monarch.

But few metres away from the venue, a unit of policemen led by a Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP, whose name could not be ascertained, cordoned off the road preventing the protesters from gaining access to the event.

This angered the youths among

them who alleged deliberate plan by the monarchelect and the government’s representative to deny them the opportunity to voice out their opposition to the replacement of t h e i r monarch Igwe Harford Aganga on his throne which they claimed was elected according to the traditions and customs of their people.

As the youths tried to push through the p o l i c e barricade, the o f f i c e r ordered his men to disperse Pastor Eric Nwankwo Igwe-elect them with teargas and several canisters “Government ,we need our Igwe were fired forcing those present back” and “Emeka Abugu leave at the scene to take to their heels. our community alone”.

Some of the placards displayed Some of the young men were by the protesting natives read: arrested in the process while “Igwe Agana is our choice”, “No other Igwe except Agana”, Continues on page 7

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014—7 One block of engineering classroom overtaken by grasses

ENUGU Tension in Enugu community as 2 monarchs lay claim to throne Continues from page 6 some old persons who could not run away fell on the floor crying and gasping for breath on account of the teargas. But as the protesters were being smoked, the government representatives led by the chieftaincy commissioner went ahead with the verification in which a section of the community endorsed Pastor Nwankwo as the replacement for Agana.

Igwe Agana was installed by his people on July 7, 2002 and was removed from his throne on July 18, this year a development the community said was completely against the tradition of the people who elected him.

An 85-year-old man, Chief Ozokolo Chibunine, who is the leader of Ozo title holders and kingmakers in the community, condemned the action of the policemen, saying they were duly invited to attend the verification exercise to express their opinion on the chieftaincy dispute.

Dethronement of the monarch He said that the community was strongly opposed to the dethronement of the monarch by the government, stressing that the government had no right to remove Igwe Agana, who was constitutionally installed by his community.

According to him, the purported selection of the new monarch was illegal as majority of the natives were opposed to it and called for the reinstatement of Igwe Agana.

Efforts to speak with the Commissioner for Chieftaincy Matters, Pastor Emeka Abugu on the issue proved abortive as he declined to comment when approached by our correspondent.

But the monarch-elect, Pastor Nwankwo said that he was the person duly elected as monarch by his people in 2002 but was rejected by the Chimaroke Nnamani administration which preferred Igwe Agana. He explained that though he went to court to challenge the matter, the judgment was yet to be delivered 12 years after.

He, however, stated that his current selection was an affirmation of what the entire community decided over 12 years ago.

Meanwhile, tension has heightened in the community as both sides of the divide have vowed to push their case until the right thing was done.

Another part of the Industrial Centre with outdated machines

Inside the Industrial Centre with abandoned machines

Enugu residents bemoan poor state of infrastructure at IMT E

BY FRANCIS IGATA

NUGU—THE dwindling fortunes of both the educational and structural facilities at the Institute of Management and Technology, IMT, Enugu have dampened the hope of Enugu State residents and the environs in getting qualitative education from the once famous institution Established with the motto, ‘’Skill and Service,’’ to bridge the technological gap in the old eastern region, the IMT is on a downward slope as it’s environment, laboratory, industrial and classroom facilities are not suitable for effective learning.

At the Campus 3 section of the institution where learning takes place, South East Voice discovered that the entire classroom and staff blocks had been taken over by grasses. Heaps of refuse

dumps were scattered all over the place down to the Industrial Centre.

The offensive odour emanating from the refuse dumps clearly eroded the ambiance expected in a learning environment. The prevailing situation provided a fertile ground for all manners of clandestine activities allegedly fueling the activities of mischief makers who hibernate at such places.

The Industrial Centre depicted abject abandonment as all the machines used in the early 70’s by the School of Engineering and Technology for metal works, fabrication and production had become obsolete. Laboratories were not left as they were dotted with obsolete equipment. Road networks in the campuses were also in ruins as yawning craters dotted the landscape, thus largely defacing the institution.

Alumnus speaks Justice Obiajulu, 39, who

came to obtain his transcript lamented that, “the school had been in bad shape before he left in 2001. I cannot see any changes, rather the structures are dilapidated. I went to my department (mechanical), the three storey building is leaking profusely from all the floors.

“Most of our project equipment were not in the lab.

The lab is so dusty and rusty.

I cannot imagine how learning will take place there now. ” Student reacts A final year student at the department of Civil Engineering who spoke to South East Voice under anonymity said: “Most of our lecturars only teach us theories. We have to resort to other alternatives for practical experience.”

The PRO The Public Relations Officer, PRO, IMT, Ifeanyi Ojobo told South East Voice on the

telephone that, “things had not worked as management expected. The challenges of funds are there. We are alive to these challenges. We are asphalting the road from the main gate down to the Campus 3 area.

“At the administration area, we are also tarring the roads with drainage systems. The issue you raised about the industrial centre is germane.

But we have taken cognizance of that and we are building two twin storey buildings at the back of the centre for school of engineering and that of technology respectively.

“The management had also built a state-of-the arts ICT resource centre that will carter for the information, data and research needs of both students and staff. An auditorium is also being built at the Federal Secretariat axis which will house examination halls, conferences, seminars, among others.

8—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

ANAMBRA

Poly, Oko monarch end rift

IMO

ABOMINATION:

O

Our children rape us, Imo Christian mothers cry out

By CHIDI NKWOPARA

O

WERRI—CHRISTIAN mothers from Mgbishii, a sleepy rural community in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area in Imo State, have cried out to the Catholic Archbishop of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, His Grace, Dr. Anthony Obinna, over alleged attrocities being committed by their sons and daughers in the area.

The women visited Archbishop Obinna at the Maria Assumpta Catholic Cathedral, Owerri, where they complained that they were being raped by their own sons on daily basis.

“We are raped and molested by our own children. You cannot come to Mgbuishii and return home safely because of the crime,” the women told Archbishop Obinna.

They further said that they had complained to both the state government and other law enforcement agents but regretted that they were yet to find solutions to the atrocities committed by their children.

They said: “We are angry because government is not looking at our direction at all.

We have been completely abandoned for years. Now, we have no good roads, no electricity, no market and nothing is going on in our place. To make things worse, we are now suffering from

* Imo CP, Abdulmajid Ali

Institution's management

Archbishop Obinna insecurity.”

Continuing, the aggrieved women also revealed that their sons take over the roads leading to their community on each of their market days and rob people, adding that this explained why people had stopped coming to buy farm

KO—THE authorities of the Federal Polytechnic Oko, Anambra State, seem to have resolved their crisis with traditional ruler of the polytechnic’s host community, Oko, Igwe, (Prof) Lazarus Ekwueme as the monarch has pledged to work for the growth of the institution.

Ekwueme made the pledge alongside the former Chairman, Orumba North Local Government, Hon. Emeka Aforka and the traditional ruler of Mbaukwu, Igwe Peter Anukwu when the governing council of the polytechnic paid them separate courtesy visits.

Aforka who received them on behalf of the council area noted that "right decision goes with right direction." He added that the visit was on a positive note as the governing council members were there to solicit for support which he assured they will receive.

He said that the polytechnic had always enjoyed very cordial relationship with his council area pointing out that this would continue to grow from strength to strength.

Aforka further said that since the rector, Prof. Godwin Onu came on board, the Polytechnic had improved tremendously on perception of the people, pointing out that this was because of the positive impact the rector had brought to bear in the management of the institution.

produce from their market.

No Police presence While lamenting that there is no police presence in the community, the spokeswoman, however, expressed shock that when they report anything to the police, they ultimately found themselves in more trouble as they ended up being molested the more.

“Also, each time we report cases to the police and they manage to send their men at all, the criminals beat them (policemen) up because they (criminals) parade more sophisticated weapons than what the policemen have. We needed police escort to get here (Maria Assumpta Cathedral) and we will also need them to go back home,” the women said.

On lack of social amenities in the area, the spokeswoman said the community had no roads, primary or secondary schools as well as health facilities, adding that they had been completely abandoned

by the various tiers of government, even as they pointed out to the Archbishop that most of them were already planning to relocate to safer communities in Rivers State.

“Even the Reverend Father in our place is complaining and threatening to go away. About two weeks ago, some reverend sisters visited our place and were waylaid on the road and robbed. We have a lot of problems and that is why the women have come to complain to the Archbishop, who is our father in the Lord”, the women added.

Responding, Obinna commiserated with the women over their plight and pleaded with them not to take laws into their hands.

While stressing the need for proper upbringing of children by parents in the fear of the Lord, the cleric, however, recalled some bizarre things that are now happening in the society. He prayed and blessed the women for being courageous enough to bring the sordid happenings to limelight.

Also, the traditional ruler of Oko, Igwe Ekwueme, drummed support for the polytechnic and urged both the members of the governing council and the institution’s management to stick to standards.

Ekwueme, who is the Chairman, National Board for Technical Education, NBTE, expressed happiness over the zeal exhibited by the new council of the Polytechnic and urged them to bring their experiences to bear in their new assignment.

He said that the motto of the council should be continuous improvement, adding that if they stopped improving themselves intellectually they would begin to fall; as according to him, the bane of Nigeria’s education system was the loss of standard which he said was worrisome. “If you sustain a better standard in the polytechnic, your name will be written in gold,” he added.

He tasked lecturers in tertiary institutions to always improve themselves and their standard of teaching, adding that lack of standard breeds mediocrity, causes extortion, sexual harassment and lobbying for promotion.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 —

OBIN van Persie warns Radamel Falcao that he will have to earn his place in Manchester United’s starting line-upThe Colombia international joined the Red Devils on loan from Monaco on deadline day and could make his debut when United take on Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League on 14 September.But despite the 28-year-old being widely regarded as one of the best strikers in the world, Van Persie insisted that he is not guaranteed a place in Louis van Gaal’s staring 11.

“I am happy with the arrival of Falcao,” Van Persie told Fox Sports.

“He makes us a better team. You always have to aim for the best at a big club. That’s my philosophy as well.

“Falcao has to fight for his place, just like me. The two of us and Wayne Rooney and James Wilson will have to fight it out.” Falcao scored 70 goals in 91 games for Atlético Madrid.

Rooney raring to go against Norway E

Rooney

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RISTIANO Ronaldo has suggested that he disagrees with Real Madrid’s decision to sell Angel Di Maria and Xabi Alonso.

The Portugal forward was appearing at a promotional event and was asked about the comings and goings at Santiago Bernabeu over the summer.

James Rodriguez, Toni Kroos, Keylor Navas and Javier Hernandez were brought in but Di Maria, Alonso, Diego Lopez and Alvaro Morata moved on and Ronaldo questioned the decision to overhaul the team that claimed the Champions League. “I have strong opinions but I can’t always say what I think,” Ronaldo began, according to Marca. “Otherwise it would be on the front page tomorrow and I don’t want that.

“But if it was up to me, I wouldn’t have done so. But if the President thinks the best thing for the team is to sign players and let others leave, we must respect and support the decision.”

Ronaldo also admitted the club’s style of play would be different this year than last after the departure of midfielders Alonso and Di Maria.

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Ronaldo questions Maria’s sale C

RVP ready to fight Falcao

...hails Falcao

China Belarus Uzbekistan Bosnia Slovakia Sweden Croatia Belgium Italy France

NGLAND captain Wayne Rooney says he will feel proud to lead his country out at Wembley Stadium, and assured fans his new role within the group will not alter his playing style.

“I’ll be myself as captain,” he said.

“I’m always very demanding of myself and playing for your country that’s what everyone has to give.

“It’s a great honour to captain my country, I want to be successful and I want this team to be successful.

“As captain you have to take responsibility and be a role model and that’s what I want to do. I love playing for my country.”

33

The Three Lions take on Norway at Wembley Stadium tonight, before travelling to Switzerland for their opening Euro 2016 qualifier on 8 September.

Meanwhile, Rooney has welcomed the arrival of prolific Colombian striker Radamel Falcao to Manchester United, branding the signing as a statement of intent by his club.

“I think it is a fantastic signing.

He is one of the best players in the world. It is a real show of intent

by Manchester United.

“It is a thrill. We have an exciting team. I am looking forward to the challenges ahead and I want it to be successful.”

Iniesta out of Spain squad

A

NDRES Iniesta is not joining up with the Spain squad after suffering a knee injury and Vicente Del Bosque has declined to name a replacement.

Marca confirms Iniesta is to stay in Barcelona due to the problem and will miss Thursday’s friendly with France and Monday’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Macedonia.

Iniesta had travelled to Madrid underwent tests with the Spain medical staff and it was decided he was better off missing this round of international fixtures.

Despite the loss of the experienced midfielder, Del Bosque has chosen not to call up a substitute.

Iniesta

Ronaldo

A

Maradona excommunicates Icardi

FTER the Match for Peace on Monday night, Diego Maradona criticised the presence of Mauro Icardi at the event.

The Inter striker scored a hat-trick during the game, but fell foul of the former Pibe de Oro’s hostility post-match.

Last December, Maradona had stated that he would have punched Icardi in the face, claiming that when he was a player, if someone looked at another teammate’s wife or fiancée, they would have been killed. Icardi famously stepped into the broken relationship between former teammate at Sampdoria Maxi Lopez and his former wife Wanda Nara.

When Maradona happened to pass through the mixed zone at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome last night, he briefly stated: “Icardi is not part of the football family.”

•Maradona

34—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Decontee Saw yer eanwhile w

M

idow of Liber ian Ebola villain D econtee has finally ap ologized to th Sawyerr eN people for th e grave evil igerian husband has h brought upon er late our land.

T h e w id o w o brought the E f th e L ib er ia n w h o bola disease to Pa tr ic k S a w N y e r h a s p le igeria, a d e d fo r forgiveness from the fam il fe m a le d o ct o r, A m e y y of the o S te ll a Adadevoh.

Adadevoh was that had conta one of the first people ct with the late S Mrs. Sawyer said she shar awyer. pain of the Ad ed in the ad it was painfu evoh family and that l that her hu sband had ca u se d so mu country, Liber ch d a m a g e in h is ia, and Niger ia with the Ebola virus.

Sawyer said, th a t th e fa m “I share in the pains il Nigerian doc y m e m b e rs o f th e tor are going through.”

The USA resi for the seemin dent also apologised g heartlessnes open letter, asking Niger s of her ians to be mindful of h er curse the Saw daughters, and not yer name.

Marilyn Ogar

Ameyo Adadevoh

D

o m i n a t i n g blogosphere in the last couple of weeks has been the heroine of the medical profession Adadevoh, who passed on in controversial circumstances last week at the apex of the Nigerian Ebola crisis. If nowhere else, Dr. Adadevoh has been honoured and immortalized in blogosphere.

A commentator writes:

Kind, beautiful, Dr Ameyo Adadevoh held fort for us. She refused to allow Mr Sawyer leave First Consultants Hospital even when the Liberian ambassador pressured her to release him.

Imagine what would have happened if she had let him go. Ebola would have been much more widespread than what we are dealing with now.

Shade Okoya

3

8 year old Shade Okoya, most prominent of the many wives of business mogul Alhaji Rasaq Okoya was conferred with Doctor of Science, D. Sc (Honorary Causa) in Business Management and Corporate Leadership by the committee of the European American University last week at the University of Lagos .Shade who turns 38 this year is the Managing Director of Eleganza Fashion Products Limited and a graduate of Sociology from the University of Lagos.

Also honoured were Sally Mbanefo, Folashade Tinubu Ojo and Elemo Gloria Nwakaegho.

Osas Ighodaro

d co u p le V duo an on hit soap numero uno e a and Soji hav Tinsel Telem to g h it ch e d b e e n g e tt in . le in real life p different peo e g b it e a k a d D a m il o la A fi rs t to g e t s a w a Te le m lover Kwame hitched, to TV . Now, it’s ttoh aka Chris A e, aka Soji, ad b ji A Gbenro s on both knee ed os p ro who p y it al V person to another T o ar od h Osas Ig and socialite os have gone ot this week. Ph media. She al ci so on viral !!

S E Y said

T

T

he much awaited State of Osun elections have come and gone, but controversy lingered.

Spokesperson, Department of State Security, Marilyn Ogar, has said that some politicians in Osun State offered operatives of the service N14 million bribe to compromise the polls.

Ogar who did not name the politicians, explained that the service rejected the bribe which she said was offered to the DSS Director, who supervised the August 9,2014 election.

She said, I am saying to you that the director in charge of election duty as it pertains to DSS was asked to come and collect N4 million for himself, and N10 million for the hooded men.

Because the money was declined, that is the offence the DSS has committed.

People should stop using money to entice security forces; the Federal Government has the capability to take care of us, when the time comes, we will talk.

She adds, We are well paid, I will say it categorically, our operations are well funded.”

The DSS Deputy Director explained that the service was given N200 million by the government to provide security for the election.

According to her, they are given money upfront, stressing that the agency ’s personnel could not be induced with money.

The rejection of the money brought a lot of misunderstanding between political parties and the DSS and we hold our heads up.

Lizzy Njideka

G

ist of entrepreneur, innovator and Edmark boss Njideka Lizzy, who was brutally murdered by a younger lover out of jealousy some seeks back, continues to dominate social media with commentators questioning the trend whereby older women are going for younger men.

Is it love, sex or money that is responsible for the trend?

One debater argues, Nobody gets to choose who he/she can love. Cupid is a capricious god and can even make you fall for someone you feel doesn’t belong to your class.

The debates end with the agreement: the bottom line is that you can have a fulfilling and enjoyable relationship with a younger guy, but you both need to understand each other.

Njideka was murdered in July at her Amuwo, Lagos home by long time lover, Kelechi Eze. The suspect not only smoked his lover, he made away with a Range Rover sports and $50,000.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 — 35 the country, rather than boost that is required to bring Nigerian infrastructure at par with its current status as one of the fastest developing economies in the world.

What is real estate unite all about?

Real estate unite is Africa’s biggest real estate conference that unites real estate professionals from all aspect of the built sector, offering immeasurable potentials in the regions market for inclusive growth. The award on the other hand elevates standards of the industry and practice by providing an opportunity to educate, promote and recognize achievements and excellence in the sector.

R

UTH OBIH, CEO,3Invest Limited, is a trained lawyer who has a passion for property and real estate. Her company has several platforms to promote the real estate sector. She received the Fortis MFB Award for Aspiring Business person of the Year at the 2012 Nigerian Youth Merit Awards in December. In the wake of the global financial meltdown and plummeting real estate value, she found innovative ways to remain relevant in the industry. She started “3Invest Intelligence” in 2011, as an innovative division of the company which was focused on real estate media and advocacy. In this chat with ESTHER ONYEGBULA she talks about her brand’s unique selling point, challenges, expanding beyond Lagos and other issues.

Rating women performance in real estate Women issue is why we decided to launch women in real estate; their performance is actually very commendable in this dispensation. You can see what Ngozi Okonjo-Iwella is doing; her interest in real estate beats the imagination. Housing ministers both past and present are all women. I believe that women will make good leaders. In as much as they run their homes, business and lots of other things, most women leaders are not doing badly.

Brand’s unique selling point Our unique selling point is our building sustainability. As a company, we focus on building a better future and helping citizens instead of looking at the bottom line. We are trying to become a real estate investment company that people can invest in with little funds.

We have good brand credibility you can see people investing with us.

The interest here is for a better future. That is our main focus.

Expanding beyond Lagos Location is not really a problem. As we grow, we would include other states. We could not have gotten every where in just 3 years.

In the cause of doing this what are the challenges you have encountered, those conquered and those you are still contending with?

If I list all the challenges I have encountered, it will take a long time.

We see each challenge that comes as opportunities. We started the radio show to be able to address road users who have no access to the internet. Most businesses can be found online, as a result of this, most people would prefer reading the online version instead of purchasing a newspaper. This is why online reportage matters so much to me as it is the only way my international clients see our visibility. Our resources are being channeled to tackle these challenges as they come. So we look at the end of the problem, we don’t delve in the problem until we find answers to it.

At what point did you decide to get involved in real estate sector?

As a lawyer, having worked with property law firms and all that I felt that there are lots of bureaucracies when it comes to real estate. I saw the need to change the bottleneck processes involved in purchasing and registering a piece of land. In 3invest we not only think about the business part of the investment we take cognizance of the advocacy part of business because we know that once the industry is robust our business will grow.

Growth curve since you started I am not an economist, when we started it was a boom time and then had the low turn during 2008-2009 when we went high, we went low, during that period we thought about sustainability and that gave birth to 3invest which have given birth to the

Building sector offers immeasurable potentials

Housing is a human right, does none provision of housing for the average Nigeria constitute abuse of the rule of law on the part of the N i g e r i a government?

