Ebola nurse flees Lagos for Enugu

...towards a better life for the people

**

VOL. 25: NO. 62209

ONLINE | www.vanguardngr.com

N150

THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

Enugu deputy gov slumps at impeachment hearing

>16

Ebola nurse flees Lagos •Arrested with husband, for Enugu deported back to Lagos •Had contact with 21 other persons•198 now under surveillance •Patrick Sawyer, a terrorist— Presidency •FG okays use of trial drug •Why Sawyer travelled to Nigeria —Wife •Ebola knocks Team Nigeria out of Youth Olympics —Page 64

By Sola Ogundipe, Health Editor, Ben Agande, Kinsgley Omonobi,Tony Edike, Chioma Obinna & Gabriel Olawale

A

BUJA — ONE of the primary contacts of the late AmericanLiberian, Patrick Sawyer, who escaped quarantine on suspicion of having the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, in Lagos, has been tracked to Enugu.

The suspect, identified as a nurse, said to have travelled to her home town to visit her family, is now under surveillance with 20 others she came into contact with in the city.

With the development, the total number of

Continues on page 5

MEETING ON EBOLA: President Goodluck Jonathan (right); Vice President Namadi Sambo (left); Health Minister, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu (2nd left) and Minister of State for Health, Mr. Khaliru Alhassan watch as Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State demonstrates the use of sanitizers during the expanded meeting of the National Council on Health to discuss containment of the Ebola epidemic at Aso Chambers, State House, Abuja, yesterday. (INSET): From left: Governors Willie Obiano of Anambra State, Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State and Theodore Orji of Abia State greeting one another at the meeting. Photos: Abayomi Adeshida.

COLUMNISTS: Ebola virus and the salt water of ignorance •P.17

The crash of impeachment •P.19

Let Al-Makura be •P.19

50 B'Haram, 30 soldiers killed in Pilka, Gwazo in one week >9 CONFAB: Tension forces delegates to adjourn after 14 minutes >9

Mr & Mrs

2— Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

C M Y K

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 — 3

C M Y K

4— Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014—5

POCKET CARTOON

CONFAB: Chairman, National Conference, Justice Idris Kutigi (left) and his deputy, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, at the National Conference, in Abuja, yesterday. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan.

Ebola nurse escapes to Enugu Continues from Page 1

Nigerians under monitoring for the dreaded virus is now 198.

Revealing these facts yesterday after the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja, Information Minister, Labaran Maku, explained that Nigeria currently has 10 confirmed cases of Ebola, all stemming from the visit of the late Sawyer.

Maku explained that of the 198 persons under surveillance, 177 of them are in Lagos while 21 are in Enugu.

He said: “All those who had primary contact have been quarantined.

Secondary contacts have also been traced. So far, the number of people that have been traced is 198.

"Of this number, 177 are in Lagos and are being traced. Some are in quarantine, some are being monitored by health specialists.”

Meanwhile, the death toll world wide from the outbreak stands at 1,069

and total number of infections 1,975, according to the World Health Organisation.

Liberia was hit extremely hard this week, with 71 cases and 32 deaths from Sunday to Monday. Fifty-six deaths and 128 new cases were reported in that same period across all four West African countries affected by the virus.

21 Ebola suspects in Enugu under watch

Giving details on the escapee, Maku revealed that she travelled to Enugu from Lagos against instruction not to leave Lagos State.

He said: “The 21 persons in Enugu under watch now is as a result of their involvement with the nurse who disobeyed medical instructions and somehow travelled to Enugu. All those who she was in contact with, including her husband, are under quarantine. The medical team has been

LIFEWORDS

BY PASTOR ITUAH

It is the well doing of a thing that attracts a well done. Do things well and there will be well done!

TAKE HEART

BY ELLA RANDLE

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them — John F. Kennedy

E

VERYTHING you need you already have. You are complete right now, you are a whole, total person, not an apprentice on the way to someplace else. Your completeness must be understood by you and experienced in your thoughts as your own personal reality.

Your focused intentions set the infinite organizing power of the universe in motion. Trust that infinite organizing power to orchestrate the complete fulfilment of your desires. Don’t listen to the voice that says that you have to be in charge, that obsessive vigilance is the only way to get anything done. The outcome that you try so hard to force may not be as good for you as the one that comes naturally. You have released your intentions into the fertile ground of pure potentiality, and they will bloom when the season is right.

able to trace all those who made contact with her.”

While warning that government would prosecute anybody found spreading false rumours or unverified reports over the Ebola epidemic, Maku said government was expanding presence of health officers to strategic entry points in the country.

“Health workers are now in all our border units. At all the entry points into this country and exit points, we have port health workers that are working in our airports and seaports.

“We are calling on citizens, specifically, to cooperate. If health workers say you have had contact with A, B, C, don’t move to anywhere, respect that judgment. It is very important. In one or two cases where we have had disobedience, we lost one of them and this one now moved with it to another place (Enugu).

"So we are urging Nigerians, please to help us in making sure that all these messages and appeals we are making, we implement them.”

He noted that the Ministry of Health had set up a special committee specifically to take claims from Nigerians who believe they could help and so far “we have had a lot of reports from Nigerians at home and abroad who come forward to say they have possibility of developing therapies that could help in fighting the virus.

“There is no cure so far, anywhere in the world.

Even the trial drug in the US is still a trial drug; it has not been established.

“One of the doctors and research experts that came forward was Dr. Simon Agwale, who has been one of the frontline global researchers on

developing vaccines for HIV and other viral diseases.

"He also came forward and said he could help, both in terms of working to develop a vaccine, which he said he has started work on between himself and his fellow experts in the US and he said this is ongoing."

Maku stated that the Minister of Health had given support and directed him to the committee. He also discussed the possibility of certain therapy which could be applied and again that is being discussed. Once it is approved, it could be used.”

Escapee nurse, husband arrested, returned to Lagos

There was anxiety among residents of Enugu, yesterday following reports that 21 persons have been quarantined in the city for having direct contact with a suspected Ebola patient who escaped from Lagos.

Officials of Enugu State Government claimed ignorance of the development but there were fears that the government might be keeping the information secret to prevent panic among residents.

The telephone line of the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. George Eze, remained switched off yesterday while another commissioner who was contacted said he was not aware of anybody being quarantined in Enugu.

But a medical consultant with the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, UNTH, Enugu, told Vanguard that some officials of the National Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, in Lagos were in Enugu last week to pick the suspected female Ebola victim who escaped from a quarantine centre in Lagos.

The woman and her husband were picked up from their residence at Trans-Ekulu and were immediately taken to Lagos where they have been kept under surveillance.

The consultant said about 21 people believed to have had direct contact were being quarantined for close monitoring by officials of the state Ministry of Health, but he was not aware of the hospital.

FG deploys mobile lab in Enugu, others

The Federal Government is to deploy a mobile laboratory to Enugu as well

as establish laboratories with capacities to diagnose Ebola Virus disease in Jos and Kano State within the next few days.

Addressing State House correspondents after a meeting between President Jonathan, governors of the 36 states of the federation and their health commissioners, Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu said the measures were meant to increase the capacity for early detection of possible infection and early action.

According to the minister, laboratories that can test for Ebola Virus Disease in the country include the Centre for Disease Control laboratories in the Lagos University Teaching Hospital and Abuja, and Redeemer's University laboratory in Ogun State.

He explained that as at yesterday, Nigeria has had 10 confirmed cases of Ebola and they are all those who had contacts with the Liberian.

His words: “There are no cases of secondary contacts.

We have had three deaths.

The Liberian, the nurse who attended to the Liberian and a protocol official who worked with ECOWAS. Seven are alive and are making progress."

Chukwu said waivers had been granted to two corpses to be brought back to the country; one from Kenya and another from India because the cause of death was not from Ebola virus.

In his remarks, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State said there was a collaborative effort between the tiers of government and called for cooperation as “government alone will not be able to solve this problem.

“We are working with the Federal Government. We are also working with private hospitals.

"This is not something you should keep in religious houses. It is important to come out to disclose any case. There should be no pretension about it.”

Sawyer, a terrorist — Presidency

Meanwhile, the Presidency has tagged Sawyer a terrorist for

importing the virus into Nigeria.

Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Youths and Students , Mr Jude Imagwe said this in Abuja during the dinner lecture and awards nights organised by Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Youth Vanguard to honour prominent members of the party in the country.

He said Sawyer ’s misguided action had brought pains and hardship upon Nigerians who have been going about their daily duties. He said such a man deserved to rot in hell.

He said: “Patrick Sawyer has brought pain and hardship to Nigerians. So many things have now changed because he brought this upon us. Even in churches, we are not free anymore.

"The woman who wanted to assist the terrorist from Liberia is dead now. This is bad. This virus is not an infection for the rich or the poor. It can affect anybody.

We need to be careful.”

Speaking on the Federal Government’s efforts at minimising the spread of the virus, the SSA said: “One of the surest means of prevention is constant washing of your hand by soap. Everyone of us must not say that because this virus is in Lagos, we should then neglect taking care of ourselves.

“Mr President has taken the initiative to close down primary schools. This shows that our President means well for Nigerians.

The Lagos State Government has also done a good job. As Nigerians, we need to assist government in assisting these people.”

The presidential aide equally spoke on the plight of handicapped youths in the country, promising that the government will never abandon them in their time of need.

He said: “One assurance I want to give to our brothers is that Nigerian youths who are handicapped are not alone.

We know that they suffer some degree of isolation and rejection. We Continues on Page 59

6—Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

Nobody died in Ejigbo/ Ajao link road shooting —Police

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By Evelyn Usman

AGOS—THE Lagos State Police Command, yesterday, said nobody died in Tuesday’s shooting around Ejigbo/Ajao estate link road by a resident who was attacked by commercial motorcyclists.

Rather, it said only three persons sustained bullet wounds , adding that they were responding to treatment in an undisclosed hospital.

Pandemonium broke out at about noon Tuesday, after a resident identified as Mr Uche Ikeobi, said to be driving out of his house hit one of the motorcyclists who parked in front of his house located on Alimi Bada Street, Ejigbo.

An argument which resulted in a fight ensued between the motorist and the victim, during which other motorcyclists allegedly attempted to mob the motorist.

Ikeobi was said to have managed to escape into his house. But the motorcyclists reportedly chased him and destroyed part of his property.

Sensing that his father’s life was in danger, one of Ikeobi’s sons reportedly dashed inside the house to fetch a dane gun which he allegedly fired, three persons were said to have been hit.

Undeterred by the shooting, the motorcyclists according to eye witnesses still call for the landlord's head. But for the timely arrival of policemen from Ejigbo division, both father and son would have been lynched by the irate motorcyclists.

Report had it that before the incident, Ikeobi had on several occasions lodged complaints at the Police station, on the use of his frontage as motorcycle park.

Police sources said three expended shells were recovered at the scene, while the man who fired the shot was arrested .

When the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Lelma Kolle, was contacted on phone, he maintained that no life was lost .

He said: Three people were shot but they did not die. They are receiving treatment at the hospital."

Ogun Police arrest 4 suspected cultists over undergraduate's death

By Daud Olatunji

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BEOKUTA—THE Ogun State Police Command said, yesterday, that it had arrested a suspected cultist Ologunlagba Timilehin, 21, and three other persons over the killing of a student of the Gateway Polytechnic Igbesa, in Ado Odo Otta Local Government Area of the State.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Muyiwa Adejobi, in a statement disclosed this, adding that the student lost his life during a clash between two rival cult groups in the area on Monday evening.

According to Adejobi, the Police placed a manhunt on the concerned cult members before one Ologunlagba Timilehin, 21, a confessed cultist was arrested by the Police.

He said; “Detectives attached to Agbara Division of the Ogun State Police Command on Tuesday, August 12, burst the den of some cultists at Igbesa Agbara in Ado Odo Otta Local Government Area of Ogun State and arrested four of them.

“The arrested cultist, Timilehin, is a strong member of Airlord Confraternity which had engaged Doro Confraternity in a gun battle for some days before they were checkmated by the Police.

“The arrest of the suspect has

led to the arrest of three other members who are helping the Police in its investigation.”

Meanwhile, the Ogun State Police Command said it had arrested more than 200 cultists belonging to various groups in the state and they have been charged to courts accordingly.

The PPRO said the Commissioner of Police in

the state , Ikemefuna Okoye, has ordered the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Agbara Division to transfer the matter to the Department of Criminal Investigation, Eleweran, Abeokuta for thorough investigation.

His words: “The Commissioner has vowed to continue the fight against

these cultists who cause problems in the state and make innocent people uncomfortable.

“He also appealed to the general public to always support the Police in its course to rid Ogun State of miscreants and cultists who forment trouble in the state.”

Bush meat sellers experiencing low patronage due to Ebola virus scare on Owo-Akure Highway in Ondo State. Photo: NAN.

Man docked for robbing policeman of AK47 rifle, ammunition

By Bartholomew Madukwe

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AGOS—A 20year-old man, Adebola

Oladipo, was yesterday arraigned before an Ikeja

Magistrate's Court, for robbing a policeman,

Anglican faithful protesting demolition of their Church by unknown persons at Oze, Anambra State.

Bethuel Thomas, of his AK47 rifle and 30 rounds of live ammunition.

Count two read: “That you Adebola Oladipupo and others now at large on May 31, 2014, at about 8.45pm at T Junction, Epe, Lagos, in the Lagos Magisterial District did rob one Bethuel Thomas of his AK47 rifle and 30 rounds of live ammunition.”

Meanwhile, a 30-yearold man, Shaibu Charles, yesterday pleaded guilty to the accusation that he threatened to kill one Inspector Simeon Nwoke by word of mouth and intimidation, after he was arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrate's Court.

The accused, who was arraigned on a three count charge bordering on threat to life and breach of public peace, pleaded guilty to the offences read to him in English language.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 —7

Banker, 3 soldiers killed, 9 injured in Bauchi auto crash

By Suzan Edeh

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AUCHI—AT least four persons, including a female banker in Alkaleri and three soldiers, yesterday died while nine others sustained injuries in a ghastly motor accident that occurred along Dindima village in Alkeleri Local Government Area of Bauchi state.

The accident involved an Army convoy, an Opel Vectra car with registration number AH 951 MGU and an articulated truck with registration number GGW 01 AH. Vanguard gathered from residents of the area that apart from the female banker, three soldiers in the army convoy lost their lives in the fatal crash.

They said one of the vehicles in the military convoy had a head-on collision with the Vectra car Confirming the accident, the FRSC unit commander of Alkaleri, Mr James Adamu Kalaa said that the crash

which happened around 9.54am, involved 13 persons, out of which four were killed while nine others, including

six soldiers sustained injuries.

He said when officers of the FRSC arrived the scene of the crash, the army had evacuated the corpse of the three dead soldiers.

According to Kalaa; “When men of the FRSC from the Alkeleri unit command arrived

the scene of the crash, they met only the corpse of the female banker while those of the soldiers were evacuated by the Army. The corpse of the banker and injured persons were conveyed to the Alkeleri General Hospital.”

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ORT HARCOURT— ONE person was allegedly shot while eight others sustained injuries in a fracas between members of the All Progressive Congress APC and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, at the ever busy Rumuoprikom community end of Ikwerre road yesterday morning.

One of those reportedly shot, Mr Ndidi Owabie alleged that his father, the Paramount ruler of Rumuprikom commuity, Eze Anthony Owabie opened fire on him because of his refusal to join the All Progressive Congress, APC. The state Police Commissioner, Mr Tunde Ogunsakin confirmed that the father of the boy who was shot and two others had been arrested by the Police, adding that a local gun was recovered from one of them.

Vanguard gathered that suspected political thugs allegedly barricaded roads in the community in the morning when they heard that Governor Chibuike Amaechi was to visit the area yesterday in his ongoing ward tour. ''The action of the youths allegedly triggered the crisis, causing traffic gridlock that lasted several hours on Ikwerre and other adjourning

...Threaten to shut down Sapele Power Station

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FIRE: Female hostel of Benue State University, Makurdi, gutted by fire on Wednesday.

Father shoots son over party differences

By Jimitita Onoyume

Sapele residents protest one year of power outage

z8 others also injured roads in the area,'' a source told Vanguard.

Chief of Staff, Government House, Chief Tony Okocha who spoke on the incident accused the Divisional Police Officer of the station in the area of not doing enough.

''There would not have been breakdown of law and order.

The DPO was completely compromised,”, he alleged.

Continuing, he said the governor had however cancelled the planned visit to the area because of the sudden

demise of the Caretaker Committee Chairman, Port Harcourt City local Government Area, Mr Charles Paul Ejokwu who slumped in the early hours of the day.

Governor Amaechi yesterday paid a condolence visit on the family of the deceased Caretaker Committee Chairman in Diobu area of Port Harcourt.

Delta Police rescue kidnap victim, arrest suspects

By Akpokona Omafuaire

W

ARRI—THE Delta Police Command Asaba on Tuesday rescued Mrs. Roseline Okolie, a kidnap victim and wife of Delta State University lecturer, just as they arrested one of the kidnappers.

Mrs. Okolie was said to have been kidnapped at her Obiaruku residence in Ukwuani Council Area of Delta State.

This was disclosed by Police Public Reltaions Officer, DSP Celestina Kalu, Delta State Command.

According to her, AOn August 12, at about 4.00am, one Emmanuel Okolie, a lecturer with Detla State University, DELSU, Abraka, reported to operatives of Special Anti Kidnapping Squad, SAKS, based at Obiaruku that three unknown armed men broke into his

residence at Ebayadata Quarters Obiaruku, robbed him of his laptop valued N140,000.00, Samsung X 5 Galaxy phone valued N90,000.00, the sum of N260.000.00 cash and took away his wife, Mrs. Roseline Okolie aged 52 years to unknown destination. ''Sequel to the report, operatives went after the hoodlums along Obiaruku/ Utagba Uno road where they ran into their hideout. ''The kidnappers on sighting the operatives engaged them in a gun duel. Consequently, one of the suspects identified as Collins Onyemaro, aged 35 years, was arrested, while the remaining two escaped with bullet wounds and the victim was rescued unhurt. ''The suspect has given the names of his accomplices who fled with their weapon. ''Meanwhile, investigation is in

progress while efforts are on to track down the fleeing miscreants.''

In a related development, Kalu said that its Command has also apprehended a car snatching gang and recovered a vehicle.

She said, ''Further to our press release on 8th. August, 2014, the suspect, Tochukwu Bright, confessed to the crime and led detectives from GRA police station Asaba to Owerri in Imo state, where his accomplice, one Chibueze Ejogwu Kingsley of No. 11 Odagun street Owerri was arrested and the snatched Honda Accord car, with Registration No. NSR 273 AG recovered from him. ''The said vehicle was snatched from the owner, one Chinelo Okonkwo at Infant Jesus area Asaba by Tochukwu Bright. ''The suspects will be arraigned in court at the end of ongoing investigation,'' he said.

ARRI—SOME residents of Sapele and its environ yesterday protested the blackout that has enveloped the town for more than one year.

The protest led by a group known as Save Sapele Group, called on President Goodluck Jonathan and the Power Minister to, as a matter of urgency, call the Benin Distribution Company, BEDC to order over the issue, failure of which it says it might not have no option than to shut down the Sapele Power Station.

The leader of the group, Comrade Omasan Mabiaku, during the protest in Sapele said; ''We are giving the Federal Government and the private firm 14-day ultimatum to restore power supply to all parts of Sapele and it environs, because we cannot be generating light to other parts of the world without having it.

'We are appealing to Mr. President and the Hon. Minister of Power to kindly intervene to save this ungodly situation that the BEDC has thrown Sapele.''

200 students affected as fire razes Benue varsity female hostel

By Peter Duru

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AKURDI—AN early morning inferno, yesterday razed a block of the female hostel of Benue State University, BSU, Makurdi, the state capital.

The fire has left over 200 students homeless, while most of them also lost personal effects and valuables to the inferno which started at about 10am.

As at the time of filing this report, officers and men of the State Fire Service were seen battling to put out the fire while the affected female students were wailing.

8—Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

Jonathan redeploys 9 permsecs

By Okey Ndiribe

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RESIDENT GOODLUCK Jonathan has approved the redeployment of nine permanent secretaries across federal ministries.

This was contained in a circular issued, yesterday, by the out-going Head of Service of the Federation, Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji. Among those affected are Engr. Emodi Nebolisa of the Ministry of Transport who now moves to the State House; Mr. Adelakun Yemi of the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, OHCSF, now in the Ministry of Aviation and Mallam Mohammed Bashar of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, who has been posted to Federal Ministry of Transport.

Others include Mrs. Fatima Bamidele, of the Ministry of Interior, who moves to Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs; Engr.

Magaji A.G. of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to the Ministry of Interior and Mrs Jamila Shuara who moves from the Ministry of Aviation to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

Among the newly deployed permanent secretary were Amb. Danjuma Sheni, Mrs. Binta Bello, who now assumes duty at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Dr. Babatope Ajakaiye to Common Services Office.

The circular stated that the processes for taking and handing over by the redeployed and newly deployed permanent secretaries should be completed on or before next Wednesday.

MEETING: Finance Minister, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, discussing with the Justice Minister, Mr. Bello Adoke (left); Trade and Investments Minister, Mr. Olusegun Aganga (right) and Special Adviser, Projects Monitoring and Evaluation, Prof.

Sylvester Monye, during the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, at the State House, Abuja. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida

ULTIMATUM TO JONATHAN ON CHIBOK GIRLS:

Shut up, you're rabble-rousers, NEC tells NEF •Says this is not time to criticise, but to join hands with FG to fight insurgency

By Henry Umoru

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BUJA — A group of Northern elders under the aegis, Northern Elders Council, NEC, yesterday, took a swipe at the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, for asking President Goodluck Jonathan to forget about contesting in 2015 if by October, he fails to produce the Chibok Secondary School students kidnapped by the Boko Haram sect in April.

According to the group, rather than criticise President Goodluck Jonathan on the Chibok girls, the Northern Elders Forum should co-operate with him, in the collective fight against insurgency.

In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Ambassador Yusufu

Mamman, NEC urged the Northern Elders Forum which has former Inspector General of Police, IGP Ibrahim Coomasie as Chairman to shut up, saying they are rouble-rousers The Northern Elders Forum had in a statement by Mr. Solomon Dalung and Dr. Hakeem Baba Ahmed, Monday, said that the "North does not believe that the Nigerian military cannot defeat the terrorists, and that the conflicts in the country were deliberately being prolonged simply to weaken the North politically and economically.

According to Mamman: “The Northern Elders Council appreciates and supports the efforts of the Federal Government in the fight against insurgency. It also appreciates the timeline as

agreed by the Council of States towards ending the insurgency and similar criminal activities across the country on or before the end of the year.

“It is necessary to also appreciate our security agencies for their untiring effort and sacrifice to end the senseless killings of our fellow citizens.

"Terrorism as we are aware is a global phenomenon and any attempt to politicise it will not augur well for our country. It is time that we understood and fully appreciated the danger posed by this menace, so that we put all hands on deck and co-operate with government and our security agencies towards ending the scourge.

“Insurgency does not recognise sectional, ethnic, linguistic or

2015: Umar moves to consolidate power with campaign team .Attorney General, others to stage rally for him Soni Daniel, Regional Editor, North

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HEAD OF the 2015 gubernatorial election, the acting governor of Taraba State, Alhaji Garba Umar, has begun moves to consolidate himself on the reins of power and give him an edge over potential contestants in the governorship race of the state.

To achieve his political ambition, the governor had raised a formidable political team headed by the Attorney General of the

state, Mr. Musa Tende, and other top cabinet members to work for his election in the coming year.

Vanguard learnt last night that Musa Tende had concluded plans to lead a team of top government officials to stage a rally in Takum in support of the governorship ambition of Umar.

But in this latest move, Umar’s committee made up of prominent members of his cabinet from the zone, seeks to counter the power shift agitations.

Apart from Tende, who heads the committee, others on the pro-

Umar team include Commissioner of Information, Ate Sale Kundu; Commissioner of Education, Danfulani Kwetaka; Mr. Sam Adda and Rev. Emmanuel Godobi.

Others are Hon. Ahidjo Musa, Zakari Adimbo, Apura Polycarp, Habu Magaji and Orchiv Orbee.

The committee had reportedly been charged to assemble 200 delegates from each local government in the southern zone to attend a rally in which Umar would be declared the preferred candidate in the 2015 polls.

The group had also been mandated to counter any propower shift agitation.

A source close to the development said Umar was alarmed last Saturday when many groups insisted on power shift to the southern zone during a visit to Takum to attend the birthday reception of Mr. Darius Ishaku.

This development was said to have irked Umar, who promptly set out to counter the growing agitation.

cultural interests; it has no respect for them. To ensure that insurgency is nipped in the bud President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has said that he will mobilise logistical and international support to ensure that our security agencies are fully provided of their needs to motivate them in surmounting the challenge posed by insecurity.

“As a measure of concern, strategy and compassion, there is the Presidential Initiative for the development of the North East region and Insurgency Victims Fund has been set up to cater for the victims and respond to the challenges posed by insurgency.

"Similarly, Nigerians and the world at large are aware that the President held a meeting with the parents of the Chibok girls, assuring them of the safe return of their children.

“Management of such delicate and complex release of hostages presupposes the primacy of having the girls alive and well by tact and carefully planned and executed strategy to ensure success.

“We call on all Nigerians to appreciate the efforts of our elder statesmen such as Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, Gen Muharnmadu Buhari, Gen. Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo, including all retired Chief Justices of the Federation because of the level of their involvement in our collective will and effort to move the nation forward."

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 —9

CONFAB: Tension forces delegates to adjourn after 14 minutes .To begin discussion on a final report today .Core North, South disagree over draft constitution .We prepared the report with honesty, diligence – Kutigi

By Henry Umoru & Levinus Nwabughiogu

A

BUJA — THE National Conference, yesterday, held its shortest session since it began about four months ago when it hurriedly adjourned amid tension after sitting for about 14 minutes.

The adjournment was on the heels of a heated atmosphere at the Andrews Otutu Obaseki hall, venue of the plenary following disagreements between core North and Southern/Middle-Belt delegates over the reports and proposed amendments to the 1999 Constitution.

Some northern delegates, who had at a press briefing,Tuesday, rejected the draft constitution amendment prepared by the conference leadership, saying they were never part of it, insisting that that they would never support it.

The document formed part of the documents distributed to delegates when they reconvened, Monday, after almost a month break that started on July 14.

This happened on a day that Southern and Middle-Belt led by Chief E.K Clark, Chief Olu Falae, General Ike Nwachukwu and John Dara said there was no hidden agenda in the report, saying it was insulting to say that the delegates were hammering out a third term agenda for President Goodluck Jonathan.

They said that the documents contained what all delegates at the conference agreed on.

As the confab meets today to ratify the report, some northern had already written to the Conference Chairman, Justice Idris Kutigi to dissociate themselves from the draft constitution prepared by the leadership of the conference and distributed to delegates, Monday.

They said they were shocked and totally surprised at the appearance of the documents; they threatened that they will not be a party to the adoption of the report or any part by voice vote and urge the leadership of the conference to be strictly guided by the Conference Procedure Rules, 2014.

Countering, the Southern and Middle-Belt delegates said those opposing the reports were bent on scuttling the conference and vowed to pass the report today.

We prepared the report with honesty, diligence – Kutigi As soon as he came in at 10.35a.m. and commenced plenary at 10. 37a.m., Kutigi told delegates that the reports were

prepared by the Secretariat with all honesty and diligence with no hidden agenda. He appealed to them to work together, stressing that as humans they could make mistakes, adding that there was no draft constitution, but mere amendment.

As part of moves to cool frayed nerves, a delegate on the platform of former House of Representatives Forum, Chief Obi Anoliofo moved for adjournment and it was seconded

by Mrs. Felicia Sani, a delegate on the platform of Market Women Association.

Kutigi urged delegates to study the documents given to them and send their observations to the conference secretariat for collation.

To further enhance the process of approving the draft report, Kutigi summoned a meeting of leaders of delegation from the geo-political zones to discuss certain critical issues and asked that the leadership of each group should meet with him inside the office of the Deputy Chairman of the conference, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi How reports were prepared The chairman said in line with the resolution of the Conference, the reports were prepared to cover constitutional issues based on amendments agreed upon by the delegates; policy issues meant for implementation by the President; and legislative issues earmarked for enactment into laws by the National Assembly.

Justice Kutigi explained that the copy labeled “draft constitution” contained the various alterations

and amendments to the 1999 Constitution “proposed by you.”

After the brief address, delegates applauded the chairman by clapping for some minutes, signifying their agreement with his explanation and readiness to discuss and approve the draft reports.

Justice Kutigi said all groups and individuals should study the report and diligently write out areas that need to be corrected and submit them to the Conference Secretariat for compilation and presentation to the Conference when delegates reconvene today.

Shonibare replaces Olaniwun Ajayi Before adjourning the session, Justice Kutigi announced the presence of a new delegate, Supo

Shonibare, who replaced Olaniwun Ajayi from the SouthWest and a minute silence was observed by delegates for late Professor Mohammed Nur Alkali.

Northern delegates write Kutigi However, after the plenary, some Northern delegates wrote Justice Idris Kutigi to dissociate themselves from the draft constitution prepared by the leadership of the conference.

In the letter signed by Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, and former Inspector General of Police, IGP, Ibrahim Coomasie and erstwhile Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, Gen. Jerry Useni, they said: “We call upon the leadership of the conference

to discountenance and withdraw the draft constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2014 and the accompanying bills, which have been circulated.

“We urge the Conference leadership to table the Draft Conference Report which contains only the resolutions openly and officially sanctioned and adopted by delegates for validation and adoption as provided for under the National Conference Procedure Rules, 2014 and as envisaged in the Work Plan adopted “For the avoidance of doubt, we shall not be a party to the adoption of the report or any part thereof by voice vote. We urge the leadership of the Conference to be strictly guided by the Conference Procedure Rules, 2014."

National conference delegates, in a group photograph with a placard #rescue our girls now, after the adjournment of the conference, in Abuja yesterday. Photo: Gbemiga Olamikan.

50 B/Haram, 30 soldiers killed in Pilka, Gwoza in one week Kingsley Omonobi, Ndahi Marama

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AIDUGURI — NO fewer than 50 Boko Haram members and over 30 soldiers were feared killed in an encounter around Pilka, Kirawa and Gwoza communities of Borno State in the last one week, reliable security source has confirmed.

It will be recalled that following the military take-over of Damboa Council Headquarters which was captured by terrorists, suspected Boko Haram gunmen in their hundreds escaped from Damboa and Sambisa Forest where they invaded and captured Gwoza town in Borno State, following last Wednesday=s multiple attacks on several houses, a police station,

secretariat complex, and the Emir=s place.

In the latest Gwoza attacks, even the new Emir, who took over from his late father, who was killed by Boko Haram, Alhaji Muhammed Idrisa Timta narrowly escaped being killed.

A top security source confirmed to our correspondent in Maiduguri that “the deployment of military to Gwoza, weekend, led to serious casualties from both sides, as more than 30 soldiers were ambushed and killed by terrorists in Pilka, Kirawa and other villages on the Maiduguri Bama Gwoza troubled road.

“Also, over 50 of the insurgents were killed in the encounter, but unfortunately, military troops in Kirawa withdrew and returned to Bama where they were reunited with their colleagues at the

military barracks following the fire-power from the insurgents.

They could not go to Gwoza as directed by their commanders.

AAt T Junction on Banki Road, the terrorists also ambushed the military post where both sides suffered several casualties, although I don’t have details of those killed yet,” the source said.

He added that it was difficult for security operatives to enter Gwoza town where terrorists had a field day, because, most of the villages along the road leading to Gwoza where its inhabitants were sacked, were occupied by terrorists who climbed on trees and opened fire on military operational vehicles.

A text message sent to Director, Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade to confirm the incident was not

replied.

Meanwhile, following months of making strategies on the best ways of rescuing the over 200 abducted girls of the Government Seconday School, Chibok, the Defence headquarters, yesterday, disclosed that Nigerian soldiers have infiltrated and taken positions in Sambisa forest, the den where the girls and several other hostages were being kept.

Director of Defence Information, Major General Olukolade, who made the disclosure, said that Sambisa Forest is a wide expanse of land covering over 6,000 square kilometres with several communities living inside, noting that this explained why the military could not just go into the forest and bomb the whole place.

10—Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

EBOLA, LASU FEES: Fashola seeks adjustment of budget

Surulere LG splashes N35m on youths, others

...Hands over Lagos HOMS to 16 displaced senior residents

L

By Olasunkanmi Akoni &

Monsur Olowoopejo

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AGOS—GOVERNOR Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State has requested for the adjustment of the budget to meet services from citizens, which are “sufficiently compelling and cannot wait until 2015”.

The letter from the governor requesting for the adjustment, titled; ‘Year 2014 Budget Reordering of priorities’ was read at plenary of the Lagos State House of Assembly, yesterday,

by Clerk of the House, Mr. Ganiyu Abiru.

The re-ordering, according to the governor, “is to take care of emerging issues like the reversal of Lagos State University, LASU, school fees policy which requires us to make provisions to cover LASU shortfall in projected revenues in order to service the school; the unanticipated but very urgent need to address the threat of the Ebola Virus Epidemic, EVD, and also a need for counterpart funding request that enables us to access developmental funds to install solar power panels in 172 public schools and 11 primary health centres in the first phase”.

MEETING: Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN (middle) with the Editor, Mail & Guardian Africa, Mr. Charles Onyango Obbo (left) and South African Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Mokgethi Sam Monaisa, during the Mail and Guardian Africa meeting of Great Minds Business Breakfast at Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, Lagos yesterday.

The governor stressed that the re-ordering would not affect the original 2014 budget size of N489.69 billion as, “we have discovered that there are still unutilized provisions by some Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, which may remain so till year end. Hence we are proposing to move such provisions to where they are

more urgently needed to enable the state government address pressing needs in the areas identified above and other areas like security, housing among others.”

The re-ordering, Fashola noted was proposed from Capital Expenditure Provisions of 10 agencies with a total value of N9.960 billion.

Africa economy can surpass those of Europe, Asia — FASHOLA

By Monsur Olowoopejo

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AGOS—GOVERNOR Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, yesterday, said the African economy had potential to overtake Europe and Asian economies but would require self determination and inspiration from its citizens, even as he warned that the price of crude oil might crash below $20 per barrel.

The governor, while addressing business executives at a session organized by Mail and Guardian Africa held in Lekki, said the economies were developed by their citizens and not foreigners, saying “Africa must also take a cue from them.”

Fashola who spoke on the theme, ‘How African cities will be the biggest drivers of the rising Africa story,’ lamented that the economy of Africa was not progressing as it should have been based on the potentials embodied in the continent.

According to him, “Our current situation may well be a humble beginning but if Africa

By Naomi Uzor

really wishes to rise, we must ask ourselves what we have contributed to the growth that is taking place in our continent. How many cell phones, vehicles, household materials were made in African factories? What percentage of the African workforce is employed at the management level on many of the Africa infrastructural projects going on in Angola, Ethopia and others?

We have a test at hand and, we can pass that test if we take concrete and well articulated steps to position ourselves to be very competitive and efficient. And the test is better passed at this moment when we have another scramble for Africa after the first in 1885when the world came to the continent to get raw materials for their factories. But today, the new scramble is for the African market because the continent now has the needed population.

“As there is another scramble for Africa, all we failed to do at the first must be thoroughly done to avoid a repeat of what

occurred 120 years ago, during the first scramble. First, we must invest in education sector because this sector has remained the surest way to develop a nation. Lagos understands this and our approach is to include all players in the public and private sector in order to improve productivity in this key sector.

“Our short term plan is in science and technology, to produce youths who can do things with their hands rather than people who work with their minds. This will reduce unemployment.

‘The second is to embrace ICT. Even though we cannot lay claim to the major contribution to the development of the internet age, we stand able and must be willing to use ICT to bridge the huge gap of development between this continent and others. While the third is to reduce poverty; the impact of poverty stands in the way of Africa’s development and part of the effort to reduce poverty by the state government is to provide the required infrastructure,” he added.

The governor said the reordering was also to urgently address some of the critical unbudgeted expenditure requests by various MDAs. “We have received request aggregating to the sum of N79.302billion but will clearly be unable to accommodate most of these requests this year.”.

After debating the request, the lawmakers committed it to the House Committee on Economic Planning and Budget and expected to report back to the House today, because of the urgency of the issues involved.

Fashola hands over houses to senior citizens

Meanwhile, Governor Fashola yesterday, handed over keys of houses under the Lagos Homes Ownership Mortgage Scheme, Lagos HOMS, to 16 persons, former occupants of Shogunro Housing Estate, Ogba-Ijaiye, Ikeja, years after their defective houses were demolished.

The state government demolished the Shogunro Housing Estate, in 2008 to avoid collapse on its occupants, after they were relocated to another community.

Fashola who handed over the th keys at the 6 public draw of the Lagos HOMS in Ikeja, said while other occupants of the estate declined the government plan for the regeneration of the estate, “this 16 senior citizens kept fate with the government. The buildings were structurally unsafe and we asked them to move out. While some refused to leave, this people decided to deal with us and we promised those who chose to deal with us that they will get their houses back.''

A G O S — SURULERE Local Government in conjunction with All Progressives Congress, APC, youth leader ’s sensitisation/orientation initiative, has empowered youths, widows and the aged with N35 million worth of working tools.

Speaking at the poverty alleviation empowerment programme, the Chairman, Surulere Local government, Tajudeen Ajide, said, the youths, were the leaders of the nation and deserved to be empowered to better their lives.

“What we are doing today, is to impact in the lives and welfare of the Surulere people. There are many youths and widows, in Surulere out there that are capable of doing so many jobs, but have no means of buying the equipment needed to put such skills to use,'' he said.

Pitan, friends hailed on medical mission

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A G O S — HUNDREDS of Lagosians, benefiting from the on-going Free Medical Treatment Initiative of a nong o v e r n m e n t a l organisation, Dr. Leke Pitan and Friends, have commended the organisers.