Lack of provision of housing for Nigerians by the government is not

—Ruth Obih, CEO 3Invest Limited online advocacy, the real estate radio show. So we have gotten back to the mountain top.

What is the potential of Nigeria property market?

The Nigeria property market has huge potentials. Nigeria emerged the largest economy in Africa, making it an oyster and investment haven. The international real estate community is turning to sub-Saharan Africa for colossal opportunities. But a general assessment of infrastructural development in Nigeria shows that the country is lagging behind its contemporaries.

Given the huge human and capital resources available in the country, it is disheartening to note the declining state of infrastructures in

Lack of provision of housing for Nigerians by the government is not an abuse of the rule of law because sometimes the government doesn’t have the resources to provide them

an abuse of the rule of law because sometimes the government doesn’t have the resources to provide them, but in the instance when they do they should try and utilize them. Nigeria has just been debased, if you look at our GDP, when you look at each sector you will find out which area is producing more money. Real estate yields interest, housing is a sector that the government should dedicate funds to. So it is a right and I believe that with time the government will do more.

36—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMPER 3, 2014

Penultimate Tuesday’s defection of Senator Olufemi Lanlehin from the All Progressives Congress, APC to Accord completely erases the foothold of the Oyo State chapter of the APC in the Senate. It only foretells some negative omens for the ruling party in the state.

By OLA AJAYI, IBADAN

T

HE defection of Senator Lanlehin was predicted from the first days of the Abiola Ajimobi administration. His cat and mouse relationship with Governor Ajimobi even preceded the 2011 election. Senator Lanehin had been hopeful of securing the governorship ticket of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN before the eleventh hour defection of Ajimobi from the All Nigeria Peoples Party.

So, he obviously had reasons to be miffed as he controlled the largest number of followers among the contestants at that time. Besides, he was closer to the former state leader of the party, late Lamidi Adesina and was generally believed to be the preferred candidate of the former governor.

However, when pressure was mounted by some Ibadan elites on a national leader of the party based in Lagos, Lanlehin became a sacrificial lamb even though he was subsequently compensated with a Senate ticket.

Formal defection From then the bad blood seemed to have almost continuously flowed between the two senior officials and both men have almost always avoided themselves.

Before his formal defection, he abstained from the party’s meetings and rarely contributed anything to the party. The gap was especially noticed during the events to mark the first anniversary of the death of Adesina.

While notable chieftains of the APC including Senator Tinubu had an elaborate ceremony at the Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Adamasingba, Lanlehin and some few APC chieftains gathered at the deceased’s house to honour the dead politician.

Among the issues between the senator and Ajimobi were the alleged failure of the governor to carry other party members along in most of the policies he made.

Due to the alleged unpopular decisions which the governor

•Ajimobi

•Lanlehin

Oyo: Another senator leaves Ajimobi’s grip took, Lanlehin said it with all emphasis that he was on his way out of the Agodi Government House.

He further explained that some party members who worked for the party in the 2011 elections were totally marginalised in distribution of political offices in the state noting that he favoured most people who did not contribute to the party’s victory at the poll.

“I complained so many times that policies were formulated without having the input of party members and that many members of the party who worked for the party in 2011 are not benefitting from the government. He did not listen to all these,” the senator said.

But responding, the APC state Chairman, Chief Akin Oke said it was ambition that drove the senators away. He said they were afraid of failing to secure the second term ticket because they had written off the governor saying he would not be allowed to run for the second term and by so doing their own ambitions may be jinxed. But, I know that the governor will break the jinx this time around.”

Lanlehin, however, dismissed the claim saying he is not over-

ambitious as claimed saying he would be ready to pitch his tent with a party that has the love of the masses at heart.

In his letter which was addressed to the Senate President, David Mark, he said, “I contested and got elected into the Senate of the Federal Repub-

lic of Nigeria under the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria. The said political party sometime in 2013 merged with other registered political parties and known as the All Progressives Congress.

“In exercise of my constitutional right to freedom of association

under the 1999 Constitution as amended and pursuant to proviso contained in Section 68(g) of the said constitution, I decided to transfer my membership of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria to the Accord Party with all the rights and duties accruing thereto”, he stated.

Though, his political opponents see him as political Lilliputian, there is no doubt that he has several followers from his constituency, Oyo South. He has sunk several solar powered boreholes and empowered hundreds of people with his poverty alleviation programmes.

His defection to Accord Party has no doubt, depopulated the APC and has dimmed the hope of the party in the 2015 elections because most of his followers went with him to his new party.

While some say he has taken the right decision, others are of the view that the step he took to defect to Accord could spell doom for his political future. Those who support his move on their own part claim that had he remained in the APC that Governor Ajimobi would have done everything to deny him a second term ticket in the Senate.

Apart from the governor, the party leadership is also said to have issues against Lanlehin.

Has the senator entered into political doldrums or has he wrenched himself free from oppression, it is the 2015 election and his treatment in Accord party that will tell.

When the going was good, the APC or rather the ACN could boast of two senators out of the three allotted to the state, but, the party has after the earlier defection of Senator Ayo Adeseun to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP now lost the two.

Delta at 23: We've made

BY DAPO AKINREFON

C

HIEF Godwill Obielum is a stalwart of the Peo ples Democratic Party (PDP) in Delta State and one of the gubernatorial hopefuls ahead of the 2015 election. In this interview, Obielum says that Deltans deserve to celebrate the creation of the state.

Excerpts: Deltans are celebrating 23 years of the creation of the state. How would you assess the state?

As a Deltan, I am proud, I am very happy that Delta State was created in 1991. Governance is closer to the people and I can confidently tell you

that Deltans deserve to celebrate. The people are more united and you can see a lot of development in the state. We say thank you to the successive governments, and our current governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, they have all done a lot to see that the state is developed to the stage she is today.

We are aware that you are contesting for the Governorship position of the state, what different thing will you be bringing on board?

In life, there is always room for improvement. In 1991, nobody thought about the possibility of Asaba having an airport, today, there is an airport in Asaba. So, new socio-eco-

nomic and political challenges come up and it is the duty of government tackle such challenges. No one government in eight years can solve all the issues in one stretch, but the continuity of successive governments will go a long way to taking the state to a greater height.

If it is true that you are contesting, why are your posters not visible?

Is there a stipulated time period to bring out posters and bill boards?

But we have seen other aspirants throw their hats into the ring.

Well posters and bill boards are not the issue, you will see

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMPER 3, 2014—37

Akwa Ibom 2015: How I will become governor —ALBERT

BY TOM MOSES

H

OW do you assess your chances in the forthcoming governorship election and if you do not make it, will you accept an offer of deputy governor?

I Don't think there is any other aspirant that can win me in this election. I am very confident that I am contesting for the office of governor and nothing else.

I am sure you have heard so much that I am very stubborn.

They said they told me I should come and take the office of minister I said I don’t want. You’ve heard also that they said I should come and take the office of SSG, and I said I don’t want.

Power belongs to the people They said he should come and be senator, I said I don’t want and I asked myself, what do the people of Akwa-Ibom State want Bassey Albert to be? They said he should be governor. So, I think power belongs to the people and I am trusting God on the basis of what I have said so far that I enjoy the collective acceptance of the people of AkwaIbom State as a governor.

My only prayer is that God should give us a governor that will be loyal to the people of Akwa-Ibom State because in

2006/2007, despite the fact that His Excellency Obong Victor Attah purportedly supported his son in-law, people said it must be Godswill and Godswill emerged. I know that the same God is not asleep and as He did it 2007, He will also do it in 2015 because He changeth not.

So, I believe that by the special grace of God, I will emerge the governor of Akwa-Ibom State come May 29, 2015. So, you should disregard all those rumours because I have discovered that my name is being used in all kinds of fields. If this person goes there, he uses my name, if that one goes there, he uses my name. I am running for the office of governor. That’s all.

What is your response to the purported collapse of your political structures to support the former SSG, Obong Umana Umana in the 2015 governorship race?

I have received all sorts of comments and messages on that.

Well, for me, I believe that there is no ambition that is bigger than the collective interest of the people.

Umana and I are brothers and fortunately or unfortunately, covertly or overtly, we see ourselves in the same wing, contesting the same election. My presence at that event was a pointer to the fact that no matter the arena of politics you find yourself, you must always be your brother’s

keeper. Everybody can contest for a position but it is only one person that will emerge as governor.

I don’t want to say that I was quoted out of context, no. With understanding of issues and dynamics of politics, the way it is played, I said, yes, I will work with Umana Okon Umana so that the Uyo Senatorial District can produce a governor.

At that point, I was referring to the interest of Uyo Senatorial District and if you have Uyo Senatorial District and you have Umana and myself and you ask, who will be a better governor, I will give you the answer.

If you say there is zoning just as I believe there is no zoning, I believe very strongly that Uyo alone cannot produce a governor because there is no senatorial district that can survive in isolation.

•Albert governorship race based on his conviction that he is going to be governor and I am running based on my conviction that I will be governor and like I always say, anybody who wants to be

,

Obong Bassey Albert who goes by the sobriquet, OBA, is one of the over 30 gubernatorial aspirants in Akwa Ibom State.

In this interview, he reviews political developments in the state and his preparations for what he says would be an interesting contest. Excerpts:

,

When a man lifts your hand up, there is a certain height you can reach but when God lifts your hand, nobody knows the height you can reach

While you must also understand that Umana and I are brothers, and that if I become governor, it will be to his credit and if God says he will be governor, nobody can also stop him.

In all, at the end of the day, the people will have the final say on who they want to be their governor.

So, I think I was demonstrating friendship and brotherhood despite the fact that we are pursuing the same office; it had nothing to do with the fact that I was going to collapse my structures, no. Not so. He runs his

the governor of Akwa-Ibom State, must be the governor of all and you cannot be a governor to all when you are not acceptable to all.

What are your programmes for the people of Akwa-Ibom State when you become governor?

When you ask of the programmes of my administration, it is very simple. Infrastructure is good but my main focus will be on human capital development and creating an AkwaIbom State where everybody will have equal opportunity.

progress —Obielum mine at the appropriate time.

It’s not the one that comes to the wrestling arena first that is the best wrestler What is your take on the zoning of political offices?

The agitation for the zoning of political offices is looked at from the point that Nigerian politics is still young and for a section of the country not to hold on to power to the detriment of others. Even in the village set-up traditional and political positions are fairly zoned among various quarters.

In Delta State, we should see ourselves as one large and united family. What is good for the goose should also be good for the gander. It will bring

about peace and oneness.

Coming back to the anniversary of the creation of Delta State, would you say that Governor Uduaghan has delivered on his electoral promises?

The indices are there, Delta is peaceful, with the three point agenda: human capital development, peace and security and infrastructure development. They are well thought out programmes and the government is still working.

Do you believe INEC can conduct a credible election in 2015 because there are fears in some quarters over the commission's inability to im-

prove?

Do we have another electoral umpire? So far, the INEC has proven that it can conduct an election that its outcome will be generally acceptable. We just collected our voters’ cards, we should have faith in INEC and if there are areas you believe they should improve on, let them know before the elections. There is always room for improvement.

What is your advice for Deltans?

We should be progressive in our thinking and do all that we can for the government of the day to succeed.

•Obielum

How is your relationship with the party officers?

I think the party should remain neutral until a candidate emerges as a candidate of the party. I think what we are praying for all the aspirants to have a level playing field.

Let me commend the National Chairman of the party who has insisted that there must be a level playing field for every single aspirant to express himself.

When you become governor, will your family interest not prevail over the interest of the generality of the people of the state and will you not bully out all those who struggled to install you in preference for your brothers?

I was here in 2006 and I have been in Akwa-Ibom since 2002.

I was close to the administration of Obong Victor Attah. I am one person who believes that I must not waste my time on issues of the past and that I should be moving on looking at the future.

I think Governor Godswill Akpabio will have a place in history. I also commend the efforts of Obong Victor Attah because everybody that worked with him including Governor Akpabio stayed in office and campaigned and expressed themselves till the last day.

But I lost my job because of my interest in the governorship of Akwa-Ibom State whereas two others still in the cabinet are using government apparatus to carry out their campaigns without being booted out of office simply because the governor is sympathetic to their own ambitions.

But I believe that when a man lifts your hand up, there is a certain height you can reach but when God lifts your hand, nobody knows the height you can reach. I want God to lift my hand and I want the people of Akwa-Ibom State to accept me as their own governor.

38 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

By Charles Kumolu, Chioma Obinna & Bose Adelaja

A

S someone who works in the health sector, getting medical attention should have come easily to Mrs. Dupe Ogunaike (not real name).

So when she took ill earlier this month, Ogunaike was not troubled by the prospects of being admitted into any hospital, especially as the 55-year-old healthcare worker was only suffering from ‘mere feverish condition.

But a visit to one of the hospitals in Ogotun- Ekiti, where she resided, soon gave a disturbing inkling of what awaited her in that period of despair. Ogunaike was surprisingly refused admission at the hospital. This came as a rude shock, since she was not a robbery victim with gun shot wounds which required that a police report be presented before being accepted into a hospital.

At another healthcare facility, where she sought attention, Ogunaike was promptly turned back. Further visits to two other hospitals in the state produced similar results. Distressed by the rejection and the grinding effect of the illness, she headed for the state Ministry of Health in Ado Ekiti, where she reportedly vomitted and collapsed.

The hapless woman who was a staff of Comprehensive Health Centre, Ogotun, was immediately labelled an Ebola victim without an adequate test being conducted. And before you knew it, those around took to their heels. Sapped and disoriented by the torturing experience, the poor woman died same day.

A similar case also played out at the National Youth Service Corps,NYSC, Orientation Camp in Ise Ekiti. A young man who

•A patient undergoing treatment

EBOLA: When fear becomes messenger of death VanguardFeatures,VF, across some hospitals in Lagos confirmed that patients with symptoms of fever are now being denied attention.

A case in point is a patient who almost lost his life to malaria last week at a private hospital in the

,

Everyone in the medical field should be well prepared; there is no point turning back or refusing patients because that is their primary responsibility

had been inadequately treated for malaria collapsed and was abandoned by everyone, including the camp’s healthcare givers from 6am to 3pm when the state government intervened.

At the University College Hospital ,UCH, Ibadan a woman with blisters all over her body came to the hospital’s General Out-patient Department ,GOPD, asking to be attended to but was turned back by the nurse she approached.

That there is palpable panic across the country over Ebola is stating the obvious. This is more noticeable among healthcare givers whose primary responsibilities include helping to manage the disease.

Investigations by

,

Okota area of Lagos.

Growing number of rejections: But for the urgent intervention of the medical director of the clinic, the patient would have joined the growing number of those who have died as result of rejection.

According to an eyewitness account, the sick person, who had high fever, was turned back by nurses despite his pitiable condition. He was said to have been left unattended to until the timely arrival of the medical director saved the situation.

The head of the hospital, it was gathered, immediately put on his protective personal equipment and treated the patient, who regained his health a few hours later.

These cases represented a few out of the growing instances where patients were rejected out of fear of the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease ,EVD, in Nigeria.

Rejection of patients is not new in the country as those with gun shot injuries are usually rejected for not possessing police report, just as not having enough money is also regarded as a condition for not being admitted.

Since the trend is not related to these reasons, many people are uncomfortable that medical personnel who swore to protect human lives are turning blind eyes to their duties.

Healthcare system ‘’What is happening now is a bad commentary on the healthcare system in Nigeria. We all know that Ebola is highly contagious but that does not mean that people should be left to die. I would not say that we should not sympathise with them, they should also see the contagious nature of the diseases as one of the many hazards of their profession,’’ President of Citizens Advocacy Unit,CAU, Dr. Muyiwa Falae told VF. Worried that the situation has

created more problems out of the Ebola crisis, Falae said: ‘’The situation in the country now is such that people, who are symptomatic to malaria, typhoid or other forms diseases would die as a result of rejection. If it had been the practice of medical personnel in the country to use protective equipment, I don’t think we should have this issue of rejection. That is why I can categorically say that what some of the hospitals are doing, is a reflection of the dysfunctional healthcare system in Nigeria.’’

Necessary equipment and gadgets Another person who does not find the development healthy, is a retired medical personnel, Mrs. Stella Agbogun.

For her, refusing to accept patients, who had not tested positive to EVD, is not only unethical, but unfair to the patients. ‘’Everyone in the medical field should be well prepared. There is no point turning back or refusing patients because that is their primary responsibility. Be prepared with all the gadgets that you need and then try to screen those patients. That should be

done so that somebody who does not have Ebola is turned away because of fear of Ebola,’’ she stated.

The retiree of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital,LUTH, said: ‘’If medical personnel are well equipped with all the gadgets, they will screen those patients so that anyone with Ebola can be identified.’’

Not done, Agbogun added thus: ‘’Those with Ebola should be referred to the isolation centre because it will be unfair not to accept patients who had not tested positive to the virus.

Government has come up with a lot of incentives like insurance scheme. I hope that they will provide all the necessary equipment and gadgets that will protect the personnel. It is a highly contagious disease and we must be very careful.’’

President of the Association of General Private and Medical Practitioners of Nigeria, AGPMPN, Dr. Anthony Omolola, was of the opinion that if the situation is not arrested, many Nigerians would die of other ailments. ‘’It is good that we are containing the virus but Nigerians, particularly the Continues on page 39

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 — 39

Continues from page 38 medical community, should also know that there are other causes of fever than Ebola. In my hospital I have instructed my staff not to turn anyone back because that will cause more deaths from other diseases,”he noted.

Lending his voice to this, the Medical Director of Ibijola Medical Centre, Agbara, Lagos, Dr. Jimmy Arigbabuwo frowned at the situation, adding that his hospital accepts all manner of patients.

“We should know that not all patients who turned up in the hospitals are Ebola infected,” he cautioned.

How patients are treated: Giving details on how patients are currently attended to since Ebola was brought to Nigeria by the late Patrick Sawyer, Ibijola said: “When people come with fever we use non-contact thermometers to determine their temperature. We have high index of suspicion like in the case of diarrhoea and muscle cramps and other symptoms that look like malaria.

There is no need to start telling the patients to go away. We call such act rumour managers. But if we suspect a patient, we isolate immediately pending the time the surveillance group will come.”

Rumour mongers Arigbabuwo, who is also the Lagos State Chairman of Association of General Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria, AGPMPN, advised that people should not be too scared of body contacts.

“People who move about actively cannot transmit Ebola easily. Before the virus is transmitted to another person the level of the virus will be so high to knock down patient. The person will be seriously sick. I feel pained when I hear people quarrelling in the buses as a result of body contact. No! Ebola is not transmitted that way. It is not a butterfly that can just land on peoples’ shoulders any time,” he added.

Further throwing light on the precautionary measures the hospital has put in place, Arigbabuwo said: “We have taught all our hospital staff on how to protect themselves. From the front desk officers to the first nurse, we have taught them how to wear gloves, put on face mask, wash hands regularly and ensure that they dilute bleach in containers for patients to use before coming in. Once you have guided your first contact officers and with non-contact thermometer you have taken the first precautionary measures,” he said. He also called for adherence to the universal principles of hygiene.

GM FOOD: Technology plagued by controversy Tropical Agriculture, IITA, attested that local research and development has “developed and disseminated successful sustainable technologies that have not only increased the yields by 200 to 300 per cent (dwarfing the expected 25 per cent of GM crops) - as proven in the case of maize using the Push-Pull, or SRI for rice technologies in Eastern Africa, or permanently controlled pest such as the cassava mealy bug with natural methods across the continent- but also continuously adapted them to new local challenges, including climate change.”

Herren, a winner of the Right Livelihood Award in 2013 for his work in promoting agro-ecological agriculture had noted that the challenge in Africa is that “public agricultural research continues to be stifled by low funding.”

He therefore recommended that what needs to be done to address the low productivity and other agricultural challenges in the country is for “government and scientists to work together in charting a path for, and investing in, sustainable agro-ecological agriculture that builds on local knowledge and crop varieties and not persist in what present themselves as shortcuts simply because philanthropic capitalists and the biotech industry are happy to fund such endeavours.”

Bassey further said argument for the GM crops like the ones put up by the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina that those who oppose the use GMOs want to use match boxes like

•Genetically modified foods

By Jonah Nwokpoku

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IKE most countries in Africa, Nigeria is experiencing low productivity in agriculture. The largely subsistence agriculture has not kept up with the rapid population growth of mostly young people who are not being absorbed into the sector. Sadly government policies have failed to address numerous challenges faced by farmers. The implication is that the country which was once reputed as a large net exporter of food now imports large quantity of its food products even as the entire sector accounts for only 40 percent of the gross domestic products, GDP. Without doubt, successive administrations, especially the current one, have directed several efforts towards reversing this trend but the situation has only improved slightly. At the moment, adoption of genetically modified crops is being advocated by authorities in order to address the challenge of productivity and to tackle food insecurity. But can genetically modified crops be the lasting solution to all the challenges confronting poor productivity in the Nigerian agriculture? Can this solution deliver the kind of output volume that the country needs?