As the Mission moved through Apapa, AjeromiIfelodun and Lagos Island Local Governments, residents across all strata have been thronging the venues daily, getting instant medical examination; required drugs as well as laboratory examinations, including free eye glasses and HIV/AIDS status checks.

At Apapa Local Government on Monday, top All Progressive Congress, APC, s t a k e h o l d e r s , professionals and party leaders led the way as traders, artisans, students, and member of the public thronged the Ojora of Ijora Palace venue.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 —11

Ekiti reads riot act to feuding communities

By Gbenga Ariyibi

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DO EKITI—EKITI State Government yesterday read riot act to two feuding communities of Kota and Omuo Ekiti, warning that the government would henceforth deal decisively with any person caught causing trouble in the state.

This came as leaders of the feuding communities signed a memorandum of understanding pledging commitment to peaceful co-existence.

Speaking during a reconciliatory meeting with leaders of the communities in his office, Governor Kayode Fayemi, warned that anyone caught fomenting trouble in any part of the state would face the wrath of the law.

The two communities that were part of Ekiti East Local Government Area before the recent creation of additional Local Council Development Areas, LCDAs, in the state have been at loggerheads over the citing of a local government secretariat on a parcel of land

both are claiming.

At a meeting attended by the Commissioner of Police, State Director of Department of State Service, DSS, representatives of other security agencies and traditional rulers of the two communities, Fayemi stressed the need to sustain the level of peace currently in the state.

The governor charged the Nigeria Police, DSS and the Nigerian Army to be on the lookout for any breach of peace.

Leaders of the feuding communities later signed a memorandum of understanding pledging commitment to peaceful coexistence.

They also resolved to shun violence and ‘put an end to the hostilities and animosity that hitherto existed between the two communities.”

The memorandum reads in part: “The two communities shall abide by all constitutional means to resolve any grievances that may generate dispute between them in any

future engagements or relations. The two communities shall by no means directly or indirectly instigate, inspire or encourage anything that would

cause ill-feeling or disaffection between the two communities and any further violation of the terms of this agreement shall attract sanctions.”

By Ola Ajayi

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REPORT: Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko (right) receiving the report of the Committee on the Federal Polytechnic, Ile-Oluji from the Commissioner for Education, Jide Adejuyigbe, at the Governor's office, in Akure.

Head of Service, 12 perm secs, 287 others for retirement in Ogun

By Daud Olatunji

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B E O K U TA — T H E Ogun State government has penciled down 300 civil servants in the state including Head of Service and 12 Permanent Secretaries for retirement this year.

The Head of Service, HoS, in the State, Modupe Adekunle, said this during a two-day Franchising and Entrepreneurship Development Programme organised for the intending

retirees in the state civil service in Abeokuta.

Adekunle said the 300 workers who had served the state for 35 years, as well as those who had attained the retirement age of 60 years, including herself and 12 Permanent Secretaries would be leaving the state workforce

by December this year.

The HoS, in an interview after her address at the programme, explained that government organised the programme to prepare the intending retirees for

the psychological challenges often associated with retirement.

According to her, “We have said let us put this together and show them some opportunities that are available and to make them realise that they need to prepare psychologically because once you retire, your income come down, you are not going home with full pay. In fact, your lifestyle would change, your colleagues in the office are no longer there and the position you have been occupying is no longer there. They should be

Amosun forcing Osoba, others out of APC, says ex-deputy gov for other political parties.”

75 to 80 per cent and they

By Daud Olatunji

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B E O K U TA — FORMER d e p u t y governor of Ogun State, Rafiu Ogunleye, has accused Governor Ibikunle Amosun of trying to force former governor of the state, Aremo Olusegun Osoba and other party stalwarts of the All Progressives Party, APC out of the party.

But in a swift reaction, APC publicity secretary in the state, Sola Lawal described Ogunleye’s statement as unfortunate.

According to him, the former number two man ''became everything he is today on the platform of the progressives before he defected to the PDP. As at today is still a member of the APC and no one has left the party

The former deputy governor, who served with Osoba on the platform of Alliance for Democracy, AD, between 1992 and 1993, however said he warned Amosun against his action six months after he was elected governor but refused to change.

Ogunleye, who has declared his governorship ambition under the Peoples D e m o c r a t i c Party, PDP, claimed he was part of those that brought about Amosun's emergence as governor.

Speaking after he submitted his letter of intent to the PDP Chairman in the state, Bayo Dayo, at the party Secretariat in Abeokuta, Ogunleye said the APC had lost its founding fathers to other parties.

Ogunleye said “Let me tell you something, the AC element in APC in Ogun amounts to almost

Eligible voters from 4 Oyo LGs'll not have PVCs — INEC

have gradually left APC. You are in this state and you know what is happening. It doesn’t give me happiness. I have participated in the politics of the state and I can say that I participated in installing the present government.''

careful; they should be psychologically prepared for it and they should not think of getting into paid employment anymore. After 35 years, they should actually sit down and relax.”

On the difficulties often faced by retirees in getting their gratuities, Adekunle explained that the present administration in the state had a deliberate policy of settling the gratuities of retirees at the point of retirement.

According to him, “In Ogun state once you leave and once you have prepared your papers ahead of time, you will get your pension immediately.

On the gratuities, we are looking at ways to ensure you get it as soon as you are living.

The problems have been the arrears met on ground that we are settling. But I want to assure you that the governor is looking into the arrears issue and we will surely find a way out.”

B A DAN — T H E Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, yesterday said some eligible voters in Oyo State would not have permanent voters’ cards in the distribution of the cards which begins next week.

Eligible voters from four out of 33 councils in the state would be affected. The local governments are Afijio, Ibadan North East, Ibadan South West and Ogbomoso.

Oyo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Alhaji Nasir Ayilara, disclosed this at a meeting of stakeholders on the preparedness of the commission for the distribution of permanent voters’ cards and conduct of continuous voter registration.

According to him, “In 2011, voter registration took place in 4,783 polling units in the state but 4,286 units, representing 89.6 per cent have printed permanent voter cards. The balance of 497 units will have outright fresh voter registration during the continuous voter registration.''

Among the registered voters affected by this incident are some prominent citizens and residents of this state including serving and former state functionaries while the affected 487 polling units are spread across 20 local government areas.

The most affected local governments are Afijio, Ibadan North East, Ibadan South West and Ogbomoso North. All those affected will not have permanent voters card for this exercise.

Osun: Jonathan didn’t abuse state power — KASHAMU

By Etop Ekanem

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H A I R M A N , Organisation and Mobilisation Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the South-West, Prince Buruji Kashamu, has faulted claims that President Goodluck Jonathan abused state power over his deployment of security operatives to Osun State during last Saturday’s governorship election.

In a statement issued

yesterday, Kashamu said: “It was high time political leaders rose above politics of bitterness and rancour, and play the game with decency and maturity.”

He said it was ridiculous that those who allegedly attacked PDP members and leaders in spite of the heavy security could turn round to accuse the President of abusing state power.

The party chieftain spoke of how he was allegedly attacked in Osogbo on his way to Lagos

after the election, saying: “In spite of the heavy security presence, I was attacked on Saturday evening on my way to Lagos, after the elections, with the windshield of four buses in my convoy shattered. If my security men had responded, only God knows how many casualties would have been recorded.

“It should be noted that the President deployed the security agents to ensure the sanctity of the human life and the ballot box.''

12—Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

Knights take free health services to Delta community

By Akpokona Omafuaire

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ARRI—THE Knights and Ladies of St. Mulumba of the Catholic Church, Jeddo community in Okpe Local Government Area of Delta State have embarked on free blood pressure and weight measurement as well as distribution of mosquitotreated nets to indigenes of the community.

The Knights and Ladies of St. Mulumba gave out the free medical treatment during its health week at Our Lady Queen of Apostolic Catholic Church, Jeddo.

Ex-SUG leader emerges Isoko South PDP candidate

By Jimitota Onoyume

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ORT HARCOURT— FORMER President, Students Union Government, University of Port Harcourt, Mr. Constantine Itiako, has emerged Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chairmanship candidate for the council elections in Isoko South Local Government Area, Delta State.

Itiako was President of the SUG of the university in 1997.

One of his fellow alumni, Fred Uzo, who spoke on the development, said “Malik ran one of the most coordinated campaign in that our SUG election.

“I recall that he was the first Deltan and second non-indigene after Ejike Asiegbu to be elected Students Union President of the university. It was not easy because despite ethnic sentiments exhibited by some, he won with a landslide.”

Mr. Charles Okon, a former student of the university and now a banker, said he admired the leadership style Malik provided as president of the union.

Bakassi returnees storm C'River govt house over non-payment of 20-month stipends

By Emma Una

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ALABAR—INDIGENES of Bakassi, who were forced out of their homes and villages that were ceded to Cameroon by the International Court of Justice in the Hague, and settled at

Ikot Effiom and Obutong in Bakassi Local Government Area of Cross River State, yesterday, trooped to Governor Liyel Imoke’s office to protest the non-payment of their monthly stipends.

The indigenes, now refugees, claimed they had not been paid

‘Taxing churches is foolishness’

By Ike Uchechukwu

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ALABAR—PRELATE and Moderator, General Assembly, Presbyterian Church of Nigeria, PCN, Professor Emele Uka, has described the recommendation by the delegates to the national conference that churches pay tax as an act of foolishness, arguing that churches are not profit making ventures.

Speaking with Vanguard shortly after the 10th anniversary and dedication of Edibe Edibe Parish building in Calabar yesterday, Professor Uka said as individuals and responsible

citizens, church members pay their taxes and wondered why anyone will even think of asking churches to also pay tax.

Meanwhile, the cleric decried the fate of the over 200 Chibok schoolgirls abducted by the Boko Haram Islamist sect, calling on the Federal Government to immediately concede to the sect’s demand by swapping the girls for Boko Haram members held by security agencies.

He said: “America has swapped. Israel has also swapped. Afghanistan also did the same thing. There is no crime in swapping the girls and there is no price too expensive to pay to ensure the release of the girls.”

You 're unfair to S'South, Owei tells NEF

By Charles Kumolu

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O R M E R Senate Chief Whip, Senator Roland Owie, has described the calls by Northern Elders Forum, NEF, on President Goodluck Jonathan not to contest the 2015 presidential election, as an insult to the South-South geo-political zone.

He added that NEF lacked regard for the region that produces Nigeria’s wealth, noting that the statement credited to NEF was capable of destroying the unity of the country. He said the Federal Government needs the support of the North to defeat insurgency in the region.

Owie, in a chat with Vanguard yesterday, said that the North has been acting as if it was an abomination for a minority to become the President of

Nigeria.

He said: “A once respected NEF, which had people like Professor Ango Abdullahi has now been reduced to a level where gutter languages are used. It is not fair to SouthSouth.

“They ought to have sympathy for the nation that has been together for the past hundred years.”

their monthly stipend, called conditional cash transfer of N5,000 per family for 20 months.

Mr. Nathan Monday and Mrs Agnes Eyo, who spoke for the returnees, said no fewer than 17 children have died in the settlement this year occasioned by the lack of health care facilities and hunger.

They said: “We have no money, no food, no drugs and nowhere to fish because Cameroon has since stopped us from going into the sea to practice our trade.”

According to them, Governor Imoke had visited the settlement twice and on each occasion he promised to assist them, but nothing has been forthcoming.

They added: “For over two years now, the N5,000 they

used to give us every month has stopped coming and each time we go to the Commissioner for Social Welfare, she tells us the governor has not approved the stipend.

“Meanwhile, our children are dying daily. So we are not going away from here until they pay us our money.”

When Vanguard visited the office of the Commissioner for Social Welfare, Mrs Patricia Anderly, she was said to have gone for the weekly executive council meeting and several calls to her phone were not answered.

However, Ms Edisua Usangiso, Chairman of Bakassi, who addressed the protesters, said she will rent buses to take them back to their settlement and make plans to find them jobs.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 — 13

C M Y K

14—Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

‘VC's absence not affecting UNIBEN’

By Simon Ebegbulem

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ENIN— THE authorities of University of Benin, UNIBEN, yesterday, described as untrue and misleading, reports that the absence of the ViceChancellor of the University, Professor Osayuki Oshodin, was hampering the running of the university.

The university in a statement, said: “The incumbent Vice Chancellor of UNIBEN has been away overseas for medical check-up and he is expected to resume fully soon.

“In his absence, the Deputy Vice Chancellors, Administration and Academic, have, at different times before August 5, performed the functions of the Vice Chancellor after due consultation with him as necessary.

“UNIBEN's management urges the general public to disregard the unfounded fears raised in some publications as both academic and administrative affairs remain on course despite the Vice Chancellor ’s absence.”

DCPM says it won't abandon Okubor

By Festus Ahon

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GHELLI—THE leadership of Delta Central Political Movement, DCPM, a political pressure, yesterday, said it would not abandon Dr. Festus Okubor, a governorship aspirant on account of ethnicity.

DCPM, in a statement by its National Chairman, Chief Olori Magege, said: “In the recent past, Urhobo Progress Union, UPU, leadership has been making political statements that borders on lack of appreciation of the plural nature of Delta State, the sensibilities of other ethnic nationalities in the state and of the need to build a broadbased consensus to achieve a Delta agenda in which the relevance of Urhobo will be guaranteed.”

UGBORODO: Military, factions reach agreement on resettlement of displaced persons

By Egufe Yafugborhi

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ARRI—THE Federal Government, yesterday, made progress in its mediation in volatile Ugborodo, Warri South-West Local Government Area, Delta State, as warring factions agreed to give the military unrestrained entry to keep peace and resettle residents displaced by the leadership crisis in the community.

The decision was reached at a meeting in Warri, with Chief Efe Akpofure (SAN), counsel to the Chief Thomas Ereyitomiled faction and Mr. Festus Keyamo, representing the David Tonwe/Alex Ideh faction, in attendance.

Navy Capt Musa Gemu, Commander, NNS Delta, who hosted the meeting, said: “Recently, certain developments resulted in breach of the Federal Government peace process, particularly by Aruton and Madangho youths’ resistance to Navy’s effort at resettling displaced persons.

“In the last meeting to resolve

these issues, some leaders have been evasive. Today (yesterday), I am happy that not only are all the key leaders of both sides present, their counsel witnessed and affirmed the final resolutions.

Sensitisation, compromise

“We have all agreed that both sides have one week to go home to sentitise their people and the military will come to resettle exiled residents.

“I have realised that some persons are profiting from the unrest and violence in Ugborodo.

This is unacceptable. We have agreed there shall be no form of protest, violence, resistance; no act to prevent the military from coming in to keep peace.

We have the right of selfdefence when the need arise. Let me warn that we shall not condone any provocation after this agreement.”

Keyamo said: “We have agreed that there should be peace in all the communities of Ugborodo. We also agreed that displaced persons will return.

You have no right to deprive anybody from staying anywhere in Nigeria.”

Delta NUJ screens journalists

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HE Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Delta State council, has commenced the screening and verification of journalists in the state to promote professional standards and check quackery.

The exercise is part of the resolutions of the state congress of NUJ in Asaba.

The state NUJ Chairman, Mr. Norbert Chiazor said the screening, supervised by the union’s Ethics and Disciplinary Committee, had become necessary to restore dignity and professionalism to journalism practice in the state.

Chiazor noted that the verification was in line with the NUJ constitution and the commitment of the national leadership of the union to ensure sanity in the profession and urged all journalists in the state to participate in the exercise.

Ika meet over oil discovery, exploration

By Victor Ahiuma-Young

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HE People of Ika ethnic nationality in Delta State will, Saturday, examine the challenges associated with the recent discovery and exploration of oil in Ikaland.

According to Onu Ika, the mouthpiece of the people of Ika, the issue is the thrust of the 14th edition of Ika Kanma annual lecture; 2014 Ogwa Ika. Secretary of the Organising Committee, Mr. Benson Melekwe, in a statement, said the annual gathering of Ika people will take place in Agbor under the chairmanship of BrigadierGeneral Godwin Alabi-Isama (rtd).

Chief Michael Olorunfemi will deliver a lecture on The Challenges of Oil Exploration and Gas Production.

Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State and Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, will be at the event.

On how the resolution can reconcile grievances of victims of penultimate week’s destruction of property in and outside Ugborodo, Chief Akpofure said: “One of the factions said they are to ssist those who have suffered some lose to fast track resettling them and I expect the other faction to make same commitment.

“Constitutionally, nobody has the right to displace anybody and that is why I said I am not in support of it anywhere and I made it clear that my clients must not get involved in it.”

In their remarks, Emami and Tonwe, who spoke for their respective factions, agreed to the military intervention to enforce peace.

C'River youths honour Gov Imoke

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ROSS River State youths have conferred “Pride of the Youths” award of on Governor Liyel Imoke for his policies and disposition to youth development.

Chairman, National Youth Council of Nigeria, Mr. Bernard Okori, who presented the award to the governor at an event to mark the 2014 International Youth Day celebration in Calabar, noted that the resolved to honour the governor was in recognition of the policies of government towards re-engineering the youths to rediscover themselves and be useful to

the society.

Okori listed some of the measures to include the creation of Microfinance and Entrepreneurial Development Agency, MEDA; offices in charge of Youth and Student Matters; the Institute of Technology and Management, ITM, project in Ugep; the Bridge Foundation and Central Bank of Nigeria’s Entrepreneurial Development Centre.

In his remark, Governor Imoke encouraged the youths to take advantage of the opportunities in the state designed to empower them.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 — 15

Senator moves to curtail spread of Ebola

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

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VISIT: Pastor Kumuyi's wife, Esther, General Superintendent of Deeper Life Christian Ministry, Pastor W.F. Kumuyi, Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State, his deputy, Sir Emeka Ananaba, Abia State Overseer, Pastor Damian Umeh, and his wife, Felicia, during Pastor W.F. Kumuyi's visit to the governor in Umuahia.

Anglicans protest demolition of church in Anambra

By Vincent Ujumadu &

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Nwabueze Okonkwo

NITSHA—THE lingering crisis between the people of Nkwelle Ezunanka and Anglican faithful at Ebenezer’s Anglican church, Oze in Oyi council area of Anambra State took a different dimension yesterday as the faithful took to

the major streets in Onitsha to protest alleged demolition of their church building by unknown persons last Monday.

During the peaceful protest which brought both human and vehicular movements to a standstill, the demonstrators, which comprised Anglican faithful drawn from all the parishes across the Diocese on the Niger, carried placards with

various inscriptions.

Chanting different songs and brandishing the placards, the protesters threatened to boycott the second term election of President Goodluck Jonathan, if he failed to call Governor Willie Obiano to order to address what they described as systematic religious war against the Anglican Communion in the state.

During the protest, the angry church members blocked the roads leading to the commercial

city of Onitsha, occupied the roads for several hours brandishing placards with several inscriptions, including “Rebuild our church now”, “Governor Obiano, intervene in this matter and arrest the perpetrators of this evil act”, among others.

Speaking on behalf of the Diocese on the Niger, Rev Egbuonu accused the state government of conspiracy of silence.

CONFAB: Lawmaker, ex-commissioner flay scrapping of LG system

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By Enyim Enyim

NITSHA—A lawmaker in the Anambra State House of Assembly, Mr Chugbo Enwezor, and a former commissioner for lands, survey and urban development, Mr Okoli

Akirika, yesterday, condemned the recommendation by the delegates to the national conference that local government system in the country should be scrapped.

Speaking in separate

interviews, Enwezor and Akirika said it was preposterous for anybody to suggest or recommend that the third tier level of government should be scrapped when it was the government that ensured that democracy dividend was enjoyed by the people at the grass roots.

The duo said rather than talking of scrapping the local government system, recommendations and suggestions should be made on how to make the third tier level of government functional.

According to Akirika, ''there is every need for the constitution to make

....Lawmakers deny plot to impeach Obiano

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By Enyim Enyim

WKA—THE Anambra State House of Assembly yesterday denied alleged plot to impeach the state governor, Dr Willie Obiano, and the Speaker of the

House of Assembly, Mrs Chinwe Nwebili.

Addressing reporters at the House of Assembly complex, Awka, the Chairman House Committee on Information, Mr Pauly Onyeka,

representing Ekwusigo local government constituency described the media report as not only baseless and unfounded but also the handiwork of mischief.

According to him, the

media report alleged that their recent trip to the United States of America was for governor Obiano to induce them with money to enable them soft peddle in their impeachment plot against him.

specific provisions regarding the s t r u c t u r e , establishment, functions and control of the local government.

AGOS—AS part of moves to compliment the federal and Lagos State governments’ efforts against the spread of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, in the country, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, has distributed hand sanitizers to communities.

Ashafa, who represents Lagos East senatorial district, also stressed the need for people to be vigilant on preventive measures.

He gave the donation and advice during the weekly empowerment programme for constituents in the senatorial district.

Ashafa said: “It is unfortunate that the dreaded disease has found its way to our beloved country at this trying time.

“I implore you to avoid drinking hot water with salt and bitter kola as antidote against Ebola.

“I will implore Nigerians, especially the people at the grassroots to always avoid contact with high risk animals like fruit-bats, monkeys and forest antelopes. It is also best, in the meantime, to avoid the consumption of bush meat, and refrain from contact with infected persons."

16—Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

Enugu Dep gov slumps at impeachment hearing zWe didn't suffer any illness because of poultry, aides tell panel

By Tony Edike

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NUGU—DEPUTY Governor of Enugu State, Mr. Sunday Onyebuchi, slumped yesterday while testifying before the impeachment panel probing allegations of misconduct leveled against him by the State House of Assembly.

He was rushed out of the court hall for medical attention at about 11.38 am by his wife, Mrs. Nneka Ada Onyebuchi, his children and some of his aides.

The deputy governor had arrived the court in company of his lawyers yesterday morning and began his evidence at 9.30 am but three hours five minutes later, he reportedly collapsed and his wife and others present rushed forward to rescue him.

One of the defence counsels, Mr. Peter Eze, said the deputy governor collapsed five minutes after the Chief of Staff, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo, and the state Attorney General, Mr. Anthony Ani, SAN, came into the court.

Eze said the deputy governor was immediately rushed to the hospital, while

the proceeding was stood down till 2pm.

Onyebuchi’s lead counsel, Mr. Chris Aghanwa was said to have informed the panel when it resumed sitting that the former governor suffered from postural hypotension. He said that the Deputy Governor was first rushed to one Dr. Akunyili of St. Leo Hospital who could not handle it and invited one Dr. G. C. Anisiuba, a Consultant Physician and Cardiologist who attended to him. The doctor then issued a medical report “which reveals that he had postural hypotension for which he is now receiving medication.” Aghanwa, tendered the medical report and informed the panel that his client could not continue with his evidence yesterday.

Deputy Gov ’s aides testify

The panel had on Tuesday listened to the testimonies of the deputy governor ’s aides and personal staff who gave account of what they knew regarding the poultry at the deputy governor ’s lodge and the alleged refusal to represent the governor at two events.

The embattled deputy governor’s lawyers had at the

resumed sitting of the panel on Tuesday, complained about the problems they encountered in serving the subpoena issued by the panel summoning the Chief of Staff to the governor, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo, and seven other persons to give evidence in the matter.

One of the lawyers told newsmen after the sitting Tuesday that three police officers attached to the deputy governor who were among those summoned, were prevented from appearing before the panel by their superior officer at Government House.

The panel, however, refused to grant the deputy governor’s application that the press be permitted to witness his own evidence given yesterday so the world would be informed of what he had to say and the questions he had to answer.

The defence counsel, however, opened the defence of the deputy governor on Tuesday with the testimony of the his first witness, Adaobi ObiefunaEzenwa, who resided in the deputy governor ’s lodge between 2008 and 2010.

The witness told the panel that the deputy governor started living in his official residence in 2008 and that towards the end

of that year, they started a poultry at the residence.

She said there was a poultry attendant, while she was in charge of cleaning the poultry every morning.

According to her, she feeds the birds while a veterinary doctor was in charge of vaccination.

The witness also explained that “the normal routine then was every morning the poultry attendant, Chinwe Ezugwu, will clean the poultry and feed the birds, and then the veterinary doctor comes at interval to give vaccination and drugs as the case may be.”

She stated that at the time she entered the deputy governor’s lodge, there was a poultry structure already in existence.

The witness also said she had a 1st Degree in Crops Science from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and a Masters Degree in Business Administration (Management) from UNEC and that she was a marketer for the poultry section.

Two other witnesses, Timothy Ngba-Ekon and Chika Nwoko, also testified and told the Panel that they worked at the Deputy Governor’s Lodge as poultry attendants, explaining that their work was to sanitise the poultry.

They said they cleaned the

poultry twice daily and that they never suffered any illness as a result of the presence of the poultry farm in the Deputy Governor’s Lodge.

According to them, they were on duty on January 27, 2014, when people who identified themselves as staff of the Ministry of Enugu Capital Territory came with buses and trucks into the Deputy Governor’s Lodge and took away about 3,000 birds, the eggs and other accessories in the poultry.

Passage

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ADAM VIRGINIA N w a n y i n k w o Ibeawuchi (Nee Obiejesi), of Umuakali Naze, Owerri North Local Govt. Area of Imo State, is dead, aged 70 years.

In a statement issued by the Ibeawuchi and Obiejesi families, she will be buried on August 26, in the family ’s compound at Umuakali Naze.

She is survived by the widower, Mr. Emmanuel Ibeawuchi, children, Stanley Ibeawuchi, son-in-law, Ojo Iyobosa of Vanguard Newspapers, and many relations.

Late Virginia Ibeawuchi

FUNERAL SERVICE FOR LATE DR ADEBAYO OWOSENI IN LAGOS PIX: BIODUN OGUNLEWE

From left: Dr. Stella Yewande Baker, Dr. Adelolu Owoseni, Mrs. Abimbola Okocha and Engr. Adeniyi Owoseni, all children of the deseased, during the funeral service From left: Professor Oladele Akinla, Dr Sanwon Sonuga and Prof. for late Dr. Abraham Adebayo Owoseni, at Williams' Memorial Methodist Cathedral, Bashir Akande, during the service.

Ago-Ijaye, Ebute Metta, Lagos.

From left: Sir Chief Olufemi Daramola, Lady Mosunmola Daramola, and Mr. Babatope Daramola.

Cross section of family members at the event.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 — 17

“A Medical Doctor who is a very senior officer with one of the key FGN agencies involved in managing this crisis confirmed… that he also bathed in salt! Can you imagine the implication of this…?...This has brought to the fore how vulnerable our people are to narratives that could harm them! Any wonder then that our Muslim and Christian clerics have such awesome power to mislead once they go toxic?” – A contributor to an Online discussion on the mass salt bathe in Nigeria.

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IGERIA went into panic mode last week! From all corners of Nigeria, people were receiving and exchanging texts; Whatsapp and BB messages as well emails on the same issue: wake up in the night, get a dip into salt water and oh, don’t forget to drink some too.

There were variations to the messages, with one telling my wife to ensure that our children drink but before, she should ensure that she prays fervently into the water. A workman early on Friday morning sent a similar message to my wife again: “Morning Ma; they said one

Ebola virus and the salt water of ignorance with instructions to drink and bath in salt water, you might very well have been adopted! To expose the absurdity of the situation, an interlocutor visiting the USA, jocularly added that he would compile the different stories as grounds to seek asylum, by telling the Americans that if he returned home, he would be forced to drink and bath in salt!

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And the final comical twist, was one posted late night on Friday, which asked people before going to bed, to tie a palm leaf and a red cloth around thehead and waist; then dance around any banana tree singing: “ebelebe, ebelebe, ebelebe”, seven times!

should add a little salt into warm water and bath with it this morning. Have you been informed? Maybe BOKO HARAM chemical or so; I don’t know much yet”! A contributor to our online thread reported that he had a rough time convincing his hypertensive father not to take the dip in saline water. While report also emerged from Gombe, that town criers went round and announcements were made in several mosques to encourage the bath in salt water. Our correspondent in this report said that his houseboy and driver took the bath too.

Matrimonial pressures And to be sure that this was a nationwide deluge, that spared neither the low nor the high, we were informed that a Professor of Vet. Medicine happily took the bath and other top professors were also not left behind, including one who confessed to one of our colleagues: “don’t tell a soul; but I did take a little saline bath too, and I ain’t feeling too good as we speak…”

There were also matrimonial pressures that many Nigerians could not dodge, such as a former top government official who was woken up at 3.30am by the wife, thrusting a cup at the husband and ordering: “Drink this”! When asked what that was, the matron of the house answered that many people had been phoning to make sure the whole family drank and bathed in salted water.

Someone was reported to have tweeted to Classic FM that if your mother didn’t call that morning

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And the final comical twist, was one posted late night on Friday, which asked people before going to bed, to tie a palm leaf and a red cloth around the head and waist; then dance around any banana tree singing: “ebelebe, ebelebe, ebelebe”, seven times!

That will also do the trick being asked of salt water, and maybe even faster! Such was the height of the absurdity!

The national mass salt drinking and bathing hysteria, was all because of the outbreak of Ebola fever in Nigeria, over the past three weeks! One of the earliest responses was the story that eating Bitter Kola (Namijin Gworo in Hausa and Orogbo in Yoruba), could prevent Ebola; and before long, it was said to have disappeared from markets in Abuja. A friend in Ilorin couldn’t get to buy, while everybody just seemed to have converted to eating kola!

Predictably, reports started emerging that people were already suffering from their dips in salt water. VANGUARD newspaper last Saturday reported that two people had died while twenty were hospitalized over excessive ingestion of salt.

Hypertensive patients were particularly at risk and the Nigerian government was eventually forced to remind Nigerians to disregard the rumour and that there was no cure yet for Ebola.

What started as a Nigeriaoriginated deployment of hysteria, superstition and mumbo-jumbo, was to eventually spread to other Ebola-infected countries in West Africa, as the BBC reported people in Sierra

Leone also joining the salt bandwagon!

It is very frightening to behold the depth of ignorance and superstition in Nigeria; and the advent of new technologies, mobile telephony and the internet along with the deepening of fundamentalist religions, have become the combustible mix helping to spread ignorance today.

And to underline this mix, last Saturday, Prophet T. B. Joshua was reported to have sent an aeroplane load of 4, 000 bottles of holy water to Ebola patients in Sierra Leone and Liberia! It is incredible to note that highly educated people also get caught up in these backwards campaigns quite often.

A few years ago, there was a similar nationwide outbreak of hysteria, about “Acid Rain”, which

they alleged was going to fall on some particular days. A wellknown Senior Advocate of Nigeria forwarded the text to me and in my anger, I asked why he had not bothered to even Google “Acid Rain”. There was an equally absurd text message warning against picking calls from certain telephone numbers.

They then add that people who had unfortunately picked the calls have been reported dead in Taraba State or some such distance that one was never likely to be able to verify. When someone forwarded one of such numbers to me I doubted his rationality: Which service provider in Nigeria issued such a number?

And was it possible or even feasible to receive a call that will kill? Why won’t people ask basically rational questions and attempt to interrogate the

possibilities of some of these outlandish claims?

The truth is that we have become more and more religious and superstitious at the same time. Faced with the crises phenomena associated with an incomplete, arrested and contradictory transition to modernity, people carry very troubled and equally contradictory consciousness. The educational system does not rigorously entrench rational, scientific interrogation of natural and social phenomena; even those trained in scientific enquiry lapse into religious and superstitious modes when confronted with natural and social problems.

Religion has become more and more fundamentalist, with the advent of rightwing Pentecostal Christianity and fundamentalist Islam; then there are survivals of pre-modern belief systems which also enter the consciousness more and more, with the collapse of the social fabrics of society.

Confronted with all these issues plaguing society and the emergence of diseases like Ebola, without cure yet, in a world of fast transmission of information, with the all-pervasive presence of the internet, where people access all kinds of information, often illdigested and improperly transmitted, it becomes easier to fall for the national hysteria, that Nigeria habitually falls into.

The Salt wash and drink as well as the bitter kola hysteria of the past two weeks are only the latest in the lapse into a superstitious mode in our country. It is not likely to be the last!

70% failure in WASCE: We are not preparing a future

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HIS week, the results of the WASCE May/June 2014 Examinations were released.

And has become the norm in recent years our students massively failed the examinations!

A total of 1, 692, 435 students sat the examinations nationwide; and of these, there were 929, 075 male and 763, 360 female students. Addressing the media, the Head of the National Office of WAEC, Mr. Charles Eguridu, explained that a total of 529, 425 candidates, representing 31. 28% obtained credits in five subjects and above including English Language and Mathematics; this indicated that 70% of the candidates failed.

Furthermore, 145, 795 results, representing 8. 61% of the total were withheld in connection with various types of examination malpractices.

The trend of failures in these examinations has continued to haunt us with their consistency.

LEADERSHIP newspaper of Tuesday, August 12, 2014, showed that in 2010, we had 75. 06% failure; 44.66% in 2011; 61. 19% in 2012 and 2013 recorded a failure rate of 35. 74%.

Mr. Egeridu attributed the decline in the performance of the students to the parents who he said do not monitor their wards, leaving everything to teachers:

“The parents put blames on teachers and government alone while they as parents fail in their own responsibility but rather work from morning till night. Also, the students don’t read anymore; rather they play with their phones”.

These points that he raised are very true. But it is equally true, that the nation’s ruling elite have not woken up to the danger that this trend of failures poses for the future of Nigeria. In many other countries around the world, the day these results are released is a very important day on the national calendar.

Segments of leadership All the segments of leadership are on the lookout for the trends to see how those who will inherit the future of the country are faring in the examinations that will prepare them for tertiary levels of education and they then project for the future in the realm of work and national development.

There is a realization that mass failure reflects a serious national crisis, related to the quality of education; the training of the teachers and quality of instruction; the nature of the curriculum and the preparedness of the student population. These are also related to the overall

patterns of national development and the priorities given to education to unlock the potentials of the children for the possibilities of national development.

Our leaders are too busy fighting over the sharing of the national cake; they have perfected plans to ensure that their own children get the best education in the most exclusive educational institutions, often run by foreigners, or are enrolled in such schools outside of the shores of our country.

So the mass failure which reflects the deterioration of the public school system, does not touch the consciousness of the leaders of the country. But let us make it very clear; no country can build its future on the basis of the excellent prospects available in exclusive and expensive private schools.

The future of the country is directly related to revolutionary improvements in the public schools system, where the entire country becomes the constituency to bring into a national loop the best that can be harvested amongst children from the remotest parts of the country.

We must arrest this rot that facilitates the mass failures in the nation’s school system. That is the only way to have a future as a country!

18— Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 NOT long ago, the House of Representatives held a public hearing on the bill for an Act to “regulate the acceptance and utilisation of financial/material contribution of donor agencies for voluntary organisations”.

Whereas the legislature is meant to make laws for the good governance of the people, this is one law that would make our people poorer and freeze their constitutionally awarded liberties.

Should operations involving foreign financial and material donations to voluntary organisations be regulated? Yes, in fact various laws already do. They are probably not enforced. A new law does not guarantee improved enforcement.

We praise the House of Representatives for not falling into the temptation of proposing a new body for the law. At least, it listened to the public outcry against mounting costs of maintaining multiple bureaucracies that duplicate functions.

They are new wastes that ensure almost 70 per cent of annual national budgets is spent on re-current expenditure – salaries, furniture and a new favourite, maintenance of computers.

Section 2 of the bill proposes that voluntary organisations would be restricted from

Law To Make Nigerians Poorer accepting any foreign financial and material contribution except with the permission of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC. The Section would create a new centre of corruption in ICPC, which is groaning under constraints of staffing and funding. ICPC gives these as reasons for its lethargic results.

The law would shackle flow of foreign remittances by families to groups like town unions, churches, mosques, non-governmental organisations, NGOs, foundations, charities, schools, and homes for the less privileged.

Where branches or partners of these organisations abroad make the remittances,

the funds cannot be accepted without the permission of ICPC. What are the implications for organisations like Red Cross, Red Crescent, or foundations that have led the fight against river blindness and guinea worm eradication? By the proposed law, ICPC would approve their operations.

In case of emergencies like the 2012 flooding that ravaged parts of Nigeria, foreign organisations that intend to assist, would be hindered.

The promoters of the bill hardly know Nigeria. For more than a decade, foreign medical intervention teams, involving massive movement of resources, have saved Nigerian lives. Yearly, Nigerians in diaspora, with their partners set up these teams to carry out surgeries and other interventions, mostly free.

What alternatives would the House of Representatives provide for these?

Disclosure of sources of the funds is important. The Terrorism Prevention Act, the Companies and Allied Matters Act and the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act cover this.

The bill, if passed, would hamper remittances and contributions from Nigerians abroad to Nigeria. Nobody needs a law that would make Nigerians poorer.

OPINION

By Godwin Adindu

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HERE is a yellow rainbow across the skyline of Abia State. There is a yellow syndrome pervading the state.

The colour, yellow, is ubiquitous in all nooks and crannies and has transformed into a mental construct. There is yellow everywhere. Governor Theodore Orji has painted Abia yellow with his Youth Empowerment Programme.

For a visitor to Abia, the sea of yellow vehicles on the roads, all bearing the emblem of state and signaling the spirit of magnanimity of the leader, is a sight to behold. They vehicles come in a variety of form, model, brand and make. They also come in classes. There are the long caravans, the small taxis, the mini-buses that do the long inter-state journeys, the tricycles and the posh trucks of class and comfort. They all bear tell-tales of the glories of Abia and speak about a government's effort to re-construct the society by empowering the people.

Indeed, the Abia Youth Empowerment Programme is a dynamic apparatus of the Ochendo administration geared towards reining in the youth and empowering them with a means of livelihood. It is a welfarist policy and one of the most successful policy thrust of the government. Orji has deployed this process to engage and harness the potentials of the youths of Abia and thereby focus their minds towards meaningful endeavour. Borne out of a bitter experience of a generational youth deviance which manifested in the regime of criminality by the Abia youths, with the vice of kidnapping almost grounding

The Abia yellow syndrome the state, the empowerment programme is an effort at social reconstruction and capacity building. The resultant effect is the prevailing social stability in the state.