Genetically modified foods Genetically Modified, GM foods according to World Health Organization are foods derived from organisms whose genetic material (DNA) has been modified in a way that does not occur naturally, e.g., through the introduction of a gene from a different organism.

Major attractions of GM foods include the belief that it improves yield through the introduction of resistance to plant diseases or of increased tolerance to herbicides.

In the recent past, Nigeria has taken several steps towards GM crops. For example, Ahmadu Bello University is developing a GM black-eyed pea, hoped to be resistant to the ravaging effects of insect, Maruca Vitrata, estimated to lay waste to nearly $300 million of black-eyed pea crops in a year. The National Assembly has also recently conducted a hearing on a bio-safety bill which seeks to allow GMOs to be introduced into Nigeria’s agricultural system.

However, many pressure groups, especially some civil society organisations, consumer rights groups and nongovernmental organisations want Nigerians to have nothing to do with it.

While government and other proponents of GM food believe that with increasing trend of low agricultural productivity in Nigeria and in the entire continent, this is the time to open doors for GMOs, the rights groups argue that GMOs are unhealthy not just to the environment but also to the people and poses significant threat to the natural agricultural ecosystem.

Speaking recently on the planned introduction of GMOs in the country, Director of Home of Mother Earth Foundation, HOMEF, Ninmo Bassey said, GM crops do not necessarily yield as The problem of superweeds has reached much as normal crops and neither do they epidemic proportions in the United States, yield more than those where the US Department of Agriculture bred conventionally.

According to him: says over 28 million hectares of farmland “Most genetically is now infested modified crops are either modified to resist certain herbicides children do with strings tied instead of produced by the seed companies or they using mobile phone, is an empty are modified to kill target pests – the crops argument. He said the technology of becoming pesticides themselves. The myths GMO is better left in the laboratory and by which crops with these traits have been instead of putting up such argument: “We promoted are that they will require less have to look at the critical issues affecting herbicides and pesticides. But nature has the people.” responded to these traits in the form of He noted that with the largely superweeds that have become resistant to subsistence farming system, introducing these herbicides, and what may be termed GM would make things more difficult for superbugs, which have become resistant farmers. He said, “Let’s look at the natural to GM insecticide producing crops.” order of farming. You buy a seed, plant it He added that: “The problem of and then harvest but with the GMOs, this superweeds has reached epidemic order will change as the food will always proportions in the United States, where the go sterile because you must always go to US Department of Agriculture says over 28 the shop to buy seed.” million hectares of farmland is now infested.

He also warned that introduction of GM The biotechnology industry’s ‘solution’ to food carries with it other serious this is the creation of GM crops resistant to implications as it can be used as a political toxic cocktails of multiple herbicides, many weapon. “GMO is also used as a political of which are banned in several countries weapon. In El Salvador, the country was or regions around the world.” supposed to receive aid from the US but Bassey said modern biotechnology thrives the US said they would not give them on myths. Citing experts’ research findings that aid unless they buy GMOs from a on the claim of higher yield of GM crops GMO seed firm, Monsanto. So you can compared to conventional crops, he said see that these things are not value neutral.

Hans Herren who worked for 27 years in It’s a big political weapon to re-colonise Africa as Director General of International Africa and they are doing it through our Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, stomach and we don’t want to be ICIPE and Director of the Plant Health colonized again,” he said.

Division at the International Institute of

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EBOLA: When fear becomes messenger of death

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40—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Man minus machines equals a labourer (4) Being the fourth instalment of an inaugural lecture delivered by Lawson Olabosipo Adekoya, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, at Oduduwa Hall, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife

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HWORORIOLE et al (1988) reported a simple manual rig that worked on the principle of peel/flesh separation through compression followed by peel removal with knives. The principle looked promising for further research. However, before the design could commence, experiments had to be carried out on the physical properties of the cassava tuber.

This resulted in the characterisation of the cassava tuber (Adetan et al, 2003).

The data obtained was used in the development of a cassava tuber peeling machine (Adetan et al, 2005). The machine works on the principle of peel/flesh separation by compression and peel removal with knives. It comprised a horizontal belt conveyor unit and a spring-

, PR OF WSON ADEK OYA PROF OF.. LA LAWSON ADEKO

loaded knives unit. In operation, the belt conveyor transfers slices of cassava tubers which are peeled under an array of springloaded knives. Tests were carried out on root slices of different sizes with the conveyor belt driven at a linear speed of 1.31 m/s. For root slices having mid-section diameters ranging from 45 mm to 55 mm, the peel removal efficiency ranged from 92% and 97.3%, while for root slices between 55 mm and 65 mm, the peel removal efficiency

ranged from 95.3% and 100%.

For the above tuber slice ranges, no breakage of roots was experienced during peeling.

However for root slices with relatively larger diameters than those quoted above, the peel removal efficiency ranged from 15.2% to 82% and root breakage was observed to occur in some instances. In all cases, however, there were no losses of useful tuber flesh (Adetan et al, 2005).

Environmental Management Lawn maintenance has always been a challenge in green areas within human communities. The need to provide ecologicallyfriendly and effective lawn mowing solutions is crucial for the well-being of humans and the planet as a whole. The work done in this area involved the development of a humanpowered lawn mower blade system designed to cut tall grasses on small lawns in residential areas.

The work entailed the design and fabrication of a reel-type mower blade system and a pedalpowered source of energy for the blade system. It also evaluated the performance of the fully-assembled unit.

This was done with a view to providing an appropriate and affordable humanpowered alternative for domestic lawn mowing involving tall grasses and weeds.

A reel-type mower blade system capable of cutting tall grasses and weeds was designed and fabricated. The system was based on the shear cutting principle to enable low-speed humanpowered operation.

A human-powered pedaloperated cycling mechanism incorporating a chain drive was used to power the machine as well as the cutting knives.

Provisions were made for adjusting the height of the

•A replica of Benz Velo: The truly first car (Wikipedia, 2014). mower blade system (Plate 12).

The mower blade system was tested on some overgrown grass plots within the University campus. Each test plot was measured to determine the total area within which cutting took place.

From the data obtained during the testing, the field efficiency and effective field capacity were determined. The blade system’s cutting effectiveness and the quality of cut achieved by the unit were also studied and documented. The information gathered during testing was used to compare the performance of the fabricated system with other human-powered lawn mowing techniques.

Calculations gave the theoretical field capacity of the mower as 0.098 ha/h while field test results showed that the fabricated cutting system produced an effective field capacity of 0.0614 ha/h.

Theoretical field capacity These figures are clearly superior to the theoretical field capacity of 0.0247 ha/h obtained from the use of cutlasses for cutting. Results further showed that the unit performed in a manner comparable with the operation of standard reel mowers with similar effects in terms of quality of cut.

Moreover, the unit’s cutting system showed a substantial improvement over existing reel mower designs in its ability to cut on both the forward and reverse phases of its motion (Oladosu and Adekoya, 2014).

The study established that the designed blade system has the capacity to cut tall grasses and weeds. This device can therefore entirely eliminate the need for fuel-powered mowers on small residential lawns. The device can also be used for exercising the body during the mowing operation. Further work is presently being carried out on the machine to make it more functional.

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By PROF. LAWSON ADEKOYA

structures (As et al, 2008 and Heidari et al, 2009).

The Nigerian steel industry is dominated by private smelting and rolling mills from which mainly NST 37-2 steels (that represent about 75% of their volume) are produced.

According to Balogun et al (2009), this particular grade of steel is produced from diverse raw materials that is mainly locally-sourced scraps. The

Fatigue is the main cause of failure of machine components in mechanisms, structural functioning in aeronautics, naval and automotive industry

Fatigue Behaviour of Locally-rolled Steels: Material selection is a very important aspect of machine design. This is because materials affect the service performance of machines. This is especially true in the selection of materials for the fabrication of rotating parts and structures that are prone to fatigue-induced failure.

In general, fatigue is the main cause of failure of machine components in mechanisms, structural functioning in aeronautics, naval and automotive industry as well as in civil engineering structures such as bridges, buildings, etc.

Since fatigue failures occur suddenly without showing exterior plastic deformations, it follows that for many engineering applications, a comprehensive analysis of the elastoplastic deformation is necessary to ensure that accurate results are obtained from simulations in the process of designing or analyzing

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indiscriminate use of the steel products, especially as machine elements without proper characterisation, is therefore a problem.

To alleviate the above problem, a joint research was undertaken by the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering. The work commenced with the characterization of NST 37-2 steel made at a local rolling mill from imported billets.

Tests were carried out on required specimens to establish the baseline material properties of the steel in annealed, asrolled, normalized and hardened tempered conditions. Fatigue tests were then carried out at 60%Su, 70%Su and 80%Su of the test material and fractographic examinations were eventually carried out on the specimens.

Based on preliminary results, the steel material is recommended for use in low-cycle, quasi-static Continues on page 41

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014—41

Man minus machines equals a labourer (4) operators said that the heights and widths of the seats were satisfactory, 46.7 and 43.3% of them experienced backaches and leg pains respectively during the cropping season.

According to Purcell (1980), discomforts such as backaches could be caused by (i) wrong angles for various tilts of the seat (i.e. wide deviations from the 50 10 from the horizontal, proposed by Rebiffe, 1969); (ii) inadequate padding of the parts of the seat which come in contact with the ischial tuberosities (the two round knobs on the underside of the pelvis which bear most of the upper body weights while sitting); and (iii) bucket-shaped seats which tend to rotate the femur bones upwards, causing abnormal stresses in the hip muscles. The leg pains and backaches are therefore strongly suspected to have been caused by unsuitable seat designs and/or adjustments.

None of the tractors surveyed had a roll-over protective structure (ROPS), cab, or sun roof. Although there were no reported cases of tractor overturns by the operators, a roll-over protective structure is definitely desirable. Data made available to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission show that overturn of machinery was the

Molue Buses: In public transportation, clearance at various levels is important for ingression and egression, for easy grasping and movement within the vehicle, and for adjusting the body properly for comfort (Woodson, 1972). Many passengers face some problems in getting on to the bus, going to the seat, in seat, going from the seat, and getting off the bus.

Problems encountered by all bus passengers are worse for the elderly because of their reduced mobility (Gilmore, 1994).

Public transportation Therefore in public transportation, the scope for the application of ergonomics expertise is enormous and the effects seen in terms of improved safety and users’ comfort, convenience and satisfaction are almost limitless (Brown, 1979).

Molue buses are the huge yellow locally-built commuter buses found mostly on Lagos roads (Plate 13). They ply some defined routes listed in Lagos State Government’s Designated Bus Routes (Agbomeji, 2000).

They are of two major sizes and are built on Mercedes Benz 911 or Bedford chassis. The big molue buses are recommended

exiting the bus to become more arduous.

Molue buses are built by roadside metal fabrication workshops, located mainly in Lagos and Ogun States, without reference to any formal design specifications. Because there are no specifications guiding the design and construction of these buses, their fabrications are based wholly on the whims and caprices of the technicians at the fabrication workshops.

Consequently, no two molue buses are exactly the same even when built by the same workshop. This has resulted in a

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Continues from page 40 fatigue operations (Malomo et al, 2010 and Malomo et al, 2011). Further work is being carried out on locally-rolled steels made from locallyproduced billets that were manufactured from locallysourced scraps.

Ergonomic Appraisal of Existing Machines: Ergonomics is the scientific discipline which is concerned with the understanding of the interactions among humans and other elements of a system. The objectives of ergonomics are those of achieving functional effectiveness of whatever physical equipment or facilities people use and of maintaining or enhancing human welfare or well-being (such as health, safety, and satisfaction) by appropriate design of equipment, facilities and environments (Adekoya, 1999).

Ergonomic appraisals are carried out on existing machines in order to discover their shortcomings with respect to functional effectiveness, so that improvements could be incorporated in them through redesign.

Agricultural Tractors: Agricultural tractors, as the workhorse of mechanised farming, were evaluated to

determine their ergonomic suitability (Adekoya, 1993).

Tractor brands used for the tests were Massey Ferguson (MF), David Brown (DB), Ford, Steyr, Fiat and John Deere (JD). Tractor models surveyed were MF 165 and 125; DB 990; Ford 5000 and 6610; Steyr 768, 8075, 8090, 8120 and 8130; Fiat 640 and 660; and JD 1120. Comparison of the anthropometric data of 31 tractor operators (from 11 agricultural organisations that were fairly spread across the country) with the design data of the above tractors showed that even though 96.8% of the

most common fatal accident, and that agricultural tractors were involved in 99% of all equipment overturns.

Three times as many persons died from farm tractor overturns as from any other fatal injury episodes (McKnight and Hetzel, 1985). Consequently, a retrofitting of the existing tractors with roll-over protective structures (ROPS) was recommended.

To this end, one of my postgraduate students is currently working on the design of ROPS for tractors being used in Nigeria.

for 47 to 52 sitting passengers, while the small ones are recommended for 29 to 32 sitting passengers.

However because of the acute shortage of commuter buses, the molue buses routinely carry more than the specified number of passengers with the extras standing crowded in the aisles and on the steps. This situation motivated the late Afrobeat maestro to release the popular song “44 sitting, 99 standing; suffering and smiling”. Standing in the aisles and on the steps of molue buses make entering and

Machine Management Agricultural Tractors: The workhorse of mechanised agriculture is the tractor, the evolution of which has accompanied changes in farm technology and sizes of farms.

The tractor has progressed from its original primary use as a substitute for animal power to the present units designed for multiple uses. Tractors work for long periods without breakdowns if they are properly serviced.

No two molue buses are exactly the same even when built by the same workshop

wide variety of molue buses on the roads, especially in Lagos.

Additionally, anyone who has boarded molue buses before will attest to their tight internal spaces, difficulty in getting on and off, and a host of other problems.

In order to alleviate these problems, Ajayeoba and Adekoya (2009) initiated a research to carry out a comprehensive study of the problems of the design and construction of molue buses by the local metal fabricators. The ultimate goal of the research is to spearhead legislation on the standardization of the design and fabrication of molue buses. This is because currently, there are no generally-accepted design and fabrication standards for molue buses.

Fabrication standards

Cassava planting machine (rear view).

Based on the research result, the design data to accommodate the th 95 percentile of the passengers were specified.

There is a plan to collaborate with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to standardise the design and fabrication of molue buses by local fabricators in Nigeria in order to make them more commuter-friendly.

In this work, the anthropometric dimensions (stature, maximum body depth, maximum body breadth, buttockknee length, buttock-popliteal length, popliteal height sitting, shoulder breadth, and shoulder height sitting) of some selected groups of male and female users of molue buses were measured.

Design data (internal hand rail height, roof height, aisle length, aisle width, backrest-backrest frame height, backrest depth, backrest length, backrest width, seat length, seat width, backrest frame length, seat depth, seat frame-backrest height, seat height, seat depth, overall seat height, space between seat rows, and the relevant dimensions of the back seat) of both small and big molue buses were also measured (Ajayeoba and Adekoya, 2009; and Ajayeoba and Adekoya, 2012).

The data was analysed using percentiles (Hertzberg, 1972).

Many shortcomings were discovered with respect to the design data resulting in discomfort for passengers.

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By service (or preventive maintenance) is meant cleaning, oiling, greasing, adjusting and similar tasks carried out on the tractor to keep it in operative condition and help maintain its efficiency (American Society of Agricultural Engineers, 1982). If the preventive maintenance is not carried out regularly, breakdowns occur, necessitating repairs.

Repairs may also result from wear, accident, etc. Because agricultural operations have a time within which they have to be performed, breakdowns could prove to be economically disastrous to the farmer in mechanised agriculture.

The costs of owning and operating machinery in the business of farming are important to the farm owner or farm manager when making a decision on whether to buy or lease machinery or to hire work done by custom operators. One of the components in making this decision is the cost of maintenance.

Engineers, mechanization specialists and economists have published very little data properly to estimate farm machinery maintenance costs in developing countries.

Apparently, when such estimates are needed, data are taken from US or European experiences (Beppler and Hummeida, 1985).

Adekoya and Otono (1990) carried out research on the maintenance of agricultural tractors in established maintenance workshops in Lagos and Ibadan. These workshops served the then four contiguous States of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo (now Oyo and Osun) and Ondo (now Ondo and Ekiti).

The workshops operated at the depot level of maintenance. The research data were obtained from the job cards of each tractor and the tractors were then grouped on the basis of the model and the year of purchase.

To be continued

42—VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Assemblies of God crisis: Sapele

Dictrict in disarray

Pa Sadela's last wishes

By BOSE ADELAJA

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EMBERS of Gospel Apostolic Church, GAC, last Sunday gathered in their hundreds for a scheduled thanksgiving service which coincided with the first Sunday after the demise of the ministry's president/founder, Rev. Samuel Akinbode Sadela who died the previous Sunday at the age of 114 in an undisclosed Abeokuta hospital.

The church which initially denied the news of Baba's had eventually come to terms with reality as a billboard with the inscription; Farewell, Rev. Akinbode Sadela, has been erected at the entrance of the church. Another banner with a message: Goodnight Baba, you came, you saw and conquered. Rev. Samuel Akinbode Sadela, welcomes worshippers and sympathisers into the audito-rium.

There was heavy security presence at the service with armed Policemen with walkie talkie collaborated with the church volunteers to maintain peace during the service which began 7.30 a.m.

The auditorium located upstairs was decorated with blue and white curtains with colourful lightings.

Many members were gorgeously dressed for the service.

The choir ministration and the entire service was lively. The only sermon of the day titled: A little while am with you and then I go unto him that sent me, was delivered in Yoruba language by one Pastor Adewunmi M.A. who recount-ed his last moments with the late cleric.

He charged members to be steadfast and avoid strange doc-

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not fail you.

"It does not matter how old you may be, what matters is your relationship with God. I will soon go to my creator and I will go with nothing as I came to this world with nothing. My appeal to the rich is that you should serve God with your resources for you will not go with any," Sadela stated in hs last testament to the nation.

In the message, Pa Sadela urged his church to provide plasma television sets at strategic locations in the auditorium to •A billboard at the entrance of the church.

Photo:Bose Adelaja avoid distraction and trines. ite Olorun. A o pade le ti odo, that nobody should be taxed for "I looked at my father on the odo didan, odo didan naa, that. bed but he was gone. Death is pel’awon mimo leba odo to n san The late cleric gave the beneinevitable but let us agree that l’eba kristeli… diction in the clips. That was Pa he has gone to rest. Our father Several members broke down Sadela’s message in Yoruba lanwas a man of prayers, so, do not in tears as the hymn went on. guage on Sunday, August 17, deviate from his teachings. Also, That was followed by clips of late 2014. he really prayed for us before his Rev. Sadela’s last minutes' mesLast Sunday’s service was departure, urging us to guide sage to members and immedi- brought to a close precisely 12 against malice and disunity. So, ately even the strong ones noon before it was announced we must obey his words and couldn't hold back tears. His that the pastors and Pa Sadela’s stand on the truth." message: "I burst into tears when- widow should wait for a crucial Adewunmi who quoted from ever things are not going the meeting. The purpose of the Deuteronomy 27:1, Jude 5 and supposed way. In those days, I meeting was not disclosed but it John 14:15, urged members to be usually wear my white clothes may not be unconnected with united. and walk to the beach to cry unto funeral arranegements.

"The God of Sadela lives for- God for succour.

In an interaction with the ever, let us stand in unity and "There, I prayed for my coun- church members, some of them the doctrines he left behind so try, men of God, the Church and spoke glowingly about their late that he will be happy in the citizens of this nation. To those mentor describing him as a true grave. Above all, let us pray for who are steadfast in God, I say man of God. One of them who our mother in the Lord that God continue the good work, for my pleaded anonymity said: "He should uphold her…”

God will reward you abundantly served God in all sincerity and The sermon was rounded off but for those who believe in gave himself to prayers. I pray with a hymn in Yoruba langua- charms and other gods, I urge there will be a successor like ge: A o pade leti odo, t’ese Angeli you to repent as the power of man daddy." tite, t’o mo gaara bii kristeli leba will disappoint you but God will

Don’t work for compensation, Ojo tells new Lagos PFN

By SAM EYOBOKA

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RSTWHILE National Secretary of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, Archbishop Joseph Ojo has enjoined the new executive of Lagos State chapter of PFN not to work because they want to be comp-ensated by man but rather to work to get reward from God. He gave the advice in a message at the inauguration of a new executive of the Lagos PFN last Friday in Lagos.

Ojo, who served PFN for several years, observed that no human institution can truly re-ward those working for God, pointing out that the best man could do is to give compensa-tion.

“I want you to realize that man can compensate you and thank you for whatever you do in God’s vineyard and even to humanity but only God can truly reward you. Don’t expect reward from man because man cannot reward

you. Our reward as servants of God is from God who sent us on this assignment,” he said.

The ceremony which held at Fountain of Life Church, Ilupeju, Lagos had over 2,000 people in attendance. Ojo recalled that what has kept him going in rendering selfless service is the realization that God gives reward to those who diligently seek him. Earlier, in his address, the new PFN chairman, Bishop Sola Ore told the congregation that the new regime shall pursue a policy that will make Lagos PFN relevant to the grassroots and create a forum where Christians in the state shall have a voice.

He said: “Our vision is to build the Body of Christ for kingdom advancement. We want to work towards synth-esizing the potentials in the Body of Christ for the benefit of all. Our goal is

*Archbishop Joseph Ojo to build the body and to strengthen the hands that are weak.

“We want to reach out to our brothers and sisters who are not in the fellowship for now; we want to reach out to the indigent ones among us. We don’t want to give them fish; we want to train them how to fish. We want to tap into the grace upon our leaders in Lagos to strengthen the Body

and affect positively the society.”

While seeking support of all stakeholders in the PFN assignment, Ore said he would do all within his ability to continue from where his predecessor, Apostle Alexander Bamgbola stopped.

“Today, our nation is faced with myriads of problems among which is the strange disease called Ebola Virus and terrorism.

The question the world is asking is: Where is the Church? These challenges are starring us in the face and we must confront them.

The only way we can confront them is to come together as one body in faith, prayerfully and tactfully resist the devil,” he stated.

Present at the occasion was the National Deputy President of the PFN, Pastor Paul Adefarasin, the representative of the Lagos State Government, Rev. Sam Ogedengbe, many government officials and several ministers of the gospel.

ONFLICT of interest have ripped apart the Sapele District of the Assembly of God Church, with the District head, Dr. Raphael Itoto and his faction on the one part, while his deputy, Pastor Joseph Ojemro and his faction on the other part, reports GODWIN OGHRE. The rift is sequel to the suspension of the church’s General Superintendent, Prof.

Paul Emeka, by the 16-member General Council, over allegation of financial impropriety on the part of the General Superintendent.

While the district head, Dr. Itoto and his faction is angling that the embattled GS remains the spiritual leader of the church and cannot be suspended, his deputy, Rev. Joseph Ojemro and his faction, welcomed the suspension, adding that the newly appointed General Superintendent, Dr. Chidi Okoroafor, is now the spiritual head of the church.

Enelamah, Auntlanda for El-Shaddai youth confab

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L-SHADDAI Bible Church, Dolphin Estate, Lagos has perfected plans to host youths of the church to a variety of programmes aimed at preparing them for leadership roles in future.

The 3-day event which begins on Friday is expected to take the youngsters of the church through several skill acquisition programmes, vocational trainings and free interactive business seminar on how to start and grow busi-ness.

Addressing newsmen in his church office, the chief host and general overseer of the church, Bishop Olanrewaju Obembe said the theme of the youth convention is; "Ït is possible: Youth stand out 2014" and seasoned motivational speakers have indicated their willingness to impart the church youth.

According to him, co-founder of African Capital Alliance, Dr. Okey Enelamah and relationship expert and radio talk show host, Dr. Auntlanda of Sharing Lives Issues will be speaking on different aspects of life.

Obembe maintained that the event will feature Bible Quiz competition, Eating & Drinking Competition, Dancing competition, love & relation-ship talk show, drama, gospel comedy and lofty prizes will be given to winners.

There will also be talent hunts, unisex fashion parade, African Cultural Worship fiesta/ thanksgiving, love, relationship, dating, marriage and real/explosive sex talk, skill acquisition and free medical check up for all ages.

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 — 43 lay down my life for the sheep.” Meaning; I sacrifice My life for the sheep—I died to save the sheep.

RIGHT TO REPLY:

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MASSIMO JOHN STEFANO, College of Education, Agbor.

It is complimentary not contradictory read them over again.

O M O D E OLANIPEKUN Lagos, Nigeria

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Re: A Tale of Two Contradictory Gospels by Femi Aribisala (Aug 10, 2014) these 'evil' compilers were inserting lies into the Bible to deceive people, what better place to insert them than the Wo r d s of Christ?

us direct our intellect in right way. Amen.

PETER NWAOKO, Federal Science and Technical College, Yaba Femi Aribisala, Where goest thee from here? I Timothy 4:1-4....., many depart from from Faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and the doctrines of the devils AFUYE MUBARACK KAYODE, Chief Executive Officer at KOPA Brainchild Gospel according Aribisala.

EGBO CHINEDU, Self employed

to

Mr. Femi, I think you are confused. You need the Holy Spirit for you to understand these verses. From what you have pointed out I think you need guidance in the word of God. Don't approach Bible with earthly knowledge please....I totally disagree with your assertions and be careful before you offend the Holy Spirit.

IKHAYERE EHIOMEN · Benin-City

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Ahhh! This is not true.

They are one and the same gospel.

Femi, you are no doubt a highly intelligent man. Just read Philippians 2:12, you would see that the Lord Jes u s a n d A p o s t l e Pa u l preached (and still preach) same gospel. May God help

VICTOR Victor is irrelevant; These questions which are the foundation of Femi Aribisala's lies and heresies are not A man screams every week

about "lies added into the Bible except in the words of Christ."

You then ask him a simple, logical question to present the EXTERNAL standard by which he differentiates the lies from the truth in the very same books; and in some case, the very same chapters! Surely it is illogical (bordering on silly), to claim that the same book you maintain is riddled with lies is the same standard by which you differentiate the lies!

No, there must be some external standard for distinguishing lies from truth if we are to buy this proposition.

Instead, he starts to rant and rave; curse and threaten...

This is certainly abnormal behavior and does not in any way help make his case that lies have been added into the Bible. Femi Aribisala will have to do much better than this.

Again, here are my questions broken down to their most basic forms: 1. Femi Aribisala claims that lies have been inserted into the Bible presumably by its compilers.

2. The Words of Jesus were included in the Bible by these same compilers.

3. How can we tell that these "devious people" did not similarly add lies into the Gospel accounts of the words of Christ?

4. Since Aribisala also maintains that the virgin birth narrative in Luke and Matthew are fabrications, on what EXTERNAL basis does he differentiate the lies from the truth in the very same Gospels? After all, if

P A S T O R TAIWO In Acts 9:1016, we are told of Jesus' witness of Paul to Ananias: "...But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake."

Brethren, Should we believe the witness of hell of Femi Aribisala or the witness of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Who called, saved, commissioned, anointed Pa u l f o r H i s w o r k s a n d glory?

F A I T H T H AT C O N QUERS

,

M

R . Wr i t e r I h a v e o m e questions to ask you.

1) Who called Paul?

2) To whom were Paul sent?

3) If the Bible was given by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, why did God allowed Paul messages to be half of the New Testament?

4) When you received your calling have you repented by then? When Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James and John they were fisher men and they have not repented.

What about the Levi Matthew, no one that will say after I gave my life to God that is when I was called.

When Papa Adeboye was told that he is going to be the next G.O., he said he ran away to his duty post at the University of Ilorin. But today, he is the number 1 preacher in Nigeria, so the gift and calling of God is without repentance.

If you can't pull crowd as God, why? For He gave some 100, 50, 30. Maybe your own is 10, don't worry He that giveth may increase it for you.

But remember he that take away out of this word his own shall be taken away.

AZOGOR IDEBA, Works at National Assembly, Abuja I sincerely think you should have to study the Bible again especially the references used because you also contradicted and confused issues.

ASAOLU JOEL, Safety Supervisor at Petrostuff Nig. Ltd You are right with the first sentence in your expository acticle, but disagree with the remaining.

FIDELIS EMEKA OKORONKWO Fe d e r a l Po l y t e c h n i c , Nekede s

Oxford English Dictionary says: "To lay down one's life for somebody" means to die literally to save that person.

Moreover it says the synonym of 'to lay down ones life for somebody" ís to sacrifice one's self for that person.

Hence when Jesus says; Ï lay down my life for the sheep"Jesus Christ is saying; "Ï sacrifice Myself for for the sheep." I die to save the sheep.

Although Femi Aribisala never thought it wise proving the Oxford Dictionary wrong, yet he kept telling lies against the Word of Jesus Christ and that of the secular world, where he gained his knowledge.

Femi Aribisala, I know that you were employed by Va n g u a rd t o a t t a c k t h e Christian Holy Book and the Christians, just continue to write your deliberate lies so as to take care of your stomach, for in the day you write anything against the Qu'oran and the Muslims, this space given to you by Vanguard will become a story--- you will simply be shown the way out. True or false?

ZOEMED Paul's witness in the Bible is about Christ as indeed the rest of the scripture's witnesses about Christ. That is not what John 5: 31-32 is about and by the way, how did you know that verse is not one of the manipulated verses that are in the Bible as you have severally alleged?

PEACE What were you before you

The junk yard is full of rubbish because the columnist who lays claim of having studied at Oxford University tells lies at every turn. Many examples abound of this Femi Aribisala's pen-chant for lies

There is one junk yard I know, it is one column in Vanguard titled "The Article of Faith". The junk yard is full of rubbish because the columnist who lays claim of having studied at Oxford University tells lies at every turn. Many examples abound of this Femi Aribisala's pen-chant for lies: I will state only two.

1. Femi Aribisala wrote; I never said Prophet Jonah preached a false message.

"Jonah wanted Nineveh destroyed. That was why he gave a false message.

2 Femi Aribisala lying spirit made him even to deny the institution that taught him. Jesus Christ says in John 10:15 “and I

repented? A nice guy? And since you claimed to have repented, what did you repent from? From good works? If you think very well there are lots of things you will not write because they contradict the message you preach. You have to repent from BLACKMAILING people.

At least you have this one more repentance to do. You are not even half as brlliant as heretics before you. You contradict yourself in everything you write. One of you this week was saying repentance alone cannot take y o u t o h e a v e n . Te l l u s whether you have fully repented from all your sins and whether you are still capable of sinning.

44 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 YOUR LUCK TODAY

LEISURE

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139

TAURUS: BETTER than yesterday as you will be at a more comfortable place today and suddenly discover that your hope is alive. Venus bring you money GEMINI: ROMANTIC Venus at positive angle may bring matters-of-the heart related temptation through friends. But your best bet now is moderate ambition.

CANCER: The best bet for you is to consolidate on progress you made yesterday and look for best way to pacify your new friends.

LEO: EVERYBODY needs other people’s co-operation just like you today but you will not be compelled by situation to dance to others’ tune; meaning that you can do things your own way and rightly expect success VIRGO: THOSE of you willing to give others the needed co-operation will be in better position to consolidate on progress you have made recently. Don’t allow sex to distract you.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

By Richard Eromosele

A

NY life that has lost the God essence will definitely pay for such lack. There is hell. There is also heaven. All great books of truth give testimonies of the

What Is Life — 3 reality of these two.

You cannot live a life that makes mockery of God’s creation and expect to be compensated and catapulted to the summit of the divine.

Every man

TERROR MUDA

(woman) by his action in inaction, consciously or unconsciously earns his place in the divine nature of c r e a t i o n .

Righteously living leads to heaven

in “Never say goodbye”

while wicked will have their time in hell.

There is life after life. There is life in heaven. There is also the life of hell. Your fruit will determine your destination.

The choice is yours.

Think about it seriously!

By Lanre Kehinde

LIBRA: WATCHOUT for minor and avoidable but costly mistake within your working arena, especially if you are in charge of other people’s money. If you develop new romantic liaison today, it may not last.

SCORPIO: AS the saying goes “time waits for nobody” it’s important you guard against unnecessary procrastination capable of putting you at tight corner tomorrow. Be loving.

SAGITTARIUS: IT’S better you conclude what you’ve been doing for a while rather than starting something new you don’t know when to finish it. Be more family minded.

CAPRICORN: IF careless remarks are made by you today, it would back-fire at resumption of work tomorrow morning. Those who are eager for romantic attention will have their dream coming true. Be more loving AQUARIUS: IF you wait too long before an important (financial) decision is taken, you may find yourself keeping date with what you don’t bargain for.

KAPTAIN AFRIKA

in

“Pretty Lunatic’

By Andy Akman

PISCES: Placement of the Moon influences your associates to become more self-assertive. If you take good advice you’ll fare better. However, it’s important you don’t forget your tomorrow with others.

ARIES: BETTER than yesterday and luckily for you, opportunity to rectify mistakes made yesterday may come today to the betterment of your finances. Don’t try to buy love with money.

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING Send yyour our dat th ttoo the As tr ological datee and place of bir birth Astr trological Counselling, PP.M.B .M.B 1100 00 7, Apapa, Lagos 007,

What abut me?

VIRGINIA

dadadekola@yahoo.com

Dear Joshua, You have done many people’s horoscope; what about me? I want you to kindly analyse my star and tell me everything about my self. Please take note that I value my health and career than any other thing.

Ndubuisi Lagos.

Dear Ndubuisi, What space can take will be given to you hereunder, Scorpio and Libra that hosted both your natal sun and moon are members of very strong star signs-health wise.

Scorpio, in particular, has unusual survival ability.

That is to say, even when health related challenges come, your survival endowment will always see you through.

Your major challenge is from your constant worries about too many things, especially on career related issues. Business miscalculation can be another source of health related challenge. You will agree with the fact that both constant worries and business miscalculation can affect one’s circulatory system.

Other things to watch-out for include: Urinogenital organs, minor accident (fire), bones dislocations, a few other times, skin infections and, of-course, fever. Always take care of the stomach.

Please take note that all these are mere warnings as there is nothing fatalistic about them; a good guard, though.

Oil related Neptune was the closet heavenly body to the sun when you were born at positive angle to Pluto in Leo. Thus, having things to do with oil along your career/business lines is not by accident.

Then preponderance of water element and fixed quality in the distribution of the planets when you were born are favourable to commercial involvement with anything liquid,

HOME & ABROAD

By Lawrence Akapa

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014—45

INEC Sabotaging 2015 Elections — SERG

By Cynthia Alo

S

RECEPTION: From left, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ogun gubernatorial aspirant, Engr. Ayo Ojeshina; State Secretary, Alhaji Semiu Sodipo; Chairman, Ogun State PDP, chapter, Engr. Adebayo Dayo; Chairman, Organisation and Mobilisation Committee, PDP, South West, Prince Buruji Kashamu, and former Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Alhaja Salmot Badru, at a reception in honour of some defectors into PDP, in Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State.

FEC'll ratify Infrastructure Master Plan today — Sulaiman … says SURE-P's restored the hope of Nigerians

By Emmanuel Elebeke

T

HE FEDERAL Executive Council will at its weekly meeting today, ratify the National Infrastructure Master Plan, NIMP, Minister, National Planning and Deputy Chairman, National Planning Commission, NPC, Dr. Abubakar Sulaiman, has said.

The minister disclosed this during a visit to the headquarters of Subsidy Reinvestment Empowerment Programme, SURE-P, in Abuja.

He said the plan had already

been ratified by governors at the last National Economic Council, NEC, meeting last month.

Sulaiman said he was in the office to solicit the committee’s assistance in the area of project monitoring and evaluation, as well as generating data on victims of insurgency.

The Minister, however, commended President Goodluck Jonathan for the establishment of SURE-P, describing the agency as one that has restored hope of Nigerians in their well-being, even as he made strong case for the committee in the area of easier

access to funding.

While hinting that the commission was planning to embark on project inspection, monitoring and evaluation of federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, in no distant time, the minister noted that “our commission cannot go it alone and that is why we need your collaboration.”

He lamented the perception Nigerians had of the establishment, saying, “if we don’t look at things holistically, we won’t get things in place at the right time in the right way.

“Yes, we have goals we seek to

achieve as a nation, but how do we achieve those goals? This is where our commission comes in.

In his response, the SURE-P Chairman, Lt. General Martins Luther Agwai (rtd), expressed satisfaction with the visit and assured that the minister ’s request would be looked into within the constitutional provisions governing the committee’s mandate.

He urged the minister to come over and take his position as a member of SURE-P, assuring that his coming on board “would greatly enrich our discourse in SURE-P.”

APC to establish National Women Caucus — Women leader

By Henry Umoru

A

BUJA — NATIONAL Woman leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Hajiya Ramatu Aliyu, disclosed, yesterday, that plans had been concluded to establish a National Women Caucus, NAWOCA, for the party.

According to her, the move will

help strengthen and deepen the participation of women in its decision making process.

In a statement, yesterday, and made available to journalists, Hajiya Aliyu said the caucus was conceived as a platform to address the need for women leaders of the party from the ward to national levels to come together and discuss issues of common interest as members of one family.

She said NAWOCA was derived from the need for women in the party to show that they trusted one another, so other Nigerian women could trust them. ‘’We need to accommodate our differences so that we can accommodate the differences of other Nigerian women who believe in what we believe.

“The body would also seek to show that we are of one accord,

Health workers condemn stigmatisation of Ebola victims

By Favour Nnabugwu

M

EDICAL AND Health Workers Union of Nigeria, MHWUN, yesterday, condemned the stigmatisation of Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, victims, particularly by relations and the society at large.

This is even as the union commended the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan and the Minister of health, Prof.

Onyebuchi Chukwu, for the strong response to the virus across the nation.

MHWUN President, Ayuba

Wabba, at the one-day 'train the trainers' workshop and the formal launch of the World Health Organisation's interim infection prevention and control guidance for health workers in Abuja, criticised relations of victims, who, for fear of contacting the virus, denied the victims the love they required at that critical point of their lives.

“As we face the battle to curb and stop Ebola, we must and will do this with love. Stigmatisation is not an option; protection, action and solidarity are the way forward,” he said.

He explained that the union carefully selected the theme of the workshop, following the stigmatisation of victims as observed and witnessed by health workers.

Wabba, however, said the union appreciated the efforts of the Federal Government and its members across the country, especially in the affected states for the manner they had so far handled the Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, virus and its victims since it broke in Lagos over a month ago.

so that the women of Nigeria will know that we are one family, united and prepared to provide leadership by example,” she said.

The APC women leader, who emphasised that NAWOCA would strengthen bonds of unity among the women in the party, stressed that when convened, it would enable them ‘’share our worries, bond our passions, sharpen our convictions and strengthen our common beliefs so that the change we offer Nigerian women will not be in vain.”

While urging women in the party to close ranks to enable them play their role as ‘’champions of change for national redemption,” she, however, urged them to support the NAWOCA initiative, being a child of necessity for change for Nigerian women.

“NAWOCA is a child of necessity for a stronger APC women,” Hajia Aliyu said.

Calling on women in the party to lead other Nigerian women to strengthen the nation’s democracy, Hajiya Aliyu said: ‘’We must resolve to arm them with the power of the vote because they have the advantage of greater number.

OUTH EAST Revival Grou, SERG, has accused the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega, of setting up the 2015 general elections to fail as it raised alarm that the commission was working to disenfranchise people from certain geopolitical zones in the country.

Coordinator-General of SERG, Chief Willy Ezugwu, in a statement, in Abuja, weekend, warned that the outcome of the elections might be disastrous, if Jega and INEC failed to correct the “glaring shortcomings” in the distribution of polling centres recently announced, as it was obvious the move was meant to sabotage the polls.

NASS urged to revisit Toru-Ebe State creation

T

HE NATIONAL Assembly has been urged to revisit the issue of creation of Toru-Ebe State for the Ijaws to correct the injustice meted out on them by past governments.

A legal practitioner and Olowobolowei of Egbema kingdom in Delta State, Chief Seliwei Baidi, said in a statement in Lagos that the demand for ToruEbe State was borne out of the fact that it was an economically viable, naturally located on the heart of the crude oil that sustained the nation and had sufficient population.

Baidi, who said the proposed state consists of Arogbo-Ijaw clan in Ondo State, Egbema clan in Edo State, Egbema clan in Warri North local government area of Delta state, Okomu, Olodiama and Furupagha clans in Edo state, Isaba, Gbaramatu and Ogbe-Ijoh clans in Warri South LGA, as well as Burutu and Bomadi LGAs in Delta State, noted that it was a truly homogenous state meant to obviate the balkanisation of the Ijaws.

46 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

IGP receives report on feuding Ogun/Lagos boundary communities

FoI Act: APC sues Bauchi govt over debt profile B

By Suzan Edeh

AUCHI—BAUCHI State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, under the Freedom of Information Act 2011, yesterday, dragged the state government to the State High Court demanding an explanation on the outstanding government loan.