One key mechanism in the empowerment scheme is the donation of free vehicles to jobless youths to enable them engage in transport business. All vehicles under this platform are painted in yellow with the emblem of state hanging on the roof. With the countless number of such vehicles on Abia cities and communities, the project has turned Abia into a yellow state with a yellow syndrome.

Today, the Abia yellow automobiles have transformed into a symbol. In a quite significant manner, they speak of the passion of the leader for the large and sensitive segment of the society - the youth. It has become a very dynamic vehicle for driving and delivering democracy dividend in Abia. On Monday, July 21, Ochendo, in his well-honed manner, painted the Headquarters of the Bende Local Government yellow. It was a day for the three local governments of Arochukwu, Ohafia and Bende. Lined up in the open field and in waiting for the arrival of the governor were over 200 brand new vehicles, all painted in yellow, which were later distributed to deserving youths free of charge. Thirteen other beneficiaries received N2 million each as empowerment grant to enable them groom small-scale businesses.

By the time he mounted the rostrum to speak, Ochendo went down memory lane

and recalled the state's recent history. There was a time when youths in the state went berserk and took to criminality. This experience, according to him, was what inspired the vision of the Abia Youth Empowerment Programme. "In my campaign, I promised the youths of Abia that I will initiate a different form of empowerment from what they used to know, as well as initiate the political inclusion of the youths of Abia if I am returned to power for a second term as the governor," the governor declared.

The Ochendo's administration is investing huge sums of money and resources in running and maintaining the empowerment programme. This vision has seen the governor working in cooperation with his first son, Chinedu and the First Lady in a tripartite arrangement that has seen the first lady running a largescale free training programme in her Skill Aquisition Centre and other free humanitarian services under her pet project, The Hannah May Foundation- a pet project of Her Excellency, for rendering help and selfless support to all vulnerable groups in the society. The foundation had in the past distributed wheel chairs, artificial limbs, foodstuff and other consumables; and also built and furnished bungalows for some homeless families and widows. The Hannah May Foundation has worked in tandem with the Governor in the responsibility of empowering women and youth in Abia State, with a vision and mission to show love by making life meaningful.

The Governor's son, Chinedu alias Ikuku, has become a charismatic icon of the youths by virtue of his Youth Foundation programme which he runs through his 14man committee. Her Excellency's Skill Acquizition Centre has to date trained over 850 youths in a six months intensive programme in tailoring, sewing, fashion designing, fish farming, interior decoration, photography, GSM operations, etc.

The yellow train of the youth empowerment programme has been moving through the three zones of the state.

The car-dashing scheme was initiated in Aba last year to the jubilation of the people.

It was the first in the history of the state.

But, in their usual fashion, the critics of the state made a mince meal of it. Today, the Governor remembers the scenario vividly: "When I commenced the empowerment of our youths in Aba North and South by rewarding our youths with brand new vehicles, buses, Keke Napep and other valuable items - our political opponents in their blind criticism accused us of empowering urchins and the dregs of the society - they in fact derided us". But, history has vindicated Ochendo for the yellow vision is one of the most admired programmes of the state by the people.

Indeed, the Abia Yellow Syndrome stands today as a symbol of a people-oriented programme directed towards uplifting the common man.

*Mr. Adindu , a social critic, wrote from Aba, Abia State.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014— 19

, HE impeachment clauses are among the most powerful enactments in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Section 143 provides the steps that can be taken to remove the president and vice president from office, while Section 188 does the same for governors and deputy governors. No real test has been made of Section 143, except during the regime of President Olusegun Obasanjo, when he sought, in vain, to have his Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, impeached. But section 188 has been tried, tested and successfully used to remove governors, the latest case being the impeachment of former Governor of Adamawa State, Admiral Murtala Nyako, and the stalemated attempt to remove the Governor of Nasarawa State, Alhaji Tanko Al Makura.

Before the Al Makura episode, the impression had been created that whenever the House of Assembly compiles impeachable offences and instructs the Chief Justice of a state to set up a panel to look into them, the governor was a goner. Because of this, the governors have gone to extra lengths to get the members of the legislative houses on their sides,

mostly through the stick and carrot approach. Lame-duck governors – those whose political parties have fewer members in the Houses – have always been much more vulnerable, and therefore, sacrifice more in that direction.

The stalemated Al Makura impeachment has exposed the hidden powers of the Judiciary in the impeachment process. It has actually brought out the impeachment clause as a fully rounded democratic legislation excellently suited for the presidential system of governance. It has shown that both the legislative and judicial arms of government have a strong say in whether the head of the executive branch or his deputy is removed from office through impeachment. From now on, the governor’s fear of the legislature will be reduced, knowing that if the head of the judiciary is with him, he can survive the onslaught of a legislative mob.

Suleiman Dikko, the Chief Justice of Nasarawa State, decided to throw his weight behind Al Makura by setting up a panel of known sympathisers of the governor, some of who were card-carrying members of

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political parties and serving government officials. Dikko knew the only thing the Assembly could do was to go to court to challenge the panel he constituted. By the time the case had gone to the Supreme Court and returned, the four-year tenure of Al Makura and the current legislature would be over. But for Dikko, Al Makura would now be referred to as an ex-governor.

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nd so, from now on, a governor must put the legislature in one pocket and the judiciary in another. That was obviously what Governor Chibuike Amechi sought to do when he picked a Chief Justice for his state rather than allow the National Judicial Council,

The crash of impeachment

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HE more things change, the more they remain the same. Fourteen years into the 21st century, the self-acclaimed largest political party in Africa is still fixated on the crude techniques of dog-eatdog that are purely reminiscent of the dirty politics of yester-years. How can it be said that during the Ekiti and Osun gubernatorial elections, prominent opposition politicians were picked up and dumped in the gulag, only to be released after voting hours? There is God ooooo!

And suddenly, impeachment has become an attack dog that you unleash on those strong opponents that can’t be beaten at the polls. That is election by elimination!

But for the new development, we had resisted the urge to keep writing on impeachment. We sometimes get bored doing the same thing over and over again, particularly when it appears that nobody is listening. We have spent a good part of our adult life writing on impeachment – between our Second Republic days in the Daily Times of Nigeria, DTN, in our columns “IN AIDE OF LEGISLATURE” and “IN THE LEGISLATURE”, The Nigerian Observer; and between Thisday and Vanguard Newspapers, we have written several essays on impeachment with one central theme running across all of them: Impeachment is a virile instrument in the hands of the legislature for checking executive excesses; but it must not be used for addressing political differences.

Sadly, Nigeria remains the theatre of the absurd. Against our advice, impeachment has been taken to the limits where it became the only instrument for addressing political disagreements.

Contrary to the intention of the framers of the Constitution, “Gross misconduct” has been contrived to mean that you must go if you are not a member of the same party with the legislators.

All the offences for which Murtala Nyanko was impeached were committed when he was in the PDP but they did not metamorphose into gross misconduct until he defected to the APC. The division of labour in the impeachment process has never been as glaring as has been brought to the fore by the impeachment case against Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State.

Enter Hon. Justice Umar Dikko, Chief Judge of Nasarawa State: His constitutionally assigned role was to “appoint a panel of seven persons who in his opinion are of unquestionable integrity, not being members of any public service, legislative house or political party, to investigate the allegation …”.

We hear that the panel appointed by the Chief Judge was unacceptable to the Governor’s accusers. But rather than head to the court to stop the appointment, they were disbanding the panel. We still wonder where they got the power to do so.

By their reckoning, they should play their own part and that of the Chief Judge. This amounts to undue interference. They can now see what happens when lawmakers become lawbreakers! We search but in vain that part of the Constitution that requires the Chief Judge to submit his panel’s list to the House of Assembly for vetting.

Just about when we were beginning to think that the assemblymen abandoned the panel, it was made clear that they were represented by a team of lawyers led by Ocha P. Ulegede.

The committee went swiftly to work and in the end, it returned a no-guilt verdict.

Which takes us straight to the provisions of Section 188(8) of the 1999 Constitution: “Where the panel reports to the House of Assembly that the allegation has not been

NJC, to pick one for him as the constitution prescribes. Amechi knows that some of the legislators still backing him today might jump ship at the last minute and rejoin the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to save their political careers. They may then be used to impeach him.

With his crony as the Chief Justice of Rivers State, he hopes to hang any impending impeachment process in the Judiciary in the manner that the Nasarawa impeachment process has been hung.

The Chief Justice of Nasarawa State, Dikko, has opened a new window that reassures the head of the executive branch that his job is not as endangered as it had seemed. It is victory both to the executive and judiciary branches of government. You can even call it victory for the separation of powers principle of the presidential system of government. But where does it leave us as citizens? The impeachment process is the only way by which presidents and governors can be removed from power for “misconduct”. It is a powerful counterbalance to the immunity clause, which shields holders of such offices from being tried or sanctioned for criminal offences. Only governors who did not (or could not) secure their interests within the legislative and judicial branches can now be impeached.

The impeachment principle is supposed to be used to fight “misconduct” as defined by the legislature. In Nigeria, it has only been used to settle political scores. No governor has been genuinely impeached because he stole public funds or committed murder. It is only when he falls out of political favour with the

ruling principalities that the clause is dusted.

For me, the failure (or refusal) of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly (or their counsels) to appear before the impeachment panel (even if under protest) to substantiate their allegations against Governor Al Makura was a lost opportunity in the court of public opinion. It put them out as people who had other motives than bringing the governor to book for those alleged offences.

It would be best if the lawmakers allow the sleeping dogs lie. Al Makura, though an All Progressives Congress, APC, governor, is not one of the rabid opposition figures. That Al Makura is a man of peace was illustrated by Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso (now, that’s a rabid opposition governor) who disclosed that he refused to allow him (Kwankwaso) to deploy “footmen” to tackle those trying to impeach him. Kwankwaso did not tell us how many “footmen” he has deployed to tackle the Boko Haram insurgents using women, children and beggars as suicide bombers in his own Kano State. Certainly, Al Makura is not in the class of former Governor of Adamawa State, Nyako, whose treasonable letter to Northern Governors forced him to bolt into self-exile soon after his impeachment.

The elections are just about six months away. The PDP and other political foes of Al Makura should be patient and wait for him at the polls. As for the impeachment effort, it is now in a cul-de-sac. As long as Chief Justice Dikko remains in office, he will be Al Makura’s dogin-the manger. He will never let that impeachment go through.

proved, no further proceedings shall be taken in respect of the matter”.

In their smartness, N i g e r i a n legislators have, p e r h a p s unwittingly, moved the issue of impeachment from the purview of the court of justice into the hard ground of the court

,

Let Al-Makura be T

That Al-Makura is a man of peace was illustrated by Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso who disclosed that he refused to allow him (Kwankwaso) to deploy “footmen” to tackle those trying to impeach him

All the offences for which Murtala Nyanko was impeached were committed when he was in the PDP but they did not metamorphose into gross misconduct until he defected to the APC

of law.

A

,

t last, a smarter Chief Judge has found a clever way of puncturing the House of Assembly as he can even neatly appoint the Governor’s wife, the Governor’s son, the Governor’s brother, the Governor’s mother and the Governor’s uncles as members of the investigation panel. And that other person he is appointing could as well have resigned his membership of a political party a day before the appointment. He is not a member of any political party now. Take another look at Section 188(5) of the 1999 Constitution.

The only secret weapon of the Governor against impeachment is to do the needful – maintain a good rapport with his Chief Judge. And so, impeachment has crashed!

We knew it would come; but we did not know it would come so soon.

Evidently, political acts are doubleedged tools. Like the wind, they sweep for some and deposit the debris in the compound of others. For instance, if you are rigged out, it hurts but where you are the one doing the rigging, it can be sweeter than sugar and honey combined.

The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, is thoroughly pained but a time like this calls for restraint. A man who is a forerunner for the Governor’s seat in a few months’ time must be a bit discreet in his choice of words. He cannot be heard describing another party as a “party of violence and thuggery”. Such a man must also leave his whistle where he cannot easily reach it in view of his diabolical threat: “If we blow a whistle today, nobody will work in Lafia. If we want to do what the APC is doing and we blow a whistle, our members will enter Lafia and nobody will be able to work”.

Whistle blowing has its spiral effect. You never can predict its exact end. If you blow your whistle and they blow their horn, the Home of Solid Minerals may become homeless, with nothing to govern by 2015.The proverbial mad man remains relevant here – He knows nothing about the conflagration over there. After all, he only started a small fire.

Judicial reviews are made of this type of event. Now that impeachment has crashed, people who seek office must go and work hard instead of seeking the cheap opportunism of election by crude elimination!

20 — Vanguard, THURSDAY THURSDAY,, AUGUST 14, 2014

ALLEGED THREAT TO LIFE, ATTEMPTED MURDER:

Family accuses Imo House Speaker •Petitions Chairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs

By Evelyn Usman

T

HESE are uneasy times for the Whoba family of Umuode, Ihinna community in Ihitte Uboma Local Government Area of Imo state, following the alleged threat to their lives and a murder attempt on one of their own, Chima Ezeoha Whoba, by policemen attached to the Speaker of the Imo state House of Assembly, Benjamin Uwajumogu.

The family in a petition to the Chairman, Senate Committee on Police Affairs, Senator Igwe Igwuagwu, accused the Speaker of allegedly using the Police to intimidate, harass and brutalise their members. And they are also calling on other relevant authorities to urgently come to their rescue before the situation leads to loss of lives. Indeed, the fear of being attacked or even killed by thugs stationed in the community has prompted members of the family to flee their home.

At the moment, Chima Whoma, a member of the family is said to be in a critical condition at an undisclosed hospital, following a gun shot wound allegedly inflicted on him by the policemen.

Trouble, as gathered, started

*Chima Ezeoha Whoba...shot, injured and hospitalised ing a round table meeting with the construction company,with a view to demanding for compensation, it however, alleged in the petition signed by its lawyer, Mr Victor Ukutt, that

,

Our clients’ family fled into the bush to avoid being killed; but Chima Ezeoha Whoba was not so lucky as he was beaten and shot

for the Whoba family on July 30, 2014, following the invasion of the community by armed policemen alleged to have been led by the Speaker.

The invasion was said to have been prompted by the demolition of the entrance gate of the community following on-going road construction, an action the Whoba family reportedly kicked against, explaining that the gateway was built by their late father in 1976 as a historical and cultural research centre for the benefit of the community .

They therefore, posited that for it to be demolished, their consent must be sought.

While the family claimed to have sought for means of hav-

,

the demolition of the gate was based on the instruction of the Speaker, who, Vanguard Metro, VM, learnt, is also from the community.

The petition read in part: “Instead of the Speaker, whom we understood is the owner of the construction company handling the road construction, to heed or negotiate with our clients on the modalities for the payment of compensation, the Speaker on July 30, 2014, brought his police details to beat, maim and shoot at our clients”.

After the demolition, Ukutt stated in the petition that members of the Whoba family lodged a complaint about their demand for compensation from

the construction company at the Ihittee Uboma Police division, as well as contacted the speaker via SMS . But the Speaker was said to have shunned invitation by the police.

But the response the family claimed it got, according to the petition, was an alleged invasion. The petition read: “ The speaker mobilised his thugs... who invaded our clients residence... Members of our clients’ family fled into the bush to avoid being killed. But Chima Ezeoha Whoba was not so lucky as he was beaten and shot. At the moment, the speaker has stationed militia group in our clients village to kill and maim any member of our clients’ family that may come out to ask or demand compensation or discuss on the demolished entrance gate.

“The questions begging for answers now are: Why would a number three citizen of Imo State refuse to honour Police invitation? Why would a number three citizen of Imo State take law into his hands by using police to shoot and maim our clients for daring to demand their lawful right?

Why would a number three citizen of Imo State resort to the use of militia group to deal with our clients?

The family’s demand “We would like to draw the attention of the Senate to the fact that the lives of our clients and members of their family are in danger, and should anything untoward happen to them, we shall look at no other place than the Speaker. We therefore urge the distinguished senator to call an inquiry into the unlawful use of policemen to maim , shoot and brutalise innocent citizens. It is also our demand that this matter be tabled before the Senate Committee on Public Petition and where infraction is established, an appropriate punishment should be meted out thereto.

“We demand that the Speaker be arrested in order for him to produce those people he hired to come and shoot( at our clients). We also demand that the people should be made to stand trial for the action of attempted murder. Furthermore, we would want government to disband the militia the Speaker is keeping in the community . That is what we

image. He stated that the land on which the gate was built does not belong to the family.

According to him: “During my campaign, that road was one of the roads I promised to construct because it leads to the new College of Education Technical which I also brought to the community.

“When construction of the eight-kilometre expressway which passes through the house of the complainant began last year, work stopped when they got to the gate because the machine could not pass through. It took us eight months to bring the contractors back to work and the family was asked to bring down the gate but they refused. It took the contractors another two months of waiting , before I ordered that the gate be brought down in order for work to continue.

“The gate in question is about 50 kilometres away from the complainant’s house and it was built in 1976. It has no economical value and everybody had been complaining about it because vehicles could not pass through. Besides, the gate links eight communities . “So, will I because of one person’s interest subjugate the interest of others? I do not understand why anybody should be holding on to an ancient gate that is supposed to give way for modern development.

“Besides, the gate in question does not belong to the complaint’s father and it was

*Bone of contention...Demolished entrance gate of the community not built on his father’s land want,” Ukutt said. but the community’s.

When VM contacted the “The claim that somebody Speaker of the Imo State was shot is false. Let them proHouse of Assembly, Benjamin duce the person and show the Uwajumogu, on phone, he world the bullet wound. What described the allegation as happened on that day was that unfounded, false and a calcuone of their cousins attempted lated attempt to tarnish his to climb the excavator while it was working . People of this community are rejoicing over the road because no government has ever worked on this road since the history of this *Expended shell of bullet state that a road of sort is being constructed”. found after the invasion

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 — 21

FG gets N44bn World Bank, DFID funding to create 460,000 jobs

T

BY FRANKLIN ALLI

he Federal Government has secured over N44 billion funding support from the World Bank and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to create 460,000 jobs across eight sectors of the economy under the Growth and Employment (GEM) project over the next six years (2013-2018).

Ambassador Abdulkadir Musa, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, disclosed this during a programme for GEM Entertainment Cluster workshop held in Lagos.

According to him, GEM is an employment project formulated by the ministry and supported by World Bank and the DFID. “The DFID has provided 90 million Euros (about N18.5 billion) as grant and the World Bank $160 million (about N25.6 billion concessionary loans for the implementation of the project in Nigeria,” he stated.

He said that the project which has started running since June last year and will expire From left: Mike Vincent, advisory leader, Deloitte Nigeria; Joseph Olofinsola, partner, Deloitte Nigeria; George Onekhena, September 2018, is aimed at Deputy Commissioner, Nigeria Insurance Commission, and Anand Mittal, Managing Director, Prestige Assurance Plc, at job creation and increased the Nigeria insurance risk management survey event organised by Deloitte Nigeria in Lagos. non-oil growth in specific high-potential value chain and hiring more Nigerians; to The project is also aimed at Private Sector Development retail sector. sectors.

According to him, GEM is provide technical assistance improving the business Adviser, World Bank, urged Represented by Yunusa Labaran, GEM Project being implemented under and linkage services to small enabling environment so that operators in the targeted key Coordinator, the Permanent three pillars, namely, “To producers in the eight sectors the businesses can grow faster, sectors to tap into the project in order to benefit their Secretary, explained that the address gaps that prevent key to enable them to supply local and become more profitable.”

Andrew Gatside, Senior businesses. project has identified eight growth centers from expanding and global supermarket chains. sectors based on their growth and employment potential and they are: Entertainment industry, ICT, hospitality and tourism; meat and leather, light

BY JONAH NWOKPOKU experience in order to boost patrolling the Gulf of Guinea, worked together in diverse manufacturing and agro maritime security within the so we can share experiences,” areas such as political and processing; construction/real HE British Navy and its Gulf of Guinea and especially he said. estate as well as whole sale and international relations, Nigerian counterpart will within the West African coast.

Speaking further, he added education and research, build a synergy through Addressing newsmen on that, “By tackling the shared security and defence, as well board the Iron Duke in Lagos, threats, we aim to help Nigeria as issues of economic and information and he said, “Maritime security is build confidence that will see trade interest to Nigeria and experience sharing in -1.0 188.4 order to strengthen a problem that affects all the evolution of stronger the UK. The HMS Iron Duke their capacity to deal nations. It’s important that international partnerships, 3,213.00 +18.00 HMS Iron Duke is Type 23 with insecurity and security is given the required greater investment in industrial illegal activities within attention in order to reduce development and employment, ‘Duke’ Class Frigate normally 16.15 0.02 Nigeria, the West illegal activities at sea. It and consequently greater based in Portsmouth, UK. The African coast and requires concerted efforts by all Nigerian industrial reach into Type 23 frigate is the mainstay across the Gulf of navies to do that. We think that international markets. Our of the surface fleet in the we can share experiences we cooperative solution will modern Royal Navy. It is fitted Guinea.

105.21 +0.60 This was the have had in combating piracy directly deter illegal trade and with the vertical launch submission of the in the Indian Ocean and criminal activity and at the seawolf system which is a same time secure legitimate ship’s first line of defence Commanding Officer Somalia.

CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL SELLING “This will help the Nigerian trade revenues and protect against aircraft and incoming of the British Naval War ship, the Iron Navy to refine the techniques commercial and environmental missile attack. Its Harpoon DOLLAR 154.73 155.23 155.73 missile system is relied upon Duke, Tom Tredary that they already use to try and interests.”

STERLING 259.5441 260.3828 261.2215 Also speaking, the British for long range surface to during its six day bring a great deal of law and EURO 206.4717 207.1389 207.8061 FRANC 170.033 170.5824 171.1319 working visit to order in the Gulf of Guinea. We High Commissioner to surface engagements.

YEN 1.5127 1.5175 1.5224 think that there is a lot that we Nigeria, Mr. Andrew Pocock She is capable of defending Nigeria.

CFA 0.2968 0.3068 0.3168 WAUA 236.1742 236.9374 237.7006 He said the move can learn from each other while commending the move, against submarine attack with RENMINBI 25.1237 25.2054 25.287 was inspired by the because Nigerian Navy has a noted that the relationship her Magazine Torpedo Launch RIYAL 41.2558 41.3891 41.5225 need for the Nigerian better understanding of between the United Kingdom System as well as use of her KRONA 27.6872 27.7767 27.8662 SDR 236.938 237.7037 238.4693 Navy and the British activities around these waters and Nigeria is long standing Lynx Helicopter which is Navy to share and we have a great and strong. He added that capable of dropping torpedoes CBN Exchange rate as at 13/08/ information and understanding of activities Nigeria and the UK had or depth charges.

UK, Nigeria partner to boost maritime security T

22—Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 Offering a superior product is great, but bringing joy and satisfaction through cheerful interactions will ensure that you leave a positive mark wherever you go

,

,

Inspirational business tips for entrepreneurs

BY SAMANTHA HURST

T

,

Learn from both your wins and your mistakes, and take credit and responsibility for both

,

Focus on creating masterpieces Being innovative and creative is another way to sustain a successful business. Invest time in inventing ways to stay ahead of the game. Your innovations become masterpieces that will translate into concrete results.

Focus on marketing and making While many rely on marketing to keep their business strong, be sure to focus equally on making the most superior products and creating the most premium services on the market. When you show pride in everything you

NAIRA EXCHANGE RATES Date 12/8/14

create, your customers remain appreciative, loyal and excited.

o ensure your venture Take responsibility stays strong, As an entrepreneur you successful and firing on all craft your own destiny, cylinders, take note of and this means that all these six inspiring tips. your successes and failures lead straight back to you.

Bring happiness and Learn from both your satisfaction wins and your mistakes, Whether you’re and take credit and interacting with the public, a client, an investor responsibility for both. or anyone associated with Accountability rather than your business, ensure that excuses will fuel your success. you’re always upbeat and positive.

Focus on your Offering a superior strengths, outsource product is great, but your weaknesses bringing joy and Too many business satisfaction through owners try to wear many cheerful interactions will hats. You have a special ensure that you leave a

positive mark wherever you go.

BUSINESS

set of skills unique to you, so use these skills, and outsource the tasks you’re not as good at.

Have a business coach, mentor or partner Many soloists struggle to stay motivated. Having a business coach, mentor or partner can help to keep you on track and stay accountable.

By spreading warmth and joy in all your interactions, being innovative, remaining accountable, focusing on your strengths and creating superior products and services, you ensure that your entrepreneurial venture will go from strength to strength. Stay positive, stay inspired, stay successful.

Currency DOLLAR STERLING EURO FRANC YEN CFA WAUA RENMINBI RIYAL KRONA SDR

Buying(N)

Central(N)

154.73 259.5441 206.4717 170.033 1.5127 0.2968 236.1742 25.1237 41.2558 27.6872 236.938

155.23 260.3828 207.1389 170.5824 1.5175 0.3068 236.9374 25.2054 41.3891 27.7767 237.7037

Selling(N) 155.73 261.2215 207.8061 171.1319 1.5224 0.3168 237.7006 25.287 41.5225 27.8662 238.4693

BY YINKA KOLAWOLE, with agency reports

B

ananas are definitely the most popular of all tropical and exotic fruits. According to a recent article in the New Scientist, bananas have become the fourth most important food crop in the world, after rice, wheat and maize. It is also the world’s most harvested and eaten fruit with more than 1,000 different varieties growing in over 150 countries across the world.

In many parts of Africa, especially in West, Central and East Africa, bananas are widely eaten and have significant cultural and medicinal values.

Bananas are most popularly eaten as ripe fruits (table bananas) with varieties such as Cavendish, Red Bananas and Apple bananas. Other types such as the cooking bananas (also known as plantains) are cooked, roasted and eaten as food. Banana wine/beer is also a common product of this world-famous fruit.

Bananas, especially the cooking and dessert (table) bananas are widely consumed in Africa and are a source of livelihood for many people.

According to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the international trade in bananas has tripled between the 1970s and today. However, the banana export market is still dominated by countries in Latin America, the Caribbean and South East Asia. Available statistics from UNCTAD revealed that international trade on fruit bananas alone generated $7.9 billion (about N1.3 trillion) in 2009. Latin America dominates global banana economy, responsible for 80 percent of world’s export, while Africa exports only 4 percent. In Africa, more than 90 percent of harvested bananas are consumed locally and

Grow bananas, get rich exports are common.

not

very

Growing Bananas Growing bananas does not take much effort, but it does require that you get a few things right when you first get started. A banana plant takes about 9 months to grow up and produce a bunch of bananas. Then the mother plant dies. But around the base of it are many suckers, little baby plants. You cannot grow bananas from seeds.

Banana plants don’t produce seeds. The best way is to start with suckers.

Banana plants like rich, dark, fertile soils. They need lots of mulch and organic matter, with lot of nitrogen and potassium (chicken manure). They require steady warmth, not too hot and not too cold. Also needs steady moisture, in the ground and in the air. On the hand, banana plants dislike strong winds, extreme heat or cold, being alone and exposed.

The ideal temperature range for banana growing is around 26-30°C (78-86F).

Below 14°C (57F) they just stop growing. If the temperatures drop any lower the fruit suffers (the skin turns greyish) and the leaves can turn yellow.

Bananas need shelter from wind. Growing many banana plants together increases the humidity in the middle, evens out temperature changes a bit, and it shades and cools the trunks. You should plant bananas in blocks or clumps, not single rows and definitely not single plants. If you have very little room you can grow a few banana plants together and grow something else on the outside to protect them.

Benefits Banana plants can offer many benefits. Bananas contain three natural sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber.

A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder banana is the number one fruit with

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014—23

,

& YOU

Attitudinal change transformation is an area that has been overlooked by many organisations, yet it determines the success of the organisation

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fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain power : Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: Due to its high fiber content, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangover : One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning sickness : Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bite : Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Ulcers: Banana is used as dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in overchronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills.

When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals.. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around.

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AIICO

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TransExpr

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RTBriscoe

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The number one determinant of growth in every organisation BY ‘UJU ONWUZULIKE

"A bad attitude is like a flat tire.

You can•ft go anywhere until you change it"...Unknown

O

ne major desire that has played out in every leader is the •eintense•f desire to grow his or her organisation. This desire is evidenced by the so many transformational activities going on in organisations today such as: Process Re-Engineering, Branding, Customer Relationship Management, Continuous Improvement, Organisational Restructuring, and Innovative Productive Development etc. These activities are indeed required in organisations as they are part of the ingredients required for growth. In addition, these activities require special budgeting and sometimes take away huge resources from the organisation. However, in some organisations after spending so much resources in any of these activities still do not achieve the desired results they have in mind.

The reason is simple.

Organisations have ignored (knowingly or unknowingly) one major determinant of growth. As a matter of fact: Branding + Restr ucturing + Customer Relationship Management + Organisational Transformation = ZERO (when your employees' attitudes are wrong). Indeed, Attitudinal Change is the number 1 determinant of growth (success) in every organisation.

Many organisations have not actually created the foundation for true growth. It is not possible for any building with shallow foundation to stand the test of time – let alone a building without any foundation at all. It is a good thing for organisations to train their employees in areas such as: Information Technology,

Customer Service, Risk Management, Marketing, Product Development, Communication etc, but those are not the foundation required to carry the building (your organisation) and to prevent the building from falling down. The foundation is having the right attitude. For organisations to stand the test of time, preference must be given to attitudinal change transformation.

What would be the impact of the following two assertions let say to a bank?

The trained Customer Service Officers who do not have the right attitude and are not committed to customer service excellence.

,

the world’s leading athletes.

But energy isn’t the only way a banana can help us keep fit.

It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana.

This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

For women suffering from pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS), forget the pills – eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia : Bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood because of its high iron content and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood pressure: The fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the

Change ($) -0.15

,

The truth is that employees with wrong attitudes will never be committed to the growth of any organisation

,

The trained Officers in the Risk Management department who are not committed to the growth of the bank and as a result do not bother about the bank having •'risk adjusted returns'.

From all indication that bank is on the verge of losing customers and shareholder•fs funds. One does not need to be a soothsayer to know that. The officers have the experience but simply lacked the right attitude to work.

Having the right attitude sets the tone for doing things right.

Inadvertently, organisations are issuing •'death sentences' to themselves. When employees exhibit wrong attitudes at work, they have inadvertently issued a death penalty to their esteemed organisation. There is no way any organisation that has issued this death sentence to itself will be able to have committed employees who are ready to give their best and also employees that can go the extra mile to enable success take place. The cry in the lips of leaders and managers of today has been the

absence of committed staff members who are ready to contribute their quotas to the organisation. As a leader, simply ask yourself, how committed are your workforce? The sad part is that no leader can instill commitment on someone but rather it is a personal decision propelled by having the right attitude. Again, being skilled and talented would never guarantee commitment. Your skilled and most talented staff •ewith•f a bad attitude cannot lead the organisation anywhere.

Attitudinal change transformation is an area that has been overlooked by many organisations, yet it determines the success of the organisation.

In the real sense, if organisations have just one training opportunity in a year, their focus should be on •'Attitudinal Change' first. It drives all other activities. Having gone to the best business school in the world and also having the requisite work experience will not yield sustainable result when one has the wrong attitude and are not committed to the work. The way to start is to first of all see the need to invest in attitudinal change transformation, and secondly make it an enterprise wide thing. With this right foundation in place, all other transformation efforts will not be sabotaged.

Final note: Every organisation needs to build the right foundation for growth. The truth is that employees with wrong attitudes will never be committed to the growth of any organisation.

They will not go the •'extra mile' in achieving results for their organisations. They might have all the skills, knowledge, and experience but may decide not to use them to grow the organisation.

The way to go is to take attitudinal change transformation seriously in your organisation for it determines growth in every area.

Email: uju@hainescentre.com Mobile: 09091142093

24—Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

Employment: CIS targets one million students to deliver financial products

By PETER EGWU ATU EGWUA its support to create I n employment and boost the financial inclusion initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN in the country, the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, CIS said it is targeting one million students to drive financial products by 2015.

The CIS also pledged to follow up with the National Assembly for the passage of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment (CISI) bill, stressing that it will help expand the scope of the instate and make it not just a strong brand in Nigeria but also in Africa.

Mr. Albert Okumagba, who disclosed this during his investiture as the 8th President /Chairman of Council of the CIS, said “CIS will use its platform to create and support knowledgeable professionals that will help deepen the financial inclusion plan for Nigeria. To this end, between September 2014 and August 2015, we plan to introduce a monthly diploma exam in Securities and Investments with the objective of producing knowledgeable back office for capital market operators and sales agents for the entire financial system.We have set an ambitious but achievable target of training 150,000 students in 2014 and one million students by the end of 2015.”

While addressing members of the institute and the entire public who were present during the investiture, Okumagba disclosed that the CIS is working with other capital market stakeholders in the public to craft a Nigeria saving strategy using all platforms in the financial system, such as : Insurance, Pensions, Mortgage Securities, Mutual Funds, Commercial Banking, Merchant Banking and Microfinance.

According to him “The CIS will provide the requisite professionals to trade on the four markets platforms- Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, NASD Plc, FMDQ Plc and the Nigerian Commodities Exchange as stipulated in the law backing the operations of the institute.”

Okumagba, also pledged to deepen the Over-The-Counter (OTC) market for securities unlisted companies in Nigeria saying that doing so will empower more Nigerians in particular and the economy in general. According to him, CIS will provide every assistance under its purview to be a relevant

support to the growth and development of the alternative securities market. We have reorganised its education committee and expanded its curriculum to accommodate all securities trading styles, explaining that CIS programmes

now will include a focus on training professionals to operate on the OTC market.”

Mr. Muritala Ariyo Olushekun, the immediate past president of CIS, in his speech highlighted some of the

achievement of his administration to include: tackling of forbearance for stockbrokers, waiver of Value AddedTax,VAT and stamp duty on stock market transactions, CISI bill, restructuring of

conflict resolution mechanism and launch of CIS Building Funds amongst others.

He assured the incoming president of the institute of his continuous support, saying the task of improving the profile of the institute is a continuous one and requires the support of all members.

From left: Past President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr Mike Itegboje; new President/Chairman of Council, Mr Albert Okumagba and immediate past president, Mr Murtala Ariyo 0lushekun at the farewell dinner of Olushekun and investiture of Okumagba.

Global banks back most of G20 plans to reform forex benchmark

T

HE world’s top banks have backed the bulk of recommendations from regulators to reform the setting of the leading global currency

benchmark following allegations of market rigging, making changes inevitable.

The $5.3 trillion-a-day foreign exchange market is the

world’s largest and least regulated financial market and is being investigated for collusion.

Sterling Bank storms ‘BonMarche’ Fairstival

S

terling Bank will take its increasingly dominant role in the development of the education sector in Nigeria a step further this week as the Bank takes its unique education product offerings to the Yaba College of Technologyl (YABATECH), Lagos, venue of the 6-day Student Fair tagged, ‘’BonMarcheFairstival” under its “One Education” initiative. Over 80,000 students and 25 educational institutions are expected at the Forum where they will be having first-hand information on how the Bank could be of support to their various educational needs.

The Trade Fair (BonMarcheFairstival) is regarded as the biggest and most vibrant student shopping experience in Nigeria, attracting exhibitors and visitors from across the country and organized across different regions in Nigeria with an estimated of over 3,000 visitors daily.\The Bank in a statement issued by its Head of Communications, Mr. Ayo Ashaolu said that the Fair will provide the right platform for the Bank to directly engage students considered as valuable and influential market segment of the market.

He explained further: “BonMarche Fairstival is an event that is targeted at the vibrant youth market. The Bank’s involvement in the Fair was based on the fact that it provides direct contact with our

niche audience to communicate the Sterling brand and build positive brand association, offering unique experiences to students and management of various educational institutions in the country that will be attending the Fair” Mr. Ashaolu explained that the involvement of Sterling Bank in education was borne out of the need for the private sector to support the government by investing in the education sector to ensure that children of school age get quality education without having to pay so much for it, even as he opined that government must increase funding to the education sector and ensure that public schools are better equipped to compete fairly with their private sector counterparts.

The intervention of Sterling Bank in the sector, according to him will help to ameliorate some of the challenges the sector faces. His words: “Over the years, youth unemployment has remained one of the daunting challenges in Nigeria, as recent statistics show that over 25 million youths in the country are unemployed.

This abysmal statistic is linked to, among others, the issue of employability as even where jobs abound, the lack of competence them arises. This problem can be attributed to the declining quality of education in the country. Our intervention in this sector will hopefully contribute to resolving the problem of unemployment”.

At the center of the investigations is activity around the WM/Reuters currency fix at 4 pm local time in London, a 60-second window at which major exchange rates are set. These prices are used as reference rates for trillions of dollars of investment and trade globally.Last month the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the regulatory task force for the Group of 20 economies (G20), proposed deep-rooted change in a document put out to public consultation.“We agree with and support many of the recommendations set forth in the consultative document and believe they can produce a number of benefits for all FX market participants,” a group of trade associations said in a letter to the FSB, which was made available to the media on Wednesday.The group represents 23 global banks and dealers, which account for about 90 percent of the market.The FSB will present its final plans to reform the forex market to G20 leaders at a summit in November The FSB had suggested a wider period for the fixing window.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 — 25

*Cross section of graduating students of Sets 25 & 26 Trainees of the NBC Technical Training Centre, held at NBC Agidingbi, Ikeja Plant. Photo: By Dayo Adesulu.

How far will WAEC's new innovation go to curb exam malpractice?

•Introduces ICT-driven device to checkmate exam malpractice

BY DAYO ADESULU

O

N Monday, August 11, the West Africa Examination Council, WAEC, released its May/June 2014 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, WASSCE, results, where only 31.28 per cent obtained credits in five subjects and above, including English Language and Mathematics.

Also, it was disclosed that the results of 145,795 candidates, representing 8.61 per cent, are being withheld in connection with various types of examination malpractice which were reported during the conduct and marking of the May/June 2014 WASSCE. Against this backdrop, the Head of National Office, WAEC, Mr. Charles Eguridu stated that a number of innovations have been brought to the fore to checkmate examination malpractice.

One of such initiatives was the introduction of ICT-driven device. He said that the device will enable supervisors and staff of the Council on duty to address and record in real-time the processes

on the day of the examination.

The HNO said: “With effect from the May/June 2014 WASSCE, the Council introduced a device known as Candidates Identity Verification, Attendance, Malpractice and PostExaminations Management System (CIVAMPEMS).

He explained that the device has the ability of identity verification, capturing and recording occurrences as they happen, such as candidates' attendance and examination malpractice and transmit same to WAEC database.

•"With this, the Council is able to generate valid examination reports for each examination centre," he said.

Besides, Eguridu disclosed that the Council, beginning with the November/December 2014 WASSCE, in order to maintain uniformity, guard against malpractice and improve standards, has designed and i n t r o d u c e d customised, transparent mathematical sets, with in-built nonp r o g r a m m a b l e scientific calculators, which conContinues on page 26

Reactions trail UNN post-UTME

BY ROME OBETA, UNN

S

EVERAL reactions have trailed the just-concluded University of Nigeria, Nsukka's post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME. A cross section of students and parents interviewed lauded the organisation of the examination while others expressed their dissatisfaction.

According to Jennifer Akpan, a Medical Laboratory Science candidate, “The examination was good and was devoid of any form of malpractice”.

Another candidate of Radiography, identified as Rosemary said: “The exam was well organised, the invigilators were strict and even the security was tight.”

American lecturers inspire Nigerian broadcast and film students Pg. 26

Also speaking on the nature of the questions given to the students, Rosemary noted that those who prepared very well for the exam didn’t find it difficult.

“The questions were simple if students really read their books; they will have high scores and perform excellently,” she said.

Expressing his expectations of the outcome of the exam, Michael Awa, had this to say; ”I was amazed at the turnout of candidates. Though it was intimidating, but I am hopeful that I will be admitted.”

Another candidate, Edoere said; “Last year's JAMB was very bad, but this year's is a bit fair. For admission, I am 70 per cent sure of gaining admission.“ However, some candidates expressed discontent over the limited time allotted for the examination.

Ada Obasi, who applied for Medicine and Surgery complained of her inability to finish her questions

Formulate policies that open access to education, ActionAid urges govt Pg. 30

Continues on page 26

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

I am developing local materials for energy Pg. 29 storage devices

26 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

How far will WAEC's new innovation go to curb exam malpractice?

Continues from page 25 form with the rules and regulations of its examinations.

He said that with the provision of this, bringing in any other nonapproved mathematical set or calculator into examination halls would not be allowed any more.

Moreover, he pointed out that the Council, with effect from 2014 WASSCE, is introducing biometric-enabled certificates, adding: "Each certificate will have a QR code with details of the candidate's•biometric features and actual grades encrypted.

The question begging for answer is; will the introduction of these devices curb examination malpractice and propel students to read?

Examination malpractices Although there was steady decline in students' performance since 2012, the HNO debunked insinuations from stakeholders in the sector that Nigerian students are not brilliant.

He said: "Considering the whole West Africa Examination results, Nigerian students did well in Mathematics than in any other subject.

According to the HNO, one of the reasons for the decline in students' performance could be the introduction of the new subjects.

Eguridu noted: "The Council was able to examine candidates in 39 new subjects mostly entrepreneurial, in addition to the existing 37 subjects." He averred that was in line with the new secondary school curriculum earlier endorsed by the National Council on Education NCE, the highest policy-making organ on education in Nigeria.

Thus, in 2012 and 2013 May/ June WASSCE diets, there was marginal decline in the perfor-

mance of candidates as 38.81 per cent was recorded in 2012 and 36.57 per cent in 2013.

Therefore, if the major issue affecting the performance of students in their examination is over-crowded subjects, the Council could look for a way of amending it.

It has been discovered by stakeholders that students have devoted most of their time to social media instead of reading their books. More worrisome is the abreviation students use in writing text messages, chatting and pinging which they have brought into answering their examination questions. That suggest why students do well in Mathematics but perform badly in English Language.

According to him, out of 1,692,435 candidates that sat for the examination, 791,227 candidates, representing 46.75 per cent, obtained six credits and above, just as a total of 982,472 candidates representing 58.05 per cent, obtained five credits and above.

In addition, he stated that 1,148,262 candidates, representing 67.84 per cent, obtained ?? credits and above in four subjects, while 1,293,389 candidates, representing 76.42 per cent, obtained?? credits and above in three subjects.

For blind candidates, Eguridu pointed out that of the 161 blind candidates registered for the examination, 21 candidates, representing 14 per cent obtained credits in five subjects, including English language adding, “blind candidates do not take mathematics and science practicals in the WASSCE.” In his analysis, he said, “A total of 1,705,976 candidates registered for the examination, out of which 1,692,435 candidates, consisting of 929,075 male and 763,360 female candidates sat the examination.

Reactions trail UNN post-UTME Continues from page 25 due to the limited time. She said:” This is unfair, the examination had always lasted for 50 minutes but suddenly changed to 40 minutes. Some of us could not finish on time."

Another candidate of Medical Laboratory Science, Henry Mbachi said; ”they reduced our time from one hour to 40 minutes. They didn’t even give us time to go through the questions and the head invigilator was just yelling at everybody.”

Some parents who accompanied their children to the various examination venues lamented the inability of the school to provide them with adequate accommodation.

A parent identified as Engr.

Sunny said: “I am not happy at all. There is no place for us to sit down.”

Another parent who pleaded anonymity said: “I am not comfortable, as you can see, I am sitting under the tree. They are supposed to provide accommodation for us.”

Meanwhile, computer operators, traders and motorcyclists who saw the post-UTME period as a money-making season, called on the Student Union Government and the school administration to lift the ban on commercial motorcycle operators within the school.

Speaking on the success of the two-day exercise which took place on the 8th and 9th August, Inspector Ugwu Cajethan of Area Command Nsukka, who monitored the exercise said: “We have not recorded any form of violence so far. Security officials are here to ensure the success of this examination.”

*Grant Housley (standing) directing instructors lectures while Ryan Gibson sitting of ???screen writing listens along with attentive students

American lecturers inspire Nigerian broadcast, film students

By DAYO ADESULU

N

O fewer than six lectur ers from the United States of America stormed Del-York Creative Academy Lagos to improve the skills and creative capacity of broadcast journalists and film makers in Nigeria.

The intensive four-week workshop titled: Film Made in Nigeria, held at the Digital Bridge Institute, Lagos, had in attendance selected members from the Directors Guild of Nigeria, The Nigerian Society of Editors, Creative Designers Guild of Nigeria, Screenwriters Guild of Nigeria, Nigerian Society of Cinematography, Actors Guild of Nigeria and the Association of Movie Producers (AMP).

The Chief Executive a Officer, Del-York Creative Academy, Mr Linus Idahosa said; “The idea is to bring professionals with prior experience in the movie business for those whose creative products we are already familiar with.”

According to him, the intention is to arm these students with the knowledge and tools to improve on the quality of movies produced by them. He averred that the students are getting interesting methods of doing things differently from the experienced lecturers who have international awards to their names.

Sharing her experience, Wendelyn Slipakoff, a teacher in Production Design, Costume and Set Design said: “I have taught classes but not at this level. It’s been really exciting for me because this is the first time that I have to teach in an environment where everybody is so hungry to learn. In the United States, one of the challenges we have is that we tend to take education for granted. It’s not like that here. I am humbled by the spirit of the people.”

Slipakoff who admitted that the one month workshop was a very fast-paced programme stated

that she is trying to take the students on a journey that he spent years taking and is trying to help them to leave in four weeks. “It has been really rewarding for me to see how hungry every single person is for information,” she said.

On her part, Sara Rabuse who teaches make-up said she was amazed to see that students in her class were very interested in special effect make-up. She disclosed that make-up is something that is not as developed in Nigeria. She said: “When I talked to the director about what I will be teaching and what the students may need, he said most of them have been working in film and television. When I started the lecture, the feedback I got was a hunger for knowledge in the area of special effect.”

Special effect Rabuse explained that there is beauty make-up, glamour makeup and special effect, which includes anything as minimal as blood, cuts and way up to prosthetic and monster designs. Her words: “A lot of the materials we use in the US to create special effects are not available here. The make-up artist has to make their own blood. They use ketchup and blackcurrant. In the US, we have blood that is already made.

We go to the store and we buy special blood that is made for film and television.

I had to adjust. Some of them are using materials that are used for gluing sculptures together.

They are using permanent glues on human skin which burns and causes abrasions, thus hurting the actor’s skin. In the US, we have stuff that is specifically made for skin. I am going to give them a recipe for blood that they can create their own blood with things like corn syrup instead of blackcurrant. I want to spark the

creativity of these make-up artistes. I tell them there are no rules when it comes to make-up.

There are only guidelines. Be inspired to treat a person as an art canvass.”

For Ryan Gibson who teaches Screen Writing, everything can’t be taught in the classroom. He said that when students were having a problem conceptualizing the character in a story, I took them around the campus after where they were able to create a character, create a story. According to him, the structural stuff is easy, it is getting the story out of your head and getting it on to a page and telling what you see in your mind so that it makes sense to someone that is important. “They are all learning things that they didn’t know before and they are going to take that and try to put it in their work,” he said.

Sharing his view, Jamal Y. Speakes who teaches Cinematography said that quality of camera work in Nigeria movies is astounding. He said that Nigerian cinematographers understand the value of education, whether it is film education or public education.

“There is a value and the value is placed high because they understand that with education and knowledge, you can get far.

When I viewed a couple of Nigerian films, I concluded that help is needed. One of the things I have been able to do is to unlearn what they have learned; try to go back to the foundation. The best part is that the culture is so rich.

Nigerian culture has an effect on the way people do things, which is a good thing, but when it comes to film-making, it is a bad thing because it is not necessarily the right thing to do; so unlearning what the students know and then bringing them back-up to where you want them to be is probably the hardest part, but they are willing to learn.”

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 — 27

Spelling Bee Season 2 goes nationwide Vacancies everywhere in Nigerian universities (2)

By TARE YOUDEOWEI

S

TATES across Nigeria can now take part in the second season of the Spelling Bee competition. The contest which started in Osun State targets at primary school students between ages 8 and 14.

The Spelling Bee is a competition designed to inculcate the basic imperatives of effective communication, ultimately impacting improved spelling skills, development of poise, increase students’ vocabulary, pronunciation and accurate word usage.

According to Mrs. Eugenia Tachie-Menson, Country Director of Young Educators Foundation, organisers of The Spelling Bee: “We are very pleased with the overwhelmingly successful implementation of The Spelling Bee in Osun State, where the eventual winner was rewarded with an all expense-paid trip to the 87th Scripps National Spelling Bee of the USA, as a guest.

We remain grateful to the State of Osun and the office of SCARF for welcoming this educational programme into Nigeria.”

“Those having torches will pass them on to others.” Plato 427-347 B.C.

C

*From left: Akinleye Olu-Philips, CEO, PDR Media Services; Mr. Moshood Olawale, father of Zainab Olawale; Zainab Olawale, winner of maiden edition of Spelling Bee in Osun and Mrs. Eugenia Tachie-Menson, Country Director, YEF.

The Spelling Bee is a competition run by Young Educators Foundation, an NGO that promotes literacy and education, and franchise holders of Scripps National Spelling Bee, USA for Ghana. Ghana is the only African country to participate in Scripps National Spelling Bee in partnership with PDR Media Service Nigeria and Business Interactive Consulting International.

The major objectives of The

Spelling Bee in Nigeria includes encouraging students to improve on their knowledge and application of the rules guiding the use of English Language, said Mr. Emmanuel Afful, Linguistics Certified and Lead Trainer of The Spelling Bee. The second season of The Spelling Bee in Nigeria, which is being opened up to all sates in the country, starts November 2014 with a call for enrollment of schools. The maximum number of schools per state is 25. Selected teachers from these schools will undergo a oneweek training to be led by Linguistics trained officials from Ghana.

After this, the teachers are expected to impart their newly acquired skills onto their students. The national competition will kick off April 2015 with all state finalists converging in Calabar to compete for the enviable title of best speller in Nigeria.

The awards are as follows: 1st Prize— An all-expense paid trip to the 88th Scripps National Spelling Bee in Wa s h i n g t o n DC, USA as a guest, plus a scholarship Fund.

2nd Prize- An all-expense paid trip to Oxford Univ.

Press, UK and a scholarship fund.

OURSES in Business Administration, especially Mar ket-ing, provide another example. The NUC had made it mandatory for every university to introduce a course in Entrepreneurship – in order to encourage graduates of Nigerian universities to embrace self-employment. To begin with, the assumption that everybody can be an entrepreneur is not supported by any research. And, the fault in the assumption can be demonstrated by asking: if everybody sets up his business, who will be the employee? Clearly, not everyone is gifted to be an entrepreneur.

However, even if everybody can be self-employed, then everybody must accept the dictum by Robert Louis Stevenson, 1850-1894, “Every one lives by selling something.” Selling is a sub-subject under Marketing and no institution can claim to train students in Business Administration or Entrepreneurship without providing them with the ability to market their products and ideas. I was at one of Nigeria’s best private universities last year, and the students were show-casing their “products” for stakeholders on Founder’s Day. Impressive as some of the products were, I soon discovered that there was no single marketing plan for any of them. I then asked for the Marketing Lecturer.

There was none. One of the economics professors doubles as lecturer for marketing. I have since discovered that the same is true of most of our universities. There are no marketing experts to teach the subject. They are turning out graduates in Business Administration who don’t know that all businesses survive by selling something.

Almost every university advertising vacancies for admission to read Business Administration in Nigeria today is probably offering a sub-standard product. And no aspect of Business Education demonstrates this better than Marketing because even professional organisations – hospitals, hotels, supermarkets, ICT firms, funeral parlours and Events managers and even schools, are involved in marketing/sales as much as Unilever or Nestle or Samsung. Unfortunately, our universities are not even aware that they are marketing organisations. They are saved from their collective and individual ignorance by the erroneous and pervasive feeling that there is a shortage of vacancies for students wanting to attend universities in Nigeria. In reality, what we have done is to lower the standards for admission, on the basis of the federal character principle, as to inflate the number of students eligible for admission. Close to half of the students we send to universities, particularly state universities in some states, have no business there. The scarcity of opportunity is totally artificial.

If not for the artificial scarcity, our universities would have been forced to compete for students to attend the institutions and the students and parents would have been more careful in the selection of universities. So, when the subject is Marketing, as part of the Business Administration curriculum, the universities are trying, almost without success, to give what they don’t have.

For instance, one private university in one of the states, maintains an office in Lagos – mainly to recruit students for the institution. Two years on the job and the Marketing officer had succeeded in bringing in five students. The others went in on their own. A short discussion with the Vice-Chancellor soon revealed why the poor performance. The VC and the school’s proprietor had assumed that a good looking young lady, dressed appropriately, and given a car and driver, were all they needed for the students to start flocking to the university. The poor girl had never sold anything in her life; she was recruited after NYSC because she bagged Second Class Upper in English and spoke well. It took some time to persuade the VC that they have created their own problem. The girl possessed the basic requirements to succeed as a Marketing Officer for the university but she was far from being ready for the assignment. It was no surprise to discover that the university also offers Business Administration and the lecturer engaged for Commerce teaches Marketing as well.

Obviously, the insistence by the National Universities Commission, NUC, that all Nigerian universities must include entrepreneurship in their syllabus has created several vacancies in most universities which are not being filled in safe states and now unsafe areas.

To be continued Visit: www.delesobowale.com or Visit: www.facebook.com/

28 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

Strategies for result-driven change management A

NTICIPATING to and re sponding to change.

Nothing can be more critical to organisational success in this era of globalisation and socio-economic development. Given rapid economic, commerce and social developments in sub-Saharan Africa over the past few years, this is particularly true for African organisations. Organisations operating in Africa must evolve in line with increasing investor interest, an expanding middle class and accelerated economic growth, among other major trends.

Managing change is an essential component of an organisation’s success and indeed, continued survival. Companies must

ganisational performance. The executive education programme is specifically tailored for African executives, ensuring it meets the precise needs of participants.

Executives responsible for change management will develop enhanced insight into the process of change through the latest research, academic thinking and discussions of real-world case studies. Delegates will learn exactly how to apply what they have learnt in the programme to their organisations, ensuring that they will be able to add immense value.

According to Alim Abubakre, CEO, TEXEM, “The programme has been designed to empower executives to respond

,

The programme will enable participants to overcome structural and organisational obstacles to promote change and boost organisational performance

continually innovate and evolve to ensure that they remain relevant and to maintain and expand their market share. Fundamentally, continual change is essential to boosting organisational performance.

There are powerful forces acting to change the political, economic, social, and market conditions in which organisations operate. At the same time, in many organisations, there are strong internal and structural resistances to change. Indeed, resistance to change can result in weakening employee morale and productivity, as well as the organisation becoming increasingly irrelevant in the marketplace in which it operates.

Overcoming resistance to change requires effective leadership and buy-in from both employees and other stakeholders.

Achieving employee buy-in requires inspirational and powerful leadership. Effective leadership can enable organisations to foster creativity and innovation and continually anticipate and respond to change.

In order to improve the capacity of senior executives to manage change, TEXEM and Manchester Business School have collaborated in order to develop a bespoke executive education programme focused on change management. The three-day programme will be held at Manchester Business School, UK, between 3rd and 5thSeptember 2014. The programme cost of £2,900 includes all tuition and certification, visa support, accommodation and all meals. Delegates will also join Manchester Business School’s extensive alumni network.

Delivered by top academ ics and thought leaders, the programme will enable participants to overcome structural and organisational obstacles in order to promote change and boost orC M Y K

,

to organisational challenges. It also aims to develop the skill-sets that senior executives need to excel in their dynamic operating environments. Executives who participate in the programme ‘Strategies for Results Driven Change Management’ will acquire the skills and competencies to boost organisational per-

formance by anticipating and responding to change”.

Dr Nicholas Clifford, Academic Director, Manchester Business School said: “Many techniques have been developed to assist managers to achieve outstanding results, however, the real skill is in knowing how to apply these techniques. This can only come from those who can both manage and lead their staff towards such results. At Manchester we place as much weight on leadership as we do on management because both are essential to achieve real and lasting organisational change.”

TEXEM is an innovative service-based organisation that provides learning platforms for business professionals. Manchester Business School is one of the top business schools in the UK and the world, with triple accreditation from the AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS. For more information about the programme and other ways in which we can help you improve organisational performance, please visit:http://texem.co.uk/ programmes/strategies-for-results-driven-changemanagement.html#6-register

ERC welcomes reversal of LASU fee hike with suspicions

By LAJU ARENYEKA

T

HE Education Rights Campaign, ERC, has welcomed, albeit with suspicion, the reversal of the hiked fees of the Lagos State University, LASU, by Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, the Governor of Lagos State. The Governor made this known at the 19th convocation ceremony of the university held last Thursday.

The ERC said this in a press statement signed by its National Coordinator, Mr. Hassan Soweto. Soweto, however, called for vigilance on the part of LASU students and workers to ensure that this victory is permanent. Soweto said: “This is important because of the experience of Okada riders and other oppressed masses in Lagos. It is instructive to note that the Lagos State APC-led government is a viciously anti-poor government that can grant concessions in the run-up to elections only to withdraw them once they have comfortably returned to the saddle."

Adding that: “Equally instructive is the fact that right at the convocation ceremony where Governor Fashola announced reversal of the fees, protesting members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) who were demanding improvement in their working condtions were teargassed. This should be a warning to all LASU students that regardless of the reversal, the anti-poor mentality and mindset of the Lagos State Government remains unchanged. The ERC, therefore, calls on students to actively support the members of SSANU and every other union agitating for improvement in their conditions because without these unions’ solidarity, the struggle for reversal of the fees would not have been won."

Soweto also added that the state government only made such a move because it was forced to do it.

Discover your potentials now, Fashola urges corps members

By IKENNA ASOMBA

A

GAINST the back drop of rising unem ployment in the country, wife of the Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola has urged corps members of the 2014 National Youth Service Corps Batch ‘B’ to embrace the Skills Acquisition Entrepreneurship Development Programme (SAED) organised by the scheme, noting that it presents opportunity for them to be employers of labour and not job seekers.

Fashola, who stated that the one year compulsory service to fatherland is a time for reflection, admonished the corps members to tap into, and explore their God-given potentials.

She said: “Gentlemen corps members, I always make it a duty to come and visit you in order to inspire and motivate you on how to be better persons in life. ”Your service period should be seen as an opportunity to reflect on the passion and innate potentials that God has

blessed you with. Take seriously the skills acquisition programme, Skills Acquisition Entrepreneurship Development,the NYSC and other collaborating agencies will offer you and discover your potentials now.”

Similarly, the General Manager, Training and Human Resource Development, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr Abraham-Inajoh, who represented the former First Lady of Cross River State, Mrs. Onari Duke, advised the corps members to concentrate on specialised entrepreneurial skills and workwith it.

His words: “As much as it is good to be an entrepreneur, it is good to specialise. You can always work for something because you were created with innate potentials. All you need do is to tap into it and explore.

Earlier, the Lagos NYSC Coordinator, Mrs. Adenike Adeyemi advised the corps members to emulate individuals like Mrs. Fashola, adding that “it is our commitment to teach, coach and add value to the lives of Nigeria youths.”

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 — 29

RESEARCH

We are developing local materials for energy storage devices – Bolade Agboola

,

When it comes to research, if it is not cost-effective, no matter how good it is, it is still not going to make economic impact

DR. Bolade Agboola is an Associate Professor of Chemistry in the Dept. of Petroleum Chemistry and Engineering, American University of Nigeria. In this chat with Vanguard Learning, Agboola speaks on his work on energy storage devices, alternative energy sources and pipeline corrosion. He advises government to look beyond pipeline vandals as pipeline corrosion is a big problem often overlooked. Excerpts: *Dr. Bolade Agboola

BY EBELE ORAKPO

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*Zeolite (left) and Silicon powder are useful for production of energy storage devices.

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ORE research areas: According to Agboola, “One of the core areas of my discipline is electrochemistry and one of the applications is in energy storage and conversion. We are creating energy storage devices like Lithium ion batteries and super capacitors. We are also into corrosion study, waste management and basic crude oil research.”

Poor energy supply: “Poor energy supply is a threat to Nigeria’s economic growth. Hardly will you see any business that does not rely on regular power supply and of course, on a larger scale when you have good infrastructure in place and you have regular electricity supply, it will attract investors.

"Energy is probably number one in terms of the problems militating against socio-economic progress of the nation," he noted.

Energy storage devices: “Most of Nigeria’s over 160 million people are into small and medium scale businesses most of which require constant energy supply; the generators they use rely on petrol and diesel but if we have alternatives like smart batteries or portable energy storage devices like capacitors, when you have power supply, you store energy so in addition, I am developing materials that will be used for batteries like lithium ion battery, super capacitors and fuel cells.

We are also looking into alternative energy sources, sustainable energy supply and renewable energy technology. We look at biofuel, biodiesel and bio-kerosene which we can get from waste oil and non-edible seed that will not compete with food supply.

"These batteries can store more energy and they will be safe and cost-effective," Agboola stated.

Inverters are expensive: "Inverters are expensive and people need energy storage devices that will be cheap enough for small and medium

Our approach is to get the components, tune their properties to make them deliver better; we are working on so many materials right now like our natural zeolite

enterprises. We are looking into all these and our approach is to get the components, tune their properties to make them deliver better. That is part of an ongoing research.

We are working on so many materials right now like our natural zeolite , (a multi-purpose material normally sourced from clay) which is relatively cheap. We just tune the properties and use them in all these energy storage devices.

There are some others like metals that you can find nat-

,

urally around you so we work on all these to see how we can make best use of them.

“For example, there are silicon-based materials in the solar panel that have the ability to capture, store and convert solar energy to electrical energy. This ability has to do with some properties of the materials. People are still working to get alternatives. They may still be silicon-based but can be modified in a way or made with something cheaper but at the

end of the day, you are not compromising the capability of the material. Same thing is applicable to super batteries and capacitors.

“Whatever you do, when it comes to research, if it is not cost-effective, no matter how good it is, it is still not going to make economic impact so you just have to look at the cost also and you can always do that through scientific knowledge," he said, adding: "You look at certain materials that are naturally abundant around you so you don’t have to import. Then you see how to tune the properties to meet such demand of such applications based on your scientific knowledge."

Corrosion, a big problem: “In the oil industry, oil pipeline corrosion is a big problem although these days, people talk a lot about vandals because that’s more like an immediate and obvious problem but if you look at it longterm, corrosion is a major problem. Crude oil has a

,

lot of other constituents that cause corrosion in the inner and outer walls of the pipelines.

"These pipelines are buried underground; some of them are on land, some are in the sea in various kinds of environment so depending on the environment, there can also be corrosion on the external wall. In Nigeria, unfortunately, the awareness is low but in developed countries that have a lot of oil industry activities, they take this issue very seriously.

“Vandals break pipes to get oil and leave the pipes damaged, that is a very serious problem and that is what we focus on more, but we should not forget about corrosion which is something that happens gradually and when it becomes escalated, it becomes a very big problem.”

Collaboration: “We have been collaborating with people internationally and locally because the stronger your team, the better the end result. For instance, the Sustainability Office has been engaging with the community in this area of research, giving them a sort of economic empowerment.

“We have a deal with some local farmers; they grow jatropha for biofuel and then there is always the guarantee of buying back. And of course, when the biofuel is commercialized, there will be positive impact in terms of energy supply. It will be a very good source of energy.”

NYSC introduces two streams for corps members

By DAYO ADESULU

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he National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, has introduced two streams for the 2014 Batch ‘B’ service year.

This innovation is not unconnected with increase in population of corps members without corresponding facilities.

At the Ipaja NYSC orientation camp in Lagos, the first stream commenced their orientation on 5th August, 2014, just as the second stream are expected to resume orientation programme on 1st September, 2014 at the same venue.

During the first stream, a total of 1,977 comprising 837 male and 1,140 females registered. Addressing the corps

members at the opening and swearing-in ceremony, the Lagos State Coordinator, Mrs Adenike Adeyemi lauded the zeal exhibited by the corps members saying they have proved to be responsible, resourceful and dedicated.

She, however, hinted that during the programme, they will be undergoing various trainings designed to inculcate discipline in them and give them the platform to exhibit leadership qualities.

Adeyemi explained that through participation in camp administration, inter-platoon competitions, paramilitary drills, physical fitness exercises, skills acquisition and entrepreneurship development pro-

grammes, their best potentials will be maximized. She urged the corps members to avail themselves of the training opportunities to get better.

She said: "Work on developing any quality that you think you need until you have perfected it, then move on and practice another. You can become anything you want to become, leaders know what they want and set out to make it happen.

"You cannot rise to the pinnacle of success without developing the right set of attitudes and habits, therefore make every day spent on this camp a masterpiece as you add value to yourself through the orientation course."

Mrs Adeyemi who lauded Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State for his generous support for the scheme, however, appealed to him to consider the provision of more spacious permanent orientation camp for the NYSC. Meanwhile, Governor Fashola who spoke through the state's Commissioner for Special Duties....told corps members that though the call to serve might be challenging, it will afford them the honour to contribute to national development as well as help to bring out their hidden potentials. He urged them to put in fresh ideas and new drive to support the government through dedication to service.

30 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

LEAP to empower teachers, trains 4,500 youths in one year

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EAP Africa is hosting its Youth Development Training Programme’s (YDTP)Training of Trainers’ (ToT) workshop for youth change influencers, public secondary school teachers and civil societies in Abuja, to foster youth-led community development and transformational change.

The programme is being sponsored by First Bank of Nigeria, Interswitch and Seven-Up Bottling Company Plc. The ToT workshop is part of LEAP’s strategy for advancing a bottom-up approach to development through youth inclusion.

The programme was launched in 2013 to influence key youth trainers to cascade the learning within their network. Over 120

teachers have been trained through this programme in Anambra, Ogun and Lagos states and have enrolled students in their schools.

Forty (40) public school teachers, nominated by the FCT Education Resource Centre, alongside 10 representatives of youth-focused organisations based in the FCT are expected to benefit from this programme. Beyond the FCT, teachers in Edo and Akwa Ibom states will also benefit from the programme in 2014.

According to LEAP’s Director of Programmes, Mr. Oje Ivagba, the YDTP is an effective and sustainable model in scaling youth leadership skills development and transformation

across Nigeria, as seen by the impact of the programme in the lives of secondary school students and teachers since its pilot edition in 2008 and the international recognition the programme received from Financial Times-Citi Ingenuity Awards in 2013.

Following their ToT workshops, teachers trained through the programme are expected to cascade the learning curriculum to students, using learning materials provided by the programme’s sponsors. LEAP also encourages teachers to engage student groups in implementing social community change projects; to test and apply the knowledge learnt through class sessions.

*Greensprings team after lifting the 2014 Warrior Keele Cup in UK recently.

Lagos EXCO approves solar power project •as Fashola announces harmonic school calender

By TARE YOUDEOWEI

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AGOS State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, has revealed the approval of a pilot project for generating solar power in all public schools in the state.

Speaking at the 2014 Governor’s Education Award, where 134 out of 667 schools from the six education districts, were awarded N268m for being among the top 20 per cent of all public junior and senior secondary schools that made significant progress in qualitative and quantitative indicators set by Lagos Eko Project, Governor Fashola said; “On Monday, August 4, the state executive council approved the pilot project for providing solar power in all public schools in Lagos.

In the first stage, that would run between now and May next year, 172 schools will benefit. Before the end of this year about 35 schools, particularly in rural and riverine areas, which is our starting point, will be fully lit up and powered by solar.”

Unification of public and private schools’ calendar was also announced.

“We have finally secured the partnership of operators of private schools to harmonise Lagos schools’ calendar.

With effect from the 2014/2015 academic session, schools will resume and close on the same day.

The essence is that sometimes when there is a security challenge, it helps to know that all schools are shut down at the same time. It helps to know where your children are at specific times. It helps to know that the entire education sector can speak as one voice. I have been advised that the resumption date for the next academic session is September 15, 2014.”

Emphasising the importance of power, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, ethused; “ Some of the schools to be awarded now have the Power Kids Club set up in schools that win the Governor’s Education Award, to begin to expose our children early in life to electricity generation, conservation and how it works. I believe that these children have the capacity to succeed where we haven’t. These children will generate electricity for this country.”

*Vice-Chancellor, Institut Littoral Des Etudes Professionnelles Superierures Littoral University, Prof. Ayeni Oyebode (3rd left) and his counterpart from Covenant University, Otta, Ogun State, Prof. Charles K Ayo (2nd right); Ayeni’s wife, Pastor Stella and ILEPS Registrar, Mr Kayode Ezekiel Ayeni and CU Registrar (right), Dr Olumiyiwa Oludayo displaying the MoU documents both universities signed at the CU Senate Council Chamber.

Formulate policies that open access to education, ActionAid urges govt

BY IKENNA ASOMBA & ABIGAIL FRANK

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EEPLY worried by the nation’s high population of out-of-school children, the Country Director, ActionAid Nigeria, Hussaini Abdu, has urged government at all levels to collaborate in the provision of more access to education, noting that no meaningful growth can be achieved without this and the formulation of policies that are pro-poor.

Speaking at the launch of its Community Sponsorship Initiative tagged: Empower Communities: Create Change, aimed at deploying individual giving for community development in Nigeria, Abdu lamented that even though the organisation has over the last 14 years of its operation in Nigeria carried out various intervention projects aimed at scaling up interventions in poor and excluded communities, over concentration on activities of the Federal Government leaving out

that of state governments, pose a major challenge of accountability that will guarantee the needed access to education for all.

While pointing out that ActionAid majorly works to scale up interventions across areas such as democracy and governance, health, education, food and agriculture, human security and women’s rights, he said: “ActionAid Nigeria has actually grown in size and resources over the last 14 years, and currently, we have a staff strength of over 100 people working in 26 different countries, carrying out some fantastic and brilliant interventions on education, health services and managing conflicts, supporting women and protecting their rights, promoting democratic governance and accountability at national, state and local levels.

"Indeed, interventions have been interesting in different communities. We have supported communities and built more than 200 schools and 200 clinics across different locations."

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 — 31

32—Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

BITS Bits Delta NLC warns against illegal dues

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ELTA State Council of Ni geria Labour Congress, NLC, has warned affiliate unions to desist from imposing levies and collection of other monthly deductions from salaries of workers.

In a communiqué issued at the end of its State Executive Council, SEC, meeting in Asaba, NLC in a communique by Williams Akporeha (Chairman),Ejiro Egbedi, (Secretary) and Goodluck Ofobruku, (Treasurer), said “apart from the mandatory monthly check off dues, Congress is directing all industrial unions in the state to desist from imposing levies and collection of other monthly deductions from salaries of workers especially where there is disagreement among the members. It is the wish of Congress that workers take home pay should actually take them home.

“Congress also resolves to call on the state government to endeavour to consider without further delay, timely payment of monthly salaries to primary school teachers and local government workers in the state as is done in other sectors.

Congress resolves that it holds the leadership of the state NLC in high esteem and restates its unwavering confidence, loyalty and support for the present SEC of the NLC as led by Comrade Williams Akporeha.”

IOM donates IT equipment to Labour ministry

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NTERNATIONAL Organi zation for Migration, IOM, has donated Information Technology Equipment to the International Labour Migration Desk in the Federal Ministry of Labour.

The donation is to ensure effective regulatory framework and result oriented institutional mechanisms are put in place to promote organized labour migration policy for national development.

Chief of Mission IOM Enira Krdzalic who handed over the equipment to the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour Dr. Clement Illoh, said the gesture was aimed at strengthening the operational capacity of National Electronic Labour Exchange, NELEX, to perform its functions to job seekers and employers.

SOCIAL PROTECTION:

Employers not prepared for additional burden — NECA

Mr. Segun Oshinowo

BY FUNMI KOMOLAFE ISSUE of social protection was part of the deliberations at the 103rd International Labour Conference, ILC held recently in Geneva, Switzerland. Director General, DG, of Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, NECA, Mr. Segun Oshinowo was part of NECA’s delegation to the conference.

In a chat with Labour Vanguard, he speaks on the social security among others. Excerpts.

Security, manpower and other variables, have been identified as factors that would make the African continent sustain the current global economic position. As an employer, how do you think these factors can be addressed to maintain her global economic might?

I have had cause to travel by road to some key economic sectors in Nigeria. If we you take our road infrastructure as an example, it is a huge challenge moving products on our roads in Nigeria. That is one dimension of it and the other dimension is in terms of complimentary system. The question here is that can we count on our roads system, and the

answer of course is no. In air connection, you can probably identify about four or five economic hubs. These are issues in Nigeria when it comes to transportation, infrastructure and this is key when you want to promote industrial development.

Nigeria, of course is the commercial capital in West Africa, but how can you travel to Ghana by road, and when you do, your experience is what you may not want to think about again. If that is true for individual, you may want to think of what happens, when it comes to business.

I think it is better that we have to get our Government to think of what to do, because the Government has beautiful documents and beyond rhetoric, the real focus should be how well we ready to translate our rhetoric into actions . I think the solution to this is our basic challenge and beyond this, the issue of stable electricity supply is there because privatization will not guarantee stable electricity supply and you cannot expect the private sector operators giving the enormity of the deficit in the sector to be able to handle the deficit in short time It is a medium and long term project and

Government cannot simply wash its hands off from the power sector because it has been privatized. Government still has a role to play.

Could you throw more lights on how the issue of social protection was been keenly discussed in the ILC affect the Nigeria economy?

The debate on social protection as discussed in the conference is a chicken and egg story. Yes, social protection is important because to a large extent it would address your pervasive issue of poverty and raise income level of the less privilege and we have seen it worked in Brazil, but you need the good fiscal space to be able to implement your social protection because it requires resources.

Will the Nigerian Government been able to fill the fiscal space that would support social protection? This is because employers are not prepared to add additional payment beyond their taxation. And that is the question that Nigeria Government can readily answer, because in some presentations of the ILO that I have seen, the condition is that Nigeria with other countries in the West African region can actually afford to support the social protection floor It is not as if we did not have some semblance of social protection in Nigeria, but we need to harmonize these social protection scheme, integrate them and then back them up with appropriate fiscal support to make sure that it actually gets to the rural areas because the bulk of the population of Nigeria is in the rural arrears.

We cannot talk about social protection within the wage context, but what we are talking about social protection is basically on the wage sector of our population, which actually account for less than 5% of the work force. The question is that how will it trickle down to the non-wage sector and that equally explains why pension does not really connect with those people because they are not in the wage sector. Pension is only workable within the wage context

NLC tackles SON over new cement policy N

IGERIA Labour Congress, NLC, has blasted Standard Organisation of Nigeria, SON, over proposed new policy on cement production in Nigeria, saying it is “opposed to any policy manipulation that creates monopolies against public interest, especially anyone that excludes job sustenance and creation.”

NLC in a statement by its President, Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, said “there have been recent campaigns, orchestrated by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) that incidents of building collapse in different parts of the country occur simply because the quality of cement currently in use in the country is not the 42.5 type. We see this as a ruse and a

violation of all principles and logic of standardisation in relation with public interest.

Government exist in the interest of the public; and it would be wrong for any agency of government to be promoting policies that are obviously destructive to the economy and particularly harmful to the government’s determination to create jobs while sustaining existing jobs.