Musa Idris Hardawa, who filed the suit on behalf of APC, claimed the party was aware that the state government was indebted to some financial institutions to the tune of N8.8 billion.

He urged the court to compel the State Government to explain the N25 billon allegedly borrowed.

Hardawa equally asked the court to compel the state lawmakers and auditorgeneral of the state to investigate and conduct a public hearing on the state debt profile.

Counsel to the complainant, Kassim Abdul Hamid, said the party was worried the current government was leaving a huge debt for the incoming government, and if the issue was not addressed now, it would create a big burden for the incoming government.

He said if APC won the governorship election in the 2015 general election, the debt might undermine the Government.

According Kassim, the complainant wrote a letter and asked the defendant to provide the party with information on the balance of government loan under freedom of information act 2011, but the defendant

L

AGOS—A crack team of Police detectives from the monitoring unit of the office of the InspectorGeneral of Police, IGP, Abuja, has submitted the report of its findings in the un-ending feud between 14 communities within Lagos-Ogun boundary in the outskirts of Ikorudu.

In the report submitted to the IG by team leader, A. Mammah and the Police team noted that there were series of petitions that had taken the warring factions from Imota Police Station in Ikorodu, Lagos to state CID, Panti and eventually to the office of IGP. The report absolved three businessmen, Alhaji Mutairu Owoeye, Chief Hakeem Alabi, and one Eleda of allegations of behaving in a manner likely to cause breach of peace, unlawful possession of fire- arms and murder.

The 14 communities include Adeekun Lambo, Lasunmon, Teele, Ewujebe, IluOloye, ewumi, OkeArobi, Illisa oba, Lire, Aro Ofoly, Salagberu, Tile-Tile, Igboasoro, Oke-Ibu, Oloride, all in Ogun State, as well as Jaajo, Oke-Agbo in Lagos State.

refused.

The complainant alleged that it was learnt through an online report that Government allegedly took N15 billion loan to build houses for the former Governor, his Deputy, the

incumbent Governor and his Deputy, arguing that the defendant had no power to collect such loan and convert same to personal use.

He claimed the defendants had no means of

MEETING ON EBOLA: From left: Assistant Brand Manager, Dettol, Reckitt Benckiser, Mr. Oladipupo Ogundele, Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, and Marketing Director for West Africa, Reckitt Benckiser, Mr. Oguzhan Silivrili, after a partnership meeting between the Federal Ministry of Health and Reckitt Benckiser on Dettol public enlightenment campaign on Ebola in Abuja.

Aide slams Orbih, Senator on Oshiomhole's achievements Adams Oshiomhole of the state.

B

By Simon Adewale

ENIN—SENIOR Special Assistant on Public Affairs to Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, Henry Okpamen, has berated Edo State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic

Party, PDP, Chief Dan Orbih and former Senator representing Edo North senatorial district, Senator Yisah Braimoh, over their penchant to misinform the general public on the achievements of Governor

PEOPLE SPEAK

08102479985

paying the loans because Government was owing workers’ salaries and unable to settle pensioners N10 billion gratuity.

The presiding judge, Justice Abdulkadir Suleiman is to fix a date for hearing of the motion.

While briefing newsmen, Okpamen said though he had lot of regards for former Senator Braimoh as a respected Edo North son, but he did not see that in Chief Dan Orbih, who seemed to be leading a few against the interest of Edo people.

By Bartholomew Madukwe (nwamad@yahoo.com)

On FG shuts schools till October 13 over Ebola scar e scare

I

AM not extremely surprised by the outrageousity of this genocide. “the world is not dangerous because of those who do harm but because of those who look at it and do nothing” Albert Einstein.

Mr. Onuchukwu Chinedu — Activist

G

OD we thank you for your love on mankind, even though the sin remains on the high before you. This also is an indication of hope for the average Nigerians of God’s presence among us. Mr. Agada Akor — Worker

M

ONEY and vaccines cannot not heal Ebola but if our leaders will change from their evil ways and hear the cries of the less privellege and orphans, GOD will cure Ebola diseases in our country. Ms Anuli Anona— Businesswoman

T

HIS order to close all schools in Nigeria because of Ebola is pure madness and borne out of desperation to score cheap political points. Why stop there, why not all workers both in public and private sector ask, in fact all Nigerians to also stay at home as well. Ms Sandra Adichie — Model

he next logical extension to Ebola is to summon all stakeholders and form a government of national unity. Party politics has consistently been the cog in our wheel of progress and unity. Mrs. Morayo Iyoke — Trader

If Federal Government had protected our airports and bound any flight from Liberia, Sawyer wouldn’t have gain access to Nigeria in the first place. However, it is good that they are doing their best to curtail it.

Mr. Eyinna Okpani — Graduate

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 —47

Onwusanya attributes growing population in Delta to peace, infrastructure

Jigawa to train 5000 youths on vocational skills

A

By Tina Akannam

D

UTSE — THE Jigawa State Government plans to train over 5000 youths before 2015 in different vocational skills through the state economic empowerment directorate.

Permanent Secretary of the state empowerment directorate, Alhaji Mohammed Jamilu Abubakar, who announced this in an interview with Vanguard in Dutse, said the decision was part of the state government's efforts to alleviate poverty in the state.

He said the vocational training would be on three categories: specialised trade, conventional trade and local trades under fallen trades gradually vanishing in the society.

The permanent secretary, who also disclosed that over 3000 youths had so far benefited from the directorate’s skills acquisition centres, said special attention was being focussed on fallen trades.

According to him, “ we have observed that children of individuals who practised fallen trades are not willing to inherit their family traditional skills such as butchers, local barbers, local blacksmiths etc.

"We had to go to their houses and recruit some of them and train them on modern ways of practising their trades. Over 500 youths have been trained under the fallen trade categories. After the training, the youths are usually given loans to start their trades."

He called on corporate organisations and wealthy individuals to assist the government because the government could not fund to the project alone.

The permanent secretary urged beneficiaries of the programme to make good use of the opportunity given to them by the present administration to develop themselves and the community.

He appealed to them to reciprocate by paying back loans given to them as at when due.

From left: Chairman, O3 Capital, Chief Bode Emmanuel; Chief Executive Officer, O3 Capital, Mr. Abimbola Pinhiero; Executive Vice President, Maxut Inc, Mr. Martin Ajayiobe, and Country Manager, Verve International, Mrs. Oremeyi Akah, during the launch of O3 credit card in Lagos. Photo: Kehinde Gbadamosi.

High cases of deserters dangerous for military, Nigeria — TUC

By Victor Ahiuma-Young

T

RADE Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, has warned that increasing reported cases of deserters in Nigerian Army over lack of weapon to confront the Boko Harem insurgency is a dangerous trend that can destroy the army.

TUC in a statement also expressed concerns over incessant refusal by soldiers to take orders from their superiors in their fight against the Boko Haram when deployed to the stronghold of the terrorist sect.

In a statement by its President, Bobboi Kaigama, TUC expressed fear over the safety of Nigerians because if there was an external aggression today, Nigerians were strictly on their own as it appeared that there is no military to defend them since soldiers often ran out of ammunition at the battle front.

Kaigama expressed shock over the sudden incapacitation and begging status of the Nigerian military which bravery and professionalism in several peace keeping missions in Africa gave the country its title “the Giant of Africa."

He said: “It is rather unfortunate that Nigerian soldiers that were once the envy and pride of Africa have now been reduced to a toothless bulldog in the battle front, begging for food, bullets and better weapons to defend their fatherland.This is a shame.

"It is pertinent to state that the allegation of mutiny by the authorities of the Nigerian military over the refusal by the ill-equipped Nigerian soldiers to obey the last order in their quest to defend their fatherland does not hold water.

What transpired was the application of common sense because such a mission will be tantamount to suicide mission.”

Kaigama questioned the huge amount of N968 billion budgeted by the Federal Government in its 2014 budget to combat the Boko Haram sect and other terrorist

groups in the country.

He noted: “The Nigerian military is at the forefront of the war on terror but it is doubtful if it can triumph. It is high time the government approached the war on terrorism with sincerity of heart because the government and the military forces have proved incapable of defeating a small army of insurgents whose activities are limited to the NorthEastern part of the country. This is in spite of billions of naira in defence spending since 2010.

"In recent years, Boko Haram has become more daring in its attacks. Apart from conducting suicide bombings, it has continued to carry out coordinated

raids on military bases, police stations and villages’ unabated.”

On the issue of 480 Nigerian soldiers that fled into Cameroon following fierce fighting with Boko Haram insurgents as confirmed by the Cameroonian Army spokesman, Lt Col Didier Badjek, though denied by the Director of Defence Information, Major-Genenral Chris Olukolade, TUC president described “the incident as unfortunate because the protector of the people is now seeking safety in a foreign land due to lack of adequate weapons, an obvious fact that Nigerians are on their own."

Monarch accuses politicians of fuelling crisis in Benue community

By Peter Duru

M

AKURDI — THE paramount ruler of Apa Agila in Igumale Local Government Area of Benue State, Chief Moses Obande, has accused political leaders of fuelling the over 17-year-old bloody crisis that is ravaging the area.

Obande spoke yesterday in Makurdi, the state capital, at the opening of the orientation and training for the women and children of the ravaged Agila community, organised by the Women Environmental Programme, WEP, the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution and the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP. According to the royal father, “the leaders of Agila have in the last 17 years misled the people which gave rise to the wanton distruction of lives and property over chieftaincy dispute in the communities.

"Unfortunately, this chieftaincy issue is all about

placing a red feather on the head of someone, and for that reason many are being killed and property are being destroyed over the years without respite.

“What we see happening is saddening and unfortunate.

I believe that we as a people must start to realise our mistakes and the futility of some of these actions that have left our communities in tatters.

"That is the more reason why I urge everyone of us to make good use of this opportunity and platform to develop ourselves and also propagate peaceful coexistence in our communities.”

Earlier, Director of WEP, Mrs. Priscilla Achakpa, had said the six months entrepreneurial training would avail victims of the crisis opportunity to acquire skills in various fields to help them earn a living for themselves and their families.

SABA— SPEAKER of Delta State House of Assembly, Mr. Peter Onwusanya, has said the growing population of Delta State, especially Asaba, the state capital, underscores the huge investment by the state government in infrastructural development, making the state very attractive to other Nigerians.

The speaker, who spoke on the 23rd anniversary of the state’s creation, also averred that the development witnessed by the state in the past seven years was as a result of the peace and security agenda of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan.

He noted that the recent Permanent Voters’ Cards, PVCs, and registration exercise where no fewer than about 200,000 eligible voters were registered in Asaba, exposed the growing population of residents of the state capital, stressing that it was as if the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, conducted a fresh registration.

Onwusanya who represents Oshimili South Constituency in Delta State House of Assembly, said several families relocated to Asaba in recent time due to peace and available infrastructures in the state.

2015 Kwara guber: Youths solicit support for Duntoye

By Demola Akinyemi

I

LORIN— Youths and students leaders in Kwara State have urged the leaders and elders of Peoples Democractic Party, PDP, to support the aspiration of former President of National Youths Council of Nigeria, NYCN, Ben Duntoye, to become the governor of Kwara State in 2015.

They made the appeal in Ilorin, yesterday, when they led members to the resident of Duntoye, in Ilorin, to express their support for his aspiration.

The spokesperson of the group, Biodun Olawuyi, explained that their support became necessary because, it was high time the elders and leaders of PDP in the state gave the youths a chance to lead and contribute their quota towards the socio economic development of the state.

48—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

ETISALAT CLOUDNINE SESSION: From left; Chief Technical Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Stephane Beuvelet; Musician, Mike Okri; Director, Strategy, Etisalat Nigeria, Temi Ogunbambi; and R&B/ VISIT: The Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Lady Valerie Ebe (centre), flanked by Pop artiste, Niyiola during the Etisalat Cloudnine session held at members of the State Executive Committee and members of the Presidential Task Force on Harrow Park Golf Club, Central Business District, Abuja.

Power who visited her at the Government House, Uyo.

INAUGURATION: From left; Umar Manko, Assistant Inspector General of Police/President of Lagos State Police command officers mess; Alhaji Abdulai Gbadamosi, Chairman, honorary members of Lagos State Police Command officers mess and Dapo Daramola, Secretary, honorary members of Lagos State Police Command officers mess, at the inauguration of Lagos state police command officers mess honorary members at Ikeja, Lagos. Photo by Akeem Salau.

INTERNSHIP: From left; Mgbemena Thankgod, second runner-up of 2013 PZ Cussons Chemistry Challenge for secondary schools; Pieter Stroek, Head of Research, Development and Innovation, PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc; and Emmanuel Ejiogu Onyekachi, grand prize winner; at the internship programme with PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc.

DONATION: From right; Dr. Wale Ahmed, Lagos State Commissioner for Special Duty; Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, receiving personal protective items against Ebola Virus Disease donated by MTN, from Pascal Dozie, Chairman, MTN Nigeria; Nonny Ugboma, Executive Secretary, MTNF; Remi Adeseun, Chairman, Rodot Nigeria and Akinwale Goodluck, Corporate Services Executive, MTN, in Alausa, Lagos State.

RETREAT: From right; Mrs Agnes Ademakinwa, Corporate Communication Specialist, Harvest Plus; Mr Biodun Coker and GRADUATION: From left; Overall best in Mr Goddie Ofose, Brands & Marketing, The Niche newspaper 13th Batch, Miss Atumofe Happiness (Ikosi- during the retreat organised by Harvest Plus. Photo: Akeem Salau.

Isheri LCDA); Sponsor, Senator 'Gbenga (BELOW) INAUGURATION: From left; Lagos State Ashafa, and the 2nd best in 13th Batch, Miss Arawomo Itunu, during the 13th &14th Batches Commissioner for Rural Devt, Mr. Cornelius Ojelabi; New Graduation ceremony of Ashafa's Free Chairman, CDA committee, Alhaji Tajudeen Quadri and Special Adviser to the Governor on Rural Devt, Mr. Babatunde Hunpe, Monthly ICT Programme at Magodo. during the inauguration of the new EXCO of CDA Advisory Council, at Alausa Ikeja. Photo by Kehinde Gbadamosi. ( L E F T ) CONFERENCE: From left; Prof. Babajide Alo, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic and Research), University of Lagos, UNILAG; former NADECO scribe, Mr. Ayo Opadokun; Prof.

Austin Asagba, Vice Chancellor, Western Delta University, WDU, Oghara, Delta State and Prof. Sunday Ododo, President, Society of Nigeria Theatre Artists, SONTA, at the 27th Annual Convention and International Conference of SONTA, held at UNILAG.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 — 49

50 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

PDP NWC meets on guidelines for party primaries

By Henry Umoru

A

BUJA—THE National Working Committee, NWC, of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, will meet today to brainstorm on proposed guidelines for the party primaries for presidential primary election and for all elective offices.

The PDP’s meeting, a source told Vanguard became imperative as the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had fixed presidential primaries of the various parties for between October 2 and December 11 while campaigns for the election will commence November 16, even as the dates are in line with provisions of the Electoral Act. According to a source, at the meeting, the national leadership of PDP will come up with dates for presidential, governorship primaries as well as that of State Houses of Assembly, Federal House of Representatives and that of the Senate, just as fees to be paid for expression of interest/ nomination forms by aspirants would also be discussed at today’s meeting. It is also expected that at today’s meeting, the leadership of PDP will discuss dates for the special national convention where the appointment of the National Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, who took over from Alhaji Bamanga Tukur as PDP National Chairman, January 20, 2014 would be ratified at the national convention slated to hold this month.

It will be recalled that Muazu’s appointment was endorsed by the 64th National Executive Committee, NEC meeting at Wadata Plaza, PDP National Secretariat. It would also be recalled that the PDP Deputy National Chairman, Prince Secondus, who presided over the election of Alhaji Mu’azu, quoted section 47 (6) of the party’s constitution which empowers NEC to elect a new official to fill vacancy created by the resignation of an elected official. The motion for the nomination of Muazu was moved by the Governor of Bauchi State, Mallam Isa Yuguda, and was seconded by the Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma Egba.

I will stand by President Jonathan till the end —Gov Isa Yuguda •says he has no intention to defect to APC

By Soni Daniel, Regional Editor, North

B

AUCHI State Governor, Mallam Isa Yuguda, has dispelled rumours that he was defecting to the All Progressives Congress, APC, blaming his opponents for the spread of the false information.

The governor in a telephone interview with our correspondent in Abuja said that he had never contemplated leaving the Peoples Democratic Party for the APC, to be able to help President Goodluck Jonathan win his re-election next year.

Yuguda, who described himself as a die-hard supporter of President Jonathan, wondered how he could have left him half way into his presidency when he needed him most to consolidate his position on the political turf.

The governor said that since Jonathan came on board as Nigeria’s president, he had remained one of his unrepentant supporters and would continue to work for his success, noting, “Let it be known to those who did not know that I remain one of the

unrepentant loyalists of President Goodluck Jonathan and I will continue to work with him even after he might have left office as our president.”

He added,“It is also a known fact that since Jonathan became president I have been one of his most consistent supporters.

What then am I going to do in APC, as the tale bearers are insinuating? Over the years, I have used the solid political

structures I have developed to work hard for Jonathan’s success in my state and I will continue to work with him in whatever capacity he desires and nobody can stop us."

The governor said he had what he takes to be able to deliver his state for the ruling PDP and that there was nothing for the party to fear or for him to cross over to the opposition.

He said did not need to defect

to the opposition to win any position of interest to him in next year’s election and that the PDP was a better platform to him to realise any potential office.

Yuguda said he was aware of the desperation of some politicians to cause dissention between him and Abuja for their selfish interest but warned such politicians to desist from the evil plot as they would not make progress through such means.

L-R; Kwara State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hajia Ramata Abaya, Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdufatah Ahmed, President, National Council of Women Societies (NCWS),(Kwara Chapter), Hajia Baraqat Atunse and others during the presentation of a 14 seater Bus to the Society at Government House, Ilorin...Tuesday

NNPC, Navy agree to curb crude oil theft

BY CHRIS OCHAYI

A

BUJA— DETERMINED to stamp out illegal oil bunkering activities in the country, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and the Nigerian Navy have agreed to work together to curtail the crude oil theft and other social crimes in the nation’s maritime waters.

NNPC's Group Managing Director, Dr. Joseph Dawha during a courtesy call on the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin in Abuja, emphasized the need for the corporation and the Nigerian Navy to strengthen ties for the socio-economic growth and stability of the nation.

Dawha applauded the Navy for its tremendous support to the NNPC and its partners in fostering and ensuring a secure environment for its personnel, facilities and operations, stressing, “the Navy has supported the corporation in securing its assets and facilities in the upstream, midstream and downstream of the oil and gas industry."He added that the aggressive patrols and surveillance have led to the arrest of pirates and illegal

bunkerers over the years.

He said that “the gallant security presence of the Navy has gone a long way in stabilizing NNPC operations in Escravos, Warri, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Atlas Cove in Lagos and the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC operations in Benin city and environs."

Dr. Dawha expressed the readiness of the NNPC to

sustain the engagement with the Navy and other security personnel especially in the areas of pipeline security, vandalism, crude and product theft and the associated crimes of kidnapping and abduction of oil workers on the near shore, offshore and deep water.

In his response, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin, reassured the GMD and the top management

of the NNPC of the Navy ’s continuous support in reducing oil theft, illegal bunkering, piracy and poaching to its barest minimum.

He said that activities of oil bunkers and illegal refiners have given the country a negative image and the Navy is determined to chase the perpetrators of these nefarious acts out of business for the common good of the country.

POLICE RECRUITMENT: 2,634 candidates

shortlisted, 619 to be admitted

By Kingsley Omonobi

A

BUJA—A total of 2,634 candidates were shortlisted out of the several thousand’s that applied to join the Nigerian Police as Cadets while the Police Service Commission will only enlist 619 for the course.

Making this known in a statement signed by Ferdinand Ekpe, Assistant Director, Information, the PSC noted that the Recruitment Board of the Police Academy, Kano was meeting as part of the activities for the selection of

candidates into the Second Regular Course of the Academy ’s degree programme.

His words: “Six hundred and nineteen (619) cadets are expected to emerge from the two thousand, six hundred and thirty three (2634) candidates that were shortlisted. The shortlisted candidates are those who were successful at the entrance examination held on June 7, 2014.”

The statement quoted a member of the Recruitment Board of the Police Academy, Wudil, DIG Yakubu Mohammad (rtd) pledging an

improvement in the exercise that ushered in the First Regular Course of the Academy’s degree programme.

Mohammad, a Commissioner representing the Police on the Board of the Police Service Commission made the promise during a meeting of the Recruitment Board of the Academy, on September 1, 2014.