“The cement industry in Nigeria is a major employer of labour and policies directed at the industry must consider the collective interest of Nigerians and particularly the socio economic implications in terms of benefits to the economy and citizens of the country. While subsisting infrastructural

challenges have done much damage to industrialisation in Nigeria, leading to closure of several factories, the Federal Government should not give in to pressure as to allow manipulations that will ultimately rubbish its attempts at reviving our economy and reduce unemployment and its attendant societal burden.”

According to NLC “Building collapses in Nigeria have nothing to do with the 32.5 type cement as this type of cement have been in use in Nigeria for over 70 years in building roads, houses and other private and public facilities including government houses that are still standing strong till this moment."

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014—33

Trustfund engages retirees, harps on Will

BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

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RUSTFUND Pensions Plc, a leading Pension Fund Administrators, PFAs, in the country, recently gathered retirees under it together in Lagos, aimed at keeping them abreast of trends, and receive feedback among other suggestions on how to serve them better. One prominent feature during the interactive meeting was the need for contributors to write their will while alive.

Trustfund Pensions Head of Benefits, Mr. Tunji Longe, told the retirees that document made it easier in the event that a customer died thereby throwing up the need his/her next of kin or beneficiary to be able to access the benefits.

According to him, the interactive forum, an annual event and to be held in a number of cities including Benin, Warri, Ibadan, was also organised to enable the company know the changes that might had occurred with the retirees between the time he/she signed

A cross section of participants at the forum. Inset is Mr.Tunji Longe, Trustfund Pension's Head of Benefits.

imperative of the will among others.

What is this gathering all about?

This gathering is a means of getting back to our retirees

I don’t think the process is tedious. It is just like money placed in the bank even with your ATM, when you want to collect money, the machine will ask for your PIN number and if you do not input the correct number, the ATM will not give you your money

,

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on to trustfund and now .

Such include changes in names and addresses, location including the health condition of the customer.

After the programme, Mr. Longe in a chat with Pension and You, elaborated on the

because we believe that once in a while, we need to meet with them, we need to feel their pulse. We need to know what we are doing right and how we can improve on it. We also want to know what we are not doing right and how we can actually

do better. Our commitment is to them, to make sure they enjoy a better life, a good life after retirement. Part of it is that we get back to them on occasion like this. This interactive session is a way of feeling their pulse and whatever we get here; we send back to our management and see how we can improve our services From your interaction, what has been the major concern?

Their major concern is that they want their monthly pension to be increased. This is because they are aware that we invest their fund and still give them the same amount.

We explained to them that we do not have the power to do so until we get directive from the regulator which is

PenCom. They expressed satisfaction with the prompt payment of their pension and according to them, we are very consistent and they have been consistent with us also. So the only concern is that they want their pension to be increase which is a normal thing for anybody.

Some people have complained about the cumbersomeness process of accessing their pension benefits, why is this so?

I don’t think the process is tedious. It is just like money placed in the bank even with your ATM, when you want to collect money, the machine will ask for your PIN number and if you do not input the correct number, the ATM will not give you your money. The same thing happens with pen-

sion contribution. When you are retired, there are certain documents you need to present for us to present your applications. We are dealing with people’s money and we have to be very careful to make sure we pay the right beneficiaries.

You need to bring your letter of retirement, birth certificate, marriage certificate among others. Most people who complain of long process are those that have incomplete document. So it is not really a long process as long as you bring the right documents.

That is why six months before retirement, we send you checklist indicating all the things you need to bring. WE also encourage people to write their will so that the process of getting letter of administration will not be cumbersome.

NLC tasks Uduaghan on pensioners’ benefits N

IGERIA Labour Congress, NLC, Delta State Council, has called on Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan, to urgently address the plight of state pensioners. At its State Executive Council, SEC, meeting, NLC expressed dissatisfaction with government’s unfulfilled promise of a monthly release of N1.5 billion from internally generated revenue, IGR, to offset the backlog payment of retirees’ benefits.

In a communiqué issued at the end of its State Executive Council, SEC, meeting in Asaba, NLC by Williams Akporeha (Chairman),Ejiro Egbedi, (Secretary) and Goodluck Ofobruku, (Treasurer), respectively, said “Congress truly and deeply appreciates continuous and pragmatic efforts to enhance the welfare of the state workforce so far demonstrated by the Executive Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan,. In particular and beyond every doubt, the state government has maintained a record of prompt payment of workers’ salaries on as at when due basis.

Congress hereby pledges its continuous complete and unreserved support to the existing partnership

between government and labour for mutual benefit and the overall growth of human resource development in the state. Congress is specifically grateful to His Excellency on the historic approval of the payment of end of year 13th month salary for workers in the state.

“Congress notes with dissatisfaction government’s unfulfilled promise of a monthly release of N1.5 billion from internally generated revenue (IGR) to offset the backlog payment of retirees’ benefits. Sadly, the government only released the N1.5b only once and since then, the government has been releasing a paltry N500million which is not even regular. The result is that the accumulation of unpaid retirees’ benefits has been on astronomical increase.

“Congress however resolves and strongly suggests to government that due to the increasing number of workers that have not been paid their gratuities (lump sum) at the point of exit, retiring workers henceforth should continue to be paid their monthly salaries until they receive their gratuities. Congress envisaged that this system will eliminate the build-up of unpaid pensions and reduce the suffering of those that have laboured for the state”

Gov. Uduaghan of Delta State

34 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 — 35

Lagos Veg Fest:Promoting healthy lifestyle CHEERS sensitises NSCDC staff on HIV/AIDS HE VeggieVictory column

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in this newspaper has been running now for almost four months. I am delighted that we have been able to reach even more people and that they are open to a different lifestyle. A lifestyle that comes with amazing and almost instant benefits. I have written about many of these health and wellness benefits over the past weeks. Ranging from weight management, blood pressure control, longevity and higher vitality. Many more are yet to come.

However, there is popular saying in Germany: ‘A farmer won’t eat what he does not know’.

Meaning, in the one year plus we have been running VeggieVictory – Nigeria’s 1st Vegan & Vegetarian Restaurant we had encounters with so many people that were initially sceptical about the deliciousness of nonmeat food. Literally only when they had their first bite of VegMeat meals like our VeganSuya they were instantly convinced about this alternative and healthier food option. At VeggieVictory we always knew that we have to get people to have their first try of our food. The Lagos Veg Fest is now the boldest step towards promoting a delicious Veg lifestyle. From October 10th to 12th the Freedom Park in Lagos Island will host the so far largest Vegan & Vegetarian festival in Nigeria. As if that is not enough,

Hakeem Jimo’s

Ve ggie Victory

veggienaija@gmail.com

•Lagos Veg Fest flyer.

it won’t be only on Veg food but also a platform for healthy, natural, green and sustainable products. Please visit the websitewww.lagosvegfest.com to get more ideas on this unique

festival. At the centre of Lagos Veg Fest is the exhibition site with over 30 stands including a Veg food court, natural cosmetics and health products, healthy food items and so much more.

Running and Yoga exhibitions will show the importance of exercise.

The ‘Yes Ve Gan! Fashion Show’ will showcase the connection between beauty and a healthy diet and why so many celebrities in the world have chosen a Veg lifestyle. An American chef is coming from Germany to demonstrate High-end Vegan cooking in collaboration with Nigeria’s Culinary Academy.

Film screenings and speaker sessions with a huge variety of topics complete the programme.

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N Abuja based Non Governmental Organisation known as Centre for Health, Education, Economic Rehabilitation and Social Security, CHEERS has identified the failure of many Nigerians to go for HIV/AIDS test as the major challenge in the fight against the disease. This was disclosed during a three day free HIV test and Counseling organised at the national Headquarter of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps, Abuja.

The HIV and Counseling Test Manager of CHEERS, Ms. Chinelo Achebe, said: “Our findings show that 70 to 80 percent of Nigeria working population do not know their HIV status and also shy away from being tested; therefore we have resolved to bring HIV Counseling and testing to the door step of government and private institutions.

Achebe revealed that the organisation is centered on providing care and support to people infected by AIDS and to enlighten public on the benefit of regular medical check-up.

“We are committed to providing respondents with information and access to interaction which enable them to protect themselves from acquiring or transmitting HIV/AIDs, with aim of helping in building healthy and happy family in Nigeria.”

Commending CHEERS for the gesture, a senior officer of NSCDC who pleaded anonymity said the exercise was a step in the right direction.

“It has afforded the staff and officers of NSCDC the opportunity of knowing their HIV status and taking precautionary measures to keep a healthy living.”

Delta doctors intensify campaign against Ebola T HE Nigeria Medical Association,NMA, Delta State branch has joined the Ebola virus disease campaign train by setting up the NMA Delta State Ebola virus disease response and preparedness committee.

Speaking, Delta state NMA Chairman, Dr. Olawole Cole, said

the committee is to intensify the ongoing sensitisation with a view to preventing a possible incidence of the dreaded disease in the state. The committee will also liase with the state government Ebola emergency response and preparedness committee. As part of the

functions of the committee, Cole in company of members of the committee paid visits to some churches and healing homes in the state where their leaders were sensitised and told to report cases presenting with similar symptoms to them for prayers and healing by calling the emergency

numbers provided by the State Government. Among the churches visited, was the Christ Mercy Land Deliverance Ministry in Uvwie L.G.A. The General Overseer of the church, Pastor Jeremiah Funfeyin expressed appreciation for the good work the NMA was doing.

COMMON SEXUAL PROBLEMS AND THEIR NOVELTY BASED SOLUTIONS (ADVERTORIAL)

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came across my seventeen year old daughter’s cell phone by mistake and had the shock of my life. She is having sex and she discusses it openly with her friends as if it is nothing. I don’t even know where to start with her – Mrs Solomon Dear Mrs Solomon, controlling teenagers who are on the verge of becoming adults is one of the most difficult things to do. A year from now, your daughter will be eighteen and legally old enough to have a sex life. The body of a seventeen year old girl looks just like the body of a 25 year old woman. That is why many young girls feel they are ready for a sexual relationship even as early as fourteen or younger.

My advice is to have a quiet chat with your daughter and explain the rules to her. Encourage her to be patient until she is legally old enough to experience intimacy and the consequences that come with it.

Also stress the importance of using protection when she eventually becomes legally eligible for a physical relationship. Quietly guiding her in making smart choices is about the best thing you can do. But screaming and threatening her won’t work. One year from now she will be 18 – Uche I experience vaginal odour and it embarrasses me.

It is also part of why I refuse oral sex whenever my husband wants to give it to me. What can I do to overcome this? Secondly, there is no foreplay in my relationship. Everything goes straight to sex. I want a better sex life and my husband does not last long in bed – Chinyere First of all, vaginal odour is unavoidable because of all the layers of clothing adult women wear (which restrict air flow) and the fact that you sweat during the day. It is all part of being alive and human. But what you can do is to ensure that you smell fresh during intercourse. The mistake many women make is that they jump straight into sex without the necessary preparations. A woman must check herself minutes before intercourse to ensure she is ready.

That is why women are encouraged to carry wet wipes with them for cleaning up or better still, having a wash in the bathroom before intercourse. Afterwards, the use of flavored lubricants with fragrances strong enough to suppress body odours, is also advisable. Lubricants such as the 69 Nipple and Clit Orgasm Gel are great for this.

The Jo Feminine Body Spray is also good for external scenting.

On the subject of foreplay, there are novelties that can help create playful activity as a warm up before sex.

Bedroom sex games such as Choose your Pleasure and Fifty Days of Play are all wonderful novelties for foreplay.

And for your husband’s premature ejaculation issue, let him start using the Rock Hard Delay Cream for intercourse. It is applied on the penis minutes before intercourse to enable a man have sex for a longer period before climaxing - Uche I am 59 years old and I have not had an erection in a long time. A friend of mine who has used your products recommended the Max Arousal Oil. He said it helped him. Is this what I need? Michael Michael the Max Arousal Excite Oil is very good but it is suitable for mild cases of erectile dysfunction. For your case, I recommend something stronger. Get Exploding Thunder supplement. It will be ideal for you and will also enhance your performance in addition to giving you very strong erections when you need it – Uche I have started using that Liquid Sex vagina Tightening Cream and my husband is no longer complaining. He doesn’t even know why the sex is tighter. He just has stopped complaining. I guess it is working. Thank you - Hauwa That’s it for today. Adults in need of these treatments and novelties can call us on 08027901621 or 08051924159 or any other number here to order or they can order online at www.zeevirtualmedia.com. We deliver to you wherever you are in Nigeria. For enquiries email us at custserv@zeevirtualmedia.com - Uche Edochie, MD, Zee Virtual Media.

36— V anguard, THURSD AY, AUGUST 14, 2014 Vanguard, THURSDA YOUR LUCK TODAY

LEISURE

By Joshua Adeyemo Phone 08056180139

CANCER; Here is a day when things are meant to go according to your plans and record success. Yong-at-heart may be in for a romantic day. You just have to take the initiative.

LEO; This is your day; although there will be some challenges within your base of operation, eventual success will be yours. Be more family minded.

VIRGO; Even if friends have failed to live up to expectation in the recent days you will need to leave the past behind you and forge ahead. Lovers are fairly favoured.

LIBRA; Recent challenges notwithstanding pleasant surprises are possible. The more financially ambitious you are today the better for your cause.

SCORPIO; Better opportunities indicated for those of you willing to be as self assertive as possible, and it could turn out to be a happy day to be remembered by real lovers.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

By Richard Eromosele

W

HAT Nigeria … needs is good midwife so that it does not suffer miscarriage anymore. But who will be that midwife for Nigeria, will you? There is something God wants you to do for Nigeria. That is why He has brought you to this land of opportunity (disguised as prob-

Is Suicide A Solution — 3 lems) so that you will have cause to unfold and manifest your destiny. If you doubt me as Dr. Chris Kwakporwe, founder, Manna Mountain Ministry, a man who attempted to commit suicide some years back because he felt he was suffering. Today,

TERROR MUDA

he has touched many lives by his publications and ministry.

Do not take your life.

You have no cause to commit suicide. I assure you that the promise of tomorrow is far greater than all the disappointments of yester-years. The scrip-

in “Never say goodbye”

ture says the soul that sinneth shall die. And suicide is a sin. Since there is no repentance in the grave, it therefore means the soul that commits suicide will go to hell. My dear, can you afford to suffer here and also suffer in the hereafter?

Think about it!

By Lanre Kehinde

SAGITTARIUS; Although you will need to keep your secrets for the next few days that is not to say you should not pursue your financial interest. Take care of your health.

CAPRICORN; Don’t wait till tomorrow before you make an important move because good luck and success are closer to you today than you image. Be hopeful.

AQUARIUS; Tomorrow will prove more rewarding financially but you will have good opportunity to do things rightly within your working arena. Be loving.

PISCES; Some of you who are travelling purposely for love are in for rewarding day. All of you will need to take your social life more seriously.

ARIES; Professional advice may be needed over your finances but if you are sure of what you are doing you can go ahead. Be more family minded; TAURUS; Unusual co-operation may come your way today but if you are carried away by this the whole thing may change tomorrow. Respect your spouse.

KAPTAIN AFRIKA

in

“Pretty Lunatic’

By Andy Akman

GEMINI; Better than yesterday. Happenings within your working arena will not give you cause to worry but situation may change tomorrow. Your finance are favoured.

ASTROLOGICAL COUNSELLING Send yyour our dat tr ological datee and place of bir th ttoo the As Astr trological Counselling, PP.M.B .M.B 1100 00 7, Apapa, Lagos 007,

What’s my birthday ruler?

According to the date I was born I should be a Libran by my star but most of the time when I read horoscopes written by both yourself and foreign Astrologers Scorpio always applicable to me, why?

Kindly tell me how the planets lined up when I was born and the day of the week I was born but don’t publish my date of birth.

Simon, Asaba.

VIRGINIA

dadadekola@yahoo.com

Dear Simon, You were born on a Sunday meaning that mighty Sun rules your birthday. You were wrong to have taken Libra as your Sun sign because the Sun was placed in early degree of Scorpio together with many other heavenly bodies. Then with the Moon in Libra when you were born will equally be influential in your characteristics build up but, you are mainly a Scorpio born person.

You are both an intelligent and emotional person.

And as there was no planet at home when you were born, too many ideas will always struggle for prominent place in your mind, thus decision making is difficult but most times, your intelligence comes to the rescue.

Certainly, you appear to other as a gentle person who can be mistaken for soft fellow but your innerself is the personality with a steel like will power.

You are the consistent type who may find it difficult to change once you have made up your mind as indicated by distribution of the planets as written out in paragraph two of this exercise.

One major challenge you have been battling for a very long time is constant worries, some times, necessarily and the other time, uncalled for, as indicated by conjunction Mercury and Saturn formed when you were born.

Placement of your natal Sun (basic self head) and Moon (your sub-conscious self) in Scorpio and Libra respectively are indications of your being mainly Scorpio born person and partly in Libran. And that is to say basic characteristics of both Scorpio and Libra are highly pronounced in you.

Then, you are spiritually gifted; if you don’t develop it is another thing.

HOME & ABROAD

By Lawrence Akapa

VANGUARD, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014—37

Apapa gridlock: Traffic control has to be overhauled — Bello MR Hassan Bello is the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC. In this interview, Bello, a lawyer of long standing shares his views on the powers of the council, the challenges of regulating the maritime sector, the challenge the Apapa gridlock poses on ports operations and sundry national issues. have been welcomed warmly, THE Federal Government we are now an arrecently appointed the Ship- biter, the referee, pers Council as economic reg- we neutral and ulator in the maritime sector, transparent. But how far have you gone with most of all, we are this assignment and what are scientific. All we the challenges of this respon- want to do is to sanitise the ports sibility?

The appointment is a confir- to make sure that mation of the fact that Shippers’ our ports are Council has always had some friendly and effiregulatory powers. The Feder- cient; to make al Government has shown so sure that our ports much concern about activities are competitive at the ports, the government and ensure that has realised the importance of Nigeria becomes •Mr Hassan Bello, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC. the ports to the economy of this the hub of the trade in the recountry.

So, it has made efforts to en- gion. Since that sure that our ports are effi- time, we have been on it and a freight forwarder, it must players like the shipping comcient, competitive and posi- we have met with all the seg- now be understood that there panies and terminal operators, tioned to contribute to the na- ments of the ports system and is an economic regulator. We the freight forwarders. So, we tional economy wellbeing sub- even beyond. We are talking are on the right path, it is not are going scientifically, sysstantially. According to the con- with the truckers, the freight a quick fix and I also know tematically, openly and transcession agreement, there forwarders, the terminal oper- how impatient Nigerians are, parently to do these things.

A corollary to good port ought to be an economic regu- ators, the shipping companies, they should give us time to firm up our activities before system is a good and efficient the Nigerian Ports authority, lator right from the onset, but transport system. Apapa road coming right now, it is not too NPA, Nigerian Maritime Ad- the results will manifest.

Already, we have abrogated has become a nightmare of a late, but you will agree with me ministration and Safety Aucertain charges and this will sort in recent times, how does go a long way in consolidat- this affect your regulatory According to the concession agreement, ing our position, but ours is role in the ports? What steps there ought to be an economic regulator not just to abrogate charges, have you taken to make sure right from the onset, but coming right now, but to make sure that each par- good are seamlessly moved ticipant or player in the port to and fro the Nigerian ports? it is not too late industry does its work propThe Federal Government is erly, efficiently, with high level so concerned about what is thority, NIMASA, Nigerian that we have a peculiar task of transparency within the happening in Apapa that they because the game had already Customs Service, Immigration ambit of the law in the overall have taken practical steps to started when we were intro- and so on. We have gone to interest of Nigerian economy. find a solution to it. duced. But all the same, be- them and explained our roles What level of support have cause of our pedigree and ex- in the system and now we are you enjoyed from the govern- Practical perience at the NSC, we have consolidating. ment and operators in the steps How are you consolidating? been able to brace up to adport system in pursuance of We have started actual nedress the situation. these objectives?

The Special Assistant to the How are you going about gotiation with the Shippers.

We have had tremendous President on Valuation and We now want to remove arbithis responsibility? support from the Bureau of Monitoring of project, Prof.

The first thing we did was to trariness, a situation where Public Enterprises, BPE, they Monye Sylvester together have wide consultation with people or some section fix have given us tremendous with the Special Assistant to all the stakeholders and this prices without reference to the support. We also have had the President on Maritime Afconsultation has yielded a lot Nigerian Shippers Council, be support from Nigerian Cus- fairs, Mr Olugbenga Oyewole, of positive results. Because we you NPA, terminal operator of toms Service, the Immigration, Shippers Council, NPA, other

By Innocent Anaba

,

,

Legal execution of search warrants and its admissibility (2) — Pg 39

stakeholders had a meeting recently. The role given to us was to co-ordinate how to us out of the problem.

Some part of the road are motorable, there is no call system or any system at all put in place to make sure that only trailers that need to be there are there. So, what you have is chaos and chaos will not bring sanity at all, it makes the port environment unwholesome, so the Shippers Council has been given the same role of coordinating to free the road and we are now talking to the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency, FERMA. A task force that has been set up, we are talking to Lagos State Government and so many other agencies.

Traffic management It is the whole system of traffic management that has to be overhauled. We have trucks, most of them unserviceable trucks coming to carry goods, there is so much accident on the way, the trailers, the containers are not latched to the body of the trailers, now these are some of the infringements.

The containers fall on the roads and block everywhere, this cannot continue to happen.

There must be a well regulated system, which Shippers Council is right now talking with the Federal Government.

How do you intend to do this?

We want to make sure that even the truckers must have a system. For example, you cannot for example register unless you have a number of trucks, you must have an office, you must have a tracking system and other facilities.

What we have now is one man with his motor boy, it is the motor boys between 17 and 81 years of age that drive those trucks. The owner is somewhere sleeping and waiting for his motor boys to bring money to him, that kind of things can never happen again.

So, we want to reorganise the truckers for their own benefits. We have to inspect the vehicles together with the Federal Road Safety Corps,

Continues on page 38

IMPEACHMENT: Open letter to State Chief Judges — Pg 40

38—VANGUARD, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

Apapa gridlock: Traffic management has to be overhauled — Bello set out for them. We have to realise that the shipping companies, the terminal operators have made tremendous investment in Nigerian economy and since they came, since the ports were privatised, the port system has never the same, there has been tremendous developments in leaps and bounds, it is revolutionary.

We have indicators that show positive developments, efficiency of the ports have increased by indicating turn around time for ships, shorter dwell time for cargo, but we are still not there and that is why Shippers’ Council is making sure that we are there.

Continues frompage 37 the Vehicle Inspection Officers and so on, there must be some conditions and criteria for them to operate, so Shippers Council is bringing the whole system together with the NPA and other stakeholders. Secondly, in respect of our traffic management and our truck management system, we ought to have a tracking base, we need to have an effective marshalling yard so that these trailers are well parked when they are not needed, up to the gate of the NPA, there ought to be some electronic platform, a call system so that trucks are called in only when they are needed, it not like what obtains now where you see a lot of vehicles and people moving up and down, doing nothing actually, we are advocating that there must be a system in place.

People have advocated for

•Mr Hassan Bello well defined expansive rail system and linkage with inland waterways, so that goods are effectively evacuated, but here, we have roads and these roads are not exclusive to the ports, they also lead to other

,

In respect of our traffic management and our truck management system, we ought to have a tracking base, we need to have an effective marshalling yard so that these trailers are well parked when they are not needed, up to the gate of the NPA

,

the relocation of the tank farms as a solution to the problem, what is your reaction to this?

The tank farms are also causing some obstruction at the ports no doubts, we must also find the best way to manage them. It is not just saying remove the tank farms or don’t remove them. No, we are studying the system to see how best we can handle the situation. Apapa ports are city ports and accesses to the ports are mainly by roads. A port should have other modes of transport, they should have

EDITORIAL TEAM Innocent Anaba ( Head) Wahab Abdulah Ikechukwu Nnochiri Dayo Benson (Supervising Editor) 08056180119 dayobenson@yahoo.com

places and are equally used by individuals. All of us use the port roads, including the trucks and tankers, you can imagine the chaos and the attendant challenges, that will not happen in other ports that we are developing in the country.

How are you coping with the human and material resources to prosecute the transformation agenda of the Federal Government in the maritime sector of our economy?

The first thing that we did was the gap analysis, what do

we need internally first as Shippers Council and you know that we have some deficit in terms of capacity and we have started addressing that. We had serious intensive courses for our staff, which is a serious thing because if you are regulating, you have to be more educated and informed than the people you are regulating. We also need a new cultural orientation, the orientation is that we not a travel a cargo biased institution any more, we are now the referee, we carter for everybody in the industry because we need this harmony, symmetry and unity.

Increase in efficiency The NPA was supposed to add some charges for example, but we had to stop that.

We had to talk to the NPA for them to increase their efficiency in the services they provide, the number of tugboats they are supposed to have among others. We are not only hard on shipping companies or terminal operators, no, we want everybody to perform the responsibilities

Reforms of the ports All aspects must come through reforms, the reform of the ports is the first thing, the Shippers Council is now the agent of this reform, we are going to advocate reform of the freight forwarders, reform of trucking companies, reform of the stevedores and reforms in many aspects of the maritime sector.

How do you finance these projects and how do you get the corresponding resources to fund the reforms at the ports?

Finance is also a handicap, finance in Nigeria is not easy to come by because of competing demands. What we are saying is that if we are given finance, we will definitely justify that, we will multiply that, enhance more revenue to the government through the Customs Service because when we streamline the procedure, in cargo clearance, access roads to the ports, then you will see Nigeria becoming a hub with the resultant increase in revenue up 10 folds increase in revenue. We will be justified, however, the Ministry of Transport as usu-

al doing its best for us to has added revenue and funding, this has been addressed.

You recently held a conference for judges in the country. How did it go?

The 13th edition of the Maritime Seminar for Judges has been adjudged yet another success, what is frightening is that every time, we had this seminar, the bar keeps on rising. What was unique about the 13th edition of the seminar was that it was organised by a couple of young men in Nigerian Shippers Council, who were my successors in the Legal Department and you could see the difference they brought in, the innovation and this time, we had the highest participation of judges.

We had the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, the Minister of Transport, President Court of Appeal, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, so all the heads of our superior courts of record were there.

Superior courts of record We had six Supreme Court Justices, 31 Justices of the Court of Appeal, and 30 judges of the Federal High Court, but more instructive is that we about 80 judges from the states High Court. We also had about 54 members of the public, mostly lawyers, who paid a token fee to participate in the seminar.

We also had a representation from the Judiciary of Ghana, the Union of African Shippers with headquarters in Cameroon and also Niger Shippers Council. The chairman of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport, Senator Zainab Kure, was also there and we had representation from a cross-section of the maritime industry.

VANGUARD, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014—39

The war against corruption: How has Nigeria fared? (3) Continues from last week

T

O succeed, emphasis must be on prevention not punishment.

Emphasis is no longer on catching the thief and punishing him. Emphasis today is on how to make it impossible for the thief to find what to steal. This is why programs such as the cashless society, electronic payments etc are important to the war on corruption and terrorism. A reduction in the amount of money a customer can draw across the counter is sure to reduce incidents of corruption such as the one in which a former Minister of Education was involved sometime ago where large amounts of cash were moved in Ghanamust-go bags from across the counter.

Legislations such as the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, the Banks and other Financial Institutions Act, the Failed Banks Act etc are all aimed at curbing corruption. Besides, we do not need to reinvent the wheel. Nigeria should approach such countries as Denmark and New Zealand that have virtually eliminated corruption from their public life to borrow the necessary technology and knowhow. Countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom have been of immense assistance to Nigeria in her war against corruption and terror. Of course, Nigeria’s participation in the global coalition against terrorism and money laundering is already yielding fruit in many ways.

Institutions such as the EFCC, ICPC the police and the various other security agencies that help in the war against corruption are each very important; but their emphasis, no doubt, is in detecting

the offender after the event and prosecuting him. If the Courts find him guilty, he pays the price. If he is not found guilty he quickly returns to ply his trade with a bigger war chest.

More openness in government will also help. It is for this purpose that the Freedom of Information Act was enacted.

In Brazil for example, all government expenditure must be published online within 24 hours. This is to ensure accountability and transparency in government business. The result is that the average citizen can have access and judge for himself whether those in authority have been honest in their dealings and whether the price quoted for goods and services to government are fair.

Everywhere you go in the world today the slogan in fighting corruption and its attendant evil of terror is FOLLOW THE MONEY - the money trail, I mean.

Follow the money wherever it leads you and you can never go wrong; Indeed, Nigeria has done very well in setting up institutions and programs that tend to block the loopholes which the corrupt official explores in his bid to beat the system. The virtual elimination of the telephone bill and the NEPA bill (in parts of the country) is a step in the right direction. However, a lot still remains to be done.

So the battle is on, though not won!

The fight must be strengthened if the nation must be saved from the throes of indiscipline and greed.

* Theo Nkire was first AttorneyGeneral of Abia State

Arbitration conference held in London

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar, led Nigerian judiciary to the just concluded International Arbitration conference in London, recently.

The conference focused on international commercial and investment arbitration with particular emphasis on the West African user in oil and gas, international trade, maritime, shipping and construction sectors respectively.

L-R Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloma Mukhtar, Justice John Fabiyi of the Supreme Court, Mr Momoh Kadiri and standing Mr Arshard Ghaffar, Mr Paul Bugden and Justice Musa Muhammad also of the Supreme Court.

The conference in session.

Legal execution of search warrants and its admissibility (2) S

EARCH in legal parl a n c e especially in criminal law constitutes the examination of a person’s body, apartment, premises, office areas, vehicle, aircraft and other such places by a police officer or other categories of law enforcement agents for the purpose of finding evidence of crime with which to prosecute a suspect or an accused person in a court of competent jurisdiction. Searches therefore are an integral part of pre-trial investigations under section 6 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA), Section 28 Police Act, Section 44 (3), 78, 79 and 127 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) and section 150 (1) of the Customs and Exercise Management Act (CEMA among other enabling laws and enactments.

Enabling laws and enactments Criminal litigation is

procedural and highly technical which is why failure to adhere to certain rules may set a criminal free or punish an innocent person. Evidence is the core aspect of criminal prosecution and it is the prosecution (the Commissioner of Police on behalf of the State or Attorney General either State or Federal) that has to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt that the accused person actually committed the offence. Therefore, to prove the actual commission of a crime by the accused person, the police during pre-trail investigation must ensure that a proper investigation was carried out and necessary exhibits relating to the offence are obtained through various means. He or she has to conduct searches on the body of suspects, home, office, car, aircraft, ship, personal effects and such other places or properties to obtain documentary or material evidence, whenever necessary during investigation, with which to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.

•Fred Oghenesivbe A police office is empowered under Section 28 of the Police Act, Section 1 of the Criminal Procedure Act and Section 44 of the Criminal Procedure Code to search the body of suspects whenever arrest is made especially if the subject matter of the offence can be immediately found on him. For example if a suspect is alleged to have snatched a sum of money

from a victim and was immediately apprehended under Section 4 of the Police Act, it is expedient that the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) should search the body of the suspect with a view to recovering the said sum or conduct a search on his personal effects if carrying a bag or such other property of the suspect. Section 29 of the

Police Act permits a police officer to detain and search a suspect but limited to offences of fraud or dishonesty. The power of police officer is further expanded in Section 4 of the Police Act which expressly, among other lawful duties, to prevent and detect crime, to apprehend offenders and to preserve law and order, protect life and property, et al.

It must be stated that where a search is to be conducted on a woman, it must be done by a woman law officer or law enforcement officer as stipulated under section 6 (2) Criminal Procedure Act, Section 44 (3) Criminal Procedure Code, Section 32 National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and Section 150 (1) of the Customs and Exercise Management Act. That a law enforcement officer is authorized to search a suspect does not translate to inflicting bodily harm on the suspect during search or subjecting the suspect to inhuman treatment which is why Section 82 of the Criminal Procedure

Code expressly provides that searches shall be with strict regard to decency and respect for the dignity of the human person.

A search warrant is procurable by a police officer or law enforcement agent upon information on Oath and the warrants when issued enables the executing police officer(s) to enter into a premise or aircraft to search items specified therein and shall seize and material suspected to be in connection with the alleged offence under investigation. The general rule is that for a search to be conducted on premises, the police officer or any other officer conducting the search must arm himself or herself with a search warrant and when search is conducted on premises without a warrant it becomes an unlawful search.

Exception to this rule is where a person to be arrested is suspected be within particular premises such apartment or premises may be searched for purposes of having him arrested.

To be continued

40—VANGUARD, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

IMPEACHMENT: Open letter to State Chief Judges A

COUNTRY can still do well with bad laws but it cannot do well with bad judges. This is because if the judges are upright, they can mitigate the injustice, inhumanness created by people who made bad laws. But when judges are corrupt, even with good laws, development, justice cannot thrive” (Justice Akinola Aguda 1923-2004) The impeachment of the former governor of Adamawa state, Murtala Nyako may become a lid to floodgate of impeachment of state governors and perhaps the President and Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces of Nigeria to come.

At the beginning, it was all through the rumour mills we were hearing that some state governors including Adamawa, Nassarawa, Rivers and now Edo, Oyo and others yet to be named would be impeached. The rumour of President Goodluck Jonathan’s impeachment also struck the airwaves and fizzled out, ostensibly with the manner the move was crushed before it was hatched. But now, it is no longer a rumour, Nyako has been impeached while Governor Al-Makura of Nassarawa state is in the impeachment Golgotha.

Elections are the means by which democracy is practiced or is fired into action. In such exercise, legitimacy is conferred on some people to act as leaders or captain of their ship sailing through the tide or a given period of time.

In contrast, impeachment or the removal of an official elected by the people is an exercise carried out with just a handful. It is either a mark of

sunset to crisis or convocation to crisis. Though the banished Duke in Shakespeare’s ‘’As You Like It” opted to say that there is the good side in every bad situation, but impeachment in most cases amounts to sowing a whirl-wind or dragon teeth that hatches into bad omen in the society. That informed General Yakubu Gowon and Alhaji Shehu Shagari at the prompt of General Ibrahim Babangida to move in quickly to counsel former Speaker Ghali Na’aba and the

,

BY FRED OGHENESIVBE

At the beginning, it was all through the rumour mills we were hearing that some state governors including Adamawa, Nassarawa, Rivers and now Edo, Oyo and others yet to be named would be impeached

,

former Senate President Pius Ayim not to pronounce the impeachment of the then President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, General Olusegun Obasanjo in 2002.

The concern of this opinion writer is the fate of judiciary in this comic dance of absurd in our nation’s democratic practice. Professor Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN) had sounded a note of warning to judges in his book, ‘’Legal System, Corruption And Governance in Nigeria” saying judges must at all material

•Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar (CJN) time avoid acts that led General Babangida to make judiciary a scapegoat for the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

In his annulment proclamation, General Babangida held that ‘’the judiciary has been the bastion of the hopes and liberties of our citizens. Therefore when it became clear that the courts become intimidated and subjected to the manipulation of the political process, resulting in contradictory decisions and orders by courts of co-ordinate jurisdiction, then the entire political system was in clear danger. Accordingly, it is in the supreme interest of the

laws and order, political stability and peace that the presidential election be annulled”.

In the same vein, General Sanni Abacha blamed the judiciary for sacking Chief Ernest Shonekan’s Interim National Government (ING), following Justice Dolapo Akinsanya of Lagos High Court’s judgement declaring ING illegal and an aberration.

The role of the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Chief Judge of a state in the impeachment of a President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and a state governor respectively are well provided for in the 1999 Constitution (as amended). The

constitution asked occupants of these positions to constitute panels to investigate allegations of “gross misconduct” properly levelled against the President or the state governor by the National Assembly or the state Assembly as the case may be.

Section 188(5) of the 1999 constitution as (amended) for instance vested the powers on the state Chief Judge to appoint 7-man panel to investigate allegations of Gross Misconduct of the Executive Governor of a State.

While carrying out this function, the chief judges are also to be guided by other subsections of Section 188.

The mere failure by some chief judges of states in the past to comply with the letters of the constitution, especially, since the advent of the current democratic dispensation in 1999 has left many chief judges of states and other judges to be untimely confined to judiciary graveyards.

The National Judicial Council (NJC) which is charged by the same 1999 Constitution to appoint and discipline judges takes serious exceptions with any judge that side-step this provisions of the constitution which is even crystal clear or unambiguous.

According to “Access to Justice”, the sacking of four state chief judges at a time in 2006 was announced through NJC’s press statement thus: “At an emergency meeting held at Abuja on 20th December, 2006, the National Judicial Council, acting with powers vested on it by Paragraph 21(d) of the Third Schedule to the 1999 constitution suspended the Chief Judges of Anambra, Plateau and Ekiti states for the partisan roles played in the impeachment of their respective state governors.

Continued next week

CJN chairs book launch on corruption & human rights law

T

HE Chief Justice of Niger ia, Justice Mariam Mukhtar will on Monday August 18, 2014 preside over the launching of the book ‘Corruption and Human Rights Law in Africa’, written? by Dr. Kolawole Olaniyan? of Amnesty International in London.

Also expected at the book presentation are the Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi who is expected as the chief l a u n c h e r , the Executive Director of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), Abdul TijanCole and the Chief Registrar of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Dr Robert Eno. The Oba of Lagos, Riliwanu Akiolu will be the Royal Father of the day.

Other dignitaries expected at the event are Ekpo Nta, Chair Independent Corrupt Practices

and other related offences Commission (ICPC); Professor Akin Oyebode of the Faculty of Law of University of Lagos, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, Lagos State Solicitor General, Lawal Pedro, the Director-General Consumer Protection Council Mrs Dupe Atoki, and former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu.

Others are Professor Oluwole Smith the Dean Faculty of Law UNILAG; Professor Ayo Atsenuwa, UNILAG; Professor Anya Anya; Femi Adesina, President, Nigeria Guild of Editors; Mr Lai Muhammed, APC National Publicity Secretary; Dr Kole Shetimma, Africa Director MacArthur Foundation; Innocent Chukwuma, Representative, Ford Foundation; and Gbolahan Gbadamosi, National Publicity

Secretary, NBA. The book provides a framework for complementarity between promoting and protecting human rights and combating corruption, where it makes three major points regarding the relationship between corruption and human rights law.

Corruption and human rights law First, corruption per se is a human rights violation, insofar as it interferes with the right of the people to dispose of their natural wealth and resources and thereby increases poverty and frustrates socio-economic development.

Second, corruption leads to a multitude of human rights violations.

Third, the book demonstrates that human rights mechanisms have the capacity to provide more effective remedies to victims of

corruption than can other criminal and civil legal mechanisms.

The book takes up one of the pervasive problems of governance large-scale corruption - to examine its impact on human rights and the degree to which a human rights approach to confronting corruption can buttress the traditional criminal law response.

It examines three major aspects of human rights in practice - the importance of governing structures in the implementation and enjoyment of human rights, the relationship between corruption, poverty and underdevelopment, and the threat that systemic poverty poses to the entire human rights edifice.

The book is a very significant contribution to the literature on good governance, human rights and the rule of law in Africa.

Dinah Shelton, Manatt/Ahn

Professor of International Law (emeritus), the George Washington University Law School, who wrote a Foreword to the book said: “The recommendations [contained in the book] are thoughtful and serious and should be taken up by regional and global institutions, including financial institutions. As the medical profession has long known and practiced, prevention is always better than cure.”

The Author Kolawole Olaniyan is Legal Adviser in Amnesty International’s International Secretariat, London. Between 2004-2007 he was Program Director for Africa.

He received his doctoral degree from the Law School of University of Notre Dame, USA in 2003 and has written extensively on corruption and African regional human rights system.

V anguard anguard,, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014—41

Female suicide bombers: Dealing with the emerging trend (2)

This is the concluding part of this piece which was first published in our Wednesday edition

By ACP Frank Mba

The Abuja environment during and after El-Rufai’s era

By Akinsola Alonge

R

ESIDENTS of Abuja were enjoying the sanity, air and perfection being experienced in the city. The dream of the fathers and designers of Abuja was being re-established. Architects and planners rejoiced when meaning, expression and a ruthless approach was given to Kenzo Tange’s design of FCT Abuja (Kenzo Tange is the Japanese architect who designed the city of Abuja).

This ruthless approach was implemented by a Quantity Sur- Abuja capital city masterplan veyor, a public servant par extional signs, cleanliness (refuse collection), landcellence, the kind of leader “most wanted” in our scaping/street-lighting, etc., were effectively cargeneration, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai. ried out under his leadership. The city would Mallam Nasir El-Rufai does not hide his love for have started enjoying the use of GPS applicaarchitecture and the built environment. Before some tion in vehicles if his successors had continued special assistants release their surface to surface from where he stopped. The city that was thormissiles, I would like to clarify that I have never oughly organised under El-Rufai. El-Rufai chalmet El Rufai, not even when he was in charge of lenged the status quo and was hated by most of the FCT administration. El-Rufai earned my adthe elite. miration and that of most thorough-bred profesAccident rate went down by over 90 per cent sionals in the built environment for his boldness, when he dared the “going motorcycles’ to close understanding and commitment to ensuring that business in the Abuja City. We so easily forget Abuja city was truly a city to compare with other the disgraceful markets at the present NNPC capital cities of the world.

Gas station and World Trade Centre that showed He went about his business with the focus and our inability to do things right. What about the sharpness of a flint stone. El Rufai moved at the Wuse, and Garki Markets? Have we forgotten speed of a fighter jet demolishing illegal structures so easily the corner shops? Today, the housing belonging to the high, mighty and religious groups development/renovation, plazas or supermarkets without looking backwards. The number of you see in Abuja, though not currently monimosques and churches he brought down were too tored were as a result of El-Rufai’s policies? numerous to count. We cannot forget so quickly The ideals he introduced are either stopped or that he personally supervised demolition of the not being effectively pursued for whatever reaSenate president’s house, PDP chairman’s house, son? Visit Berger Junction and Area 1 and you IGP’s house, etc. will weep for the city we think is a model city. It What about the decade-long unfinished works has returned to the pre-El-Rufai state -dirty, filthy,

by Arab Contractors at Berger Junction, Jabi Disunorganised and crime-infested. Personally, I betrict? He eventually cancelled the contract and relieve that the success of Berger Junction + Area awarded same to Julius Berger. What about the 1 in terms of traffic flow and cleanliness, greensanity at the FCDA and AMACs, AEPB, AIPDB in ery and organisation is a pointer to the success the form of sacking the corrupt officials and bringof any FCT Minister or administration. The Ading on board the fearless team which was later ministration is as good or bad as What the founding fathers were running Berger Junction + Area 1 is. What the founding fathers were running away from in Lagos then, Abuja would likeaway from in Lagos then, Abuja ly surpass if the trend of ill-prepared leadwould likely surpass if the trend of ill-prepared leaders is not ers is not stopped being foisted on Abuja stopped being foisted on Abuja. removed by his successors? While El-Rufai did all Today, green areas, open spaces and recrewithin the short period he had to restore the masational areas are being churned out to cronies ter plan, green areas, recreation areas and re-esand Oga madams. Examples abound but I will tablish clusters only meant for institutions, work mention a few that are verifiable: An expansive places and residential areas, the reverse is the case green area between Wuse Zone 1 and Zone 7 after he left the scene. (directly behind Bolton white apartments) has A minister of the FCT after him visited the Abuja been allocated for construction purposes - a Technology Village, ATV, and on national TV said mosque (at superstructure level) and a fence is it was meant for auto mechanics and technicians. being built in that area. El-Rufai will cringe if he Even if all has failed in some of our leadership reads this. with their pitiable lack of competence, what preEl-Rufai demolished three churches and one vented that minister of the Federal Republic from mosque at this same spot in 2007. Check out the just calling for El-Rufai blueprint on ATV - a vision resurrected mosque opposite FRSC at Zone 7 for an entire district based on Green City Technoland the completed at Area 10 opposite the Post ogy? That was part of El Rufai’s vision and level of office. El-Rufai flattened these worship places exposure and competence. I doubt if any zest or without regard to religious sentiments. He was push is being given to such vision any longer. just committed to excellence and doing what was What you see around is Arab Contractors destaright. Now the street sweepers actually dump bilising traffic flow in the city in the name of recollected refuse into drainage manholes, thereasphalting on roads that bear no potholes, a waste by blocking the drains while numerous drain of funds that should have been diverted to works cover gratings especially along roads have been in districts like Durumi and Wuye where the firm removed and not replaced in three years. No has failed the residents in completing the proviconcerted efforts are being made to clean up sion of infrastructure for more than five years now. blocked drains. The street turns into a river after London roads are patched and not totally resome rain.The green lawns between the vehicumoved for re asphalting! I bet you the former works lar and pedestrian segments are being turned executed by Julius Berger are better than what those into parking lots while “kekenapep” takes over chaps are constructing right now. The little things pedestrian walkways in most cases especially we disregard but which actually make a city funcwith little traffic jam.

To be concluded tional such as traffic signs, road marking, direc-

,

H

OWEVER, this does not amount to negligence or inefficiency on the part of the security agents but arises from the operational and professional standards of law enforcement which forbids male officers from conducting search on the body of women.

In addition, it is also easier for women to be indoctrinated especially when they are intellectually immature, uneducated and perhaps from very poor and deprived backgrounds. Remember that the innocent two sisters of about 16 and 11 years old respectively, strapped with explosive vests and arrested by the Police in Katsina were not even aware they were carrying bombs. Further investigation also revealed that both of them were orphans and thus economically and socially disadvantaged.

Lastly, apart from the perceived personal and lifetime rewards, some female suicide bombers want to be worldly known as ‘heroines’ with their terror organizations, affiliates and sympathizers. A classic example is the late Sana’a Mehaidli who was believed to have been the first female suicide

Police IG, Suleiman Abba bomber in Lebanon, earned in death the title of “the Bride of the South”.

Preventing female suicide bombers from carrying out attack: Once a female suicide bomber begins to move towards a target, it is extremely hard to stop her from executing her wicked act of causing mass destruction. However, the most helpful way of nipping the planned attack in the bud is to take deliberate and effective measures aimed at isolating and frustrating her from getting to her target area. Some of such measures include the fact that experienced, well-trained and well-equipped women security personnel should be part of stop and search operations to properly carry out search on females before they gain their entrance into restricted areas. In doing this, there should be no preferential treatment for any woman irrespective of her social status and age.

Secondly, there must be proactive operational action by law enforcement agents, acting intelligently, timely and systematically to neutralize suspected suicide threats. For instance, the

successful arrest that took place on July 29, 2014 in Katsina State where a 47-year old Boko Haram operative, DahiruIliya with two teenage female suicide attackers of about 16 and11 years old was as a result of the timely intervention of the Police with the full cooperation of the local security in the State. Before the arrest of the suspects, intelligence report had already revealed that the Boko Haram terrorists have concluded plans to unleash mayhem using female suicide attackers during the Ramadan fasting period. The two female suicide bombers who were of the same parent were already strapped with suicide vests unknowingly to them in a Honda CRV car at Tudun Wada where the Police patrol team arrested them.

Thirdly, authorities in charge of potential soft targets such as worship centres, institutions of learning, markets and other critical infrastructure should take deliberate measures to strengthen the security in their premises by using crime prevention and monitoring devices such as bomb-jammers and Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in addition to security agents.

Conscious of the fact that ignorance and poverty provide fertile grounds for radicalization, it is important that governments at all levels should develop and implement holistic measures aimed at preventing the radicalization of our young girls through massive education and empowerment programmes.

Parents, teachers and religious leaders should be engaged in positive socialization and always see themselves as structures and mechanisms of social order by assisting our children and youths in moral development, acquiring right behaviours and admirable culture of respect for our value system as well as attitudes that will form part of their daily life. The opinion leaders must not hesitate to speak out when the youths are being misled. As rightly noted recently by the Sultan of Sokoto, “nobody can bomb their way to heaven in the name of suicide attack.”

Finally, we must remember that the greatest success in preventing female suicide bombers from carrying out their foul acts largely depends on the willingness of the public to report all suspicious activities to the security agents. It is also very important for the governments and other relevant stake holders to support the security forces by providing necessary working implements and improving on the welfare of Police personnel and other security agencies in the country.

•Frank Mba, an Assistant Commissioner of Police is the Force Public Relations Officer

,

42—Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

S

INCE former governor of Jigawa State, Ibrahim Saminu Turaki, handed over power to Alhaji Sule Lamido in May, 2007 the two men have maintained a distant if not mutually suspicious relationship. Now, their paths are about to meet

Lamido, Turaki shadow boxing JIGAWA 2015:

BY ALIYU DANGIDA

T

HE eight year-year ten ure of Senator Saminu Turaki as governor of Jigawa State was shadowed by several controversies, including mutterings over his several travels and scientific whims. He was regarded as the Nigeria’s most widely traveled governor in his time with a reputation of rarely spending 30 workings days at a stretch in the country.

Notwithstanding, Turaki's supporters say he did much to develop the state during his reign. They readily cite the creation of the monthly participatory polling unit funds that empowered 10 delegates in each of the local councils of the state to execute some projects, annual sponsorship of people to Hajj, IT education, girl-child and basic education and paying priority attention to human development than infrastructures.

Turaki, in an interview with newsmen, accused Lamido of paying more attention to infrastructural development to the detriment of human development. He was quoted as saying that his politics is people-oriented and focused on development through

*Lamido Lamido, they said has equally instilled discipline in the mind of Jigawa people as well as rehabilitated thousands of delinquent youths by establishing skills acquisition centres for them to learn various trades as well as the payment a

,

The event was interpreted by political analysts as a signal to Lamido's camp that Turaki is still politically relevant in the state

empowering the people. "I foresee abject poverty in the face of Jigawa people…

“If you are building roads, houses or schools, you are doing it for the people, so you have to meet the immediate needs of the people before they can live to enjoy those things you built for them. You have to survive to be able to benefit from the roads and schools".

Many stakeholders in the state, however, point at the infrastructural development achievements of Governor Lamido as a better reference point for development.

•Saminu

,

monthly stipend of N7,000 to the destitute across the 27 local councils of the state.

2015 rekindles rivalry Though the incumbent and his predecessor had lately maintained the peace from their separate political positions, however, the approach of 2015 has stoked the rivalry between Lamidiyya (Lamido) and Saminiyya (Saminu) followers as they fight for supremacy within the state PDP. The crisis between the two political giants in the state deepened when Turaki's supporters organised a reception for him at his farm at

Bandawa.

The event was interpreted by political analysts as a signal to Lamido's camp that Turaki is still politically relevant in the state. Senator Turaki has constantly insisted that he is the leader of the party in the state because he brought Lamido into power in 2007 Turaki used the occasion to launch his Saminiyya Movement with green cap and white Agbada as their symbol. Considered a loyalist of President Goodluck Jonathan, Turaki is said to have initiated the movement to fight Lamido ahead of 2015.

However, Turaki debunked the insinuation, saying he is back in Jigawa not to fight Lamido but to show concern and care for his people.

After ruling the state for eight years on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Turaki decamped to PDP along with some of his supporters and cabinet members in 2007 and won election as senator representing Jigawa NorthWest. He in 2011 dumped the party for the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and lost his senatorial seat to

Danladi Sankara.

Turaki's defeat in the senatorial election might not be unconnected with his alleged poor performance, as his people accused him of running away from them during his four years tenure with little or no single project to show on ground.

Romance with APC However, political pundits are of the belief that Senator Turaki may be on his way to the All Progressives Congress (APC). His former parties, ANPP and ACN merged to form APC. He has not left PDP but he is always with members and exco of the APC and at times represents some political office holders of the party in occasions.

Asked which of the political parties he belongs, Turaki replied that he is with Saminiyya. However, he was seen along with his supporters mobilising for President Jonathan across Jigawa state ahead of 2015.

As the crisis in the PDP deepens, many see Lamido as succumbing to pressure. As it is now, Lamido is threading carefully between his 2015 ambition and consolidating his

powers in the PDP. Turaki, according to some political pundits, is rallying old political enemies, who now feel they are left out or abandoned in the scheme of things in the state to take over PDP political structures in the state and select one of them to run for the 2015 governorship seat in Jigawa.

Governor Lamido’s inability to ‘anoint’ a successor publicly has also added a twist to the jostling as many aspirants are scared to publicly indicate their interest for the Dutse Government House.

Governor Lamido was recently quoted at a public function saying, "very soon Jigawa people will know their 2015 governor, adding his successor will be an independent person not his errand boy, not a thief, but someone who can continue with my legacy and carry everyone along irrespective of political and emirate background."

If the governor ’s camp succeeds in producing the PDP standard bearer, the Saminiyya camp may resort to option B by joining the rival APC.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014—43

2015: APC not making efforts to integrate Igbo – Uwazurike CHIEF Anayo Goddy Uwazurike is a lawyer, President of Aka Ikenga (the Igbo socio-political tink tank) and a delegate to the National Conference in Abuja. In this interview, he reviews the conclusions reached at the Confab and the Igbo benefits therefrom. He says President Goodluck Jonathan needs to do more to justify the confidence the Igbo reposed in him in 2011. Excerpts:

BY TONY NWANKWO

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NIPPETS from the Conference showed the core North ganged up against the South-East. What happened?

Well, I think we have what I would call the hardliners from the far North. Remember that North is North that is why we call them the Far North now.

And in the North East we have so many Christians. They were not opposed to anything from the South East. Then we have the North Central. When you have the combination of North Central plus parts of the North East, and the whole South, then any opposition will not work. All these areas came with agenda of what they wanted changed in this Confab. But the hardliners from the Far North said they didn't want any changes at all. That they were not there to restructure Nigeria. That was their swan song.

What did you bring to the South-East at the Confab?

The South-East came out with a lot. We were looking for power rotation, North / South among the senatorial zones, we asked for that and we got it. We wanted state police, we got it. We wanted local government to move from the control of the federal government in terms of funding, creation and making it a state affair guaranteeing its independence, so that once you are elected you cannot be thrown out, and we got that. I don't think there is any item we proposed that we did not get.

There is this thinking that the Hausa/Fulani North would want to rule this country forever. What do you think informed this thought

process?

There was this eminent psychologist who said that the primary occupation of man after food, shelter and wealth, was the domination of his neighbour. That is what is going on. Those who have been in power, as long as I can remember, insist on continuing in power. It is either by power that they allow you to rule, like they told Obasanjo. So, the major attack on Jonathan is that they were not allowed and Jonathan is still the President to the consternation of all. The Constitution says all parts of this country must agree, at least to a certain degree. You must win 25 per cent of the votes in at least two-thirds of the states to be elected president. So, whoever gets it

*Uwazurike becomes the next president.

So, whether they like it or not, power must continue to go round.

The President was fully supported by the Igbo in 2011.

Has he done enough to justify further support?

You know in this country, we are only but a part, one out of six, plus parts of the SouthSouth. All Igbo speaking, supported him 100 percent. He is our cousin. It is left for us this time to ask ourselves: “This Presidency we have

given him, has he done enough to merit a second term?

It is a question we ask ourselves, it will not be done on the pages of newspapers.

Also remember that when it comes to our choice, it is always a choice between what we have and what we want. In other words, if other political parties present somebody who is closer to the Igbo than Jonathan, we would make our choice.

But as it was then in 2011 between Jonathan and Buhari, who all he knows about Igbo

land is civil war knowledge, and of course a president who is from next door, it is only natural. What is worrisome today is that Buhari is not even making any serious effort to integrate the Igbo into the top echelon of APC. Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, who used to stand beside Tinubu is no longer there. So, when they go for campaign in Igbo land who is going to lead them? Is it the Administrative Secretary?

Definitely not. Chris Ngige is a Senator, he is the only one still standing.

Edo south senatorial ticket, whose turn?

T

HE beauty of democracy is multifaceted and the benefits are equally immense to such an extent that it has become an aphorism that the worst that may come out of a democratic government is still better than the best that may come out of a military government.

As 2015 stares us in the face, the argument is strident as ever before and permutations are on across boards in all the major parties.

While majority rule is often a yardstick to ensure popular democracy with the minority watching helplessly as the political tide swims against them in a genuine vote count, it is nonetheless significant to point out that equity, fair play and good conscience are equally as important as majority rule when put on the balance scale.

This is where the political scenario in Edo State throws interesting challenges that political pundits in the state may find agreeable or throw away in their rejectionist disapproval.

The stakes are therefore high as the

countdown to 2015 inches closer in the race of the position of Senate and House of Representatives in the three Senatorial Districts of Edo State and at the Federal Constituency level.

Taking a retrospective look at past representations at the Senate and House of Representatives, it appears that some areas have been more favoured at the level of senate.

A cursory division put Edo State into three Senatorial Districts, with their equivalent federal constituencies. In Edo South for instance, we have the Oredo Federal Constituency, Ovia North East/Ovia SouthWest Federal Constituency, Orhionmwon/ Uhunmwonde Federal Constituency and Egor/Ikpoba-Okha Federal Constituency.

In Edo North Senatorial District, we have Etsako Federal Constituency, Akoko-Edo Federal Constituency and Owan Federal Constituency while in Edo Central Senatorial District, there are the Esan West, Esan Central and Igueben Federal Constituency and Esan North East/Esan South West Federal Constituency.

In the case of Edo South Senatorial District, Egor/Ikpoba-Okha Federal Constituency is yet to produce a Senator while the rest three Federal Constituencies had in the past produced Senators. Beginning from the first republic, on attainment of independence, it is on record that Senator Dahlton Ogieva Asemota from Oredo, represented the then Benin Province which is today known as Edo South Senatorial District, at the senate, followed by Senator Olu Akpata who in the era of the second republic on the platform of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), represented Edo Central as it then was at the Senate. Senator Akpata hailed from Usen in what is today the Ovia North East and Ovia South West Federal Constituency.

However, following the return of democracy in 1999, Senator Roland Owie from Orhionmwon/Uhunmwode Federal Constituency represented Edo

•Continues on page 44

44 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

How to make outcome work – Okafor, ALGON boss National Confab:

•Says Jonathan deserves second term •Boko Haram insurgency may break Nigeria'

of health to ensure that everybody and not just those who are living in the urban centres have access to adequate health facilities. We should have a programme that even if you do not have money, you do not die of diseases that are otherwise treatable and curable.

These are the things we should look at. Have our different sectors performed optimally? Have they really performed in terms of adequate power supply and provision of infrastructures in the nation?

These are the things that the National Conference should think about. These are the things we need to legislate on to capacitate the various institutions we have in the country. We should not only dwell on resource control and what we get from the oil resources. Nigerians want a government that would be able to provide for their basic needs.

N

ational President of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Ozo Nwabueze Okafor, in this interview, speaks on how to make the recommendations of the National Conference count, why the local government system should be strengthened and why President Goodluck Jonathan should be given a second term among other issues.

By CLIFFORD NDUJIHE

O

n the insecurity in the country There is no doubt that we are in a challenging time given the present security situation in the country. I know that a lot of resources and funds that could have been appropriated to critical areas of the economy are now channeled to the area of security. This is really a challenging time but generally, President Goodluck Jonathan has done very well.

On criticisms trailing President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration Criticising the government has always been part of our national life. I do not think that there is any government in Nigeria since independence that has not been so criticized. Often times, we only see the positives of some administrations only when those in authority had left the saddle.

It is our social responsibilities to put the government on its toes to live up to its responsibilities. But I do not think that given the present challenges we have as a nation that the present administration has not done well.

Do you think that President Jonathan deserves a second tenure?

Given the challenges he met on ground and the way he is tackling them, it is my opinion that he deserves a second tenure. As a person and the president of this country, I think he has the right temperament to lead Nigeria.

On whether the National Confab will address Nigeria’s problems The National Conference was a good idea but I think that along the line certain groups, individuals and sections of the country placed their interests above national interests. People did not come to the conference

*Okafor with open minds because when they came, it was with the mindset to represent the interests of a particular section, ethnic group, state or institution.

That kind of mindset makes them not to see the larger picture of national cohesion, integration

Edo south senatorial ticket...

•Continues from page 43 South. The Senatorial baton changed hands when it was handed over to Senator Daisy Danjuma from the same Federal Constituency as Senator Roland Owie. Similarly, Senator Ehigie Uzamere from Ovia Federal Constituency has had two terms consecutively at the Senate.

It is therefore, imperative at this point in the political equations to as a matter of equity and fair play to give opportunity to those areas which are yet to produce a Senator, particularly, the Egor/Ikpoba-Okha Federal Constituency, for which it must be asserted as been neglected and cheated from having any good turn to clinch the Senatorial ticket. It is the wish of the good people of the area that it is their turn this time around to take a shot at the Senatorial ticket. While other areas have enjoyed it in the past, it will be good political decision to let the area benefit from the elective office which has been the prerogative of some section of Edo South.

To decide otherwise will be sheer injustice and deemed a political tyranny by some political leaders who do not mean well for the entire Edo South.

Perhaps, the political gladiators may see this posture as incomprehensible as no fewer than 15 aspirants are currently in the fray

for the Edo South Senatorial ticket with some still clamoring for a third time at the Senate consecutively while those who had done one term previously had thrown in bids for the ticket using covert and overt means and the media to make known their intentions.

My proposition is that it is fair and reasonable for those who had been there to step down and allow aspirants from Egor/Ikpoba-Okha Federal constituency to jostle for the ticket. We should not allow money to be the dominant factor, because the people’s feelings and sensibilities matter in the choice of candidates and hence the privilege accorded them in this respect counts more honourably than any amount of money spent in trying to tip the scales a particular way. It is obvious so far that this intention is there and we only watch and see to ensure that the political cohorts and enemies do not carry it out. Ipso facto for political fairness and equity, the Senatorial seat in Edo South should be picked up expectedly by Egor/IkpobaOkha Federal Constituency, this is in the spirit of promoting positive values that should be devoid of rancor and bitterness. We wait patiently for the transfer of this value in the jostle for the 2015 Edo South Senatorial ticket, to be executed, signed, sealed and delivered.

*Edegbe Stanley, a political commentator wrote from Benin City, the Edo State capital.

or the need for us as a diverse people to come together and live as one united prosperous nation. That is where we have the challenge. So, the conference is a well thought out arrangement but along the line, our interests began to dilute what should have come as a position of the conference.

However, I believe something good would come out of it. You cannot throw away everything about the conference. I think we should leave out those issues that tend to create division among Nigerians. We should look at issues that would bring us together, issues that touch our very core as a nation.

We should talk less of issues that pay attention to a particular group of people because it is only natural that others would rise up to oppose that. So, let us look at national issues, how to improve service delivery, how do we improve the capacity of the government to respond to the needs of the people? How do we respond to emergency situations? How do we prevent the high wave of criminality, insecurity and insurgency affecting everybody in the country? We also should think of what we should do to ensure that we have a robust educational system or tertiary institutions in the country that would be respected internationally. We should also think of how to tackle the issue

On whether the Boko Haram insurgency can break Nigeria Insurgency is presently threatening the unity of the country.

You find a situation where the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria recognizes the fact that every Nigerian citizen is free to reside in any part of the country, do business or go to school in any part of the country. But in a situation where you talk about registering a citizen of Nigeria from one state in another state, then you can see that the unity of the country is being threatened.

So, I insist that insurgency has the potential to threaten the unity of the country. But at the same time, I know that Nigeria would at the end of all these, emerge stronger as a united nation. The security challenge is not peculiar to Nigeria. In several parts of the world including the bigger economies, we have all manner of security challenges and insurgency.

But I believe that once we are united as a country and are determined to fight the insurgency, we will overcome it.

And that is why I believe that everything boils down to the third tier of government which is the Local Government.

Everything in Nigeria broke down when the Local Government system broke down and failed to take care of the needs of the people where the problem starts from. We created a gap that people at that level had nobody to resort to.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014—45

Imo govt, royal father battle for soul of Obinugwu

By Chidi Nkwopara

BRIEFING: From Left, Mr. Emeka Obidike, Executive Secretary, Lubrican Producers Association of Nigeria, LUPAN; Mr. Taiye Williams , Managing Director, Lubcon International Limited; Mr. Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, CMC Connect Limited, and Engr. Kayode Sote, Managing Director, Lube Services Association Project Consultant, during press briefing on the forthcoming maiden edition of the Nigerian Lubricants Summit 2014, organised by CMC Connect Limited and Department of Petroleum Resources, at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.

Ebonyi blasts APC over its call for Elechi’s impeachment

By Peter Okutu

A

BAKALIKI — EBONYI State government yesterday, flayed the state chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, over its call on the House of Assembly to impeach Governor Martin Elechi.

The government in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and State Orientation, Dr. Chike Onwe, noted that the call was a reflection of APC’s parochial views about the giant strides of the present administration in every sector of the economy.

It described the allegations against the governor as baseless and an endless stream of lies aimed at tarnishing his image.

According to the government, no amount of campaign of calumny, political brigandage and propaganda will derail the present administration from fulfilling its mandate of providing dividends of democracy to the people of the state.

“The employment of odious

propaganda and gratuitous grandstanding by APC cannot hoodwink the people who deserve a man that is raising the status of the land space of Ebonyi beyond South Eastern Nigeria.

“It may interest detractors to

note that the three rice clusters located at Oso Edda, Iboko and Onuigboji are now fully operational. Ebonyi is set to take its pride of place among riceproducing centres around the world,” it stated.

The government further listed Governor Elechi’s contributions in the area of health, agriculture, infrastructure development and education, saying it would remain an indelible legacy for generations yet unborn.

NCC board chairman blames vandalism, others for poor GSM services

By Anayo Okoli

U

MUAHIA — THE Chairman of the Board of Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC, Engr. Peter Igho, has ascribed poor quality service by GSM providers to multiple taxation, right of way and vandalism of facilities.

He also disclosed that Nigeria currently had an estimated 129 million active telephone subscribers Igho, who spoke while on a courtesy visit to Governor Theodore Orji in Umuahia, Abia State, disclosed that the

telecommunication industry was contributing 8.5 per cent to the nation's Gross Domestic Product,GDP, with a tele-density of 92 per cent.

According to him, telecommunications have transformed the way of doing things in Nigeria and "NCC is making effort to improve the quality of service to Nigerians."

Igho said the commission was currently pushing for a law to classify telecommunications facilities as critical infrastructure.

He said also that over 50 million of the nation’s population had access to the Internet.

He lamented that until issues of multiple taxation, right of way and vandalisation of its facilities were addressed, improved service might remain a mrage.

In his remark, Governor Orji commended the Commission for doing a good job in regulating the activities of service providers in the country.

Orji, who described communication as an essential service, said his administration was addressing some of the problems confronting the operations of the NCC, including the issue of multiple taxation and right of way.

Former ECOWAS Parliament speaker vies for Abia North senatorial seat

By Anayo Okoli

U

MUAHIA — AHEAD of 2015, former speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Chief Mao Ohuabunwa, has declared his intention to run for Abia North senatorial seat currently occupied by Senator Uche Chukwumereije.

According to him, the senatorial zone has not benefited from Chukwumerije’s 12 years stint in the Senate.

Ohuabunwa, a former two-time member of the House of Representatives, expressed surprise that despite the poor

performance of Chukwumereije and unwritten zoning that the seat would move to Arochukwu/ Ohafia area, the senator has again declared his intention to run through bill-boards.

Ohuabunwa said he was to contest for the seat in 2011, but was prevailed upon by the party and stakeholders to step down for Chukwumereije because of the reconciliation which united the party members when Governor Theodore Orji joined PDP. He noted that blanket tickets were given to all serving law makers at both the state and federal levels at the time.

Criticising Chukwumereije’s representation, Ohuabunwa said his 12 years in the Senate had not added any value to the people of the zone, saying he would

want to replace him to add value to the people.

“When you are elected, you are to add value to the people,” Ohuabunwa stressed.

OWERRI — BATTLE for the soul of Obinugwu royal stool in Orlu Local Government Area of Imo State is now raging between Eze Cletus Ilomuanya and Rochas Okorocha’s administration.

While government explained that it sacked the traditional ruler of Obinugwu for his alleged misconduct, the royal father said he was not only ignoring government’s sack order, but would go ahead to celebrate his 2014 New Yam Festival today.

Vanguard recalls that Okorocha had earlier, on assumption of duty as governor, dissolved the State Council of Traditional Rulers, which Ilomuanya was heading and appointed Eze Sam Ohiri as the new chairman.

Irked by this development, Ilomuanya approached the high court to challenge his removal as Chairman of the State Council of Traditional Rulers and won.

Although the state government lost at the high court, it appealed the judgment and not only lost at the Appeal Court, but was also ordered to reinstate Ilomuanya.

The embattled royal father ’s Chief Press Secretary, CPS, Mr. Kennedy Eweama, however, told Vanguard that “instead of obeying the order of the Appeal Court, the state government announced the purported dethroning of Eze Ilomuanya as the traditional ruler of Obinugwu.”

Eweama also told Vanguard that government reasoned that “since only a recognised royal father was in a position to assume leadership of the Council of Traditional Rulers, sacking Eze Ilomuanya as the royal father of Obinugwu would put paid to his dogged fight to remain in office.”

Meanwhile, palpable fear had enveloped Obinugwu autonomous community ahead of the New Yam Festival.

Fire guts property worth millions of Naira in Aba

By Eric Ugbor

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BA — PROPERTY worth millions of Naira have been lost by traders on Industry Road, opposite Nigerian Breweries Plc factory, Aba, Abia State, after a midnight fire gutted their shops, destroying goods and other belongings.

Vanguard gathered that no item was saved as the fire was said to have destroyed all the wares in the shops.

It was gathered that but for the quick intervention of fire fighting personnel from Abia State Fire Service, the damage would have been worse.

An account by a shop owner and neighbour to the affected

victims said that the shop owners affected in the inferno were restaurant owners, beer parlour operators, provision shop owners and spare-parts dealers.

A victim, whose shop was saved by men of the fire service, said: “ I was lucky that my shop was among the ones the fire service men saved.

46 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

Bauchi govt dismisses rumour of Ebola outbreak

2015: Group urges Jonathan to declare for 2nd term

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By Suzan Edeh

AUCHI—THE Bauchi State government yesterday said rapid Ebola response centres had been established in the state as part of measures to forestall any outbreak of the virus in the state.

Commissioner for Health, Dr. Abubakar Sani Malami, told newsmen while dismissing rumours of Ebola outbreak.

The commissioner said the two rapid response centres were established in Bauchi and Azare for any emergency and assured that there was no cause for alarm, since the state had not recorded any case of the disease.

According to Dr. Malami, “there is no iota of truth in the rumour of an outbreak of Ebola in the state. It is the handiwork of those who do not wish the state and its people well. There is no truth again in the messages that to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus people should bath with salty water as well as drink same. Such a

By Emmanuel Elebeke

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BUJA—AHEAD of the 2015 general elections, one of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign support groups, Friends of Goodluck, FOG, yesterday, called on the President to declare his intension to run for a second term in office.

Director General of the Organisation, Hon. Tom Itua, who announced this at the briefing by the organisation said the call became necessary in view of the sterling achievements and track record of the President in the past four years he had been in office.

He said four years couldn’t have been enough for such a leader who had shown commitment to work and had demonstrated uncommon strides in the areas of infrastructure development such as road, rail line, aviation, health, security, agriculture, education, power, oil and gas, electoral reform, among others.

He further explained that the group had put in place structures in all 36 states of the country and FCT, Abuja, including 109 senatorial districts, 774 local government areas in the to enable them focus on mobilising the electorate as soon as the President declares his intention to run for a second term.

development will only put many people in danger particularly those that are kidney patients or hypertensive.

“The dreaded disease for now has not spread to other parts of the country but remain in Lagos where health authorities have confirmed the death of two medical personnel who attended

to late Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian who died of the infection few weeks ago.”

The commissioner, however, appealed to rumour mongers to desist from spreading such dangerous rumours which could lead to the sudden death in some cases, considering the health status of some of the people who

could receive such information.

He said: “If there will be any information about Ebola outbreak in Bauchi State, it will come officially from the Government and through the Ministry of Health which is saddled with the responsibility of taking care of the health issues of the people of the state.”

....As Mushin LG boss counsels residents

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AGOS—CHAIRMAN of Mushin Local Government, Babatunde Adepitan, has appealed to residents of the council to be on the alert and be conscious of the deadly Ebola virus, warning that “it is real and deadly.”

Speaking through the council manager, Mr. Rasaq Oladeji, at a public enlightenment campaign on the danger posed

by Ebola, he stressed the need for the residents to take precautionary measures on issues that could promote the spread of the virus.

He said: “Mushin has been mentioned as one of the Local

Governments where the people that had contact with the effected person reside. This, therefore, calls for caution and vigilance. Residents should avoid the consumption of bush meat, particularly Monkeys, Bats and Gorilla. ''It is very important for the residents to obey the instructions that can help to contain the spread of the virus, whether real or imagined.

Mushin Local Government is thickly populated and crowded.

So, infection of any individual could spell doom for a lot of people. It is very important to take precautionary measures,

especially on issues of sanitation, indiscriminate dumping of refuse, open defecation, avoidance of hand shake, watching of hands regularly with soup and disinfectants.”

Speaking at the public lecture, a medical practitioner, Dr. Tunde Oloyede, appealed to the residents to be conscious of the early signs of the disease such as muscle aches, vomiting, red eyes, skin rash, diarrhea, stomach pain, acute symptoms include, bleeding/ hemorrhaging from skin and internal organs.

Ex-militants petition Jonathan over exclusion from amnesty programme B ENIN CITY—SOME former Niger Delta exmilitants from Edo and Delta states, have petitioned President Goodluck Jonathan and the office of the Presidential Amnesty Committee, alleging that cronies of some political appointees who were not registered in the amnesty programme are benefitting from the exercise while the “ real ex-militants” are allegedly excluded.

In a petition addressed to the President and the Special

Adviser to President on Niger Delta and Chairman, Presidential Amnesty Committee,Mr Kingsley Kuku, the former militants through their solicitors, Ugha Kurumah and others declared that the none beneficiaries of the programme were from nine camps scattered in the two states.

The petition said that BeniObiri Camp headed by Ojuemi Prediseghbofa keyed into the third phase of the amnesty programme with 1,300 persons and

surrendered over 109 automatic weapons and several ammunition but that only seven slots were allocated to them from the monthly stipend while that of Pina-Ofini Camp headed by Saturday Ajemiri entered the programme with 1002 persons, surrendered 49 arms but was given five slots.

The letter further stated that 800 persons from Oweikontei Camp headed by Emmaunel Aboh entered into the amnesty surrendering 49 arms and several ammunition but got five slots while from the Toruiyesinghan

By Bartholomew Madukwe

PEOPLE SPEAK

08102479985

Camp headed by Ayefagha Yeriyemi, 351 persons surrendered, giving 55 arms and several ammunition but got only five slots.

The petition reads in part: These inappropriate engagement is making life after amnesty very miserable and unbearable for all members of the entire camps and we are shocked that in the midst of their predicaments, we are also aware that your friends, political thugs gave slots to themselves from which they receive fabulous monthly allowances.”

(nwamad@yahoo.com)

On Ebola virus in Nigeria

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t is the same attitude exhibited on menace of Boko Haram and the rescue of the Chibok girls that we are almost seeing in the Ebola matter. May God bless us with good and strong leadership. Mr. Imanuel Luminous Jannah- Businessman

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he government should use all powers within the constitution to get the Nigerian Medical Association back to work. Ebola is a virus that is capable of challenging the very existence of Nigeria. I wish we can just get this thing straight before it spreads.