The Board is comprised of officials of the Police Service Commission, Federal Character Commission, Ministry of Police Affairs, the Coordinator and Commandant of the Academy, as well as the DIG Training of the Nigeria Police Force.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 — 51

BRIEFS

Al-Shabab leader’s convoy hit by US strike

Islamic State murders another US journalist T HE Islamic State has murdered the US journalist Steven Sotloff, days after his mother pleaded with the group’s leader to spare his life.

The Site monitoring group said yesterday that the armed group released the video of his death. Other internet monitors said they had seen the video and confirmed its content.

It comes two weeks after the group killed James Foley, another US journalist, claiming his death was revenge for US attacks on its fighters in Iraq.

The group released a video showing the killing of Foley. In that video, Sotloff was pictured, with a fighter saying his life depended on US President Barack Obama’s next move.

Sotloff had been held hostage in Syria by the armed group since August 2013.

His mother, Shirley Sotloff, directly addressed the group’s leader Abu Bakr alBaghdadi in an

P An image taken from a video released by the Islamic State (IS) and identified by private terrorism monitor SITE Intelligence Group yesterday purportedly shows 31-year-old US freelance writer Steven Sotloff on his knees in a desert landscape speaking to the camera before being beheaded by a masked militant.

emotional appeal for his release less than a week

ago.

The US government said it could

not confirm that Sotloff was dead.

Ebola: World is losing the battle — DWB

T

HE Ebola outbreak in West Africa will not be stopped unless wealthy nations intervene to contain the virus, the head of a leading medical charity has said.

Joanne Liu, of Doctors Without Borders,DWB, said on Tuesday that authorities were “losing the battle”, and that the world had ignored the

gravity of the epidemic.

“Six months into the worst Ebola epidemic in history, the world is losing the battle to contain it. Leaders are failing to come to grips with this transnational threat,” she said.

“The [World Health Organisation] announcement on August 8 that the epidemic constituted a ‘public health emergency of international concern’ has not led to decisive action, and states have essentially joined a global coalition of inaction.”

Liu called for a global biological disaster response, including funding for more field hospitals, trained civilian or military medical personnel and mobile laboratories in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Saudi Arabia arrests 88 men for plotting attacks AUDI Arabia has arrested 88 people accused of plotting attacks inside and outside the country, officials said.

The interior ministry said the men had been monitored for several months before their arrest and “were on the verge of carrying out operations”.

Police say three of the men are from Yemen, one is still being identified and the rest are Saudis.

Correspondents say Saudi Arabia has stepped up its security amid Islamic State’s offensive in

HE United States military has carried out air strikes in Somalia, reportedly targeting a convoy carrying the leader of militant group al-Shabab.

It was not clear if Ahmed Abdi Godane was hit in the strikes some 240km (150 miles) south of the capital, Mogadishu.

An al-Shabab source told the BBC that at least nine people were killed. The al-Qaeda-linked group has not commented officially on the attack.

US officials say they will release further details later.

The US has carried out several air strikes in recent years in Somalia where al-Shabab controls many central and southern areas.

Pakistan: Parliament backs embattled prime minister

Ukrainians crossing over to Russia following the escalated wave of violence in the country

S

T

Iraq and Syria.

Interior ministry spokesman Mansour al-

Turki did not give any details about the plots but said 59 of the men had

previously served prison sentences for similar offences.

France bans Muslim worker from nuclear sites

A

French court has upheld a ban on a Muslim engineer from accessing nuclear sites, citing his links with what it termed as “jihadist networks”, but his lawyer called it a case of Islamophobia.

Lawyer Sefen Guez Guez said that he was looking at launching an

appeal.

The 29-year-old working for a firm subcontracted by energy giant EDF had been granted access to nuclear installations as part of his job throughout 2012 and 2013.

But in March this year, the man - who cannot be

named according to French law, had his pass to enter the Nogent-surSeine nuclear power station revoked.

Officials said he had links with a violent armed group and that he was in touch with an imam involved in recruiting people to fight in Iraq.

AKISTAN’s parliament threw its weight behind embattled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday as a deepening crisis over violent protests demanding his resignation prompted fears of an army intervention.

But, signaling a possible softening in his position, protest leader Imran Khan said he would meet a conservative Islamist politician who has been trying to mediate between Khan and the government since the start of the confrontation.

Sharif, who enjoys a solid majority in parliament, convened a joint session of the assembly as he seeks to reaffirm that he is fully in control more than two weeks after protests seeking to bring down his government erupted in the coup-prone nation.

Sudan orders Iranian diplomats to leave

S

UDAN has ordered Iran to close its cultural centres and given their managers 72 hours to leave the country, officials have said, as a diplomatic row threatens normally close relations.

“Sudanese authorities summoned the Iranian charge d’affaires in Khartoum and informed him of the decision to close the three cultural centres and to give the diplomats who ran them 72 hours to leave the country,” the AFP news agency quoting an unnamed official said on Tuesday.

Sudanese media speculated that the expulsions were linked to government concerns that Iranian officials were promoting their Shia brand of Islam in the largely Sunni country, according to the Reuters news agency.

Afghan militants poised to join Islamic State

F

IGHTERS from a militant Islamic group in Af ghanistan, allied to the Taliban, have said that they are considering joining forces with Islamic State (IS). Their commander also said they would still fight the Afghan government, even after Nato forces left in 2014.

Commander Mirwais said that if IS, which he called by its Arabic acronym Daish, proved a true Islamic caliphate, they would link up with it.

The news comes amid an ongoing row over Afghanistan’s presidential poll.

Iraqi families demand answers from parliament after ISIS slaughter

T

HE families of Iraqi military members attacked by ISIS in June stormed parliament in Baghdad Tuesday, demanding more information about the fate of their loved ones, a parliamentary official said yesterday.

More than 100 family members clashed with security before entering the building, located in the International Zone, commonly known as the Green Zone. They vandalized the interior and became aggressive with people inside, the official said.

They are refusing to leave until their concerns are addressed.

The families are angry over the lack of information about the victims of an alleged massacre of Iraqi forces and cadets near Tikrit, when a military base formerly known as Camp Speicher was overrun by ISIS in June.

52 — VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Seduced by his randy dad

Dear Bunmi, I have an old friend who meddles in my financial affairs. We’d been together since our secondary school days and are now in our late 40s. We’re both divorced but the similarity ends there.

My friend seems to have the best of everything; she runs a thriving business and has a house in a nice place on Lagos Island. She has only two children while I have four.

I do a bit of petty trading from time to time and some of the children chip in financially whenever they can.

I have a claptrap car which I struggle to keep on the road.

My friend has cars she fills up with petrol all of the time.

Whenever I grumble about money, she asks why I didn’t invest my money when I had a good job. Is she for real?

How can I invest in anything bringing up four children with no real help coming from their father? Recently, she phoned up with the news that her late father ’s estate had been settled and she inherited one of his houses. I don’t begrudge her what she’s got but I hate her having my nose rubbed in her wealth.

When she asks why I don’t make more effort with my appearance, I tell her I have no money. She thinks I’m being mean, believing my children give me a lot of money I have stashed somewhere. How do

I make her understand I don’t like being questioned about my finances?

Opeolu, by e-mail.

Dear Opeolu, It’s obvious you resent your friend’s financial good fortune and that’s a shame. Your protests imply that she’s at fault for having more cash than you do. But if your circumstance had been a little different your roles might have been reversed, with you the richer one being envied.

Whatever you do, don’t allow money to come between you and your friend of several decades. Friendship is too valuable to waste.

Recognise the bitterness your friend’s prosperity sometimes evoke in you. Admit to her that, by comparison to her you really are as poor as can be. This may hurt your pride but friendship depends on openness and honesty. Next time your friend suggests you spruce yourself up, tell her cheekily: ok! Are you paying?

My wayward ex is running me down Dear Bunmi, I was married for close to 12 years when my wife and I called it quits. We are in the process of getting divorced as both of us are fed up with the marriage. My wife is now spreading rumours that I had affairs all through the period we were married and gave her sexually transmitted infections twice. This is a load of rubbish. As a matter of fact, she was the wayward one and I’ve kept an incriminating letter she wrote to a close friend who was once her lover.

I’m thinking it’s about time I started telling some home truths about the appalling way she behaved when we

were married, but we have three lovely children and I don’t want them to be hurt by any scandal.

Moses, by e-mail.

Dear Moses, It’s considerate of you to think about your children’s feelings. Divorce is never easy but if there’s too much mud slinging, children can suffer. You’ve shown a lot of maturity by keeping quiet when your ex is busy spreading rumours but don’t descend to her level. Let your lawyer handle the messy details for you and try to keep your children away from the accusations.

If I leave I could be worse off

Dear Mandy, What the heck do you think you’re doing? You’ve made a

commitment but one glance from this JJC and you’re throwing all you’ve built for years out of the window.

There is a difference between a solid relationship where you love each other, build a life; and a flash-inthe-pan romance, such as you had with this other man.

If meeting this man has shown you that your relationship could be seriously wrong,

,

Dear Bunmi, My current boyfriend is a professional and so am I. We earn good salaries and live in a flat we both furnished towards when we'll get married.

I thought I loved him but a few weeks ago, I met a friend’s brother who was on a short visit to the country. He was wonderful and witty and our lovemaking was mindblowing.

My problem is that I believe I’m in love with this new man who says he’s recently been separated from his wife and is in love with me too. He has since gone back but we talk on the phone fairly regularly.

I’m now having doubts about my current boyfriend but if I leave now, I will end up losing a lot of money I’d invested in the flat. Help!

Mandy, by e-mail.

then leave. You might lose the money you’d invested in your flat, but at least you’ll be free to love someone you really care for.

But are you sure of this new man who is still married and might not be free to commit for years maybe? I would advise that you settle down to making a successful future with your man instead of replacing certainty with a dream.

What the heck do you think you’re doing? You’ve made a commitment but one glance from this JJC and you’re throwing all you’ve built for years out of the window

,

,

Her wealth makes me resentful

Dear Bunmi, My boyfriend of three years ended the relationship and I was devastated. A few months after we split, I went to his flat to remove the rest of my belongings but he wasn’t around. His dad also lives on the premises and I popped in to see him with the hope of asking my ex to leave my things with him so I could pick them up at a future date.

He wanted to know why we split up and I told him. The two of us had always got on well.

So when he offered me comfort and booze, I didn’t refuse.

One thing led to another and we made love. My ex had always complained that his dad was too friendly with me. Although we had not done anything until that fateful day, I know he’ll never forgive me

when he finds out what happened as I haven’t ruled out our getting back together.

Doyin, by e-mail.

Dear Doyin, Your ex would have to find out about this indiscretion of yours and if he did, be rest assured he would never forgive you. You’ve been clearly out of order. Having a one off on the rebound is understandable, but not with your ex’s father! But does it matter that he might not forgive you?

Because if he really were that important to you, you would have behaved yourself around his father. Since neither you nor the randy father of your ex is prepared to come clear, there is no chance of your ex finding out.

So move on and make a mental note not to let your lust run away with you again.

Since neither you nor the randy father of your ex is prepared to come clear, there is no chance of your ex finding out; So move on and make a mental note not to let your lust run away with you again

,

His brother still turns me on Dear Bunmi, I currently live with my boyfriend of six years and we have a lovely three-year-old son. Before I met my boyfriend, I had a crush on his brother and I’m afraid I still find him attractive. Every time I see him, the feelings get stronger. I can’t stop thinking about him even though I now have a son by his brother.

My relationship with my boyfriend has always been rocky and if his brother makes a pass at me, I will jump at the chance regardless of the consequences. How can I stop lusting after this man?

Judith, by e-mail.

Dear Judith, I wonder if you are looking for an excuse to leave your boyfriend. If so, then stop and think because such relationship could only last for a while, in the process of which

you would have broken off a lot of friendships and this could put too much pressure on you as a couple. If your relationship with your partner is rocky, you must think of a way of working on it. Jumping into the arms of his brother is not an option you can even begin to consider as you may be left with no one in the end. Crushes fade in time.

You need to focus on your son, who needs to have a good relationship with his father. This is very important for a boy. If you do anything to jeopardise this, you are risking his future and whenever you think of what might have been with your man’s brother, remind yourself of this. If you are not happy, talk to your boyfriend about ways of improving the relationship. The only way to get his brother out of your head is to think of someone else - your son, who is this man’s nephew!

Share your problems and release your burden. Write now to Dear Bunmi, Vanguard Newspapers, P.M.B 1007, Apapa, Lagos. or bunmsof@yahoo.co.uk

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 — 53

54 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Patani forum dismisses youths'threat to blow up bridge

P

ATANI — PATANI Youth Leaders Forum has dismissed threat by some youths from the local government area, Delta State, to blow up the Patani- Bayelsa link bridge over their dissatisfaction with the outcome of the last Peoples Democratic Party, PDP’s primaries.

The forum also warned the politicians using youths from the area to bring the name of Ijaw foremost national leader, Chief Edwin Clark to discredit to desist from same or be made to face the laws of the land.

The forum’s PresidentGeneral, Mr. Daniel Ekiyor, while reacting to media publication accredited to some youths, threatening to blow the Patani –Bayelsa link bridge over the just concluded PDP primaries, explained that same was a ploy to blackmail the peace

Ban on Okada takes effect in Sapele Brisibe Perez

S

APELE — THE ban on the use of commercial motorcycle, popularly called Okada, has taken effect in Sapele Local Government Area of the Delta State with mixed reactions from residents.

A visit to most parts of Sapele, including the popular Olympia Roundabout, which hitherto was a beehive for Okada riders, witnessed a handful of Okada operators, trying to make last minute rush of the enforecement starts.

Ogbueshi Okolie is dead

O

GBUESHI MIKE Okolie, a retired Senior Executive of First Bank Plc, a community leader, a staunch Catholic, is dead, aged 85.

He is survived by many children.

Ogbueshi Mike Okolie

2015: I, Uduaghan, have not endorsed any guber aspirant, says Clark

By Festus Ahon

U

GHELLI — NATIONAL Leader of the Ijaw nation, Chief Edwin Clark, has said that Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State and himself, have not endorsed any gubernatorial

candidate and warned those campaigning with their names to stop forthwith.

Clark, who spoke when one of the governorship aspirants in the state, Obaisi Ovie OmoAgege, paid him a consultative visit in his Kiagbodo country home, said:

“We all have a stake in the state; Chief Clark alone cannot make it. Let me tell you, I cannot endorse you, but I can give you my blessing, the governor alone cannot do it.

“Recently, I sat down with Dr. Uduaghan and I told him

VISIT: Rivers State PDP governorship aspirant, Prince Tonye Princewill (right) and Chairman of the MIOT Hospitals, Mrs. Mallik Mohandas, during Princewill's visit to the MIOT Hospital, India, as part of his tour of social services delivered by the private sector.

that he alone, me alone can make the governor of Delta State and I told him that those who are using our names should stop same. This state is not meant for rascals or people who never went to school and want to be governor, it will not be allowed.

“I have said that I do not want to make any statement about the governorship position until Mr. President declares his intension to contest for a second term. So, if anybody comes to tell you that I Chief Clark had held his hand to meet Mr. President, that is a lie.

“We all have a stake, when you come to me like this, I’m an old man, I will give you my blessings and tell you go and fight, meaning go and fight in the primaries.

“I have said it, when you are 70 years and above, you are at you departure lodge waiting for your boarding pass. That was what I told them at the national conference when they said Clark you are too old; I stood up and I told them I’m 87 years.

“I waited but God refused to give me my boarding pass, and they said, 'why,' I said because God told me, ‘you are one of those that caused the problems in Nigeria and see that they are resolved before you come to me for your boarding pass.’

AZIZA: Jonathan condoles with Urhobo people Emma Amaize

W

ARRI — PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has sent his condolences to the Urhobo ethnic nationality on the demise of the President General of Urhobo Progressive Union, UPU, Delta State, Major General Patrick Aziza (rtd) President Jonathan in a letter addressed to the Deputy

President Genera of UPU, Chief Joe Omene, said: “I received with sadness your letter formally notifying me of the death of the President General of UPU, worldwide, Major Gen. Aziza, which occurred in the early hours August 16, 2014.

“On behalf of the government and good people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and myself, I commiserate with you, all

Urhobo people, as well as the Government and people of Delta State on the passing of a worthy Nigerian patriot.

“My heart especially goes out to the members of his immediate family in their moment of grief.

They have lost a father, a leader and source of enduring inspiration.

"By his passing, Delta State has lost a committed political leader,

dedicated and selfless servant; Nigeria has lost a quintessential officer and gentleman who serve our nation gallantly and meritoriously.

“It is my prayer that Almighty God grants you, the family he left behind, the Urhobo people, and indeed the entire people of Delta State the fortitude to cope with the pain of this irredeemable loss.”

Dickson laments high rate of youth unemployment

By Samuel Oyadongha

Y

ENAGOA — GOVERNOR Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has expressed concern over the increasing rate of youth unemployment, assuring that his administration will not relent in creating jobs for the teeming youths of the state.

Describing unemployment as a global phenomenon, Dickson argued that the restoration government in the state had employed more Bayelsa youths than many other governments, adding that about 200 forestry guards from different local government areas had recently been engaged on the basis of equal representation.

He noted that in a bid to reduce

unemployment in the state, the government also took the bold step of appointing a number of youths into positions of trust, besides the recent recruitment of

100 graduates and 1,000 nongraduates into the Bayelsa volunteers scheme.

Dickson, in a statement in Yenagoa, added that he has

authorised the employment of science teachers to fast-track and enhance the teaching of science subjects in all schools across the state.

No defection of our members to PDP —APC

By Emem Idio

Y

ENAGOA — ALL Progressives Congress, APC, in Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, has denied that its members defected to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, describing the report as “false and part of desperate machination of the PDP to misinform the wise

voting people of Bayelsa State.”

APC council Chairman, Engr.

Phil Tekedi in a statement, said that the party structure at the council and state levels were intact and committed to the course of the party and “are poised to usher in purposeful governance to the people of the state.

“We the entire APC leadership and party members in Sagbama council believe in the ideals of

APC and categorically state that we are intact, and that those paraded in the said news report are not members of APC in any council in Bayelsa State.

"They are hired people and members of PDP. We, therefore, find the false news of the purported defection as amusing because our opponents now resort to manufacturing lies and believing the lies they create.”

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014—55

Abia govt flays Orji Kalu over unprovoked attacks

By Anayo Okoli

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MUAHIA — ABIA State government has flayed former governor of the state, Orji Uzor Kalu, for alleged unprovoked attacks on its affairs.

Businessman mogul, Prince Arthur Eze, had lamented the poor state of federal roads leading into the state, which the former governor allegedly blamed on the state government.

But the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Eze Chikamnayo, dismissed Kalu’s alleged attack, saying Prince Arthur Eze never attacked the state government, but only complained about the deplorable condition of federal roads leading to the state, with the accompanying stress travellers were subjected.

The commissioner condemned what he called “the unpatriotic behaviour of the immediate past governor of the state for using his medium to attack the administration of Chief T.A. Orji and disparage Abia people, especially the elders.

He said: “Prince Arthur Eze never said that Abia stinks, rather on the said day, he, Arthur Eze, told the audience at the Okpara Auditorium about his awful experience travelling on the Enugu/Port Harcourt expressway

from Enugu to Umuahia.

“Apart from describing the Enugu/Port Harcourt expressway as being impassable, the businessman called on the Federal Government to come to the rescue of the South-East zone as almost all the federal roads in geo-political zone are in very deplorable condition.

“He said that the people of the South-East are suffering because of bad state of federal roads, especially those leading to

Abia State, and pleaded with the Federal Government to urgently do something to alleviate the agonies of the people.”

Chikamnayo, who was flanked by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Charles Ajunwa, condemned the unpatriotic behaviour of the former governor of the state who, he said, ought to be a shining example of patriotism and urged him to immediately desist from his

unpatriotic acts.

According to him, the people of Abia State are happy under the administration of Governor T.A. Orji, who has laid a solid foundation for the socioeconomic and political development of the state as well as executed over 10,000 projects.

He said the former governor had nothing to show for his tenure in office, compared to the many tangible and intangible achievements of Chief T.A. Orji.

LAUNCH: Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike; Executive Secretary, NERDC, Prof. Godswill Obioma; Executive Director, Sales and Marketing, Sidmach, Technologies Nig. Ltd, Mr. Mike Olajide, during the launch of Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, NERDC e- Curriculum Portal, in Abuja.

....Gov berates APGA guber aspirant

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MUAHIA — ABIA State governor, Chief Theodore Orji, has lashed out at an All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, governorship aspirant in the state, Chief Chikwe Udensi, describing him as incompetent and a political jobber incapable of governing the state.