Ms. Esther Adichie- Worker

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his Ebola virus is no longer a state issue but a federal issue and all state government should be encouraged to follow the same standard in all the centers and all expenses should be charged into national ecological/security vote. Ms. Alice UdoyohStudent

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bola has been affect ing our neighboring countries for the past one year and the ministry for health never cared to put Nigerians on alert knowing that infected persons can find themselves in our own soil. Mrs Morayo Iyoke - Self employed

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hy can’t we use American viral drug, if the US infected citizen is getting better with that cure? Our politicians are good only in executing programmes in the newspaper. So we cannot look for drug until another 70 persons are declared infected with the virus? Unbelievable! Mr. Nonso Azudiefe- Student

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HEY should equip all the centers with necessary gear; coveralls; sanitizers and in the meantime house the group in a particular location as prevention so that they don’t come in contact with their immediate families while they are on this urgent medical/humane assignment. Mr. Eyinna Okpani- Student

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 —47

Tin Can Customs generates N138bn in six months

Microsoft expands product portfolio with Nokia 130

By Ifeyinwa Obi

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AGOS— THE Nigeria Customs Service, Tin Can Island Port Command, has recorded a revenue generation of N138.940 billion between January and June this year as against the amount collected same period in 2013, which stood at N108,901 billion.

The breakdown showed that the amount collected this year surpassed that of the previous year with N30,039 billion, in what the leadership described as a major achievement since the take-over of destination inspection regime by the Service.

The Customs Area Controller, Jibrin Zakare, who was excited about the revenue figure, described it as the highest so far in the history of the Customs Command.

Zakare attributed the high revenue yield to the success of the Destination Inspection regime under the Customs administration.

Comptroller Jibrin also said the high revenue generated this half-year was a clear manifestation of the benefits of Pre-Arrival Assessment Report, PAAR, in the ports as part of the Destination Inspection regime.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES: TAN lauds Nigerian contingent

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non-governmental organisation, Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), has congratulated the Nigerian contingent to the just concluded 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland for doing the nation proud with a haul of medals that they brought home from the event.

TAN said it was highly elated by the spectacular performance of the contingent which was better than previous ones. That it evidences the fact that the Sports sector is working well.

The Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), while commending the members of the contingent, however attributed the improvement in Glasgow to the Transformation Agenda of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, noting that the athletes were able to do well because of conducive atmosphere of sports in the country courtesy of the Transformation Agenda.

By Emeka Aginam

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Aminchi Samaila Baraya (middle) being decorated with his new rank of Commissioner of Police by the Acting Inspector General of Police Suleiman Abba (right), in Abuja.

5 suspected Boko Haram members docked over kidnapping in Kogi

By Boluwaji Obahopo

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OKOJA — FIVE suspected members of the Boko Haram sect were yesterday arraigned before a Lokoja chief magistrate's court 1 over alleged involvement in the kidnap of children of the Speaker of Kogi State House of Assembly, Alhaji MomohJimoh Lawal.

The suspects, Ibrahim Garba, Usman Musa, Husseini Ovaku, Husseini Umar and Ogah Sunday, were charged with criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, membership of an unlawful organisation and kidnapping contrary to Sections 97(1), 289(c) and 100 of the Penal Code Law and 3(3) and 7 of the Kogi State Kidnapping, Thuggery and other related Offences (Prohibition) Law, 2010.

According to Mohammed Abaji, Senior Legal Officer with the state Ministry of Justice, the suspects on April 15 invaded the private residence of the Speaker in Okengwe, Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State armed with sophisticated weapons and kidnapped his two sons, three-year-old Hafiz and six-year-old Ogirima.

Abaji said the suspects took the children away in a dark blue Toyota Yaris car with number plate: LAGOS: AKD 224 AY belonging to their mother and later demanded N200 million ransom for their release.

The children were released were Friday June 6, 53 days after their abduction.

Abaji said investigations revealed that the accused and others now at large, who were members of an unlawful association, the Boko Haram, masterminded the kidnap, saying: “It was also revealed through their confessional statements that a Boko Haram

leader, simply known as Musa, trained them in weapons’ handling in a forest on Ajaokuta-Okene road, about two-hour walk from the highway into the forest.”

Abaji also alleged that the suspects also carried out the robbery attacks on Ajaokuta and Auchi branches of FirstBank of Nigeria Plc and other robberies in Kaduna State.

He, however, said investigations were on-going and applied for another date for mention, but urged the court to remand the suspects in prison custody in view of the enormity of the alleged offences.

However, counsel to the 1st, 2nd to 4th and 5th accused, Kevin Fenaiye, Safiya Abdullahi and Shuaibu Ibrahim, respectively in their oral applications for bail cited

Section 36(5) of the constitution among others, emphasizing presumption of innocence of the accused.

In his ruling, Chief Magistrate Levi Animoku, who denied the accused bail, said the laws equally prescribed restraint of an accused where and when necessary.

He said: “In view of the weight of punishment, especially for kidnapping which is life imprisonment without an option of fine, in line with the state laws, it was not safe to admit the accused to bail. I am not convinced to grant them bail. The application is hereby refused.”

The chief Magistrate ordered the accused to be remanded in Federal Prisons, Koton-Karfe and adjourned till September 17.

Fire razes Benue varsity's female hostel

By Peter Duru

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AKURDI— An early morning inferno, yesterday, razed a block of the Benue State University, BSU, female hostel in Makurdi, the state capital.

The fire left over 200 students homeless while most of them also lost valuables to the inferno which started at about 10 a.m.

At press time, officers and men of the state fire service were seen battling to put out the fire while the affected female students were seen crying.

One of the affected students, a 300 level student of Mass Communication, Beatrice Ter, said: “I rushed back and saw a heavy smoke, I tried to save my belongings but it was too late.

I lost several items including

my iPad, credentials and cell phone.”

In his reaction, the Dean Students’ Affairs of the institution, Professor Armstrong Adejoh, attributed the incident to possible power fluctuation, adding: “You know we have been having the issue of epileptic power supply in the school.

It could also be due to human error. However, we will set up a panel to determine the cause of the inferno.”

Prof. Adejoh who described the incident as traumatic, noted that the cooperation of the students helped to avert a major disaster in the institution.

He said the institution had put in place a temporary measure to relocate the over 92 identified affected students to a staff quarters.

AGOS— COMMITTED to the growth of ultraaffordable mobile phones to end users, Microsoft Devices Group on Monday introduced Nokia 130 into smart phone ecosystem.

The product, according to Microsoft, is expected to be available in the third quarter of this year to select t markets including China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The mobile phone designed to introduce millions of people to new digital experiences at affordable price no matter the income ladder, the new product combines the everyday essentials that firsttime mobile phone buyers expect with the beautiful design, reliability and mobile entertainment they want.

Featuring a built-in video player, music player with up to 46 hours continuous playback on a single charge and everyday essentials such as a flashlight, FM radio and USB charging, the device is the perfect introduction to a “mobile first” world.

The Nokia 130 is an ideal handset for first-time mobile phone buyers, or for people seeking a reliable backup phone to complement their existing smartphone.

UACC holds council meeting

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HE United Apostolic Church of Christ (UACC) holds its 49th Annual Supreme Executive Council meeting from tomorrow at the UACC General Headquarters, 5, Tesi Street, Ajegunle, Lagos.

The event is an avenue for ministers of UACC to brainstorm on the way forward and deliberate on the achievements of the mission in the past 49 years.

According to the General Overseer of UACC, Archbishop Moses Fayehun, "the meeting will enable ministers of the mission to deliberate on the progress of the church in the past years and we shall discuss on the way forward.

The minister-in-charge of UACC Headquarters, Rev. Victoria Olorunyomi, said everything had been put in place for a successful conference.

48 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

BRIEFING: From left; Mrs Toyin Ojudun, Director, Membership Development, Directorate, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria, CIPM; Mr. Akpos Adonkie, Chairman, FORUM: From right: National Co-ordinator, Urhobo Network, Dr. Dafe Akpocha; His 2014 Conference Planning Committee, CIPM;Mr. Victor Royal Highness, the Osu of Urhobo, Dr. Charles Ogodo; Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Famuyibo, President/Chairman of Council, CIPM and Mr. Sunday governorship aspirant of Delta State, Olorogun Ovie Omo-Agege and Chief Upebitere, at Adeyemi, Registrar/CEO, CIPM during the Institute's 46th annual the Urhobo stakeholders forum, organised by Urhobo Network in Lagos.

National Conference Pre-Press Conference in Lagos.

VISIT: From left; Mrs Adenike Ope, Mr Adeola Jokomba, Chairman, Ikorodu North LG and Princess Adenrele Adeniran-Ogunsanya during their condolence visit to the residence of Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Late Oba Salawudeen Oyefusi Oguntade. Photo by Shola Oyelese.

WALK FOR THE BLIND: From left; Mr. Ogunsola, Principal, School of the Blind, Oshodi, Lagos; Mrs. Biola Agbaje, Chairperson, Nigerian Society for the Blind; Tope Ashiwaju, PR Manager, Dufil Prima Foods Plc; and Lanre Adebayo, Council member, Nigeria Society for the Blind during the walk for the blind and the visually impaired people in the society.

VISIT: From left; Augustine Nkwume, Audit Leader, Deloitte Nigeria; Tawanda Gumbo, Transitional Leader, Deloitte; Chidi Ajaegbu, President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN and Femi Abegunde, Chairman, Governing Board, Deloitte, during a visit by the ICAN president to Akintola Williams Deloitte in Lagos.

LAUNCH: Director Television Enterprises NTASTAR TV, Mr. Maxwell Loco (left) and Chief Executive Officer, NTA START TV, Mr. Joshua Wang presenting Startimes Mobile P40 Smart Phone and P80 Tablet to the public during the launch of Startimes Satellite Decoder “Start Sat” at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja. Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan.

FORUM: From left; Mrs Elizabeth Awagu, Special Asst to DG, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, Mrs Iguo Ukoh; 1st Vice President, ADVAN, Dr Monica Eimunjeze; Director, Registration and Regullatory Affairs, NAFDAC, Sir Steve Omojafor; Chairman STB-McCann, Fellow Registered Practitioner in Advertising and Alhaji Bello Kankarufu; Registrar, APCON during the R & R's Small Business Support Desk of NAFDAC's forum for Advertising stakeholders on NAFDAC regulations in Lagos. Photo by Biodun Ogunleye.

MATRICULATION: From left; Mr Ola Shobowale, Adviser to Youth Independent Coalition; Abiodun Olanrewaju, President; Mr Omodele CELEBRATION: Members of staff of the Osun State Investment Company Limited, Adebola, Initiator; Oladapo Omodele, Vice President and Mr Idris OSICOL, led by the Managing Director, Mr Bola Oyebamiji (3rd left) during the Bamigboye during the 2nd matriculation of Youth Independent Coalition Vocational trainees in Lagos. Photo Lamidi Bamidele celebration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola's re-election in Osogbo.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 — 49

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52 — V anguard Vanguard anguard,, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

BRIEFS

Russian convoy to Ukraine abruptly changes course

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France to supply weapons to Iraqi Kurds •IS fighters capture towns in Syria •US considers air evacuation from Mount

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RANCE has said it will start supplying arms to the Kurdish forces fighting the Islamic State group, calling the situation in Iraqi Kurdistan “catastrophic”.

The shipment of French arms, which the government refused to describe on Wednesday, follows the United States’ increased role in fighting Islamic State fighters.

France says its arms shipment was coordinated with the Iraqi government.

Earlier on Wednesday, France had pledged to deliver a new 20-ton shipment of humanitarian aid including medicine, tents and water treatment equipment to Erbil later in the day.

French authorities have pushed other European Union members to do more to aid minorities being targeted by the Islamic State group.

A high-level EU diplomatic meeting late on Tuesday ended with a statement that it would consider the Kurdish request for urgent military support “in close coordination with Iraqi au-

thorities.”

European Union foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the conflicts in Iraq and Ukraine, the EU said on Wednesday.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton “has decided to convene an extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council this Friday, 15 August, in Brussels on the EU’s response to major ongoing crises, focusing on Iraq and

Ukraine,” a spokesman for Ashton said.

Meanwhile, the Islamic State fighters have captured two key towns and several villages near Syria’s northern border with Turkey after pushing out rival fighters in fierce clashes, opposition groups and activists said. to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The IS fighters also took a string of nearby villages over which they had been fighting, in

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 31 rebels and eight Islamic State group fighters were killed in the clashes.

The Observatory relies on a network of activists inside Syria for its information.

Also, additional U.S. military advisers are now on the ground in northern Iraq with the Obama administration considering a possible air evacuation of thou

Egypt’s Mubarak denies killing protesters

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USTED Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak has denied he ordered security forces to kill protesters, as he faced a Cairo court over the deaths of 850 demonstrators during Egypt’s 2011 uprising. Mubarak told the court he never handed down orders to kill protesters.

“I, Mohammed Hosni Mubarak, who is standing before you today, never handed down orders for the killing of protesters. I never handed down orders for the killing of Egyptians,” he said in his first speech to the court.

“I exhausted my life fighting against enemies of the homeland. I would never hand down orders for the killing of a single Egyptian citizen under any circumstances. Or hand down orders to wreak chaos of which I had been warning. I would never hand down orders to cause anarchy or a political vacuum.”

Brazilian presidential hopeful dies in plane crash

T Rescuers work on the site of the crash of the Cessna 560XL aircraft carrying the presidential candidate of the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) party Eduardo Campos in Santos, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, yesterday. Photo: AFP

Libya votes for foreign intervention L IBYA’S parliament has called for foreign intervention to protect civilians from deadly clashes between rival militia groups.

MPs were meeting in Tobruk in the east because of violence in the capital Tripoli and the second city Benghazi, and 111 out of 124 voted for the call.

Neither the UN nor any foreign power has any current plans to intervene.

Libya has been gripped by violence involving militias that spearheaded the 2011 uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.

More than three years after the uprising, Libya’s police and army remain weak in comparison to the militias who control large parts of the country.

CONVOY of 280 of Russian trucks headed for Ukraine — which Moscow says is carrying relief goods for war-weary civilians — has suddenly changed its course, according to a Ukrainian state news agency.

With thousands of Russian troops still posted near the Ukrainian border and Ukraine’s military putting increasing pressure on pro-Russian fighters around the city of Donetsk, many in Ukraine and elsewhere fear that the so-called humanitarian mission is actually an attempt to smuggle supplies to pro-Russian rebels.

“Russia keeps inventing new excuses for their policy,” Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister, Danylo Lubkivsky, said Tuesday in Kiev. “In Georgia, it was defending pro-Russian minorities. In Ukraine’s Crimea, preventing NATO invasion.”

Shortly after the decree on intervention, the parliament also voted to disband all militias, but the state has no means to enforce this measure.

The first decree appears to be a bold move by the parliament but is ultimately symbolic.

“The international community must intervene immediately to ensure that civilians are protected,” said MP Abu Bakr Biira, quoting from the decree.

It is not clear whether the parliament is seeking a peacekeeping mis-

sion or some other form of help.

But the international community has so far stopped short of any intervention, instead demanding an end to violence and encouraging dialogue.

Deadline ends as Gaza truce efforts continue every effort to reach a sumption of more than a

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GYPTIAN mediators have been racing to bridge gaps between Palestinians and Israelis as they struggle to secure a lasting Gaza truce before the midnight expiry of a three-day ceasefire.

Egypt brokered the 72hour truce which took effect at 00:01 on Monday (2101 GMT Sunday), and has urged the Israelis and Hamas, to make

permanent ceasefire A Palestinian official said on Wednesday that the indirect talks, held at the General Intelligence headquarters in Cairo, were expected to go down to the wire.

By the time the deadline passes, the two sides must have either agreed on a permanent ceasefire, accepted an extension or risk a re-

month of bloody fighting.

Mediators have proposed that talks on key Palestinian demands of a seaport and an airport in Gaza be delayed until a month after a permanent ceasefire takes effect, according to the Egyptian proposal contained in documents, the AFP news agency said.

HE Brazilian presidential candidate Eduardo Campos, 49, has died in a plane crash, party members and local officials say.

Brazil’s Vice President Michel Temer expressed his regret over the death of Mr Campos, who had been running third in the polls for October’s election.

The plane carrying Mr Campos crashed in a residential area of the port city of Santos, in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state.

It is not yet clear if any of the other passengers on board were killed.

‘No words’ , Mr Temer said there were “no words to describe the tragedy that has befallen Brazilian politics today”.

“Eduardo Campos was a politician with principles and values passed down through his family and carried with dignity and honour throughout his career in parliament and the executive,” the statement added.

American woman’s body found in suitcase

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N American woman and her boyfriend have been taken into custody in connection with the killing of the woman’s mother, whose body was left inside a suitcase at a luxury hotel in Bali, Indonesia, police said.

The body of Sheila von Weise Mack, 62, was stuffed in a hard-sided gray suitcase at the prestigious St. Regis Bali Resort on Tuesday, said Djoko Hari Utomo, the police chief of Denpasar, the capital of Bali.

A forensic doctor at the hospital who examined Mack’s body said she had blunt force trauma wounds on her head and face. There were also bruises on her wrists and a broken nail, indicating that there may have been a struggle.

V anguard anguard,, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014—53

Imagine Cup 2014

Microsoft to tech students: Turn your innovative ideas into reality L

IKE the FIFA World Cup held in Brazil in June, Microsoft 2014 Imagine Cup successfully ended last month in Seattle, Washington,USA, with a call to technology students to turn their innovative ideas into reality.

The software contest had brought together no fewer than 125 talented technology students from 34 countries around the world Team Nigeria at 2014 Microsoft Imagine Cup: From left : Adefioye Temidayo ,Oyebisi Jemil, Emuoyibofarhe Justice , (Team Mentor) Faleye Benjamin and Bello Ibraheem at to showcase their talents.

The premier technology the just concluded Microsoft Imagine Cup held in Seattle, Washington, USA programme and be major challenge for most it’s because you had an idea emony where Team competitionn had provided participants after global that somebody thought mat- Eyenaemia of Australia in opportunities for student showcase. tered. In our business, ideas the World Citizenship Comtechnologists to change the petition emerged as the overIt would be recalled that matter”. world with their innovative STEVE Ballmer, former Contest empowers stu- all winner 2014 Imagine Cup. ideas. Over the past 12 years, CEO of Microsoft, at the dents: the event has empowered 2011 edition of the competiCode as a common lan"Imagine Cup empowers more than 1.7 million stu- tion held in New York, USA, students to hack tough prob- guage: For the 34 teams that pardents worldwide to do more had advised participants at lems, while learning and and achieve more through the contest to put their ideas building off the work of oth- ticipated in the finals, code technology. ers. Student developers play was not just the way they into reality.

Challenge of the students: a huge role in bringing new created their projects, but a Ideas matter: However, having been His words: “Ideas matter, technologies to life in a mo- common and essential lanmonitoring closely students’ sometimes people get all bile-first, cloud-first world. guage.

Being a good outing and participation at the global fi- caught up with the speed, Congratulations to all the nals of the contest in many agility and execution, which competitors for their hard showcase, after narrating countries for several years, is certainly vital, but part of work and creativity." Satya their experiences at the and as a Technology Jour- the reason you’re here isn’t Nadella, the Chief Executive world stage, at a welcome nalist who is passionate just because you worked re- Officer of Microsoft, told the reception last week in Lagos, about tech start-ups, turning ally hard and you did some students at the Imagine Cup one thing was clear, there ideas into reality appears to really good programming; World Championship cer- were positive signals that the

software code warriors would turn their ideas into reality.

Taking solution to the next level: Narrating their experience, Adefioye Temidayo, the Team spokesperson told Microsoft officials at a welcome reception for the Team held in Lagos last week they were determined to take their solution to the next level.

We will bring our solution to life: With the digital tools provided by the National Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA), he assured that; " We want to bring our solution to life. From idea to reality, we want to use it to solve local problems.

"The judges during live presentations and hand-on judging were impressed with our solution, CATARA, which serves the purpose of drastically reducing the rate at which cataract causes total blindness in humans" .

Our vision:

Oyebisi Jemil, also a member of Team High Rise said they will leverage on the experience gained from the software contest to take their solution to the market.

Seed fund needed: "We need seed fund from investors for research and development, (R&D) to grow the solution".

Microsoft restates commitment: “Team High Rise’s brilliant delivery at this year’s world finals and their take-out from the whole programme further reinforces our belief that with the right prop as exemplified by Imagine Cup and other programmes through Microsoft 4Afrika, Nigeria and indeed Africa is set to be the next IT Hub of the World." Microsoft Nigeria’s Country Manager, Kabelo Makwane, said.

For the Team mentor, Prof.

Justice Emuoyibofarhe, HOD, Computer Science and Engineering department, LAUTECH, the boys had done well.

54—Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

Uyo prepares for President Jonathan's visit

By Tom Moses

U

YO— THERE is heavy security presence in Uyo, the Akwa-Ibom State capital and other urban centres of the state as President Goodluck Jonathan visits the state today to commission a gas processing facility, including a 69-kilometre gas pipeline at UquoIbeno.

The state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr. Aniekan Umanah in a statement, said President Jonathan will commission the gas processing facility alongside the 69 kilometers pipeline at Uquo, constructed under a public private partnership arrangement between Septa Energy and the Akwa Ibom State Government.

Army chief, don advocate community libraries

T

HE Federal Government and private individuals have been advised to prioritise the provision of libraries in local communities across the states of the federation.

This, according to the Commandant, Command Day Secondary School, Ojo, Lt-Col. Yushau Ahmed and Lagos State University don and Nollywood actor, Dr. Sola Fosudo, will help stem the decline in reading culture.

The duo spoke at the 14th valedictory service, speech and prize-giving day of the school, which witnessed the graduation of 404 students.

Fosudo argued in his paper entitled Decline in Reading Culture: What Hope for the Future, that “as an active mental process, reading is the basic foundation on which academic and life skills of individuals are built. Hence researchers have found that there is a strong correlation between reading and success in life.”

While affirming this view, Ahmed emphasised his confidence in the competence of the graduating pupils to face the world.

2015 POLLS: Use your children as thugs, Edo youths tell politicians

By Simon Ebegbulem

B

ENIN—AHEAD of the 2015 general elections in Edo State, thousands of youths in the state, yesterday,

held a procession round major roads in Benin, saying politicians should use their children as thugs, warning that they would resist attempts by politicians in the state to

engage youths as thugs.

The youths, who declared this on the occasion of the 2014 International Youth Day, called on the state government to set up a panel of inquiry to

UNIBEN ALUMNI: From left— Dr. Uyi Igbinadolor, past President, University of Benin Alumni Association North America, UBAANA; Mr. Kingsley Jesurobo, Chairman of Board of Directors, University of Benin Alumni Association Canada, UBAACAN; Dr. Felix Abuah; Dr. Clement Oghene, President Worldwide, University of Benin Alumni Association, UBAA; Mr. Osa Ikponmwonsa, past President, UBAA; Dr. Bob Egbe, President, UBAANA; Engr. Abraham Esedafe, President, UBAACAN , at the inauguration of the association in USA.

ERA blames oil spill-related fires on poor the ERA, Alagoa Morris, in an It was, however, learnt that a clean-up interview in Yenagoa lamented Shell oil spill response team

By Samuel Oyadongha

Y

E N A G O A — ENVIRONMENTAL Rights Action, ERA, has expressed concern over the incessant fire outbreak at spill sites in Bayelsa State communities some of which it blamed on persons linked to the cleanup of the impacted areas.

It lamented the Sunday inferno, which ravaged the swamp of Kalaba and Ikarama communities of Okordia clan in Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state, leaving on its trail the destruction of economic trees such as raffia palm, palm trees and aquatic lives among others.

Shell's alarm

Meanwhile, Shell Petroleum Development Company had, last month, raised alarm over alleged increasing trend of oil spills caused by third party activities in the Okordia and Ikarama axis of the state on its facilities.

Shell had claimed that a team, comprising representatives of the community, government regulators and security agents, state government and its officials established that unknown persons had removed a valve at the manifold, causing a spill of about 600 barrels of oil.

was mobilised to the site on June 12 to stop the leak and effect repairs as well as recovery.

But the Field Coordinator of

the enormity of the damage inflicted on the already fragile environment by the Sunday fire outbreak at the Kalaba and Ikarama spill sites.

investigate the alleged murder of Mr. Daniel Aifegha, who was allegedly killed for political reasons in Owan West Local Government Area of the state last month.

A statement by Osaro Iyamu of the Edo Youth for Good Governance, EYFGG; Solomon Okoduwa of Initiative for Youth Awareness on Migration, Immigration, Development and Reintegration, IYAMIDR and others, urged politicians in the state to focus on how to sponsor responsible candidates for elections rather than arming and recruiting innocent youths as thugs.

They said: “We have heard politicians threatening fire and brimstone in the state over the coming 2015 elections. But we all know that they are relying on youths of the state, whom they use as thugs.

“But we are warning that our youths will never be used again. They should bring back their children and use them as thugs. We are advising them to sponsor candidates with good pedigree else they will lose if they want to rely on our youths for thuggery.”

They called on the Federal Government to initiate strategies that will revolutionise the country through agriculture, saying the dependence on oil was impeding development in the country.

October deadline to Jonathan exposed Northern leaders, says IYC

By Emma Amaize & Samuel Oyadongha

W

ARRI— THE Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, has said that the October deadline issued President Goodluck Jonathan by the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, to end insurgency in the North and produce Chibok girls without which he should not contest the 2015 presidential election, had confirmed the suspicion that northern politicians were the ones behind the insurrection.

IYC, in a statement by its spokesperson, Mr. Eric Omare, said: “The statement has confirmed the consistent position of IYC and other wellmeaning Nigerians that the insurgency in the North is being fuelled by politicians and some leaders of northern extraction to discredit the government of President Jonathan to make his candidature unpopular in 2015.

“We regard this as unpatriotic and the height of desperation for power by some northern leaders and call for their immediate arrest for fuelling

insurgency in the north.

“We wish to state clearly that no amount of blackmail through insurgency or any other means

would stop President Jonathan from seeking a second term in office in line with the 1999 Constitution.”

Ex-militants issue 2-week ultimatum on amnesty

By Festus Ahon

U

GHELLI—EX-militant leader, David Owhegbe, has issued a two-week ultimatum to the Presidential Special Adviser on Amnesty, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, to document and integrate members of his camp into the phase three of amnesty programme or he would mobilise his men for a protest in Abuja.

Addressing newsmen in Ughelli, Delta State, yesterday, Owhegbe decried what he described as the willful and deliberate exclusion of members of his camp from the documentation of ex-militants by the amnesty office.

In a letter addressed to Mr. Kuku, the ex-militants

lamented that the time frame promised them “for their documentation and payment of stipend had long expired without any payment.”

Owhegbe and other exmilitants in the letter by their solicitor, Mr. A. Ovie, said: “On the proclamation of amnesty by the Federal Government, our clients with retinue of militants under their authority voluntarily submitted and surrendered all their guns and ammunition under their control and management to the Sector 1, Joint Task Force, JTF, at the Effurun Barracks, Delta State.

“Contrary to expectations, the express promise made to our clients that they would be paid their stipend and documented at the stated period has been unfulfilled.”

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 —55

COUNTER-TERRORISM: Police set up tactical operation points

By Kingsley Omonobi

A

BUJA — AS part of measures to contain the illegal movement of small arms and light weapons and other explosive materials, the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba, has ordered immediate establishment of Tactical Operation Points, TOP, in select states of the North East and North West.

The points, which will be manned by policemen with adequate training in tactical operation and counter-terrorism, would be established in various strategic locations, including highways in Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba states.

Consequently, the IGP has charged all Assistant Inspectors -General of Police, AIGs, in charge of the zones covering the affected states and all Commissioners of Police in charge of these states to ensure close supervision and constant re-skilling of the personnel performing the special operation.

Force spokesman, ACP Frank Mba, noted in a statement that the IGP was optimistic that the latest measure will enable the Force halt further spread of violence in the land and frustrate the activities of insurgents and other criminals.

He pointed out that the Force was determined to track and mop

up illegal arms and arrest the unchallenged movement of explosive materials by hoodlums and other unpatriotic elements.

While noting that the Police would always work in close collaboration with other security forces in the land, the IGP vowed that the Force would leave no

stone unturned in ensuring that the citizens of Nigeria enjoyed maximum safety and security in their own country.

Abba, however, called on the general public, particularly those in the North East and North West, to co-operate with the Police to achieve greater safety for all.

VISIT: Suleiman Abbah, the Acting Inspector General of Police, welcoming Chief Willie Obiano, Governor of Anambra State, on visit to his office, at the Force Headquaters, Louis Edet House, Abuja, yesterday.

Shake up in Airforce: New AOCs appointed

By Kingsley Omonobi

A

BUJA — THE Nigerian Air Force has effected a shake-up in its high command with the appointment of new Air Officers Commanding, AOCs. According to a statement by the Director of Airforce Public Relations, Air Commodore Dele Alonge, the new AOCs are Air Vice Marshal M.C. Ilonyosi, former Air Officer Commanding Logistics Command; he is the new Air Officer Commanding Tactical Command, while his predecessor Air Vice Marshal U.A. Omeiza moves to Mobility Command as the Air Officer Commanding.

Air Vice Marshal O.T. Oguntoyinbo, formerly the Chief of Training and Operations at Nigerian Air Force headquarters, takes charge as the new Air Officer Commanding Logistics Command, while Air Vice Marshal A.O. Odunlade takes charge as the Chief of Training and Operations at the Nigerian Air Force Headquarters.

Air Vice Marshal I.Umar is the new Chief of Aircraft Engineering, Headquarters, Nigerian Air Force, while Air Vice Marshal E.N. Nzokala is moved to Air Warfare Centre as the Commandant.

Air Vice Marshals E.C. Akogu, AVM S.A. Dambo and AVM T.L.

President Jonathan appoints new HoS

By Ben Agande

A

BUJA — PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan has announced the appointment of Mr. Danladi Kefasi as the new Head of Service of the Federation.

The announcement was made during the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting where the President thanked the immediate past Head of Service, Bukar Goni Aji, for the reforms he brought to the civil service.

The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, who spoke on the appointment of the new head of Civil Service after the FEC meeting, remarked that Aji, as Head of Service, served the

nation with dedicated leadership.

“His appointment had impacted positively on the federal civil service. Mr. President in council thanked him for his achievements.

“He has brought his leadership and capacity, his ability to network with other people in government to achieve the objectives and implementation of the transformation agenda.

“Mr. President said he found him very competent, very knowledgeable and very committed to his work. The Council moved a motion to formally congratulate him for attaining his height in service and also to thank him and for the good he has done for the country."

Danbaki are posted as Senior Air Staff Officers at Mobility Command, Tactical Air Command and Training Command. while Air Vice Marshal M.A. Muhhammed is the Chairman of Air Exposition/International and Liaison.

Also posted are Air Vice Marshals E.E. Agwungu, R.A. Ojuawo and S.I. Onuh. who take charge of Directorates of Policy, Operations and Nigerian Air Force Transformation.

Air Commodore J.B. Adigun is the Chief of Accounts and Budget, while Air Commodore J.N. Igboneme is the new Commander, 33 Logistics Group.

Other newly appointed Directors at the Air Force Headquarters include Air Commodore E.A. Johnson, C.O. Usoh, N.A. Kolofo, S. Naiya, S.O. Akpassa and E.O. Akinbayo, who are to take charge of Directorates of Air Traffic Service, Production, Materials and System Management, Education, Plans and Administration.

Air Commodore I. Bukar is the new Hanger Director Aeronautical Technical Service Limited, while Air Commodore O.O. Akinsanya is the Air Provost Marshal.

Some of the newly appointed Commanders include Air Commodore H.E.O. Eze, Commander 401 Aircraft Maintenance Deport, Air Commodore A.M. Sadique, Commander 407 Equipment Supply Depot.

Air Commodore L.U. Mshelia is the new Commander, Quick

Response Force, Air Commodore E.F. Golit, Commander. 335 Base Services Group and Group Captain M.C. Nnaji, Commander. 403 Electronics Maintenance Depot.

The appointments, approved by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu, are with immediate effect, the statement added.

You can industrialise Nigeria, Minister tasks chemists

By Emmanuel Elebeke

ABUJA — THE Minister of Health, Prof.

Onyebuchi Chukwu, has charged members of the Institute of Chartered Chemists of Nigeria, ICCON, to industrialise Nigerian economy by converting raw materials into finished products.

The Minister made the call during the 6th Mandatory Continuing P r o f e s s i o n a l Development, MCPD, workshop, organised by ICCON in Abuja, with the theme: 'Nigeria’s Industrial and Economic Boom: Impact of Local Raw Materials.'

According to him, ICCON has the potential of employment generation, wealth creation and raising citizens' quality of life through research and manufacturing of finished goods.

He noted that the economic development of any nation increased in geometrical proportion with growth in manufacturing from raw materials to finished products.

According to him, this will serve as a further boost to the government’s quest for economic empowerment of our people

Tolling of roads to start soon — FG

By Favour Nnabugwu

F

E D E R A L GOVERNMENT’S toll policy would take off as soon as possible, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works, Dr. Abubakar Muhammed, said, yesterday.

He also said the two bills on the establishment of Federal Road Authority, FRA, and National Road Fund, NRF, would create jobs and opportunities for Nigerians, if passed into law.

Muhammad, who spoke at the 18th edition of the Annual National Conference of Directors of Civil Engineering (Highways) in Abuja, said it had become expedient for tolling of roads in the country to start as fast as possible since government could no longer fund road projects.

“The Ministry is also working assiduously to ensure that the National Tolling Policy is in place as soon as possible.

“The Ministry has taken a number of steps to ensure that

Direct Foreign Investments, DFIs, and Public Private Partnership, PPP, tremendously thrive in the development of road infrastructure in Nigeria, in order to guarantee sustainable funding of the road sector.

“These efforts are underscored by the fact that government alone can no longer fund huge and expensive road projects due to limited financial resources.”

Muhammed said the FRA and NRF bills, which passage into law were being vigorously pursued by the Ministry of Works, would attract huge private sector funds required to fill the funding gap.

Coordinating Director of Highways (Planning and Development), Engr. Bala Danshehu, while delivering his welcome address, said the conference of Directors of Civil Engineering had always been the engine room for the Council of Works, that they must not renege on its duties to generate constructive ideas for policy formulation

56—Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

The Seige echoes fanaticism of faith, country issues of bad leadership and terror atS far as Africa Conti tacks on inhabitants. nent is concerned, the The Seige narrates Seige is far from being over. the historical standAt least not with several har- off between two rowing experiences faced by mighty fanatics with Africans in the hands of their nationalistic fervour own people. Long ago, it was who claim or rather Africa groaning under colo- believe that God is A scene from The Seige nial dictatorship but now, on their side. The Mahdi of Sudan most Africans are not just liv(played by Ola ing as slaves even in their Rotimi) is pitched against a for westernising Africa. own countries, but in fear of British soldier, Charles The Mahdi who also boasts insurgents who unleash terGordon (Sam Quinn). Both of more power and believe in ror at will. battle over Khartoum as each a stronger God, advises Quite a perfect timing for Gordon to “leave Africa for Africans. “You cannot unmake the Africa of our birth.” He tells The play interrogates the role individual Gordon. He sees Gordon only as a usurper who is in Sudan ego or self-promotion plays in the psyfor political and selfish relichology of religious bigotry gious interest.

Little wonder British lead actor, Sam Quinn described cofanatic lays legitimate claims the premier of Sam Omatseye’s ‘The Seige’ at the premised on God and coun- lonialism as “Something I’m not proud of as an English perMuson Centre, Lagos. It re- try.

Rather than leave Sudan on son. It’s a dark chapter when echoed issues bedeviling althe orders of his government you consider what happened most every part of Africa, including Sudan where the play in addition to mounting pres- to local people.

Though I’m neither a sures from the Mahdi, is set. christian nor Muslim, it’s a difGordon like his fellow coloAlthough Omatseye’s play ficult role to play being the bad nial masters who took over centres on colonialism, the u y ” . message speaks to topical is- Africa believing it could force g sues as it affects Africa as well civilisation on the supposed The director, Wole Oguntokun as the future which becomes barbarians, demands com- and the actors gave an outmore blur each day, owing to mendation from the Mahdi standing performance. The

BY PRISCA SAM-DURU

A

,

,

scenes were dominated by monologues although the stage was designed in a way that the two warring lords could hear each other while apart. The fanatics’ arguments actually aided comprehension. The director applies his ingenuity at this juncture, with the introduction of colorfully dressed female dancers who displayed erotic dance styles, easing off whatever monotony that had erupted.

Energetic male dancers They were joined by some energetic male dancers and together, they spiced up the production.

Gordon in his pride, goes on to fight the Mahdi with his tiny army and in the process, is

killed. Gordon’s successor Lord Kitchener (John Glenn), triumphs and avenges Gordon’s death after the Mahdi’s peaceful passing. Kitchener orders the desecration of the Mahdi’s resting place, exhumes his skull and turns it into an inkwell.

However, two defiant locals break into Kitchener’s office with another skull thereby making it difficult to determine the Mahdi’s skull. And before further desecration of the Mahdi's skull, Kitchener discards the skulls on the royal order from England.

The play interrogates the role individual ego or self-promotion plays in the psychology of religious bigotry. As succinctly put, Omatseye calls it “fanaticism of faith and country.”

AAF/NBL changing lives with National Art Competition

•The 2011 winning work by Uche Uzorka ans Chika Obeagu

BY JAPHET ALAKAM

N

IGERIA is blessed with many untapped creative talents and as part of efforts to discover and promote the conceptual development of contemporary art in Nigeria with the mission of raising awareness on relevant social issues through the use of creative artistic expression, the African Arts Foundation (AAF)established the National Art Competition (NAC). It is an annual arts competition

which is open to aspiring Nigerian artists that aims to promote the development of contemporary African art and raise awareness of social issues through the use of creative artistic expression.