Governor Orji was reacting to a recent media remark credited

to Udensi alleging that infrastructure in Abia had collapsed under his watch, claiming that there was nothing to justify the huge resources accruing to the state from the Federation Account.

But Orji dismissed Udensi’s comments as “malicious and the ranting of a political neophyte seeking relevance.”

He also cautioned politicians to be mindful of their utterances.

The governor, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Charles Ajunwa, said he would not be distracted by people like Udensi in his commitment to deliver on his covenant with Abia people.

Describing Udensi as a political jobber, Oji said in a statement:

“The attention of Abia State government has been drawn to the ranting of a political Lilliput, who thinks the only way to achieve popularity is to attack the government in power.

“Political jobbers like Udensi should be reminded that governorship of Abia State is not for rats and cockroaches, but for men with vision and character."

With Obiano, Umeh controlling APGA, Jonathan‘ll sweep Anambra polls —Obi

By Vincent Ujumadu

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WKA — FOLLOWING last Saturday’s launch of President Goodluck Jonathan’s support group, the Join Jonathan Journey, JJJ, by the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in Awka, chairman of the group, Chief Ben Obi, boasted, yesterday, that the President would sweep the votes in Anambra State during the 2015 presidential election.

Addressing newsmen at the JJJ headquarters in Awka, Obi, who is the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Willie Obiano on InterParty Affairs, said that with Governor Obiano and the national chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Umeh, firmly in control of the

party, no other presidential candidate would make impact.

He explained that all the local government chairmen and councillors were being mobilised to carry out grass-roots mobilisation for the President without jeopardising the chances of the party in the Senate, House of Representatives and House of Assembly elections, which will take place on the same date.

He said: “For the 2015 presidential election, Jonathan is a good brand to market because of all the things he has done for the people of South East since he mounted the saddle.

“Apart from appointing Igbos into sensitive positions, he has kept his promise of constructing the Second Niger Bride,

rehabilitation of federal highways in the zone, upgrading of Enugu Airport and making Onitsha Seaport functional.”

According to him, branches of JJJ will be inaugurated in all states of the federation and in the

Diaspora.

He added that the President’s political adviser, Professor Alkali, who was coordinating the group's campaigns for the President and had visited the headquarters of the NGO, was highly impressed.

Fidau prayer for Madam Obideyi

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RS. ADUNNI Taiwo Obideyi (nee Shittu), is dead. She died on Friday, July 25, 2014 and was buried according to Muslim rites.

Forty days Fidau prayer comes up on Saturday, September 6, 2014, at ItaAgemo, Igbein, Abeokuta, Ogun State at 12p.m.

She was survived by children and grand children. Late Mrs.Taiwo Obideyi

FG committed to meeting ASUP, COEASU demands — Minister

By Laide Akinboade

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BUJA — THE F e d e r a l Government, yesterday, assured the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, and College of Education Academic Staff Union, COEASU, that concrete efforts were being made to address the various demands of the unions which led to protracted strike some months ago by the unions.

Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, stated this at a meeting with the Committee of Chairmen of the Governing Councils of Federal Polytechnics in Abuja.

The Minister said the Presidential Committees on Needs Assessment to public polytechnics and colleges of education have submitted their report to the Government and President Jonathan after looking at it, would present it to the Federal Executive Council, FEC, and National Council of State and would hasten its implementation once finally approved.

We're running hide and steal governance — Archbishop Obinna

By Chidi Nkwopara

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WERRI — THE Catholic Archbishop of Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, His Grace, Dr. Anthony J.V. Obinna, has described governance in Nigeria as largely characterised by “hide and steal.”

Archbishop Obinna, who stated this, yesterday, at a pre-Odenigbo Lecture press conference in Owerri, however, recalled that in traditional Igbo communities, good governance operated quite effectively on the principle of equity.

While noting that local, Federal and state governments were novel appendices, Archbishop Obinna reasoned that “all these make governance more complicated and create room for all kinds of secretiveness, deception, hide and steal and massive corruption.”

56 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Edited by: Emma Nnadozie emmadozie@hotmail.com 08023145281, 08111813021

New twist in Lagos murder c

By ESTHER ONYEGBULA

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TEP-mother of Solomon and D a m i l o l a Olowogbemi, currently remanded in prison custody over the alleged murder of their tenant, has called on the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola as well as the Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, to come to the aid of her children.

Madam Folorunso Olowogbemi, 65, made the plea following a discovery that the tenant identified as Olayinka Offahin, who was alleged to have died after a scuffle with her sons on the 25th of July at their No 15 Popoola Street, Abaranje, Ikotun, Lagos residence, is after all, alive.

Trouble started for the 65year-old woman after her step sons reportedly engaged Offahin the tenant, in a fierce scuffle, over allegations that he had defaulted in paying his rent.

In the process, the duo of Solomon (22) and Damilola (20) were alleged to have chopped off Offahin’s

•Victim found to be alive •Mother of detained suspects cry out for justice was seen, not only to be living in the compound but driving his tricycle between Abaranje and Ikotun. Investigations later also showed that Offahin was discharged from the hospital a week after the incident and went back to his one-room, self-contained apartment during the period Madam Olowogbemi and her children were incarcerated in police cells. However, as soon as the embattled woman was granted bail, she came back to her compound only to hear that her tenant that was said to have died had come back to the house and left for an unknown destination few days before she was released.

The Ogun State-born stepmother and widow in an interview with Crime Alert said: “I never knew that the Police and lawyers are capable of turning truth upside down. How can they level a murder charge against my step-sons while the supposed dead man is

I discovered that Olayinka Offahin, whom they said had died was still living in his house

,

scrotum. Reports said the injured tenant was rushed to the hospital where news later filtered round that he had died.

Policemen from Ikotun division reportedly arrested Mrs Folorunsho and her step-sons. While she claimed to have spent nine days in detention before being released, her step-sons were transferred to the State Criminal Investigations Department, SCID, Panti, Yaba from where they were arraigned before an EbuteMeta court for conspiracy, armed robbery and murder.

They are presently remanded at Ikoyi Prisons, pending advice from the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions.

Surprisingly, barely two months later, the tenant who was widely said to have died

,

walking the streets? Or do dead men live among the living?

“The man in question, Olayinka Offahin, is one of my tenants. He occupied one of the self-contained apartments. When he packed in three years ago, he was only able to afford rent for six months instead of a year.

A

•Yinka (while in the hospital)

t the expiration of the rent, he paid for a year which expired August last year. Efforts to make him pay was not successful. It got to the extent when I had to report the matter to the Baale (traditional ruler) who summoned him and asked him to quit at the end of August last year.

Instead of complying with the directive, he conspired with other tenants and started attacking me. Most

•Mr Olayinka times, they would threaten me, saying I have nobody that would defend me. They even told me I could do nothing to throw them out and that they would leave of their own volition.

“On July 25, 2014, two of my step-sons, Solomon and Damilola who heard about the attack on me by the tenant engaged him in a scuffle. At the end of the day, he was admitted in a hospital located

around Fehintola Street in Ikotun for about five days, before he was discharged.

“I was arrested alongside my step-sons. I was in Police custody for nine days at the SCID before I was released.

After my release, I discovered that Olayinka Offahin, whom they said had died was still living in his apartment. He later moved his family out of the house after people advised him to hide since

they have told the court that he was dead. But we still see him in the neighbourhood.

“Our defence lawyer told the court about this development during a hearing into the matter, consequent upon which the case was adjourned till September 17. We do not know what they intend to achieve by this claim, and to think that Offahin, whom I considered like a son, would

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

— 57

Edited by: Emma Nnadozie emmadozie@hotmail.com 08023145281, 08111813021

case

DRAMA AT POLICE HQ AS WIFE ASKS HUSBAND:

Are you an armed robber?

By ESTHER ONYEGBULA

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H

way,

is

e ate from the same pot with me, even on three occasions when he chased his wife from his home, I took care of his little children and also ensured that his wife Bisi, came back.

I encouraged him to purchase the tricycle he is currently operating.

“If the Police actually conducted a proper investigation, they would have discovered that the man in question did not die. They would have discovered that his family members lied about his demise. We expected the Police to have asked for the death certificate. After he was discharged from the hospital, he came back home and lived here till a fortnight ago when he left with his family for an unknown location. But we still see him in the neighbourhood and he still operates his tricycle.

“It is evident that power and money are at play. This is because since the tenant came back from hospital, he told us he would not rest until we sold off our house.

This is why I am calling on the Lagos State Government to come to my aid. I am also using this medium to draw the attention of the new IGP to my plight, so that a proper investigation would be carried out in order to vindicate my step-sons,”she stated.

zThe suspects what we want from the car before leaving the scene. I have lost count of the number of motorists I have attacked but I have never killed anyone. I was arrested while we were about operating,” he said.

I

t was gathered that after dispossessing their victims of valuables, they would sell the items at give-away prices . For instance, they said stolen Tecno phones were sold

,

treat me this disheartening.

here was drama at the Lagos State Police Command Headquarters, Ikeja, weekend, when a lady, wife of a suspected armed robbery kingpin broke down and wept, asking her husband if he was really an armed robber. The lady, in her late 20s, with a baby strapped at her back, was among the scanty crowd that gathered to see suspected armed robbers paraded before crime journalists.

As soon as she was informed that her husband, Echefulachi Alozie was one of the suspects, she broke down in tears, lamenting: “I can’t believe my eyes! Please help me ask him if it is true. Even if it is, why would he join a robbery gang? I have never placed any monetary demand on him since we got married because I know he is not rich. Why would he choose to bring this shame upon me and our six-month-old baby?” she asked , as she walked out of the premises of the command, ignoring calls from this reporter.

When Crime Alert accosted her 32year-old husband, he also broke down in tears, apparently feeling remorseful over the action. Alozie who resides on Old Ojo road, said : “I know my wife will be devastated because she never knew I was into robbery. I joined (a)robbery (gang) in February this year. I was a commercial driver who barely managed to fend for my family until my bus was seized by officials of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, last year. After the seizure, I was living from hand to mouth.

“I was forced to join a robbery gang when my wife was pregnant. Each time I came home, she would tell me she is hungry and had not eaten since morning. Such lamentation always tore my heart apart because I have always longed to be a father. But when the opportunity came, I saw myself failing in my responsibility.

“I was introduced to the gang by a member we all know as Pepper, who is currently on the run. The first time I went with them to operate, I went as an observer. I observed them for five days before I started operating. We see vehicles in traffic, we look out for laptops, phones and anything that would generate money. We would thereafter, pour pebbles of generators plugs on the windscreen,which would weaken it and later make it shatter on its own. We devised such means so as not to attract the Police. After the windscreen shatters, we would point a gun at the motorists and forcefully take

I can’t believe my eyes. Please help me ask him if it is true. Even if it is, why would he join a robbery gang?

,

between N8,000 and N10,000,while HP laptops were sold between N15,000 and 25,000. For every successful operation, the suspects said they gave one Benson,whom they claimed kept their arms between N3,000 and N5,000 , depending on the loots.

Police sources said three members of the notorious robbery gang namely; Echefulachi Alozie, Benson Onome and Koko John, met their waterloo while operating along Ijora in Orile area of Lagos last week.

Their arrest, according to sources, followed an intelligence report received by the Lagos State Police Command on

activities of armed robbers along the route, consequent upon which the operatives led by the SARS Commander, Abba Kyari, went on a manhunt that led to the arrest of the suspects.

The second suspect, Benson, a bus conductor told Crime Alert: “I was introduced into the gang by my childhood friend, Echefulachi. At first, I did not know he was an armed robber, until he brought a gun for me to keep for him. Later, his boss, Pepper brought another gun for me to keep.

They usually come to take the guns whenever they were going for operation. At the end of each operation, they gave me between N1500 and N3000.

“Along the line, another member of the gang, Koko, brought a gun with bullets with a stern warning never to give it to anyone. But out of greed, I rented it out to members of his gang.

Trouble started when members of the gang came demanding for their guns, I went to where I kept them in a gutter, only to discover they were missing.

Hell was let loose as they threatened to kill me because they never believed I knew nothing about the disappearance.

“I was even taken to a herbalist’s shrine in Ojo where chantings and divinations were done to expose the thief. Out of fear of being killed, I fled to Delta state. I was later asked to come back, that the mystery about the missing gun had been unraveled and when I did, we reconciled, only for Echefulachi to storm my home with policemen.”

58—Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Mobile healthcare launch Dear sir HE news that President Goodluck Jonathan will soon launch the mobile healthcare service delivery scheme in Abuja, has continued to excite Nigerians, owing to the importance of the scheme which is new in Nigeria.

The scheme, which was successfully launched in Lagos last month, is an initiative of Salt & Einstein MTS, a technology business aggregator, that created a single platform for MTN and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), to provide health services for Nigerians at affordable rate, through the mobile phone.

Following the launch in Lagos, Salt & Einstein MTS said it would extend it to other parts of the country, to enable every Nigerian benefit from the initiative, beginning from Abuja, where the President is billed to launch it.

Although the platform is open to other telecoms operators in the country like Globacom, Airtel, Etisalat and Visafone, the company said it has plans to bring additional services other than healthcare

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service to the unique platform. The plan is that social services providers can use the platform to provide services to Nigerians at reduced cost, while Nigerians will have the opportunity to have access to the platform to register for services of their choice.

The introduction of Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) in Nigeria in 2001, opened up a lot of opportunities for Nigerians to fully utilize the capabilities of mobile phones in accessing healthcare services and other social services, but such was not the case, as Nigerians were using the phones to make and receive calls only.

But of late, young techies in Nigeria have started utilizing other features of the phones for entertainment, information dissemination via the internet, games and to develop solutions that address basic challenges of Nigerians. One of such opportunities that the mobile phone brings, is what Salt & Einstein is trying to make available and accessible to Nigerians.

Mr. Daramola, Ikeja, Lagos.

Reinstate sacked medical doctors Dear sir HE Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights (CDWR) condemns the sack of 16,000 resident doctors and suspension of residency training programme in all federal hospitals by the Jonathan-led federal

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Reward for informants Dear sir

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N the past, some strategies adopted either at the State or Federal level to nip some negative issues in the bud have turned out to do more harm than good.

This calls to mind the publication on page 6 of Punch Newspaper, Friday 11 July,2014 where a security expert ,Dr. Ona Ekhome, opined that the Federal Government should establish an incentive system to reward people who provide valuable information on the activities of Boko Haram.

A patriot (one who loves his country, and zealously supports and defends it and its interests) should not consider any incentive whatsoever to unravel any hidden fact that will positively impact on good governance in the nation.

Good as this idea might be, unpatriot elements would abuse its purposes and intentions to perpetuate more troubles for our already troubled country.

Establishing a unit that will propel citizens to give information for a cash token amounts to frustrating truth endlessly. Moreso, it will lead to victimization of innocent citizens.

The best that any well-thinking Nigerian can do is first, be committed to prayers for the nation’s peace.

Second, declare the truth at all times, and not sell it.

A biblical injunction asserts, “you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” But I say that the truth which you know and declare will set you and the state at liberty.

Ndaji Chinyere, Lagos.

government. This reprehensive action is similar to the unjustified mass sack of 774 doctors by the Fashola-led Lagos State Government in 2012.

Though the federal government has claimed that it has plans to restart the residency training programme after overhauling the system, the sack and suspension of the programme will further aggravate the already problematic health sector. This policy further confirms the fact that government and the ruling elite are not interested in reviving the present appalling state of public health care.

Currently, public hospitals lack the required numbers of quality personnel as well as basic facilities. The government and the ruling elite are paying lip service to quality and affordable health care for Nigerians.

The long term and continuous underfunding of public healthcare is responsible for the crisis in the health sector.

However, CDWR is critical of the strike embarked by medical doctors as it is largely premised on demands that ` promote division, egocentrism and acrimony in the health sector. Hence, workers in the health sector irrespective of discipline should in solidarity actively demand the reinstatement of the sacked doctors as well as defend the health sector from total collapse. The sack of 16,000 doctors and suspension of residency training is a pointer to the ruthlessness of the government and what is to come to other workers if this mass sack is not challenged.

The CDWR hereby ask that the federal government should reinstate all sacked doctors and the residency training programme. Adequate funding and democratic management of the health sector should be made available to guarantee living wage to health workers as well as building of well-equipped new and existing hospitals.

Chinedu Bosah, Publicity Secretary, Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights (CDWR).

Judiciary and forgotten cases of looting

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HE court is where justice is expected to be served, but not here in Nigeria. Many of our judges are very corrupt, rather than bring these high profile corrupt people to book, they allow them walk freely by granting them bail and interlocutory injunctions that inevitably foreclose their arrest. As the situation is today, corruption will remain with us for a long time to come.

Chukwuma Dioka. Owerri 2347054911808

President Jonathan’s $1bn external loan request for insurgency President Goodluck Jonathan’s request for a whooping one billion dollars ( 160 billion naira) external loan to prosecute the war against the Boko Haram’s insurgency and terrorism is sheer presidential rascality, a bar mecidal - dish adventure and an escapade calculated to throw money down the drain and to raise his presidential campaign funds.

What has happened to his own army, police and security budgetary allocations over the years? We call for dialogue and strategic repositioning on the Boko Haram, Chibok,, terrorism and general insecurity matters in Nigeria.

Mr.Bobson Gbinijie, Mandate Against Proverty, 07068621168

National Confab

It would be wishing for the impossible to expect delegates from the North and South to agree on some issues that are not be in the interest of their regions. But they should all be able to reach an easy consensus on a new constitution, a national issue that is not expected, or designed to favour a particular section of the country.

Dedemo2348033783758

On Chibok, Boko Haram and threat to Presidency

The evil that men do live with them these days and no longer after them.

The northern elders can be held responsible for the insurgency the nation is presently faced with. The Presidency is focused and President Goodluck Jonathan is still qualified to contest for that office in 2015 and 90% of Nigerians are ready to vote him back into office. When the Northern elders are tired, they will end the Boko Haram game and bring back Chibok students from where they have hidden them Barr. Anthony O. Obi...Onitsha.

2348056009586

Challenges before the new NNPC’s boss

Before the emergence of the new General Managing Director (GMD), there were critical issues that the former GMD ignored. These are (1) the “ethnic cleansing”carried out by former president Olusegun Obasanjo and Prof. Funsho Kupolokun between 2003 and 2006 where 90% of those affected (retired) were Niger Deltans. Attempt by the current Senate to resolve the issue was ignored by the former GMD. The many contract workers that are used for cheap labour should be absorbed if they are qualified and harmonisation of retirees salaries should be effected. If the above issues are properly handled, it will guarantee a successful tenure.

Dedemo : 2348074490347

Boko Haram’s activities

With all due respect it does appear the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan is very weak. Imagine if Sambisa forest was a small country, does it mean that the Nigerian Army can’t wage war against them? Are Nigerian soldiers scared of the Boko Haram sect? Or is there something the President is not telling Nigerians! It is time government should smoke Boko Haram out of their cave and put a stop to their activities.

Uduebor Osaro, +2348059826021

Binis are not enemies to Esan people

The statement credited to one Mr. Uyigue (Vanguard-16/7/14) is very unfair to Esan ethnic nationality. The Pa Uyigue I know does not speak for the Binis. Edo people are one. He was boastful that the Binis won’t vote Esan indigenes for governorship in 2016! Only Esan has not produced a substantive governor in Edo state since its creation in 1991, which an Esan son, late Adm A. A.Aikhomu facilitated its creation. He equally brought Federal Poly Auchi and NABTEB to the state. Dr. C.E. Abebe, an Esan son brought Guinness factory to Edo state . People who have benefited unfairly from Esan’s broad mindedness ought to be very circumspect.

Dr. Clem Ehebha, +2348038476677

Way forward

If we must move Nigeria forward, we must upgrade our level of thinking especially the opposition party. We all know that the only way this country can move forward is when the executive and legislature are led by various parties, then there will be proper checks and balances.

But, the problem is we are not mature for that now because the opposition party is always thinking of impeachment which is not the way forward.

Uduebor Osaro, +2348059826021

SAYINGS OF OUR ELDERS The game of life is the game of boomerangs. Our thoughts, deed and words return back to us sooner or later. Be kind to get kindness back in return.

Simon Adewale 08056180103, Send us your Sayings of Our Elders. They must be African sayings or proverbs. Biblical or English proverbs are unacceptable.

Address your sayings to: The Co-ordinator, Sayings of Our Elders,Vanguard Media Ltd., PMB 1007, Apapa,

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014—59

Cameroon army ‘kills 40 Boko Haram fighters’

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AMEROON’s army claimed, yesterday, to have killed more than 40 Boko Haram fighters who tried to storm a strategic border crossing from Nigeria.

Heavily armed fighters “attempted to cross the bridge at Fotokol” in the extreme north of the country and opened fire on Cameroonian soldiers, the ministry of defence told state radio.

“Cameroon defence forces energetically reacted to this assault which lasted three hours,” the ministry said, adding that one soldier was wounded by mortar shrapnel. There was no independent confirmation of the battle.

Gamboru Ngala, the Nigerian town on the other side of the bridge, fell to the Islamist extremists last week after they reportedly overran the Nigerian garrison there. For several days people living in towns and villages in the northeast recently captured by Boko Haram have been fleeing towards Cameroon to escape the

PAC joins move against ebola spread

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HE Police Assistance Committee, PAC, has joined the move against the spread of the dreaded Ebola virus disease through sensitization awareness campaign programme being organized amongst its members nationwide.

The PAC with its affiliate members, Association of Tradesmen and Artisans who are mainly traders and shop owners operating at major markets are embarking on organizing seminars/ workshops in all major markets, local government areas and various communities across the country to educate and train members on what to do to prevent the spread of the disease.

In a statement in Lagos, the PAC director general, Dr. Martins Oni, said such a move was being made to collaborate with the federal government, the ministry of health and other stakeholders on how we can all put efforts together to curb the spread of the Ebola disease.

Dr Oni enjoined all their executive members comprising, chairmen, secretaries and PROs of all trade associations at the various markets across the country to ensure on proper mobilization of their members to participate actively in the seminars/ workshops.

militants.

Cameroon’s Defence Ministry said that 246 Nigerian soldiers and customs officials who had fled Gamboru Ngala into Cameroon to escape the Boko Haram offensive “have left the Fotokol area under military escort” to rejoin their units in Banki in Nigeria. Several hundred Nigerian soldiers abandoned border posts further to the south along the long and isolated border last week in face of the militants’ advance, military sources said.

The Nigerian army denied its troops had fled into Cameroon, instead calling the retreat a “tactical manoeuvre”.

Former Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Nsima Ekere (in white), dancing with wives of members of Akwa Progressive Commercial Tricyclists, Taxi and Motorcyclists Association, APCOTMA, during his consultation visit to APCOTMA

Boko Haram sponsorship: We’ve been vindicated —APC •asks Jonathan to Hand over Sheriff, others to ICC for prosecution

By Levinus Nwabughiogu

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BUJA—FOLLOWING the revelations of alleged Boko Haram sect sponsors by the Australian negotiator, Mr. Stephen Davies, the All Progressive Congress, APC, yesterday, declared that it has been vindicated. The party also stated that the development has now revealed that members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and political allies of President Goodluck Jonathan were the true sponsors of the sect.

To substantiate its claim, the party played a newsreel footage of a conversation between Davies and a broadcaster from Arise Television in London where the former mentioned the alleged sponsors.

It particularly called the President to handover the former governor of Borno State, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, whose name was mentioned to the International Court of Justice, ICC, for immediate prosecution.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja, the national chairman of the party, Mr. John Oyegun said that PDP has politicized Boko Haram. He said: “Dr. Stephen Davis, a man hired by the President Jonathanled Federal Government to negotiate with Boko Haram for the release of the Chibok girls decided to speak out, believing the best way to tackle the insurgency is to expose the sponsors. And who are they?

On international television last Thursday, and as you have

just seen and heard, he named former Borno Governor Ali Modu Sheriff and a former Army Chief, Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, as the sponsors of Boko Haram.

“The truth is finally out. We have been vindicated. We have no hand in the Boko Haram insurgency. The raison d’etre of our party is the well-being and security of Nigerians. The sponsors of Boko Haram are within the PDP and the Presidency. They are known friends of President Jonathan.

He knows them and they know him.

“The man who exposed these Boko Haram sponsors is a Jonathan-appointed negotiator.

He has no axe to grind, neither does he have any motive to shield the APC or portray the PDP/Presidency in bad light. In fact, if he had any sympathy at all, it is for the man who hired him, President Jonathan.

Stumbling block “We have said it all along.

Boko Haram was politicized purely for one reason, and one reason only: To be used as a trump card for President Jonathan to win another term.

For that strategy to work, the APC, which they see as the only stumbling block to the PDP’s victory in 2015, must be maligned and labeled.

Gullible, duplicitous and selfserving politicians like Femi Fani-Kayode swallowed the bait, hook, line and sinker, and started parroting the glaring lies. PDP spokesman Olisa Metuh, an obvious pawn on the chess board, followed suit, labelling a party that comprises Nigerians of all ethnic and

religious hue a Janjaweed and Islamic party. Now he is stewing in his own juice.

“Now that the cat has been let out of the bag and the real sponsors of Boko Haram have been exposed, we hope President Jonathan will summon the courage to do the right thing: Hand over the identified Boko Haram sponsors to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation and prosecution. There is no doubt that Boko Haram has committed crimes against humanity in its scorched-earth campaign against unharmed citizens, and the most appropriate body to investigate and try the sect’s sponsors is the ICC. “According to Article 17 of the Rome Statute that set up the ICC, and to which Nigeria is signatory, the ICC is a court of last resort, expected to exercise its jurisdiction only if states themselves are unwilling or unable genuinely to investigate and prosecute international crimes.”

According to Oyegun, President Jonathan should not feign ignorance of Sheriff’s involvement in the Boko Haram’s activities. He said, “President Jonathan cannot pretend not to know the alleged role that Ali Modu Sheriff has played in the establishment and growth of Boko Haram, yet he never allowed the man to even be questioned by any of the security agencies under his control. All through his time with our Party, every time they accused us of sponsoring Boko Haram, on the basis of his presence, we challenged

them if they had evidence to arrest any of our members who is suspected to be a sponsor, they never did. They dared not, because Sheriff was their agent.

Even if he had remained in the APC after we democratically encouraged him to go, they would still not have arrested him.”

Reminding the president that as the commander-in-chief, “the buck stops on his desk,” Oyegun recalled attempts by the PDP to cover up its involvement, assuring Nigerians that now the truth had finally prevailed, APC would ensure that it would not be swept under the carpet.

Rare moment of truth “In a rare moment of truth, a top official of the Jonathan Administration, no less a personality than the former National Security Adviser, NSA, Gen. Andrew Owoye Azazi, situated the Boko Haram problem within the PDP. Shortly thereafter he was fired, and he later died in controversial circumstances.

Still we waited. They distorted and misrepresented the statements made by our leader, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, to try to convince the world that he was indeed the main sponsor of Boko Haram. They continued to echo the same slander about Gen. Buhari that was started by presidential spokesman Reuben Abati in 2011, and for which he and his cohorts eventually begged to settle out of court and to apologize to the General. Still we waited.

“Nigerians can rest assured that the APC will not allow this issue to be swept under the carpet,” Oyegun stated.

60 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Nigeria risk ban after missing FIFA deadline over Giwa N

IGERIA are risking a ban by Fifa after Chris Giwa failed to step down as president of the football federation by Monday’s deadline.

A suspension could affect Nigeria’s 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Congo on 6 September, and South Africa four days later.

Fifa has rejected the appointment of Giwa, which came at a controversial Nigerian Football Federation ‘election’ last week, which split the governing body.

Football’s world governing body said it does not recognise the

executives’ election, but added “it appears the ministry of sports has”.

“Should there still be persons claiming to have been elected and occupying the NFF offices at midnight on Monday, 1 September 2014, we will bring the case to the appropriate Fifa body for sanctions, which may include the suspension of the NFF,” said the Fifa statement on Friday.

Fifa accepted the decision of the majority congress, at which 39 of its 44 members resolved at an ad hoc general assembly, for executive committee elections in Nigeria to take place on

Ikpeba Continues from BP State Football Association Chairman, Pinnick Amaju as the next President of the NFF. Amaju is in the race to succeed Aminu Maigari in the Glass House and as delegates make last minute decisions on who to vote for in the polls, slated to hold at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, Ikpeba, arguably one of Nigeria’s most prolific strikers in Europe in the ’90s, said Amaju has the Midas touch to take Nigerian football to the proverbial land flowing with milk and honey.

Speaking in an interview with Sports Vanguard, Ikpeba, who was nicknamed the ‘Prince of Monaco’, during his professional playing time in the French Principality, said he can vouch for Amaju’s i n t e g r i t y , resourcefulness, drive and passion for excellence.

Citing the fact that he is on the board of the Delta State Football Association, Ikpeba said his close interaction with Amaju has made him to appreciate the latter as a man, who wants Nigerian football to rank at per with what is obtainable in Europe and South America.

“Amaju is a man of integrity. He loves excellence and knows how to get the sponsorship deals that

will help our football to develop beyond the present level. I can assure the delegates that if they vote for Amaju that they will not regret their decision as our football will rank at per with the standard in Europe and America.

“Amaju is the only State FA chairman that has four ex-internationals on his board. Austin Okocha, Kenneth Nwomocha, Alex Amudo and myself are all on the board of the DFA. And our relationship with Amamju has helped the football in Delta. If elected, Amaju will involve ex-internationals in the running of the game, which which in turn make our football gain from the experience of these former stars”, added Ikpeba.

He noted that Amaju’s visionary leadership in Delta State, which has seen the State remain the strongest force in sports in Nigeria in the last five years, stands him in pole position to win the nod to head the NFF. “His records speak loftily and it is fair for Nigeria to give him the chance to serve our fatherland for peace and progress of our football.

He will make the NFF self-sufficient financially because he has a vast business network, that has been built with trust, integrity and visionary leadership”, said Ikpeba.

•Danagoro 4 September.

The disputes within the NFF have already led to a Fifa intervention, international suspension and the enforced return - twice - of outgoing NFF president Aminu Maigari.

However Giwa, has played down the Fifa threat.

“We will present our position to Fifa by Monday morning and they will be convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that we adopted the correct statutes before organising the election,” said Giwa.

“We call on Nigerians not to panic. The NFF is not intimidated and we do not expect any sanction because we have done the appropriate thing.

“There is absolutely nothing to fear. Fifa will receive the position of the Federation and will be convinced that elections have, indeed, taken place,” Giwa added.

The crisis caused by the purported election has meant league matches will not be

•Giwa played across the country as scheduled this weekend after referees, club managers and players announced a boycott until the situation is resolved.

Football journalists in the country have called on Nigeria President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene.

On Friday, the country ’s National Assembly - comprised of the Senate and the House of Representatives summoned all parties in the NFF to a meeting to resolve the crisis plaguing Nigerian football.

In addition to the deep divisions in the NFF, the Super Eagles are still without a permanent coach as Stephen Keshi’s contract was not renewed after the World Cup. He has agreed only to take temporary charge of the team for their two forthcoming Nations Cup qualifiers, having grown impatient with negotiations over a new deal.

Mikel Continues from BP four hand gloves and if you don’t mind, I can hand one pair to you,” Mikel said and he was greeted with laughter from teammates.

Meanwhile coach Stephen Keshi is unhappy with the non release of Mikel’s former Flying Eagles teammate Chinedu Obasi who is making a comeback to the Eagles after a long absence. He has not been released by his club, Schalke 04.

They claimed that

Obasi’s passport is held up by a Champions League registration.

Also Keshi has replaced absentee captain Vincent Enyeama with ElKanemi Keeper David Obiozor.

“We have been monitoring the Nigerian league and we see that the keeper of Elkanemi is a talent that is why we want to give him a trial.

We will see how it turns out when he arrives in camp”, Keshi said after lunch on Tuesday.

Imoke, Ikpeme so sure of Eagles

C

ROSS River State Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke, says he believes that the Super Eagles will come out tops against Congo, despite the short time the team had to prepare for the Morocco 2015 Nations Cup qualifier in Calabar, the state capital.

Imoke spoke through Youth and Sports Commissioner, Hon Patrick Ugbe, who also promised that the fans in Calabar will turn out enmasse on Saturday to cheer the national team to victory. Ugbe, added that he was happy with the quick response of the players to national call and was sure that the team will excel.

Earlier, NFF Director of Technical, Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme, who has been pulling

the strings here to ensure the comfortability of the national team, said he was impressed by the showing of the players in the morning training session. Dr Ikpeme, who defied the early morning downpour in Calabar to join in the morning training session, said he will ensure that all that the team needs for a victory against Congo are provided, in conjunction with the Cross River state government.

“I am a son of the soil and we have had a very cordial working relationship with the government and people of Cross River state. That should ensure that we come out tops on Saturday because all of us in the team and government are on the same page”.

Elephants welcome Sierra Leone to Abidjan Ivory Coast will host their African Nations Cup qualifier against Ebola-affected Sierra Leone this weekend following a special meeting of the country’s national Security Council.

The decision, announced in a government statement published in local media on Tuesday, comes one week after the government said it would not allow the match to go ahead, citing

concerns over a possible Ebola outbreak.

As of Aug. 29, the World Health Organization had confirmed 935 cases of the deadly virus in Sierra Leone including 380 deaths.

In response to the spiraling health crisis in West Africa, Ivory Coast last month banned air travelers and all incoming flights from Sierra Leone as well as its affected neighbours Liberia and Guinea.

Eagles Continues from BP capacity to win the match even without a coach.

“I am so pleased that the rancour in our football will not in any way affect the team because I am optimistic that as long as the players report to camp and train they will certainly carry the day.

They are professionals who are playing regularly in their clubs.

“Our boys are mostly playing in Europe, they are not playing in any of those obscure leagues and that means that they can even beat Congo and even South

Africa without a coach”.

The former assistant technical director of the NFF also praised former international, Stephen Keshi for accepting to come and handle the team even as he was yet to sign a new contract with the federation.

“Keshi has demonstrated that he is a true patriot and that is why he accepted to come and handle the team without a contract”.

Peters further advised FIFA to be cautious when dealing with African countries saying it is practically difficult to run football without the aid of the government.

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 — 61

62 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 — 63

US Open

Williams sisters lose

S

ERENA Williams took a medical timeout because of a problem with her right foot, and later double-faulted on the last two points as she and sister Venus lost in the doubles quarterfinals at the U.S. Open.

The Williams sisters, owners of 13 Grand Slam doubles titles, were beaten 7-6 (5), 6-4 Tues-

day by the fourth-seeded Russian duo of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.

Serena’s serve was broken early in each of the first two sets, and then again in the final game.

She and Venus are 4-3 in doubles in 2014, with two of the losses against Makarova and Vesnina.

Serena and Venus

Peng reaches semis C

HINA’s Peng Shuai secured a berth in her first-ever Grand Slam semifinal with a big victory Tuesday at the U.S. Open.

The 27-year-old Peng leveled upstart 17-yearold Swiss Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-1 in 63 minutes on a steamy day at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Peng tallied four service breaks, compared to zero for Bencic, and recorded twice as many winners (24-12) on Day 9 of the fortnight. Bencic hurt her own cause with 19 unforced errors.

The veteran Peng’s semifinal opponent on Friday will be 10th-seeded former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki or 13th-seeded Sara Errani. Wozniacki was the U.S. Open runner-up in 2009, while Errani is a former French Open finalist.

•Peng

Arsenal unveil Welbeck •••Striker sustains injury

D

ANNY Welbeck has posed in an Arsenal shirt for the first time after completing his £16m transfer from Manchester United.

The 23-year-old signed a long-term contact with the Gunners on Monday after the striker was deemed surplus to requirements at Old Trafford.

Welbeck is currently on international duty and

England boss Roy Hodgson revealed that he had picked up a knock in training on Tuesday.

“Unfortunately in training today he received a knock in the session,” said Hodgson ahead of today’s clash with Norway.

“I would be very disappointed if he could not play because of what happened with the last kick of the session.”

•Welbeck

Man U to continue spending spree in January M

ANCHESTER United plan to follow up their £150.1m summer transfer spend with further strengthen-

ing in the January window with the club buoyed by the acquisitions of Colombian striker Radamel Falcao and

•Strootman

Argentinian winger Ángel di María despite not having Champions League football this season.

However, manager Louis van Gaal still wants to add a top-line central midfielder and central defender to his squad. In the winter window he hopes to buy Kevin Strootman if the Roma midfielder recovers from a serious knee injury that has ruled him out since March.

Speaking to the Guardian in June, his agent, Chiel Dekker, said: “He is of interest to Louis van Gaal but not related to Manchester United at this point.”

President Jonathan tourney draw holds

A

LL is now set for the draw of the maiden edition of the President Jonathan Ogbia intercommunity football tourney holding today tomorrow. at the Banquet Hall

of the Government House Yenagoa.

In a press statement by the Chairman of GTF, Ebis Orubebe, the organizers of the event said the tournament was aimed at uniting and uplifting Ogbia youths through the instrumentality of football.

“Our aim is together the youths of Ogbia extraction through football.

We at George Turnah Foundation are inclined to using football to send a message of unity.

“It is Bar Turnah’s way of bringing development to the Ogbia Kingdom.

GTF did a similar thing during the 2012 flood disaster when we distrib-

uted relief materials to all over Niger Delta. In the near future, the foundation has plans to distribute free school materials to all primary and secondary schools in the state.

“Ogbia is made of up 54 communities and these 54 communities entered the first qualifying round. From the first qualifying round, we entered into the second and final qualifying round that saw 32 teams/ communities emerge.

“The draw process is not different from what we are all used to. It is the same with FIFA and UEFA standard."

VANGUARD, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2014

Mikel fights Ebola in Eagles camp

T

HE ranks of the Super Eagles invited for this weekend’s Nations Cup qualifier against Congo in Calabar swelled yesterday with the arrival of the Euro-based players. This is just as

Eagles can beat Congo without a coach — JP

BY JUDE OPARA, Abuja

Top strikers in EPL

midfielder, John Obi Mikel dished out hand gloves to colleagues in a bid to fight the dreaded Ebola Virus disease.

Mikel, Ahmed Musa, Ogenyi Onazi, Efe Ambrose, Kenneth Omeruo, Juwon Oshaniwa, Sone Aluko and Austin Ejide hit Calabar just in time to join the rest of the team for lunch, bringing the number of players to 17.

Mikel brought a comic relief to the camp as he brandished his hand gloves.

“Coach I have up to

Continues on Page 60 •Mikel

NFF Polls:

A

HEAD or the 2015 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against the Democratic Republic of Congo this weekend, former Super EagleS Coach James Peters said the Super Eagles can comfortably defeat the East Africans without a coach.

Peters told Sports Vanguard in Abuja yesterday that even the current crisis rocking the Nigerian football will not in any way affect the team which he also boasted has the

Continues on Page 60

Ikpeba drums support for Amaju

BY JOHN EGBOKHAN

F MAN-U — Falcao, RVP and Rooney. Man City— Dzeko, Jovetic and Aguero. Liverpool — Sturridge, Balotelli and Lambert. Chelsea — Costa, Remy and Drogba. Arsenal — Welbeck, Sanogo and Giroud.

ORMER African Player of the year winner, Victor Ikpeba has urged delegates to tomorrow ’s Elective Congress of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to vote in Delta

Continues on Page 60

QUICK CROSSWORD

TODAY'S

PUZZLE

YESTER DAY'S YESTERDAY'S

ANSWERS

ACROSS 2 Permit (5) 7 Go by (4) 8 Use (6) 9 Slumbered (5) 11 Mouthful (3) 13 Era (3) 15 Ripped (4) 16 Nipped (3) 18 Grating (4) 19 Check on (7) 20 Rant (4) 22 Argument (4) 23 Ascertained (7) 25 Loan (4) 27 Sorrowful (3) 28 Secure (4) 30 Consume (3) 31 Guided (3) 33 Instrument (5) 36 Hat (6) 37 Group (4) 38 Figure (5)

DOWN 1 Wireless (5) 2 Donkey (3) 3 Untruth (3) 4 Damp (3) 5 Inclined (3) 6 Dog (5) 10 Ache (4) 11 Frighten (7) 12 Stop (7) 13 Coming (7) 14 Instructed (7) 16 Premium (5) 17 Weary (5) 18 Obtained (3) 21 Finish (3) 24 Temper (4) 26 Relaxed (5) 29 Foul (5) 32 Crowd (3) 33 Rotter (3) 34 Record (3) 35 Abroad (3)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 1, Trust 5, Knotty 8, Titan 10, Bearer 11, Item 14, Tinier 15, Despair 18, Pet 19, Net 21, Defy 23, Rebel 24, Seed 27, Dud 29, Mop 31, Timidly 32, Coined 34, Rare 35, Useful 38, Besom 39, Defect 40, Taunt.

DOWN: 2, Rue 3, Stripe 4, Tie 5, Knit 6, Opened 7, Yearly 9, Trained 12, Tip 13, Mite 16, Ease 17, Rebut 20, Tedious 22, Fail 24, Sacred 25, Emir 26, Donate 28, Cinema 30, Per 33, Debt 36, Sot 37, Urn.

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.

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