The NAC places emphasis on the processes of artistic creation rather than solely the end product, it is designed to support artists to develop ideas and the message of their work. As contemporary art is inherently an

avenue for audiences to analyze and begin a dialogue about issues relevant to their present day, the artists are asked to create work that will spark public conversations and make a difference in their local communities. The theme for this year's edition of the National Art Competition (NAC) is 1Interventions , which explores how contemporary art serves as a catalyst for positive social change, engaging artists to think about their relationship to the social, political, and cultural framework of the society that they live in.

The Nigerian Breweries is the main sponsor of the NAC and this is one of the platforms used to sustain their commitment to 1Winning with Nigeria . The move is part of their effort to en-

courage and promote the development of creativity, arts and artists in Nigeria. Nigerian Breweries recognizes that art plays an important role in strengthening cultural values in any society and this sponsorship remains only part of a broad initiative to support art development in Nigeria, as well as the development of talents in various fields of endeavor.

The NAC has been identified as one of the platforms that has been monumental in youth and talent development in Nigeria as it also showcases emerging talent in such diverse mediums as painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media, installation, and video art and is open to aspiring Nigerian artists. By the end of the competition, the artists would have gone through series of coaching and nurturing and their skills are polished.

Also each year has been differ-

ent, as the competition evolves and grows, the artists, not only the winners are recognized in and outside the country as their artwork are becoming more creative. The first prize winner has an opportunity to be part of an international art exhibition which gives them exposure to the international scene thus enhancing the creativity and development of artists.

Nigerian Breweries and the AAF believe that with competitions like these, more artists will emerge alleries from all over the world in an incredibly vibrant and luxurious setting. She is also currently working on setting up an Art exhibition to showcase African contemporary art in London. The NAC has exposed her not just locally but internationally as she can showcase her work at international fairs and also interact with renowned artists.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014—57

No hidden agenda in draft report •Clark, Falae, Nwachukwu, Dara, others tell northern delegates

By Henry Umoru

S

OUTHERN and Middle Belt delegates at the National Conference, yesterday, told their northern colleagues and the country that there was no hidden agenda in the draft Constitution produced by the Secretariat of the Conference, saying that it was an insult to allege that President Goodluck Jonathan was planning third term using the delegates.

Drawn from the South- South, South-East and South-West geopolitical zones of the country and the Middle Belt, the delegates backed the draft Constitution, which they described as a product of resolutions reached by all delegates including northern delegates.

They stressed that if the entire report produced by the Conference was fully implemented by President Jonathan, it would give birth to a new Nigeria.

Addressing Journalists yesterday, former Federal Commissioner for Information and South-South leader, Chief Edwin Clark who noted that the repor was not different from what everyone agreed on, adding that rather than castigate the Chairman of the Conference, Justice Idris Kutigi and the Secretariat, they ought to have been commended for producing a perfect and very intelligent report.

Elder statesman Chief Clark, a delegate on the platform of the Elder Statesmen category was flanked at the briefing by the leader of SouthWest delegates, Chief Olu Falae; leader of the South-East, General Ike Nwachukwu; Secretary General, Middle Belt Forum, John Dara; Prof. Anya O. Anya; Chief Raymond Dokpesi; Senator Aniete Okon; Charles Edosonwan, SAN; Col. Tony Nyiam; Ms Ann Kio Briggs; Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN; Yinka Odumakin; Chief Femi Okunrounmu; and Prof.

Ihechukwu Madubuike, among others.

Northern delegates at the conference had on Tuesday at a press briefing dissociated themselves from the ‘New Constitution’, alleging that it was a plot to bring about a third term agenda by President Jonathan and the governors.

Addressing Journalists on Tuesday at Gombe Jewel Hotel, Wuse 11, Abuja, Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF and former Inspector General of Police, IGP, Ibrahim Coomasie in

•Delegates at the ongoing national confernce

company of other northern leaders, warned that if the document which he described as a third term agenda was not killed at the conference, it would like in 2005, lead to anarchy, violence and chaos.

Reacting to the northern delegates comments yesterday, Clark said: “There are no issues that are controversial. We met for about four months and various issues were discussed, debated and about 600 motions were passed by consensus. Everybody agreed. At the end of that we went on two weeks leave.

“We were surprised when we came back, there were volumes of papers and reports; looking through them, we want to say it was a very good job. The chairman, Justice Kutigi, his deputy and the Secretary and the entire secretariat, we congratulate them.

Constitutional changes "The reports are three in volume and there are other ancillary papers. I assure you that if the resolutions contained in the report are implemented by government a new Nigeria would be born. We have all learnt a lot for the last months, having been a politician for 50 years, what I learnt in this period is fantastic, so we congratulate the management headed by Kutigi.

“It was very unfortunate to learn yesterday that some delegates addressed a press conference on a so-called new constitution. When we were discussing during the conference, we touched on many issues, some of which suggested constitutional changes, some policy and others legislative.

What they have done is to put together all the amendments to the 1999 constitution and additional ones, they were not

many, where there is need for subtraction they did it and a new document has being produced.

And there is nothing wrong if somebody calls it a proposed draft constitution, we have nothing to hide, but that would bring a new change to Nigeria.

“So we want to dispel the idea that there is confusion at the conference, there is disagreement and all of that. We have all met Justice Kutigi and his team today, we have agreed that by tomorrow, we should adopt the reports they have produced on our behalf.

I can tell you that Nigeria has never been united like this before. We have done a good job for Nigeria, it will take time to gather this caliber of delegates to take the resolutions we have taken here. We are appealing to Mr. President therefore that our resolutions as contained in the report should be treated with dispatch to the benefit of Nigerians and a new Nigeria shall be born.”

It’s insulting to say we are working for some political leaders — Falae, Nwachukwu Also speaking during yesterday’s press briefing, leader of the South-West delegates and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Chief Olu Falae noted that it was completely false and insulting for any one to allege that they were working for some political leaders.

“Let me add very quickly that some falsehood has been injected into the media in the last few days, there were allegations that we are working for some political leaders. That is false and insulting. Since I got to this conference, nobody has tried to influence me or my delegation on any matter whatsoever, and I am sure that is true for all of us.

“There were specific

allegations that we had recommended a single tenure of six years for the president that is not true. We said two terms of four years as in the present constitution. So how people manufactured those lies to deceive the public beats me completely. The documents we have are three, volume one and two and the draft constitution.

“The information in each of the three is exactly the same. In other words the three contain all our resolutions arrived at by consensus. The first volume presents the reports in prose; the second volume presents the report in tabular form. The draft constitution presents the same conclusions in constitutional format.

Constitutional format "It is the mode of presentation that varies, the information is the same. And there is nothing there that did not come from our decisions and it was agreed this morning that if anybody observes any error, or omission or commission, they should send a paper to the secretariat and it would be corrected on the basis of the hansard that contains the proceedings of the conference and of the votes and proceedings of the conference so there is no room for any disagreement at all at this stage.”

Leader of South-East delegates Gen. Ike Ike Nwachukwu, who vowed that they would ensure that no section of the country lords it over others, said: “On our part we have been faithful pursuing our mandate to redesign and redefine Nigeria in which no man or woman will be oppressed and no section of this country lords it over the other any more.

“Secondly, no one has asked us to seek a third term for anybody, like it has been said. Anyone who said this is insulting us. The final point I want to make is this, our report and our recommendations should be placed in the public domain so Nigerians can understand what was done and they would then decide whether we have wasted their money and time or we have given them the opportunity to build a new Nigeria."

Middle-belt concurs Secretary General of Middle Belt Forum, John Dara, who noted that the reality was that Nigeria would be operating on a new improved constitution at the end of the Conference pledged the total loyalty of Middle Belt people to the document and report of the Conference. “I am the Secretary General of the Middle Belt Forum.

I would like to put it on record that the wrong impression that the whole of Northern Nigeria is opposed to the resolutions taken and the reports that are being presented is incorrect. The Middle Belt Forum consists of 14 states out of the 19 states of Northern Nigeria, and the delegations of those states are solidly in support of the outcome of this conference.

“Not only that, we are very impressed with the level of integrity and accuracy demonstrated by the secretariat in reflecting our views. We had recommended that the logical outcome of the constitutional changes we have recommended is that there would be a new Constitution or the 1999 constitution be amended.

Whichever way, it is an equation of the cup being half full or half empty.”

Allegation designed to rubbish the Conference and leadership – Ondo delegates Also yesterday, delegates representing Ondo State said they were not part of any alleged plot to use the Conference to get a Third Term agenda for President Jonathan or any other political office holder in the country as alleged by the Northern Delegates Forum.

In a statement yesterday by the Leader of the delegation and the State Commissioner for Vocational and Technical Education, Mr. Remi Olatubora, noted that the allegation was designed to smear the good work done by the delegates and leadership of the conference.

Noting was smuggled into the Constitution – Umeh, Ozekhome Also a delegate National Chairman of the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh, described the northern delegates, who described the draft Constitution as a third term as those introducing an agenda to scuttle the 2014 National Conference.

58 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

Scientists discover how Ebola virus disables immune response

S

CIENTISTS say they have found how the lethal Ebola virus blocks and disables the body’s ability to battle infections in a discovery that should help the search for potential cures and vaccines. A group of scientists in the United States found that Ebola carries a protein called VP24 that interferes with a molecule called interferon, which is vital to the immune response.

“One of the key reasons that Ebola virus is so deadly is because it disrupts the body’s immune response to the infection,” said Chris Basler of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, who worked on the study. “Figuring out how VP24 promotes this disruption will suggest new ways to defeat the virus.”

The team, lead by Gaya Amarasinghe from Washington University School of Medicine, found that VP24 works by stopping something called “transcription factor STAT1” - which carries interferon’s antiviral mes-

sage - from entering the nucleus of a cell and initiating an immune response. “This study shows just how nefarious the Ebola virus can be,” said Ben Neuman, a virologist at Britain’s university of Reading who was not directly involved in this study.

“Ebola virus carries a small tool that intercepts the cell’s distress signals, and when this happens, it disables some of the most useful machinery that our bodies have for fighting Ebola. That

Lagos doctors seek adequate facilities in all hospitals

By Chioma Obinna

M

EMBERS of the Medi cal Guild, an umbrella body of medical doctors under the employment of Lagos State Government, yesterday, urged the state government to immediately provide all facilities needed in the containment of Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, in all the health

Another Sierra Leonean doctor dies

A

SECOND Sierra Leone an doctor has died after contracting the deadly Ebola virus, health officials have noted.

Dr Modupeh John Eric Cole, a senior physician at the Connaught Hospital in Freetown, was diagnosed with Ebola last Friday and taken to the specialist Kailahun Treatment Centre the following day.

His death was confirmed by the

leaves the body with only crude defences that are less effective at stopping the virus, and end up causing much of the damage that can eventually lead to death.”

Ebola is one of the most deadly diseases known in humans and has a case fatality rate of up to 90 percent. In the current epidemic in West Africa, the virus has infected more than 1,800 people.

So far, 1,013 of these have died the vast majority in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

country’s chief medical officer, Dr. Brima Kargbo. “We are all very, very saddened,” he said, adding that. Dr Cole was a “very powerful presence in the country’s medical team and has been very instrumental in the fight against the Ebola virus.”

Cole’s death came about two weeks after Sierra Leone’s leading anti-Ebola expert, Dr Umar Khan, also died from the virus.

Passengers, wearing protective face masks and hand gloves push troleys loaded with personal effects upon arrival at the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos

facilities across the state.

Chairman of the Medical Guild, Dr. Biyi Kufo, said at a news conference, that facilities should not be limited to the Infectious Disease Hospital alone as Ebola can find its way to any hospital.

He stated that adequate facilities will help to protect workers from contracting the disease, adding, “We are not sure there is adequate Personal Protective Equipment, PPE, on ground. It is the foot soldiers on the field who feel the presence of battle.

We work in these facilities and we are aware of the situation on the ground.”

Kufo explained that to tackle Ebola seriously, all hospitals must be well equipped as no one knows when a possible carrier may present at any of the hospitals. According to him, global practices demand that in combating such epidemic like Ebola, certain protocols must be in place in all health facilities to protect workers from contracting the deadly disease.

“Doctors and health workers, aside immediate family members are the group at the greatest risk of contracting this disease which has high fatal consequences," he said stressing that the government should ensure that all measures are put in place to protect doctors and other health workers to reduce obvious anxiety in the sector.

Kufo said the outbreak will test the level of preparedness of any country to respond to an emergency, especial its public health.

Medical personnel fully kitted in Ebola clothing at the Abuja national hospital

WHO classifies Kenya high risk country

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HE World Health Organi zation, WHO, yesterday, classified Kenya in East Africa as a “high risk” country for the spread of the deadly Ebola virus from West Africa, where nearly 2,000 have been infected. The virus could reach East Africa through Nairobi’s airport, where about 70 flights from West Africa land every week. It was, therefore, crucial to tighten Ebola controls, said the WHO’s Kenya director Custodia Mandlhate.

Kenya’s government has decided not to cancel any flights.

Neighbouring Uganda, and Rwanda, have reported one suspected Ebola case each, which both tested negative. The number of reported Ebola cases in the four affected countries has climbed to 1,975 the WHO said in Geneva. Of these patients, 1,069 have died. The updated tally includes 128 new cases and 56 deaths that were reported on Sunday and Monday, most of

I owe no one any apology, says Liberian minister who cleared Sawyer

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IBERIA's deputy finance minister, Sebastian Omar, who cleared Patrick Sawyer to travel, yesterday, defended him-

Canada to donate 1,000 experimental vaccine doses to WHO

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OME 800 - 1,000 doses of an experimental vaccine will be donated by Canada to the World Health Organisation, WHO, to help curb the spread of the Ebola virus in the African region.

Rona Ambrose, Federal Health Minister, said the made-in-Canada experimental Ebola vaccine VSV-EBOV has never been tested in humans but has shown

promise in animal trials.

Ambrose said, “Canada feels this experimental vaccine is a global resource, so in response we are sharing it with the international community, while keeping a small supply in Canada.”

The experimental Ebola vaccine was developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

The final number of doses provided will be based on the

amount required for applied research and clinical trials. Canada will also keep a small supply of the experimental vaccine in the unlikely event it is needed for compassionate use in Canada. Ambrose likewise said Canada will be providing an additional $185,000 to the WHO to support infection prevention and control, enhanced surveillance and outbreak response capacity

them from Liberia and Sierra Leone, the UN health agency said.

Nigeria requested the experimental Ebola drug ZMapp after reporting its third death from the virus. “The Nigerian government has reached out to the US Centre for Disease Control to request the unapproved Ebola drug, ZMapp, for the treatment of affected persons in Nigeria,” said Information Minister Labaran Maku, who added that Nigeria was waiting for an answer.

The African Union on Wednesday welcomed the WHO’s decision to use experimental drugs in West Africa. “If you have a disease with a mortality rate of up to 90% and a treatment is offered, then the patient should be given this drug if he consents,” said African Union commissioner for social affairs Mustapha Sidiki Kaloko. Nigeria is the second African country to request ZMapp.

in the affected region.

Canada has so far donated $5,195,000 in support of humanitarian, security and public health interventions to address the spread of the Ebola virus in West Africa. The 2014 Ebola outbreak is so far the world’s largest and deadliest. It has killed 1,013, majority of which came from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

self against charges of incompetence for clearing Sawyer to travel to Nigeria for a conference. In the conversation on Facebook tracked by online publication, Premium Times, Omar stood his ground, and revealed that Sawyer was his friend.

Asked whether Omar saw Sawyer's blood test results or whether he simply told him it was negative, the minister said, “As his superior, if a man tells you his sister died from Ebola and he could have been exposed do you not think it is your duty to ask the hard questions or maybe you could have reported this to the health officials? Stop making silly excuses as to not being his docContinues on page 59

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 — 59

I owe no one any apology—minister Continues from page 58 tors. This does not excuse you from asking the ques-

Unproven Ebola vaccine raises question of who gets it?

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DONATION of as many as 1,000 doses of an Ebola vaccine never tested in humans is raising questions among authorities about whether to give it to healthy people as officials try to control a raging outbreak in Western Africa. The World Health Organization has said experimental treatments could be made available to people infected with the disease. The WHO hasn’t decided what to do with the donation by the Canadian government of a preventive vaccine. The ethical calculation is being made as the fast-moving outbreak has killed more than 1,000 people and shows no signs of abating.

The first to test the experimental vaccine may be health workers on the front lines, as they may be in a better position to understand the risks of an unproven drug and reap any benefits, said G. Kevin Donovan, director of the Pellegrino Centre for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown University. “It does change the calculus,” he said in a telephone interview.

Exposure to vaccine “Those who would be predictably and regularly exposed should get the vaccine. It’s ethically a more tolerable situation in that health-care workers are presumably more medically sophisticated and understand the risks and benefits.”

The vaccine, called VSV-EBOV and developed by National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, has never been tested on humans and its safety and effectiveness is unknown. The Canadian government said it would offer 800 to 1,000 doses of the vaccine to the Geneva-based WHO, while keeping a small supply in case it’s needed in Canada. The WHO is deciding what to do with the donation, said Tarik Jasarevic, a spokesman. Unproven drugs have already been used in the course of the outbreak first reported in March. An antibody cocktail from Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc. was given to

two American health workers infected while working in an Ebola centre in Liberia.

Clinical trials: A vaccine, given to the healthy rather than those already infected, is a different matter, though. “We need to be finding out if it is safe and effective before offering it to people beyond health workers,” Donovan said. Plans are being made to start trials of the Canadian vaccine and another by the end of September, Marie-Paule Kieny, the WHO’s assistant director-general for health systems and innovation, said to reporters in Geneva. “We are fortunate that a number of these new products vaccines and medicines also have shown enough potential for efficacy” in animal studies, Kieny

said. “It really gives hope that they would be efficacious in humans. Even though we don’t have anything proven, we are in a much better position than we were a few years ago.”

Nigeria deaths: There is no cure for Ebola and 54 percent of the people reported with the virus have died in the current outbreak.

The disease is normally treated by keeping patients hydrated, replacing lost blood and using antibiotics to fight off opportunistic infections. The hope is that a patient’s immune system will eventually fight off the virus’s aggressive attack. Ebola has killed 1,069 of 1,975 people afflicted in four West African nations, making it the worst outbreak since the virus was first identified in 1976,

Ebola nurse escapes to Enugu, arrested with husband, deported back to Lagos Continues from page 5 are with them and we will never abandon them. My heart bleeds over things that are happening in our happening. Enough is enough. An attack on any part of the country is an attack on all Nigerians. Our people in the North cannot sleep anymore. This has to stop. The earlier we realise that it is not a Northern war or Borno war, the better for us. We must avoid use of unguided utterances. These things cannot help us.

We need to change the way we do things.”

FG okays use of trial drug The National Health Research Ethics Committee of Nigeria has approved the use of an experimental Ebola drug, Zmapp, for treatment of patients infected with the virus. The committee, which comprises research scientists, is a national body under the Federal Ministry of Health. The endorsement is contained in a statement made available to journalists and signed by Dr. Clement Adebamowo, chairman of the committee. “It is ethical to use these treatments in the current situation without first submitting an application to National, State or Institutional Health Research Ethics Committee for prior review and

approval. In addition, the committee waives the current requirement that international shipment of any biological samples out of Nigeria should be preceded by the establishment of a Materials Transfer Agreement. This waiver is to promote rapid international response to this global emergency,” the statement said.

In the statement, the Nigerian National Code for Health Research Ethics emphasised that all innovative and non-validated treatments should be carefully and adequately documented. It said the documentation can form the basis for clinical trials of the efficacy and side effects of the treatment according to established scientific principles. It added that the ethics committee enjoins all agencies, development partners and research scientists to follow the guidelines for rapid resolution of the current emergency.

“The guideline will contribute to preparedness in case of future occurrences and contribution to scientific knowledge. It must be noted that all Phase O and Phase I Clinical Trials that may subsequently be designed for treatment of this infection can be approved only by the National Health Research Ethics Committee,” it said.

The decision by the committee is coming on the heels of Tuesday’s approval by the World Health Organisation, WHO, on the use of experimental drug, ZMapp, for treatment of Ebola patients.

Governors avoid handshakes, adopt knuckles greeting

Ebola kitted medical personnel

according to the WHO. An official with the Economic Community of West African States died with Ebola in Lagos, Nigeria, becoming the third victim in Africa’s biggest city, according to a statement on the bloc’s website.

Jatto Asihu Abdulqudir, a 36year-old protocol assistant at ECOWAS, had been in quarantine after helping Liberian Patrick Sawyer get to a regional meeting, according to the statement.

Sawyer died of Ebola on July 25, five days after showing symptoms of the virus at the Lagos airport in the country’s first reported case of the disease. A nurse who came into contact with Sawyer has also died. The disease is spread by direct contact with bodily fluids.

tions as a government official that would safeguard the lives of our citizens and your international partners. It is your duty, again as a Government official not wanting to go above and beyond his duty to safe guard our population.

Sebastian Muah Omar Tariq, a friend is dead, I do not owe you any explanation. POS (Patrick Sawyer) was a public health practitioner if you must know. The Ugandan doctor was a medical doctor if you again must know.

They are no longer. So the freaking issue is not why he lied or didn’t lie to travel.

But how we address the freaking disease. If you don’t have jack to say in that direction then frankly shut up on the subject. Sebastian Muah doesn't have time today frankly for your rants."

Omar Tariq, oh hell yes you do owe Liberians and the international community an explanation Sebastian Muah, this is the complete arrogance of you people in government.

Governors and health commissioners from the 36 states of the Federation who converged in Abuja for an emergency meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan to discuss possible ways of containing the spread of the dreaded Ebola virus, avoided handshakes, opting to greet one another with knuckles.

Why Patrick Sawyer trav- thinking, if I could only get to Nigeria, more developed counelled to Nigeria – Wife Meanwhile, widow of late Patrick Sawyer, Decontee, has said her deceased husband travelled to Nigeria in a desperate search for possible cure. Disclosing this in an article published in the TMZ Liberia magazine, she explained that Sawyer had no trust in the healthcare system in Liberia and had possibly headed to Nigeria with the hope of receiving better treatment for his ailment. Her thoughts shared on her Facebook profile from which TMZ Liberia sourced it for publication, is reproduced below: “I’ve read other reports in other papers (not the New York Times) about Patrick’s “recklessness.” I get where they’re coming from, and they certainly have the right to feel the way they do. However, as Patrick’s widow, I would like to shed some light on this from another perspective. One that only I, his wife, would know. I knew Patrick better than anybody else (including himself). He had told me many times in the past how much he didn’t trust the Liberian healthcare system. He would tell me about how a person would get checked in for one thing, and get misdiagnosed and get the wrong treatment as a result. On top of that, Patrick was a clean freak, and told me how filthy a lot of the hospitals were.

“He didn’t tell me this, but I know in my heart of hearts that Patrick was determined to get to Nigeria by all means because he felt that Nigeria would be a place of refuge. He has expressed to me many times in the past that he felt passionately about helping to be a part of strengthening Liberia’s healthcare system, but he knew it wasn’t there yet, and he wouldn’t want to take a chance with his life because a lot of people depended on him… Patrick had a passion for life, and he wouldn’t have wanted his to end.

So, I bet anything that he was

try than Liberia, I would be able to get some help. How ironic.”

Scare at Lagos hospital over suspected patients In a related development, activities at the Orile-Agege General Hospital, Agege Local Government, Lagos were disrupted for hours, yesterday, when a patient suspected to have contracted the Ebola Virus Disease was taken to the hospital. Health officials in the hospital absconded as the patient, who was brought into the hospital in the early hours of the day, was seen bleeding from some parts of his body. Our correspondent gathered that patients in the hospital scampered for safety leaving the hospital deserted.

Sources said that the reason for their action was to avoid contacting the deadly virus. A health official, who craved anonymity, said that such a case was reported at the hospital on Tuesday, in a case suspected to be Ebola. Vanguard learnt that authorities of the Orile-Agege General Hospital called the Ifako-Ijaiye General Hospital that they have a patient to refer to it as they did not have the wherewithal to handle the case. It was learnt that the Ifako-Ijaiye General Hospital declined and called the State Ministry of Health which ordered that nobody should touch the patient as government was coming to pick him up.

Officials of the Lagos State Government, our correspondent learnt, picked up the patient and the man who brought him to the hospital and took them away to be tested if the case was actually an Ebola one. Efforts to get the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, to confirm the story proved abortive as he was said to have gone to Abuja with the state governor, Babatunde Fashola, to meet with President Goodluck Jonathan.

60 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

Dortmund whip Bayern in Super Cup B

ORUSSIA Dort mund picked up a comfortable 2-0 win over Bayern Munich at Signal Iduna Park yesterday, opening the season with the DFL-Supercup trophy for a second consecutive year.

They may have lost Robert Lewandowski to Bayern over the summer, but that didn’t s t o p Der BVB from crushing their unimpressive rivals. They opened the scoring with Henrikh Mkhitaryan midway through the opening half, then Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang guaranteed them the trophy with a second just past the hour.

Bayern recorded the first accurate shot of the match, though Dortmund assumed control after Xherdan Shaqiri’s third-minute effort was kept out by their keeper, Mitchell Langerak.

Both Aubameyang and Ciro Immobile lashed shots wide inside the first 10 minutes, as the hosts settled into a period of dominance that would remain almost uninterrupted through to the final whistle.

They didn’t have to wait long before being rewarded for their bright start, with Mkhitaryan following up Aubameyang’s blocked shot with a fine finish from the edge of the penalty area midway through the first half for 1-0.

Kompany signs five-year contract with City

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CELEBRATION ..... Borusia Dortmund players celebrate after victory over Bayern Munich.

ANCHESTER City captain Vincent Kompany has signed a new five-year contract with the Premier League champions.

Kompany, 28, joins Aleksandar Kolarov, David Silva and Samir Nasri in committing his future to the club this summer.

The Belgium international said: “When I arrived in 2008, I could never have dreamed that we could achieve what we have over the last six years.

“But this is just the start of the journey.”

Van Gaal names Rooney Man United’s captain

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AYNE Rooney has been named Manchester United captain by Louis van Gaal with Darren Fletcher becoming vice-captain. The striker has beaten Robin van Persie, who was Van Gaal’s leader when in charge of Holland, to the position.

Rooney led the side in Tuesday evening’s 2-1 win over Valencia at Old Trafford, the second time he had done so under the new manager. He takes over from Nemanja Vidic, who has left for Internazionale.

Van Gaal said: “For me it’s always very important the choice of captain.

Wayne has shown a great

attitude towards everything he does. I have been very impressed by his professionalism and his attitude to training and to my philosophy.

“He is a great inspiration to the younger members of the team and I believe he will put his heart and soul into his captaincy role. Darren Fletcher will become the vice-captain. Darren is a natural leader and will captain the team when Wayne isn’t playing Darren is a very experienced player and a very popular member of the dressing room, I know he will work well alongside Wayne.”

•Kompany

Bale elated after 'dream come true'

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OLLOWING Real’s victory over Sevilla, Gareth Bale stressed that lifting the UEFA Super Cup back home in Wales was the stuff of dreams.

He also heaped praise on Cristiano Ronaldo and hailed his side’s hard work.

“Cristiano Ronaldo shows every game what he can do. Everybody works hard for the team.

It was great to be back in my hometown; it’s a dream come true to win a trophy here. Everybody comes to Real Madrid to win trophies and we want to win every trophy on offer this season”, Bale stated.

Stage set for MTN Street Soccer

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HE State is set for this year’s edition of the MTN Street Soccer competition in Lagos.

Unfolding plans for the competition during the week, Commissioner of Sports Enitan Oshodi

From Left, MTN Events & Sponsorship Manager, Dola Bamgboye, Ex- Eagles striker Victor Agali, Permanent Secretary, Office of Sports, Oluseyi Whenu, Segment Manager, MTN Saitat Mohammed-Lawal and Ex-Eagles captain, Peter Rufai at the MTN Lagos State Season 7 briefing yesterday.

said that Lagos State government in partnership with MTN had concluded arrangements to make this season’s event a most memorable one.

“We are ready to organise the most competitive and glamorous edition of the MTN Street Soccer. We are doing this in collaboration with our title sponsors MTN. I can assure all that we have put in place everything that will make the competition a bumper success”, said Oshodi, who added the competition has been divided into three categories.

•Rooney

Ribery retires from French duty

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RENCH winger Franck Ribery has announced his retirement from international football, he said in an interview with the German magazine Kicker.

Bayern Munich’s Ribery, 31, the winner of the 2013 UEFA European Player of the Year award, has won 80 caps for France since his international debut in 2006.

“I am retiring. I realised

the time had come,” he said, adding that he had taken the decision “for personal reasons”.

“I want to spend more time with my family, to concentrate on playing for Bayern Munich and also to open the way for the many other young talented players in the national side.

“You have to know when to stop and the time has come to call it a day.

“And we saw during the World Cup that France have nothing to worry about as far as the future is concerned.”

Ribery was forced to sit out Wednesday’s German Supercup match with Borussia Dortmund with a knee injury but hopes to be fit for the first match of the Bundesliga season against Wolfsburg on August 22.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 — 61

62 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

Electoral committee disqualifies Umeh, Ogunjobi, Odegbami •Chris Giwa is sole presidential candidate

BY JUDE OPARA, Abuja

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HE drama going on in the Nigerian football ahead of the August 26 election into the executive committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) took a different dimension yesterday when the electoral committee saddled with the responsibility of conducting the elections disqualified the acting president of the NFF, Chief Mike Umeh and the former chairman of the technical committee of the federation, Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi.

Addressing the media in Abuja, chairman of the committee, Amoni

Biambo said the case of Umeh was rather complicated because apart from the fact that there was no receipt attached to his form, he also bought the form for a vice president but latter submitted that of a president. He was also said to have submitted his form late on August 8 as against the deadline of August 4.

“Let me explain here that we are here to do a job not minding who is involved and if heaven is going to fall on us let it fall on us, if they are going to throw us out of this committee so be it. I will give you his own case briefly, but not indicting him, no receipt for the purchase of forms, the

Maigari Continues from BP Maigari yesterday tendered his letter of resignation to the NFF secretariat.

Sports Vanguard had reported that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Pius Anyim Pius waded into the matter by inviting both the Minister and Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Dr. Tamuno Danagogo and the NFF board members to find a way of getting Maigari

back to his position but the later did not accept that proposal.

The Chief Mike Umeh led executive committee had insisted that for Maigari to get any soft landing, he must first submit his resignation letter which will enable the NFF to begin moves to change his impeachment into a resignation to enable him retain his [position in both CAF and FIFA committees.

It was further revealed that Senator Anyim had pleaded with the board to vacate

Nigeria Continues from BP Ahoure of Cote’d Ivoire. In the men’s 200m Divine Oduduru is also on course for a gold.

While the Nigerian women 4x400m quartet are set to dominate the event. The men team are also in strong contention for the gold.

According to Athletics Federation of Nigeria technical official, Yusuf Alli, the team was set to repeat their feat in 2012. ‘’ Before we came here, I told journalists in Glasgow that we will win the championships with about 11 or 12 gold

medals. “ I still believe we can do it. By Thursday evening, I am confident that we shall retain the title we won in Benin Republic two years ago’’ said Alli.

In Benin Republic Nigeria ended a 12 year wait to return to the top of African athletics. The Nigerian team hauled a total of 10 gold medals, five silver and six bronze.

Kenya champions from Nairobi 2010 were close second with nine gold, nine silver and nine bronze medals.

candidate purchased the nomination form for the post of 1st vice president but submitted same for the post of president and the nomination form was submitted on 11th August 2014, after the closing date of 10th July and extension granted everybody on 4th of August 2014. On the nomination form submitted, the date on affidavit is 8th August, 2014 which collaborates the late submission of the form. The candidate is hereby disqualified” Biambo insisted.

But in the case of Chief Ogunjobi, the electoral committee argued that since he was still serving the lengthy ban slammed on him by the NFF by the

the impeachment so as to enable Maigari get clearance to receive a national award in October of which he is said to have been selected due to his achievements in the NFF. A board member who confirmed the development to Sports Vanguard yesterday in Abuja said the issue of Maigari and his resignation letter would be part of the agenda of the scheduled emergency congress of August 26.

According to our source, the Congress is also expected to grant the former president the clearance he wants by commuting his impeachment into resignation.

“I can confirm to you right now that we have received a letter of resignation from Alhaji Aminu Maigari. This was exactly the condition we gave the SGF at our last meeting with him. We are not against his future political ambitions. Now that he has officially thrown in the towel, we will try to give him a safe landing at the August 26 Congress of the NFF by vacating his impeachment” the executive committee members stated.

time the screening exercise was going on, he remains not cleared for the election.

Also another presidential aspirant and former international, Chief Segun Ogunjobi was equally not cleared on the grounds that his nomination form was not endorsed by anybody including the chairman of his state FA and two from any other zone. His from was also said not have been accompanied by the receipt for the purchase and was submitted late on 10th August, 2014.

However, the committee cleared the suspended member of the board, Ahmed Yusuf, Fresh to contest as a board member because his suspension has not been in effect by the time

the screening exercise was still going on.

Biambo also threatened that that if at any point there are moves by anybody from any quarter to influence the outcome of the screening, he and the entire members of his committee will resign

because according to him, they all have meaningful means of livelihood.

The electoral committee chairman regretted that the country has been reduced to a situation where after every tenure of the board there will be crisis even as he advised that those who genuinely want to impact on Nigerian football should be patient and wait for the next four years to contest again.

Ebola Continues from BP organisers that the treatment to the Nigerian athletes were inhuman.

The decision to withdraw Team Nigeria from the Games was taken yesterday after a meeting with Sports Minister, Dr Tammy Danagogo, Nigeria Olympic Committee, NOC, President, Engr Sani M. Ndanusa and the Director General of the National

sports Commission, Hon Gbenga Elegbeleye.

Though the officials have not reacted to Nigeria’s withdrawal of her athletes, the discrimination and subsequent quarantine of the athletes is not unconnected to the Ebola outbreak in some parts of West Africa. The athletes and their officials have been directed to leave China and head home.

Vanguard, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 — 63

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VANGUARD, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014

Maigari tenders resignation letter to NFF

BY JUDE OPARA, Abuja

A

African Athletics Championships:

PPARENTLY, after all efforts to regain his position as the president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) failed, the impeached former president, Alhaji Aminu Continues on Page 62

Nigeria set to Ebola knocks Team Nigeria retain title out of Youth Olympics

BY BEN EFE

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HE 19th African Athletics

Championships end today in Marrakesh, Morocco with Nigeria set to retain the title she won at the last edition 2012 in Porto Novo, Benin Republic.

Ahead of today’s final, Nigeria lead the medals table with six gold, four silver and four bronze. South Africa is a close chaser with five gold, four silver and one bronze, Kenya with two gold, one silver and five bronze is in third place.

Blessing Okagbare is expected to return to the tracks for the 200m and from all indications, she will take gold at the expense of rival Murielle Continues on Page 62

•Blessing

•Umeh

•Maigari

•As China quarantines Nigerian athletes

BY TONY UBANI

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EAM Nigerian athletes to the on-going Youth Olympics in Nanjing, China pulled out of the Competition yesterday following the discrimination of the athletes who were quarantined, isolated and barred from training alongside other athletes of the World since arriving the competition venue.

The Youth Olympics is scheduled to hold in Nanjing, China from August 16 to August 18.

And Team Nigeria were to participate in three sports – Athletics, Wrestling and Beach Vollleyball with 12 athletes.

In a statement signed

yesterday by the Director General of the National Sports Commission, Hon Gbenga Elegbeleye Nigeria protested to the

Continues on Page 62

Premier League Results Enyimba Nembe Nasarawa Gombe United Kano pillars Dolphins El-Kanemi Kaduna Sharks Giwa

2 1 2 3 3 2 1 1 1 1

Warri wolves 0 Abia Warriors 0 Bayelsa United 1 Lobi 1 Rangers 2 Crown 0 FC Taraba 0 Akwa United 0 Heartland 1 Sunshine 0

QUICK CROSSWORD

TODAY'S

PUZZLE

YESTER DAY'S YESTERDAY'S

ANSWERS

ACROSS 1 Force (6) 5 Folder (6) 9 Produce (5) 10 Submerged (6) 11 Niche (6) 12 Thick (5) 14 Curse (4) 17 Spot (3) 18 Surrender (4) 20 Place (5) 22 Helped (5) 23 Exist (7) 24 Ski-slope (5) 26 Foot-lever (5) 29 Pain (4) 30 Girl’s (3) 32 Dreadful (4) 33 Seraglio (5) 35 Fish (6) 36 Beginner (6) 37 Cut (5) 38 Evaded (6) 39 Jammed (6)

DOWN 1 Universe (6) 2 Tiny (6) 3 Watched (4) 4 Wrinkled (5) 5 Explosion (5) 6 Inactive (4) 7 Fated (6) 8 smelled (6) 13 Louder (7) 15 Garret (5) 16 Hurry (5) 18 Quoted (5) 19 Prevent (5) 21 Owing (3) 22 Serpent (3) 24 Gasped (6) 25 Apportioned (6) 27 Plunging (6) 28 Myth (6) 30 Loathed (5) 31 Renovate (5) 33 Stockings (4) 34 Additional (4)

YESTERDAY'S SOLUTIONS ACROSS: 4, Trash 7, Action 9, Hue 10, Lac 12, Balmy 13, Prey 15, Model 17, Serene 19, Mire 20, Title 22, Tap 24, Patella 27, Pen 28, Arson 31, Mess 33, Stance 35, Water 37, Heed 39, Dip 41, Rip 42, Allege 43, Asked.

DOWN: 1, Carpet 2, Attest 3, Col 4, Tube 5, Realm 6, Sombrero 8, Name 11, Contented 14, Yelp 16, Deal 18, Reap 21, Idleness 23, Plan 25, Test 26, Arch 29, Seemed 30, Nudged 32, Swore 34, Aria 36, Arid 40, Ply.

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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